The Great Seminary

Chapter 90 Can You Be a Barbarian?

"Emperor Taizu personally conferred the title of Lord of the Stone Corpse State, Yang Aqilong. The 22nd generation Crown Prince heard this.

The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims.

Since the ancient sages, living in the Central Plains, why have they not spread their literary traditions to all directions and spread their teachings throughout the world?

Looking at my good virtue, I have gained a great reputation, so I have been invited to be your guest, and I deserve to be granted a favorable fate.

I specially give you the name, Yang Shizhong.

He inherited the hereditary title of General Longhu, and was granted the fief of Zhihai Town, Siyang County, East Yuehai Province, and established the army.

The essence of the sun, the hero of the sea, the words and thoughts are all conveyed, which is truly deeply praised...it is a blessing from heaven.

He was granted the title of loyal and faithful minister.

Alright, Yang Longhu, please accept my command and express your gratitude."

The title of Dragon and Tiger General was a hereditary title bestowed upon the heirs of barbarian tribes since the early days of the Ming-Song regime.

Although it is only the fourth rank.

But it is a unique general rank bestowed by the imperial court on the barbarians.

Therefore, it has its own opening privileges and a fief of thousands of households, which can be said to be both prestigious and well-established.

What does it mean.

The barbarian rulers who were conferred titles by the Ming and Song dynasties had the same rank as princes.

The heir to the king is equivalent to a first-rank official.

The eldest daughter or elder sister has a special status in many barbarian tribes, so it is equivalent to the second-rank honorary title.

Apart from them, the imperial court did not recognize the political status of other barbarian leaders.

But the successor of the barbarian leader can inherit the title of Dragon and Tiger General.

After the opening ceremony, officials of the highest fifth rank can be enthroned.

Of course, this so-called fifth-rank official can take office immediately without being recorded in the military or personnel department, so his value is not even as good as that of a militia officer.

But no matter how worthless they were, if we look into it openly, the shogunate officials originated from the "Great Edict" promulgated to the world by the founding emperors of the Ming and Song dynasties.

Even the 'current' Emperor Hezheng cannot deny it.

Therefore, in the eyes of many barbarian leaders at that time, it was still very important.

In this case, there is room for maneuver.

A certain barbarian tribe developed into a powerful force with the right time, place and people.

The imperial court immediately appointed the leader's brother or adult son as the Dragon and Tiger General.

He also gave one thousand barbarian households to General Longhu as a base.

Of course, in this situation, it is impossible for the leader to really cut his own "flesh" and give it to the so-called heir appointed by the court to eat.

Nor will they divide the rights in their hands.

And it is impossible for the barbarian heirs appointed by the Ming-Song court to immediately fall out with their brothers and fathers.

Some broad-minded wise men even exiled themselves for the future of their tribe.

But after all, smart people who have no desires are a minority among the minority.

As time goes by, there will always be variables.

Even if not, the court's contribution was just an imperial edict.

There is really no cost and no profit.

But times and circumstances have changed.

At this moment, it was because Zhang Gui first came up with the trick of "writing a letter of loyalty to the king in blood".

Emperor Hezheng actually bestowed upon him the title of fourth-rank Dragon and Tiger General and the reward of a thousand households of fiefdom.

It's incredible.

After a long pause, Zhang Gui came to his senses and thanked him with tears of gratitude:

"Yang Shizhong thanks the Lord for His great grace."

After standing up and taking the imperial edict, he was not stingy this time and directly ordered someone to take out a small box full of gold from the cabin.

It was respectfully delivered to the eunuch who announced the decree.

Her cheeks flushed with excitement, but her eyes were full of doubt as she said:
"It is really tiring for you to travel so far to the sea.

A little thought does not constitute respect.

I have traveled thousands of miles to serve the king, simply out of a sense of courage and loyalty. On reflection, this was truly reckless. No wonder Your Majesty has given me such a heavy responsibility.

But I had just been stripped of my lowly eighth-rank position, and then the sudden grace of heaven…"

"Hey, Yang Longhu, you are talking about two different things.

The one who was dismissed was Zhang Jiugui, but the one who inherited the hereditary position was Yang Shizhong."

The eunuch who announced the decree interrupted Zhang Gui with a smile.

Zhang Gui cursed inwardly when he heard this, but he had no choice but to bribe him with two more boxes of gold coins.

Afterwards, he clapped his hands in a very single manner and said, "Please forgive me, sir, it's gone, it's really gone."

The eunuch who announced the decree laughed heartily and stopped making fun of it. He explained in a whisper:
"To be honest, Yang Longhu, you are blessed with good fortune. You have taken a great step forward!
Originally, His Majesty was impressed by your devotion to the country and intended to punish you for your recklessness and reward you for your loyalty.

He was given the title of "Xunhai Zhonglang Jiang" and the title of "Wuyi Doctor".

Unexpectedly, our Ming Song's Prime Minister and Grand Chancellor Wu Qinggeng dislikes you no matter what.

He said a lot of nasty things, not only was he unwilling to give you a higher title, he also threatened to sentence you to death.

Your Majesty was left speechless and had no choice but to demote you to a commoner, and the entire military camp was withdrawn.

This was the first imperial edict.

Then, our inner court ancestor Yang discovered that you, Yang Longhu, have a special identity and even have a hereditary future.

It’s just that the Stone Corpse Tribe hadn’t submitted a petition for a title for decades, so it wasn’t implemented.

Since we have to issue an edict this time, we might as well issue both the “bad and the good” ones and be done with it.

After all, the imperial court could not be too harsh on its officials and only punish them without rewarding them.

In addition, hereditary official titles are rewards bestowed by the previous emperor. As long as there is no fault, there is no need for the signature of the cabinet ministers of the current dynasty.

So in the end, Your Majesty made a voluntary decision and issued a second imperial edict.

Ha ha ha.

Your Majesty's grace to you is truly beyond my comprehension!"

'Xun Hai Zhonglang Jiang' is a fifth-rank official position, five steps higher than Zhang Gui's previous eighth-rank lieutenant.

It is equivalent to directly crossing the huge threshold from low-level bureaucrats to middle-level bureaucrats.

Although he was still only the seal holder of Zhihai Village, his actual power remained the same.

But with the casual title of "Wuyi Doctor", his status is only one level lower than that of the general of Siyang County Military Headquarters.

Coupled with the independence of the militia soldiers, they will be really difficult to manage and obey in the future.

The reason why Emperor Hezheng originally planned to reward Zhang Gui in this way.

The purpose is to plant a small nail in the South without any waste of money, which at least appears loyal on the surface and is difficult for the local military government to control.

However, Prime Minister Wu Qinggeng refused to let him have his way.

After arguing for a long time, the other party was right and had good reasons and principles, and finally he succeeded in counterattacking.

This, combined with the anger he had been holding back for the past few days, burned his heart, causing Emperor Hezheng to grit his teeth.

That's why when his first confidant, the eunuch Yang Sanchun, gave him the opportunity to immediately slap the faces of his ministers.

Emperor Hezheng gave Zhang Gui extraordinary favors.

Otherwise, let alone the so-called "no petition for title" of the Stone Corpse Tribe for decades.

Even if tens of thousands of years passed and ten petitions were submitted every year for the title, the hereditary title of Dragon and Tiger General would never fall back on the Stone Corpse Man's head.

Zhang Gui understood this.

Therefore, after listening to the explanation of the eunuch who announced the imperial decree, I thought silently in my heart:

“It’s hard to avenge death.

It is clear that I am the only one left in the Shishi Kingdom's Yangyang lineage, except for my mother and a few cousins.

Why don't you just confer upon me the title of Prince of the Stone Corpse Kingdom?

He clearly knows what's going on.

Then there was a fierce battle between royal power and prime ministerial power, which allowed me, a small pawn who had climbed onto the chessboard by chance, to cross the river and gain an advantage.

But both Emperor Hezheng and Wu Qinggeng still kept a sense of proportion in their hearts.

But what I gained was more than enough, far beyond my expectations!"

(End of this chapter)