"My lord, Wu Sangui, the Duke of Jin State, respectfully wishes His Majesty the Emperor and His Majesty the Emperor..."
"My brother, on behalf of the King Zhu Cijiong, respectfully wishes that my father and brother, please be in peace..."
On the tenth day of the ninth lunar month in the first year of Hongxing's reign in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Cixiang, who was lucky enough to live in Wuhan, finally met his good brother and great uncle whom he had been thinking about day and night for four or five years in the newly completed East Lake Palace...
"Okay, okay, flat body, give me a seat!" Zhu Cixiang looked at Wu Sangui, a tall and powerful brother who looked about 70% similar to himself, and his face was naturally filled with smiles.
"Father," Zhu Cixiang turned to Emperor Chongzhen who was sitting on a chair next to him and said, "This is my loyal minister and loyal king of the Ming Dynasty!"
Because Zhu Cijiong was going to Wuhan for pilgrimage, and Wu Sangui would also bring Concubine Yuan Guifei and Zhu Cihuan to Wuhan, the thoughtful Emperor Chongzhen told Zhu Cixiang that he would come with him.
So this time Xi Xing's team in Wuhan was huge... almost the entire Nanjing court followed!
Fortunately, Zhu Cixi had people build a garden-style palace by the East Lake very early - he didn't like living in a palace in the center of a big city. It was noisy and the environment was not good. How could it compare with the mountains, forests and waterfront? Therefore, he chose Laoshan in the north of the Yangtze River for his palace in Nanjing, and he chose the East Lake for his garden here in Wuhan.
There have been a particularly large number of refugees living in Wuhan in the past two years, and there is no shortage of labor. And Zhu Cixiang himself was rich... Donghu Palace and Laoshan Palace were paid for by Emperor Hongxing from his own funds. With the current strength of the Royal Chamber of Commerce, spending one to two million taels was not a problem at all.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at "loyal king Jiong" and "treacherous minister Gui" who had already stood up and sat down. He was filled with emotions for a while and didn't know what to say.
And Zhong Wangjiong was also in a daze at this time, because he couldn't recognize his biological father - was this middle-aged strong man sitting next to the emperor's brother really his biological father? Why does he look almost like Wu Sangui?
How did your father come here in the past few years? Why have you grown so much?
"Third brother," Zhu Cixiang said with a smile when he saw the scene was a bit awkward, "in the past few years, we have gained fourteen more brothers and sixteen sisters... They all came to Wuhan with us. Let's meet together later. .”
What?
Fourteen younger brothers?
King Zhong Jiong was stunned. When he was in the northwest, he vaguely heard about his father's increasing dissoluteness, but he said he didn't believe it... How could his father, who cared about the country and the people, become dissolute and immoral?
But if you are not promiscuous, where did you get so many younger brothers and sisters?
Zhu Cixiang looked at his brother's shocked and incomprehensible faces, and complained in his heart that Chongzhen had already given birth to thirty children in just a few years! They are still alive. If you include the dead children, thirty-seven don’t even know that thirty-eight babies have been given birth!
Forget about the princess, it can be used to win over heroes by granting marriages. But the fourteen princes...if they were all crowned princes, they would be fourteen princes!
Moreover, Chongzhen is not yet 40 years old, and his health is so good. If he were born to be sixty or seventy years old, how many princes would he have to create for the Ming Dynasty?
"Brother Imperial, our fifth brother is also here," Zhu Cijiong suddenly mentioned Zhu Cihuan, he said, "He is still young. He has been detained by the bandits before and he doesn't know anything! Now he is scared to death... "
Zhu Cihuan is 12 years old this year, the age where he seems to understand but not understand. He had been a prisoner in Dashun for several years and was in fear all day long. After falling into the hands of Wu Sangui, he thought that all the hardships would be over and he would be able to eat Roujiamo in a few days. But who would have thought... He could eat Roujiamo until he vomited, but he was still a prisoner. And he was also involved in a counter-case!
This time, the steamed buns with meat or the like are no longer fragrant... No one knows whether they are steamed buns with severed heads or not!
"Then let's declare the emperor's fifth son Ci Huan to the palace!"
Zhu Cihuan was quickly led into the Qinzheng Hall of the East Lake Palace by Chen Shifang, the governor of the East Factory. He was a rustic child, dark and dirty, not very clean, and he was wearing a suit that was a few sizes too big for the prince. The uniform (given to him by Zhu Cijiong) looks like it was stolen...
"Uh, my minister, Zhu Cihuan, kowtows to the emperor and the emperor."
Zhu Cihuan spoke with a Shaanxi accent. Zhu Cihong frowned and glanced at Chen Shifang, the governor of Dongchang - Is this the real Zhu Cihuan? Could it be that the rogue bandits got a Shaanxi cowherd boy and lost his bag?
"Your Majesty, this is indeed the fifth prince!" Chen Shifang immediately gave a positive reply, "I have arranged for the chamberlain who has served the fifth prince to see it, and Concubine Yuan Guifei can also prove it."
"Then let's get down and give me a seat." Zhu Cixiang waved his hand and asked someone to move a chair to Zhu Cihuan.
Zhu Cihuan was very cautious and did not dare to sit wide, so he sat with half his buttocks and his hands on his knees, like a primary school student who had made a mistake.
"Fifth brother," Zhu Cixiang looked at his younger brother, "Did Gao Banban leave Chongqing with you?"
"Well, I don't know," Zhu Cihuan answered truthfully, "Well, I haven't seen him for over a year or almost two years."
"Oh." Zhu Cixi nodded, noncommittal.
"Brother Dachun," Emperor Chongzhen suddenly asked at this time, "Fifth brother is twelve years old... It's time to be crowned. What kind of king should I be crowned?"
What? Become a king?
The prince is so valuable that he will be rewarded with a house in Nanjing City, 10,000 acres of land, and a sum of money...
"Let's make a county king." Zhu Cixiang said, "The fourth brother is the county king. The fifth brother cannot be older than him, so he should be the king of Chongqing."
The county prince is so cheap... The area of the house is half smaller, and the land granted is also half smaller, only 5,000 acres.
Too stingy!
Emperor Chongzhen was naturally upset... This was not depriving Zhu Cizhuan of his house and land, but the house and land of 15 princes who were younger than Zhu Cizhao!
The land grant alone saved 75,000 acres!
"My dear brother, thank you for your great kindness!" Zhu Cihuan was already thanking him. He was really satisfied. He was a prince who had endured hardships... he could have a big house to live in, a beautiful wife to accompany him, and 5,000 yuan. With acres of land to collect rent and endless meat buns to eat, what else is there to be dissatisfied about? If you are not satisfied, just think about the days when you were arrested by Li Zicheng!
Seeing Zhu Cihuan's contented look, Zhu Cixiang also breathed a sigh of relief - this brother is not bad, better than that bastard Zhu Cizhao. That's it for now, and we'll see if it can be promoted and reused later.
"Chang Bo," Zhu Cixiang finished conferring the title on his brother and then began to pursue Wu Sangui's idea, "I made you the Duke of Jin before because I wanted you to rule Taiyuan. Now the situation has changed. Your vassal is in Guanzhong. The title of Duke of Jin is no longer suitable. Let’s change the title to Duke of Kenan and Liang!”
Duke Liang... Wu Sangui's heart felt so cold.
"Your Majesty Wu Sangui thanks Tianen."
"It's just a transfer..." Zhu Cixiang smiled, "And it sounds like Duke Liang is not as good as Duke Jin."
Only you know! Wu Sangui thought to himself: Dorgon even made me a king, but you only have a cool Duke of Liang!
Zhu Cixiang said: "But your Duke of Liang has the word "overcoming difficulties" in front of him... According to the rules, he will be given a residence in Nanjing, a residence in Wuhan, 3,000 acres of land in Jiangbei, and 20,000 taels of silver.
You are different from other Dukes of Kengnan, you are still the leader of the inner vassal of my Ming Dynasty! The internal vassals of our Ming Dynasty now include four categories: kingdoms, prefectures, towns, and chieftains. The land under the jurisdiction of Changbo is quite large now, so he has reason to establish Fangzhen. I will grant you the title of Military Envoy of Pingxi Army... Set up Pingxi Military Town in the five prefectures of Xi'an, Fengxiang, Pingliang, Gongchang, and Lintao, the two guards of Taozhou and Minzhou, and a town in Gansu!
In addition, I will give you the seal of General Pingxi again! "
From now on, Wu Sangui will be the Great General of Pingxi in the Ming Dynasty, the Military Envoy of Pingxi Army, and the Duke of Liang!
The usurious loan he owed became a debt to the Pingxi military vassal... This has limited liability! Wu Sangui's private property will not be lost because of Pingxi Army's debts.
Zhu Cixiang then said to his brother Zhu Cijiong: "Third brother, your title as king will not be changed. I will grant you the title of Jiedu Envoy... I will grant you the title of Jiedushi Envoy of Shuofang Army and govern Ningxia and Yulin." The town, Yan'an and Qingyang prefectures, also manages the Hetao area.
In addition, I will give you the seal of Fuyuan General! "
Zhu Cijiong is now the general of Fuyuan in the Ming Dynasty, the military governor of Shuofang, and the acting king. And Shuofangjun is also a "limited liability vassal", and Zhu Cijiong does not have to bear unlimited liability.
