Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 89 Duke Wei's New Year Greetings and the Change of Era Name by Emperor Chongzhen (Part 1)

Pirate Zheng Zhilong was granted the title of Earl of Nan'an!

This is a major event rarely seen in the Ming Dynasty.

This is because it was extremely difficult to be ennobled and promoted through military merit in the Ming Dynasty.

The last time someone was granted a title and honor for military merit was probably in the seventh year of the Wanli reign when Li Chengliang was granted the title of Earl of Ningyuan.

Nearly fifty years have passed, and no one has been able to be ennobled or granted titles based on military merit, not even Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou.

Zheng Zhilong, the pirate leader, was actually promoted to the title of Earl of Nan'an based on his military achievements!

When the officials of the outer court received the news, it was like an explosion, and they all submitted memorials to offer their advice.

Early that morning, around 7 a.m., Zhu Jue arrived at the main hall of Yu Xi Palace and saw that the memorials were much thicker than usual, which made him frown slightly.

He glanced at the memorials again and couldn't help but snort coldly.

Even the officials of the outer court said that Zheng Zhilong, who came from a pirate background, was not qualified to be ennobled or granted a title.

The cabinet's draft proposal stated that the conferment of the title of Earl of Nan'an on Zheng Zhilong was not approved by the cabinet, and the court would not recognize this title!
These civil officials have really gone too far.

When did the cabinet acquire such power?

Did the cabinet need to approve the granting of so many dukes, marquises, and nobles during the Hongwu reign?

Did the Yongle Emperor need the cabinet's approval to enfeoff so many dukes, marquises, and nobles?

These civil officials want to seize all power, and the emperor can't disobey them.

He originally couldn't be bothered to pay attention to those officials from the outer court, but this time he had no choice but to.

These guys are something else! Do you think I'm a pushover just because I haven't shown my teeth yet?

He thought about it carefully, and then said coldly, "Ruoyu, draft an edict to ask the cabinet: when the Hongwu Emperor enfeoffed dukes, marquises and nobles, did the cabinet agree to it? When the Yongle Emperor enfeoffed dukes, marquises and nobles, did the cabinet agree to it?"
At the beginning of the Hongwu reign, there was no cabinet. Moreover, the "Imperial Ming Instructions" clearly stated that no noble title could be conferred without merit for the country and military achievements, and no official title could be granted without a special imperial decree. There was no mention of a cabinet at all.

Do you mean to go against the "Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty"?

You've all gone too far! You don't even respect our ancestors!

Anyone who dares to disobey the "Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty" will have their entire family executed!

These civil officials often used the "Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty" to suppress the reigning emperor. During the Wanli Emperor's reign, they used the "Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty" to suppress Wanli during the succession dispute.

Zhu Jue, however, used the same tactics against them, invoking the "Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty" to suppress the civil officials.

He wanted to see who dared to say that only the emperor had to follow the "Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty," while civil officials did not.

Anyone who dares to speak out will have their entire family executed!

The cabinet was so stunned by his move that no one dared to utter a word, and no one dared to say anything about the pirate leader not being able to be ennobled or granted a title.

Zheng Zhilong was overjoyed and led a group of brothers to Jinling City to be granted the title of Earl by Xiong Wencan.

This guy has absolutely no guard up.

It seems that Xiong Wencan is really good at deceiving people.

The day when Zheng Zhilong is tricked into coming to the capital is probably not far off, because this guy only wants to be ennobled and promoted, and he is very enthusiastic about cracking down on pirates.

Zhu Jue was in a great mood after reading Xiong Wencan's report.

The profits from overseas trade are about to be in his hands. With these huge profits, he can start working on solving the problem of the Little Ice Age disaster.

As he was pondering this, a voice suddenly announced from outside: "Wei Zhongxian requests an audience."

I haven't seen this guy in ages, what has he been up to?
Zhu Jue replied without hesitation, "Send it."

Soon, Wei Zhongxian scurried in, beaming with joy, and bowed, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty."

What good news is this?
Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then said warmly, "Zhongxian, what great news have you encountered?"

"Of course!" Wei Zhongxian said, still unable to contain his joy. "Your Majesty, Xinglong Company has agreed to pay compensation. After deducting the several hundred thousand taels confiscated from their Fuchengmen Street branch, they originally still needed to pay more than four million taels. I rounded it down to four million taels, and they have agreed to pay it."

However, they dared not send them to the capital; they said they could only send them to Juyong Pass, and we would have to arrange for a carriage to pick them up there.

These guys think Xuanfu Town and even the border regions are safer than the capital, right?
However, for the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou, the Shanxi border and even the northern frontier were still safer than the capital region.

This is because they are allies of the Jurchens and the Northern Barbarians. The Jurchens and the Northern Barbarians not only do not rob their wealth, but also help them protect it.

This time, the eight imperial merchants suffered a real setback. Wei Zhongxian was such a tough nut to crack that these guys had no way to deal with him.

If they dare not pay compensation, Wei Zhongxian could probably run to Shanxi and plunder even more money.

The key issue is that Wei Zhongxian's subordinates are the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If evidence is found that they are colluding with the Jurchens, it won't just be a matter of paying money.

Even if Wei Zhongxian didn't completely eradicate them, their businesses certainly wouldn't be as good as before.

Therefore, these guys had no choice but to admit defeat.

Now that's great, they've robbed another four million taels of silver. The imperial treasury's silver reserves are almost enough to expand the other five new cities in the capital.

However, these guys still have to be careful.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, thought about it carefully, and then decisively said, "In this weather, it will probably take a day and a night to drive the carriage back from Juyong Pass. We must be wary of others. I will have General Zhou lead 10,000 cavalrymen from the capital to accompany your carriage and the imperial guards, so that they won't try anything funny with you."

That's great! Now we don't have to worry about the money being stolen.

Wei Zhongxian nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and then asked, "What have you been busy with all this time? I haven't seen you anywhere."

Well, I'm busy making money right now.

Wei Zhongxian quickly explained in detail: "Your Majesty, this servant has been wandering around Tianbaotang these days. Tianbaotang is really profitable, the key is that we can't run out of stock. Once we run out of stock, we will lose a lot of money."

Therefore, I go to check every day to see if they have enough stock. Right now, Tianbaotang's business is really good, and since the waterways are blocked, I have to find a way to have the goods transported overland.”

You really care about making money and currying favor with superiors.

Yes, Not Bad.

Zhu Jue nodded with satisfaction, then asked, "Can goods from Southern Zhili still be delivered now?"

Wei Zhongxian nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, it's possible. If it weren't, Tianbaotang's forty branches would probably have run out of stock long ago."

Actually, the canal was not completely frozen. The section south of Xuzhou was still navigable by boat. I had them transport the goods to Xuzhou by boat, and then I ordered people to rent horse-drawn carriages to transport them back and forth between the cities along the canal.

Xuzhou is only a little over a thousand li, less than two thousand li, from the capital. It's quite fast to transport goods from a dozen or so cities in sections. Nowadays, goods from Southern Zhili are being brought over by horse-drawn carts every day.

As for Wenlong, I'll have him send the goods by boat to the port near Cangzhou, and then he can take them over on a delivery cart from there.

You are really good.

Entrusting this business to you was definitely the right choice.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and then asked, "How's business with Grandfather Zhou?"

Wei Zhongxian explained in detail: "It took Zhou Guozhang some time to rent shops and find sources of goods. Business only started in early November. Business is not bad now. However, while it is okay to transport goods by land, it is not safe to transport real money. Therefore, Zhou Guozhang's money has not been sent to the capital."

Oh, right, there's another four or five million taels of goods over there.

There's no way around it; the capital region freezes over in November, so it's really hard to transfer the money earned there over there.

If the money earned in Jinling is also transferred here, then there will be enough money to expand the capital.

There's no need to rush that. The imperial treasury is still quite full, and the expansion of the capital will have to wait until spring arrives.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Well, then let him stay there and keep a close watch on things. We'll transport him over by boat once the canal is fully reopened."

(End of this chapter)