Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

Chapter 626: Audience with the Nine Great Kings (Subscribe please!!)

"Father, I know you are concerned about your brothers."

"Now that Lan Yu's problems have been solved, I will also be able to solve the problems of my brothers."

Zhu Biao knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was worried about the affairs of the Nine Frontier Kings, so he spoke directly to comfort him.

"If only it were that easy to solve!"

"Originally, we were planning to let you handle this matter yourself after a hundred years, but given the current situation, we should sort it out first!"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly.

The matter of Lan Yu was not a big deal actually. It was dealt with and that was just to make Lan Yu behave himself. However, if the matter of the nine kings of the frontiers was not handled properly, it might very well lay hidden dangers for the future of the Ming Dynasty.

Just when Zhu Biao wanted to say something else, civil and military officials walked in in two rows.

One row for civil officials and one row for military generals.

Walking in the front were Ouyang Lun and Lan Yu.

Now Ouyang Lun is the chief minister of the cabinet, with the same status as the prime minister. He is the true head of all officials. Even Li Shanchang has to stand behind him.

Lan Yu is now the Duke of Liang and the Grand Marshal. In addition, Xu Da and Tang He are not in the capital all year round, so there is no problem for Lan Yu to walk in front.

"Your Highness, your Majesty, the Emperor!"

Zhu Biao nodded, "My dear ministers, please take your seats! Today is a celebration banquet, not a court meeting, so there is no need to be so serious and reserved!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Civil and military officials all saluted and then took their seats in order.

"Come on everyone, I will drink three cups with you!"

Zhu Biao was also quite generous. He picked up the wine glass and drank three cups in a row with the ministers present.

Naturally, the civil and military ministers did not dare to be negligent and also drank three big cups of wine. As soon as the wine went into their stomachs, the atmosphere on the scene immediately became better.

Zhu Yuanzhang rarely spoke throughout the whole process. All the adjustments were made by Zhu Biao alone, and Zhu Biao was very familiar with it.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang nod with satisfaction.

"Your Majesty! I have something to report!?"

Minister of War Tang Duo stood up and said.

"What's the matter, Mr. Tang?"

Zhu Biao asked.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor, the rewards for the soldiers have already been distributed!"

"I would also like to say that the nine great princes guarding the border have also made great contributions to my name this time. I hope that the emperor and His Majesty will decide on the rewards as soon as possible!"

Minister of War Tang Duo spoke loudly.

As these words were spoken, the originally lively banquet suddenly became quiet, and the atmosphere gradually became tense.

Nowadays, the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty have many opinions on the management of the vassal kings, and many officials have also noticed this matter. They are also very aware that this matter is thorny and they don’t want to get involved easily. After all, this is the royal family’s own business.

Some officials thought that since this territory was conquered by the princes, then it should be assigned to these princes. It would be a good opportunity to let these princes expand the territory for the Daimyo, isn't that great!

Of course, some officials also believed that if all the territories conquered by the vassal kings belonged to them, then over time, the vassal kings would continue to grow bigger and bigger, and at that time they would become too powerful to be eliminated. At that time, if the vassal kings disobeyed the orders of the court, or even turned against the court, the Ming Dynasty would be in chaos.

Throughout history, there have been many cases of vassal kings causing rebellions!
The Zhou Dynasty enfeoffed the princes, and the princes attacked and annexed each other. The stronger the country became, the stronger it became. However, the Zhou Dynasty, as the central dynasty, declined step by step and finally became a name only!
In addition to these two mainstream opinions, civil and military officials had other opinions.

Now that the Minister of War Tang Duo had heard what he had heard, the civil and military officials also wanted to know which method the emperor and the retired emperor wanted to use.

"Cough cough!"

Zhu Yuanzhang coughed twice, then said, "Tang Duo did remind us that there is still such a thing to deal with!"

"Although today is a celebration banquet, we still need an agenda. So the agenda of today's banquet is how to reward the nine vassal kings of the border. In addition, we will also discuss the current vassal king system!"

"Everyone, you can speak freely! Say whatever you want. After all, today is a banquet, not a formal court meeting!"

"If what you said makes sense, both we and the Emperor will be rewarded!"

As Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, an official immediately stood up.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor, I believe that the vassal kings are still the armies of the Ming Dynasty. All their supplies and weapons are from the imperial court. The territory they conquered should be handed over to the imperial court! This is the same as the spoils of war. The imperial court should record them and then manage them uniformly!"

After saying this, another official immediately stood up and said, "This lord is right. The territory conquered by the vassal kings should be assigned to the court, not directly to the vassal kings. They have made contributions in expanding the territory, so they just need to be rewarded more! It is inappropriate to directly reward them with land!"

The words of these two officials immediately won the support of many officials. Allowing the princes, especially the princes guarding the border, to expand their territories at will was too risky!
Zhu Yuanzhang neither nodded in agreement nor shook his head in disagreement with what these officials said. After all, the views of these two officials were somewhat similar to his previous views.

"Well, what you said makes some sense, but we have already handed this matter over to Ouyang Lun to handle!"

After that, Zhu Yuanzhang set his eyes on Ouyang Lun and asked, "Ouyang Lun, so many days have passed, can you tell me your plan for dealing with this matter?"

Ouyang Lun nodded when he heard Zhu Yuanzhang's question. "What else can we do? Just tell the nine princes to continue to work hard to expand their respective fiefdoms and commend their actions!"

"Wouldn't it be better if the vassal king expanded his territory to be larger than that of the Ming Dynasty?"

"I think it will be alright if we handle it this way."

As Ouyang Lun spoke, all the civil and military officials present were stunned.

An official immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, this plan is dangerous!"

"If we allow the vassal kings to develop and expand, won't the Ming Dynasty be inferior to the vassal kings in the future? By then, what difference will there be between us and the Zhou Dynasty!?"

"Once internal conflicts arise, it will be a rebellion among the kings!"

Many officials felt that Ouyang Lun's remarks were too radical and risky, and they spoke out in opposition.

These officials kept talking one after another, not giving Ouyang Lun any chance to continue speaking. He just shouted loudly: "Shut up, everyone!!"

"Chirp chirp! The chickens in the market are quieter than you guys!!"

"This latest feudal system was jointly agreed upon by me, His Majesty, and the Emperor. What are you questioning here?"

"Just follow the plan of His Majesty the Emperor and the Retired Emperor. Don't try to be different. You are a fool!"

"You're talking as if you can't handle a rebellion if the new feudal system is not implemented! You're just a bunch of people who only know how to talk on paper! If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense, it will make you look ignorant!"

"It is a disgrace to me to serve in the same court as you!"

Ouyang Lun opened fire with all his might, using the same skill he had used to scold ten famous scholars. The officials at the scene were so angry that their faces turned red, and they couldn't even say a word in reply.

Even though Ouyang Lun stopped talking, these officials were still stunned by the scolding and looked at Ouyang Lun in surprise.

Ouyang Lun didn't care about all that and continued to criticize!
"If the Ming Dynasty wants to develop, it needs more resources. Where are the resources? Of course, it's in the land!"

"Open up more land. Do you want the Ming Dynasty to go to war every year? If this gets out, it will be bad for our reputation!"

"Wouldn't it be better to let the princes guarding the border do this? You want the horse to run without giving it grass to eat. Your plan is useless no matter how good it is!" "If you don't let the princes guarding the border go, let you civil servants who don't even dare to kill a chicken go? I'm afraid that Fenfen Zhong will be destroyed by others!"

"Hey - forget it, I'm too lazy to scold you! Think about it carefully!"

Ouyang Lun's second wave of scolding made many officials look enlightened.

Yes! The Ming Dynasty today is different from before. The Ming Dynasty today wants to be the Celestial Empire, the land of all nations!

If there were wars every year, it would be hard to say if the news got out.

The development of the Ming Dynasty is inseparable from territorial expansion, so the vassal king guarding the border is undoubtedly a very suitable candidate.

Thinking about it this way, it seems that the suggestions put forward by Ouyang Lun are still very useful!
Thinking of this, many officials who originally wanted to argue with Ouyang Lun all sat down silently. The officials who had previously shouted that it was not possible now felt a little guilty.

On the other hand, although Ouyang Lun cursed in front of Zhu Yuanzhang at the banquet, which was suspected of violating etiquette, Ouyang Lun was right!
Moreover, when Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Ouyang Lun had scolded these civil and military officials so hard that they could not even raise their heads, he actually felt inexplicably excited!
Hehe, you guys often use words to oppose me and morally blackmail me every day. Now you are in trouble!

The look in Zhu Biao's eyes when he looked at Ouyang Lun was so admiring that it almost overflowed the screen. If Zhu Yuanzhang hadn't thought about the fact that he was still the emperor and had to take his image into consideration, he would have definitely cheered loudly at this moment.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

"Ouyang Lun, you are quite good. You expressed our thoughts."

"Regarding the territories occupied by the border princes, they will be directly allocated to them!"

Zhu Yuanzhang no longer hesitated and gave the order decisively.

Hearing this, Ouyang Lun rolled his eyes.

Good guy!
Old Zhu, Old Zhu, you are treating me as a substitute for your mouth!

Is it me who is responsible for insulting and offending others?

The key point is that Lao Zhu doesn't pay Ouyang Lun, he is just taking advantage of him for free, which makes Ouyang Lun very unhappy!

But there was nothing he could do even if he was unhappy, it was because he didn't react just now.

But it’s good to scold someone, it makes my whole body and mind feel relaxed.

"Your Majesty's honor!"

Civil and military officials also shouted in cooperation.

Disagree? Is it okay to disagree? Believe it or not, they have just been scolded by Ouyang Lun. If they dare to disagree, Zhu Yuanzhang or even Zhu Biao will scold them again!
That's it! I'm really tired!

Whether the vassal kings can annex and expand the territory or not, it is the emperor's family affair and has little to do with the interests of the civil and military officials.

They opposed it at first only because they thought it was too risky and would create hidden dangers for the Ming Dynasty in the future. If a rebellion by vassal kings occurred in the Ming Dynasty in the future, the ones who would be unlucky would be these noble families!

But after all, it is a matter of the future, and no one can tell for sure.

So no one insisted.

"Ouyang Lun."

"What?" Ouyang Lun asked unhappily.

"Uh" Zhu Yuanzhang's face changed.

"Ahem, I wonder what the emperor wants to say?" Ouyang Lun quickly put on a face with a smile and a humble look.

Depend on!
I almost forgot that this is at a banquet. We still have to give face to Zhu Yuanzhang!

Zhu Yuanzhang was also a little confused. It was the first time he saw this guy so bold. However, seeing that Ouyang Lun quickly made up for it, and other officials didn't seem to care too much about it, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to hold back again.

After all, although the general policy has been decided, to completely solve the problem, it still depends on Ouyang Lun!

"Well, we have already called back the nine border vassal kings to the capital. They are now staying in their respective palaces. When do you think this matter will be completely resolved?"

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke slowly.

Hearing this, Ouyang Lun, who had been able to force a smile, could no longer pretend.

Good job, Old Zhu.

Was it me who gave you the advice? Was it me who scolded the civil and military officials for you? Was it me who asked you to arrange things for your son?

You are determined to catch me and grab me alone, right?
I really want to reject you directly.

Swish--

All eyes fell on Ouyang Lun.

Forehead.
Facing so many pairs of eyes, Ouyang Lun came to his senses. If he really rejected Zhu Yuanzhang in front of so many people, according to the old guy's character, he would definitely hold a grudge. Who knows what kind of trouble he would cause then!
never mind!

Now that the idea has been put forward and people have been scolded, it doesn’t matter if we deal with a few more of Zhu Yuanzhang’s sons!

Thinking of this, Ouyang Lun immediately cupped his hands and said, "If the Emperor and His Majesty trust me, you can directly call the nine border guarding princes!"

"I can only arrange for them!"

"it is good!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was delighted. He had said so much and was just waiting for you, Ouyang Lun, to say this.

"Wang Zhong, go and call Di'er and the others over to me!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said loudly immediately.

"Yes! I obey your order!"

After receiving the order, Wang Zhong quickly left Taile Palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very much looking forward to it, Zhu Biao was also very much looking forward to it, and the civil and military officials were even more looking forward to it. Everyone was looking forward to how Ouyang Lun would arrange these border guards.

soon.

Wang Zhong brought the nine vassal kings who were guarding the border to the Taile Palace.

"Your son, I pay my respects to my father and my brother!"

The nine princes of the Ming Dynasty, including Prince of Qin Zhu Chong, Prince of Jin Zhu Gang, Prince of Yan Zhu Di, Prince of Dai Zhu Gui, Prince of Su Zhu Jian, Prince of Liao Zhu Zhi, Prince of Qing Zhu Zan, Prince of Ning Zhu Quan and Prince of Gu Zhu Tan, lined up and knelt down in unison to pay their respects to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao.

"My royal brothers, please excuse me!"

"Someone come! Take a seat!!"

Zhu Biao smiled and motioned for his nine younger brothers to stand up.

Zhu Chong, the Prince of Qin, Zhu Gang, the Prince of Jin, Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan and other border princes stood up only after seeing Zhu Yuanzhang nod.

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw his nine sons in front of him, his eyes became moist.

Alas - I am old. I haven't seen my son for so long. I can't suppress my emotions.
(End of this chapter)