The vassal king system was formed in the Han Dynasty. The previous Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties were all feudal systems and consisted of vassal states.
After Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty, he learned from the Qin Dynasty's chaos and no one in the clan to lead the army. He enfeoffed his nephews and gave them fiefs, military power, population, etc.
However, the prime minister in charge of civil affairs and the judicial officers had to be sent by the imperial court. However, the Seven Kingdoms were eventually in chaos, and it was not until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty issued a favor order that the troubles among the princes were relieved.
The Western Jin Dynasty was similar to that of the Han Dynasty. What was even more egregious was that everything in the fiefdom was decided by the vassal king himself, and the court did not care. After Sima Yan died, Jia Nanfeng took full power and triggered the Rebellion of the Eight Kings.
In the Tang Dynasty, the vassal kings could enter the court as officials and participate in political affairs, and they could take over the vassals in person or remotely. Although there was no rebellion among the vassals, the separatist rule of vassal towns eventually emerged.
The vassal system of the Song Dynasty inherited part of the Tang Dynasty, but also had its own original creation. It was not hereditary, which was relatively good.
Chongzhen thought carefully about the vassal king system in the past dynasties, and slowly verified his ideas. The key issue was to reduce the number of vassal kings without causing too much turmoil.
He has already calculated that among the current vassal kings, only the Tokuo lineage has the longest average reign, reaching thirty-four years.
The average reign of existing feudal kings is twenty-one years, which means that after forty-two years, the current feudal kings will be gone and only the county kings will be left.
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, not counting himself, fifteen emperors have reigned for a total of 259 years.
Except for the two short-lived emperors Renzong and Guangzong, the average reign was twenty years.
Among the fifteen emperors, there were a total of 107 princes, and 76 people (including emperors) were still alive, with an average of five princes surviving.
If calculated based on the above data, two emperors can be experienced in forty-two years, and there will be about eight living vassal kings (excluding the two emperors). There is a high probability that this number will remain at this number in the future. This number is relatively ideal.
I am only nineteen years old this year, and there is a high probability that I will live for forty to fifty years, so I have plenty of time to slowly adjust.
"Are there any questions about the title of the feudal prince? If you have any questions, ask them. If there are no questions, then I will talk about the problems of other clans!"
The vassal kings were silent. They had a lot of opinions, such as how to calculate the time of this life, problems with their reign, etc.
But can they give advice? Dare you give me an opinion?
If the emperor doesn't talk about this plan, it's fine. If he does, it means that the emperor has weighed it repeatedly.
Even if they wanted to mention it, the emperor would refute it with countless reasons, and he might just pull them out and kill them.
"Since there is no problem, let me talk about the affairs of the vassal prince's palace. From the moment the imperial court issues the edict, all vassal princes must live in Beijing in the future.
Without my permission, it is strictly forbidden to leave the capital without permission. Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed!
But in Beijing, you are free.
Of course, after I finish defeating the surrounding enemy countries and Yu Nei clarifies, it is not impossible for you to walk around the Ming Dynasty, but you must be accompanied by Jin Yiwei.
Do you have any questions about this article? "
The feudal kings were silent for a moment and shook their heads one after another.
The feudal title is gone, so there is nothing to care about where to live.
Moreover, before coming to Beijing, they had guessed this through the situation of King Fu and King Qin.
The emperor either doesn't do it, or if he does it, it won't leave any uncontrollable danger. The best way to control it is under the nose.
Compared with freedom in Beijing and local confinement in the palace, perhaps freedom in Beijing is the best choice.
"Let me talk about the third question of the vassal prince. In the future, the prince of the vassal prince must pass the assessment of the imperial court. The assessment content includes various aspects such as poetry, calligraphy, etiquette, riding, and shooting. Only if he meets the standards can he be enthroned.
If you can't reach it, sorry, you will lose the right to be first in line for the title.
Don't worry, the standard won't be too high. I don't require every future vassal king to be better than the students of the Imperial College, but at least they should be well-read by sages. "
The vassal kings were stunned again, they had never expected this.
However, it is also understandable why these vassal kings became so unscrupulous. The reason is that they were too pampered since childhood.
Books written by sages and the like are all nonsense. It would be good if you could read and write sentences.
A flash of light flashed in King Fu's eyes. During this period of time in Beijing, he had experienced the events at the Martial Arts Hall and figured out too many things.
From now on, the children of the vassal king will study together and receive royal education from an early age. They will definitely use the methods of the martial arts hall. The idea of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism will be instilled in their minds. This is a tightening curse.
If you want to rebel, other feudal princes will kill you.
The second is the issue of knowledge. After receiving education and establishing rules, it will be difficult for the children to follow the rules.
Finally, if you have knowledge, you may be able to make suggestions or something in the future.
It's like killing three birds with one stone. I have to say that the emperor's move is indeed a high one.
"Humph, I can't do it anymore, so I'll start practicing from a young age!"
After Chongzhen snorted coldly in his heart, he continued: "Now that there is no problem with this, I will talk about the fourth question of the vassal king.
I said at the beginning that the virtue of a gentleman will decline in three generations, so a vassal king will be passed down for three generations, but he will be killed in five generations.
The son of the third vassal king is the county king, and the son of the county king is the general of the country. After the general of the country, he becomes an ordinary person.
In other words, from the beginning of you, after five lifetimes, your lineage will be ordinary people.
By extension, from today onwards, the eight levels of royal titles set by Taizu have been abolished and replaced by three levels, namely, prince, county king, general of Zhenguo, followed by auxiliary state, general of Fengguo, Zhenguo, auxiliary state, Lieutenant Fengguo was all abolished,
I said this, do you understand? "
This time, the vassal kings breathed heavily, and stubbornly raised their heads to look at Chongzhen, with an unyielding look gradually rising in their eyes.
The reduction of vassal status was inevitable, and they could understand the emperor's concerns, but the abolition of clan titles was difficult for them to accept.
These titles are their descendants. Although the blood relationship is much weaker, as an ancestor, who doesn't want to see his family prosper and grow?
"Your Majesty, I can understand the reduction of vassals and ministers, but should we discuss the reduction of the clan again?"
"Your Majesty, the clan currently has more than 200,000 people, and the total number of princes, princes, and generals does not exceed 2,000.
You just took the leadership of the clan, but you cut off all the next five titles. What will they do? "
"Your Majesty, what King Su said is reasonable. Taizu decided to divide the land but not the land, to have nobles but not visit the people, to live in salary but not to manage things. It has been like this for more than two hundred years.
To put it bluntly, they are indifferent to their four bodies and five grains. Without their title, how can they survive? "
"Your Majesty, even if you reduce financial expenditure, you cannot directly reduce the next five titles.
Is it possible to reduce the title of lieutenant of the third rank at the back, and then reduce the title of general in a few years when the world is completely peaceful? "
"Yes, Your Majesty, more than 200,000 members of the clan suddenly lost their titles. Even if they do not rebel, it is not a trivial matter to cause trouble. If someone incites it again, it will be detrimental to the court."
…
"snort!"
Listening to the rebuttals of the vassal kings, Chongzhen snorted coldly and said coldly: "Put away your dirty thoughts and don't force me to go on a killing spree!"
PS: Today’s college entrance examination is the beginning of a long journey, and it’s time to show off your grand ambitions. I wish all candidates to be successful, achieve their dreams, and have a bright future!
