Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 273: If you have a direct descendant, you must establish a direct descendant; if you don’t have a direct descendant, you will establish a long-term relationship.

The night sky is twinkling with stars.

At this time, Emperor Qianxi Zhu Gaoxu, who was sitting on the podium in the reading room of the Ming Dynasty Royal Academy Library, was momentarily stunned by the question of Yue King Zhu Zhancheng.

After the death of King Zhu Chun of Shu, according to the rules set by the "Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions", Zhu Chun's eldest son Zhu Yuebian (lian) should inherit the throne.

However, Zhu Yuebian, who was named the Crown Prince of Shu in the last years of Hongwu, died of illness in the 11th year of Yongle. He was only 22 years old and was given the posthumous title of Crown Prince Zhuang.

According to the "Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions" revised for the last time during Zhu Yuanzhang's lifetime, when selecting the successor to the Ming vassal throne and the Ming emperor's throne, the method is the same. Two basic criteria must be followed, and the successor must be selected according to seven major sequences.

One criterion is "If there is a direct descendant, there will be a direct descendant, but if there is no direct descendant, there will be an elder; if there is no direct descendant, there will be no elder."

Another principle is that "a long-term king in a country is a blessing to the country."

As for the seven major sequences of heirs, from front to back they are legitimate son and grandson, concubine and concubine, legitimate brother and concubine, cousin and nephew, cousin, cousin, and side nephew and cousin.

That is to say, legitimate sons and grandsons are ranked in the first sequence, and concubines and concubines are ranked in the second sequence.

If a qualified successor cannot be found in the first sequence, then search from the next sequence until a qualified successor is found.

According to the ancestral system, after the death of King Zhu Chun of Shu, if there is no living heir to the throne of Shu, the oldest among Zhu Chun's legitimate sons and grandsons who have been crowned and crowned must be the crown prince or king's grandson. Those who are younger and have not been crowned, although they cannot be crowned, will not be crowned by their concubines. Although it is alive, it cannot stand when it grows up.

However, King Zhu Chun of Shu had one and only one legitimate son. At the same time, this legitimate son was also the eldest son, namely the prince Zhu Yuebian who passed away in the 11th year of Yongle, and he had no other legitimate sons.

Today, among the six sons of King Zhu Chun of Shu, only the second son Zhu Yueyao, King of Huayang (33 years old this year), the fifth son Zhu Yueyao, King of Baoning (Shangshaoxiahuo) (25 years old this year), and the sixth son Zhu Yuene, King of Yongchuan, are still alive. (This year) three.

His third son, King Zhu Yuesui of Chongyang, died of illness in the 20th year of Yongle. The country was wiped out because he had no children, and he did many illegal activities, so he did not receive a posthumous title. He only lived 26 years old.

As for his fourth son, Zhu Yuexin, King of Chongqing, who died of illness in the 13th year of Yongle, he was also annihilated because he had no children. He was only 17 years old when he died, and he did not receive a posthumous title because he did not do much during his lifetime.

Although King Zhu Chun of Shu has no other legitimate sons alive after his death, fortunately, he still has three legitimate grandsons. The eldest grandson Zhu Youyu is 19 years old this year, the second grandson Qianjiang Wang Zhu Youyi is this year, and the third legitimate grandson Zhu Yousi, King of Luojiang is 16 years old this year.

Therefore, according to the ancestral system and traditional etiquette, Zhu Youyu, the eldest grandson of King Zhu Chun of Shu, should inherit the throne and become the second king of Shu in the Ming Dynasty.

"After the death of your eleventh uncle (King Zhu Chun of Shu), the court has not appointed Youyu as the grandson of the King of Shu, and I have not issued an edict to order him to inherit the throne of the King of Shu. There are two main reasons."

After Zhu Gaoxu thought for a long time, he decided to speak frankly to the older sons in front of him.

As soon as these words came out, everyone present pricked up their ears.

"The first one is that Youyu was born with a weak body. It has been three years since we got married, but he has no son or daughter. This makes me very worried as a father. After all, the Kingdom of Shu was established outside the territory, and the burden on the shoulders of the second King of Shu is huge. light."

After Zhu Zhancheng and others heard this, most of them nodded subconsciously.

Because what Zhu Gaoxu said is right, Shu is thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty capital. If there is a change, it can only rely on the naval officers and soldiers patrolling Southeast Asia for support for a while.

From the seventh year of Yongle to the tenth year of Yongle, King Zhu Chun of Shu, King Zhu Bai of Jin (formerly King of Xiang), King Zhu of Su (yang), King of Liao Zhu Zhi, King of Qing Zhu Zhu (zhan), King of Min Zhu Pian (pian), King of Gu Zhu The seven kings including Lu were successively moved to the south and west of the Peacock Peninsula.

Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu does not require the second King of Shu to have iron-blooded skills. At least he must be physically strong and able to give hope to the people and civil and military officials under his command, otherwise the Kingdom of Shu will really perish!

In fact, thinking of this, he has already decided to build the East, West, South and North Four Seas Navy.

There is one more thing Zhu Gaoxu did not say, that is, Zhu Youyu's two younger brothers probably inherited the frail genes of their father, Zhu Yuebian, the prince of Shu, and they also had no children since their marriage.Especially this year's King of Qianjiang, Zhu You'an, looks like a sick man. He can't even run a few steps without gasping for air. He also has fever and chills from time to time and needs to stay in bed to rest.

"Second, your cousin Prince Huayang (Zhu Yueyao) wrote a secret report to me to report Youyu's rebellion, slander and more than a dozen things."

Zhu Gaoxu continued: "Although I know in my heart that your uncle King Huayang's accusation against You Yu was deliberately false in order to seize the throne of King of Shu, but there must be an explanation for this matter, so I had to send someone to investigate the matter. , Fortunately, Youyu is innocent."

King Zhu Zhancheng of Yue asked: "Father, how dare Uncle King Huayang have such ambition?"

"This starts with the origins of Youyu and your cousin King Huayang."

Zhu Gaoxu patiently introduced the situation of Zhu Youyu and Zhu Yueyao.

Zhu Youyu was born in September of the eighth year of Yongle. He was the eldest son of Zhu Yuefiao, the crown prince of Shu, and his biological mother was the crown prince's concubine, Mrs. Liu.

Liu is the granddaughter of Liu Zhen, the commander-in-chief of the Left Army in the early years of Yongle. Liu Zhen was an important court general in the late Hongwu Dynasty. In the early years of Yongle, he was ordered to guard Liaodong.

It can be said that if there are no accidents, after Zhu Yuefian, the eldest son of the King of Shu, succeeds to the throne in the future, Zhu Youyu, the eldest grandson of the King of Shu, will be promoted to the new eldest son of the King of Shu.

However, the accident still happened.

Before Zhu Youyu turned three years old, his father, Zhu Yuexiao, the crown prince of the King of Shu, unfortunately passed away. The following year, his mother, the crown prince's concubine Liu, also passed away.

As a result, Zhu Youyu and his two younger brothers became orphans without a father or mother. They were raised by their grandfather Zhu Chun, King of Shu, who worked hard to raise them.

Zhu Yueyao, the king of Huayang County, is the second son of Zhu Chun, the king of Shu.

Zhu Chun had six sons in total. The second son Zhu Yueyao was born to the second concubine Jin, and he had the most noble status among the other sons.

Since his eldest brother had passed away, King Zhu Yueyao of Huayang looked at his three young nephews and couldn't help but coveted the throne of the prince of Shu and even the king of Shu.

Because at this time, he had become the de facto eldest son of Shu King Zhu Chun.

If all the three sons of Zhu Yuebian, the crown prince of the King of Shu, died in infancy, then according to the provisions of the "Ancestor Instructions of the Emperor Ming" that "there are direct descendants, but there are no direct descendants." Under the situation that there are no direct sons and grandchildren of the King of Shu, this one The second son of King Shu, Zhu Yueyao, King of Huayang, will automatically become the first heir to the throne of King Shu.

Fortunately, King Zhu Chun of Shu paid close attention to his three direct grandchildren and did not give King Zhu Yueyao of Huayang a chance to harm them.

Even when Zhu Youyu, the eldest grandson of the King of Shu, gradually grew up, he repeatedly interceded for his willful second uncle Zhu Yueyao, King of Huayang, in front of his grandfather Zhu Chun, the King of Shu.

Once, Zhu Yueyao was beaten a hundred times by the King of Shu Zhu Chun for appointing an official to someone privately, and was about to be sent to the court for punishment. Fortunately, Zhu Youyu interceded, and Zhu Yueyao escaped.

"Uncle Wang Huayang is too unkind."

Zhu Zhancheng, the king of Yue, couldn't help but said: "Father, in my son's opinion, after clearing Youyu's name, the court should appoint him as the king's grandson and appoint him to succeed the king of Shu. Although the status of Shu is equal to that of our Ming Dynasty province, , but it is a vassal country after all, and the new king has not been established for a long time, so I am afraid something will happen!"

"Yes, it is better to have a king than not to have a king. I have already made up my mind about this matter, so I won't care about it for now. Tonight, I will talk to you again about the details of the founding of the vassal state."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded seriously.

(End of this chapter)