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

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Feng Sheng and his companions, who were terrified and fearful, and sneered in his heart.

These old brothers clearly heard the news that Li Shanchang was summoned to the palace, and were afraid that they would be implicated, so they came running in a hurry to resign!

He knew these Huaixi nobles too well - when they followed him to conquer the world, they were all brave and fearless generals, but now that they have become rich and powerful, they have become timid.

As soon as Li Shanchang was called into the palace for questioning, they couldn't sit still, fearing that they would be the next.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt annoyed.

He really wanted to crack down on the Huaixi Party, but the court was in need of manpower right now - the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty were eyeing them covetously, the Kingdom of Nanyue was ready to make a move, and most of the military generals who could stand on their own in the court were former members of the Huaixi Party.

If they were really asked to quit, where would the court find so many capable and skilled generals in such a short period of time?
But if their resignation was rejected directly, it would seem that the court could not do without them, which would only encourage their arrogance.

We have to think of a way to make them feel at ease to stay, but also to make them understand that this world will eventually belong to the Zhu family!

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately narrowed his eyes and stared at them for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter:
"Brothers, are you scared to run away after hearing that we summoned Li Shanchang?"

Feng Sheng and the others' faces changed, and they waved their hands quickly: "Your Majesty, please understand. We have absolutely no such intention!"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and stomped his foot heavily in the wooden barrel, splashing water: "Bullshit! How can I not know what you are thinking?"

He turned to look at Ouyang Lun and said, "Prince Consort, tell me, what is going on here?"

Ouyang Lun rubbed his feet slowly and said with a smile: "Grand Emperor, the dukes and marquises are obviously frightened."

"Your Majesty, you have to understand!"

Zhu Biao also reacted and frowned, saying: "My dear ministers, the court is in need of people. The remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty have not been eliminated, and the Nanyue Kingdom is ready to make a move. It would be irresponsible for you to resign at this time."

"Regarding the matter of Duke Han, the Emperor has already made a decision. This matter will not involve you!"

"You can rest assured!"

Guo Ying said with a bitter face: "Your Majesty, I am really old and weak."

"Bullshit!" Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly shouted, "Last month you boasted to me that you could pull a three-stone bow, but now you are old and weak?"

Ouyang Lun interrupted at the right time: "Your Majesty, calm down. In my opinion, you gentlemen are afraid of being implicated."

"How about this, let each of them write a letter of guarantee, promising to cut off all ties with Li Shanchang, not to form cliques for personal gain, and to continue to serve the court."

"Then everything that happened before will be written off!"

Zhu Yuanzhang rolled his eyes and clapped his hands, saying, "Good idea! Come on, prepare the pens and ink!"

Feng Sheng and others looked at each other and finally decided to write a letter of guarantee.

After writing the letter of guarantee, Feng Sheng and others looked much more relaxed.

They exchanged glances, and their tense shoulders gradually relaxed.

Feng Sheng was the first to stand up and respectfully presented the letter of guarantee, which was still wet with ink, to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Your Majesty, please understand that we have no second thoughts! We have written this today and will do our duty in the future and will never dare to form a clique for personal gain."

Zhou Dexing also hurriedly followed, and said sincerely: "I have indeed been a little slack in recent years. I am really ashamed to be awakened by the emperor today! Please rest assured, your Majesty, this old bone of mine can still serve the Ming Dynasty for a few more years!"

The brothers Guo Xing and Guo Ying even patted their chests to make the guarantee.

Guo Xing said loudly: "Your Majesty, when we followed you to conquer the world, we swore that we would be Ming people in life and Ming ghosts in death! After writing this letter of guarantee today, I feel relieved!"

Guo Ying nodded repeatedly in agreement: "That's right! I was confused just now and actually thought about retiring. Now that I think about it, the court is in need of people, how can I retreat at the critical moment?"

Zhu Yuanzhang took the letters of guarantee from several people, squinted his eyes and read them carefully, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly: "Good! This is like our old brothers!"

He turned to Zhu Biao and said, "Biao'er, keep these. If they dare to disobey you in the future, this will be the evidence!"

"We will never let them off!"

Feng Sheng and others were not afraid when they heard this, but they all laughed.

Zhou Dexing bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. We are looking forward to your supervision at all times!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with satisfaction and waved his hand: "Okay, get out! Remember what you said today!"

"Everyone else, go down and get ready. It won't be long before we need your help!"

"I will take my leave now!"

Several people bowed respectfully and turned to leave the hall.

When they walked out of the hall, Feng Sheng let out a long sigh and whispered to the others, "Now I can finally sleep peacefully."

Zhou Dexing wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a smile: "It should have been done long ago! We have followed the emperor for so many years, we don't know what his temper is like? Instead of being nervous, it is better to be open and honest!"

Guo Ying looked back at the hall and said in a low voice: "But today, thanks to the words of the Prince Consort, otherwise..."

"Shh!" Feng Sheng hurriedly stopped them, "Be careful with your words! Let's go, you have to be alert later!"

"Also, we must remember this favor from the Prince Consort. Today, we are really grateful to the Prince Consort for speaking for us."

"By the way, if we do this, does it count as betraying the old prime minister?" Guo Xing said with some guilt.

"Alas, we have no other choice! Everyone has a big family behind them now, we are just trying to protect ourselves!" Feng Sheng sighed, "I believe the old prime minister can understand."

"The Huaixi Party is no longer the Huaixi Party of the past."

"After you go down, don't make it public. Talk to the other brothers in private. If you don't want to be implicated, follow our example and write a letter of guarantee to the Emperor!"

"This will not only save the old prime minister and the Huaixi Party's reputation, but also preserve the friendship between us old brothers!"

"Duke Song is right. We should all keep a low profile recently. To be honest, I only need to write a letter of guarantee to keep my current wealth and glory. I am already very content!"

"That's right! I'm ready to really retire and return home!"

Inside Taile Palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang took these documents and winked at Ouyang Lun proudly: "Prince consort, this is a good trick of yours."

"It's all thanks to your guidance, Your Majesty!" Ouyang Lun bowed, "Your Majesty, the water in my footbath is a little cold, please have someone add some hot water for me!"

"Your Majesty, I'll add more water for you right away!" Wang Zhong came over immediately with hot water in his hand.

After adding hot water, Ouyang Lun put his feet back into the massage bucket, looking very happy. "Well - hot water is still more comfortable!"

Zhu Yuanzhang put down the letter of guarantee in his hand, narrowed his eyes and said: "Ouyang Lun, your trick is brilliant, but I still have a concern - there are so many nobles in Huaixi, if everyone comes to write a letter of guarantee, do we have to meet them one by one?"

"Everyone has to agree?"

"Then we're going to be annoyed to death!"

Ouyang Lun smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this is exactly the effect I want."

"Oh?" Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows, "Tell me in detail."

Ouyang Lun raised three fingers and said, "First, those who take the initiative to write a letter of guarantee have something to hide, but at least they still know how to be respectful."

"Second, those who are late are either loyal ministers with a clear conscience or stubborn party members; third"

He paused meaningfully, "The emperor can take this opportunity to select them." Zhu Biao reacted and said quickly, "Brother-in-law, you mean to take this opportunity to dismiss some of the Huaixi nobles who are just sitting there doing nothing!!"

"Father, I think your idea is really good. We can give it a try!"

The reason why Zhu Biao was so excited was mainly that since he ascended the throne, he had been trying to find ways to reform the civil service system and had achieved considerable success among ordinary officials.

Even many incompetent civil servants of the Huaixi Party were cleared out, but when it came to dealing with these Huaixi nobles, Zhu Biao was helpless!

So after hearing Ouyang Lun's words, he reacted immediately and agreed with both hands!
"That's right." Ouyang Lun nodded: "It's a rare opportunity for the nobles of Huaixi to take the initiative to retire and return home, so we must make good use of this opportunity!"

"For those Huaixi nobles who have performed well and are pillars of the country, of course we will accept their letters of guarantee and retain them."

"As for those Huaixi nobles who have been inactive or have a bad record, it is just the right time to accept their requests to retire and return home."

"This will not only save the court's vitality, but also make it easier to clean up a group of Huaixi party members. It can be said to be the best of both worlds!"

Zhu Yuanzhang slapped his thighs suddenly, and water splashed everywhere: "Great! Isn't this what we often say 'the waves wash away the sand'?"

"First, let Feng Sheng and the other troublemakers write a letter of guarantee. Once the news gets out, the others will surely be restless. Then..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes sparkled, "The initiative is in our hands. We want the one who stays in office and the one who retires to his hometown."

"Ouyang Lun, you are really smart!"

But Zhu Biao frowned and raised new concerns:

"Father, brother-in-law, what if those Huaixi nobles who were allowed to retire and return home are unwilling to accept the decision and cause trouble? After all, they hold military power and have many students and friends in the army. If they harbor resentment, it may shake the government."

Ouyang Lun smiled and said confidently: "Your Majesty is right. However, this matter is not difficult to solve - the key lies in 'reputation' and 'profit'."

"Oh?" Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes. "Ouyang Lun, it seems that you have already thought about it. Don't hide it. Tell me now!"

Ouyang Lun held up two fingers: "First, give them enough dignity and let them retire with honor; second, give them enough benefits so that they can have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of their lives, and even live more comfortably than when they were in the court."

Zhu Biao thought thoughtfully: "Brother-in-law means... to establish a clear system of rewards for the retirement of meritorious officials?"

"That's right!" Ouyang Lun nodded. "As long as the court issues an edict stipulating what kind of titles, land and property, and the right to protect descendants can be enjoyed by the nobles after they retire and return to their hometowns, they will naturally weigh the pros and cons - instead of trembling in fear in the court, it is better to take the generous reward and return to their hometowns to become a rich man."

"I believe that the nobles in Huaixi are all smart people and will not go against a good life."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes sparkled: "Good idea! We can also classify people according to their merits - those with great merits will be rewarded with gold, silver, land and houses; those with small merits will be given an honorary title for retirement; if anyone dares to cause trouble..."

He snorted coldly, "Then don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Ouyang Lun added: "The Emperor is wise! In addition, it can be stipulated that retired nobles can come to the capital to meet the Emperor on major festivals, and that talented descendants will be given priority in recruitment."

"This will not only show the court's grace, but also appease people's hearts."

"Not only will everyone not cause trouble, but it will also reflect the good deeds of the Emperor and His Majesty in treating meritorious officials with generosity!"

"No one can say a bad word about it!"

Zhu Yuanzhang clapped his hands and laughed, "Haha! Ouyang Lun really hit the nail on the head!"

After saying this, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to have thought of something and asked quickly: "Ouyang Lun, tell me the truth. Before Feng Sheng and his men came, you said you wanted to hold a military cabinet meeting."

"That's what you want to do, right?"

Ouyang Lun's mouth curled up slightly, "The Emperor is wise, but I cannot hide my thoughts from him after all!"

Forehead.
Hearing Ouyang Lun's words, Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned black, and he muttered in his heart, "Ouyang Lun, you don't sound like you are praising me!"

But it doesn’t matter anymore. Zhu Yuanzhang no longer wants to argue with Ouyang Lun over this small issue.

"Alright, I'm just waiting for the Huaixi nobles to come and retire. You are responsible for the military cabinet meeting!"

"Yes, Father (Emperor Retired!)"

Zhu Biao and Ouyang Lun also agreed.

"Your Majesty, my feet are all sore and swollen, can I go now?"

Ouyang Lun spoke quickly.

"Get out!" Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

"Your Majesty, I still have some memorials to deal with, so I will leave first." Zhu Biao also stood up.

"Ok!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

After Ouyang Lun and Zhu Biao left, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly exclaimed, "I forgot to ask them what they thought of this foot bath bucket I invented!"

"Ouyang Lun actually said that our massage foot bath bucket is worthless and can't be sold."

"Humph, I don't believe this!"

"Wang Zhong!"

"I'm here." Wang Zhong walked in hurriedly.

"Go and tell Wang Hongru to allow me to mass-produce this massage foot bath bucket. The price for each bucket is 100 taels!"

"This good bucket will definitely sell well! Then we can give Ouyang Lun a good slap in the face!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said confidently.

"Yes!"

The news that Feng Sheng and others escaped from the palace unscathed spread quickly among the circle of Huaixi nobles as if it had wings.

"Have you heard? Duke Song and his men went to see the emperor, and not only were they not punished, but they were praised instead!"

"Is this true? Didn't the emperor say he was going to liquidate the Huaixi Party?"

"It's absolutely true! It is said that they wrote a letter of guarantee, promising to cut ties with Li Shanchang, and the emperor was very pleased and allowed them to continue leading the troops!"

The nobles discussed the matter privately, with different thoughts in their minds.

The next day, a long line formed outside the palace.

"Your servant, Fu Youde, the Marquis of Yingchuan, requests an audience with the Emperor!"

"Your servant, Wang Bi, the Marquis of Dingyuan, has an important matter to report!"

"minister"

Zhu Yuanzhang sat in the Taile Palace, listening to Wang Zhong's report, with a sneer on his face: "Oh, these old foxes are well-informed."

He waved his hand and said, "Let them come in one by one!"

Screening officially begins——(End of this chapter)