Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

Half a month later, Zhu Jian met with the newly appointed Governor of Huguang, Zhu Dadian, in Wuchang.

"Your subject Zhu Dadian pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

Prosecutor Zhu waved his hand: "Rise!"

"King Xiang owns over a million mu of land in Huguang. Recruit some refugees who have fled to Huguang to cultivate this land, paying them 20% rent. Store the remaining grain for disaster relief and military use!"

"Furthermore, the imperial estates cover tens of thousands of mu in Huguang, and the Prince of Fu also owns three to four hundred thousand mu in Huguang. Let's manage all these lands together!"

Now, apart from Luo Rucai's troops who are at the junction of Sichuan and Huguang, the peasant armies in Huguang have been basically pacified and have been less affected by the disaster. There is a saying that if Huguang is prosperous, the whole country will be well-fed. Therefore, Zhu Jian must firmly control the grain output of Huguang, which is crucial for the next two years.

Zhu Dadian was taken aback upon hearing this: "Does the Prince of Xiang know?"

"Prince Xiang knows that his affairs are complicated, so I will manage the properties of Prince Xiang's residence on his behalf. As for Prince Fu, I have sent a letter explaining that if any of Prince Fu's land stewards obstruct him, they should be detained immediately!"

"If they need anything, let them come to me!"

The tougher Zhu Jian's methods were, the less the princes dared to act. If Zhu Jian softened, there would be no way to control him. The same applied to civil officials at all levels. Emperor Chongzhen, Zhu Youjian, killed governors and viceroys everywhere, causing widespread panic and disheartening many ambitious people. He was thus labeled as a harsh and ungrateful ruler.

Especially after the Battle of Jinan, not only were the fallen generals and soldiers not rewarded, but because the Jurchens had captured Prince De, causing them to lose face, they executed thirty-six officials and generals in a single day on charges of betraying their vassal states… These officials and generals fought against the Jurchens, escaping their swords, only to die at the hands of the emperor…

Zhu Jian, regardless of whether they were imperial relatives, princes, gentry, merchants, or officials of all ranks, executed them all without exception! These important figures of the Ming Dynasty were not concerned with scarcity but with inequality; once everyone was treated equally, the discord subsided...

"I obey your decree!"

Zhu Dadian thought for a moment, then said, "I believe that some unclaimed wasteland in Huguang can be utilized, as well as some farmland belonging to the garrison troops!"

Upon hearing this, Prosecutor Zhu nodded slightly, "This is truly the talent for governing a region: Granted!"

"Record every additional acre of land you acquire, and before planting this year, calculate for me how much land I can control in Huguang!"

"yes!"

Just then, a soldier came up to Zhu Jian, followed by a carriage.

The soldier clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute: "Your Majesty, the golden chair has been found!"

"Move it down!"

Before long, five or six soldiers hurriedly unloaded a golden chair with python patterns from the carriage.

Zhu Jian stepped forward and slowly sat down on the golden chair: "Where is the King of Chu?"

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Chu is currently being held captive by General He at the Prince of Chu's residence!"

"Dazhan, take the accountant and Cao Bianjiao to the Chu King's residence and seal it off! Confiscate all items!"

Zhu Dadian, bewildered, stared blankly at Zhu Jian, his tone filled with doubt: "Your Majesty, what is this...?"

Zhu Jian shook his head: "The King of Chu actually has his own golden chair; this is usurpation and treason!"

Zhu Dadian glanced at the golden chair, then at the soldiers, and bowed, saying, "As you command!"

Zhu Dadian wasn't stupid. There was no need for him to offend the emperor for the sake of a bloated, decadent prince. Besides, what would a prince want with a golden chair? Only the emperor's chair was golden. Wasn't this overstepping his bounds? This time, the emperor directly labeled him as plotting a rebellion. He felt that the Chu kingdom was about to follow in the footsteps of the Jin and Dai kingdoms...

Chu King Zhu Hua Kui is a descendant of the first Chu King Zhu Zhen, who was the sixth son of Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Zhen was a prince of the Taizu lineage, so Zhu Jian would not hold back this time and would not hesitate to kill those who were to be removed from their fiefdoms.

Historically, Zhu Huakui was unwilling to provide his family fortune to the defending army as military pay. When Zhang Xianzhong captured the city, all of his enormous wealth fell into Zhang Xianzhong's hands and was directly used to fund the peasant army. Therefore, Zhu Jian still believed in striking first and found a pretext to confiscate the prince's property and use it to fund his own army!

Zhu Jian suddenly realized that the princes left behind by Zhu Yuanzhang were probably used in this way: Zhu Yuanzhang, with his great talent and ambition, must have known that the Ming Dynasty would face calamities in the future, so he enfeoffed all his sons, passing the line down from generation to generation. Finally, when the court encountered a crisis, he would simply confiscate the princes' property as a lifeline in an emergency...

Two days later, the fog in Wuchang gradually dissipated.

Soldiers were driving a horse-drawn carriage, and shouts could be heard coming from inside: "Release me! Release me!"

"This chair was bestowed upon me by the founding emperor! It was not cast by me personally!"

When the carriage arrived in front of Prosecutor Zhu, he leaned back in his golden chair and slowly said, "Stop shouting!"

"How could I not know that it was bestowed by the founding emperor?"

If it really was bestowed by Zhu Yuanzhang, there would be no record of it in the palace now. After all, when Zhu Yuanzhang was in Nanjing, Zhu Di captured Nanjing and the Nanjing Imperial Palace was engulfed in flames, and many things were lost.

The oldest items in the Beijing Palace today were left by Zhu Di; none belonged to Zhu Yuanzhang.

After Zhu Jian finished speaking, there was a pause in the carriage, then he suddenly shouted, "Your Majesty, I have an imperial edict bestowed by the Taizu Emperor upon the first King of Chu!"

Just then, Prince Zhu Hua Kui of Chu was slowly pushed off the carriage by the soldiers and knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, I truly have an imperial decree!"

"Two hundred and seventy years have passed, who knows if you forged it?"

Prince Zhu Hua-kui of Chu exclaimed in alarm, "Who dares to forge the Emperor Taizu's edict?"

"Zhu Yunwen!"

"Didn't Zhu Yunwen forge an imperial edict from the Taizu Emperor to prevent the Chengzu Emperor from visiting Nanjing?" Zhu Jian said nonchalantly.

Zhu Huawen was stunned for a moment. He really couldn't say whether it was Zhu Di who forged it or Zhu Yunwen. Even if it was Zhu Di who forged it, he dared not say.

He then forced a smile and said, "This was truly a gift from the Great Ancestor!"

"After the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Dai committed suicide, their families all wove cloth in Yanzhou Prefecture, which allowed them to experience the life of ordinary people!"

He paused, then continued, "Everyone dies eventually; no one can avoid it. It's just a matter of time, don't you think?"

"However, those Shanxi merchants didn't receive the same treatment as the two kings of the Jin Dynasty; their entire families, including nine generations of relatives, perished with them!"

Zhu Jian had no intention of letting the Prince of Chu live. After all, Prince Zhu Hua Kui was already over sixty years old and wouldn't live for many more years. The charge of usurpation and treason would definitely be upheld. As for the rest of the Chu vassal, they went to Yanzhou to weave cloth.

Zhu Huakui, who had originally intended to argue, paused for a moment after hearing Zhu Jian's words, and then burst into laughter.

"I originally thought that this gift from the founding emperor would be carefully preserved by his descendants, but I never expected it to become my death warrant!"

After King Zhu Hua Kui of Chu finished speaking, there was no regret or frustration in his eyes, only a resolute determination to accept defeat.

Zhu Jian glanced at Zhu Hua Kui with disdain, thinking to himself: "Your great-grandfather, those iron certificates of immunity from death that your great-grandfather issued back then, didn't they end up as just scrap metal? If you have any objections, you can go down and complain to the Hongwu Emperor."

Then Zhu Jian waved his hand: "Take the King of Chu away and settle him in!"

Two days later, just like before, King Zhu Hua Kui of Chu secretly possessed a golden chair, intending to overstep his bounds and rebel. After being captured, he hanged himself out of fear of punishment, and the Chu vassal state was abolished!

Within a year, Zhu Jian forced the Prince of Jin, the Prince of Dai, and the Prince of Chu to their deaths, abolished the Three Feudatories, and partially imprisoned the Prince of Xiang, making him arguably the second Zhu Yunwen! The three princes, twenty-two dukes, and more than 30,000 members of the imperial family and clan involved far exceeded the influence of Zhu Yunwen.

However, unlike Zhu Yunwen, who weakened his own power by reducing the power of the princes, Zhu Jian recovered more and more wealth and his power became more and more stable!

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