Chapter 119: A sudden downturn, ruthless and cruel

It’s the hottest month of July and the weather is gradually turning cooler.

As Hai Rui and others let go of the Huguang officialdom, Zhu Xizhong's wanton and disregard for the dignity of the royal family, the Huguang treason case and its involvement in illegal mining, private coinage, supporting bandits, and secret communications with the Miao and Yi people finally entered the stage of liquidation.

In order to send off the imperial envoy, the Huguang officialdom finally found a backbone after Governor Liang Menglong brought out the support of the Prime Minister who was from Huguang and made guarantees. They began to actively assist and add fuel to the fire.

The evil clan led by Chu Fan that had surrounded the governor's office were dispersed or arrested, and within a day, they disappeared into thin air.

The royal family, which had lost the support of the officialdom, still had a last chance to unite and resist, but when the Jing government spinelessly assisted the tyrant and waited to be killed, they began to fall apart internally.

Zhu Yichang, the Prince of De'an, and Zhu Zaiqi, the Prince of Fanshan, were both dignified princes and models of uprightness.

The three government offices in Huguang accused Zhu Xizhong of disrespecting the emperor and exceeding the imperial power, and submitted a petition to impeach Zhu Xizhong and called for his killing.

On the other hand, he cooperated tacitly with Hai Rui and Li Zaiting to complete the case files involving the two kings, control the Qizhou royal family, report to the central government to explain the whole story, and make Zhu Xizhong's actions go through the officialdom again, so as to completely standardize and legalize it.

Seeing this situation, Xiangfu, who was still waiting and watching, finally gave up his hope and admitted defeat.

He took the initiative to seek the imperial envoy and asked to reduce the prince's salary to 7,000 dan - when the country was founded, the prince's salary was 50,000 dan of rice, 25,000 strings of banknotes, 40 pieces of brocade, etc. Now, the salary is only 9,000 dan.

King Xiang spoke earnestly, saying that nine was the maximum number, which was actually taboo, and that seven would be enough for the prince.

He also personally arrested and tied up Prince Zhenning, who had colluded with the Censor Du Si and was involved in a major case of treason, and handed him over to the imperial envoy.

He was extremely humble and sincere, and could be described as a hero of his time.

But even so, Wu Jinghe was still merciless and sentenced Xiangzong to be a criminal vassal for his involvement in treason.

All treatment is the same as in Jing Mansion.

The demotion and inheritance of the title made King Xiang so angry that he fainted on the spot. From then on, the two vassal states of Jing and Xiang were not abolished and their clans were not deprived. After seven generations, they all became commoners without titles.

At the same time, the clan property was taken over by the Clan Court, forming a new system led by the Clan Court and jointly governed by clan members, eunuchs in the inner court, and officials of the royal palace.

The salaries of the princes, generals, lieutenants, and county ladies in each prefecture will no longer be distributed according to quotas.

Instead, each prefecture has a fixed quota, and no matter how many people are given titles, the allocation is made by the royal palace independently.

In other words, this is the amount given to the palace every year, and the palace has to raise the children themselves no matter how many they have.

The reactions of the clan members in the mansion were the same as those of the Jing Mansion.

Confiscating the royal family property and reducing the salary to a fixed amount, isn't this forcing people to die?

There was a clamor immediately.

Zong Zheng Wu Jinghe refuted this statement on the spot.

He was moved by the emperor's benevolence and took into consideration the friendship between the royal family members.

Of course, we can’t let the royal palaces really be starving.

Later, he said that after the clan affairs office took over the royal palace's industries, it would lift the ban on business at the same time, open trading companies according to the different geographical locations and resource endowments of each palace, and guide the clan members to run industries correctly.

If there was any operating surplus, the clan office and the royal palace would share it respectively.

Operating at a loss... the royal palaces should just continue to receive the minimum living allowance. With this ability, it would be a good thing to have fewer children.

Afterwards, the Chief of the Imperial Clan Wu Jinghe cordially received the clan members without titles, had in-depth exchanges, and improved the system and mechanism for supporting the grassroots clan members.

It is planned to establish clan schools in each fiefdom in accordance with the regulations of the capital's schools, teaching four subjects: classics, mathematics, commerce, and craftsmanship.

The royal family members who have completed their studies normally will be absorbed into the businesses run by the clan government - cotton cloth processing, silk weaving, ready-made clothes, rice milling, oil pressing, paper, printing, straw weaving, bricks, tiles and lime, all walks of life. The bigger the business, the greater the future of the royal family!
Those who show talent in the last three of the four subjects of the clan studies can go to the capital to meet the emperor, and can receive additional grace such as further study in schools, lifting the ban on the four professions, and being promoted to higher positions and given titles.

The pie was big enough, and the two prefectures of Jing and Xiang were split again from top to bottom.

Although the lower-level royal family members were a little bit unbelievable, they didn't pay a price anyway.

He was not allowed to enjoy the royal property, title, or even the privileges of the royal vassal.

Now he is confined in the royal city all day long, receiving alms that flow through the fingers of the major royal palaces, being ordered around by titled superiors and beaten to death at any time. Could it be worse?

With this idea in mind, many clan members acted as guides, cooperating with the clan government to count clan properties and measure farms.

In just a few days, the amount of silver converted reached hundreds of thousands of taels!

Not only the two vassal states of Jing and Xiang.

Even those Liao vassal states that had nothing to do with the incident and had already been abolished had some collateral relatives join in the fun and expose the various princes.

Previously, the commercial ban was only lifted for the Yueyang Palace, and these royal family members were just waiting and watching.

Now that both major clans have benefited from this good thing, these lower-level clan members have finally stopped hesitating.

They all expressed their noble character and were willing to use the royal property to open a business.

In order to find some faults for several princes of Liaofu, some crazy members of the Liao vassal clan were brought up, but since they could not be implicated in a major case of treason, Zhang Juzheng was brought up.

It was said that a certain prince in the mansion was the real murderer who killed the grandfather of the Prime Minister - "When Ju Zheng passed the imperial examination, he summoned his grandfather and abused him with wine until he died."

The words are very convincing and well-organized.

Anyway, the Liao vassal had a long history of bad deeds - "cutting off the heads of civilians and shocking the whole city", "whenever they met beautiful young men and women, they would bring them into the palace and rape them", and to put it in a bigger way, "the King of Liao raised the white flag to rebel, and surrounded the palace with 500 soldiers and officials."

In short, my clan is also a criminal vassal. Several princes in my family suggested that the imperial envoy should be killed and the property redistributed.

A few days later, Qizhou and Jingzhou were in full swing.

There were four princes who were sentenced to death according to the law, nine generals who defended the country, more than ten generals who assisted the country and served the country, dozens of lieutenants and others, and countless others who were exiled from the high walls of Fengyang.

Curses, impeachments, and arrangements are heard all the time.

Even when the imperial envoy passed through Hanyang Prefecture, there were assassinations, causing panic for a while.

Fortunately, Zhu Xizhong appeared again the next day with only an ear injury and was completely unharmed. He even took his coffin with him, looking as if he didn't care about life or death and was determined to never give up.

Under this situation, the liquidation went exceptionally smoothly.

……

"Something is wrong. It's absolutely wrong!"

Prince Min Zhu Dingyao paced back and forth in the hall, looking anxious.

Zhu Changwen was even more anxious than him, with a gloomy face: "Your Highness, please don't repeat yourself. I know the situation is not good now."

"The Huguang vassal states, Jing and Xiang have already surrendered, and the Chu government's Dong'an Prince can't even protect himself, and is still imprisoned in the governor's office."

"My good father, King Jizong, not only refused to make the decision for me, but also wanted to throw me out to atone for my crime."

"Now, the only one who can resist the Jinyiwei's clutches is Your Highness!"

Zhu Changwen sighed.

Could it be that he didn't want to learn from Jing Fan and kneel down and beg for mercy?

The problem is that he helped Zhu Yingyan to open up connections in Yuezhou, so he was really involved in the case!
He had gone to the night banquet held at the Prince of Chu's mansion. It cost hundreds of thousands, but Wu Jinghe refused without blinking an eye.

Not to mention it nowadays.

Look at those princes, they were killed at will, and they were not even given a chance to sit in the elegant seats behind the high walls of Fengyang.

Zhu Changwen was just a general assisting the country. If he were really handed over to Zhu Xizhong, he would definitely have a scar as big as a bowl on his neck.

It's crazy!

When the King of Liao was exiled, he was at least sent to Fengyang and imprisoned, but how could he be strangled so easily now?!

He glanced at the King of Min in front of him, hoping that he would really fight to the end, otherwise he would be dead.

Zhu Dingyao's mind was not on him, he just murmured: "The situation is not right, but I am not saying it is that bad, but it is changing too fast..."

Zhu Changwen was stunned.

I just felt confused and bewildered.

Zhu Dingyao explained to himself, "Since the Jing vassal state, the situation has changed too quickly!"

"The Third Prince of Jing surrendered without any warning, the King of Xiang surrendered inexplicably, and the revelations of the Liao vassal clan were abnormally fast!"

too weird!

How long has it been since the lord of Jing vassal state committed suicide by burning himself and Zhu Xizhong left in a hurry?

Even if Zhu Xizhong was willing to sacrifice his own life to settle the case of treason, there had to be a gradual process.

I didn't expect it to be so fast!
King Dong'an was imprisoned, and Jing, Xiang and Liao surrendered one after another.

The Miao soldiers and bandits that Zhu Dingyao recruited have not yet been settled, how could it have come to this! ?

Zhu Changwen asked in confusion: "The third son of Jing got a princely title for free, so isn't it reasonable for him to sell the Jing clan?"

"As the situation evolves, Xiangfan and Liaofan have no other choice."

"What do you mean, Your Highness?"

Zhu Dingyao pursed his lips and lost interest in planning with this young man from Ji Fan - he was far inferior to his cousin who had just passed away.

He pondered on his own.

As Zhu Changwen said, every step in the evolution of the situation is reasonable and logical.

But the difference is that every step is reasonably fast, with almost no counterattack!

The only time Zhu Xizhong was assassinated was by people he sent!
This kind of coincidence...it's too obvious that someone is fanning the flames.

Who is so insidious and vicious?
What is the purpose?
There are not many people with power and influence in Huguang nowadays.

Zhu Dingyao glanced at Zhu Changwen in front of him. The father of this young man has never appeared as Prince Ji?
He immediately shook his head. That wasn't right. If he was really so cunning, he wouldn't necessarily have to let his son take the blame.

Zhu Dingyao suddenly remembered the wise words of his cousin who had passed away the day before, and an idea suddenly came to his mind.

Among those who have this power, who will profit the most!
As this thought came to his mind, Zhu Dingyao's mind became clearer and he became more aware of the critical situation.

He paced back and forth in the hall, frowning in thought.

After a long while, Zhu Dingyao suddenly raised his head and looked at Zhu Changwen: "How many people can you pull together now!"

Zhu Changwen was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted.

He considered, "It depends on what Your Highness is referring to... If it is an ordinary matter, hundreds of people will be no problem. If it is a heinous crime, more than ten people will be difficult." Zhu Dingyao stared at him: "More than ten backbones are better!"

Zhu Changwen took a step back and asked, "What do you want to do, Your Highness?"

Zhu Dingyao's expression was gloomy: "At this point, I don't want to think about it anymore."

"My palace is in the mountains and waters, and there are more than a thousand people. I will hand them over to King Lishan."

"As long as we give the officials and soldiers in the palace enough money and property, some of them will follow us."

"Go north! Join the Tatars, change your appearance, establish a government as a tribe, accumulate strength, and wait for the right time!"

There is precedent for this.

In the northern vassal states, members of the royal family would surrender to the Tatars every day to make a living. There were many such vassal states as Dai and Jin.

He is just going to bring in capital to invest, which is not surprising.

The situation was changing too fast, and he had a premonition that if he didn't leave now, he would have no chance.

But, he had a good idea. However, after hearing it, Zhu Changwen immediately jumped up on the spot!
He looked at the King of Minshan like a madman.

The last rebellion in Min Prefecture was put down in two days. Now he has the nerve to invite him to resume his old business. Is he stupid?
Thinking of this, Zhu Changwen forced a smile and said, "Your Highness, I am still not used to the northern food. I'd better change my appearance and become a commoner."

Many of the royal family members who had been executed previously bribed the imperial envoys and eunuchs and faked their own deaths to escape.

Or maybe he was well-informed and escaped early, hiding his identity.

Min Fan had clearly done this before. He came to Min Prefecture for this very purpose, to get an identity and live a peaceful life as a citizen - how could he be led to abandon his country and his family!
Zhu Dingyao didn't have time to try to prove his point with Zhu Changwen.

He did not listen to Zhu Dingjiong's words and choose to sell the Lishan Palace to clear himself of all charges. Instead, he planned a counterattack and sent people to assassinate Zhu Xizhong. Now he has no way out.

He knew that he would never stand a chance of doing something as stupid as rebellion, as his ancestors had taught him so much.

But we can't just sit there and wait for death. We have no other choice but to escape!
Zhu Dingyao held Zhu Changwen's shoulder and said in a cold voice: "In terms of seniority, I am your great-uncle. In terms of title, you have to bow down to me. I am half your father."

"If you are willing to follow my words, we can still have a relationship of king and subject. If you are not willing, don't blame me for turning my back on you."

Coercing others is one thing, but more importantly, by making the son of Prince Ji stand up, Prince Ji can also attract the attention of the court and buy him more time.

He was thinking this.

Click.

The main hall door cracked.

Zhu Dingyao's hand was still on Zhu Changwen's shoulder, and the two of them maintained this posture, standing there in a daze.

A large group of Jinyiwei broke through the palace door, filed in, and surrounded the two men in the center.

"Cough cough..."

A cough was heard outside the hall, followed by the sound of wheel rutting.

Zhu Dingyao raised his head gloomily, and sure enough, he saw Zhu Xizhong covering his mouth and nose and slowly entering the hall.

Zhu Shitai, who was standing behind him, held a white silk ribbon and said arrogantly, "You kings, gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, all have the same names. I can't tell them apart."

"The exception is that I only remember you, Your Highness Prince Min."

"That day in Lishan Palace, you said that you would kill my father and me sooner or later, and my father said that he would come back sooner or later to settle the case in Min Mansion. I have been thinking about it, and I want to see who has the final say."

He raised his hands above his head, and the Jinyiwei understood and closed the palace door.

Zhu Shitai looked at Zhu Dingyao and shook the white silk in his hand: "Your Highness, now it seems that my father is still as good as his word!"

Zhu Dingyao's eyes swept over the Jinyiwei and finally fell on Zhu Xizhong.

In this situation, he naturally understood what was happening.

So fast!

I heard yesterday that he was still in Changsha, yet he came to his house!

He made up his mind to escape, but he didn't expect that he was too late.

Alas... Zhu Dingyao sighed. He was dragged down by Prince Dong'an.

At this point, he didn't struggle.

He just stood up straight and adjusted his posture.

He inexplicably thought of the ancestor of the Min clan, the rebellious King Guangtong. What was his mood when his conspiracy was exposed?
Anyway, Zhu Dingyao is very calm now.

Maybe it was because it was the second time that the palace had been disturbed by the Jinyiwei, or maybe it was because he knew that these people were coming for him, but he was no longer as furious as he was the first time.

Peace of mind.

He ignored Zhu Shitai and only looked at Zhu Xizhong, saying calmly: "The memorial I wrote to impeach you last time is still on its way to the capital. I didn't expect that Duke Cheng would trespass into the palace again."

"I wonder what the Duke is doing this time?"

Zhu Xizhong shook his head: "King Lishan was under your instructions to raise bandits, which is a major case of treason."

"The bandit was even Zhu Dingdun, who was executed by the order of the Emperor's Temple."

"Let's not talk about the fact that His Highness sent someone to assassinate me. Just these two charges, treason and deceiving the emperor, are already capital crimes."

"Of course, I came here to punish my sins."

Zhu Dingyao was silent for a while.

When I heard the words "King of Lishan", I knew there was no chance of luck.

He thought about it and actually put the matter and his own fate out of his mind, revealing a hint of curiosity.

He said, "Duke Chengguo, even if I am raising bandits, whether they are robbing houses or accidentally helping Zhu Yingyan to kill Zhang Chucheng."

"These minor matters usually only result in a three-year salary reduction at most."

"Now, if the emperor or the cabinet changes their mind, you will follow him and risk your life to kill a prince."

He paused, his expression becoming more and more puzzled: "The emperor has no son to be crowned as a prince now, so he allows you to abuse the prince."

"When he has a son, who will be Prince of Fu or Prince of Xin... when he wants to clear his name as a prince, the Duke will definitely be the first to be involved."

"Zhu Xizhong, aren't you afraid that the Duke's Mansion will be hit back by this?"

If he were arrested and taken to the capital, he would be tried by the three judicial departments, with the Cabinet drafting a decision and the Imperial Household Department approving it.

Zhu Xizhong now relied on the words "act at your convenience" in the imperial edict to carry out this presumptuous act.

Will the censor let him go? Will the officials turn a blind eye? Will the emperor trust him if he acts recklessly?
Not to mention the possible counterattack from the royal family in the future.

With all this going on, aren't you afraid that the Duke's Mansion will be destroyed one day?
Zhu Xizhong coughed twice again and forced himself to swallow the fishy and sweet taste in his mouth.

He first looked at Zhu Changwen and said kindly, "I've been to Ji Fan. Your father is very easy to talk to."

"For his cooperation, you should go back and say goodbye to him first, and then go to Wuchang Prefecture to die."

Zhu Changwen looked as pale as death.

He was dragged out of the palace by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Then Zhu Xizhong waved his hand, and Zhu Shitai immediately understood. He walked forward slowly with the white silk and stood in front of King Min.

King Min nodded: "Wait a moment."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around, took out the crown from the side room, and put it on meticulously.

He also straightened his clothes and jade.

She just brushed the hem of her hair and casually lifted it up, exposing her neck in front of Zhu Shitai.

Zhu Shitai was eager to try, holding one end in one hand and going behind King Min.

When the white silk touched Zhu Dingyao's body, his eyes bulged out and his face turned red.

But he still stared at Zhu Xizhong, waiting for the answer to the question just now.

After a moment, Zhu Dingyao subconsciously pulled at the white silk around his neck with his hands. His temples bulged and his legs began to twitch.

Zhu Xizhong watched the scene quietly without saying a word.

Until there was no more movement in the hall, Zhu Shitai wiped the sweat off his face, squatted down to feel the breath, and then nodded with certainty.

Zhu Xizhong pushed his wheelchair forward and confirmed it again.

He looked at King Min's angry eyes, thought for a moment, leaned over, stretched out his hand, and closed them.

Regardless of the fact that King Min could no longer hear, Zhu Xizhong finally answered the question.

He muttered to himself, "Before and after the emperor ascended the throne, he completely relied on the Jinyiwei to do things..."

"Everyone says that the Jinyiwei are like mercury flowing through the ground, penetrating every hole. Do you think they can penetrate into people's hearts?"

"If Li, Zhang Juzheng, Gao Yi and others could understand the emperor half as well as I do, they would be considered to have the ability to see through people's hearts."

"With this opportunity to peek into the emperor's heart, I still managed to misjudge him. The Duke's Mansion... deserves its demise."

The voice was very soft, but it echoed in the hall.

Zhu Shitai looked up in surprise and looked at his father named "Zhong".

Speechless and at a loss.

Zhu Xizhong suddenly turned his head to meet his gaze, and squeezed his son's hand with a smile: "There is no loyalty without reason in the world."

"Watch well and study hard."

After saying this, he pushed his wheelchair out of the hall.

Zhu Shitai hurriedly caught up and pushed the wheelchair.

Only His Royal Highness Prince Min was left, his body alone, lying in the palace.

　Yesterday's plot was not a double time travel, it was all an extended creation based on historical materials. Li Shizhen did go to the Prince of Jing's mansion to treat the prince, and Wu Cheng'en did go to the Prince of Jing's mansion to serve in the fourth year of Longqing, and had a good relationship with the prince. As for the character setting, it was an extended creation.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)