Chapter 345: Discussing the Establishment of the Crown Prince
After thinking for a long time, Li Chengqian still couldn't come up with a good solution, so he stopped thinking about it.
"Issue the imperial edict to promote General Zhao Xiaozu of the Left Army to the rank of General of the Left Army, and the title of Shangzhuguo, and grant him the title of Wenchuan Man."
"Abolish the Langzhou Governor's Office, and set up the Rongzhou Governor's Office in Rongzhou, with Zhao Xiaozu as the Rongzhou Governor, and let him monitor the situation in the south of Yuncai at all times." Li Chengqian said.
"Yes!" Wang Quan took the order and withdrew, and went to the Secretariat to pass on the imperial edict.
...
"Saint, I have a memorial to make!" The morning court had just begun, and Li Chengqian had just sat on the throne, and Chu Suiliang, who had returned to Chang'an, stood up and said.
"What did Chu Qing report?" Li Chengqian asked.
"For the sake of the long-term stability of the Tang Dynasty, I ask the sage to appoint a crown prince early to calm the people and prolong the country for thousands of years." Chu Suiliang saluted.
Li Chengqian frowned. He didn't expect that the first thing Chu Suiliang did after returning to Chang'an was to ask him to appoint a crown prince.
The crown prince is the heir to the empire, the heir designated and cultivated by the emperor, and the future emperor.
Similarly, he will become the number one potential threat to the current emperor.
The status of the crown prince is second only to the emperor, and he has his own East Palace, which is similar to the court mechanism.
The official configuration of the East Palace is completely modeled after the court system, and it also has a private guard similar to the emperor's imperial guards, the "Crown Prince's General".
And the crown prince's wives and concubines also have formal titles like the emperor's concubines.
The relationship between the crown prince and the emperor is extremely complex and quite sensitive.
On the one hand, the emperor needs an heir, but the existence of an heir will pose a certain threat to the imperial power. Because the crown prince has great power, he often conflicts with the emperor, which leads to his dethronement or killing.
To a certain extent, the establishment of the crown prince can stabilize the hearts of court officials and the people, and prevent internal strife.
Once the emperor has an accident and dies suddenly, the crown prince can smoothly inherit the throne, and there will be no chaos in the empire.
If there is no crown prince, if the emperor has an accident, the princes will fight for the throne, the country will not be stable, people's hearts will change, and in serious cases, it may even lead to the destruction of the country.
Establishing a crown prince can also allow him to supervise the country, so that the emperor will have the opportunity to go out and play.
Therefore, establishing a crown prince has its advantages and disadvantages.
"What do you think about establishing a crown
prince?" Li Chengqian said. "I think the crown prince should be established. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu established the hidden crown prince Jiancheng, and the late emperor established the saint as the crown prince."
"The late emperor established the crown prince in the same year he ascended the throne. The saint was established as the crown prince at the age of eight. Now the prince is older, and the saint has been on the throne for three years. It is time to establish the position of the crown prince." Changsun Chong received Changsun Wuji's hint and stepped out to salute.
"Sage, the crown prince is the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. He is the root and basis of the Tang Dynasty. To establish the foundation of the country by rectifying people's hearts and saving people's lives to prolong the national lineage, the crown prince must be established. For the long-term plan, the sage should make a decision early."
The Minister of Rites stepped out. "We kowtow to the sage to establish a crown prince to rectify people's hearts."
Another minister stepped out to perform the ceremony and request the establishment of a crown prince. "We second the motion!" Another group of ministers stepped out to request the establishment of a crown prince.
Li Chengqian looked at the ministers kneeling in the hall and did not respond immediately, but fell into deep thought.
As for the establishment of a crown prince, Li Chengqian had thought about it before, but he wanted to observe who among the princes was more suitable to be the crown prince.
Once the crown prince was established, in order to prevent brothers from killing each other, the other princes would be sent to their fiefdoms after being crowned kings.
The emperor would focus most of his energy on cultivating the crown prince.
But in this way, once the prince's power is too great, it will threaten his throne and imperial power, and it is inevitable that the father and son will fight against each other.
Judging from the bad precedent set by the previous emperor in the Xuanwu Gate Incident, once the prince's power is strong, it is easy for him to learn from Emperor Taizong and stage a coup to come to power.
If a few princes are left by his side and their power is cultivated to counter the prince's power, a balance can be achieved in order to better control the country, prevent power from falling into others' hands, and maintain his own imperial power.
The consequence of doing so is that once it gets out of control, the consequences will be more serious, which is also what Li Chengqian is unwilling to accept.
If the development of the prince's power is excessively restricted, he is worried that he will not be able to control the situation in the future, and it is easy for powerful officials to control the government.
For Li Chengqian, this is a dilemma.
"The crown prince is the foundation of our Tang Dynasty. I also want to appoint a crown prince, but I don't know which prince should be appointed. That's why I'm hesitant. Since the ministers have raised the issue today, let's talk about who should be appointed as the crown prince." Li Chengqian said.
Since this topic cannot be avoided, just say it out loud.
"Saint!" It was finally Zhangsun Wuji's turn to speak. "Since ancient times, the patriarchal system has been clear. It has always been to appoint the eldest son of the legitimate wife instead of the virtuous one, and to appoint the son instead of the eldest son. Naturally, the eldest son of
the legitimate wife, Li Jue, who is the empress's son, should be appointed as the crown prince." According to the patriarchal system, Li Jue is the only choice for the heir to the throne. His biological mother is the empress, and he is the first son born to the empress.
Although Li Xiang is Li Chengqian's eldest son, he is just the son of the emperor and a maid, and is a concubine's eldest son.
From the perspective of birth, Li Xiang was not the legitimate son of the empress, and his birth mother was a lowly maid, which did not meet the conditions of the patriarchal system at all.
It can be said that Li Xiang's prerequisites have doomed him to have no fate with the throne in this life. Even Li Sujie was more qualified to inherit the throne than him.
Who made Li Sujie's birth mother Xiao Guifei, who came from a famous family?
If they were really made the crown prince, wouldn't it be equivalent to giving the aristocratic family a chance to prosper again? This is of course not acceptable.
"What does Sikong think about the establishment of the crown prince?" Li Chengqian asked Li Zhen.
"Although the establishment of the crown prince is a major event of the court, it is also your majesty's family. I dare not object to it. Please let your majesty decide." Li Zhen stepped out and saluted.
"What the general said makes sense!" Li Chengqian said. The ministers were all overjoyed when they heard it! Unexpectedly, Li Chengqian changed the subject.
"However, the appointment of a crown prince is a serious matter. I still need to test whether Li Jue can take on the position of crown prince before I can make a decision."
Since he was in a dilemma, he might as well delay it for another three to five years, and use the name of the test to refute everyone.
The ministers heard that the emperor did not want to appoint a crown prince, how could this be possible.
"Saint..." Chu Suiliang spoke hastily.
"That's enough! I have made up my mind on this matter, and you don't need to say anything more!" Li Chengqian interrupted Chu Suiliang.
The matter of appointing a crown prince is not a big deal that they can interfere with. As ministers, they should put themselves in their positions and know what to do and what not to do.
Since when did ministers have the right to criticize the appointment of a crown prince? Yue Fei was executed on a false charge because of criticizing the crown prince.
Seeing that the emperor left unhappily, everyone was not interested and stopped talking about this issue.
Not saying anything on the surface, but it was another matter in secret.