Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 553: The System of the Firstborn (Special thanks to the book friend Tianxia Wuju for the 2 monthly tickets!)

Chai Zongxun sighed:
"Time is merciless. I haven't seen you for a few months. You have aged so much!
My dear Lord Cao has been cautious throughout his life and has made great contributions to me. If you have any unfulfilled wishes, you can report them to me now."

Cao Bin was overjoyed. The fact that the emperor could say such words to a minister showed how deep his grace was.

Cao Bin expressed his gratitude:
"Your Majesty is the eternal sage of China. Under your Majesty's rule, our Great Zhou has achieved success in culture and martial virtue, the people are prosperous and the country is strong. The country is governed by law, society is fair and open, and the people all have a path to rise.

My four sons have lived up to our family tradition and have all passed the imperial examinations and have been entrusted with important tasks by Your Majesty. I have no regrets at all!

In my humble opinion, my Great Zhou is well-preserved, but I have a little concern. I wonder if I should talk about it or not?"

Chai Zongxun said:

"Lord Cao is very attentive, so what he sees must be good!
Tell me quickly, I will consider it carefully."

Cao Bin said:
"Your Majesty is a man of great talent and strategy. You abolished the hereditary and lifelong official system, created the system of performance evaluation and the Bureau of Local Talents, and your achievements are comparable to those of the Three Sovereigns!
Today, the power of officials in our Great Zhou is under the strict supervision of the people and the court, and they can no longer do harm to the people.

But if we want our Great Zhou to prosper forever, the only loophole is... in the succession system of your Majesty's descendants!"

A thought flashed through Chai Zongxun's mind:

"Cao Bin is indeed a military commander, his courage is incomparable to that of a civil official. And what he said does make sense."

Chai Zongxun sighed:
"My dear minister, do you mean that I have no established system for appointing a crown prince?"

Cao Bin said:
“Your Majesty, since the end of the Tang Dynasty, warlords have been fighting each other, heroes have emerged, and the throne has changed frequently, and only those with strong military power can succeed.

Now that Your Majesty has unified China, expanded the territory, and created an unprecedented prosperous era for our Great Zhou, this system of appointing a crown prince should be established to prevent Your Majesty's imperial descendants from coveting the throne in the future!"

After hearing this, Chai Zongxun thought of Chai Jijun, the "King of Ya" who was granted the title of King of Maya by him.

Concubine Yi Zhou Nuying was one of the most favored concubines by Chai Zongxun. She had been accompanying him in the palace since she was thirteen years old and had a deep relationship with him, which was no less important than the two queens Fu Zhenzhen and Di Wu Zhaolu.

Zhou Nuying had an incredibly charming personality and was the only one among the thousands of concubines in the harem who dared to show her temper to the emperor Chai Zongxun without Chai Zongxun really getting angry and punishing her.

Chai Zongxun loved his third son Ji Jun as well, and granted him a fiefdom throughout the entire conquered Mayan continent.

When Chai Zongxun was the emperor, Chai Jijun was naturally careful to do his duty. But if Chai Zongxun passed away a hundred years later, it would be hard to say whether Chai Jijun, who was far away in the Mayan continent, would have the intention to declare himself emperor or even seize the throne of the Great Zhou.

Chai Zongxun pondered for a long time and said:
"Lord Cao, do you have any good ideas about the succession system of the throne of the Great Zhou Dynasty?"

Cao Bin was delighted to see that Chai Zongxun was not angry. On the one hand, he gave this advice before his death out of his loyalty to Chai Zongxun, and on the other hand, he also wanted to win Chai Zongxun's favor for the sake of his family's descendants.

Cao Bin said slowly:
"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, throughout the dynasties of China, there have been only two systems for appointing heirs:

Either the eldest son or the most capable one should be appointed as the heir.

For example, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, each country chose a virtuous crown prince, which led to endless fighting for the throne among the sons, and civil wars that greatly depleted the country's national strength.

The Tang Dynasty set a precedent for internal strife for the throne since the "Xuanwu Gate Incident", which led to bloodshed and endless coups for the throne in the royal family in later generations, which was not a blessing for the country. "

Chai Zongxun said:

"My dear minister, do you think it is better to appoint the eldest son as the crown prince than the virtuous one?"

Cao Bin hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, I have no other intention. The case of King Song is a special case, because everyone in the world knows that King Song is unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the country.

But if your Majesty's descendants can ensure that the heir is the eldest son, so that the many descendants of the imperial family will no longer have the desire to fight for the throne, then our Great Zhou will no longer have hidden worries. "

Chai Zongxun thought about it for a long time.

Although the crown prince is chosen based on his virtuous character, the emperor of each generation is almost the most capable among the princes. However, the selection process will indeed make all the princes ambitious to compete for the position of crown prince.

Although the eldest legitimate son may not necessarily be the best among the princes, it can clarify the principles of selecting the crown prince, make the princes feel at ease in their positions, and ensure the long-term stability of the country for generations.

However, the system of primogeniture also has its flaws. If it encounters a weak and incompetent ruler or a tyrant, it is very easy for the country to be overthrown due to their wrongdoings.

A typical example is the Chongzhen Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in the previous life, who became the emperor through the system of primogeniture, but he received no education or training to be an emperor since childhood and his personal talents were extremely poor.

After ascending the throne, he forcibly transformed many of his childish, ridiculous and paranoid ideas into the will of the empire, causing endless troubles and harming countless people.

The Ming Empire, which was a hundred times more powerful than the Qing Dynasty, was destroyed by the barbaric and backward Manchus, which led to hundreds of years of backwardness of China. The gene of ignorance and slavery was deeply rooted in the Chinese character during the nearly three hundred years of Qing Dynasty's rule, leaving harm for thousands of years.

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly and said:

"My dear, you are also loyal to the emperor and patriotic.

I will seriously consider your proposal, my dear minister. The system of primogeniture combined with the imperial family precepts I have established may be a good idea."

Chai Zongxun sat in the chair beside the bed for more than two quarters of an hour, chatting with Cao Bin for a long time. After asking him to take care of his health, he returned to the palace.

Seven days later, on August 15, the 46th year of Kaixi, Cao Bin died in the mansion of "Duke Cao" in Bian Jing at the age of 74.

Chai Zongxun issued an edict to posthumously confer the title of Grand Marshal on Cao Bin and buried him with the rites of a king. His eldest son Cao Can inherited the title of Duke of the Kingdom.

After consulting with his ministers, he posthumously named Cao Bin "Wu Mu", and people called him "Duke Wu Mu of Cao".

Yang Ye, an old subordinate of Cao Bin, led more than a hundred people from the entire mansion to Cao's mansion to pay his respects.

Winter passed and spring came. There was no war in the Great Zhou for several years. During the time when the emperor, his subjects and the people of the whole country were committed to developing the economy and building the rule of law, Chai Zongxun finally completed the writing of his economics work in November of the 49th year of Kaixi.

Chai Zongxun started writing this book in the 35th year of Kaixi, and it took him nearly 15 years to complete it.

During this period, it was added, deleted and revised three times until Chai Zongxun was completely satisfied.

The book consists of twelve volumes, totaling 1.26 million words. It begins with an introduction to economics and is written in a simple and easy-to-understand style that anyone who can read can understand.

The content of the book covers many aspects such as the principles of economics, finance and taxation, economy and people's livelihood, the spirit of contract, scientific and technological innovation, etc., setting a precedent for the time.

After the book was completed, Chai Zongxun first distributed a copy to each of the hundreds of important officials in the court to observe their reactions.

When the ministers read the book, they felt that Emperor Chai Zongxun explained many financial and economic issues related to the safety of the country in a simple, clear and easy-to-understand way. Although many of the concepts were unheard of, they all felt they were extremely correct and could not help but praise him highly.

Officials such as Kou Zhun and Ding Kui, who were well versed in economics, praised Emperor Chai Zongxun's work, saying it was far superior to similar works such as "Guan Zi" and "Fan Li Gong Shang Jing" and was the most comprehensive and highest-level masterpiece on business in the world.

(End of this chapter)