Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"The Duke of England wants to establish a fiefdom?"

"Why are you so eager?"

Looking at the secret memorial handed over by Duke of England Zhang Weixian, Zhu Youjian asked.

The secret memorial was handled by Hou Baoshan, a eunuch in the Imperial Household Department. Although he had not read the contents of the secret memorial before, he had heard about the Duke of Ying's affairs and replied:
"The Duke of England has not been feeling well lately."

"I think the Duke of England probably wants to settle this matter as soon as possible to avoid any setbacks."

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly, understanding Zhang Weixian's concerns.

As a veteran minister who served four dynasties and helped three emperors ascend the throne, Zhang Weixian's prestige in the court and the country was far greater than that of his children and grandchildren.

Once Zhang Weixian passes away, the power of the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion will plummet.

The position of the head of the nobles must be given to Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen.

Thinking of this name, Zhu Youjian frowned a little. Because he really looked down on Zhu Chunchen. This person had little ability and would only seek benefits for his family.

Unfortunately, there is no one more suitable than him——

The previous Duke of Dingguo, Xu Xigao, just passed away this year. The new Duke of Dingguo, Xu Yunzhen, like Zhang Zhiji, does not have much prestige in the court and the country.

Zhu Guobi, the Marquis of Funing, who was deliberately placed in the Beijing camp by Zhu Youjian for cultivation, did not show much ability. It is estimated that the nobles in the capital would not agree to support this person as the head of the nobles.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh:

"There really aren't many talented people among the old nobles of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Rather than relying on them, it is better to rely on the new nobles."

He paid more attention to Zhang Tongchang, the Duke of Jiangling County who was far away in Liaodong, and Man Gui, the newly appointed Marquis of Dongping on the grassland.

As for Zhang Weixian, the old minister, he also hoped to hold on for a while longer to avoid any problems during the internal and external troubles. He gave the order:

"I have approved the memorial and asked the Duke of England to start preparations."

"Let Zhang Jingyue bring the imperial doctors from the Imperial Hospital for consultation, and allow them to choose precious medicines from the Imperial Pharmacy, so as to help the Duke of England hold out for as long as possible."

"If you can hold on for a year, it will be easier to open a fiefdom."

He ordered Hou Baoshan to convey the oral order to the Duke of Yingzhou's mansion and to invite the Duke of Yingzhou's eldest son Zhang Zhiji to meet him.

Hou Baoshan brought the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau to the Duke of Yingguo's mansion to deliver an oral order. Duke of Yingguo Zhang Weixian hurriedly dragged his sick body to express his gratitude.

After learning that the emperor had summoned his son, he even forced himself to say:
"I am not yet unable to travel, so I beg you to come and see me."

Hou Baoshan didn't dare to agree casually, because he was worried that something might happen to the Duke of England in the palace, which would cause big problems.

So he ordered the young eunuch to return to the palace for questioning, and at the same time asked the imperial physician to consult with the Duke of England.

After the Emperor reorganized the Imperial Medical Bureau, the imperial doctors were selected from among the top attending physicians with rich experience in diagnosis and treatment.

After they made the diagnosis, they all felt that it was difficult to solve the problem, because the British prince was not seriously ill, but simply old and weak.

Zhang Jingyue, who is good at warming and nourishing, said:
"The Duke's body can last another year as long as it survives the Spring Equinox."

"Don't move around these few days. You need to recuperate for a few more days."

It means that it is not suitable to enter the palace now, and you can go only after you feel better in a few days.

If you can survive the winter and early spring, you'll be able to survive when the weather turns warmer.

How long it can survive depends on next winter.

Zhang Weixian felt neither sad nor happy when he heard this. As a duke's mansion, the Zhang family naturally had doctors for generations. Of course, he knew his physical condition.

Zhang Zhiji still had some expectations, and asked:
"Mr. Zhang, is there a safe way?"

"We at the Duke's Mansion can't say anything else, but we can give you any medicine."

Zhang Jingyue shook his head and said:

"It's not about the medicinal materials. The emperor has already ordered that the precious medicine can be taken from the imperial pharmacy."

"In my opinion, the Duke's condition may be related to the heavy metals that the Emperor mentioned a few days ago."

"Now that the toxins have accumulated, no medicine can cure it."

This was discovered by the Imperial Medical Service while searching for related cases based on the emperor's suggestion.

As a wealthy family, the Duke of Ying's mansion has many metal objects. The mansion is magnificent and has many red lacquer paintings.

The medicines and foods you have taken in the past may contain heavy metals, which accumulate in your body over time.

It is now too late to recover.

Zhang Zhiji never thought that the cause of the disease was this. Zhang Weixian was also very surprised because the doctors in the mansion could not find out the cause. They could only talk about the life span and the like, but could not tell the cause at all.

Now that he knew that his illness was caused by heavy metals, he remained calm on the surface but was extremely angry in his heart.

Zhang Zhiji was even more angry and afraid, and screamed:
"Someone, come quickly, take away all these bronze and lacquerware."

"I also scraped off all the red lacquer in the mansion and replaced it with..."

What kind of paint should be used? Zhang Zhiji looked at Zhang Jingyue.

Zhang Jingyue thought about it for a while and said:

"Scraping off the lacquer will create dust, which is more likely to be inhaled."

"That's why Your Majesty didn't make any major changes to the palace. You can make changes when you have money in the future."

"The dyeing bureau has been working on the replacement pigments, and the one that works best right now is cochineal red."

"This pigment was brought from America by Western merchants. It is extremely expensive."

This is a natural red pigment, the loudest and most saturated red found in the West, and is also used in food and lipstick.

It is native to America and is now monopolized by Spain, so the price when sold to the Ming Dynasty is naturally very expensive.

Zhu Youjian intended to use it to replace cinnabar red, but at its current price, the inner court simply could not afford it.

So he asked the Shangyi Bureau and the Neizhi Dyeing Bureau to continue their research and try to formulate other non-toxic and harmless red colors, or reduce the amount of cochineal red used.

However, the emperor could not afford it, but the Duke of England could. The Duke of England had accumulated wealth for generations just for enjoyment.

Even if a lot of money was spent on establishing a fiefdom, there would still be enough money to replace the paint in the mansion.

Zhang Zhiji immediately requested the Internal Weaving and Dyeing Bureau and the Internal Official Supervision Construction Department to use this color for the mansion that was being built in western Beijing.

After the renovation over there is completed, the Duke of England's mansion will move over there and change the color of this side in the same way to renovate the mansion.

This matter was related to the Imperial Wardrobe and the Imperial Household Officials, so Zhang Jingyue, the imperial physician, naturally could not make a decision.

Even Hou Baoshan could only take the matter back and ask the emperor for instructions.

When Zhu Youjian heard that the Duke of Yingzhou was willing to use cochineal red to renovate the mansion, he was impressed by the Duke of Yingzhou's wealth and did not hesitate to give an order:
"Allow Western merchants to use cochineal to offset taxes, so that the customs can collect more."

"Then use this pigment to mix ink, ink, and red lacquer, and try it out at the Duke of England's palace first."

"If the effect is good, the palace will also be built in this way in the future."

We plan to use the British government as guinea pigs for an experiment.

After learning that the Duke of England had removed almost all metal utensils and lacquerware and replaced them with porcelain, he emphasized: "Porcelain must be made of high-temperature ceramics and underglaze colors, otherwise the pigments may still release harmful substances when exposed to heat."

"Also, you should pay attention to other objects, especially self-luminous objects such as night-shining pearls."

"The light they emit could be radiation, which is harmful to the human body."

This sentence dealt a devastating blow to the Ming Dynasty's gem industry.

In the Ming Dynasty, which advocated jade, gemstones were not valued. After knowing that those colorful gemstones could harm the body, people would not wear them even more.

Even though Zhu Youjian knew about this later, he did not make any changes because without a measurement method, he did not know what kind of gemstones had radiation.

In order to prevent someone from using radioactive stones to murder the emperor, the palace completely banned this. Even the stones used for construction had to be confirmed to be safe before they could be used in the palace.

The Duke of England's mansion became a model for the transformation of safe buildings. All the things developed by the inner court according to his instructions were used for experiments.
-
Because of the Duke of Ying's actions, the inner court saved a lot of test expenses. Zhu Youjian was naturally very happy. When he summoned the Duke of Ying three days later, he was also very friendly:
"The Duke is ill, and I should have visited him."

"But I am worried about being misunderstood, so I have to trouble you to make this trip."

"Are you feeling well now? Come and sit on the embroidered couch quickly."

He ordered Zhang Zhiji to help Zhang Weixian onto the embroidered couch that had been prepared long ago, and told him not to bow.

Zhang Weixian was deeply moved. He bowed and said tremblingly:

"Duke Dingguo passed away this year, and I don't think I'll have much time left."

"Being able to see the Ming Dynasty's revival before I die, this old minister has no regrets."

These words were somewhat ominous. Zhu Youjian frowned and said:

"What are you talking about, dying or not?"

"I still want the Duke to continue assisting me!"

"Who else can the nobles in the capital rely on besides the Duke?"

This was his worry, and also the reason why he hoped Zhang Weixian could live longer.

If Zhang Weixian passed away now, it would be the wrong time. Without him suppressing the old nobles, who knows what these long-corrupted nobles would do.

Zhang Weixian also knew the emperor's concerns, but he did not recommend a candidate for the top honorary position after himself.

Because it is obvious that there is no one else except Zhu Chunchen——

This was not only because no other nobles were significantly superior to Zhu Chunchen, but also because Zhang Weixian, the Duke of England, was unwilling to surpass the Duke family and take the top spot among the nobles by one level, namely, Marquis.

So he pretended not to hear the emperor's words, focused on his own affairs, and said:
"Your Majesty re-established the rituals and music, and enfeoffed the royal family and relatives."

"The place where the Duke of Ying established his fiefdom is Jiaozhi. Please allow the troops to be mobilized, Your Majesty."

This was his greatest wish, he hoped to see the establishment of the British vassal state before his death.

Zhu Youjian naturally agreed to this, but as an emperor, he naturally considered it more and said to Zhang Weixian:

"The Duke of Yingzhou will establish Jiaozhi as a vassal state. This is something I promised, and I will not go back on my word."

"But now that Liaodong has not been pacified, it is a bit difficult to deal with!"

"We can't divide our forces in the south while there's a war going on in Liaodong."

Zhang Weixian said hurriedly:

"There is no need for the imperial court to send troops. The 10,000 new troops trained by the Duke of Ying are enough to conquer Annan."

"I also order my grandson to recruit soldiers to fill the three guards with 15,000 men."

"With the fighting power of the new army, Annan has no enemy."

This was his greatest reliance in pushing forward the opening of the vassal state. Man Gui's achievements in Daning gave him full confidence.

Even the brave and warlike Jianlu couldn’t defeat the new army, so how could Annan defeat them?
With 15,000 new troops, he would be sure to defeat Annan.

Zhu Youjian did not expect that the result of the Battle of Daning would have such a great impact on Zhang Weixian. Although he was confident in the combat effectiveness of the new army, he still had some doubts about whether he could destroy the country with 15,000 new troops.

Especially since the environment of Annan is different from that of the north, a firearm that works well in the north may not be suitable for the south. Geographical and climatic factors need to be carefully considered.

Therefore, he prefers to spend a year to identify problems and make adequate preparations.

We also need to send more soldiers and horses, not just 15,000 people.

Speaking of these concerns, Zhu Youjian said to Zhang Weixian:
"Jiaozhi is a vast territory, it will not be divided only among the Duke's family."

"My plan is to enfeoff all the nobles who made great contributions in the founding of the country and the suppression of the rebellion here."

"Go and discuss with the Duke of Wei, the Duke of Ding, the Marquis of Huaiyuan, the Marquis of Linhuai, the Marquis of Dingyuan, and the Marquis of Lingbi, and ask them if they are willing to go."

"If you are willing to go, then we can each train 10,000 men and form a coalition army to establish a fiefdom."

"In this way, 60,000 to 70,000 new troops can ensure the conquest of Annan."

The scale of this incident was obviously much larger than Zhang Weixian had expected, and it involved the Ming Dynasty's top nobles.

Except for Duke Cheng who had been enfeoffed in Wudehewei, all other dukes' families or families that had once been dukes were included in it.

Among them, Duke of Wei and Duke of Dingguo are descendants of Xu Da, Marquis of Huaiyuan is a descendant of Chang Yuchun, Marquis of Linhuai is a descendant of Li Wenzhong, Marquis of Dingyuan is a descendant of Deng Yu, and Marquis of Lingbi is a descendant of Tang He.

If these nobles work together, even if the vassal kings come, they will have to retreat.

Zhang Weixian estimated the size of Jiaozhi and thought it could be divided. In the future, they could cooperate and form a group to avoid being coveted by the royal family and vassal kings.

So he immediately changed his mind and agreed with the emperor:
"Your Majesty is far-sighted and far-sighted, and I, an old minister, am far behind."

"Annam is a great country in the south, and conquering it will indeed require a large army."

"I will contact these families and persuade them to come over."

"It's about the establishment of a feudal fiefdom. Your Majesty, please give me a definite answer."

Zhu Youjian was naturally very happy to hear that Zhang Weixian was willing to cooperate. He said to him:

"As long as we can win the battle in Liaodong next year, the Jianlu will no longer be a big threat."

"Then the court will naturally be able to start a war in the south and open another front."

"Next year, you families should train your troops well and try to send troops to conquer Annan during the cool season."

"Before that, we must first summon the powerful Annan Mo clan, the Li clan, the Zheng clan, the Nguyen clan and others to the court."

"The Ming Dynasty is a country of etiquette, so we must always use courtesy before force."

This is also the reason why Zhu Youjian does not intend to start a war now.

At the current speed of transportation, it would take at least several months just for the envoys to travel back and forth.

At that time, Vietnam had entered the hot and rainy seasons, and the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were likely to fall ill.

Therefore, he asked Zhang Weixian to endure for another year, and then send troops to attack them when the cool season arrives in October next year.

By then, the battle of Liaodong would have probably been settled, and if the Ming could win, it would have plenty of energy.

In order to smoothly establish a vassal state, Zhang Weixian and other nobles will also actively support the Liaodong campaign. Try to eliminate factors that are not conducive to victory. (End of this chapter)