The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 270 Clan Conference
The main hall of Qianqing Palace.

The clan meeting was held as scheduled.

The old vassal kings such as Qin Wang Zhu Weizhuo, Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao, etc., and the new vassal kings such as Xing Wang Zhu Youji, Yi Wang Zhu Youbin, etc. are all listed at the moment.

They have been in Beijing for almost half a month, and they have roughly understood the purpose of His Majesty the Emperor's clan meeting this time. Therefore, the kings are very excited at this moment. After all, they can regain power, which means that they no longer have to be that bastard. It's useless to wait until death.

For example, vassal kings such as Qin Wang Zhu Weizhuo and Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao. These old vassal kings have been passed down to this day. They have suffered a lot of suppression and suffering. Today, they finally saw the opportunity to regain power.

As for the new vassal kings such as Xing Wang Zhu Youyi and Yi Wang Zhu Youbin, they were also very excited. After all, the old vassal kings' lessons learned clearly, and no one wanted to live in their desperate life.

If given a choice, no one wants to be a waste waiting to die.

Soon His Majesty the Emperor walked in high-spirited, followed by only two people.

One of them is Chen Kuan, the eunuch in charge of the Supervisor of Ceremonies. He is the number one official in the inner court and is in charge of the internal minister of the Supervisor of Ceremonies.

The other person is the most popular upstart in the Zhengde Dynasty, the Marquis of Zhongshan in charge of the Beijing army, Tang Hao!
Chen Kuan was nothing more than an old eunuch who was about to die of old age and retire, and the kings didn't pay much attention to him.

"Do you really want to completely oust my old Zhu family and turn them into puppet emperors like the Zhao family of the former Song Dynasty?"

Some nervous people even brought their chairs down, which made the hall look extremely jarring.

Zhu Houzhao was the first to speak: "I summon you to Beijing to hold a clan meeting for only one purpose!"

"I have thought about it and found that only my own family will help my own family, so I summon you to Beijing to discuss this matter!"

It was during the Tianshun period that after those civil servants and gentry took full control of the government, they could be said to have intensified their implementation of the vassal ban policy, and even tried every means to suppress the clan kings!

Zhu Houzhao then said quietly: "I can change or even abolish the vassal ban policy!"

Even when we ask for the salary treatment we deserve, you damn bitches keep making things difficult for us?
Do you really think of yourself as the master of the Ming Dynasty?
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said nothing.

Instead of pretending to be confused and continuing to waste time with these vassal kings and conspirators, it is better to directly attack and clarify the exchange of interests!

The kings didn't have time to think too much, they all stood up and knelt down to salute.

Zhu Houzhao came to the dragon chair and waved to everyone and said: "Everyone, please sit down!"

"Your Majesty, if you are loyal to your Majesty by eating your salary, you should share your worries with your Majesty!"

But Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan, put enough pressure on the kings.

But you have to take out your chips in exchange!

At this moment, Zhu Chenhao's words really ignited the anger in the hearts of the kings.

"That's because the civil servants and gentry have overstepped their power and controlled the government for many years. I, the emperor, are about to be ousted by them!"

"This Ming Dynasty belongs to my old Zhu family, and this world also belongs to my old Zhu family. What do they want to do?"

"Come on and see Your Majesty!"

"But the civil servants and gentry will definitely not agree. They will try their best to stop me, so I need your help!"

These vassal princes present are all princes, and they are also the heads of various branches of the Lao Zhu family. In order to ask for the salary they deserve from the court, they often deal with these civil servants and gentry, and they suffer countless insults on weekdays!

There was no other way. When the Marquis of Zhongshan stood behind His Majesty the Emperor, he was as intimidating as an insurmountable high wall.

Do you want to return to power?

The courage and courage of this Zhengde Emperor are really... very different!

"Whether it's money, food or manpower, if you want to lift the vassal ban and become an official in the court, you must show enough sincerity and bring enough chips to allow me to fight against the civil servants and gentry!"

"This is simply unreasonable!"

A very simple sentence, why?
The ones who expelled the Tartars and restored China are my old Zhu family, not you gentry and gentry!

No one expected that His Majesty the Emperor would be so straightforward and rude, and he would target the civil servants and gentry in the first sentence he spoke!
After Zhu Chenhao had a secret talk with His Majesty the Emperor yesterday, he had gained the benefit of being the Minister of Guanglu Temple, and he understood why the Emperor asked him to be the Minister of Guanglu Temple, so he immediately jumped out and cursed at all the civil servants and gentry.

Not to mention that the Marquis of Zhongshan held a knife in his hand and had a stern face. He looked like he would kill anyone who dared to disobey the holy will, which made all the excited kings suddenly quiet down.

As soon as Zhu Chenhao spoke these words, the anger in the hearts of the kings was also aroused.

"These civil servants and gentry have controlled the government for many years, but after His Majesty ascended the throne, they dared to usurp the divine weapon!"

Chen Kuan became the meeting recorder. Today's clan meeting will determine the future direction of the Ming Dynasty.

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

Only then did he realize that Zhu Chenhao was really a good knife!
As long as you give him some sweetness, this thief will really dare to charge into the battle!
The kings talked a lot and cursed at the civil servants and gentry.

After Tang Hao's reminder, Zhu Houzhao also gave up the idea of ​​continuing to quarrel with these vassal kings.

At least from this sentence, it is not difficult to see that His Majesty the Emperor has no murderous intention towards them, and they can return to their fiefdom safely after the clan meeting.

you can!

After hearing these first words, the anxious kings finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"We are all descendants of Taizu, so there is no need to be so outspoken. Keep all etiquette simple!"

Why has it developed so far and the power of the government is controlled by you gentry?

In order to stabilize his position in the heart of His Majesty the Emperor, and to stabilize his soon-to-be-acquired Minister of Guanglu Temple, Zhu Chenhao immediately jumped out to express his position.

His Majesty the Emperor's meaning was so obvious that all the kings were shocked by his straightforward words.

To be honest, the vassal ban policy formulated by Emperor Taizong was not so strict at the beginning. After all, Emperor Taizong still saved some face for the clan kings.

"I am willing to respond to your Majesty's call and donate 50,000 taels of silver to the imperial court free of charge. If the imperial court needs any of my descendants, I will send them to the imperial court immediately!"

Hearing this, the kings were filled with hatred.

Is this Zhu Chenhao fucking crazy?

Fifty thousand taels of silver as soon as you open your mouth?

That’s fifty thousand taels!
At worst, one tael of silver can buy two shi of rice!

Fifty thousand taels of silver can buy at least 100,000 shi of rice!

This damn place is full of real food!
Zhu Chenhao's words were equivalent to setting a standard for the kings.

The old vassal kings who have been handed down for hundreds of years offer 50,000 yuan in silver. The other old vassal kings cannot give less than 30,000 yuan at least, and these new vassal kings cannot give less than 10,000 yuan. Otherwise, they are rejecting the exchange of benefits from His Majesty the Emperor!

Who is it not good to refuse, His Majesty the Emperor?

I don’t know how he died!

However, it’s not that they don’t want to take the money, it’s that they really don’t want to take it!

Not all vassal kings were like Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao, who wantonly annexed fields and plundered people's wealth.

Fifty thousand taels of silver can literally kill them. Could it be that this exchange of interests has emptied all the family's wealth, and in the end the whole family has to drink the northwest wind?

Seeing that the kings were hesitating, Zhu Houzhao also understood that these guys were difficult to deal with, and they were all masters who could not see the rabbit before the hawk, so he spoke directly and praised Zhu Chenhao in public.

“Prince Ning’s loyalty is a lesson!”

"I am conferred the title of Minister of Guanglu Temple!"

King Ning Zhu Chenhao!
Lord Guanglu Temple!

Upon hearing this, the kings immediately became excited.

This is the Minister of Guanglu Temple! One of the little nine ministers of the imperial court!

Did His Majesty the Emperor really give it away like this?
The key is that once this decree is issued, the vassal ban policy will be in vain!
Why can't we engage in the work of the four peoples?
Didn’t you see that Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao became the minister of Guanglu Temple?
This is the strongest political signal, and no one can refute it!
Confirming His Majesty the Emperor's attitude and determination, all the kings were excited for a moment.

So after Zhu Chenhao, Lu King Zhu Yangzhu also jumped out and said in a deep voice: "What King Ning said is absolutely true. The clan is one and should share the worries of the king!"

"My lineage of Lu Fan is willing to donate 50,000 taels of silver. Outstanding clan members such as Zhu Dangqie, no one dares to refuse to obey any call from the imperial court!"

After hearing this, the kings suddenly came to their senses.

By the way, there is also Zhu Dangqi, who is brave and good at fighting. At this moment, he has been promoted to a guerrilla general and entered the Beijing camp to take charge of the Beijing army's soldiers!

The clear example is before their eyes, and the kings also understand that they have no way out, they can only choose to take a gamble and exchange profits for the opportunity to regain power.

Furthermore, Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao and Lu Wang Zhu Yangzhu have already expressed their stance. If they don't express their stance, they will be going against His Majesty the Emperor!

And this is the general trend, and it is also a practical action that the clan will take together in order to regain power. Anyone who dares to back down and refuse at this time will not only arouse the jealousy and suspicion of His Majesty the Emperor, but will also be squeezed and suppressed by the vassal clan!
The "clan as one" mentioned by King Zhu Yangzhu of Lu is no joke!

So all the kings spoke one after another. The old vassal king gritted his teeth and offered 50,000 taels of silver, the mid-level vassal king offered 30,000 taels of silver, and the new vassal king only offered 10,000 taels of silver with a bitter face.

Even Xingwang Zhu Youqi, an honest man, was forced to offer 10,000 taels of silver. Even though he knew very well that his family did not have that much, he had no choice but to protect himself. He thought about going back immediately after the clan meeting was over. Selling property to raise the money.

Anyway, His Majesty the Emperor intends to let him stay in the capital in the future, so there is no need to keep the Anluzhou family property.

In the end, these vassal kings donated a total of nearly three million taels of silver.

After roughly estimating this figure, even Zhu Houzhao, the Ming Emperor, couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.

At this moment, he was not at all happy, but instead felt a sense of fear!
Because these three million taels of silver are not clean money, but the flesh and blood money obtained by these clan kings who have been plundering the people's fat and anointing for many years and absorbing the local people's money!

Three million taels of silver!

It’s almost as much as the imperial court’s annual tax revenue!
One can imagine how many people these feudal kings harmed in their own fiefdoms!
Fortunately, the savages made such a move in time and made the court aware of the dangers of the vassal clan. Otherwise, the Ming Dynasty would sooner or later be dragged down by these blood-sucking insects!

Zhu Houzhao suppressed the fear in his heart and took the next step.

"Very good, I have seen your sincerity."

"However, I cannot allow you all to enter the court in a short period of time. This is impossible, and civil servants and gentry will not agree!"

"So for the time being, Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao will be appointed as the minister of Guanglu Temple, and Xing Wang Zhu Youqi will be appointed as the left minister of the Ministry of Rites. They will stay in the capital court to give advice and discuss government affairs!"

The kings were a little disappointed when they heard this, but they could understand it.

Appointing two vassal princes to the dynasty is already the limit of His Majesty the Emperor.

If there were more, the civil servants and gentry would definitely be in an uproar!
Anyway, they were given money, and the vassal ban policy was lifted. It didn't really matter whether he joined the DPRK or not.

What's more, with the two clan kings, Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao and Xing Wang Zhu Youqi, serving as officials in the court and representing the interests of the clan kings, their lives will be much easier in the future, and they may not even have the opportunity to completely lift the vassal ban and regain military power.

Only King Zhu Yangzhu of Lu was disappointed. He thought that the emperor would at least give him an official position. After all, his sons were already officials, but he, the father, gave fifty thousand taels in vain, but got nothing. How can anyone be so bullying?

Zhu Yangzhu could only look at Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao with a sad face, but the latter ignored this "resentful woman" with an expressionless face.

It is impossible for this guy to be among the candidates, because Zhu Yangzhu once held large-scale lewd parties. If His Majesty the Emperor reuses this kind of guy, it will be a slap in the face.

"Secondly, that is the new system of vassalage!"

"Please read this manual and remember it, keep it in your heart, and restrain the clan members in your vassal. If anyone dares to violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty again, not only will the entire clan be deprived of bonuses, but I will also severely punish the leader of the clan without mercy!"

New system of vassalage?

The kings were not surprised by this.

After all, His Majesty the Emperor is about to lift the vassal ban, and a new vassal system will naturally be formulated.

But what does His Majesty the Emperor mean by the bonus?
Is it possible that there will be bonuses available in the future?
When the kings thought of this, they immediately opened the book excitedly.

The results were not happy for a few seconds. When they saw clearly the new vassal system in the brochure, their faces turned green one by one.

Is this damn thing so excessive?
Cutting our salaries for no reason?
The five-level clan salary cuts at the front, plus the clan salary cuts at the next three levels, will serve as the clan's year-end bonus, which will be distributed uniformly based on the clan's performance.

Originally, the annual salary of the prince was 10,000 dan, the prince of the county was 2,000 dan, the general of the state was 1,000 dan, the general of auxiliary state was 800 dan, the general of Fengguo was 600 dan, the lieutenant of Zhenguo was 400 dan, the lieutenant of auxiliary state was 300 dan, and the lieutenant of Fengguo was 200 dan. stone.

Now that this new vassal system is being implemented, the prince's annual salary will be cut in half, leaving only five thousand dan, and the prince's annual salary will be 1,000 dan...

This is not the most critical thing. The most critical thing is that the salaries of the next three levels of lieutenants are the bulk of the clan's salary!

Among the kings present, except perhaps the new vassal king who still doesn't understand this truth, the other vassal kings know it very well.

Otherwise, why would they call on the people in the domain to have children like crazy?
It’s not because there is money and food to take!

The result is now good, the big head is gone, and the salary is cut in half!
Your Majesty, what does this mean?
This is too much!
Seeing that all the vassal kings were getting anxious, Zhu Houzhao said calmly: "The clan's year-end bonus is given out at the end of each year, and it is awarded according to the four aspects of the vassal's new system!"

"In this first year, the clan's year-end bonus is tentatively set at five hundred thousand taels of silver. After all, it's not easy for you either. You have all read the assessment system carefully, so don't say it was unforeseen!"

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar!

The clan’s year-end award!
Five hundred thousand taels of silver with snowflake pattern!

Upon hearing this number, the eyes of all the vassal kings instantly turned red!

That’s five hundred thousand taels of snowflake-patterned silver!

One tael of silver can buy two stones of rice!
Five hundred thousand taels of silver means at least one million shi of food!

All are given to clan members as clan year-end bonuses!

On average, excluding some vassals that have been excluded from bonus qualifications, each of their vassal kings can receive at least 50,000 shi of grain!
Oh my God, your Majesty's gesture is too big, isn't it?
Even if the salary is reduced by half, plus the final 50,000 stone year-end bonus, it is more than five times more than before!

After such calculations, although the clan salary has been cut in half, and although the clan level has been cut by three levels, if the final year-end bonus is calculated on average, the clan salary has not been reduced, but has increased several times!
This is a great gift!
A generous gift that no feudal king could refuse!
His Majesty the Emperor is worthy of being one of his own family, and he still cares for us in his heart!

For a time, the kings were extremely happy and accepted the salary reduction.

Just flipping through the booklet and taking a closer look, the kings' smiles became a little stiff.

hiss……

Fertility rate, contribution rate, crime rate and graduation rate.

If even one of them falls short of the standard, the year-end bonus will be lost.

It even specifically states that if the four major indicators are too low, especially the crime rate, not only will the year-end bonus for this year be lost, but the qualifications for participation in future year-end bonuses will also be cancelled, which means that the year-end bonus next year will be cancelled. It may all be gone. In addition, the imperial court will severely punish the clan kings who violate the laws and regulations, and will not be lenient!
The fertility rate is okay, and the kings don't pay much attention to it. At worst, they can just let the descendants take care of their own crotches. The children have to be raised by themselves after they are born. The court only helps raise three, male and female. Then Who wants to have children, but this indicator is still relatively easy to achieve.

And this contribution rate is relatively easy. There are many examples listed above. For example, the feudal clan can organize and compile ancient books. If you compile a book, the contribution rate will be increased. These are all things that can be completed as long as it takes time. Tasks, such as Zhu Dangqi, the returned king of the Lu vassal, who made great contributions to the country on the battlefield, will directly reach the full contribution rate.

Speaking of which, this one is relatively simple.

There is also a graduation rate, which is purely to urge the clan children to study and cultivate virtue. In the future, the imperial court will organize a unified assessment for the clan children of the right age. Those who are incompetent in literature and military, or are too dandy and useless, will even be directly deprived of their clan status. This The punishment also made the kings feel shocked!
Only the last crime rate made all the kings look solemn.

If there is a vassal prince who cares about human life, he will be immediately disqualified from the three-year year-end bonus upon verification.

Ah, this... is so strict!
All the kings were a little worried.

That's a lot of money and food. If it's gone and the annual salary is cut in half, how will this family live?
For a time, the kings no longer dared to take it lightly.

You must complete these four indicators and strictly restrain all the clan members of your branch, especially the behaviors recorded in the crime rate. You must not engage in any of the behaviors recorded above, otherwise you will break the legs of those dogs!
After all, they had given all the money, and if they failed in this last step, there would really be no place to cry!
Zhu Houzhao looked at the vassal kings whose expressions were changing, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.

Once these two steps are implemented, half of the hidden dangers of the clan and feudal lords will be solved.

But the three-step strategy proposed by the savages still has a third step!

(End of this chapter)