Chapter 541 Who will be the successor? (Please give me a monthly ticket!)
As the spring breeze blew by, the outskirts of Chang'an gradually began to turn green. Then it began to rain, and the raindrops were quite dense, carrying a chill that did not belong to spring.
Luo Yi stood in front of the window, looking at the drizzling spring rain, feeling a chill seeping into his bones and then spreading to his limbs and veins.
"Master, the hall is almost full of nobles and dukes."
There was no expression on Luo Yi's face, but his mind couldn't help but recall that just yesterday, Emperor Liu Yang passed away.
The emperor, deeply hurt by the witchcraft incident, did not want to see any so-called relatives or close ministers.
The ministers were waiting for orders outside the palace. Liu Yang only said that the will had been handed over to Duke Zhao and was about the succession to the throne, and then he asked everyone to return.
The ministers wanted to ask again, but the emperor had already fainted. Luo Yi had a sullen face and an expression that said "keep away from strangers", which made everyone hesitate. They didn't know whether to leave or not.
A moment later, the emperor died and never woke up again.
Luo Yi gloomily directed the eunuchs in the palace to collect Liu Yang's body, keep it for a few days before burying it in the imperial tomb.
Fortunately, at Liu Yang's insistence, Long Qing's body had been buried in the imperial mausoleum first.
Otherwise, even Luo Yi would not be able to find a reason to bury Long Qing and Liu Yang together.
Thinking of this, Luo Yi, who had been looking out the window with his hands behind his back, seemed like a stone statue that had been sleeping for a thousand years and suddenly woke up. Life emerged from his body and he turned and walked into the hall.
When they entered the hall, it was packed with people. They didn't look like they were here to visit, but rather to attend court. When they saw Luo Yi appear, they all sat up straight and greeted each other without any emotion.
"Grand Prime Minister, the late emperor has passed away. No one else is qualified to preside over his funeral affairs except you.
You still have the will in your hand, and now everyone present is a minister of the imperial court, so please give your instructions."
Luo Yi's voice was calm, he reached out and took out a scroll of imperial edict, and said calmly: "The imperial edict is here.
The ministers of the imperial court are all here, let's discuss your majesty's posthumous title first."
There is definitely no temple name, but a posthumous name is equally difficult to give.
Because Liu Yang was too complicated, the first few years after he ascended the throne were quite absurd. He was given bad posthumous titles such as "being stingy in giving is called love", "being frugal and without virtue is called narrow-minded", "being indulged in debauchery is called confusion", and "forgetting morality and corrupting etiquette is called indulgence". These are all critical but not very strong bad posthumous titles that can be given to him.
However, since Zhaogong Luo Yi entered Chang'an, Liu Yang cheered up and made remarkable achievements, especially with Luo Yi here. Giving him a bad posthumous title is tantamount to denying Liu Yang's life. What kind of reform is that?
"Grand Prime Minister, I think that 'mourning' may be appropriate for the late emperor. Death in middle age is called mourning."
There are three categories of posthumous titles: good, medium and bad. "Dao" is a typical medium posthumous title. The typical feature of a medium posthumous title is that it can be both derogatory and complimentary. There are four interpretations of "Dao". Early death in middle age is a positive one, expressing regret and sympathy.
This posthumous title is usually given to express the meaning of "If the king can live longer, the country will definitely become stronger."
Now the reform has just begun to show some results. This is not the darkness before dawn, but the dawn light has already been seen on the horizon. Yet, it collapsed directly. How can we not feel regretful?
Everyone nodded slightly, "Emperor Xiaodao, it's probably okay."
"inappropriate."
Suddenly a voice rang out, interrupting everyone's conversation. Luo Yi and the others looked over and saw that it was Zong Zheng. Seeing everyone looking over, Zong Zheng said expressionlessly: "The first word for posthumous title is fairness. I will not say much about the merits and demerits of the late emperor, but the word filial piety cannot be added.
He favored Long Qing and ignored the harem, which led to his death without an heir. He also did not adopt a son from the main family, resulting in the unclear succession to the throne. How could he be worthy of his ancestors?
I am the head of the Liu clan. The late emperor cannot have the word "filial piety" written on him. If you, the ministers, were to write the word "filial piety" on the late emperor today, I would not say much, but would just take off my crown and leave. "
boom!
The words of Zongzheng caused quite a stir. The last emperor in the Han Dynasty who did not have the word "filial piety" was Emperor Liu Dan. Someone immediately said, "Emperor Xiaoding also had no children, so why did he have the word "filial piety" in his name?"
Zong Zheng said calmly: "I said that the late emperor only favored Long Qing and did not care about the harem, so there is no heir. It's not that I can't do it, but I just don't want to do it!"
The tone was calm, but the meaning was not calm, it was even a curse. He could have a son but didn't, he could do it but didn't do it, this was Liu Yang's fault!
Everyone was silent at this moment, even Luo Yi did not speak.
In the Han Dynasty, after the death of a king, duke, or minister, there would be various affairs after his death, such as posthumous titles, burials, and the emperor had a temple name and eulogies, but among them, only the posthumous name was the most important.
Because the first thing a posthumous title means is fairness!
This is something presented to King Su and the Emperor of Heaven, and it is the only thing we dare not conceal.
What Zong Zheng is talking about now is justice. For the sake of justice, he is even willing to remove the official position of Zong Zheng, the head of the Nine Ministers.
Luo Yi looked around and saw the expressions of the people, so he said, "Just follow what Zongzheng said and just write the word 'mourning' for the late emperor."
Once the Prime Minister made the final decision, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense. Everyone looked at each other and then focused their attention on the will.
Luo Yi slowly unfolded the will under everyone's gaze, "Imperial edict: I am about to die, who will be the emperor?
I'm sure you will follow the example of Emperor Xiaoding and enthrone a prince from among my brothers as emperor.
I don't agree!
My father has many sons and I inherited the throne as the legitimate son, so I treat my brothers very closely.
Although I cannot make all of them kings, I have never lacked the rewards I deserve. But what have I got?
It's a shameless betrayal!
I wonder how many of my brothers are still hoping for my death?
I don’t know.
But there must be something else. My throne may very well fall into the hands of someone who hopes I die.
well.
In that case, the emperor would not choose from them.
Adopt an outstanding young man from the clan as my son and give him the throne.
The Grand Prime Minister will decide on the final candidate, and choose one who is filial and polite. This is my gift to him."
This imperial decree, which was written in a very colloquial way, shocked everyone in the room. Because they were worried that their brother who had cursed them to die a bad death would take the throne, they simply cut off all the chances of their brothers taking the throne.
How cruel!
However, smart people saw other meanings in this. Liu Yang saw it too clearly.
The next emperor to ascend the throne has no idea who will be the next one. What if Long Qing is dug out of the mausoleum?
What if he is discredited?
What he wanted was a weak and helpless heir of the main family, an orphan without parents.
In this way, the new emperor can only rely on Liu Yang's legacy and rely on Liu Yang as his father. Only in this way can he preserve his affairs after his death to the greatest extent.
This was what Liu Yang asked Luo Yi to do. He knew that Luo Yi didn't care who the emperor was, and he didn't care whether he was chosen based on blood relationship.
Luo Yi looked at the shocked expressions of the crowd and said calmly, "This is what the late emperor's will said. I'm sure all the ministers have just been thinking about the right person.
Now you can start choosing again.”
With Luo Yi's voice, everyone came back to their senses, and someone immediately shouted: "Duke Zhao, this is a chaotic order. How can the throne be chosen from the estranged royal family?
How could the emperor not choose from among the descendants of Emperor Xiaocheng?
This is not in line with the tradition of the Han Dynasty!"
Luo Yi asked indifferently: "The tradition of the Han Dynasty?
Is it a tradition of the Han Dynasty that the younger brother inherits the throne after the elder brother's death?
The late emperor chooses a son from the clan to be adopted as his successor to the throne as the late emperor's son. Isn't this the tradition of the Han Dynasty?
"It is better for a son to inherit the father's property than for a younger brother to inherit the elder brother's property. Don't you understand this simple truth?"
The truth is indeed very simple, but people argue because they are unwilling to do so.
It was not until this moment that the ministers understood why Liu Yang gave the edict to Luo Yi, because such an obviously unorthodox edict could only be implemented in the hands of someone like Luo Yi.
When Luo Yi approved the will, everyone in the room understood that the will was approved, and all the sons of Emperor Xiaocheng, the most prominent princes and marquises of the Han Dynasty, had lost the qualification to inherit the throne.
"Grand Prime Minister, since the late emperor has left a will and has chosen you as the final choice, do we have anything else to say except to execute it?
But the Han Dynasty has been around for nearly two hundred years, and there are many branches of the clan. From which branch should we choose the successor? "
The one who spoke was the Zong Zheng, who was in charge of the entire Liu clan and knew the situation within the clan best. Thanks to the enfeoffment of the Han Dynasty, the Liu clan was now very prosperous throughout the world.
Luo Yi had read the will long ago and had also thought about this question long ago, so he said directly: "Let's choose from the lineage of Emperor Xiaoxuan."
After hearing Luo Yi's words, everyone in the room couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. At least it didn't start from the branch of Emperor Gao. If it really started from such a long time ago, the whole world would be in turmoil!
————
After Emperor Dao passed away, he entrusted the Prime Minister with an edict, saying: "The Han Dynasty ruled the world with loyalty and filial piety. The relatives and close branches of the family are trying to kill the emperor and are harming the country with witchcraft. We must not allow the traitors to gain power. We should select a son of the family branch and make him the crown prince to inherit the country. This is where the Han Dynasty will prosper."
Xiao Shao was capable and outstanding among his clan members, so he was given the title of the most powerful one.
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(End of this chapter)
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