On the same day, your king Zhu Youcun, who was entrusted with Weihui Mansion, rushed over to pay homage. Emperor Jiajing accepted the homage in the palace and gave him a banquet.
In terms of seniority, Zhu Youchen was the uncle of Emperor Jiajing and one of his closest relatives.
In folklore, King Ru once competed with Emperor Jiajing for the throne, which led to many golden axe-style jokes.
The imperial court couldn't decide between your king Zhu Youcun and Xing Wang Zhu Houcong, so it agreed that the one who arrived in the capital first would be the emperor.
A group of prime ministers, including Qin Dewei, served as the background, participated in the ceremony, and were treated to a box lunch together in the palace.
Your king is very respectful in his etiquette and can speak well. He made Emperor Jiajing's face happy, and he had a very good impression of this uncle.
After all, Emperor Jiajing is a person who needs to be recognized. As a close family member of your family, it is very meaningful for Emperor Jiajing to be so humble and flattering to you.
Seeing that the emperor was happy, your king took the opportunity to complain: "The annual salary payment is often insufficient, and it has even been in arrears for two years, and only received 50%. I beg the emperor to make the decision."
Emperor Jiajing looked at Yi Zan, the governor of Henan, calmly. According to the Ming Dynasty system, the salaries of vassal princes and clans in various places were distributed by local officials.
The person in charge of these vassal princes and clan Lumi in Henan is of course the governor of Henan.
But there is a very subtle point here. The payment of clan salaries has never been included in the assessment of local officials' political performance.
Therefore, the attitude of local officials towards clan salaries depends on their mood.
If you're in a good mood, you can get 20% to 30%, and it only lasts for two or three years. If you're in a bad mood, you can get it as long as ten or eight years, and then maybe you'll get it in treasure notes.
This is not the case in one place, but throughout the world. Using this method to reduce financial expenditures in disguise can be regarded as a kind of self-adjustment of the Ming Dynasty's administrative system.
At the same time, local officials were reluctant to raise taxes for the sake of the clan, which ruined their reputation. The court did not assess this anyway, so they could only suffer for the clan.
Yi Zan, the governor of Henan, did not expect that Prince Ru, who was so ignorant, would actually make the unspoken rules explicit.
It is an unspoken rule that is common throughout the country to withhold sages and vassal salaries. If they were paid honestly and in full, the local finances would have run out of money!
The key point is that he doesn't know what Emperor Jiajing is thinking now, and he's not sure how he should answer.
Your king is still pleading, "There is no other way to make a living, it is difficult to survive, and the whole family is wailing, which is a great loss of dignity."
It sounded really annoying and seriously affected the appetite of a young man with a big appetite. Qin Dewei stood up impatiently and said to Emperor Jiajing:
"The vassal's salary is distributed. The local government has its own laws, and the administrator has its own responsibilities. Why does your majesty have to do everything personally? Why do you, the king, bother the Sacred Heart with trivial matters?"
King Ru looked at this overly young and fierce minister and explained weakly: "Ah, my uncle and nephew are talking about common things, and you, a foreign minister, dare to interrupt without permission."
The vassals of the Ming Dynasty really had no confidence in front of the powerful ministers. They were so miserable that they could be called the kings with the lowest status in history.
Qin Dewei then said something neutral: "I'm glad to see your dynasty today, and I thought that there will be King Zhou behind me. I heard that the King of Zhou's family asks for about 300,000 yuan in silver a year, but in fact the government only gives them Fifty thousand."
Emperor Jiajing: "."
Originally, he wanted to reprimand the extremely rude Qin Dewei, but he shut up decisively after hearing this. The emperor cannot conjure money out of thin air.
The clan of the King of Zhou in Kaifeng is the most prolific of all the clans. The entire Zhou vassal clan has thousands of clan members, the highest number in the world.
If an opening is made with King Ru, what will happen when King Zhou comes to see you? Is it a joke to spend an extra two hundred thousand taels a year?
Even if they are blood brothers, they still have to settle accounts.
So Emperor Jiajing could only make a joke and give King Ru some gold coins. As for asking for salary, he just ignored it and pretended to be confused.
Yi Zan, the governor of Henan, was very grateful to Academician Qin. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for him to answer the question today because of the unpredictable nature of Heaven. Only people like Academician Qin would dare to speak casually.
Qin Dewei took the opportunity to admonish again: "As the clans multiply day by day, distant clan clansmen can make a living on their own, which can be regarded as being used by the country. It is better than wasting money and food in vain."
This involves a change of national policy, which no emperor can decide easily. Qin Dewei just wanted to deepen his impression.
In fact, the clan policy was not relaxed until the Wanli Dynasty. There was no need to worry too much in the early days of the Jiajing Dynasty.
Currently, through the collective efforts of civil servants to arrears and withhold payments, the actual expenditure on royal family salaries accounts for a little more than six percent of the world's fiscal expenditures, which is still sustainable.
When Emperor Jiajing heard Qin Dewei's words, he casually asked: "How can the clan members make a living?"
Qin Dewei answered casually: "You can open a bank. This is the most suitable for clan members everywhere."
Because of the tiredness of the journey, the royal banquet ended early, and the emperor and his ministers went to have a rest.
When walking out after the show, Qin Dewei walked very slowly and even fell behind a group of elderly people.
As I walked, I carefully looked around, trying to remember the passages and the layout of the houses along the road.
If the butterfly effect doesn't change history, and the palace is really on fire tonight, maybe this memory will come in handy.
But it is a pity that Qin Dewei can only move between the front hall of the palace and the palace gate. The back hall of the palace is a place where he cannot set foot at all. There are only eunuchs and maids in there. Gu Lei
However, the risk factor of rescuing people in a fire is too great. Even if the time traveler is thrown into the fire, he will be burned to death. Qin Dewei doesn't know what to do.
Forget it, let's act according to the situation. With Qin Dewei's status, it seems that he can't risk his life for wealth.
When I walked outside the palace gate, I saw Chen Yin, the governor in charge of the Jinyi Guards, scolding Xu Miaojing fiercely. There were also some Jinyi guards standing nearby and watching.
When the ministers leaving the palace saw this scene, no one cared about it, and no one bothered to interfere. They continued to walk away. There was a clear distinction between the civil servants and the royal guards.
Only Qin Dewei stopped and walked over curiously. When he was approaching, he heard Chen Yin shouting: "Xu Miaojing, you disrupted the procession today! Write it down again!"
Xu Miaojing saw someone coming from the corner of her eye. After seeing clearly, she quickly said hello: "Sister, Bachelor Qin!"
Governor Chen Yin was a little wary and a little wary in his heart, but his face was definitely not soft. He only sneered and said: "Is it possible that Bachelor Qin still cares about the affairs of the Jin Yiwei?"
Qin Dewei replied repeatedly: "Don't dare."
Then he asked Xu Miaojing: "I just don't understand. With so many people present, why is there no one interceding for you? Are you doing too badly?"
Xu Miaojing felt extremely wronged, brother-in-law, what are you talking about? What does this have to do with popularity?
Who is willing to offend someone who is very likely to be in charge of the imperial guard for the sake of an ordinary imperial guard like himself?
Besides, he has only been working in Jinyiwei for more than four years, so how can he have such deep interpersonal relationships?
Qin Dewei asked again: "Don't you have a good big brother named Lu Bing? I heard that this good big brother is the leader of our young official school. He is also very righteous on weekdays and is deeply supported by the young official school in Jinyiwei!
"
Qin Dewei's words were not nonsense. As the emperor's brother-in-law, Lu Bing had always had great ambitions.
Normally, Lu Bing does his best to win over the younger generation of Jinyiwei Official School, preparing to become his team in the future. Xu Miaojing is also a key target.
Now that my little brother has encountered injustice, if my good brother doesn't stand up now, when will he wait?
Qin Dewei's aura of being a natural protagonist made Governor Chen unhappy again, "I am reprimanding my subordinates, Bachelor Qin, please stay out of the way!"
Qin Dewei still said indifferently: "Then you continue!"
Then Qin Dewei turned around and walked to the other Jinyi guards. He found Commander Lu Binglu in the crowd and asked:
"I heard that Xu Miaojing and Mr. Lu have a good relationship and often work together at the Meridian Gate. Why don't Mr. Lu come forward to intercede at this moment?"
Lu Bing: "."
It was Chen Yin who was teaching Xu Miaojing a lesson over there. Why did you, Qin Dewei, come to see me?
Originally, everyone was looking at Governor Chen and Xu Miaojing, but after Qin Dewei said this, they all looked at Lu Bing again.
Lu Bing could only defend himself by saying, "This is the superior's warning to his subordinates. We should not interrupt randomly."
Qin Dewei said lightly sarcastically: "I thought Mr. Lu was a man who was anxious for justice for his friends and brave enough to stand up when he saw injustice. It seems that I thought too much.
If there are people like Xu Miaojing who encounter injustice in the future, they probably won’t be able to count on Mr. Lu. People’s hearts are weighed, so Mr. Lu, please take care of yourself.”
Originally, in order to fight against the older generation, Lu Bing worked hard for several years and gained a high prestige among the young people of Jinyiwei.
But after Qin Dewei said these few words, the other younger Jinyi Guardsmen around him didn't say anything, but they couldn't help but question Lu Bing in their hearts.
In fact, those who can be selected as "imperial bodyguards" from the Imperial Guard School are not stupid.
As Lu Bing, would he be afraid of Governor Chen Yin? Would he care about the superior-subordinate relationship with Chen Yin?
So Lu Bing must have deliberately watched Chen Yin "humiliate" Xu Miaojing. We don't know how deep the water is here, but this banner of "righteousness" cannot stand.
But everyone still can't understand, what do you, Qin Dewei, always say when you catch Lu Bing? Governor Chen is so arrogant, so unworthy of you, Qin Dewei, to take a second look?
Thinking of this, Chen Yin also felt inexplicably humiliated and unknowingly stopped scolding Xu Miaojing.
A royal guard who had a good relationship with Lu Bing shouted: "Is it possible that Bachelor Qin is also bullying the weak and afraid of the strong, and dare not argue with Governor Chen?"
Qin Dewei looked sideways at Chen Yin and said contemptuously: "This is a dying rat, what can you say?"
Qin Dewei mainly has confidence in the old Yinbi, Eunuch Qin. After returning to the capital, if Chen Yin can live for more than three months, Qin Dewei will take Eunuch Qin's surname!
When it comes to sarcastic temperament, Qin Dewei is indeed an expert. Chen Yin was instantly furious and subconsciously stretched out his hand to pull out his sword.
Xu Miaojing rushed forward, held down Governor Chen's hand, and shouted: "It won't happen! It won't happen!"
He turned around and shouted: "Scholar Qin, please leave quickly! I have nothing to do here!"
Qin Dewei quickly walked a dozen steps away, then stood at a safe distance and waved to Xu Miaojing, "Follow me! I'll teach you how to deal with Governor Chen!"