Rule over Ming Dynasty

Chapter 96: The Destiny of the King of Chu
At noon the next day, a salt convoy came from the west of the Yangtze River and arrived at the wharf outside Wuchang City via Hanshuikou.

As the greetings had been made in advance, the operation of the huge wharf stopped at this time, and the empty wharf greeted the salt boat returning from Yangzhou with a full load.

Shen Yuanzhen, the left chief of Chu Palace, was a Jinshi in Chenghua for eight years. From the moment he stepped into his official career, it seemed to have ended, but he stayed in this palace all the time.

He is nearly fifty years old this year, and he has already lost hope for his future. He is leading the officials and eunuchs of the palace to watch the salt boat that is docking.

This batch of salt is the life guarantee of the Chu Palace, and it is also a ship of shining gold.

Royal Salt first appeared in the early period of Taizu, but Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang soon realized that supplying salt to the kings was harmful to the salt government, so the "regulations do not give salt" was abolished in the later period.

During the reign of Xuande, the king of Han asked for salt, and the Ministry of Households ordered that "the ancestors said that there is no example of giving salt. If the kingdom does not produce salt, it will send people to trade in other places." The opinions of the Ministry of Households were adopted by Xuanzong.

During the Zhengtong period, Zhou Wangzuo asked to send salt to the nearby waterway salt field, and this time finally got Yingzong's permission.

It was through this opening that the vassal kings appeared to beg for salt in a large number.

In the 16th year of Chenghua, it became a common practice for the palaces of the princes to give [-] yin to the natural salt every year, and some palaces with a large number of people took the opportunity to ask for [-] yin.

For example, in order to commemorate King Xiang's love for himself during the Jingtai period, Yingzong granted him three hundred citations per year at the request of King Xiang, and then increased to [-] citations.

The lineage of the king of Chu is after Zhu Zhen, the sixth son of Zhu Yuanzhang. Although they are getting farther and farther away from the bloodline of Dazong, after so many generations of reproduction, the population is already one of the best in the vassal clan, so they successfully asked for a thousand citations. .

A total of 40 jin, and every [-] jin of citing is equivalent to [-] jin of salt. This amount of salt is simply not something a small Chu royal family can digest.

In fact, the two generations of Chu kings naturally knew this, but after all, salt comes as a reward, so don't take it for nothing.In addition, the current salt can be said to be a hard currency comparable to silver, and there is no need to worry about not being able to exchange for silver taels.

Ten salt boats approached the wharf one after another. Following an order, the workers hurriedly unloaded the salt from the boats into the granary next to the wharf, taking advantage of the good weather.

Just as the salt was being unloaded here sweating like rain, the whole city of Wuchang seemed to be in a frying pan.

"Didn't that old man Wang Yue go to Yangzhou?"

"What is he doing in Wuchang City? Isn't this nonsense?"

"It's...to the pier? This...this is really not a way for people to survive!"

……

Everyone originally thought that the imperial envoy Wang Yue had rushed to Yangzhou to rectify the salt administration, but when they learned that Wang Yue's imperial guard of honor suddenly appeared in Wuchang City and headed towards the pier, it was no less than a sudden thunderclap.

Li Qing, the Zuo Buzheng who was the first to get the news, was discussing with the concubine bought from Shixian Tower, but when he learned that Wang Yue had appeared and was heading for the pier, he was so frightened that he withered.

The same situation happened in other yamen. After learning that Wang Yue played such a trick, everyone was angry and angry, but they wanted to eat Wang Yue raw.

This officialdom was originally peaceful, but as a result, the new king continued to favor and trust the eunuchs, but now he has released such a mad dog as Wang Yue, which made their Huguang officialdom more stormy.

Huguang inspector Jiang Hong and Huguang inspector Yang Jizong heard the news, but no matter how much they hated Wang Yue at the moment, they had to go to meet the imperial envoy out of reason.

The swaying sails are in the sky, and the clear current returns to the wind.

Poetry is made by advocacy, and wine is the hero of swords and songs.

Dancing brothel prostitutes, double maid Bai Yutong.

Don't go in the clouds, stay drunk in the Chu Palace.

……

The highest status in Wuchang City is not the governor or Zuo Buzheng, but the king of Chu who lived here for generations, Zhu Yuanzhang's sixth son Zhu Zhen and his lineage.

The current fifth-generation King of Chu, Zhu Junkui, is a very lucky King of Chu, and can even be said to be the King of Chu chosen by heaven.

In the sixth year of Tianshun, Zhu Jizheng, the fourth king of Chu, passed away, leaving behind only an eight-month-old concubine son.

After careful consideration, Yingzong decided to let Zhu Jizheng's younger brother Zhu Jizheng, the king of Dong'an, preside over the funeral of the king of Chu, and asked him to take care of his nephew and wait for his nephew to become an adult before becoming a king.

However, due to God's will, Zhu Jizhen, the king of Dong'an, died not long after, and the quasi-King of Chu also died in the same year.

Zhu Mengtan, the second king of Zhuangzhuang of Chu, has four sons, the eldest son Zhu Jizhen, king of Xian of Chu (the third king of Chu has no heir), the second son of Zhu Jizhen, king of Kangkang of Chu (the fourth king of Chu has no heir), the third son of Gongding king of Dong'an Zhu Jizhen, The fourth son, Daye Mourning King Zhu Jijun (no heir).

According to the normal "brother ends up with younger brother", only the fourth son, Daye King Zhu Jiyu, has passed away and has no descendants, so the king of Chu can only be selected from the lineage of Dong'an King Zhu Jiyu.

Since Dong'an King Zhu Jizhen had no legitimate son, the eldest son Zhu Jun was naturally the King of Chu, but at that time he also faced the problem of how to determine the status of Dong'an King Zhu Jicheng.

In April of the first year of Chenghua, the imperial court finally came up with a plan. The eldest son of King Gongding of Dong'an, Zhu Junyi, was named the king of Chu, and the second son of the concubine, Zhu Junpi, was named the king of Dong'an.

This was the special situation of the Ming Dynasty’s first minor sect succeeding the grand sect, but the court did not force Zhu Jun to recognize Zhu Jizhen or Zhu Jizhen as his father, nor did he canonize Dong’an King Zhu Jizhen as the King of Chu.

The scale of the Chu Palace was built during the reign of Taizu, and the scale is naturally far beyond today's customization. The palace here looks magnificent.

Zhu Junxuan always felt that he was the chosen one. His uncle had no heirs, his second uncle had no heirs, his fourth uncle died early, and his father had no legitimate sons. As a result, the throne of Chu fell on his forehead so strangely.

Since the first year of Chenghua, he has been the king of Chu at a young age.

Like so many princes, Zhu Junkui was drinking and having fun in the palace every day, and was enjoying the song and dance performance in the palace, but the corners of his mouth could not help but slightly rise when he thought that even if he raised enough money to buy the number one beauty in Jingchu.

Now that he no longer plots against the Great Ming Dynasty, now that he can inherit the throne of Chu and become a happy prince, and also get the number one beauty in Jingchu, his life is not in vain.

Different from his uncle, Zhu Junkui wants to build a big harem, and he must not let his lineage die out, so as to give up the best Chu throne to others.

"My lord, it's not good, it's not good!" At this moment, a eunuch hurried in and said.

Seeing that the singing and dancing performance in the hall was disrupted, Zhu Junkui said with an unhappy expression, "Li An, what are you doing in such a panic, can the sky still fall?"

"My lord, the imperial envoy has gone to the pier to check the salt!" Li An knew that the matter was extremely urgent, so he immediately reported it with a sad face.

Zhu Junkui looked confused and said: "Imperial envoy? Where did the imperial envoy come from?"

"Wang Yue, the king's beheading is coming!" Li An saw that Zhu Junyu didn't seem to have reacted yet, so he shouted anxiously.

Just as the whole city of Wuchang was flying around, Wang Yue's imperial guard of honor had already arrived at the pier, which was in full swing.

A full ten boats of salt were operating at the same time, and almost all of them have been unloaded now, and they are temporarily stored in the nearby granary for fear of being caught in the rain.

Seeing the appearance of the imperial envoy, the busy workers stopped their work one after another, kneeling respectfully to welcome the beheading of the imperial envoy king who can make a three-year-old child dare not cry.

Finished!

Chu Wangzuo Changshi Shen Yuanzhen and other officials saw Wang Yue's appearance, and immediately knew that a catastrophe was imminent.

It's just that this matter can no longer be stopped, not to mention that they are just small officials of the palace, even the governor of Huguang can't stop Wang Yue here.

"Your Majesty welcomes the Imperial Envoy!" Even though Chu Wang Zuo Chang Shi Shen Yuanzhen knew that the other party was not kind, he still knelt and greeted him politely.

Wang Yue got down from the sedan chair, pointed directly at the mountain of granaries over there and ordered: "Come here, take an inventory, I'm afraid there are more than three hundred salts here!"

Chu Wangzuo Changshi Shen Yuanzhen was about to stop him, but when he saw Wang Yue's stern gaze, he swallowed back the words he had spit out.

Just at this time, a rush of horseshoes came from the direction of the city gate.

When the people around saw that the leader was actually the King of Chu, they couldn't help flashing a look of surprise on their faces. They would be held accountable by the court for going out of the city for no reason.Even if you go out of the city to worship your ancestors, you have to report to the court in advance.

At this time, Zhu Junyu couldn't care so much, and brought his prince's guards to stop it: "This is the palace salt that His Majesty gave to the king, you dare to touch it, do you want to live?"

"His Royal Highness Chu, if this is the court's usual practice of giving salt, why are you so nervous? It's just that you took the salt four times this year, and the last time at the end of this year is only [-] yin, but this is far more than [-] yin?" Wang Yue also didn't expect that the king of Chu would dare to come in person, so he asked with a smile on his face.

Zhu Junkui knew he was wrong, so he said with a cold face: "Whoever dares to touch my king's salt, I will take it all directly, and I will take responsibility for what happens!"

"King of Chu, can you afford it? I am an imperial envoy appointed by His Majesty, and I am now in charge of rectifying the salt administration. I will investigate all illegal salt affairs!" Wang Yue did not expect the King of Chu to be so domineering, and he immediately emphasized his identity.

"King Chu, please think twice!" Zuo Changshi Shen Yuanzhen knew that the matter had been exposed, so he stood up to dissuade him.

Zhu Junxuan always felt that he was the real son of heaven, and he didn't put this famous Wang Yue in his hands at all, but waved his hand and said: "This person wants to take my salt, let me take it, and this king will tell you Your Majesty, explain!"

"Please Shang Fang's sword! Whoever dares to stop this imperial envoy from conducting inspections by order will be punished!" Seeing the situation developing to this point, Wang Yue immediately ordered his grandson Wang Yu.

puff!
At this moment, a cold arrow shot from a distance and flew straight to Wang Yue's heart.

This……

Huguang Governor Li Qing, Huguang Inspector Yang Jizong, and Huguang Inspector Jiang Hong who had just heard the news came down from their sedan chairs. When they saw this scene, they were completely stunned.

The king of Chu shot and killed the imperial envoy. Isn't this plotting rebellion?

(End of this chapter)