In the last years of the Tang Dynasty, the degree of moderation inflated power, and the imperial power declined day by day. Local moderation made the supporters self-respecting, "listening to the tune and not listening to the announcement", the imperial court was like a pile of mud. After the outbreak of the Huangchao Rebellion, the feudal towns were divided, the Tang regime was in turmoil, and soon the Tang Dynasty collapsed.
After the Tang Dynasty, history entered the Period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. The so-called Five Dynasties refers to the five major dynasties that the north has experienced, namely Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han and Later Zhou.
After the fall of Tang, Zhu Wen usurped Tang and first established Hou Liang in the Central Plains. Zhu Wen is a controversial figure in the history of our country, he is shameless and absurd, but he has his own superiority. Zhu Wen had seven sons and five adopted sons, and when he was old, his own sons Zhu Youjue and Zhu Youzhen were all adults, but he wanted to pass on the throne to his adopted son.
In order to achieve a smooth transition of power and prevent the seizure of power by the sons, the "primogeniture inheritance system" is deeply rooted. However, Zhu Wen did not follow the old rules. As a tyrant in the chaotic world, before his death, his own children Zhu Youjue and Zhu Youzhen both became adults, but he passed the throne to his adopted son Zhu Youwen.
His own sons, Zhu Youjue and Zhu Youzhen, were talentless and virtuous and could not be supported on horseback, while their adopted son Zhu Youwen was deeply loved by Zhu Wen. The eldest son, Zhu Youyu, died of illness at the age of twenty-four, and it is reasonable to say that Zhu Wen should consider having his second son Zhu Youjue as his successor. According to the "New Five Dynasties History", "Xuanwu in taizuchu town, slightly Song and Bojian, was born in conjunction with the rebellious woman Ye. It turned out that Zhu Youjue was born after Zhu Wen and a camp prostitute in Bozhou.
If Zhu Youjue succeeded to the throne, his mother's status as a wild prostitute and the things his parents blindly tossed and turned were pulled out, it would really hurt his face.
To choose a successor, Zhu Wen could not fail to consider this issue.
In addition, Zhu Youjue's "long and eloquent and intelligent", often use some small tricks, play some small clever. In Zhu Wen's view, this son could not become a great instrument and was not suitable to become the heir to the throne.
Sure enough, when zhu Youwen was about to be passed on, Zhu Youjue entered the palace overnight to assassinate Zhu Wen. At that time, Zhu Wen scolded bitterly: "I suspect that this thief has been dead for a long time, I hate not killing him early, and the thief endures killing his father!" ”
The other son, Zhu Youzhen, was the eldest son born to Zhu Wen and his wife Zhang Shi, and there was no problem with his birth, so it can be said that the root red Miaozheng. The "History of the Old Five Dynasties" records: "The emperor's beauty instrument, sexually deep and taciturn, elegant and good Confucian." "The basic skills look good, and Zhu Wen likes this son."
However, after Zhu Youzhen succeeded to the throne, he reused the courtiers, excluded the xianchens, and suffered consecutive defeats in foreign wars, and his ability was not much better than Zhu Youjue. Zhu Youzhen's weakness and pattern made Zhu Wen suspicious, and it was rumored that it was located in him, and it was difficult to control the world.
After a difficult choice, Zhu Wen decided to choose Zhu Youwen as his heir. Zhu Youwen's "young and beautiful style, studious, good at talking, quite capable of poetry", has been loved by Zhu Wen.
After the early death of Zhu Wen's eldest son, Zhu Youwen was the eldest of all the sons. Shi Zai: "Bo Wang Youwen is multi-material, Taizu loves it, and the age is long, Taizu is on the throne, the concubine is not established, and the heart tastes the only Youwen." "Zhu Youwen has an outstanding temperament, outstanding talent, old age and stability, and is deeply loved by Zhu Wen, who after weighing it up, is ready to pass it on to him."
There is also a very absurd reason for the choice of successor. According to the New Five Dynasties History, after the death of Empress Zhang of Zhu Wen, Zhu Wen did not appoint a new empress. While the sons were guarding the border in the outer town, the absurd and lustful Zhu Wen gave the daughters-in-law a hand and called them one by one to accompany him to sexual pleasure. Because Zhu Youwen's wife Wang Shi looked very beautiful, Zhu Wen plunged headlong into gentle township.
In order to win the opportunity to ascend to the throne, the sons dared to be angry and did not dare to speak. On the contrary, in order to gain an advantage in the matter of Li Chu, some people also competed to let their wives sleep with their own fathers, including Zhu Youwen and Zhu Youjue.
Zhu Youwen's wife Wang Shi was the most beautiful, so Zhu Wen "although he did not make Youwen the crown prince, Emperor Yi often belonged to it." "There is no free lunch in the world, and the daughter-in-law Wang Shi has satisfied Zhu Wen, and Zhu Wen may have to find a way to reciprocate." Sure enough, when Zhu Wen was seriously ill, he told Zhu Youwen's wife Wang Shi: "I know that I can't afford it in the end, Ru Zhidongdu, summon Youwen to come, and I will decide with him." (I probably can't do it, you hurry to The Capital to call back Zhu Youwen and prepare to take over.) ）
Unexpectedly, this was heard by Zhang Shi, the wife of Zhu Youjue, who was also sleeping, and she quickly informed Zhu Youjue. Zhu Youjue took the lead and killed his dying father, becoming emperor himself.
Although his own sons Zhu Youjue and Zhu Youzhen were all adults, Zhu Wen did not look up to them.
And Zhu Wen prepared to make his adopted son Zhu Youwen the crown prince, in addition to admiring his virtue and ability, he even served his daughter-in-law well because of his good looks. This is a strange thing.
(The author is a special guest author of "Ancient and Modern Affairs")