Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Youjian was quite satisfied with the general decision on how to deal with Zhu Yujian.

In his delight, he addressed his ministers:
"In this change of officials, all of you have made contributions."

"By imperial decree, all ministers who have retired normally without committing any wrongdoing, as well as ministers who have been recommended, shall be promoted to the first rank of nobility."

“Those who originally had no title were granted the title of first-class knight.”

"Those who originally had a title will be promoted one rank."

"The highest rank granted is First-Class Viscount; Counts and other high-ranking nobles will be considered separately."

When this imperial edict was issued, everyone in the court was overjoyed.

They just agreed to grant titles to the regional officials and not kill the feudal lords, wasn't it because they knew that the current emperor was generous and would give them titles?

Unexpectedly, it happened so quickly; the emperor actually bestowed titles upon all his ministers.

This is not just one or two; there are dozens of ministers in the imperial court, and dozens more in Nanjing and other places, totaling more than a hundred, all of whom can obtain the title of Viscount.

Moreover, if this becomes a system, the emperor will bestow titles upon officials every time a minister is replaced.

Their titles will also be elevated, and they may even have the opportunity to become high-ranking nobles.

For a moment, all the officials were overjoyed.

Even the Grand Secretary Han Kuang couldn't wait to express his gratitude to the Emperor.

He aspires to become an earl and is now seizing every opportunity to elevate his rank.

Even if the investiture of high-ranking nobles needs to be discussed separately, he can still accumulate merits.

This decree was drafted on the spot by the court officials without any resistance.

Watching Han Kuang writing the imperial edict, Zhu Youjian stroked his beard and added:

"To bestow a title solely upon a minister is somewhat undignified."

"In the past few years, the world has suffered many disasters and wars. This year, things have finally gotten a little better, so we should let those who have made contributions be happy."

"The soldiers who participated in the wars in the southwest, northwest, and northeast, as well as the officials who served on the frontier and overseas border regions, were all awarded the rank of first-class sergeant. The martyrs who sacrificed their lives were awarded two ranks, or even a first-class noble title."

"The same applies to the people who migrated in response to the imperial court's policies."

"Anyone willing to join the garrison and serve in the military for generations will be promoted one rank. Those who die during the immigration process will be promoted two ranks."

"The sergeant rank can still be split, and a high-ranking sergeant can be split into multiple sergeants and passed on to future generations."

"The same applies to you. If your descendants do not inherit a title, but are willing to join the garrison, they can obtain a hereditary military rank."

This reward had a wider impact.

Given the vast scale of the wars waged by the Ming Dynasty in the preceding years, involving hundreds of thousands of soldiers, all of whom could become military officers.

If they had already become sergeants, and this promotion in sergeant rank was distributed to the remaining sons (excluding the eldest son), the Ming Dynasty would have hundreds of thousands more soldiers.

The same applies to the emigrants; the imperial court has been frantically organizing emigration in recent years. More than three million people have migrated, and if broken down by household, there are over a million households.

Even if not all of these people were soldiers who had served in the garrison for generations, there were still hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

The ministers felt a headache coming on when they thought about this:

It's a good thing that the emperor is generous, but being too generous puts a lot of pressure on them.

Bi Ziyan, Minister of Revenue, said:

"Your Majesty, hereditary soldiers can already be considered as prospective officers."

“These people are all eligible to enter the garrison military academy according to the system, and as long as they graduate from the military academy, the imperial court will grant them officer positions.”

“If hundreds of thousands or even millions of soldiers are granted at once, the court will not have enough positions or be able to support so many officers in the future.”

Hereditary soldiers were considered quasi-hereditary officials in the garrison, and sometimes the hereditary soldiers were even included when referring to hereditary officials of the garrison.

They were the core of the officer corps built by Zhu Youjian, but Zhu Youjian needed to expand the scope and increase the number of hereditary soldiers.

So when he heard this, he smiled and said:

"The court need not worry about the hereditary soldiers overseas and beyond the Great Wall."

"Most of them belong to vassal states, so we can take this opportunity to take stock of the garrisons of each vassal state and have a clear understanding of their situation."

"Having more soldiers in the overseas garrisons directly under the imperial court has its advantages. They can be used as officers to lead the local people in battle."

"In the future, when the Ming Dynasty expands overseas, it will need many officers! The current number of officers is far from sufficient."

"Therefore, we must mobilize the garrison troops within the territory to go overseas."

"The hereditary lands of those garrisons should be allocated first to the orphans of fallen soldiers."

"Hereditary soldiers who were not allocated land were encouraged to go to the border regions overseas, and they could be promoted one or two ranks based on the distance."

This reward was even greater, leaving Bi Ziyan somewhat speechless.

He wanted to offer some advice, but he knew the emperor was in high spirits and wouldn't listen to him.

Moreover, the wide reach of this reward left other ministers with no reason to object.

Opposing it would mean offending hundreds of thousands of soldiers and millions of immigrants who would migrate overseas.

Considering that the biggest expenditure after the implementation of this policy is the allocation of overseas land, Bi Ziyan put aside his idea of ​​advising against it. In any case, the training of military officers is a matter for the future, and it will be a concern for future officials of the Ministry of Revenue.

Wen Tiren, who pandered to the emperor, then praised him at this time:

"During the Former Han Dynasty, the emperor would grant a general amnesty and bestow a noble title upon the people on every grand occasion."

"In the five years since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have accomplished great feats, including pacifying She'an, expelling the Jurchens, and settling immigrants."

"On this auspicious occasion of the Emperor's birthday, we should extend our blessings to the people."

"Your Majesty, I request a general amnesty, so that all people may celebrate this grand occasion together."

This flattery made Zhu Youjian extremely comfortable.

He was very angry yesterday because of the celebration, and even reassigned Han Rizuan, the Minister of Rites, to a post outside the capital.

Today, in order to win over the officials and soldiers for Zhu Yujian's sake, the reasons are not so honorable.

With the addition of Wen Tiren, things change. He can be treated as a blessing bestowed upon the Emperor on his birthday, benefiting all people.

So after Wen Tiren made this statement, he immediately clapped his hands and exclaimed in praise:

"Scholar Wen's statement is excellent!"

"My birthday celebration should be shared with all the people of the world."

"The Anti-Corruption Commission and the three judicial departments have drafted a general amnesty ordinance, which stipulates that all minor offenses that do not harm others may be pardoned."

“Criminals who have committed depraved crimes or committed multiple crimes may be pardoned as long as they are willing to serve in overseas garrisons.”

“Those who commit heinous crimes but are not sentenced to death are also allowed to serve in the military overseas and redeem themselves through meritorious service.”

"This general amnesty is to ensure that all people feel my grace and celebrate the festival with me."

Wen Tiren bowed and accepted the order, and the other ministers also praised the emperor.

Regardless of the circumstances, the emperor granting a general amnesty is a good thing, demonstrating his benevolence.

They now had even more justification for drafting the edict, using the pretext of celebrating the emperor's birthday to elevate their own ranks. Wen Tiren's proposed reason effectively provided them with a justification for raising their ranks while simultaneously satisfying the emperor's need for a celebration.

The way people looked at him was no longer the same as before:

This man's flattery of the emperor is somewhat shameful, but in court, he is able to ease the tension between the emperor and his ministers.

Zhu Youjian was also somewhat satisfied with Wen Tiren. He glanced at Xu Guangqi, who was also in the Grand Council, and said:

"The cabinet originally had two deputy ministers, one civil and one military, who worked together to assist the prime minister."

"After Shi Fenglai retired, the position of Second Assistant Minister in charge of the Military Affairs Office of the Wuying Hall became vacant."

"Xu Xueshi has been in the cabinet for a long time and has made great contributions to the pacification of Liaodong, so he was appointed as the second military minister in the capacity of a minister in charge of government affairs."

"Wen Tiren assisted in drafting military tickets."

"The Military Affairs Department and the Ministry of War are responsible for ensuring the implementation of this universal conferment of military sergeants."

Xu Guangqi was somewhat surprised, not expecting that he would suddenly be promoted by the emperor to the position of second assistant minister.

Wen Tiren was also somewhat taken aback, because this was the position he had been aiming for.

However, considering Xu Guangqi's contributions and his ranking in the cabinet, he knew in his heart that he could not surpass Xu Guangqi.

Whether Xu Guangqi is now serving as the Second Assistant Minister of the Army or not, the emperor has clearly established this position.

When Xu Guangqi steps down, who else but himself can succeed him as Vice Minister of the Army?

So he calmly accepted the appointment and, together with Xu Guangqi, thanked the emperor.

Seeing his calm expression, which seemed to reflect a state of "not being elated by external gains nor saddened by personal losses," Zhu Youjian secretly nodded in approval.

The reason he appointed Xu Guangqi as the second military advisor was not only because Wen Tiren was less capable and lacked experience, but also because Xu Guangqi was old, already seventy-one years old this year.

At that age, one can't serve as an official for many more years. Even if one doesn't die of illness, one will likely not remain in office for the next term.

Considering that Xu Guangqi had historically served as the second-highest-ranking official, Zhu Youjian felt he couldn't appoint him to a lower position. Otherwise, how could he demonstrate his emphasis on science and professional talent?
Thus, Xu Guangqi received the reward and became the new Vice Minister of the Army after Shi Fenglai stepped down.

The appointment of two vice ministers, one for civil affairs and one for military affairs, also began to become a routine practice.

The six Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet were initially divided into three levels: the Grand Secretary, the Second Grand Secretary, and the ordinary Grand Secretaries.

It can even be further subdivided, with the Four Grand Secretaries ranking before the Two Grand Secretaries, and the Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion ranking last.

In addition, there were also Grand Secretaries and Ministers of the Four Departments, so although the number of cabinet members was small, almost everyone was a different level.
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After making this appointment, Zhu Youjian said:
"Since I ascended the throne, I have issued many edicts to bestow favors upon the people."

"But the Ming Dynasty is too vast, and some local officials are simply incompetent and lazy, so these edicts have not been fully implemented."

"Taking advantage of this grand ceremony, the Cabinet and the Office of Transmission will organize these edicts, compile them, print them, and distribute them to the people."

"All people may, in accordance with the contents of the edict, request the implementation of graces such as leniency and tax reduction."

"Especially the arrears accumulated before the first year of Chongzhen's reign should not be much after many years of clearing. Those that were really impossible to collect will be reduced or waived this time."

"The amount of tax reductions and exemptions must be tallied and published, so that the people may know the court's benevolence and my grace."

This was a regulation he formulated after studying the disaster relief policies of the Qing Dynasty.

During the Qing Dynasty, disaster relief typically involved tax reductions or exemptions, reducing the high taxes that should have been collected, but in reality, not a single grain of rice was allocated.

Even so, some people still praised the Qing Dynasty for its disaster relief efforts, saying they far surpassed those of the Ming Dynasty, and that every emperor of the Qing Dynasty was a sage ruler.

Zhu Youjian is now learning from this method, and formally reducing or exempting taxes that are truly uncollectible.

And they should tally the amounts to show how much grace they have bestowed upon the world.

The same applies to disaster relief. It is necessary to not only count the money and grain allocated by the imperial court, but also the taxes reduced or exempted by the imperial court and the disaster relief funds from local governments.

All of these combined demonstrate the benevolence of the imperial court.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian ordered the Ministry of Revenue to compile the disaster relief funds allocated over the past few years, especially the gold and silver funds from the inner court. These were printed along with relevant imperial edicts to publicize the emperor's benevolence.

The courtiers were speechless, never expecting the emperor to be so shameless. Having never witnessed the Qing Dynasty's disaster relief efforts, they simply couldn't comprehend such a scheme.

Even Wen Tiren admired the emperor and offered his advice:

"I believe that not only should the imperial edicts and data be compiled, but Your Majesty's achievements should also be printed in them."

"Only in this way can Your Majesty's sagacity be demonstrated, and thus great achievements will be made."

“The Record of Chongzhen’s Sacred Virtues should be printed every year, with the latest blessings and achievements added.”

This flattery was so blatant that Zhu Youjian felt a little embarrassed.

He's not a winner who needs to win every day of the year and then produce a summary at the end of the year.

Therefore, he humbly said:
"The Record of Sacred Virtues doesn't need to be printed every year; it can be compiled and printed every five or ten years."

"The same goes for celebrations; they don't need to be held in large quantities every year."

"This year marks the fifth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, so we will hold a grand celebration."

"The next celebration will be held in the tenth year of Chongzhen's reign, or a few years later."

"The latest edition of the Book of Virtues will be released alongside the celebrations, so that people all over the world may celebrate this festive occasion."

"This celebration will be hosted by Wen Xueshi and assisted by Li Yu. It must be made into a model event."

Knowing that the people needed hope, he decided to give them confidence, even though he did not intend to use Winning Theory.

The more people are influenced by virtuous conduct, the more peace there will be in the world.

As the drought worsens, he needs more people to know that he is a wise ruler.

It's okay to overdo the publicity, since we're not in an age of information overload anymore and no one can expose the lies.

Upon receiving the order, Wen Tiren put in his utmost effort, knowing that if he did well, he would win the emperor's favor.

Compared to the emperor's favor, what is a mere second-ranking official? It's just a position he was bound to get.

The other ministers, though somewhat disdainful of his flattery of the emperor, did not criticize him. They often praised the emperor's virtues themselves, so they could only agree with his actions.

Qian Qianyi, who was acting Minister of Rites and attending the meeting, felt a little jealous upon seeing this scene.

It was his first time attending the meeting of ministers and chancellors, and he was still a little reserved, having not spoken much beforehand.

Seeing that Wen Tiren was so trusted by the emperor, he, who had always been at odds with Wen Tiren, requested:
"Your Majesty, holding a celebration requires the cooperation of the outer court; how can we do without the Ministry of Rites?"

"Your subject requests to jointly oversee the celebration with Scholar Wen and Musician Li."

Zhu Youjian, of course, would not refuse such a proactive offer, and agreed:

"Qian Qing's initiative to share the burden is commendable."

"You, along with Scholar Wen, Musician Li, Prince Lu of the Imperial Clan, and Liu Ruoyu of the Directorate of Ceremonial, will form a celebration committee to discuss how to hold the celebration."

"As the chief official, Wen Tiren has the final decision-making power."

"The Record of Sacred Virtues was the responsibility of the Grand Secretariat and the Directorate of the Imperial Secretariat, with Qian Qing serving as the chief compiler."

The officials in charge of organizing the celebration have been selected.

Wen Tiren, Qian Qianyi, and others bowed and accepted the order, determined to do it well and gain the emperor's favor. (End of Chapter)