Chapter 333 The ninth son of the emperor, Zhao, the most virtuous and holy man!
Concubine Xiao was crowned queen.

Prince Fu Zhu Yijun was enfeoffed.

Hai Rui, a cabinet minister and minister of rites, only discussed the first matter with his peers and appointed Concubine Xiao as “Zhao”.

Zhaozhe: bright and clear appearance.

People often say: “The sun and the moon are bright.” The sun and the moon are bright, and bright means king.

There was a king title before there was a name. This was the first time even during the 200 years of the Ming Dynasty.

However, Yuxi Palace was not so absurd. When Gao Gong, the chief minister of the cabinet, was preparing to petition for the king, Concubine Xiao’s name was also put forward.

The surname Zhu and the generation number Zai are the ancestral system and cannot be changed, and the name “Qi” is also.

圻者: It represents boundary, margin, and border, and has a beautiful meaning.

This is consistent with the current national conditions of the Ming Dynasty, which is constantly expanding its territory.

Zhu Zaiqi was the ninth son of the Ming Dynasty emperor and was granted the title of King Zhao.

The cabinet drafted the memorial, the Yuxi Palace approved it, and the emperor and his subjects were in harmony. The ministers of the six ministries and nine departments were silent when they heard it.

Everyone blamed Yan Song’s cabinet for bringing disaster to the country and the people and controlling the government, but no matter what problems Yan Song encountered, he would more or less inform the six ministries and nine government offices and hold a meeting or something.

After Yan Song fell, the two generations of cabinets, Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong, no matter what happened, the cabinet would close the door of the government hall, hold a small meeting, and a few cabinet elders would talk, and the matter would be done.

Even matters that affected the fate of the Ming Dynasty were decided by the Yuxi Palace without any large or small meetings.

Small meetings were held for big events, but no meetings were held for important matters. This gradually became the current situation in the Ming Dynasty, causing countless veteran officials to sigh.

Afterwards, along with the decree of King Zhao to confer titles, the title of “Marquis of Shenjie” was also conferred on Concubine Xiao’s father. This was obviously a title of reward, and the civil and military officials did not care much about it.

But it also contains the “clever ideas” and “reminders” of the five cabinet elders, who use the words “caution” and “chastity” to warn Imperial Noble Consort Xiao’s father not to follow the old path of scandals involving father-in-law, uncle-in-law, father-son, brother-in-law, and in-laws.

As the “future father-in-law” of Prince Fu Zhu Yijun, Hai Rui had to avoid the matter of Prince Fu’s going to the vassal state and choosing his fiefdom. He left his post and went directly to Prince Fu’s mansion to inform his in-laws and son-in-law of the happy event, as well as to give him some instructions.

Prince Fu’s Mansion.

There is no change from the previous Prince Yu’s Mansion, except that the former Prince Yu Zhu Zaihou is gone and the plaque on the door has changed. All the people, things and objects are the same as they were three or four years ago.

However, since the “orphan and widow” were at home, no outsiders would come to visit or pay them a visit.

Hai Rui often came here. After all, Hai Rui’s other identity was “Prince Fu’s Teacher”.

But every time he came, all the doors and windows of the huge palace would be opened, even in the coldest winter. Hai Rui would only teach Zhu Yijun knowledge in the main hall and give him instructions in person.

From the time Zhu Yijun was a little over one year old and could walk, Princess Yu and Princess Fu’s mother, Li, no longer showed up in public. It was either the eunuchs or the palace maids who took Zhu Yijun to see Hai Rui.

Li had strict requirements for Zhu Yijun and would not allow him to slack off in his studies. If he slacked off, she would make Zhu Yijun kneel in front of her for a long time as punishment.

Moreover, on the days when Hai Rui was giving lectures, Li would wake Zhu Yijun up at five o’clock in the morning to prepare for reading and review.

Even if there were important matters at court and Hai Rui was late, Zhu Yijun would wait in front of the palace, facing the sun if it was sunny and holding an umbrella if it was raining, and he could not leave for a moment.

With Hai Rui’s dedicated tutoring and Li’s strict discipline, Zhu Yijun was precocious and hardworking, so he could read independently when he was less than four years old, and was truly a child prodigy.

With his children and in-laws around, Hai Rui was more like the Prince of Fu than the Prince of Fu in the Prince of Fu’s mansion. However, Hai Rui never overstepped his authority. After being welcomed and saluted by Zhu Yijun, he returned the greetings to Zhu Yijun in front of the mansion gate as a subject.

When they arrived at the main hall, Hai Rui said to Li’s personal maid, who accompanied Zhu Yijun to study, “I will not teach you today. Please excuse me. There has been a change in the Forbidden City. Please see me, Princess.”

After hearing the words of his teacher and “father”, Zhu Yijun, who was still young and unstable, sat there upright with a hint of joy on his little face.

The maid bowed slightly and then went into the back hall. After a while, Li, dressed neatly and solemnly, came out.

“Master Hai!”

“princess!”

Li and Hai Rui greeted each other. Li took the host seat and Hai Rui sat in the guest seat. Zhu Yijun sat opposite Hai Rui, restrained his smile, and his face was tense, not daring to laugh again.

“Master Hai, please speak.”

“My princess, in the Forbidden City, Imperial Noble Consort Xiao successfully gave birth to a son, who was named King Zhao. Now that the country has an election, His Majesty has allowed Your Highness to leave the capital and become a vassal.” Hai Rui briefly explained the situation in the Forbidden City.

By this time, the news of the ninth prince had already spread throughout the capital, and it could be said that everyone knew about it. However, Li’s surprise and joy clearly revealed her confusion and ignorance.

This palace seems to be separated from heaven and earth.

Hai Rui was silent for a moment, then continued, “The emperor has ordered the cabinet to select a fiefdom for your highness. The cabinet is still discussing the specific fiefdom and matters concerning the vassalage, but there are a few things that I think the princess should know in advance.”

Li managed to calm down her excitement, tears faintly visible in the corners of her eyes, and she remained calm and said, “Master Hai, please speak.”

“According to the ancestral system, when a prince is enfeoffed, he should be given a residence, land, and taxes. Now, the emperor is granting your highness a luxurious enfeoffment, which will surely exceed the cost of the general royal system. For the sake of the princess and your highness, please reject all the rewards.”

Hai Rui looked at Zhu Yijun and said slowly: “I will not live in a residence that exceeds the royal rules, I will not accept the land granted, I will return the rewarded property to the court, and I will not pay any miscellaneous taxes or royal business.

After the vassal is established, the palace will be closed, officials will not be disturbed, and the people will not be disturbed. Only the annual salary of the Ming prince, 30,000 taels of silver, will be used as food. In this way, the princess and the prince can be kept safe. “

Due to the special national conditions of the current court, Zhu Yijun is currently the only vassal king of the Ming Dynasty. In the past, the vassal kings were greedy, possessive, and evil, which were no longer tolerated by the monarchs, ministers, and people of the world.

If you want to live in peace and security, you have to “hide” in a corner where no one can notice you, without causing any trouble.

If the emperor asked the cabinet to choose a good fiefdom, the cabinet would certainly do it, and make it perfect in terms of location and size. However, Zhu Yijun could not accept this fiefdom.

Not even an acre of land can be accepted.

As a prince of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yijun could not farm for the sake of etiquette. As long as he was given a fief, he had to use the people to farm and share the yield with the people. If he gave too much, he would oppress the innocent people; if he gave too little, he would win over the people’s hearts and have ulterior motives.

Hai Rui was a civil servant and he knew very well that if one wanted to accuse someone of a crime, one could always find a pretext. How could this be explained?

The only way for Prince Fu to survive was to decline the favor and live on salary.

For the sake of Prince Fu, his own daughter, and the future of his children, Hai Rui gave detailed instructions.

Apart from the royal palace, you cannot ask for anything else!
Li’s joy was slightly diluted, and sadness rose in her heart. Looking at her son, she finally couldn’t help but shed two lines of tears.

Hai Rui immediately stood up, bowed, and left Prince Fu’s Mansion.

Zhu Yijun thought for a long time before he stood up and walked carefully to his mother’s side. He wanted to wipe her tears with his sleeve and whispered, “Don’t cry, mother. I will study harder in the future…”

Li held her son in her arms, showing her motherly love, and said in a voice that only the mother and son could hear: “If there is a future, I hope my son will not be born into an imperial family.”

Soon, the cabinet sent someone to inform Prince Fu’s palace that they wanted to make Luoyang the fiefdom. Li led Prince Fu Zhu Yijun to kowtow three times and six times to thank the emperor for his grace.

Later, when he heard that the cabinet wanted to spend 80,000 taels of silver to build a mansion, which was four times the normal expenditure of the royal system, Li ordered Zhu Yijun to write back to the cabinet three times in succession, “asking the cabinet to act according to the correct system.”

He declined three times.

This custom can be traced back to Taibo of the Zhou Dynasty, who abdicated the throne three times and was thus revered as a sage of great virtue.

It is a royal etiquette and one of the most important etiquette norms in Chinese culture, which emphasizes humility and courtesy.

While in the present tense, the first refusal: when being awarded an important position or honor, the first refusal expresses humility.

Second refusal: When the proposal is made again, decline for the second time to further demonstrate humility.

Third refusal: When offered the third time, although still declining, it is usually accepted at this time for the position or honor.

Zhu Yijun declined three times in a row and refused to accept any fiefdom or palace that exceeded the royal system in the slightest, which meant he really refused.

Gao Gong, the chief minister of the cabinet, presented a memorial to Yuxi Palace, and then replied to the letter that the court would build the prince’s palace in the fiefdom according to the general royal system, without overstepping or exceeding the limit.

Prince Fu’s palace burned incense to express his gratitude.

Subsequently.

The cabinet also planned to grant 10,000 hectares of land to Prince Fu. Since there was not enough fertile land in Zhongzhou, the land in Shandong and Huguang would be used to make up the difference.

Prince Fu Zhu Yijun declined three more times and was even more calm. He refused all the land grants in the name of the national policy of “clearing and measuring the land and equalizing it” and with the intention that the royal family “should not compete with the people for profit.”

Even if there are thousands of acres of land, I will not take even a single centimeter.

The cabinet again reported to Yuxi Palace with an official letter from the court, thanking King Fu for his profound understanding of righteousness and being a role model among all kings.

then.

The cabinet intends to allocate part of the dividends from Henan Salt Wells to Prince Fu’s Palace.

China is a vast country with abundant resources, one of which is its extremely rich salt resources.

There are four main types of salt resources available throughout the world: sea salt, well salt, rock salt and lake salt (also known as pond salt).

Coastal areas are rich in sea salt resources, while inland areas have well salt, rock salt and lake salt resources.

But the most common salt consumed by the people in the Ming Dynasty was mine salt, followed by lake salt, and finally sea salt.

In Ye County, Henan Province, rock salt resources are very rich and it is known as the “Rock Salt Capital”. Salt and iron have always been government-run. When the current emperor implemented the national policy of government-run industries, salt industry control and government-run operations were ranked first.

Even a tiny portion of the salt well dividends is an extremely large amount of silver. This is the goose that lays golden eggs.

Prince Fu, who had refused even the extra royal palace and the vast expanse of land granted to him, would never accept any dividends from the salt industry and he refused them all.

Continuous refusal.

The cabinet was a little embarrassed. In the past, whenever a prince was granted a fiefdom, he would get as much as he could. The imperial court controlled the situation, and the princes even dared to “rob”.

This does not mention Zhu Zaizhen, the Prince of Jing, who was enfeoffed in the 39th year of Jiajing.

It can be said that in the past the cabinet had been struggling with the prince and trying not to give anything as much as possible, but now, no matter how much they give, the prince refuses to accept it.

Thinking of the emperor’s instructions to give Prince Fu as many benefits as possible, the cabinet originally thought it was not a big deal, but now it has Gao Gong scratching his head.

However, the cabinet also guessed what was going on. It was impossible for Princess Yu Li and Prince Fu Zhu Yijun to have such wisdom. It was obvious that someone had come up with the idea.

Gao Gong, Hu Zongxian, Li Chunfang and Zhu Heng successively talked to Hai Rui. They could not let Prince Fu refuse again, otherwise, the affairs of the vassal state would not go on. Faced with Hai Rui’s concerns, the elders could only make promises. As long as he accepted the reward, there would be no problem. If anyone caused trouble, the cabinet would solve it.

After getting the guarantee from the cabinet, Hai Rui went to Prince Fu’s palace again, and with him he requested “10,000 jin of Huai salt.”

In the Ming Dynasty, the salt law was not called salt tax, but salt levy.

In the 43rd year of Jiajing, the annual income from salt tax was 1,200 taels, of which more than half came from Lianghuai.

The salt permit is a certificate for obtaining salt and also a certificate of weight. During the Hongwu period, each permit weighed 200 jin. Today, it weighs about 400 jin, and each permit costs between three and five qian of silver.

Salt merchants were businessmen who had obtained licenses from the imperial court to sell salt. Only they could sell salt; no one else was allowed. They were all hereditary families.

Salt merchants were divided into three types. Those who exchanged grain for salt permits were called border merchants.

Those who exchanged silver for salt permits were called internal merchants.

Those who wholesale salt from domestic merchants and then transport it to various places are called water merchants.

Among them, border merchants are actually just small households who depend on domestic merchants for their survival.

Border merchants transported grain to the border in exchange for salt permits. Then, instead of going to the salt fields to purchase salt, they sold the permits to domestic merchants, making very little profit.

The Salt Transport Office was abbreviated as the Transport Department, and was responsible for managing salt fields and investigating smuggling, etc. One can imagine the profits from it, but the imperial court was no pushover. It had imperial censors to supervise the salt transport, and now there was even the Jinyiwei watching over it.

During the 40th year of the Jiajing reign, the administration of officials had become more clean and the annual revenue from salt taxes had increased dramatically.

Ten thousand yin of Huai salt is equivalent to three to five thousand taels of silver. Such a reward is neither big nor small. Taking the annual salary of 30,000 taels of silver of Prince Fu Zhu Yijun as an example, it is almost a monthly salary.

This could no longer be refused. A few thousand taels of silver for a prince’s fiefdom was already very cheap. If the civil and military officials, including the group of censors, could make a fuss about it, it would be really bullying the “orphans and widows” and too much.

Princess Li of Prince Yu and Prince Zhu Yijun of Fu thanked the emperor for his grace and accepted the salt permits. The cabinet finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Everything is agreed upon.

The cabinet then reported Prince Fu’s enfeoffment to Yuxi Palace, and informed the six ministries, nine government offices, and local government offices in the two capitals and eighteen provinces.

The emperor ordered the Henan Provincial Government to immediately select a site to build a royal palace, and to construct it according to the usual royal standards, and to complete it as soon as possible.

In addition, with the instruction of Li from Prince Yu’s Mansion, the “Wanyin Huai Salt” was converted into cash by the Salt Transport Bureau at the maximum market price, and exchanged for 5,000 taels of silver, which was delivered to Prince Fu’s Mansion.

At the same time, he informed the Imperial Observatory and decided to choose a date for Prince Fu to leave Beijing to take up his fiefdom after the Lantern Festival next year.

According to the system of the Ming Dynasty, once a prince was enfeoffed, he was not allowed to return to the capital without an imperial edict. If he disobeyed, he would be regarded as intending to assassinate the prince and plot against the emperor. Therefore, he could not leave the capital at will.

The back and forth negotiations and preparations consumed a great deal of time and energy, so that it was not until the end of the year that the cabinet finally arranged all matters, and snowflakes were falling all over the capital.

Forty years after the reign of Emperor Jiajing, the climate in the Ming Dynasty became pleasant. The Imperial Astronomical Observatory said that the country had entered a warm period. The governor of Shaanxi Province even reported that the citrus trees planted in the palace during the Tang Dynasty had come back to life.

The four seasons are warm and mild, but there is no sense of distinction. After this snow, the coming year will be another year of harvest!
(End of this chapter)