June 14, the 23rd year of Chongzhen.
All the ministers gathered in the Huangji Palace.
After the ceremony, the Minister of Rites Huang Jin stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong and Prince Yong Zhu Cizhao returned to the capital from Nanjing without being summoned, which violated the ancestral system. Please punish them and set the record straight!"
Here we come!
Chongzhen had a plan in mind and was not panicking.
He slowly scanned the area and asked, "What do you think is the best way to deal with this, Minister Huang?"
"I think he should be severely reprimanded and punished by a salary fine!" Huang Jin proposed a very light solution.
Without waiting for others to express their opinions, Chongzhen was the first to speak: "The punishment is too light, not enough to make them remember it."
Why?
All the civil and military officials in the court were confused by Chongzhen's words.
It would have been fine if Chongzhen, as a father, did not protect his son, but he actually wanted to increase the punishment.
It's simply...unheard of.
Fan Jingwen, Wang Jiayan, Xie Sanbin, Qiu Yu and others had received the news long ago, so they were not surprised by Chongzhen's words.
They lowered their heads and exchanged glances with each other, reaching a common consensus: His Majesty must not be allowed to succeed.
Huang Jin was unaware of this. He bowed his head and asked, "The Ministry of Rites believes that reprimand and salary deduction are sufficient punishment. I wonder how severe the punishment Your Majesty intends to impose!"
"How to punish is the business of your Ministry of Rites." Chongzhen said sternly.
Huang Jin and the Minister of Rites discussed for a while and came up with a plan.
Chongzhen was not satisfied.
Huang Jin had no choice but to continue discussing changing the plan.
After several revisions, Chongzhen was still not satisfied.
In the end, Huang Jin was pushed to the limit. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Ding and Prince Yong only returned to the capital privately and did not take any other actions. The previous punishment was severe enough! We can't abolish their vassal kingship, can we?"
Gao Shiming, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, immediately said loudly, "Minister Huang proposed to abolish the titles of Prince Ding and Prince Yong. What do you think?"
Wow!
The court was in an uproar.
Huang Jin was the first to shake his head. He pointed at Gao Shiming's nose and said, "I didn't do that! Gao Shiming, what is your intention in accusing me in front of all the civil and military officials in the court?"
Although his voice was loud, it was of no use at all.
It was instantly drowned out by the voices of others.
“This is too serious.”
"Yes, although Prince Ding and Prince Yong secretly returned to the capital, they have no fiefdoms yet, so it is understandable that they returned to the capital from Nanjing."
"Yes, the punishment is too severe, it's inappropriate!"
Where there were those who opposed, there were those who agreed.
"Your Majesty sacrificed his own relatives for the sake of justice. You are truly a wise ruler throughout history."
"Your Majesty's move only targets the two princes, and does not involve other princes. Besides, this is your Majesty's family affair, and we should not interfere."
"Indeed, Your Majesty did this to serve as a warning to others. The severe punishment of Prince Ding and Prince Yong is to warn other princes not to violate the laws of the country and the rules of the clan."
"I second the motion!"
"I second this motion."
At once, people in the court expressed their opinions.
Interestingly, those who agreed to abolish the feudal system were all eunuchs.
Other parties, led by the cabinet chief Fan Jingwen, disagreed with the abolition of the feudal system.
Fan Jingwen knew the real purpose of Chongzhen's abolition of the feudal system.
Yesterday, news came from the palace that Chongzhen was going to send Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong to Liaodong.
If I go to Liaodong as a vassal king, there will be no problem at all.
After all, the princes do not command the troops.
Not to mention soldiers, there are not even any guards.
But if Chongzhen abolished Zhu Cijiong's position as a vassal king and sent him to Liaodong, things would become complicated.
After the abolition of the feudal system, Zhu Cijiong became a commoner.
You can be a soldier or a general.
No matter whether you deserve it or not, at least it complies with the rules.
This is the most terrifying thing.
In addition, Chongzhen had previously said that he would personally send someone to return the imperial edict to Wang Yongji.
Fan Jingwen immediately thought of Zhu Cijiong.
He could even imagine everyone's reaction when Zhu Cixiong walked into the central military tent with the imperial edict.
A prince who can serve as a soldier or a general goes to the battlefield for training with an imperial edict.
In time, the consequences will be unimaginable.
He is the prime minister of the cabinet and must prevent this situation from happening.
After a while of quarreling, the hall returned to silence.
Fan Jingwen came out and said, "Your Majesty, the cabinet believes that although Prince Ding and Prince Yong's private return to the capital violated the clan rules, the two princes do not have fiefs. Their return to the capital is human nature, and only a verbal warning is needed, and there is no need to abolish the prince's position."
"Is this what the cabinet means?" Chongzhen asked.
"yes."
Chongzhen smiled and said, "In that case, I'll have to ask the cabinet to allocate funds to Prince Ding and Prince Yong."
Grants?
Fan Jingwen suddenly felt something was wrong.
Minister of Revenue Xie Sanbin also began to feel nervous.
Chongzhen continued, "Prince Ding and Prince Yong are both adults. According to the ancestral system, they should marry in the capital and then go to their fiefdoms. Since they are going to go to their fiefdoms, they need to build a prince's palace."
"The Cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue must not only prepare money for their wedding, but also come up with money to build the palace."
"You guys, get ready!"
"Just prepare according to the minimum standards, no need to be extravagant!"
Fan Jingwen and Xie Sanbin lowered their heads and did not respond.
The imperial court was already in deficit, so even if it wanted to pay out money, it had no money to spend.
Chongzhen's move was obviously intended to force.
Fan Jingwen was silent for a while before he spoke: "Your Majesty, the war in Liaodong is tense now! The currency reform in Jiangnan is not going smoothly, and the national treasury is already in deficit. I ask Your Majesty to put state affairs first and postpone this matter."
Gao Shiming sneered, "Fan Jingwen, how dare you put the blame on His Majesty? When did the Emperor stop putting state affairs first? It was your cabinet that forced the Emperor to let Prince Ding and Prince Yong go to vassalage, and now you are crying poor and putting the blame on the Emperor. You are simply shameless."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
