What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
In the rule of the family world, if the emperor did not have the eldest son, only the concubine, which son to choose as the heir also became the top priority of the imperial court at that time, not only the emperor's family affairs, but also the country's major affairs.
During the reign of Emperor Mingshen, Empress Wang was childless. Emperor Shenzong was fortunate that empress dowager Li was pregnant with a dragon, and later the Wang clan was enfeoffed as a concubine, and in August of the tenth year of the Wanli Calendar (1582), Princess Wang Gong gave birth to the emperor's eldest son, Zhu Changluo. Emperor Shenzong's favorite concubine was Zheng Guifei, who gave birth to the emperor's third son, Zhu Changyuan, in the first month of the fourteenth year (1586). Emperor Shenzong made Zheng Guifei an imperial concubine, second only to the empress, and it is said that Emperor Shenzong and Zheng Guifei agreed to make Zhu Changqian crown prince. "When the temple was in temple, Guangzong was born, and his mother was not favored. He was born to the King of Fortune, and his mother Zheng Shi was also born. Shangbi is very much, tasted in front of the Xuan Emperor God: "If there is a son, it is the queen of the world." 'The book is covenanted in the covenant, the middle is divided, the upper hides its half, the Zheng hides its half, and the so-called contract of the custom is the same. "At this time, Zhu Changluo was five years old, and according to the system of primogeniture, he should be crowned crown prince, and his birth mother, Princess Gong, should be made an imperial concubine." But the emperor, the eldest of the concubines, will be righteous to all", which means that the prince should be the first son of the empress, that is, the eldest son of the concubine; if the empress is childless, it should be the first son of the concubine.
Zhu Changluo was not crown prince, but Zheng Guifei was extremely favored, and the courtiers were worried that Emperor Shenzong would "abolish Chang Li Ai", which would then cause internal strife in the imperial family, endanger the stability of the imperial court, and affect the survival of the entire ruling regime. On the one hand, the process of determining the crown prince inspired the ministers to express their opinions to show their rights, and on the other hand, the imperial power used it to crack down on and exclude dissidents.
Emperor Shenzong also refused to make Zhu Changluo the son of a palace maid, and was opposed by Empress Li, who had been a maid in the palace of King Yu (later Muzong) before giving birth to Emperor Shenzong. The emperor entered the service, and the empress dowager asked why. Emperor Yue: 'Peter the Son of Man also.' The empress dowager was furious and said, "Eryidu son!" The emperor was terrified and did not dare to rise. The people of the Palace of the Inner Court are known as 'Du Ren', and the Empress Dowager is also entered by the palace people, so the clouds are gone. This shows that within the imperial palace, the contradictions about the establishment of the reserve are also very acute.
In the first month of the twentieth year of the Wanli Calendar (1592), Zhu Changluo had reached the age of education, but the etiquette of the prince going out of the cabinet to give lectures was different from that of other princes, and the eldest son of the emperor must not adopt the etiquette of the prince leaving the cabinet to lecture. This was a new way for the courtiers to request the divine emperor to make a prince.
In the first month of the twenty-first year (1593), the first assistant King Xijue asked to be crown prince. Under the pretext of his ancestral teachings, Emperor Shenzong proposed that the three kings be crowned together. However, if the three kings were to be crowned together, Zhu Changluo would lose the advantage of the status of the eldest son of the emperor, and when he became an adult, he would have to go to his own fiefdom to take the country, and it would be difficult to be made crown prince. There was an uproar in the court, opposing the three kings and sealing, but they were all punished by the Divine Sect, and at the same time, they also withdrew the order of the three kings to be sealed together.
In October of the twenty-ninth year (1601), in the face of the courtiers' many years of requesting the appointment of a crown prince, Emperor Shenzong was forced to be helpless, and had no choice but to order that "the eldest son of the emperor be made crown prince, and the king of Fu, Rui, Hui, and Gui, and the king of Gui, and the edict to the world." The following year, the crown ceremony and wedding of the crown prince were held at the same time. From the fourteenth year of the Wanli Calendar to the twenty-ninth year, the "dispute" that lasted for more than ten years came to an end, and Zhu Changluo's position as crown prince was basically stable.
Who to make the crown prince was originally a family affair of the emperor, but why did these ministers support the emperor's eldest son, Zhu Changluo, and not other princes?
First, zhu Changluo was made crown prince, which was in line with the principle of the inheritance system of the eldest son of the concubine, the inheritance system of the eldest son of the concubine was the inheritance system of China's feudal society, and as soon as the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, he crowned the eldest son Zhu Biao as the crown prince, and he believed that "the state is built and the reserve, the courtesy is from the eldest concubine, and the foundation of the world is in Yan." By safeguarding Zhu Changluo, they are safeguarding the primogeniture system and the ming dynasty's ancestral system and feudal etiquette. Therefore, they gained a moral footing, so they became more active in asking the Divine Sect to appoint a prince.
Second, the open side of the ministers is also driven by interests. Under the shackles of the Ming Dynasty's ancestral system and feudal etiquette system, Zhu Changluo's future appointment as crown prince and ascension to the throne were basically no problem. At this time, he will be courted, his position as crown prince will be firmed, and when he takes the throne, these ministers who support him will have access to huge political resources. For example, the "Three Yangs" of the Renzong Dynasty, Yang Rong, Yang Shiqi, and Yang Pu, when Emperor Renzong was crown prince, he and the Han king Zhu Gaoxu launched a struggle to seize the throne, and the "Three Yangs" were all supporters of the crown prince, and when the prince took the throne, the "Three Yangs" entered the cabinet and gained the right to speak politically.
The third is the Ming Dynasty's unique system of officials, which consisted of the Metropolitan Inspection Bureau and the six departments of officials, households, ceremonies, soldiers, criminals, and workers, who were of low rank, but could supervise the emperor and his subjects, and they were given the power to uphold the regulations. The Supervision System of the Ming Dynasty was perfected, and the Metropolitan Inspection Yuan, the Imperial History Supervision Bureau, and the Six Sections were set up to be specially responsible for supervising the organization groups that violated the system. The Metropolitan Inspection Bureau "specializes in correcting hundreds of divisions, discerning wrongs, supervising all the ways, and serving as the head of the Heavenly Son." All ministers who commit adultery and evil deeds, who form the party, who are powerful and chaotic politicians, bo. Whoever is ruthless and greedy and corrupt in his official discipline, Bo. Those who are not academically correct, whose statements have become chaotic and constitutional, and who wish to use them, are bo"; The Thirteen Ways of Supervision of the Imperial History "mainly inspects the officials and evils of the Hundred Divisions inside and outside the world, or shows the face of the seal, or seals the seal of the bo". The six sections are "in charge of the affairs of the six hundred divisions of the attendants, the rules, the supplementary breadths, and the inspections". It was precisely because of these institutional regulations that these officials dared to ask the Divine Sect to appoint a prince, and they may be convicted of controversy, but they also leave behind the good name of "Qingliu".