My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 88: Petition to Abolish the Daifan

Tianjin Wei.

Qi Jiguang, dressed in military uniform, disembarked from the boat under the escort of his personal guards.

Logically speaking, it would take Qi Jiguang at least two or three months to get here from Fujian.

However, after receiving the urgent order from the cabinet, he abandoned the main force and took only two hundred trusted followers with him. He boarded a ship and headed north, crossing the sea to reach Tianjin.

An official from the Ministry of War was already standing at the Tianjin dock and said to Qi Jiguang as he stepped off the ship:
"General Qi, the cabinet ordered you not to enter the capital, but to go directly to Xuanda. This is the cabinet's military order, and the war horses are ready."

Qi Jiguang checked the military order and found that it indeed had the seals of the cabinet and the Ministry of War. After confirming the authenticity of the order, Qi Jiguang said to his men without further ado:

"Leave the camp and mount your horses!"

The close confidants behind Qi Jiguang were truly elite. They immediately mounted their horses upon receiving orders as soon as they got off the bumpy ship. This military official had seen many armies, but this was the first time he had seen such an elite force as Qi Jiguang's.

Qi Jiguang also mounted a tall horse, raised his whip and rode towards the northwest.
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After persuading Shen Yikuan to leave, Su Ze put the completed memorial into the [Portable Ming Dynasty Court].

——[Simulation Start]——

A day later, the "Memorial Requesting the Abolition of the Dai Prince" was submitted to the cabinet, where ministers Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng and Zhao Zhenji voted in favor of it and requested the emperor to send officials to Datong to investigate the crimes of the King of Dai.

Two days later, the "Memorial Requesting the Abolition of the Dai Fan System" was kept by the emperor.

A month later, the princes of Shanxi and Henan cried in the temple, and the emperor issued an order to punish Su Ze and exiled him from the capital.

——[Simulation End]——

really.

The newly enthroned Emperor Longqing did not have the courage to abolish the Dai Wangfan.

[Do you want to spend 50 points of prestige to ensure that the "Petition to Abolish the Daifan" will be executed?]

Only fifty points?
Does this mean that the emperor is actually dissatisfied with these princes?
Moreover, in the simulation, all three cabinet ministers supported him.

That's right. In fact, abolishing the princes was something that ministers in the middle and late Ming Dynasty had always mentioned. I seem to remember that when Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng were in the cabinet, the Liao Wang vassal state in Jingzhou was also abolished.

In other words, there was actually not much resistance to abolishing the vassal state.

In this case, why not submit a petition in a stern manner?
"implement!"

[Prestige points have been deducted, the current remaining prestige points are 120 points]

Su Ze handed the memorial to the official of the Ministry of Public Administration, and left the newspaper office directly for the printing house. He had been delayed by the censors a few days ago, which caused the fourth issue of "Yuefu Xinbao" to be difficult to produce, so Su Ze was busy editing the fourth issue.
-
Su Ze's memorial was sent to the cabinet.

Li Chunfang went to the palace to give lectures to the emperor. When the three remaining cabinet elders saw Su Ze's memorial, they all reached out to take it.

If it were in the past, Gao Gong would have snatched it away without hesitation, but this time, because of Zhao Zhenji's favor, Gao Gong rarely withdrew his hand.

Zhang Juzheng thought about it and retracted his hand.

Zhao Zhenji smiled and picked up the memorial. Seeing the title of the memorial, Zhao Zhenji said with a wry smile:
"This Su Zilin always goes straight to the point."

Zhao Zhenji sent someone to convey a message to Su Ze. His original intention was to hint to Su Ze to submit a memorial to shift the blame for the Datong mutiny.

As long as the responsibility for the Datong mutiny can be separated from the "Plan to Pacify the Rong".

The responsibility for the mutiny was put on the small soldier Zhao Dazhu. Qi Jiguang had already gone north. As long as there was no unrest in Datong, the cabinet could use this reason to continue to persuade the emperor to implement the "Plan to Pacify the Enemy".

Let Zhao Dazhu bear the blame and keep the "Plan for the Pacification of the Rong" first. This is what Zhao Zhenji hopes Su Ze will do. Zhao Zhenji knows that with Su Ze's intelligence, he will definitely understand his intentions.

But Zhao Zhenji didn't expect that Su Ze was someone who refused to admit defeat. He came up with a big move and directly demanded the abolition of Dai Fan!

As a cabinet minister, Zhao Zhenji naturally knew that King Dai's occupation of military settlements was one of the root causes of the conflict at the Datong border.

It's too hasty!

Zhao Zhenji believes that the time is not yet ripe. If Su Ze does not have evidence, how can he overthrow a prince who has been passed down for six generations?

But he still opened the memorial, his eyes lit up, and saw Su Ze wrote:

"I have reviewed the memorials from Datong in the Hanlin Academy. During the Hongzhi period, the military settlements at Datong amounted to 320,000 hectares. By the time Your Majesty ascended the throne, only 140,000 hectares remained."

"During the Hongzhi reign, the Dai Wangfu reported to the Zongzheng that it had 20,000 hectares of land. Now, it's no less than 100,000 hectares."

"This land was reported by the Dai Wang Palace, local officials, and border inspectors. The number of hidden and replaced fields is unknown."

In the 32nd year of the Jiajing reign, Zhu Chongju, Prince of Raoyang, filed a petition complaining that the Dai Palace had illegally occupied 50,000 hectares of military land. At the time, the treacherous Yan Song was in power, and the court had not conducted an investigation. However, the land holdings of Datong Guard were gradually decreasing, while the Dai Palace's land holdings were increasing. As a result, the registered land holdings of Datong Prefecture as a whole had been decreasing since the Hongzhi reign.

It’s indeed Su Ze’s style.

However, Zhao Zhenji could only say that Su Ze's memorial was indeed beautifully written. Unlike those censors who spoke based on hearsay, Su Ze's memorial listed all the data.

But these data are really convincing.

How do you, on behalf of the Royal Palace, explain the data listed by Su Ze?

It's impossible to say that King Dai personally led people to reclaim wasteland, right?

Then why is the registered land in Datong Prefecture decreasing?
Zhao Zhenji naturally knew that this was caused by local gentry hiding their land and evading the imperial court's land taxes.

What a cruel knife!

These evidences were certainly not enough to directly overthrow the King of Dai, but they were enough to make the emperor disgusted with the King of Dai's lineage.

"Taizu established the clans and vassal states to maintain peace in the nine frontiers, but the Prince of Dai did not take it upon himself to maintain peace in the borders. Instead, he seized military property and exploited the soldiers, causing unrest in the nine frontiers and wasting the court's public funds on suppressing the rebellion. This is his crime!"

"In the 45th year of the Jiajing reign, the second son of Prince Raoyang robbed the granary of the palace due to famine and was lynched by the Prince of Dai. In the first year of Your Majesty's Jianyuan reign, General Zhu Chongzhuo was beaten to death by the Prince of Dai in court for demanding the rice stipend. The Imperial Clan Bureau records that the rice stipends paid to the Dai clan members were less than 50%. Since the Jiajing reign, there have been 12 cases of members of the Dai clan trespassing, the highest number among all the clans."

"The sage said, 'Love your own relatives and be kind to the people; be kind to the people and love all things.' The Dai vassal states are of the same clan and are relatives of the Dai king. If the Dai king cannot love his own relatives, how can he be kind to the people and love all things?"

"How can the Prince of Dai respect Your Majesty if he is not close to his relatives?"

"I submit a petition requesting the court to send officials to investigate Zhao Dazhu's rebellion. If Zhao Dazhu rebelled because of the 'Plan to Suppress the Enemies,' I request that he be stripped of his official title and rank and live in retirement. If Zhao Dazhu rebelled because the military system at the garrison was corrupt and the Prince of Dai seized military farms, I request that the Prince's property be seized to replenish military reserves and that the Dai vassal be cut off to stabilize the nine borders. This will inspire the three armies and the Tartars will not dare to intrude south!"

After reading the memorial, Zhao Zhenji sighed and thought to himself, Su Ze is really talented, but he is still too hasty!

If he submits the memorial at this juncture, the censors will attack Su Ze for "taking revenge on personal grudges and alienating clan members."

But then again, what is the right time?
Zhao Zhenji smiled bitterly. What he admired about Su Ze was not his determination to "put the country's affairs aside"?
When Altan Khan attacked the capital, all the ministers were silent. Wasn't I also so resolute when I spoke out at that time?

Zhao Zhenji wrote down his support and handed the memorial to Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, saying:
"The two elders should also take a good look at it."

Zhang Juzheng's seat was close to Zhao Zhenji. He took Su Ze's memorial and his eyes widened immediately.

(End of this chapter)