I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 364: Convening a Meeting of the Four Kings

The Great Hall of Guangming in Xiyuan.

This place was just renovated not long ago.

It used to be a hall dedicated to heaven and earth. It was renovated by Zhu Yijun to simplify its style and become magnificent and majestic.

Four men of different heights, wearing ochre-yellow five-clawed dragon robes, stood on the platform in front of the hall and talked to each other.

"To issue an imperial edict to four princes at once is unprecedented in our dynasty." A man in a dragon robe who is in his thirties and has a pair of triangular eyes said with a slight smile on his lips.

"Five! There is a King of Liao in the confinement center." The youngest of the four, a man in his twenties, looked around and said softly.

"Hey, you are really evil! The emperor didn't invite us to his birthday party, and the late emperor didn't invite us to his death. Why are you inviting us during this unusual time?
In addition to the five of us, each fiefdom has invited many people."

"You, please talk less," reminded another man in a dragon robe, who was in his thirties and had rounder eyes.

"I can't help it. My parents gave birth to me like this. I can't change it!" The man with the triangular eyes turned around and looked at the oldest of the four and asked, "Why don't you say anything? Why are you pretending to be so important?"

"Ancestors? I am the youngest, I am the grandson! The ancestors are inside." The older man in the dragon robe was in his forties, with a kind face and two dimples when he smiled.

The man with the triangular eyes could not help but ask, "What do you think this is for? Are you killing a chicken to scare the monkey? Is it necessary to kill a chicken as big as ours? We are all descendants of Emperor Taizu, is it necessary to be so cruel?"

The other three did not answer, and involuntarily took a step away.

Feng Bao came out and said with a smile, "My four great kings, please come in. The crown prince is waiting for you in the palace."

The man in his forties with a dragon robe walked in immediately, followed closely by the young man in a dragon robe. The man in his thirties with round eyes hesitated for a moment, then followed closely.

The man in his thirties with triangular eyes and dragon robe saw his companions rushing in, stamped his feet in anger, and followed them in with gritted teeth.

When they arrived at the hall, they saw Zhu Yijun sitting at the head of the table. The man in his forties in a dragon robe stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and said loudly: "Your Highness, the Prince of Chu, Zhu Ying, pays respect to His Highness the Crown Prince!"

The man in his twenties knelt down behind him and said loudly, "Your Highness, Prince Anfu Zhu Zaiyao pays respect to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

His father, Zhu Houzun, the previous Prince of Xiang, died in the 45th year of Jiajing, and his succession to the title of Prince of Xiang was still going through the process. The succession of the titles of princes in various vassal states was a very serious matter, and the court would send personnel to check it again and again before issuing an edict.

The round-eyed man in his thirties knelt down and said loudly: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is greeted by your Highness!"

Finally, the man in his thirties with triangular eyes knelt down reluctantly, and said something different from the other three: "I am here to take care of Tang vassal affairs for the time being. Wencheng Prince Zhu Zhoucai pays respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"The four of you stand up." Zhu Yijun walked down the steps and held out his hands to support the four of them. After the four of them stood up, he said to Feng Bao, "Give the four clan members a seat!"

"Yes!"

After the four of them sat down, Zhu Yijun put his hands in his sleeves and went straight to the point.

"Four clan members, someone has impeached the various feudal lords. The leader is Hai Rui, the Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, who has submitted a memorial to impeach the various feudal lords. Feng Bao, please read it to everyone."

"Yes!"

Feng Bao picked up Hai Rui's memorial and read it aloud. The clear voice echoed in the empty hall.

"This is ridiculous! Hai Rui is crazy! He even dared to impeach the imperial edict of Emperor Taizu! He is crazy, completely crazy! Prince, you should quickly get someone to arrest this guy, he is a lunatic."

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhu Zhoucai, who was waving his hands excitedly, and asked coldly, "Is this your first time to meet the emperor?"

what?
What do you mean?
Zhu Zhoucai stood there in a daze.

The experienced King Zhu Ying of Chu quickly replied, "Your Highness, according to the ancestral system and national law, the various vassal states and royal families are not allowed to leave their fiefdoms without a decree. I have lived in my fiefdoms for half my life. This is the first time I have left my fiefdom and the first time I have come to the capital to see the king."

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhu Zhoucai coldly, "No wonder you are so ignorant of the rites of a subject!"

Zhu Zhoucai looked embarrassed.

I thought it was the same as a meeting with clan members in the domain.

Although the prince is the most honorable one in the fiefdom, in fact, the other princes and generals do not really respect him.

Some are older than you, your grandfather, and they kowtow to you, which is already shortening their lifespans. What else can you do? We are all pigs kept in a pen, so who is nobler than who?
So when the various vassal states held a meeting, everyone would first pretend to kneel down and kowtow to the prince, and then they would start a meeting like sparrows, chirping and arguing, expressing their own opinions.

Zhu Zhoucai thought that the court meeting was also like this. Seeing that he was silent, Zhu Yijun continued: "Except Hai Rui, the Censorate, the six ministries, the five temples and the local governments have submitted more than a thousand memorials, all of which are impeachment of the various vassal clans and royal families."

It was rare for the civil officials to reach a consensus on the various vassal states and royal families.

"More than a thousand letters, my dear clansmen. Even when Yan Song was despised by the world, he never received so many impeachment letters. Everyone, what do you think we should do?"

The four princes looked at Zhu Yijun without saying a word.

After a while, under Zhu Yijun's sharp gaze, Chu Wang Zhu Ying's Adam's apple trembled back and forth for more than ten times, and then he spoke: "Your Highness will make the decision!"

I'm in charge?
If you let me take charge, you'll all be finished!

Zhu Yijun turned around and pointed at Zhou Wang Zhu Zaiting and said, "Your Zhou clan has received the most impeachment memorials. As the lord of a clan, why don't you express your opinion?"

Zhu Zaiting was very depressed.

What's my opinion?
Our Zhou clan has the largest population and is known as the number one clan in the world.

With so many people, the good and the bad are naturally mixed, and there are many who commit crimes. But the throne of our Zhou vassal is passed down quickly, while other vassal states have only passed it down to the eighth or ninth generation, but I have already passed it down to the eleventh generation. There are a lot of people in the vassal state who are older than me, and I feel inferior to everyone I see.

The imperial court took care of all matters, big and small, for the various vassal states. Royal family members were given titles and official ranks from birth, and their birth, aging, sickness and death were all taken care of.

The feudal lord and prince are just a decoration. They don't rely on you for food, so why should they be afraid of you?
Under Zhu Yijun's stern gaze, Zhu Zai spoke awkwardly: "To reply to Your Highness, there are thousands of members of the Zhou clan, and they are numerous, with mixed opinions and mixed morals. I am limited in my ability and cannot manage them well."

Zhu Yijun stared at him and said, "If you can't manage it well, the court will manage it for you. But when the court enforces the law, it is like thunder and wrath, not spring rain and grace.

"For the sake of our common clan, I cannot bear to see you suffer. How about this, all clan members, first do some self-examination and self-correction, criticism and self-criticism."

Self-examination and self-correction?

Criticism and self-criticism?
What the hell!
Zhu Yijun added: "The Liao King Zhu Xian wrote a memorial, which I think is very well written! Feng Bao, please read it to all the clan members."

"Yes." Feng Bao took out another memorial, which was the confession memorial carefully written by Zhu Xian, and read it aloud.

Zhu Ying, Zhu Zaiting, Zhu Zaiyao and Zhu Zhoucai frowned as they listened, especially Zhu Zhoucai, who was fidgeting and wanted to speak out several times but held it back.

Zhu Xian bravely admitted his mistakes in his memorial. He first conducted a deep self-criticism, saying that he had made many mistakes because he was young and ignorant before, and now he was crying bitterly and regretting his past.

Of course, these mistakes were not fatal. Then Zhu Xian was brave enough to expose and criticize many members of the Liao clan, especially his cousin, Zhu Xianhe, the Prince of Guangyuan.

This bastard is simply not a human being. He is responsible for at least half of the bad things done by the Liao vassal clan. Prince, quickly arrest this bastard and put him in prison forever to serve as a warning to others!

Not only that, Zhu Xian also bravely pointed out that he requested to reform the ancestral system and break away from the hereditary system. Except for the crown prince, the legitimate sons of the princes of each vassal state were all given the title of prince, and the rest were given the title of general guarding the country.

Except for the crown prince, all the legitimate sons of the princes were granted the title of General Guarding the Country, and the rest were granted the title of General Auxiliary the Country.

The son of the general who guards the country is demoted one level, and the rank of general who assists the country is passed down. The other legitimate sons are granted the title of general who assists the country, and the other sons are granted the title of lieutenant who guards the country. The son of the general who assists the country is demoted one level, and the rank of general who assists the country is passed down. The other legitimate sons are granted the title of lieutenant who guards the country, and the other sons are granted the title of lieutenant who assists the country.

By analogy, the ranks below Lieutenant in Fengguo will no longer be inherited, and they will be changed to commoners. They can take imperial examinations, join the army, and do business, just like ordinary people, making a living and supporting themselves!
This is crazy!
You have a golden rice bowl yourself, but you want to destroy other people's iron rice bowl!
As Feng Bao finished reading, Zhu Zhoucai couldn't help but said, "Is Zhu Xian crazy? Did he write this memorial? Could it be that he was tortured into confessing and wrote it randomly under torture?"

Zhu Yijun looked at him and knew that he had to kill the chicken to scare the monkey.

"Feng Bao!"

"The slave is here!"

"Did the Pacification Division follow the imperial order to search the Tang Prince's Palace?"

"Yes. There are some soldiers from the Eastern Depot accompanying them."

"What did you find?"

"Your Highness, we found four boxes in a very secret place, full of weapons and armor. According to investigation, it was Wencheng Prince Zhu Zhoucai who had someone quietly move the weapons into the palace and hide them secretly after he temporarily took charge of the Tang vassal affairs."

Zhu Zhoucai was so frightened that his legs went limp and he fell to his knees.

(End of this chapter)