Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 496 Great Reform of Suzerainty and Vassal Regulations
After tossing and tossing for a long time, the winter solstice is finally over.

Whether it is for the emperor or the ministers, it is a torture.

However, although Zhao Shujin was named Duke, there was not much smile on his face.

The newly promoted Xungui's mansion needs to be built by the Ministry of Households, and the Xungui's annual expenditure of Lumi exceeds [-] shi.

The military generals fight for the emperor, a little Lumi money is nothing, but Zhao Shu is very dissatisfied with the vassal king's spending.

At night, dragging his tired body, Zhao Shu complained:

"Now there are hundreds of vassals on Fanwang Street, including more than county kings and princes. I wonder what regulations your Majesty has?"

"Forgive me, the old minister, if you still spend it according to the regulations of the court, I am afraid that the Taicang will be empty, and the plan to build a new Beijing will also be put on hold..."

It's no wonder that Zhao Shu is so rude. It's really a bottomless pit for the vassal king's annual salary, which can't be filled at all.

In the early years of the Kingdom, the prince’s annual salary was [-] shi, and later changed to [-] shi. That’s all, the key is that the county king’s annual salary is [-] shi.

Therefore, during the Jiajing period, banknotes were folded, the number of concubines was restricted, and the imperial examination was allowed and reforms were carried out during the Wanli period, the number of clans gradually decreased.

After all, they are relatives, and now they still pay attention to the friendship between relatives. Zhu Yixi can only support them and build some houses for them to live in temporarily.

But if it has been like this, without a specific charter, not only the court is not at ease, but also the vassal kings are also uncomfortable.

Some wanted to return to their feudal prince's mansion, some wanted to ask for a year's salary, and some even asked for a name to ask for a title for their son and grandson.

However, the unanimous opinion of the imperial court is that Lumi must not be issued according to the standard, even if it is the Sanqi folded banknotes during the Jiajing period, the imperial court cannot bear it.

"What is the constitution of the cabinet?"

Zhu Yixi didn't care, and asked casually.

Ever since he became emperor, Zhu Yixi no longer directly dictated his own thoughts, and always wanted to ask the cabinet and ministers for their opinions, and weighed profits and losses.

One is to avoid mistakes and embarrassing moments.

Secondly, if there is more discussion, it will not be the emperor's arbitrary decision. If something happens in the future, it will be easier to find the blamer.

"Several colleagues in the cabinet also believe that the "Regulations on Suzerain and Vassal Affairs" should be reformed."

Zhao Shu was not surprised when he heard this, and directly stated:
"The suzerainty and vassal reforms during the Jiajing and Wanli years were mostly aimed at the middle and lower-level clans, and treated the symptoms rather than the root cause. The most important county kings and princes in the suzerainty system are the key, and they must be greatly reformed."

During the Wanli period, the low-level clan was allowed to take the imperial examination, and free teaching of Zongxue was set up, which achieved certain results.

But the time is too short. There are some Juren and Scholars, but none of them are Jinshi.

Moreover, the imperial court was extremely strict with the middle and lower ranks of the clan, such as Fuguo General and Fengguo Lieutenant, who had no children, even if they had brothers and nephews, they could not inherit the title.

The bottom-level Zong Lu Ke buckled, but he did not dare to neglect the county prince and prince, and succession by nephew and nephew was very common.

"All the princes are the county kings, and the county princes are all the generals of the town. Such a title will bring endless disasters."

"According to the old minister's opinion, it is better to imitate the nobles, one son inherits, and the rest of the sons will be the common people, and the incense and sacrifices will continue, and they will be able to prosper."

Zhao Shu bent over and made a suggestion cautiously.

Limiting the number of titles is the best solution.

"Except for the prince's son, the rest of the princes also become common people?"

The emperor questioned whether this pace was a bit too big, and it was easy to talk nonsense.

"Except for the son who is the king of the county, the rest of the sons can be named generals of the town, and the sons of the generals of the town will no longer be awarded titles, and their titles will be reduced to the next rank, and they will be exempted after they reach the middle lieutenant of Fengguo."

To put it bluntly, reduce the distribution of titles from the source, so how many sons can the princess give birth to?How many county kings were born?
According to this calculation, the accumulation of titles can be slowed down by more than ten times, plus some unexpected extinct heirs, it can be said that it only takes 50 years to get rid of [-]% of the clans.

"As for the vassal princes in Nanjing today, they can be judged by His Majesty."

"Holy judge?"

Zhu Yixi chuckled lightly and said, "The method you mentioned is not bad, it can be implemented, and the pressure on the court in the future can be reduced immediately."

Speaking of this, he paused for a while, and continued: "It's just that the problem of the vassal king in Nanjing City needs to be resolved urgently."

The emperor rubbed his eyebrows, and after coming over for a while, he said:

"There are not many princes, let's build them a mansion according to the imperial court's regulations, right in Beijing—"

Pausing here in Beijing, Zhao Shu understood that His Majesty was still insisting on the strategy of not letting the vassal kings go down to the local area, which was contrary to the emperor's ancestor's precept.

But the new dynasty and the new atmosphere can all be understood.

"As for the county kings, let's build them on the scale of a baron. After all, there are more people, so we can only make do with it."

"In addition, the prince's ancestral salary is issued according to the standard of the Duke of the country, and the county king is issued according to the standard of the baron, and then it will be reduced by half in turn."

Compared with the previous standard, this standard is not only a discount, it is a broken bone.

You know, the king of the county is two thousand stones, while the baron is only three hundred stones, the gap is huge.

But in this way, dozens of county kings only have ten or twenty thousand shi of grain, so the burden is too easy.

"correct."

Speaking of this, Zhu Yixi continued: "Now these county kings, one of their sons can become the general of the town."

Hearing this, even Zhao Shu had to admit that the emperor's reform was too thorough. After three or five generations, how many clans would there be?

Moreover, how should I put it, it seems a little harsh and unreasonable.

This damages the emperor's reputation!
Zhao Shu had no choice but to persuade: "Your Majesty, the vassals are stranded in Nanjing. Many of them have nothing to save. I am afraid that it will be difficult to support the family by relying on Lumi alone!"

Zhao Shu also felt a little embarrassed and a little ashamed to confiscate those palaces and vassal lands into the imperial court, so he couldn't help suggesting:
"Nowadays the land is sparsely populated, why don't we reward them with some fields, so as to pass on the family and raise children."

"That's not bad."

Zhu Yixi thought for a while before agreeing to the suggestion.

"Nowadays the area around Beizhili is sparsely populated, so it's just a good time to allocate some fields to them, so as not to think about it, saying that I, the emperor, treat them harshly."

The Manchus left, but the large-scale land enclosure in Beizhili remained. Even if part of it was returned to the original owner, there would still be a lot left. According to Jiang Yueguang, there are at least [-] hectares left.

Rewarding these abandoned lands to princes and county kings is also regarded as the emperor's preferential treatment for clan relatives.

This can be regarded as using land to buy their future titles and stop their nonsense.

"The prince has a thousand hectares, and the county king has two hundred hectares. Let's divide it by this standard!"

Considering that the soil and water in northern Zhili is not as good as that in the south, and the labor force is not sufficient, since it is a barrier, then be generous.

In Sichuan and Huguang annexed a lot of land, his need for Huangzhuang is not so urgent.

(End of this chapter)