"Okay, okay..."
The right minister nodded, and then said,
"Since King Zhennan and Marquis Zhengbei said so, I guess the other three kings also have the same opinion, right?"
The three kings nodded and said nothing, but their attitude was clearly expressed.
Then, Tong Yuan snorted coldly, turned around and bowed to the emperor,
"Your Majesty, I have a plan that can solve the urgent problem of money, food and taxation for me, Dafeng, and can also solve the pressure of military pay, money and food from the kings."
"Oh? If you have any good ideas, please tell me quickly."
The emperor said slowly.
Tong Yuan stood up straight, with a straight back and said,
“The money, grain, taxation, government and military affairs in Dafeng are extremely chaotic, and the reason lies in the system.
At the beginning of the founding of the country, Emperor Taizu established a system whereby all tax revenue and grain from each county were handed over to the imperial court, and all military power was also in the hands of the imperial court.
The imperial court collected money and grain, planned it uniformly, and distributed it uniformly among the various armies. The organization was clear and the finances were clear. It was clear at a glance how much revenue and expenditure there was every year.
But now, all the military power is in the hands of the princes, and the county guards directly hand over the tax money and food to the kings, skipping the court, so there will be chaos.
Although all the kings are good at fighting, they are all the pillars of the country, suppressing one party, defending against powerful enemies externally, and suppressing bandits internally.
However, governance in this way is extremely chaotic. If the kings are not good at political affairs, it is better to return all government and military affairs to the court, which will manage and distribute them uniformly.
In this way, the finances will be clear, the people will be healthy, the military affairs will be unified, and we will be able to act as one arm to deal with the outside world and prevent civil war.
I ask you to restore the ancestral system. In this way, we will have peace and stability in the strong winds, and all armies will guard the borders to protect our homes and countries, so that we can have long-term peace and stability. "
After Tong Yuan finished speaking, there was a dead silence in the entire hall, and you could hear a needle drop.
All the officials in the capital lowered their heads and dared not speak. All the county guards looked at their lord.
As for the four kings, they all stared at Right Prime Minister Tong Yuan with unkind eyes.
The other side is not trying to cut down the vassal state, it is trying to deprive them of their political power and military power, and it is trying to kill them!
Nie Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. At this moment, he felt a little admiration for this right minister.
The Right Prime Minister, Tong Yuan, is really brave. The situation of separatism among the kings of Dafeng has been going on for a long time, and the whole country has reached the point of terminal illness.
Emperors and prime ministers of all dynasties knew this, but everyone knew it and could not move it.
If they don't move, the kings will restrain each other, and with the prestige of the court and the royal family among the people, they can still barely save their lives, their throne, and their glory and wealth.
Once it moves, it will force the kings to rebel. When the time comes, their heads will be in danger, and the emperor's head will also have to be cut off.
This Tong Yuan actually dared to risk the disapproval of the world, in front of all the civil and military officials, in front of the emperor, in front of the four kings, to seize the military power of the four kings!
I have to say, his courage is really commendable.
Tong Yuan should know that once these words are spoken, he will die regardless of success or failure.
If the emperor wants to cut down his vassal, the kings will kill him.
If the emperor did not want to reduce the vassal, then in order to appease the anger of the kings, the emperor had to kill him.
No matter what, he had to die.
Not even the whole family can be saved.
But he did it anyway.
But did he do it wrong?
No, from the standpoint of the country, the court and the emperor, he did the right thing.
Because Feng Guo has been in trouble for too long and has already reached the point of terminal illness.
Surrounded by foreign enemies, internal warlords are fighting endlessly, the people's livelihood is withering, they have no food to eat, and they exchange children for food. It has reached the point where the country will perish if it is not governed.
In a few years, if the kings do not rebel, the people will rebel too.
No country will become more prosperous as it faces civil strife. Any country, on the basis of its strength, will have a peaceful country and peaceful people, with a large population and prosperous people.
Indeed, just like the Chinese Three Kingdoms period, the country was destroyed by weakness, while the Han Dynasty was destroyed by strength.
At that time, warlords were also fighting in the Han Dynasty, and foreign enemies did not dare to take the lead. But at that time, due to continuous wars, the people were displaced. Countless people died in wars and hunger. Starvation was everywhere, and the population dropped sharply. Sixty percent.
The princes are fighting for hegemony, but it is the common people who are suffering.
Today's strong wind is not much better than that in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, or even worse, because there are still several big foreign tribes around who are eyeing it.
This country has really reached a point where it will perish if it does not implement governance reforms.
If it weren't for the fact that Dafeng's military strength is still relatively strong, foreign countries would have divided Dafeng into pieces and eaten them up.
At this time, Tong Yuan stood up resolutely. While the ministers were fawning over their bodies, he risked the execution of the nine tribes to remonstrate for the country and die for Dafeng.
He has become the last loyal minister in the court today.
Therefore, Nie Chen admired him.
But admiration does not mean approval.
I agree with your philosophy of governing the country, but if you want to tamper with my interests, that is impossible.
Nie Chen knew that Da Feng needed to be unified, and the kings also knew that Da Feng needed to be unified.
But why can't this person who rules the world be me?
This is a fight for hegemony, a vassal king, and a separatist force. If you don't have soldiers, you will die.
How can the lives of your family, Tong Yuan, be compared to the lives of my family?
Once the royal family regains power, the heads of the four kings will be gone.
It's easy to say anything if you have soldiers in hand, but if you don't have soldiers, you can only let others slaughter you.
There was deathly silence in the main hall.
People are looking at the right prime minister, and the right prime minister is looking at the emperor.
Seeing that none of the four kings stood up to speak, the emperor was silent for a long time and said,
"Right Prime Minister, all the kings are hard-working and meritorious people. Whether it is themselves or their ancestors, they have guarded the country's borders for several generations and have made great contributions.
How can we just take away their military power? Isn't this just to chill the people who have done the deeds? "
The four kings still did not speak.
If I just asked for money and food, I could talk to you about poverty and play with you, then now that you want my military power, there is nothing to say.
It’s too lazy to talk nonsense. If you want to seize power, let’s fight.
Tong Yuan continued,
"Of course that is not possible, so I have also thought of some policies to compensate the kings and ask for your majesty's approval.
First of all, the titles of the kings were all upgraded from the county king level to the prince level, and all treatment, salary, honors, and status were all handled according to the prince's standards.
In addition, the four kings are all men who are good at conquering and fighting, and they are all heroes and commanders who defend the country and guard the borders. How can we not let them lead the army?
After all military power was returned to the court, they were all reorganized into an army. Then, as needed, troops were deployed to various borders to guard the borders. The soldiers and horses guarding the borders were still under the control of the kings.
So that the talents of the kings will not be buried.
Your Majesty, what do you think? "
