Volume 2: The Capital, I’m Back Chapter 68: Crowning the King
Yang Zhicong knelt down and saluted, making a gesture with his hands in front of his chest.
"Please stand up!" Zhu Qizhen nodded and said, "I summoned you here today to ask if there are any large-scale civil organizations in the capital?"
Yang Zhicong stared at Zhu Qizhen's lips closely, and when he finished speaking, he stepped forward, picked up the pen on the imperial desk and wrote two words -
White lotus.
Seeing these two words, Zhu Qizhen frowned and asked, "Hasn't the White Lotus Sect been wiped out by Emperor Taizu Gao?"
Yang Zhicong shook his head slightly and wrote a few more words: Resurgence.
Zhu Qizhen's face was gloomy. After a while, he asked again: "Did you know about the two recent murders and robberies in stores?"
Yang Zhicong picked up the pen and wrote a word: three.
"Three?" Zhu Qizhen asked in doubt, "Isn't it just two?"
Yang Zhicong continued to write: Half a month ago, Tongfu Warehouse.
Half a month ago, Zhu Qizhen was still eating sand in the desert and had no idea about Tongfu Warehouse.
After thinking for a moment, he asked again: "Do you know Song Guxi, the top performer of Tingyu Pavilion?"
Yang Zhicong nodded first, then shook his head.
Zhu Qizhen understood clearly that Yang Zhicong meant that he knew this person, but he didn't know what special identity he had.
"There is something fishy about this person. I have asked the Royal Guards to investigate. However, I am worried that it might alert the enemy. Please investigate in secret. If you find anything, please report it to me at any time!"
…
The next day, Zhu Qizhen slept until he woke up naturally. He was drinking porridge when Huai'en came to inform him that Prince Qing wanted to see him.
"Tell him to wait in the imperial study!"
Poor Zhu Qiyu, he had to get up at three in the morning every day. After finishing the morning court, he would go to the imperial study and wait obediently without even eating a bite of food.
It was boring to just wait, so I looked around and found a lot of drawings scattered on the table.
He picked one up curiously, looked at it for a few seconds, and suddenly looked strange.
It turns out that the emperor is not attending court but is studying this thing?
Besides, what is this? Why does it look like a stove for boiling water?
"My brother, I've been waiting for a long time!"
Hearing the voice behind him, Zhu Qiyu hurriedly put down the drawings and turned around to salute.
"Your Majesty, I greet you!"
"No need to be polite!" Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said, "There are no outsiders here, sit down and talk!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Zhu Qiyu carefully sat on the chair and said, "I came here to report a few things to you, my brother."
Zhu Qizhen nodded and said, "What's the matter?"
Zhu Qiyu took out a piece of paper and said, "This is the detailed list of rewards for the soldiers going on this expedition. It is the regulations drawn up by the Ministry of War and the Cabinet. Please have a look, my brother."
After Zhu Qizhen took over, he looked carefully from the beginning. Kuang Ye, the Minister of War, was promoted to the title of Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince; Chen Ying, the Marquis of Taining, was granted the title of Special Advancement of Ronglu Doctor; Li Zhen, the Earl of Xiangcheng, was promoted to the title of Marquis of Xiangcheng and the title of Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince; Chen Huai, the Earl of Pingxiang, was promoted to the title of Junior Tutor of the Crown Prince; Fan Zhong, the Commander of the Imperial Guard, was promoted to the title of Earl of Zhongwu; Luo Tong, the Doctor of the Ministry of War, was promoted to the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War...
"Was this charter drafted by Yu Qian?"
Zhu Qiyu was somewhat surprised and asked, "Did my brother know about this a long time ago?"
"No!" Zhu Qizhen shook his head and said, "Yu Qian has a characteristic in doing things, which is that he is absolutely fair. He rewards everyone impartially and with reason and evidence, but..."
Zhu Qizhen hesitated for a moment, turned the page again and read it again, then asked, "Why is the Duke of Ying not included in it?"
"Regarding the reward for the Duke of Ying, Yu Qian and the cabinet are undecided, and I dare not make the decision on my own. I need your Majesty to make the decision personally."
"Just give the reward if it's due. What's the problem?"
"Brother!" Zhu Qiyu said with a troubled look, "Duke Ying is now the Grand Tutor, the Grand Master of Imperial Households, the Left Pillar of the State, and the Assistant Minister of the Imperial Court. There is no more reward for him."
Zhu Qizhen understood that for a contribution of Zhang Fu's level, the next best reward would be to make him a king.
"How about conferring a title of nobility upon a king?"
Zhu Qiyu shuddered and said, "My royal brother, please be careful. According to the ancestral system of our dynasty, people of different surnames cannot be crowned kings, unless they are..."
Unless it was posthumously honored, but the Duke of England was still alive and well, it would be unlucky to say such words, so he swallowed them back.
"So what do you say we should do?"
"I don't have any idea either. It's up to my brother to make the decision."
Zhu Qizhen thought for a moment and asked, "When the Prince of Zhongshan returned from the Northern Expedition, how did Emperor Taizu Gao reward him?"
Zhang Fu's current situation is very similar to that of Xu Da back then. Before Xu Da went on the expedition, he had been promoted to Taifu, Right Prime Minister of the Secretariat, Canjun State Affairs and Prince's Junior Tutor, and was granted the title of Duke of Wei.
The Northern Expedition captured the Yuan capital and drove the remaining Yuan forces back to the northern desert, once again achieving unprecedented feats. This stumped Zhu Yuanzhang because there was no more reward left.
Zhu Qiyu replied: "I don't know."
Zhu Qizhen pondered for a while, then slapped the table and said, "Why not just make him a king! "
"Ah?" Zhu Qiyu suddenly became nervous and tried to persuade him, "This goes against the ancestral rules. Brother, have you thought it through?"
"Are you worried that the clean stream will come out and make some noise?"
Zhu Qiyu nodded and said, "My brother's move will surely cause a stir in the court."
"Let them talk all they want, how can they erase their contributions?" Zhu Qizhen looked indifferent and continued, "Duke Ying has made great contributions in the war, so he should be rewarded. If anyone disagrees, let him also make contributions for me to see!"
Zhu Qiyu asked again: "What title do you plan to give to the Duke of Ying?"
"My brother thinks..." Zhu Qizhen suddenly smiled and asked, "What do you think of the Prince of Jiaozhi?"
Zhu Qiyu was stunned. What does this mean? Didn’t Jiaozhi give up long ago?
After Emperor Taizong conquered Annan, he established Jiaozhi Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office, but internal strife continued. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, the father of these two people, following Emperor Renzong's policy of recuperation, simply gave up Jiaozhi and appointed Chen Hong as the King of Annan. From then on, Annan once again became a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.
At this point, this new province had only been under the name of the Ming Dynasty for twenty-one years before it was separated again.
Zhu Qizhen thought for a moment and said, "The late emperor conferred upon Chen Hao the title of King of Annan, but he did not say to abolish the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration Office. Don't you think so?"
"this……"
Zhu Qiyu was confused. Was it necessary to issue a separate edict for this ?
He has already been crowned king, isn't that enough to understand...
Zhu Qizhen asked again: "Emperor Taizong changed Annan to Jiaozhi. Is this okay?"
Zhu Qiyu nodded and said, "No problem!"
"That's it!"
Zhu Qizhen's eyes lit up as he continued, "The late emperor conferred upon Chen Hao the title of King of Annan, but it was actually just a title, just like how Emperor Taizu conferred titles of duke, such as Duke of Wei, Duke of Han, Duke of Zheng, Duke of Cao, Duke of Song... etc. These three countries, Wei, Han, Zheng, and Song, were all names of vassal states during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. They were just titles, and did not mean that the Duke of Wei could restore the State of Wei or the Duke of Han could restore the State of Han. Don't you think so?"
For some reason, Zhu Qiyu felt that it made sense and couldn't help but nodded.
"So, the same is true for the King of Annan. Just because he is given a title doesn't mean he can restore the previous dynasty, right?"
"It seems... that's the truth!" Zhu Qiyu frowned and said, "But our army has already withdrawn to the Central Plains and lost control of Jiaozhi."
"That's easier to handle!" Zhu Qizhen smiled and said, "The troops can withdraw and then go back!"
Zhu Qiyu thought for a while and said, "Brother, I am unsure. It would be better for me to discuss it with the cabinet."
"Just convey my meaning exactly as it is. If the cabinet has any questions, come and talk to me directly!"
"Just do as your Royal Brother says . I'm leaving now!"
After making up his mind, Zhu Qiyu turned and left, but when he reached the door, he turned back and took out a blueprint.
"By the way, my Royal Brother, here are the drawings for the construction of the Martyrs' Shrine submitted by the Ministry of Works. Please have a look!"
Zhu Qizhen only took a glance and said, "There are too many problems. I have to make some changes myself. You go first!"
