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

Xiong Cilu pondered for a moment, then cupped his hands and said:

"What about the Duke of Dingguo? Ding means to pacify."

"The Marquis of Champion pacified the northern grasslands, leaving no royal court in the south and north of the Gobi Desert. Moreover, the Tang Dynasty had the Dingbei Army Envoy, and the Xia Dynasty had the Four Ding Generals. He truly deserved his title."

"While the Duke of Dingguo's name is easy to understand, it is somewhat lacking in elegance!" Prince Bei Jing, Shui Rong, retorted after a moment's thought.

Chen Tingjing pondered for a moment, then stepped forward and reported:

"Your Majesty's words have awe-inspiring power among the barbarians. Why not bestow upon him the title of Duke of Wei and Marquis of Champion, who has won nine battles in nine victories, thus demonstrating the might of our great Han army?"

"Moreover, during their march, they passed through Wuwei County of our Great Han Dynasty, which has both a place name and a symbolic meaning."

"The word 'Wei' is not as good as the word 'Wei'. In the past, Li Jing, the military genius of the Tang Dynasty, destroyed the Turks and captured the Jili Khan. His achievements were unparalleled in his time."

"His achievements are quite similar to those of the Marquis of Champion. If he were to be granted the title of Duke of Wei, it would have both historical significance and a sense of inheritance."

Prince Bei Jing, Shui Rong, showed a slight change in expression and spoke slowly again.

As the highest example of military generals throughout history, Duke Li Jing of Wei was compared to Jia Jing by Prince Bei Jing, which shows that he recognized Jia Jing's achievements in pacifying the grasslands.

However, after Prince Bei Jing said this, the civil officials were somewhat uneasy.

Duke of Wei? How can that be!

Although Jia Jing's achievements were great, he was not worthy of this title.

At this time,

Li Guangdi's expression shifted, recalling the scene when he discussed the title of marquis with Jia Jing in the past. He stepped forward and said:

"It would be better to bestow upon him the title of Duke of Liao. Liao is a thorn in the side of our great Han Dynasty. In the future, our dynasty will inevitably have a war with the pseudo-Qing."

"The title of Duke of Liao was also intended to encourage Jia Zijie to make contributions in Liao in the future."

Emperor Jingsheng listened expressionlessly to the titles offered by the others, seemingly not entirely satisfied with any of them.

This was his own divinely appointed minister, and even the title of Duke of Wei, a military genius, seemed somewhat inadequate to him.

Not to mention titles like Duke of Wei and Duke of Liao, which have obvious flaws.

Emperor Jingsheng pondered for a moment, then addressed the Prince of Nan'an and Zhang Tingyu again:

"Minister Huo, Minister Heng, do you two have any good suggestions for titles?"

The Prince of Nan'an's eyes flashed, and after thinking for a moment, he said:

"I am not as knowledgeable as the cabinet ministers, but I was thinking that a special title would be appropriate to highlight my achievements."

"How about choosing from among the ancient powerful states, such as the Duke of Qin, the Duke of Wei, or the Duke of Yan? Would that be appropriate?"

Upon hearing the words of the Prince of Nan'an, the expressions of the civil officials present changed.

Good guy!

Duke of Qin, Duke of Wei, Duke of Yan?

This is even more outrageous than the title of Duke of Wei bestowed upon Prince Bei Jing, Shui Rong!

If they are granted the title of king in the future, wouldn't they become the King of Qin, the King of Wei, or the King of Yan?

Is it the Xuanwu Gate Incident or the Fengtian Pacification Campaign?

What exactly is this supposed to be?

Qin, Wei, and Yan were all ancient powerful states, and these titles all had special meanings behind them.

Ordinary officials should not be granted such titles unless they have made outstanding contributions.

It's unclear whether the Prince of Nan'an is genuinely speaking up for Jia Jing or deliberately trying to flatter him to his detriment!

Zhang Tingyu stepped forward with an expressionless face and began to speak:

"Your Majesty! My opinion is that you should bestow upon him the title of Duke of Jingguo."

"Jia Zijie had already been granted the title of Marquis of Jingwu, so it can be considered a continuation of the family line. Moreover, 'Jing' means stability and pacification, which perfectly aligns with Jia Zijie's achievements in pacifying the northwestern borders and suppressing bandits!"

When Emperor Jingsheng heard what the two said, he remained silent for a moment and did not immediately express his opinion. Zhang Tingyu's word "Jing" gave him some inspiration.

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Everyone assumed that Zhang Tingyu had once again bestowed upon Emperor Jingsheng a title that reflected his own wishes.

After all, the phrase "Hengchen knows me well!" had almost become Emperor Jingsheng's catchphrase! Who didn't know that Zhang Tingyu was Emperor Jingsheng's favorite!

Just when the ministers thought the matter was settled,

Emperor Jingsheng tapped his fingers lightly twice on the imperial desk, then suddenly spoke:

"My reign title is Jingsheng."

This statement surprised the assembled officials. Weren't they discussing Jia Jing's title of Duke?

Why is Your Majesty suddenly mentioning your reign title?

Emperor Jingsheng ignored what his ministers thought and continued:

"景 (Jing) means sunlight. 盛 (Sheng) means prosperity."

"When I chose this era name, I hoped that the Han Dynasty would be at its zenith, prosperous and thriving, and would be restored to its former glory."

The ministers looked at each other, a vague sense of foreboding creeping into their hearts.

Emperor Jingsheng glanced at everyone present and said, word by word:

"For the past nine years, I have been cautious and diligent in governing the country, but the nation is in decline and its chronic problems are difficult to cure. I have exhausted all my efforts, but I cannot see the light of the revival of the Han Dynasty."

"I originally thought my reign title, Jingsheng, would become a joke, only to be mocked by future generations. But... there's always a way out!"

Emperor Jingsheng's voice unconsciously rose slightly as he spoke:

"Since I had my son Jie, he first defeated the 150,000-strong army of the puppet Qing in Liaodong, saving the situation from crisis."

"Once again, nine victories were won in the Northwest, the Northern Yuan was destroyed, the pseudo-Qing and the Hunnic regimes were forced to come to Beijing to sue for peace, the whole country was shaken and the country was in an uproar."

"So much so that some of my subjects privately said that the Han Dynasty would be restored once again, and some of my subjects said that I would become the emperor who restored the Han Dynasty."

Emperor Jingsheng's expression brightened slightly as he spoke, a blush rising to his cheeks. He paused, then continued in a clear voice:

"But...I know that I am not the emperor who will restore the Han Dynasty, but Zijie is truly a minister who will restore it. I have benefited from his achievements!"

Upon hearing Emperor Jingsheng's words, the assembled officials were in uproar, their expressions changing drastically.

The emperor was not a ruler who could restore the dynasty, but Jia Jing was a minister who could restore it.

What a shocking statement!

This...simply shouldn't have come from the Emperor's mouth!

The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment, and some even secretly grumbled inwardly:

Your Majesty is talking nonsense like this... Could it be that you've been bewitched?

But Emperor Jingsheng's powerful speech was not yet over. His heart still stirred by the recent victories in the Northwest and the dream of the virtuous minister, he resolutely declared:

"I intend to use one of the characters from my reign title, Jing, as the title of Duke of Jing for my son, and thus I will bestow upon him the title of First-Class Duke of Jing."

The hall fell silent for a moment, with only the dripping sound of water from the water clock breaking the silence.

The officials looked bewildered and at a loss for words.

First Class Duke?

Or should the current year's reign title be used as the title of Duke?

This is even more special than the title given by the Prince of Nan'an, who used the name of a great nation!

What exactly does the Emperor mean by this?

So all that discussion turned out to be nothing?

Even Zhang Tingyu, who was usually calm and composed, frowned deeply, and a hint of worry flashed in his eyes!

The Emperor's favor towards Jia Jing is excessive!

Actually, he had a vague feeling that something was wrong!

Contrary to his usual practice, the emperor demanded that rewards be based on merit. He did not adopt the good suggestion of granting the same title of third-class duke to Fang Congzhe and his son, and remained noncommittal about his own advice to become a second-class duke. He no longer showed the attitude of a wise and discerning minister as he had in the past.

He knew there might be some unforeseen event going on!

Even before Jia Jing went to the Northwest, he worried that if Jia Jing made another great contribution, he would gain the emperor's favor, become powerful in the court, and even threaten the cabinet ministers.

As expected,

The emperor not only conferred upon Jia Jing the title of First-Class Duke, but also used the reign title as Jia Jing's title!

They looked exactly like a ruler and his subjects were one!

What exactly is going on? The emperor wasn't like this before!

He couldn't understand it!