There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 387 The System of Nobility
On the Yangtze River in June.

A fleet of ships is sailing down the river, slowly heading towards Nanjing.

On the mast of the fleet's flagship hung a Chinese dragon flag. The flag was fiery red, with the Chinese character "Han" written in seal script on the front and a dragon pattern on the back that fluttered in the wind, making it look very majestic.

"Governor Chen, Her Majesty requests your presence in the cabin," a maidservant said to Chen Xinghuai, who was lost in thought on the deck.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xinghuai sighed softly and said, "Please wait a moment, Your Highness. I will be there shortly."

Although he and the Queen (who has not yet been formally crowned) are siblings, he must be careful with his words in formal occasions as a relative of the Queen and a local official.

Chen Xinghuai entered the cabin not long after.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects!"

"No need for formalities, please take a seat."

Chen Huilan raised her hand slightly, gesturing for her elder brother Chen Xinghuai to sit down first.

Throughout the entire process, Chen Xinghuai strictly adhered to the etiquette expected of a subject. Not to mention that his younger sister was now the Queen and would soon be formally bestowed with imperial seals and conferred the title of Empress upon her arrival in Nanjing, even his brother, who was related to the Empress, could not overstep his bounds in the slightest.

Chen Huilan first had a maid serve tea, then asked gently, "Brother, you have been standing outside for several days. Are you worried about this trip to the capital?"

Seeing that his younger sister had pointed it out directly, Chen Xinghuai no longer hid it and sighed, "Your Majesty will probably bestow a title upon me when I go to the capital to report on my duties. At that time, I will probably have to relinquish my position as Governor of Hubei... Hehe, it will be quite leisurely and carefree. I can compose poems and travel around."

That's what they say, but Chen Huilan could clearly see that her brother was not in high spirits and was in low spirits.

How can I not feel down?
Chen Xinghuai is still young this year, not much older than Nie Yu. He is in the prime of his life and has just happened to be born at a time of great change of dynasty.

However, his status as a maternal relative is extremely precarious, with his younger sister destined to become empress and his nephew to become crown prince. This kind of status could easily lead to the downfall of his entire family.

Chen Xinghuai was not unfamiliar with history books and knew how dynasties treated maternal relatives. The most common rule was that maternal relatives were not allowed to interfere in politics.

Just then, the emperor ascended the throne. In addition to sending a ship to pick up his younger sister and nephew and their entourage to Nanjing, he also summoned her to Nanjing to report on his duties with a special imperial edict.

Chen Xinghuai naturally assumed that his brother-in-law, the emperor, was preparing to bestow a title upon him and then have him step down as governor of Hubei.

After working diligently for several years, he hoped to make a name for himself in the new dynasty, if not a founding hero, then at least a key founding minister, and leave his mark on history.

Unfortunately, it all came to nothing in the end!

Chen Huilan didn't know how to advise him after hearing this. She had only called him over to talk because she saw that her brother went to the deck every morning.

This brings up the topic of interference in politics by the empress's relatives. Chen Huilan wanted to offer advice, but as the empress, it was inappropriate for her to do so.

Before going to Nanjing, she had already received a message from His Majesty that he was preparing to appoint Ye'er as the Crown Prince and asked her to keep a close eye on Ye'er.

These words may have a meaning, or they may not; they may simply express concern for the son.

Chen Huilan waved her hand: "Qiuyun, the tea is cold, pour us a fresh cup!"

"Yes."

The personal maid, Qiu Yun, responded respectfully.

As he spoke, he deftly stepped forward, picked up the teapot, and carried it away. He then poured a bowl of fresh tea for Chen Huilan and Chen Xinghuai, one of them.

Chen Huilan smelled the aroma of the tea, took a small sip, and said, "Brother, try this tea. Although it has been steeped for a long time and the tea is a bit cold, the fragrance of the tea is even more refreshing and intoxicating."

Hearing this, Chen Xinghuai smiled wryly. He understood his younger sister's unspoken meaning: that the Chen family was indeed valuable enough.

Just like this bowl of tea, which is extremely fragile, if you discard the previous bowl, the next bowl, while not necessarily better, shouldn't be too bad either.

Chen Xinghuai didn't say anything more. He went to the deck and enjoyed the river breeze for a few days, and he was able to figure things out on his own.

Oh well, so be it!

At least the Chen family made the right bet in this venture capital investment. They are guaranteed to become founding nobles in the future. If their descendants do not cause any problems and the crown prince can succeed to the throne normally, they will be a noble family that will live and die with the country.

This can be considered bringing honor to one's ancestors!

With that thought in mind, Chen Xinghuai drank the almost cold tea in one gulp.

……

Nanjing.

Nie Yu was unaware that his simple act of informing his brother-in-law that he was coming to Nanjing by boat to report on his official duties had caused the brother-in-law to overthink things, even to the point of having already given himself a pep talk. However, Nie Yu was indeed discussing with officials from the Ministry of Rites the issue of bestowing titles and rewards in the new dynasty.

When a new dynasty is established, officials are bestowed with titles and ranks—an old tradition.

The civil and military officials of the Han Dynasty did not explicitly state that they would be rewarded immediately; that would be too hasty, especially since the emperor had only just ascended the throne.

They lost face, and so did the emperor.

However, if the reward is not to be conferred immediately, the specific procedures should be determined first.

According to the established procedures of the Ministry of Rites, the royal titles were determined first, followed by the titles of the subjects.

Nie Yu gave a clear reply: "My princes and grandsons, including members of the new dynasty's imperial family, can be granted titles according to custom. My sons can be granted the title of Prince, this is an ancestral rule, you can remember it."

"But these titles cannot be obtained for nothing. Take the title of Prince as an example. Its rank is above the rank of official. However, it can only be inherited for three generations without change. After the third generation, each generation must inherit the title with a lower rank. That is, a Prince inherits the title of Prince of the County, and below the Prince of the County is the title of Duke of the State, and so on down to the Duke of the State."

"Restore the ancient five ranks of nobility: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron."

"Hereditary titles can only be inherited up to the rank of baron. To continue to rise back, one must achieve merit, and only military merit. Merit earned overseas is not eligible. Military merit can preserve the title, but it can only be retained for one generation."

"Furthermore, I deeply regret the harm caused by the bestowal of titles and honors in previous dynasties. In the new dynasty, all titles can only be inherited by the eldest son of the legitimate wife. This includes my descendants. This can also be written into the ancestral rules, and future emperors must not violate them."

Gu Jing initially thought the emperor's proposed system of nobility was too harsh and intended to offer some tactful advice to the emperor.

But then the emperor used his own children and grandchildren as examples, and that left him speechless.

No matter how strict the system of nobility is, if the royal descendants take the lead in abiding by it, what can these ministers say?

Moreover, putting aside the various dynasties, the titles of nobility in the Ming and Qing dynasties were already quite problematic.

All titles in the Ming Dynasty were hereditary, which directly led to the number of members of the Ming imperial family expanding from more than fifty at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty to more than six hundred thousand at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Even after several generations of emperors, measures were continuously implemented to control the population of the imperial clan.

Of course, the Ming Dynasty was nothing compared to the fact that its more than 600,000 imperial relatives could only consume one-tenth of the national treasury's revenue. What was truly outrageous was the Eight Banners system of the puppet Qing Dynasty.

By the time the puppet Qing dynasty entered the Central Plains, the total population of the Eight Banners had already approached two million. With so many Eight Banner nobles running around seizing land and not engaging in production, the financial burden on the country was enormous.

By the late Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banners nobles were able to consume a quarter of the national treasury.

Don't think that this is not much different from the Ming Dynasty. You need to make a horizontal comparison of how the two dynasties exploited the people and the actual income of the national treasury.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the national treasury revenue was less than ten million taels, while at the end of the Qing Dynasty it was at least forty to fifty million taels. This means that the Ming Dynasty's imperial family could consume one million taels of revenue, while the Qing Dynasty consumed ten million taels.

Therefore, the Han Dynasty must learn from the lessons of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and not allow the imperial family and nobles to continue and expand indefinitely.

The title of peerage can only be inherited by the eldest son of the legitimate wife, including royal princes.

For example, if Nie Yu's current son is granted the title of king in the future, and they have any more children, who will be Nie Yu's grandchildren, only the eldest grandson can inherit the title. The remaining grandsons will simply go about their own business.

Gu Jing raised the question: "If that's the case, how will members of the imperial clan make a living without titles, official positions, or rank?"

"Children and grandchildren have their own destinies; let them figure things out themselves," Nie Yu said, shaking his head. "I am not too strict. I do not forbid members of the imperial clan from becoming officials or joining the military. If they are capable, they can study for the imperial examinations or join the army. However, regardless of whether they become officials or join the military, civil officials cannot exceed the third rank and cannot govern a province. Military personnel cannot exceed the fourth rank, but this rule does not apply to those in the navy."

The last point was added by Nie Yu on purpose, allowing members of the imperial family to serve as officials and soldiers. This was a patch he made for the royal family, and the fact that the navy did not follow this rule was also his way of laying the groundwork for future overseas colonization.

The Age of Exploration was nearing its end, and China was about to enter modern history. The Han Dynasty did not have much time to continue its gradual colonization.

Then the only option is to use the power of the royal family to forcibly guide the country to expand its colonial influence abroad.

Moreover, this can also solve the problem of the inevitable overpopulation of the royal family in the future. If there are too many royal family members, they can go overseas to develop their own businesses, and they will not be subject to the taboos and control of the royal family overseas.

This would further increase royal assets for the royal family. In the early stages of colony expansion, the royal family would definitely take the lead. If the royal family could obtain the wealth of the colonies, it would increase the royal family's interest in overseas colonial expansion.

The reason Zheng He was able to undertake seven voyages to the Western Ocean was that these voyages were truly profitable for the emperor.

The financial resources for Zhu Di's relocation of the capital to Beijing and his five expeditions to the Mongolian steppes were primarily derived from his voyages to the Western Ocean.

Why was it later banned?

Since civil officials and coastal smugglers couldn't make money—the money was all taken by the emperor—they naturally wouldn't stand for it.

(End of this chapter)