Rise From the Humble

Soon, the tea time passed, and the officials still could not reach an agreement on Zhu Ping'an's reward.

"Everyone, if you have any good ideas, don't hide them away. Come up with them quickly. If we can't agree on Zhu Pingan's reward, we can't explain it to the Holy One. If the Holy One asks again, he will definitely blame him. Come down."

Mr. Wang, the left servant of the Ministry of Personnel, was a little anxious.

"If the reward is too small if the reward is too small if you just remove the word 'Dai', wouldn't it be enough to add some other rewards?"

One official came up with an idea.

Wang Shilang's eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately found his direction, "Oh, it makes sense, it makes sense, but what should we add?"

The official who spoke just now suggested, "How about a knighthood? Zhu Ping'an cannot simply regard him as a civilian. What he achieved is military merit, which can be regarded as a military attache. According to the military attache's system of 'big merit' and 'little merit' , is it feasible to reward him with a title based on his contribution to the sea sacrifice?"

"Great merit" and "little merit" were two popular knighting systems in the Ming Dynasty.

A knighthood for "great meritorious service" is awarded to a knighthood for making a major contribution to supporting the country during the war. For "minor meritorious service", a general at the first level of the governor is awarded the title of earl for his long-term defense of the place and other merits. If he makes another If you have merit, you can continue to be promoted. The two knighthood modes correspond to wartime and peacetime respectively, and complement each other.

"Zhu Ping'an's military exploits in the sacrifice to the sea were only to capture the heads of 290 Japanese pirates and rescued thousands of people. They did not meet the conditions for the title of 'great contribution' to Kuangfu Sheji! As for the "small merits", it's a bit reluctant. He is not a governor-level general, and it is a meritorious service, not a cumulative merit. If he can be made an earl by killing more than 200 Japanese pirates at one time, there are so many Japanese pirates in Jiangnan, and he will be defeated in one battle in the future. There are not only generals who have captured the heads of more than two hundred Japanese pirates, but also endless ones. If they were all made earls, wouldn’t the title be a waste?!"

Some officials thought for a moment, stood up and raised objections, disapproving of conferring a title on Zhu Ping'an.

As soon as he finished speaking, an official echoed: "Indeed, during the Zhengde period of the previous dynasty, a large number of foreign relatives, children of internal officials, and sycophants were awarded military officer titles. At that time, the reasonable title system was destroyed. It was after the Holy Emperor ascended the throne. , to bring order to the chaos, he issued an edict to eliminate all kinds of officials, marquises, and earls who had been promoted or pretended to be ennobled during the Zhengde period. The Holy One was very cautious about ennobling titles. Mr. Zhou Shangwen, who passed away in the twenty-seventh year of this dynasty, everyone is here You know, Mr. Zhou has served as the commander-in-chief of Datong for a long time, guarding Datong, repelling the invasion of Anda from the North several times, and has made outstanding military achievements. Although he was promoted to the highest rank of military attache, Zuodudu, he was also awarded the three official positions of Taibao and Prince Taifu. , it can be said that he is the first military attache in our dynasty to hold the position of Three Dukes, but he has not been knighted."

Another official took over and said, "Yes, I still remember that after Mr. Zhou's death, the Li Ke submitted a memorial to Shen Shu, asking for a posthumous title to Zhou Shangwen. The emperor was furious and said: Zhou Shangwen requested the title many times. , he had a lot of resentment, so he was tolerant and did not punish him. After that, the Holy One handed Shen Shu over to the Jinyi Guards for questioning, which shows that the Holy One is cautious about the title. "

After listening to the words of the three officials, Wang Shilang touched his chin, thought for a moment, and nodded. It is true that the Holy Lord is very cautious about the title, and it can be said that he is stingy. It is better not to get into trouble with the Holy Lord, so as not to get angry.

But how to solve Zhu Ping'an's reward? Should we continue to promote him? That's not possible. Zhu Pingan offended Mr. Yan Xiaoge and was banned by Mr. Yan Xiaoge. If he was promoted again, wouldn't it be against Mr. Yan Xiaoge? He couldn't bear Mr. Yan Xiaoge's temper.

Just when Wang Shilang and others were in trouble, an official suddenly had an idea and got up impatiently.

"You can't be granted a title, but you can be given favors and gifts. Our court is also very strict about granting gifts and favors. They can only be awarded for meritorious service, or for being excellent in evaluations for several consecutive years, or for meritorious service in governing a place, or for meritorious service in leading troops in battle. Only then did he have the opportunity to grant favors and gifts. Zhu Ping'an performed well in protecting the sea and captured more than 290 heads of Japanese pirates. He just met the conditions and could consider giving gifts to his parents and favors to his children. I heard that Zhu Ping An is married, and his wife is about to give birth. To be kind to his unborn child can not only commend him for his merits, but also show the court's concern for his family. It achieves multiple things with one stone, so why not do it."

After the official stood up, he said to everyone.

"Oh, why did you forget this? Yes, yes, Master Liu said that you can give me gifts and favors!"

Wang Shilang couldn't help but excitedly slapped his thigh hard, made an ouch, and said excitedly again and again.

For substantive official positions, just remove the word "generation" from him and no longer promote him, and then add them with fictitious positions such as gifts and favors.

This is also a disguised suppression of Zhu Pingan.

In this way, Mr. Yan Ge and Mr. Yan Xiaoge can explain to each other. Mr. Yan Ge will definitely remember me and my official career will be smooth again.

The more Wang Shilang thought about it, the happier he became.

"Yes, yes, you can give gifts and favors. Now the problem of Zhu Ping'an's rewards is solved."

The other officials also nodded.

"Okay, now let's discuss how to bestow gifts and favors."

"Zhu Ping'an's mother has been given an imperial order. Let's give her a royal decree this time. Zhu Pingan's wife can also be given a royal decree."

"In addition, Zhu Ping'an received a favor last time because of his merits, and gave his son a favor for a hundred households. This time he favored another son and received a salary. The rank of the favored son can be upgraded one level compared to the old system, so that he can go from seven to seven. Good use."

"You can give me some more gold and silver silk and satin to show your merit."

After having the direction, Wang Shilang and a group of officials quickly agreed on Zhu Pingan's reward and formed a written document.

"My lords, I will go and ask Mr. Yan Ge for instructions first. If there is no problem with Mr. Yan Ge, I will leave it to the prince."

Wang Shilang picked up the final written materials, stood up and spoke to everyone.

"Master Wang, please." Naturally, everyone had no objection.

Soon, Shilang Wang took the written materials to ask Yan Song for instructions. Yan Song took one look and put them aside.

"Okay, I can rest assured that you will do your work. I have only one request: reward those who have merit, and don't let any meritorious ministers suffer. These are troubled times now, with captives from the north and Japanese from the south emerging in an endless stream. It is the time when you employ people, you must be generous. Reward ministers who have made meritorious deeds and serve as positive role models to inspire the morale of the military and the people to serve the country enthusiastically.”

Yan Song emphasized to Wang Shilang.

"Yes, the elder's teachings will be kept in mind by all the subordinates. They will definitely not fail any meritorious person."

Wang Shilang breathed a sigh of relief, nodded and bowed repeatedly.

"The reward for the Great Victory of Jihai has been delayed for so long. The people below can't wait any longer. Please send it to the emperor as soon as possible. Let's do it." Yan Song waved his hand.

"As ordered." Wang Shilang nodded repeatedly. (End of chapter)