In the Wenhua Palace, all the vassal kings were suddenly in a daze.
The emperor's words were full of twists and turns, reversing again and again, and he couldn't finish it in one breath.
He secretly cursed in his heart, and then looked at King Zhou and others, but saw that they also had helpless expressions on their faces, as if to say that they didn't know what the emperor was thinking about.
Therefore, Zhu Qiyu handed over the memorial of the Ministry of Rites that he had just read to King Zhou and others, and asked the kings to read it again.
When the memorial returned to the imperial eucalyptus, Zhu Qiyu said.
"I'm calling you all here today just for this memorial."
"This memorial has not yet been submitted to the court for discussion, but there has been news in the capital for a long time, and you should have heard about it. We are all members of the family, so I will say what I have to say directly."
"The ministers in the court have many criticisms of the clans and vassal kings in various places. They think that the clans have high salaries and important positions, and their population is increasing, but they are useless to the country. They are a drag on the court, so this memorial is issued."
As soon as these words came out, all the vassal kings were suddenly pulled back from their daze after seeing the specific contents of the memorial from the Ministry of Rites.
Young people like King Qin and King Ning almost jumped up.
Relatively speaking, the vassal kings like Min King and Xiang King who are a little older or have stayed in the capital long enough are much calmer.
There are some words in this court, just listen to them!
Of course, these words are not the private discussions mentioned, but the emperor's words.
Is there any discussion about the vassal king in the court? Of course there is, but it is extremely taboo to say something like it is useless to the country and a drag on the court, even if it is said in private.
You must know that the system of enfeoffing kings was established by Taizu, and even Emperor Taizong never really wavered.
Anyone who dares to openly say that the kings are useless is either alluding to Taizu's wisdom, or weakening the vassal kings in Hansha Taizong.
Therefore, although everyone knows that the kings now only have the privilege of protecting themselves and have no substantive power, but whether it is openly or privately, it must be said that the vassal king protects the country. , guard one side.
Apart from anything else, at least Prince Xiang has been in the capital for so long, and I have never heard of that person being brave enough to say that the vassal king is useless.
If you really meet such a person, no matter whether you are a court official or not, even if you twist his head directly, you should still respond accordingly.
This is not an exaggeration. The ancestral instructions of the Emperor Ming Dynasty are clearly written. Anyone who arrogates, despises, or makes irresponsible remarks about the vassal king will be punished by death!
Therefore, the emperor's words are clearly nonsense.
But the problem is that the person in front of you is the emperor, and he has a golden tongue. If he says it is, then it is!
From this point of view, they hope that this is really a discussion among the ministers below.
Because if this is a lie, then it is very likely that it is not the courtiers who think so, but... the emperor!
Of course, the ministers below probably don't have the guts to talk about it, but I'm afraid that's what they think in their hearts.
But then, the emperor changed the topic and said.
"Many of these remarks are untrue. I naturally know that protecting the country is the foundation of the country. However, because of this, I feel that the vassal king should fulfill his responsibility and protect the peace of the people."
A group of vassal kings looked at each other. The emperor spoke so directly. It was obvious that he had only one meaning, that is, if they want to prevent the vassal reform, then they must play their due role and cannot do nothing as usual. Yes, but the problem is...
King Min and King Xiang looked at King Zhou and others almost at the same time. At the same time, King Zhou and Prince Lu looked over. They exchanged glances in the air and had a general understanding of the situation.
I am afraid that before they came, King Zhou and King Lu had already advised them.
After pondering for a moment, Min King Zhu Huixun said.
"Your Majesty, I know your Majesty's intention. In recent years, the clan's population has increased day by day, and the national treasury has been very tight due to various affairs. In this difficult time for the court, as clan members, I should indeed contribute to the country. I am willing to reduce my annual salary. One thousand stones will be input into the national treasury to use up my meager efforts."
As soon as these words came out, the other vassal kings looked a little unhappy.
You know, unlike Zhou Wang and others, Zhu Huixun resigned from Sui Lu.
The king of Zhou and others don't care if it's five thousand or ten thousand stones, but it's a one-shot deal. But Zhu Huixuan said this, but he asked for a salary reduction, and it was reduced every year. Who can bear it? .
And more importantly, because of the deeds of the old King Min in his youth, Min Fan's annual salary has never been high, only fifteen hundred dan.
That is to say, the annual salary has been increased twice in the past few years. One was when King Lao Min took over the throne of Da Zongzheng, and he received an increase of 1,500 shi. The other time was when Zhu Huixun succeeded to the Min vassal, and he received an increase of 2,000 shi. The total is up to now. , Min Fan's annual salary is five thousand stones.
However, compared with the annual salary of Zhou Fan and Qin Fan, who can easily earn tens of thousands of stones, there is still a big gap.
By making such a fuss, Zhu Huixuan was putting the rest of them on the fire, especially the newly appointed vassal kings like King Xiang and King Zheng, whose annual salary started from ten thousand shi.
Therefore, they have suffered the heaviest losses, so how can they look good?
Fortunately, after King Min finished speaking, the emperor shook his head and said before they could express anything.
"The annual salary of Min Fan is five thousand dan, which is not too much. Moreover, when the great uncle of King Min inherited the throne, I just gave Min Fan a salary. At this time, my uncle's resignation will ruin my face..."
The little joke actually relaxed the atmosphere.
King Min kept saying from below.
"I dare not..."
The other feudal lords responded to the situation and laughed.
Logically speaking, the emperor's words were revealed. Min Fan had a small salary, so the court refused to accept it. For someone with a salary of tens of thousands of stones, he actually asked for some resignations, but the court reluctantly accepted it.
Therefore, at this time, the more appropriate approach is actually that the feudal princes with high salary should consciously come forward and resign.
However, no matter whether it is a salary of ten thousand shi per year or more, no one thinks that they have too much money. Five hundred shi and one thousand shi are still money.
Therefore, although the kings smiled in agreement, no one really stood up and followed...
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu didn't care. He glanced sideways at Wynn beside him. The latter immediately understood, took a small step forward, and whispered.
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Wang Cheng is already outside the palace awaiting orders. However, Eunuch Song has already sent someone to summon you at the outer residence today."
Hearing this, Zhu Qiyu frowned.
Of course, theoretically speaking, although Song Wenyi holds the title of palace, he is on errands outside, so he is not in the palace on a daily basis, and it is understandable that he comes late when summoned temporarily in the outer house.
However, this is just a theory. As a eunuch, if the emperor summons him, it is a sin for him to fail to meet him in time.
After pondering for a moment, Zhu Qiyu was about to call Wang Cheng in first, but saw a young chamberlain coming up and saying a few words in Huaien's ear.
So Wynn hurriedly returned to the royal eucalyptus and whispered.
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Song has arrived and is waiting for orders outside the palace."
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu nodded and said.
"Okay, call in!"
Huaien received the oral instructions and went down to bring people in. At the same time, Zhu Qiyu also turned his eyes to several vassal kings again and said.
"I know what everyone is worried about. Whether it is donating food or resigning from salary, it is the wishes of the elders. I know it, but these are temporary measures. If you want to make the discussion in the court disappear, We still need to start from the fundamentals.”
"Since everyone is here today, I will introduce two people to you."
After the words fell, two figures wearing eunuch robes appeared outside the palace door. Under the leadership of Wynn, they quickly came to the palace, knelt down on the ground and said.
"This slave is waiting to see the Emperor."
Two eunuchs?
The kings couldn't help but frowned and looked a little surprised. Even King Zhou and others were surprised.
When they heard the names of these two people just now, although they were unfamiliar, they just thought they were unfamiliar ministers of the DPRK.
But I never thought that it was two eunuchs.
If the ministers of the court had some respectable value to the vassal king, then ordinary eunuchs like this were actually slaves and were not worthy of their attention at all.
Of course, big players like Shu Liang and Huai En are not among them, but they are just a little bit higher.
Therefore, when the emperor summoned two eunuchs, the kings couldn't help but be a little surprised, wondering what kind of medicine the emperor was selling in the gourd.
"Get up..."
Zhu Qiyu waved his hand gently, signaling the two of them to stand up.
So, Wang Cheng and Song Wenyifang stood up cautiously, but did not dare to raise their heads at all. Before entering, they had already learned from Huai En's mouth who were the people in this palace. It is no exaggeration to say that, Every one is noble.
Although the two of them can be regarded as big men, they are not people who serve the emperor after all. They must be cautious when facing these vassal kings.
However, Zhu Qiyu didn't care, but turned to the vassal kings aside, pointed at Wang Cheng and the two, and said.
"Wang Cheng, the royal eunuch, and Song Wenyi, the mining tax eunuch, although they hold titles in the palace, they are actually on errands. Wang Cheng is in charge of the imperial store, and Song Wenyi is in charge of the imperial village. My internal treasury has more than half of the income now. It all comes from this.”
Royal store? Huangzhuang?
Several feudal princes present sensitively captured these two words, especially King Dai, King Min, King Xiang and others, and their eyes immediately focused on Wang Cheng.
However, most people are still confused.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu explained again.
"Before the border trade was opened, in order to prevent the enemy from sneaking in, private merchants were not allowed to participate in the trading tools. The imperial store purchased all kinds of goods from the capital and transported them to the border for trade with various ethnic groups. Wang Cheng has always been in charge of this matter. "
"As for the Imperial Village, the capital turned upside down before the end of the year, and the evil gentry and merchants took advantage of the situation to annex the land. Therefore, I ordered Song Wenyi to buy it back at a fair price and use it as an imperial farm for the purpose of leasing."
As soon as these words came out, everyone's eyes suddenly lit up, and their gazes looking at the two of them became a little hot.
Although they were not familiar with their identities, they at least knew something about the political affairs of the court.
They may not know about the Huangdian, but they certainly know about the mutual trade.
When the emperor wanted to open a mutual market, there was a lot of discussion in the government and the public. However, after the mutual market was actually opened, these voices basically disappeared.
The reason is that no matter how much they don't want to admit the huge income brought by the mutual market, there is no doubt that in the past two years, despite the decline of the people's power, the imperial court has built many projects and held many ceremonies without wasting money and people. Of course, many of these expenses come from the mutual market.
Moreover, when the emperor mentioned this, they also remembered that one of the reasons for the opposition of the courtiers at the beginning seemed to be that once the border was opened, it would be easy for fish and dragons to mix, which would hinder border defense. Therefore, although the mutual trade was opened, it was always controlled by the court and did not deal with it. Private merchants are open to business.
In other words, the ordinary-looking eunuch in front of them holds the power of the entire mutual market trade. You must know that with such a large transaction volume every year, just a little bit of it exposed between his fingers is enough to feed the people below. full.
At the same time, King Zhou, King Lu and others exchanged looks with each other, but they were still a little surprised.
Is it possible that the emperor really intends to let them participate in government affairs? Isn't this a test? However, from the standpoint of the imperial court, there is no reason to do this...
Just when they were confused, Zhu Qiyu spoke again.
"I think you all already know the situation of the Huangdian. However, what I want to say today is about the Huangzhuang. Although Song Wenyi is in charge of the Huangzhuang now, Wang Cheng was in charge before, so I asked them to The two of us came here to tell you about the current situation of the Imperial Manor."
After the words fell, all the kings were a little disappointed. They thought that the emperor would allow them to get a share of the imperial store, but they never thought that it was just the imperial store.
Isn't it just a farm? Everyone has it, so how can this Imperial Manor be any different?
Of course, since the emperor spoke, he still had to give face. Although they were not very interested, they still unanimously turned their attention to Wang Cheng and the two.
Compared to Song Wenyi, Wang Cheng was obviously much calmer. After receiving the order, he first bowed and then said.
"For the record, all princes, the Imperial Manor was originally a private property outside the city when His Majesty was in residence. Later, when His Majesty ascended the throne, he handed it over to his slaves to run it."
"After my servant took over, according to His Majesty's will, the scattered acres were sold and integrated, and many acres were connected into one place to build the Imperial Manor."
"This imperial village is different from ordinary farmsteads in several ways. The first is that these imperial villages, ranging from dozens of hectares to several hectares, are all connected together. They are located in places with abundant water sources, and there are no other people's fields in the middle."
"Secondly, if the farmers around Huangzhuang are willing to become tenants of Huangzhuang, they will be registered and their rent will be reduced by half a bucket of grain. If they are not willing, the inner treasury will allocate money to buy back the houses of farmers around Huangzhuang and move the residents elsewhere. , its private houses are used for the residence of the tenants of Huangzhuang. Today, half of the tenants of Huangzhuang are original farmers, and the other half are refugees who have gathered around the capital in the past two years."
"For tenants who rent crops in the imperial village, they still have money allocated from the internal treasury to provide grain planting, oxen, iron plows and other utensils, but they are not allowed to take them out of the imperial village. They will be returned immediately after use. Monthly farming orders, plowing methods, and selection The elders and farmers discussed and decided..."
