Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Regardless of his worries, Huang Lijie spread the word.

Then he left it to the noble council and went to Tianjin with the Prince of Lu to welcome the delegation to the West.

The Prince of Fu, who remained in the capital, along with other nobles such as the Duke of Yingguo and the Duke of Chengguo, immediately cursed the swindlers.

Because Huang Lijie had clearly passed the buck to them, and as the highest-ranking nobles in the noble council, they had to make a decision on this matter.

As a member of the royal family, Prince Fu naturally dared not disobey the emperor. However, supporting the emperor's proposal meant that he would have to leave the capital to take up his fief.

The same applies to the Duke of Cheng, whose fiefdom was north of the Duke of Jiangling, formerly the northernmost Wudihe Guard of the Ming Dynasty.

He had no desire to go to such a harsh and cold place.

However, as a duke, he dared not openly defy the emperor.

At this moment, he was extremely envious of Zhang Weixian, who not only did not have to attend parliament due to illness, but also did not have to worry about this matter because he was establishing a fiefdom.

Even Sun Chengzong cursed Huang Liji a few times because Huang Liji invited him to participate in the noble council on the grounds that he was a member of the Zhongxing aristocracy.

This made the noble council quite lively. Members of the royal family, old nobles, and new nobles all gathered there.

Among these, the newly rich were the most supportive of granting fiefdoms to all nobles. This was because without such fiefdoms, the emperor would never be able to bestow large-scale fiefdoms upon the newly rich.

Especially those viscounts, barons, and knights, according to the old system, would only be granted hereditary titles.

Among those who received titles along with Sun Chengzong this time were quite a few such low-ranking new nobles.

They naturally disapproved of the old nobles who were leisurely living in the capital and strongly demanded that these people be sent to fiefdoms just like them.

As their spokesperson, Sun Chengzong could not possibly have a stance contrary to these people.

Moreover, he knew that this was the emperor's intention, to drag him into the aristocratic circle instead of continuing to mingle with the civil officials.

Although he was not used to it, he had no choice but to participate.

While chatting with Yuan Keli, I couldn't help but complain:

"His Majesty is truly difficult to please!"

"He always acts on a whim, and he doesn't even consult with his ministers about such a big matter."

Yuan Keli also had some reservations about this, but he was used to it, and said to Sun Chengzong:
"Now you know what kind of life I lived in the capital."

"His Majesty is capable, and he is also respectful of etiquette and impartial."

"There are just too many ingenious ideas, and we need to be ready to respond at any time."

He told Sun Chengzong how many brilliant ideas he had thwarted for the emperor, and argued that this matter was not a big deal, and that the old nobles should indeed be enfeoffed.

Sun Chengzong also approved of this matter, but he did not think that the old nobles would obediently give in.

These people are quite powerful and may cause some trouble.

Yuan Keli's expression was solemn as he gave the instructions:
"Now that you are the Left Commander of the Central Military Commission, you must keep a close eye on the Five Military Commissions."

"It would be best to take over the Beijing garrison as soon as possible and discipline the soldiers in the garrison."

"Who knows what kind of power those old nobles have, and what they might do out of resentment?"

"We must not let them take advantage of any loopholes and ruin the current excellent situation."

Sun Chengzong nodded, agreeing with Yuan Keli's suggestion:

"I will now submit another memorial to the throne, resigning from my position as Privy Councilor and assuming the post of Governor-General of the Beijing Garrison."

"It's because of Brother Yuan that he couldn't even serve as the Privy Councilor for a month."

Yuan Keli shook his head, completely unconcerned.

He knew that his and Sun Chengzong's positions as Privy Councilors were nominal, and that if they were retained, the emperor and civil officials would be very wary of them.

This position was initially established as a nominal post to honor meritorious officials. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been explicitly stipulated that both Left and Right Privy Councilors must exist simultaneously, with the two checking and balancing each other.

However, there can only be one Privy Councilor. If the Left and Right Privy Councilors are allowed to exist for a long time, conflicts between the two will inevitably arise.

For Yuan Keli, regardless of whether he held the title of Privy Councilor, he was still the head of the Privy Council, a first-rank regent minister, and one of the Three Ministers of the court. He could accept having held the position of Privy Councilor, but he couldn't break the rules of the court for the sake of a hollow title.

He said to Sun Chengzong:

"His Majesty the present emperor values ​​etiquette and law above all else."

"In the council of nobles, you must refute the old nobles and get the relevant bills passed."

"If those people dare to cause trouble again, they will be violating the rules of propriety, and the emperor will have sufficient reason to punish them."

Sun Chengzong nodded in agreement, then asked him:

"What if the council of nobles doesn't approve it?"

"Are we really going to submit this to Congress?"

Yuan Keli stroked his beard and said proudly:

"If the council of nobles can't pass it, then that's what the emperor meant by 'giving face but not daring to accept it'."

"At that time, we will not hold back and can join forces with the officials of the court to teach them a lesson."

“These people couldn’t beat the civil officials before, and they won’t be able to in the future.”

"Even if they have some influence, they can only cause minor trouble."

"With the Imperial Guard and the Eagle Flying Army, we can suppress them."

They looked down on the old nobles, believing they had no real power.

His fear of these people was limited to the possibility of them causing minor trouble; he wasn't worried at all that they could turn the world upside down.

The emperor didn't choose him randomly when he was replaced; it was because he believed in his abilities.

Not to mention Sun Chengzong is also here. As long as the two of them are in the capital, the capital will not be in chaos.

Soon after, Sun Chengzong submitted his resignation again, requesting to resign from his position as Privy Councilor.

Yuan Keli then submitted a memorial recommending that Sun Chengzong be appointed as the Governor-General of the Beijing Garrison.

Zhu Youjian was pleased to see that they were taking initiative and approved the two memorials.

After serving as Privy Councilor for a few days, Sun Chengzong was quickly transferred to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Beijing Garrison, officially taking over the garrison.

The nobles of the capital, through this incident, understood the emperor's resolve—

The emperor is promoting the new nobles and forcing them to give up their land in the capital.

After relinquishing the land in the capital, they had no choice but to establish their own fiefdoms. Otherwise, how many generations could they sustain themselves on just a thousand acres of sacrificial land?
Now, by accepting the emperor's suggestion to sell the surplus land to the court, we can gain the favor of the new nobles and receive their support in establishing fiefdoms.

To continue resisting is to truly be ungrateful.

"How to do?"

"The members of the imperial family and the meritorious officials who helped restore the dynasty have all been granted fiefdoms."

"Several dukes, as well as those founding heroes who had been granted the title of duke, were also enfeoffed by the emperor to Annam."

"What should we do now? How can we stop this proposal?"

After several days of arguing in the noble council, the old nobles of the capital clearly realized that they could not win against the new nobles.

Although the number of heroes who contributed to the revitalization of the nation was small, they were united as one.

They, on the other hand, had no leader because the leading nobles, such as the Duke of Yingguo and the Duke of Chengguo, had all been granted fiefdoms by the emperor.

What they were particularly wary of was that almost all the court officials held the titles of viscount or baron, and some were even on the verge of becoming marquises or earls.

These people were all heroes of the revival of the dynasty, and also belonged to the newly rich.

Even if they defeated the meritorious officials in the noble council, they were no match for the ministers who held power in the court.

Many people felt a sense of unease at the thought of those menacing officials. (End of Chapter)