Chapter 1981 Come Out, Secretly Establish the Crown Prince

Zhu Ping'an knew history. In fact, Emperor Jiajing didn't need to worry about the issue of establishing a crown prince, because according to historical records, in a few years, Prince Jing would die. Emperor Jiajing only had Prince Yu as his only son. It was up to him to establish the crown prince. He had no choice at all. It would be a waste of time to worry about who to choose now.

Moreover, Emperor Jiajing cultivated immortals and made elixirs. He wanted to live forever and unify the world for thousands of years. He didn't really want to establish a crown prince.

He didn't want the power to fall into the hands of others. He had a strong desire to control this empire and the highest power.

In feudal society, the status of the crown prince was truly second only to the emperor. The prince's East Palace is a small court, and many ministers will approach the prince and place bets in advance in order to follow the emperor; the prince will also have his imperial guards, although the number is far less than that of the emperor, but sometimes a small number of people can do great things; when the emperor is unable to attend the court for reasons such as going on a campaign, touring, or being seriously ill, the prince will appear to supervise the country and handle state affairs and government affairs on his behalf. In general, the emperor needs the prince to stabilize the inheritance of the country, but the prince will also share part of the imperial power and pose a threat to the imperial power.

In addition, according to the degree of superstition of Emperor Jiajing in the proverb that two dragons cannot meet, in order to protect the only two princes, he does not want to establish a crown prince.

At present, he only has two sons. If he establishes a crown prince and the proverb comes true, he will have no place to cry.

The reason why Emperor Jiajing considered establishing a crown prince was a helpless move under the objective reality.

The empire is so big, and he is no longer young. If he delays the appointment of a crown prince, the ministers will worry about the succession of the throne. If he dies and there is no crown prince, the two princes will have their own supporters and will fight. The huge empire may split into the Warring States in an instant, and blood will flow like a river, which is not good for the country.

Perhaps there is also the reason that he has been ill recently.

Therefore, Jiajing’s question about the crown prince is really a difficult question. It is wrong to appoint him, and it is wrong not to appoint him. It is even more wrong to appoint someone, and no matter how you answer, it is wrong...

When I return to Beijing in the future, I will definitely meet the emperor. I think it is possible that Emperor Jiajing will really ask me this question.

It is indeed necessary to prepare early.

If Emperor Jiajing asks me about the crown prince, how should I answer?

After sending off Eunuch Wang and his entourage, Zhu Ping'an returned to the study and thought about this fatal question.

I can't tell Emperor Jiajing to stop worrying about it. In a few years, your youngest son, Prince Jing, will die, and Prince Yu will be the only one left. You have no choice, so you don't have to worry about who to choose, right?!

Then the charges of cursing the royal heir and witchcraft will be pinned on yourself, which is enough to kill yourself seven or eight times.

If I were to say which prince I would recommend to be the crown prince, it would undoubtedly be Prince Yu in terms of emotion, reason and history.

But you can think so, but you can't say it out loud.

Zhu Ping'an sat in the study and thought about it. Suddenly, a light flashed in his mind, and he thought of the secret succession system of the Qing Dynasty in later generations.

Emperor Yongzheng, who experienced the Nine Dragons' Succession and finally won, learned the lessons of the open and secret struggles, endless strife, fratricide and chaos among the princes and concubines in their generation and in previous generations around the pre-establishment of the crown prince, and invented the secret succession system and no longer publicly established the crown prince.

The specific practice is: the emperor personally writes the name of the crown prince, writes two copies, one is sealed in a box, and placed behind the plaque of "Zhengda Guangming" in the Qianqing Palace, and the other is sealed in a box and carried with him, double insurance. After the emperor ascends to heaven, the ministers of state will take out the two boxes in public, open them in public, and after checking that they are correct, announce who will succeed to the throne.

The biggest feature of the secret crown prince system is that the emperor has full authority to decide on the crown prince, which strengthens the imperial power.

Another advantage is that the emperor can replace the crown prince at any time without any adverse effects. He only needs to replace the name in the box he carries with him and the name in the box behind the plaque of "Zhengda Guangming".

It can solve many hidden dangers related to the foundation of the country, break through the limitations of establishing the eldest son and the eldest son, and avoid the hidden harm of "a tree standing out in the forest" and the hidden danger of the crown prince's invisible power sharing. Hehe, if I don't publicly appoint a crown prince, there will be no power sharing among the crown princes, and the ministers can't place bets in advance.

It can also avoid the tragedy of the princes killing each other for the throne, and the concubines fighting openly and secretly for their own princes.

Anyway, Emperor Jiajing didn't really want to appoint a crown prince, but just wanted to calm the hearts of the subjects and stabilize the people's hearts.

As long as the ministers were summoned and the secret system of appointing a crown prince was announced, and then the model was made, two boxes were made, two names were written, one box was placed behind the "Zhengda Guangming" plaque, and one box was carried with him, the hearts of the subjects and the people would be stable, and those ministers would no longer have to talk, and there would be no need to worry that Emperor Jiajing would die after cultivating immortals and swallowing pills, and no one would inherit the throne and cause a dispute over imperial power.

Even Emperor Jiajing was worried that "two dragons would not meet" would come true, and it was not a problem if the names were not written in the box.

Anyway, no one dared to verify the contents of the box.

Anyway, Emperor Jiajing can open the box and change the paper at any time. When he wants to write his name, he can open the box and change the paper. When he wants to change his name, he can change his name at any time.

It's like killing two birds with one stone.

The more Zhu Pingan thought about it, the more he felt that the secret succession system of the Qing Dynasty was tailor-made for Emperor Jiajing, who believed in "two dragons cannot meet", "cultivating immortals and refining elixirs", and "greed for power and love power", and it perfectly fits the actual needs of Emperor Jiajing.

It's perfect.

If Emperor Jiajing asked him, he would take out this secret succession system and give him a big surprise.

Continue to tidy up the study. Only my handwritten manuscripts are left to be packed. After tidying up, I can leave for Shaoxing tomorrow. Li Shu's due date is getting closer and closer. If she goes to Shaoxing, the sooner she leaves, the better.

"Brother Zhu, have a bowl of hot and sour soup to sober up and nourish the stomach." When Zhu Ping'an was tidying up the books, Li Shu came over accompanied by Hua'er and Qin'er. Hua'er held a bowl of hot and sour soup in her little hand.

"Haha, thank you, sister Li. Don't worry. I only drank a glass of wine at the beginning of the banquet today. The eunuch Wang who came to announce the decree is a good friend of the eunuch Feng Bao Feng whom I know. I said I am not good at drinking, and they were tactful and did not persuade me to drink." Zhu Ping'an smiled and took the sober soup from Hua'er.

Although he didn't drink much, this bowl of hot and sour soup was still very tempting. Zhu Ping'an drank it in a few sips.

"Brother Zhu, have you packed up? Let Hua'er and Qin'er help you." Li Shu saw Zhu Ping'an finish the hot and sour soup and said with a smile.

"These manuscripts are all that's left. I'll just sort them out. Have you packed your things?" Zhu Ping'an asked.

"We've packed them, and the boats and cars are ready. We can set off at any time." Li Shu smiled.

"Okay, then we'll set off tomorrow. We'll take our time on the road, and we won't be in a hurry." Zhu Ping'an said.

"Yes, yes, I'll listen to Brother Zhu in everything." Li Shu touched her belly, her eyes narrowed into crescents.