The civil and military officials were whispering to each other, and there was a lot of discussion. Not only was King Ke the focus of attention, but Cui Weizhen was also the focus. However, his expression did not change, and he was as steady as Mount Tai, making it difficult to tell the depth of the situation for a while.
At this moment, a man stood out from the ranks of civil servants, holding a jade wat in his hand and bowing his head to Emperor Xuanwu who was sitting on the throne: "Your Majesty, I have this memorial."
"Can."
The whispers stopped in unison, and everyone looked at that person, with different expressions on their faces. Cui Shihong's heart skipped a beat, and suddenly he had a bad premonition - the third uncle just donated an idle official position.
Wen Sanguan suddenly came to attend the imperial meeting today. Although he made an excuse to join in the fun, he still felt uneasy and followed him. Now that he saw it, there was indeed some conspiracy.
He held his breath and listened carefully, and then he heard the old voice of his third uncle ringing out in the large palace: "Your Majesty, I have received the grace of God, and even though I am far away in the countryside, I dare not forget it. Now I heard that Your Majesty is going to pardon the refugees and return home.
I am willing to abide by His Majesty's imperial edict and select a day to let the people under my name become tenants and enslave them to return home with their money in order to repay Your Majesty's favor."
quiet.
You could hear a needle drop in the court hall with hundreds of people.
Everyone looked at the hunched figure in the center of the palace in disbelief. Some people even rudely picked out their ears, doubting that they heard wrongly. If not, why would the people of the Cui family be willing to shake their status as a noble family?
fundamental?
Without enslaved tenants, how could the family survive even if there were thousands of acres of fertile land?
I'm afraid he's not crazy!
The most excited person in the queue was the official from a noble family. Cui Shihong was so angry that he was shaking all over. He never expected that his third uncle would become a traitor to the Cui family and dare to use the wealth and capital accumulated by his ancestors as a tool to invite favors.
!
What a sinner!
Cui Shihong gritted his teeth, but made no move. He lowered his eyes and said nothing. Sure enough, the saint on the throne cast his gaze on him and asked in a deep voice: "Cui Aiqing, what do you think?"
The aristocratic family attaches great importance to inheritance, and everything in the clan must be decided by the clan leader. In order to prevent the leakage of wealth and blood, the land is concentrated in the hands of the direct lineage. Because of the remote blood lineage, the branch lines can hardly get any property from the main family. For example, Ye Zhen
Zhen's partner, Wang Qi, belongs to a branch of the Wang family and can only do business by himself. He will never enjoy the blessings of his master's wealth.
The third uncle is a direct branch of the Cui family. Although he is an elder, he is still under the jurisdiction of the patriarch Cui Shihong. In other words, he does not have a share in the land, and he has no power to decide whether to keep the slaves or tenants.
Only Cui Shihong has the power to make decisions.
But, will Cui Shihong agree?
Cui Shihong came out of the queue and said calmly: "Your Majesty, our Qinghe Cui clan has been established for hundreds of years. When it is prosperous, it contributes to the world, and when it is poor, it is good at itself. It has established moral principles and has a good reputation among the people.
Sheltering refugees is a tradition and charity in history. In the third year of Xiyuan, floods occurred, countless people were killed and injured, tens of thousands were displaced, and there was a risk of civil unrest. The family headed by the five surnames Cui, Wang, Lu, Li, and Zheng did not look back.
The local people stepped forward to help the refugees and took them as tenants, which not only solved the danger of civil unrest, but also saved the lives of countless people.
Taizong praised this, saying that aristocratic families are the pillars of the country and the stones on which the country was founded. Over the past hundred years, the refugees had settled down in the areas under the jurisdiction of various aristocratic families. Their children had grandchildren, and their grandchildren had children. They had already taken root and were no different from the original residents. Why?
Are they coming back to their hometown? Your Majesty, if they are allowed to return to their hometown, the family will be greatly weakened and fall apart! At that time, the five surnamed families made great contributions to the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, but now they live far away in the countryside and ignore the government affairs. Could you please
Please be considerate and don’t let me wait for you!”
Members of other aristocratic families also came out one after another, bowed their heads to Emperor Xuanwu, and shouted in unison: "Your Majesty, please don't let us feel disappointed!"
The face of Emperor Xuanwu on the throne instantly darkened.
When Emperor Taizong was revolting, there was insufficient food, grass, and weapons, and many ceremonial services were given to the aristocratic families. Therefore, after the founding of the country, the power of the aristocratic families increased greatly. However, the national power of the Great Zhou Dynasty was weak, and the founding of the country was unstable. There were many ceremonial guards for the aristocratic families, so they mainly focused on appeasing them.
After several generations of emperors worked hard to govern and recuperate, the Great Zhou Dynasty has become powerful and full-fledged. The greedy expansion of the aristocratic families has violated the interests of the imperial court. Only by suppressing and weakening is the basis for the continuation of the Great Zhou Dynasty, otherwise it will repeat the previous dynasty. The path to destruction.
Now Cui Shihong's words were righteous, beautifying the family's expansion of power into a benevolent virtue that helped the world, and finally turned the emperor into an ungrateful and unjust place.
If Emperor Xuanwu really asked them to repatriate the refugees, then he would have become an unkind person who has forgotten his ancestors!
The atmosphere in the court suddenly became tense and terrifying. Everyone could see the emperor's anger, but they were unwilling to make a fuss, so they all remained silent.
At this moment, Cui Weizhen, who had been as stable as Mount Tai, finally made some noise. He went out to announce: "Your Majesty, in the whole world, is it the king's land? Is it the shore of the land? Is it the king's ministers? All the land and people in the Great Zhou Dynasty are under your control." Under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty, I bow my head to my ministers. Thanks to the emperor's favor, I am willing to help His Majesty solve problems, set my heart for heaven and earth, and establish my destiny for the people. However, since ancient times, there has been a dilemma between loyalty and filial piety. The personal ambitions of the ministers are at odds with the interests of the family, and they are in a dilemma. Today, I am sure Your Majesty makes the decision and divides clans for minor ministers!"
The third uncle also followed closely: "Wei Chen is a direct descendant of the 32nd generation of the Cui family. He also petitioned to separate the clan. From then on, he merged with Cui Shilang into one clan. We respect him as the clan leader. Please grant your permission!"
He took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it to the eunuch in the palace. The eunuch presented it to Emperor Xuanwu. On it were written the direct branches of the Cui family and the petitions of each house to separate the clan. It seemed that it had been prepared in advance.
Cui Shihong's face instantly became extremely ugly, and he suddenly realized that he had been fooled!
The third uncle's request at the beginning was just an attempt to attack the east. It was only when he jumped out that he revealed his real purpose to Cui Weizhen. It was expected that after losing face to His Majesty once, he would never dare to disobey the emperor's order again on the matter of dividing the sect. .
Even when the family was powerful, they would not have the confidence to defy the emperor's will again and again, let alone now.
His eyes fell on the two traitors as if they were quenched with poison. Cui Weizhen looked at them calmly and even said: "Weizhen has other ambitions, please ask your uncle to fulfill them."
Cui Weizhen's calmness and calmness were like an introduction, which finally ignited the fire in Cui Shihong's heart. He could no longer control the anger in his heart and shouted angrily: "Absurd! The direct line has never been divided since ancient times. Your behavior is no different from forgetting your ancestors. I I will never agree! Unless...unless you voluntarily expel the Cui family!"
He seemed angry, but in fact he was trying to set the tone before the emperor spoke in order to gain an invincible position.