Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 125 Abolition of the Forty-Eight Guards
"Let go of me! Do you know who I am?! Who gave you the power to arrest me! I am a child of the Duke's Mansion who has not been released by Cheng Guo's Mansion!"

"Be honest! I'm still the emperor's pick!"

On the sixth day of February in the first year of Tianqi, Zunhua Wei...

Amidst the insults of a full-bodied guard military officer, Zunhua Guard... No!It should be said that in the entire Shuntian Mansion and Yongping Mansion, there were scenes where officers of the guards at all levels were escorted out of their bedrooms, commanding the envoy's mansion, the Qianhu Office, and the Baihu Office were rummaged through yellow books and fish scale albums.

Zhu Youjian still overestimated the officers of the guards in these two places. They were almost unprepared, and they were broken into the guards and the city by the horse guards.

Holding high the imperial decree, the imperial horse supervisors and soldiers hardly encountered any situation that could stop them, and they easily obtained the yellow books and fish scale albums of the command offices at all levels and the Qianhu Office and Baihu Office.

Standing in the courtyard of the Zunhua Guard Commander's Mansion, Man Gui held his hands behind his back, listening to the crying and cursing coming from his ears, he was not nervous at all.

Once upon a time, Mangui was just a garrison of Huangtuling who was squeezed out by Liao soldiers.

But in less than half a year, he has now become a general and has the power to command tens of thousands of troops.

All of this was given by that one, and what he has to do is to repay that one's kindness...

"General, I found it!"

At this time, a thousand households walked into the courtyard from the study room with more than a dozen thick books.

Two soldiers brought chairs and a table, Qianhu put the document on the table, and then a Confucian scholar in plain clothes sat in front of the table and began to flip through the document.

Not only him, but also several scribes in the army sat down one after another and started to read.

They recorded the data they read, and this time was very long.

A quarter of an hour, two quarters of an hour, three quarters of an hour... After a full hour, they finished tidying up.

The Confucian scholar stood up and bowed to Man Gui:

"General, according to the records in the Yellow Book, in the third year of Wei Yongle in Zunhua, there were a total of [-] mu of military farmland, and in the [-]th year of Wanli, there were [-] mu of military farmland."

"In the third year of Yongle, there were [-] military households and [-] civilian households, with a population of [-]."

"In the twelfth year of Wanli, there were [-] military households, [-] civilian households, and a population of [-]."

"Currently, there are [-] shi of military seed grain in the granary, and [-] taels and [-] cents and [-] cents in the silver treasury."

The Confucian scholar finished his report, but at this moment someone shouted:
"That's not the granary and the bank, that's my private money!"

Man Gui looked sideways, it turned out that he was tied up and claimed to be the commander of the Zunhua Guard who had not yet released the fifth service from the Chengguo government.

"Private money? As a commander, you put the private money in the silver treasury of Commander Wei's mansion? This is obviously the money and grain of Zunhua Wei. What does it have to do with you?"

After all, Man Gui said to the soldiers:
"Take him down, send his family to the capital, and hand it over to Duke Cheng."

"Obey!" After the two soldiers got the order, they immediately blocked the man's mouth, and then led his family out of the commander's mansion.

As for Man Gui, he said to Qian Hu:

"This has been copied from the old Wanli for [-] years. They probably don't even know how many troops are currently stationed in Zunhuawei."

"Get ready to measure the acres, we only have one month."

"Biaoxia takes orders!" Qianhu bowed, and then walked out of the commander's mansion with the teacher.

Such scenes kept happening in Shuntian and Yongping. At the same time, the officials at the power center of Daming knew what happened in Shuntian and Yongping after a few days.

But for civil servants, the military settlement is the governor's mansion of the five armies, that is, the matter of nobles, so what does it have to do with them?
On the contrary, with the abolition of military farms, the household department can not only receive taxes from the Yumajian, but also fill the national treasury.

Once the treasury is full, there are reasons and conditions to propose to the emperor a memorial to reduce or exempt land taxes and exempt Liao pay.

For them, there is no better news than this.

However, they are not without worries, just like right now, the only thing they worry about is the replacement of Ji Town.

But soon, Zhu Youxiao used another method to attract attention to this matter.

"Long live, Sun Ruyou, a scholar of the Chendong Pavilion, please resign!"

On the ninth day of February, above the Wenhua Hall, as Sun Ruyou stepped forward to resign, everyone sneered in their hearts.

Sun Ruyou has asked to resign thirteen times in a row, and none of them have been accepted.

Everyone thought that maybe this time was the same as the previous few times.

However, Zhu Youxiao, who was sitting on the dragon chair this time, said:

"I have already approved the resignation of Fang Gechen and Sun Gechen, and I have also approved Fang Gechen's memorial to enable Ye Shaoshi."

"Liu Gechen..."

When Zhu Youxiao said something, everyone was stunned for a moment, including Liu Yixiu who was shouted by him, and then he stood up and said:
"The minister is..."

"Add Fang Gechen as the Prince's Shaobao, Sun Gechen as the Prince's Shaoshi, and also give a hundred taels of platinum, four pieces of colored silk, and a red sitting python on the outside and inside, and send pedestrians to escort the two back to their hometowns."

Without any discussion, Zhu Youxiao approved Fang Congzhe and Sun Ruyou's speeches, and even prepared the seals and rewards.

The last time he was treated like this was Ye Xianggao who is now nursing at home.

However, Ye Xianggao's good days are gone, Zhu Youxiao continued:
"Furthermore, Ye Xianggao is appointed as the Grand Master of the Zhongji Temple, leading the cabinet's chief assistant, and ordered him to return to Beijing immediately!"

"Chen, thank you..." Sun Ruyou didn't want to be interrupted about his return home, so he quickly set an example and thanked him.

After he thanked him, officials from the five parties, including Zhexuan, Kun, Qi and Chu, sang long live. It seemed that Zhu Youxiao had made such an incredible decision.

At this time, Liu Yixiu and the others also felt that things didn't seem so bad for Ye Xianggao to join the cabinet.

Liu Yixiu and the others claimed to be of the Qing school, and they still wanted Ming to move towards a brighter side, so they were not discouraged by not being able to serve as the chief assistant of the cabinet, but rejoiced.

But Gao Panlong and others felt uncomfortable. This year's Jingcha was in charge of Donglin, but he didn't want Zhu Youxiao to announce that the Jingcha would be postponed to June after visiting the Yanshan Camp.

Now that Zhao Ye Xianggao has entered the cabinet, it is obvious that he wants to make peace with each other.

Gao Panlong and others wished to kill the five parties of Qi, Chu, Zhejiang, Xuan and Kun, so when everyone was singing, Gao Panlong stood up and said:

"Long live, now is the key to Jingchao, how can we abolish cabinet ministers at will?"

"Besides, the Jingcha is already custom-made, so why change it? How do officials change their orders from day to day?"

Gao Panlong asked three times in a row, which immediately made everyone frown.

Liu Yixiu and the others frowned because they felt that Gao Panlong shouldn't be so aggressive. Even if they asked Zhu Youxiao after the court meeting, it would be better than this.

He was so aggressive, didn't he just slap Zhu Youxiao down the steps?

As for Sun Ruyou and others, they were annoyed in their hearts, thinking that Gao Panlong, an old man, was about to leave when he was about to leave, and if he didn't let them go well, they insisted on killing them all.

There is no way, Sun Ruyou and others looked at Zhu Youxiao...

"Let's go away..."

Unexpectedly, Zhu Youxiao didn't bother to answer Gao Panlong's question at all, and just left a sentence of dismissal, and then got up to walk out of Wenhua Palace.

However, Gao Panlong still shouted from his position:
"Long live, changing the order from day to day, this is indulging the courtiers! This is the way to bring disaster! Long live, please think twice!"

"Long live please think twice—"

Gao Panlong was not the only one who talked loudly. For a while, more than a dozen censors within the Donglin Party spoke one after another, and some even talked about Zhu Youjian:
"Long live! His Highness the Fifth Highness took the imperial decree and dispatched troops in Shuntian Mansion and Yongping Mansion, abolished the guards, embezzled acres of land, and brought a large number of acres of land into the Imperial Horse Supervisor."

"This is not the way to create chaos, but the way to subjugate the country!"

"Long live! His Highness the Fifth Highness has also eliminated the soldiers and horses in Jizhen. If the northern captives invade the south now, then we will repeat the mistakes of the Jiajing period!"

"Long live, please decree to take back the military power of the Yumajian, marry a wife for His Highness the Fifth Prince, and make him a vassal!"

"The prince leading the army, this is a sign of chaos in the country!"

"Long live! The south court of the Imperial Horse Supervisor is suspected of exploiting the people, please long live..."

"Enough!!!" Zhu Youxiao, who was surrounded, roared angrily, which instantly made everyone's hearts tremble.

Liu Yixiu, Yang Lian, Sun Ruyou and all other officials knelt down one after another, while Zhu Youxiao even waved his sleeves and scolded angrily:
"Is it because there are rebels in the south? Or have the northern captives already reached the capital? Or is it that the Jian captives captured Liaodong? Oirat invaded the northwest?"

"In your mouth, the Ming Dynasty is like a chaotic world!"

"The military station of the Weisuo is under the jurisdiction of the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, what has it to do with you?"

"During the great hunger in Huaibei, why didn't you see everything as well as you do now? Besides, when did my Ming Dynasty say that princes are not allowed to lead troops?!"

"The ancestral system! Open and shut all day long is the ancestral system, so does the ancestral system have to be reused when it comes to peeling the skin and filling it with grass?!"

"The minister waits for death..." Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Sun Ruyou quickly apologized, and the other civil servants of the five parties, as well as Liu Yixiu and others also apologized.

Only Gao Panlong and all the talkative Donglin party members still insisted:
"I'm here for Daming! It's for Long Live! Please, Long Live Ming..."

Seeing them like this, Zhu Youxiao was furious, and directly reprimanded:

"Since you want the fifth brother of the emperor to be a vassal, then you can make the fifth brother of the emperor the king of Wu!"

"Long live! Don't do it!" Sun Ruyou didn't expect to be able to hear his own head while listening to the play, so he hurriedly bowed to dissuade him.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to cut off from Han Liner's dragon and phoenix regime politically and eliminate the notoriety of "regicide", he did not restrict the canonization of King Wu.

Not only that, he himself took the lead in conferring the fifth son Zhu Huan as the King of Wu, and later thought that it would be easy to threaten Nanjing, so he changed the title to the King of Zhou.

But this did not cut off the title of King Wu. In the first year of Jianwen, Zhu Yunwen named Zhu Yunxi the King of Wu again.

Therefore, in the entire Ming Dynasty, the king title of King Wu could be granted, but the reason why the later emperors did not grant it was because of King Wu's vassal status.

hangzhou...

Even in the early Ming Dynasty, when the civil servants in the south of the Yangtze River were rampant and Huaixi nobles were domineering, Liu Bowen could lead a political force in eastern Zhejiang.

As an important place for taxation, the emperors of later dynasties also considered it not to be a king here.

But right now, Zhu Youxiao actually said in a fit of anger that he wanted to make Zhu Youjian the King of Wu, which is a bit of a beating.

Is Zhu Youxiao really angry?not quite...

If he is angry, then he should be canonized as Chang Wang, and he should be in Changzhou, which is Gao Panlong's hometown.

But right now, he is in Hangzhou, so he is beating Sun Ruyou and others.

The meaning is obvious, Zhu Youxiao helped settle the Jingcha matter, but now Gao Panlong is using this as an excuse to bother him, and a group of Zhejiang Party members are indifferent.

what is this?Is it possible that the emperor should help them take the blame?

Thinking of this, Fang Congzhe comprehended it earlier than Sun Ruyou, and directly bowed to him and said:

"Long live, what Gao Panlong said is nonsense."

"The military households under the Yumajian are well-off and well-organized, and His Highness the Fifth Highness is wise and knowledgeable about soldiers. The abolition of the guards of Shuntian Mansion and Yongping Mansion was approved by the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies. This naturally makes sense."

"Besides, Jizhen's soldiers and horses have assisted Liao many times, and several battalions are exhausted and empty. Now the reduction and replacement of troops is to ensure the safety of Zhili. How can it be called cholera?"

"Let's talk about the matter of conferring the king, the Fifth Highness knows how to fight, and I usually confer the king at an earlier age, so it's better to change to the king of Han, or the king of Song, or the king of Qi."

"According to the allusion of Emperor Xuanzongzhang and King Xiangxian back then, His Highness the Fifth Highness can temporarily enshrine in the capital and become a feudal vassal. After Long Live gets married and establishes a crown prince, His Highness the Fifth Highness can choose a concubine to marry a wife and make him a feudal prince."

Old fox!
Fang Congzhe's words immediately made some Qi Party officials feel uncomfortable.

The three king titles he proposed, except for King Han, King Song and King Qi are all related to Shandong. This is to push Zhu Youjian to their Shandong in disguise.

Qi party officials felt uncomfortable, but they were too embarrassed to speak up. After all, they realized what Zhu Youxiao meant.

Feng Wang is just an excuse. To put it bluntly, he just wants to see the officials of the five parties support him.

Therefore, Qi Shijiao, the leader of the Qi Party, bowed and said:

"Long live, Fang Gechen even said that His Royal Highness can suspend the appointment of the king, there is no need to be so eager."

"The ministers and others seconded the proposal—"

Qi, Chu, Zhejiang, Xuankun and other officials of the five parties spoke one after another, as if at this moment, Zhu Youjian, whom they had always disliked, had become some kind of great saint.

Gao Panlong saw this scene, and said eagerly in his eyes:
"The five princes know the soldiers, and there are tens of thousands of soldiers under them. Long live, have you ever thought about Taizong of Tang Dynasty, Yang Guang of Sui Dynasty, Liu Songzhi..."

"Enough!" Zhu Youxiao was so annoyed that he directly said to Zhou Jiamo, Minister of the Ministry of Officials:

"Since Gao You Vice Du Yushi likes to quote scriptures so much, let's compile the "Records" of the emperor's grandfather and the late emperor together with the Duke of England and others!"

"As for the right deputy capital censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, another person will be selected. Please go to the Imperial Academy to transcribe the right deputy capital censor!"

After all, Zhu Youxiao directly turned around, bypassed the officials, and walked out of the gate of Wenhua Palace, leaving only Gao Panlong, whose beard trembled with anger, kneeling on the spot...

After the officials reacted, Zhu Youxiao had already walked out of the Wenhua Palace, got on the walking chariot with the support of Wei Zhongxian, and rushed back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation in Qianqing Palace.

But after returning to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, just as Zhu Youxiao sat down, Wang An sent a thick stack of memorials, which made him upset.

Seeing Zhu Youxiao's appearance, Wang An bowed back and said:

"Long live, most of the memorials here have been processed, and only need to review for long live..."

"Hmm..." Zhu Youxiao nodded in satisfaction when he heard that he only needed to look at it, while Wei Zhongxian glanced at Wang An with a smile on his face.

"By the way, is Lu Wenzhao back?" Zhu Youxiao suddenly thought of Lu Wenzhao who was escorting more than [-] million taels of silver and tens of millions of stones of grain.

To Zhu Youxiao's inquiry, Wei Zhongxian replied very eagerly:

"Long live, Lu Tongzhi has returned. Among the more than [-] taels of silver, a total of [-] million taels of Liao's salary in Nanzhili, Zhejiang and other places has entered the Ministry of Household and The treasury of the Ministry of War."

"The [-] taels converted from the land tax and miscellaneous items also went into the Taicang of the Ministry of Households, and the banker's silver from the Ministry of Industry also went into the warehouse."

"After the six parts have been put into the treasury, the remaining three million nine hundred and twenty-one thousand three hundred taels have been put into internal funds."

"As for the harvested grain, it was [-] shi, and it also went into the Jingtong No. [-] Warehouse."

"Currently the internal funds plus the income from the North, totals [-] taels, including last year's balance, the total comes to [-] taels."

Wei Zhongxian reported his merits, but Zhu Youxiao was a little dissatisfied and said:

"Last year, the money invested was more than [-] million yuan, but this year it is only [-] million yuan?"

"Er... this..." Wei Zhongxian couldn't answer for a while, but Wang An calmly said:

"Back to Long Live, this is because of the abolition of mining tax and the great famine in Huaibei, which resulted in the failure of Huai'an and Xuzhou to pay honeysuckle and other silver."

"However, right now, His Royal Highness is investigating Shuntian and Yongping's military garrison, and with the addition of the Southern Field of the Imperial Horse Supervisor, it is expected that the Royal Horse Supervisor will have an annual income of two to three million taels this year."

Wang An talked about the extra money collected because of Zhu Youjian, but Zhu Youxiao frowned and said:
"It's not easy for my younger brother to raise an army. How can he think about getting money from the Imperial Horse Supervisor?"

"Don't mention this matter any more. Let Lu Wenzhao tell me to come to me with news about Nanzhili."

"The maidservant leads the decree..." Wang An returned the salute, and then retreated.

Zhu Youxiao didn't say anything else, but read the memorials that had just been put on the case one by one, and then wrote some suggestions.

After half an hour, footsteps sounded in Qianqing Palace, and Wang An's voice also came out: "Long live, Commander Tong Zhi of Nanzhen Fusi, Lu Wenzhao came here as ordered."

"Hmm..." Hearing the voice, Zhu Youxiao put down the memorial in his hand, and the dusty Lu Wenzhao also saw Zhu Youxiao who hadn't seen him for nearly four months.

"Minister Lu Wenzhao, hello to Long Live, Long Live Saint Gong'an..."

"Zhen'an, get up!" Zhu Youxiao said while motioning Wei Zhongxian to sit down.

Wei Zhongxian ordered the two eunuchs to bring chairs, and Lu Wenzhao also sat down after bowing, waiting for the emperor's inquiry.

It's just that Zhu Youxiao wasn't in a hurry, he took a sip from his teacup, and then said:

"You have worked hard during this period, pack up and go to Beizhen Fusi to serve as a commander tomorrow..."

"Minister..." Lu Wenzhao was about to kneel down and thank you, but Zhu Youxiao frowned and said:

"You don't need to thank you, just sit down and listen to me."

"Yes!" Hearing this, Lu Wenzhao sat back in his seat, and Zhu Youxiao continued:

"There are some things that should be said or must be said."

"This time Nanzhili is involved in the great hunger in Huaibei, who is..."

Zhu Youxiao asked a question he cared about, and after hearing what Lu Wenzhao said, he pulled out a letter he had written earlier from his cuff without thinking, and handed it out.

Wang An helped to take it and handed it to Zhu Youxiao. After Zhu Youxiao opened the letter, his brows were furrowed immediately, but he soon relaxed again.

After a while, he said: "There is no need to tell my brother about this matter, let's stop here."

"If the younger brother asks, just answer "long live no"."

"Minister...lead the decree." Lu Wenzhao felt very difficult and didn't know how to deal with himself for a while, but he still agreed first.

Seeing this, Zhu Youxiao continued: "Luo Sigong has resigned at the beginning of the month. You don't need to have too much burden. You can take the post tomorrow. As for whether Jinyiwei needs to be reformed, you can ask your brother's opinion. .”

"Yes..." Lu Wenzhao could only nod in response.

"Back down." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand, and Lu Wenzhao also got up and bowed, and then withdrew from the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

But after he withdrew, Zhu Youxiao did not continue to deal with the memorial, but asked Wei Zhongxian:
"How about the abolition of the twenty-six guards of Shangzhi and the guards of Tongzhou, Tianjin and other places?"

"Long live back..." Wei Zhongxian explained with a smile on his face:
"That Sun Yingyuan is worthy of being trained by His Highness the Fifth Highness. The abolished Guards Army of the twenty-six guards of Shangzhi was taken over the barracks before they could react."

"Afterwards, he selected nearly [-] forwards from the [-] guards, and trained [-] of them into the three guards of the imperial city, including Feixiong, Longhu, and Yiluan."

"He left Habayashi to train, and then set up two battalions, Daxing and Wanping, outside the capital to garrison the outer city of the capital."

"After the establishment, he took the extra [-] recruits and Habayashi left and right guards to Tongzhou."

"He stationed troops in Tongzhou, and abolished Tongzhou, as well as Shenwu, Daxing, Jezhou, Jiyang and other guards, leaving Habayashi Zuowei and [-] new soldiers."

"Three thousand new recruits were compiled by him as the Tongzhou Camp, and then he took the remaining [-] new recruits and Habayashi Youwei to Tianjin Wei."

"When he arrived at Tianjin Wei, he abolished the three guards of Tianjin and recruited [-] new recruits, forming [-] new recruits."

"What about in the future?" Zhu Youxiao frowned a little, he didn't expect that the abolition of the guards of the two prefectures would be so smooth.

As for Wei Zhongxian, he also knew that Zhu Youxiao liked to hear this kind of thing the most, so he said it in detail, and then explained:

"The [-] recruits were organized by Sun Yingyuan into three battalions, one of which was stationed at Dagukou in Tianjin Wei."

"The remaining two battalions are the Bazhou battalion and the Zhuozhou battalion, adding up to a total of six battalions..."

After Wei Zhongxian finished speaking, he looked at Zhu Youxiao's expression.

I have to say that Wei Zhongxian's ability to tell stories is good, and he clearly explained what Sun Yingyuan did.

After listening, Zhu Youxiao also nodded and said:
"So, there are two battalions and three guards in the capital right now?"

"Long live back, there are two battalions and three guards, a total of [-] people." Wei Zhongxian did not forget to flatter Zhu Youjian:
"The more than [-] people were all taught by Habayashi Avant-Garde. Although they have only practiced for a few days, they already have a trace of Habayashi Avant-Garde's demeanor."

"Hmm..." Zhu Youxiao nodded, and then asked:

"Did the abolished guards not make trouble?"

"Er... this..." Wei Zhongxian hesitated for two seconds, and then saw Zhu Youxiao frown, and then said hastily:

"Long live, there are not many abolitions, because most of the Eighteen Guards of Shangzhi are empty, and the remaining half are the sons of nobles and Beijing officials. They don't want to be ordered around, so they left early."

"In addition, according to His Royal Highness, Sun Yingyuan promised that after one month's military garrison and measurement, all the original military households will be canceled military registration, and the land will be distributed, so no one makes trouble..."

As soon as Wei Zhongxian finished speaking, Zhu Youxiao breathed a sigh of relief.

As for the matter of empty pay, he didn't pursue it. If he really pursued it, more than half of Xungui would be killed, and he doesn't have the strength right now...

Compared with these, Zhu Youxiao is most concerned about why these military households are so peaceful and no one makes trouble.

Perhaps as the emperor, he didn't care about everything about the military households, and he didn't know that the current military households were called soldiers, but they were actually slaves to military officers.

Not only was his own military field seized, but he also had to become a tenant of an officer and farm for the officer.

In this way, they can only get [-]% of the grain in the field in their hands in one year.

Perhaps for them, no matter how bad it is, it can't be worse than it is now.

Moreover, Zhu Youjian directly asked people to take food from the treasury of the guards in various places and gave it to all military households. According to the head registration, each person received a catty of rice.

As for what they need to do, they just need to honestly plant their own current fields, and when the land is distributed in the future, there is a high probability that they will divide the fields they cultivated themselves.

Zhu Youjian's promise to them was to count the heads within one month, and start dividing the land after one month.

Dividing land according to the head, this is the temptation that no lower class in China can refuse for five thousand years, which is equivalent to distributing houses according to the head in later generations.

One catty of rice per person per day, regardless of the system of men and women, plus the words of the soldiers of the Seven Guards and One Battalion who are constantly promoting the land distribution, everyone is waiting for the land distribution in a month, including Zhu Youjian himself...

(End of this chapter)