Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"The emerging group of meritorious individuals is making its voice heard!"

This reflects Zhu Youjian's understanding of the matter, recognizing the rise of a group of meritorious officials.

After years of support, these meritorious officials whom he had bestowed titles upon went from initial elation and unease to a sense of entitlement and began to seek status commensurate with their rank.

They were no longer willing to be subordinate to the original nobles and to be ranked alongside the surrendered vassals in the court and among the common people.

Instead, they wanted to gain a higher status, at least to be on par with the original nobles.

Zhu Youjian thought this was reasonable and did not intend to stop it.

He needed to satisfy the demands of the meritorious officials and get them to contribute to the revival of the Ming Dynasty.

However, the attitude of the imperial court is uncertain:
Civil officials have always opposed increasing the number of meritorious officials. After Li Chengliang was enfeoffed in the early Wanli period, no meritorious officials were enfeoffed as nobles for decades.

The nobles seemed to have gotten used to this and did not want any new nobles to compete with them for rights.

Thinking of how those people remained stubborn and few were willing to volunteer to establish their own fiefdoms, Zhu Youjian snorted coldly and decided to continue supporting his meritorious officials:
"This time, let's reward more meritorious officials and see if they can still sit still."

"Once these meritorious officials have seized all the good land in the surrounding area, they will become marginalized."

Looking at the list of rewards for the Liaodong campaign, Zhu Youjian circled a few more people and decided to bestow high-ranking titles upon them all.
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The following day, at a meeting held in the Wuying Hall, this matter was undoubtedly mentioned.

Contrary to Zhu Youjian's expectations, most of the civilian military officers in the Privy Council supported the proposal of the frontline generals this time.

After all, they would also be granted titles, so of course they would want a good one.

The same applies to civil officials. Zhu Youjian previously used hereditary official positions that could be transferred to other ranks to bribe court officials.

Many of these people wanted to establish their own fiefdoms and hoped to receive a good title.

They didn't want to be labeled as barbarians under the same "obeying the heavens" title as those who submitted to vassal states.

Seeing their attitude, Zhu Youjian was in a good mood and addressed the crowd:

"If the Ming Dynasty can be restored, all of you will be meritorious officials."

"Since you all agree to change the title, let's use the words 'Zhongxing' to praise your achievements."

"The meritorious officials who restored the dynasty are ranked alongside the meritorious officials who founded the country and those who fought against the rebellion, without any distinction of rank."

This decision came as a great surprise to the court officials.

They had previously hoped to be ranked alongside the nobles who had been ennobled, and to receive titles such as Fengtian Yiyun and Fengtian Yiwei.

Unexpectedly, the emperor went a step further and specially created titles for meritorious officials who had contributed to the restoration of the dynasty.

Yuan Keli, as the leader of the assembled officials, said:
"How can we possibly compare to your contributions in founding the nation and quelling the rebellion?"

"It just so happens that the Holy Lord is here, and I am assisting and supporting him!"

This flattery made Zhu Youjian beam with joy—

You can only say good things about an upright official to make him happier!
He said in a gentle tone:

"You are indeed the pillars of the nation's military prowess and its ability to uphold its destiny."

"If someone can assist me in revitalizing the Celestial Empire, then someone will naturally be worthy of assisting in its revitalization."

"Now, naturally, we will focus on the restoration of the dynasty and the restoration of the guards, and re- confer titles upon the meritorious officials."

Then he addressed his ministers:
"In this battle of Liaodong, the one who deserves the most credit is naturally Yuan Shumi."

"However, high-ranking nobles cannot serve as ministers; his merits will be acknowledged after he retires."

"However, such a great achievement cannot go unrewarded. Issue the imperial decree:"

“Yuan Keli was promoted to Regent Minister and awarded the rank of Grand Pillar of State.”

"From now on, the ranks of the court officials will be on par with those of the former Grand Secretary."

This treats Yuan Keli as a retired Grand Secretary, clearly indicating that he was once the Grand Secretary.

Who holds this position in the imperial court now? It is Huang Lijie, the head of the Court of Colonial Affairs.

After he stepped down as chief minister, he was kept in the court by the emperor as a pilot for settling down former chief ministers.

Although his power was far less than that of the Grand Secretary, he was virtually the only one who could have the final say in the Court of Colonial Affairs.

Especially considering he was once the Grand Secretary and now holds the additional title of Regent Minister. When the court ranks officials, even the Second Grand Secretary is behind him, except for the current Grand Secretary.

This position is the envy of many officials, and now there is another one like it.

Yuan Keli hurriedly declined, but Zhu Youjian, of course, wouldn't allow him to refuse, and even said:
"Since the establishment of the Privy Council, its achievements have been evident to all, and these are all the achievements of Yuan Keli, the Privy Council Associate Administrator."

"Now that he has been promoted to the position of First-Rank Regent Minister, I believe he should be promoted to Privy Councilor, as he is worthy of the title."

This tremor is much stronger than before.

If the officials only felt envy when Yuan Keli was promoted to regent, his current promotion to privy councilor has attracted much opposition.

The difference between the Privy Council's highest position, the Privy Council Envoy and the Privy Council Associate Envoy, is that the latter can be ranked on par with the Grand Secretary.

This was determined when the imperial court established the Five-Council System: any official in any of the five commissions could be promoted to the first rank, ranking alongside the Grand Secretary.

Former Grand Secretary Huang Lijie was transferred to the position of Director of the Court of Colonial Affairs based on this regulation. He is still a first-rank official, and theoretically, his status is no different from that of the Grand Secretary.

However, he was, after all, a retired Grand Secretary, and the Court of Colonial Affairs was the least powerful of the five courts, belonging to the periphery of the imperial court.

Unlike Yuan Keli, who rose through the ranks from the Privy Council and was in charge of the second most important of the five councils.

If he were to serve as Privy Councilor and concurrently hold the title of Regent Minister, he would be a proper Privy Councilor, standing on equal footing with the Grand Secretary.

This is a huge blow to the cabinet's position.

Not only did the Grand Secretary and other Grand Secretaries oppose it, but ministers from other departments also voiced their opposition.

Even Yuan Keli himself said:

"In the Southern Song Dynasty, the position of Privy Councilor was usually held concurrently by the Chancellor of the State Affairs Hall." "What virtue or ability do I possess to dare to serve as Privy Councilor?"

"Moreover, His Majesty has said that the position of Privy Councilor should be filled by both the left and right sides, and it is not possible for only one person to hold the position."

Zhu Youjian laughed heartily and said:

"I have previously said that if Commander Sun returns to the capital after pacifying the Jurchens, he will be rewarded with a first-rank official position such as the Privy Councilor."

"Do you expect me to go back on my word, or to allow Governor Sun to return to the cabinet and assume the position of Grand Secretary?"

Now the officials were in a bind. Only then did they remember that there was still the great contributor, Sun Chengzong, who needed to be settled.

Although he may seem unassuming on the front lines, as the head coach, he deserves credit for all the achievements made on the front lines.

When the emperor was planning to bestow titles, he had placed him first, considering him the foremost meritorious official on the front lines.

After stabilizing Liaodong, he will inevitably return to the capital. Should he be appointed as the Grand Secretary as a meritorious official?

Not only would the current Grand Secretary Han Kuang disagree, but even the other Grand Secretaries wouldn't want him to return.

Second Grand Secretary Yang Jingchen said:

"The affairs of Liaodong are complicated, and the Jurchens have not been completely destroyed."

"I believe that Commander-in-Chief Sun should remain in Liaodong, overseeing the three Liao regions."

"Moreover, he is about to be granted a noble title, which makes him unsuitable to be a Grand Secretary."

"Those serving as Grand Secretaries and Nine Ministers cannot be granted high-ranking noble titles."

This was decided upon in previous discussions to avoid any one minister becoming too powerful, and to prevent nobles from becoming ministers.

Zhu Youjian naturally supported this, to avoid threatening imperial power.

But now that he wanted to commend the meritorious officials, he asked his ministers:
"Then what do you think we should do?"

"Should we treat him like Wang Yangming, preventing Governor Sun from returning to the capital and forcing him to toil away in the provinces?"

"Or perhaps grant him a noble title and send him to take up a post in the Five Armies Commandery?"

These words were quite impolite, and the courtiers all felt somewhat embarrassed.

It was indeed a bit unfair to leave Wang Yangming to wander around in the countryside. The Five Military Commissions are in their current state because they seized power.

Placing meritorious officials in such nominal positions will likely dishearten those who have made significant contributions.

The emperor clearly felt that this was not right, so he planned to appoint Yuan Keli and Sun Chengzong as the left and right Privy Councilors.

The courtiers were quite perplexed, unsure of what to do next.

Yang Jingchen, still calm, said at this moment:

"I believe that Yuan, the Privy Councilor, and Sun, the Commander-in-Chief, should be promoted to Left and Right Privy Councilors, and given the title of First-Rank Assistant Minister."

"However, Governor Sun will also be granted a title. After that, he can be transferred to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Five Armies. In the future, he can either govern a local area or serve in the Beijing Garrison, and will be relieved of his position as Privy Councilor."

"The Left and Right Privy Councilors could not be appointed separately, so at that time Privy Councilor Yuan was to be demoted from Privy Councilor to Privy Councilor Assistant Administrator. However, the title of Assistant Minister was retained, and he could still be called Privy Councilor."

"This way, His Majesty's promise is not violated, and the meritorious officials are given sufficient courtesy!"

These words both bestowed a reward and prevented the Privy Council from challenging the Cabinet's position.

At the same time, it gave Sun Chengzong, who came from a civil service background, the opportunity to get involved in the affairs of the Beijing Garrison.

The courtiers were all impressed, and even Zhu Youjian felt that Yang Jingchen had been tempered and refined.

His ability to mediate is so refined that it is worthy of a prime minister.

However, it seemed somewhat unfair to promote Yuan Keli and then demote him again. Zhu Youjian was pondering how to remedy the situation when Yuan Keli had already expressed his opinion:

"The position of Privy Councilor should not be held by anyone for long."

"Your Majesty has shown me such courtesy, which I cannot refuse, but I request to resign within a month."

This solved the biggest obstacle. Zhu Youjian looked at him and said with emotion:

"Minister Yuan is loyal to the country and deserves the title of Grand Councilor."

"Then it's settled. When Governor Sun returns to the capital in triumph, he will be promoted to Grand Councilor along with Privy Councilor Yuan, and will also be granted the honorary title of Grand Master of the Palace."

"After being granted a title and transferred to another post, Yuan Qing also resigned from his position as Privy Councilor at the same time."

"However, his honorary title remains that of a first-rank Grand Master of the Palace, receiving the salary of a first-rank official. He also receives the salary of a first-rank Pillar of the State, and his allowance as a first-rank regent is paid by the inner court."

"From now on, you will receive a total of three salaries. I hope you will continue to do your best."

This is truly an unprecedented honor.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were indeed officials who received three salaries, but it was usually the salary of a Minister.

It was unprecedented for someone like Yuan Keli to have all three of his salaries at the first-rank level.

In addition, he held a concurrent position as Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, a first-rank official position, and could receive dividends from the Imperial Funds Commission.

The combined annual salary of a duke was higher than that of a duke with a salary of 2,500 shi (a unit of grain), and could even be compared to that of a duke with a salary of 5,000 shi.

The courtiers were so envious they were green with envy, wishing they could take his place.

Some even speculated that Yuan Keli might be granted the title of Duke after retiring from office, or at least Marquis, and could be posthumously granted the title of State Duke.

Now, we need to see what title Sun Chengzong will be granted.

Yuan Keli, whose merits surpassed his, would certainly not have a low rank after retiring from office.

Both of them have the potential to receive the title of "Assistant to the Restoration," becoming core contributors to the restoration of the dynasty. (End of Chapter)