Huayang siblings and these princes have a common ancestor, but the ancestor passed away two hundred years ago. The first batch of half-princes each continued their bloodline, and in this generation, many relatives only share the same surname, and their kinship has long since weakened.
In terms of prestige, the 82-year-old Prince of Qin has the highest prestige, and the other princes also implicitly regard him as a role model for the princes entering the capital this time.
In terms of kinship, the first generation King Heng and King Yi were both great-uncles of the Huayang siblings, only three generations apart, which is considered close. As of today, the 32-year-old new King Heng is the siblings' uncle, while the 38-year-old King Yi is their cousin.
In addition to showing special respect to the long-lived Prince of Qin, Emperor Yuanyou also favored Prince of Heng and Prince of Yi.
After greeting each other for half an hour outside the city, it was almost noon, and all the royal relatives went into the palace for the banquet.
At the palace banquet, Empress Dowager Qi and Emperor Yuanyou sat in the main seats, Huayang and Chen Jingzong sat at the lower left, and Nankang and Meng Yanqing sat at the lower right.
The six of them had memorized their relationships with the princes, so no matter which prince spoke, they could accurately call out the corresponding generational title.
Not long after the banquet began, Nankang's eyes suddenly turned red. At first he tried to hold it back, but gradually he could no longer conceal it.
Meng Yanqing's heart was in his throat. He leaned his shoulder to try to stop his wife from sobbing and warned her in a low voice, "What are you doing!"
Nankang murmured quietly: "I miss my brother."
Meng Yanqing felt so cold that his whole body went cold. In such a situation, his wife actually thought about her rebellious brother. Was she trying to kill herself
But the more he tried to cover up for his wife, the louder the commotion on his side became, and the twenty-one princes came over one after another.
Empress Dowager Qi could no longer pretend to ignore it and asked with concern: "What's wrong with Nankang? Is he feeling uncomfortable?"
Nankang wiped her eyes with her sleeves in a hurry, lowered her head and stood up, choking slightly as she said, "My daughter is indeed not feeling well, and I have ruined your mother's pleasure in entertaining all the clan members. Please forgive me, mother."
Empress Dowager Qi said calmly: "Since you are not feeling well, then go down."
Meng Yanqing was the kind of person who couldn't help but feel weak in the knees when he saw these princes. He quickly agreed and took the opportunity to help the crying Nankang to leave.
Empress Dowager Qi looked at Cao Li with a smile.
Cao Li clapped his hands, signaling the dancing singers to continue. The string music started and the atmosphere of the banquet returned to normal.
The princes who were sitting next to each other looked at each other, and felt a little heavy in their hearts.
Princess Nankang burst into tears, surely because she was saddened by the scene and thought of her brother, Prince Yu, who was deposed for rebellion. But they were also vassal princes, and they might be targeted by the court if they were not careful!
In the past few years alone, first the Prince of Xiang, then the Eight Princes of Henan, followed by the Prince of Jin last year, 30% of the 31 princes have gone!
Regardless of whether these princes sought death on their own or the imperial court made an example of them, it was a bloody precedent for them.
The banquet lasted for an hour. Some princes were drunk, while the older ones kept yawning and trying to stay awake.
Emperor Yuanyou instructed Chen Jingzong: "The luncheon is only for reminiscing about the past. The prince consort will take the princes to the Beijing Inn to rest. We will discuss state affairs at the dinner."
All the princes saluted together.
Chen Jingzong sent them out of the palace. There was not much to say in the palace. When they arrived at Jingyi, this group of princes surrounded Chen Jingzong, hoping that the prince consort would reveal some information to them first. What state affairs did they want to discuss? Could it be that the court was going to withdraw their princes
Chen Jingzong supported the white-haired Prince of Qin and said to the other kings with an innocent look, "I really don't know about this. I'm working in the guard post and have been busy straightening out the relationship between our family members recently. The princess tests me every day and makes me run a lap if I get one wrong. One time, I was curious and asked her why the emperor asked the relatives to come to the capital. As soon as I asked, the princess made me kneel down and blamed me for discussing state affairs!"
Kings: …
Although the eldest princess's prestige has long been known throughout the world, you are still the son of the Prime Minister. If the eldest princess doesn't tell you, why don't you ask your father
Someone tentatively mentioned Lord Chen.
Chen Jingzong's face darkened, but then he was worried about losing face for a prince, so he said in a forced and friendly manner: "I have nothing to say to him. If any prince wants to see Elder Chen, I can lead the way for you and personally send you to the Chen Mansion."
Kings: …
On their way to Beijing, the petty county magistrates from all over the country did not dare to get too close to them, for fear of being accused of "colluding with the princes" by the court. If they dared to go to the Chen Mansion to ask to see Chen Tingjian today, Chen Tingjian would dare to personally tie them up and send them to the court!
"It's alright, please go back, Prince Consort!"
After Chen Jingzong left, the Empress Dowager Qi and the palace maids sent by Emperor Yuanyou were still watching them, so it was not convenient for the princes to gather together, and they all went back to their own courtyards to rest.
Chen Jingzong went to the palace first to report, because the couple had nothing to do with the palace banquet in the evening, so he picked up Huayang and went back to the Princess's Mansion.
When they arrived at the Qifeng Palace, Huayang asked him about the performance of the princes.
Chen Jingzong: "There are a few old foxes, a few good-for-nothings, and some who are hard to tell whether they are truly honest or not."
No matter how powerful the ancestors are, there is no guarantee that all their descendants will be outstanding. For example, the deposed Prince of Xiang and Prince of Yu were both useless playboys in ordinary families. They just had the noble status of vassal kings, so the evils they committed due to greed for money and sex were far more serious than those of ordinary playboys.
In other words, if the palace wants to implement new policies this time, as long as they can convince those shrewd princes, the rest of the good-for-nothings will naturally obey.
.
At dusk, the twenty-one princes entered the palace again.
This palace banquet was held in the Qianqing Palace. Empress Dowager Qi did not appear, and five cabinet ministers accompanied Emperor Yuanyou.
There was no wine at the table, in case someone got drunk and messed up things.
There was neither wine nor singing and dancing, and it was still light when the dinner ended.
The palace servants moved the table away and replaced it with low tables and placed them in front of Emperor Yuanyou and the princes.
The palace maids withdrew. At this time, Lord Shen and Lord Lu each took a stack of documents and distributed them to the princes one by one, two copies to each person.
Emperor Yuanyou said solemnly: "This year I intend to implement two new policies that will benefit the country and the people. They are related to whether our dynasty can restore the prosperity of the Taizu and Chengzu. I dare not make a decision alone, so I invite all the princes to come to the capital for discussion. Please read them first."
On the two documents, it was written respectively that "clan members, officials and gentry pay taxes together" and "the tax rate is distributed according to the land area".
Some looked calm, some frowned, some had livid faces, and some looked confused. Although they knew the words, they did not understand them very well. After all, these princes were divided into smart and stupid ones.
When everyone put down their documents, Chen Tingjian smiled, stood on the left side of Emperor Yuanyou, and explained it in concise words.
The two princes who finally understood what was said objected immediately: "How can this be done? Our ancestors made it clear when they conferred titles on the princes that all taxes and labor service would be exempted for the princes and their relatives. Our ancestors have followed this ancestral system for two hundred years. How can we change it so easily?"
A smarter approach would have been to not mention the tax payment by clan members but to mention the officials and gentry throughout the country, and to persuade Emperor Yuanyou to think twice from their perspective.
Twenty-one princes, twenty-one mouths, and the hall was filled with a buzz of discussion.
He Qingxian suddenly shouted angrily, and said to Chen Tingjian across the seated Yuanyou Emperor: "I said that these roundabout reforms are useless. If you insist on reforming, what should you reform? Just restore the ancestral system of Taizu. The princes and relatives who cause chaos to the people will have their property confiscated, their fiefs reduced, and they will be demoted to commoners. As for those corrupt officials who don't want to work for the court and the people, don't be polite, they will all be executed!"
The princes: …
In terms of fame, He Qingxian and He Qingtian are more famous than Chen Tingjian!
Chen Tingjian frowned and said, "You are all from the same clan as the emperor. How can you just shout and kill? There are so many officials and gentry in the world. It is difficult to investigate them one by one. It is not something that can be solved by you saying to deal with them according to the law."
He Qingxian pointed at the princes and said, "But these twenty-one princes do not agree with the new policy. How can you convince the officials and gentry to pay taxes?"
Chen Tingjian earnestly explained to the princes the urgency and necessity of implementing the new policy.
The princes all reacted indifferently, and even those who had a good attitude were ambiguous.
He Qingxian started arguing with Chen Tingjian again. While arguing, he looked at these princes, wishing he could get rid of them as soon as possible.
Amid the noisy atmosphere, Emperor Yuanyou suddenly slammed the table and asked the cabinet to leave first.
The five ministers retreated outside the hall with different expressions.
The princes looked at the little emperor who was only sixteen years old, and they all felt relieved.
Prince Lu of Shandong stroked his beard and said to Emperor Yuanyou earnestly, "Your Majesty is young and full of vigor. You are eager to accomplish your imperial career and make the people rich and the country strong. However, the imperial family relies on the officials and gentry to govern the world. The ignorant people are easily instigated by the officials and gentry. These two new policies will never be tolerated by the officials and gentry. Your Majesty should be cautious. Elder He is just a scholar and thinks too simply."
Emperor Yuanyou glanced at him and suddenly called out "Cao Li".
Cao Li clapped his hands again, and two young eunuchs came in carrying a large brazier and placed it in the middle of the hall.
There was no charcoal fire in the brazier, only letters of remembrance, some of which were old, and some were brand new.
Emperor Yuanyou said to Prince Lu, "Your uncle said that Lord He is a scholar, but he didn't know how much Lord He respected the teachings of the great emperor Taizu. Before these two new policies were established, Lord He advocated killing all corrupt officials in the world. He hated corrupt officials, and he hated the princes of various places who failed to live up to the great emperor Taizu's high hopes and exploited the people. There were too many corrupt officials, so Lord He sorted out the memorials of officials from various places over the past few decades accusing the princes of illegal acts and piled them in front of me."
The faces of all the princes changed!
Emperor Yuanyou walked to the brazier, picked up a letter at random, looked at the cover, and turned to Prince Su of Lanzhou: "I'm afraid the letter from Lanzhou is to sue my brother Prince Su."
Prince Su left the table immediately, walked out and knelt down, "I am innocent. I inherited the title only two years ago. In the past two years, I have been restraining the children of the palace and dare not do anything against the law. Please understand, Your Majesty!"
Emperor Yuanyou smiled, threw the memorial back into the brazier, and asked Cao Li to get a fire starter and put it in to light a fire.
The flames gradually grew brighter, illuminating the faces of the princes.
Emperor Yuanyou sat back on the dragon throne and glanced at the princes one by one: "In this vast world with tens of millions of people, you are the only ones sitting here who are my relatives, my blood relatives. How could I easily punish my own relatives just because of the instigation of officials and gentry?"
All twenty-one princes stood up and knelt, praising the emperor for his wisdom.
Emperor Yuanyou looked at the heads, some black, some white, and some gray, and said calmly, "But what I said is not alarmist. As early as the reign of Emperor Wuzong, the national treasury was already stretched to the limit. Not only was there no money to pay the army and provide disaster relief, but even the salaries for the clan members were in arrears year after year. During the reigns of Emperor Shizong and the previous emperor, the situation did not improve at all. It is very difficult for me to be the emperor."
"If I don't reform, the officials and gentry will become more and more greedy, and the people will suffer more and more. I don't have money to quell the internal troubles, nor do I have money to consolidate the borders. If the borders are unstable, foreign enemies will surely seize the opportunity to invade. By then, the people will be eager to assist the new dynasty in overthrowing the foundation of our ancestors, and the officials and gentry will hide their property and join the new dynasty. Foreign enemies need to appease the people and win the support of the officials and gentry, but they also need money. Tell me, who will they attack?"
All the princes looked heavy-hearted.
If the day ever comes when the country is destroyed, the emperor and the empress dowager will not survive, and these vassal kings will also be thorns in the eyes of foreign enemies who will be eliminated.
Emperor Yuanyou: "I am implementing the new policy not only to save the court, but also to save you. If the skin is gone, where will the hair be attached!"
"The officials and gentry in the world are so intertwined that the imperial court alone may not be able to win their support. That's why I want all the princes to pay taxes together. If even you cooperate with the new policy, the officials and gentry will have no reason to object. If the officials and gentry pay taxes, the imperial court will have money to strengthen the border defense and pay military salaries. Our ancestors' kingdom will be stable and passed down for another two hundred or two thousand years. Only then can all the princes and relatives enjoy the blessings together." As soon as these words came out, Prince Heng and Prince Yi were the first to express their willingness to cooperate with the new policy.
The white-haired King of Qin glanced at the pile of memorials that had not yet been completely burned in the brazier, and then thought about the northwestern border that was in urgent need of help from time to time, and expressed his support with a trembling voice.
What the King of Qin could see clearly, the other old foxes could also see clearly.
Although Emperor Yuanyou seemed to have burned those memorials accusing the princes, he was actually threatening them in disguise. If the princes dared to disobey, they could live in peace. If Emperor Yuanyou could get these memorials, he would naturally be able to get new ones. By then, they would follow the footsteps of the deposed Prince of Xiang and the Prince of Jin!
Which is more important, money or life
Although the young emperor was young, he had Chen Tingjian by his side, and Chen Tingjian appointed a large number of officials and generals who listened to him through the performance evaluation system.
Even if twenty-one princes rebelled at the same time, only one or two would have a chance of succeeding in the end, and the others would be killed by the imperial court first.
Who can guarantee that they will survive to the end
"Your Majesty is far-sighted. We, the ministers, are willing to support the new policies and follow your lead!"
(End of this chapter)