Zhu Huixun’s loud voice echoed throughout the Wuying Hall.
Except for the presence of a number of ministers and old gods in the palace, who looked like they had expected it, Prince Xiang and all the clan members were all very surprised.
However, King Xiang's accident was filled with shock and uneasiness, but the clan members were surprised and happy...
While everyone was watching, Zhu Huixuan took out a wax-sealed letter from his sleeve, handed it over, and said.
"Your Majesty, this letter is written by the King himself and is forwarded to Your Majesty. It contains detailed evidence that King Xiang has embezzled farmland on the border and oppressed the people. Please read it."
Prince Xiang's expression suddenly changed, and with a "swish" sound, he suddenly turned his head and looked at Zhu Chenglian, the crown prince who was always standing quietly among all the clan members.
Damn it, how could he forget this kid!
Although he had known for a long time that Zhu Chenglian had a good relationship with Zhu Yinxi and others, he never expected that this boy would be so cruel.
And more importantly, how did he persuade the acting king?
Although Zhu Zhanzhen has never been to the border, he has heard a little bit about the situation of Dai Fan. The current Dai King has lived in the shadow of the old Dai King Zhu Gui since he was a child. He is definitely a coward and fearful of trouble. man of.
The issue of the military camp was not related to his family, but to many feudal kings from various places. If the king stood up to expose him, it would inevitably trigger a chain reaction. Isn't he afraid of causing resentment and dissatisfaction among the clans in various places?
What's more, when it comes to invading military villages, at least in the border areas, Dai Wang's Mansion definitely took the lion's share.
Now that he is using this reason to impeach himself, isn't he afraid that others will use the same reason to impeach him?
Questions came to mind one after another, but at this moment, Prince Xiang had no time to think about them in detail.
King Dai is different from King Min. The palace of King Dai is in Datong!
From Gansu, Ningxia, to Datong, Daiwangfu can reach many places, and Daiwangfu is always on the border, so it can be regarded as a local snake.
Especially when Zhu Gui was still alive, he had so much prestige that he did not even pay attention to Emperor Taizong's will. At that time, both the border generals and the local officials had to treat him respectfully. Not only did they not dare to exploit the salary of the imperial court, they also did not dare to exploit him at all. Everyday I would send some silver coins as an offering.
Among the several vassal kings who are still in the border vassal, the several generations of vassals have the greatest influence on the border and occupy the most land for military camps. Of course, there is no one like Prince Dai as to whose family the remaining military camps belong to. Someone who knows better.
Zhu Huixuan could not obtain the evidence that the major vassal kings had occupied land on the border, but if the Dai Wangfu wanted it, it would be almost easy.
As he watched the emperor open the letter and read line by line, his face became increasingly ugly. King Xiang knew that there was not much time left for him.
It's also a letter, but this secret letter is obviously different from the letter home just presented.
This letter is written to the emperor. In other words, it is actually an impeachment memorial!
If he couldn't come up with a solution as soon as possible, he might not only be unable to retain his position as the Supreme Leader today, but there would also be more severe punishment waiting for him later.
The thoughts in his mind were spinning rapidly. King Xiang frowned when he looked at Zhu Huixun's proud look in front of him. After a moment, he stepped forward and said.
"Your Majesty, I am impeaching Min King Zhu Huixun for making vassals without permission, with evil intentions!"
After the words fell, all the ministers below revealed their surprised eyes.
It's interesting. It seems that Prince Xiang is not that stupid after all...
Facing everyone's gaze, King Xiang took a deep breath and spoke loudly.
"Emperor Taizu has long issued a prohibition. All vassal princes must abide by their duties and are not allowed to communicate privately or conspire and discuss. The emperor's ancestral precepts say that only by observing the laws established by our ancestors can we not lose the righteousness of relatives."
"Min Fan is in Wugang, and Dai Fan is in Datong. The two are thousands of miles apart. Even though King Min is in Beijing now, how come Dai King's secret letter is in the hands of King Min?"
"The two kings have made friends in private with unknown intentions. They have violated Taizu's prohibition and cannot be forgiven lightly. I don't know whether what is said in the letter is true or false. Please make it clear to your majesty!"
This objection is tenable, but it would be better if the last sentence was not added.
A group of elders stood aside and silently commented.
It should be said that Prince Xiang was not brainless when he was able to think of such a reason in this blink of an eye.
The vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty were themselves the products of Emperor Taizu's manipulation.
He hoped that the vassal king could guard Fan Ping and protect the Zhu family, but he was also afraid that the vassal king would become too powerful and threaten the emperor's status.
So in the end, the vassal system showed an extremely contradictory mentality.
On the one hand, the major vassal kings in the Hongwu era had great power in their fiefdoms, which shows that Emperor Taizu trusted and favored them.
But on the other hand, Huang Ming's ancestral precepts are full of precautions against vassal kings. What King Xiang just said, that private communication and discussion between vassal kings is not allowed, is one of them.
In addition, Emperor Taizu also stipulated that each vassal king should take turns to perform pilgrimage, and no two kings were allowed to enter the capital at the same time to prevent the vassal kings from colluding with each other and alienating the emperor.
There are also examples such as the emperor's uncle and the vassal prince who do not come to court at fifty, and the nephew and vassal prince who does not come to court at sixty; when the vassal prince comes to Beijing for pilgrimage, he is not allowed to participate in the banquet of the emperor and his ministers, and must hold a banquet in the side hall, etc...
As we all know, the Ming Dynasty, since Emperor Taizong, no, more accurately, since Emperor Jianwen, has selectively followed a series of ancestral precepts left by Emperor Taizu, and sometimes acted blindly.
And the prohibitions against the kings are precisely those that need to be obeyed.
It is true that the kings did not have no contact with each other, but once it came to the level of government affairs, the meaning was different.
In particular, Zhu Huixuan just took out the letter that the king wanted to send to the emperor in full view of everyone. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed taboo.
Therefore, King Xiang's move can be said to be stable and ruthless. Except for the last sentence, which seems to be a bit underwhelming, it can be said to be the best way to deal with it at the moment.
However, the most fearful thing in the world is the word "but"...
Although King Xiang's response is considered the best response at this stage, in the eyes of ministers who are familiar with government affairs, it still cannot change his predicament.
Not to mention that since King Min dared to take out this letter in front of so many people, he must have been prepared. Even if he was not, then at most, it can only be confirmed that King Min and Dai Wang have contact, and it cannot be
The authenticity of this letter from King Dai.
In other words, the best result that King Xiang could achieve by doing this was to have Min King Zhu Huixuan be punished together with him, but it was still very difficult for him to escape the blame.
What's more, this new Prince Min is not an easy person to deal with. Since he has taken action to impeach, he will definitely not be without a way to deal with it...
Sure enough, when faced with King Xiang's questioning, Zhu Huixuan didn't show the slightest panic on his face, and he didn't even speak.
At the same time, a slightly childish voice sounded in the hall.
"Your Majesty, I can prove that Prince Min has no connection with Dai Fan. What Prince Xiang said just now is just his own conjecture!"
Everyone followed the sound and saw a thin young man among the crowd of clan members, stepping out and standing in front of King Xiang.
The prince, Zhu Chenglian!
Yes, a hint of understanding flashed in the eyes of all the ministers. If they remembered correctly, the Prince of Dai was quite close to the old King Min.
When all the clan members gathered to cause trouble outside the Tenth Prince's Mansion, it was said that he was the leader...
Facing Prince Xiang's almost murderous gaze, the prince of Dai Wangfu was not afraid at all, he sneered and said.
"Prince Xiang is quite majestic. In front of His Majesty, in the Wuying Palace, you have red lips and white teeth. You open your mouth to frame two vassal princes. Do you really think that you are the one who calls the shots in this Zhu family?"
This sentence made Prince Xiang's face turn red, but he could not refute it.
The emperor is still sitting here, and it is really not his turn to make the decision in the Zhu family.
You must know that, strictly speaking, even Da Zongzheng only manages the affairs of the clan on behalf of the emperor.
Staring at Zhu Chenglian hatefully, King Xiang was thinking about how to deal with this little bastard.
Unexpectedly, after the other party choked him, he ignored him, turned directly to the emperor, and said.
"Your Majesty, my father and Prince Min have always behaved themselves and have never had any private connections. The reason why this letter was submitted by King Min is because the content in it involves Prince Xiang. As a student of Zongxue, I have no right to meet His Majesty.
"
"Furthermore, I am young and talk lightly. If I submit this letter, I am afraid that it will not reach His Majesty and will be stopped. Therefore, I just forwarded this letter to Prince Min and asked him to forward it to His Majesty on my behalf."
"This is what happened. There is absolutely no private collusion in it. Your Majesty, please be clear about it!"
Sure enough, since King Min dared to stand up, he must have been prepared.
However, King Xiang was not stupid and immediately retorted.
"This is just your one-sided statement. If you really have a connection with King Min on behalf of the vassal, how can you admit it in this golden palace?"
"These kinds of excuses can be picked up at will, but the fact that King Dai's letter appears in the hands of King Min is a definite fact. You can't even think about making excuses!"
However, this became a quarrel.
King Xiang said that Zhu Chenglian was telling the truth, but there was no detailed evidence for his accusation. To put it bluntly, none of them could prove it, and the possibility of what the other party said did not exist.
Then at this time, it depends on the direction of the emperor, and the emperor...
"Uncle King Xiang, I'm afraid you are wrongly blaming Uncle Min King!"
When the ministers looked up, they saw the emperor sighing softly, putting down the letter in his hand, and spoke calmly.
Of course, since the emperor said this, it was definitely not without reason. After hesitating for a moment, the emperor seemed to be hesitant, but he still spoke.
"In the past few days, because the funeral ceremony of my great-uncle has not been completed, the Min Palace has insufficient manpower, so I sent Shu Liang from Dongchang to assist."
"Since the death of my great-uncle, no one from the Min Palace has left the capital, let alone colluded with Dai Fan."
King Xiang wanted to say that even if no one from the Min Palace went out of the city, it didn't mean that no one could send the message out.
However, he did not dare to refute the emperor, so he could only look sullen and indignant.
Seeing this situation, the emperor shook his head incomprehensibly, and then asked Zhu Huixun beside him.
"Uncle King Min, you must be beating the Dengwen drum today for this reason, right?"
"good!"
After hearing the emperor's question, Zhu Huixuan immediately stepped forward, knelt on the ground and said.
"Your Majesty clearly knows that the purpose of the minister's duty to listen to the drum directly is to directly hear from heaven and clear away wrongdoings and record crimes. It should not be tampered with easily."
"However, now that King Xiang has usurped the position of Zong Zheng, if I submit a memorial, it must be forwarded by Dazong Zheng and will be intercepted."
"This is an important matter of state affairs, and I dare not ignore it. Therefore, I have to beat the drum to be summoned by Your Majesty. I know that this is an act that exceeds the regulations, and I am willing to accept His Majesty's punishment."
Compared with Prince Xiang's attitude of refusing to admit death, it is obvious that Zhu Huixun's attitude is much more favorable to people.
Therefore, facing his sincere look, the emperor hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand and said.
"This matter will be discussed later. Although the drum was set up to clear up grievances, there are no provisions prohibiting other things. This is because the imperial regulations are not perfect, and it is not entirely my uncle's fault."
"As for the jurisdiction of the Dengwen Drum Code System, we will discuss it after this matter is over. Uncle please come up."
What does it mean to be covered by someone?
This is!
Did King Min make a mistake?
Of course a mistake was made.
As King Min himself said just now, strictly speaking, the Dengwen drum was set up to clear away wrongs. In other words, the Dengwen drum can only be beaten in judicial cases.
As for the reason Zhu Huixuan just listed, that he was afraid that King Xiang would intercept the letter, this reason is actually not valid at all.
However, the emperor spoke up and said that the system of Deng Wengu Dian was not perfect, so this crime was naturally covered up.
The bosses present are all very clear-minded. Sometimes, the decision to wait for further discussion is to settle accounts later, but sometimes, the decision to wait for further discussion is to let the matter go.
The current situation obviously belongs to the latter...
Of course, with the previous precedent of King Kuanyouxiang being harsh to the clan's children, a small mistake like King Kuanyoumin's seems to be nothing.
However, as I said before, things that do not involve sensitive government affairs can be covered up, but some things still need to be made clear.
After hesitating for a moment, the emperor waved, and Hua En, who was standing by him, understood, respectfully reached out and picked up the letter from the king on the imperial case, and read it in front of everyone.
"On behalf of the king Zhu Shixi, I would like to report to your majesty..."
This sentence alone clearly shows that this letter was "prefaced" by the king to the emperor. In other words, the presence of this sentence means that this is a real formal impeachment, not a formal impeachment.
An ordinary private letter from home.
Omitting the ceremonial greetings, as Wynn's voice gradually rose, everyone present knew that the point was coming.
"...it has been more than four years since I was favored by the imperial court and was ordered to take charge of the vassal state. During these four years, I have seen the decay of the military settlements and the violent occupation of the military settlements by various clans, just like moths eating away at the country. The harm is great. As Zhu
My family and clan do not care about making progress for the country. They only know how to accept money and indulge in pleasure. I feel really sad for this."
"It is also a serious crime to invade and occupy military villages and to act as a vassal. Not long after I succeeded to the throne, I was greatly frightened when I first heard about this matter. I tossed and turned day and night. For several years, I have been investigating the matter tirelessly and finally found out something about it."
"It just so happens that the imperial court is reorganizing the army. Your Majesty is determined to reform, which will benefit the country and the people. Although I am not sensitive, I am willing to do my best for the country."
"In the past decades of acting as a vassal, I have listed all the military camps that I have invaded, and I am willing to deal with them in accordance with the government's policies. As for other kings, proof of the land contract on the border is also attached."
"I hope that your majesty will be able to carry out great political affairs, carry out family affairs, be kind-hearted, and plan for the country."