Even though both of them agreed, Zhu Youxiao was still worried about these two unreliable playboys.
I personally supervised them writing this letter, and the content naturally started with a round of greetings to bring them closer to each other.
Then he brought up the topic and asked the King of Qin and the King of Jin to perform a play with him.
The two of them each submitted a memorial, requesting the emperor to stop the annual salary payment to their two vassals.
They also stated the money and food they had previously "donated" and stated that the reason for the donation was to serve the country loyally.
Of course, some Spring and Autumn writing skills are indispensable in this, exaggerating their contributions, and it is completely voluntary.
At that time, the edict will be announced to the world and shown to thousands of people.
But Zhu Youxiao's real purpose was to inadvertently let the other vassal kings know about the profound and righteous actions of the Qin and Jin vassals.
As long as the people in the world know that it is the lord's request and their own idea, it is enough.
When Zhu Youxiao arrived, he could just let nature take its course and issue an imperial edict to all clan members. In view of the patriotism and loyalty of the clan members, the emperor reluctantly approved it.
And encouraged other vassal kings to follow suit.
As long as someone takes the lead and has a start, everything will be easy to handle.
Zhu Youxiao did not expect them to take the initiative to donate money and food to the court. As long as they could achieve their own goals, he could suspend their annual salaries.
As the saying goes, there is no harm if there is no comparison, although these vassal kings are all iron roosters and can dig to death.
But they can still clearly see such simple pros and cons. They may have complaints, but there is no need to openly and uniquely throw away the emperor's face for such a trivial matter.
If the Qin vassal and the Jin vassal had not come forward to set an example, and Zhu Youxiao had directly issued an order to stop the annual salary, then these vassal kings would have reason to block the emperor.
They will write a letter complaining about poverty, how many people there are in the family to support, how much the palace's expenses are, how much other expenses are, etc., and they will report the accounts directly to you.
We live on the salary from the court. If you just stop it for us, wouldn't that cost our lives?
Just like those Jiangnan gentry who defaulted on paying their taxes, they were all so shameless and scoundrels.
As the saying goes, to untie a bell, you must tie the bell. The strongest alliance is often broken from within.
Zhu Youxiao's move was to retreat instead of advance. The sects and vassals could not think of a way to deal with it, unless they were really stupid enough to dare to sweep the emperor's face to the ground.
As for the King of Shu in Chengdu, his deeds of donating a large amount of money and food will naturally be reported to the world. When the time comes, he will make a cameo in the imperial edict and make him a benchmark for the vassal and vassal for the world's vassal kings to learn from.
It can also indirectly improve his authority as an emperor. You see, my imperial edict has just been issued, and the King of Shu has taken the initiative to donate so much money and food. Isn't this a good start?
Under this double pressure, the feudal kings would definitely give in.
After writing the letter, Zhu Youxiao also asked the two to sign a pledge and signed his iconic name before letting them go out of the palace. pace]
After receiving the autograph letters from the second son of Qin and Jin, Zhu Youxiao immediately handed it over to two guards and sent it to Taiyuan and Xi'an.
Wang Chaofu, who had put away his pen and ink, quickly stepped forward to greet the emperor and said with a flattering smile:
"Banzai Lord is really high. This move is really wonderful. With San Francisco as the benchmark for supporting Banzai Lord, the other vassals can't unite together. They use excuses to shirk Banzai Lord and the court's policies.
Got it!"
Even though there were more than twenty princes in the Ming Dynasty, there was basically no connection between these princes. Over the years, they had lived their own lives.
Now that Zhu Youxiao has brought together the three oldest and one of the richest vassal kings, he has become a very powerful force.
They represent not only themselves, but also their entire vassal state.
With the energy of the three vassals and the supreme emperor, even if the other vassals really dare to cause trouble, the emperor can still take the initiative to respond at any time.
"These vassal kings have been the highest-ranking nobles of the Ming Dynasty since they were granted the title. They have enjoyed all the glory and wealth. Their lives are much more comfortable than mine!"
"Every tael of silver and every stone of food I have must be carefully considered and the pros and cons must be weighed before I dare to use it!"
"As for them, wealth is not enough to describe them. I'm afraid even they themselves don't know how much their assets are!"
"I sometimes wonder, how is this emperor better than the vassal king?"
After Wang Chaofu thought deeply, he replied cautiously in a weak voice:
"Long Live Lord is the Nine-Five Supreme Being. You must not have such thoughts. Lord Wanli passed the country to Long Live Lord because he wants to revive the Ming Dynasty!"
Although there was Taichang before Zhu Youxiao, Emperor Wanli had already made himself the emperor's grandson before his death.
What Wang Chaofu said was correct. This empire was indeed passed down to him. After all, he was the official heir appointed by the emperor.
"Okay, I just had a sudden thought, what are you worried about!"
Wang Chaofu smiled apologetically. He was really afraid that the emperor would suddenly lose his mind and abdicate.
This Lord has grown up under his own watch. Before he succeeded to the throne, he was obsessed with carpentry all day long. He also said more than once that being an emperor was boring.
Zhu Youxiao sat back on the throne and took a sip of tea, and then asked again:
"Have the accounts and books of Huangzhuang and Huangdian been compiled?"
Wang Chaofu quickly gestured to a young eunuch, who immediately handed a stack of texts to him.
Then he trotted up the steps with his head lowered, raised his hands and said:
"Long live the Lord, this year's statistics have been verified. Please take a look at it!"
Zhu Youxiao carefully read through all the texts, and after basically confirming that there were no abnormalities, he ordered people to take them to the study for preservation.
These are all his own private properties, so Zhu Youxiao will naturally take them seriously.
The emperor did not only have financial income from gifts. If he relied solely on receiving gifts, he would be able to maintain the expenses of living in the palace at most.
It is simply impossible to accumulate money. The emperor has so many people to support. The concubines, eunuchs, and maids all look at the emperor helplessly.
The income of Huangzhuang Huangdian is also extremely considerable.
This was also an important source for emperors to accumulate private money. Just like Emperor Chongzhen, no matter how poor he was, he could still come up with hundreds of thousands of taels of silver or food from time to time to supplement military pay.
He is very frugal in food and clothing, but he is not so poor that he cannot even afford food and clothing.
Poverty and saving are two different things and do not conflict with each other.
Moreover, the eunuchs were still in charge, not the officials at all, so the emperor's income ratio was basically error-free.
Although there may be corruption and expropriation, eunuchs are much more merciful than those civil servants with human faces and animal hearts.