I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 401 Which vassal states have the worst reputation?
An hour later, Dong Huli and Ge Zhiwen said goodbye and were led out of the West Garden by the eunuchs, leaving only Zhu Yijun and Xu Wei in the Qinzheng Hall.

"Mr. Wenchang, you will assist the Prince of Anfu to select a suitable candidate from the noble ladies of the Left Six Wings of Mongolia and marry her to a prince of the royal family. The Han and Mongolians are one family, serving the Ming Dynasty together.

If you want someone to work for you, you have to treat them as your own. Start with the marriage. As for the hostage issue, start with the eldest son. Send him to the capital and ask the great scholars to teach him, and teach him to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country from a young age.

"Yes, Your Highness." Xu Wei replied.

"The rectification of the royal family is still going on. The Censorate and the Imperial Clan Court are still reviewing the various vassal states in turn, and everyone has passed the test. Previously, the royal family of the various vassal states had a very bad reputation in the local area, and was hated by everyone. I hope that this rectification action can restore some of their reputation.

Reputation is sometimes a fun thing.”

Zhu Yijun said slowly: "The royal family and the imperial family were originally one. Taizu granted fiefs to various vassals with the intention of guarding the local areas and consolidating the country forever. However, after Chengzu, the royal family's system of enfeoffment went astray and must be changed."

Xu Wei did not say anything. He knew that Zhu Yijun was referring to the Chengzu Emperor who, in order to prevent the royal family from following suit after the Fengtian Rebellion, reduced the power of the princes and raised pigs, and changed the feudal system of the Emperor Taizu Emperor beyond recognition, which would cause endless troubles.

But as a subject, it is really difficult to respond to this.

"The guards, the royal family, and the nobles are the three legs of the tripod left by Emperor Taizu for the royal family. I didn't expect that after more than 200 years, these three legs were broken and the tripod was hollowed out. The imperial power is not prominent, the civil officials are in charge of the country, and the Ming Dynasty is strong on the outside but weak on the inside. I am now going to connect these three broken legs of the Ming Dynasty."

Xu Wei immediately replied: "Your Highness has great talent and strategy, and will surely be able to reform the old and establish the new, and revive the Ming Dynasty."

Like Li Zhi, he was a non-mainstream Confucian scholar who was despised and excluded by the mainstream civil servants who took the imperial examinations. It was only because of Zhu Yijun's strong support that he was able to sit in the same palace with other high-ranking officials and become one of the important officials of the court.

He and Zhu Yijun share the same fate, and he is one of the few die-hard fans.

Xu Wei knew in his heart that Zhu Yijun's words to his face were also a manifestation of his attitude and his great trust in him.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and continued, "One of them is to rectify the royal family and reduce the burden on the court. I plan to reduce the annual salary of 8.6 million dan of rice to 600,000 dan, which is the level of expenses for 60 princes, and the silver yuan salary will be halved."

Xu Wei smiled in his heart. His Highness was still of this style. He would either not do anything, or once he did something, he would definitely do it to the extreme.

The annual rice allowance of 8.6 million shi was reduced to 600,000 shi, and the princes and royal families would cry their hearts out. However, their crying was better than the crying of millions of ordinary people.

"But the royal family still needs to be appeased. According to the results of the investigation by the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guards, it is estimated that only twelve of the twenty-six princes can be retained."

Xu Wei was stunned. The prince was being a bit cruel by only retaining the twelve vassals.

"But we can't rush into things. I have weighed the matter over and over again. Of the 26 vassal states, I will first eliminate only the six vassal states of the country as a warning to others, and then slowly deal with the rest. Mr. Wenchang, do you know the situation of the imperial clans of the Ming vassal states?"

Xu Wei answered without hesitation: "In reply to your Highness, Emperor Taizu divided the feudal states into various states. During the Jiajing period, there were the Qin states in Xi'an, Shaanxi, the Jin states in Taiyuan, Shanxi, the Zhou states in Kaifeng, Henan, the Chu states in Wuchang, Huguang, the Lu states in Yanzhou, Shandong, the Shu states in Chengdu, Sichuan, the Dai states in Datong, Shanxi, the Su states in Lanzhou, Gansu, the Liao states in Jingzhou, Huguang, the Qing states in Yinchuan, Ningxia, the Min states in Wugang, Huguang, the Han states in Pingliang, Gansu, the Shen states in Luzhou, Shanxi, the Tang states in Nanyang, Henan, and the Yi states in Luoyang, Henan, a total of 15 feudal states.

Among them, Prince Yi Zhu Dianliang was lewd and violent, and had no manners as a vassal. In the 43rd year of Jiajing, the previous emperor issued an edict to imprison him behind high walls, strip him of his hereditary title, and abolish his country.

The emperor who preceded the Ren Temple was granted the title of Zhao in Zhangde Prefecture, Henan; the emperor who preceded the Xuan Temple was granted the title of Zheng in Huaiqing Prefecture, Henan, Xiang in Xiangyang Prefecture, Huguang, Jing in Qizhou, and Huai in Raozhou, Jiangxi; the emperor who preceded the Ying Temple was granted the title of De in Dezhou, Shandong, Chong in Runing Prefecture, Henan, Ji in Changsha Prefecture, Huguang, and Hui in Junzhou Prefecture, Henan; the emperor who preceded the Xiaozong was granted the title of Yi in Jianchang Prefecture, Jiangxi, Heng in Qingzhou Prefecture, Shandong, and Rong in Changde Prefecture, Huguang.

A total of twenty-six vassal states."

After listening to Xu Wei's detailed account, Zhu Yijun nodded with satisfaction.

But listening to the names of these feudal states, I felt suffocated.

The twenty-six vassal states were like twenty-six nests of giant leeches that had been sucking blood from the body of the Ming Dynasty for more than two hundred years. No matter how thick the blood was, it was not enough for them to suck!

Henan alone was the site of seven feudal fiefs, which shows how horrific the poison was. No wonder Li Zicheng was able to gather hundreds of thousands of rebels after a short visit to Henan.

"Mr. Wenchang, which fiefs do you think have the worst reputation?"

Xu Wei felt that the prince's question was a bit mysterious.

To be honest, the reputation of the various vassals is bad among the people. If you really want to choose those with a good reputation, you can barely pick three or five. If you choose those with a bad reputation, the competition will be fierce. However, as Zhu Yijun's confidant and close minister, Xu Wei can still guess some things. Whether they are really good or not depends on how His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sees it.

"I have heard that the Zhao clan of Zhangde Prefecture in Henan, the Zheng clan of Huaiqing Prefecture in Henan, the Chong clan of Runing Prefecture in Henan, and the Hui clan of Junzhou Prefecture in Henan have the worst reputations. I don't know about the rest."

Zhu Yijun looked at Xu Wei and smiled, what a smart man.

"I have already decided that the four vassal states you mentioned, plus the De vassal state in Shandong, the Ji vassal state in Changsha, Huguang, and the six vassal states, are either cruel and licentious, harming the people, or not following the etiquette of a minister, and have done something beyond the law. I will imprison the six vassal states and the county princes involved in the case, strip them of their hereditary fiefdoms, and remove their kingdoms."

Xu Wei was shocked when he heard this. Except for the Henan vassal states that he had guessed, the four vassal states that were granted by the previous emperor Yingmiao were all annihilated. It seemed that the Crown Prince did not have much affection for the ancestor called the Emperor.

Zhu Yijun continued, "Mr. Wenchang, when selecting the Left Six Wings of Mongolia to marry into the royal family, you should consult with Mr. Dazhou. He will be in charge of the rectification of the royal family of the various vassal states.

If you want to elect someone, you should choose someone from the royal family with a clean background to avoid embarrassment."

Yes, it was really embarrassing that a noble lady from the Left Six Wings of Mongolia was chosen with great difficulty to marry her to the son of a prince or duke of a certain vassal state, but the vassal state was abolished and the groom became a commoner.

"As you command."

Zhu Yijun began again: "By adopting a multi-pronged approach, including conferring titles on the wing, marrying hostages, and building cities along the river, a decisive victory on the eastern front is within reach. But the dawn is the darkest.

Now all the elite troops of the nine frontiers are concentrated on the eastern frontier. Li Chengliang's left wing army has 40,000 cavalry, Xiao Wenkui's central wing army has 20,000 cavalry, and Zhou Guotai's right wing army has 25,000 cavalry. 85,000 cavalry were withdrawn here, almost exhausting the elite cavalry of the nine frontiers. Even Qi Yuanjing, who was stationed in Liaohe Hetao, had less than 15,000 cavalry. "

Xu Wei was aware of all these situations and knew what Zhu Yijun was worried about.

He echoed, "Your Highness is worried about what I worry about. The border towns of Xuanfu, Datong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, etc. are now all supported by infantry, and only some cavalry recruited by the camp guards are available.

Now the situation in Ordos is very complicated. It is unknown how Altan Khan will deal with the surrender of the Left Six Wings of Mongolia to the Ming Dynasty, which threatens him from the flank.

Once Altan Khan breaks off relations and leads 30,000 households of the Mongolian right wing to invade the south, our army will be in a very passive position. "

"That's right. The best way to deal with cavalry is to use cavalry. The elite cavalry on the Western Front has been transferred to the Eastern Front. We can only passively defend if we rely on infantry alone.

The painful lessons of the past have taught us that the ultimate result of passive defense is to be led by the nose like a dog. Without mobility, you can only sit there and take the beating. "

Xu Wei consoled him, "Your Highness, Governor Wang, Governor Zhang, General Ma, and Mr. Taihan are all watching over Datong Town. They are all outstanding people.

Now the Ordos tribe has been provoked and disturbed by them, and they have taken the initiative. I believe they will be able to stabilize the situation on the western front in the future."

Zhu Yijun was silent for a while, "I hope so! Mr. Wenchang, accompany me to the Xishan training ground tomorrow. The six musket infantry regiments of the Control Crane Army have finally been trained. They will have a drill tomorrow. Let's go and take a look."

"As you command."

Zhu Yijun stood up, walked around the room a few times, and continued, "I just met Dong Huli and the other six. They are our people now. Of course, we should meet our people first.

After meeting them, we will meet the outsiders next. The Korean envoys have been waiting in Sifang Pavilion for a while. They were supposed to meet them a long time ago, but something unexpected happened in the middle, so it has been delayed until now. The Japanese envoys have also arrived, so let's meet them together.

Qi Yan, why did Mr. Gao Ruo bring the Korean envoy here? "

"Your Highness, the appointment is in thirty minutes."

"Mr. Wenchang, let's meet together."

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)