After Li Qin's gaze swept over the assembled officials, he waved to Xi Ning beside him and said:
"Proclaim the imperial decree."
Upon hearing Li Qin's order, Xi Ning immediately took out the imperial edict and began to read it aloud.
This was an imperial edict prepared by Li Qin long ago, to confer titles upon those who had rendered meritorious service.
It just so happens that I will issue the announcement myself after ascending the throne, and I haven't yet won over the hearts of the people.
It was precisely because they all knew this that they were so eager to have Zhu Qizhen abdicate.
The speed at which the Zen platform was built was nothing short of a miracle.
In this imperial edict, Li Qin rewarded his subordinates according to the magnitude of their contributions this time.
Many people were granted noble titles.
Even those with titles mostly rose in rank.
However, the most generous rewards were given to Li Xuanshang, Hong Chengchou, Liu Sixiu, Li Hongji, Qin Chenyao, Jiang Xiangyang, and Jin Hufu.
Li Qin had granted them all the titles of princes, but they were all county princes.
Li Xuanshang himself bestowed upon him the title of Prince of Changping, located on the outskirts of the capital, without any army, making it convenient for him to monitor him at any time and use him whenever needed.
At the same time, Li Qin also gave Li Xuanshang the title of Grand Secretary and Prime Minister.
He will be in charge of the cabinet from now on.
However, with the establishment of the Military Affairs Office, this cabinet became a mere figurehead.
Hong Chengchou was granted the title of Prince of Chang'an by Li Qinzhi, which was actually intended to reassure him.
He knew what was going to happen next, so he bestowed upon him the title of Prince of Chang'an.
Anyway, you'll probably never be able to return to Chang'an in your lifetime.
Next, prepare to re-appoint you as the King of Min, and go and fight to the death in the Min region.
As for Liu Sixiu, he was the Prince of Chengdu; Li Hongji was the Prince of Luoyang; Qin Chenyao was the Prince of Linzi; Jiang Xiangyang was the Prince of Datong; and Jin Hufu was the Prince of Nanchang.
After all, these people were not strictly his employees; they were all investors who had brought their own capital and were among the first to pressure and remonstrate with him.
I'll take care of Qin Chenyao's Prince of Linzi in his old age, and then I'll return to the capital.
They planned to transfer him to the capital to hold a high-ranking but sinecure position and officially take over Shandong.
Upon hearing the title of the Prince, the Jin Hu family expressed a hint of dissatisfaction.
After all, when I was deceiving him, I told him I was a prince and even promised him Zhejiang.
But now Zhejiang is gone, and the prince has become a duke.
However, facing the powerful Li Qin, he could only suppress his anger.
After Li Qin finished reading the imperial edict of bestowing honors, many officials and generals present were overjoyed.
However, some people still felt dissatisfied.
They believed that, based on their own merits, their titles should be higher.
That evening, a group of officers gathered together at a dinner table.
An officer, emboldened by alcohol, slammed his fist on the table and said:
"Damn it, the king became emperor, I thought I'd at least be an earl, but I'm just a viscount, damn it."
At this point, he picked up the wine jug next to him and slammed it on the table.
After he finished speaking, an officer standing nearby immediately said:
"That's right, I'm only a viscount too, Your Majesty, Your Majesty is being too unfair."
"Enough, all of you shut up. If you want to live, shut up."
At this moment, the person sitting in the main seat immediately spoke up to stop the general in front of him.
The person sitting next to him spoke directly to the person in the main seat:
"General Zhang Liangdong, we are just venting our frustrations."
We all followed His Majesty all the way from Liaodong.
You must understand, we are all hereditary military officers from Liaodong. We risked our family's inherited official positions and our lives to fight our way here.
He fought bravely in every battle, but in the end, he was granted the title of viscount.
Moreover, General, you fought your way from Liaodong to Jiangnan for His Majesty, but in the end you were only granted the title of Earl.
Even General Xia Nianyong was only granted the title of Marquis.
He was on the same level as that surrendered general, Cui Yuanbin.
How could we, the veterans of Liaodong, accept this?
Sitting in the main seat, Zhang Liangdong also showed some complaints after hearing the complaints from his subordinates.
Then a drunk general in his seat stood up and said:
"I'm not convinced either. Let's go and find His Majesty to settle this matter."
"Yes, let's go."
"Walk."
By this time, after drinking pot after pot of wine, they were already somewhat out of their minds.
Alcohol emboldens the timid.
Moreover, these are people who have fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, people who are not even afraid of death.
After drinking several jugs of wine, he became fearless, no matter what.
A group of people went directly to the gate of the Jinling Imperial Palace.
They even attempted to force their way through the palace gates, shouting that they wanted to see His Majesty.
Li Qin, who had already fallen asleep, was awakened by Xi Ning's voice.
After seeing that it was Xi Ning who had woken him up, he looked up and asked:
"What happened?"
He knew that Xi Ning wouldn't call him unless there was something important.
After bowing to Li Qin, Xi Ning said:
"Your Majesty, Earl Zhang Liangdong, along with several viscount generals, is planning to break into the palace at night, and they are even shouting that they want to see Your Majesty."
"What did you say."
Li Qin sat up abruptly, then quickly calmed himself down and said:
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