Daming: If I find a great-grandson, I will teach an emperor through the ages

Chapter 245 Lan Yu beats up Li Jinglong, Zhu Xiongying’s invitation

Zhu Yuanzhang said he would draft an edict to have all the princes' salaries cut in half, but Zhu Xiongying could not really be determined to draft the edict.

The problem of the Ming Dynasty was the subsequent impact of the enfeoffment system, not the high salary of these princes.

Even if the stipends of all these princes were doubled, Zhu Xiongying would not blink an eye. After all, there are only a few princes in total, and the stipends they receive are dead. Whatever you receive this year, you will receive the same amount next year.

But those county princes, whose annual salary is only five thousand dan, only one-tenth of the prince's, have gathered together to form a gold sales hole that can crush a country's finances.

None of the vassal kings knew why Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry, but the fear of his father was engraved in his bones.

Prince Zhu Xi took the lead, quickly suppressed the laughter on his face, and respectfully admitted his mistake.

"What my father taught me is that it is biased for us to make so much noise when the emperor is here to handle government affairs," he said, bowing to Zhu Xiongying and saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me."

When Zhu Xiongying faced these Uncle Wangs, he was naturally easy to talk to and waved his hands: "A family should not be like this."

Then, when Zhu Yuanzhang did not continue to attack, a group of vassal princes hurriedly left the study in an orderly manner. More than 20 people withdrew, and the study suddenly became much more spacious.

Among the twenty-four vassal kings in the Ming Dynasty, the fiefdoms ranged from the south to the north, and the rich and the poor were not equal. The vassal kings with richer fiefdoms were not able to support themselves, but the vassal kings with poor fiefdoms had their annual salary cut off, and then extended their hands to their subordinates. There is no guarantee that something will happen to the people. The expenses of the Ming Dynasty royal family are not ordinary.

"Grandpa Huang, please don't be angry. Uncle Wang and the others have no bad intentions." Zhu Xiongying had a tolerant temperament, and the first sentence he spoke was to defend the vassal kings.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked up at Zhu Xiongying and asked sadly:

Zhu Yuanzhang was talking about Hu Weiyong and Li Shanchang during the Hongwu period. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang uprooted all these people in the name of purging the court and ruling the world. On the one hand, it was indeed for the stability of the court, and on the other hand, it was also to protect the Zhu family's power. Sit tight.

"It's just... we really can't help but think more about what Cao Wei said last night..."

Cutting off the stipends for princes, counties and princes is a simple matter, just a word from the emperor, but the consequences of doing so are extremely complicated.

Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated to speak. If the court does not support his descendants of the Zhu family, won't future generations scold him as a cruel ancestor?

"It seems that our enfeoffment law cannot be changed anymore. If the enfeoffment law is not changed, the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed sooner or later."

The chief eunuch finally had time to move a seat for Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Xiongying personally helped Zhu Yuanzhang sit down.

Zhu Yuanzhang patted Zhu Xiongying's hand and sighed.

Besides, without the imperial salary, the vassal king would be far less dependent on the imperial court. Will there be any complaints against the imperial court?

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his eldest grandson, and suddenly remembered that his eldest son Zhu Biao, like Zhu Xiongying, had helped excuse those princes beforehand. The father and son were so similar.

Zhu Yuanzhang saw Zhu Xiongying was silent and said sadly:

"Ugh……"

Is this the Ming Dynasty that you, Zhu Chongba, created by killing all your brothers? Open your eyes and see, there is no difference from when Yuan Ren was in power...

If Zhu Yuanzhang's enfeoffment system once again leads to chaos in the world, the people will express their opinions and go downstairs, but they will have no face to see others.

"We killed so many people for the sake of the Ming Dynasty. If there is another chaos three to five hundred years later, wouldn't it be in vain? What's the point of all the things we have done?"

Zhu Xiongying didn't know how to answer, and he didn't know what to do.

Among the descendants of the Zhu family in the future, there will definitely be Zhu Xiongying's descendants. Can we really ignore them?

"Xiongying, tell me, are we really wrong? The law we passed will bring a financial burden of tens of millions of taels to the Ming court three to five hundred years later. How much money can the court have to support them? But... …”

"We know that they have this kind of temperament. They are used to being princes and being lavish. How can we blame our own son?"

But when it comes to changing the enfeoffment system, how exactly do we want to change it? We can't really cut off the stipends of the feudal princes with one knife.

Zhu Xiongying comforted Zhu Yuanzhang, "Grandfather, don't be anxious. There must be a way to everything. The dangers of the enfeoffment system were raised by Grand Master Cao. I believe he will have unique insights into this. I will take the time to ask him for advice. I will make another decision based on the situation." Certainly."

After Zhu Yuanzhang listened, he nodded slowly. At this moment, he regretted driving Cao Wei back last night. He should have continued to listen to what he had to say.

"We were so rude to him last night. Will he hate us?" Zhu Yuanzhang was a little worried.

With half a son-in-law, Zhu Yuanzhang has long regarded Cao Wei, a capable son-in-law, as his own son. Now it seems that the two fathers and sons are at odds, and Zhu Yuanzhang is worried that Cao Wei will blame him.

Cao Wei, a man with a foreign surname, worked so hard for the sake of the old Zhu family, but he didn't look good on others...

Zhu Xiongying smiled, "Grandpa Huang, don't you know what Grand Master Cao is like? How could he be such a narrow-minded person?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, then straightened his face and curled his lips: "What do you mean, our old man is just a chicken?"

Zhu Xiongying waved his hands repeatedly, and Zhu Yuanzhang grinned, "If there is a result of this matter, you have to tell us."

"That's natural..."

After confirming the change of the enfeoffment system, the big stone in Zhu Xiongying's heart was finally settled. If such a long-standing disease is not eliminated, Zhu Xiongying will not be able to rest for a day.

Since the worst outcome is that the descendants of the Zhu family bring down the Ming Dynasty, then presumably, no matter how the system is reformed, the situation will not be worse than this.

Cao Wei didn't know the situation in the palace, so he planned not to go to the palace in the near future to give Zhu Xiongying and Zhu Yuanzhang some time to think, so he continued to be busy in the research institute.

However, before Cao Wei could figure out when to go to the palace to see Zhu Xiongying and Zhu Yuanzhang, a major event came out. Lan Yu, Duke of Liang, beat Cao Guogong Li Jinglong half to death at the Ministry of War.

This matter is a long story, but in the final analysis, it can be said that when the Ming Dynasty sent troops to attack the Ottomans, Cao Guogong Li Jinglong did not know that a string in his brain was broken, and he changed the route of grain and grass supplies without authorization, resulting in the destruction of a large amount of grain and grass. Lan Yu led twenty Ten thousand troops almost starved to death on the Ottoman border.

Li Jinglong made such a big mistake, so Zhu Xiongying was naturally convicted. He couldn't help but fined Cao Guogong Li Jinglong's salary for five years. He also reduced Li Jinglong's annual salary of three thousand dan by one thousand, which was just short of losing the Li family's national salary. The dukedom was taken back because the previous minimum annual salary for the Duke of Ming Dynasty was three thousand dan.

It sounds like Zhu Xiongying's punishment to Li Jinlong was not harsh. This is because Li Jinglong's mistake can be big or small.

Changing the route of grain and grass without authorization resulted in the destruction of a large amount of grain and grass. If it really caused irreparable consequences, such as tens of thousands of people starved to death by the Blue Jade Army on the front line, then the Li family's title as Duke of the Kingdom would definitely not be preserved.

But judging from the results, Li Jinglong's mistake did not have extremely serious consequences, and Zhu Xiongying was given a lenient punishment.

After all, Li Jinglong's father Li Wenzhong was the founding father of the Ming Dynasty, and the contributions made by his father's generation cannot be ignored.

In fact, from another perspective, the title of Duke of the Ming Dynasty can be regarded as a gold medal for immunity from death. The world was conquered by the fathers of the people who followed Zhu Yuanzhang. It can be said that as long as these Dukes of the Ming Dynasty do not participate in the rebellion , if the Ming Dynasty does not fall, they can always be their princes comfortably.

"Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions" once wrote: Wei Guogong, Cao Guogong, Xin Guogong, Qian Guogong (Xiping Marquis), Ying Guogong (Wuding Marquis), because of their outstanding merits, they were married to the royal family, and they enjoyed both merit and grace. , became the relatives of the Ming Dynasty, and shared weal and woe with the Ming Dynasty. Except for treason, crimes could only be discussed by the court, although they could not be punished by the judiciary.

Of course, it depends on who handles this matter. It is because of Zhu Xiongying's merciful temper that he finally raised his hand and did not kill Li Jinglong. Otherwise, even if he could not kill Li Jinglong, he would still be able to make him peel off his skin.

In fact, since Li Jinglong was punished by Zhu Xiongying, some people in the court had an ambiguous attitude towards him. This was the first salary for a prince in the Ming Dynasty with a salary of two thousand dan. Li Jinglong has become a conspicuous person in the court. , the laughing stock behind everyone’s back.

After receiving this "heavy punishment", Li Jinglong was naturally in a very unhappy mood. His father worked hard to secure a dukedom for the Li family, but he almost lost it after being knocked down by him, and he became a laughing stock in the eyes of all the officials. .

But he was ultimately responsible for all this, and he could only hate himself for being so confused.

After being punished, Li Jinglong thought that the matter was over. As time passed, he was no longer as cautious as before.

However, he had forgotten that Lan Yu and the others had been tricked so badly by him, how could they swallow this sigh of relief? They almost starved to death on the front line!
20 people can only eat one meal a day, not even half full. How can Lan Yu and the others forget this?
If Cao Wei hadn't developed muskets and artillery, the Ming army could have conquered the Han city of Arda in one go, and their 200,000 men would have been lost there!
Just when Li Jinglong felt that the boat had passed the Ten Thousand Mountains, Lan Yu and the others had been secretly waiting for the opportunity to let out a bad breath...

Two days ago, Cao Wei successfully developed an aircraft, and Zhu Xiongying ordered the establishment of an air force. Several princes in charge of military power in the Ming Dynasty had to interact with the Ministry of War.

Today, a few people happened to get together. Lan Yu, Geng Bingwen, and Guo Ying had noses that were not noses and eyes that were not eyes to Li Jinglong.

Li Jinglong had been feeling cowardly in front of several people for a long time, and his heart became more and more depressed. The emperor had already punished him, and they were still holding on to him. What on earth did they want to do?
Just when Li Jinglong was about to leave the Ministry of War, he turned around and muttered something. When Lan Yu heard it, he became furious and rushed forward and beat Li Jinglong down.

Upon seeing this, Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying were not to be outdone, and quickly joined the battle group, and the three of them beat Li Jinglong together.

It is said that the scene was very chaotic at that time. Many people from the Ministry of War gathered around and saw Li Jinglong curled up on the ground, beaten like a dead dog. Lan Yu and the other two were beating each other while cursing in their mouths. They said every sentence was as unpleasant as they wanted. It is inseparable from some special parts of the female relatives in Li Jinglong's family.

The Secretary of the Ministry of War was afraid of Lan Yu and the others, so he beat Li Jinglong to death on his own territory. He led a few people to try to break up the fight, but Lan Yu punched him twice and never dared to go over again. Everyone watched helplessly. Li Jinglong was beaten half to death.

Afterwards, someone asked people from the Ministry of War what exactly Li Jinglong said that made Lan Yu so angry, but no one could tell.

In other words, it doesn't matter whether Li Jinglong said this or not. Lan Yu and the others just wanted to vent their anger.

Anyway, it was three people who acted together. If the law does not punish everyone, it is impossible for Zhu Xiongying to do anything serious to these three generals.

The Ministry of War was located in the imperial city, and the news spread quickly. When Zhu Xiongying heard the news, he hurriedly put down his government affairs and rushed to the Ministry of War.

When Zhu Xiongying arrived at the Ministry of War, Lan Yu and the others were still beating Li Jinglong. The vulgar words they cursed made Zhu Xiongying find it unbearable.

Seeing Zhu Xiongying's arrival, Lan Yu and the others stopped. Li Jinglong was lying on the ground, like a fish that was about to die of thirst, with his mouth wide open but barely taking in any air.

Zhu Xiongying had no choice but to call the imperial doctor to carry Li Jinglong for treatment, and then asked Lan Yu and the other three to go to the Criminal Department to lead the military sticks.

It's very common for officials in the court to get into fights over different ideas, but you can't really beat people to death...

Even if Li Jinglong is no longer welcome, he is still the Duke of the Ming Dynasty. The actions of Lan Yu and the others are really too much, and Zhu Xiongying cannot do anything without punishment.

It only took half a day for all this to happen and end before it reached Cao Wei's ears.

After Cao Wei heard this, he didn't know what to say.

Ordinarily, Li Jinglong deserved it. After being tricked by Li Jinglong once, it is impossible for anyone to pretend that nothing happened.

Lan Yu and the other three were punished with dozens of military sticks for expressing such bad temper. I don't know if it's worth it or not.

It's just that after this incident spread, the actions of Lan Yu and the others were supported by many soldiers in the army. They must also want to express their anger, but due to the restrictions of their identity and status, this is also ridiculous.

Now, Li Jinglong, the Duke of Cao, really became a joke. Not only was he punished by Zhu Xiongying, he was also beaten up by Lan Yu and three others. Even the soldiers of the Ming army couldn't tolerate him. His situation was worse than Lan Yu's before. The situation is even worse, and he has become the most hated person.

Unless Li Jinglong and the descendants of the Li family can once again make great achievements and restore the family's reputation in the future, the Li family will always be in a situation of being alone in the court.

Of course, all this had little to do with Cao Wei, he just listened to the whole thing as a joke.

After ten days of continuous research, Cao Wei and Xie Jin finally developed the first generation ejection seat.

Because it is the first generation, it is very crude. Basically, a thrust device similar to a rocket launcher is placed under the pilot's seat of the aircraft to launch the seat smoothly.

At this time, Zhu Xiongying finally sent someone to invite Cao Wei into the palace to talk.

(End of this chapter)