Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

As expected, since Yuan Keli was unable to accept the title, the first meritorious official to be conferred a title was Sun Chengzong.

Zhu Youjian said:
“Sun Chengzong was appointed to a critical mission. He volunteered to lead troops to stabilize the chaotic situation in Liaodong during a time of crisis.”

"He remained steadfast in his commitment, disregarding his position as Grand Secretary, and went to Liaodong again to oversee the training of the Guan Ning army after I ascended the throne."

"Now that Liaodong is pacified, he is once again in charge at the front."

"Such achievements deserve to be rewarded with the honors of dukes and marquises."

"You propose a title; should it be a duke or a marquis?"

Such a reward of being ennobled as a marquis caused a stir among the court officials.

Because many people simply do not believe that Sun Chengzong deserves to be granted the title of Duke or Marquis.

After all, he was in charge of almost none of the battles on the Liaodong front.

He only does logistical work; he doesn't hold us back.

If this were all it took to be granted the title of duke or marquis, the officials all felt it was far too easy.

Grand Secretary Han Kuang-dao:
"While Governor Sun has made contributions, he is not necessarily superior to the meritorious officials like Li Hualong in the Purple Pavilion."

"I believe that rewarding him with the rank of Earl is sufficient; praising him as a duke or marquis is excessive."

When the Grand Secretary made this statement, the other dissenting officials echoed his sentiments.

Most of them thought that it was enough for Sun Chengzong to be granted the title of Earl, that it would be a stretch to even grant him the title of Marquis, let alone Duke.

In response, Zhu Youjian addressed his ministers:

"The Later Jin and the Jianzhou Jurchens should not be taken lightly."

"Both the Liao and Jin dynasties rose to power in this region."

"If it is not eliminated in time, it will become a major threat to the Central Plains."

“Sun Chengzong has rendered meritorious service in destroying a country, and deserves to be rewarded with the rank of duke or marquis.”

This was his idea that the Later Jin would become the Manchu Qing and seize power while Li Zicheng entered Beijing.

From this perspective, Sun Chengzong, who destroyed the Later Jin, deserves all the praise he deserves.

His descendant Sun Dianying later excavated the Qing Dynasty imperial tombs and was regarded by many as a national hero, jokingly referred to as "the Qing Dynasty tomb-digging ancestor".

However, the courtiers were unaware of these things and did not recognize the danger posed by the Later Jin.

They regarded the suppression of the Jianzhou Jurchens as an achievement comparable to the suppression of the She'an Rebellion, or at most, as equivalent to the suppression of the Luchuan Rebellion.

Left Censor-in-Chief Wang Zaijin said:

"The Jianlu are merely barbarians; what difficulty is there in defeating them?"

"Moreover, Sun Chengzong was not at his peak, and the Jurchens had fled to the north."

These words greatly angered Zhu Youjian, who rebuked him:

"absurd!"

"If pacifying the Jurchens were so easy, why haven't we seen others succeed?"

"Yang Hao, Yuan Yingtai, Wang Huazhen, Xiong Tingbi, Gao Di, Wang Zhichen, are these people all good-for-nothings?"

"Were the generals who died in battle, such as Du Song, Liu Ting, Ma Lin, Chen Ce, You Shigong, and Zhao Shuaijiao, incompetent?"

Upon hearing the emperor's words, the courtiers recalled the generals and deputy generals who had died in battle in Liaodong in previous years, as well as the governors and viceroys who had been killed in battle.

At that time, almost no officials were willing to take charge of Liaodong affairs, which is why Sun Chengzong was requested by the court officials to become a Grand Secretary and Minister of War, and also to go to Liaodong to supervise the troops.

From this perspective, Sun Chengzong has indeed made great contributions, at least in terms of his willingness to take on responsibilities.

In addition to his contributions in the Liaodong campaign, granting him a marquisate would indeed be fitting.

When the Luchuan region was pacified, several marquises and earls were enfeoffed.

Therefore, under the emperor's firm stance, the number of ministers opposing Sun Chengzong's enfeoffment as a marquis began to decrease.

However, they remained firmly opposed to the idea of ​​granting fiefdoms to princes.

Second Grand Secretary Yang Jingchen said:

"If Governor Sun is granted the title of Duke, wouldn't others with similar merits also be granted the title of Duke?"

"In this battle of Liaodong, Commander-in-Chief Sun certainly made outstanding contributions. But generals such as Hou Shilu and Man Gui also made great contributions."

"I believe that while it is appropriate to attribute all the credit to Sun Chengzong, the commander-in-chief, as the one who made the greatest contribution, it is not advisable to give him all the credit." This statement was echoed by many officials, including Guo Yunhou, the Minister of Personnel, who was considered a member of Yang Jingchen's faction.

"The chieftain of the Jurchens fled, and the conquest of Liaodong was not yet complete."

"I believe that Commander-in-Chief Sun should be granted the title of Marquis, not Duke."

Faced with their strong opposition, Zhu Youjian softened his stance and ultimately made the following decision:
"Then he shall be designated as a first-class marquis, with a stipend of 1,600 shi of rice and a fief of 400 li, and shall be allowed to establish a vassal state."

"A ducal fief should be reserved for him so that he can be promoted in the future if he achieves further merits."

This treatment shows that the emperor has not given up the idea of ​​bestowing the title of Duke upon Sun Chengzong.

The courtiers, deeply moved by the emperor's lenient treatment of Sun Chengzong, lacked the courage to continue their argument.

After the victory in the Liaodong War, the current emperor's prestige in the court and among the people soared, and everyone believed that the Ming Dynasty was on the verge of revival.

Therefore, when the emperor bestowed the title of "Restoration" upon the meritorious officials, there was no opposition; they all believed that the current emperor was worthy of it.

Now that the emperor has made his decision, and after Yuan Keli expressed his support, officials from the Privy Council and the Ministry of War responded one after another.

The conferment of the title of Marquis upon Sun Chengzong has been finalized, and the next step is to discuss the title of nobility.
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As a native of Gaoyang, Baoding, the most suitable title for Sun Chengzong would naturally be Marquis of Baoding.

Unfortunately, the Marquis of Baoding already existed; he was a descendant of Liang Bao.

Moreover, even the title of Marquis of Gaoyang was bestowed upon Xu Yuan, who died in battle alongside Hua Yun, and was posthumously granted the title of Marquis of Gaoyang by Emperor Taizu.

Even the Earl of Gaoyang had one, Li Wen, who was conferred the title of Earl of Gaoyang during the Tianshun era. Later, he was sentenced to death but spared from the death penalty and stripped of his title, and his son inherited the position of Commander.

According to Zhu Youjian's regulations for honoring meritorious officials, the descendants of these people were allowed to establish fiefdoms overseas, and at the very least, their ancestral titles could be restored.

Therefore, Sun Chengzong could not use his hometown as his title and had to come up with another name.

Ultimately, the court officials proposed to confer the title of Marquis of Liaoyang upon Sun Chengzong, based on Liaoyang Prefecture, the capital of Liaodong.

The vassal state he will establish in the future will be the Marquisate of Liaoyang, which will be a sister city of Liaoyang.

After Sun Chengzong dies, he will most likely become the City God of two places, and they will be closely connected.

Zhu Youjian nodded in satisfaction and addressed his ministers:

“Sun Chengzong’s title was set as ‘Marquis of Liaoyang, a civil official who assisted in the restoration of the dynasty and upheld integrity’.”

"Ranked Pillar of State with the honorary title of Grand Master of the Palace, and granted the additional title of Grand Tutor."

"His position as Grand Secretary was changed to Privy Councilor, and after he went to the capital to be granted a title, he was transferred to the position of Left Vice-General."

"The same treatment shall be given to other contributors to the revitalization of ZTE."

This is the reason why Sun Chengzong's title has been discussed for so long.

Because he is the benchmark, deciding what titles other meritorious officials should be granted.

After Sun Chengzong proposed to be granted the title of Marquis of Liaoyang, the titles of the other people were decided one after another.

First was Hou Shilu, a hero of the Liaoyang and Hunhe battles, who was also enfeoffed as a marquis, named Marquis of Hunyang, a second-class county marquis title.

Because of the change in title, Man Gui also had to be re-enfeoffed and was still designated as the Marquis of Dongping, which was also a second-class county marquis title.

Because of their decisive role in the war, both men were also granted the title of "Supporter of the Restoration and Fortune." They were also awarded the honorary title of Pillar of the State, the honorary title of Grand Master of the Palace, and the additional title of Grand Protector.

Below them was Mao Wenlong. Although he aspired to be ennobled, his achievements were somewhat lacking. In the end, he remained the Earl of Dongjiang, only promoted to the rank of First-Class Earl. His title was "Zhongxing Yiyun," and he was also granted the honorary title of Grand Protector.

Yang Jiamo received the same treatment. Because he presided over the Battle of Haicheng and played a decisive role in breaking the deadlock, he was granted the title of Earl of Weiwu, also a first-class county earl.

Admiral Yu Zigao was also promoted to First-Class Earl for his merits in logistics and combat support, but his title remained Earl of Zhenhai.

Tong Hanbang, who saved the battle at Niuzhuang, You Shilu, who commanded the battle at Niuzhuang, and Zheng Zhihu, who stabilized the Niuzhuang front, were all granted the title of Earl, and awarded the titles of Second-Class County Earl and Third-Class Township Earl.

Yang Yufan, who won the most kills in the Battle of Haicheng, and Cao Wenzhao, who won consecutive kills in the Battle of Liaoyang and the Battle of Hunhe, were also awarded the title of Third-Class Township Earl because of their sufficient merit in killing the enemy.

He Kegang, who led 10,000 Dongning soldiers to provide support, missed the final battle. However, due to his crucial role in the Battle of Dalinghe, his merits were posthumously recognized. Zhu Youjian, based on his contributions to the Frontline Committee, promoted him from First-Class Viscount to Third-Class Earl.

Bi Zisu was also a member of the Front Committee and had made contributions in the rear, but it was a bit of a stretch to make him an earl. In the end, like Lu Xiangshan, who later joined the Front Committee, he was made a hereditary viscount.

Others such as Hong Chengchou, Liu Xingzuo, Ma Shilong, Sun Yingyuan, Li Jiucheng, Cao Bianjiao, Tian Jianxiu, and Ai Nanying were also granted titles and honors, with the title "Zhongxing Yiwei" (Military Guard of the Restoration).

Even Qin Liangyu, who only managed to participate in the final attack on Shenyang, was posthumously honored for the past achievements of the White Spear Army and was granted the title of Earl of Loyalty.

Including Cui Nanyi, who was granted the title of Earl with a reward, and Zhang Xianzhong, who recovered thousands of miles of territory, there were a total of three Marquises and twelve Earls who obtained high-ranking titles through the Liaodong campaign.

Together with dozens of viscounts and hundreds of knights, they formed the group of meritorious officials in Liaodong.

If we add Zhang Tongchang, Duke of Jiangling; Li Zunzu, Earl of Ningyuan; Zheng Zhilong, Earl of Nan'an; and the descendants of other meritorious officials who were restored to their former titles, these nobles, enfeoffed by Zhu Youjian after his ascension to the throne, already constitute a force to be reckoned with. (End of Chapter)