"Your Majesty, these are the various rituals agreed upon by several princes in Nanjing to commemorate the Xiaoling Mausoleum. They are presented to your Majesty for your inspection..."
Lu Jiude lowered his hands and stood respectfully in a small pavilion by the pond in the back garden of Xipu Palace. Emperor Chongzhen was walking in the garden with his pregnant attendant Wei Qinghui, and they had just come to this pavilion to take a rest.
Today is New Year's Eve in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, and tomorrow is the first day of the first lunar month in the eighteenth year of Chongzhen - this is the most troublesome day for Emperor Chongzhen!
Because the Crown Prince Zhu Cixi had already said that most of the top ten military officials and governors and generals outside had already handed in memorials to persuade them to come in. Dozens of vase princes raised in Nanjing City, such as King Qin, King Jin, King Zhou, King Heng, King De King Wang, King Gui, King Lu, King Min, King Shen, King Gui, King Jing, and as many as twenty-three princes, also sent memorials to persuade Prince Zhu to ascend the throne as soon as possible!
As for the kings of Lu and Tang who were leading troops outside, they would send memorials every now and then, crying and clamoring for Zhu Cixiang to be the emperor. It seemed that if Zhu Cixiang did not usurp Chongzhen's throne, there would be no way to survive this day, and the Ming Dynasty would be doomed. .
These princes are really not worthy to be the descendants of Emperor Taizu Gao!
However, not all ministers, vassal kings, and princes are traitors. There are still good people. The acting king Zhu Cijiong and the eternal king Zhu Cizhao did not submit a memorial to ask Chongzhen to abdicate. King Jingjiang, whose fiefdom was in Guilin, did not submit a memorial to abdicate. Chongzhen, stop doing it.
There are also Shi Kefa, governor of seven provinces, Gao Hongtu, governor of Shandong, Wang Yongji, governor of three provinces, Jiang Xiang, the general of Datong, Mu Tianbo, Duke of Guizhou, Shen Youlong, governor of Guangdong and Guangdong military affairs and governor of Guangdong, Fang Zhenru, governor of Guangxi, He Tengjiao, governor of Hunan, Fujian Governor Wu Zhiping and other high-ranking officials in the border areas have never been punished for treason.
In addition, the Governor of Hubei Military Affairs, Wuchang Marquis Zuo Liangyu, not only did not persuade Zhu Cixiang to go further, but also publicly supported Emperor Chongzhen and opposed Zhu Cixiang's usurpation of the throne! Precisely because the Ming Dynasty still had such loyalty, the rebellious son Zhu Cihong was hesitant about usurping the throne, which allowed Emperor Chongzhen to have Chongzhen for eighteen years.
However, the ancestor worship at the Xiaoling Mausoleum on the first day of the first lunar month of the 18th year of Chongzhen made Emperor Chongzhen feel in danger... Once he cried and apologized in front of the ancestor's mausoleum, then the kings and ministers in Beijing might Go with the flow and propose inner Zen!
When the time comes, Nizi Cixing will be able to reach the top with the support of everyone... What should we do?
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty..."
Wei Qinghui's sweet and crunchy voice rang in the ears of Emperor Chongzhen who was distracted. Only then did Emperor Chongzhen realize that he had lost his composure.
He took the memorial handed over by Lu Jiude and started reading it in the pavilion. The memorial was given to Chongzhen in the name of all the kings in Beijing. None of the junk snacks from Chongzhen were used after losing the feudal vassal. However, Zhu Cixiang happened to find the little value left in them.
These people can serve as representatives of the Ming clan!
They can propose and agree on clan reform measures on behalf of at least hundreds of thousands of clan members who are still alive in the territory that is still loyal to the Ming Dynasty. He could also represent hundreds of thousands of Zhu Yuanzhang’s descendants, demanding that the incompetent Emperor Chongzhen give way to the wise and powerful Crown Prince Zhu Cixang! .
Of course, they can also represent the hundreds of thousands of Ming Dynasty clan descendants and insist on the abolition of the clan's tax benefits - the clan's tax benefits have been abolished. Do those high-minded scholar-bureaucrats still have reason to continue to enjoy various benefits of not paying taxes?
So these princes are really valuable!
There are now thirty-three princes living in Nanjing, ten of whom are princes, and twenty-three are county princes - there were so many princes in the Ming Dynasty, there were hundreds of households! However, thanks to Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, most of the county kings have been eliminated or defeated by Zhu Cihong on the pretext of losing the vassal. There are only twenty-six princes still recognized by Zhu Cixiang. Among them, King Jingjiang is in Guilin, King Zhu Yue of Ruyang is in Ruyang, and King Zhu Yue of Zhenyang is in Zhenyang. They don't need to look at Zhu Cixiang's face to eat.
As for the king in Nanjing, his family had a mansion. The prince was given 10,000 acres of land, and the county prince was given 5,000 acres of land. They collected rent to live on and ensured that they would not starve to death. If there was more, they would not be given. If they still want money, they have to become official and work for Zhu Cihong - even if they help the crown prince usurp the throne against his conscience!
And the ten princes, twenty-three princes and princes who relied on Zhu Cihong for food, a total of thirty-three princes, were all "liu kings", that is, kings who would "repeat" their titles.
In addition, the only one who could ascend the throne was the prince, and all the concubines had to work. In fact, Zhu Cihong was required to reward him with food.
Therefore, these thirty-three princes treat the prince like a good boy. They will do whatever the prince asks them to do - they don't know anything else and they will be obedient!
Now what else can be done about the ritual of worshiping and sweeping the Xiaoling Mausoleum agreed upon by these bastard princes for Emperor Chongzhen? In addition to kowtow to apologize, even if I kowtow to apologize... I don't know if it will break my head!
Before Chongzhen finished reading the memorial, he couldn't help but cursed, "These losers deserve to be damned. They dare to bully me! It's so abominable..."
While he was cursing, he felt helpless in his heart. Now the princes are all under the control of the prince. If they don't obey, the whole family will not even have food to eat... Most of them are princes who have endured hardships and know that today's happy life is hard-won!
Lu Jiude also knew that these princes were controlled by Prince Zhu, and if the thirty-three princes all took yellow robes and put them on Zhu Cixiang, Chongzhen would be really superior!
So, you really can’t deal with this matter forcefully, you have to use clever tricks...
"Your Majesty," Lu Jiude was still loyal. He took two steps forward and reached Emperor Chongzhen's side. "I have a plan to delay the attack. I can slow it down a bit..."
"What's the plan? Tell me quickly!" Chongzhen asked anxiously.
Lu Jiude pointed to the pond next to him: "Your Majesty, the water is too cold, the water is too cold..."
