Following Zhu Xizhong, Wu Jinghe and Wu Jinghe became more powerful than each other, showing no mercy at all.
The princes finally swallowed their anger, walked down the court steps with their heads lowered, and reluctantly invited the two imperial envoys to enter the palace.
Perhaps the eyes of others were too hot, which made the heads of the princes turn red.
Angrily, he dispersed the crowd gathered around him and walked ahead in a muffled voice without saying a word.
This is a vassal that is strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
As long as you don't plan to rebel, facing the imperial envoys who are patrolling the sky and the imperial guards who are eyeing you, you naturally have no other choice but to bow your head.
Prince Fushun witnessed the whole process of Zhu Xizhong and Wu Jinghe being domineering. He only occasionally whispered a few words of agreement behind the princes when everyone made a sound, for fear of attracting ill will from the imperial envoys.
After the situation on the court became clear, Prince Fushun finally stopped hiding behind everyone.
Zhu Zaiyuan is about thirty years old, with bright eyes, a straight nose, and mean lips. He is quite pretty.
He bucked the trend, came to the side of the imperial envoy, greeted him with a smile, and said apologetically: "Two imperial envoys, please don't get angry. The lord of the feudal lord will take matters into his own hands. Your highnesses are in mourning, and it is inevitable that your words will be out of place and offend the imperial envoy."
, things happen for a reason, I hope the imperial envoy will be considerate."
"Everyone has something to talk about, and it's easy to talk about it."
As soon as he finished speaking, several county princes who were walking in front turned around and glared at him angrily. It was a shame that they couldn't help but say nice things. There had to be someone like this, so they held back their tempers and did not refute.
This Prince Fushun is quite out of place in the family.
It's not just because the concubine came to the upper position and violated the direct lineage.
Zhu Zaiyuan suffered from an emergency when he was a child and was terminally ill. The medical officials in the palace were helpless. King Fushun tried to petition him for an imperial doctor. However, he threatened to die and insisted on finding a private doctor in his early thirties. Who was he named Li Shizhen to ask him?
diagnosis.
Although the person was cured, this action was not liked by the elders.
When he got a little older, he stopped doing his job and did not want to play with women from good families. Instead, he traveled around with scholars and studied the art of war.
His peers also have nothing in common with him.
Zhu Zaiyuan couldn't hang out with his peers, so he had no choice but to hang out with subordinate officials regardless of his status.
In the second year of Longqing's reign, Wu Cheng'en, a new Jishan official in Prince Jing's palace, joined him like a stinker, and spent the whole day leading people to drink, have fun, and write novels.
When Ji Shanguan left, Prince Fushun shamelessly took away the manuscript and asked him to compose a poem "Feasting on the Phoenix Terrace". He then refused to frame it and called for the craftsman to keep it safe for hundreds of years.
The treasure became the laughing stock of the house for a while.
On such an occasion today, King Fushun didn't show up yet, and allowed this guy to come out and embarrass himself.
The group passed the arch bridge, crossed the golden threshold, and were about to go to the nave.
Wu Jinghe suddenly said: "There is no need to go to the middle hall, go to the ancestral hall!"
Zhu Zaiguo, the king of Fanshan, frowned and said: "King Taining's body is resting in the middle hall."
There was only confusion on his face, but his heart gradually dropped.
Ever since he was at the archway, he had been testing the purpose of these two people coming to Jing Mansion.
The resolute attitude of the two people has made him not take any chances.
Nowadays, even condolences and comfort are omitted. This is an attitude of punishing sin!
Wu Jinghe glanced at him and said in a deep voice: "If I want to practice the clan's laws, I should naturally go to the clan hall."
The hot-tempered King De'an jumped again when he heard this: "Wu Jinghe, don't push yourself too far!"
"Patriarchal law? What did our Jing family do?"
Zhu Xizhong suddenly raised his head: "King Taining committed suicide out of fear of his crime, how dare he say that he is not guilty?"
King De'an shouted at the top of his lungs: "Why commit suicide out of fear of crime! It's obviously you who forced the clan..."
Before he finished speaking, Zhu Zaiyuan, the eldest son of Prince Fushun, tugged on King De'an's sleeve and quickly stopped him.
The former took the lead and said with a flattering smile: "Imperial envoy, the two people who were saved from the fire only woke up today."
"Although I was still in shock and my words were garbled, I finally restored the situation that day."
"King Taining did not burn himself out of fear of crime, but he was actually killed by my vassal prince Zhu Changling!"
With that said, he was about to call someone to bring the witnesses.
King Fanshan and others looked at each other with ugly expressions.
Didn’t you agree this morning to hide this matter and go along with the flow to put pressure on the emperor?
This Prince Fushun actually made his own decision!
To the surprise of both parties.
Zhu Xizhong stopped Zhu Zaiyuan and said coldly: "King Taining wrote it himself, derogating this dynasty as a cowardly dynasty! Isn't it obvious enough to commit suicide in fear of crime? I don't need to make a distinction anymore!"
After saying that, he motioned to Wu Jinghe.
The latter nodded and stopped talking to everyone. He and Zhu Xizhong crossed the host's house and went straight to the ancestral hall.
Only a line of back figures and Wu Jinghe's words were left: "Let the prince's official, Zhu Changzhen, the third son of Jingzong, and all the other sects come to the ancestral hall."
He looked like he was the master of the house.
Several county princes looked gloomy, and King De'an kicked a plant on the roadside, causing smoke to rise from his orifices.
Although Zhu Zaiyuan, Prince Fushun's son, didn't look too good either, he still ordered his servants to do as Wu Jinghe said.
Then he followed slowly to the ancestral hall, thinking hard about the imperial envoy's route.
…
The imperial envoy sat in the hall.
A group of clan members were summoned, so they had no choice but to abandon the funeral ceremony of the feudal lord and come to the clan hall to pay their respects.
Needless to say, several county princes, the third son of Jing Mansion, Zhu Changzhen, also came in a hurry and waited beside him with hands tied.
After all the royal palaces and their subordinate officials had arrived, the discussion in the hall began.
The side clan members who arrived later were greeted by a basin of cold water as soon as they stepped into the clan hall.
"King Taining is not the heir to the throne. He was given the power of Jing vassal by the emperor's favor. He didn't think about repaying the favor, but he actually got involved in the rebellion!"
"Although the crime is extremely serious, I can still forgive you for a moment or two from the royal family."
"Clinker, I dare to threaten you with self-immolation, disparage the Holy Lord by leaving a confession, resist the imperial envoys' interrogation, and try to eliminate the crime of death."
"Don't you hear that even though you are dead, you can still be punished!"
After Zhu Xizhong finished speaking, there was a buzz in the ancestral hall.
He looked panicked and the crowd was discussing fiercely.
Zhu Changzhen, who was still confused about the situation, looked up in confusion.
What's going on?
Do you want to kill the Jing Mansion? Is that why you called him here? He thought he was going to miss out on the throne, but now he is told that he will go after the Jing Mansion!?
No, he is only twelve years old!
Zhu Zaiyuan was even more hasty and said: "Angel, that letter that belittles the court must be forged by Zhu Changling! Please tell me angel!"
King De'an slapped the table angrily: "Zhu Xizhong! How shameless!"
King Fanshan couldn't believe it and said in shock: "Dong Chengguo, the prince of Taining County, the heir of Jingfan, even the imperial envoy has no right to convict him!"
"Prince, no one other than the emperor can be punished!"
What kind of imperial envoy, what kind of expediency, what do you say? Who dares to take it seriously?
If you really take advantage of others seriously, you will inevitably be guilty of transgression!
Are you really not afraid of being liquidated for such an unscrupulous and over-the-top act?
How dare he!
Zhu Xizhong ignored the messy sounds and only met King Fanshan's gaze.
He showed his first smile after entering the palace today, and said meaningfully: "Things that are expedient are your Majesty's golden words, and your edicts are illustrious."
"If I am in Huguang, there is nothing I don't have power over."
King Fanshan completely lost his voice and murmured: "It's perverse! It's perverse! Your Majesty can't tolerate you, and the cabinet can't tolerate you!"
Zhu Xizhong suppressed his smile and took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, which looked like plum blossoms and was charming and charming.
He unfolded his handkerchief in front of him and said calmly: "The words of King Fan Shan are similar to those of my two colleagues who traveled to Huguang."
"The two of them, together with the governor Liang Menglong, and the officials in Huguang, have already submitted a petition to impeach the officials for their transgression."
"If King Fanshan is interested, he might as well add a memorial and send it to the capital."
He paused and said with a solemn tone: "It all depends on whether King Fanshan can outlast me every time this edict comes."
After saying that, he suddenly coughed twice.
He personally showed how the handkerchief was dyed red: "Ahem... I'll ask again, do you understand your guilt?"
The whole hall was silent and there was no sound anymore.
Zhu Zaiyuan recalled Zhu Xizhong's words just now and chewed them carefully.
An act of transgression... an act of transgression...
No wonder Zhu Xizhong acted so arrogantly and domineering!
This is going to bring bad name to the emperor!
There were rumors outside that the emperor had ordered to cut down the vassals and oppress the clan. Zhu Xizhong suddenly looked like he was handling the case carefully and acted arbitrarily!
He was so arrogant that even Hai Rui, who was traveling with him, couldn't stand it and wanted to impeach him.
All in all, the emperor's original intention was good, but it was executed crookedly by Zhu Xizhong.
An Neng tied his wealth, life, family honor and disgrace to the emperor like this!?
Did you take the wrong medicine?
Such actions not only endanger one's own safety, but also the survival of the Duke's government depends entirely on the emperor's moral integrity.
Wu Jinghe is just a solitary man, but Zhu Xizhong has a great family and a great cause, so why bother!?
Besides...infamy is not something you can bear just because you want to!
Again, it's not up to you to decide what everyone wants to believe.
As long as everyone in the Jing Mansion refused to let go, the emperor could still be accused of bullying the clan and framing him.
If he can think of it, naturally others can think of it.
As expected, King Fanshan immediately said in a loud voice: "The emperor wants to cut down the vassal, just say it! We should kill him when he is provoked, so why do we need to show off here?"
"The prince, the emperor, and the grandson must not be insulted! The purity of my body in the Jing family will never be tainted by cruel officials like you!"
"If Duke Cheng Guo insists, it will not matter if I am killed in the ancestral hall today!"
As soon as he said these words, the whole hall secretly cheered.
King De'an was even more enthusiastic and echoed: "Well said! This king cannot be humiliated today! At worst, I will remonstrate with His Majesty with blood to remind him of the close friendship between the royal family!"
Zhu Xizhong watched coldly.
He naturally knew that things would not be so simple, otherwise he would not have spent so much time in Huguang.
These people are using the emperor's holy virtue to intimidate the imperial envoys.
As long as the emperor is given the reputation of cutting down the vassal vassal, the reasonable investigation will immediately become unreasonable.
They are not afraid that the emperor will not be jealous - although the emperor is called a loner, he does not really want to become a loner. Such an emperor cannot sit on the throne.
Fortunately, Zhu Xizhong and Wu Jinghe were prepared for this.
The two looked at each other.
The latter understood, took a step forward, and was about to speak.
At this moment, a childish voice suddenly attracted everyone's attention.
The third son of Jing, Zhu Changzhen, was isolated and helpless. He suddenly fell to the ground and said firmly: "Jing Mansion is guilty!"
"My brother, King Taining, was involved in treason, and my brother, Prince Jing, aided Zhou in his crimes. Our clan's sins are grave, and the Jing Mansion is aware of it!"
As soon as the words came out, everyone in the hall was shocked.
In addition to the situation of the two imperial envoys, they looked stunned. Whose general is this?
Several county princes were even more caught off guard. They were even able to deal with the arguments, so why did they bow their heads and tie their necks?
The two parties looked at each other in confusion, and then looked at the twelve-year-old boy with a yellow mouth.
Although this third son of the Jing family is not very old, he is the only one left in the direct lineage and can truly represent the Jing family!
Although several county princes were making a lot of noise, it was because this direct descendant did not speak.
Now that he pleads guilty, it is almost a certainty!
The clan members in the hall didn't know what was going on, and they couldn't help but feel discouraged when they saw this direct descendant with a firm face, accepting all the crimes.
King De'an had a hot temper and suddenly changed his color: "Shut up, you little kid, you have no business talking nonsense here!"
How everything goes wrong today!
It was agreed that the death of King Taining would be used to coerce the imperial envoys, but Prince Fushun planned to stir up trouble.
Now at the critical moment of life and death, the emperor's holy virtue is used as a coercion, and there is this childish kid who doesn't know the seriousness of the crime and pleads guilty!
If the Jing Mansion has really confessed its guilt, then it is because the imperial envoy punished the crime, not because the emperor forced him to cut down the vassalage!
Do you know how serious the situation is?
Is God going to destroy me!?
I saw that Zhu Changzhen was happy and not afraid, and replied with a calm expression: "I am the third son of King Jing Gong and the eighth grandson of Renzong, Zhu Changzhen. I was crowned an adult last year."
"Now the second brother has died in fear of crime, and the eldest brother has escaped after being implicated in the case. I am not a child with a yellow mouth, so I should be the one taking charge of the affairs of the Jing Mansion. I am the one who speaks."
He and Prince Fushun looked at each other, bowed to the imperial envoy again, and said respectfully: "Chang Zhen, I accept the crime for my brother and ask the imperial envoy to punish me."
"I just ask the imperial envoy to remember this and pass it on to the royal family for a hundred years, so I can forgive you."
King Fanshan was speechless.
What a wonderful grandson! This grandson, who hangs out with Prince Fushun all day long, is only twelve years old, but he can talk like this.
With this admiration from the bottom of his heart, his last trace of luck was finally wiped out.
A good king and grandson is not someone who is afraid of what he says, nor does he know his priorities.
I'm afraid, I have already planned it!
He looked at the two imperial envoys with self-mockery, stopped struggling, and said with admiration: "The imperial envoys have a clear vision, but I was almost blinded."
"The Jing Mansion has committed many crimes, and I, the Prince of Fanshan, are also aware of the sins!"
Since Zhu Xizhong has already convinced his direct descendants, why bother to act out this show?
It's okay if you don't accept it. Jin Yiwei's work has been done by Jing Zi a long time ago. He is really far-sighted and leaves no way out.
Zhu Xizhong, who had been repeatedly overestimated, had already closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.
Wu Jinghe was also silent for a while and did not answer.
The two of them almost unanimously fell into doubt - whose handiwork was this?
Or is it just that you are outsmarting others, predicting their options, and not wanting the situation to worsen?
But, no matter what, now that the situation has reached this point, there is absolutely no reason to retreat.
After a long while, the two finally weighed the pros and cons, put their previous preparations behind them, and started calculating again.
Wu Jinghe pretended to nod with satisfaction, glanced at everyone, and said softly: "Before leaving, the court will discuss the handling of the guilty vassals. The Ministry of Rites reported to Your Majesty that the guilty vassals should be eliminated from the country."
Zhu Changzhen's expression did not change, waiting for the next step.
As expected, Wu Jinghe continued: "However, your Majesty has a benevolent and virtuous heart, and he has agreed with the cabinet to offend the vassal and demote him to a higher rank!"
In today's vassal country, the son of a county prince is still a county prince, no matter how old he is, he will open a mansion and establish a clan, and his annual salary will be one thousand taels of silver.
Those who were demoted to the rank of nobles, that is, the princes of counties, were demoted to the generals of the state, the generals of the state, the generals of the auxiliary state, and then the generals of the state, third lieutenants, that is, after six generations, they were reduced to common people.
It is inevitable that some people will say that the emperor does not care about the relationship between relatives and is currently only targeting the guilty vassals - in the past, the guilty vassals were able to eliminate the country. Now, even if it is a favor, is it not considered benevolent?
Of course, the current criminal vassals are only involved in the Huguang case, and they all started with rebellion.
It's hard to say for sure from now on. It's hard to say that the format of the greeting card sent by Shangzou is wrong.
Zhu Changzhen prostrated again: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"
Wu Jinghe took a deep look at the Jingzi: "The lord of Jingfan committed suicide out of fear of his crime. The prince has absconded due to the case. Zhu Changzhen is temporarily in charge of Jingfan. We will wait for His Majesty's approval before we can straighten things out."
Except for Zhu Changzhen's voice of thanks, no one in the hall spoke anymore.
Wu Jinghe helped Zhu Changzhen to stand on his side, and then made another move.
He took a dossier from Jin Yiwei, looked at Fanshan King and De'an King, opened it and read: "De'an King Zhu Yihan gathered miners in Guifeng Mountain of Macheng Prefecture and robbed sand mines; in the southeast mine of Huangmei Prefecture, they robbed sand mines.
iron ore."
"Forging armor in secret, liaising with foreign barbarians!"
"The King of Fanshan, Zhu Zaiguo, bribed the inspector Du Si to investigate the whereabouts of important officials, colluded with Zhu Yingyan of the Yueyang Palace, and conspired to assassinate Zhang Chucheng!"
"You two, do you think you are guilty?"
As soon as the words fell.
King Fanshan collapsed to the ground, muttering something unclear.
King De'an suddenly changed his color, roared with a ferocious smile, and rushed towards Zhu Xizhong.
With quick eyes and quick hands, Jin Yiwei stepped out of his position, held down the hilt of his sword, and knocked King De'an unconscious.
There was a moment of commotion on the field.
Zhu Changzhen took the initiative to look at the imperial envoy and said with a straight face: "These two thieves are disrupting our Jing vassal. They are guilty of an unforgivable crime. Please kill them!"
At this time, even Zhu Xizhong opened his eyes and looked at Zhu Changzhen, whose meaning was unclear.
After a long while, he nodded slowly: "Then the punishment will be canon!"
Zhu Changzhen said excitedly: "I will state the details of the Jing vassal affairs and let your majesty know. I will not let the Duke suffer unjust injustice!"
Zhu Xizhong was noncommittal and closed his eyes again.
Only his face looked sad, as if he was thinking about something.
Wu Jinghe stared at Zhu Changzhen and tried again: "The salary, silver and property of the guilty vassal have also changed."
Zhu Changzhen's face finally showed a trace of reluctance, and he bowed his head and obeyed his orders.
Um, if it's less than 4,000, it's a four-character title, and if it's more than 4,000, it's an eight-character title. There's no other meaning, I just use it as a subscription.
Chapter completed!