I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 363 I'm So Sensible

Zhu Xian devoted himself to studying in the yard of the confinement center.

He picked up the "Shuntian Political News" which had just been delivered today, and saw the first article on the front page. He only read twenty or thirty words and cold sweat broke out on his back.

This article published the full text of Hai Rui's latest memorial.

The famous Hai Rui directed his criticism at the feudal system established by Emperor Taizu. He pointed out sharply that after two hundred years, there were nearly 100,000 princes of the royal family.

The descendants and grandchildren of Emperor Taizu were granted fiefdoms starting from princes and dukes, and their titles were no longer reduced until the sixth-generation grandson of a duke was granted the title of Lieutenant of the Auxiliary State.

Millions of shi of money and grain are spent every year, but they support a group of "wastes" who do nothing but waste the people's money!
That’s right, the upright Hai Rui directly called these descendants of the various vassal states who were of no benefit to the country or the people as waste in his memorial.

Zhu Xian felt very wronged.

Who wants to be trash?
We also want to make a difference. We also study and practice martial arts. We also want to make achievements and leave our names in history, but our ancestral rules don't allow us to do so!
The imperial edicts revised by Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu clearly stipulated that members of the royal family of the various vassal states were not allowed to take imperial examinations, join the army, or engage in business. They were just supposed to lie at home and be like pigs.

There was once a member of a branch of the imperial family who was so poor that he had to move out overnight because the imperial court could not issue him the rice salary on time. There was really no other way, as the whole family needed to eat, so he wrote a petition to the emperor, asking for leniency and allowing him to join his father-in-law in a small business.

When the emperor received the memorial, he sighed and said, "We are both descendants of Taizu, but you have become so poor. How pitiful." The next sentence was, "The ancestral rules are not right. You should tie your belt tighter so that you can bear the hunger."

Zhu Xian sighed and put the newspaper on the table.

Our ancestral system has nurtured us, but it has also harmed us.

Throughout all the dynasties, has there ever been a dynasty that treated royal family members like the one we are treating today?
In name, it was to provide good care for the clan members. To put it bluntly, Emperor Chengzu was afraid that someone would replicate his success, so he simply kept the clan members in captivity under the guise of providing good care for the clan members. His purpose was to guard against these uncles, brothers, nephews, and nieces!
Look at the Former Tang Dynasty. For example, Li Shizhi, the grandson of the deposed Crown Prince Li Chengqian, was the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. The eldest son of Prince of Wu Li Ke, Prince of Cheng Li Qianli, was a general of the imperial guards, and his grandson Li Yi was a famous general during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong.

The famous and powerful prime minister Li Linfu was a descendant of Emperor Gaozu's cousin.

The same was true in the early Song Dynasty. Like the early Tang Dynasty, members of the royal family could participate in politics and serve as officials. They could become prime ministers in the court, prefects or governors in local areas, and even military governors in frontier areas, commanding large armies.

During the Ming Dynasty, members of the royal family were strictly guarded. Apart from having no worries about food, clothing and shelter, they were essentially locked up forever in a small fiefdom.

We are not allowed to do anything, let alone "make friends with foreign ministers". Damn, what else can we do besides robbing and bullying men and women!
We feel wronged too!

When Zhu Xian thought of this, he suddenly had an idea.

At this moment, he completely understood the intention of Zhao Zhenji, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, who visited him a few days ago.

It is clear that Prince Xiyuan is determined to change the feudal system.

But how to change it? In addition to extremely sharp external voices like Hai Rui's, we also need internal voices from the royal family!
I have a fucking pig brain and I just realized it today.

Alas, these officials never speak properly and always like to play tricks on you and make you guess.

Zhu Xian sighed and asked the eunuch to bring pen and ink, saying, "I will write a great article today. I will use it to change my destiny."

This may be what knowledge means when it changes destiny!
Zhu Xianlian wrote four or five drafts and threw away more than a dozen pieces of waste paper. The more he wrote, the clearer his mind became, and his writing became more and more inspired.

I was halfway through writing when I suddenly heard a commotion outside, as if hundreds of people had suddenly poured in, clamoring and swearing, just like a pot of boiling water in a vegetable market.

Zhu Xian's thoughts, which were flowing like a spring, were interrupted, and he angrily threw the brush on the table.

Code it!

What are you arguing about!

But when Zhu Xian turned around, he realized that something was wrong. This was a confinement place, and it was usually eerily quiet here. Fortunately, there were several eunuchs and palace maids accompanying him, and they could talk and chat, and sometimes they would go to the yard to play for a while.

Otherwise, I would have gone crazy in these few months.

Why is it so lively today?
What happened?

Zhu Xian hurried to the yard and found that the eunuchs and palace maids had all come out of their houses and were standing there listening.

"Come on!"

"If you dawdle again, you'll get whipped!" "You dare! Do you know who I am? Oh, I'm really going to hit you, don't hit me, oh! I know who I am, I'm your grandson!"

Zhu Xian touched his chin. The tone of voice sounded familiar. Hmm, aren't all the royal family members so lazy and rogue?

"Walk this way, there are this row of courtyards. Chu Fan lives on the left, and Xiang Fan lives on the right."

"What? You give me such a small place to live? I'm a prince, and the places my servants live in are bigger than this."

"Go in! Push in! This bastard talks too much and drools too much. He spitted all over my face. He's really bad at code! Remember, no matter if you are a prince or a general, as long as you come in, you only have one name, and that is the number. You!"

"Sir, you called me?"

"Do you know your name?"

"Nine-five-twenty-seven!"

"That's right. Remember your numbers from now on. Every morning and evening, the military academy will regularly call your names in the yard. If anyone does not respond in time, their three meals for the day will be reduced by half!"

"We are the royal family, we are the descendants of Taizu, what are you doing, are you arresting us and putting us in jail?"

"I'm sorry, you are in jail here! I'm telling you, don't even think about running away! You are now waiting to be tried in court and convicted. If you dare to run, your crime will be even more serious!"

"Boy, don't be so arrogant. When grandpa gets out, I will kill you!"

"Haha, I'm waiting for you! Let's see when you can get out!"

Zhu Xian understood that the hundreds of people arrested were all descendants of the royal family, and should be from the Chu and Xiang vassal states. From the meaning of this conversation, these arrested people were waiting for the trial and conviction by the Ministry of Justice or the Zongzhengfu.

After a quarter of an hour, the surroundings were quiet for a while.

Zhu Xian shook his head and was about to go back to the house when he suddenly heard the noisy sound coming again.

"You bastard! Do you know who I am? I am King Wantong! How dare you humiliate me like this? I will impeach you and sue you. Woohoo. Please, don't lock me up in the room. I'm afraid of the dark."

"My lord, let's discuss something. I have more than 20 concubines at home. Can you bring two of them in? I can't sleep without them by my side at night.

Don't worry, there are benefits. Take any of the twenty or so concubines you like. Just take them. All you have to do is help me with this."

"Damn it! What are you doing! You just gave us this broken yard to live in and bully us Zhou Fan? Oh, stop hitting me, grandpa, spare my life!"

Hey!
Zhou Fan’s men were also arrested. With so many of them, how much space could be put in the detention center?

Zhu Xian smiled in his heart and suddenly thought of something.

Xiyuan took action against the royal family so quickly.

It seems that I am just an instigator.

What reasons and excuses did Xiyuan find? Who offended Hai Heizi, causing him to be so angry that he directly impeached all the princes and clans without leaving any one behind?
No matter what, I, the first person to fall into the water, seem to be safe.

No, I have to seize the opportunity, finish writing the petition as soon as possible, and submit it to Xiyuan.

Zhu Xian rushed into the room in two steps, picked up the brush, and his inspiration flowed like a spring. He wrote a memorial quickly with his brush flowing like clouds and running water.

Zhu Xian carefully picked up the memorial with the ink still wet and examined it carefully.

good! wonderful!
I am so sensible!
Zhu Xian saw his bright future in this memorial.

At this time, the noise outside had not yet died down, and royal family members from other fiefs were imprisoned, but Zhu Xian had no intention of paying attention.

Grandpa, after I submit this memorial, I will be leaving in a few days!

Just rest assured and cultivate your character here!

(End of this chapter)