Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Qian Sheng had thought about converting his hereditary position into a title of nobility and going overseas to open up territory.

Otherwise, he would not have taken the risk to upgrade his hereditary position to deputy thousand households so that he could get a higher title in the future.

However, after his hereditary position was promoted to deputy captain and he was allocated 200 acres of hereditary land, the ambition that was vaguely rising in his heart was suppressed.

Listening to his nephew's advice, Qian Sheng sighed:

"If I had two hectares of farmland in Luoyang, how could I bear the seals of the six kingdoms?"

"If even a man like Su Qin is like this, what about your uncle, an ordinary person like me?"

"Don't persuade me, nephew. I am already very satisfied that I have two hectares of land in the capital!"

He used the reason why the Privy Council allocated them about 200 acres of land to answer his nephew.

When Qian Wu heard this, he was speechless for a moment.

He knew that his cousin had never had any ambitions, otherwise he would not have even had a real job as a manager.

Two hundred acres of land is indeed enough to support a family business. Everyone can understand Qian Sheng's choice.

However, even though he understood, he still told his uncle what the instructor had taught him:
"The military instructors often say that His Majesty's permission to convert hereditary titles into titles is a rare privilege."

"There are many unowned lands outside the Great Wall now. As long as we conquer the natives, we can successfully establish a vassal state."

"But in a few years, that may not be the case. Once a piece of land has an owner, they can no longer create fiefdoms at will."

"Then the hereditary position will only be a hereditary position, and it will be difficult to turn it into a title."

"Uncle, you should know the difference between a hereditary position and a title, right?"

Qian Sheng's eyes darkened when he heard this, and he said:
"Know!"

"Our hereditary position is military attaché, and we can only take the seat of military attaché councillor after retirement."

"Those with titles are nobles, and they have a special noble council."

"I heard that the emperor has taken the initiative to restrict the reduction of titles. Only with a two-thirds majority vote of the Noble Council can the emperor reduce a title."

The emperor's promise undoubtedly greatly increased the value of the title. As long as the nobles did not make themselves hated by gods, ghosts, and people, they basically did not have to worry about being stripped of their titles.

This is also the reason why Qian Sheng had thought about changing to a knighthood before and had made preparations for it.

Compared with hereditary positions, titles of nobility are the real hereditary wealth and honor, which even the emperor cannot revoke at will.

The Ming nobles, who had shared the same ties with the country for more than two hundred years, made Qian Sheng fully believe in the effectiveness of this promise.

In comparison, hereditary positions were not so safe. For example, during the reform of the guards, the imperial court could not allocate land to so many hereditary officials, so it planned to eliminate some of them in the name of cleaning up abuses.

If the emperor had not been worried about driving people into a dead end, he would have stipulated that hereditary officials who had not been tried by a military court could only be demoted to a trial centurion at the lowest. It is estimated that many military officers would have their hereditary positions abolished, or, like the Zhuolu District before, be forced to move overseas.

After this incident, many officials would think about changing their titles to nobles, but they were afraid of difficulties and could not make up their minds, just like Qian Sheng.

At this time, Qian Sheng told his nephew about his considerations and wanted to hear his opinion.

After seeing the changes in his nephew, he no longer regards him as an ordinary young man, but someone with whom he can discuss important matters.

Qian Wu listened to his uncle's thoughts and said:

"It is better that Uncle is prepared to transfer to a noble title, so that he will not miss the opportunity when it comes."

"The noble council that the emperor promised is real, and it must be written into the Ming Dynasty Enfeoffment Ceremony."

"This enfeoffment is the national policy of the Ming Dynasty. In the future, the imperial court will most likely arrange for some people to be enfeoffed as examples to attract people to go overseas."

"Uncle, when you encounter this opportunity, don't hesitate. You must seize the opportunity and convert your hereditary position into a title of nobility."

"If my nephew is lucky enough to get a hereditary position in the future, I will definitely convert it into a title of nobility."

"The fiefs of our two families can be put together to continue the friendship of our ancestors."

Qian Sheng laughed and said:

"If there is such an opportunity, uncle will definitely consult you."

"Let's not talk about these things. Have you heard about the palace selecting ladies from the guards?"

"Your sister is coming of age this year, and I'm wondering whether we should let her run for the election."

Qian Wu thought about the cousin he had met when he visited his uncle's house, and immediately slapped his thigh and said:
“Of course I’m going to run!”

"The emperor is giving this preferential treatment to appease the officials."

"We in the Eagle Army have been collecting unmarried officers recently, and I heard that we are organizing them to attend a blind date event."

"Many people came to ask me about the process of my last blind date and how I married the palace maid."

Thinking about this, Qian Wu couldn't help but smile.

He was still a soldier at the time, but he married a palace maid, which made his comrades in the army very envious.

Those who thought they were better than him but did not attend the blind date due to shyness or other reasons, are now regretting it now.

Until now, Qian Wu still thinks that he is lucky to have a wife. He is also very grateful to the palace for organizing a blind date.

However, Qian Sheng was puzzled and asked his nephew:
"Aren't you here to select a concubine for the emperor? Why is there a blind date meeting?"

"Will there be more people selected as palace maids, and will the palace release a group of older palace maids?"

If that was the case, he would not have planned to let his daughter run for election.

Because if you are chosen as a palace maid, you will probably not be released until ten years later.

This is because the current emperor is merciful and released the older palace maid. In the past, the palace maid would have no chance to come out.

Therefore, selecting ladies has always been something that many families avoid.

Families who don't want their daughters to gain wealth and status don't want their daughters to run for election at all.

Many hereditary officials of the guards were also hesitant because of this. They didn't know whether the rumor that only concubines would be selected in the palace this time was true, and whether some people would be left behind to be palace maids.

At this time, Qian Wu said:

"The story of selecting concubines is true. The emperor will choose a few people to stay in the palace, at least to be named talented people."

"If the other women who were not selected are willing to participate in the blind date event, they can go on blind dates with officers from the Yingyang Army, the Imperial Camp, and the Beijing Camp."

"I won't force you to participate if you don't want to. Marriage depends on personal wishes."

Then Qian Wu asked his uncle:

"Hasn't uncle seen the registration form?"

"The instructor in the camp taught those people how to fill out the registration form."

"This form must be signed by me, representing my wishes."

"I heard from the instructor that this is one of the rules of etiquette:"

"Adults have autonomy over their own marriages."

Qian Sheng really didn't know much about this kind of thing. After all, Fuyuwei didn't have instructors like Yingyang Army to explain the latest policies at any time.

However, after listening to Qian Wu's explanation of the right to marriage autonomy, he finally felt relieved, knowing that blind dates are voluntary and whether or not to get married depends entirely on personal wishes.

Thinking that the officers of the Yingyang Army might become the new nobles, Qian Sheng nodded and said:

"Hearing you say that, uncle is relieved." "If you can't become a royal concubine, marrying an officer is not bad either."

"Your sister is not young anymore, it's time to find her a husband."

I plan to let my daughter run for the election and then participate in subsequent blind date events.
-
The uncle and nephew chatted for a while, and as it was almost noon, they went to a restaurant to eat.

On the way, Qian Wu saw that many archways at the street corners were being demolished, and asked curiously:

"Uncle, why are all these memorial archways demolished?"

"Is there no one to stop the family from erecting a memorial archway?"

Qian Sheng smiled and said:

"Stopped? Why didn't anyone stop it?"

"Some people even brought the case to the emperor!"

"But the emperor has so many ways to deal with it. He said that the memorial archway blocks the way and harms merit, so the owner of the memorial archway cannot enter the local shrine, let alone be deified."

"So all the archways that blocked the road were removed by them on their own initiative."

“Some wealthy families rebuilt their homes according to the new street standards to ensure they would not block the road.”

The number of memorial archways in the capital is beyond the imagination of outsiders. They are of different shapes and hinder the passage of traffic.

Because of this, the biggest obstacle in this street renovation, besides the demolition of illegal buildings along the street, is the demolition of archways and memorial archways.

Qian Sheng and other guards who were sent to renovate the streets had been troubled by this before, because behind each archway, there was almost always an official family.

Some military officers were even impeached by civil officials in the court for forcibly demolishing archways.

It was not until the emperor came up with a good idea to link the memorial archway with the deification that this matter went smoothly.

Pointing to the new building under construction not far from the Bell and Drum Tower, Qian Sheng said:
"Did you see it? That's the Fangshen Temple in Jintaifang."

"The deity of our Jintaifang is very powerful. The emperor asked King Zhao of Yan to send an incarnation to take the position."

"The people who were enshrined with him were great sages such as Guo Kui, Yue Yi, Zou Yan, and Ju Xin."

"It is said that in the future, a golden platform will be built in front of the Fangshen Temple in Jintaifang to invite wise men from all over the world to display their talents."

“In the future, those who become famous in Huangjintai, those who receive rewards for bells and watches, and those whose portraits are displayed in the bell and drum tower, may be worshipped in the Fangshen Temple, or even become the community gods of the communities in Jintaifang.”

"When the families heard that demolishing the memorial archway would allow their ancestors to enter the local shrine of the Fangshen Temple, they were very enthusiastic."

Qian Sheng proudly told his nephew these things, and when he was having dinner with him, he also talked about the origin of the name Jintaifang.

Qian Wu then realized that the name Jintaifang was derived from the Golden Terrace. Back then, King Zhao of Yan used thousands of gold coins to buy horse bones to attract these great sages.

The current emperor also respects talented people and invites King Zhao of Yan to send his incarnation to be the temple god. He rebuilt the Golden Platform in front of the temple and awarded titles more precious than gold to those who made precision watches.

Therefore, the residents of Jintaifang welcomed this high-standard temple, and many of them took the initiative to donate money in order to have their ancestral tablets included in the temple.

Those who thought that removing the memorial archway would allow their ancestors to enter the shrine of sages or even the shrine of famous officials would naturally not insist on this. They took the initiative to remove the memorial archway and put the ancestral tablets in the temple.

However, wealthy families would rebuild according to the specifications of the memorial archway set by the court. As long as it did not affect the passage of roads, the court allowed such memorial archways to exist.

Jintaifang has therefore retained some old archways and built some new ones, all of which do not affect road traffic.

Qian Wu listened to his uncle talking about these interesting things, and thought of what the military instructor said, pointing to the Fangshen Temple and said:

"The Fangshen Temple should be like the Sheshen Temple, with four shrines: the Shrine of Heroes and Martyrs, the Shrine of Famous Officials, the Shrine of Local Worthies, and the Shrine of the Dead, right?"

"Has anyone of my uncle's ancestors entered the Martyrs' Shrine?"

This brought up Qian Sheng's pride, and his old face broke into a smile, and he cupped his hands and said:

"It's all thanks to our ancestors, and the court is still remembering it."

"There are two ancestors in our Qian family who can enter the Martyrs' Shrine."

"The third generation ancestor has great merits and may become a community god."

The third generation ancestor of the Qian family died in the Battle of Beijing after the Battle of Tumu. Because of his outstanding achievements, he is qualified to become a god.

Qian Sheng felt extremely proud when he thought about his ancestor being deified. He even planned to send a family member to the City God's Office to learn how to be a priest and make a living there.

If the Qian family decides to establish a fiefdom in the future, they can also let this family priest preside over the City God Temple in the fiefdom and allow more ancestors of the Qian family to be deified.

When Qian Wu heard this, he was extremely envious.

Because compared with the glory of Qian Sheng's branch, the deeds of his ancestors are nothing special.

Only one ancestor who was named a hero because he died on the battlefield can enter the Martyrs' Shrine.

But the qualifications to be deified are far from enough.

Perhaps only after he established his fiefdom could he make his ancestors become gods.

This made him more determined to achieve great things in his heart, to win a title for himself, a wife and children, and to bring glory to his ancestors.

With this in mind, he talked about military affairs with his uncle.

I hope my uncle can give me some advice using the experience passed down from our ancestors.

"After becoming an officer, I realized that officers and soldiers think very differently."

"My nephew is now only a junior lieutenant, serving as a squad leader. He is so busy every day and has to worry about everything."

"How did uncle become a centurion before? Managing a hundred people is much more difficult than managing more than thirty people, right?"

Talking about military affairs, Qian Wu asked Qian Sheng how to be an official.

Qian Sheng smiled and said:

"Being an official is easy if you say it's simple, but it's also very difficult if you say it's difficult."

"For an official like my uncle, it's a simple job. As long as he manages his centurions well, he can manage the soldiers well."

"In the past, there were general flags and small flags, and they were used to manage the military households."

"Just make sure it looks good on the surface and don't cause any trouble."

Speaking of his experience as an official, Qian Sheng continued:

"But such officials can only maintain the status quo."

"If you want to make a contribution, you definitely can't do this."

"So your job as an officer is much harder than your uncle's. You have to worry about everything in order to get the soldiers to die for you."

"Unlike under my uncle's command, it was not uncommon for military households to desert. As a result, they were deducted a lot of military merits and almost failed to be promoted to deputy commander."

No matter which garrison is now generally short of staff. The court did not investigate this matter further and did not force them to bring back the escaped military households. However, the merits of the garrison officials who were short of staff would still be deducted.

Some garrisons with serious desertions were even demoted as a whole. Qian Sheng was lucky, as he could be promoted to a higher position even though his merits were deducted.

There is naturally a trick to this. He explained it in detail to Qian Wu and taught him how to be an official.

Qian Wu naturally listened carefully and asked a few questions from time to time.

The most frequently asked questions were about the experience of Qian Sheng's ancestors, especially the first, second and third generations. In particular, the second generation ancestor, who went from being a military household to a centurion.

Qian Wu hopes to learn from this experience, lead his team to achieve meritorious service, and be promoted to a higher position in the future, or even be awarded a title. (End of this chapter)