Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 297: Execution of the vassal king and relocation to an island

Prince Rong Zhu Youshu was the thirteenth son of Emperor Xianzong Zhu Jianshen.

On the pro-word.

Prince Rong was Zhu Houcong's uncle.

The blood relationship is very close.

So, after Prince Rong asked this, Zhu Houcong smiled and said:

"Uncle Thirteen, you know what I hate most when people threaten me!"

"I know I was wrong!"

"But I didn't rebel!"

Prince Rong then quickly admitted his mistake and defended himself directly.

After hearing this, Zhu Houcong looked at Prince Rong with disdain and asked: "Why did you make weapons privately?"

Liu Hui, Lieutenant General of Xuanwu Guard, and Shu Sheng, Governor of Huguang, did indeed search the Rong Palace and discovered a large number of workshops and craftsmen who privately manufactured weapons and armor.

Prince Rong was silent.

But after a while.

Prince Rong then spoke again: "But I really didn't rebel!"

After Prince Rong said this, he pouted and started crying.

"You still haven't answered my question."

Zhu Houcong replied calmly and then looked at the roof.

After hearing this, Prince Rong immediately raised his head and answered sternly: "That's because they forced me to do it in the beginning. They said that if I didn't make weapons for them, they would not give me rice, and they would also expose my bullying of men and women, murder and robbery. Please issue an imperial decree to punish me!"

"who are they?"

Zhu Houcong asked in a deep voice.

Prince Rong was silent again.

Zhu Houcong's voice became colder and colder: "I am asking you, who are they?"

"Your Majesty, please don't ask."

"It's no use knowing that."

"Can you rule the world without civil servants?"

"Besides, I don't know who they are."

"They all bribed the post station soldiers to pass anonymous letters. Who knows which minister or chancellor is behind this?"

As Prince Rong spoke, he raised his eyes and looked towards Zhu Houcong.

Zhu Houcong could not help but wave his hand, pointed at Prince Rong and sneered:
"Okay, I won't ask anymore."

"But you listened to them and threatened me together. I can't just let this go."

Zhu Houcong said.

Prince Rong raised his head: "Do you really want to kill me?"

"Your Majesty, I am your uncle!"

Prince Rong then spoke loudly again.

Zhu Houcong sneered: "So what if he is my uncle? Did the execution of his uncle affect his reputation?"

"Besides! Do you treat me as your nephew?"

"My Thirteenth Uncle!"

Zhu Houcong spoke with great melancholy:

"I lost my father when I was young, and I don't have any brothers. I followed the Holy Mother to this capital city alone, to be the ruler of the world. All around me are people who want to trip me up, laugh at me, and even want to bully me. Few want to help me!"

"As my uncle, instead of helping me and understanding my difficulties, you rely on your seniority and keep asking me to give you this tax bureau and that tax department. In the end, I have to listen to them and threaten me together!"

Zhu Houcong suddenly looked at Prince Rong with a cold look and asked, "Do you think I should still treat you as my uncle?"

Prince Rong said in a low voice with a guilty look on his face: "I was just following their instructions to scare you, but you were not scared at all!"

"Scare me?"

"Do you think I am someone who can be frightened?"

Zhu Houcong asked Prince Rong a question in return.

then.

Zhu Houcong said sternly: "The reason why the country is not righteous is that the family rules are not strict!"

"Your uncle's betrayal of me is like treason, which is extremely evil."

"I have to kill you!"

After Zhu Houcong said this, Prince Rong immediately kowtowed and said with tears in his eyes:
"Your Majesty! Please spare your uncle's life!"

"You don't have me in your eyes, why should I forgive you?"

"However, I can forgive you on the surface and only imprison you in Fengyang, but after you go to Fengyang, you will be killed violently!"

"Of course, I am not doing this to show you, but to show the Virgin Mary."

Zhu Houcong said.

After hearing this, Prince Rong couldn't help crying and asked, "Your Majesty, aren't you afraid that the princes of the world will also think you are too cruel? Do you really not care about their feelings?"

"Do you think I should care?"

"If they really want to rebel, I will respect them as heroes!"

Zhu Houcong asked Queen Rong back and said this with a disdainful smile on his face.

Zhu Houcong knew that if the princes really wanted to rebel, they would need to pay money and make concessions, then bribe the poor royal family members, recruit the poor, and then bribe the officials and gentry.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong said that if the princes really dared to do this, they would be regarded as magnanimous people who were willing to give up everything.

But according to Zhu Houcong's experience, there are very few princes who are so brave and generous.

Moreover, if the princes were willing to make concessions, they would not be so greedy and do evil that the literati would find evidence of their wrongdoings, or even be blinded by greed and threaten the emperor and go against the court.

Prince Rong looked at Zhu Houcong and said, "Your Majesty, are you really not going to forgive me?" "If you were in my position, you would do the same."

Zhu Houcong said this and turned to look at Prince Rong.

"If I forgive you."

"What do those ministers who fought for me think of me?"

"They will think that I have shown compassion and my will has wavered!"

"If I'm half tolerant, they will be ten times more tolerant! If I give in one step, they will follow suit and give in ten steps!"

"I am the Son of Heaven. Their determination will be as great as my determination."

"This is not a place to show mercy when you can, nor is it a place to be gentle, courteous, frugal and modest. It is a battlefield of life and death, a feast of human flesh where either I eat you or you eat me!"

"Do you understand?"

Zhu Houcong frowned and said to Prince Rong, "Thirteenth Uncle, you should never, ever get involved in the government affairs, and you shouldn't follow them in wanting to eat me. If you have committed a crime that involves punishment, I can still discuss marriage and pardon you, but if you have committed a taboo in government affairs, even gods cannot save you!"

Zhu Houcong waved his hand after saying this.

The eunuchs knew what was going on, so they let the Jinyiwei come in and drag Prince Rong away.

Prince Rong looked as pale as death at this time.

"Fuck you, you bastards. I believed your lies and bullied my own nephew. Now I have failed to bully him, but you are all standing on the dry shore, watching coldly!"

"I won't let you go even if I'm a ghost!"

After being dragged away, Prince Rong suddenly roared towards the Wenhua Hall and Qianbu Gallery.

But no one paid attention to his words.

The next day.

Zhu Houcong ordered the cabinet to issue an edict, demoting Prince Rong to a commoner for crimes such as bullying, harming others, and being disloyal and unkind, and imprisoning him behind high walls in Fengyang, and ordered Zhu Houxu, Prince Hui'an of Rongfu, to manage the affairs of the mansion.

Prince Rong Zhu Youshu was also taken to Fengyang.

On the boat to Fengyang, Prince Rong Zhu Youshu was force-fed poison by the eunuch.

Shortly afterwards, Zhu Houcong received the news that Prince Rong Zhu Youshu had died suddenly.

Although Zhu Houcong was not afraid of rebellion by the princes, nor did he intend to compromise with them, but was determined to show his determination to promote reforms and that the imperial power could not be violated, he still chose to deal with the princes who threatened him one by one.

Because this can avoid dealing with several vassal kings at the same time.

Therefore, after dealing with Prince Rong, Zhu Houcong issued an order to start dealing with Prince Huai, and ordered Zhao Zhen and the governor of Jiangxi to send Prince Huai to the capital in chains.

At the beginning of the fourth year of Jiajing, Zhu Youmu, who took the turn to become Prince of Huai, realized that his fate would not be much better after learning that Prince of Rong had died suddenly.

This made him feel very panicked.

He could not help but summon Sun Chong, the left chief secretary of his own palace, and Zhu Youyan, the prince of the same generation, to his bedroom to ask for advice.

Sun Chong thought for a moment and said, "If I don't rebel, I'll die. If I rebel, I'll also die. It's better to just rebel for real!"

“It’s hard to fight back!”

"Not to mention that the emperor's personal army, the Divine Martial Guard, has already entered Raozhou, and the governor has also rebelled."

"The key is that if we want to rebel, we must first release grain to all the royal families in the country, and also reduce rent and waive interest to win over the people's hearts. And finally, we must at least take out two million taels of silver to recruit soldiers!"

Zhu Youzhen replied at this time.

Sun Chong said: "What are you afraid of? Even a rabbit will bite when it is cornered!"

"Your Highness is an elder, but the current emperor is a man of righteousness and humanity. It is not impossible to follow the example of Emperor Taizong in clearing the court of corrupt officials. As long as the money is sufficient, there will be no shortage of officers and generals who will defect!"

"After all, there are many wealthy families in Jiangxi who are dissatisfied with the new policies of the imperial court, and many of them are hereditary officers of the garrisons! Moreover, there are many members of our royal family. As long as we give them money and food and promise them the title of king, we will not worry about their unwillingness to work hard!"

"forget it."

"I don't have that much money and food to distribute to the royal family military academy."

"You're still asking me to reduce the rent. I might as well let the emperor take my life!"

When Prince Huai heard that he would have to pay money to reduce rent if he rebelled, he did not want to rebel anymore and rejected the proposal of Sun Chong, the Left Chief Clerk.

Sun Chong said: "Are we really going to sit there and wait for death?"

"Let me first write a letter of apology!"

"I don't care about face, I just want to give face to his majesty. As for whether his majesty wants to kill me for this and refuses to show mercy, it's up to him."

Prince Huai then took the initiative to write a letter to apologize.

Soon after Prince Huai submitted his letter of apology, he received a letter requesting that he be sent to the capital in chains.

The Prince of Huai cooperated and obediently got into the prison car, and then arrived in the capital in the winter of the fourth year of Jiajing.

When Zhu Houcong saw Prince Huai, he said, "I heard that after Prince Rong died suddenly, someone wanted you to rebel. Did you not plan to rebel because you were short of money and food?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

"I said this because I have no money or food and I don't want to abandon you and become a rebel."

Prince Huai then bowed his head to the ground and said, "I have written it down in the memorial, please understand, Your Majesty!"

"I am very pleased that you can take the initiative to ask for forgiveness."

"In this way, I can also use you as a role model for the princes of the world and punish you leniently."

"Don't go to Fengyang. I won't demote you to a commoner. All your kingdoms will be relocated to Donglai. You will still be a prince, and your brothers will still be county princes."

"I have had a city built there and named it Kaohsiung. You will go to that Kaohsiung city and take up your fiefdom."

"Since you have taken the initiative to ask for your forgiveness, I will treat you as a punishment by moving you to a more remote place!"

Zhu Houcong said.

After hearing this, the Prince of Huai was stunned: "Your Majesty! Prince Rong did not take the initiative to plead guilty, and only his life was taken. Why did I take the initiative to plead guilty, but my whole family was buried in the belly of the fish?"

"Who wants your whole family to be buried in the belly of a fish?"

"Not only will I not let your family perish, I will also spare your life and give you a low-interest loan of 100 million silver dollars! You go to Kaohsiung to organize the royal family to recruit refugees to cultivate the land! But the land granted to you in Raozhou will be taken back as punishment!"

After Zhu Houcong said this, the Prince of Huai couldn't help but grin: "Your Majesty, are you serious? Do you really want to kill me?"

(End of this chapter)