Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"During the Tang and Song dynasties, the order of succession under the system of primogeniture was:"

"The eldest legitimate son is first, the eldest legitimate grandson is second, the eldest legitimate son's half-brother is third, the eldest legitimate son's half-brother is fourth, the eldest legitimate grandson's half-brother is fifth, the eldest legitimate grandson's half-brother is sixth, and the same applies to the great-great ...

"The system of succession to civil officials in this dynasty is what Your Majesty calls the system of primogeniture. The order of succession is:"

"The eldest son comes first, followed by his descendants, the eldest son's brothers and their descendants, the sons born to the second wife come last, and the sons born to the third wife come last."

"If there are no offspring, then the protection will be provided by the brothers and their descendants, uncles and their descendants."

"It is exactly as your majesty said, the inheritance is based on the order of the first generation of the family -"

"As long as the descendants of the previous branch exist, it will not be the turn of the next branch."

After introducing the inheritance systems of the previous and current dynasties, Liu Zongzhou concluded.

Ever since the emperor proposed the system of primogeniture, these ministers who studied rites and laws had carefully studied the differences between the Ming inheritance system and that of previous dynasties.

It was discovered that it was indeed as the emperor had said, the inheritance system of this dynasty was based on the order of the family, and not like the previous dynasty, where only the eldest grandson had a higher inheritance right than his uncle.

The Ming Dynasty's civil servant promotion, aristocratic inheritance, and royal family inheritance were actually all based on this law.

The emperors after Chengzu also fully conformed to the system of primogeniture.

Therefore, most people believe that the "Ming Dynasty Inheritance Etiquette" that is being formulated should follow the inheritance system of the eldest son of the legitimate wife.

However, some people always talk about the Tang and Song dynasties, and believe that the system of primogeniture inheritance of the previous dynasties should be implemented.

Especially in the eyes of some women, how can the illegitimate son born to the eldest son's concubine be ranked ahead of their other sons in the order of inheritance?

The system of primogeniture is more appropriate and more consistent with the closeness of the relationship.

Faced with this controversy, Liu Zongzhou's solution was to explain it at the imperial lecture and request the emperor's decision.

After all, the "Ming Dynasty Succession Etiquette" was clearly stated by the emperor and must be followed. We cannot create unnecessary trouble that would make the emperor angry after reading it.

Zhu Youjian was very satisfied with Liu Zongzhou's attitude. He did not make a direct decision on the matter, but asked his ministers:

"What does the ancient ritual of primogeniture mean?"

"Which one is more in line with ancient etiquette, the system of primogeniture or the system of primogeniture?"

Liu Zongzhou heard this and replied:

"The Three Rituals do not mention this, and the Gongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals says: 'The heir apparent shall be established on the basis of age, not virtue; the son shall be established on the basis of nobility, not age."

"From this, the system of primogeniture succession was derived."

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly and continued to ask him:
"Then do both the system of primogeniture and the system of primogeniture conform to this statement?"

All the ministers expressed their opinions, believing that they all conformed to the principle of primogeniture and were consistent with what was said in the Spring and Autumn Annals.

The system of eldest son heir in the Tang and Song dynasties was certainly determined by our ancestors, and the system of hereditary succession for civil servants in this dynasty was also established by civil servants at the beginning of the country.

Both are in line with ancient rituals and it cannot be said that either one is wrong.

Then Zhu Youjian asked again:

"The purpose of primogeniture is to ensure a stable succession and avoid disputes."

"Which one is more stable, the eldest son inheritance system or the eldest son's family inheritance system?"

Many people have the answer in their hearts. Wen Tiren was the first to say:
"The eldest son's inheritance system is more stable. As long as the person at the top of the succession order has descendants, the person behind will have no hope of winning the throne, and will not have any other intentions."

"On the contrary, under the system of primogeniture, as long as the eldest grandson is lost, the eldest son's position as heir may be unstable. His brothers and half brothers will compete for the throne."

"So this dynasty implements the system of primogeniture, which is more stable than previous dynasties."

Zhu Youjian nodded and said:
"The establishment of rituals and laws is to prevent the evil of human nature." "The reason why the eldest son's inheritance system was established is to consolidate the inheritance rights of the eldest son and prevent other people from having different ideas."

"So during the time of Taizu, the eldest son's succession system was established for civil officials."

"The reason why Emperor Jianwen was enthroned was also due to this system, but Emperor Taizu used the succession of the heir to be the heir instead of the original heir, which made people confused and sowed the seeds of disaster."

"After Chengzu restored the old system after the Jingnan Rebellion, I carefully pondered it and finally understood Taizu's profound meaning."

"So our dynasty has always used the eldest son's inheritance system since Chengzu, and it was further improved during the reign of Sejong."

"Now that we are formulating the Ming Dynasty Succession Etiquette, why do we want to abandon such a good system and return to the flawed primogeniture inheritance system?"

"Do you think that the system of primogeniture can select a better heir?"

All the ministers shook their heads; no one thought so.

The purpose of primogeniture succession is to ensure stability, not to select virtuous people.

After all, the order of primogeniture is very clear, but it is hard to say who is a virtuous person. Implementing a system of appointing virtuous people is not conducive to stability.

Therefore, the eldest son or the legitimate wife is always chosen as the heir rather than the most capable one. The more stable inheritance system of the eldest son is naturally superior.

After the emperor said this, most people were inclined towards the system of primogeniture.

But some people had doubts, and Grand Secretary Han Yu said:
"The eldest son's inheritance system is certainly more stable, but if something happens to Crown Prince Yiwen, does it mean that the throne will be passed directly to the Crown Prince?"

"I am afraid that if this system is followed, another Emperor Jianwen will appear."

This is the worry in the hearts of many people. They do not think that passing the throne directly to their grandson will be beneficial to the stability of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youjian still appreciated this question, because it showed that Han Yu and others really regarded Emperor Jianwen as an unqualified monarch. The dirty water he threw at Emperor Jianwen had begun to take effect.

So he patiently responded:

"There's nothing wrong with passing it on to the crown prince. Lord Jianwen is actually an exception."

"Taizu did not follow the etiquette and law when he appointed him, and he committed the mistake of overriding the original heir."

"Moreover, Jianwen Jun did not follow the ancestral teachings left by Taizu, and he responded hypocritically to Taizu. He was a disloyal and unfilial person."

"If he had responded to Taizu's words, 'win them over with virtue, control them with propriety, and if that doesn't work, then reduce their territory, if that still doesn't work, then depose their people, and if it's even worse, then raise an army to attack them,' how could he have managed to quell the rebellion?"

"This person is incompetent. We cannot use him as an example to say that the crown prince should not succeed to the throne."

Then he gave an example:

"Xianzong ascended the throne at 18, and Shizong ascended the throne at 15, both of them were younger than Jianwen."

"How can you say they are incompetent and have failed to be good emperors?"

Both emperors were revered, and their temple names, Xianzong and Shizong, indicate their status.

When the officials saw the emperor using them as an example, and thought that the current emperor was only 18 years old when he ascended the throne, they all agreed with this statement, believing that the failure of Emperor Jianwen was indeed an exception.

And in order to consolidate the succession rights of the grandson, Zhu Youjian continued:

"If the incident with Crown Prince Yiwen happens again, when the emperor passes the throne to the grandson, the deceased son should be confirmed as the emperor at the same time."

"It means that the imperial line has been determined, and the thoughts of other branches have been cut off. This will also consolidate the succession rights of the crown prince."

Zhu Youjian said:

"After the Ming Dynasty Succession Etiquette was finalized, the top five heirs were determined every year according to the order of succession. This lets people know who should take over in case of an accident."

"This order of succession is recognized by all the ministers. Anyone who violates it will be punished by the whole world." (End of this chapter)