"What loophole?"
"Look at this edict. Does it contain a method for enfeoffing the reigning emperor and princes?"
"Hey, there really isn't, but since the emperor has cut off his vassals, it must be like a bowl of water!"
"To bring peace to the world, how can we bring peace to peace? Now we are following the method of declining in three generations and killing in five generations. This life is the average reign time of the vassal king.
And King Fu and others are the first generation, based on the time since becoming king, this can be said to be past, but what about the current prince? "
"Counting from the time when the king is crowned to the vassal... Well, that's not right. There will be no vassal king in the future, and there is no way to establish a vassal. This method is wrong!"
"How about calculating based on the average reign time of all the vassal kings since the founding of the Ming Dynasty? That's okay!"
"It is estimated that the average reign is twenty years. According to the decline of three generations and the death of five generations, the throne will last for sixty years and become a commoner after a hundred years. The time is too short, and I guess the emperor will not do it!"
"How about calculating based on the average length of reign of the emperors since the founding of the Ming Dynasty? It has been 261 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and the fifteen emperors have reigned for an average of seventeen and a half years. It is too short, and it won't work!"
“That’s not right, that’s not right either. It’s not as long as the first feudal king’s reign!”
…
People throughout Beijing who read the edict slowly discovered this problem, and then the voices of discussion became louder than before. These discussions were naturally reported to the patrolling government officials step by step.
In the Wenyuan Pavilion, the six ministers frowned, while Yuan Keli had a calm look on his face.
"Mr. Yuan Ge, although the matters discussed by the people are the royal family's own affairs, they are related to the public opinion of the world. Do you want your majesty to give a clear answer to this matter?"
"Yes, the length of time the vassal king is inherited is directly related to the direct interests of the people..."
"Okay, let's all go back. Your Majesty will make his own decision on this matter, and it's not for us to interfere.
If the plan is good, then the future prince will naturally be happy. If it is not good, the future prince will inevitably cause trouble for you if he knows that you are behind it, and the gain will not be worth the loss!
Besides, there is such a big commotion in the capital, does your Majesty really not know about it?
Since His Majesty knew it but did not give a reply, he either did not think about it well, or it was not appropriate to announce it for the time being, or he just did not want to pay attention to it.
No matter which possibility it is, our rash presentation will cause His Majesty to be displeased, so we should wait! "
Everyone thought for a while and felt that this was the truth. They bowed their hands towards Yuan Keli and walked towards the outside of Wenyuan Pavilion. However, after taking a few steps, Li Fengxiang, the eunuch who was responsible for the ceremony, hurried into the east. Warm pavilion.
Seeing that it was Li Fengxiang, Yuan Keli immediately stepped forward and said in a deep voice: "Eunuch Li, are you summoned by your Majesty?"
"Mr. Yuan Ge, His Majesty asked your slave to give this to you. You will know it when you see it!"
After saying that, he handed over an envelope. Yuan Keli opened it, glanced at it, and said with a chuckle: "His Majesty gave you a reply to the question you just discussed. Please take a look at it too!"
After a while, everyone who read the letter looked at each other in confusion, and then their eyes were filled with strange looks.
For half an hour, amidst the discussions among the people, a supplementary edict was posted on the notice walls at the entrances of major government offices in the capital. The people who looked at the edict were even more excited.
"Oh my God, our emperor really has a personality. He can think of all these methods!"
"Stop talking nonsense and quickly read what is written in the edict? What is the method?"
"Listen up, everyone. Let me tell you in plain English: The general meaning is that the inheritance method of the princes in the future will start with the prince becoming the king, and the emperor will end with the death of the first generation, the decline of the third generation, and the death of the fifth generation."
"This this……"
"Our emperor is only nineteen years old this year. He can live for forty or fifty years at least, and sixty or seventy years at most.
Taizu had a custom that the prince would be crowned king at the age of ten. According to this calculation, the prince's life would be at least thirty years, and as many as fifty years.
In other words, the prince's inheritance lasts for 150 years, and the prince and general's inheritance lasts for 100 years, totaling 250 years. Your Majesty's calculation is really good! "
"There's something wrong with your calculation. You calculated it based on fifty years, plus the ten years before being crowned king. How many of them can live to be sixty? If not, then it's all in vain."
"That is, you only see those who have been in power for a long time, so why don't you see those who have been in power for a short time, such as Renzong and Guangzong, if it is these two, then..."
"Shut up, are you cursing the future emperor? Do you want to die?"
"If you calculate it that way, then the prince...grandson will succeed to the throne in the future!"
"Oh, by the way, I haven't finished reading the edict just now, and there is something later. If the emperor reigns for less than ten years, then the average length of reign of the emperor since the founding of the Ming Dynasty will be counted as one lifetime. Isn't this just a lie?"
"And the edict says that His Majesty has the final say on this matter and will not accept any refutation!"
"Okay, let's all disperse. Based on the statements and calculations in the edict, it is basically between twenty and thirty years. It is not too long and not too short. It is quite satisfactory."
"Anyway, no matter what, it is much better than the previous hereditary. Your Majesty is indeed courageous."
…
"Do you think the decline of His Majesty in three lifetimes and the beheading of His Majesty in five lifetimes count as a loss of rank? I heard that some people are betting on this!"
"Hmph, you just don't care about life and death. I'm not going to take this bet in the eyes of Jin Yiwei..."
"Get out of the way, get out of the way...Jin Yiwei is doing something!"
While everyone was waiting to discuss, groups of Jin Yiwei and Yamen servants from the Five City Patrol Department were running on the street, surrounding restaurants, teahouses, brothels, and even guild halls and private houses.
Looking at this scene, the people were full of curiosity. This kind of thing has never happened since His Majesty ascended the throne.
The surrounding Jin Yiwei were very violent. If they cooperated, that would be fine. If they didn't cooperate, they would just smash them open. If they caught the people inside, they would be beaten.
In the middle of crying for father and mother, it only took a while for the street to be filled with people.
Box after box of silver was loaded onto a truck and shipped away.
A Jinyiwei Baihu jumped onto the base of an archway, glanced at the people watching, and said loudly: "Neighbors and folks, don't panic.
These people are betting on His Majesty's plan to reduce his rank. I believe you have heard the rumors.
His Majesty has decreed that all gambling silver coins should be confiscated and transferred to the national treasury, and all gambling participants should be punished to set the record straight.
Any commoner who gambles will be punished with thirty floggings; businessmen who gamble will be punished with three years of business tax and ten military sticks; sergeants who gamble will be punished with twenty sticks; scholars who gamble will not be allowed to take part in the imperial examination for three generations; officials who gamble will be immediately dismissed and investigated!
The gamblers and bookmakers will all be sent to the Ministry of Punishment and dealt with according to the Ming Dynasty law, with an additional level of punishment for additional crimes!
Anyone who participates in gambling and takes the initiative to receive punishment at the entrance of each market today will be ignored. Anyone who is found out after today will be punished with thirty rods. Those who do not take the initiative to confess after three days will be punished with fifty rods and be exiled for three thousand miles. !
Anyone who knows but fails to report will be punished with the same crime!
I hope that all neighbors and fellow villagers will tell each other to avoid grievances afterwards! "
After Jinyiwei Baihu finished speaking, he jumped down. With a wave of his hand, some gambling heads and bankers were taken away by Jinyiwei. What awaited them would be endless torture until the people behind them were revealed.
Other gamblers who were blocked in the venue and wanted to place bets were directly pushed to the ground by the yamen. After asking for their identities, they talked about the thorn sticks and pulled them down.
For a time, the entire city of Beijing was filled with screams.
