Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 132 Your Majesty, please stop testing me. Zhu Youlang really just wants to be a vassal king!

Prince Xing Zhu Youlang sat in his seat, looking at Zhu Youtang on the dragon throne, feeling uneasy.

Zhu Youlang was Zhu Youtang's oldest brother, but he was only twelve years old.

Although Zhu Youlang had been granted the title of king, he had not yet reached the age for fiefdom and still lived with Concubine Chen.

Not only him, but all the princes of the previous emperor have not yet been enfeoffed.

So this time, except for the young Zhu Youkai and Zhu Youshu, the other eight imperial brothers all went to the palace to offer congratulations.

For some reason, Zhu Youlang always felt that the way his brother looked at him was a little strange today.

He was not as friendly as before, which made him feel a little uneasy.

Sitting next to him were Concubine Shao and his two brothers from the same mother, Zhu Youxuan and Zhu Youqi.

Shao gently pushed Zhu Youluo, and Zhu Youluo quickly raised the wine glass in front of him and saluted Zhu Youtang from a distance.

"I offer a glass of wine to my royal brother. I wish him good health and success in everything."

Zhu Youtang looked at Zhu Youlang, whose expression was obviously a little panicked, and in an instant, many things came to his mind.

This Zhu Youlang was the other protagonist in the case of changing the crown prince in the 21st year of Chenghua. He was the crown prince chosen by the late emperor and Concubine Wan to succeed to the throne.

But Zhu Youqiu was still young at that time and might not remember that this incident happened.

But her mother, Concubine Chen, must know!
Speaking of Zhu Youlang, not many people know him, but when it comes to his son's name, it can be said that everyone knows it.

He was the smartest Taoist emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the master of Ming Dynasty etiquette and laws, the behind-the-scenes ruler who had not attended court for decades, Feiyuan Zhenjun, Zhongxiao Emperor, Wanshou Emperor...Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houzhao!

In the 16th year of Zhengde, Zhu Youtang's son Zhu Houzhao died without any children.

Under the auspices of Empress Zhang and Yang Tinghe, Zhu Houzhao, the prince of Prince Xing, was welcomed to the capital and proclaimed emperor.

After Zhu Houcong came to Beijing, Empress Zhang, the Cabinet and the Ministry of Rites all asked Zhu Houcong to move from Zhu Youlang's minor branch to Zhu Youtang's major branch, and to call Zhu Youtang "father" and Zhu Youlang "imperial uncle".

But Zhu Houcong disagreed, and this sparked a major ritual debate that lasted for three years.

In the end, Zhu Houcong won, but he was not accepted into Zhu Youtang's main clan.

A few years later, Zhu Houcong posthumously conferred the title of Ming Ruizong on his biological father Zhu Youlang, and moved his tablet into the Taimiao.

Therefore, Zhu Youlang, the Ming Ruizong who never served as emperor for a single day, also enjoyed the treatment of an emperor after his death and was entitled to be enshrined in the Taimiao.

For this reason, Zhu Houcong did not hesitate to change Zhu Di's temple name of Taizong to Chengzu, confirming the fact that Zhu Di was plotting to usurp the throne.

Zhu Youtang picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and asked casually, "How is Fourth Brother's recent homework?"

Before Zhu Youqi could answer, Concubine Chen, who was sitting next to him, smiled in a flattering manner.

"I am stupid and not as smart as Your Majesty. I always fail in my studies and am often punished by my teacher."

At this moment, Concubine Chen's palms were already sweating and her heart was shaking with nervousness.

Others may not know the inside story, but how could she not know?

After the failure in the fight for the throne, Concubine Chen was panicked and very scared.

Not long after, Concubine Wan and the previous emperor died suddenly one after another, and Zhu Youtang ascended the throne.

From then on, Concubine Chen lived in constant fear, fearing that Zhu Youtang would turn against them and settle accounts with them and their sons.

But fortunately, after Zhu Youtang ascended the throne, power was still in Zhou's hands, and Zhou did not make things difficult for Zhu Youtang and his mother who failed in their bid for the throne.

This result made Concubine Chen feel more at ease, and she usually tried to keep a low profile as much as possible in the palace.

But overnight, the situation in the harem changed suddenly. Zhu Youtang suddenly launched a coup, imprisoned Zhou, and seized power.

What followed was a brutal purge of the harem, and officials from the outer court were replaced one after another.

This made Concubine Chen afraid again, fearing that the purge one day would be on herself and Zhu Youlang.

But all along, Zhu Youtang never caused trouble for the previous emperor's concubine, and he also respected the deposed Queen Wu as the Empress Dowager, and the harem became quiet again.

This kind of silence made Concubine Chen breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that the days had just passed like this.

But just a few days before the New Year, she received news that made her feel devastated.

Zhu Youtang abolished the titles of Empress Dowager Wang and Empress Dowager Wu and imprisoned them separately.

A few days later, news came that the two deposed queens had committed suicide one after another.

After hearing the news, Concubine Chen's hair stood up and she felt cold all over as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

Zhu Youtang ignored the great disrespect from the world and forcibly deposed the two empress dowagers, and even allowed the two deposed empress dowagers to save their lives.

There was only one thing that could make Zhu Youtang so furious, and that was when the fight for the throne was exposed. Zhu Youtang knew what Zhou, Wang and Wu had done to him during the time when he was born.

Although both he and Zhu Youtang were forced by Zhu Jianshen and Concubine Wan to participate in the fight for the throne, there was no guarantee that Zhu Youtang would vent his anger on them.

She was extremely frightened and chanted Buddhist scriptures and prayed every day, fearing that the disaster would befall her and her sons one day.

Now, Zhu Youtang personally asked about Zhu Youlu's homework, and Concubine Chen was almost scared to death, fearing that Zhu Youtang would become suspicious of Zhu Youlu. Zhu Youtang looked at Concubine Chen's nervous expression, his eyes flashing: "Oh? Then I will send two more lecturers from the Imperial College or the Zhanshi Mansion to teach my fourth brother?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty, but Luo'er doesn't like to read books of sages, but prefers poetry and prose. Besides, since he is an idle prince, it is useless for him to study. It is better to let him learn something he likes, so Your Majesty won't have to worry about it."

Concubine Chen quickly refused. Who knew what the person sent by Zhu Youtang was here for?

What's more, to Concubine Chen, Zhu Youtang's words sounded like a test.

Zhu Youtang chuckled: "How can studying be useless? Fourth brother is the prince of my Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty has a vast territory and busy political affairs. Fourth brother should share my worries."

"His Majesty……"

Concubine Chen was about to cry in her heart. Your Majesty, please don’t test me. I really just want to be a leisurely vassal prince!

"Okay, it's settled. I will personally select the lecturer for my fourth brother."

"Not only the fourth brother, but also the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth brother, you are all old enough to go out and study."

"Your lecturers are all selected by me personally, and I will test your lessons from time to time."

"I will punish those who fail to pass the exam without mercy."

At this, Zhu Youying, who was only seven years old, was so frightened that he started crying on the spot.

Zhu Youying's biological mother, Concubine An Yao, quickly stood up to apologize, and then took Zhu Youying out to comfort her.

The Ming Dynasty's management of royal relatives was very lenient, with the system of vassalage in other places and clan worship.

Every prince will be crowned a king and given a fiefdom, where he will be settled after he reaches adulthood.

The princes had many privileges in their own fiefdoms.

For example, if you own a large amount of tax-free land, you can receive a considerable salary from the local government next year.

But at the same time, the Ming Dynasty also imposed great restrictions on the power of the vassal kings.

The princes were not allowed to interfere in government affairs, were not allowed to leave their fiefdoms without imperial decree, were not allowed to engage in agriculture, industry, or commerce, were not allowed to take the imperial examinations, were not allowed to run their own businesses, and had to accept supervision from local officials, etc.

These measures actually trained the princes of the Ming Dynasty into a class of dependents, who were always supported by the Ming Dynasty.

In the early Ming Dynasty, some princes still had considerable power.

But during the Hongzhi period, the princes had basically no power.

Zhu Chenhao's rebellion during the Zhengde period was just a game of house. The rebellion was quelled before Emperor Wuzong could even warm up to it. Wuzong felt regretful and resentful for a long time.

Although the power of the princes was completely reduced, the system of offering sacrifices to the royal family continued.

After Emperor Taizu Gao ascended the throne, he established eight ranks of royal family titles, and at the same time distributed varying amounts of rice each year according to the titles.

The rice salaries distributed were as follows: Prince's annual salary was 10,000 dan, Duke's was 2,000 dan, General Guarding the Country was 1,000 dan, General Auxiliary to the Country was 800 dan, General Serving the Country was 600 dan, Lieutenant Guarding the Country was 400 dan, Lieutenant Auxiliary to the Country was 300 dan, and Lieutenant Serving the Country was 200 dan.

Regarding the succession to the throne, although the Ming Dynasty adopted the method of inheritance by descending rank, it also retained the system of inheritance by the eldest son.

To put it simply, among the emperor's sons, the eldest son is the crown prince and inherits the throne, and the rest of the sons are princes.

Among the sons of a prince and a duke, the eldest son is the prince's eldest son and the duke's eldest son, and inherits the throne of prince and duke. The rest of the princes are demoted to dukes and generals guarding the country.

After that, all the sons from the rank of General Guarding the Country to Lieutenant Auxiliary the Country were demoted to inherit the title, and the sons of the General Guarding the Country were all given the title of General Auxiliary the Country, and the title was reduced in sequence until the sons of Lieutenant Auxiliary the Country were all given the title of Lieutenant Serving the Country.

After the Lieutenant of Fengguo, the title was no longer passed down, and all the descendants of the Lieutenant of Fengguo from generation to generation were granted the title of Lieutenant of Fengguo.

This title is hereditary.

The huge population of the royal family consumed an extremely large amount of rice as salary every year.

There was a huge gap between the rich and the poor among the royal family.

During the Jiajing period, many collateral branches of the royal family no longer received rice salaries, and at the same time they were not allowed to engage in agriculture, industry, commerce or other occupations to earn money to support themselves.

As a result, there were royal relatives who had no money to marry in their thirties, and whose bones were left exposed for ten years without being buried.

There were also people begging on the streets and royal relatives who starved to death.

Although these royal relatives have Zhu family blood, they actually live worse than the poor.

But at the same time, there are still a large number of princes and dukes who are extravagant and have huge fortunes.

During the Wanli period, Prince Fu Zhu Changxun spent 290,000 taels of silver just on rebuilding the palace, which was extremely extravagant!

Zhu Youtang has made up his mind to make major changes to this deformed system of supporting clan members.

It is such a waste to keep such a large royal family just to eat.

This change will start with my younger brothers.

There are not too many royal family members in the Ming Dynasty now, and it has not reached the stage where it is completely beyond redemption.

Zhu Youtang looked at his younger brothers, but he was already thinking about how to reduce the power of the princes.

(End of this chapter)