The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 436: The Conferment of the Marquisate and Some Follow-up Events

"Tell me, what reward do you want?"

Faced with this question, Chen Jingke did not show any modesty and said something like his contribution was too small to be rewarded.

That was out of character for him.

But he didn't directly say what reward he wanted, because begging for something was not good enough.

The key is, asking for too much is not appropriate, and asking for too little makes you feel depressed.

So he kicked the ball back: "I am just a young man in his twenties, how can I understand this, you just give it to me."

"You old man, how can you cheat me?"

Old Zhu pretended to think for a while, then slapped his thigh and said:
"I just thought about it, it's not too much to make you a king for your contribution."

"Besides, in our Ming Dynasty, there is no rule that prohibits people with different surnames from becoming kings..."

As soon as he said this, Chen Jingke stood up and walked out.

Lao Zhu stopped him and said, "Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?"

Chen Jingke gave a fake smile and said, "I will go and tell the queen that you are going to make me a king."

Old Zhu: “…”

Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying both laughed.

If Empress Ma really knew about this, she would be criticized even if she knew it was a joke.

As expected, Old Zhu immediately became cowardly: "You are too ignorant of humor, come back and sit down."

Only then did Chen Jingke sit down again leisurely.

Old Zhu also put away his joking thoughts and said seriously: "I am not joking about being crowned king, but it's a pity that your last name is not Zhu."

"Crowning you is like roasting you on the fire."

"You deserve the title of Duke for your achievements, but a Duke in his twenties is a young man who is likely to be targeted by others."

There is another underlying meaning, which is that you are only in your twenties. What will you do after you are conferred the title of Duke?

The most dangerous time for a minister is when he has no more titles to offer.

This is also the reason why Lao Zhu has never mentioned any rewards over the years.

It’s not that I don’t want to, but it’s dangerous if I give it to you.

Now I am twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, and it just so happens that a test prototype of the train has been developed, so it is given a phased closure.

But there will be no cap.

Everyone understood this principle, and Chen Jingke knew it even better, so he never felt that there was anything wrong.

Old Zhu continued, "So he should be made a marquis, the founding marquis..."

Zhu Biao interrupted and said, "Let's wait until he has a child before we start the country."

Old Zhu paused, nodded and said, "That's right, you've been so procrastinating that you haven't let me have a grandson in all these years. It's really abominable."

"I won't add it for the founding of the country yet. I'll add it when I can hold my grandchildren."

Chen Jingke: "..."

Unexpectedly, I was forced to give birth after traveling to the Ming Dynasty.

But it's normal when you think about it. The more ancient people were, the more they valued offspring.

What does it matter if Zhu and Chen don’t have children during the marriage?
But then again, being granted a title of nobility is actually a result that everyone can accept.

You are already a high-ranking noble, and there are higher duke titles that can be conferred above you, so there is no need to worry about not having enough titles to be conferred in the future.

The matter was settled.
-
The news about the train spread like wildfire. Naturally, no one believed it at first. How could a train run just by burning fire?

However, when it was said that it was Chen Jingke who did it, everyone had no doubt about it.

The discussion then turned to what a train actually looks like and why it can run by burning fire?
Some people are well-informed and know that it is the power of boiling water and steam that makes it run.

Some people who are interested in physics can give examples:
When the water in the kettle is boiling, the lid will be lifted up. This is the power of water vapor.

Of course, for most people, a train is just a lump of iron that runs on fire.

I don't know anything about water vapor or anything like that.

This has cast a veil of mystery over the train.

But there was one thing that made Chen Jingke very happy, that is, no one thought it was a monster, an ominous sign or something like that.

Most people are curious and hope to see this thing as soon as possible.

Merchants and others who have needs are eager for this thing to become popular as soon as possible.

No one understands what trains mean better than them.

It was at this time that Zhu Biao announced at the morning court that a railway would be built from the institute to the Yellow River wharf.

Used to ease the transportation pressure in Luoyang.

This decision was unanimously agreed upon by the bigwigs in the court.

It can be said that anyone who has visited the little train will agree.

Seeing that the bosses all agreed and that the news outside was so miraculous, the others did not object.

At this moment, Li Shanchang stood up and proposed:
"Trains and railways will surely run throughout the country in the future. Both their construction and operation are major national events."

"It is necessary to set up a special government office in advance to be responsible for this matter, just like the grain transport."

This proposal naturally won the approval of Zhu Biao, so the Ministry of Works added another department, called the Railway Department.

The responsibility is to build and maintain railways.

As for operations, I haven't taken care of them yet.

The operation of the first railway was definitely directly managed by the imperial court.

We will decide who will operate the railway in the future when the time comes.

Next was the issue of Chen Jingke's reward. Zhu Biao directly issued an edict to confer the title of Marquis of Anping on him.

This title was thought up by Chen Jingke himself. Originally, he wanted to be called Marquis of Ping'an.

It means peace and safety.

He was unanimously despised by Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang still respected his opinion, but he reversed the two words and changed it to Marquis Anping.

The former is to pray for peace, while the latter is to bring peace, and their meanings are completely different.

As for monetary rewards, they are relatively conventional.

It is just a little more than the ordinary marquis, indicating the favor of the royal family.

At the same time, Chen Jingke's mother, Feng, was conferred the title of Lady of Ankang County.

A mother is honored by her son. This is an honorary reward and there is nothing much to say about it.

None of the ministers said anything about this reward, as Chen Jingke's achievements were clearly evident.

If he didn't ban it, everyone would feel weird.

Especially the noble group, they supported it wholeheartedly.

In the past, when we said that Chen Jingke was one of our own, it was always a bit of a misnomer.

Now we are truly one of our own.

What followed was a celebration. People who came to give gifts lined up in a long queue that stretched for miles and almost broke down the door.

On ordinary days, Chen Jingke would definitely not accept courtesy from strangers.

But today is the day of conferring a title of nobility, and it would be very inhumane not to accept it.

Chen Yuan and Feng Shi were grinning so hard that they couldn't stop. Our family was finally granted the title of marquis.

Bring honor to the family.

Fuqing was the happiest. Although Chen Jingke had a special status, China had always emphasized "legitimacy" since ancient times.

Having no name is always a pity.

Now this shortcoming has finally been made up.

I invited all my best friends to my home to share my happiness.

Speaking of which, her career is also very successful.

"Pirates" has a new episode and "The Prince Consort" has two episodes.

My position in the medical school was gradually fixed, that is, the dean who was responsible for specific administrative affairs, and it was accepted by everyone.

In an era constrained by science, it is of great significance that she was able to achieve this.

Naturally, he has also been criticized by others.

But fortunately, she was the eldest princess and the dean was her brother Zhu Su, which reduced a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Otherwise, the saliva alone would drown her.

And with her encouragement, her group of girlfriends were not idle either.

On weekdays, I helped her deal with the government affairs of the academy, and when I had nothing to do, they got together to study opera literature.

It’s just a pity that they come from such a good background that most of what they write are just whining.

Or it's just love.

Therefore, their works have little influence, and even the family members of the big families and backyards do not like them. However, they are happy to do it and are full of energy.

It’s normal to think about it.

In the past, they could only stay at home without going out, which was really boring.

At least now I can come out and do something else.

Compared with other women of the same period, she was already very free.

Chen Jingke did not interfere with them as there was no need for the time being.

Moreover, they are enjoying themselves now, so even if you give them some advice, the effect will not be good.

Let them struggle on their own first. When they get tired of it and have other ideas, then you can point them out some other ways.

This way they will have the motivation to do it.

Closer to home.

The celebration of Chen Jingke's ennoblement lasted for five or six days, and everyone who could come came.

For a time, the place was packed with people.

In order to let more people share his joy and to accumulate virtue, Fuqing also set up a buffet for three days in the civilian area in the south of the city.

Most people don’t dare to be so high-profile.

But Fuqing did so, and Chen Jingke did not object.

There were people in the court who impeached the Anping Marquis's Mansion for being extravagant, but no one responded, and Zhu Biao ignored it.

Although the Chen family is so lively, the male owner Chen Jingke does not participate too much.

Except for appearing on the first day to receive an important person, Fuqing was the one who entertained people afterwards.

He himself went together with people from the Railway Department to explore the railway construction work.

Zhu Xiongying also came to join in the fun and learn about the railway construction process firsthand.

This will be the national policy for the next century, so as a monarch you must be aware of it.

After more than half a month of exploration, a route map was finally drawn up.

Instead of following the Yiluo River, we went north to Mengjin County and directly to the Mengjin Ferry.

The total length is about fifty miles.

“Compared to building along the river, it reduces the distance by half and avoids densely populated areas.”

"Moreover, the railway itself can also boost the economy along the route. Once the road is completed, the area from Luoyang to the north will also be able to develop better."

This is the reason given by Chen Jingke.

Neither Lao Zhu nor Zhu Yuanzhang had any objections. At present, he was the only expert in this area.

This road will be built the way he says.

Then it’s about recruiting people, collecting materials and so on.

When it came to the actual construction of the railway, Chen Jingke did not have much say.

He had only seen this thing before, and when it came to knowing how to repair it specifically, he wasn't as experienced as these craftsmen.

It turned out that even without him, the craftsmen were able to build the railway very well.

And when the railway began to be built, another expected thing happened.

The construction site has become a local sight.

Many people come to watch every day.

Especially the repaired railway, which has become a local tourist attraction.

This actually reminded Chen Jingke of a foreign film he had watched in his previous life.

I won’t go into the specific plot, the main thing is that the film tells a very cruel reality.

In the early days of trains, almost every train driver had killed someone, and not just one person.

Think about the numbers behind this, it's cruel.

The Ming Dynasty must try its best to avoid this situation from happening.

After returning, he suggested building fences on both sides of the railway.

No entry for humans or animals.

However, in order to facilitate pedestrians, more intersections should be left.

This proposal was naturally accepted.

Although it has been criticized by many people, who believe that doing so will affect people's lives.

But it was still implemented.

The fence and the railway were built together.

At the same time, a new issue of Daming Daily was published, with a picture of a speeding train on the cover.

The title is also very bold, blowing the whistle of a new era.

There is not much to say about the content, it just gives a detailed introduction to the working principle of the train and its function.

At the same time, he also imagined a bright future in which trains would be spread all over the country.

This newspaper completely revealed the mystery of the train and made everyone full of expectations for this new tool.

It’s just that people at that time have not really realized what the train means.

No one realized how highly the newspaper in their hands would be held in the future.
-
Just when the entire Ming Dynasty was attracted by the train, good news came from the border.

King Zhu Gang of Jin went to war against the Oirat and won a great victory, killing more than 20,000 people in battle and capturing more than 50,000 people.

Among them were Oirat nobles and their family members, totaling more than 4,000, and more than 2 million heads of livestock.

Ugezi, the leader of the Oirat clan, led the remaining troops to flee to the North Sea.

Zhu Gang originally wanted to pursue, but because winter was approaching he had to withdraw his troops.

When the news came, the capital was in an uproar and the Ming Weekly published a special issue on this battle.

No one cares about the train anymore.

It's simple, trains may be important, but they are nothing compared to the threat posed by Mongolia.

Of course, another reason why everyone is so happy is that this battle is of extraordinary significance.

After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, Mongolia was divided into three major forces.

The three guards of Tatar (Northern Yuan Dynasty), Oirat and Uriankhai.

The Three Wuliangha Guards were also known as the Three Doyan Guards. After the Battle of Liaodong, they were integrated into the Ming Dynasty.

The Northern Yuan Dynasty had been severely damaged after being attacked successively by Lan Yu, Zhu Gang and Zhu Di in recent years.

Now they have been driven to the northern desert by the cement fortress strategy and dare not move south even a single step.

The only tribe that could pose a real threat to the Ming Dynasty was the Oirat tribe.

Now that Oirat had also been defeated by Zhu Gang and suffered heavy losses, it meant that the grassland forces that threatened the Central Plains had been officially defeated.

Although it was not a complete conquest, it could at least guarantee decades of peace.

This would be a landmark event in any period.

The people of the Ming Dynasty were naturally very excited, and all kinds of compliments were heaped upon Zhu Gang as if their lives were being praised.

Chen Jingke was also very excited: "In this way, the danger of the Hexi Corridor will be eliminated."

"Next year, the King of Jin can attack the Western Regions without any worries. This is really great news."

Zhu Biao nodded and said, "Third brother's battle was indeed somewhat unexpected, and he defeated the Oirat tribe head-on without using any tactics."

"This was a huge blow to the Mongolian cavalry, who had always been confident."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed so hard that he couldn't close his mouth: "Not only that, most of the cattle and sheep were lost in the winter, and there is no winter supplies."

"The remnants of the Oirat fled to the bitter cold of the North Sea. I don't know how many of them will freeze to death or starve to death."

"Anyway, the Oirat tribe will no longer be a threat in the next few decades."

As for decades later... there are fortresses everywhere on the grassland, and Mongolia has long returned to the Chinese family.

There is no such thing as decades later.

Only Zhu Xiongying looked a little unhappy.

The battles have all been fought by my uncles, who should I fight next?
Especially this time, Uncle San defeated the Oirat cavalry head-on. Just imagine that scene...

Cry to death.

I don't want to be the emperor, I want to be the general who conquers the north.

In fact, when Chen Jingke first heard that Zhu Gang was going to confront him head-on, he was also very surprised.

In a head-on confrontation, even if we win, we will suffer heavy losses.

There are obviously better tactics, why did Zhu Gang do this?
For example, Lan Yu, Zhu Di, and Zhu Gang himself all used various tactics in the Northern Expedition.

Avoid direct battles as much as possible to reduce your own losses and increase your chances of winning.

What he did today was indeed a bit uncharacteristic.

When I figured it out, I realized that Zhu Gang was worthy of being Zhu Gang. His sacrifice today cleared the biggest obstacle to national integration.

(End of this chapter)