After hearing Zheng Youyuan's words, Bi Ziyan looked outside the window and shook his head and said, "The emperor is removing some obstacles to the 'new policy'. The Donglin Party is, the royal family is, and the nobles are, there is no need to be surprised."

Zheng Youyuan was stunned and said, "Is it just that?"

Bi Ziyan pondered for a moment and said, "It was the imperial examination before, the Donglin Party just now, and now it is a royal nobleman. The emperor is acting with a purpose..."

Zheng Youyuan thought for a moment and said, "So that's it. It seems that the emperor has intentionally 'reconciled'."

Bi Ziyan chuckled and looked at him and said, "It is better to say that it is a 'beginning and ending' than 'reconciliation'. The emperor now has great power and a stable foundation. These people are no longer threatened."

Zheng Youyuan was cleared and nodded, "Sir, should our cabinet do something?"

Bi Ziyan only discovered Zhu Xu's purpose until now. He thought for a while and said, "It won't take long for the emperor's will to come to the cabinet. Let's do this. Regarding the imperial examination, you will draw an edict, and also write a copy from the Donglin Party. You will be ready to send it out... and then order the Minister of Revenue to come to the cabinet to see me."

Zheng Youyuan knew that Bi Ziyan was going to cooperate with the emperor, so he raised his hand and said, "Yes."

Bi Ziyan knew that Zhu Xu was clearing some obstacles, and he also planned to take a two-pronged approach to clear the resistance of the "New Deal" in power and government affairs.

Imperial study room.

King Zhu Shouyou of Lu, King Zhu Qiugui of Jin, King Zhu Changqing of Lu, Duke Zhang Weixian of British, Duke Zhang Zhiji of Lu, Duke Xu Yunzhen of Ding, etc. were dressed neatly, stood at Zhu Xu's table very neatly, and saluted: "I will meet the emperor."

Zhu Xu sat upright on the dragon throne, looked at the six people, waved his hand with a smile, and said, "Everyone is exempted from gifts, come and give him a seat."

A group of inmates brought in chairs, and the King of Lu, Duke of England and others sat down cautiously. Everyone was almost respectful, but in fact it was like expressionless.

Zhu Xu took a sip of hot tea, looked at the few people, and tapped his fingers on the table, saying, "You should all know about the method of succession, right?"

This matter was drafted by King Lu and later discussed in the cabinet, and it is no longer a secret.

King Lu, King Jin, King Lu and others didn't say anything. Although this "superior inheritance method" is an extension of the Ming Dynasty's system of "the legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legitimate legiti

King Jin looked at King Lu, his face was pale, and he coughed from time to time, and stood up and said to Zhu Xu: "Your Majesty, I need to be cautious about this 'responsible inheritance method'. If it causes a 'country on the basis of the country', it may have an adverse impact on the 'new policy'." Since this winter, King Jin has not been in good health and is weak in speaking. But the outline is clear. If this 'responsible inheritance method' is announced, it will definitely be a sensation and shock to the government and the people.

Zhu Xu was not surprised and looked at King Lu and said, "King Lu, what do you think?"

This person has a relatively high generation, and is the younger brother of Shenzong and Zhu Xu's grandfather.

King Lu has been very low-key recently, afraid of arousing Zhu Xu's dissatisfaction again. Hearing this, he quickly stood up and pondered: "Emperor, the law of the ancestors is the inheritance system of the 'large son', in order to prevent internal friction between the royal family and the destruction of each other. Please think twice."

No matter what these princes are thinking, they will not agree with this "superior inheritance system" on the surface.

Zhu Xu smiled and said, "I know your concerns, but I have decided, so there is no need to discuss it anymore. I asked you to come today to make you mentally prepared. The cabinet plans to promulgate it after the court's discussion next year."

The Three Kings are now the representatives of the royal family. When they heard that their lips were moving, no one dared to argue with Zhu Xu, their faces were stiff and their faces were accused of being stiff.

Zhu Xu looked at the three people, nodded slightly, and slowly tapped his fingers on the table. After a while, his eyes turned to King Lu and said, "King Lu, what is the demographic statistics of the royal family? How much is the salary?"

The King of Lu also stood up and said, "Return to the emperor, after more than a year of sorting and counting, there are currently 358,500 royal family members on the list, and the annual salary... is equivalent to about 5 million stones."

Zhu Xu looked at the three kings and snorted, saying, "Five million, do you know how much tax I have for the Ming Dynasty in the year? Last year it was 18 million, and this year it may decrease to about 16 million. The annual salary of the royal family increased to 6 million, accounting for more than one-third. I still have hundreds of officials in the world, and millions of troops are to be raised. Tell me, what should I do?"

The three kings were slightly shocked when they heard this, and looked up at Zhu Xu in shock.

Five million may be a lot now, but compared to their previous days, it is a drop in the bucket! What's more, their land and industries have been confiscated, and the losses are huge. Will the emperor have to cut their salaries?

In this way, how can they survive!?

Zhang Weixian, Zhang Zhiji, and Xu Yunzhen, who were sitting on the other side, were also shocked. The emperor's words were so straightforward that they trembled!

Zhu Xu did not discuss this matter with King Lu first. At this moment, King Lu was shocked and raised his hand and said, "Dare you ask what the emperor meant?"

Zhu Xu looked at King Lu and said calmly: "I just asked casually, what do you think?"

How could the emperor ask casually for no reason? This is clearly meaningful.

King Lu and King Jin and King Lu looked at each other, but they were still frightened and uneasy. King Jin coughed and raised his hand and said, "Emperor, if the royal family's annual salary is spread out, each person is only more than ten stones, and they will not starve to death and cannot be cut any further."

King Lu was used to enjoying it and could not bear the suffering. Now it was a difficult day, so he could not work hard anymore. He hurriedly said, "I have a comment, and the annual salary of the royal family cannot be reduced."

Zhu Xu nodded, picked up the teacup at hand, and said, "I know this, so I asked you to find a solution. The disaster is like fire now, and the taxes and food are constantly decreasing. If there are a few years, let alone the royal family, I can't even pay the salary of all officials. If I don't think of a solution early, I, the emperor, will be unable to sit steadily."

When it comes to the current situation, everyone knows it well and is a little more sober than in history. However, when it comes to these things, they can't imagine it.

The royal family had no livelihood or land. Apart from the salary of the court, they had no source of livelihood. What else could they ask for?

Zhu Xu looked at the expressions of the three people, looked at the three people with a calm expression, saying, "Someone gave me a memorial, saying that the titles of the royal family should be reduced from generation to generation, and will be common people in the five generations, no different from ordinary people. This will not only reduce the expenditure of the court, but also allow these royal families to make a difference, rather than keeping them in captivity until they grow old and waste the national treasury. What do you think?"

The faces of King Lu, King Jin, and King Lu changed drastically, their eyes were shocked, and King Lu even said directly: "Your Majesty, this person's heart is punishable! We are all descendants of Taizu, how can we become common people!"

"Your Majesty, you must not believe this statement. Otherwise, the royal family will be unstable, the world will not accept it, and there will be endless disasters. Please think twice!" The King of Jin said with a pale face and coughing loudly.

King Lu was also shocked and said with a solemn look that he had never seen before: "Your Majesty, I am against it! This move is a violation of the ancestral system, and it is a harboring evil intentions. Please kill this person and shock the world!"

Zhang Weixian, Zhang Zhiji, and Xu Yunzhen on the other side were also shocked, and the ostentatious eyes looked at each other without saying anything. These were all too sensitive and they could not interrupt.

Zhu Xu slowly tapped his finger on the table and said lightly: "I know all these things. The problem now is that the annual salary of the royal family accounts for more than one-third of the imperial taxes. The imperial court is not able to make ends meet. The court and the government are criticized by criticism. You should think of a way for me to calm down such remarks, and don't let the people in the world regard my Ming royal family as a blood-sucking worm attached to the imperial court..."

The three kings of Lu frowned. The emperor's words were not nice, which also meant that he wanted to "solve" the problem of excessive annual salary of the royal family, but this method was too terrible, and they did not dare or could not accept it.

The three of them didn't say anything for a long time. They had no choice and dared not do anything.

Zhu Xu's eyes patrolled the three of them for a while, then suddenly turned to British Duke Zhang Weixian and said, "How many nobles are there now? How many years and honors are there?"

These are actually under the jurisdiction of the clan's office, but the British Duke is the leading figure of these nobles and nobles, and he also knows some of them. He stood up and raised his body nervously, pondered for a while: "Go back to the emperor, the number of nobles and nobles is currently about 160,000, and the annual salary is more than 2 million."

Zhu Xu said in surprise, "In other words, the annual salary of the royal family and nobles is half of the taxes paid by the imperial court. If the others are included, it will probably be more than..."

Zhang Weixian's expression was still, and his heart was slightly calm. He had noticed these things in the past, but no one mentioned them. Now the emperor took the initiative to ask, and he also found that this year's salary was too heavy and the court could no longer bear it.

"What do you think? Is there any way?" Zhu Xu tapped the table with his fingers and said in a slow tone.

Some of the six people, some of them were as deep as water, some had expressionless faces, and some had their own thoughts, and no one spoke.

The identities of royal family and nobles are too special and must be restricted. This "restriction" causes these people to be unable to become officials, do business, and have no other business. They can only be rich and idle people who are forbidden in the mansion. If this "wealth" is gone, then they will only be "idle" and will be starved to death!

Zhu Xu's mouth curled slightly, and then he said as usual, "If you don't speak, I will really not be able to pay your salary in a few years. No matter how much you find me, you will be helpless. Let's talk about it, come up with a solution. You can't wait until the court has completely lost money and food before thinking about a solution."

The King of Lu and the Duke of England looked at each other, and both of them frowned and their faces were as heavy as water.

The royal family and nobles and nobles had already suffered a few blows before, and they had already suffered a lot of energy and could no longer withstand the torture. If the emperor reduced their annual salary, it would be difficult for them to continue to live. However, according to what the emperor said, it would be even more difficult for them to accept the titles they had been reduced!

The six people's eyes flashed and their hearts were churning.
Chapter completed!