Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 102: Abolish the nobles and never restore them again!
The moon is white.

It shone coldly on every roof of the more than 9,000 palace rooms where no emperor had lived since the 21st year of the Jiajing reign.

The Duke of Wei was lying dead on the ground, his eyes still open. His white eyes seemed to be looking at the three dukes of the capital with a strange smile.

This is so scary.

The Duke of Yingguo, the Duke of Dingguo, and the Duke of Chengguo could not help but shudder together and avoided the dead man's gaze.

The two dukes who were granted titles while living abroad have committed many evil deeds and they do not deserve to be put to death.

Although the three of them stood on the dry shore in a dignified manner, they were not clean either.

The Duke's Mansion is located in Daxing and Wanping, which is a suburb of the capital. The people in the two places have long been complaining about them and have been cursing them openly and secretly for more than a hundred years. If all these things are dug up, their fate will not be much better than that of the Duke of Wei and the Duke of Qian.

Of the five dukes of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor had two executed. Next, the emperor was going to eradicate the entire noble class.

Enlightenment came to his mind, and Duke Sanguo, who was kneeling there, felt a little unwilling.

However, the three of them who were alive were not even as powerful as the two who were dead. The Duke of Wei controlled the Nanjing Garrison Office. The Emperor mobilized thousands of Jinyiwei and Xiaolingwei to subdue the Duke of Wei's Mansion.

The Duke of Qian's Mansion holds the military power over half of the southwestern part of the Ming Dynasty. By the time the emperor surrenders, both the imperial edict and the army will probably have to arrive.

Fortunately, the Duke of Qian entered the capital, otherwise there might have been chaos in the southwest of the Ming Dynasty.

If the dukes who hold military power have ended up like this, what can they who are only honored as the top military heroes do?

There is no way to save the day!

Duke of Yingguo Zhang Rong sighed. Rather than being held accountable by the Emperor, he would rather take the initiative to speak up and maintain some dignity between the monarch and his subjects. "Your Majesty, the Duke of Yingguo has been blessed by the Emperor for generations and worshipped by the people. I always feel deeply ashamed. I am willing to resign the title of Duke of Yingguo today and return the hereditary certificate granted by Emperor Chengzuwen. I hope Your Majesty will grant my approval!"

Maybe that's just how people are.

When I couldn't stand someone, I even wanted to kill him, but when that person suddenly asked to leave, I remembered all the good things that happened in the past.

Zhu Houcong looked at this sensible man, thought for a moment and said, "Your Zhang family has been loyal to our Zhu family since our ancestor Cheng led the Jingnan Rebellion. The first Duke Yingguo was killed in the Tumu Fortress. You have devoted all your efforts over the years and shared weal and woe with us. It is not easy!"

From Zhang Yu, King of Hejian, to Zhang Fu, the first Duke of England, and then to the second and third Dukes of England, they all made great contributions to the country.

Although Zhang Rong's military and political affairs were not up to par and he had lost face for his ancestors, he was still acceptable among the nobles.

"Tell me, among your younger generations, who can be of great use?"

Duke Sanguo was stunned.

The emperor demonstrated the blood-stained stick to the three of them. At this moment, the blood of the Duke of Wei and the Duke of Qian was still hot.

He thought he would have nothing and leave the Ming Dynasty officialdom sadly, but the emperor suddenly gave him sweet gifts, and the Duke of England felt like tears welling up in his eyes.

"Zhang Yuangong."

Duke Ying wiped the tears from his eyes and said with tears of gratitude: "My son Zhang Yuangong is strong and intelligent, and he is worthy of great use."

"In that case, let Yuan Gong take charge."

Zhu Houcong nodded and said, "How about letting him serve as the commander of the Five Cities Army?"

Wucheng Bingmasi.

Whether it is the capital, Nanjing, or the central capital Fengyang, the cities are divided into east, west, south, north, and center, collectively known as the "Five Cities".

There is one commander, four deputy commanders and one clerk.

He was fully responsible for patrolling the capital city to catch thieves, clearing the streets and drains, and dealing with prisoners and fire bans.

Although the rank of the commander of the Five Cities Military Department was not high, only the sixth rank, it was a position of great power and he was the absolute confidant of the emperor. "On behalf of our ancestors, I bow to thank the emperor for his grace!"

Zhang Rong kowtowed.

Seeing the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion make a grand exit, Duke Dingguo and Duke Chengguo knew they could not wait any longer and repeated, "Your Majesty, the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion (Duke Chengguo's Mansion) has been blessed by the Emperor for generations and worshipped by the people. We always feel deeply ashamed. We are willing to resign the Dukedom of Yingguo today and return the hereditary certificate granted by Emperor Chengzu Wen. We hope Your Majesty will grant us your approval!"

The Duke may not be smart, but he can see the difference between good and bad, and his ability to imitate others is quite good when it comes to major issues.

Two dukes conferred by Emperor Taizu Gao were given death sentences, and three dukes conferred by Emperor Chengzu Wen also knew how to retreat from the throne.

The Duke Ding and Duke Cheng had served the Ming Dynasty for generations and had never made any major mistakes. They were willing to resign their titles and return their family certificates. Zhu Houcong was unwilling to embarrass them. "Tell me, who among your descendants can take up the post?"

"Xu Wenbi!"

"Zhu Shitai!"

Xu Yande and Zhu Xizhong successively reported the names of the legitimate son and the eldest son.

With the lesson of Duke Wei, everyone felt a sense of empathy when it came to establishing the legitimate heir or the illegitimate heir, and the eldest or the youngest heir.

"Wenbi, you can go to the Ministry of Clan Affairs and be a chancellor, and Shitai, you can go to the Ministry of Rites and be a junior minister. How do you think?" Zhu Houcong pondered.

A small but powerful position is one-to-one, and giving one to the Zhang family is like buying a horse with a lot of gold.

When it came to Xu Wenbi and Zhu Shitai, the situation was reversed: they held high positions but had little power.

The Imperial Clan Court was in charge of the royal family's membership, compiling the "Imperial Book", deciding on the promotion or punishment of officials of the royal family, and hearing disputes among royal family members.

In order to show the dignity of the royal family, the Ministry of Clan Affairs was ranked above the six ministries of the Cabinet.

The Chancellor of the Ministry of Clan Affairs was of the third rank, but his powers and responsibilities were mostly related to the imperial family and could rarely be decided by other ministers.

Even if something really happened to the royal family, it was often decided by the emperor's words.

It's a good place to spend time.

The same goes for the Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple.

He was mainly responsible for managing sacrifices, banquets, and palace meals, including worship, alliances, important ceremonies, banquets and feasts when receiving envoys, and other matters.

As a fourth-rank official, you may be busy during important or special holidays, but as long as you are careful, nothing will go wrong and you can serve as an official in peace for your entire life.

"I thank the emperor for his grace!"

Xu Yande and Zhu Xizhong answered with satisfaction.

Compared with those who died in the hall, it was a great blessing for the people in the two Duke's Mansions to land safely.

He also got his son a peaceful official position, and he was content with that.

The emperor’s sweet dates are so sweet.

But it is impossible to feed the horse grass without letting it work. Zhu Houcong said calmly, "What about the other marquises and earls?"

"Your Majesty, leave it to me."

Zhang Rong immediately took over the responsibility and said respectfully, "I will personally visit the residences of all the honored officers. I believe that the honored officers will understand the difficulties of the emperor and the court, and will voluntarily resign their titles and return their hereditary certificates."

"The Duke of Qian's Mansion in Nanyun?"

"Your Majesty, let us go to Nanyun in person." Xu Yande and Zhu Xizhong looked at each other and took on the important task of seeing the Duke of Qian off for the last time.

I will die with my country, and never again!
(End of this chapter)