Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 231 Everyone Wants to Take Advantage of the Issue
The Chu Palace, built during the Hongwu period, is backed by Gaoguan Mountain in the north, faces the main street in the south, is adjacent to the Parade Ground on the left, and is connected to Houchang Street on the right.

The entire palace is two miles wide from east to west and four miles long from north to south, and its area accounts for almost one-third of Wuchang City.

There are more than 800 palaces, palace chambers, halls, storehouses, ancestral temples, pavilions, waterside pavilions, courtyards, etc. in the palace. There are also attractions such as dressing tables, goldfish ponds, rockery, and the back garden of the palace is specially used to keep singing girls.

In the "Wanli Accounting Records" compiled under the supervision of Zhang Juzheng in the fourth year of the Wanli reign, there were 1,144 registered relatives of the Chu clan, and the total annual salary was 342,090 shi of grain, plus some small changes.

Since Huguang was relatively wealthy, although the Chu vassal "petitioned" to reduce the rice salary in the third year of Longqing, the rice salary of the King of Chu was only reduced from 10,000 dan to 9,000 dan, and all of it was in original color.

Below the rank of Prince, the percentage of discounts increases sharply. Of the 1,000 dan of rice in the Prince's salary, only 300 dan are in cash, and the rest are in cash. The generals who guard the country, assist the country, and serve the country are the same as the Prince, with only 30% in cash. For the various lieutenants, the percentage is 40%, but the amount of rice they pay is even less. And for the various Princesses, County Princesses, Princesses, County Princesses, Township Princesses, and Yibin, only 20% are in cash.

These are just the numbers for the early years of the Wanli period.

At that time, the number of registered royal family members in the country was just over 30,000. Now, almost 30 years have passed, what is the number?
More than 80,000.

In the 41st year of Jiajing, the total amount of rice that the entire Ming Dynasty should have spent on the royal family was 8.53 million dan. Although there were many discounts, according to the court's regulations on the ratio of royal family rice to silver, the total expenditure on royal family salaries reached more than 1.256276 taels in the early years of Wanli.

"It's time to think of a way to solve the problem of clan salary." Wang Xijue came to Zhu Changluo and said solemnly, "In the early years of Jiajing, the number of clan members on the list exceeded 10,000 taels for the first time. If the clan salary had not been changed during the reign of Emperor Taizong, the annual clan salary alone would probably be as high as 10 million taels. For so many years, the local governments have paid other taxes first and delayed paying the clan tax. But now that preferential exemptions have been implemented, more local governments are allowed to keep the tax. The Chu vassal state is just the beginning. The clan members in other places are looking forward to it. If there is really no arrears, with more than 80,000 clan members on the list now, what will happen in another 20 years?"

Faced with the incident of the "fake King of Chu" exposed by Chu Fan, many people in the court wanted to use this opportunity to promote a new round of clan salary reforms.

The reality is that the number of royal family members is growing exponentially. From less than 10,000 in the early years of Jiajing, to over 30,000 in the early years of Wanli, to over 80,000 in the third year of Taichang.

Even though a large-scale discount was carried out during the Jiajing period, it could only curb the growth rate of some royal family expenditures.

The base number was getting bigger and bigger, and the court affected the interests of officials and gentry. After the strict preferential exemption, the financial situation was not so difficult. But because of this, the royal family hoped that the clan salary could be paid in full, at least not to be owed by the local government as in the past.

And within the royal family, there was a lot of unequal distribution of spoils. The royal salary of each clan member under the vassal king system was arranged by the prince.

Wang Xijue had cited an example before: In the tenth year of Wanli, six generals including General Conglu and Junqin from the Huairen Palace went to the imperial court to appeal. As their salary of rice had not been paid for twenty-one years, they were "suffering from hunger and cold, with no way to save their lives."

In many places, one must "have been supported for more than ten years before one can obtain clan salary."

Zhu Changluo looked at the mountain of memorials and petitions in front of him with a serious expression.

"Last year, I ordered the localities not to delay the payment of royal salaries, precisely for the sake of peace and stability in the country." He looked at Wang Xijue, "Now the ministers are in turmoil. If I use this as an excuse to reform royal salaries, royal families across the country will be uneasy. Yuan Yu, what if the royal family and the gentry join forces to cause chaos?"

"If we don't take advantage of this situation, even if the court succeeds in increasing revenue, it will be difficult to sustain sooner or later. We should choose the lesser of two evils. As for the stability of the world, I can only say that I will decide on a large amount of military funds for the Privy Council!"

Wang Xijue knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, how dare we deliberately stir up trouble? It's just that the problem of clan salaries must be solved sooner or later. If we don't think about it now, when will we think about it? Your Majesty, the next holy ruler, must want to revive the Ming Dynasty, and these problems cannot be avoided. The local government did not owe the clan salaries last year, so how much did it owe in previous years? Will the clan and vassal states beg for it?"

Zhu Changluo knew that what he said was true, but he also had to consider the hidden dangers: after the strict implementation of preferential treatment, the resentment of local gentry was already very strong. If the royal family was dissatisfied by the reform of the royal salary system, they might not dare to rebel on their own, but the possibility of local gentry guiding, inciting and supporting them could not be ignored.

"I am also thinking about this matter." Zhu Changluo said solemnly, "But now that all the ministers have requested to reform the Zonglu system, it is not appropriate!"

Wang Xijue said firmly: "For the sake of national interests, we, the ministers, must make requests one after another. When the royal family and vassal hear this, they can only beg for Your Majesty's grace. Your Majesty will have more room for maneuver in whatever way he chooses."

"You mean, now you are just creating a big situation to make the vassal state think that there must be major changes, and then I will mediate and compromise?"

"There are over 80,000 members of the royal family registered today. In another 20 years, I'm afraid the number will reach 200,000 or 300,000." Wang Xijue looked directly at Zhu Changluo, "The truth is self-evident. I dare to say that if I can accomplish what Zhang Jiangling failed to do, it will be much easier for me to assist Your Majesty in implementing the new policy."

"...Zhang Jiangling has thought about this?"

"Of course. We requested an investigation of the kings' lands back then, but nothing came of it."

"Check the lands of the kings?" Zhu Changluo's eyes were solemn. "Those manors with reduced salaries?"

"That's right. The more debts there are, the more land and salary they give us..."

Wang Xijue began to explain.

Zhu Yijun was an emperor who was "friendly" to the royal family. Zhang Juzheng controlled the country for ten years but died early. Zhu Yijun just took power and started spending money lavishly.

He gave Princess Yongning 2,595 hectares and 82 mu of farmland, gave Prince Su 2,243 hectares and 50 mu of farmland, and gave his younger brother 40,000 hectares of farmland from the former Prince Jing who had been removed from his fiefdom...

Wang Xijue and others, standing on the side of the imperial court, naturally hoped to liberate more land from the hands of the royal family.

According to Wang Xijue, these lands amount to more than 100,000 hectares.

That’s more than 10 million acres of land.

Ultimately, this issue was pushed to Zhu Changluo because of the case of the fake King of Chu exposed by Chu Fan.

Although Zhu Changluo wanted to proactively solve the long-standing problem of the royal family burden, the way his ministers took advantage of the issue and created momentum in advance put Zhu Changluo in a passive position.

He looked at Wang Xijue and knew in his heart that this was the inevitable result of setting up one house and four courtyards with five ministers governing together.

Wang Xijue wanted to establish his authority and leave a legacy, and there was really no better way than to successfully resolve the issue of the royal family's burden. His bad reputation for affecting the interests of officials and gentry would also be reversed.

As long as the current emperor is willing to harm the royal family for the long-term consideration of national finances, it will be fine.

"Back then, the Emperor proposed to lift the ban on clan membership, allow the four classes of people to work, and relax the ban on entry and exit, but all the vassal states, regardless of their wealth, strongly opposed it. Relaxing the ban and opening the imperial examinations will benefit the generals and lieutenants, so why do the vassal states oppose it? The power of clan salaries and the benefits of farmland are all in the hands of the princes." Wang Xijue looked at Zhu Changluo and said solemnly, "When Your Majesty first ascended the throne, you also proposed to relax the ban and open the imperial examinations, but what is the effect now? The clan salaries are all in the hands of the princes, how can the poor clan members survive? Now the Chu vassal state is the first to have problems, and there will naturally be more problems later."

In November of the 21st year of the Wanli reign, the imperial court had actually officially lifted the ban on the lowest-level lieutenants of the royal family from entering officialdom, allowing them to go to school and take the imperial examinations.

However, among the lowest-level lieutenants in Fengguo, the salary and rice were controlled by the princes, and it was not easy to study full-time and pass the imperial examinations.

Wang Xijue's opinion: Regardless of the truth about Zhu Huakui's bloodline today, the core issue of the royal family is the uneven distribution of interests within the various fiefdoms.

"So, when the three judicial officials went to investigate the case of the King of Chu this time, you and Shen Li both agreed to investigate the money and grain? The Ministry of Rites should be in charge of the affairs of the royal family. Does Shen Shixing think so too?"

Zhu Changluo called out the name directly, expressing his dissatisfaction.

"This is what Zhonghua and I thought, and Rumo also thinks it is a good opportunity." Wang Xijue agreed.

Zhu Changluo stared at him: "Aren't you afraid that I will be unhappy?"

"Your Majesty will understand that we are loyal to our king and country."

Zhu Changluo said indifferently: "Since the situation has already been exposed, please present your suggestions on how to change it."

Zhu Changluo sat in silence for a long time as he watched Wang Xijue apologize and leave.

His original idea was to allow Changming to gradually demonstrate its profitability, and then have the various vassals voluntarily hand over their assets to Changming for management, so that the turmoil would be minimized.

But when the Chu Zong case broke out, the civil officials wanted to accomplish their goal in one fell swoop.

Wang Xijue analyzed the situation for a long time and tried to convince Zhu Changluo that the princes and vassals would not cause chaos because the middle and lower classes, who made up the majority of the vassal states, had conflicts of interest with the princes and dukes.

For Zhu Changluo, this was a chance to put on a show: after setting up one house and four courtyards, the "ministers" and civil officials rose up to pressure the emperor, and the emperor had no better solution.

They could become the enemy of this clan, as long as Zhu Changluo was willing to nod and push forward. This was the first time that important officials put pressure on the monarchy after the establishment of the one-room and four-courtyard system, although the starting point was to solve the clan salary problem and for the sake of national affairs.

However, Zhu Changluo did not want them to take the lead in this matter: he wanted to control the more than 10 million acres of land of the royal family in his own hands and use it more efficiently through Changming, rather than dispersing it to various places and entering into the process of annexation by officials and gentry.

It’s okay to let them build up momentum first. After all, the princes have made demands on him and asked the emperor to make decisions for their relatives.

After all, the final decision is in Zhu Changluo's hands.

……

Within a short period of time, memorials impeaching some princes for bribery appeared in the court.

As soon as the wind started to blow, some princes felt that something was wrong and hoped to maintain the existing system by bribing officials in the court.

Not long after, the King of Chu impeached Zhu Huaqian for several crimes. Zhu Huaqian joined forces with 29 relatives of the Chu vassal state, including three princes, to impeach Zhu Huakui again, accusing him of being a foreigner. Both documents arrived in Beijing.

The Inspection Office asked the governor of Huguang to start the investigation, while the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple each selected two people.

The Ministry of Rites began to discuss new regulations on the royal family and vassal states.

Naturally, even Empress Dowager Li was alarmed by this incident, because many members of the royal family wrote to her to complain.

Especially Prince Lu.

Zhu Changluo had expressed to Empress Dowager Li his idea of ​​making some reforms to the royal family a long time ago, and at this time he just told her that he would consider it carefully.

The matter had evolved into how he could use this incident to solve the problem of the burden on the royal family, while at the same time determining the order of the emperor's power and the power of the prime minister after the major changes in the central government offices.

To do this, we need a better plan than the one proposed by the Ministry of Rites.

Zhu Changluo called Wang Zhizhen over.

"Except for the Chu clan, you should go on a business trip to all the clans." Zhu Changluo ordered, "The Chu clan case will not be settled for a while, and the people in other clans must be in a panic. Ask the princes of each clan on my behalf. The royal family is growing day by day, and the clansmen of each clan have no way to properly settle them."

"Your Majesty, should I go and ask in person?" Wang Zhizhen was somewhat surprised. "My identity..."

What he meant was that the kings might be very scared, after all, he was the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"It would be best if you go in person." Zhu Changluo looked at him. "The ministers in the court have already petitioned to reform the vassal regulations. This matter cannot be ignored. I am also in a dilemma. I have to consider the friendship between the clan members and the financial difficulties of the court. I must come up with a solution. I will allow them to think about it first, and what can be done."

Wang Zhizhen thought for a moment and then asked solemnly, "Should I make a secret visit to see if there is any collusion between the royal family and the military and civilians in the various vassal states?"

Zhu Changluo only said: "Those who can lead the team will go first, and you can go to Jiangxi first."

Jiangxi was once the site of the Chen Hao Rebellion!

That was the most recent rebellion by a vassal king.

Wang Zhizhen received the imperial edict and began to make arrangements, while Zhu Changluo quietly prepared to welcome a larger number of memorials to the capital.

This time is unusual. Since Wang Xijue, Shen Shixing and Shen Li have joined forces, one can imagine how many memorials will be submitted in the local area to impeach the royal family for harming the people and to state the deeds of the various vassal states that have harmed the local area.

It is not just about how to solve the huge problem of the burden on the royal family. Zhu Changluo cannot consider this issue purely from a utilitarian perspective.

After all, this was still the Ming Dynasty, and in people's simple ideas, the emperor should still protect the interests of his relatives.

Although Zhu Changluo was preparing for the public opinion work, how could he leave a loophole for harsh and ungrateful public opinion?

No matter how much the gentry applauded this matter, they would not hesitate to speak ill of Zhu Changluo in private. After all, they probably hoped that there would be more chaos and the emperor would consider reversing his policies in order to maintain stability.

Wang Xijue and others felt that this was a risk that should be taken. Even if they had good intentions for the country's long-term benefit, they might not be able to control the trend.

Zhu Changluo must first ensure that no vassal king is too stupid to be instigated by local people with ulterior motives to do anything.

At this time, the situation within the Chu clan was on the verge of breaking out.

"How many people have they secretly connected with?" Zhu Huakui was very nervous.

"I'm afraid there are more than 200 of them." Zhu Huabi was very scared. "My brother, they keep asking for the rice from previous years. His Majesty really needs to send someone to investigate thoroughly!"

"...These idiots! Without the skin, the hair will not stay, and they are still trying to collude to cause trouble!"

Since the emperor had explicitly ordered an investigation into the matter, the lower- and middle-level royal families of the Chu vassal state had indeed united.

Zhao Kehuai, who was the governor of Huguang, was one of the three judicial officers selected by the Inspection Office to thoroughly investigate the Chu Zong case. He had already begun to interrogate those who were still alive one by one.

Some of them are members of the royal family and cannot be tortured or forced.

How can it be so easy to investigate an old case?
"…Why not give them some money? They are now irreconcilable. Even if Your Majesty is sure that my brother is the King of Chu, I'm afraid they will dare to rush to the palace…"

"...No!" Zhu Huakui thought, "How dare they! If we have to share the silver, it should be presented to His Majesty! Aren't the three main halls being rebuilt now?"

The two "twin brothers" now share the same fate.

As the person who was identified, Wang Ruyan and his family are now being interrogated by the governor.

Zhu Huakui was preparing to send silver to Zhu Changluo, and someone in the capital was also preparing to send silver to Zhu Changluo.

There was a centurion left behind in the capital, also named Wang Shouren, who was a descendant of Wang Bi, Marquis of Dingyuan, a founding hero of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Changluo looked at him coldly, "Your ancestor was sentenced to death in the Lanyu case, and the Ming Dynasty was in ruins. How could your Wang family have more than 68,000 taels of gold, 2.5 million taels of silver, 86 farms, and countless jewels? Why did you submit a memorial with more than 13 million taels of gold to offer to me? What's your intention? Who ordered you to do that?"

The daughter of Wang Bi, whom the first King of Chu married, now has a descendant of Wang Bi who said that all of Wang Bi's property was deposited in the Palace of Chu. Over the years, together with the income from the farmland, it should be worth more than 13 million taels of silver, and she is willing to present it all to the emperor.

Although Zhu Changluo loves money, he also has brains.

At this moment, this person suddenly said such outrageous words, and his intentions were certainly bad.

Wang Shouren kowtowed repeatedly: "I also heard it from my late father. Now that the King of Chu is a son of a different family, how can he be allowed to steal my ancestors' money? I am just angry, I don't have any ulterior motives, and no one is instructing me..."

"If you don't want to tell me, then go to the imperial prison and tell me." Zhu Changluo shouted coldly, "Take him away!"

After saying that, he stared at Wang Xijue and asked, "Who are the people fanning the flames? Do you want me to ask the Royal Guards to investigate as well?"

I sent him up the mountain and was so tired.

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(End of this chapter)