The auction in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Yangzhou was in full swing, and the execution ground outside Yangzhou was full of heads. On one side, there were wails, and on the other side, there were excited shouts. From this moment on, the Daming Yangzhou began to become different.
The capital, Wenhua Palace.
Zhu Yijun pushed aside the memorials in front of him irritably, and his face showed a touch of sadness.
In the past few days, the matter of opening the vassal ban had caused a lot of uproar. All the memorials in the imperial court had been submitted. Some agreed, some disagreed, and the quarrel was fierce.
Whenever they encountered such a thing, the ministers would be excited.
But Zhu Yijun was not concerned about this, he was concerned about the northwest.
If Qi Jiguang could win, he would dominate the world. If Qi Jiguang could not win, he would be finished.
If he could win, he could open the vassal ban, then he was a wise emperor with the bearing of a wise monarch. If he could not win, he could not open the vassal ban.
In fact, the strict defense of the vassal kings in the Daming was also because the vassal kings in the Daming had a precedent of rebellion.
In addition to the successful rebellion of Emperor Zhu Di, there was the rebellion of Zhu Gaosui, the rebellion of Prince Ning, and the restoration of Emperor Yingzong. In addition, there were countless cases of vassal kings rebelling, which was also worrying.
"Go and call Wang Xijue for me!"
Zhu Yijun really could not bear to read the memorials, so he was going to talk to Wang Xijue.
Not to mention the matter of opening the vassal ban, this Wang Xijue was still a bit interesting.
He dared to ask this question, and also checked the information in detail. This was a person who did things, and Zhu Yijun liked such a person.
Wang Xijue was also in the eye of the storm these days, and the matter of opening the vassal ban was proposed by him.
After being summoned by the emperor, Wang Xijue did not dare to delay and soon came to Wenhua Palace.
"Minister Wang Xijue pays respect to Your Majesty!" Wang Xijue respectfully saluted to Zhu Yijun.
Waving his hand, signaling Wang Xijue to dispense with the formalities, Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "The reason why I called you here today is mainly to talk to you about the ban.
It's definitely not a good idea to open the border ban rashly. But if we don't open the border ban, the land occupation and grain will indeed be a problem. "
"You mean to directly lift the ban, but I would like to ask, if there will be other problems if the ban is lifted rashly?"
"Although the problems of the vassal kings and the royal family are very serious now, it is still stable on the whole. Apart from consuming more Lumi every year, there is nothing else."
Zhu Yijun said hesitantly, "If the ban is lifted, will there be other problems?"
When Wang Xijue heard Zhu Yijun's words, he wasn't too surprised. This was within his expectations.
It was normal for the emperor to have misgivings about opening the vassal state. As long as the emperor did not sincerely refuse, it was good.
Wang Xijue quickly said, "Your Majesty, there may be problems with opening the ban, but if we don't open it, I'm afraid the imperial court's finance will not be able to support it."
"Then how do you think it should be opened?
How should the vassal kings and the royal family be settled?
Should they still stay in the fief?
Can they be allowed to hold official positions in the fief? "
Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Xijue and said faintly. In fact, the ban must be opened, but how to open it and who would open it, there was a lot to pay attention to.
Now Zhu Yijun intended to change his meaning to Wang Xijue's meaning.
Wang Xijue listened to Zhu Yijun's questions, and his expression became serious.
These questions were really deadly. If the vassal kings were allowed to stay in their fief, and allowed to become officials or generals, it would be easy for the vassal kings to become big in the local area, which would not be worth the loss.
Once the vassal kings became big in the local area, who knew what would happen.
"Your Majesty, I think we should move the vassal kings to the capital. The land occupied by the vassal's mansion should be nationalized.
The vassal kings' mansions should be taken back by the imperial court. "
Wang Xijue didn't think about it and said directly. He also knew that this was the answer the emperor wanted to hear, and it was also what the emperor wanted him to say.
"The royal family can reduce the title of nobility for five generations, and after five generations, the title will be removed."
There was such a saying among the people that the grace of the ancestors should not be passed on for more than five generations. The meaning was very simple. The kindness of the ancestors should be passed on for five generations, no more.
"The title of nobility can only be passed on to the son of the first wife. The rest of the royal family will not be conferred the title of nobility."
Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Xijue. The expression on his face was very indifferent, but in his heart, he felt that Wang Xijue was a good person.
This was what he wanted to say, but he also knew that he couldn't say it. Seeing Wang Xijue say it without hesitation, Zhu Yijun smiled and nodded.
"You have some truth in what you said!" Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Xijue and nodded with a smile.
Both the emperor and the minister knew what was going on, but the two of them had a tacit understanding.
After pondering for a moment, Zhu Yijun said, "I am going to build a royal school in the capital. The children of the royal family can study and practice martial arts for free, so that they will not neglect their studies.
As for the matter you said, I think it should be voluntary first! "
"All the members of the royal family can voluntarily return to the capital. The vassal's mansion will be taken back by the imperial court. As for the land, give some compensation!"
Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and sighed, "Give them money according to half the market price of the land. This money will be paid by my palace treasury!"
Although Zhu Yijun was very tight on money, this money still had to be spent. Moreover, it was a good deal to buy the land at half the price.
Losing some money in exchange for freedom, Zhu Yijun felt that even if it was voluntary, there should be people willing to do it.
For the time being, the matter of removing the title of nobility for five generations should not be mentioned, but the news could be spread.
The matter of removing the title of nobility for five generations could be used to scare them so that they would be willing to come to the capital.
"I will leave this matter to you!" Looking at Wang Xijue, Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "Do well and do not disappoint me."
Wang Xijue hurriedly knelt and said, "Your subject understands. Your Majesty, your subject will do his best and will not disappoint Your Majesty's expectations."
The system of removing the title of nobility must be implemented, but now was not the time. Food had to be eaten one bite at a time, and the road had to be taken one step at a time. It was unrealistic and impossible to achieve everything in one step.
If they really did that, there would be trouble.
Speaking of removing the title of nobility, Zhu Yijun could not help but think of the Daming's system of nobility.
The Daming only had the three titles of duke, marquis, and earl. In Zhu Yijun's view, this was not good. This would cause a gap in the Daming's nobility. Without the lower ranks of nobility, what would the lower ranks do?
They would have to have the lower ranks of nobility!
The current system of the Daming was to reward hereditary official positions, such as hereditary commanders, hereditary thousand-households, and so on.
In Zhu Yijun's view, instead of giving these hereditary official positions, it was better to give an empty hereditary title of nobility.
Hereditary official positions had real power. The rapid erosion of the city defense system was definitely inextricably linked to this system.
Furthermore, the civil officials of the Daming were not conferred titles of nobility. This led to many civil officials becoming gentry in various places.
Not only did this cause a gap between the civil officials and the Honours, but it also caused many civil officials to have fewer pursuits. In any case, once they were done with their jobs, they would forget about it.
If there were civil officials conferred titles of nobility, they would think of earning another title for their descendants.
Without civil officials conferred titles of nobility, they would also think of earning a family business for their descendants. However, this family business would be concentrated on land and money.
"Restoring the nobility system is imminent!" Zhu Yijun could not help but think of the Northwest again.
If the Northwest won this time, he could choose to bestow some titles of nobility and adopt the method of descending from generation to generation.
As for the commanding officer with real power and influence, he could forget about it.
If the Northwest won, who knew how many more hereditary official positions he would have to bestow upon them?
When Zhu Yijun came back to his senses, he realized that Wang Xijue was still here. Just as he was about to wave his hand to dismiss him, a sudden clamor came from outside.
Zhu Yijun frowned. This was the Forbidden City, the Palace of Literary Glory. Who would dare to make a ruckus here?
Without waiting for Zhu Yijun to open his mouth to ask, Zhang He ran in from outside. "The Imperial Majesty, a few cabinet grand scholars request an audience!"
A few cabinet grand scholars request an audience?
Did that mean there was more than one?
Did something big happen?
Zhu Yijun did not even think and directly said, "Zhao!"
Not long after, under Shen Shixing's lead, four people walked in from outside.
After walking into the main hall, under Shen Shixing's lead, the four people respectfully knelt on the ground. Shen Shixing raised a memorial to the throne above his head with both hands. "Your Majesty, victory in the Northwest. Qi Shaobao fought against Hwang Tae-gil and killed 100,000 people!"
"Hwang Tae-gil only escaped with his life. Daming has already occupied Guihua City."
"We have come to congratulate Your Majesty. I, Daming, have won. Your Majesty, I, Daming, have won. Long live the Emperor!"
He won?
Zhu Yijun was ecstatic. He directly walked in front of Shen Shixing and picked up the memorial to the throne. He laughed and said, "I, Daming, have won!"
Following Zhu Yijun's words, all the palace maids in the main hall knelt down and loudly said, "Long live the Emperor!"
The cheers quickly spread out. Suddenly, there was even louder cheers outside. For a moment, the whole Forbidden City was filled with the cheers.
The news of Daming's victory in the Northwest spread like a whirlwind throughout the whole of Beijing. Qi Shaobao killed 100,000 people and Daming had occupied Guihua City.
For a moment, the sound of firecrackers could be heard everywhere in the capital. The whole capital was in a state of celebration.
The scholars spread the news, and all the restaurants and brothels in the capital were full.
The scholars of Daming were deeply ashamed of the Tumu Fort incident. In addition, they were sent to the capital during that year. Daming had been troubled by the border troubles for many years.
This time, they won. They killed 100,000 people and occupied Guihua City.
How could they not be happy? How could they not celebrate? For a moment, the whole capital was in a celebratory atmosphere.
When the Emperor decreed that the capital would be exempted from curfew for three days, the festive atmosphere was completely pushed to the climax. The whole capital became a city that never sleeps. The celebration began all night long. Zhu Yijun's prestige rose to an unprecedented level.
In the palace, the joyous atmosphere was even more intense. These days, Zhu Yijun could not stop smiling.