Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"Congratulations, Mr. Kong!"

"You still don't want to accept my order and thank me?"

After Wang Wenzhen read out the appointment edict, he urged Kong Zhenyun to go.

Kong Zhenyun never expected that he would receive this appointment just a few days after returning from the grassland.

This made him feel touched, but also a little hesitant.

What touched him was that the emperor did not give up on him and did not give up on cultivating him just because of the mistakes he made in handling the three cases before.

The reason for hesitation was that the emperor's decree was an imperial decree and had not been approved by the cabinet.

Although the emperor had previously declared overseas areas to be martial law zones, he could directly decide matters with imperial edicts. This was also emphasized when the Lifanyuan was established.

However, it has been a long time since the court officials were appointed directly by imperial decree.

Kong Zhenyun was worried that after receiving the imperial edict, he would be the next Sun Ruyou and would be forced by the ministers to resign.

As if seeing his worry, Wang Wenzheng reminded him in a low voice:

"The Cabinet's Prime Minister Huang has accepted the appointment as the head of the Lifanyuan."

"In the next few years, I will be in charge of the Lifanyuan as a first-rank assistant minister."

"His Majesty asked me to give you this record of the conversation along with the meeting record with the navy."

Kong Zhenyun immediately stopped worrying and said loudly:
"I accept the decree, thank you!"

After receiving the imperial edict, he quietly thanked Wang Wenzhen for his reminder.

With Huang Liji leading the way, his acceptance of the imperial appointment was less noticeable.

It can be said that Wang Wenzhen saved him from this embarrassment with just one word.

Wang Wenzhen also thought highly of Kong Zhenyun, knowing that she was one of the people the emperor was cultivating.

This person is not only the runner-up in the imperial examination but also comes from the Kong family. He will definitely become a university scholar or even the prime minister in the future.

As the eunuch who was known as the inner minister, he also had to respect the candidate for the foreign minister who was bound to enter the cabinet.

Who dares to say that Kong Zhenyun will not go directly into the cabinet after becoming the Minister of the Internal Affairs Department?

Even though the Minister of the Three-Character Department was not as powerful as the Shangshu of the Two-Character Department, and even his power was not comparable to that of some Vice Ministers, he was still the chief official after all, and in many people's minds, he was higher than the Vice Minister, and was implicitly a position between the Shangshu and the Vice Minister.

Moreover, the emperor gave almost all the three-character ministers the rank of second rank, which intensified this kind of appointment in people's minds.

A vice minister could enter the cabinet directly, let alone a minister of a ministry?
It can be said that as long as Kong Zhenyun does not make any major mistakes in the next few years, he will be a popular candidate for the position of Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

The emperor's intention to cultivate him was also very clear. Anyone could see that this person was in the emperor's heart.

After the setbacks he encountered in handling three cases in the past few months, Kong Zhenyun is now calmer.

After seeing Wang Wenzheng off, he thought carefully and understood another reason why the emperor appointed him as the Minister of Internal Affairs:
"I made mistakes in handling three cases previously, which caused dissatisfaction among the royal family and nobles."

"Your Majesty let me take charge of the Internal Affairs Department, which means I can get up from where I fell."

"If I can handle the establishment of fiefdoms for the royal family and nobles, no one will be able to criticize the three cases anymore."

The Tang vassal case, the Chu vassal case, and the Xinjian Earl succession case were all cases involving royal families and nobles.

Kong Zhenyun had not handled the situation properly before and was humiliated.

Because of this, he was criticized by many people, who believed that he, a minister promoted by the emperor, was not capable of shouldering the important task of the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

However, the emperor thought highly of him and sent him on a diplomatic mission to the grassland to make merit, which slightly restored his reputation.

Now he was even put in charge of the Internal Affairs Department, responsible for dealing with the grassland Shuntian nobles. This was something he was good at, and he could achieve some results.

However, the duties of the Inner Domain Department not only include dealing with the Shuntian nobles. The most important duty is to be responsible for the division of fiefdoms and allow the royal family and nobles to establish fiefdoms.

If he made meritorious contributions in presiding over the establishment of fiefdoms for royal families and nobles, and satisfied the imperial court, royal families and nobles, not only would the emperor value him more, but no one in the court or the country would be able to bring up the three cases again.

Therefore, Kong Zhenyun was even more grateful to the emperor at this time. He also made up his mind to make some achievements in the position of Minister of the Inner Region.

He didn't want people to think that he became a candidate for Grand Secretary because of the emperor's favor.

Looking through the minutes of the meeting, Kong Zhenyun soon realized that in addition to the Han Wang vassal state, Jiangling Duchy, and Ningyuan Earl State in the northeast, the emperor also established two vassal states in Southeast Asia:

One was the Qin vassal state that was forced to move its fiefdom, and the other was the Tang vassal state that took the initiative to establish its own fiefdom.

His top priority is to do this well.

At least we can't let Qin Fan make a fuss and get humiliated by others.

The affairs of the royal family were mainly handled by the Zongzheng Temple, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Rites could also intervene. After discussing with the Ministry of Rites and the Zongzheng Temple and asking the emperor for instructions, Kong Zhenyun spread the word that the court intended to allow more princes to move to their own fiefdoms.

Most of the princes were not very enthusiastic about this. Most of them were unwilling to leave the prosperous Central Plains and establish their own fiefdoms in remote places.

But there are also some people who are ambitious and are extremely concerned about the establishment of a fiefdom.

Zhu Hengjia, the eldest son of Prince Jingjiang, is one of them.

Historically, he could not wait to proclaim himself regent after Emperor Hongguang was captured. After hearing this news, he submitted a petition requesting an audience with the emperor and wanted to establish a fiefdom overseas.

Zhu Youjian threw the matter to Kong Zhenyun and asked him to talk to Kong Zhenyun first.

Kong Zhenyun took out the Nanyang map and asked Zhu Hengjia:

"Nanyang is a vast area. I wonder where Your Highness wants to establish a fiefdom?"

Zhu Hengjia had already obtained the map of South China Sea drawn by the emperor these days and had read it countless times.

Pointing to Annan, south of Guangxi, he said:

"This was originally the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration of the Ming Dynasty."

"The young king is willing to recover Jiaozhi for your majesty."

Kong Zhenyun shook his head and said:

"It is true that Jiaozhi was once the governor of the Ming Dynasty, but it has now become an external vassal state."

"The Annan governor, Mo, is quite submissive. Your Majesty does not allow the discussion of establishing a vassal state here."

Zhu Hengjia had always been blocked by this statement. Now that he heard it again, he said impatiently:

"Why is Mo so respectful?"

"He relied on the Ming Dynasty to gain a foothold. Without the Ming Dynasty, he would have been destroyed long ago."

"But now, Mo is not only the governor of Annan appointed by the Ming Dynasty, but also the general and duke of Tongguo appointed by the Li family."

"This man is two-faced and should have been killed long ago!"

Apparently he had not been idle in the past few months, collecting a lot of Mo's crimes and planning to file a complaint with the emperor, demanding that the Mo family be eliminated.

After hearing this, Kong Zhenyun remained calm, neither happy nor angry, and said:

"No matter what, the Mo family still submits to the Ming Dynasty and can serve as a barrier between the Ming Dynasty and the Li family."

"The southwest is not peaceful now, so Your Majesty cannot move the land of Annan without permission."

"As for Nanyang, I wonder if Your Highness is interested?" Zhu Hengjia's greatest wish was to obtain a fiefdom not far from Guangxi, which would be similar to where he lived before and would allow him to exercise his power freely.

I have little interest in the further South Seas, but I can accept it. I said with some disappointment:
"What other good places are there in Nanyang?"

"Didn't Your Majesty promise Yuan Shumi that you would not open up more vassal states for the time being?"

Kong Zhenyun smiled and said:

“Not developing it doesn’t mean it can’t be changed.”

"The Tang vassal state has agreed to move, but the Qin vassal state has not yet made a decision."

"If the Qin vassal state is unwilling to move to Sumen Island, I can submit a petition with Your Highness to request that the Jingjiang vassal state be moved there."

"That was the original location of the Old Port Xuanwei Office. It's not a completely wild place."

After hearing this, Zhu Hengjia also became interested.

The place that the emperor gave to Qin Fan as compensation would certainly not be too bad, so he immediately said:
"If that's the case, Xiao Wang would like to thank you, sir."

"I hope you can say a few good words when your majesty changes his fiefdom!"

He forced them to leave a few gifts behind and then left.

Kong Zhenyun looked at his behavior and shook his head secretly. He knew that if such a person inherited the throne, he would definitely be restless in the future.

If it were in the past, he would definitely suggest that the emperor send someone to teach him well. But now, it would be better to let him go out and try his luck.

Your Majesty needs restless princes to encourage the royal family of the Ming Dynasty to go out and open up fiefdoms.

So after he submitted these gifts to the Independent Commission Against Corruption for reporting, he soon spread the word that the Jingjiang vassal state intended to relocate and could replace the Qin vassal state.

He also sent officials to ask the Qin vassal's representatives stationed in the capital. If they were unwilling to move, he would ask the emperor to replace them with the Jingjiang vassal.

When Qin Fan's people heard the news, they were shocked.

Before, they were still hesitating whether to move the vassal to Sumatra, but they didn't expect that Kong Zhenyun would urge them to make up their mind.

Zhu Cunshu, the current prince of Qin, was not very capable. After he had agreed to the emperor's relocation without the knowledge of Qin, Qin had sent a message from Xi'an that all matters concerning Qin would be decided by him.

In addition, after Zhu Cunshu came to the capital, he may have had too much fun and is now sick.

Qin Fan's people did not disturb him with this matter, but used the Jinyiwei channel to send a message to Xi'an, hoping that the King of Qin could make a decision.

Thanks to the importance of Shaanxi and the emperor's emphasis on military pigeons, there were quite a few carrier pigeons flying back and forth between the capital and Xi'an.

Zhu Yi, the Prince of Qin in Xi'an, soon learned the news and gave instructions to move the Qin vassal to Sumatra in accordance with the emperor's will.

He knew that the emperor would definitely make compensation for the forced relocation of Qin Fan this time. The place given to Qin Fan would definitely not be too bad. If it was very bad, Qin Fan could cry to the emperor and ask for compensation.

But after missing this opportunity, the Qin vassal would not receive any preferential treatment. The emperor might even think that the Qin vassal was ignorant and banish them to a more remote area.

Sumatra Island is located in the South Pacific and was the original location of the Jiugang Xuanwei Office. Zhu Yizhu did not know what the situation there was like now, but he knew that the Han people were able to survive there more than two hundred years ago.

So after thinking about it, he felt that this place was not bad, and planned to seize the opportunity to move Qin Fan there.

After being forced by Shaanxi officials such as Sun Chuanting to hand over his stored grain, he no longer wanted to stay in Xi'an.

After receiving this reply, the Qin clan’s staff stationed in Beijing immediately replied to Kong Zhenyun that the Qin clan was willing to move.

He also informed the emperor through the Embroidered Uniform Guard that Qin Wang Zhu Yi's letter of thanks had been submitted at full speed.

In this way, the migration of Qin and Tang vassals was finally settled.

Both fiefdoms were gathering royal family and relatives, and at the same time recruiting military and civilian households from the tenants who were affiliated with the royal family, intending to rebuild the three guards belonging to the royal palace and move their troops there.

Zhu Youjian asked local officials to provide convenience and sent military generals and guards to help them migrate.

Guards were also sent to take over the land and houses left by the Qin and Tang vassals, and to reclaim them in a unified manner in the future as garrison land.

It can be said that the migration of each vassal king was a major adjustment of local interests, and Zhu Youjian was able to gain a lot of room for maneuver.

Sun Chuanting and others in Shaanxi have therefore planned the immigration to Shaanxi for the next year. In addition to the continued migration of the garrisons in northern Shaanxi, the Qin King's guards will be the main force in migrating with the refugees in southern Shaanxi.

To this end, he plans to hold another martial arts conference to more fully tap the grassroots power of Shaanxi.

At the same time, he and the Qin Palace publicly recruited talents, allowing those who thought they had talents to join the Qin King and establish a vassal state.

His actions reduced the resentment of Qin Wang Zhu Yiluo.

It is believed that although Sun Chuanting is ruthless, he is a person who works hard.

If he could have such a minister, he wouldn't have to worry about the establishment of the Qin vassal state.

Unfortunately, such ministers belonged to the imperial court, and he, as a mere King of Qin, had no ability to recruit them.

We can only discover some talents from among the Qin clan’s royal family and relatives by marriage.

The royal family and relatives of the Qin vassal state were also very enthusiastic about establishing a vassal state.

Compared with the wealthy King of Qin, they are the ones who are more willing to establish their own fiefdoms.

Many members of the royal family who were so poor that they had to beg for food soon had enough food to eat after they responded to the Qin King's call to join the army.

These people clamored to make great contributions when the Qin vassal state was established, and wanted to become vassal knights, or even barons and viscounts.

The same is true for relatives by marriage. For them, this is an opportunity to change the family's status.

Even if some of the Qin clan's imperial concubines were unwilling to go to Southeast Asia, they were forced by their families to go to Southeast Asia to obtain fiefdoms.

There were also Zhao Sheng, Bai Wang and other people who had joined the peasant army in history, who also joined the Qin King's guard under the order to recruit talents.

It can be said that the migration of the Qin vassal state was much more volatile than that of the Han vassal state.

As the first vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, the significance of its migration is far beyond that of the Korean vassal state.

This is also the reason why Zhu Youjian and Kong Zhenyun used some means to force the Qin vassal to migrate.

After the Qin vassal state successfully moves, it will attract many members of the royal family who are waiting and watching.

All the princes were watching this matter, and some of them even contributed money and effort to help Qin move his vassal state.

Only Zhu Hengjia, the eldest son of Prince Jingjiang, was extremely disappointed about this.

Because he once again missed the opportunity to establish a fiefdom overseas.

Being in Guangxi, he knew that there were limited good places around the Ming Dynasty, and it could even be said that most of them were bad places.

After the Han, Qin and Tang vassals were relocated, if they could successfully gain a foothold overseas, they would obtain the power promised by the emperor.

Those princes who are waiting and watching will rush to move their fiefdoms, and any slightly better place will be occupied by them.

How could the Prince of Jingjiang, a vassal king who was not a descendant of Taizu, compete with them?
The places that will be divided in the future will mostly be very remote and barren lands.

So he was filled with anger and took people to find Kong Zhenyun, wanting to beat up the official who had deceived him and vent his anger.

He wanted to let Kong Zhenyun know that no matter how low the status of Jingjiang Prefecture was, it was not easy to bully.

Kong Zhenyun treated him as a soft persimmon, but he picked the wrong person. (End of this chapter)