Chapter 937 Disposal
After deciding on the position of crown prince, Zhu Shenzui often took Zhu Minlan with him to handle government affairs, allowing him to follow him and learn about political affairs little by little. At the same time, in most cases when discussing state affairs with ministers, Zhu Minlan would also listen in, from which he became familiar with and understood many political affairs, and gradually learned how to be an emperor.

Zhu Minlan, as the eldest son of Zhu Shenzui, is naturally not a fool. In fact, Zhu Shenzui's sons are all very outstanding, whether it is the Tengger brothers who are far away in Mongolia, or the Crown Prince and the King of Song brothers. They are not only extremely smart, but also much more mature than their peers.

Especially the Crown Prince Zhu Minlan, who not only followed Zhu Shenzhui these days, but also learned a lot under the guidance of Sun Chengzong. The young man's mind gradually matured, and he considered problems less superficially and understood how to start from the basics.

Zhu Shenzui was very satisfied with these changes. Such a prince would grow up under his teaching in a dozen years. No matter what the future holds, he would be able to stand on his own as the crown prince of the country, instead of becoming a waste who was born in the deep palace and raised by women.

A few days after the meeting in the Qianqing Palace, the power to judge the Four Feudatories was directly handed over to the Three Judicial Departments, and the Chief Minister of the Cabinet Wen Tiren was responsible for following up. At the same time, the Clan Court also cooperated. Prince An, as the representative of the Clan Court, personally participated in the sentencing of the Four Feudatories. Soon the official verdict came out. Under the instructions and guidance of Wen Tiren and others, the verdict on the Four Feudatories was very severe. However, considering their status as members of the royal family, they made slight concessions in some aspects.

The leaders of the four feudal lords were all sentenced to death according to the law, which was also the same as the Ning Wang's case. Those who directly participated in the case and played a role were not spared, such as the eunuchs, housekeepers and relatives of the four feudal lords. All the participants were exterminated, and the women and underage men in the clan were sold or exiled.

All members of the clans of the Four Feudatories, such as their children, close relatives, and the princes, generals, and generals who guarded the country and supported the country, were stripped of their titles and demoted to commoners. Those who were not directly implicated were demoted one level as joint liabilities. As for their property and land, they were all confiscated, and the Four Feudatories were stripped of their titles, and they ceased to exist.

This sentence was not light, but it was in line with the laws of the Ming Dynasty, and there was nothing wrong with it. When the sentence came down, the civil officials and nobles didn't care, especially the former, who had no good feelings towards the princes, and the four princes had already committed horrific acts of rebellion. If it happened to ordinary people, there would be no such result. Now, except for the main culprit, the others have all saved their lives. Even if they were demoted, they still had their titles! This was already a preferential treatment for the royal family.

Even though most of the royal family members were upset and a little uneasy about this result, they had no way to refute this judgment. After all, this judgment was made by the three judicial officials according to the law, not by the emperor, and the royal family members were always unpopular. If the royal family members did not have the emperor's support, it was possible that local officials would bully the royal family members at will. Moreover, most of these royal family members were covetous and timid people. As long as this fire did not burn them, what did they care about the fate of the four vassals?
However, a small number of people inevitably felt that the emperor was too harsh in dealing with the Ning Wang rebellion. In the end, the emperor only executed the main culprit, and did not punish the Ning Wang's wife, sons, and daughters. Instead, the emperor chose one of Ning Wang's sons to inherit the title of Ning Wang.

But now the court wants to "beat to death" the four feudatories completely with one blow, which seems a bit too much. If the verdict is made in this way, if a similar thing happens to me accidentally one day, even if I am just implicated in it, I cannot bear the mere demotion.

Just when the royal family of the Ming Dynasty had different thoughts and were arguing about the result, Zhu Shenzhui suddenly took action. After receiving the verdict of the Three Courts, Zhu Shenzhui superficially approved of the verdict of the Three Courts, acknowledging that it was in line with the laws of the Ming Dynasty. However, he also raised the issue that the royal family was different from ordinary people, and modified the final verdict in his capacity as emperor and Grand Clan Chief of the Imperial Clan Court.

The amendments were as follows: the four vassals were secretly plotting rebellion. Although their crimes were unforgivable, they could be pardoned by the emperor as princes of the Ming Dynasty. Considering their status as princes of the imperial clan, they were pardoned by the emperor and spared from death penalty, but were imprisoned in Fengyang for the rest of their lives. As for those around the four vassals, such as eunuchs, housekeepers, and relatives who participated in the rebellion, they were sentenced to execution according to the three judicial departments, and their three clans were exterminated and their families were sold.

The wives, sons and daughters of the royal family members of the four feudatories were exempted from the crime of being demoted to commoners, but demotion was inevitable. The crown prince was directly demoted to General Guarding the Country, the ordinary prince was demoted to General Auxiliary to the Country, and the rest were demoted one or two levels lower. Their mothers were supported by their biological sons, and the original princess was deprived of her position and replaced by a lady. The rest of the women who had no children could be sent back home or supported by their concubines' sons, and the consent of the clan affairs office was required.

As for the royal family property, after it was confiscated, the officials who were demoted would have to return part of it through the clan court according to the rules. However, the returned part was only property, not including land and houses, etc., and except for the first amount which was slightly more as resettlement, the rest would be paid out as normal salary in the future.

In addition, all these people were transferred from their fiefs to the capital, and no longer had their fiefs. Those who had been demoted were also dealt with in the same way, but their titles were still retained, which was considered a special favor.

As for the titles of the four feudatories, they would continue to be retained, and the Ministry of Clan Affairs would select suitable royal family members from within the four feudatories to inherit them. Of course, the titles of the four feudatories that were inherited would also lose their fiefdoms, and the real titles would be turned into virtual titles, and they would all be settled in the capital.

When the news spread, the royal family members who had been worried about the situation suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. Although the result was severe, it was much lighter than the previous verdicts of the three courts. No one from the four vassals died and they all saved their lives. As for those who were exterminated, it was their own fault. Who asked them to instigate their masters to do such a thing? They deserved to be exterminated. Besides, who would care about the lives of these eunuchs, housekeepers and in-laws?
As for the treatment of the other people in the Four Feudatories, it can also make people feel relieved. Although they were demoted, at least they still retained their titles. Even if they were demoted directly from the prince to the general of the state, the rank dropped by two levels, but after all, the general of the state of the state is still a middle-to-upper-class title among the royal family! It is very good to be able to retain a share of wealth and honor. As for losing the real title and changing it to a virtual title, it goes without saying. It is better than having the title of prince completely removed, right? Not only can everyone accept such a result, but they also admire that the emperor is their own family after all. Compared with those ministers who wish to make the royal family unlucky, the emperor still protects the royal family in his heart. In the harem, Zhu Shenzhu stayed overnight in the queen's bedroom. After the two of them were intimate for a while, they lay down and talked. Chatting about some things in the harem, and talking about the studies of the prince and the king of Song, Xu Jingqiu then talked about the treatment of the four feudatories this time.

"You're just going to let them go so easily?"

"What else can we do if we don't let them go? It's not easy to achieve this step. If we do too much, there will be too much backlash within the royal family. Although most of these royal family members are incompetent, sometimes they are more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish things. Now there are many problems in the Ming Dynasty. Although the royal family needs to be moved, it can't be a big move. Everything still needs to be safe." Zhu Shenzhui never concealed anything from the queen and told her his thoughts with a wry smile.

Xu Jingqiu thought about it and nodded: "That's true. It's not easy for you to be an emperor, but it's not easy to achieve this step."

"By the way, now that the titles of the four feudal lords have been abolished, how will the succession be arranged? Have you thought about it carefully?"

"What? You are not eyeing the princes of the Four Feudatories? Now that Lan'er is the crown prince and Cheng'er is the Prince of Song, we can't let them inherit the Four Feudatories, can we?" Zhu Shenzhui joked with a smile.

"Look at what you said, how could I still have such an idea?" Xu Jingqiu rolled her eyes at her husband. She and Zhu Shenzhui had slept together for quite a few days in the past year, but the strange thing was that she had never been pregnant since giving birth to Zhu Mincheng. Although Xu Jingqiu had asked the imperial physician to examine her, the physician said that the queen was in good health and there was no problem, but she just couldn't get pregnant. Xu Jingqiu was a little worried.

Zhu Shenzhui was in good health, which Xu Jingqiu knew better than anyone else. In addition, the three concubines who entered the palace before, namely Concubine Xian, Concubine Hui and Concubine Shu, had become pregnant one after another in recent days, and they said that there would be no problem with conception. But she didn't get pregnant, and Xu Jingqiu always felt unwilling. Although her two sons were not only legitimate sons but also gradually grew up and were about to become adults, their stable status was definitely not comparable to that of other princes. Even if these three concubines gave birth to princes for the emperor, it would not threaten her son's status.

But even so, the more sons a mother has, the more confident she feels. Xu Jingqiu is no exception even though she is the queen. So she still wants to have a few more sons. Although she is a little older now, she can still have children. If she waits a few more years, it will probably become more difficult.

"I'm not thinking about Lan'er or Cheng'er, but Concubine Xian's children." Xu Jingqiu placed her hand on Zhu Shenzhui's chest and said softly, "All three of them are pregnant. If all three of them give birth to princes, you, as the emperor, will naturally have to think about the princes. Even if there is only one prince, you can't treat your own children badly, right?"

"Since the matter of the four vassal states has been settled, and the title of prince is now vacant, why not keep the title of prince for now and confer it after the virtuous concubines have children? In this way, we can solve the problem of succession of the title of prince of the four vassal states and also use this opportunity to collect the title of prince of the Ming Dynasty. It's a two-pronged approach, why not do it?"

"Haha, your plan is not bad. You can grab the good stuff from the abacus beads and bring it home." Zhu Shenzhui couldn't help laughing, but he shook his head and said, "Although this idea is good, it is not practical. If I do this, it will be too obvious. If the prince tries to seize the title of a vassal king, I'm afraid everyone in the royal family will be uneasy. This can be thought of, but it can't be done, unless..."

"Unless what?"

"It's nothing. Don't mention it again. I have my own thoughts." Zhu Shenzhui put his arm around Xu Jingqiu and patted her shoulders twice. Although Xu Jingqiu was curious, she didn't ask any more questions, knowing her husband's temper. The two continued to chat, and they didn't know how long they talked before they fell asleep...

(End of this chapter)

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