minions live

Chapter 734: King of a Different Surname

Chen Xiujian was cheered up.

As a prince, he naturally doesn't need to do everything himself.

Most of the work of building monuments is still done by local officials.

What they both need to be responsible for is to find someone to design the style of the monument, then choose a construction site within a suitable range, lay the foundation stone, and write an inscription after completion.

This job is not difficult, but once the memorial hall is built, his name will be left on it, which means that his fame will be passed down through the ages.

"correct."

Ren Ning didn't seem to notice the expressions of the two people and continued talking.

"I have been sweeping the tombs in the Imperial Ancestral Temple these days, and I have read a lot of royal books. I think the promotion and demotion of the royal family should be revisited to prevent too many princes and grandchildren from only seeking pleasure and not striving for progress."

Chen Xiulan and the other person looked at each other, both slightly stunned.

According to the design of His Majesty Taizu Yunchui, the royal family should be divided into princes, dukes and county kings, and each royal rank is divided into the first, second and third grades.

At the same time, the royal rank, like that of the generals' offices, had its ups and downs.

As long as he makes enough contributions to the empire, a small prince can be promoted to a grand prince.

On the contrary, if the descendants of some royal palaces are weaker than the previous generation, then the prince's palace may be demoted to a county prince or even a county prince, and then lose the title of prince.

This decision was well-intentioned, but it quickly became meaningless within a few years after Yunchui Taizu passed away.

The reason is not complicated.

When a new emperor comes to the throne, only the brothers and sisters who have a good relationship with the emperor can survive; while the sons and grandsons of the dragon who have a bad relationship with him or even go against him mostly lose their lives or are thrown into prison.

In the following days, if the brothers do a good job, it’s fine. If they don’t do a good job, at most they will just reprimand them.

After all, the emperor's palms are made of flesh, and the back of his hands are also made of flesh.

There is really no way to suppress these brothers who helped him ascend the throne.

It is for both face in this world and reputation in future generations.

Unless someone has committed a serious crime such as treason or rebellion, basically no one would touch the door lintel of the palace.

So gradually, no one mentioned the promotion or demotion of the prince anymore...

The fat man was the first to react.

He cupped his hands with a beaming expression, "Your Majesty is wise! I think we should have done this a long time ago."

Yunchui has been established for more than 600 years, and the Chen royal family is very large, but he has long disliked many people.

For example, the Green King of Yumu County.

When Beihai Pass was just breached and Genjing Masato had not yet gained a firm foothold, Qingwang actually abandoned his home and fled with his family and gold and silver valuables, leaving behind an empty Qingwang Manor, which eventually became the temporary base for Huang Ming and other troops leading the Northern Expedition.

Later, Wei Junqian and others finally recovered Beihai Pass, while the Zhengbei Army was still fighting the Japanese pirates in Jiuyuan County and Huayang County. However, the first thing the Qingwang family did when they returned home was to send a letter to Xingji City, demanding an apology and compensation for the Zhengbei Army's residence and damage to the royal manor.

This is really unreasonable.

If Huayang County and Yumu County were not quite far apart, he really couldn't make it in time, otherwise Chen Xiulan would have even wanted to demolish the dilapidated Qingwang Village.

Chen Xiujian, who was standing next to him, glanced at the fat man and couldn't help but frowned.

Yunchui ruled the country with filial piety, and the new emperor would often not overturn the edicts of the previous emperor.

He was a prince conferred by Emperor Changxing.

According to past custom, as long as no serious offenses were committed in the future, the Ming Palace could usually provide protection for descendants for a hundred years.

But if Ren Ning really wants to re-implement the system of royal nobility promotion and demotion, it is estimated that within a few years, his prince's mansion will become a county prince's mansion.

Once the king surrenders, everything will surrender as well.

For example, the regulations of the palace, the grade of the carriage, the number of guards, the number of manors...

Anyway, the dignity, prestige and property left to future generations would be much less. What made Chen Xiujian most uncomfortable was that during the reign of Emperor Changxing, he was always looked down upon and trampled upon by his brothers because of his mother's family.

Later, after my own efforts, I finally got to the same level as Chen Xiulan and others. At this point, it was hard to say who was higher or lower.

But it won't be long before Chen Xiujian's children see the fat man's children next to them, and they will have to bend down, dismount, and greet them like he did before...

Despite this, Chen Xiujian did not dare to question it out loud, but just followed Chen Xiulan in bowing and complimenting her.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty Taizu was wise and brave, a rare talent among men. His wisdom is as vast and boundless as the stars in the sky. He has led the empire to prosperity since the founding of Yunchui. Even though he has passed away, he is still like the stars in the sky, guiding us, his descendants, to forge ahead."

"I am a foolish minister, but if your majesty says that the rules of our great ancestor can be strictly enforced, then from now on, our royal family of Chen will be united and work together. In the near future, we will surely create an unprecedented prosperous era since our great ancestor."

"Well said." Ren Ning responded indifferently and let the two go.

After returning to the Ming Palace, Chen Xiujian quickly found the chief secretary.

The two of them hid in the study together.

"Your Highness," the chief minister looked his master up and down nervously, "Nothing happened in the Golden Palace, right?"

Ever since Chen Xiujian was suddenly summoned to the palace, the old chief historian has been worried, and has been turning over in his mind what he had done recently over and over again, fearing that the one sitting on the dragon throne would suddenly raise a butcher knife because of some trivial matter and destroy the Ming Palace.

Chen Xiujian felt warm in his heart, "Don't worry, Chief Secretary, nothing happened in the Golden Palace?"

On the contrary it's a good thing.

He then recounted in detail what had happened in the Golden Palace.

no way.

A long time ago, Ren Ning's position was very stable and no one dared to challenge him.

The Ming Palace had already admitted defeat.

In order to save his own life and avoid suspicion, Chen Xiujian even dismissed all his staff early on.

Now in such a huge palace, the only person he could talk to and discuss things with was the old historian who had been with him for most of his life.

After a long while, Chen Xiujian finally closed his mouth, and the old chief historian stopped stroking his beard.

"Your Highness, please forgive me for speaking frankly. The construction of the monument is an opportunity for our palace to be re-established and also an assessment of you by His Majesty. From now on, the prosperity or decline of the palace may very well depend on this move."

“So no matter what, you have to do it with all your heart.”

Chen Xiujian agreed, "The Chief Secretary's words make sense. I will take note of them."

"In addition," Elder Shi stroked his beard again, "Your Highness is as highly valued by His Majesty as the King of Jin, so I think the news can be spread. But before His Majesty's decision is issued, I suggest that Your Highness try not to publicize it."

"At least it can't be the first one to spread from our palace."

Chen Xiujian thought for a while before he chuckled, "I know the importance of this matter."

Once Ren Ning's order is issued, the rank of king will be promoted or demoted in the future.

For a small number of royal family members who have made great contributions like Chen Xiulan, this is naturally a great thing.

But for the other descendants of the dragon who only know how to eat, drink and have fun, that would be a huge bad thing.

Such people make up the majority in the entire Chen royal family, including those guys in the clan office who take advantage of their age.

If so many people start making trouble, Xingji City will probably be plunged into another bloody storm.

Chen Xiujian wanted to take advantage of the situation and secretly tell other people the bad news, but he was worried that Ren Ning would suddenly change his mind. If he was found out, he would either lose his head or be in dire straits.

"Also," the old official pointed his chin in the direction of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, "Your Highness, I'm afraid His Majesty is paving the way for that family."

Chen Xiujian was slightly stunned, but quickly reacted.

If the title of a king can be promoted or demoted, then the rank of a duke's mansion can naturally be promoted or demoted as well.

"The current Zhenguo Mansion is already worth more than it can be rewarded with. I'm afraid our generation may see a king of a different surname." said the old chief historian.