A century-old family that runs through the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 72 An unexpected death

Liu Sanwu was the first to speak: "The emperor is the great sect, and the vassal king is the lesser sect. This has been the rule of succession since ancient times. Although the East Palace has passed away, the heirs are still there, and the great sect has not extinct heirs, so the lesser sect cannot take the throne. Please establish the direct descendant of the East Palace. The eldest son Yunwen is the grandson."

Although Qi Tai came from the Ministry of War, he was familiar with ancient and modern history books. He also said: "Although the King of Yan is brave, he likes warfare and war, and is not the image of a Ming Dynasty ruler. For example, if the king of Wei (Cao Zhang) is appointed as the city king, he can be a general. , cannot be the emperor. "Sima Fa·Renben" says: 'Although the country is large, if it is warlike, it will perish'. Your Majesty, please do not forget the old events of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty."

"Now that the beacon fire has been extinguished, the remaining Yuan has been destroyed, King Sai is on the edge of town, and the world is at peace, it's time to choose a leader to maintain it."

"Yun Wen, the son of the prince, was eager to learn when he was young. He was quite proficient in poetry and prose. He often discussed with the prince how to govern the country. He was kind and generous, and looked like a master."

"I also invite the eldest son of the East Palace, the emperor's grandson Yunzhen."

Zhu Yuanzhang's cloudy eyes rolled, obviously their answers did not satisfy him.

At this time, Yan Xincheng, who was standing aside, was caught in a tangle.

From the perspective of a civil servant, he actually agreed with Zhu Yunwen.

King Yan is very powerful, he is a young Zhu Yuanzhang.

What is Wen Chen’s ultimate philosophy?For them, the best emperor is a clay puppet in the court, an emperor who obeys the suggestions of civil servants and does not have many independent opinions.

You enjoy your pleasure, and I govern my country. Occasionally, I would scold the emperor to show that I was loyal and outspoken without fear of imperial power. This was the favorite form of civil servants.

An emperor who is too strong will cause the power of civil servants to be greatly reduced, which is what they extremely do not want to see.

When Zhu Yuanzhang first served as Corporal Li Xian, he launched the banner of "reopening the Song Dynasty", which led the literati to think that he was no different from the Zhao Guan family of the previous Song Dynasty, so they all joined in.

However, when they actually entered the Ming Dynasty's regime, they discovered that Emperor Zhu was far different from the Zhao family of the previous Song Dynasty!

But there is no way. If you want to run away, you are just like "it is said that it is difficult to be a court official."

Now that we have finally got through this Tai Sui, what about Zhu Di again?What a joke!
But for the Yan family, it is more suitable for Zhu Di to take over.

Although several members of the Yan family had become officials at this time, one official was small and the other was not many. Overall, the suppression of civil servants had little impact on them.

If the honorable nobles are suppressed, then that is the important thing that affects the big house.

Moreover, Yan Keng is still with King Yan. I heard that he has made outstanding military achievements and has been promoted to the commander of the Yanshan Right Guards and a general under the throne of King Yan. If King Yan ascends to the throne, will the Yan family be extremely powerful?
He suddenly fell into a tangle.

Over there, Wu Bozong didn't say anything, just the old god stood there.

The study fell silent for a moment.

"I think we should make King Yan the crown prince."

Yan Xincheng finally made his choice.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up, while Qi Tai and Liu Sanwu turned their heads and looked at him with a "traitor" look. Then they quickly understood and showed contempt in their eyes.

Short-sighted guy!It turns out that the rise and fall of one family and one surname has ruined my life!
"The King of Yan has matured. Now he is considered the leader of all kings. He has made great military achievements. He can convince everyone by winning this throne. Now is not the time to let the horse go to Nanshan. The Japanese rebellion in the southeast has not been calmed down, and the north is far from what Qi Xueshi said. Peace and swords and guns have been put into storage very early, but the Ming Dynasty still needs an enterprising king."

"Your Majesty, what Yan Xincheng said is just an ordinary man's opinion!"

"Your Majesty, you must not believe this talk of ruining your country!"

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang did not speak, Liu Sanwu and Qi Tai spoke immediately.

The three of them were going back and forth, refuting each other.

Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting at the top. Listening to the arguing voices below, he felt very noisy and felt an inexplicable irritation in his heart.

These people are all out for their own selfish interests, and no one is thinking about my great tomorrow!Bloodshot eyes appeared in his eyes, and he reached for the square inkstone on the table, wanting to disperse them and take some quiet time.

Fortunately, he restrained himself.

"Back off!" Zhu Yuanzhang shouted angrily:
"I still need to think about this matter and discuss it later!"

The ministers looked at each other in confusion, wondering why the emperor was angry, but since the emperor had said so, they had no choice but to leave the palace.
-
Zhu Yuanzhang certainly knew the urgency of establishing a prince.

But between the two, it's really hard to choose.

King Yan is old and mature, and he is the most like him among the remaining children. As an old man, he naturally likes such a son, but King Yan is indeed too warlike. In Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, the Ming Dynasty was basically at peace at this time, and the frontier fortress Haijiang is just suffering from scabies. What it needs is a benevolent king like Zhu Biao. This can be seen from his training of Zhu Biao.

As for Zhu Yunwen, in fact, just like Liu Sanwu said, he is the legitimate son of the great clan, and his legitimacy is higher than that of Zhu Di.And like Zhu Biao, he can be seen to be a literati emperor, which meets Zhu Yuanzhang's requirements.However, he was too young and did not show extraordinary talents like Zhu Di.

He ultimately failed to make a decision.

Zhu Yuanzhang planned to investigate Zhu Yunwen. He took the young man with him and asked him to handle affairs with him. At the same time, he ordered northern officials to report Zhu Di's recent actions from time to time.

However, he overestimated his lifespan.

The death of his three sons one after another consumed the last of his energy. He was already a 71-year-old man.

In July of the 31st year of Hongwu, Emperor Hongwu died.

He died in the imperial study room. When his body was discovered, the old man was leaning on the dragon chair, holding a brush stained with red paint tightly in his hand.

In front of him, on the large table, was a yellow silk cloth.There were several names written neatly on it.

Lan Yu, Feng Sheng, Fu Youde, Zhu Wenzheng...

Among them, there is a half-drawn hook on the name of Sapphire.

At this time, Lan Yu had just been arrested and imprisoned by Zhu Yuanzhang for [-] crimes, including arrogating, humiliating Concubine Yuan, and attacking his own city.

After all, Zhu Yuanzhang was still worried. Even if it was Zhu Di who ascended the throne, he was worried that the other party would not be able to suppress these ministers who fought with him, especially Lan Yu, who was only 45 years old and brave and good at fighting.

The order to peel off the skin is on the table.

It was almost about to be sent out.

Lan Yu saved a life.
-
Zhu Yuanzhang died, but he did not have time to establish a prince.

He deposed the prime minister, leaving everyone without a leader. Six ministers and cabinet ministers gathered together to discuss succession matters.

Although they usually have all kinds of conflicts, when faced with the issue of successors, all civil servants united together.

Even among the military officials, except for Li Jinglong, the left governor of the Fifth Army Commandery Mansion, none of the others received notification from the court.

Li Jinglong, Duke of Cao, had a weak character. He obeyed the orders of the civil servants and assisted the Minister of War to control the army in the capital, and strictly ordered not to act rashly.

By the time the military commanders and nobles reacted, they were already at their wits end.

In August of the 31st year of Hongwu's reign, Hongwu's posthumous edict was issued.

The edict said.

He established the eldest son of the East Palace and his grandson Zhu Yunwen as emperor.

(End of this chapter)