Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 24 Posthumous title
Li Rusong's title is indeed difficult to determine, which is why the court officials hated the Li family in the past but did not reduce the title of the Li family.

In terms of military exploits alone, Li Rusong participated in two of the three major campaigns of Wanli, and both were leading generals. In the end, he died fighting for his country. The achievements are there and no one can erase them.

Let's talk about praise. After Li Rusong's death, Emperor Wanli "gifted it to Shaobao and Uncle Ning Yuan, built a shrine, and gave him the posthumous title of Zhonglie." He allowed his younger brother Li Rumei to succeed him as the commander-in-chief of the army, and also gave Yin a son to be the hereditary commander. It can be said that he was extremely favored.

If Li Chengliang's posthumous title should be removed because of his abandonment of land after his death, it would be unjustifiable for a hero who died fighting for his country.

So as soon as Zhu Youjian's question came out, the officials started arguing again.

Some people say that Li Rusong posthumously gifted Uncle Ning Yuan because he was the eldest son of Uncle Ning Yuan. Now that Li Chengliang's uncle Ning Yuan has been expelled, he should also be expelled.

But this argument is somewhat untenable. According to the practice of the Ming Dynasty, if the crown prince died before ascending to the title of nobility, his descendants would need to request after they ascend to the title of title posthumously. Li Rusong's descendants did not inherit the title at all, let alone ask for a posthumous gift. His uncle Ning Yuan was posthumously given by the emperor because he died fighting for the country.

So another group of people said that Li Rusong was awarded a title based on his merits and should not be reduced because of his father's affairs.

But this argument is also not convincing enough. Leaving aside generals with outstanding achievements such as Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, Ma Gui participated in three of the three major campaigns of Wanli, and later guarded Liaodong, with equally outstanding military exploits. None of them received a title, so how could Li Rusong and He De receive a posthumous gift?

We argue and argue, but no one can convince anyone. After arguing for a long time, Kong Zhenyun, who had volunteered before, said:
"During the period of Jiajing, the imperial dynasty discussed the revolution, except for the four families of Wei Guogong, Ding Guogong, Pengcheng Bo and Hui'an Bo."

"This is because they not only have the status of relatives, but the reason for being knighted is more for military merit."

"Li Rusong was posthumously named Uncle Ning Yuan, not only because of his status as Ning Yuan Bo's eldest son, but also because of his military merit."

"I believe that Li Rusong's title should be retained according to the old rules of Wei Guogong, Ding Guogong, Pengcheng Bo and Hui'an Bo."

This makes sense, and many people agree. The title of Wei Guogong was retained after the Jingnan period, and Ding Guogong was granted the title. Is it because the contributions of the Xu family were really so great that one family and two Dukes were able to do so? The contributions of Uncle Pengcheng and Uncle Hui'an were also not as great as those of two uncles from one discipline. Their titles could be retained when their relatives were dismissed and knighted, and Li Rusong's title should also be retained.

As a result, those who supported retaining Li Rusong's title gained the upper hand. But many people felt uncomfortable with having Li Chengliang's descendants ascend the throne. Therefore, some people suggested that Li Rusong should be treated as a person who died in battle and was awarded a title, but his title should not be hereditary.

Zhu Youjian heard this and said:

"Is there any title in this dynasty that is not hereditary?"

Lai Zongdao, the Minister of Rites, responded:
"In the early years of this dynasty, many meritorious officials were granted the title of Bohou, but after Zhengde, there were not many."

"The latest one is the loyal uncle Lu Bing, who was posthumously awarded the title of earl, and his son is commanding the general affairs."

Nodding slightly, Zhu Youjian didn't want to continue to pester him and decided:

"Then let's follow this precedent and regard Li Rusong's Ning Yuanbo as a non-hereditary posthumous gift and a hereditary commander." Most of the officials had no objection to this result. However, Zhu Youjian's next words almost made them jump:
"Someone just said that Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou's achievements are more significant, and Ma Gui's achievements are not inferior to him."

"Since Li Rusong was posthumously made an earl, I think these three people should also be posthumously given the title."

"Especially Qi Jiguang, who has made great achievements in pacifying the Japanese and also has side merits. He should be posthumously made a marquis to praise his achievements."

Put the posthumous titles of these three people in front of the ministers.

The debate among the ministers now was even bigger than the discussion about Li Rusong's title just now. Regardless of whether they are the Eunuch Party or the Donglin Party, they are all part of the civil service group. It can be said that they spare no effort in suppressing military generals.

After Jiajing, except for Wang Shouren and Li Chengliang, no one was awarded a title for meritorious service, and only two were awarded posthumously, Lu Bing and Li Rusong. It wasn't because the others didn't have enough merit, but Qi Jiguang, who had the most outstanding merit, was suppressed. Naturally, other people whose merits are not as good as Qi Jiguang cannot be ennobled.

Now the emperor wants to award posthumous titles to Qi Jiguang, Yu Dayou, and Ma Gui. It is obvious that he wants to elevate the status of generals and prepare for a new round of military titles.

The civil servants in the court noticed this movement and naturally opposed it. Even Xungui is not willing to let new people join and divide the already fixed interests of the Xungui Group.

Seeing that there were many people who opposed it and no one spoke out to support this matter, Zhu Youjian, the newly ascended emperor, could only put this matter down and leave it to be discussed later. Anyway, for him, today's actions were enough. His attitude towards generals has been clearly revealed:
As long as he is in office, as long as the general's meritorious service is sufficient, he will have the opportunity to be knighted.

In this way, those generals should be more motivated and work hard to make contributions.
With this in mind, Zhu Youjian quickly summoned the Li family to see if they could still be employed after the court meeting.

When the news reached the Li family, everyone in the Li family burst into cheers. Although they did not get the results they wanted most, the position of hereditary commander was enough to satisfy them. In particular, the matter of Li Chengliang and Li Rusong has been concluded, and the Li family no longer has to bear their merits and demerits to live without knowing. This is the most important thing to them.

Therefore, the people of the Li family quickly followed the emperor's order and went to the palace to express their gratitude. Mrs. Wu led her female relatives to see the queen, while Li Xingzhong, Li Shunzu, Li Zunzu, Li Yingzu and others went to see the emperor.

At this time, Zhu Youjian summoned the two envoys Kong Zhenyun and Wu Ruyin in Wuying Hall and gave them serious instructions:
"After arriving in Chahan, we must find a way to see Sharba Hutuktu. Tell him that as long as Lin Dan Khan can continue to stay where he is and resist Houjin for the Ming Dynasty, I will give him a title and allow him to stay in Chahan Reincarnation.”

"Lin Danhan, you can give him the title of King Shunli. Tell him that etiquette comes before righteousness. King Shunli is higher than King Shunyi and is the most noble title on the grassland."

"Other lords such as Taiji and Taiji can also promise them the title of nobility. Marquis Gongshun can use himself as an example to tell them that the title of Ming Dynasty will be with the country. As long as they accept the title, no matter how the grassland changes, the Ming Dynasty will recognize it. With their titles, their descendants can enjoy eternal wealth.”

After giving instructions to Wu Ruyin, Zhu Youjian also warned:

"The ancestors of Gongshun Hou are Mongolians, so you should know what kind of things they like. You can bring some things that Mongolians like from home, and then pick some from my Prince Xin's Mansion and bring them to Lin Danhan and others."

"Let those people know what pleasure is, and let them have their hearts set on the Ming Dynasty. After they accept the canonization, I will give them rewards, and give different trade quotas to each level of nobility, so that they can use things on the grassland to exchange for pleasure items. "

(End of this chapter)