Chapter 427: Choosing the Emperor!
A country relies on its long-term ruler, and stability is the main thing.
The General meant what he said.
He did not want to establish an immature emperor and then become the person who controlled the emperor.
Because he did not think he had such strong abilities, he hoped to have an excellent and outstanding ruler like Emperor Xiaowu who could lead them, the military heroes and nobles, to conquer one peak after another and create one great achievement after another.
People are very complex. There is no conflict between pursuing power and being loyal to the country. Huo Guang, Zhuge Liang, Yu Qian, and Zhang Juzheng were all powerful officials, but they were also loyal officials, at least loyal officials to the country.
The general was naturally not as good as these people, but he always remembered in his heart that he was a subject of the Han Dynasty.
Back then, Marquis Wulie of Changping chose him from among a group of marquises as the successor to the general, handed over the group of military meritorious officials to him, and made him the sharpest sword of the Han Dynasty. Over the past ten years, he has always been on the front line.
He considered himself a very loyal minister.
At this critical moment for the Han Dynasty, even if it meant offending some people, he had to say that a young prince like the ninth prince should not be enthroned.
A prince should be chosen who has sufficient ability to control the country's social situation.
In fact, as soon as he said this, not only the ninth prince was at a disadvantage in the fight for the throne, but the seventh and eighth princes of the previous emperor were also at a disadvantage.
Because these two people had just come of age, Guo Lai Changjun was just competing in age, and these two princes were instantly at a disadvantage.
As expected, when the general said this, Emperor Liu Jin didn't react at all, but many people in the hall frowned. Upon closer inspection, they found that they were the in-laws and old friends of these three princes.
Each prince has his own wife's family and mother's family.
Since the Zhou Dynasty, there has always been an iron rule that the status of a son depends on the status of his mother.
Especially for politicians, the consequences of a weak maternal clan are very serious.
For example, Emperor Xiaowu's sixth son, Liu Ba, was granted the title of King of Wusun. From the name, you can tell that his kingdom was in the Western Regions.
Liu Ba's mother was not a noble lady from the Central Plains, but a princess of Loulan who was sent to Chang'an when Luo Wuji conquered the Western Regions. The purpose was to give birth to a prince to feudalize the Western Regions.
After all, according to the political iron rule of the Han court, where there are counties, there must be marquisates, and where there are regions, there must be princes. It is really unreasonable to have such a large territory as the Western Regions without princes to guard it.
The Princess of Loulan was certainly noble in the Western Regions, but compared with the noble ladies of the Central Plains, her status was relatively low. When the princes were enfeoffed, their fiefdoms were directly moved to the Western Regions. She was the prince least likely to inherit the throne, and no one considered her at all.
But this was not the case for the other princes.
Before Liu Jin became seriously ill, the family that had married into the prince's family had never thought of becoming in-laws. After all, over the hundred years since the establishment of the Han Dynasty, the inheritance had always been orderly, and the throne had always been in the hands of the direct lineage and had never fallen into the hands of other branches.
But this does not mean that the princes are not worthy of marriage alliance. County governors, princes, and marquises are the three pillars of local power. There are countless powerful nobles who want to curry favor with the princes. There are even marriages between county chiefs and princes, and between marquises and princes.
Although marrying someone of equal social status may not sound good, the reality is that most people do so.
The princes whose genealogies could be found were not allowed to marry each other, and could only marry with the marquises, counties, kingdoms, or court officials. Unexpectedly, at this time, such a big event would happen, the throne was about to fall from the sky!
The Imperial Censor stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty! I object to what the general said.
Was Emperor Su Wang the eldest brother of King Wu of Zhou?
Above Emperor Suwang, there were two older brothers, but King Wu of Zhou skipped those two and chose Emperor Suwang instead.
This is because King Wu of Zhou saw the talents of Emperor Su Wang.
I have heard that talented people are always extraordinary from a young age. The sage Lao Tzu once said that great things are not achieved until they are complete. Can a person who is not outstanding when he is young make any progress as he grows older? "
The general glanced at the Censor when he heard this, but the Censor didn't care. He was different from the prime minister. The prime minister was granted the title of marquis based on the rule that one cannot strengthen the prime minister's prestige without being granted the title of marquis. His background was too shallow. Although his family was not a top-level marquis family, it was gradually turning into a family of Confucian classics. Now they were studying classics and didn't deal with people like the general, so they were not afraid of offending him.
The Chief Censor openly opposed the general's words, which immediately heated up the atmosphere in the hall. Chaos was good, the more chaotic the better. The probability of Liu Jin's eight younger brothers becoming emperors was completely different.
But who says that those with a low probability cannot become emperor?
The general wanted to invite a capable prince to come to Chang'an, but many people did not think so. Weak princes were easier to control!
Liu Jin certainly understood this. At this moment, he looked at the general with a more complicated look in his eyes. He asked with a little melancholy, "What do you think of what the Imperial Censor said?"
The general immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this is simply ridiculous.
The succession of the princes to the throne has already shaken the court and the country, and the people's hearts cannot be settled in a short period of time. The most important thing is to find a mature and stable person who can win the hearts of the people.
If someone with insufficient prestige is allowed to succeed the throne, wouldn't that put the Han Dynasty in ruins?"
“Ahem.”
Suddenly someone coughed twice behind the general, and he suddenly realized that he seemed to have said too much, which offended most of the princes.
Thinking of this, the general, who had the courage to go against the emperor, couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. He looked back at the dukes and found that nearly half of them lowered their heads slightly, as if they didn't want to get involved in this matter, or they didn't support his behavior.
The general cast his eyes towards the emperor lying on the bed, and saw that the emperor still looked sickly, but his face was still listening attentively. After seeing that he didn't speak, he asked weakly: "General, why don't you say anything? I think what you said makes sense. The country should be handed over to people with ability and prestige."
Now everyone was silent, and everyone even lowered their heads and didn't look at the emperor.
The hall was silent for a moment, and then everyone heard Emperor Liu Jin say in a hoarse and weak voice: "I have eight younger brothers.
My second brother is the King of Jiaodong. His queen is the legitimate daughter of Jimo Lu. He has always been known for his kindness in Qi, but he has a somewhat weak character. I am very worried about him.
My third brother, the King of Northern Yan, once fought against the barbarians of Liaodong under the command of Marquis Jing Huan. He is good at martial arts, but has a somewhat violent personality. I don’t know if he is a good choice.
My fourth brother is the King of Henan. I have never heard of any deeds he did in Henan County.
Fifth brother, you are really useless. I destroyed his kingdom with my own hands. He can't even handle the affairs of a vassal king well. How can he take on the responsibility of being an emperor?
The King of Wusun is stationed in the Western Regions. This is the law set by the late emperor. I cannot violate it and it is not under consideration.
My seventh brother is a man of literary talent, and he has a great scholar as his teacher. However, he is a little too upright and pedantic, and I am a little worried about him.
Although my eighth brother has been brought up, he still has the mentality of a child and is too unstable. Alas, I don’t know what the world will be like if it is handed over to him.
Ninth brother, just as the general said, the country relies on the elder ruler. In the past, King Luo Wen returned power to Emperor Xiaowen only after he was crowned. Now, do I really want to hand over this heavy empire to the hands of a young child?
My dear ministers, I am very worried now, do you have any good ideas?"
Liu Jin listed all the princes in one breath and evaluated each of them. This was the standard answer, but everyone had to find the answer.
There is no need to look at the King of Wusun, he is definitely ruled out.
The ninth prince is most likely ruled out. After all, Emperor Xiaowen has moved out, which basically cuts off his possibility.
The seventh prince might not be suitable either, because he is too upright and pedantic to be suitable to be an emperor.
It's hard to write
(End of this chapter)
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