We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

"Chongwenbo, Wenzaiyin!"

Wen Zaiyin did come, looking like a modest gentleman, and he stepped out of the group and saluted calmly.

The officials were relatively unfamiliar with Wen Zaiyin, but seeing his elegant appearance, no one dared to look down on him.

Everyone was even thinking that judging from this person’s demeanor, he was no ordinary person. Was his last name Wen?

Which Wen is this? I have never heard of any noble family with the surname Wen?

No one expected that this civil official who looked like a great scholar was actually a Korean.

Chongwenbo is also a very high evaluation: respecting culture and education and educating the world is the fundamental duty of civil officials.

The achievement of education is a first-class achievement and is also Wen Zaiyin’s political ideal.

Conferring the title on Wen Zaiyin was also Li Che's affirmation of his gentlemanly character.

Wen Zai Yin thanked him respectfully and turned back to his post. The other civil officials still did not know the details of this Chongwenbo.

But before they could think any more, the fourth earl appeared:

"Lei Hengbo, Chen Gui!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the military generals laughed softly, while the civil officials became even more confused.

What is Lei Hengbo? I've never heard of him...

This person must be an important official, yet he actually asked Your Majesty to create a title for him?

Little did they know that Li Che originally wanted to name him "Lord of Gunpowder".

But this title was too straightforward, and Li Che was afraid that Chen Gui would be ridiculed by his colleagues, so he changed it to the more implicit Lei Hengbo.

"Lei" refers to the power of gunpowder, and "heng" originally means to be in charge, which means the person who controls the power of thunder, which is both elegant and domineering.

Of course, Chen Gui, the explosion maniac, probably doesn't care about these things.

As expected, Chen Gui walked forward with a smile on his face, gaiting like a wolf or a tiger, his posture more martial than that of a military general.

When he arrived in front of Li Che, he expressed his gratitude in a loud voice.

Li Che was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and quickly waved to him, and he retreated.

Next came three senior officials, namely Wang Xi, Wang Chongjian and Liu Ye.

All three of them were abducted to Fengguo by Li Che, and they were in charge of similar affairs. They were all senior leaders in engineering.

Wang Xi was in charge of the Ministry of Time and the Ministry of Rites, his son Wang Chongjian was in charge of Fengguo University, and Liu Ye was in charge of the Ministry of Works.

They were granted titles respectively, including the titles of Earl of Shi, Earl of Xuanxue, and Earl of Yingkuang.

After that, there was the first diplomat of Feng State, the king of Dianzi who carried the coffin as an envoy, the first person in Feng State to send his own death, the one who turned around and was obsessed with building a tomb, the envoy of Feng State - Zhang Fan.

Zhang Fan's title was Marquis Jingsui.

"Jingsui" means to appease and pacify, referring to stabilizing the situation through wisdom and conciliatory policies.

This is a relatively standard title. Li Che originally wanted to give him the title of 'Grave Master'...

Next came Li Che's lifelong enemy, the historian Taishi Ying, who was granted the title of Dongbi Earl.

'Dongbi' is the name of a star official, symbolizing the library and articles, and is suitable for civil officials who are in charge of classics and presided over the compilation of history.

It is also a title that is extremely consistent with his identity.

Although a few days ago, Taishi Shitou had just had an unpleasant argument with him because of Qin Jing's matter.

But Lord Li Che was magnanimous and did not give him the title of "Uncle Shitou".

Of course, the main reason is that I don’t dare...

God knows if I really gave him the name "Uncle Stone" out of spite, how many bad things about myself would be written down in his little notebook.

Still a garlic bird, don't mess with it, don't mess with it.

After Taishi Ying, there was another representative civil official, Yi Yaxi.

This elder of the Sauron tribe was named Xuanhua Bo, which means to spread virtue.

The cultural literacy of the ethnic minorities was still too low. There were many barbarian generals in the Fengtian Army, but there were few ethnic minority civil officials in the Fengtian court. Li Che could not even confer titles if he wanted to.

Wen Zaiyin and Yi Yaxi are the only two civil officials who can gain a foothold in Fengguo.

Next was Wang Xizheng, the Earl of Anmin.

His father, Wang Yongnian, was the first person to wear a cangue when attending court.

Wang Yongnian also had some achievements. He was in charge of the order of the Feng State court and made many suggestions for Feng State's governing system.

But after all, he was a criminal before, so he was not suitable for being granted a title.

But his son Wang Xizheng was completely different. Although he was young, he had made remarkable political achievements.

He served as the head of the Production and Construction Corps, and later devoted himself to agriculture, performing outstandingly in farming work in Fengguo.

Considering the contributions of his father and himself, it is not excessive to confer him the title of earl.

The next few people were also senior civil officials of Feng State, and Huai En called out their names one by one.

From then on, the list of sixteen earls was complete, namely:

The three great lords of the Han Dynasty were Qian Bin, Tao Qian, Wen Zaiyin, Chen Gui, Wang Xi, and Wang Chongjian.

Among them, the majority were civil officials in engineering, followed by agriculture, and there were very few officials who actually managed administration.

There is no way around it, Fengguo's civil administration is too biased.

Feng State was founded on military power, and to survive outside the Great Wall it had to rely on the army and technology, so its development direction was naturally somewhat extreme.

After conquering the world, the next step is to rule the country, which requires recruiting more civil officials who can govern the country.

Now that papermaking and printing techniques have been developed, Fengguo Office has fully used cheap paper.

After pacifying the false emperor's court, we can start the imperial examination to select talents for the country.

"You ministers may have helped regulate yin and yang, or harmonized the cauldrons. Although you have never been on the battlefield, your contributions have benefited the country. You may not have killed generals or captured flags, but your benefits will last for generations."

"I now confer the title of Earl upon you, to reward your service in governing the country and to forever commemorate your contributions to the cause."

After the earls were divided, only twenty viscounts and thirty-six barons remained.

Among them, middle and senior generals such as Xue Wei and Zhao Duo were conferred the title of Viscount, with Hua Ying being the head of the Viscounts.

Duan Rui, Guo Si and others joined the Fengtian Army halfway and made great contributions to the army. They and middle-level generals like Qian Deming who had special orders were granted the title of baron.

Hundreds of regimental officers were awarded honorary titles.

From then on, the conferment of nobility was completed, and the long imperial edict also came to an end:

"Now that the enthronement is complete, I feel deeply moved.

In the past, the nobles followed the emperor as commoners, but now they are ranked as dukes and marquises.

The iron certificate and red seal are not for personal favor, but to reward the merits of the country; the red robe and purple ribbon are not just for personal honor, but to carry the hopes of the people.

You should maintain your integrity and be as chaste as jade. The higher your position, the more humble your heart; the greater your salary, the more frugal your conduct.

Military officials should focus on suppressing rebellion and preserving the status quo, while civil officials should focus on pacifying the people and benefiting the nation. "With unity within and without, we should work together from top to bottom."

Huai En took a deep breath and read out the last paragraph of the imperial edict:

"I and the ministers have made a covenant: From now on, the nine provinces shall be governed by the same wind, and the four seas shall be undisturbed. The fields shall be cultivated and the granaries filled, schools shall be established and education promoted. Commerce shall flow freely across thousands of miles, and the armies shall be feared throughout the land.

It created a prosperous era and surpassed the previous dynasties; it consolidated the golden bowl and far surpassed the previous generations.

This is not the work of one person, but the result of the efforts of many people.

I hope you will always bear in mind the difficulties of starting a business, maintain your loyalty, and jointly build the foundation for the eternal prosperity of Daqing!

The announcement was made at home and abroad, and the envoys heard about it.

Admire this. "

After the magnificent imperial edict was read, an irrepressible atmosphere of excitement filled the Xuanzheng Hall.

One hundred and eight nobles, including dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts and barons, represented the top meritorious group of the new dynasty, thus laying the foundation for the future power structure of Daqing.

Everyone's face was filled with joy, and their eyes met each other's, all full of confidence.

Huai En's chest heaved. Reading such a long imperial edict, and needing to get every word right, was obviously not easy.

Li Che winked at the young eunuch beside him and asked him to help Huai En go down to rest.

Then, his eyes swept across the radiant faces, and the smile on his face gradually faded.

He coughed lightly, and as if with some strange magic, all the whispers in the hall were instantly silenced.

Everyone's eyes were once again focused on the emperor.

"My dear ministers," Li Che said in a steady voice, "I have already bestowed upon you the titles. I will not fail to grant you any less honor, status, or rewards."

"I will always remember the blood you shed and the contributions you made for me and this Daqing country. The people of the world should remember this as well."

He suddenly changed the subject, like warm sunshine encountering a cold snap:

"But, while everyone is rejoicing, I have a few words to say from the heart. They are also unpleasant words that I must say upfront."

The atmosphere in the hall, which had just heated up, instantly cooled down a bit.

The ministers held their breath, sensing that what Li Che was about to say next was extraordinary.

"According to custom, the three ranks of nobility, duke, marquis, and earl, are bestowed with 'red-lettered iron certificates'. They must have been delivered to your residences by now."

The civil and military officials nodded slightly. This was a continuation of the grace of the previous dynasty, representing the emperor's trust and protection of his meritorious officials.

"The old rules of the previous dynasty," Li Che repeated, "provided that 'the so-called pardon of death means that all death sentences, except for treason and high rebellion, are waived. However, after the pardon, the person's title and salary will be revoked, and he will not be allowed to retain his original title, but his life will be spared.'"

Except for the crime of treason, this iron certificate can be used to exempt the person from death penalty once for other capital crimes. The person will only be deprived of the title and salary afterwards, but his life will be saved.

"In the eyes of many, this red seal and iron certificate is a 'golden medal of immunity from death'!"

He paused, and then spoke word by word, hammering home to everyone: "But not here!"

"Wow—"

Although no one dared to make a noise, an invisible wave instantly swept across the entire Xuan Zheng Hall.

All the civil and military officials were shocked and looked at the young emperor sitting on the throne.

Even Yang Zhongsi, the experienced and steady commander, frowned slightly at this moment, obviously surprised by this.

Li Che took in everyone's reactions, his expression unchanged. "The so-called Red Book and Iron Certificate, in my opinion, is to commend your outstanding contributions to the country. It is a symbol of honor!"

"Instead of giving you and your family the privilege of being above the law!"

"If this iron certificate is ever needed to 'avoid death', then the holder will no longer be worthy of it."

"My court will not harbor corrupt officials or protect criminals!"

These words were like thunder, making many people's ears buzz.

"What I want to do," Li Che stood up and scanned the entire audience, "is to build an unprecedentedly large empire that far surpasses all previous dynasties!"

"It is a prosperous and glorious era where ordinary people can live and work in peace and contentment, merchants can trade fairly, scholars can put their knowledge to good use, and all classes can find their place in it!"

"It is definitely not a dark palace that maintains the privileges of a small group of people!"