Chen Huai'an was still the same Chen Huai'an he always was, the one who could "fight the enemy on the battlefield and drink wine on the ground" with his generals.
However, now that he has ascended to the throne and taken control of the world, he has cultivated a strong inner strength that does not show his emotions. Even if Mount Tai collapses in front of him, he can still remain calm.
However, Chen Huai'an still attached great importance to the joint memorial submitted by his two deputy marshals and two generals.
In fact, ever since he issued an edict ordering all officials of the third rank and above, and all generals of the garrison and above, to rush to Nanjing to participate in his coronation ceremony and the investiture ceremony after the establishment of the new dynasty;
The civil and military officials who arrived in Jinling from all over the country were closely monitored by the Longcheng Inner Guard, the intelligence agency under his command, during their stay in the capital.
He had already received a report from Luo Yucheng, the deputy commander of the Longcheng Inner Guard, early this morning regarding the events that occurred on the banks of the Qinhuai River last night.
Moreover, Chen Huai'an had long heard of the secret collusion between the military group of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, led by Deputy General Liu Ziyu, and the group of high-ranking officials and civil officials in the south, led by Governor-General Su Chen of Liangjiang and Governor-General Jiang Ning of Lianghu.
Inside the drawer of the Imperial Study, memorials concerning Liu Ziyu, a nobleman from Youyun, filled the entire drawer.
After the court assembly concluded today, he summoned Li Jingyu, Minister of War, and Zhang Fu, Minister of Rites, to discuss matters in order to formally determine the list of six Dukes, eighteen Marquises, and thirty-six Earls to be enfeoffed as the founders of the Tang Dynasty before the grand enfeoffment ceremony on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
He originally intended to give the ruthless general Liu Ziyu a break out of consideration for Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, and to deal with the matter after the investiture ceremony.
Who would have thought that the arrogant and domineering Liu Ziyu would do such a thing in public, which was detrimental to the dignity of the Tang Dynasty, causing the people of Jinling City to complain and curse.
This even prompted a joint memorial from the Deputy Marshal of the Army and the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard.
As a result, Chen Huai'an had no choice but to take action against Liu Ziyu ahead of schedule.
Soon, Chen Huai'an arrived at the Imperial Study in a sedan chair carried by thirty-two men. He summoned the Minister of War and the Minister of Rites, who had been waiting there for a long time, to the Imperial Study for tea and seats, and then turned and went into the inner hall of the Imperial Study.
In the inner hall, Chen Huai'an took out the Xuan paper with the list of those conferred titles upon the founding of the dynasty. The name of Deputy General Liu Ziyu appeared prominently above the eighteen marquises of the Tang Dynasty—Marquis of Wuzhou, Liu Ziyu, ranked first among the marquises of the Tang Dynasty.
To be fair, Chen Huai'an has been quite kind to Liu Ziyu.
As a former general who surrendered to the previous dynasty, he was still granted the title of Marquis in the new dynasty. What an honor that must have been!
Based solely on Liu Ziyu's military achievements, he could at most be granted the title of Earl, and might not even be able to rank first among the thirty-six Earls. Any one of the thirty-six generals of the Longcheng Polu Army would have higher military achievements than Liu Ziyu, and would also be a member of the "Crown Prince's faction" with impeccable political credentials.
As for Liu Ziyu's so-called "the first person to be loyal to the emperor in the previous dynasty", "the greatest contributor to the victory at Tumu Fort", "straight to Kaifeng Prefecture and killed seven adopted sons", etc., in Chen Huai'an's view, although he had military merits, he did not meet the standard for being enfeoffed as a marquis.
Furthermore, even after surrendering, Liu Ziyu continued his misdeeds, such as receiving salaries without working and looting the city for three days after its fall. Giving him a pardon for his merits and demerits is already a favor to Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu.
Not to mention that he was granted the title of Marquis of Wuzhou, ranking first among the eighteen marquises of the Tang Dynasty.
This was entirely because Chen Huai'an, in order to make up for his guilt at not knowing how to reward Prince Wu Ning, attributed the merit that should have belonged to Prince Wu Ning to his adopted son Liu Ziyu.
Otherwise, there would be Huo Qubing, the champion who led 10,000 elite cavalry on a thousand-mile raid to destroy the Turkic Khaganate; or Lan Yu, the general who guarded the four towns of Anxi, led a force to the Uyghur Khaganate to surrender, and then personally went to the thirty-five kingdoms of the Western Regions to persuade them to submit to the Jin Dynasty.
Which one of them is more qualified than Liu Ziyu to be the head of the eighteen marquises of the Tang Dynasty?
If Liu Ziyu hadn't been arrogant and complacent, and had repented and kept a low profile after Chen Huai'an became emperor, and if Chen Huai'an hadn't been a narrow-minded person, Liu Ziyu would have truly secured his position as Marquis of Wuzhou.
However, Liu Ziyu, relying on his "illustrious military achievements" and the endorsement of his adoptive father, Prince Wuning, and the fact that his adopted sister Liu Shujun was made Empress of the Tang Dynasty, began to become arrogant and disdainful of others.
In today's terms, Liu Ziyu's actions are a classic case of "if you don't court death, you won't die!"
Chen Huai'an finally picked up his brush and circled the name of Liu Ziyu, the first of the eighteen marquises of the Tang Dynasty, on the list of conferred titles. Then, at the end of the thirty-six earls of the Tang Dynasty, he wrote the three characters "Earl of Wuzhou".
With just a simple change of one picture, Liu Ziyu, who should have been the first among the eighteen marquises of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, was transformed into the last of the thirty-six earls.
Even Liu Ergou, his former deputy general in Wuzhou City, was ranked ahead of him.
Chen Huai'an wanted to use this method to warn Liu Ziyu, so that he would reflect on his actions and avoid arrogance and complacency.
It can be considered that, out of respect for Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, and Empress Liu Shujun, Liu Ziyu is being given another chance!
After doing all this, Chen Huai'an immediately picked up the list of conferred titles and walked out of the inner hall of the imperial study.
"emperor--"
Upon seeing this, Li Jingyu, the Minister of War, and Zhang Fu, the Minister of Rites, who were drinking tea in the outer hall of the Imperial Study, hurriedly got up to greet Chen Huai'an.
Um!
Chen Huai'an, still smiling, calmly invited the two ministers to sit down.
He then handed the list of conferred titles to Li Jingyu, the Minister of War.
Chen Huai'an said, "My lords, this is the list of generals who have been conferred titles upon the founding of our Great Tang Dynasty. You two should begin preparing for the investiture ceremony in ten days, based on the list I have prepared!"
He paused, then added, "My lords, this list of conferments is a secret of the new dynasty. You two just need to keep it in mind."
"I do not wish for any part of this list to be leaked before the investiture ceremony!"
As he spoke, Chen Huai'an stared intently at the two of them and said, word by word, "Do you understand what I mean?"
"My lord, I obey the order!"
Li Jingyu and Zhang Fu hurriedly stood up to receive the imperial decree.
A loud drum doesn't need a heavy hammer; how could they not understand the Emperor's unspoken meaning? This matter concerns the safety of nine generations of their families; who would dare to reveal even a single word to the outside world?
Chen Huai'an continued, "By the way, I have another small suggestion. This Duke of the Great Tang, who is bestowed with this title, will be a first-rank official of the court, with an annual stipend of 1,000 shi of rice and a salary of 5,000 taels of silver."
"A marquis is a second-rank official in the imperial court, receiving an annual stipend of 800 shi of rice and a salary of 3,000 taels of silver."
"An earl is a second-rank official in the imperial court, receiving an annual stipend of 600 shi of rice and a salary of 2000 taels of silver."
"As for other aspects of treatment, let the Ministry of Revenue formulate them based on the standards of the previous dynasty!"
"My lord, I obey the order!"
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