Five days later, in the Purple Palace.
"Since ancient times, emperors have succeeded Heaven and established the throne, ruling the world. They have always established a crown prince, strengthened the foundation of the nation, and ensured the eternal prosperity of the clan and society. I, who carry on this great legacy, work diligently and reverently, looking up to the wise and heroic deeds of my ancestors and entrusting them with a heavy responsibility.
The successor to the throne is Yuan Liang. The second son, Jun Yan, is a man of extraordinary talent and beauty. He observes the rites and ceremonies, and complies with public opinion. He respectfully informs Heaven and Earth, the ancestral temple, and the state.
On October 11, the fifteenth year of the Jingping reign, Jun Yan was granted the imperial seal and appointed Crown Prince, placing him squarely in the Eastern Palace, to strengthen the rule for eternity and secure the hearts of the people. (P.S. This section is a quote from Baidu.)
The imperial edict to appoint a crown prince was finally what Jun Yan wished for. He suppressed his excitement, stood up respectfully, and prepared to take the imperial edict from the eunuch chief.
But who would have thought that he had just taken a few steps forward, and before the chief eunuch could even come down, a minister jumped up and down, shouting, "Ridiculous, ridiculous, it's really ridiculous!"
The minister who spoke was a veteran minister of three generations - Xu Wenlang. Like Li Gu, he was a second-rank minister, but his say was much higher than Li Gu's.
Xu Wenlang is now sixty-five years old. In his early years, he had three sons and two daughters.
The two girls have been sensible since childhood and have never caused Xu Wenlang and his wife any worries.
The three sons were even more promising. They joined the army one after another and made great contributions to Chengde and Jingping. Their military exploits were all countable.
However, they all died in a battle to quell foreign rebellion many years ago. Xu Wenlang's wife lost three sons overnight and was extremely sad. She also died of illness half a month later.
Suddenly, Xu Wenlang, who had a happy life, was left with only two girls as companions.
The current emperor was naturally very tolerant of the merits of Xu Wenlang's three sons, and Xu Wenlang himself was talented. He also gave Xu Wenlang three golden medals of immunity from death, a reward of 1,000 taels of gold, and 100 acres of fertile land, and posthumously conferred the title of "Duke of Zhenguo" on the third son.
Xu Wenlang didn't want to delay his two daughters, so he pulled himself together and supported the Xu family again, and then discussed the marriage.
Since then, for more than several dozen years, Xu Wenlang never remarried, and his family never took in any wives or concubines.
Seeing the old minister standing up, Jun Ling raised his hand slightly and gave the eunuch chief a look. Regardless of the fact that his son had not yet received the imperial edict, he asked questions very cooperatively, without any of the arrogance of being an emperor:
"Mr. Xu, are you dissatisfied with something? Why not talk to me and I can make the decision for you?"
Jun Ling is a benevolent emperor, but he also has his cruel side.
His benevolence lies in treating all the people of Jingping equally. During his reign, he reduced taxes many times, proposed taking from the people and using it for the people, developed water conservancy projects, and provided work-for-relief, among other things that benefited the people.
His cruelty lies in torture.
Jun Ling hated corrupt officials the most, so whenever he found out about a corrupt official, even if it was just a few dozen coins or taels, he would strip him of his official position. After sentencing, the lucky ones would get a lifelong "iron rice bowl", while the unlucky ones would suffer a punishment and become a good man again eighteen years later.
As for the punishments, many of them were things they had never heard of or seen before, but they were so horrifying that they made people's hearts numb just by hearing about them.
Regardless of the situation, once the guilt is confirmed, the descendants within eight generations will forever lose the qualification to take the imperial examination.
No matter what industry or profession you are engaged in, there will be certain restrictions, including but not limited to increased taxes on personal income.
It is precisely because the consequences are too serious that no matter how poor the people in Jingping are, they would rather beg than rob or steal.
As the emperor, Jun Ling's temper is very easy-going most of the time, but when it comes to beheading people, he is swift and decisive, and does not give anyone a chance to beg for mercy.
Jun Yan, who was secretly happy at first, suddenly froze when he realized that the person who spoke out to stop him was Xu Wenlang, who was also the one who proposed in front of the palace a few days ago to give the position of crown prince to Jun Ze.
Jun Yan clenched his hands slightly, and kept telling himself to hold back. This was in the court, and his every move and every word could become a handle for others.
If he could endure just a moment longer, he would be one step closer to the throne.
His father has already recognized him, so he must be calm and not let others take advantage of him.
"What is it? Your Majesty, the legitimate throne should be inherited by the eldest son, or at least the eldest son. This Third Prince is the son of the Imperial Concubine. If he were to inherit the throne, wouldn't it be the greatest absurdity in the world?"
Xu Wenlang was an old minister after all, and he naturally knelt on the ground as many of his followers followed him, shouting in unison:
"Your Majesty, please think twice!"
On the high seat, Jun Ling looked at His Highness's old ministers, his hands tapping slightly on the handle beside the dragon throne, as if he was thinking about Xu Wenlang's words.
The entire Zichen Palace suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
Xu Wenlang's blatant defiance of the imperial edict was something that the other three factions of ministers in the court had not anticipated. The eldest prince's faction, the third prince's faction, and the conservative faction were all nervous as they looked at their comrade who was kneeling on the ground and begging the emperor to reconsider.
The Third Prince's faction, led by Li Gu, was naturally angry, and soon one of them stood up:
"That's wrong. Although the Third Prince is not the Queen's son, he possesses virtue and is well-versed in both civil and military matters. He is the perfect choice for the crown prince in the eyes of the people."
"Old Xu, you're so dissatisfied. Which prince do you favor? Who do you think is worthy of being crowned as the crown prince? Could it be that idle, incompetent Second Prince?"
Jun Yan felt slightly relieved when he saw that someone finally stood up to speak for him.
Xu Wenlang didn't shy away from hearing this and sneered, "What else?"
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