Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World

Jiang Zhao bowed respectfully and said calmly, "It is my duty to share the burdens of the ruler."

He traveled on behalf of the emperor, his footsteps covering the two capitals and fourteen circuits, with the aim of pacifying the nine provinces and intimidating the world.

In practice, it's not tricky.

As the saying goes, "kill the chicken to scare the monkey," and the tragic state of the water system in Zhejiang Province, as the "chicken" that was killed, is quite alarming.

The emperor exterminated three generations of their families, banned the imperial examinations, exempted them from promotion, demoted them from all ranks, and dismantled the administrative system.

Each of these rulings, taken individually, is significant enough to be recorded in historical texts.

This time, however, a total of five different rulings were brought together in one place.

The severity of the punishment was destined to shake the entire nation and subdue the people.

This means that even before the capital had officially begun its inspection tour of the other two capitals and thirteen routes, it had already achieved its goal of deterrence.

After that, the formal inspection tour proceeded quite smoothly.

The Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet, assisted by two second-rank officials, three third-rank officials, and two earls, wielded the sword of King Huan and was granted the power to act expediently, thus acting as the Emperor's representative to tour the realm.

He was already a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, a position of great power and influence, and was given the authority to act expediently!

Given this situation, coupled with the dire state of Zhejiang, it would be easy to even kill the regional governor. Naturally, everyone was terrified and no one dared to cause trouble.

Many of the corrupt officials who were caught immediately confessed their crimes and begged for leniency, not daring to make any trouble or cause any disturbance.

Thus, it was destined that the hunting expedition would proceed smoothly and successfully.

Aside from the difficulty of traveling, there were no setbacks whatsoever.

"It is my duty to share the burdens of the ruler." The remaining seven people followed suit, bowing in unison.

Zhao Ceying nodded, pondered for a moment, and waved his hand, saying, "Since he has rendered meritorious service, he must be rewarded."

“Award one person fifty taels of gold and ten bolts of brocade to recognize their merit.”

"The remaining officials who were on inspection tours were all given 100 strings of cash and their salaries were promoted by one rank."

Acting on behalf of Heaven to inspect the realm, his merits benefit the nation.

All the officials who served as imperial inspectors received rewards from the emperor, whether it was an official position, wealth, or salary.

Jiang Zhao raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

Generally speaking, the salary of a prime minister is about 300 strings of cash, a minister is 200 strings, a vice minister is 100 strings, and it decreases according to rank. A county magistrate receives about 20 strings.

Of course, in addition to their salaries, high-ranking officials of the third rank, such as prime ministers, ministers, and vice ministers, usually received rewards such as grain, tea, wine, cooking ingredients, and cotton cloth, which can be described as a way to encourage integrity through high salaries.

Even so, one hundred strings of cash was not a small amount. Most of the imperial inspectors were fifth or sixth grade officials, and one hundred strings of cash was equivalent to thirty to fifty days' salary.

The reward of 100 strings of cash and a promotion of one rank for each official who inspects the area is quite appropriate.

However, the rewards given by the officials were rather stingy.

Fifty taels of gold is equivalent to eight or nine hundred strings of cash, which is about a hundred days' salary.

It should be noted that even for routine imperial inspections, the reward given to the presiding official usually includes a promotion in rank, let alone this one which is not a routine imperial inspection.

To reward someone with only a hundred days' salary is truly stingy!

Jiang Zhao clicked his tongue, remaining completely calm, and raised his hand in a gesture of respect.

The remaining seven people looked over and immediately raised their hands in unison.

Just as the chief inspectors were about to bow in gratitude, Zhao Ceying waved his hand and said:

"Jiang Zhao, a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, is granted the title of Pillar of the State, and is recognized as a loyal and capable minister. His fief is increased by one thousand households, bringing it to seven thousand households."

The title of Shangzhuguo is the highest level of military honor.

The honorary titles of the Great Zhou Martial Merit are divided into twelve ranks, namely, Wuqiwei, Yunqiwei, Feiqiwei, Xiaoqiwei, Qiduwei, Shangqiduwei, Qingcheduwei, Shangqingcheduwei, Hujun, Shanghujun, Zhuguo, and Shangzhuguo.

From bottom to top, the lowest rank was Wuqiwei, which was considered to be the seventh rank.

The highest rank, Shangzhuguo, is the twelfth rank and is considered a second-grade official.

Generally speaking, no one is awarded this title except for major achievements such as guarding the frontier, suppressing rebellions, and resisting foreign enemies, and the awarding process strictly adheres to the official rank system.

Just like a seventh-rank official, no matter how great the merits he made, he was only rewarded with the rank of Wuqiwei or Yunqiwei, which are equivalent to the seventh rank.

Among them, Zhuguo and Shangzhuguo are both second-rank officials, usually awarded to the Privy Council Deputy Envoy with significant achievements.

Of the five deputy privy councilors of this generation, only Duke Zhang Fu of Yingguo and Marquis Zheng Shun of Zhongjing were honored with the title of "Shangzhuguo". Even the late Marquis Gu Yankai of Ningyuan did not receive the title of "Shangzhuguo".

In terms of the difficulty of obtaining the title alone, it is higher than the official rank but lower than the honor of being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

A military officer of the second rank might not necessarily have the title of "Shangzhuguo" (a high-ranking official); having the title of "Shangzhuguo" might not necessarily be entitled to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. That's roughly the relationship.

Therefore, even if the official ranks are the same, a person with the title of "Shangzhuguo" will have a slightly higher status.

After all, honorary titles themselves, to some extent, represent the emperor's attitude of importance.

"The title of meritorious official who is loyal and assists in governing" is a title bestowed upon meritorious officials, regardless of whether they are civil or military officials, and is mainly divided into three ranks.

First Rank: Loyal, Assisting, Advocating, Sharing Virtue, Upholding Righteousness, Upholding Integrity, Supporting the Nation, Praising Governance, Honoring Benevolence, Protecting the Nation, Managing the State.

Several sets of words can be combined to form titles for meritorious officials, which may consist of six characters, four characters, or two characters.

The more characters in a title, the higher its prestige. The title containing the characters "推忠" (meaning "to promote loyalty") is considered the best among the first-class titles.

The highest rank was granted only to cabinet ministers and ministers of the Privy Council.

Second class: Loyal, Virtuous, Supporting, Upholding Righteousness, Upright, Sharing Virtue, Assisting in the Mandate of Heaven, Honoring Benevolence, Harmonious and Respectful, Praising Governance, Proclaiming Virtue, Pure and Sincere, Upholding Integrity, Upholding Obedience, Loyal and Upright, Devoted, Dedicated, Obedient, and Harmonious.

Second-class titles were usually bestowed upon princes, imperial brothers-in-law, civil and military officials who were not cabinet ministers, and foreign officials.

Third class: Gongwei, Yiwei, Weisheng, Baoshun, Zhongyong, Gongji, Husheng, Fengqing, Guoyi, Suwei.

The third-rank title was usually bestowed upon officers and soldiers of the Imperial Guard.

Among them, compared to the first-class honorary title of "Shangzhuguo" for military merit, the difficulty of being granted the title of First-Class Meritorious Official varies slightly depending on whether one is a civil or military official.

For civil officials, the difficulty is almost zero.

The reason is simple: almost every cabinet minister has been awarded a title of merit.

Generally speaking, cabinet ministers who have achieved certain political accomplishments or participated in major celebrations are usually granted the title of meritorious official.

And without exception, they all had six-character titles.

The difference lies in the fact that some have "promoting loyalty" while others do not.

For military generals, the difficulty is almost 100%.

The last military general to be awarded the title of First-Class Merit Censor was named Cao Bin, who was also the ancestor of Empress Dowager Cao.

When the late emperor took power, the Cao family served as the mother of the nation. Her ancestor Cao Bin was posthumously granted the titles of Grand Tutor and Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and was later promoted to Prince of Ji and Prince of Lu. He was also given the title of meritorious official.

The key point is that this sole example is posthumous honors.

Therefore, it was almost impossible for military officers to receive the first-class title of meritorious official.

As for the titles of second-class and third-class meritorious officials, both civil and military officials found it extremely difficult to be granted them.

Overall, the titles bestowed upon meritorious officials were quite prestigious, representing one of the hallmarks of high-ranking officials.

A loyal and capable minister who assisted in governing the country!

This title, containing the words "promoting loyalty," is undoubtedly a top-tier honorary title for meritorious officials.

Even the Grand Chancellor Han Zhang was awarded the title of "Meritorious Minister of Loyalty and Assistance in Governing the State."

In addition, the fief was increased by 1,000 households, bringing the total to 7,000 households.

In terms of fiefdom alone, he already ranks among the top six Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet.

This was because Han Zhang had received the favor of the late emperor and was granted a fief of 9,300 households.

Generally speaking, most prime ministers and high-ranking officials have a fief of only three or four thousand households. A fief of seven thousand households is enough to suppress more than ninety percent of the prime ministers and high-ranking officials.

This shows how great the honor and favor bestowed upon them!

The Grand Pillar of State, a loyal and meritorious minister who assisted in governing, was granted an additional fief of one thousand households!

Jiang Zhao was startled and quickly said, "Your Majesty, this humble subject thanks you!"

really!

This is right!

Giving someone fifty taels of gold and ten bolts of brocade is hardly a generous gift.

On the contrary, the title of "Shangzhuguo" (a high-ranking official in charge of state affairs) is bestowed upon loyal and capable ministers who assist in governing the state, and their fiefdom is increased by a thousand households, which is quite... well, very generous!

The remaining seven people were all startled and turned their attention to the direction.

A favorite minister of two dynasties, his reputation is well-deserved!

"I am fortunate to have such a capable person, thanks to the blessings of my ancestors." Zhao Ceying stepped forward and reached out to help him.

The emperor and his ministers looked at each other with obvious gratitude and favor!

"Hi~!"

The remaining people were all startled and looked at each other.

Given this situation, if the Grand Chancellor weren't Jiang's teacher, the emperor and his minister could probably have conspired to overthrow the Grand Chancellor and take his place.

"Teng Fu, the Left Censor-in-Chief, is hereby granted the title of a meritorious official of loyalty and integrity. He is permitted to build a memorial archway to commemorate his special honor. He is also granted the privilege of having three of his descendants granted official titles and the opportunity to be recommended for the imperial examinations and appointed to official positions. Furthermore, he is granted a mansion of twenty mu in Quyuan Street." Zhao Ceying looked down and focused his attention on Teng Fu.

The splitting of Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, the banning of scientific examinations, and the exclusion of promotions meant that some people were bound to be criticized.

As the one who performed the surgery, Teng Fu is probably already infamous and his reputation is ruined.

The gift of a mansion was intended to allow him to reside in the capital for the rest of his life, thus avoiding the limelight.

The Teng family was small in number and only started to prosper from the generation of Teng Fu, so it was not a prominent family in Liangzhe Road.

However, they were from a family that had produced officials of the second rank, and in terms of their background alone, they already had the potential to become a prominent county-level family.

Now that Liangzhe has been demolished, the concept of "Liangzhe people" will naturally disappear slowly.

Teng Fu's generation avoided the limelight, and his descendants were still able to live in the waterways of Zhejiang and Jiangsu without any problems.

Aside from the mansion, the rewards bestowed upon meritorious officials, whether it be titles or memorial arches, tend to be honorary and also serve as a talisman to protect them in their later years.

The quota for hereditary titles is purely compensation, ensuring that their descendants can maintain a minimum level of wealth and status.

"This old minister thanks Your Majesty." Teng Fu visibly breathed a sigh of relief and bowed deeply.

In terms of rewards alone, the honors he received were no less than those given to Jiang Zhao.

In particular, regarding the quota for hereditary titles, Jiang Zhao has expanded his territory twice in recent years, and on average, he only received five quotas each time.

Three opportunities to be granted a special privilege are already quite precious.

"Wang Gui, the acting prefect of Kaifeng, also serves as a compiler in the Imperial Academy. Chen Jian, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Wang Anshi, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Justice, both hold the title of Grand Master of the Palace," Zhao Ceying continued.

All three were granted official positions.

Among them, the historians in charge of compiling history tend to be those who preside over the compilation of history.

However, the compilers of the history bureau were almost always just figureheads; the real heads were often the supervisors of the national history, namely the prime ministers.

The title of Grand Master of the Palace was a nominal second-rank official position. Chen Jian and Wang Anshi held both low-ranking and high-ranking positions, which can be considered a kind of "promise".

After three years, if there are no mistakes, one will be promoted to a substantive position of the second rank.

"Your Majesty, we, your humble servants, thank you." The three bowed in unison.

"Marquis Ningyuan, Gu Tingye, was appointed as a Privy Councilor and granted the title of Senior Protector General."

The position of Signatory to the Privy Council was a third-rank Privy Council post, with only three other official titles above him: Associate Privy Councilor, Deputy Privy Councilor, and Privy Councilor.

Judging solely from the promotion in official rank, it is clear that Zhao Ceying already intends to make Gu Tingye one of the leading military generals.

The title of Upper Guard Commander is the tenth rank of military honor, which is also quite rare and represents the emperor's approval.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Gu Tingye bowed deeply.

“Wang Shao, the Earl of Zhennan, is hereby appointed as the Commander of the Imperial Guards Infantry Division,” Zhao Ceying said calmly.

Last time, he had expressed his intention to appoint Wang Shao to a post.

Unfortunately, at that time, Wang Shao was already granted the title of "hereditary succession without fail," which was already a first-class reward, and it was not appropriate to bestow too much upon him.

This time, however, it would be an opportunity to let Wang Shao take command of the Imperial Guards and, incidentally, to probe their capabilities.