Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 91: Conferring the title of Yu Qi, there must be someone who is jumping the gun

"It's better to have a meeting."

The emperor continued to sigh: "All the ministers are here, we can talk it out in person. Putting aside other differences, the Beijing Army is indeed no longer useful, and I am really worried. In this case, isn't it reasonable to reorganize it? The meritorious officials are loyal, so they will not cause trouble like in the 19th year of Wanli; the civil officials are loyal, so they can't just watch me maintain a Beijing Army that is no longer useful, right?"

All the ministers said they dared not.

The righteousness cannot be refuted.

"No matter how difficult it is, there must be a way out." Zhu Changluo added, "Re-training the Beijing Camp is nothing more than people and money. As for the people issue, since it was requested by the Grand Marshal, he will assist in managing the military affairs of the Beijing Camp and get it done. The civil officials don't have to worry about the meritorious officials being arrogant and difficult to tame, which will ruin the military affairs. The Duke Dingguo's worry is easy to solve. The newly-appointed meritorious officials will be appointed as military commanders of the Beijing Camp. The past rights and wrongs of the Beijing Camp will not be considered, and the new Beijing Camp will be the most important."

"As for the money, I have abolished the 200,000 taels of comprador fees. From next year onwards, the budget will gradually become more relaxed. After the Beijing camp is cleaned up, the actual amount can be two or three times the current actual amount, but the total number of soldiers on the register will be reduced by several tenths. If it is needed for military training, you can list it as the Beijing camp military training fee, and I will borrow it from the treasury, and the silver will be used for the designated purpose."

The emperor was very clear in his determination to reorganize the Beijing camp at his own expense. He said that the regular salary and rations of the new Beijing camp would be reduced, while military training could be funded by special funds from the imperial treasury.

The objection was blocked again.

He still kept civil officials to assist in the military affairs of the capital camp, saying that in this way the civil officials would not have to worry about military honors, but Tian Le had already made his attitude clear.

"I believe that if someone who has won great military achievements on his own is supervised by a meritorious official, and has fought many battles, the Ming Dynasty will have a useful Beijing camp, and I will be able to use it as if it were my own arm." Zhu Changluo sighed, "In this way, even if the rewards from my father for the previous battles were a bit small, I will posthumously confer several titles on him for his merits, which can be regarded as a filial piety, and maintain my father's reputation as a good monarch and minister."

"I obey your order!" Tian Le knelt calmly and accepted the order. "Since the Emperor Retired ascended the throne, the royal army has fought both at home and abroad, and its reputation has spread far and wide. Now that Your Majesty has ascended the throne, it is time to reorganize the Beijing camp with the soldiers who have fought many battles. I will definitely live up to Your Majesty's high expectations. The proposal to confer a title is to show Your Majesty's filial piety for the Emperor Retired's military achievements, not to encourage the border troops to be greedy for merit and start a fight. Your Majesty should inform all the troops and reiterate the main point of giving the people a rest and not talking about war lightly!"

"What the Grand Marshal said is very true!" Zhu Changluo looked at the civil officials, "First, let the people rest, increase revenue and reduce expenditure, reorganize the capital camp, and defend the nine borders."

This sets the tone: This is all I want now.

"…Your Majesty is wise."

Everything the emperor asks for now is of great justice, and the ministers should not push him too much at the first court meeting of the new monarch.

It is unknown who is thinking about how to respond in the future.

"Then let's discuss it. Father has been on the throne for nearly thirty years. Which military commanders have meritorious service enough to be awarded titles?"

The news of what happened here reached Longdao Pavilion, and Empress Dowager Li breathed a sigh of relief.

Was even Li Chengliang conquered by his grandson?

Zhu Yijun's eyes were very excited: That was a victory won by the general I sent, and you come to confer the title after it's over?

They say that this is a display of filial piety to honor my military achievements. Isn't this just a mockery of my stinginess and my refusal to grant the title at that time?
Why did Li Chengliang also help him? !
How come this old guy Xu Wenbi suddenly became smart!

At Qianqing Gate, we already have the answer to why Li Chengliang wanted to help Zhu Changluo.

"With the merits of the Ningyuan uncle and his son, they should be promoted!" Zhu Changluo looked at him, "Supervisor of the military affairs of the Beijing camp, Ningyuan Hou, are you willing to accept the order?"

After confirming that the emperor was unwilling to let him return to Liaodong, discovering that the emperor was anxious to take back the military power of the Beijing camp, and learning about the proposal to grant him a title at the court meeting, Li Chengliang's choice was actually easy to understand.

Even if he went to Liaodong, he would not rebel. He just wanted to be more free.

But the emperor had made it clear that he would not let him return to Liaodong.

Since I have to stay and don't want to continue living idle in the capital, what position is better than the Governor of the Beijing Camp?

Now I get more.

"I am willing to obey your orders!" Li Chengliang said in a sonorous voice.

After being promoted to the title of marquis, Li Chengliang had become one of the most powerful ministers.

Among the several dukes, who else can be above him except the Duke of Qian who is permanently stationed in the southwest?

He was the first to speak up for the meritorious officials. After Xu Wenbi, he would naturally become the actual core of the meritorious officials.

He was promoted to marquis, and his eldest son Li Rusong, who had died in battle, was naturally also posthumously conferred the title of marquis.

Li Chengliang, who was separated from the civil officials, instantly received supreme favor and honor from the new emperor.

Next came the others. As the Minister of War, Tian Le put forward a list of people who he believed should be awarded honors and titles.

During the Ningxia campaign, Xiao Ruxun, who had contributed to suppressing the rebellion together with Li Rusong, defended the isolated city and killed Haiyun. Although his contributions were not great, he was both civil and military, so he could be awarded the title of Pinglu Bo.

Hou Xianchun's eyes narrowed slightly, looking at Tian Le's back in disbelief: Even a mere Xiao Ruxun is to be conferred a title?

After all, he is educated and knows what is important.

Tian Le continued to talk about his list: "Da Yun, the general commander of Gansu Town, although his ancestors were from Hami Uighur City, they have been loyal to the Ming Dynasty for generations. He defeated the Haixi Tartars several times in Huangzhong and was the best in military exploits in the western frontier. He won 500 miles of territory in the Battle of Songshan and Xiaoshang. If the new border of Songshan is established, the western frontier will be peaceful from then on, and he can be granted the title of Earl of Xiliang." Seeing the emperor nodding repeatedly, Hou Xianchun clenched his fist again.

In addition to Mao Zhong, who fought against the invasion of tens of thousands of northern barbarian cavalry from the Bolai tribe in Gansu during the Tianshun period and later led his troops to defeat the various tribes outside the Great Wall, would the Ming Dynasty have another foreign lord?
But it's not over yet.

"Ma Gui, the general of Datong Town, has made many achievements in the battles of Ningxia and Korea. He is brave and good at fighting. Now he has the praise of Li Dong and Ma Xi, so he can be awarded the title of Ninglubo."

Hou Xianchun was no longer surprised, he just counted silently in his heart: four.

In addition to Li Chengliang who was conferred the title of marquis, the other three were one who was both civil and military, and two were from other ethnic groups!

"Chen Lin, the general commander of Huguang, has fought since the 41st year of Jiajing. He has led the navy to the Korean expedition and defeated the Japanese pirates several times. Korea praised him for his merits, which were higher than those of Liu Jing and Ma Gui. He also conquered Bozhou and won many victories along the way. He was one of the generals who besieged and defeated Hailongtun. He has made many military achievements and can be awarded the title of Pingyi Bo!"

"Liu Xian's son Liu Jing is extremely brave and martial. He was the top scholar in martial arts. He captured the bandit chieftain in his first battle. In the tenth year of Wanli, he fought in Burma, Luoxiong, Korea, and Bozhou. He made great contributions in every battle. He can be awarded the title of Earl of Zhangyong!"

Liu Jing couldn't help but straighten his chest with tears in his eyes: It's not easy!
He thought that was the end, and Hou Xianchun also thought that was the end. He was listening to see if anyone wanted to speak, but he didn't expect Tian Le hadn't finished yet.

"There are also Yu Long and Qi Hu, who have repeatedly made extraordinary achievements and are famous all over the world. Yu Dayou founded the chariot camp and wrote military books such as "Continuation of Wujing Zongyao"; Qi Jiguang practiced the mandarin duck formation, created new weapons, wrote "Jixiao Xinshu", and built 1,070 hollow towers from Shanhaiguan to Zhenbian Great Wall, making Jimen as solid as a rock."

Tian Le looked at Zhu Changluo, his emotions fluctuated a little more: "Yu Dayou died of illness in the seventh year of Wanli, and was only given a funeral and posthumous title of Wuxiang; Qi Jiguang died of illness in the fifteenth year of Wanli, and was only given a funeral two years later. In the twenty-first year of Wanli, the Ministry of Rites wrote that Qi Jiguang 'fought bloody battles to annihilate the Japanese, his merits spread to Fujian and Zhejiang, his heroic deeds to resist the invaders, and he looked forward to Youyan, and begged to be granted a pension according to the rules', and Qi Jiguang's son was able to inherit the military position, but he has not been given a posthumous title to this day."

"I think that since the reign of Emperor Wanli, there has never been a situation where the merits were great but the rewards were meager, and that these two have been so much more severe! They should both be posthumously honored, given life certificates, and given beautiful posthumous titles and honorific titles. This will show your majesty's filial piety and preserve the good reputation of the emperor and his subjects!"

Hou Xianchun could no longer suppress his emotions.

Judging from the merits alone, these statements are certainly fine.

But what is the beautiful reputation of harmony between ruler and minister?
The reason why Qi Jiguang had a miserable later life was because of his relationship with Zhang Juzheng!
Now that Qi Jiguang is to be posthumously honored, will the next step be to preserve the reputation of the emperor and Zhang Juzheng as a minister?

"Your Majesty, Ningyuan Marquis has made outstanding contributions, so it is natural that he should be promoted. However, Chen Lin and Liu Jing were greedy for money and bribed for promotion, and their bad deeds are notorious. Ma Gui and Dayun, who are from different ethnic groups, were entrusted with important tasks, and your grace is already great! Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang made great contributions during the Jiaqing and Longqing reigns. If they are posthumously promoted, I don't know how many people in the court and the public will complain about how many people have made great contributions but received little rewards since the founding of the Ming Dynasty!"

Liu Jing's tears were still in his eyes when he was suddenly poured with a basin of cold water.

Chen Lin, whom Hou Xianchun criticized, is not here, but Liu Jing is here.

Now he couldn't help but look at Hou Xianchun angrily: It has come to this, and you still want to stop it?

Zhu Changluo couldn't help but look at him with a slightly cold gaze.

It is just as Tian Le said: If Yu Qi is posthumously conferred a title, there will definitely be some troublemakers.

Hou Xianchun continued, "Since the first year of Tianshun, except for the conferring of titles on the five founding heroes during the Jiajing reign, there has been no precedent of conferring titles on one person at a time. If the Grand Marshal's request is granted, the court and the public will be in an uproar and there will be endless debate. Your Majesty, please think twice!"

With the unexpected happening again, Shen Yikuan and Shen Shixing looked worried, while Wang Xijue looked very solemn and looked at Tian Le who was still calm.

He knew that the main reason why Hou Xianchun couldn't help but come out was not to confer so many titles at once.

The main reason is Qi Jiguang.

It was Qi Jiguang who had a close relationship with Zhang Juzheng!
Tian Le had already spoken up, and Wang Xijue knew that he could not let Tian Le make the argument again, and it was not appropriate to discuss the real reason again here.

So he stood up and said, "Hou Jieshi, what you said is wrong. Your Majesty conferred the title only to honor the military achievements of the Supreme Emperor. Among the military generals who have passed away since the first year of Wanli, are there any who have made greater achievements than Yu and Qi? Why do you keep complaining?"

Hou Xianchun replied coldly: "Ma Fang also died of illness in the ninth year of Wanli."

"Ma Lin was involved in the Shanhaiguan uprising, and he still awaits his punishment, which naturally affects his biological father." Wang Xijue did not indulge him, "Where did this rule come from, that one person cannot be granted a title at a time? If there is any dispute between the court and the public, Hou Jieshi should be careful with what he says!"

The latter part of his words already had a tone of warning.

It is also well known that Wang Xijue later broke with Zhang Juzheng.

However, just because he wanted to nail Zhang Juzheng and the new policies to the wall, he stopped Qi Jiguang and everyone else at the same time. He only promoted Li Chengliang and Xiao Ruxun, a Confucian general who was at least somewhat acceptable to civil officials. This was too much.

Just as Hou Xianchun was about to speak, Zhu Changluo spoke first: "I have three questions, Hou Xianchun, answer them one by one."

After the new monarch held court for the first time, this was the first time he addressed people by their names instead of their official titles.

Previously, it was also "I have three questions", and the questions were asked to Li Chengliang, and the result was that in principle he could be awarded honors and titles this time.

But this time it's different.

The emperor was obviously really angry, so the atmosphere outside the Qianqing Gate became stagnant.

(End of this chapter)