Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

When the ministers heard that Prince Fu and Prince Fu's son were listed as the fourth and fifth in line to the throne, they felt as uncomfortable as if they had eaten a fly.

Most of them had participated in the struggle for the foundation of the country, and they were absolutely unwilling to see Prince Fu's line have the opportunity to inherit the throne.

Although the current emperor has good fertility and has given birth to three sons and three daughters since he ascended the throne, it should be impossible for Prince Fu's line to inherit the throne.

However, with the infant mortality rate now very high, the ministers were unwilling to give Prince Fu any chance.

Immediately an official jumped out and shouted:
"Prince Fu is corrupt, violent and lawless, and should not be qualified to inherit the throne."

"I think we should abolish the Fu Wang family's right to inherit the throne and send them overseas to establish fiefdoms."

All the officials responded, especially the officials of the Donglin Party, who were the most enthusiastic.

Zhu Youjian also did not have a very good impression of Prince Fu's line. After all, Prince Fu had competed with his father for the throne.

But he couldn't just shout for war and kill like the officials and drive Prince Fu overseas at will.

After all, they are my closest relatives. If I handle them improperly, people all over the world will say that I am harsh towards my relatives and not a good head of the family.

What's more, he used Emperor Jianwen as a counterexample, so naturally he could not treat the royal family harshly.

So Zhu Youjian evaded the question:
"This matter will be discussed again after the Ming Dynasty Succession Etiquette is formulated."

"Let's perfect the inheritance etiquette first."

Turning the topic back, he continued:
"I deeply agree with what you all said: the country relies on the long-term ruler."

"But things can go wrong. If an emperor dies young like Emperor Muzong Longqing did, and only a young prince can succeed to the throne, what should we do?"

The ministers were discussing the matter, and many of them wanted to talk about Prince Fu.

Minister of Rites Wen Tiren responded to the emperor:
"I think we should follow the old practice of the early Wanli period and appoint the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department as the ministers of state to assist the young emperor."

"When the emperor is crowned, I will naturally retire after completing my mission."

This was the attitude that Zhu Youjian had revealed before. He nodded and said:

"The number of cabinet ministers and the seal holders of the Imperial Household Department is relatively small. I think after the five academies are separated, the heads of the five academies should also be added."

"Or, like the Prince of Xiang who was the regent, we can select a virtuous person from the royal family and appoint him as a minister of state."

When such remarks were made, the ministers were even more furious.

Because they thought that Prince Fu might become regent.

Grand Secretary Han Yu said immediately:

"I think this is absolutely unacceptable!"

"How can we know that a member of the royal family who is assisting the government has no ulterior motives?"

"Your Majesty, please learn from history and do not speak rashly about this matter!"

The voices of opposition from the ministers were endless.

Seeing that they had finally turned their attention to discussing matters, Zhu Youjian said:

"Why not?"

"With the precedent of King Xiang as regent, what are you worried about?"

Han Yu responded:

"King Xiang is a wise king, but how can we know that the other royal family members who assist in the administration do not have ulterior motives?"

"I think we should nip this problem in the bud and not use members of the royal family in important positions."

Zhu Youjian was unhappy. He was worried that if these words were spread, it would seriously dampen the enthusiasm of the royal family for the imperial examinations, so he blamed Han Yu:
"The clan ban has been lifted, and many people have passed the imperial examinations."

"You said they can't be reused, so what are you asking them to do?"

Han Yu was speechless for a moment, having just forgotten about this matter, and immediately made amends:

"Those people are distant relatives of the royal family. It is impossible for them to have ulterior motives."

"No one in the world thinks they are qualified to sit on the throne." "According to the Ming Dynasty Succession Etiquette that is being formulated, it is impossible for them to be in line."

Liu Zongzhou also said:
"Mr. Han is right."

"But I think we should still nip the problem in the bud and follow the example of meritorious officials, prohibiting them from interfering in the affairs of the nine ministers."

The Jinshi scholars who came from royal families were excluded from the core of power.

Zhu Youjian frowned at this, but the ministers were very determined. They wanted to nip the problem in the bud, and they also didn't want the imperial family scholars to rely on their status to compete with them for power in the future.

Zhu Youjian had anticipated this situation, because in his mind, he wanted to use but also guard against the royal family. He hoped that there would be talents from the royal family, but he did not want the royal family officials to have too high a status and influence the government by their status.

So he looked helpless, but actually agreed:
"That's all! Just follow your wishes and treat the royal family as meritorious officials."

“But how should we distinguish between the so-called distant branches and the proximal branches?”

The ministers were even more active. Han Yu said:

"I believe that those who have the same father as Your Majesty are close relatives, while the others are distant relatives and are not eligible to inherit the throne."

"Prince Fu and his son should be excluded from the order of succession."

The scope was really too small. Not only did Zhu Youjian disagree, but the other ministers also found it hard to stand.

Minister of Personnel Yang Jingchen said:

"King Sejong said in his ancestors' precepts that the younger brother should inherit the throne from the same father as the elder brother, and the younger brother should inherit the throne from the same ancestor as the elder brother."

"Sejong succeeded to the throne because he was descended from the same ancestor."

"I believe that the close relatives are the descendants of your majesty's grandfather, and those beyond them are the distant relatives."

"The close relatives of the royal family are eligible to inherit the throne, but the distant relatives are excluded."

Zhu Youjian nodded repeatedly and concluded:
"I think the close relatives of the royal family can be given a name, specifically called the royal family."

"Only the royal family is eligible to inherit the throne, and the royal family is excluded."

"The current royal family consists of my branch, and the four branches of my uncle Prince Fu, my uncle Prince Rui, my uncle Prince Hui, and my uncle Prince Gui. Now that the branches are flourishing, there is no need to trace them back any further."

"They still have to abide by the ban and are not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations, etc."

"But for the line of Prince Lu and the more distant clans, the clan restrictions are completely lifted."

"If a young ruler appears in the future, we can select talents from the royal family to run the vassal court. They will assist the emperor in handling vassal state affairs to prevent unrest in the world."

"And as the assistant minister, he supervises the actions of the prime minister."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the ministers realized that the emperor was still extremely wary of royal family members who could threaten the throne.

However, restrictions should be relaxed for royal family members who have no chance of becoming emperor.

Some people are still worried about this, but more people agree with it.

Now that the emperor is promoting overseas fiefdoms, the royal family and clan members should indeed be separated to prevent some clan members from becoming disloyal after they gain power.

Wen Tiren tried to figure out the emperor's thoughts and said:
"I think that people of the royal family should not be given fiefdoms overseas."

"To avoid any accidents, the royal family is short of personnel."

Some people also suggested sending Prince Fu, Prince Rui, Prince Hui and Prince Gui to the vassal states and not allowing them to stay in the capital.

The implicit meaning is to avoid any accidents and being wiped out in the capital.

Zhu Youjian was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and waved his hands to the ministers:
"If you want to protect the royal family, just send them guards."

"Only half of the royal family needs to stay in the Central Plains."

"We still need to establish fiefs, and we need to choose good fiefdoms for them."

"In order to prevent the good places from being taken by others, their vassal states will not be in the position they wish for."

Now the ministers were even more enthusiastic, and many of them were thinking about giving Prince Fu a distant place, or even expelling him from the royal family, so that he would not have the opportunity to covet the throne in the future. (End of this chapter)