Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 55 Why? Because I am the Emperor of Ming Dynasty
Qianqing Palace.

Prince Xiang came in hurriedly and bowed slightly to Zhu Qizhen: "Your Majesty, why did you beat the Sixth Brother? He is your uncle. What will the people of the world think of you if you do this?"

Zhu Qizhen pretended to look sad and hesitated to speak. Seeing this, Prince Xiang became more anxious: "Just because he misbehaved in front of the king, you want to strip him of his princely title? Your Majesty, this... this seems unbecoming of a benevolent king."

"Uncle, do you really think I am blaming him for his misconduct in front of the emperor?" Zhu Qizhen sighed helplessly.

He picked up a book on the imperial table and handed it to King Xiang. King Xiang took it, opened it, and his face quickly darkened, his tone full of disbelief: "This... is all what Old Six did over the years?"

"Yes!" Zhu Qizhen nodded in confirmation. "The King of Jing not only seized the farmland of the common people, but also the farmland of the military. He was already like this when the late emperor was alive. After the late emperor passed away, he became even more unscrupulous!"

King Xiang closed the book, a look of pain on his face: "I knew that the Sixth Prince was hot-tempered, but I didn't expect that he would seize the land and kill so many people. Hey, I was regent with him back then, and he...he was also a wise king."

Zhu Qizhen knew that Prince Xiang was referring to the time when Emperor Renzong passed away, and Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji was in Nanjing. In order to stabilize the situation, Empress Dowager Zhang ordered Prince Jing and Prince Xiang to supervise the country together.

Queen Mother Zhang was also a powerful woman. Prince Jing was a concubine's son, and Prince Xiang was a legitimate son. With a concubine and a legitimate son acting as regents, neither of them could do anything wrong.

"Uncle, it only shows that the Prince of Jing was pretending in front of the Queen Mother." Zhu Qizhen spread his hands, "After he became a vassal, he became a different person. He beat people to death several times."

King Xiang frowned and asked, "Your Majesty, how do you plan to deal with King Jing?"

……

Zhu Qizhen took Prince Xiang to a side hall and sat down, waving his hand to dismiss all the eunuchs and palace maids. He sighed quietly, "Uncle, I'll show you another memorial. This is the latest investigation of the Jinyiwei."

He picked up the things on the table and handed them to King Xiang, sighing heavily: "It's shocking! Why did this happen? It's because everyone from the royal family to the local officials are annexing the land."

King Xiang looked at the memorial, his face turned pale and his hands were shaking slightly.

"The refugees I saw numbered in the tens of thousands, carrying the elderly and children, sleeping in the open air."

"The refugees who went into the mountains took the routes of Xi'an and Fengxiang in the north, Shangzhou and Yunyang in the east, and Chongqing, Weifu and Yichang in the southwest. They brought their elderly and children with them, and they came in groups of thousands, and there was an endless stream everywhere."

"Jingxiang is a land that connects several provinces, with rivers and hills stretching out for thousands of miles. The mountains are deep and the land is vast, making it easy for people to gather there. If we sit back and watch, it will be a disaster."

Looking at the above content, King Xiang took a deep breath. If the situation continues to develop in this way, it won’t be long before war breaks out everywhere.

Zhu Qizhen took a sip of tea and said sincerely:

"Uncle, I have thought about it. If we want to completely solve the problem of land annexation, we have to start with our Zhu family. I deposed King Zheng just to show the world. This time, I am serious! However, I know that I will face huge resistance. Uncle, please help me."

"I know that I will never become a saintly monarch like the ancients, but I will at least protect the Ming Dynasty left by my ancestors, right? I have made mistakes, and I am determined to repent, even if I have to bear the infamy, I will do it!"

After hearing this, King Xiang was overwhelmed with emotion. He stood up and then knelt down respectfully: "Your Majesty, I will do my best to assist Your Majesty!"

Zhu Qizhen immediately reached out to help him up, and said with emotion: "Uncle, the Zhu family's world will eventually depend on our own people."

……

Kunning Palace.

The Queen Mother leaned lazily against the cushion, her temperament was elegant and dignified, but her dark eyebrows were slightly frowned: "Your Majesty has been chatting with the King of Xiang for more than an hour, and now he hasn't come out yet?"

The maid Shuangxi nodded affirmatively: "Yes, the news just came that the eunuch chief Jin Ying was driven out."

The Queen Mother sat up straight, stretched out her jade hand and gently slid across her drooping bangs, her eyes as cold as ice: "Your Majesty is trying to win over Prince Xiang, very good, with Prince Xiang's help, he can do something big." "Your Majesty, Your Majesty beat Prince Jing and abolished his title." Shuangxi looked worried, "Doesn't this seem to be disregarding family affection?"

"Haha, where does the family affection come from in the royal family?" said the Queen Mother coldly.

Shuangxi shut up, not daring to ask more questions, feeling that the Queen Mother and His Majesty were becoming increasingly distant. The Queen Mother continued to lean on the cushion, closing her eyes to rest, a strand of hair falling from her forehead, adding a bit of self-confidence and pride.

"Tell Marquis Huichang to come and see me." She whispered with her eyes closed.

"Yes!" Shuangxi immediately went out to pass the order.

The Queen Mother slowly opened her eyes and looked towards the north. She was waiting for news from the north.

……

The next day.

Zhu Qizhen summoned the princes again, but this time he did not need a eunuch to hold the jade tablet, because the person who came was Zhu Qizhen, the prince of Zheng, who was of the same generation as Zhu Qizhen but younger than him.

Prince Zheng was old and ill, so he sent his crown prince Zhu Qiyan to Beijing. Prince Zheng was Renzong's son, the eldest among the princes, and had a high status.

However, the father and son did not do anything in the fiefdom, and they also wantonly occupied the land of the common people and occupied the military settlements. The soldiers in the military settlements lost their land and fled in large numbers, becoming refugees.

Whenever he saw this, Zhu Qizhen felt quite emotional. Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang thought he had created a system that could do everything, but less than a hundred years later, many of them have become in name only.

Zhu Qilin went up to the hall with an arrogant look on his face. He looked down on the emperor who was defeated in Tumu Fortress. He just knelt down and bowed: "Your Majesty, I, Zhu Qilin, greet you."

Without waiting for Zhu Qizhen to speak, he stood up.

Zhu Qizhen sneered: "Did I let you get up?"

"Your Majesty, I have already paid my respects. I still have to go to Kunning Palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager." Zhu Qilin said.

Zhu Qizhen stood up and strode towards Zhu Qizhen. Zhu Qizhen showed no fear and looked directly at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I will take my leave. I am late and I am afraid that the Empress Dowager will blame me...ah..."

Before he could finish his words, Zhu Qizhen slapped him on the shoulder.

Bang!
Zhu Qizhen was knocked to the ground. Zhu Qizhen stepped on his face and said coldly, "It seems that I have to teach you some etiquette in front of the emperor. When a prince meets the emperor, he should bow five times and kowtow three times. What's more, you are just a prince! Come on, kowtow!"

Zhu Qizhen retracted his foot, and Zhu Qizhen gnashed his teeth in anger: "Your Majesty, what right do you have to hit someone?"

"Why? Because I am the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and because of the Imperial Instructions of the Ming Dynasty!" Zhu Qizhen shouted, "Today I will not only beat you, but also arrest you. After you kowtow, go to the prison."

Zhu Qilin finally felt frightened. He kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. This is my first time to pay homage to you and I don't know the etiquette. I admit my mistake!"

"It's too late!" Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said, "Come here, take him to the prison!"

Four Jinyiwei rushed forward and dragged Zhu Qilin away.

A weak request for votes.



(End of this chapter)