Domineering Daming

The Royal Government Council was established by the emperor alone, and he placed high hopes on it, and the officials of the imperial court knew it very well.

Bi Ziyan has recently seized a lot of power, and the "chief assistant" of the cabinet has become more and more dignified, saying: "Well, this official will discuss this matter with the emperor, you go, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials will be vacant for a while, you have worked hard one time."

Lu Daqi didn't care about this, he raised his hand and said, "Yes."

Bi Ziyan watched Lu Daqi leave, and looked down at another memorial in hand, which was drafted by him himself, about streamlining the household department.

Among the six ministries, the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Officials, and the Ministry of War have the greatest power and responsibility. He has no right to manage the Ministry of War.

The Ministry of Household Affairs, this is no different than the Ministry of Officials, and Zhou Yingqiu just "repurposed it for other purposes".

"Time doesn't wait..."

After a long while, Bi Ziyan sighed in his heart, he also felt the predicament that Zhu Xu encountered now.There are a lot of things that need to be solved urgently, but they are tied up and can't act rashly.

Just when Bi Ziyan was hesitating whether to submit to Zhu Xu, and had made a decision earlier, Zheng Youyuan walked into his classroom rather sneakily, and closed the door in broad daylight.

Bi Ziyan was always frank, looked at him with a slight frown and asked, "What happened?"

Zheng Youyuan stepped forward and said, "My lord, there are two things. First, the emperor has just gone to the Ministry of Punishment to pardon Yang Lian and the others. Second, the Supervisor of Rituals has just issued an edict ordering King Lu, King Jin, and King Lu, Duke Ying, Duke Lu, Duke Ding and others will come to the palace to have an audience."

Bi Ziyan's expression changed slightly as he listened, and then he began to think.

The emperor never acts aimlessly, there must be some purpose.

Not long after, Bi Ziyan nodded slightly and said, "I see."

Zheng Youyuan was puzzled, and said: "My lord, pardoning Yang Lian is equivalent to pardoning the Donglin Party. This matter is not trivial and has a great relationship. Tens of thousands of clans are led by King Lu, King Jin and others. Ding Guogong and others are brains, the emperor has a big plan, and the cabinet should deal with it as soon as possible."

The reason why the cabinet is weak is not that it lacks power, but that when the emperor makes frequent moves, the six ministries rush ahead, and the power is naturally in their hands. The cabinet is always half a step behind, and can only be tasked with cleaning up the mess. No power at all.

Chapter 835

Hearing Zheng Youyuan's words, Bi Ziyan looked outside the window, shook his head and said, "The emperor is removing some obstacles to the 'New Deal'. The Donglin Party, the imperial clan, and the nobles are also involved, so there is no need to be surprised."

Zheng Youyuan was startled, but still said, "Is that all?"

Bi Ziyan pondered for a while, and said: "Before it was the imperial examination, just now it was the Donglin Party, and now it is the nobles of the clan. The emperor is doing this for a purpose..."

Zheng Youyuan thought for a while, and said if he had realized something: "So that's the case. It seems that the emperor intends to 'reconcile'."

Bi Ziyan laughed softly, looked at him and said, "Rather than saying 'reconciliation', it's better to say 'a good beginning and a good end'. The emperor is now in power and has a solid foundation. These people are no longer a threat."

Zheng Youyuan understood, nodded and said, "Then, my lord, do you want our cabinet to do something?"

Bi Ziyan didn't discover Zhu Xu's purpose until now. After thinking for a while, he said, "It won't be long before the emperor's decree will reach the cabinet. How about this? Regarding the imperial examination, you draft an edict, and the Donglin Party also Write a copy and prepare to send it out...then order the Minister of the Household Department to come to the cabinet to see me."

Knowing that Bi Ziyan wanted to cooperate with the emperor, Zheng Youyuan raised his hand and said, "Yes."

Bi Ziyan knew that Zhu Xu was clearing up some obstacles, and he also planned to take a two-pronged approach to clear up the "New Deal" in terms of power and government affairs.

Royal study.

Zhu Shouhong, King of Lu, Zhu Qiugui, King of Jin, Zhu Changhao, King of Lu, Zhang Weixian, Duke of England, Zhang Zhiji, Duke of Lu, Xu Yunzhen, Duke of Ding and others were all dressed neatly, and stood in front of Zhu Xu's table very neatly, saluting: "Your Majesty sees you."

Zhu Xu sat on the dragon chair, looked at the six people, waved his hands with a smile, and said, "No courtesy, come here, and give me a seat."

A group of inner eunuchs came in with chairs, King Lu, Duke Ying and others sat down cautiously. Everyone was almost respectful, in fact, expressionless.

Zhu Xu took a sip of hot tea, looked at a few people, tapped his fingers on the table, and said, "You all should know about the law of sequential succession, right?"

This matter was drafted by King Lu and discussed in the cabinet later, so it is no longer a secret.

King Lu, King Jin, King Lu, etc. did not speak, although this "Sequential Inheritance Law" is an extension of the Ming Dynasty's ancestral system "If there is a descendant, the descendant will be established, and if there is no descendant, the elder will be established, and brothers will end up with younger brothers". The ancestral system emphasizes the "eldest son" inheritance system. Simply put, it is the inheritance right of "the eldest son, the eldest son". Others are excluded by default, and only in special circumstances will they have the inheritance right.For the emperor to clearly list the list of possible successors to the throne, it will undoubtedly increase the strife and internal friction within the royal family, which will cause the royal family to be unstable, and even shake the foundation of the country!

King Jin glanced at King Lu, his face was pale, he coughed from time to time, got up and said to Zhu Xu: "Your Majesty, I need to be cautious about this 'sequential succession law', if there is another 'country dispute', I'm afraid it will affect the 'New Deal'." 'Have an adverse effect." Since this winter, Jin Wang's health is not very good, and he is weak in speaking.But the implication is very clear, if this "sequential succession law" is announced, it will definitely cause an uproar, causing shocks in the government and the public.

Not surprised, Zhu Xu looked at King Lu and said, "King Lu, what do you think?"

This person is of a higher seniority, Shenzong's younger brother and Zhu Xu's grandpa.

King Lu has been keeping a low profile recently, for fear of arousing Zhu Xu's dissatisfaction, he quickly stood up and said in a deep thought: "Your Majesty, the law of the ancestors is the inheritance system of the 'firstborn son', in order to prevent family conflicts and fratricide. ...please think twice."

No matter what the true intentions of these princes are, they will not agree with this "sequential succession system" on the surface.

Zhu Xu smiled and said, "I know your concerns, but I have already made up my mind, so there is no need to discuss it. I called you here today to prepare you mentally. The cabinet plans to announce it after the Great Court Conference next year."

The three kings are now the representatives of the clan, and their lips moved when they heard it. No one dared to argue with Zhu Xu, and the corners of their faces stiffened in acquiescence.

Zhu Xu looked at the three people, nodded slightly, tapped his fingers on the table slowly, then turned to King Lu again, and said, "King Lu, what's the population statistics of the clan? How much is the salary?"

King Lu also stood up and said, "Returning to the emperor, after more than a year of sorting and statistics, the current registered clan population is 35, and the annual salary... is equivalent to about 500 million shi."

Zhu Xu looked at the three kings, snorted lightly, and said, "500 million, do you know how much my tax and food will be for next year? Last year it was 800 million, and this year it may be reduced to 600 million. About one-third of the clan's salary has increased to 600 million, and I still have hundreds of officials in the world, and millions of troops to support, tell me, what should I do?"

The three kings were slightly startled when they heard this, and looked up at Zhu Xu in astonishment.

500 million may be a lot now, but compared to what they were doing before, it is just a drop in the bucket!What's more, their fields and properties were all confiscated, and the losses were huge. Could it be that the emperor wanted to cut their salaries further?

In this way, how can they live! ?

Zhang Weixian, Zhang Zhiji, and Xu Yunzhen who were sitting on the other side were also shocked. The emperor's words were simply too straightforward - they made their hearts tremble!

Zhu Xu did not discuss this matter with King Lu first, and at this moment King Lu was also shocked, raised his hand, and said, "May I ask the emperor what you mean by this?"

Zhu Xu looked at King Lu and said calmly, "I just asked casually, what do you think?"

How could the emperor ask casually for no reason, this clearly meant something.

King Lu, King Jin, and King Lu looked at each other, still feeling terrified and uneasy. King Jin coughed, raised his hand and said, "Your Majesty, the royal family's yearly salary is flat, and each person is only more than ten stones, which is unbearable." As for dying of starvation, it cannot be reduced any further."

King Lu was used to enjoyment and couldn't bear the hardships. Now it's a hard life, but he can't work any more, so he hurriedly said: "The ministers agree, the clan's annual salary can no longer be reduced."

Zhu Xu nodded, picked up the teacup at hand, and said: "I know this well, so I asked you to find a solution. Now the disaster is raging, and taxes and food are constantly decreasing. If it takes a few years, let alone the clan, there will be hundreds of thousands of people. I can't even pay the official salary, if I don't think of a way early, I will not be able to sit still as the emperor."

When it comes to the current situation, everyone is well aware of it, and they are a little more sober than in history, but when it comes to these things, they have nothing to think about.

The clan has no livelihood, no farmland, and no source of income except the imperial salary, so what else can they do?

Zhu Xu looked at the expressions of the three people, looked at the three people, and said calmly: "Someone gave me a memorial, saying that the title of the clan should be continuously reduced from generation to generation. , no different from ordinary people, this will not only reduce the expenditure of the imperial court, but also allow these clans to make a difference, instead of being like pigs and sheep, raised in captivity until they grow old, wasting the treasury, what do you think?"

King Lu, King Jin, and King Lu all changed their expressions, and their eyes were horrified. King Lu even said directly: "Your Majesty, this person is so despicable! We are all descendants of Taizu, how can we become ordinary people?" !"

"Your Majesty, you must not listen to this statement, otherwise the clan will be unstable, the world will not accept it, and disasters will never end. Please think twice, Your Majesty!" King Jin coughed loudly with a pale face.

King Lu was also shocked, and said solemnly like never before: "Your Majesty, I object! This move is a violation of the ancestral system, and it is a malicious statement. Please kill this person and deter the world!"

On the other side, Zhang Weixian, Zhang Zhiji, and Xu Yunzhen were also shocked. They looked at each other from the corner of their eyes and did not speak.These are too sensitive for them to intervene.