"My lord, Zhu Tianxuan, see your majesty!"
In Qianqing Palace, King Shen was allowed to meet the emperor privately.
"Prince Shen is exempt from the gift!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Zhu Zaijing stood up, put down the memorial in his hand, and walked out from the layers of official documents piled up on the imperial desk.
"The feudal lords in the capital are eager to return to their fiefdoms as soon as possible, and they avoid me as if I've seen a ghost."
"You actually want to see me, that's interesting!"
"How can I not avoid you after plundering millions of taels from others?" King Shen thought to himself.
But his face still looked docile.
"My lord, I didn't have many opportunities to see the late Emperor. I feel very sorry. Even when His Majesty was King Yu, I didn't get to see him a few times."
"Therefore, I can see His Majesty as often as I want. We, the Zhu family, don't have this opportunity every year!"
Zhu Zaijing was wearing a loose Taoist robe (Taoist robes were regular clothing in the Ming Dynasty, not only worn by Taoist priests). He was sitting on the dragon chair and looking at King Shen.
That day, he had a good impression of the vassal king who was the first to respond to him.
Of course, there is also the Daiwang who "takes the initiative" to offer money. Zhu Zaijing likes him!
"Prince Shen is sitting and talking."
"It's rare that you have such thoughts!" Zhu Zaijing sighed, "Today, the kings of the Zhu family are strangers to the emperor, which is chilling!"
"Your Majesty, there is no need to be sad!" King Shen sat down, "I often cause trouble in the fiefdom, and I am very ashamed! It is embarrassing for Taizu Emperor Gao and Your Majesty..."
"Your lineage of Shen Fan is not like this!" Zhu Zaijing smiled, "Shen Fan is a rare lineage of virtuous kings in our Ming Dynasty!"
"This...can't be considered...thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty!"
"You don't have to be modest! The posthumous title given by your father's court is Xian! This is a rare and beautiful posthumous title!"
Zhu Tianxuan is the eldest son, and his father is Shen Xianwang Zhu Yinzhi.
"Xian" is a beautiful posthumous title, which means being knowledgeable and capable, rewarding good and punishing evil, and remembering good deeds.
The whole lineage of Shen kings, starting from the ancestor Shen Jian Wang Zhu Mo, has always been a model of a virtuous king in the clan. Not only abiding by laws and etiquette, the key is that the successive Shen kings also made many achievements in literature. This is due to the fact that their family has always been Pay attention to educational traditions.
In this era, under the standard that a vassal is a good vassal if he does not cause trouble in his fiefdom, the Shen Prince family is simply a very outstanding existence.
"The Chen family is also a hobby. They just love reading and writing and are not good at other things!"
King Shen smiled awkwardly and sat tight without daring to relax.
"Yes! The late emperor once gave your son the books "En Ji Han Chun Tang Shi", "The Complete Collection of Four Books" and other books. The family tradition is excellent!"
"Poems of Enji Hanchuntang" is a collection of poems by Jiajing's father, Zhu Youqian!
Historically, this prince was also a well-known virtuous king. Not only did he have many literary works like his father and grandfather, but he also received repeated praises from the court, and local officials were also full of praise for him.
In the 22nd and 47th years of Wanli, he donated thousands of taels of silver to the court to serve as military expenses for the Liaodong frontier army.
He also often provides relief to victims of disasters and donates money to help.
Wanli specially "issued an edict and admonition" and established him as a model for the clan.
King Shen couldn't stand Zhu Zaijing's praise and stood up immediately.
"Your Majesty praises me like this, I am really ashamed!"
Zhu Zaijing was amused by him and quickly motioned for him to sit down.
"Okay, okay! Then I won't be so stupid!"
"Then let's get straight to the point. Why do you want to see me?"
"You must have changed too quickly. Are you from a troupe background?"
Seeing Zhu Zaijing's seamless switching of tone and expression, King Shen complained in his heart.
He only looked at it for a while and then looked away. After all, this was the emperor, although it looked a bit unreliable...
"I'm here to request your Majesty!"
"Request for what?"
"I beg your Majesty, please let the court stop Shen Fan's salary for the past two years!"
After saying this, King Shen stood up and knelt down again.
"Why did Prince Shen say this?"
Zhu Zaixing raised the corners of his mouth and asked with his legs crossed.
"I know it's difficult for Your Majesty!" King Shen said sincerely and in a sincere tone.
"I look at Your Majesty, who is busy with all kinds of things and is busy with state affairs but cannot be of any help. I feel very sorry!"
"The treasury is tight now, and Shen Fan has a lot of land. If he doesn't receive the royal salary for two years, he won't starve to death! Since I can't do anything to help your majesty, then help your majesty save money and food!"
Zhu Zaijing was stunned for a moment, with an expression of disbelief.
He knew that Prince Shen's family had a good reputation every generation, but in fact, he thought of him as a miser like other vassal princes.
but…
"Have you thought about it, Prince Shen? The salary of the imperial court does not only refer to the rations of your Fan Shen, but also refers to all the expenses for weddings, funerals, grafting, and enfeoffment of the princes and princesses below!"
"Two years is not a short time. Can you... be able to support yourself?"
"I can do it!" King Shen nodded without hesitation.
"Well, I won't be polite!"
King Shen took out a memorial from his arms and presented it to the emperor.
"This is a memorial written by me. It mentions the proposal just now. Your Majesty can read it immediately!"
Zhu Zaijing looked at the memorial in his hand and stayed for a while.
"Hahahaha!" He laughed, "You...it turns out that you have been ready for a long time, and the connection is seamless! Hahaha!"
"Hehe! I don't have any other abilities, hehe!"
"Okay, okay! I will approve it now!"
Zhu Zaijing also had no airs at all. He walked to the imperial desk and picked up the ink pen to approve.
"Tell me, what do you want?" Zhu Zaijing asked King Shen behind him while criticizing.
"Huh? I don't want anything! I just want to share your worries..."
After Zhu Zaijing finished approving, he threw it on the imperial case and turned around with a wicked smile.
"You really don't want anything? I'm very shameless. If you say you don't want it, I really won't give it to you!"
"..."
King Shen hesitated for a while, giggled for a while, and finally took a step forward.
"Your Majesty, I am very interested in newspapers!"
"I'm just telling you! I must have guessed it!"
The two looked at each other and smiled.
"When I read the Daming Daily, it was like opening the door to a new world!" King Shen said excitedly, "I also love to read His Majesty's articles in the newspaper!"
"So, I would like to allow Your Majesty to open a Ming Dynasty newspaper in my fiefdom. I want to read the latest news in the newspaper from time to time, and I don't want to miss a word of His Majesty's words!"
Wang Shen was fond of literature. Newspapers, a new thing, were different from the rigid and strict Dibao. Because they were in vernacular, the news and articles on them were easy and enjoyable to read.
The most important thing is to get closer to the emperor!
