Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

After listening to what the King of Yi said, the Duke of Zhao immediately understood why he had come to find him and the Duke of Cao this time.

He and Marquis Wang Zhi of Liu'an were close friends. Wang Zhi was now in charge of the local garrison troops in Jiangnan, and he could not do without Wang Zhi's support if he wanted to make any moves in Jiangnan.

The Duke of Cao and the Prince of Nan'an were related by marriage and had a close relationship.

Despite the fact that Duke Cao is now aligned with the Jingnan faction, the Li family should actually be considered part of the founding line of the Wu Xun.

It was only because Cao Guogong's ancestors made great contributions during the Jingnan Campaign that his family became increasingly close to the Jingnan Wuxun lineage, and thus he was considered part of the Jingnan lineage.

This is why Duke Cao was able to easily befriend Jia She and drink and have fun together, because the ancestors of the two families once belonged to the same lineage.

Similarly, this is why the Cao family has a marriage relationship with the Prince of Nan'an's mansion.

Duke Zhao picked up his wine cup, took a small sip, and pondered for a moment before saying:

"We'll need Duke Cao's help with the Prince of Nan'an's affairs! As for Jiangnan..."

"Now that the Qianqing Palace's prestige is soaring due to its consecutive victories in the Northwest, we must not allow the new policies to succeed under any circumstances!"

"Marquis Wang Zhi of Liu'an is in charge of the Jiangnan garrison. If we can get him to do something underhanded..."

"If chaos breaks out in Jiangnan, it will not only hinder the implementation of the new policies, but also damage the reputation of the Qianqing Palace."

"It can also put those powerful gentry and noble families in Jiangnan at odds with the current emperor, forcing them to be bound to the retired emperor's side in the future. It's a win-win situation..."

The Duke of Zhao's eyes flashed with a hint of ruthlessness, clearly indicating his intention to take drastic measures.

Prince Yi, Zhu Hui, understood the Duke of Zhao's intention: to shift the conflict between the new policies of the court and the gentry onto ordinary people and military households.

This incited ignorant people to rise up and rebel, making the imperial court hesitant to act, and greatly losing the support of the people and the local army.

He thought for a moment, then finally shook his head and said:

"Just pay lip service to it! It's best not to involve innocent civilians. If it causes a major disturbance, it will be difficult to handle later."

"Given their current strength, we should mainly observe and wait for developments."

"The new policies harm the interests of officials and gentry throughout the land, not to mention the current intention to investigate past deficits—these are all decrees that will offend people!"

"Both public opinion and time are on our side, so let's wait and see, there's no need to rush..."

…………

Leaving aside the schemes of Prince Yi and Duke Zhao, let's talk about the palace in the capital city.

The main hall of Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Jingsheng, having just finished his lunch under the care of Xia Shouzhong, was sipping tea while reviewing memorials.

Nourished by the recent good news from the Northwest, Emperor Jingsheng's complexion improved significantly.

Emperor Jingsheng, who was usually stern and rarely smiled, would often show a hint of a smile on his cold and hard face.

This has made life much easier for the eunuchs and palace maids throughout the palace recently.

Even when a lowly eunuch from the Northwest was sweeping the floor of the Qianqing Palace and singing a folk song from the Northwest, Emperor Jingsheng heard him and did not reprimand him.

Instead, he granted the eunuchs special permission to sing when no one was around, as Emperor Jingsheng said he enjoyed listening to sounds from the Northwest, whether joyful or tragic.

Meanwhile, Xia Shouzhong, who was serving him, had lost all trace of worry on his face these days. A faint smile always lingered on his fair complexion, as if he was happy when Emperor Jingsheng was happy.

at this time,

Golden sunlight streamed down onto the roof of the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, reflecting a golden glow onto the glazed tiles.

Emperor Jingsheng read through the memorial from the newly appointed Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, Fang Congzhe, for a while. His expression turned cold, and he said with displeasure:

"Zijie achieved a series of victories in the Northwest, with outstanding military achievements. He not only captured the Northern Yuan Khan Batu Mongke alive, but also quelled the century-old border troubles of our Great Han in one fell swoop."

"For such a great achievement, I only wish to promote him to the rank of First-Class Duke, elevate him to the rank of General of the Cavalry (Second Rank), and add the title of Pillar of State. Why are so many civil officials submitting memorials in opposition?"

"Now even Grand Secretary Fang Congzhe has submitted a memorial spouting nonsense about Zijie being too young to be granted a new title!"

"Since when has the court's rewards been based on age rather than merit? I think he's just jealous of talent and has no magnanimity whatsoever!"

Xia Shouzhong stood by the beam with his hands at his sides, opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Since Jia Jing's victories were reported back to the capital one after another, the court has been in an uproar over his reward, and it has been almost two months since then and it has not been completely decided.

The civil officials seemed to have united, none of them wanting Emperor Sheng to bestow too much reward upon Jia Jing.

In the past, civil officials were divided into factions such as the Zhejiang Party, the Qi Party, the Chu Party, the Kun Party, and the Donglin Party, but when it came to granting Jia Jing a title, there was no such partisan distinction.

As if they had reached a consensus in private, they unanimously submitted a memorial advising against bestowing too much reward.

Some censors even submitted memorials impeaching Jia Jing for having too much military power in the Northwest and for buying off the hearts of the soldiers, saying that he did not look like a proper subject and that there was a great danger ahead.

This matter greatly displeased Emperor Jingsheng.

Ever since the second victory report of Jia Jing's defeat of the Northern Yuan court was sent back, Emperor Jingsheng had proposed to the cabinet to grant Jia Jing the title of First-Class Duke, the rank of General of the Cavalry of the Second Rank, and the title of Pillar of the State, but he had not received a positive response for a long time.

Although none of the cabinet secretaries explicitly opposed it, none of them expressed their support either.

Unexpectedly, Fang Congzhe, the newly appointed Grand Secretary of the Dongge Pavilion, was the first to submit a memorial expressing his disagreement with the re-conferring of the title.

A hint of hesitation flashed across Xia Shouzhong's fair face. Logically speaking, Emperor Jingsheng's wishes were his own.

Moreover, Jia Jing had given him gifts before his expedition, so he should stand up and say a few good words for Jia Jing now.

However, the three rewards proposed by Emperor Jingsheng were so high that he was somewhat surprised and uncertain.

This first-class duke title is almost the pinnacle for a subject; the next highest rank is king!

Needless to say, the rank of General of the Cavalry, a second-rank official, was the pinnacle of military officialdom in the Han Dynasty.

Since the reign of Emperor Chengzu, the titles of Grand General of the First Rank and Grand Marshal of the Army of the Realm of the First Rank have been tacitly not bestowed upon his subjects!

Needless to say, the title of Shangzhuguo Xun Guan is the highest rank of Xun Guan in the Han Dynasty, equivalent to the first rank. There are no other Xun Guan ranks above it!

Jia Zijie's achievements are indeed great, but if he is granted these three titles, ranks, and honors, isn't Your Majesty afraid that there will be no more titles to bestow upon him in the future?

Xia Shouzhong considered a very practical problem: what if Jia Jing made further contributions in the future?

You can't just make someone a king for a little bit of merit, can you?

Apart from the four kings of different surnames conferred during the founding period, the Han Dynasty has not conferred a single king title in all these years. A king title is absolutely not to be conferred lightly!

Or to put it more directly, unless the puppet Qing regime in Liaodong is pacified as per the dying wish of Emperor Chengzu.

Otherwise, if he wanted to be granted the title of king through any other means or merit, he would be attacked and opposed by the entire court.

Therefore, the civil officials had their reasons for disagreeing with granting too high a title.

Even if we consider military merit, Jia Zijie's achievements certainly warrant these rewards, but many things cannot be considered solely based on merit.

Xia Shouzhong even felt that perhaps delaying the bestowal of rewards at this time would be a better way to protect Jia Jing.