Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1124 Difficulties
It was a customary practice for Ming princes to be enfeoffed. Although Sun Hao was not an official, as the son of Sun Chengzong, how could he not know this system?
After the prince was enfeoffed, the imperial court would allocate a certain number of guards and fiefdoms to him, and equip him with officials from the royal palace, such as the left and right chief secretaries of the chief secretary's office, the registrar, the chief chef, the guard command office, professors, companion readers, and so on.

Although these officials are all subordinate to the royal palace, they are also formal officials of the imperial court. The highest-ranking ones among them are the left and right chief officials of the Chief Secretary's Office. This is a fifth-rank civil official position. Although it is not as good as the fifth-rank official of the imperial court, it is no worse in terms of status.

But the problem is that although these officials belong to the palace, they are actually appointed by the court. As a prince, he has the qualification to recommend, but he does not have the authority to directly appoint these officials. You must know that the officials of the Ming Dynasty Prince's Palace are nominally under the jurisdiction of the prince, and are the prince's subordinates, but they also bear the supervision authority of the court over the palace. How can the prince be allowed to decide these officials?
Besides, as mentioned before, Sun Hao was not even a scholar, but just a commoner. Even if his father was Sun Chengzong, it would be impossible for him to become an official overnight under the court system unless he was an imperial concubine. It was even more impossible for him to become the chief historian of the Prince of Song's palace just because of a few words from the Prince of Song!
After Sun Hao asked these questions, Zhu Mincheng burst into laughter. He told Sun Hao in a relaxed manner that these were all trivial matters, and as long as Sun Hao nodded in agreement, these would not be a problem at all, because his enfeoffment as the King of Song was completely different from the enfeoffment of previous princes. Not only could he appoint the chief historian of the palace, but he could also select other officials himself.

Hearing this, Sun Hao was even more confused. He was afraid that Zhu Mincheng had done something wrong, so he quickly dissuaded him from breaking the court rules as a prince and being caught. Although the current emperor is the father of King Song and the crown prince is his elder brother, the royal family is the royal family, and some rules cannot be broken. King Song should be careful with his words and deeds.

Seeing Sun Hao like this, Zhu Mincheng was even more satisfied with him. Now that things had come to this, Zhu Mincheng would not hide it from him. Anyway, his enfeoffment would be officially announced soon, so it would not hurt to tell him now.

In this way, Zhu Mincheng told Sun Hao that he was not going to be a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, but an overseas vassal. This matter had been decided, and the emperor had already made arrangements. Half a year later, Zhu Mincheng would officially go to sea to be a vassal, take a ship eastward, and go to the West, what Europe called the "New World", to establish his own kingdom on that vast land, thus becoming an overseas vassal of the Ming Dynasty.

Because he was a fiefdom overseas, Zhu Mincheng did not need to follow the regulations for the fiefdoms of Ming Dynasty princes. He could not only fully appoint his subordinate officials, but also take them to overseas to establish a country and start a career.

Therefore, what Zhu Mincheng said was correct. As long as Sun Hao agreed, Zhu Mincheng could directly appoint him as the Chief Clerk of the Royal Palace in the name of King Song. This appointment did not need to be approved by the Ministry of Personnel of the Ming Dynasty. It was only an appointment as a foreign vassal and foreign official, and was not part of the Ming Dynasty official system.

Of course, Zhu Mincheng also promised that he would not treat his subordinates unfairly. As long as the officials were willing to follow him to the fiefdom, they would not only be given generous treatment, but he would also find other ways to obtain official positions in the court. In other words, he would first grant them official positions in the royal palace, and then find an opportunity to solve the staffing problem of the court. This was not a difficult task for him as a prince.

After listening to Zhu Mincheng's explanation, Sun Hao suddenly realized what was going on. At the same time, he was also shocked by the other party's overseas vassalage and couldn't help asking a few questions.

Zhu Mincheng did not hide anything and told him the truth about the arrangements for the overseas fiefdom. After he finished explaining, Sun Hao suddenly realized and couldn't help but be moved.

Although Sun Hao was not good at studying, it did not mean that he was really incompetent. You have to know that he had followed his father Sun Chengzong for many years, and Sun Chengzong's teaching to him was not in vain. Compared with ordinary scholars, Sun Hao was more sensitive to politics. So when Zhu Mincheng told him about the emperor's arrangement for overseas vassal states, Sun Hao understood what this policy meant to the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty was founded nearly three hundred years ago, and the royal family has spread out. Hundreds of thousands or even more royal families have long become a heavy burden for the Ming Dynasty. Although the emperor made adjustments to the royal family system and treatment after ascending the throne, on the one hand, the real titles of senior royal families were changed to virtual titles and remote leadership, and on the other hand, the treatment of middle and lower royal families was improved. At the same time, royal families were encouraged to find their own way out, which alleviated the survival pressure of lower royal families. Moreover, the control and guidance of royal families in various places was strengthened through the Zongrenfu.

These measures show that the Ming Dynasty is preparing to change its previous attitude and approach towards the royal family, and it has achieved good results. But this is far from enough. It is fine for ordinary royal family members, but it is not easy to deal with the princes. After all, many princes own a lot of land. Although they are not free to leave their fiefdoms, they are like local emperors in their fiefdoms. Their situations have also caused local conflicts and land annexation problems, which are not so easy to solve in a short time.

Under such circumstances, enfeoffing clan members overseas is a good way out. This can prevent clan members, especially high-ranking clan members such as princes and dukes, from damaging national interests, and also find a better way out for these high-ranking clan members. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty is now thriving, and it is a good time for external expansion. Compared with the centralized system, the feudal system is more conducive to expansion. This is beyond doubt. In addition, the current feudal system of the Ming Dynasty for clan members is overseas, which does not affect the Ming Dynasty, and will not pose a threat to the court and the royal family. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone.

If this policy can be implemented well, then the problem of the royal family of the Ming Dynasty will no longer exist in the future. Moreover, the external enfeoffment can also create a large number of vassal states with the Zhu family as the bond, thus further consolidating the rule of the Ming Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Sun Hao couldn't help but sigh at the wisdom of the current emperor, who could actually figure out such a way to solve the problem of the royal family. As the legitimate son, the King of Song would actually be the first to set an example by enfeoffing overseas, which further shows the emperor's determination to implement this policy.

If this is the case, then as Zhu Mincheng said, his Song Wangfu Chief Secretary does not need to be appointed by the Ministry of Personnel, and can be appointed by himself. So fame or not is not important to Zhu Mincheng, as long as he likes the other party and the other party agrees, the matter will be done.

"Your Highness, I still need to observe mourning for three years." To be honest, Sun Hao was a little tempted. He had a very good impression of Zhu Mincheng, and the two of them were brothers in the same school. With the relationship of Sun Chengzong, they were not outsiders.

If he could become the chief historian of the Song Palace and go overseas with Zhu Mincheng, it would be a hundred times better than being a vassal in China. Zhu Mincheng made it clear that how big the fiefdom and how many people there were overseas depended entirely on his own ability. As long as he was capable, it would be no problem to occupy the entire New World. Sun Hao was a young man in his early twenties. Even if he was steady, he was passionate and looked forward to the scene of making achievements like his father Sun Chengzong. Unfortunately, he did not have a strong ability to study, including his brothers. Until now, he did not even have a reputation, let alone enter the official career.

But now there is an opportunity. Once he agrees, he can follow Zhu Mincheng to start a business overseas. This is a great temptation for him. However, Sun Hao thought of one thing while he was tempted and shook his head helplessly.

"This..." Zhu Mincheng was stunned. He almost forgot that Sun Chengzong had just passed away and Sun Hao had to observe mourning for three years. During these three years, Sun Hao could not take up an official post, let alone leave Gaoyang. In this case, how could he agree to his request to become the chief historian?

After thinking about it, Zhu Mincheng sighed helplessly, but still did not give up and said to Sun Hao: "Brother, there is no rush. As long as you are willing, it will not be too late for you to come and help me in three years. Please rest assured, I will keep the position of Zuo Changshi for you. As long as you are willing to come, this position will be yours!"

"Let's talk about this later. Thank you for your kindness. If you still need me in three years, I will come to you."

"Okay! It's settled." Zhu Mincheng said with a smile.

Sun Hao nodded and looked much more relaxed. Although he did not completely agree to this matter, he at least gave the other party a promise. This made the relationship between the two of them closer.

Then Sun Hao curiously asked Zhu Mincheng about his preparations for overseas fiefdom, because it was a fiefdom in the New World, so the preparations had to be more comprehensive, especially since it was a long journey. Once there, not only would one have to build a country, but one would also have to ensure one's own safety. Both civil affairs and the military were extremely important and could not be ignored.

Zhu Mincheng told Sun Hao that he had been preparing for this more than half a year ago, and his father, the emperor, and the crown prince had given him a lot of convenience. In the past few days, he has been perfecting this matter, starting to recruit some people and looking for like-minded noble children who are willing to follow him overseas.

At present, Zhu Mincheng did have some people, some of whom were his classmates from the military academy, but even with these, it was still far from enough. He was in dire need of people and planned to find more suitable people, or even bring in generals who could take charge of their own affairs. After all, both Zhu Mincheng and his classmates were too young, had never experienced battles, and lacked experience overseas, so they had to have people with sufficient ability and experience to assist them.

But this was not an easy thing to do. The reason why he was able to win over a few of his classmates in the military academy was because of the friendship they had formed over the years. Moreover, the people he won over were basically the second sons and collateral relatives of nobles. They had no possibility of inheriting the title, and the young people had the idea of ​​making achievements, so they were easily fooled by Zhu Mincheng.

But it was not so easy to win over others. Although Zhu Mincheng was the Prince of Song, his status in the Ming Dynasty was very awkward. Although he was the legitimate son, he was the second son, and his eldest brother Zhu Minlan was the crown prince. The succession to the throne of the Ming Dynasty would never be his. In everyone's eyes, he, the Prince of Song, would eventually become a vassal. When he became a vassal king in his fiefdom, he would just stay in his fiefdom and enjoy himself like the previous princes.

Under such circumstances, who would be willing to join the King of Song? Even if Zhu Mincheng was exiled overseas, it was even more unlikely that anyone would be willing to follow him, especially orthodox scholars.

Who would be willing to give up a good career path and follow a man with no future, or even take huge risks to leave the Ming Dynasty and go overseas? Because of these reasons, Zhu Mincheng had been preparing for so long but did not have many talents that he could really use. This was also the origin of his idea of ​​winning over Sun Hao to be his chief secretary.

"To be honest with you, I actually have my eyes on General Da Cao and General Xiao Cao. They are both powerful generals of our Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, their military ranks are too high. This time, they have made great contributions in pacifying Liaodong. Your Majesty has promoted their military ranks and titles. As a result, it is impossible for me to use them. This is really a pity."

After Zhu Mincheng said this, Sun Hao was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

Zhu Mincheng's vision was too high. The "Big General Cao" and "Little General Cao" he mentioned were the famous Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao, who were already Generals of Cavalry (Lieutenant General) and held military positions equivalent to generals. As the war in Liaodong ended, the court rewarded the generals who participated in Liaodong. The two Generals Cao were promoted from Generals of Cavalry to Generals of Jinwu. In addition, Cao Bianjiao was awarded the title of third-class marquis for his first merit in entering the city in the Battle of Shenyang, and Cao Wenzhao was promoted to first-class earl. He was a nobleman of the Ming Dynasty. With their status and position, how could they follow Zhu Mincheng to go overseas? Isn't this a joke?
(End of this chapter)