Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

Chapter 521: Title Determination!! (Subscribe please!!)
"What about this kid Ouyang? He stopped 300,000 Northern Yuan troops at the gates of Peking, and pacified hundreds of thousands of rebels in the four southern provinces. He can defend and attack. Moreover, he has been operating in Peking for many years. It would be very suitable for him to pacify the grassland, right?"

Queen Ma spoke.

"Ouyang Lun?"

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard the three words "Ouyang Lun", his expression became complicated.

"This guy is indeed capable, but he is a civilian after all. If he is really allowed to lead the army to pacify the grassland, it would be a slap in the face of the military generals of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Besides, this guy is currently in charge of tax collection and reform. If he is asked to be in charge of pacifying the grassland, it would simply be a slap in the face of the Ming Dynasty's civil officials. It would make it seem as if everyone except Ouyang Lun in the Ming Dynasty is useless!"

"Sister, do you believe it or not, letting Ouyang Lun take charge of pacifying the grassland is more difficult than me personally leading the army!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said slowly.

"I haven't thought about this point, but compared with this kid Ouyang, the other ministers in the court are indeed more than a little bit inferior." Queen Ma nodded truthfully.

"Well" Zhu Yuanzhang's face was covered with black lines.

"Sister, don't forget one more thing. Ouyang Lun has already entered the cabinet. He is considered half the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty. He is a top-ranking official. If Ouyang Lun can make another great contribution to pacifying the grassland, how do you want me to reward him?"

"After you let the future Biaoer inherit the throne, how will you use this meritorious old minister?"

After listening to Zhu Yuanzhang's muttering, Empress Ma also understood Zhu Yuanzhang's concerns and immediately said, "Ouyang has indeed achieved the highest position among officials, but the reward may not necessarily be a promotion!"

"Then sister, how do you think we can reward Ouyang Lun?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked curiously.

"If promotion is not possible, then the title can be achieved. You can become a general or a prime minister, or be granted the title of marquis, duke, or even king!" Queen Ma said directly.

"A title?" Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly when he heard that.

Zhu Yuanzhang overlooked this point. When Ouyang Lun married Princess Anqing, he automatically obtained the title of Fu Ma Du Wei. Although Fu Ma Du Wei was not a formal title, it could also be considered a special title. Generally speaking, once you become a Fu Ma Du Wei, it would be difficult for you to get another chance to obtain a title, and you would be Fu Ma Du Wei for your entire life.

However, Ouyang Lun's situation was too special. Although he had made so many contributions, including military merits and political achievements, he was still the son-in-law of the emperor Du Wei.

The purpose of a title is to reward meritorious officials, especially those who have made contributions to the founding of a country. The titles that are conferred later are only given to people with outstanding achievements, and their number is extremely rare!
Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty. On the basis of continuing the Yuan Dynasty's title system, he classified the original titles of prince and duke as exclusive titles for the royal family, and classified duke, marquis, earl, viscount and baron as titles for meritorious officials. Later, the title of viscount and baron was abolished, forming two unique title systems in the Ming Dynasty, namely the titles for the royal family and the titles for meritorious officials.

The male royal family title system consists of ten levels: king (i.e. prince), prince's son (hereditary prince), prince of a county, prince's eldest son (hereditary prince of a county), general guarding the country, general supporting the country, general serving the country, lieutenant guarding the country, lieutenant supporting the country and lieutenant serving the country. Among them, the three titles of prince, prince of a county and lieutenant serving the country are hereditary.

The female royal family titles consist of seven levels: Princess (daughter of the Emperor), County Princess (daughter of a Prince), County Princess (daughter of a Prince of a County), County Lady (daughter of a General Guarding the Country), County Lady (daughter of a General Assisting the Country), County Lady (daughter of a General Serving the Country), and Royal Princess (daughter of a Lieutenant Commander in Chief).

The title system for meritorious officials who made military contributions to the establishment of the country and the people consists of Duke of the State, Duke of a County (only posthumously awarded), Marquis, Marquis of a County (only posthumously awarded), Earl of a County (only posthumously awarded), Earl of a County (earl), Viscount, and Baron. Among them, Duke of a County, Marquis of a County, and Earl of a County were awarded posthumously to meritorious officials who died in battle before and after the founding of the Ming Dynasty. The title of Viscount (thousand households level) was abolished due to the large number of people, so the titles of meritorious officials only have three levels: Duke (country name), Marquis (county name), and Earl (county name), which are further divided into hereditary titles (granted certificates, inherited without change) and exiled titles (not granted certificates, only for one generation).

In the 29th year of Hongwu, it was decreed that when the generals of the royal palace met the prince consort, the imperial guests, and the dukes, the general would sit on the left and the prince consort would sit on the right, and they would all bow twice. When meeting with civil and military officials of the first to third ranks, the general would sit in the middle, and each official would bow and the general would return the greeting. When meeting with officials of the fourth rank and below, each official would bow and the general would receive the greeting while sitting.

According to the regulations, in the early Ming Dynasty, the status of the general of the royal palace (the general of the imperial clan, different from the military honors of military officers) was higher than that of the imperial concubine, the imperial guest, the duke and the marquis (the left is the most honorable), and when the first-rank official saw the general of the imperial clan, the general of the imperial clan stood in the middle to receive the greeting and bowed in return. When the fourth-rank official saw the general of the imperial clan, he sat down to receive the greeting (coming and going is a dream), and did not even need to return the greeting.

Whenever one met a general from a royal palace on the road, the prince consort, the imperial attendant, the dukes and marquises would give way to the left, and civil and military officials of the first to third ranks would ride their horses and stand at their sides, while officials of the fourth rank and below would dismount.

When the imperial consort, imperial concubine, duke, or marquis met a royal family general on the road, they had to keep to the right and give way to the left. The first-rank officials gave way and stood by the roadside on their horses, while officials below the fourth rank had to dismount and stand by the roadside waiting for the royal family general to pass.

Therefore, the prescribed rank in the early Ming Dynasty should be that the status of the general of the royal family (the emperor's great-grandson) was higher than that of the prince consort (the emperor's son-in-law), the princess and the prince consort (the emperor's grandson-in-law) and the title of meritorious official.

In terms of attire, the princess consort wore a seven-beam crown, and was given a cage-hooded Diaochan crown, the same as the marquis. The front and back were decorated with golden cicadas, but no pheasant tails. The court robes were embroidered with unicorns. Overall, the princess consort was slightly inferior to the marquis, of course, this was without counting the princess.

It seems that Ouyang Lun still has room for improvement in his title.

However, it is more difficult to improve the title than to be promoted to an official position, especially for a civil servant. Although Ouyang Lun has experience in leading troops, overall, he is still considered a civil servant. There are very few civil servants who can be granted titles, especially titles above marquis!

Among the founding dukes, only Li Shanchang, a civil servant, was conferred the title of Duke, and Liu Bowen was initially only an earl.

There is no doubt that it is difficult for civil servants to be granted titles!
But considering Ouyang Lun's contributions to the Ming Dynasty and the fact that there was no better way to reward him than to confer a title on him, Zhu Yuanzhang had an idea in mind.

"Zhongba, do you have any ideas?" asked Queen Ma.

"Yes." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, "Sister, you are right. In terms of official position, at most Ouyang Lun can be appointed as the chief minister of the cabinet, but this appointment will not be made unless it is absolutely necessary, because if it is really done, there is really no more position to be given!"

"There is still room for maneuver in terms of the title. Ouyang Lun always says that we want the horse to run but don't want to feed it. I am not that kind of person!"

Queen Ma nodded and continued, "If that's the case, what title do you plan to give to this child Ouyang?"

Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it and asked tentatively: "How about making him an earl first?"

Hearing this, Empress Ma rolled her eyes at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Chongba, you are too stingy, aren't you? According to common sense, the status of the consort Ouyang Duwei is higher than that of an earl. You are giving him an earl now. This is not a reward for him, but a humiliation!"

"Uh," Zhu Yuanzhang said with embarrassment, "We are worried that Ouyang Lun is too capable of making achievements. If we give him a high rank now, it won't be long before he reaches the top again. By then, he will still be unable to be given any more rank!"

"Then you have to be more realistic! Apart from other things, the battles that Ouyang Lun has made in recent years are enough to make him a marquis. If I remember correctly, in addition to repelling the Northern Yuan army in Beiping City and judging the four southern provinces, Ouyang also made great contributions in conquering the Japanese pirates. If he hadn't taken out the 055 destroyer fleet, the Japanese pirates could not have been dealt with so easily. In addition, in pacifying Yunnan, the red cannon that Ouyang made also made great contributions, killing the Northern Yuan's King Liang and helping your son take over Yunnan!"

"If all these were converted into military merits, there would be no more than ten people in the entire Ming Dynasty who could surpass them!" "If it were up to me, I would give Ouyang the title of Duke!"

"Duke!" Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened immediately. "Sister, you're so surprised to say that. This duke is not a cabbage on the street! Those who can become the duke of our Ming Dynasty must have made great contributions!"

"Do you mean that Ouyang Lun's contribution is not enough? Chongba, this is unfair!" Queen Ma asked back.

"Ahem, I didn't say this guy didn't make enough contributions!" Zhu Yuanzhang said quickly, "Ouyang Lun has made great contributions, we certainly acknowledge that, but the title is not a joke, it must be taken seriously. If it is so easy to confer the title of Duke on Ouyang Lun, let alone whether Ouyang Lun will cherish and be grateful, what will the other dukes, marquises, and earls think? Will they have any objections?"

"Besides, if we confer the title of Duke of the State to Ouyang Lun now, what if he makes further contributions in the future? What title will he be given? King? The title of king is a royal title!"

"Isn't Ouyang a royal family member? He is also the head of the clan office!" Empress Ma directly retorted, "With Ouyang's ability and the contributions he has made, it is not too much to make him a king!"

"Hiss—" Upon hearing what Queen Ma said, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately glared, "Sister, be careful with your words!"

"As the consort of the emperor, Ouyang Lun is indeed a member of the Ming royal family, but his last name is not Zhu after all!"

"Zhongba! You are confused!" Queen Ma shook her head and said, "I know what you are worried about. The title of a royal family is naturally given to royal family members. Of course, Ouyang can be crowned king. He has made great contributions to be crowned king. Although his surname is not Zhu, he is a member of the Zhu family. The higher his status, the less threat he will pose to your son. He will become the guardian of the Zhu family of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Maybe your son and grandson will be escorted by Ouyang!"

"Ask yourself, if Ouyang can protect the Ming Dynasty after you, who would dare to take over the Ming Dynasty?"

"To put it bluntly, you just don't trust Ouyang."

After listening to Queen Ma's words, Zhu Yuanzhang fell into thought again. As time passed, Zhu Yuanzhang's vision became clearer and clearer.

"Sister, you are right. I just don't trust Ouyang Lun!"

Zhu Yuanzhang muttered, "As an emperor, I cannot trust anyone except myself. To be more precise, I cannot trust anyone completely!"

"This is the truth we figured out after suffering so many setbacks!"

"I trusted Yang Xian so much back then, but what happened? He deceived me so badly! I lost all my face!"

"And Hu Weiyong, we trusted him enough to let him supervise the country, but he colluded with the Japanese pirates to rebel against us!"

"We can't fall into the same pit three times!"

After hearing what Zhu Yuanzhang said, Empress Ma was somewhat unhappy and said, "Chongba, according to what you said, you can't even trust me?"

"Sister, you are different from them. What we said is not yours. This is a matter between men." Zhu Yuanzhang explained quickly.

"Okay, Chongba, don't tell me these reasons anymore. Just tell me directly how you plan to arrange Ouyang and how to choose the candidate to pacify the grassland!" Queen Ma said as she walked to a chair beside her and sat down. She patted her sleeves lightly and said calmly, "I am just a woman. I manage the harem honestly. It is not convenient for me to ask about the affairs of the court. Chongba, if you are willing to tell me, then I will listen. If you don't want to tell me, the gate of Kunning Palace is in front of you. You can just walk out."

"Sister, I love what you said." Zhu Yuanzhang said immediately: "Why did I come to you today? It's just to discuss with you! Some things must be discussed with you, only in this way can there be a result and a solution!"

"hey-hey."

"Regarding the arrangements for Ouyang Lun, let's think carefully. He has indeed done a lot for the Ming Dynasty in the past few years, and we forced him to get promoted. We really owe him something. The effect of this 'tax reform' is good, so he must be rewarded."

"I have decided to confer a title on Ouyang Lun!"

"As for the title, let's give him the title of Marquis!"

"Just a marquis?" Queen Ma frowned slightly after hearing this.

"Sister! In terms of accumulated merits, Tang He and Lan Yu are both higher than Ouyang Lun. Wasn't he only a marquis when he was first conferred the title after the founding of the country? It is true that Ouyang Lun has military merits and political achievements, but after all, it was after the founding of the country, so it is reasonable to confer Ouyang Lun the title of marquis! If Ouyang Lun makes more merits in the future, he can be promoted again. If everything goes well, we can wait until Biaoer ascends the throne and then confer Ouyang Lun the title of duke. In this way, Biaoer can be regarded as being kind to this kid Ouyang by promoting him."

Zhu Yuanzhang told him all his plans.

Hearing this, Empress Ma nodded slightly, "Chongba, you really think long-term. This arrangement is barely acceptable. After all, the Marquis is still better than the Prince Consort Du Wei. It won't make people think that you have neglected Ouyang!"

"Yes." Seeing that Empress Ma no longer objected, Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "Sister, not only that, I also plan to appoint Ouyang Lun as the general of Fengguo to preserve his reputation as a member of the Ming royal family!"

kindness! ! ?
Hearing what Zhu Yuanzhang said, Empress Ma looked at him in shock.

"Chongba, are you serious?"

"Of course!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. "Ouyang Lun is the head of the clan affairs office, the head of the royal family of the Ming Dynasty. But how can he convince the public if he doesn't even have a royal title?"

"Although General Fengguo is only the last of the imperial clan generals, he is still an imperial clan general. If Ouyang Lun makes new achievements, it is not impossible to be crowned a king!"

(End of this chapter)