Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 504: The System of Succession of the Firstborn Son
See you in the picture!

This thought arose in the minds of many officials.

The emperor first denied the extermination of ten clans in order to slightly clear the name of Chengzu.

Then there was controversy over the order of succession for Jianwen Jun, indicating that he was not the natural heir.

The purpose was nothing more than to say that Emperor Jianwen was not legitimate enough and that Emperor Chengzu was qualified to compete with him for the throne.

The proposal of the Jingnan reign title further illustrates this point.

Only monarchs have reign titles. The emperor listed the Jingnan reign title and the Jianwen reign title side by side, meaning that after Chengzu launched his rebellion, there were actually two monarchs in the world.

This overturned the previous cognition of the ministers. Li Ruoyu, the head of the Ministry of Justice, said:

"Emperor Chengzu raised an army to quell the rebellion in order to clear the evils from his imperial court."

"So Cheng Zu still acknowledged Jian Wen as the emperor."

Zhu Youjian was calm and said slowly:
"It was like this at the time, but later Chengzu realized that Emperor Jianwen was unfit to be a king, and he issued an edict of accession saying:"

"This year is still the 35th year of Hongwu, and next year will be the first year of Yongle."

"Although it is unreasonable to continue using the Hongwu era name, it is a helpless move."

"Otherwise, if we still use the Jianwen era name to record events, who are the officials and who are the bandits between the Chengzu troops and the Jianwen troops?"

"So I think if we want to reuse the Jianwen era name, the Jingnan era name should be used at the same time. Using two era names side by side is a struggle for legitimacy."

"Otherwise, we can still use the Hongwu era name to record the events of that time."

This is even more unacceptable to those who support Emperor Jianwen and his ministers.

However, Zhu Youjian had made up his mind to either use the Jianwen and Jingnan era names at the same time, or use the Hongwu era name.

He wanted to use this to make people in the world regard the war between Emperor Chengzu and Emperor Jianwen as a war of succession.

If Chengzu wins this war, he will inherit the throne.

This was not something that many of the ministers agreed with, and for a while, a stalemate began to arise between the emperor and his ministers.

This situation did not last long. Han Yu, who was extremely grateful to the emperor for allowing him to sit down and bow to him, understood better why the ministers supported Emperor Jianwen and his ministers, and spoke to mediate:

"I think the Jianwen era name should be used again, but in July of the first year of Jianwen, after Chengzu launched the Jingnan Rebellion, the Jingnan era name should be used at the same time."

"The Records of the Jingnan Rebellion" should be the Records of Jianwen and Jingnan Rebellion, which records the deeds of Jianwen and his ministers and Chengzu in the Jingnan Rebellion."

"Since Jianwen's ministers have been paid by Jianwen, they should serve him wholeheartedly."

"Emperor Chengzu also said: 'He is receiving the salary and he is doing his best. Don't ask any questions.' He pardoned Zhou Shixiu and others who were loyal to Emperor Jianwen."

"Many ministers who died for their loyalty did so. I think they should be given posthumous titles."

Zhu Youjian could accept this statement.

Except for a few stubborn people, most of the ministers tend to agree.

Was their purpose in restoring the Jianwen era simply to speak up for Emperor Jianwen and win him fame and status?

More importantly, they wanted Fang Xiaoru and other ministers who died for their loyalty to the country to receive the treatment they deserved.

In their eyes, these people's behavior would earn them the reputation of loyal ministers even if the dynasty was destroyed.

The Ming Dynasty did not perish, so they should be praised even more.

Now that the emperor has finally relented and acknowledged that Emperor Jianwen is one of the legitimate ministers, Fang Xiaoru and others can also be posthumously honored as loyal ministers.

Most people have tended to agree and decided to finalize this result.

But some people still want more. Li Ruoyu said:
"Since the reign title of Jianwen has been restored, the posthumous title of Jianwen Temple must be restored."

"Since Your Majesty has given Emperor Jing a new temple name, I think the same should be done for Emperor Jianwen."

Zhu Youjian was furious and shouted:
"absurd!"

"How can Lord Jianwen be compared with Emperor Jing?"

"Emperor Jing and his ministers like Yu Qian saved the world, so they are treated this way."

"Jianwen was immoral and chaotic. If it wasn't for Chengzu who led the army to quell the rebellion, how would the world know whose surname it was?"

"How can a man who almost caused the Ming Dynasty to lose its country be compared with Emperor Jing?"

"Or do you think the world is not chaotic enough and want to cause chaos everywhere?"

Li Ruoyu was so frightened that he knelt down and apologized, and then he said:
"I am a loyal minister, but I really don't know why Your Majesty would say that this would cause chaos in the world."

Zhu Youjian saw that many of his ministers also had doubts, so he relaxed a little and said to them:

"You guys still don't understand what the primogeniture system is."

"Taizu established the eldest son's inheritance system for civil officials in the past, but other inheritance systems are unclear, and the eldest son's inheritance system has not been deeply rooted in people's hearts."

"Chengzu restored Taizu's old system, and everything followed the ancestral system. The Ming imperial family and clan succession has always been based on the eldest son's succession system."

"For example, after the Battle of Tumu, the imperial court wanted to establish a long-term ruler. Why did they establish Zhu Qiyu, the Prince of Qin, instead of Zhu Zhanji, the Prince of Xiang, as some people had proposed?"

Minister of Rites Wen Tiren continued:

"The Imperial Ming Ancestor's Instructions states: If there is no prince in the imperial court, the younger brother must succeed the elder brother, and the one born to the legitimate mother must be made the heir. The one born to a concubine's mother cannot be made the heir, even if he is the oldest."

"Prince Ying is the younger brother of Emperor Yingzong, and he should be the heir according to the law of succession. But he is a bastard, and is not as noble as Prince Xiang, who is the legitimate son."

"I have also been confused. Your Majesty, please help me solve my doubts."

Zhu Youjian nodded secretly, thinking that Wen Tiren was really tactful, and continued:
"After Chengzu ascended the throne, he followed the ancestral teachings and explained Taizu's profound meaning to future generations."

"The reason why the Prince of Ying succeeded to the throne is that according to the succession system of the eldest son established by Taizu, the descendants of Xuanzong's branch of the family are ahead of other branches in the order of succession."

"As long as Emperor Xuanzong has an heir, it will not be the turn of Prince Xiang and others to inherit. Prince Xiang also knows this, so even though he served as regent twice, he never had any delusions."

"The rough parts of the Imperial Ming Ancestor's Instructions were supplemented by Chengzu with the inheritance system established by Taizu. Although the eldest son's succession system was not made public, it was actually being implemented and improved."

As he spoke, he brought up another matter and said to the ministers:
"The reason why Emperor Shizong Jiajing ascended to the throne was because he followed the system of primogeniture, and he should be enthroned according to the order of family ties."

"If we follow the system of primogeniture, who will come first, him or Prince Yi Zhu Youbin?"

"And Prince Zhu Qiyu of Qin. If we follow the system of primogeniture, who will come first, him or Prince Zhu Zhanji of Xiang?"

These two inheritance cases caused a lot of controversy among the ministers.

Because according to the system of primogeniture, the eldest son's half-brother and half-brother have a higher order of succession than the eldest grandson's half-brother and half-brother:
Prince Xiang Zhu Zhanji was the legitimate son of Emperor Renzong and the same-mother brother of Emperor Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji. His order of succession was before Emperor Renzong's illegitimate grandson Zhu Qiyu.

Prince Yi Zhu Youbing was the illegitimate son of Emperor Xianzong and the illegitimate brother of Emperor Xiaozong, and his order of succession was before Zhu Houzhao, the illegitimate grandson of Emperor Xianzong.

This is completely contrary to the actual inheritance situation and must be explained by the system of primogeniture.

However, some people disagree with this point, believing that when Zhu Qiyu and Zhu Houcong succeeded to the throne, Renzong and Xianzong had already died, and their order of succession should be rearranged according to the situation at that time.

But how should they be ranked? The system of primogeniture does not provide for this, and the ministers have different opinions. Yang Jingchen, who wanted to become the next Zhang Fujing and was deeply involved in the discussion of the great ceremony, said:
"This is an oversight in the system of primogeniture. Sejong insisted on the system of primogeniture and made up for the omission."

"The Ming Lun Da Dian says: The ancestral precept is that the younger brother shall inherit the throne after the elder brother, and this can be extended endlessly, and it starts with the relatives, first to the same father, then to the same ancestor, which is the so-called order of relations, not just referring to the same birth."

"According to this system, when Emperor Yingzong was exiled to the north, if his youngest son was not enthroned, the throne should be traced back to the same father. The Prince of Ying and his brother were brothers from the same father, so the Prince of Ying should be enthroned."

"Wuzong had no descendants, and no brothers with the same father, so he continued to trace the common ancestor. Ruizong was the oldest among Xianzong's sons. Although he had passed away, his son should still be enthroned."

"So Yang Tinghe drafted the will, saying that Emperor Shizong should be enthroned according to the order of his ancestor. The ministers followed the ancestral teachings and welcomed Emperor Shizong to be enthroned according to the order of his ancestor."

This explanation pleased Zhu Youjian greatly, and he praised:

"Mr. Yang is an expert in etiquette and law, worthy of his Hanlin background."

"The order of succession for Sejong should be established, and this order of succession comes from the order of succession for Ruizong, so he gave Ruizong a temple posthumous title to make the succession clear."

"It's a pity that some ministers didn't understand, and a great dispute over the ceremony occurred."

"This is the aftermath of Taizu and Chengzu changing the system of primogeniture to the system of primogeniture. Chengzu's temple name was changed from Zong to Zu, which is also the reason why."

With this conclusion, Zhu Youjian explained in detail:
"During the reign of Emperor Wuzong, there was the rebellion of Prince Anhua and Prince Ning. Although this was the fault of Emperor Wuzong, it was also due to the fact that the succession was unclear."

"So, Shizong thought: When my ancestor Taizong was just establishing the country, it was also the time when Jianwen revived the country that was destroyed, which was like starting over again."

"The Ancestor has merits and the Ancestor has virtues, so the name of Taizong was changed to Zu in order to clarify the lineage and the source of the throne—"

"I and all the previous emperors inherited the throne not only from Taizu, but also from Chengzu."

"Taizu founded the country, Chengzu established it, and both ancestors made great contributions. Only their descendants can inherit the throne."

This statement made some officials suddenly understand why Sejong was so stubborn in giving Ruizong a posthumous title and changing Taizong's temple name to Chengzu.

Only in this way can the line of succession and his inheritance rights be made clear.

The effect was quite good. After Sejong, there were no more rebellions by vassal kings.

The ministers who were unwilling to make trouble agreed with the emperor's explanation, and Li Biao, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, even added:

"Since this is the case, the two ancestors, Taizu and Chengzu, should be paired with the Heaven together."

"Emperor Jianwen should not have a temple or posthumous title, to prevent evildoers from using his name to cause chaos."

All the ministers agreed and rejected the proposal to confer a posthumous title on Emperor Jianwen.

Because in order to give Emperor Jianwen a temple and posthumous title, Crown Prince Yiwen must also be given a temple and posthumous title. According to the system of primogeniture, this means that the descendants of Crown Prince Yiwen Zhu Biao will always have inheritance rights before the descendants of Emperor Chengzu.

Only by changing Taizong's name to Chengzu and not giving posthumous titles to Crown Prince Yiwen and Emperor Jianwen could their right to inherit the Ming throne be completely denied and the throne be left forever in the line of Chengzu.

Li Ruoyu realized this and immediately knelt down to apologize, breaking out in a cold sweat in the hot weather:
In fact, he couldn't help but be afraid that after Emperor Jianwen was given a temple and posthumous title, someone would use Emperor Jianwen's name to cause chaos.

In history, Li Zicheng once used the name of Emperor Jianwen and said: "I am the wicked son of my ancestor Emperor Jianwen. I changed my surname to avoid disaster."

If such a thing happened after Emperor Jianwen was given a posthumous title, Li Ruoyu would certainly be impeached or even executed.

The emperor rejected his proposal and saved his life.

After thinking about the possible consequences, no one among the ministers supported giving Emperor Jianwen a temple and posthumous title.

He is still called Emperor Jianwen, or the Shao Emperor.

At this point, after it was determined that the Jianwen era name and the Jingnan era name would be used together, the issue of posthumous title for the Jianwen Temple was rejected by the emperor and his ministers.

Zhu Youjian readily agreed to the posthumous title of Jianwen's ministers. Because the most difficult part of this matter had just been solved.

If we acknowledge that Emperor Jianwen was once the emperor, then it is only natural that his ministers were loyal to him.

According to what Chengzu said, "They eat the salary and do their best, don't ask any questions", they can be exempted from the responsibility of resisting the Jingnan Rebellion and can even be given titles and posthumous titles.

This list was also easy to determine, because when Emperor Wanli first ascended the throne, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng and others had already taken advantage of the young emperor to build a loyal shrine in Nanjing for the loyal ministers of Emperor Jianwen, with Xu Huizu, Duke of Wei, Fang Xiaoru and others as the first. Later, the list was supplemented several times, and there were few omissions.

In response to the advice of his ministers, Zhu Youjian posthumously awarded the title of "Loyalty" to four people: Xu Huizu, Duke of Wei, Fang Xiaoru, Doctor of Literature, Zhuo Jing, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and Lian Zining, Grand Censor.

The Minister of War Tie Xuan was posthumously named Zhongxiang, the Marquis of Changxing Geng Bingwen was posthumously named Wuzhuang, and the rest were posthumously named Zhonghui, Zhongmin, Zhongjie, etc.

The more troublesome ones were the Minister of War Qi Tai and the Minister of Taichang Temple Huang Zicheng. They were the ones who advocated the reduction of the power of the princes and forced Cheng Zu to rebel.

When Chengzu launched the Jingnan Rebellion, he raised the slogan of clearing the court of corrupt officials and also clearly pointed out that Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng were treacherous ministers.

Therefore, there was some controversy among the ministers as to whether they should be given posthumous titles and honored with titles.

Some people believed that the two men’s identities as treacherous ministers should be retained to give Chengzu a reason to start a rebellion.

Some people think that Fang Xiaoru and others were posthumously honored, and it is inappropriate to keep only them.

Zhu Youjian thought it was fine and thought it was okay to posthumously honor Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng. In this way, the mistakes made by Emperor Jianwen could not be blamed on his ministers. The death of Prince Xiang and other matters should be borne by Emperor Jianwen.

When faced with the decision of his ministers to posthumously confer the title of Jiemin on Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng, Zhu Youjian generously expressed his approval.

In addition, Xu Huizu, Fang Xiaoru, Zhuo Jing, Lian Zining, and Tie Xuan were given the title of Viscount, and other loyal ministers of Jianwen were given the title of Baron and Knight. However, they all needed to open up territories overseas to be eligible to inherit the title.

This made the ministers feel the emperor's kindness even more and they cheered for it.

Half of the three things they proposed to build the country have been achieved this time.

After the construction of the Temple of Loyalty and the partial restoration of the Jianwen reign title during the Wanli period, the civil officials achieved new victories in the affairs of Emperor Jianwen and his ministers.
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After the posthumous titles of the officials of Jianwen were completed, Zhu Youjian pointed at Geng Bingwen, the only one who had not been given a title, and said to the officials:

"Geng Bingwen was a founding hero and was conferred the title of Marquis of Changxing in the third year of Hongwu."

"Since his crimes are no longer being investigated, he should be enshrined in the Temple of Great Ancestor's Meritorious Officials."

"There are also people like Lan Yu who were implicated. They should also be included in the Temple of Meritorious Officials."

This statement surprised all the ministers, and they didn't know why the emperor also brought Lan Yu into this.

If Geng Bingwen was loyal to Emperor Jianwen and his ministers were rehabilitated, they could naturally be included in the Temple of Meritorious Officials. Then, what was the relationship between Lan Yu and his ministers?
In response to this question, Zhu Youjian said calmly:
"Don't you know why the Lan Yu case started?"

"During the Hongwu reign, the four major cases were: the Empty Seal Case was to correct the bad policies left over from the previous Yuan Dynasty, the Hu Weiyong Case was to purge the powerful officials with ulterior motives, and the Guo Heng Case was to punish corruption."

"Only the Lan Yu case, what do you think it was for?"

The ministers wanted to say that the purpose was to kill the meritorious officials, but they obviously could not express this idea in front of the emperor.

Minister of Rites Wen Tiren pondered over it and thought of the order of succession between Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yunhuan mentioned by the emperor before. He suddenly realized:

"The Lan Yu case was caused by Lord Jianwen's ascension to power."

"In order to prevent Wu Wang Zhu Yunhuan from getting angry, Taizu, with the support of Lan Yu and others, caused trouble."

"So we eliminated Lan Yu and the others to remove the hidden dangers for Lord Jianwen in advance."

As the brother-in-law of Chang Yuchun and the uncle of Zhu Yunhun's mother, Concubine Chang, Lan Yu had a very close relationship with Zhu Yunhun.

Since Taizu did not choose Zhu Yunhuan as the crown prince, he naturally could not keep Lan Yu and others and leave hidden dangers for Zhu Yunwen.

(End of this chapter)