When Chen Ju saw that Wanli's face was unstable and seemed very conflicted, he whispered: "The Master might as well give him some nominal rewards, so that he would not continue to be a big shot, and would also win him over, so that he would think that the Master would still favor him and would not rush to rebel. It would not be too late to wait for the Master to free up his hands before dealing with him..."

"A reward without any truth?" Emperor Wanli raised his eyebrows, his heart moved, he had an idea, and waved his hand and said, "I have it!

Factory minister, please draw an order for me. Guo Zhiyuan defeated the Japanese pirates and strengthened the prestige of the Ming Dynasty. He made contributions to the country and appointed him as the fourth-class earl and the title of Dongfan. He is worthy of him. Other requests for expansion of troops and construction of shipyards are not allowed!..."

Chen Ju was stunned when he heard this. You should know that the Ming Dynasty was very strict in awarding titles. Generally speaking, only the royal family and the relatives who made great contributions could be awarded titles. There were only three civil servants in the entire Ming Dynasty who awarded titles for merit. The most famous of them was the famous Wang Yangming. Needless to say, Wang Yangming's achievements were not familiar with the other two Wang Ji, Wang Yue, and they were also important figures in the Ming Dynasty. Wang Ji was the Minister of War during the reign of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the Mongolian Wala tribe invaded the border of the Ming Dynasty. The Minister of War (the second in command of the Ministry of War) Chaiche, Xu Xi and others went to the frontier to resist the enemy, but they were ineffective. In the case, Wang Ji had to take action and serve as the general in person. He went out of the frontier at the age of 60, and then quelled the rebellion in one fell swoop. Later, he quelled the rebellion of the envoy of the Luchuan Xuanwei envoy Si Renfa, and was awarded the title of Jingyuan Bo, becoming the first civil servant in the Ming Dynasty to be awarded titles for merit.

Compared with Wang Yangming and Wang Ji, another civil servant named Wang Yue was active on the battlefield for the longest time. From the third year of Chenghua (1467), to the eighth year of Chenghua, to the tenth year of Hongzhi, Wang Yue led major battles such as the Battle of Hongyanchi, the Battle of Weininghai, the Battle of Yansui, and the Battle of Helanshan. He went out to the frontier three times and after more than a dozen battles, he recovered the Hetao area. He was awarded the title system of Weining Bo. (Note: The title system of the Ming Dynasty was slightly different from other dynasties we are familiar with, with only Gong, Hou, Bo, and Zinan.)

But whether it is Wang Yangming, Wang Ji and Wang Yue, they are already high-ranking and experienced old men when they are awarded the title. It is absolutely unprecedented for Guo Zhiyuan to be awarded the title of Count at such a young age!

However, Chen Ju is worthy of being a close minister who knows the best of Emperor Wanli. He immediately understood the intention of Emperor Wanli. Emperor Wanli really had no choice. The emperor could only reward his ministers with promotions. Emperor Wanli did not want Guo Zhiyuan to continue to be promoted, so he naturally could not promote his official position. As for the reward, he was still short of money, and he pointed at Guo Zhiyuan to pay tribute and tax silver for him. How could he give Guo Zhiyuan a reward? The only thing he could do was to get was this nameless title.

Understanding the intention of Emperor Wanli, Chen Ju quickly flattered: "The wise and the wise and the wise and the wise and the wise and the wise and the wise and the wise and the wise have a great grace. Guo Zhiyuan can only do his best to do his best to repay the wise and to repay the wise and to rebel. If he rebels in the future, he will be despised by the world and destroy himself!"

Emperor Wanli shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The court is turbulent and current affairs are difficult. I can only do this extraordinary move. I hope that Guo Zhiyuan can know how to advance and retreat and stop being slutty with me anymore, otherwise I will not forgive him!"

Sure enough, Emperor Wanli's decree caused an uproar in the court as soon as it was released. No one expected that under the crazy impeachment of the Zhejiang Party and the Donglin Party, Emperor Wanli not only did not deal with Guo Zhiyuan, but instead gave him such unprecedented glory and directly appointed him as the Dongfan Bo. The ministers opposed the court's discussion. However, Emperor Wanli had made a decision, and the military achievements made by Guo Zhiyuan were indeed unprecedented and could afford such rewards. In addition, because Chen Yiguan and Shen Li had both resigned and the successor Zhu Geng was not strong enough, the cabinet finally passed the court's discussion.

When the order was delivered to Dongfan, Guo Zhiyuan was also shocked. He did not expect that Emperor Wanli would give him such a big hat. However, he quickly understood the intention of Emperor Wanli and smiled bitterly at the people who congratulated him, "The emperor has already had a murderous intention to kill me, and wants to put me on the fire and roast me..."

However, at this time, Guo Zhiyuan did not care about what Emperor Wanli thought. He eliminated the threat of Japanese pirates. Dongban had entered the fast lane of development. He could not stop because he was concerned about Emperor Wanli's suspicion. No matter what, the defeat of the Japanese pirates and pirate coalition brought many benefits to Guo Zhiyuan. Although the Fujian officials have been deliberately blocking the news, the people of Fujian coastal areas still knew this good news. They have been poisoned by Japanese pirates for a long time, so they are naturally happy and regard Guo Zhiyuan as Qi Jiguang's life, which has also brought Guo Zhiyuan's reputation among the people in Fujian to a new peak.

Reputation is still very beneficial. Now Fujian maritime merchants know that the Dongfan waters are the safest, and they have gone to Dongfan to do business. Even many ordinary people have gone to Dongfan to seek life with ships, spontaneously triggering a wave of immigration to Dongfan. Fortunately, Guo Zhiyuan was prepared. When he was planning the city, he specially set up a free trade zone and a cargo storage area. Now the shops in the Free Trade Zone have been sold to 20,000 taels per room, and it is hard to find a shop. You must know that at this time, you can buy one for 20,000 taels of silver in the capital. It’s a luxurious yard, but Guo Zhiyuan didn’t want to be a bad real estate developer. He deliberately restricted the rise in housing prices. At the same time, in order to take care of those small vendors who can’t afford shops, he specially opened a free market next to the free trade zone, allowing small vendors to set up street stalls and only charge very low stall fees and management fees. This seems to have made a lot of money less, but it makes Dongfan’s free trade become extremely prosperous in a short time, very popular, and crowded every day, which is not bad compared to the highly developed Suzhou and Hangzhou area.

This is not what makes Guo Zhiyuan the most happy. What makes him most happy is that many scholars and scholars who study are also inspired by his reputation and regard him as national heroes and come to serve. This has greatly alleviated Guo Zhiyuan's talent crisis. Now what Guo Zhiyuan lacks the most is grassroots cadres who can read the text and make words clear. At the same time, the construction of Dongfan Academy has come to an end and teachers are urgently needed. Although most of these scholars who come to serve have not won the exam, the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty had great flaws, and there were still many talents among these scholars.

As soon as Guo Zhiyuan came back from the patrol outside that day, Wang Xi ran in happily and panted and said, "Young Master, come... come!"
Chapter completed!