I'm really not the carpenter emperor

After Cai Shi heard this, the last sliver of luck disappeared, and she collapsed on the hall, screaming in a mournful voice:

"Your Majesty spare your life, Your Majesty spare your life!"

"The concubine doesn't dare anymore, Your Majesty, please forgive me, the concubine is willing to be a cow and a horse for His Majesty, and make atonement for my sins, Your Majesty!!"

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said: "Pull it down and execute it immediately. Don't block my eyes here."

Two burly Han generals immediately went up to the hall, holding Mrs. Cai on one side and one on the right. As the shouts faded away, Zhu Youxiao sat back on the throne and said coldly:

"Tang Wang, tell me how you want to deal with yourself."

"It's very difficult for me to deal with such a scandal in the royal family." Zhu Youxiao sighed and said, "At any rate, you are my elder, and I give you the right to choose on your own."

After all, there were outsiders present just now, so Zhu Youxiao had to be more stern. Only King Tang was present at the moment, and he was regarded as his own family, so he had to look helpless.

Zhu Shuohuang knelt on the ground, as if the previous stupor had all disappeared with Cai's execution, he abandoned the previous fear, and wept uncontrollably:

"Your Majesty is benevolent, but Xiao Wang is already a sinner in the royal family, please give me a wisp of white silk, or a glass of poisoned wine, and leave a whole body."

"Oh, if I knew today, why did I have to..." Zhu Youxiao glanced regretfully at King Tang who was kneeling at the bottom of the steps, and it took a long time before his eyes flickered and said:

"You are guilty, but the son and son are not guilty. If you really want to spare you Tang Wang Yifan, I will not be too unreasonable, so let's do it."

"Pass down the decree, canonize Zhu Yujian as the grandson of Tang Wang, deprive Zhu Shuohuang of the Tang Wang Juelu, and order the son Zhu Qi to inherit Tang Wang Jue."

Zhu Shuohuang had already made up his mind to die, but he didn't expect such a trivial result. He suddenly felt that Emperor Tianqi was partial to his clan, and he blamed himself deeply.

He sobbed: "Your Majesty's grace, I can't repay you..."

Zhu Youxiao chuckled, "I don't need you to repay me. You just need to let your sons and daughters of the vassal family avoid causing me some trouble, and that's enough."

"I've taken care of this scandal for you, so let's go."

Looking at the back of Zhu Shuohuang leaving, Wang Chaofu outside the Huangji Hall also didn't understand the emperor's intention to deal with the thunder and rain this time.

But he always had a hunch in his heart that the emperor must have other ideas.

In fact, he guessed right, Zhu Youxiao basically didn't have any good impressions of this cheap royal family member, the reason why he handled it this way was to preserve the royal family's face, and secondly, it was brewing a real big event.

The scandal has already come out, and it is meaningless to cut off a Tang Fan.

The next thing to do is to turn the scandal into a trivial matter, and use the big event caused by the vassal king to completely solve the vassal king's legacy.

Sure enough, not long after Zhu Shuohuang left Huangji Hall, Zhu Youxiao summoned Wen Tiren, a scholar of Wuying Hall.

Chapter 8 and Nine

"Chen Wen Tiren, see Your Majesty." Wen Tiren had a small benefit this time, and when he heard that he was coming to the Emperor's Palace to meet the saint, he was terrified all over.

Afterwards, it is a general relaxation.

How many years have passed, and how many years have passed since the Apocalypse Dynasty, and no civil servants have been summoned on the platform. I never thought that I, Wen Tiren, won this honor after joining the cabinet for less than a year!

Regarding this, Zhu Youxiao just wanted to say, save yourself, I just don't bother to change places.

In fact, this is not necessarily the case. This time, there is also the idea that Wen Tiren will gain prestige, thereby raising the status of the Zhejiang Party in the court. Anyway, it is effective.

The current cabinet assistant Wei Guangwei thought about it but couldn't figure it out. Thinking about it, he is also the longest-lived cabinet chief assistant since the establishment of the Tianqi Dynasty. Even he himself has not received such an honor. How can he, Wen Tiren, have it?

Where is the difference?

But no matter what, Wen Tiren came here excitedly, and came to Zhu Youxiao under the envious and jealous eyes of the civil servants of the Manchu Dynasty.

"Ai Qing must have known about King Tang."

Upon hearing this, Wen Tiren's brain immediately became active, and then he said: "Your Majesty, I have been sleeping at home, so I don't know the details."

"You're clever." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile, and then cut to the chase:

"I called you here because I want to ask your opinion on the law of restricting the clan's salary that was implemented in the second year of Tianqi. Let's be blunt, I forgive you for your innocence."

Wen Tiren thought to himself, the emperor asked this question, obviously because he wanted to worry about the clan's limited salary, so there are only two possibilities.

First, I want to abolish the law of restricting the salary of the clan.

Second, I want to take advantage of the scandal caused by the Tang king this time to further revise the imperial family salary restriction law that has been implemented for nearly five years in the Tianqi dynasty.

Judging from the current situation, the only possibility is the second.

Wen Tiren thought of this, and said: "I believe that the imperial family's salary restriction law has been implemented in this dynasty for nearly five years, and its advantages and disadvantages have already emerged."

Zhu Youxiao became interested, leaned on the dragon chair and changed his posture, raised his legs, and said with a smile, "Oh? Then tell me."

Wen Tiren was not as relaxed as the emperor, he was just glad that he guessed right.

He went on to say: "The clan's salary is restricted, and the salary of each clan's vassal clan in the first year of Tianqi is used as the quota. It is stipulated for each prince's residence, and there will never be any additional distribution. However, there are no restrictions on the branches of each prince's residence."

"In the first year of Tianqi, Shanxi's vassal's salary was 47 taels, and in the second year of Tianqi, this was the limit, and the method of restricting the clan's salary was implemented. increased to 52 taels."

"Similar situations have occurred in various prince's mansions. Although the imperial court clearly stipulates the salary and silver of each vassal, the consumption has not decreased but increased over the years. It is all related to the branches of the prince's mansions."

"There are so many relatives and children in the whole country. The imperial court only stipulates the salary and silver of the prince's mansion, and the local government has no authority to govern the mansions of the clan's children such as the county king's mansion and the general's mansion."

"thus……"

Zhu Youxiao nodded, and said with a sneer: "It seems that these relatives of mine have taken advantage of the loopholes in the national law and are doing their own thing. They really don't change after repeated admonitions!"

Wen Tiren realized that the emperor had misunderstood the meaning, and hurriedly said:

"Not necessarily, Your Majesty, the imperial court has strict management over the clan. Children of the clan are not allowed to be officials in business, nor to join the army to lead the army. As a result, clan clans in various places have no source of income other than the addition of salary and silver."

After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao suddenly realized that he really hadn't thought about this level. Now at this time in the Ming Dynasty, it was the princes and county kings above who were fat.

Those lieutenants and captains at the bottom cannot engage in business and politics, nor can they farm land and serve as soldiers to eat official food, so the only way to survive is to eat money.

Now it seems that the reform in the second year of Tianqi did not and could not solve the problem. So far, Ming Dynasty still has to face huge financial consumption from the clan's children.

And because the number of vassal kings is still increasing, this consumption will increase year by year, and it will still be a problem in later generations.

It is best to solve this problem completely at this time.

It is not acceptable to limit the salary of the clan. It seems that lifting the clan ban is the best way for the lower-level clan children to survive. They have the means of survival, so naturally they will not depend on the salary.

The clan's children are self-reliant and no longer rely on the salary and silver, and the salary and silver given by the court will decrease year by year. In the end, the clan's limitation of salary is really successful.

This item alone can save Daming at least tens of millions of taels of expenses every year.

Zhu Youxiao thought about it, then got up and said:

"Drove to the Xinuang Pavilion and summoned the British Duke Zhang Weixian, the Chief Assistant of the Cabinet Wei Guangwei, the Dongge University scholar Hu Shiguang, the Wenhuadian University scholar Xu Weijing, and the Minister of the Ministry of War Wang Qia to see me immediately."

Five key ministers of the court, who represent the interests of all parties, were called into the Xinuang Pavilion, together with Wen Tiren, the leader of the emerging Zhejiang Party, a small-scale meeting began.

The theme of this meeting is very clear, which is to further revise the clan's salary restriction law implemented in the second year of Tianqi for the current clan's children.

Zhu Youxiao's meaning is very clear. After five years of experimentation, the difficulties and disadvantages of the clan's limited salary have all become clear. This time, it is necessary to solve this hidden danger in one step.

About two hours later, the six court officials left Xinuang Pavilion just now when the sun was setting and their faces were tired, but their faces were filled with excitement.

When they left, they were still discussing happily, as if they had a sense of accomplishment.

Dongge University scholar Xu Weijing said: "Your Majesty has a strange idea for this clan reform, and I think it is feasible."

Hu Shiguang, a scholar of the Wenhuadian University, also said with a smile: "Yes, if it is effective, the royal family's salary and silver will no longer be a financial burden at all in the future!"

The British Duke Zhang Weixian thought carefully while walking, without saying a word.

Wang Qia, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, walked with Wen Tiren, a scholar of Wuyingdian University. The two talked and laughed, and the party disputes had long since disappeared.

In this general trend of clan reform, they are all following the leader of Emperor Tianqi, and the interests of the clan have nothing to do with them.

As long as the emperor is strong, the clan will not be able to make waves.

……

The next day, that is, the ninth day of July in the sixth year of Tianqi, after heated discussions among the courtiers, the royal family's salary restriction method stipulated a new quota of salary and silver according to the situation of the royal family's clan and vassal money from the second year of Tianqi to the sixth year of Tianqi.

In addition, the law on the clan's salary restriction was further revised, and it was decided to continue the clan ban, allowing the clan's children below the general of the town to engage in business, politics, the army, and farming.

However, once the clan's children choose other paths, they are regarded as automatically giving up the right to inherit Juelu, and have no advantages other than the status of clan children.

In addition, a new law has been added - "Testing and Inheritance Law".

There is a difference in one word between the examination and inheritance method in the sixth year of Tianqi and the examination and success method of the cabinet assistant Zhang Juzheng in the Wanli period, but the meaning is completely different.

In this decree, the Tianqi Dynasty stipulated for the first time since the Ming Dynasty that the titles of all clan descendants below the county king will be reassessed starting next month, that is, at the beginning of August.

The assessment is divided into three subjects, firearms, riding, and foot combat. There are three grades of good, medium and bad. According to the results, it is decided whether the clan's relatives will maintain the original title, degrade the title, or deprive the title.

Chapter 8 Ten Thousand Layers of Waves

Since the Ming Dynasty, the children of the clan have always been a very troublesome and unsolvable problem for the emperors of all dynasties, and the success of the examination is Zhu Youxiao's second attempt to overcome this problem.

It can be said that the reform of the succession system for the descendants of the clan is very bold. Few emperors would have the courage to make such a decision.

The reason is that the Zhu family emperors in the traditional sense are bound by too many contemporary thoughts. Even if there are two smarter ones, such as Jiajing and Wanli, they just slowly wear down their patience for the courtiers, and finally hide in the Deep palace not out.

Zhu Youxiao has no such ideological constraints at all. First of all, in his bones, he is not the real emperor of the Zhu family.

For Zhu Youxiao, this world is more like reshaping for himself, rather than the so-called revival of the so-called apocalypse that has been widely circulated.

Zhu Youxiao only thinks about how to solve the problem and how to settle other people's objections.

When the test and inheritance law was promulgated, almost everyone in the world was shocked. They gathered together and eagerly discussed the significance and feasibility of this reform.

Of course, for the people living in poverty, this is just another post-dinner chat. As far as their current life is concerned, it has neither improved nor deteriorated.

A group of people of all colors gathered outside the Yamen of Shuntian Mansion. Looking at the contents of the notice, they were all full of disbelief. The severity of the assessment this time was beyond everyone's expectation.

The announcement made strict regulations on each situation. Not only were announcements from various local governments released one after another, but even the "Beijing News" made a separate publicity issue for it.

A scholar approached, pointed to the words on the notice, and read it word by word:

"Each subject is divided into three grades: excellent, medium, and inferior. All three subjects are excellent, that is, they are allowed to inherit the title and bestow the hereditary title that should be given in the system."

"Those who are two excellent and one middle school will be awarded the first-class title; those who are two excellent and one inferior, and one is excellent and two middle schools, will be allowed to drop the second-class title; those who are third-class, one excellent, one middle and one inferior, will be awarded the third-class title. "

"One superior and two inferior, two inferior and one inferior, one inferior and two inferior, and all inferior, will lose the title and seize the salary, and will not be allowed to inherit the title for life. If the descendants of future generations want to inherit the title, they must pass the assessment as the eldest son. First-class knight."

Soon, everyone started talking.

At the very beginning, the scholar read the notice with lingering fear and said: "So, wouldn't the imperial court no longer support those idle clansmen?"

As he said that, he murmured while pondering:

"For example, the king of the county, the son who has the three bests can be the king of the county, and the son who has the three bests can be the general of the town. If someone is mediocre and ineffective, he will take away the title."

"If you want to inherit the title in the future, you need to be the eldest son of the first generation, and you can only be demoted to the first rank if you get three excellent! If you were a prince before, you can only return to the county prince!"

"Will this... be too harsh?"

"Brother Tai's analysis is reasonable, but in my opinion, this is not harsh at all!" A green shirt student said with a smile: "Your Majesty can have this order, it is the blessing of Ming Dynasty and the people of the world!"

"Clan members of the imperial court, looking at the world, there are more than a million! The amount of money that the imperial court has provided for the clan's children over the years is more than tens of millions?"

"The introduction of the method of examination and inheritance proves that the imperial court no longer supports idle clansmen, and those who can claim the title must be excellent in firearms, riding, and foot combat. This is also convincing to me!"

"Tell me, is this the truth?"

All the scholars around heard the words and nodded their heads in agreement. Even the scholar who read the notice at the beginning thought about it for a while, cupped his hands and said with a smile:

"Brother Tai's words are reasonable, why don't you find a place to talk about the government's affairs in detail?"

The student in the green shirt bowed his body and laughed: "What's the problem? I see that you are older than me, so I call you elder brother. Please, elder brother!"

"Then I would be more respectful than obedient!"

The two scholars soon became best friends, they walked and talked among the crowd, found a tavern at random, and greatly admired Emperor Tianqi's act of testing and inheriting the law and breaking the imperial ban.

……

As soon as the examination and inheritance method came out, all the clan's children in the world panicked.

The snowflake-like memorabilia flew not to the Qianqing Palace, but to the Compassionate Ning Palace.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, had long taught that the harem should not be involved in politics, for the clan relatives, it was obviously more effective to ask the concubine than to cry to the emperor.

After all, the emperor respected the concubine so much, and the world could see it.

As soon as Concubine Liu returned to the Palace of Compassion and Peace from the garden, King Baofeng Zhu Changbi came to ask to see her. Concubine Liu was also puzzled, but after thinking about it, she still met.

After all, Baofeng Wang Zhu Changbi is not an ordinary county king, but the second son of the old Lu Wang, and Lu Fan is the closest royal family in Ming Dynasty except Fu Fan.

In comparison, although this Baofeng King is only the county king Juelu, his ability and prestige are much greater than the previous Tang King Zhu Shuohuang.