"King Zhou, do you have the tax collection authority in Kaifeng?"
"King Lu, you occupy 36 places in Hebo. The commercial taxes in Lucheng County are given to King Qingyuan of your clan, and those in Tunliu County belong to King Liaoshan."
…
Every time Chongzhen called a name, Wang Chengen handed a piece of paper to the vassal king who was called.
It records all the special privileges of the feudal prince's palace and the prince's clan. The information is more comprehensive than what they themselves know.
"What's more, you actually colluded with giant businessmen, used your connections to ask for policies from the court, and then sold them to wealthy businessmen. Almost all the profitable industries in the local area are monopolized by you."
"King Chong, King Tang, and King Shen, you control nearly half of Yanyin in the east of Hedong;"
"King Xiang, King Ji, King Xing, and King Yi, you control 30% of the salt supply in the two Huai rivers;"
…
"I gave you salaries, privileges, and colluded with wealthy businessmen, but you are still not satisfied. You bully men and women on earth by relying on the clan's judicial privileges, and run rampant in the countryside, preying on the common people."
"King Min, there is no point in seizing people's wives and daughters before and after!"
"During the period of his father's funeral, King Wu Yi behaved in a disrespectful manner. He drank wine and had fun, invited prostitutes to sing and dance, and engaged in extremely lewd and licentious behavior... several people died!"
"Prince Xiang, the prince of your clan, forcibly snatched a beautiful woman passing by and entered the palace. When the girl refused, she was tied up and fed to the tiger!"
…
Every time a vassal king was named, Wang Chengen handed over a piece of paper.
For nearly half an hour, everyone held some papers in their hands, some thirty or forty, some ten, which were evidence of the crimes of various princes and subordinate clans investigated by the Jin Yiwei.
At this moment, every vassal king's eyes were full of fear and their whole bodies were trembling.
They never thought that Jin Yiwei could clearly check the events of the past few years. Even they had forgotten some things, but it was clearly recorded on it.
"King De, is this what you just said, brothers fighting tigers, father and son fighting in battle?
Look at what you are doing, are you still fighting tigers? Who is the tiger? You yourself are a heinous evil tiger. "
"King Yi, you just said that the existence of the vassal king is to ensure that the Ming royal family is safe after the accident?
How can a lawless person like you, who only knows how to eat, drink, whore and gamble, but doesn't understand state affairs, become the emperor?
Are you afraid that the Ming Dynasty will not die quickly enough? "
"King Chong, you just said that the system of vassal kings was set by Taizu, and that I am violating the ancestral system by cutting down vassals? Where do you have the nerve to say this?
If Taizu knew what you were doing, they would come up with their swords and chop you all down! "
"King Ji, you said that after the Jiajing reign of the imperial court, the imperial court did not give you a salary or gave you a small salary. Ask yourselves? Is it a small salary for you or for the clan below you?
As the principal clan of a vassal, you each exploit your subordinate clans to satisfy your own selfish desires. Where is your conscience? "
…
"In each of your palaces, food has accumulated until it becomes moldy, and your money becomes rusty. Have you ever thought about the common people and the court?
Over the past two hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, there have been constant natural disasters. Have you ever given porridge to people? Open a warehouse and release grain once?
From the first year to the seventh year of the Apocalypse, the Ming Dynasty fought many battles with the Jiannu and Mongolian tribes. The national treasury was empty. The soldiers were in a tight situation on the front line, and you were in a tight situation in the rear. Have you ever donated a tael of silver?
Even once, as long as it is recorded in the local annals, I will exempt you from punishment. Do you dare? "
"You treat people's lives like grass and trample on the laws of the Ming Dynasty. You are worthy of becoming a vassal king. How dare you tell me that the vassal king was appointed by Taizu? Where is your face?"
…
When he thought about the fact that the Ming Dynasty would be destroyed more than ten years later in history, and these vassal kings were obviously very rich but indifferent, Chongzhen became furious.
The anger that had been pent up for nearly two years burst out at this moment, pointing at the vassal kings and cursing them.
He was satisfied with the scolding, but the faces of the feudal princes were so gloomy that they could actually shed tears. Their lowered faces were full of anger, and the veins in the hands holding the evidence of crime were bulging with force.
But they didn't dare to speak out at all. If they dared to speak out, the emperor could really kill them directly.
"Let me ask you, if you were the emperor, would you cut down the vassals?"
Without waiting for the vassal kings to respond, Chongzhen continued: "The answer is yes, you will definitely do it, and you will do it more simply than me. You will directly send people to ransack the vassal kings' homes."
"Now, I ask you again, should I reduce the vassal status?"
The vassal kings were silent.
The answer is yes, that is, if you comply with the emperor's wishes, the vassal throne will be gone, and the glory and wealth will become a passing cloud.
The answer is no, the emperor has just cited so many evidences of crime, and to object is to seek death.
"I'm asking you a question. What do you mean if you don't answer? Do you not understand what I'm saying? Or are you deaf?"
"Okay, no answer, right?"
"Come here, drag them all out and give them thirty whips to make them sober!"
The expressions of the silent vassal kings instantly changed. Before they could say anything, the sergeants from the Warrior Battalion who were waiting outside the gate rushed in instantly, as if they had rehearsed.
Two sergeants grabbed a feudal king and carried everyone out like a chicken.
While begging for mercy, thorn sticks fell on the vassal kings one after another.
For a moment, the shadows of sticks overlapped, the dull sound of thorn sticks connecting with flesh, the screams of the feudal lord, etc. all mixed together, resounding throughout the Ancestral Temple.
These vassal kings usually live in a privileged manner, and even if they are bitten by mosquitoes, they have to be sent to the doctor for examination. How can they bear the beatings and humiliation of thorn sticks?
Yelling to heaven and earth, with runny noses and tears.
The scene was extremely spectacular...it was eye-catching.
"Now, tell me, should I reduce the vassal status?"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I dare to ask you, if you had not inherited the throne, would you have been like us?"
Suddenly someone spoke up, and all the vassal kings stopped wailing and turned to see who was so stubborn and dared to question the emperor at this time.
Following the sound, they found that it was King Qin, but this was what they wanted to ask.
"Are you thinking that as an emperor, I can of course question you from a high position, but if I am also a vassal king, I may not necessarily do better than you?"
Looking at the expressions on the faces of the vassal kings, Chongzhen sneered. He naturally knew what they were thinking.
"A person's nature cannot be changed. I have been on the throne for nearly two years. Ask me, have I ever lived extravagantly?
I am either dealing with government affairs every day, or on the road to deal with government affairs. After attending the morning court, the emperor and ministers of Dongnuang Pavilion report to each other, review the memorials, and think of countermeasures. Can't you see the changes in Beijing and Ming Dynasty?
If I were not the emperor, I would definitely study hard like Zhou Wang Zhu Ji and Zheng Wang Zhu Zaiyu. Although I cannot share the burden for the emperor, at least what I study can benefit the people.
If you really don’t have the talent for learning, then be a person who abides by etiquette. "
"It's a pity that there is no if. Now that I am the emperor, I have to be responsible to the Ming Dynasty court, and even more to the hundreds of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty.
I want to eliminate all factors that hinder the restoration of the Ming Dynasty. You are not the first, and you will definitely not be the last. "
"I ask you again, in front of the memorial tablets of our ancestors, tell me whether I should change my vassal status or not?"
