Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2801 Establishing Two Kings and Overseeing the Two Capitals

In the twenty-second year of Tianchen, the crown prince was deposed, and the twenty-eighth prince, the youngest and most favored prince, was exiled, which shocked the entire country.

At the same time, the descendants of thirteen founding heroes, including Meng, Yuchi, Jin, and Wei, who were directly or indirectly involved in this event, were also affected.

Thirteen noble families, including marquises and earls, had their titles stripped by the emperor, and their entire clans were implicated. The number of people implicated in this incident exceeded one thousand.

This incident, because it occurred in front of the Sima Gate of the Emperor's palace, is known in later generations as the Sima Gate Incident.

At the same time, because this event occurred in the eleventh month of winter in the twenty-second year of Tianchen, some people also call it the Frost Eleven Palace Coup.

Historical records state that in the eleventh month of winter in the twenty-second year of the Tianchen era, the Crown Prince, having long resided in the Eastern Palace, was constantly filled with anxiety and fear. He secretly conspired with armored soldiers to force his way into the palace. At that time, the young Prince Ju, the Emperor's youngest son, was known for his intelligence and was favored over all the other sons. However, he had displeased the Emperor and refused the arranged marriage. He then conspired with the Crown Prince to seek military assistance and carry out a coup.

The plot was exposed, and the emperor ordered the imperial guards to quell it. The crown prince's army was defeated at Sima Gate, and the young prince was also captured.

The emperor summoned the crown prince and questioned him about the reason. The crown prince proudly replied, "The position of heir apparent has been vacant for sixty years, causing suspicion and fear throughout the land. I am not rebelling against Your Majesty, but rather against the will of the people!" The emperor remained silent for a long time, then finally wept. He issued an edict to depose the crown prince, reduce him to a commoner, and imprison him in the Eastern Palace, where he was never allowed to leave until his death.

The emperor summoned the young prince, Ju. The emperor sternly questioned him about his reasons for joining the rebellion. Ju replied, "It is not for the throne, but only to refuse the marriage agreement and wish to marry a woman from the Qin family." The emperor was furious and rebuked him, "You have violated the law of the state for personal feelings, and you value a woman more than the country!" He ordered the censor Qin Zhen to be exiled to Taizhou and his daughter to be confiscated and sent to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution).

Upon hearing the imperial edict, the emperor's expression changed, and he retorted, "The fault lies with me, how can the innocent be implicated? If the Qin woman is humiliated, I beg to die immediately, so as not to dishonor the imperial family!" His words were resolute and resounding. The emperor was intimidated by him and finally abolished the imperial music academy, but removed its imperial genealogy, demoted it to commoner status, and exiled it to Taizhou along with the Qin woman.

That night, the Emperor sat alone in the Xuan Room, unable to sleep. The next day, he issued an edict to the world, only stating that "the Crown Prince has fallen ill and is to be confined to his residence for rest; the young prince has been disobedient and has been demoted and exiled." He remained tight-lipped about everything else.

The historian commented: The Crown Prince, whose title had been vacant for too long, rebelled; the young prince, disregarding his kinship, defied orders. Though their paths differed, their rebelliousness was the same. Yet, in the Emperor's handling of the matter, anger mingled with sorrow, and severity with compassion; the bond between father and son was ultimately difficult to sever. As for his willingness to die to protect a woman, though foolish and laughable, it revealed the intensity of his character, making him no ordinary man. Alas, the saying "A hen crowing at dawn brings ruin to the family" is indeed true!
Although the palace coup launched by Crown Prince Li Hao and Prince Li Ju was easily suppressed by Li Xiang.

However, this incident led to the dethronement of the crown prince and created a new problem for the empire: the issue of succession.

The issue of succession is no small matter in any empire; it is an extremely serious problem.

Even after the news of the crown prince's deposition spread, the princes in Luoyang who had not been granted fiefdoms were all tempted, and some of them, who were already old and gray, were still jumping around in excitement.

If this continues, it will inevitably shake the foundation of the nation.

Li Xiang is not considering the earliest batch of princes.

They were not much younger than the Crown Prince, although deep down Li Xiang was actually closer to this group of princes.

After all, the mothers of the earliest batch of princes were also Li Xiang's earliest concubines, so there was some affection between them.

However, even among the remaining princes, Li Xiang only felt more affection for them. Given their age, the emperor would not place the future of the empire on them.

The same problem applies to the Crown Prince as it does to them.

Moreover, given their age, once he passes away and the reins of power are passed to them, how many more years can they remain in power?

If things went wrong and they followed him, it would surely cause turmoil in the country. As a result, the concubines who came after him held no place in Li Xiang's heart, and the princes they bore, although younger, were of little importance.

However, Li Xiang paid too little attention to these princes.

Moreover, they were never groomed as proper heirs, and Li Xiang was extremely hesitant about whether they were capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility of the emperor!

Furthermore, by the time these princes grew up, the crown prince's position was already very secure, and few of these princes dared to make any moves against him. In this respect, they were fundamentally different from the first batch of princes.

The first batch of princes, regardless of whether they had the opportunity or not, were all around the same age as the crown prince, not too far apart. Even though the crown prince was appointed at that time, the other princes had their own ideas and even put them into practice.

In particular, there was also the Prince of Jin at that time, and the position of Crown Prince was not very secure. The first batch of princes were more capable and resourceful in various aspects.

However, judging from their ages, the princes from the later batches would actually be more suitable.

After all, most of these princes were in their thirties or forties.

After much deliberation, Li Xiang finally decided to choose between the twenty-sixth prince, Li Qian, and the twenty-seventh prince, Li Yan.

The 26th prince, Li Qian, is only 30 years old this year, and is in the prime of his life.

The twenty-seventh prince, Li Yan, and the twenty-eighth prince, Li Ju, were twins.

Li Xiang believed that his old bones could still hold on for a few more years, and he still had time to properly refine the two of them.

Between the 26th and 27th princes, Li Xiang actually preferred Li Qian. After all, Li Yan and Li Ju, that rebellious son, were twins, and every time Li Xiang saw Li Yan, he would inexplicably think of Li Ju.

Li Yan suffered an undeserved calamity.

Originally one of the emperor's two most favored youngest sons, he was slightly relegated to a lower position due to his half-brother.

Li Qian was born to Zhu Meichu and was not valued in his youth. Later, after Zhu Tianpeng led the remaining forces of Zhu Wu to surrender, Li Xiang remembered that there was such a prince. Then, in order to show his respect for this prince, he changed his name to Qian.

In December of the twenty-second year of the Tianchen era, Li Xiang issued an edict, changing Li Qian's title to Prince of Wu, and ordering him to enter the Nanjing court to oversee the country and handle affairs in the south.

Li Yan was enfeoffed as the King of Han, and placed in Luoyang to oversee the state and handle all affairs of the court.

This memorial made it clear to all the officials in the court that the emperor had a choice.

The future ruler of the empire, barring any unforeseen circumstances, should be one of these two currently youngest princes.

Clearly, by placing these two princes in charge of the northern and southern courts respectively, the emperor was setting a test for them.

Which of these two princes will ultimately ascend to the throne depends on their achievements.