Regarding the ancient imperial succession system, most of the orthodox dynasties in the Central Plains followed the inheritance system and patriarchal system established by the Zhou Dynasty, and used the large and small emperors and whether they were concubines and the eldest son to ensure that the succession to the throne (imperial throne) complied with the constraints of the ceremonial law, so as to ensure the orderly inheritance of the imperial throne and reduce the political turmoil caused by the change of the imperial throne.
However, as an ethnic minority regime, there were great differences, the Jin Dynasty, the Northern Wei Dynasty, etc. were based on the principle of brothers and brothers, while the Yuan Dynasty under Kublai Khan adhered to the traditional Mongolian system of primogeniture. From the point of view of purpose, although the two systems are different, they are both to maintain the operation of the dynasty, but in fact, there is no distinction between superior and inferior.
And when Zhu Yuanzhang defeated Chen Youyu and Zhang Shicheng as beggars in 1368, creating an immortal achievement, how to choose an heir became a problem in front of him.
He had many heirs, as many as 26 sons alone. For the eldest son Zhu Biao, he was particularly fond of him, and from an early age, he invited Song Lian and other great Confucians to be his teachers. In 1370, four years after zhu di, zhu zhu, zhu tang and other sons were divided into various places, he promulgated the "Imperial Ming Ancestral Training", which established the inheritance principle of "having a concubine and not having a concubine". However, contrary to his wishes, after the death of his son Zhu Biao, although he appointed Zhu Yunjiao as the emperor's eldest grandson, when he died, everything was broken.
The dimwitted and incompetent Jianwen Emperor was obviously not a rival to Zhu Di, the king of the domain, and the usurpation of power in the Battle of Jingnan was successful, and even after Zhu Di ascended the throne, he intended to appoint his preferred second son Zhu Gaoxu as crown prince, although in the end he was forced to appoint his eldest son Zhu Gaoxu as crown prince and inherit Dabao. But in the choice of heirs, the successive emperors did not want to put the decision in their own hands, rather than this so-called inheritance of etiquette, so that there were many contradictions between the emperor and the courtiers.
And when the Wanli Dynasty, Zhu Yijun ascended to the throne. The question of who would be crown prince also became a question before him.
As the longest-reigning emperor of the Ming Dynasty, his imperial career can be described as a lot of criticism, whether it is Mr. Huang Renyu or Wu Han, who uses him as the root of the Ming Dynasty. In the 48 years of his reign, in addition to the first 10 years of Zhang Juzheng's auxiliary government, Zhang Juzheng's reforms, and the continuation of the Ming Dynasty, in the following thirty years, lazy government and lazy government occupied his entire career. Being with Dan Lu and living with Dan Yao has also become his portrayal.
The most favored woman in his life was Wan Guifei, and his son was naturally Zhu Changxun, the Prince of Fu. But the crux of the problem also lies here, Wan Guifei is not a proper wife, and Zhu Changxun, the Fu King, is not the eldest son.
Before Emperor Wanli, Wan Guifei, and Zhu Changxun were Emperor Taizu's "Imperial Ancestral Training", the courtiers' arguments, and the emperor's eldest son, Zhu Changluo.
Zhu Changluo's mother, Wang Shiben, was just a palace maid in the empress dowager's palace. When the Wanli Emperor asked Empress Li for peace, he rose on a whim and blessed her. However, without thinking, the Wang clan also quarreled and became pregnant with the dragon heir. Although the Wanli Emperor denied it in every way and denied it, in the records of the emperor's living quarters, it is detailed and clearly recorded: "X year X month X day, Shangxing Palace Princess Clan" In black and white, the Wanli Emperor had to recognize it, and had to make Wang a concubine. After Zhu Changluo was born, he was already disgusted, and he naturally did not like the mother and son.
On the contrary, it was Zheng Guifei, who was particularly pleased by her. It is said that the mother depends on the son, and the son depends on the mother, and zhu Changxun, the prince of Fu, because of his mother's favor, also led to the Wanli Emperor wanting to usurp the ancestral system and appoint him as the crown prince.
No one would have thought that such a fight would last for 15 years, and the Wanli Emperor could have won it completely, but one thing changed his mind.
Although in the face of pressure from the courtiers and Empress Li, he could always drag on the appointment of the crown prince, and even more so, the emperor's eldest son Zhu Changluo could not even receive a basic education, but how could the group of ministers turn a blind eye, although he could degrade Shen Shixing and other group ministers, but how could the yoyo crowd be degraded.
And just when he was in a hurry, he fell ill. In 1601, he was seriously ill. There was only Zhu Changluo's mother Concubine Gong taking care of her all day long, while The deep-hearted Concubine Zheng Guifei was extremely happy, and once the Emperor Long Yu returned to heaven, her son Zhu Changxun had an incomparable advantage. The Wanli Emperor decided to make a tentative attempt, and he Zheng Guifei brought the jade bowl that was given to Zhu Changluo and Zhu Changxun, but at this time, Wan Guifei was clever and was mistaken by cleverness, claiming that Zhu Changluo's jade bowl had gone down the road unknown, and his son Zhu Changxun's was there.
Wanli Emperor, how could he not know the trick of this. How could this imperial gift be easily missed by her. So that night, the Wanli Emperor made Zhu Changluo, the eldest son of the emperor, crown prince.
And this 15-year-long dispute over the foundation of the country has finally ended in such a seemingly comical way. And after that, will the Daming Palace be calm because of such a decision?
No, how could Wan Guifei be willing to fall on the throne. One after another, the big cases at the end of the Ming Dynasty occurred here, and the attack case, an outsider could enter the palace and murder the prince; the palace transfer case, the red pill case, etc. even pointed the spearhead at Wan Guifei. In 1620, after Zhu Changluo succeeded to the throne, he died less than a month later. According to the "History of Ming", he had several daughters at night, and in fact, even these women were gifted by Wan Guifei.
On top of the question of heirs, there is so much mutual inversion of rights.
References: History of the Ming Dynasty, Ancestral Training of the Emperor and Ming Dynasty