The officials in Dongnuan Pavilion were silent.
According to Yuan Keli's letter, it is certain that the family will be confiscated and the entire clan will be exterminated.
What can they say and plead for mercy when the evidence is solid?
After a while, Sun Chengzong spoke up: "Your Majesty, I have something to say, please forgive me for being silent!"
"I'm sorry for your indifference, just tell me!"
"Your Majesty, according to the law, the Palace of the Prince of Qin should be as Liu Shangshu said, but your Majesty attacked the prince as soon as he ascended the throne. Will this make people think that your Majesty cannot tolerate the prince in order to stabilize the imperial power?"
Everyone trembled, these words were simply treasonous.
The new emperor in front of him was climbed to the top by the prince.
After Sun Chengzong finished speaking, Shen paused and then said: "If I remember correctly, there are still 30 princes. If the King of Qin is deposed, what will the other princes think? There are still twelve princes in the Taizu lineage."
Han Huang frowned: "Mr. Sun Ge, do you mean not to pursue the case?"
"It's not that we won't pursue the case, but we need to find a suitable one. Prince Yongshou will confiscate the family and exterminate the clan, and those involved in the clan will be punished according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
Only the King of Qin needs to be considered, so that he can be punished without causing opposition from other princes. "
"Your Majesty, what Mr. Sun Ge said is true. I have checked the jade certificate of the clan. There are currently 30 princes, more than 500 princes, and more than 200,000 clan members. Dealing with a King of Qin is a small matter, but we have to consider the attitude of other princes! "
Liu Zongzhou, the Minister of Rites, also agreed with Sun Chengzong's opinion: "In the Taizu lineage, King Tan was involved in the rebellion and committed suicide; King Qi and King Gu rebelled and were deposed; King Xiang resisted the reduction of vassalage and committed suicide; the descendants of King Liao, King Ning, and King Yi Breaking the law, being deposed,
Rebellion, a major crime that would punish the nine tribes, was not killed. What reason did Your Majesty give to kill him? "
"Besides, the King of Qin is the first vassal king of the Ming Dynasty. In this case, once he is killed, the historical records of future generations..."
The cabinet and the six ministries and nine ministers each have their own opinions. They can punish him in any way, but the bottom line is that he must not be killed.
Even a selfless man like Li Banghua was hesitant when facing this kind of problem.
Looking at the arguing ministers, Chongzhen was also helpless.
It is said that being an emperor gives you the power of life and death, and this is true.
But if you kill too many people, the officials will not listen to their advice, and there will definitely be many problems in the end. Now is the feudal era, and the most important thing is the etiquette of king, king, minister, father, father and son.
"My lords, please do not argue loudly in front of His Majesty!"
Seeing Chongzhen frowning, Wang Chengen immediately whispered, and everyone immediately calmed down and looked at Chongzhen.
"I said that the prince is as guilty as the common people when he breaks the law!"
Chongzhen stood up from behind the dragon case with a cold expression.
One sentence set the tone for the matter.
"First, any member of the clan who participates in selling grain at high prices will be punished as disobeying the imperial edict! All family property will be confiscated and all titles will be revoked."
"Second, Prince Yongshou will be punished as a rebel, his family will be confiscated and one clan will be exterminated, the other two clans will be exiled, his title will be revoked, and his name will be removed from the Jade Certificate."
Everyone also looked at Chongzhen, and the punishment for Prince Yongshou and the clan was similar to what they expected.
But the removal of the Yongshou Prince's lineage from the jade certificate means that the Yongshou Prince is no longer part of the royal lineage from now on.
This punishment is worse than killing them.
After a while, Chongzhen continued: "The King of Qin openly resisted the imperial edict and should be punished for his crime. However, considering that he has guarded Xi'an for more than two hundred years, he is exempted from the death penalty.
Move the direct lineage of the King of Qin back to Beijing and give him a palace. If he does not enter the capital within three months, he will be executed.
Moreover, all the property of the Prince of Qin's Mansion was confiscated. From today onwards, the descendants of the Prince of Qin's Mansion will no longer enjoy the "relegation of the remaining sons".
In addition, guards in brocade uniforms will thoroughly inspect the concubines and servants of the Prince of Qin's palace. If they violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty, they will be dealt with according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty. "
Every time Chongzhen said something, everyone was shocked.
After Chongzhen finished speaking, everyone secretly sighed at the young emperor's courage and determination.
Although the death penalty is exempted, the punishment is not light.
When the direct descendants moved back to Beijing, they were imprisoned. For the rest of their lives, they could not even step out of Beijing or even the palace. Nothing could be done under the emperor's eyes.
Taizu divided his descendants into various places and guarded them. It was a good idea, but what he didn't expect was that people all have desires.
Especially that chair, which even a prince would want to sit on.
Secondly, Yu Zi no longer enjoys the right to be demoted, which means that from today onwards, there is only one title in the Qin Palace: King Qin.
In the past, the son of the King of Qin was the king of the county, his grandson was the general of the state, his great-grandson was the general of the auxiliary state, his great-great-grandson was the lieutenant of the state, and his great-great-grandson was the lieutenant of the auxiliary state.
The salary of the King of Qin is 10,000 shi per year, and the lowest is 200 shi for the lieutenant of the auxiliary state.
In other words, as long as you can give birth, you will have a title and a salary. In that case, why not give birth?
The more titles a prince had, the greater his power, although the salary was not actually paid in the later period.
The last step is to thoroughly investigate the concubines of the King of Qin. According to what the letter said, it is estimated that none of these concubines have clean butts. It is estimated that if they are checked, they will be punished by death.
Except for the direct descendants of King Qin, most of the others in the Qin Palace are probably dead.
San Tiao basically destroyed the Prince of Qin's Mansion. Although he didn't kill him, he was more ruthless than killing him.
"Do you think there is anything wrong with how I handle this?"
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
All the ministers responded in unison. Apart from not being killed, this was the biggest punishment.
But then again, without the title, they can participate in the four industries of scholarship, agriculture, industry and commerce, which may be another way out.
"Sun Aiqing, in a moment you will go to the Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices on my behalf and announce to Taizu the crimes committed by the Qin Palace and my decision.
The imperial edict was drafted by the cabinet, and attention was paid to the wording and charges, so that the punishment could be maximized and there would be no conflict between the people and the princes' palaces.
After the Supervisor of Ceremonies completed the review, he immediately sent it to Xi'an and handed it over to Yuan Keli for processing. The imperial court also found out that the edict was sent to all provinces, prefectures and counties, and spread throughout the country! "
"Tell Yuan Keli and Ma Xianglin that if there is any resistance during the disposal process, they will be killed without mercy!"
"I obey the decree!"
Sun Chengzong responded.
Listening to the words, he heard another meaning from Chongzhen's words. Another meaning of the emperor asking him to pay attention to the wording and charges was to let the people of the world silence the dissatisfaction of the princes and clans of the world.
"Okay, since we're talking about King Qin, let's deal with it at once!"
After Chongzhen finished speaking, the eyes of the ministers were full of doubts.
How can we deal with the confinement of the people, the thorough investigation of the people, the confiscation of the houses, and the deprivation of the nobles?
"How many fields do you think the Qin Prince's Mansion has? What to do with the confiscated fields?"
Chongzhen asked the confused ministers again. They couldn't guess what the emperor meant. Aren't those like the prince's money directly invested in the house and owned by the royal family?
"I forgive you for being stupid and not understanding the Holy Will. Your Majesty, please tell me!"
