After emperor Zhu Houzhao of the Ming Dynasty died of illness in leopard room, he had no children and could only choose one of the kings of the clan to inherit the throne. According to the order of succession, the successor should be Zhu Houxi, the son of Emperor Xianzong's fourth son, Zhu Youxi.
One reason why Zhu Houxi was able to succeed to the throne was that Yang Tinghe felt that he was young and easy to manipulate, so was he really as Yang Tinghe wished? From the very beginning, the young New Tianzi made Yang Tinghe realize that he had underestimated him.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" >01 Legacy Vulnerabilities and Workarounds</h1>
Zhu Houzhao was the only son of Emperor Xiaozong Zhu Youzhao, zhu Houzhao had no children, and there was no heir in this line of Emperor Xiaozong. Emperor Xianzong's eldest son and second son died early, the third son was Zhu Youxi, and the fourth son, Zhu Youxi, left his only son, Zhu Houxi.
After careful consideration, Yang Tinghe and Empress Zhang chose Zhu Houxi to succeed to the throne. The two chose him mainly because Zhu Houxi and Zhu Houzhao were closest in blood and were suitable for the requirements of succession, and Zhu Houxi was only 15 years old, making him an excellent candidate for a puppet emperor.
So how to endorse Zhu Houxi's succession? Yang Tinghe used Emperor Wuzong's will to convey it.
In the history of ancient and modern China and abroad, most of the last words of the previous emperors when the emperor died were suspicious, some were forged by eunuchs, and some were written by ministers.
Before emperor Wuzong Zhu Houzhao died, when the eunuch on duty conveyed the emperor's final edict and the news of his death, Yang Tinghe, the head of the cabinet, began to draft a will, and the most important thing in the edict was to appoint Zhu Houxi, the prince of Xing, to succeed him. At the same time, Empress Zhang also issued a decree to allow Zhu Houxi, the son of King Xingxian, to enter the throne of Emperor Jingsi.
The testament issued in the name of Emperor Wuzong states that the new monarch Zhu Houxi, who was about to succeed to the throne, was based on the patriarchal basis of the "brother and brother" clause in the Imperial Ancestral Training.
So does Zhu Houxi really conform to the patriarchal law of "brother and brother"? In fact, the "Imperial Ming Ancestral Training" clearly stipulates that the premise of "brother and brother" is that the brother born of the same mother, half brother or cousin is not included.
According to this standard, Zhu Houxi was illegitimate, he was a cousin of Emperor Wuzong, and his fathers Zhu Youzhu and Emperor Xiaozong were not brothers born of a mother. Forced by the situation, Yang Tinghe had no choice but to take the meaning out of context and find a little basis for the legitimacy of Zhu Houxi's succession under the banner of "brother to brother and brother".
Although this can deceive some eunuchs and military generals who do not read much, it is not a long-term solution, according to the "Emperor Ming Ancestral Training", his behavior is already the work of traitors, and there is a risk of killing his head.
What to do? Yang Tinghe has his set of solutions.
He searched through the history books and found the stories of the ancients, King Tao of Han Ding, and the successor of King Pu of Song, to provide a historical basis for his solution.
The story of King Tao of Handing is that Emperor Hancheng, because he had no children, made Liu Xin, the son of King Tao Gong, crown prince, the later Emperor of Han, and then passed on king Xiao of Chu to King Tao Gong and inherited the lineage of King Tao Gong; and the story of King Pu of Song's succession is that Emperor Renzong of Song was childless, and Zhao Yun, the king of Pu'an, made his thirteenth son Zong Shi the crown prince, that is, the later Emperor Yingzong of Song.
What about Yang Tinghe's solution? He planned to let Zhu Houxi pass on to Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, so that Empress Zhang would still be Empress Zhang, and Emperor Mingwu would become the emperor's brother, zhu Houzhao would be the younger brother, and the brother would be the only brother. However, after The Xing King Zhu Youqi had only one son and could not be eliminated, Yang Tinghe planned to pass on the second son of King Yi to Zhu Youqiu and attack the King of Xing.
Yang Tinghe thought that this method was very good, so he petitioned Empress Zhang to make a decision, and also consulted with the group of ministers, which was generally recognized.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="46" >02 Entry controversy</h1>
Originally, Yang Tinghe thought that the plan was very good, and everyone approved it, but he did not consider the idea of the future emperor, was Zhu Houxi willing to inherit to Xianzong as a son? He may think that he has worked hard to risk losing his head in violation of the "Imperial Ancestral Precepts" and seeking the throne for Zhu Houxi, this little emperor should be grateful to himself, what else can he do?
However, Yang Tinghe thought wrongly, he ignored this future new tianzi who was only 15 years old, and did not expect Zhu Houxi to be young and old, stubborn and determined.
Zhu Houxi, accompanied by the officials, came to the capital from the distant Fandi Lake Guang'an Luchangshou County. At the same time, the ceremonial procedures for the establishment of the new Tianzi are also actively proposed, and the etiquette of the enthronement ceremony is initially set as: the new Tianzi enters the imperial palace from Dong'an Gate and lives in the Wenhua Hall, and the second Heavenly Son, the three officials of the Military Force, are invited to ascend the throne, and after the new Tianzi resigns and agrees, he chooses the auspicious day to ascend the throne.
The succession ceremony was a major ceremony, and Yang Tinghe consulted with everyone to carry out the ceremony according to the specifications of the crown prince's ascension to the throne. However, they underestimated Zhu Houxi, and thought that this half-grown child was just a son of a remote and small clan, who would obey them for a long time and would have no objections, but from the time Zhu Houxi was about to arrive in the capital, the two sides had a dispute.
At first, the Minister of Ceremonies presented Zhu Houxi with a ceremonial certificate, and Zhu Houxi read it carefully and said with some doubt: "The will and testament let me take the throne of the emperor instead of the throne of the heir, how can I use the crown prince to take the throne?" So he asked the rebbe to think again.
The next day, Zhu Houxi's car arrived at the outskirts of Beijing, Yang Tinghe led his courtiers to meet him, and when he learned that Zhu Houxi was dissatisfied with the etiquette, he explained that Zhu Houxi had not yet taken the throne, and was still the king of the clan, and should enter the Huawen Hall from Dong'an Gate to live, and then ascend the throne according to etiquette from there.
Before he could finish speaking, Yuan Zonggao, who had followed Zhu Houxi from the Palace of the King of the Domain, asked in a loud voice: Now that he is the emperor, how can he perform the rituals of the king of the domain again?
Yang Ting and Some Yuan Zonggao, who looked down on Xiao Fan, did not theorize with it, and still gently persuaded Zhu Houxi to follow the etiquette.
Unexpectedly, Yuan Zonggao was furious, and Zhu Houxi also said that he would stay in front of the hall and would not enter the Wenhua Hall from the Dong'an Gate, but would enter from the Daming Gate.
The imaginary happy scene of the monarchs and courtiers meeting did not appear, but on the contrary, the courtiers clashed with the officials who drove into the capital. This day is the auspicious day chosen, and the palace has already prepared everything for the new Tianzi to ascend the throne, so what should we do now?
Yang Tinghe sent people to report to the empress dowager on the one hand, and on the other hand, he and Zhu Houxi lala family. During the chat, Zhu Houxi learned that the country was in a period of crisis, and Yang Tinghe and others were very anxious about it, and his unhappiness dissipated a lot, but he still did not intend to compromise.
When Empress Zhang learned of the news, she compromised and instead asked Zhu Houxi to accept the ceremony of ascending the throne by the hundred officials and three officials in the Xingdian Palace, and then entered the imperial city from the Daming Gate to take the throne.
The ancients paid attention to etiquette, and the so-called "persuasion" was that the minister wrote a document to persuade Zhu Houxi to take the throne, Zhu Houxi had to resign humbly, and the two sides staged a ceremony of three requests and three resignations, and Zhu Houxi "had no choice" to agree to the throne.
Why does Zhu Houxi want to fight for this? Because dong'an gate is the door for the king and courtiers to enter and exit, and the Daming Gate is where the emperor and empress pass. Entering from Dong'an Gate meant that Zhu Houxi was initially placed in the position of the crown prince of the heir throne, but Zhu Houxi and Emperor Wuzong Zhu Houzhao were cousins, so it was worth fighting.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="47" >03 Is the era number of the edict</h1>
Yang Tinghe finally reacquainted himself with Zhu Houxi, and did not expect that this new Tianzi was so stubborn, so he could not help but be cautious and cautious, and took the edict of the throne to Zhu Houxi for approval in advance, afraid that there would be chaos again.
The edict was very long, and Zhu Houxi really read it carefully, consulting with his entourage from time to time, and sometimes sending people to yang Tinghe to inquire.
The ministers were already waiting in front of the Fengtian Hall for the enthronement ceremony of the new Heavenly Son, and time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was almost the auspicious time of ascending the throne, but Zhu Houxi was still reviewing the edict of the throne.
Yang Tinghe and the elder of the waiting cabinet were impatient, the drums of the time were sounded, and the auspicious time of the ceremony was about to arrive, but Zhu Houzhao's imperial approval had not yet come down.
What was Zhu Houxi hesitating about? He saw that the shortcomings listed in the edict were too many and too extensive, and they all had to be eliminated for a while, and he was worried that if he moved too fiercely, he would be hurt, after all, the shortcomings had accumulated for too long, and they were entangled. Although he began to summon Yang Tinghe to delete some of the provisions, Yang Tinghe argued and refused to change them.
In the end, Zhu Houxi still agreed to the terms proposed by Yang Tinghe, but when he was preparing to write a reply, he saw Yang Tinghe's newly proposed era name: Shao Zhi. Isn't this for Emperor Shao Jihongzhi to include himself in the Xiaozong lineage, how can he agree?
Zhu Houxi was the only son of Zhu Youpi, and his father especially valued him when he was alive, and he personally taught him to read and write, how could he forget his father and recognize Xiaozong as his father?
So Zhu Houxi used the royal pen to point out and added the word "Jiajing". Jiajing symbolizes harmony between government and government and social stability.
After the imperial approval of the edict of the throne finally came out, Yang Tinghe also recognized Zhu Houxi's era name, which was indeed better than the original, and the meaning was profound, but he did not expect to be arranged as "Jiajing Jiajing Jiajing, clean home a few years later." ”
Although Zhu Houxi was only 15 years old, he was not a weak and obedient emperor, and he made Yang Tinghe feel very nervous before he ascended the throne, and all this was the prelude to the great ceremonial controversy.
Text: Ten Mile Osmanthus (Follow me and tell you more interesting historical stories.) Originality is not easy, unauthorized please do not reprint, violators will be investigated! ）