Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1246 Retreating to Advance
While Zhu Mincheng was slightly tempted and pondering the matter, the others present also initially showed surprise, but then they all became eager and expectant.

As officials under the Prince of Song, they were nominally appointed by the court and, in principle, served as officials of the Ming Dynasty. However, the problem lay in the fact that the Prince of Song was different from the princes of the Ming Dynasty. His fiefdom was overseas, in the New World, not within the Ming Dynasty. Furthermore, the policy of granting fiefdoms to foreign princes was a new policy of the Ming Dynasty. As one of the first princes to be granted fiefdoms to foreign princes, the emperor granted him considerable autonomy. Although some things were not explicitly stated, this was the reality. From the establishment of the Song Kingdom there until now, apart from stationing the navy in the port of Xinjing or even at its base, the court mainly communicated and traded with the Song Kingdom through the Imperial Household Department. Everything else was left to Zhu Mincheng.

In this context, the officials of the Song Prince's Palace differed from those of the princes within the Ming Dynasty. From both their own perspective and their future prospects, they were more like Zhu Mincheng's people. In other words, ever since these people followed Zhu Mincheng to the New World and started from scratch to establish the Song Kingdom, they had shared in Zhu Mincheng's fortunes. Especially as time went on, they felt an even stronger sense of belonging to the Song Kingdom.

If Zhu Mincheng had become a true king rather than a vassal king, the nature of the Song state would have been entirely different. In this case, the Song state would have possessed considerable independence. Not only could Zhu Mincheng directly claim the title of "King" and become the true ruler of the Song state, but his officials would also naturally rise in status, becoming true subjects of the state.

The current structure of the Song State Palace is still within the framework of a Ming Dynasty vassal state. This framework directly restricts the development of the Song State, including the future prospects of the officials under the palace.

In terms of their official positions, the highest-ranking among them is currently Li Dingguo, who holds the position of Protector of the Army and is also granted the title of General Dingguo. This position, in terms of rank, is equivalent to a second-rank military officer with a second-rank military post.

In the Ming Dynasty's homeland, Li Dingguo's rank would qualify him as a deputy commander-in-chief (deputy general), directly commanding a brigade of troops. With a bit of luck, he might even be promoted to commander-in-chief during wartime. However, the key issue is that Li Dingguo's position is subordinate to the Prince Song's residence, which directly limits his potential. Currently, besides controlling the Prince Song's more than a thousand guards, he has no other military power. To put it bluntly, Li Dingguo is essentially the head of the guards under Prince Song, Zhu Mincheng, and his main job is to ensure Zhu Mincheng's safety, at most also overseeing the security of Xinjing (the capital).

In the Ming Dynasty, such a position would at most be equivalent to a commander of a thousand households. If it weren't for Zhu Mincheng, Li Dingguo would never have achieved his current rank. Moreover, even with such a rank, Li Dingguo's actual power and status do not match his current position, which is absolutely true.

Even Li Dingguo was like this, not to mention the others.

Sun Hao was the chief secretary of the Prince's Palace, a fifth-rank civil official. According to the official ranks of the Ming Dynasty, a fifth-rank civil official was not low-ranking. It was basically equivalent to positions such as the Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review, the Vice Minister, or the Grand Chamberlain, or local officials such as the Prefect or the Governor. Officials of this rank could be considered the backbone of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, and most of them held real power. If they had outstanding political achievements or good luck, it would be easy for them to be promoted to the Six Ministries or the Censorate after a few years. Alternatively, they might be transferred from the capital to become the Provincial Treasurer or the Governor. With more experience, they might even have the opportunity to enter the Grand Secretariat.

The problem lies in the awkward position of the chief clerk of the prince's residence. Nominally a court official, but in reality a subordinate of the prince's household, this position rarely offers further advancement, let alone a chance to rise in rank. Generally, chief clerks are marginalized within the court, essentially without a future, their lives relegated to serving in the prince's residence until retirement. At best, the court might grant them a promotion in rank in recognition of their years of diligence. However, if anything happens to the prince's residence, the chief clerk becomes the first to suffer, potentially losing everything, including their life and fortune.

Even the chief secretary was like this, not to mention the other subordinate officials. For example, Jian Hu and Cui Qi were in charge of construction and agriculture respectively under Zhu Mincheng. They were considered important officials in the Song Prince's Palace, but their actual official positions were only judges, which were only of the sixth rank. As for the others, they were even lower, generally of the eighth or ninth rank, barely making it into the ranks of officials.

Like the Imperial Guards and Chief Secretaries, the lower-ranking officials were not only of low rank, but their authority was also limited—this was simply unavoidable. After the Yongle Emperor's reign, the Ming Dynasty's vassal kings were severely suppressed, leading to a significant reduction in the power of their subordinates and their precarious social status.

But now Jian Hu suddenly proposed that Zhu Mincheng formally establish his own government and establish his own domain, no longer as an ordinary vassal king, but as an externally enfeoffed ruler, that is, a prince, to formally set up an office and appoint officials to effectively govern the Song Kingdom. Once this is done, everyone present will naturally rise in status. Given their current status and position in the Song Prince's Mansion, everyone present will become important ministers of the Song Kingdom in the future, and will then control real power. Under such circumstances, their official positions in the Ming Dynasty will no longer be important to them.

The saying "Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox" is a principle everyone understands. Besides, since these people have already followed Zhu Mincheng to the New World, they naturally know that if they want to get ahead in the future, they can only do so by following Zhu Mincheng. The greater the real power of Zhu Mincheng, the Prince of Song, the brighter their future prospects will be—this is something all intelligent people can clearly see.

Zhu Mincheng's gaze swept over the crowd, and he noticed their eagerness for this matter. It seemed that no matter who it was, the allure of status and power was irresistible. This was understandable; not only were these officials tempted, but even Zhu Mincheng himself was already interested. If this matter could be accomplished, it would not only benefit him greatly, but also the future development of the Song Kingdom.

"This matter is of great importance and requires the approval of the court, especially His Majesty..." Zhu Mincheng was tempted, but he remained rational. He knew that this was not something he could do on his own. Without the permission and approval of the Ming Dynasty, acting first and reporting later might cause trouble. Although Zhu Mincheng felt that if he submitted a memorial to the emperor to request his father's approval, it would likely succeed, but it was no small matter, and there was a possibility that some people in the court would oppose it. He was somewhat surprised. "Your Highness, I believe that Minister Jian is right. Since the Song Kingdom is isolated overseas and is an outer vassal of our Ming Dynasty rather than an inner vassal, the original system of vassal kings is not suitable for the Song Kingdom. In addition, given the current special circumstances of the Song Kingdom, if it does not formally establish its own government and establish its own domain as soon as possible, and only maintains the status quo with the previous system, it will be much more difficult to do many things in the future." At this time, Cui Qi stood up to express his agreement and put forward his own opinion.

Following Cui Qi, others also expressed their support, suggesting that Zhu Mincheng submit a memorial to the court as soon as possible, requesting the Ming Dynasty's approval. Even Li Dingguo believed that this was the right thing to do; once this was accomplished, the management of the Song Dynasty would be much easier, and they would no longer need to be so constrained in their actions.

"What does the Chief Secretary think?" Zhu Mincheng had already made up his mind after seeing everyone's attitude, but he still asked Sun Hao a question.

Sun Hao rose and bowed to Zhu Mincheng, saying, "Your Majesty, I believe that you should first submit a memorial to His Majesty explaining the actual situation, outlining the problems and difficulties of our Song Kingdom, and requesting the court's assistance in setting up government offices and dispatching officials. However, the final decision on how to handle this matter rests with His Majesty!"

Zhu Mincheng was slightly taken aback, but instantly understood Sun Hao's meaning. He smiled and nodded, "That's true. I am a prince of the Ming Dynasty and also His Majesty's son. This matter should indeed be decided by His Majesty, not by me. The Chief Secretary's reminder is correct."

Zhu Mincheng wasn't stupid. As soon as Sun Hao reminded him, he understood. If he directly submitted a memorial explaining his plans, given the way those bigwigs in the court acted, the chances of it being approved were slim. It would be better to take a step back and leave the problem to the court, letting them make a decision for the Song Dynasty.

As for what the imperial court could come up with, it would simply be to establish prefectures and counties in the regions, just like the local princes of the Ming Dynasty, and then appoint and dispatch officials to manage them. This would be no problem in the Ming Dynasty, but in the New World, thousands of miles away, the imperial court would have to think twice.

It should be noted that, apart from military officers and nobles, civil officials in the imperial court all studied diligently for ten years, finally passing the imperial examination and becoming officials.

Once you become an official, the proper path is to steadily climb the ranks, strive for promotion, and ultimately reach the highest echelons of the court. Who would willingly give up a perfectly good local official position and risk everything to come here to serve? Only someone out of their mind would agree. You must understand that the Song Kingdom is much farther away than Lingnan, where you were previously exiled. It's more than a thousand miles away from the Ming Dynasty. Once appointed as an official in the Song Kingdom, it's like ruining your entire life. Not to mention the possibility of not being able to adapt to the new environment and return alive, even if you manage to return to your homeland after enduring countless hardships in the Song Kingdom for ten years or so, your career advancement will be virtually cut off, and you will have no chance of making any further progress.

Under these circumstances, it was impractical for the imperial court to directly establish an official government in the Song Kingdom, as no one would be willing to serve there. The officials at all levels of the imperial court were different from those under Zhu Mincheng. Li Dingguo was a surrendered general, already unpopular, and a military officer. Although the status of military officers had improved slightly in recent years, they were still different from civil officials. Furthermore, Zhu Mincheng was the emperor's eldest son, a prince of the Ming Dynasty. With this status, Li Dingguo had no choice but to be transferred to the Song Prince's residence, even if he was unwilling.

As for Sun Hao, there's no need to elaborate. He never took the imperial examinations and only had the favor of his father, Sun Chengzong, to rely on. In this respect, his appointment as the chief secretary of the Prince's mansion was an exception. Considering Zhu Mincheng and Sun Chengzong, Zhu Shenzhui made an exception and agreed to his request to be appointed as the chief secretary. Moreover, although the rank of the chief secretary of the Prince's mansion was not low, in the eyes of court officials, it was just a sinecure. Once a formal official went to the Prince's mansion as the chief secretary, even if his rank was promoted, his career would not be able to develop further. No one would be willing to do this job.

Needless to say, Jian Hu and Cui Qi were both civil officials, but before they entered the Song Prince's Mansion, they were not of high rank and were marginalized figures in the officialdom. They were the kind of people who were neither loved by their maternal relatives nor by their paternal relatives, and had no background.

This situation is somewhat similar to that of Huang An, the chief secretary of Prince Yong. However, if the imperial court were to officially establish an office here and send officials on a temporary assignment, the situation would be completely different. In this case, it would be utterly unacceptable to use some low-ranking officials as a pretext, and which ordinary mid-level official isn't shrewd and capable? There's simply no way anyone would come.

Considering these circumstances, the likelihood of the imperial court establishing an official government in the New World is extremely low, while the problems in the Song Kingdom are undeniable and cannot be ignored. If Zhu Mincheng were to send a private letter to his father, the Emperor, along with a letter to the Empress and the Crown Prince, asking them to speak favorably of him to the Emperor, the matter might be resolved, provided the imperial court is unwilling to establish an official government in the Song Kingdom.

(End of this chapter)