Jingtai Fenghua

Chapter 396 Price

They were shocked to see Lin Cunde so young. Although they knew that Lin Cunde was only eighteen years old, they were still a little surprised when they saw him. An eighteen-year-old boy had so many achievements, which showed his ability. Therefore, they He didn't dare to look down upon Lin Cunde either.

From the moment they knew Lin Cunde, they did not dare to look down upon Lin Cunde. They were no more arrogant than those civil servants, looking down on one and others.

"I really didn't expect that the Marquis of Luling would be so young. Don't be surprised if we come here rashly this time!" King Lu said in return to Lin Cunde.

"You can't say that. It's my honor for the prince to come to my house, please!" Lin Cunde smiled and said "please" to them, then led the way and took them to the tea room in the west wing.

The tea room in the west wing has been reorganized, with new sofas and many decorations.

"Please sit down, three princes. I didn't expect that there would be distinguished guests coming today!" Lin Cunde smiled and made an invitation gesture to the three of them!

"Okay!" King Lu also sat down, but he was still looking at the tea room. Seeing how beautifully decorated it was, he couldn't help but nodded and said, "This tea room is really well decorated. There are so many exquisite ornaments, as well as calligraphy and paintings. At first glance, These calligraphy and paintings were made by everyone!”

"Don't dare say that, it's just a fool's errand!" Lin Cunde said as he started to prepare tea.

The three vassal kings had actually been sizing up Lin Cunde secretly. After all, he was so young and had such abilities, so he was naturally exceptional, so they also wanted to see what was so extraordinary about Lin Cunde.

The King of Shu next to him asked first: "This time we returned to the capital because of the matter of the eight kings. They dragged the Crown Prince Zhending Hou into the water and threatened the Crown Prince Zhending Hou, which is why we are today. However, this matter We may need your help!"

"Help?" Lin Cunde asked, looking at them pretending not to understand.

"Yes, help. Before coming to you, we went to the prison. They said that no matter what happens this time, it has nothing to do with the real prince, it is all their fault. They are also willing to bear the blame. However, they hope that your majesty will punish you. When the time comes, consider retaining their princely titles!" Lu King Zhu Zhaohui said to Lin Cunde.

After hearing this, Lin Cunde pretended to hesitate, then said nothing and just made tea.

"Please ask the Marquis of Luling for help. We also know about this matter. It is not a small matter. However, it would not be good if the country is eliminated. After all, they are all Taizu, and the princes in Taizong's hand are removed like this. It also has a bad influence on our Ming Dynasty royal family!" Chu King Zhu Jicheng also said to Lin Cunde.

"Yeah!" Lin Cunde hummed, then pretended to think for a moment, and said: "I can definitely help if I can, but I have two conditions. The first condition is that I need a list of civil servants, so that I can give advice to the vassal kings behind their backs. There is a list of civil servants and evidence. The second condition is that you must think carefully about the crime of collaborating with the enemy. If you want to save them, you probably can't do it without paying the price.

Of course, the price I am talking about is not for me, but for you to discuss with His Majesty. You also have to give up what you are willing to pay, and what price you are willing to pay. It is not what price they are willing to pay. Their family property, in addition to the mansion and the land they themselves deserve, The others are all likely to be confiscated. Also, the vassal king has been saved, but those county princes have been saved. Do you want to keep them?

This matter is not that simple. There is evidence that they are connected with Zhu Zhen. We are here to talk about this matter. Do you think your Majesty can tolerate them continuing to be kings and guarding their original fiefdoms?

As far as I know, His Majesty is actually unwilling to deal with them, and His Majesty is not a person who kills indiscriminately, but their behavior has made His Majesty very embarrassed.

If they are not punished, can other ministers learn to contact Zhu Zhen in the future? This matter is related to His Majesty's safety. Do you think His Majesty will let them off easily?

So, if you come and tell me that you want me to plead for mercy, I can plead for mercy, but you have to consider the price clearly and whether you are willing to pay it! What should they do if they are unwilling to pay? Your Majesty asked you to come back because he also wants you to see that your Majesty is just. He did not mean to deliberately kill them or withdraw from the vassal state. It was because they collaborated with the enemy. The army was very dissatisfied, and now the civil servants are also writing impeachment memorials.

In order to stabilize the army and the ministers, what do you think your Majesty should do?

You can't just protect a few vassals at the expense of all the armies and ministers in the world, right? "

Just after Lin Cunde finished speaking, they also felt very depressed, not for Lin Cunde, but for the Eight Kings. They were also in a dilemma now. They made mistakes and made people like themselves pay the price, and the price must not be small.

In addition, after saving those vassal kings, do you want to save those county kings?

This time, when all the vassal kings returned to Beijing, they all knew that it was Zhu Qiyu who was going to attack the vassal king, but they did not know where they had offended Zhu Qiyu, and they did not let Zhu Qiyu stop him.

Of course, the eight kings were obstructing it, but they had not started to obstruct it after all. Zhu Qiyu was preparing to attack all the vassal kings in the world because of the eight kings' matter, which made them very depressed.

But if you put yourself in Zhu Qiyu's shoes, he would probably do the same thing. Of course, this is what they think, but they don't dare to say it! King Lu thought for a while and asked Lin Cunde, "I wonder what price we should pay?"

"I don't know about this. The main reason is that His Majesty was very angry and asked me to investigate thoroughly. In fact, I have found a lot of things that I haven't shown you yet. However, it doesn't matter whether you see them or not. If His Majesty wants them to die, The current evidence is enough. If you want them to live, this evidence cannot be made public. Therefore, you should consider for yourself how to intercede with His Majesty.

Let me beg for mercy, no problem. Of course I am willing to do this, but I can't just say it with just one mouth, right? "Lin Cunde also made tea at this moment and poured tea for them!

"Well, that's definitely not possible. We came here today just hoping that you can help us plead for mercy. As for what price we are willing to pay, of course we have to consider it, but we have just arrived and have not yet agreed on it. However, regarding the price, I wonder if you have any suggestions, or in other words, does your Majesty have any ideas? I hope the Marquis of Luling can remind me!" The King of Shu said to Lin Cunde at this moment.

When Lin Cunde heard what the King of Shu said, he felt happy. Otherwise, he still likes to chat with smart people. The price is the key! But they need to know what the cost is and think about it!

"I heard that there is a prince who has given birth to more than fifty sons, and I don't know how many daughters he has. And his grandsons now have seventy or eighty. According to the clan salary set by Taizu and Taizong, , this is too big for money!" Lin Cunde laughed and said after hearing this.

"Ah, this, is this much? Besides, this was decided by Taizu!" Chu King Zhu Jicheng immediately said in surprise.

"Don't be anxious yet. Let's just say that this prince will give birth to twenty children, let alone fifty. And each person will give birth to twenty.

Let's talk about four generations. There is a prince, a prince's son, a prince's grandson, and nineteen county princes. The son of the prince's grandson is still nineteen county princes, and the son of the prince's grandson is still nineteen county princes. Then there are the generals who govern the country, the generals who assist the country, and the generals who serve the country. How many of them can you tell me?

This is a lot of pressure for the court. It can be said that just one prince will consume millions of taels of money and food in our country. Our country now has twenty-one princes. If they are all like him, one year The total is more than 20 million taels, which is heavier than the taxes in the entire Ming Dynasty!

Of course, you have not given birth to so many children now, just a few, but you can't bear the spread of so many children. Now my Ming Dynasty is just experiencing New Year greetings, and the clan members have exterminated more than 2,000 princesses! Most of them are princes, county princes, generals who govern the country, and generals who support the country. The money and food paid to the clan every year amounts to about five million taels.

This is only a hundred years. If the Ming Dynasty continues for a hundred years, how many more clan members will need to be added? Since then, the taxes of the Ming Dynasty are not enough to pay the salary of the clan.

The key is, hehe, I guess you know it well. Your Majesty knows how much money you have. You have money, but His Majesty has no money, yet you ask Your Majesty to send money to the clan. Moreover, those princes are still working hard to have children. Damn it. Give birth to a child to make a fortune. What do you think His Majesty will think when he learns about this situation?

Your Majesty also knows how much land you have occupied. You are so rich that the people are revolting. The court also needs to spend money to suppress rebellions and provide disaster relief, which is a huge expense.

Therefore, when His Majesty learned of these circumstances, he was extremely angry.

In addition, these eight kings are not satisfied yet, so your majesty wants to severely punish the eight kings. What your majesty means is to eliminate the country, but after all, they are clans, and they are still blood relatives after so many generations. Your majesty cannot bear it, but , Your Majesty is thinking about you, but you are not thinking about His Majesty!

So, His Majesty is waiting now. What do you think we will do when you return to Beijing? Whether it is to eliminate the country or to pay the price to rescue them, this is your own consideration.

Your Majesty is indeed very annoyed this time and has insisted on exterminating the country until now. Therefore, you should consider the cost yourself! Lin Cunde sat there and looked at them and said.

After they heard this, they were all dumbfounded. At first, they had not calculated how much money people like themselves received per year, but now they calculated it, it was quite a lot, with so many vassal kings.

The tax revenue of the court is basically the same every year. They now consume about a quarter of the tax revenue of the court every year.

Moreover, they know better than anyone what they have done. Now that Zhu Qiyu wants to use this to operate, they are indeed in pain.

(End of this chapter)