Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 357: Bloody Incident at Prince Tang's Mansion
When he walked out of the meeting room of Xinghua Palace, it was already twelve o'clock. Zhu Changxun looked up at the sun, which was already dazzling in early May, and felt extremely complicated.
As a newly enfeoffed vassal state, Fufan had not yet enfeoffed even one prince, so naturally it had no relatives of the generals who guarded the country or the lieutenants who guarded the country. Therefore, Zhu Youdong's new policy for the royal family had basically no impact on it.
Although there was no impact, Zhu Changxun still thought a lot about it.
He was not stupid, he knew very well that the royal family policy set by Taizu could not be maintained today. If it was not reformed, no matter how much money the new emperor could make, the national finances could not afford the growing number of royal families.
Moreover, in his opinion, liberalizing the employment of the royal family members is actually a good thing in the long run. This is equivalent to giving everyone freedom and letting them walk out of the pigpen where they are kept.
When pigs leave the pigsty and go to the wild, they are in danger of being hunted by other animals, but they also have new hope and freedom.
Freedom! I really want it. In fact, with my talent, I may not be able to pass the imperial examination, but I should be able to pass the imperial examination, right? In this way, I can travel freely around the country without worrying about money. Although the quality of food, clothing, housing and transportation is definitely not as good as that of the royal palace, it is better to be free.
Unfortunately, his bloodline was too close to the throne, and he was always a threat to the throne. If he became a Jinshi and a court official, the emperor would probably not be able to sleep at night peacefully, right? So the emperor did not relax the restrictions on princes and dukes this time. Maybe this was the reason?
Oh, I feel a little envious when I see my nephew acting so powerfully in the main seat.
Of course, it was just envy. This nephew's methods were so powerful that people dared not have any other ideas.
Just as Zhu Changxun stood in the sun and thought for a while, when he came to his senses, he found that a group of princes had surrounded him.
"Your Highness Prince Fu, what do you think about this matter?"
"Ah? Uncle Dai Wang, why are you asking me about this?"
"Who else should I ask if not you? You are the Emperor's uncle, and the eldest of the Emperor's surviving sons. Of course I have to ask your opinion on this matter."
"The emperor has the final say. Since he has said so, what can we, the vassal statesmen, do?"
"That won't do, Your Highness Prince Fu." An old man with white hair and beard, who was completely unfamiliar to Zhu Changxun, pulled the current Prince of Dai aside and came directly to Zhu Changxun's side: "Your Highness, your Fu clan is a new clan, and now there are few relatives under it. We can't do that. For old clans like the Qin clan and the Jin clan, which have existed since the Hongwu period, who doesn't have tens of thousands of relatives? If the emperor really does this, I'm afraid they won't dare to kneel down at the Xiaoling Mausoleum, but will block the gates of our clans!"
"Yes, Fudian, in terms of blood relationship here, you are the closest to the emperor, don't you think..."
"Haha..." Zhu Changxun chuckled and was about to refuse, but he heard a duck voice behind him.
"Your Highnesses, in compliance with the Emperor's order, please invite Prince Fu, Prince Tang, Prince Zhou, and Prince Gui to the palace to discuss matters with the Emperor. The rest of the princes, please follow me to the front hall. The Emperor has already given you a luncheon."
As soon as Fang Zhenghua said this, the princes who had originally shared a common hatred for the enemy suddenly felt a strange atmosphere.
Why did the emperor call back these four princes at this critical moment?
Of these four princes, Prince Fu and Prince Gui are both uncles of the emperor, and are the closest in terms of blood relationship. But what about the Prince Tang and Prince Zhou? They are all old vassals granted during the Hongwu era, and in terms of blood relationship, they are far inferior to the Duan, Hui, and even Lu vassals present.
But why were Duan Fan and Hui Fan, who were also the uncles of the current emperor, not summoned again, but the Tang Wang and Zhou Wang were called in? If we were to choose an old vassal from the Hongwu era, it should be Qin Fan, Jin Fan or something like that.
What exactly does the emperor want to do? Does he have any special instructions for these four vassals?
No, before the matter is clear, we are only responsible for spreading the emperor's intention today, and we can't take the lead in causing trouble. Otherwise, if the emperor has any other tricks, we will be in trouble if we take the lead.
As for people, what worries them most is not the lack of wealth but the imbalance of wealth. Zhu Youdong played this trick and completely broke up the prince alliance that had not yet taken shape.
The other princes went to have lunch with their minds full of thoughts. Zhu Changxun, Zhu Shuohui, Zhu Changying and Zhu Suzhen returned to the meeting room with trepidation.
After entering the room and performing the ritual of monarch and subject again, Zhu Youdong did not let the four people sit down, but spoke directly: "Zhu Shuoxuan!"
"I am here."
"You are a lustful, indecisive, and mediocre person! How long do you plan to keep your prince imprisoned?!"
"Ah? Why does Your Majesty say that?"
"Humph! Do you really think my Dongchang and Jinyiwei are vegetarians? Or do you think that if you bribe the Dongchang eunuchs and Jinyiwei who are openly displayed in the Tang Palace, I will not know what happened in your family?"
In fact, the lineage of the Tang King was passed down from Zhu Yuanzhang's 23rd son, Zhu Gao. As the saying goes, the youngest son is the oldest, and although the Tang King is not Zhu Yuanzhang's youngest son, compared with Zhu Laosi's family, the generations of this family are generally much higher than those of Zhu Laosi's family at the same age.
For example, if Zhu Di and Zhu Gao are the first generation, then Zhu Youdong is the eleventh generation. And what about Zhu Shuohui? The seventh generation (the same generation as Zhengde and Jiajing).
Although there is a big difference in seniority, Zhu Youdong is now the emperor and the head of the Zhu family. So it is OK to call Zhu Shuohui great-uncle, or just call him by his name. Of course, calling him by his name fully shows that .
What did Zhu Shuohui do to make Zhu Youdong angry? Actually , it was simple: Zhu Shuohui's eldest son was called Zhu Qizhen, who had been clearly named the Tang prince. But later, Zhu Shuohui was bewitched by a concubine and promised the concubine that he would make her son the Tang prince to inherit the Tang vassal state. At this time, Zhu Qizhen became an extremely annoying existence.
But Zhu Shuohui did not have the courage to kill or poison his own son, so he locked up Zhu Qizhen and his eldest son and deprived them of food, hoping to starve them to death.
However, this foolish guy could not control the people in the palace. There were always servants in the palace who secretly saved their own rations and gave them to Zhu Qiheng and his son. In the historical plane, Zhu Qiheng and his son persisted like this for sixteen years.
In the second year of Chongzhen in the historical dimension, the son of Zhu Shuohu's concubine could no longer bear it, so he poisoned Zhu Qizhen to death.
This is actually a bloody family drama: the old man is stupid and can't control his concubine, servants, or anything else. The concubine and her son are vicious but cowardly, and they didn't dare to do anything for 16 years. Zhu Qizhen stayed in the prison of the palace for 16 years and educated his son very well.
Well, the eldest son of Zhu Qizhen is called Zhu Youjian. In the historical plane, this person is the Longwu Emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty, yes, the one who successfully gave Zheng Sen a name.
As a time traveler, and one who loves history, Zhu Youdong has put a lot of effort into the history of the Southern Ming Dynasty. Among the many emperors of the Southern Ming Dynasty, he, like most people, expressed great regret for Zhu Youjian's rough life: he had been in his grandfather's prison with his father since he was a child. He finally survived his grandfather's death and inherited the throne, but encountered the Later Jin invasion. He was worried about state affairs , and he could not escape all the way. He finally proclaimed himself emperor in Fujian, and then Zheng Zhilong abandoned him...
In short, because of Zhu Youjian, Zhu Youdong was very clear about the dirty things happening in the Tang Palace.
Of course, the Tang Wang family is too senior, and he can't say anything before he becomes the emperor and gets the qualification of the head of the Zhu family. And now, hum! I am going to select a few role models from the royal family to set up. These role models must include good ones and bad ones. It would be even better if these good and bad role models are directly related by blood.
"You old bastard, you are of such a high generation and should have been a role model for the royal family. But you did something that brought shame to our Zhu family! You still want to quibble after all this? Do you really think I can't exercise my power as the clan leader and beat you to death?"
"…Your Majesty, I am guilty. I failed to investigate and was bewitched by that vixen. After I return to Nanyang, I will immediately release Qi Yan and Yu Jian. Then, I will divorce that bitch!"
Looking at Zhu Shuohui kneeling in front of him with tears and snot, Zhu Youdong felt depressed: The Ming Dynasty treated its relatives like pigs for more than two hundred years, and they were really worse than pigs.
"Uncle Zhou?"
"I am here."
"Kaifeng is close to Nanyang, so I'll leave this matter to you. I'll assign a team of soldiers from the Beijing camp to you, and you'll be responsible for escorting this old man to Nanyang. Then, thoroughly investigate this matter in the Tang Palace. If it's really as I said just now, then execute the concubine and her bastard for me! Let the Tang prince and his eldest son come to the capital, and I'll personally meet them and comfort them. After the above matter is settled, you will personally take this old man to Fengyang and imprison him!"
"Yes, I accept your order."
