For the people of Yingtian Prefecture, the imperial court's great victory had become commonplace.
During the early Yuan Dynasty, when Zhu the Emperor was nominally only the Left Deputy Marshal under Guo Zixing, he conquered Yingtian, which was then known as Jiqing, and began to develop and expand his power there. While winning the hearts of the people, he also demonstrated his determination to dominate the world.
At that time, Emperor Zhu's base, centered in Yingtian, was surrounded by enemies: Chen Youliang in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, Zhang Shicheng in the lower reaches, Fang Guozhen in the southeast, and Chen Youding in the south. It was a place of constant warfare, and Emperor Zhu's power was relatively limited.
Yet, even in such a perilous environment, Emperor Zhu achieved victory after victory, ultimately defeating a host of rebellious and separatist forces and driving the Mongol Yuan dynasty out of the Central Plains. With news of these victories arriving incessantly, the people of Yingtian Prefecture found nothing particularly remarkable.
There may be pride and a sense of accomplishment, but for ordinary people, living their lives in a down-to-earth manner is also a matter of course.
With the dynasty strong and prosperous, we can at least live in peace and contentment, without worrying about wars and widespread suffering.
The common people simply felt proud; they simply thought it was another victory. But for some insightful individuals, or the civil and military officials, they knew that this great victory had extraordinary significance.
This is not only the first major victory since the current emperor ascended the throne, but also a sign that the danger in the north has been almost eliminated.
For the civil and military officials of the imperial court, rewarding merits and providing pensions were matters of course to be handled properly. These matters were indeed the focus of discussions in the imperial court these days.
Zhu Yunying was in a good mood, mainly because victory always brings joy. The stronger the Ming Dynasty became, the more proud and honored Zhu Yunying, as emperor, naturally felt. The Ming Dynasty was bound to become even stronger.
“Fu Youde has made great contributions, but he has already been granted the title of Duke, so it’s not appropriate to promote him any further.” Old Zhu said to Zhu Yunying, “Let’s give him an official title. Let him be Grand Tutor, and grant him the title of Founding Minister of State, Grand Master of the Palace, Right Pillar of State. Order the relevant officials to build a grand mansion in front of his residence, and bestow upon him the name ‘Dashengfang’ (Great Victory Archway).
Zhu Yunying did not object; this was basically the treatment Xu Da received, except that Xu Da was no longer around, so Fu Youde could have the same treatment.
"Fu Youde's merits are indeed numerous, including the Three Dukes and the Pillar of State." Zhu Yunying nodded with a smile and said to Old Zhu, "In truth, there is nothing more to reward him with. The only thing we can do is to bestow honors upon his descendants."
Old Zhu nodded slightly and said, "After he dies, just bestow upon him the title of King, and you can take care of his descendants. As for Lan Yu, change his title back to Duke of Liang. Add the titles of Grand Protector and Left Pillar of State. Although that man is somewhat arrogant, he is one of your trusted confidants."
Given Lan Yu's background, he naturally had many entanglements with Zhu Yunying. Lan Yu's contributions were also significant, so it was necessary to consider bestowing some honors upon him, such as promotions.
Zhu Yunying said with a smile, "Xu Huizu, let's give him to the Grand Tutor. His temperament is similar to that of the Prince of Zhongshan. He is mature and prudent, and he is also Yin'er's uncle. We are thinking that since we have taken away his military power, we should give him some honor."
Grand Tutor, Grand Protector, and Grand Preceptor—these are the Three Masters.
Old Zhu was very satisfied and said with a smile, "It's a good thing that Yin'er's Eastern Palace has such a strong foundation!"
“Good, our father can’t compare. Our father was part of the founding team back then.” Zhu Yunying laughed and said to Old Zhu, “But Yin’er’s team is not bad either. We should also provide compensation for the soldiers who died on the battlefield this time. I’m thinking of having Miaoqing take Yin’er to the Wenhua Hall and let Yin’er take charge of the orphans of the Imperial Guard.”
Old Zhu was genuinely amused and said to Zhu Yunying, "People used to say we were biased, letting your father and you take command of the military at such a young age. Now look at you, our Yin'er is only three years old, and you've already given him command of the military."
“It’s nominally his, but we still control it.” Zhu Yunying couldn’t help but laugh and said, “However, we should have a sense of righteousness. He is the crown prince of the country and should also take care of the soldiers and meritorious officials.”
Old Zhu thought for a moment and said, "Let's wait until Yunhu returns before we talk about it. We can't let the Empress go to Wenhua Hall. Yunhu is Yin'er's uncle, so he can handle it."
Well, Zhu Yunying felt that Old Zhu's intentions were very clear: "The empress dowager must not interfere in politics." Zhu Yuntong's involvement was actually somewhat taboo, but considering his personality and the young Zhu's age, it was best for Zhu Yuntong to assist the young Zhu in comforting meritorious officials and forming a new generation of imperial guards orphans.
In fact, Zhu Yunying already had Imperial Guards orphans. Some of the descendants of meritorious officials who died in service to the emperor had joined the Imperial Guards orphans. They were the emperor's personal guards and one of the core fighting forces of the capital garrison. And the young Zhu's Imperial Guards orphans would definitely join the Crown Prince's Three Guards in the future, and after the young Zhu ascended the throne, they would naturally become the core of the capital garrison.
In fact, what deserves reward is not only posthumous honors and mourning, but also the actual interests of the living should be guaranteed.
Old Zhu was quite pleased and said to Zhu Yunying, "We originally thought that our old brothers were either too old or dead, but now it seems that we still have some new people to use. This time, you can also be granted a few marquises."
Before and after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there were 150 meritorious officials with the greatest contributions among the five ranks of nobility, including 25 dukes and 79 marquises. Of course, some of them were posthumously granted titles, but this is not a very large number.
Furthermore, there are those who died of old age in recent years, those who were involved with Hu Weiyong and other illegal and disorderly conduct, and even those who were sidelined by Emperor Zhu. Nowadays, there are very few nobles left in the court.
Zhu Yunying smiled and nodded, saying to Old Zhu, "Talented people emerge in every generation, each leading the way for hundreds of years. Now..."
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