Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"If one's ancestors sacrificed their lives, the rank of hereditary officials listed in the Temple of Heroes or Shrine of Heroes will not be reduced."

"As long as other heroes are willing to join the army, they can at least be granted the title of hereditary sergeant."

"They are loyal subjects of the Ming Dynasty. As long as the Ming Dynasty exists, we will share weal and woe with these people!"

This was Zhu Youjian's promise as the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and he intended to implement it as a long-term national policy.

He wanted the soldiers to have no worries and to have the courage to fight on the battlefield.

Even if they unfortunately died in battle, the imperial court would support their families, at least confer the title of first-class hereditary military sergeant on them, and allocate fifty acres of hereditary land.

In order to ensure the implementation of this measure, Zhu Youjian instructed the chief officials of the Privy Council, the Five Military Commands Office, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Rites:
"The Heroic Martyrs Temple and the Heroic Martyrs Shrine are not only managed by the Taichang Temple supervised by the Ministry of Rites, but also by the three military offices of the Privy Council, the Five Government Offices, and the Ministry of War."

"Especially the Five Military Commandery. Although it no longer directly manages the local military commissions, it must pay special attention to the treatment of the heroes and martyrs, succession of military positions, and preferential treatment and pay for the garrisons under its jurisdiction."

"The Five Prefectures' Experience Office must have relevant files to protect their rights and interests."

This was his original intention in retaining the Five Military Governors' Office, as a club for hereditary nobles, officers, and sergeants to safeguard their rights and interests.

The nobles were also happy to have a say in these matters and agreed with confidence.

They had never wanted the court to reduce the number of hereditary military officers, and now that the emperor had authorized them, they decided to fight for it more actively.

The civil servants had just approved the proposal to establish a temple for heroes and martyrs, and even took the initiative to donate money to build the temple, so it was difficult to object to it.

Some people also thought that in addition to the shrines for heroes and martyrs, there were also shrines for famous officials and local celebrities. The Minister of Rites Cheng Jiming said:
"I think the descendants of those listed in the famous officials' temples and local celebrities' temples should have the same treatment."

"The court not only praises heroes and martyrs, but also meritorious officials and local celebrities."

When Zhu Youjian heard the local scholar, he frowned and said:
"The standard for local celebrities is not set, so there is a risk of abuse. Apart from the praise of reputation, no other preferential treatment will be given."

"As for the descendants of meritorious officials and famous officials, as long as they are willing to serve in the garrison, they will at least be granted hereditary military status."

"Those who are unwilling to join the army will also not be given preferential treatment."

As he said this, he did not wait for the civil servant to continue arguing, and changed the subject:

"Before, the ministers did not want the military officers of the guards to be transferred to the Jinwu Guards. But now there is a thought. I think they can be transferred to the Jinwu Guards."

"Those whose ancestors passed the imperial examinations and entered the Temple of Famous Officials, if they do not wish to continue to serve in the army, I think they should be allowed to transfer to the Jinwu Guard."

This is a preferential treatment for civil officials, and also a way out for hereditary military officers to escape from the garrisons.

What if you don’t want your offspring to continue serving in the army? Then you can strive to pass the imperial examination, benefit the people, and be included in the famous official temple, so that you can have the opportunity to leave the guard post.

The civil servants in the court, especially the military scholars, were delighted by this, believing that the emperor indeed favored them.

Even Yuan Keli did not raise any objection, because his ancestors were awarded the title of Sui Yang Baihu for their military merits in the second year of Hongwu, and even though they later became an official family, they still retained this hereditary title.

He knew that no one in this family had served in the army, but they were still occupying military officer positions. Rather than letting them stay in the guard post, it would be better to transfer them to the Jinwu Guard, which did not require military service.

As for whether he could leave this matter, Yuan Keli had never considered it. Not to mention the hereditary thousand households of Jinwu Guard granted to him by the emperor, with his achievements in Suzhou and Dengzhou, it was almost certain that he would be included in the famous official temples in the two places and his hometown Suizhou after his death. Under the emperor's policy, he would definitely be able to leave Suiyang Guard.

The same was true for other ministers in the court, most of whom received hereditary titles and noble titles from the Jinwu Guard in the first year of Chongzhen. With the emperor's policy, it was possible to more clearly transfer one's native place to the Jinwu Guard.

After giving this preferential treatment to civil servants, Zhu Youjian successfully decided on the treatment for heroes and martyrs.

Then he proposed a third category that would not be demoted, which was the military officers who, like Yuan Keli’s ancestors, had obtained hereditary titles during the Hongwu period:

"Most of the military officers who received hereditary titles during the reigns of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu, as well as during the reigns of Emperor Hongwu and Emperor Yongle, had made contributions during the founding of the country and the suppression of rebellions."

"There is no need to classify them. As long as they remain in the army, they will all retain their hereditary positions and continue to be related to the country." There are about 20,000 to 30,000 hereditary officials, or even fewer.

Because after more than two hundred years, some families will become extinct or engage in other businesses.

In particular, the lowest-ranking hereditary centurions were also exploited by senior military officers. When the number of hereditary officials in the garrisons was generally twice the quota, the hereditary centurions in some places were even exploited to the point of fleeing and leaving the ranks unfilled.

Therefore, after more than 200 years, only about 18,000 hereditary officials from the Hongwu and Yongle periods remained. These families persisted until now and still served in the army, so Zhu Youjian would certainly give them preferential treatment.

Yuan Keli's family belonged to this group. In addition, he had never thought of reducing all hereditary officials, so after careful consideration, he agreed with the emperor's policy.

Other civil servants also felt that even if these people had no merits, they had worked hard and approved of this policy.

This is even more true for nobles, most of whom belong to this group.

The Hongwu hereditary officials and the Yongle hereditary officials were retained as the core of hereditary military officers.

Zhu Youjian was also relieved about this matter.

Although these hereditary officials only account for about 20% of the total number of hereditary officials, they account for 30% to 40% of the hereditary command.

As long as this group of people is stable, even if there are mistakes in the reform of the garrisons, it will not cause a big mess.

Just like when Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang cleaned up the nobles, he also deliberately retained the core group of soldiers from Haozhou.

In the two years since he ascended the throne, he has been constantly learning, especially the methods of Taizu and Chengzu.

After the preferential treatment measures for the three groups were decided, the core groups among the hereditary officials were retained. Zhu Youjian naturally handed over the remaining hereditary officials to the civil officials for handling.

However, Zhu Youjian did not completely let the civil officials go, and he did not want them to force the military officials to rebel, so he continued:

"The preferential treatment for those traveling overseas and beyond the Great Wall must be strictly implemented during this reform of the garrison system."

"Anyone who is willing to go overseas or beyond the Great Wall, no matter how they obtained their official position, must retain their rank."

“It can even be taken up a notch and encouraged to look outward.”

"Especially the Liaodong Front Army, treat it as the frontier."

"Anyone who served in the Liaodong army or aided Liaodong will be carefully reduced in hereditary official positions."

This was a point he attached particular importance to, maintaining the stability of the Liaodong army.

Otherwise, some people’s hereditary official ranks would be downgraded, and out of resentment they would open the city gates to the Jianlu, which would cause great losses to the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian repeatedly stressed that the border troops, especially the Liaodong troops, should be treated with caution and that the number of hereditary officials should be reduced as little as possible. Even if they were found guilty and had to be reduced, they should be transferred to the interior and not allowed to stay outside.

Yuan Keli was well aware of the danger involved and repeatedly told the emperor that he would have serious discussions with Liaodong Governor Sun Chengzong and try his best to maintain the stability of the Liaodong army.

However, Zhu Youjian was still somewhat worried that some people would rebel after being stripped of their official positions. Finally, he added:
"This time, the garrison system was restructured, and many hereditary trial centurions were added. Some garrisons that were poorly managed even had a shortage of centurions."

"Anyone who is willing to be reduced to these two levels can continue to serve as a hereditary official."

"To completely remove the post, a military court is needed to try it, and the Privy Council, the Five Government Offices, and the Ministry of War must jointly confirm it."

"Especially hereditary commanders, carefully reduce them to the level below 1,000 households, and completely abolishing them requires my approval."

"Even if there are redundant personnel, don't worry too much. The court will set up more guards in the future to accommodate these military officers." (End of this chapter)