Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 35
Hongwu 26th year, April [-]th.

Early morning, Fengtian Gate.

"There is only one thing to discuss this morning. Who should be appointed as the crown prince?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stood on the throne with his hands behind his back, looked down at the ministers from a high position, and asked with dignity: "King Yan is talented and intelligent, and he is as brave as me. How can he be established?"

None of the civil and military officials dared to say anything about this important matter of establishing the crown prince.

Since King Zhu Fan of Jin was deposed, King Zhu Di of Yan has become the eldest among Zhu Yuanzhang's sons. Today is the fifteenth day, so he led the kings in Beijing to worship Qin Min in the side hall of Fengxian Hall this morning. Wang Zhuqing and Prince Yiwen Zhu Biao went away and did not attend the morning court.

Zhu Yunwen was in bed recuperating from illness and was also not in the court.

At this time, Liu Sanwu, an 81-year-old Hanlin scholar, noticed that many officials looked left and right and communicated with each other with their eyes, but no one dared to speak out.

He hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and loudly admonished: "Your Majesty, the grandson of the Emperor of the East Palace, the legitimate son of the world, and the deceased Sun Cheng, it is appropriate to control the etiquette."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, a look of sadness gradually appeared on his face. He seemed to think of Prince Yiwen who died of illness. There were faint tears in his eyes, and he was speechless for a long time.

According to historical records, Liu Sanwu was "well-read and good at remembering". Zhu Yuanzhang often asked him for advice on how to govern the country and select talents, and entrusted him with the important task of publishing regulations and etiquette. He was the chief editor of "Cunxin", "Collection of Etiquette" and other imperial classics. , deeply praised by Zhu Yuanzhang.

In other words, Liu Sanwu's words still had a great impact on Zhu Yuanzhang.

"The old minister begs His Majesty to think twice!"

Liu Sanwu bowed again.

At this time, those officials who did not want Zhu Di to succeed to the throne among the courtiers could not help but become bolder when they saw that Zhu Yuanzhang was not angry.

Several people came forward one after another to agree with Liu Sanwu's point of view, citing classics to explain that the death of Sun Cheng was in accordance with etiquette and law. Among them was Huang Shi (Huang Zicheng), the companion of the East Palace.

After listening to the words of these officials, Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a long time.

Seeing that the aloof Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent, other courtiers who did not want Zhu Di to take the throne were immediately greatly encouraged.

They seemed to think that Liu Sanwu and the others had persuaded Zhu Yuanzhang, and they immediately stood up one after another and pointed out the many benefits of Sun Cheng's death, believing that it would be beneficial to the stability of the Ming Dynasty.

Although these officials who favored "the death of his son and Sun Cheng" did not explicitly oppose Zhu Yuanzhang's appointment of Zhu Di, supporting the appointment of his son Sun Cheng was tantamount to supporting the appointment of Zhu Biao's son, Zhu Yunwen, who was close to Confucianism.

Unfortunately, they didn't know that Zhu Yunwen had lost the right to inherit the throne due to his own reasons.

After Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a long time, he sighed helplessly: "Although Yunwen is an adult, he is suffering from an unspeakable illness and his future is unpredictable. What can he do?"

As soon as these words came out, the whole place fell into silence, and you could hear a pin drop.

If others say that Zhu Yunwen suffers from a stubborn disease that cannot be cured, it may be malicious rumors, but now that Zhu Yuanzhang said it himself, there is no doubt about its authenticity.

What's more, based on the ministers' understanding of Zhu Yuanzhang, if there was hope of curing Zhu Yunwen's disease, Zhu Yuanzhang would never make the news public, but would order people to treat him secretly until he recovered.

In other words, Zhu Yuanzhang no longer has any illusions about Zhu Yunwen!

Liu Sanwu was speechless, and the other ministers were silent. Only Rujun, the Minister of War, stood up.

"Your Majesty, it is an ancient custom that 'father and son succeed each other, and the elder and the younger are in order'. I believe that according to the order of teeth, the fourth son of the emperor should be crowned King Yan. This way the world can be at peace and people's hearts can be settled."

The personal relationship between Ru Yu and Liu Sanwu was not bad. Liu Sanwu was able to serve as an official in the imperial court at an early age thanks to Ru Yu's recommendation. However, the two now had huge differences over the emperor's appointment of a heir.

Perhaps Rujun saw through Zhu Yuanzhang's intention to establish Zhu Di, and was afraid that Liu Sanwu's blunt advice would offend Zhu Yuanzhang, so she flattered Zhu Yuanzhang in order to appease the other party's dissatisfaction.

Or maybe Ru Ru was keenly aware that with the emperor's eldest son Zhu Biao and the emperor's second son King Qin having passed away, and the emperor's third son King Jin being deposed, Zhu Yunwen, who was most likely to be established as the grandson, lost his qualification to succeed due to illness. Under this situation, the choice of the new crown prince of Ming Dynasty, no matter how ranked in terms of rank and qualifications, will fall on Zhu Di, the fourth emperor.In short, no matter what Ru Yu thought in his heart, he had become the first official among the people in the hall to stand up and clearly support the appointment of Zhu Di as the crown prince.

After hearing Ru Yun's sonorous and powerful words, Zhu Yuanzhang did not speak immediately. Instead, he stood there, looking at the hall in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking.

"What Ru Shangshu said is totally wrong. After the death of a son, the succession is in line with etiquette and is conducive to the stability of the country. Moreover, Prince Yiwen has many heirs. Since ancient times, the eldest son has inherited the family business. How can he abandon the eldest son and establish a side branch?"

Liu Sanwu didn't refute Zhu Yuanzhang just now, not because he didn't want to, but because he just saw Zhu Yuanzhang's expression of grief and couldn't bear to mention it again, but now he had no scruples about Ru Yu and just opened his mouth to retaliate.

Zhu Yuanzhang was brought back to reality by Liu Sanwu's words, but he still stood with his hands behind his hands and listened quietly without expressing his position.

In the main hall, Ru Yu did not flinch and asked coldly.

"His Royal Highness King Yan is the daughter of Empress Xiaoci. Although he is not the eldest son according to the dental order, he is still the eldest son, so how can he be regarded as a side branch? You are slandering the Tian family. What crime should you do?"

"Ru Shangshu knows that family inheritance is passed down among the people. As long as the eldest son of the eldest son has an offspring, the family property will not be passed on to the second son of the eldest son or other sons. Except for the eldest son of the eldest son, other sons such as the second son of the eldest son are included. Within it, all are considered side branches.”

A determined "Zi Mian Sun Cheng" sent an official to refute Ru Jindao on Liu Sanwu's behalf.

Ru Yu was about to fight back when Lu Zhen, the head of the Household Department, spoke before him.

"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven who is destined by heaven, how can he be compared with the common people? How can the fortune of the Heavenly Family be compared to that of the common people?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked down indifferently at the people who were speaking one after another, but still did not speak.

At this time, many thoughtful officials decided to give it a go. Following Lu Zhen, the head of the Household Department, they came out one after another, expressing the view that "father and son follow each other, and the elders and younger ones are in order" is the right way, and publicly expressed their support for Zhu Di as the crown prince.

"Your Majesty, I have risked my life to advise you that King Yan has a violent temper, is cruel and warlike, and is not the image of a benevolent king. If he succeeds to the throne, the decline of the Ming Dynasty may not be far away."

Seeing the officials supporting Zhu Di go from one to two, from two to three, and from three to five, a Confucian official from the "Zi Di Sun Cheng" faction was so anxious that he came out to advise him.

As soon as this person finished speaking, the other officials were all surprised and looked sideways, wanting to see what this person looked like.

Even Ru Yu, Liu Sanwu and others looked around with different expressions.

Everyone knows that those who dare to say "the words about the demise of the Ming Dynasty" in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, will either rise to fame or die in an instant!
In the hall, there was a sudden silence.

"Curse the imperial court and confuse the public with evil words. He deserves to be punished for his crime! Come on, push this man out and chop him down!"

Suddenly, Zhu Yuanzhang broke the silence and shouted loudly.

No one dared to stand up and intercede for this person, including Liu Sanwu, Huang Zicheng and other officials who supported the establishment of Zhu Yunwen.

Although these people dared to express their support for Zhu Yunwen and against the establishment of Zhu Di, it was because Zhu Yuanzhang ordered them to discuss who should be appointed as the crown prince, but he did not let them curse the Ming Dynasty.

"I made a mistake for a moment, please forgive me!"

Seeing that he was alone and helpless, the man reacted quickly and quickly knelt down to beg for mercy in an attempt to save himself.

At this time, none of the officials who could stand in the hall were fools.

Therefore, the man was eventually dragged down by two guards.

"Sooner or later this Ming Dynasty will be over!"

The man roared before he died.

(End of this chapter)