The Zongren Mansion was originally established by Emperor Taizu, and was in charge of the genealogy of the nine royal families, jade certificates, invitations for titles, marriages, posthumous burials, punishment names, promotion of talents and other clan affairs.
According to the usual practice, the chief of the clan's office is the clan's order, and there is one left and right clan, one each for the left and right clan, and one for each left and right clan. They are led by princes, and their ranks are regarded as the same as the first rank.
But in fact, since Emperor Taizong was in trouble, the Zongren Mansion was in name only.
Emperor Taizong ordered Minister Xun Qi to take charge of the affairs of the Zongren Mansion on his behalf. Although the official positions of the Zongren Mansion were set up but not conferred, all the affairs they were responsible for were handled by the Ministry of Rites.
So in essence, although today's Zongren Mansion is still in the imperial court system, it is only on paper.
There is no yamen, no officials, just a virtuous relative who pretends to be in charge.
If the case of King Zhennan wasn't too involved, Chen Mao wouldn't even need to intervene in ordinary criminal cases of the clan. The Ministry of Rites would directly send people to investigate.
In fact, the courtiers did not have much opinion on the re-granting of the clan order.
Anyway, all the affairs of the Zongren Mansion have been assigned to the Ministry of Rites, and now they are inseparable from the original control of the Ministry of Rites.
Even if another clan came over, they wouldn't be able to get involved. Basically, they would be just like Marquis Ningyang. Only when important matters were involved, the clan's order would be needed to take charge.
However, what alarmed the elders was that in addition to the clan order, these clans actually proposed to confer Zuo Zongzheng again.
This makes it clear that we want to restore the actual control of the Zongren Mansion and seize power from the Ministry of Rites!
This matter was related to the vital interests of the Ministry of Rites, so all the elders looked at Hu Hui in unison, waiting for him to come out and take the lead.
Of course Mr. Hu would not be timid, he stood up without much hesitation and said.
"Your Majesty, the princes of the clan established the country under the vassal and guarded the vassal fence. It is a major matter for the country. If several clan members leave the fiefdom, there may be suspicion of unrest in the local area."
"Since Emperor Taizong, it has become a common practice for the clan government to set up yamen without preparing officials. Even if there are ministers who are in charge of the affairs, they are in vain."
"Even if the clan order is re-issued, apart from clan criminal cases, there are not too many complicated affairs to deal with, so there is no need to worry about the clan order being too hard."
If there is a leader, others will follow immediately.
Heavenly Official Wang Wen also said: "Your Majesty, for many years, most of the affairs of the Zongren Mansion have overlapped with those of the Ministry of Rites. If the number of officials is increased too much, it may be suspected of redundant officials."
"Furthermore, there are already regulations for clan applications for titles, marriages, posthumous titles, burials, etc. If the clan mansion is re-established, it will be overlapping on the one hand and complicated on the other. I think it is unnecessary."
Further down, Shen Yi from the Ministry of Revenue also stood up. He spoke simply and neatly: "Your Majesty, now that the national treasury is empty, we should increase revenue and reduce expenditure. We should abolish useless officials and yamen. It is not appropriate to open more yamen. Your Majesty, please think twice."
Several important ministers stood up to oppose it one after another, and the emperor seemed helpless.
After pondering for a moment, the emperor turned to the clan and asked.
"Princes and ministers all think that there is no need to grant Zongzheng another title. What do you think?"
King Min did not speak, but King Zhou spoke.
"Your Majesty, in the past, there were indeed no major affairs that needed to be dealt with by the clan. But now that Your Majesty wants to open a sect and teach the clan's children, there must be many affairs to deal with. Therefore, I think that there is still a need for a capable clan to assist the clan.
Ordered."
In addition, other kings also spoke.
"Your Majesty, what King Zhou said is true. Uncle Min Wang is already old. Although he is qualified to carry out the clan's orders, he should not overwork himself."
Seeing another disagreement between the clan and the courtiers, the emperor seemed to have a headache. After a while, Fang asked.
"In this case, do the kings have suitable candidates?"
After hearing this, King Zhou and other princes all looked happy and said quickly.
"Your Majesty, Xuanzong's brother, King Xiang, is young and powerful, has a reputation for talent, and is worthy of important responsibilities. If Your Majesty, King Xiang and King Min are in charge of the clan's residence, the sect's education will surely flourish."
The faces of the elders below turned dark.
The implicit meaning of this statement is that if we don’t agree, the sect will not be able to prosper?
As expected, the emperor was a little unhappy after hearing this, but after thinking for a moment, he still said.
"In this case, according to what the uncle of the King of Zhou said, King Min was ordered to serve as the clan's official order and be in charge of the clan's affairs. King Xiang was appointed as Zuo Zongzheng, and he worked with the Ministry of Rites and the Hanlin Academy to assist in the affairs of the clan."
The clan members were now relieved, and King Min and King Xiang each came out to receive orders and express gratitude.
However, the courtiers with keen senses heard some overtones.
It seems that the emperor is still somewhat dissatisfied with the clan's taking over power.
You know, the emperor just said "associate manager" rather than "chief manager".
A difference of one word indicates priority.
From this point of view, the emperor does not intend to leave all matters of Zongxue to the Zongren Mansion. If we try again, it does not seem impossible that the Ministry of Rites will be in charge.
After understanding this section, the courtiers who originally wanted to speak out in protest also stopped.
It's just a sect, so just teach it.
Now that there are so many clans in the capital, it would be unwise to fight with them.
As long as the emperor has intentions in his heart, then when they leave the capital, the bosses will have many ways to evade Zuo Zongzheng.
However, despite this, the eye drops still need to be applied.
At that moment, a minister came out and spoke.
"Your Majesty, Prince Min has high morals and prestige, and it is not inappropriate for him to serve as a clan official. However, as a result, the case of King Guangtong cannot be tried by the clan government, and another yamen must be separately ordered to handle it."
However, before he finished speaking, King Zhou on the side spoke again with a smile.
"Yes, Your Majesty, since Uncle Min Wang has been appointed as the clan official, it is not appropriate for the clan government to continue to participate in the trial of King Guangtong. However, when it comes to the clan, it is not appropriate to leave it to the Ministry of Punishment. Therefore, I think it can be handed over to the Jin Yiwei.
The chief judge is the most appropriate."
The minister below was choked.
They originally wanted to let the Ministry of Punishment take charge, but they were suddenly blocked.
What a coincidence, the emperor seemed to be a little moved, and after thinking for a moment, Fang said.
"In this case, the interrogation of King Guangtong and King Yangzong will be done by Jin Yiwei. After obtaining the confessions, they will be handed over to the Ministry of Punishment as evidence for the interrogation of Marquis Ningyang and others."
However, this is exactly what many courtiers do not want to see. With the experience of the Hongwu period, the elders are very wary of Jin Yiwei.
Chen Yi immediately spoke: "Your Majesty, Jin Yiwei has never disclosed it to the public. It is difficult to convince the public for such a big case, let alone..."
"enough!"
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by the emperor on the throne.
The ministers looked up and saw that the emperor's face was vaguely unhappy and he spoke.
"This case has been going on for so long. The Metropolitan Procuratorate, Dali Temple, and the Ministry of Punishment were all involved. What was the outcome of the trial?"
"The Jinyi Guards were set up by Taizu. They are responsible for detecting thieves and interrogating serious cases. How can we not participate in them?"
Seeing that the emperor was angry, all the ministers and clan members immediately withered. They all knelt down on the ground and spoke.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I am guilty."
Sighing, the emperor waved his hands impatiently and said.
"King Guangtong and others from the Jinyi Guards will come for trial, Marquis Ningyang and others from the Criminal Department will come for trial, and that's it!"
"As for Xue Xuan..."
The emperor's tone was a little complicated, and his eyes fell on Old Master Xue who was still kneeling on the ground, with a hesitant look on his face.
Logically speaking, as a complaint, Xue Xuan should also be sent to prison.
However, the Jinyiwei always faithfully carried out the emperor's orders. The emperor only said to arrest the four Ningyang Hous, so the Jinyiwei only took care of the four of them and left Xue Xuan in the palace.
But this is not a big deal.
Xue Xuan's confession has already been written down.
What the Ministry of Punishment has to do is to check with the testimony of King Guangtong and others to see if it is true, so as to determine the guilt of Marquis Ningyang and others.
Regardless of whether what he said is true or false, he himself cannot escape the blame.
Just when Zhu Qiyu was hesitant about how to deal with Xue Xuan, he spoke himself.
"I know that I am guilty of a serious crime and am willing to accept all punishments from the court. However, I still have one thing to say to Your Majesty!"