eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 819 The fifth son of the emperor Zhu Zaihen

The selection of a prince has always been a big deal.

Although the eldest son inheritance system cannot guarantee the ability of the heir, name and bloodline are the most important, which represents the order of seniority and inferiority.

The next best thing is ability, at least that's what the ministers thought, especially the ministers of the Ming Dynasty. Their favorites were emperors like Renzong, Xiaozong, and Mu Zong.

Anyway, don't worry with them, they will do whatever they say. On the contrary, it is Zhu Houzhao, a very independent monarch, who gives them a headache.

Emperor Xianzong actually felt a little bit at a disadvantage.

However, it is always difficult for Zhu Houzhao to accept that he should not choose a better one, and then choose a inferior one.

What a damn foundation that lasts for eternity, and lasts for eternity. He never thought that he would be able to establish an eight-hundred-year-old dynasty. Isn’t this nonsense? It’s the 21st century after five hundred years. How could there be an emperor kneeling down on him every day? Just kidding.

And we have no shortage of heroes. There will be many outstanding people in the next few hundred years. Five hundred years from now, that will be their mission and responsibility.

What he wants is to continue the prosperity of this country within the scope of his control.

These more than a hundred years were the beginning of the Age of Discovery and the eve of the Industrial Revolution. If someone like Mu Zong of the Ming Dynasty came up and changed everything to the original way according to the wishes of the Confucian ministers, then there would be no need to quote the classics and discuss the past and the present. He talks about the benefits of primogeniture. Let's wait for the Manchus to cut our hair.

Of course, the secret reserve system does not mean that there are no drawbacks.

Although the sample is insufficient, there are three obvious disadvantages.

First, the new king will be caught off guard when he ascends the throne. Because it's a secret. The emperor will not deliberately train someone. Otherwise, if you let everyone see it, it would be a secret.

Without the prince, there would naturally be no princelings, and the new king would be without a team when he ascends the throne. In other words, the heir's strength is not outstanding, unlike when the prince's title is determined, his name is justified, the power in his hands is overwhelming, and there will be no trouble at all.

Simply put, secretly establishing a heir apparent will make the transition between the old and new monarchs more risky. What if someone tries to make you jump over the wall and decide by physical means?

Since everyone has a chance, when the mystery is revealed, people's hearts will definitely not be stable enough. Even if he has ascended the throne, there will be some fights.

Second, establishing a heir in secret depends entirely on the emperor’s decision-making. What if the emperor’s decision is wrong? For example, people generally believe that Emperor Daoguang should not have his fourth son, who later became Xianfeng. Because it is obvious that the sixth son of the emperor, Yi Xin, is more talented.

Is it even possible that by letting Yi Xin do it, the tragedy of the late Qing Dynasty can be avoided? If nothing else, Yi Xin at least lived a long time. Xianfeng ascended the throne in 1851, but Yi Xin lived until 1898.

It is also an advantage for the country's leader to live long, so as not to have two children to become emperors later when the fate of the nation is most critical.

But no one else could say a word in this matter, and if the old emperor was confused, it was all over.

As for saying that secretly appointing a prince means that the successor to the throne lacks experience, this is nonsense. All the resources put on the prince's head may not necessarily teach him anything good.

In fact, this third flaw is when there is no one to choose from, that is the real trouble.

The eldest son's inheritance system is based on blood. Even if the old emperor dies without leaving any seeds, after everyone adds up and calculates the blood relationship, there will always be one that everyone can accept. If you don't agree, you can't refute too harshly. After all, blood ties are here.

For example, this is how Emperor Jiajing came to be.

This ensures that the country can smoothly pass through such a sensitive period at a critical moment.

The secret system of establishing a prince has the flavor of establishing a virtuous person, but if the old emperor has no son, and the etiquette system of bloodline is disrupted again after the old emperor has no son, then who will inherit the throne at that time?

Of course, one person may end up being singled out as well.

But this person is not convinced by others. Even if you sit on the throne, others will still think that I am better than him. By that time, the world will be in chaos.

This is where the real trouble begins.

This is also the reason why Zhu Houzhao always hesitates.

There has never been a perfect system in this world, and one cannot be superstitious about what system has been implemented and then sit back and relax. This is the precious wealth left to him by the materialist philosophy of history.

The key is to be able to apply it well to the present moment.

The current situation that Zhu Houzhao is facing is that if there is no legitimate son, then the eldest son will be established.

But in this way, it's like Zai Yao has been chosen. Then why should Zai Yan, Zai Yao and others exercise? You don’t have to be serious about running errands.

Furthermore, the rise of princelings will affect the imperial power, especially when he is emperor, he cannot have princelings.

The reason is very simple. He has launched many new policies that offend people. Those who are dissatisfied with him can't do anything about him, but they can pin their hopes on the prince. One or two people can persuade the prince and say, it's not good for your father to do this. Dad, that's not right.

What if the prince believes these people and causes the father and son to antagonize?

Zhu Houzhao couldn't be busy confronting these people every day to win the prince's favor, but once he was in that situation, he would be more passive.

The prince's reserve is a kind of insurance and a retreat. But sometimes having a way out is not necessarily a good thing. In fact, there is one very bad thing about the tenure system in the modern sense, that is, if you do it in a positive and negative way, I can’t object to it, but I can do it slowly or pretend to do it, just to show off, unless you have the ability not to step down, otherwise I will die. drag.

In the current situation of Zhu Houzhao, it would be better not to choose anyone, and intentionally or unintentionally throw out a new term of secret establishment of reserve system. In this way, there will be no so-called princeling party in the court, and the ministers will not know which stove to burn. The safest way is to follow his emperor's will.

Unless they are blood relatives or have great favors, no one will risk their wealth and life on which prince.

On the other hand, Zhu Houzhao still placed his hope on his sons, so that they can all have some experience. If one of them is obviously more talented, then the current prosperous Ming Dynasty can continue, right?

With a history of a thousand years, it is worth it to have more than fifty years of peace and prosperity. If a successor can be chosen who is relatively reliable and allows the Ming Dynasty to catch up with the industrial age and the colonial era, then it will be worthwhile even if the Ming Dynasty dies later.

And this involves him having a very unique and non-replicable reason.

It was the fifth son of the emperor, Zhu Zaihen (sounded as Tongrui), born to Concubine Jing. Although he was only ten years old, he was deeply loved by him.

Naturally, he liked it not because of being obedient or sensible, or because of the so-called 'kindness' that the old fool Daoguang valued, or because of Wanli's doting mother, but because the child was very smart and a member of the Hanlin Academy. The teacher praised him as being talented, good at learning and thinking.

Of course, these may be polite words, but in fact, Zhu Houzhao has carefully observed over the past three years that Zaihen has made very rapid progress in his homework, has good memory and understanding skills, and can teach basically everything.

Zhu Houzhao was very happy, and later asked him to teach him bow and horse and some scientific knowledge. Zaihen got started quickly, and his talent was obviously better than that of his elder brother.

However, the child is still young, so this is just a matter of intelligence that is superior to ordinary people. In fact, it also involves diligence, will, responsibility, etc. This can only be seen after the child has perfected his character for a few years.

So Zhu Houzhao actually wanted to clear some obstacles for Zai Hen.

Otherwise, there is no outstanding prince, and Zaihe has not made any big mistakes. It is really necessary to consider whether to break through the eldest son inheritance system.

When I mentioned it to Zhang Cong today, I just revealed it and made some preparations for the future. Anyway, he is swinging back and forth and the situation is unclear, so it should be regarded as accepting the advice of the ministers and still establishing a direct lineage. If Zaihe is too confused, then make sure this is revealed.

Seeing how panicked Zhang Cong was, Zhu Houzhao also comforted him with a warm voice, "Okay, you get up first. Let me think about this matter again."

Then he turned around and said, "Youzhi, I'm going to review the memorial."

The old eunuch also had white hair, "Yes, I will prepare now."

Zhu Houzhao stretched out and said, "RB Governor Chen Chaorui sent a letter a few days ago, saying that the amount of silver tael produced by RB and the amount of landed silver tael seems to be inconsistent. Do you know this?"

Zhang Cong wiped his sweat and said, "Your Majesty, I know, but please forgive me. Chen Chaorui didn't explain the specific circumstances, and I couldn't figure it out for a while. I was about to figure it out carefully. I'll report it to Your Majesty then."

Zhu Houzhao blinked his eyes and made a contemplative gesture, "First, let's see how big the amount is. When it comes to money, there are many jealous people, and it is inevitable that they will try their best to misappropriate it, but there must be a way for everything. If necessary, replace all the officials on this line to make it safer."

Zhang Cong was shocked. The emperor was never cowardly in his methods. If this happened, this would be a big deal again.

In fact, this kind of position is prone to corruption.

"Yes."

"What is Yan Song doing recently?"

"Your Majesty, Mr. Yan Ge has been in charge of the Prime Minister's Department of Foreign Affairs for a year. He has been dealing with foreign missions and businessmen for more than half a year. The silk business alone has generated three million pieces."

Zhu Houzhao was holding a pen and marking. Hearing his words, he raised his head and stared at Zhang Cong. His eyes were deep and showed no emotion.

Zhang Cong felt a little nervous for a while.

"Any more?"

Zhang Cong shook his head, "No more for now."

Zhu Houzhao didn't say much, "Oh, please step back."

"Yes."

After the people left, Zhu Houzhao snorted angrily.

Zhang Cong’s answer is extremely inappropriate!

He didn't know any of the things Yan Song did, so why should he tell them? That's not what he meant by the question, it's annoying!

Zhang Cong has been the chief minister for a long time, and it has gradually become a habit. Moreover, he likes to recruit subordinates and like to use his own people.

Yan Song was originally used to enter the cabinet to contain him, but people like Yan Song would not offend others easily, let alone Zhang Cong.

Now Zhang Cong's answer seemed stupid, but in fact he was deliberately trying to defend Yan Song. In other words, Zhang Cong was playing tricks on him, and he was trying to drive a wedge between the emperor and Yan Song. If the emperor thought that Yan Song was his Zhang Zhang Cong, Yan Song would naturally be worthless.

In the Forbidden City, a simple sentence can contain a lot of thoughts. If Yan Song suffered a loss because of this, he would die without knowing how.

You Zhi was smarter. He didn't know what emotions were behind the emperor's calm face, so he was always very careful. After leading the two young eunuchs in, they still behaved themselves.

"Your Majesty, today's final memorial is here."

"Oh, bring it." Zhu Houzhao held the memorial in his hand and thought. With Zhang Cong's style, there was something he wanted to check, "You Zhi, go and do it secretly."

"Please give your orders, Your Majesty."

"Look, the circulation of memorials inside and outside Beijing is still smooth." Zhu Houzhao said this in a serious tone.