The emperor's treatment of his ministers is actually similar to how parents treat their children.
If you give too much to your ministers, you may end up raising a tiger and become a powerful minister. If you don't do anything to your children and you have to give them as much as you want, you may raise rebellious sons.
A rebellious son ruins the family, and a powerful minister perishes the country. There are many such examples in history books.
"Ling Aiqing, don't worry. I am good to my ministers. First of all, the minister's virtues and talents must be worthy of my kindness to him. If he is stupid or has ulterior motives and is full of utilitarianism, I will not pay attention to him. Not only will he ignore it, but he will even get angry if he can't say it!"
Zhu Yunxi smiled and supported Ling Han and said softly.
At this time, Ling Han, who had no worries at all, suddenly suffered from iron head syndrome.
Looking directly at Zhu Yunxi, "The emperor's words are different!"
"Did I make a mistake?" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile.
"Cao Guogong Li Jinglong's character, talent, learning, virtue, merit, and even qualifications are worthy of the emperor's humerus?" Ling Han said bluntly, "But since the emperor ascended the throne, he has always given favors and rewards, and his status is extremely high. The same is true for making several mistakes.
How could he be so virtuous and capable if he gently uncovered it?"
"This..." Zhu Yunxi was suddenly speechless.
The little emperor was thin-skinned, and he was very upset when the old minister was so direct and harsh. But Ling Tietou obviously had no intention of stopping there, and his words became more and more sharp.
"There is also He Guangyi, the commander of the Jinyiwei. The Jinyiwei are originally slaves of the emperor, and they do all shameful things." Ling Han continued, "I can do well wherever I go, but this Jinyiwei supervises hundreds of officials, which is bad governance. All dynasties have done it.
The management officials include the Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Jinyi Guards hear rumors about troubles. They make accusations and scaremongering, and do everything possible!"
"And He Guangyi, although he is in the imperial court, is actually the emperor's eagle dog. The emperor made an unusual promotion, and he jumped from the emperor's eyes and ears to a minister of the imperial court. In addition to the six ministries, he also established a separate post of the Integrity Council. Your Majesty, his heart
How can a dishonest person be ranked among the ministers and participate in state affairs?"
The words were more than sharp, they almost pointed at Zhu Yunxi's nose and said, "Who do you trust?"
Even though Zhu Yunxi knew the old man's temper, he was very angry.
This was also the Ming Dynasty, when scholar-bureaucrats were regarded as having strong character when they criticized the emperor. If it were in the Qing Dynasty, they would have been sent to Ninggu Pagoda and Pijia people as slaves.
"He has retired, don't care about him!"
Zhu Yunxi secretly calmed down in his heart and nodded, "I have written down your words in my heart." As he said that, he changed the subject and said, "Aiqing is going to return to his hometown for retirement. When will he leave? I will send someone to escort him!"
"The emperor wants to expel the old minister because he said something unpleasant?" Ling Han looked straight at Zhu Yunxi.
Suddenly, Zhu Yunxi was so angry that his chest felt clogged.
"There, I don't know when Aiqing will return to Beijing after she leaves. I also want to say a few more words to you..."
"Then let me keep making noises," Ling Han said.
"Okay!" Zhu Yunxi's temples were twitching, and he forced a smile, "But there is still something you are worried about? That's fine, just say it! Today you and I are meeting, and I also want to hear what you, an old minister, have to say from the bottom of my heart.
!”
"What I said is a matter of state!" Ling Han replied firmly. "Before my audience today, I had something in my heart that I was not happy about. If it were something else, with the emperor's status as a celestial being, there would be nothing wrong with it. But this is the case.
The matter is related to the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty clan and the reputation of the emperor, so I have to say it." After saying that, he paused, "That is to say, I have to become a commoner from now on, so I dare to speak out. I used to have a lot of scruples.
Don’t dare to discuss it!”
Zhu Yunxi's expression became serious, "Are you going to say... kings?"
"Yes!" Ling Han saluted, "When this dynasty was founded, all the ministers opposed the emperor's enfeoffment system. However, the founder of the dynasty, the emperor, was majestic and strong, and ordered the ministers not to disobey. Therefore, the Ming prince enfeoffed and guarded various places.
It has the power to command troops and dispatch officials, and has the power to withhold taxes and rule the feudal country. Its vassal territory is a country within a country."
Speaking of this, Ling Han sighed, "The chaos in the seven kingdoms of the Han Dynasty is still vivid in my mind, and the country is like this. If things go on like this, it will not be a blessing to the country."
"But the disaster is far from that. The kindness of my relatives in the Ming Dynasty far exceeds that of previous generations. The prince's legitimate son is the prince, the remaining son is the county prince, the county prince's legitimate son is the king, and the remaining son is the general who governs the country, and they are all hereditary."
"The prince's annual salary is 50,000 shi, and the money is 25,000 guan. He also has countless silk and cotton utensils of various colors, as well as a population of tenants, craftsmen and weavers, horse herders, etc. However, not even a grain of rice from the fields under his name is handed over to the imperial court.
For your own use.”
"Every time you make a king, it means giving up the best land in the territory of the Ming Dynasty and giving it to the king. The royal family below the county king will also give the farm population so that they can enjoy eternal glory!"
"At this time, the royal family of the country is still small, and the disease is still superficial. But there are endless descendants, and one day the country will be unable to bear the burden! Even if we use the power of the world, it is difficult. But if we really support all the people of the world,
The royal family has one surname. How do all the people in the world make a living?"
Zhu Yunxi listened quietly, and the old man's words spoke to his heart.
Many ministers who agreed with him to reduce the vassal state only saw the existence of the vassal king as a threat to the central government. But Ling Han saw, like Zhu Yunxi, the worry about the future finances of the Ming Dynasty.
This is exactly what happened in history. The country was overwhelmed by the number of feudal princes. Even in the late Ming Dynasty, half of Zhongzhou was in the hands of the feudal kings. In other words, most of the fertile land in the Central Plains province was under the names of the feudal kings.
The sons and grandsons of the dragon have become the worms of the country, greedy by nature.
I have to admit that this was the worst decision in my life.
Because his family was broken up when he was young, there was only one nephew and one nephew left in the large family. In addition, he only had three sons, which made him pay special attention to family ties and bloodline. But to be fair, he was wrong.
"The old minister said these are not unfounded worries!" Ling Han sighed and continued, "Even if we don't talk about these worries decades from now, let's talk about the present. The kings have strong soldiers and horses, and as the emperor's uncle, he often commits crimes in private, but the emperor is young, and all the kings are doing lawless things in private.
Wang Zaocheng became a winger, but he was worried about the center and didn’t take it seriously, right?"
Yes, these vassal kings seem to be well-behaved on the surface, but it is actually because the emperor Zhu Yunxi has not harmed or deprived them of their fundamental interests.
Once their fundamental interests are damaged, there is no guarantee that they will have other ideas. By then the conflict will be irreconcilable, and the final result will be a war.
It is not impossible, let alone such a risk. Just like the Jingnan Campaign launched by Zhu Di in history, it was actually the final result of the struggle between the Ming vassal princes and Emperor Jianwen, the Huaixi martial arts group and the civil servants.
"I know this, and your Majesty also knows it. You have already made up your mind on how to deal with these vassals in the future!" Ling Han said a lot, took a sip of the already cold tea, and continued, "How to weaken the vassal kings?"
Lord of the vassal, the emperor's plan must be more thorough than what I thought, but I still can't let it go!"
"I am attentive to your advice on how to plan for the country," Zhu Yunxi said slowly, and then personally changed Ling Han's cup of hot tea.
Ling Han held the hot tea in his hand like a treasure, "I hope your Majesty will not act too hastily!" He said with a smile, "This has always been the case in China. Once it becomes a rule, it will be difficult to change it.
To act too hastily will be counterproductive.”
"Furthermore, the kings are the emperor's uncles after all. If the methods are too hasty and forceful, it will inevitably be criticized by future generations. Besides...the kings may not all be soft persimmons."
"I don't care much about reputation!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile, "I have said before that if I pretend to be stupid for the sake of reputation, then I, the emperor, will be a coward. On the other hand, if I can really benefit the people of the world, I will be infamy.
how?"
Speaking of this, Zhu Yunxi smiled again, "Besides, whether I am cutting down the vassal vassal or restricting the vassal king, it is all an upright plot. It is different from the murder of brothers by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. Future generations can understand my good intentions.
!”
"Since the emperor talked about conspiracy and cutting down the vassal vassal, I have a conspiracy that makes people speechless!"