First Prince of Ming Dynasty

Of course, Zhu Biao also knew that the most critical thing in this matter was Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude. If the Minister of Rites had not been instructed, how dare he raise the prince's etiquette standards to be comparable to the crown prince's?

The Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites on the ground also didn't care about his dignity, he lowered his head and said, "I beg your Highness to be merciful, old minister."

Zhu Biao looked at him and said: "My palace will go to see the Holy Majesty, and the Ministry of Rites will immediately lower the standard of the King's Conferment Ceremony, and the prince's courtesy should also be reduced, specifically..."

The Minister of Rites was listening respectfully, he was really relieved, if His Royal Highness asked him to reject the Holy Majesty's will, he would not even be able to cry, he had to tell someone to go home and arrange the funeral.

Now the father and son can discuss it on their own. The officials of the Ministry of Rituals will stay up all night at worst, and they can also plan a new king ceremony. After all, there are examples in the Tang and Song Dynasties, which is much simpler than what the Holy Majesty asked.

Just when Zhu Biao finished giving instructions and was about to enter the palace, an eunuch walked in from outside, and shouted at the door: "Preach the order from the Holy Lord, please His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Minister of Rites to accept the order!"

Zhu Biao stood up, went to the front and knelt down, the Minister of Rites turned around, and the eunuch quickly stood sideways, saying that he would speak on behalf of the Holy Majesty: "The prince will preside over the ceremony of conferring the king, and the Ministry of Rites will cooperate. There must be no mistakes."

"The ministers and others who lead the decree will live up to the entrustment of the Holy Majesty."

After the eunuch delivered the message, he hurried forward to help His Highness the Crown Prince, Zhu Biao didn't care, and said to him: "Go back and report to the Holy Majesty, and say that this palace will not disappoint him, please rest assured."

The eunuch knelt on the ground and listened, and then replied: "This servant understands, and will definitely convey it clearly."

Zhu Biao nodded, waved him back, and then looked at the Minister of Rites on the ground and said: "Fu Shangshu, please get up. Since the emperor has decreed that I will be in charge, let's rectify it as soon as possible."

The Minister of Rites got up and said: "The relationship between the Holy Majesty and His Highness as a father and son is really touching."

Zhu Biao smiled, and the Minister of the Ministry of Rites went out to arrange the manpower first. In fact, there are records, as long as the specifications are reduced, but the above sentence, the following is busy, and this change involves all aspects. The Ministry of Rites these days is Don't even think about resting.

Zhu Biao sat back on the chair, Liu Jin offered a cup of tea, and then took out a fan and stood aside to fan the prince. Zhu Biao took a sip of tea and shook his head with a smile. His father's move was to retreat, and he used it caught off guard.

If there was no such oral order, Zhu Biao went to the palace to fight with reason. After all, this matter is related to the issue of the clan for hundreds of years. The sons of the emperor are all princes. If someone who is strong and healthy gives birth to him, what should I do? , The imperial court's taxation alone supports them.

Zhu Biao is not for himself, his status is stable and honored so far, and there is no prince or uncle above him, but he always thinks more about things, their father and son do not need to be oppressed by the clan, what about the future emperors?

It's good now, my father has pushed this matter on him, Zhu Biao is dissatisfied if the ceremony is too heavy, and my younger brothers are disappointed if the ceremony is light, my father will not be happy, but what should be done is still to be done, for the king Those who have to take responsibility.

The most important thing is that all the officials kneel to welcome this point. Zhu Biao asked someone to bring a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and began to write. Officials above the fifth rank only need to bow and salute when they see the prince. .

The prince's crown and clothes are all like the East Palace, except that the East Palace has nine crowns, the prince's crown has eight crowns, the prince's crown has seven crowns, the county crown has six crowns, and the ministers cannot wear it.

The imperial concubine’s royal crown is designated as the Nine Di Crown, and the Nine and Four Phoenix Crowns can only be worn by the Empress and the Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace. The dress, court clothes, and ordinary clothes are the same as those of the Crown Princess.

The heavenly family has no personal affairs. When the prince sees the monarch and the prince, he should behave like a monarch and his ministers. The elderly relatives kneel and bow to the saint. It is appropriate to be supported by the prince to show the human relationship.

The rest of Zhu Biao didn't move. What kind of book treasure court service salary is like the East Palace, and the courtesy received when he was canonized as a prince. These are small things, and Zhu Biao is also willing to make his younger brothers happy.

Only the system of dignity and inferiority must be determined. It cannot be said that the elders and princes can do whatever they want based on their seniority. And the most important point is that Zhu Biao is not ready to make a decision at this time, it is a bit early.

That is the policy of diminishing titles. Now the division of the imperial clan in the Ming Dynasty is that the eldest son of the emperor is appointed as the crown prince, and the princes are appointed as princes.

The eldest son of the king of the county is the king of the county, and the sons are named generals of Zhenguo, generals of Sun Fuguo, generals of great-grandson Fengguo, the fourth generation of lieutenants of Sun Zhenguo, the fifth generation of lieutenants of Sun Fuguo, and the younger generation of the sixth generation are all lieutenants of Fengguo.

That is to say, the prince inherited the emperor, and the prince inherited the prince, which led to great pressure on the salary of the clan in the later period. They not only led the high salary of the court, but also relied on their unique status to annex a large number of lands.

King Jing and King Lu have as many as 40,000 hectares of land in Huguang and other places. King Ji has 700,000 to 800,000 mu of land in Changsha, and 40% of the land in Changsha and Shanhua counties is also owned by King Ji. Half of the land in Henan Province is actually owned by the princes' mansions.

From the mid-Ming Dynasty, officials from all over the country discovered to their horror that their local fiscal revenue was no longer enough to support the royal family living in the local area. For example, the local fiscal revenue of Shanxi is 1.52 million shi, while the annual salary consumed by the princes of Shanxi is 3.12 million shi. Henan's annual fiscal revenue is 840,000 shi, and the prince needs to supply 1.9 million shi.

The king of fortune, who is the most wealthy in the world, "bribes mountains and piles of pearls and jade", with millions of dollars in money. The king of Qin in Shaanxi was the richest man in the world, "with millions of dollars". The acting king of Datong actually owned more than a thousand houses.

Zhu Biao, the name of these people, has been heard in later generations. This is only one aspect of the problem. There are many others who rob civilian women, beat local officials, kill people in the street, destroy their families, have private relationships with Japanese pirates, and cover up maritime merchants, etc. Wait, under the protection of privileges, the royal family has become a group with the lowest moral standards in Ming society.

As for the prince breaking the law and committing the same crime as the common people, it is a joke. As long as the princes don't rebel, it is too easy to live a comfortable life, and they can really enjoy themselves on the land laid down by the great grandfather.

Zhu Biao inexplicably wanted to beat Zhu Di up, and here is also his part of the credit. Naturally, this kid has to give preferential treatment to the clan because of his improper position. Can he kill Fang Xiaoru's ten clans and his own ten clans?

Therefore, the reduction of clan titles is necessary, but it will not work here for Zhu Yuanzhang. It is the bottom line for Zhu Biao to reduce the courtesies of the princes. This is because Zhu Biao is his own darling.

If other people have been killed by Lao Zhu long ago, it is his palms and backs, and they must live comfortably. Now if Zhu Biao wants to reduce the titles of the princes, it will really hurt his father's heart.

Zhu Biao intends to wait for him to enthroned to legislate, and after he canonize the prince, he can go abroad and establish a kingdom as he wishes. Then his throne will not be replaced by hereditary, and he only needs to respect Ming as the suzerain country and come to court every year.

If the prince stays in the territory, his title will begin to decrease after two generations, and if his descendants have contributed to the country, they can also be promoted.

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