"Big companion, bring it up!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Chengen in the corner brought up a small wooden box amid everyone's doubts.
The box was sealed tightly on all sides, but there was a fist-sized hole at the top. It was so dark inside that it was difficult to see what was inside.
This solemn Ancestral Temple adds a sense of mystery.
In the hinting eyes of everyone, the first King Fu said softly: "Your Majesty, is this?"
"When you live in Beijing from now on, you must have a home. The Tenth Prince's Mansion will definitely not be suitable for you. It is the residence of underage princes, and it is not suitable for you to live there!"
"I was thinking about it, there are many empty count and marquis mansions in Beijing, and they are also empty.
If you are willing, I will sell these mansions to you at 50% of the construction price of the year, but you are not allowed to resell them again.
These mansions are large or small, and I can't allocate them. You can draw them yourself. Whichever one you draw counts, it depends on luck. If you don't want to, then find a place to live by yourself! "
"I am willing, I would like to thank Your Majesty for your consideration!"
King Fu took the lead in kowtowing his thanks, which simply relieved their urgent need. Otherwise, it would have been a headache for them all to return to Beijing.
As for the price, it’s definitely a steal.
These mansions have been in existence for at least two hundred years, and the repairs, additions and subtractions have already cost many times more than the original construction price.
What's more important is that the entire inner city of Beijing is basically full. Even if they have money, they can only live in the outer city, which they cannot accept.
Chongzhen originally wanted to give them these mansions, but they were empty. Even if they were sold to merchants, no merchant would dare to buy them. There were strict restrictions on houses in the Ming Dynasty.
For example, there are strict restrictions on the number, depth, and paint colors of the gates and halls.
Since it can't be sold, it's waste. It's better to use the waste and empty out the lord's wealth again so that they don't have the luxury.
"Since you have no objection, let's get started!"
Chongzhen waved his hand: "According to where you are standing, King Fu will start and Wang Chengen will record!"
After Wang Chengen prepared the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, his luck began.
Amid the nervous and expectant looks on the faces of the feudal kings, Prince Fu put his right hand into the box. After touching it, he slowly pulled out his hand and held a small cube in his hand.
"Prince Fu, let go and take a look!"
"Yes, Your Highness Prince Fu, let's see how your luck is?"
"Prince Fu, you are bringing a blessing, what a blessing!"
…
Under the gentle urging of everyone, King Fu handed the small square to Wang Chengen. Wang Chengen tore off the red paper on one side of the square and was stunned when he looked at the handwriting.
Then he rubbed his eyes and looked at Chongzhen again, with a strange look on his face.
"Prince Fu, Chengguo Duke's Mansion!"
As soon as these words came out, all the vassal kings were stunned, and so was Chongzhen. He also understood why Wang Chengen looked so weird.
After the last purge, there were a total of fifty-one nobles. Except for three people who were not punished, forty-four were either killed or exiled.
Including the rebellious Duke Cheng, there are a total of forty-five mansions, all in this box.
As a result, Prince Fu was the first to draw, and he directly drew the only ducal mansion, with a probability of 1 in 45. That's why Wang Chengen was so weird.
If Chongzhen didn't know Wang Chengen well, he would have suspected that it was a secret operation.
In terms of area, location, area structure, etc., the Chengguo Palace can be ranked among the top ten in the entire capital.
"His Royal Highness Prince Fu, congratulations!"
"congratulations!"
"The King of Fortune is indeed a blessed man!"
…
Amid everyone's congratulations, the tour of the mansion continued.
"Acting for the king, Anyuan Hou Mansion!"
"King Chu, Xin Ningbo Mansion!"
…
"King Lu, Dingyuan Hou Mansion!"
…
In a full half-quarter of an hour, all the palaces of the respective feudal princes were completed. Those who were drawn to the Marquis's Mansion smiled happily, while those who were drawn to the Earl's Mansion sighed.
Even at this time, they still like to compare.
This scene was naturally seen by Chongzhen, and he secretly thought that after everything was done, he had to give it a good hammering.
"Don't you have any objections to the clan title matter? If not, then just sign this voluntary agreement on reduction of titles!"
After Chongzhen finished speaking, Wang Chengen took out a stack of paper from the table in the corner and distributed it to the vassal kings. The vassal kings slowly looked at the contents on it, which included four parts in total.
The content of the first part: The opening chapter explains Taizu's intention in establishing the vassal king system, and then explains the harm of the vassal king system, advocating that the vassal king voluntarily give up his title.
The second part contains: the genealogy map of each vassal king, the time of enfeoffment and enfeoffment, reign time, average reign (one lifetime), etc.;
The third part contains the specific content of removing the title, such as killing after three generations, killing after five generations, confiscating family property, settling in Beijing, etc. It is extremely detailed.
The fourth part is that the minister voluntarily gave up the throne of the vassal for several generations on June 10, the second year of Chongzhen, etc.
Then there are signatures, fingerprints, etc.
Looking at the collegial agreement in their hands, the corners of the mouths of all the vassal kings were trembling. Once they signed it, they would be an ordinary person, but if they didn't sign it, they would be a dead person.
After a while, King Fu directly signed the pen and handed it to Wang Chengen, who then glued the collegial agreement to their evidence.
In less than half an hour, Wang Chengen completed the collegial agreement of all the vassal kings.
"This agreement to voluntarily reduce the rank is made in triplicate. I will keep one copy in the archives of Huang Shicheng, one copy for you to keep, and one copy for you to burn to Taizu in the Ancestral Temple!"
After Chongzhen finished speaking, he lit three more incense sticks, inserted them into the incense burner, and whispered a few words.
The vassal kings looked at the collegial agreement and evidence of crime in their hands, and secretly cursed the emperor for being such a bad dog, for having come to this point and still playing such a trick.
But the situation was so daunting that everyone had no choice but to light incense and throw the collegial agreement into the copper basin. Under the light of the fire, the faces of the vassal kings became a little uncertain.
After everyone was done, Chongzhen glanced at everyone and sighed softly.
"I know that you are scolding me angrily in your hearts, scolding me for being cold-blooded, ruthless, selfish, etc.
But everything I have done is for the better development of Ming Dynasty. I am sorry for my ancestors, and for the millions of people of Ming Dynasty, and I am especially grateful for you! "
"You should be glad that you are members of the royal family, and even more glad that I am not Taizu or Chengzu.
Otherwise, based on the crimes you have committed, your entire clan will be slaughtered. "
"You should be lucky that you all returned to Beijing on time, otherwise I would have directly decreed that you would be punished for resisting the decree and you three tribes would be destitute!"
"You are even more fortunate that you have no thoughts of rebellion. Otherwise, I would have directly dispatched an army to massacre your entire vassal clan!"
Three blessings in a row made all the vassal kings feel chills on their necks, their hearts were shaken, and their eyes were full of wry smiles.
