Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 485: It’s seconds after showing up
The old King of Chu felt a little melancholy.

According to the rules passed down from their ancestors, the vassals should go to their fiefdoms after they reach adulthood, and from then on they could not leave the city without the emperor's order.

In the past few years, there were constant wars in various places, and members of the royal family were often killed. By the time the new emperor ascended the throne, most of the princes of the Ming Dynasty had already gathered in Yingtian, and such rules naturally became a decoration.

The so-called different times and different circumstances.

There is no possibility of large-scale war south of the Yangtze River at the moment. At least the princes of the royal family in the south should return to their respective homes. However, after such a long time, His Majesty has kept silent about the matter, and all kinds of rumors have arisen among the royal family.

After all, although the current emperor is regarded as the leader of the revival of the country by both the court and the public, his achievements are not much different from those of the founding emperor.

Under such circumstances, no one would be willing to give the land they had conquered with their own hands to those who had made no contribution and were outside the five generations of the deceased. It was not difficult to foresee some rumors arising.

At first, most of the princes, including the old King of Chu, only thought that thunder and rain were the grace of the emperor. But as time went on, the rumors of reducing salaries and abolishing fiefdoms gradually turned into reducing the power and stripping of titles, and more and more people became restless.

But then again, what can you do if you can't sit still?

Among so many vassal kings, the only ones who can talk to His Majesty, besides the old King of Chu, are a few princes of Zhou who played a supporting role in the battle of Ganzhou. It is difficult for the rest of the princes to even deliver messages to the palace, let alone influence His Majesty's choice.

Under such circumstances, the princes struggled for a long time but could not cause even the slightest ripple in the court. Many princes who had survived untold hardships gave up such thoughts.

If it had been the earlier dynasties, the various vassal states would have had no choice but to wait for the emperor's arrangements, and at best would have been treated like members of the Song Dynasty royal family. But at this time, the Ming Dynasty and Spain reached an agreement, and those with a keen eye immediately saw hope for turning the situation around.

Luzon not only has abundant resources and population, but its location also poses a huge temptation to His Majesty who values ​​maritime trade. However, at this point in time, this place is a huge burden to Spain. With the implementation of the agreement, it will only take a matter of seconds to incorporate this territory, which is as big as a province, into the Meiji era.

The Ming Dynasty had many means of ruling the local areas. Needless to say, the Eighteen Provinces of Han area were the basic base of the Ming Dynasty. Over the years, setting up counties was a common thing.

As for Xuanwei and Xuanfu, the internal and external vassal states are basically divided into institutions based on the ability to control the local area, with the main focus on adapting to local conditions.

Although Luzon had become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty during the Hongwu reign, the control over it was the weakest among the foreign vassal states.

Under such circumstances, it would be unrealistic to set up counties and prefectures, and the only options left were feudalism and control.

Having figured things out to this point, the rest of the things are basically laid out in the open.

According to the current situation and your majesty's style of doing things, it is impossible to establish a feudal state with actual power like in the early Han Dynasty; Luzon is separated from the mainland of the Ming Dynasty by a sea, and if only some local officials are appointed, the ability to control the local area will be too weak.

In this way, the most reliable way is to set up various local officials like Yunnan did and at the same time hammer down some imperial nails. After a few generations, it will be able to become like Guangxi.

So the question is, who should be chosen to be the nail?
To be honest, if there was any way out, the princes would not want to be the thorn.

The Mu family seemed to be in great power, and it was not an exaggeration to say that they were the local emperors of Yunnan behind closed doors. However, in the eyes of the vassal states, the Mu family had spent most of the hundreds of years in Yunnan fighting wars, and one mistake could lead to the story of Sha Dingzhou.

Moreover, the imperial court has never stopped migrating Han people to Yunnan for hundreds of years, so the Mu family at least has some foundation. In Luzon, except for the barbarians, the people there can be called savages, so the difficulty must be even more difficult than in Yunnan.

just
It's better to risk your life than to lose your title.

As the head of the royal family, the old King of Chu knew very well the mental processes of the various princes. But seeing that His Majesty did not seem to support the princes' plans today, he must be very sad being caught in the middle.

"Your Majesty, Prince Tang and several other princes have been waiting in the palace for a long time."

The King of Chu's carriage had just stopped when the servant's report reached his ears.

Hearing this, he was stunned for a moment, and after thinking for a few times, he walked out of the car reluctantly.

He understood why these people were jumping up and down, and he could understand their thoughts, but he could never have imagined that these people would come to inquire about the news right after he came out of the palace.

It is obvious that if he does not meet King Tang and others in order to avoid suspicion, then he is trying to cover up his guilt. But what good will it do even if he meets them?
To put it mildly is bound to make those who regard Luzon as a life-saving straw feel lucky, but to put it too seriously is bound to be suspected of provoking the relationship between the monarch and his subjects.

With these considerations in mind, although the old King of Chu had already reached the gate of the mansion, his steps were much slower.

But then again, this hastily found mansion was only that big. Even though he didn't want to see these people in his own house, he arrived at the door of the front hall in less than half an incense stick of time.

"Uncle King is back."

"Meet the King of Chu."

As soon as the figure of the King of Chu appeared at the entrance of the hall, the King of Tang and others came to greet him. Afterwards, everyone greeted each other according to their seniority. After they took their seats, the King of Tang started the conversation.

"We, the younger generation, originally wanted to come to Uncle Wang to listen to his teachings, but we didn't expect His Majesty to summon Uncle Wang first."

According to what the Tang king thought, he first brought up the topic. Even if the Chu king was not willing to reveal the conversation with His Majesty, he should at least give some hints. But who would have thought that after he spoke, the other party just smiled, then slightly adjusted his dragon robe and avoided answering: "Your Majesty summoned you suddenly, and I am sorry for keeping you waiting for so long."

As soon as the words fell, the smiles on the faces of the kings froze. Fortunately, King Tang was a bit shrewd and only paused for a moment before continuing, "Uncle, you are too polite. After all, we came here uninvited. How could we be so rude to you? But His Majesty must have something important to tell you. Will our sudden visit delay His Majesty's arrangements?"

At this point, the King of Chu was backed into a corner. He sighed deeply and told the other kings in the hall exactly what Your Majesty had said.

After a moment, the words fell, and seeing that King Tang and others had different expressions, the old King Chu began to speak again.

"I understand what you are worried about, but His Majesty has only been on the throne for a little over a year. We have to wait for him to sort out all the internal and external affairs before we can settle our Zhu family."

The King of Tang nodded his head when he heard the words, but he couldn't help but complain in his heart. These people are not without sources of information, and they know something about the income of the court.

The gold, silver and treasures that Zhang Xianzhong had plundered for many years, the large amount of property confiscated from the wealthy families in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, plus the income from Huaidong and customs duties in recent days, the court at this time was not necessarily inferior to that in the early years of Wanli.

But under such circumstances, the imperial court reduced the rice salaries of the princes to the point where they were barely starving, on the grounds that the civil strife had not been quelled. If the palace was not also experiencing some financial difficulties, how could the princes, who were also descendants of Taizu, not express any reaction?
Of course, a person like King Tang is not like King Fu, who would rather host a banquet than spend a penny. He does not care about money itself. The reason he inquired about the court's income was just to judge the emperor's true thoughts.

By this time, he had concluded from various circumstances that the emperor was disgusted with the various vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, so it was inevitable that he would seek a way out.

He understood clearly that, on the surface, Luzon was much more dangerous than Yunnan, but the local countries in Luzon had long been destroyed by the Spaniards. If he went to that place, he would only have to face small forces that acted independently.

Moreover, no matter what the emperor's considerations are, he will not watch the Zhu family die at the hands of the natives. Even if there is no organization such as the royal guards, it is not excessive to send some guards.

In this way, going to Luzon to be a vassal only seems a little dangerous. Compared with being a disgusting person in the Ming Dynasty, it is not an option that cannot be considered.

Thoughts kept turning in his mind, but King Tang did not show any of them. After another three or two breaths, the several princes who came with him had been blocked by King Chu's words and could not get to the point. Only then did he speak with some resentment.

"Uncle Wang is right. Your Majesty has already shouldered the responsibility of the Ming Dynasty before he even reached adulthood. People like us are either of a higher generation or older, but in the past year or so, apart from you and the Zhou vassal kings, no one else can share some of the responsibility for Your Majesty."

The voice stopped abruptly, and the King of Tang sighed at the right time. Then he looked at the faces of the kings present, and waited for everyone to nod before he continued: "I am not a smart person, and I just want to avoid causing trouble for Your Majesty. But Luzon is not only rich in resources, but its location is also extremely important for the development of maritime trade. If Your Majesty really has to abandon this place because there is no one to control the local barbarians, then we, the royal family, will really become the dead eaters and idlers?"

"Yes, Uncle King, if we set up counties in Luzon, it will probably lead to constant resistance from the barbarians. It would be better to follow the old example of Yunnan. After a few generations, we can truly bring them under the rule of our Ming Dynasty."

"King Chu, please understand. If your majesty were to speak up about this, your reputation would certainly be damaged. It would be better if we, the royal family, took the initiative to bring it up. This would not only help your majesty out of his predicament, but also relieve the court of its worries. Isn't this the best of both worlds?"

"Oh, Uncle Wang, we are just proposing a solution, but the final decision on how to settle it is still up to His Majesty himself."

As soon as the King of Tang's well-reasoned words were heard, the several princes who came with him immediately started to complain. If the old King of Chu had not already known Your Majesty's attitude, he would have been led by these words.

But then again, the reasons of the King of Tang and his men were not nonsense. Both their feasibility and their apparent intentions were reasonable. However, the old King of Chu was gradually unable to withstand it.

Fortunately.
"Your Majesty, someone has come from the palace."

Following a series of reports, the old King of Chu, who was just planning to be a coward, ran out of the hall as if he had met a savior.

Seeing this, King Tang and others felt a little regretful, but they could only follow him out. When they arrived at the gate of the mansion, they saw an eunuch waiting quietly.

"Pass the message from His Majesty!"

"Long live my emperor! Long live! Long live!"

"The King of Tang and his men have been discussing state affairs. They are indeed treacherous and do not know the seriousness of the matter. We hereby reduce their salary by 200 dan of rice and confine them to their palace to reflect on their mistakes!"

After the decree was issued, the accompanying soldiers came to each person. However, the King of Tang did not surrender like the other kings. Instead, he stretched his neck and shouted at the eunuch.

"I don't accept it! I want to see His Majesty! We are dedicated to serving the court and have no selfish motives. It is a huge injustice to be blamed for no reason today!"

He couldn't figure it out. He had already thought clearly about the relevant matters in Luzon. Unless the emperor intended to abandon that area, the safest way was to follow Yunnan's example.

As long as the imperial court finally chooses to deal with Luzon according to the old Yunnan practice, the current emperor will not be able to do anything to him.

In the final analysis, the imperial court punished the person who first proposed this method, but chose this method in the end. In the eyes of ordinary people, it is obvious who is superior and who is inferior. As long as the little emperor still cares about his reputation, he can only allow him to win over the hearts of the people and collude privately.

With this understanding, he felt like he had a talisman, but who would have thought
"Your Majesty has given your order! The King of Tang has received your order!"

Just as the King of Tang was screaming, the young eunuch shouted again, and then all the noises stopped abruptly. Even the King of Chu just stared over in a daze.

"If anyone disagrees, then pass this on: Going south and north is the imperial court's strategy. How can people like you who are short-sighted know the dangers lurking in Luzon? Moreover, the northern expedition has already been decided, and even the imperial court officials have no right to comment.

Now you are trying to interfere in government affairs under the guise of sharing my worries. Don’t you think I don’t know the inside story? !”

The eunuch was surprisingly clever. Not only did he write down all of Zhu Cilang's words, he also imitated his tone perfectly. After he finished speaking, all the princes, including the King of Chu, were bewildered. The King of Tang, who had been shouting that he was innocent a moment ago, collapsed to the ground.

Seeing this situation, some people with little experience and slow reaction still did not understand what was going on, but the King of Chu realized something from the "emotional abuse" and "going south or north".

After all, the Ming Dynasty at that time had limited national strength. Coupled with the need to open mountains, build roads, and restore production, it could only sustain itself while fighting.

If you understand this, the situation becomes clear.

If the court recovers lost territory to the north, it will not be able to expand the sea border to the south, and if it goes to the south, it will not be able to wipe out the Jiannu. These two directions represent different interests. No matter which one the court chooses, it will be interfered with by the other side.

If we think in this way, the actions of the King of Tang have the meaning of dispersing the power of the imperial court to the south, and things here are not that simple.

Thinking of this, even the King of Chu, who had not been involved in it, broke out in a cold sweat, and the other kings even looked at the King of Tang with resentment in their eyes.

However, the eunuch did not give them the chance to vent their anger. After a pause, he said the last sentence.

"Since you are stubborn and unrepentant, then you should guard the mausoleum of Taizu!"

(End of this chapter)