Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 170: Ji Guang is conferred the title of Marquis, roles are reversed!
Within one day.

All the eunuchs in the four departments, eight bureaus and twelve prisons of the inner court were beaten to death.

Thousands of eunuchs in the twenty-four yamen were dealt with by the East Factory according to family rules.

Under the power of Lu Fang, or the eunuch who held the seal of Silijian, Chen Hong personally killed many of his adopted sons and godchildren.

More than half a year's hard work has been wasted.

Lu Fang still did not spare Chen Hong or the eunuchs. This was not a deliberate revenge, but a purge of the inner court.

During the time when Chen Hong was in charge of the Imperial Household Department, the eunuchs and palace maids in the inner court gradually became bolder, and even the clothes they wore were all covered with flowers.

The level of luxury was even unmatched by those officials below the third rank in the imperial court.

Lu Fang received the emperor's order, and Huang Jin also received Lu Fang's order, and they brought a group of young eunuchs to skin many people.

The atmosphere in the inner court became clean again.

Ok Hee Palace.

Zhu Houcong is meditating.

The term "meditation" is defined in this way by Buddhism and Taoism.

The key is not the word “sit” but the word “fight”. You have clearly closed your eyes and entered into a state of meditation, with your legs crossed like a mountain, so how can it be called “fighting”?
What you are fighting are the various thoughts in your mind at this moment. Taoism calls them demons, and Buddhism calls them obstacles.

Zhu Houcong practiced Taoism and cultivated mystery for decades. "In order to achieve immortality, he often meditated all day long and did not stay in bed." Now that he has really achieved immortality, he still maintains this habit and has gradually gained new understanding.

The skill of meditation is not something that ordinary people can achieve, nor is it just for the purpose of immortality. Many national destinies and human affairs can also be achieved from this word "meditation".

It was the same tonight. When Lv Fang finished cleaning the inner court and entered Yuxi Palace, he had been meditating for five hours, sitting on the cushion with a calm and peaceful expression.

After Lu Fang entered the hall, he first went to the golden basin to wring out a handkerchief, then walked to Zhu Houcong who was sitting on a futon, and knelt on one leg on the steps of the futon.

Zhu Houcong opened his eyes, took the handkerchief, relaxed his hands, and after they slowly warmed up, he returned the handkerchief to Lu Fang.

Lu Fang walked away to put down the handkerchief, wrung out a face towel from another basin, and came back. Zhu Houcong took it and wiped his cheek, feeling a little refreshed.

"Is the inner court clean?" Zhu Houcong looked at him and asked.

Lu Fang said respectfully, "Your Majesty, it is now cleaner now. It was because I failed to discipline you well and failed to show your grace that the chaos in the inner court occurred."

"When you were in the palace, you did a good job. These things are not your fault." Zhu Houcong shook his head.

Lu Fang stopped talking and waited there with his head down.

Zhu Houcong stood up and walked to the imperial desk. The cabinet sent a memorial proposing to transfer Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou to be the generals of Jizhou Town and Guyuan Town respectively.

Written in red ink.

Lu Fang brought the jade seal and stamped it, and the imperial decree became effective.

And below this memorial were the proposed titles of earl to be conferred on Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou.

In the campaign to suppress the Japanese pirates, Qi Jiguang, Yu Dayou, the Qi Family Army and the Yu Family Army performed well and they deserve to be awarded titles.

However, Qi Jiguang's letter of resignation was attached to this memorial.

"Kill all the Japanese invaders, we are brothers and sisters in the same hatred", which means that killing the Japanese is what the Chinese people should do, it is not considered a merit, and it is not worthy of the reward of title.

The great victory of the southeastern army was not the credit of Qi's army. The Ming Dynasty belonged to the emperor, the Ming army was the emperor's army, and the victory of the Ming army was the emperor's victory.

At the end, he wrote two sentences in blood, "I have no desire to be a marquis, but I wish the seas would be peaceful."

Zhu Houcong read it and didn't think much. He just felt that Qi Jiguang was not only good at fighting, but also good at being an official. He knew how to attribute all the credit.

However, although Qi Jiguang could be so humble, Zhu Houcong could not exempt Qi Jiguang from his merits and title.

With a stroke of his red brush, he changed the first sentence of the letter of resignation to "Kill all the Japanese invaders and be granted a title of nobility."

To be rewarded for meritorious service and to be granted a title of nobility has always been the rule of the Ming Dynasty. Whether Qi Jiguang wanted to be granted a title of nobility was his own business.

Whether the Qi Family Army existed or not, as long as Qi Jiguang and his soldiers had made contributions to the country, they would be granted the title of nobility.

The title of Earl chosen by the cabinet for Qi Jiguang was "Jiangyin", and his full name was "Marquis of Jiangyin".

The reason for choosing this name is not because the fief was in Jiangyin, but because Wu Liang, the elder brother of Wu Zhen, the first Marquis of Jinghai in the early Ming Dynasty, was granted the title of Marquis of Jiangyin by Emperor Taizu Gao.

The Wu family had two marquises, but due to some special reasons, neither of them was able to pass on their legacy.

Now that the title of Marquis of Jinghai has been granted to Hu Zongxian and has been reinstated, Zhang Juzheng's cabinet is thinking of reinstating the title of Marquis of Jiangyin as well.

However, Qi Jiguang's achievements were not enough to earn him a title of nobility, so he was demoted to an earl.

Similar to Hu Zongxian's title, Qi Jiguang's title also has hidden promotions.

After Qi Jiguang had accumulated enough merits, he would be promoted from earl to marquis. If he made more great contributions, he would be able to inherit Wu Liang's title of "Duke of Jiang" from Marquis of Jiangyin. He had made no mistakes in his life, and even the posthumous title he would be given after his death would be determined, "Xianglie".

In comparison, the title chosen by Zhang Juzheng's cabinet for Yu Dayou was simpler.

Earl of Jinjiang.

Yu Dayou was from Jinjiang, Quanzhou, Fujian. He was named an earl after his native place, which was considered a great honor to his family by people of his time.

Not good, not bad, just average.

However, Zhu Houcong still saw Zhang Juzheng's cabinet's contempt for Yu Dayou.

It was nothing more than that Yu Dayou was a military candidate, which in the eyes of Zhang Juzheng's cabinet equated him with a vulgar warrior.

When choosing the title, I didn't put as much effort into it as I did when choosing for Qi Jiguang; I just settled for something close enough.

Hu Zongxian, the old governor of Yu Dayou, did not object. He probably thought that the court would soon separate military and political power, and it was not worth getting entangled in such trivial matters.

If Yu Dayou is not satisfied, he can change it when he has made great contributions in the future and is promoted from earl to marquis.

Zhu Houcong shook his head. There were inherent and irreconcilable contradictions between civil and military officials. If this continued, all kinds of conflicts would arise even after the separation of military and political power.

Men of letters look down on the crudeness of men of letters, and men of letters look down on the weakness of men of letters. This must be changed.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, scholars were not so weak that they could even fight in front of the emperor. The six arts of a gentleman were also truly practiced. It is unknown when scholars began to focus only on the Six Classics, but not the Six Arts.

It is time to restore the appearance of pre-Qin literati and let the literati of the Ming Dynasty be imbued with some bloodiness again.

Similarly, if all the soldiers in the army are illiterate, it is not a truly strong army. It is imperative to popularize culture in the Ming army.

Not everyone is required to become a bachelor, but at least they must be able to write their own names and understand military orders.

In short, if the roles of the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty were swapped, the two sides would not only be less hostile but also become stronger as a country and a strong army.

After Zhu Houcong approved the titles of Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, he wrote a brief note and asked Zhang Juzheng's cabinet to handle it.

"Send it to the Cabinet."

"Yes." Lu Fang accepted the order.

(End of this chapter)