The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty

Qianqing Palace.

Tang Haozheng and Zhu Houzhao discussed secretly.

"What happened to Zhu Dangqi?"

Zhu Houzhao suddenly changed the subject and looked at Tang Hao slightly unhappily.

"Barbarians, the vassal princes and clans are not allowed to command troops. This is a death order from Emperor Taizong Wen (Zhu Di)!"

"And to be honest, I can't set a precedent like this and leave hidden dangers to future generations!"

In fact, Zhu Houzhao said this more euphemistically.

To put it bluntly, Lao Zhu's family is now divided into two major factions: the royal family Tianjia and the clan vassal kings.

The previous imperial family was undoubtedly from the lineage of Prince Yiwen Zhu Biao, including Zhu Biao and Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen.

However, because of Zhu Yunwen's slightly ridiculous policy of reducing vassal vassals, he abruptly cut off his great empire. Therefore, King Zhu Di of Yan launched an army to quell Jingnan, and entered Nanjing to ascend the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. The imperial family of Tianjia also became the lineage of Yan vassal. The original lineage of Zhu Biao's direct descendants was also reduced to a clan.

Zhu Di himself was the one who rebelled and conquered the world, so of course he understood the threat that the feudal kings posed to the imperial power and knew that it was imperative to reduce the feudal lords. However, compared to Zhu Yunzhen's ridiculous policies to reduce the feudal lords, Emperor Yongle's methods were much smarter. .

He was not eager to cut down the vassal. Even in the early days of his accession, in order to gain the recognition and support of the vassal king's family, Zhu Di treated the vassal king very favorably after he ascended the throne.

Except for Zhu Bai, King of Hunan, who had burned himself to death, all the vassal princes who had been deprived of their titles by Emperor Jianwen were restored to their titles by Zhu Di, and Zhu Di's salary increased by 5,000 shi. Zhu Di was Zhu Di's half-brother, so naturally he was in the vassal prince's clan. The middle waved the flag and shouted for Zhu Di.

For a time, all members of the vassal clan, except for a few individuals, were convinced by Zhu Di and supported him as the new emperor.

However, Yongle Emperor Zhu Di was different from his father Zhu Yuanzhang. He did not need to rely on vassal kings to guard the frontiers, because he was the emperor himself and had a large number of brave and capable Jingnan generals under his command. Zhu Yuanzhang enfeoffed his son as king instead. Military generals commanded the troops, but Zhu Di learned the lessons from Emperor Jianwen and still used military generals to command the troops and guard the border fortresses. In order to strengthen his control over the military generals, Zhu Di sent his trusted eunuchs to serve as supervisors of the army.

Therefore, it was only a matter of time before Zhu Di cut down the vassal vassal, and it was imperative.

First, King Zhu Shu of Qi became more arrogant after regaining his title. He recruited assassins and martial artists to guard Qingzhou City as guards, and built walls to prohibit entry and exit. Zhu Di seized the opportunity and directly deposed this outstanding bird as a commoner. He and his three sons "all died violently", and the youngest son Zhu Xian'er was placed in Luzhou, and the Qi vassal line was since then flattened.

Immediately afterwards, the Valley King Zhu Su began to recruit desperadoes, build warships, and forge weapons. However, he was reported by his half-brother Zhu Chun, the King of Shu. Later, Zhu Di ordered to deprive the Valley King Zhu Su of his title and make him a commoner and imprison him. , imprisoned with his family in the Xin'an Health Office in Huizhou, the Gu Kingdom was removed, and the Gu vassal line was abolished!

Of course, the clever Emperor Yongle did not cut all vassals across the board, but treated the vassal kings differently according to their different performances. Those who did not obey the court's control and threatened the imperial power would resolutely cut off their titles. For vassal kings who did not endanger the imperial power, they would Then he relaxed his tolerance and gave preferential treatment. At the same time, he attacked the vassal kings such as Liao Wang Zhu Zhi, Dai Wang Zhu Gui, Min Wang Zhu Lun, etc., deprived them of their guards, weakened their strength, and moved their fiefdoms to the inland!

After a series of policies to reduce vassal status, Emperor Jianwen's lifelong dream was finally realized by Emperor Yongle. All the vassal princes and clans were eliminated, and all military power in their hands was returned to the court. In addition, Emperor Taizu Gao established the ancestral Since then, these vassal princes and clans have been completely reduced to pigs and trash waiting to die. They can only eat, drink and have fun and have nothing else to say.

In Tang Hao's view, Zhu Di's policy of reducing vassals seemed slightly more "peaceful" than that of Emperor Jianwen, but in the final analysis it was boiling frogs in warm water and killing people with soft knives, and it also laid huge hidden dangers for the Ming Dynasty.

The reason why he let Zhu Dangqi come into Zhu Houzhao's eyes was to promote the reform of the vassal system of the Ming Dynasty, so he naturally did not hesitate at this moment. After thinking for a moment, he asked a question.

"Your Majesty, what is Emperor Taizongwen's policy of reducing vassal vassals?"

"Peacefully cut down the vassals and support the clan!"

Zhu Houzhao blurted out that this is knowledge that all the royal family must learn, and it is also the experience that the ancestors left to future generations to govern the country, so Zhu Houzhao could answer it immediately.

After hearing this, Tang Hao used an inappropriate metaphor.

"In fact, it is similar to Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin releasing his military power with a cup of wine. He uses the court's finances to support these clan members until they grow old, so that they can live a lifetime of food and clothing, prosperity and wealth, and ensure that they will be wealthy for generations. All they need to do is hand over their military power and live in peace and quiet. Eat and wait to die, right?”

Zhu Houzhao frowned and nodded.

"But from the perspective of Emperor Taizong Wen, there is no way around this. It is imperative to reduce the vassal status!"

"After all, the Ming Dynasty's enfeoffment system of enfeoffing kings was decided by Emperor Taizu Gao himself. Emperor Taizong Wen naturally could not change it. He had to take his own reputation into consideration. So since the enfeoffment of kings has been a foregone conclusion, the rest is We can only make a fuss about the power of the vassals."

"In the early Ming Dynasty, the power of the kings was not insignificant, especially the nine kings of Sai led by Ning Wang Zhu Quan. Zhu Quan was vassal in Daning, which was located outside Xifengkou and belonged to the ancient Huizhou area. It connects Liaozuo to Xuanfu in the west and is a major military town. "

Zhu Houzhao sneered.

"Zhu Quan, Lord Ning, had 80,000 armored soldiers and 6,000 chariots. The three Duoyan cavalrymen he belonged to were all brave and good at fighting. He joined the kings on many occasions to go out to fight. He was famous for his good strategy. Among the vassals, Emperor Taizong Wen was the best There is no one I am more afraid of than this Seventeenth Brother!"

"Therefore, after Emperor Taizongwen conquered the world, it was impossible for these powerful vassal kings to return to their own fiefdoms, so it was inevitable to reduce the vassal status!"

I have to admit that Zhu Houzhao is a descendant of the old Zhu family after all, and he can never escape the meanness and kindness in his heart.

Tang Hao nodded, he also agreed with Zhu Houzhao's point of view.

"Peacefully reduce vassals and support the clan. Emperor Taizongwen's policy of reducing vassals lies in the word "peace", right?"

"Unlike Emperor Jianwen who directly cut off vassals by force and forcibly charged the kings with unwarranted charges, and then reduced their titles and imprisoned them, forcing the kings to alienate the royal family, Emperor Taizongwen's method was "Supporting the clan" means that the clan's salary is included in the national finance, and the national finance is used to support these clan kings and their descendants, thereby ensuring the interests of the clan kings. "

"And the price the vassal king needs to pay is to hand over his military power honestly and exchange his military power for future wealth. From now on, he can be a rich man with peace of mind, with fine clothes and fine food, and glory and wealth, right?"

Zhu Houzhao looked at Tang Hao subconsciously, his brows furrowed and his face full of confusion.

"That's it."

"Is there any problem with Emperor Taizong Wen's plan?"

"Facts have proved that he really did it. He peacefully deposed the kings and completely eliminated this big hidden danger!"

This is the fact. The kings have completely lost their power since Yongle and can no longer threaten the status of the royal family. This is the fact!

Zhu Houzhao didn't understand. What was wrong with this strategy?

Tang Hao felt that it was not only Zhu Houzhao who could understand these things, but also needed to use the power of the court to change this situation.

So he asked Zhu Houzhao to summon the big and small Jiuqing and other important officials in the court to play a game together.

If it had been anyone else, Zhu Houzhao would have slapped him away.

What the fuck do you have to do when you're full?

The big and small Jiuqings are all the chief seal officials of various temple supervisors. They are busy with many affairs. Where can I have time to play games with you?

It happened that the person who raised this matter was the savage Tang Hao.

And Zhu Houzhao also liked his new and unique method, so he immediately agreed.

There is no way, you still have to pamper your own savage.

Soon the Chief Assistant of the Cabinet Yang Tinghe, the Minister of Personnel Wang Hao, the Minister of Hubu Jiao Fang, the Minister of Rites Zhang Sheng, the Minister of Punishments Wang Jianzhi, the Minister of Works Li Shan, the Minister of Dali Temple Geng Ying, the General Secretary of the Metropolitan Procuratorate Zhang Fuhua, and Tong Political envoy Cong Lan and other important officials walked into the main hall of Qianqing Palace.

Among these people, there are two new faces.

One is that Min Gui, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, was dismissed from his official position and even deprived of his official title. He could only leave Beijing and return to his hometown sadly. The rest of his life was destined to be miserable.

But he deserved it. When he chose to protect the Kong family, this so-called loyal and virtuous man had long been sorry for his skin, and Zhu Houzhao had never been used to these people.

To put it harshly, Min Gui is a "second minister". On the surface, he is an official of the Ming Dynasty. He shouts about patriarchal rituals and the righteousness of the family and the country all day long, but secretly he is mindlessly protecting the Kong family, just like the Kong family. His family is his master, so Zhu Houzhao treated Min Gui extremely cruelly and directly removed him from his career!

Without his fame and fame, Min Gui is equivalent to being deprived of his official status. He will never be able to re-enter the court as an official in this life. Moreover, without the privileges of his fame and fame, the old Min family has lost the greatest magic weapon for annexing land. You must pay taxes and do corvee honestly!

This is why it is said that fame is the lifeblood of these gentry. Once they lose their fame and privileges, they are not as good as those farmers who cultivate the fields, because they... can't!

The new Minister of Punishment is called Wang Jianzhi, which is the result of Yang Tinghe presiding over the court.

Wang Jianzhi was a native of Shanyin in Kuaiji, a branch of the Langya Wang family. He was orphaned at the age of six. He had read a thousand words in his diary, and he knew the gist of it without having to explain it. At the age of thirteen, he wrote classics and had astonishing eloquence. His family was very poor and his family was in dire straits. He was increasingly depressed. His uncle Wang Binzhi wanted him to help him work to make a living, but Wang Jianzhi refused. Wang Jianzhi chose to study hard and never leave the book.

In the 7th year of Chenghua, he passed the examination but failed in the general examination. In the 14th year of Chenghua, his ranking was not high. He was appointed as the county magistrate of the Yuan family. Later, he was appointed as the supervisory censor and governed Guizhou. He was known throughout the world for his good administration and left office. The old and the weak have been supporting and seeing off each other for dozens of miles, which is a wonderful sight.

During the Hongzhi period, Wang Jianzhi's official career was smooth. He was first promoted to the Prime Minister of Yousi of Dali Temple, and successively served as the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, the censor of Qiandu, the manager of Zijingguan and other border passes, the deputy censor of the capital, and the governor of Yunyang and Huguang.

In the first year of Zhengde, with his outstanding political achievements, Wang Jianzhi was promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment in Nanjing, and successively served as the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment and the left minister of the Ministry of Punishment.

First serving as the Sixth Minister of the Nanjing court team, and then being promoted to the corresponding position in the Beijing court team, this was a political phenomenon unique to the Ming Dynasty.

And if he can go one step further, that is, he can be promoted from minister to minister and officially enter the power center of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Jianzhi is such a lucky person.

In addition to Wang Jian, there is also a new face, General Secretary Cong Lan.

Compared with Wang Jianzhi, who had outstanding political achievements, this new general affairs envoy was a little mediocre.

The main reason is that Cong Lan is too young. He was a Jinshi in the third year of Hongzhi. He was first assigned to the household department, the military department and the right department. He said that, but in the end, he was elected as the general envoy by the imperial court!

The scope of authority of the General Affairs Department is very detailed. It is responsible for accepting internal and external regulations and making submissions and refutations. The main responsibilities of the General Affairs Envoy are to cashier the emperor's orders and communicate with the emperor. In order to ensure that the emperor's orders can be accurately conveyed to the emperor, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang specially created a red card for "reporters". If there are important matters, you can directly hold this card. The card enters the inner palace. The responsibilities of the General Affairs Department also include: handling complaints from all parties, complaints of grievances, people's sufferings, good and evil, etc., and handling all injustice and law-breaking matters in a prioritized manner.

In addition, the general affairs envoy will also quote the people and officials from all over the world every morning to ensure that the information can be accurately conveyed to the emperor.

Because of this, the General Affairs Department was listed as the first of all departments, ranking before Dali Temple, which shows that Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to and expected it.

The importance of the General Affairs Office is reflected in two aspects: first, as the mouthpiece of the imperial court, through which the subjects' memorials were transmitted to the emperor; second, they participated in court promotion.

Therefore, its highest officer is Dajiu Qing, and he is also one of the few men who can directly enter the palace to meet His Majesty the Emperor.

However, due to the division and usurpation of power, the status of the General Affairs Department gradually declined. For example, the emperor was no longer in charge and could not directly report affairs to the emperor; the status of the cabinet increased, and the power of the General Affairs Department was weakened; the Sixth Section also violated the General Affairs Department In addition, the eunuch's favor and the expansion of the power of the clerk's office also posed a threat to the General Affairs Department and so on.

So in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the status of the third-rank general secretary was not as good as that of the sixth-rank official, and the so-called Dajiuqing, the general secretary, was reduced to a mascot.

I'm afraid this is also the real reason why Cong Lan can be promoted to General Secretary.

Tang Hao glanced at Yang Tinghe and then at Cong Lan, seeming to notice something.

But he didn't think much about it. After all, Cong Lan was a famous military minister in the Ming Dynasty!

Ordinary officials and courtiers really don't get such high praise as "important ministers of the military and state". Since Yang Tinghe intends to promote Cong Lan to the top, this is also a good thing for the Ming Dynasty.

When everyone arrived, Zhu Houzhao also became excited. His child's temperament has always been there, but it has become slightly astringent as he grows older.

Now that the savages offered to play games, Zhu Houzhao immediately became interested.

"My dear friends, let's play a game together today."

Hearing this, Yang Tinghe, Wang Hao and others instinctively frowned and looked at each other.

play games?

Playing crazy... well, beheading.

What are you doing when you have nothing to do? You are so busy that you are almost dizzy. Are you here playing games with you?

What's going on with His Majesty the Emperor?

After being wise for a while, the old ways are coming back, right?

But when they came, Zhu Houzhao didn't give them a chance to refuse. He immediately ordered Zhang Yong and his people to draw a chessboard on the ground according to Tang Hao's game rules, and then directed these important officials to stand in those small grids. in.

Yang Tinghe stood at the first position without hesitation. His task was to count meters and count the squares of two.

A square number is a square, that little guy.

What is the power of twenty?

Yang Tinghe still had some basic arithmetic skills, so he immediately got the answer, which was four.

Then Wang Hao stood in the second grid behind Yang Tinghe. The power of four is sixteen.

The next important ministers in the court quickly completed their tasks, but when it was the turn of the Minister of Revenue, Jiao Fang, he was a little dumbfounded.

What is the power of two hundred and fifty-six?

Even if Jiao Fang had learned arithmetic for a period of time, she wouldn't be able to calculate such a huge amount of data!

Besides, because this calculation is completely useless for the scientific examination, who would have the energy and time to work hard on this useless knowledge, so Jiao Fang was stunned for a moment.

Fortunately, Tang Hao had already started calculating on the side, so he couldn't just multiply it slowly!

"Jiao Shangshu's square number is 65536!"

Hearing this, instead of being happy, Jiao Fang's face turned green.

Six five five three six?

I count your mother!

This damn place is really full and has nothing to do, why are you counting rice here?

Jiao Fang became angry and immediately spoke to His Majesty the Emperor: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Household Affairs is busy with affairs. I..."

His attitude is already obvious. He can't waste time on these meaningless things!

He was so full that he had nothing to do but count rice, and he was asked to count six, five, five, three, six, God knows when!

The other ministers at the back also began to complain. Jiao Fang had to count more than 60,000 rice. Those of them standing in the back grid couldn't count dozens or millions of rice.

This is so full that you have nothing to do!

However, before Jiao Fang finished speaking, he noticed that His Majesty the Emperor's face was as gloomy as water, even faintly livid.

Therefore, the honest Jiao Fang did not dare to say anything.

Other important officials in the court also noticed something strange and all shut their mouths.

Zhu Houzhao stared at the rice, and finally suppressed the fear and anxiety in his heart, and turned to look at Yang Tinghe.

"Master Yang, do you understand?"

Understand...what?

Even though Yang Tinghe was extremely intelligent, he was also confused at this moment.

He was called over to play a game in a daze, and now he was suddenly called upon by His Majesty the Emperor. How could he react?

But now that His Majesty the Emperor had asked, Yang Tinghe did not dare to neglect, and immediately thought about the profound meaning of placing rice on the chessboard.

Other important officials in the court also reacted. It seemed that His Majesty was not making trouble for no reason, but was involved in something important.

But no matter how hard they thought about it, they still couldn't react.

After all, no one would think about the royal family and vassal kings when they were caught off guard.

However, there was an exception, and that was the Minister of Revenue Jiao Fang!

Jiao Fang was good at observing people's words and expressions, and had a flexible mind. He was already troubled by the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue, especially this year's royal family salaries accounted for a large part of the court's expenditure. Now when he saw the grid and rice, a light flashed in his mind!

"Royal family!"

As soon as these words came out, the officials changed color!