In the front hall, everyone was drinking tea and chatting.
"Your Highness Prince Zhao," a servant walked in with his head lowered and said, "The Princess Dowager of Prince Zhao wants to see you."
Prince of Zhao Zhu Chang looked towards Chongzhen.
Chongzhen smiled slightly and said, "Please do as you please, Prince Zhao."
After hearing this, Prince Zhao stood up, saluted Chongzhen, and then left the front hall with the servants.
After leaving, the two did not go to the back hall, but took a detour and came to a remote small garden.
The Queen Mother of Prince Zhao was standing alone in the middle of the garden with her eyes closed in deep thought.
"Mother, do you have something to talk to me about?" Prince Zhao Zhu Chang quickly walked to the side of Prince Zhao's Dowager Concubine and asked.
The Queen Mother of Prince Zhao said nothing and glanced at the servants not far away.
The servant tactfully turned around and left the garden.
After the servant walked away, he suddenly stopped. Seeing that there was no one around, he tiptoed to the corner and listened attentively.
At this time, the Queen Mother of King Zhao was asking questions.
"What did you do in the front hall?"
King Zhao thought for a moment and said, "Drink tea and chat."
"What are you talking about?"
"We talked a lot, about the Jian Nu, Li Chuang thieves, Xian Ze and so on."
The Queen Mother of King Zhao was immediately furious and glared at him, "Didn't I tell you not to talk about state affairs?"
Prince Zhao Zhu Chang? looked aggrieved: "It's not me who wants to talk about state affairs, it's Fan Jingwen who insisted on talking about it."
"He's talking about his own things, can't you just pretend you can't hear him?" The Princess Dowager of Prince Zhao became even angrier.
Prince Zhao Zhu Chang? He was even more aggrieved than before. He pouted and said with tears in his eyes: "At first I really pretended not to hear, but every time Fan Jingwen finished talking about a topic, he would ask me what Prince Zhao thought..."
"I can't pretend to be dumb in front of His Majesty and the Duke of England, can I?"
The Queen Mother of King Zhao gnashed her teeth and said, "Fan Jingwen... you old man, what ability do you have to bully an orphan and a widow!"
After scolding her, she asked again, "How did you answer?"
"I say that all the Jiannu bandits deserve to die!"
"That's okay..." The Queen Mother of King Zhao breathed a sigh of relief.
I am not afraid that King Zhao would not speak, but I am afraid that King Zhao would speak nonsense.
The capital is not like a fiefdom. If you say the wrong thing here, your life may be in danger.
After figuring out these questions, the Princess Dowager of Zhao asked again, "Did you talk about the issues of the princes and royal family?"
King Zhao thought about it and shook his head, "No."
"Not a single word?"
"Nothing to talk about!" King Zhao was very sure.
"That's more like it," the Princess Dowager of Zhao nodded, "If you have any questions, just come to me. There's no need to tell you."
Prince Zhao Zhu Chang was stunned for a moment, and asked hurriedly: "Mother, what do you mean by what you just said?"
"It's nothing. I want you to ask His Majesty a question when we get back." The Queen Mother of King Zhao said with a serious face.
"Mom, tell me."
"Find an opportunity to ask His Majesty when he will pay the overdue salary to the vassal kings."
"Is this... is this appropriate? His Majesty has already shown great grace by allowing us to seek refuge in Beijing. If we ask for the prince's salary at this time, isn't it a bit..."
"Whether it's appropriate or not, you have to ask!" The Queen Mother of Prince Zhao glared at him.
"Okay." Prince Zhao Zhu Chang bowed deeply to Prince Zhao's Concubine Dowager, then turned and left.
Since the servant had quietly left before he left, they did not notice anything unusual.
After returning to the front hall, Prince Zhao chatted for a while, and at a seemingly appropriate time asked Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, there is one thing I don't know whether I should ask."
Chongzhen waved his hand and said, "Of course!"
Under the gaze of everyone, Prince of Zhao Zhu Chang first swallowed his saliva, but still felt a little dry in the mouth.
He swallowed his saliva helplessly, and finally asked humbly: "Your Majesty... I want to ask when the overdue... prince Zonglu will be paid? My family is almost unable to make ends meet!"
Chongzhen pretended to be surprised, then looked at Fan Jingwen and said, "Minister Fan, is the court in arrears with the princes' clan salaries?"
Fan Jingwen answered yes, but he was secretly complaining: Don't you know whether the payment is in arrears or not? Aren't you the one who has been holding back and not allowing it to be paid?
"How does your cabinet do things? You even dare to delay paying the princes' salaries. Hurry up and verify and distribute them!" Chongzhen said, staring at Fan Jingwen's face.
Faced with Chongzhen's responsibilities, Fan Jingwen subconsciously wanted to shift the blame to the Ministry of Rites.
The clan salaries of the princes were originally under the charge of the Clan Court, which was later merged into the Ministry of Rites, so the Ministry of Rites was the first responsible government agency.
Suddenly he remembered that he was not only the Minister of Works, but also the Minister of Rites.
This responsibility cannot be shirked.
But this is not a problem for Fan Jingwen, an old fox at the king level.
He stood up and saluted Chongzhen and Prince Zhao respectively, then said apologetically: "Because the bandits are causing chaos everywhere, it is impossible to verify the actual number of princes in various places, so the clan salary has been temporarily suspended."
"The Ministry of Rites has ordered local government offices to investigate immediately, and will issue the funds as soon as the investigation is complete!"
Chongzhen was dissatisfied and said, "Don't worry about the other princes for now. The whole family of Prince Zhao is in the capital. We only need to send two officials to check the number of people in Prince Zhao's mansion! Send someone to check immediately after returning, and submit it to the Imperial Household Department as soon as possible. Wang Chengen will be responsible for approving it."
"I obey your order." Fan Jingwen bowed deeply and respectfully.
After they chatted for a while, Chongzhen took the lead and left.
The Queen Mother of Prince Zhao looked at Chongzhen's departing back and showed a helpless expression.
A man who eats someone's food should be grateful.
Since Chongzhen agreed to give the money, there was nothing for her to worry about.
What's more, this is the capital, Chongzhen can do whatever he wants and no one can stop him.
Half a month later.
The King of Zhao and his Queen Mother simultaneously wrote to the court to request that the royal families' salaries be reduced.
The reason was that there were bandits in the court and Jiannu and Mongolians outside. In order to relieve the pressure on the court, they demanded a temporary reduction in the salaries of the princes.
Although the amount of the reduction is not large, its nature is extraordinary.
After all, the Ming Dynasty was named Zhu, and the Zhu family themselves demanded a reduction in clan salary.
The impact of this incident is even greater than the previous bandits' siege!
The people of the capital did not expect that Chongzhen's first attack would be directed at his own people!
The princes of various places soon got the news.
Instead of surrendering, they united to put pressure on Chongzhen.
First, he wrote a letter to accuse Prince Zhao of doing something that was contrary to the ancestral system, and at the same time he wrote to Chongzhen to express his opposition.
The last and most critical step.
They sent people to instigate public opinion among the people in the capital, implying that Prince Zhao's action was coerced by Chongzhen.
Put Chongzhen on the fire and roast him.
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