Ming Dynasty: The Crocodile King of Han Prince Zhu Gaoxu's Family

Chapter 426 National Name and Era Name 3
"This scepter looks pretty good!"

"The Emperor's Disciple's Tablet!" Zhu Zhanhe then carefully examined the tablet in his hand. It was a standard white jade tablet, 2 feet 6 inches long and 3 inches wide, with a curved design. On the back of the tablet, Zhu Zhanhe saw eight standard seal characters: "Emperor's Disciple, Awaiting Appointment as Wenzheng"!

"Not bad.

Only three of these swords are made each year, and they are placed behind the plaque at the main gate of the Martial Arts Academy. The top three students who successfully graduate from the academy each year will be awarded the title of "Disciple of the Emperor," and will be presented with a gold sword, a silver sword, and a bronze sword, respectively, to signify their status.
This tablet was also placed behind the plaque at the main gate of the Imperial College; the top three scholars in the imperial examinations—the first, second, and third—would be presented with ivory tablets, jade tablets, and bamboo tablets, respectively, to encourage outstanding scholars!

This will not only unite the civil and military officials in the court and boost the morale of the people, but also stabilize the court! Zhu Zhanhe casually placed the sword and tablet on the table and gently explained the meaning behind the sword and tablet to his white-haired father.

"What a brilliant move!" Zhu Gaochi was also shocked upon hearing his son's words. After all, his son's method was a perfect example of winning people's hearts and minds and gaining the support of both civil and military officials!
If handled properly, the Han Dynasty's lineage will surely be blessed with numerous powerful generals and outstanding civil officials! Even if there are mediocre rulers in later generations, the dynasty will remain prosperous and enduring!
"Let's talk about the name of the country." Zhu Zhanhe didn't say anything more about the shock on his father's face. For now, he would just briefly explain the uses of the sword and the scepter. Then, Zhu Zhanhe continued to talk about the name of the country.

After all, the important thing right now is the name of the country!
"I really don't have any good names~~!"

Although our family is titled King of Han, we cannot use the name of the Great Han Dynasty since we are not descendants of Liu Bei's family!

Since we originated in Yunnan, we cannot use the names of ancient kingdoms that have already perished, such as Dian, Nanzhao, and Dali!
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Yunnan was also called Yizhou. It couldn't possibly be called the Great Yi Kingdom, could it?! That name doesn't sound good either!
The name "Nanzhong" from the Three Kingdoms period is also unacceptable!
During the Jin Dynasty, Ningzhou was established in Yunnan! Should we name our country Da Ning?! After a frantic brainstorming session, Zhu Gaochi rejected most of the names and finally left only Da Ning, a name with little prestige.

"Father, our Han Prince's Mansion originates from the Ming Dynasty!"
The imperial court sent over portraits of my grandfather and the founding emperor.

"How about we just call it Hanming, as my son suggested!" Zhu Zhanhe brought up the name Hanming, which he had proposed the first time.

"shit!
How can you just fill in the blanks like that?! This is the name of the country! It's meant to demonstrate the nation's authority!

Oh~? !
So you just combined the names of our Han Prince's Mansion and the Ming Dynasty and that's it?

Aren't you just trying to fool people?!

We're building a nation! We can't be fooled like this!

"No, no, I disagree! Keep thinking!" Zhu Gaoxu vehemently disagreed with his son's suggestion about Hanming.
Although the addition of his title as the first Prince of Han to the name of the dynasty pleased him greatly, and he understood his son's filial piety, Zhu Gaochi insisted that the name of the dynasty was absolutely not to be taken lightly! It had to be chosen carefully!

"Alright, let's keep thinking!" Zhu Zhanhe didn't say anything to his father's objection, and could only plop down in the chair and continue racking his brains!

Zhu Gaoxu paced back and forth in the main hall, deep in thought.

"How about we keep calling it the Dragon Kingdom?" Zhu Gaoxu said after a moment. In fact, this suggestion had been made before, but it had been rejected.

"..." Zhu Zhanhe was about to speak after hearing the name of the country, Dragon Kingdom, when his father interrupted him.

"Don't rush to refute me!"

He'er, look! You have a real dragon, which is the foundation and symbol of the founding of my Han King's Kingdom!

You've named our capital city Dragon City again! It's the capital where a true dragon resides, quite a fitting name indeed!

My Han Dynasty lineage originated from a true dragon; and future generations will be protected by a true dragon! This name of the kingdom is fitting!
Besides, even your banner is called the Dragon Banner.

Therefore, for this founding of the nation, I still think that calling it the Dragon Kingdom is the most suitable! After thinking for a moment, Zhu Gaochi brought up the name Dragon Kingdom, which he had mentioned several times before. Furthermore, he immediately stopped his son from refuting his suggestion! In fact, in Zhu Gaochi's view, the most suitable name for the nation was definitely the Dragon Kingdom!

Because their Han Dynasty was founded by the true dragon! And they will surely inherit the legacy of the true dragon! The true dragon symbolizes legitimacy!

Therefore, calling it the Dragon Kingdom is the most appropriate!

It's much better than some shameless successors who have just ascended the throne and directly set the reign title as legitimate to deceive the people and the world in order to show their own legitimacy!
"Alright then! We'll do as you say!" After much deliberation, Zhu Zhanhe finally agreed. After all, this was the most suitable and respectable name for the country at the moment!
"As for the reign title, let's call it Longwu!"
After all, I believe that even after the founding of the nation, my Great Dragon Kingdom will likely continue to wage wars against other countries.

The reign title "Longwu" is most appropriate! Zhu Gaochi also gave his suggestion directly regarding the reign title.

"Alright! I'll listen to Dad!"

"It's settled then!" After a moment's thought, Zhu Zhanhe readily agreed to his father's suggestion regarding the reign title and the country's name.

Establish the Great Dragon Kingdom! Make Longdu the capital! Use Longwu as the reign title! Be called Emperor Longwu! Sounds good enough! Zhu Zhanhe muttered to himself for a moment before agreeing to his father Zhu Gaoxu's suggestion!

"The country's name and the era name have been decided."

What are your plans regarding the Mughal Khanate?
"Will it be the same as elsewhere, registering people into households? Or how will it be handled?" Now that the country's name and era name have been decided, Zhu Gaochi took the opportunity to inquire about the Mughal Han State. After all, the Mughal Khanate had been completely destroyed! It was a total collapse in terms of population and economy!

Now, the several Khans of the Mughal Khanate are practically begging Zhu Zhanhe to withdraw his troops and make peace. To this end, they have sent countless cattle and sheep, and each Khan has also sent hostages and princesses, directly kneeling to beg for peace! Because they really can't fight anymore, and they can't run away either!
However, Zhu Zhanhe's side had not reached a decision, and the court and the army were in a solemn atmosphere! The atmosphere was somewhat tense! It was unclear whether the next step would be to fight or make peace!
"Father, have you seen the measures proposed by those guys in the Grand Council?" Zhu Zhanhe did not answer the question directly, but instead asked the Grand Council ministers about their opinions on governing the Mughal Khanate.

"You mean to bestow titles upon the entire nobility of the grasslands, provide them with annual stipends of gold and silver, and allow them to form small vassal states."

The Taoism was integrated with local religions to form a religious management system, based on the historical appointments of the grassland Taoist masters by our Dragon Kingdom.
Furthermore, the resident minister in the grasslands will assist in the management of grassland affairs;
"Finally, what are these measures for deploying troops?" Zhu Gaochi had, of course, seen the measures drafted by the Grand Council for controlling the Mughal Khanate and other steppe regions, but he was somewhat hesitant about them.

"Father, the grasslands are vast and sparsely populated, unsuitable for grain cultivation, and are mainly inhabited by nomadic herders."

Even if we put all our effort into building towns, it would likely be futile. The herders need to graze their livestock and simply can't settle down. It would be far more worthwhile to establish a trading zone that suits the local conditions!
Among the measures taken by the Military Affairs Department, there were some inconspicuous ones, which my father probably didn't look at carefully.

For example, the best measure would be to exempt a male member of a household from three years of corvée labor and grain tax if he were to convert to Christianity.

If it doesn't show up for a year or two, but over time, in order to survive, those herders will probably send all the extra men in their families to the religion to practice, leaving only one person to carry on the family line!
With such methods, the entire grassland will surely suffer a drastic population reduction within fifty years! By then, even if they wanted to rebel, there probably wouldn't be anyone left!
Furthermore, if we support these Khans with gold and silver and divide them into regional warlords, they will fight amongst themselves from time to time, making it difficult to achieve unity!

In addition, the integration of Taoism with local religious beliefs to form a new religion, and the fact that the leaders of Taoism in successive generations were appointed by the imperial court, also served as a safeguard.
Even if they want to cause trouble, the garrison will take action!
"Controlling the grasslands through trade is also much simpler." Zhu Zhanhe explained in detail to his father the management measures that the Military Affairs Department had proposed for the grassland region.

In general, the approach was to use the same methods the Qing Dynasty employed against the steppes to gradually weaken their power and keep them ignorant.

Hmm~!

It's good that you have ideas!

"This Grand Council is quite good!" After hearing his son's explanation, Zhu Gaoxu nodded in agreement. Furthermore, he was very satisfied with the Grand Council, a department that held no real power but served as his son's trusted confidant!

(End of this chapter)