I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 478 The Leisurely Xu Jie

Huating County, Songjiang Prefecture.

This place used to be the seat of Songjiang Prefecture and the cotton textile center of the southeast, known as the clothing center of the world.

However, with the rise of Shanghai County, the cotton textile center moved there, and then the Songjiang Prefecture government also moved there, and Huating County gradually declined.

However, in the hearts of the people of Huating, especially the scholars and gentry, Huating is still as prosperous as ever and still one of the best places in the world.

Because there is the Xu Mansion in Huating, and there is the former Prime Minister Xu Jie, Mr. Xu in the Xu Mansion!

In the front yard of the Xu Mansion, the second son Xu Kun took the newly delivered newspaper from the steward, glanced at it quickly, frowned, rolled up the newspaper and walked towards the inner courtyard.

The Xu Mansion is very large, occupying one-third of Huating County, as if the entire Huating County was built around the Xu Mansion.

Some people jokingly say that there is the Confucius Mansion in Qufu in the north and the Xu Mansion in Huating in the south, both of which are prosperous in their respective cities.

Xu Kun walked through the hall and the house, and along the corridor into the inner courtyard.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I heard the sound of stringed instruments and singing.

Walking into a side hall, on the right sat a group of musicians, plucking strings, blowing bamboo flutes, and playing bang drums. Two young ladies in long sleeves stood in the middle, singing the Kunqu opera "Romance of the West Chamber".

"The fallen petals form a formation, the wind blows thousands of petals, which makes people sad. The pond dreams of dawn, and the railings bid farewell to spring; the butterfly powder lightly touches the flying catkins and snow, and the swallow mud fragrance stirs the fallen petals; the spring mood is short and the willow branches are long, the people are far away through the shadow of flowers, and the horizon is close. The fragrance has disappeared, and the spirit of the Three Chus has been reduced."

The voice is clear and sad.

The two sang and danced, their sleeves flowing, lingering and melodious. Their eyes met, full of affection.

Xu Jie was wearing a lake blue Hangzhou Luo Taoist robe, with his hair tied into a bun and a jade hairpin inserted in his hair. He was lying on a rosewood recliner with his eyes slightly closed, his right hand resting on the hand guard, and clapping to the rhythm.

Full of relaxation.

Xu Kun rushed in and the music and singing stopped immediately.

The two actors kept their postures motionless, as if they could continue the play with just a glance.

Xu Jie opened his eyes and saw Xu Kun.

"what happened?"

"Sir, the political report has been delivered."

Xu Jie waved his hand, and the musicians immediately walked away with their instruments. The two actors also came back to their senses, bowed gracefully, flicked their sleeves, and walked away gracefully, like fairies.

The maids on both sides stretched out their white and tender little hands, reached behind Xu Jie, helped him sit up, and then put two soft big pillows behind him so that he could sit comfortably.

Then a maid brought a bowl of tea, took off the lid, and put it to Xu Jie's mouth.

Xu Jie lowered his head slightly, took a sip of tea with a slurp, gurgled it back and forth in his mouth, and then spat it out into the copper basin held by another maid with a "plop".

When he was taking a nap just now, the stagnant fluid and dry air in his mouth were cleared away by this sip of tea, and Xu Jie immediately felt his mouth moistened, his heart relaxed, and his mind refreshed.

Another maid brought a cup of warm Biluochun tea to Xu Jie's mouth. After he gulped down two gulps, they all left.

Xu Jie raised his right hand, and Xu Kun hurried forward and helped his old father up from the recliner.

With his hands behind his back and his waist slightly bent, Xu Jie walked out from the side door of the hall. Xu Kun followed closely behind him, and the two of them entered the garden.

Although Huating is in the south of the Yangtze River, it is not spring all year round. Now it is September, the late autumn season, and all the flowers in the garden have withered. The grass and trees are not as green as before, but a stagnant gray-green.

Only the gurgling water moistens the rockery and nourishes the moss, just like spring and summer.

Xu Jie, with his hands behind his back, walked along the cobblestone path to the pavilion next to the rockery, and finally asked.

"What does this issue of the Huangming Zhengbao say?"

The old voice sounded like a thick white cloud in the September sky amid the gurgling sound of spring water.

"Master, the headline on the front page of this issue of the Imperial Ming Gazette is a clear imperial edict severely condemning a group of clan members headed by Zhu Yuntan, the Prince of Baoding of the Shen clan, Zhu Jingrong, the Prince of Longde of the Qin clan, and Zhu Shenjing, the temporary acting Jin clan, for forming a gang of thieves and calling themselves the Zongshe Party.

They had recruited assassins, set up weapons and hid ambushes, intending to plot rebellion in Nanyuan and harm His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Fortunately, God had eyes and the Royal Guards noticed it, conducted a thorough investigation, and foiled the case in one fell swoop.

This case involves the six feudal lords of Shen, Qin, Jin, Lu, Jing, and Dai, as well as three princes, thirty-seven county princes, and one hundred and nineteen generals who guarded the country, assisted the country, and served the country. "

At this point, Xu Kun couldn't help but express his opinion.

"Master, the conspiracy case involves the six feudal lords. It seems that the six feudal lords will be abolished. Of the feudal lords granted by our ancestors, only 26 feudal lords remained during the Longqing period.

At the beginning of the year, six vassal states were exterminated, and the princes and dukes were confined in Fengyang. Now six more vassal states are being exterminated, and twelve of the twenty-six vassal states have been exterminated. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is ruthless, not inferior to the Second Ancestor. "

The abolition of a country and a feudal domain is no joke. Once a country is abolished, all feudal domains will be abolished.

From the princes and dukes to the lieutenants of Fengguo, except for a few who were granted grace, all the others were stripped of their titles and demoted to commoners. Their names were to be moved from the Imperial Clan Jade Book to other books.

The royal family is a big tree, and you are just branches on it.

Have you ever seen an egg still intact under an overturned nest?

Of course, the ancestral temple of the vassal state was later taken over by the imperial court, which sent local officials to worship there on time.

The descendants of this vassal can go to worship their ancestors, but you can only go as a commoner. Whether you can enter is up to you.

Abolishing states and abolishing vassal states is indeed the best way for the imperial court to save money, but it really cannot be used lightly.

Last time, Zhu Yijun used the private transfer of military schools by several princes of the Tang vassal states to hunt down Hai Rui, triggering a shocking case. Then he investigated the vassal states and found many crimes such as disloyalty, disrespect, and failure to follow the vassal etiquette, except for the six vassal states. But the means were not cruel enough. At least, except for a few who committed "suicide" for extremely serious crimes, the rest were imprisoned in Zhongdu according to the ancestral system.

However, Zhou Fan and Tang Fan, who were involved in major crimes, were not expelled from their countries.

why?
Because King Zhou Zhu Zaiding did a good job in self-criticism, he, along with King Zhao Zhu Xian, who was renamed King Zhao from King Liao, Zhu Zaiyao, who was promoted from King Anfu to King Xiang and then to King Zheng, and King Chu Zhu Ying, were the first group to submit a letter of apology, confessing their crimes to the world, reflecting deeply, and sincerely requesting the court to investigate and rectify the various princes in order to set the record straight and clarify the state's laws.

How could His Royal Highness the Crown Prince abolish such a vassal who admits his mistakes and corrects them and is positive and progressive?

As for Tang Fan, the crown prince Zhu Shuohui was only three years old and was recently appointed as the crown prince by imperial decree.

The person who temporarily took charge of Tang vassal affairs was his uncle, Prince Wencheng Zhu Zhoucai.

This beast, together with Wenyuan Wang Zhu Zhouyou and Beizheng Wang Zhu Yutan, controlled the affairs of the vassal state and committed all kinds of crimes. But speaking objectively, you can't let the three-year-old prince of the vassal state bear the brunt of their bad deeds.

As a result, Zhu Zhoucai, Zhu Zhouyou and Zhu Yutan either committed suicide or were imprisoned, but they were saved by the Tang vassal state.

Everyone in the world thinks that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is quite reasonable.

"There will be fewer vassal states." Xu Jie said firmly, "How can we easily give up on a major case of treason that was caught on the spot? We will continue to investigate. It is hard to say which vassal state and who will be involved in the future.

In short, the fourteen vassals are still too many in the eyes of our prince."

Xu Kun couldn't help but sigh: "The prince is really cruel when he strikes. He doesn't even spare relatives from the same clan and ancestors."

"These royal family members are of no benefit to the country, nor are they of any help to the prince. Why spend so much money and food every year to support them? The prince is very smart. If he saves so much money and food, how many soldiers can he support?"

Xu Kun shook his head: "My son also knows that the royal family spends a lot every year. Checking and reducing it will be of great benefit to the country and the people. But even though I said that, I always feel that the prince is too cold."

"Cold and indifferent? Haha, you are asked to pay for the royal family's money and food. Let's see if you can still say that you are cold and indifferent?
Didn’t you read the previous political report? "

"Master, which issue of the Political Bulletin is this? What's it about?
"The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel drafted and the Ming Dynasty issued the "Regulations for the Resettlement of Retired Marines in the Third Year of Longqing". It is obvious that the prince took the land from the vassal states to resettle the retired veterans.

County lieutenants, patrol inspectors, patrol guards. Haha, the prince is very calculating.

Second brother, tell me, would the prince rather give the land to the officers and soldiers who fought for him and secured his position, or to the relatives who have the same ancestor but are seven or eight generations apart and who eat his food, use his things, and even want to dig up his roots?"

Xu Kun chuckled, "Master, it must be given to those officers and soldiers. If you give it to them, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's throne will be more and more stable. Giving it to those clan relatives, haha, is really worse than feeding a group of hawks and dogs."

"I'm glad you know. What else is there in the political papers?"

"Governor Yin Zhengmao of Guangxi submitted a memorial, presenting evidence of the relationship between the Jingjiang Palace in Guilin and the rebellious chieftains Anlong and Shanglin and the Luobang Yao. It was found that the Jingjiang Palace colluded with officials from the Guilin Armory to steal weapons and military equipment and sold them to the rebellious chieftains and the Yao people."

"The Crown Prince is striking while the iron is hot, using this major case to settle the affairs of the royal family. His methods were ruthless before, but at least he managed to save the lives of most of the princes and dukes. It's a pity that these people would not listen to advice and insisted that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince be ruthless.

The crime of treason and collusion with the rebel army is not as simple as imprisonment, but the punishment is death."

Xu Kun was a little curious, "Master, the affairs of the royal family have been progressing slowly, why did His Royal Highness the Crown Prince suddenly take such ruthless actions?"

Xu Jie glanced at him and said, "Didn't you see the results of the civil servant recruitment examination a few days ago?"

"Is it an official recruitment examination that is held together with candidates from the imperial clan, the Northern and Southern Imperial Colleges, and the provincial candidates?"

"That's right. Tens of thousands of royal family members signed up enthusiastically, thinking that they could become officials just by going through the formalities."

"Master, the local scholars were very angry at first. They felt that their quotas were taken up, and they were going to write a letter of impeachment after the exam results came out. But the result was..."

"What happened?"

"Everyone laughed. Only a few people passed the exam out of tens of thousands. The scholars thought it was unfair, so they left and did not submit a petition. But the vassal king was not happy about it, saying that someone cheated and deliberately obstructed them from passing the exam.

Some said they would go to Beijing to file a complaint, some said they would go to Fengyang to mourn at the ancestral tomb, and some said they would go to Nanjing to mourn at the Xiaoling Mausoleum.

Xu Kun suddenly came to his senses, "Master, is this the reason why the prince suddenly took drastic measures against the royal family?"

Xu Jie smiled and said lightly: "The prince is telling those unworthy members of the royal family that if you dare to cry in the ancestral mausoleum Xiaoling, he will send you to see the great ancestor for the crime of treason!"

Xu Kun opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment.

The prince's way of reasoning is truly unforgettable.

Xu Jie rolled up his sleeves, dusted off the wooden bench in the pavilion, lifted up the back of his collar and sat down, and asked casually.

"Any other news?"

Xu Kun glanced at Xu Jie secretly, "Master, the third page of the Huangming Zhengbao published some of the appointments of provincial government officials."

"Well, Nanzhili was finally split up. Jiangsu, Jianghuai Suzhou, these names are interesting. Is there any appointment for our Jiangsu Provincial Secretary?"

After being approved by Zhu Yijun, the official system regulations were officially finalized and promulgated. However, after the Ministry of Personnel and the Cabinet argued for their rights, some modifications were made.

For example, the governor was at the same level as the governor, both of whom were of the third rank. The left deputy governor, the provincial governor, and the military governor were of the third rank. The right deputy governor, the provincial governor, and the military governor were of the fourth rank.

The previous issue of "Huang Ming Zheng Bao" announced the names of the governors, provincial governors, left deputy provincial governors, censors and military commissioners of Jiangsu and Anhui. This issue should announce the names of the right deputy provincial governors, deputy censors and deputy military commissioners.

"Master, Cai Guoxi was appointed as the Right Deputy Envoy of Jiangsu Province."

As soon as Xu Kun finished speaking, Xu Jie stood up suddenly, his eyes flashing and he cursed angrily.

"This is bad!"

(End of this chapter)