I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Zhang Weixian is currently in charge of the clan affairs, so he already knew that the emperor would ask him. After hearing this, he collected his thoughts and replied slowly:

"Your Majesty, most of the Qi common people have been sent to Fengyang High Wall for imprisonment due to the previous case of beating an imperial official. They have nothing to do with this matter. As for Zhu Ruiqiao and his like, they were all expelled from the genealogy and demoted to concubines after the incident in the 45th year of Wanli. Human beings cannot be counted among the clan.

Therefore, Qi Shuren's lineage has nothing to do with this case and will not be punished.Zhu Ruiyao cannot be punished according to the regulations of the "Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions", but must be dealt with according to the people. Such a serious crime of rebellion should be punished according to the law! "

Zhu Ruiyao must be dead, but Zhang Weixian felt that the Qi common people were not punished.This decision made Zhu Youxiao very unhappy.So he immediately shook his head and said dissatisfied:
"Zhu Ruiqiao and his ilk will not be spared, but the people of Qi cannot go unpunished. They are treated well by the court, but they make big mistakes many times. First, they falsely receive the clan salary, and then they commit evil crimes and conspire to cause chaos. They are not guilty. Please forgive me. Therefore, I have decided to demote all Qi common people to common people and abolish the clan genealogy."

As soon as this statement came out, not only Zhang Weixian was surprised, but also Ye Xianggao who was standing beside him was extremely surprised.

The emperor is too cruel. Zhu Ruiyao has been demoted to a commoner, so he has nothing to do with the Qi commoner lineage.Even if it is a conspiracy to cause chaos, it is impossible to abolish the Qi common people and become common people.

"Absolutely not, Your Majesty. Such a punishment goes against the ancestral system! According to the "Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions", the Qi common people have already been punished with the title of vassal, sent to Fengyang High Wall, and imprisoned until death. Why should we increase the crime? . Besides, Zhu Ruijiao’s lineage has nothing to do with Qi Shuren’s lineage. If Your Majesty wants to implement this method, I am afraid that the vassal kings will be dissatisfied and write a letter to express their opinions."

Zhang Weixian's words did not impress Zhu Youxiao. Zhang Weixian was right. If Zhu Youxiao did this, it would definitely cause dissatisfaction among the vassal kings.But Zhu Youxiao didn't care, he did it deliberately.

To reform the sectarian system, one must start by killing chickens to scare monkeys to show one's determination, and wouldn't it be appropriate to take the common people's lineage?

Ye Xianggao on the side knew the emperor very well. When he saw the emperor's words to abolish the Qi common people lineage, he immediately understood the emperor's intention and quickly folded his hands in silence, not daring to fan the flames any more.

But what he did did not escape Zhu Youxiao's eyes. He looked at Ye Xianggao with a smile and said slowly:

"Ye Aiqing, the British Lord said that it is not appropriate for me to do this. Then you are the judge. You can tell me whether it is appropriate to do this."

How dare Ye Xianggao say the word "agree"? Those vassal kings would hate him to death if he said it.

"Your Majesty, the "Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions" says: Those who report to the vassal and vassal for minor crimes shall be regarded as alienating the flesh and blood of the Tian family and should be put to death; those who report to the vassal and vassal for serious offenses without solid evidence shall also be executed. Therefore, this is I have no right to interfere with your Majesty’s family affairs and can only act according to your orders.”

Zhu Youxiao laughed when he heard this and secretly said that Ye Xianggao still knew how to use tricks.

As soon as the "Emperor Ming Ancestor Instructions" was brought out, his words were immediately blocked.He was right, this was the emperor's family matter and he should not interfere.

But he also provided himself with weapons, and he immediately turned to look at Zhang Weixian.

"Zhang Aiqing, did you hear this? This is my family matter. You just have to follow my orders. The Qi people have been given many opportunities by the imperial court, but they do not know how to cherish them at all. Their sin is unpardonable. If I did not kill them, they would have been killed. Because they have my royal bloodline, they should cherish this result." "In this case, I can only obey the order!"

When Zhang Weixian heard these words, he knew that the emperor had made up his mind, so he could only nod in agreement.But he knew very well that this was just the beginning, and life for the clan would probably be difficult in the future.

"Well, let's do that."

Now that the matter of seeing the common people in Qi is over, the next step is to strike while the iron is hot and use this as an opportunity to solve the clan problem.

Zhu Youxiao stood up slowly, looked at Ye Xianggao and Zhang Weixian, first sighed, and then said solemnly:

"Two beloved ministers, one of you is the chief minister of the cabinet and the other is the minister of military aircraft. You can be said to be the people I trust most, the ministers of the imperial court. Therefore, I have called you here today, one is to deal with the problems of the common people of Qi, and the other is that I There is also one thing that worries me. This matter will cost the country money and food at the least, and corrode the foundation of the country at the worst.

But because it involves so much, even I dare not be independent. However, if we ignore it, it will shake the foundation of the country.Every time I think about it, I don’t know what to do.Therefore, I called you here today because I want to discuss it with you. "

Seeing this, Ye Xianggao and Zhang Weixian looked at each other and secretly thought that this matter for common people was indeed an appetizer, and the main course would begin next.So they both bowed and said:
"The ministers are willing to share the worries for His Majesty!"

Seeing what the two said, Zhu Youxiao nodded with satisfaction.Then he thought about it for a while, and then slowly said this long-hidden question.

"Since Taizu, our Ming Dynasty clan has more than 18 people in the family tree. If we include their wives, children, eunuchs and servants in the mansion, the number is probably no less than hundreds of thousands. All these people have to be supported by me, the Ming Dynasty, even though the imperial court The amount of the clan's salary has been determined, but the cost is huge. As you know, it is 150 million taels.

If that's all, forget it, but the vassal kings in various places are not satisfied with salary and silver. Most of them rely on their clan status to occupy land, commit crimes, and buy and sell by force.Just as I was worried just now, the Qi common people do not even have a title, so they can go unscrupulously in Nanjing and beat up the imperial officials.

As for the clans in other places, aren't they even more unscrupulous? When I see them doing evil, the court officials don't even dare to control them.Over time, these people not only spent money and food, obstructed the court, but also ruined the reputation of the clan in the fish and meat village.Therefore, every time I think about it, I feel anxious and don’t know what to do. "

After the two of them heard what the emperor said, if they were the happiest, it was Ye Xianggao.

After all, the clan problem has been around for a long time, and officials from top to bottom of the imperial court have long been dissatisfied with these unscrupulous clans.However, due to their clan status and the "Huang Ming Ancestral Instructions" left by Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, they cannot criticize the clan. Even if the clan is guilty, it is not their turn to deal with it.

But now that the emperor finally decided to rectify these clans that had done evil and were mostly useless to the country, Ye Xianggao couldn't help but feel a little excited.But he still tried hard to contain his mood. He must not show joy now, otherwise he would definitely be disliked by the emperor.

"Your Majesty, the clan has a large number of people. Although there are lawbreakers, not all of them do bad things. This clan is of royal blood, and Taizu's "Huang Ming Ancestral Instructions" stipulates that no punishment should be imposed rashly, so I hope your Majesty will think twice. "(End of chapter)