Domineering Daming

There are more than 20 people in the cabinet. Following the continuous pressure from Sun Chengzong, Bi Ziyan, and Sun Chuanting, they have been faintly divided into two factions.

With the civil servants as the main body, the three clan princes, King Jing, King Lu, and King Jin, are forced. These three are representatives of the clan. As long as these three bow their heads, the matter of "nobility" will pass smoothly.

The three kings could feel the pressure from these adults, and they looked at each other. Finally, King Lu looked at Sun Chengzong and Bi Ziyan, and said, "My lords, the clan is appointed by the Taizu, so it is not appropriate to move lightly. I still believe that this discussion needs to be discussed again.”

The emperor has promised to the concubine and the queen mother that if there is no policy that everyone agrees with tomorrow, it will be postponed until ten years later. King Lu's words are actually against it.

Prince Jing and Prince Jin also have the same attitude. They can sit here as princes. If they are lowered, they will have nothing and their children and grandchildren will not be able to protect them.

Sun Chengzong is now carrying the pressure of "military reform" on his shoulders. He really doesn't want the cabinet to delay for a long time. He looked directly at King Lu and said, "This officer reiterates that this matter must be decided tonight. ! It’s just a routine for me to ask for your opinions, it’s not a must!”

The faces of the three kings were all gloomy, and they were annoyed. They haven't been demoted yet!

King Jin had no right to speak, and King Lu was pushed back, and both of them looked at King Jing.

King Jing is now a high-ranking and powerful minister, not only with great prestige in the clan, but also in the cabinet and the court. As the third-ranked minister in the cabinet, he still has some confidence. He took a deep breath and looked at Sun Chengzong and Bi Ziyan. Said: "My lords, I believe that the prince and the county king cannot be demoted. This is not a matter of how many years. It is related to the stability of the clan, the stability of the royal family, and even the peace of the country... The eldest son of the emperor has been born, and Hai Niangniang is expected to give birth. In March of next year, according to the regulations, the prince will be crowned king at the age of 20, wouldn't it be possible that they will also be deposed in their lifetime?"

Zhu Ciye is less than one year old now, and will be in his 50s in 50 years.

I didn't mention this matter, because I knew very well that the heirs of the current emperor would not be within the scope of demotion.Now that it is brought up, everyone has to go one step further and define the "nobility", which involves the current emperor they have been avoiding!

Bi Ziyan, Sun Chengzong, and Sun Chuanting looked at each other with cold eyes.

Bi Ziyan and Sun Chuanting once discussed this matter. The eldest son of the emperor is still young and has not been entrusted with enfeoffment. They have plenty of time to buffer and perfect the "noble demotion". Now that it is brought up, it needs to be resolved immediately to stop everyone .

Bi Ziyan looked at Prince Jing, and said in a deep voice: "Retaining the prince's position and not being deposed requires a special decree from the emperor, otherwise there will be no exceptions! If you have other ideas, you can ask the emperor to order! According to the regulations of the cabinet, everyone There is a memorial, the minority obeys the majority, you princes, you should know!"

Faced with Bi Ziyan's aggressiveness, Prince Jing frowned and his heart beat wildly.

The cabinet was more determined than he expected on the matter of "relegating to the nobility". Bi Ziyan and Sun Chengzong's attitude was extremely firm. He was alone and alone, and he could not object at all. At the same time, he knew who was standing behind this matter!

"Okay, I'll beg to see the emperor, my lords, let's discuss it slowly!" Prince Jing got up straight away, pushed the chair away and walked outside - he was angry.

King Lu didn't want to tear himself apart with the cabinet, but King Jing stood up, and he couldn't sit still, so he had to stand up and follow behind him.

King Jin didn't even think about it anymore, but at this time, he couldn't help him, so he could only bite the bullet and leave the cabinet.

When the three kings left, Bi Ziyan's eyes were full of anger, but he didn't attack, and looked at Sun Chuanting.

Sun Chuanting nodded, looked at the people present, and said, "My lords have read the cabinet's proposals. Although it's not the final decision, it's pretty much the same. The cabinet's goal is to reduce the population of clans and nobles by more than half within 50 years." , to establish a normal and stable clan system, do you have any other opinions?"

The matter of "demotion" has been brewing for a long time, and the final version of the "demotion case" has been formed. In addition, those present saw the strength of the cabinet and had nothing to object to. They all leaned slightly to express their support.

The core of the "Nobility Case" is to eliminate the "hereditary no replacement". From now on, nobility will no longer be hereditary. After five generations, a clan can basically be classified as common people in about a hundred years. It will swell the clan to the point that the court cannot afford it, and it will not affect the stability of the country.

Now the clan population is the largest, it is at the lowest level, through "relegation" can not only prevent the population from continuing to expand, but also continue to reduce a large number of clan population in the next 50 years. After 50 years, the clan population is not estimated enough The current half has basically eliminated the useless burden of the clan.

Seeing this, Bi Ziyan looked at Sun Chengzong, Sun Chuanting, and Wang Qiaonian, and said, "Everyone, follow me to Qianqing Palace and present it to the emperor."

These are all ministers of the cabinet, so naturally they would not refuse, they got up one after another, and at the same time Prince Jing had already left, so they all rushed over as soon as possible.

When King Jing and the others arrived at Qianqing Palace, Zhu Xu had just returned not long ago. He was in the warm pavilion, listening to the complaints of the three of them.

Holding the teacup, Zhu Xu looked at the three of them and said calmly, "You want me to dismiss the matter of 'demotion' from the cabinet?"

The three looked slightly startled, the young emperor in front of them was no longer the bratty little emperor before, just sitting still gave them enormous pressure, and his non-cold words made them fear even more.

King Jing quickly raised his hand and said, "Returning to the emperor, I don't mean that. I just have a different view on the cabinet's 'Demotion Case', but the cabinet is stubborn, and I hope the emperor will order you."

King Lu was always thoughtful, but now he didn't dare to be careless. He raised his hand and said, "Yes, I hope that the emperor will make a holy judgment, so that the cabinet will not bully the clan too much, causing the clan to be uneasy and hindering the stability of the country."

King Jin was more cautious and more timid, and his expression was too stiff to speak.

Zhu Xu put down his teacup, said "hmm", and said, "What do you think?"

King Jing glanced at King Lu and King Jin, and said, "Your Majesty, I think the Cabinet's 'Demotion Case' is too severe to be swallowed in one gulp, and should be put on hold to avoid chaos."

Zhu Xu's expression remained unchanged, he looked at the three of them, and said after a while: "Tell me your solution."

Prince Jing and the three were uneasy. The emperor was pushing this matter, and their opposition was the opposite of the emperor. If something went wrong, a catastrophe would be imminent.

The three kings looked at each other, and King Lu said with a little bit of courage: "The emperor, the prince, the county king's demotion... is of great importance, and it has something to do with the stability of the society. I hope the cabinet will act cautiously."

King Lu shifted the responsibility to the cabinet, which also showed that they had no intention of opposing Zhu Xu.

"Do you wish not to demote the prince or the county king?" Zhu Xu looked at the three of them and said with a smile.

The three kings were very cautious, their eyes flickering, and said: "Yes, the ministers think that the matter of the prince and the county king's demotion is of great importance, and we should not be hasty."

Zhu Xu nodded thoughtfully, it was an interesting thought, and said with a smile, "Then what did the cabinet say?"

King Jing said: "The cabinet believes that the prince and the county king need a special order from the emperor to retain the title, and only meritorious service is required."

Zhu Xu said with a "huh" and said with a smile, "The cabinet's proposal is also good. There are good and bad clans, so we can't make exceptions for everyone. It's not fair."

"Your Majesty, all the elders in the cabinet are asking to see you." As soon as Zhu Xu finished speaking, Cao Huachun stepped forward and said.

Zhu Xu glanced at the three kings, and said with a smile, "Please."

King Jing and the other three kings looked dignified and stepped back a little. Bi Ziyan, Sun Chengzong, Sun Chuanting and others walked in one after another, raised their hands and said, "Your Majesty, I will see you."

Zhu Xu waved his hand, looked at Bi Ziyan and the others as an adjudicator, and said, "Prince Jing just mentioned your conflicts, you can talk about it later."

Bi Ziyan and the others glanced at Prince Jing and the three of them. Although their faces were expressionless, they all showed displeasure.Civil officials have never had a good impression of the clan, especially after the confrontation just now.

Bi Ziyan held up the memorial, raised his hand and said: "Your Majesty, the cabinet has basically agreed, please have a look at it."

Zhu Xu glanced at Bi Ziyan and reached out to take it.Bi Ziyan said that it was a "cabinet agreement", clearly excluding those who were not in the cabinet, which was arbitrarily decided by the cabinet.

Opening the playbook, Zhu Xu looked down.

The cabinet's memorandum is more complete than the previous one, and it is also more "friendly". There is no one-size-fits-all approach, and it starts from the bottom of the clan. All titles are no longer hereditary. Through continuous demotion, it is planned to "eliminate" within a hundred years A branch of the prince will reduce the population of the clan by more than half within 50 years.

Chapter 882 Finalization

The clan system of the Ming Dynasty was quite domineering. Except for the one who succeeded the emperor, the rest of the sons of the emperor were all princes. The eldest son of the prince inherited the title of prince, and the rest were county kings. General, the son of General Zhenguo is General Fuguo, the son of General Fuguo is General Fengguo, the son of General Fengguo is Lieutenant Zhenguo, the son of Lieutenant Zhenguo is Lieutenant Fuguo, the son of Lieutenant Fuguo is Lieutenant Fengguo, and Fengguo is the son of Lieutenant Fengguo. Lieutenant Guo's son is also Lieutenant Feng Guo, hereditary succession, endless!

Even though Zhu Xu had slashed at the clan before, the annual salary of a prince is still as high as 5 shi, and the value of all kinds of yarn, Luo, cotton, brocade, silk, etc., as well as forage, tea, salt, etc. is as high as 3. Two taels of silver, the king of the county is four thousand shi per meter, and the other equivalents are as high as [-] taels of cash. Even the last lieutenant of Fengguo is four hundred shi a year, and the others are worth a lot.There are also clan women, although there are fewer, but weddings and funerals are still not stingy, and there are even more.

If Zhu Xu hadn't tightened his grip on purpose and ordered the household department to secretly deduct every year, the annual expenditure of the clan alone would have been as high as 600 million shi for grain, plus more than 700 million taels of silver!

This figure is stronger than one-third of the annual income of the Ming treasury!

Wasted on a group of people who are completely useless, drunk and dreamy, and who don't know the situation of the country at all!

Zhu Xu closed the memorial, weighed it, looked at Bi Ziyan and said, "The cabinet has changed the rank of the clan to the fifth class. How many people will be eliminated at once?"

Bi Ziyan stepped forward and said: "Back to the emperor, it is estimated that 8 people will be eliminated, all of whom are Zhen Guo, Fu Guo, and Feng Guo lieutenants."