The majestic sister-in-law of the Red Chamber

"Withdraw the vassal!" The simple answer was like a giant hammer hitting the hearts of everyone present. Except for the emperor and Situ Meng who had known about this for a long time, the expressions on the faces of all the civil and military officials present could be described as All sorts of strange things.

The officials who supported the emperor were full of fighting spirit and excitement at the moment. They were so excited that they clenched their fists tightly, desperately suppressing the shouts they wanted to say.

You must know that vassal kings with different surnames are not a good thing for any court, but anyone with a little bit of knowledge will understand that the enfeoffment of vassal kings with different surnames is equivalent to an independent small kingdom, although they are responsible for guarding some follow-up kingdoms. The bitter cold land bordering foreign countries, but they enjoy the supremacy of the emperor in their own fiefdoms. The imperial court asked for a series of supplies such as weapons, food and grass.

For those who have already taken refuge in the palace of a different surname, the withdrawal of the vassal is a fatal news. After all, only the court and the vassal king are on guard against each other, but they can get along with each other safely. is the most beneficial.

But now, as soon as he thought that the emperor would find out how much information they had secretly dealt with the feudal lords and provided them with information about the court, all of them would be terrified and shivering.

Especially when they saw Situ Meng's oppressive eyes sweeping over them one by one, the timid ones almost collapsed on the spot.Although they tried their best to restrain themselves, not to let themselves be too out of control, and they kept comforting themselves in their hearts:

"The connection between me and the vassal king is secret and safe. It is impossible for the emperor to find out. Otherwise, it would not have been so long without making trouble. Just now, Situ Meng just took a normal look, and he must not have found any problems!"At this critical moment, I must not be guilty, yes, I must not be guilty...'

These people lowered their heads one by one, not daring to look at Situ Meng at all, relying on the constant self-encouragement in their hearts, they barely persevered, but they didn't know that Situ Meng had seen clearly their ugly behavior at the moment .

In fact, before entering the Golden Luan Palace, Situ Meng had already known the list of officials who had already taken refuge in the vassal kings with different surnames, because all their homes had been searched by Situ Meng, and all kinds of criminal evidence had been collected. The file room of the Ministry of Criminal Justice is almost full, and all kinds of gold, silver and jewelry have been confiscated. They have all entered the warehouse of the Ministry of Households at this moment, but because they have been trapped in the palace recently, they still don’t know anything about it. That's all.

Other officials from noble families slowly distanced themselves from the people on the other two sides, as if they had nothing to do with them, Situ Meng sneered.

When I think of these aristocratic families, when the current situation is turbulent, they have always invested in several parties and placed multiple bets. The first priority is to protect their own family. As for the loyalty to the court, in their eyes It is worthless, and they have always only had their own family in their eyes.

The so-called loyalty to the emperor and serving the country is simply a cover they usually use to win the favor of the emperor. Otherwise, how can these aristocrats survive the overlapping and changing courts and continue to retain their family members? What about strength?

In fact, Situ Meng had an in-depth discussion with the emperor and Lin Tian about the withdrawal of the vassal this time. For their actions to create a peaceful and prosperous world, these deeply rooted nobles are definitely the biggest. stumbling block.

Although the vassal kings with different surnames are difficult to deal with, they are too conspicuous. As long as they are strong enough, they can be solved quickly with real swords and guns. But the nobles of the family are completely different from them. These people seem to be attached to the Dayong court. As long as the blood-sucking insects above are caught by them, it is difficult to get rid of them.

After all, in this backward social environment, even reading and writing is a very luxurious thing, not to mention that the price of a book with dozens of pages may be as expensive as a farmer's annual expenses. This is not counting the cost of private schools, the consumption of pens, ink, paper and inkstones, etc. One can imagine how difficult it is for a low-level common people to support a learned scholar.

Therefore, in this era, writing and knowledge are always in the hands of a few people, and among these few people, aristocratic families account for the vast majority. Every time a new court is established, they can quickly find their own. Positioning, and then you can quickly rise through the knowledge and resources you have mastered, and then plunder and exploit the people at the bottom to obtain more resources.

Although Situ Qing is only the third emperor of the Dayong Dynasty from the founding of the country to the present, and the entire dynasty has only gone through less than half a century, but various acute social problems and contradictions such as land annexation have long been The people at the bottom have put in the most sweat and labor, and at the same time received the greatest degree of exploitation and oppression. When one day they are completely deprived of food and clothing, I am afraid that a new round of revolution will be set off.

Therefore, in the discussion of the three, the withdrawal of the vassal should not only be decisive and fast, but also take the grass and beat the rabbits, and all the nobles in the imperial court who are on two boats and have different surnames together with the king of different surnames, All in one go.

As for the vacated official positions, after so many years of hard work, the emperor has already cultivated a large number of reserve officials who can quickly replace the vacant positions left by them.And there are many wastes who have titles but no actual official positions, and do not make any contribution to the court. The court can save a lot of salary and silver every year.

Even, Situ Meng discussed with the emperor to take this opportunity to completely eliminate the hidden dangers in the imperial court, and at the same time remove all those officials who rely on the old to make up for their money, so as to lay a solid foundation for the implementation of the new policy after unification.

And the ill-gotten gains confiscated from the homes of the nobles of the aristocratic families can just relieve the emptiness of the treasury and the consumption of this war.

"Since all the lovers are meaningless, the Ministry of Rites is now drafting a call to action, ordering all kings with different surnames to return to Beijing to take office within three months, and the fiefdoms will be designated as counties. The local officials will be deployed by the imperial court in the future. Put this The imperial decree was sent to the hands of various vassals with different surnames in an expedited [-] miles, and it was announced to the world at the same time!" The emperor's voice was full of majesty, and at the same time, there was a hint of excitement.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it can't be like this, it can't be like this! These four vassal kings with different surnames were awarded by Emperor Taizu, and the fief was also set by Taizu. This is the ancestral system, how can it be changed casually! Disrespectful, unfilial!" An old official roared with a bit of grief and anger, and jumped out first.

At the same moment, Situ Meng's mind quickly flashed the old man's information. He is not a spy bought by a king with a different surname, but just an old and dull ruthless man.After only one glance, Situ Meng turned his gaze away and looked at the others again.

"My lord, you are just joking. When did the emperor change the ancestral system? It is a great thing to let a king with a different surname enter Beijing. This is a good deed of the emperor! You know, the fiefdoms of those families are either in the bitter cold in the northwest, or in the humid and hot southeast where they are neighbors with barbarians. It can be compared to the blooming flowers in the capital! The emperor did this because he sympathized with their old age and frailty, so that they can go to the capital to spend their old age in peace!" The newcomers of the emperor's faction immediately retorted.

"Hmph! You are making unreasonable words. The vassal king guards the frontier. This is the rule set by the Emperor Taizu back then. This is the ancestral system and must not be changed!" The pedantic old man was already shaking his hands and his beard in anger.

"My lord, what you said is wrong! This rule was not broken by the Holy Majesty! Thinking back to when the old Beijing King died of illness, the princess brought her young son to ask to return to Beijing, and the late emperor nodded in agreement. Moreover, you can ask the king of Beijing whether it is better to be in the fiefdom, or to establish a mansion in the capital and come as an official in the court!

My lord, the times have changed, we can't always cling to the original things, we must learn to change according to local conditions!The emperor's move also approved the legacy of the king of Dongping County, allowing the son of the prince of Dongping County to return to Beijing to accept the prince!This is nothing more than repeating what the previous emperor did. How could it violate the ancestral system? "The young official was eloquent and spoke very fast, and the angry old man was wheezing.

"Having said that, after all, it was decided by Emperor Taizu when he ascended the throne. Moreover, several kings with different surnames still have the important task of guarding the frontier. This is not easy to let go! Even if you want to send People take over and switch defenses. This can't be done in just three, can it?

It is a long way from the feudal lands of the vassal kings to the capital, and there are no smooth official roads in many places. I will enter the capital within three months, and the time is too tight!Your Majesty, can you take it easy? "A middle-aged official said seemingly softly, but in fact, every sentence was directed at the king of a different surname.

"Hehe, three months is already not short!" Situ Meng showed a mocking smile on his face, and looked at the speaker with a meaningful expression on his face.

"What is the meaning of Prince Zhongshun's words? Whether it is by water or land, it will take about seven days to travel from the capital to the fiefdoms of several vassals, even if it is eight hundred miles in an expedited manner. How could it be so fast!

Even if they set off immediately after receiving the imperial decree, I am afraid that it is impossible to reach the capital within half a year!I don't know what the prince means by the so-called not short? "The man spoke more and more smoothly, and at the end he even looked at Situ Meng with a bit of anger.

"Hehe, you are sincere enough for your master Nan'an County King! When you were in the palace before, you tried every means to instigate rumors and create troubles to slander my princess. Now the emperor wants the vassal king to return to the capital, and you have jumped out to obstruct it in every possible way." , Why, do you think that three months is not enough for them to rebel? So you want to buy them more time? So that they can seek a higher position in the new court in the future? The future... um, Minister of the Ministry of Officials? "

As soon as Situ Meng's words came out, everyone was stunned for a moment, and then all their eyes were focused on the man. They saw his body shaking, but he persisted and did not fall, and then his eyes widened suddenly, biting The back molars insisted on:

"The lower official has no idea what the lord is saying! The lower official is just discussing the matter! What is the rebellion, the lower official has no idea! The lord is spitting blood!"

"Really? You really don't know anything? But, these letters found from your home are not written like this! The king of Nan'an County has boldly promised you, as long as you can successfully destroy me and me this time. Miss Lin's marriage diverts the attention of the important officials of the emperor's court, and when they are done, the position of Minister of the Ministry of Officials will be yours!" Situ Meng said coldly, with a bloodthirsty smile on his lips.

After hearing these words, the person on the opposite side didn't have any chances anymore, and fell to the ground with a thud, his frightened eyes widened for a moment, and he looked at Situ Meng unwillingly, and murmured: "So , This is the reason why the emperor does not let us leave the palace, so it is so, so it is!"

"Come on, take this guy who betrayed the court's secrets and conspired against him!" Situ Meng yelled at the guards outside the hall.

In an instant, the man was dragged away by the guards in front of the palace like a dead dog. Immediately afterwards, Situ Meng picked up the blood-stained spear in his hand, and his eyes full of evil spirit swept over these ministers again.