Wife, you didn't really drug me, did you?

Chen Jie was very pleased to see the generals rubbing their fists in anticipation. The biggest difference between him and the ancient emperors was that he knew the world was vast and would not be limited to the region in front of him.

Therefore, military generals are still very useful, and the dukes and marquises he himself has appointed are all very capable military generals. The two most capable military commanders in the world today—Zhang Dingbian and Xu Da—are both under his command.

Even Wang Baobao, whose military ability ranks third, and Fu Youde and Feng Sheng, who are close to third, as well as Chen Xiaohu, who can stand alone and is no less capable than others, all contribute to Chen Jie's military foundation.

Chen Jie's goal is to unify the world, unify beliefs, and establish the path of the Human Emperor.

Because of this goal, Chen Jie needs them to maintain sufficient offensiveness.

As Chen Jie thought this, he looked towards the civil officials. Among them, apart from Jin Yanzi, who had switched from military to civil service and was granted the title of Duke, none of the others had been granted a title.

Of all these civil officials, only a handful could probably qualify for the title of Duke.

Thinking this, Chen Jie asked, "Where is Hu Weiyong?"

Chen Jie called out Hu Weiyong's name. After Chen Jie's reprimand last time, Hu Weiyong had become very obedient, so he deserved some recognition.

Thinking of this, Chen Jie said, "Hu Weiyong, as the Chancellor of the Han Army, has made great contributions through his overall planning and strategic brilliance. He is now granted the title of Duke of Jing, enjoying the second-class imperial honors, which will be hereditary and permanent, and will live and die with the nation."

"Thank you, my lord."

Hu Weiyong immediately stepped forward, bowed, and said to Chen Jie, “Minister Hu is knowledgeable and experienced; he must know whose title the Duke of Jing is.”

Hu Weiyong: "This is the title bestowed upon Wang Anshi, a famous prime minister of the Song Dynasty."

Chen Jie said, "Then you should know my expectations for you. I hope you can be like the famous prime minister of Song Dynasty and work for the benefit of the people of our Han Dynasty."

Hu Weiyong bowed deeply and said, "I will dedicate myself to this cause until my dying breath."

Chen Jie nodded, then asked, "Where is Wu Hong?"

Upon hearing Chen Jie's words, Wu Hong immediately stepped forward and said, "My lord."

Chen Jie said, "Wu Hong is upright and incorruptible, loyal to the country, and is my sworn brother. I hereby confer upon Wu Hong the title of Duke of Dingguo, and grant him the second-class imperial honors, which will be hereditary and permanent, so that he may live and die with the country."

Upon hearing this, Wu Hong immediately clasped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you, my lord."

Chen Jie looked at Wu Hong, who then accepted the offer calmly. In fact, Chen Jie had summoned Wu Hong the day before and told him about being granted the title of Duke, but Wu Hong had refused at the time. Yes, he had refused.

His older brother, who was so righteous that he was demanding, actually refused, saying that he had neither military merit nor political achievements, so how could he be granted a dukedom and it would be difficult to convince the people?

However, Chen Jie knew that Wu Hong deserved to be enfeoffed as a duke. First, although, as he said, he had neither military merit nor political achievements, his role was to supervise all officials. In recent years, it was precisely because of him that the officialdom of the Prince of Han's mansion had been peaceful and undisturbed.

No one dared to cross the line or break the law. Wu Hong really didn't give anyone any face. Anyone who dared to break the law would definitely suffer a miserable result. He didn't give anyone any face.

He was the mythical beast Xie Zhi of the Han Dynasty, and Wei Zheng of Chen Jie.

Therefore, his merits were enough to warrant the title of Duke. Moreover, there was an important point: he was an inspector of the Han Dynasty, responsible for supervising all officials. If his status were low, how could he deter villains? Therefore, the title of Duke was also a guarantee of Chen Jie's recognition of his status.

That is why Chen Jie refused Wu Hong's request not to promote him to Duke.

Although Wu Hong could argue with Chen Jie in private, such as refusing the title of Duke, he still upheld Chen Jie's authority in public. He accepted the position Chen Jie offered him without question, and since Chen Jie trusted him so much, he was determined to do his best.

He had a lot of passion back then, but no platform to put it into practice. Now that he has that platform, how could he not have that passion?

Chen Jie and Wu Hong exchanged a glance, both seeing the affection in each other's eyes.

Chen Jie continued, "Where is Zhou Chu?"

Zhou Chu had been waiting impatiently for a long time, and he had already received news that he seemed to have a chance to be granted the title of Duke. This made Zhou Chu extremely excited. What was his background? He was born into a family of live-in sons-in-law. He thought that he would only be an ordinary bodyguard or make a living in the fishing gang.

Who would have thought that making a friend by chance would turn things into this?

It has to be said that in this life, what you do may not be important, but meeting the right person is what can change you.

Zhou Chu had the opportunity to be granted the title of Duke of a State because he met the right person. Such an achievement made Zhou Chu feel like he was dreaming.

"Yes, my lord, I am here."

Zhou Chu immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute, and Chen Jie looked at Zhou Chu and said.

“You have been with me since the beginning of the uprising. In terms of seniority, you are on par with Chen Xiaohu. Although you are not a general, you have devoted yourself to suppressing the enemy and maintaining order over the years. I hereby confer upon you the title of Duke of Xin, and grant you the Imperial Second-Class Medal, which will be hereditary and permanent, so that you may live and die with the nation.”

"Thank you, my lord!"

Zhou Chu was overjoyed and immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute, speaking loudly.

The above are the Dukes of the civil service: Duke of Jing, Hu Weiyong; Duke of Ding, Wu Hong; and Duke of Xin, Zhou Chu.

Including the six military generals who were enfeoffed as dukes, there were a total of nine people, known as the Nine Founding Dukes.

These nine dukes were all first-rate in terms of seniority and capable enough to command respect. The bestowal of titles and rewards was fair and just.

In addition to these nine dukes, Chen Jie also conferred several marquis titles upon civil officials, such as Si Xi, the Minister of Personnel, who was conferred the title of Marquis of Linjiang; Tao Guangyi of the Academy of Science and Technology, who was conferred the title of Marquis of Kaiming; and Shen Wansan, who was conferred the title of Marquis of Fumin.

Besides that, there's Bai Wenjing, Chen Jie's teacher. According to his qualifications, he could have been granted the title of Duke, but the old man refused. He said he was just a doctor and shouldn't be granted such a high title. In fact, he didn't even really want the title of Marquis. Moreover, Chen Jie wanted to grant Wu Hong the title of Duke. How could one family have two Dukes? It was unreasonable and illegal.

Chen Jie couldn't refuse the old man, so he bestowed upon him the title of Marquis of Deshou and allowed the title to be hereditary.

However, Bai Wenjing only had one descendant, Wu Hong, who was a Duke. Therefore, Chen Jie allowed that one of Wu Hong's descendants be made a Duke and the other a Marquis.

Such favor is unparalleled in the entire Han Dynasty. And that's not all; Chen Jie also specially bestowed the title of Earl of Dongping upon Wu Hong's father and Bai Wenjing's son-in-law, Wu Zhong.

One family, one duke, one marquis, one earl—such honor and favor are rarely seen in history.

This is Chen Jiusi's expression of gratitude.

Besides these veteran officials, there were two other people, Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen. Although they had only recently joined the Han Dynasty, Chen Jie granted them titles in recognition of their abilities.

Liu Bowen was appointed Earl of Chengyi, and Li Shanchang was appointed Earl of Jiading. This was considered to appease the surrendered civil officials, and Chen Chun, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and Chen Jie's personal secretary team, was also promoted by Chen Jie to Earl of Zhongxin.

With this title officially conferred, both civil and military officials were quite satisfied. After all, who wouldn't be happy about being promoted and given a higher rank?

After this discussion, everyone began to discuss the last topic: Chen Jiu Si's coronation ceremony and the order of the concubines' ranks.

This is still very important, especially the order of the harem. This has recently become a focus of attention because Su Yunjin and Zhao Ya are both secondary wives and both have given birth to children for Chen Jie.

Thus, the question of who should become empress has become a major focus of the current power division within the court.

Chen Jie knew that this matter had recently caused a great deal of trouble within the court, which was now clearly divided into two factions: the Su faction, which supported Su Yunjin, and the Zhao faction, which supported Zhao Ya.

Of course, the majority of those in the imperial court were neutral.

However, there are still a lot of people cheering for both sides.

The main supporters of the Su Party were the civil service system, many of whom came from Su Yunjin's academy and naturally supported him.

Those who support Zhao Ya are generally military generals, because they are deeply impressed by her military talent, so they are more supportive of her.

The most key figures in these two factions are actually Chen Xiaohu and Prince Ruyang.

Although the Prince of Ruyang may not appear to have been granted the title of Duke, he was a prince in the past, and most importantly, he is now the Dean of the Military Academy, and many officers were appointed by him.

Therefore, they all supported Zhao Ya as empress.

Meanwhile, the rest of the court officials maintained a relatively rational restraint, and the military leaders almost all remained silent, such as the six military dukes including Zhang Dingbian and Xu Da. Only Chen Xiaohu clearly expressed his firm support for Su Yunjin.

Meanwhile, the other civil officials, especially the students of the academy, kept submitting memorials, trying to persuade Chen Jie to make up his mind to establish an empress.

This time, Chen Jie is going to bring up this matter.

Chen Jie looked at the people in the court and said, "Gentlemen, the country is about to be established. With an emperor, there must be an empress. Recently, the matter of choosing an empress has caused quite a stir. Who do you think should be chosen as empress?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room was taken aback, and then they exchanged glances.

"My lord, I only recognize my sister-in-law as empress; I do not recognize anyone else."

Upon hearing Chen Jie's words, the first to speak was Chen Xiaohu. Chen Xiaohu was an honest man and spoke very directly. He only recognized Su Yunjin and did not recognize anyone else. In other words, he absolutely did not support Chen Jie in making Zhao Ya his empress.

After Chen Xiaohu finished speaking, he saw that there were quite a few people supporting him among the civil officials.

"Tiger General is right. A wife who has shared hardships should not be abandoned. Princess Su has been with you since you were humble. Your Majesty must never forget this kindness."

"Yes, and Princess Su is exceptionally talented, worldly-wise, virtuous and wise. She is a role model for women across the country. We support Princess Su."

Hearing this, the Prince of Ruyang remained silent, but Wang Baobao could not sit still. He stood up and said, "Princess Su is good, but Princess Zhao should be made empress. Back then, His Majesty was not the Emperor he is today, but just a band of commoners. Princess Zhao was already a princess at that time, and was even appointed empress by Emperor Qianshun."

"But Princess Zhao resolutely followed His Majesty in escaping the marriage, even at the cost of breaking with her family. With such a sacrifice, does she not deserve the position of Empress?"

"Moreover, after arriving in Huangzhou Prefecture, the Princess Consort led troops to resist the bandits several times, and even went into battle while she was six months pregnant. Isn't this enough to show her dedication?"

"With these two points, isn't it enough for her to assume the position of Empress?"

Wang Baobao spoke loudly, and the officers nodded in agreement. It was indeed admirable for a pregnant woman to go into battle.

Chen Xiaohu then spoke up: "That's right, Sister-in-law Zhao Ya is indeed worthy of our respect, but the position of Empress can only be given to Sister-in-law Su, my lord."

Chen Xiaohu exclaimed and looked at Chen Jiedao, "Have you forgotten how much hardship your sister-in-law has endured with you all this way?"

"Back in your hometown of Xiantao Village, when you were penniless, your sister-in-law followed you wholeheartedly. Later, when you entered Mianshui County, the leader of the fishing gang, Nan Batian, framed you and led his troops to surround your residence. Your sister-in-law had a knife to her own throat. Later, when you arrived in Huangzhou Prefecture, she risked her life every time she faced repeated attacks."

“My sister-in-law has not enjoyed much happiness in her life, but has suffered a lot. Now that the world is at peace and you are going to become the emperor, if you abandon my sister-in-law, I will give up my position as Duke.”

"Let's go home and weave baskets, we're not going to be officials in this court anymore."

Chen Xiaohu said aggrievedly. Upon hearing this, Jin Yanzi and the other old brothers immediately changed their expressions. "Aren't you getting a little arrogant, Chen Xiaohu? How dare you threaten our lord?"

That's not a good thing to do.

If you anger your lord, you'll be in deep trouble.

"Tiger!"

Just as everyone was silent, Bai Wenjing, unusually dark-faced, shouted angrily, "This is the imperial court, not your private quarters, much less the back pasture of Xiantao Village. How dare you make such a racket!"

"You don't want to be a Duke anymore? That title was given to you by His Majesty. You can't just give it up like that. Who are you going to throw this tantrum at?"

"Kneel down and apologize to His Majesty!"

Bai Wenjing shouted angrily, and Chen Xiaohu was indeed a little anxious. Now that he thought about it, he was also scared. He could only kneel on the ground. Bai Wenjing looked at Chen Jie and said, "My lord, Hu Zi is just like this. Please don't be angry with him."

Chen Jie looked at Chen Xiaohu, knowing full well what he was thinking. But how could he easily give up such a prestigious position in the court? Chen Xiaohu had indeed gone too far this time. If he wasn't punished, what would become of him in the future?

At this moment, Chen Jie said, "Someone, take off Chen Xiaohu's official robe and send him back to Xiantao Village to weave baskets."

"My lord, Tiger General knows he was wrong."

When Zhang Dingbian saw that Chen Jie was serious, he immediately knelt down and begged for mercy. After he knelt down, Xu Da and many other generals also knelt down. Chen Xiaohu had a high reputation in the army, especially since he never abused his status as a relative of a high-ranking general to do evil, so he was very respected.

The civil officials all knelt down upon seeing Zhang Dingbian, and Hu Weiyong and others also knelt down.

"My lord, Tiger General spoke carelessly. He did not mean it that way. Please forgive him."

In an instant, everyone in the arena was pleading for Chen Xiaohu. Seeing this, Chen Jie didn't really want to punish Chen Xiaohu. What was wrong with Xiaohu speaking his mind? However, Chen Jie was stuck here and didn't know how to punish him.

Just as he was caught in this dilemma, the palace doors were suddenly pushed open, and a voice said, "My lord, the crimes committed by my Tiger Commander are unforgivable, and he should be stripped of his title of Duke. However, I am willing to use my own title of Duke to take the blame for him!" (End of this chapter)