Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Youjian was serious about throwing dirty water on Emperor Jianwen.

Since he ascended the throne, he has seen four memorials about Emperor Jianwen and his ministers:

On average, twice a year, it has become a topic every six months.

If this trend is not suppressed, the affairs of Emperor Jianwen and his ministers may well become a menstrual topic, constantly consuming the energy of the court.

Therefore, he chose to respect the opinions of his ministers, and gave the posthumous titles that they requested the most to the ministers of Jianwen, and he chose to agree with them completely.

Emperor Jianwen was severely disparaged to avoid affecting the stability of the succession to the throne.

To this end, he did not hesitate to admit with tears the mistakes of Taizu in etiquette and law, and rehabilitated the Lan Yu case, blaming Emperor Jianwen for Taizu's killing of meritorious officials.

Zhu Youjian also intended to blame Jianwen for another incident that damaged Taizu's reputation:

"At the beginning of the country, there was the practice of burying people alive with their dead. Where did it originate from?"

Li Biao, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, said:
"The practice of burying people alive with their loved ones has existed since the Yuan Dynasty. The country started to follow this practice, so this bad custom has emerged."

"When Emperor Yingzong was dying, he made a will to determine the status of his empress and concubines, and to stop them from being buried alive with him. This practice was stopped."

"This is the benevolent policy of Emperor Yingzong!"

Zhu Youjian was not satisfied with this answer and asked:

"When was the first time that people were buried alive with their loved ones in the early days of the country?"

"Is there anyone who can sort out the source of this matter?"

The ministers were confused and didn't know why the emperor asked this question.

Qian Qianyi, the Shaoqing of the Taichang Temple, was well versed in classics and history. He stepped forward and said:

"The first time a person was buried alive with his father was when the wife of King Minlie was buried alive with King Min of Qin."

"Taizu was extremely saddened upon hearing the news and gave him the posthumous title of Minlie."

"In the poem "Sacrificial Offering to My Brother, Qin Min Wang, and His Wife, Princess Minlie Wang", King Xian of Shu said: "My sister-in-law was also very virtuous. She risked her life to die with me. When my father heard the news, he was filled with sorrow and grief."

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly and asked his ministers:
"Was it Taizu's order that Princess Minlie died with King Qin Min?"

"Besides that, was there any case of burying people alive with the dead during the Hongwu period?"

The ministers whispered to each other, and none of them believed that Princess Minlie died for King Min of Qin because she was forced by Taizu.

Princess Minlie was Wang Baobao's younger sister Guanyinnu. She was not favored by the King of Qin and was bullied by him and his second concubine Deng.

Taizu valued her so much that he even ordered Deng to be executed. How could he force her to be buried alive with him?

She was suffering while alive and had no children. The one who inherited the throne was Concubine Deng's son, and he might suffer even more in the future, so she simply died.

This cannot be said to be an order from Taizu to be buried alive, nor can it be said that there was a system of burying people alive with the dead during the Hongwu period.

So, after ruling out this incident, when was the first time that people were buried alive?

Many people have the answer in their hearts.

Minister of Rites Wen Tiren said:

"The origin of the practice of burying people alive with their dead ancestors at the beginning of the country was Emperor Jianwen."

"After Taizu passed away, many palace ladies were buried alive with him."

Zhu Youjian nodded sadly and said:

"In Taizu's will, he ordered all the subjects of the country to mourn for three days and take off their mourning clothes, and not to interfere with marriage."

"He didn't even want to delay the marriages of ordinary people, so how could he order the palace ladies to be buried alive with him?"

"This is because Lord Jianwen inherited the throne improperly and his position in the palace was unstable, so he forced the palace maids to be buried alive with him and used killing to establish his prestige."

"Emperor Chengzu, Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xuanzong did not distinguish this matter clearly, and were misled. They also had the practice of burying people alive with the dead after their death, until Emperor Yingzong abolished it."

"The source of this matter is the evil deeds of Jianwen Jun!"

After this conclusion was made, all the ministers secretly took a deep breath and realized the current emperor's intention:

This is like treating Emperor Jianwen as a toilet, and all the things that damage Emperor Taizu's reputation are blamed on him!
If this were to spread, Emperor Jianwen's reputation would probably become so bad that he would never be able to recover.

Right Censor Cheng Jiming tried to defend himself:
"The funeral was presided over by the ministers. The burial alive with the dead may have been done by the ministers, not by the Emperor Jianwen."

Zhu Youjian frowned and said:
"All the ministers of Jianwen were loyal and virtuous. How could they allow Emperor Jianwen to do such a wicked thing?"

"Moreover, the funerals of Chengzu, Renzong, and Xuanzong were presided over by the Three Yangs. Does that mean that the Three Yangs were responsible for the burial of their concubines?"

No one answered this question, because the Three Yangs were the founders of the cabinet system, were regarded as role models by civil officials, and were recently included in the Temple of Meritorious Officials of Emperor Chengzu. How could they let the Three Yangs bear this bad reputation?
Moreover, Jianwen's ministers were indeed loyal ministers. Just now they even gave posthumous titles to Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng.

Are we now going to hold them accountable and say that they were the ones who instigated the burial of humans alive?

So the situation is very clear. Only Emperor Jianwen can take the blame. He has to bear all the evil deeds that happened during the Jianwen period.

When the ministers thought of this, they suddenly understood why the emperor agreed to give posthumous titles to Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng.

This means that Jianwen Jun will bear all the responsibilities and there will be no one to take the blame!

Emperor Jianwen's reputation would probably be ruined, and he would be held responsible for the incident where Prince Xiang was forced to commit suicide by burning himself.

This made the ministers sweat and once again realized the current emperor's intentions.
-
Just as they expected, Zhu Youjian put the blame entirely on Emperor Jianwen for the burial alive.

They also believed that this was caused by Emperor Jianwen's careless study of Zhou rituals, and that he did not learn them well:

"Although the Zhou Li had the system of burying people alive with the dead, it was abandoned during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period."

"Confucius once lamented: The first person to make clay figures for burials will have no descendants!"

"Mr. Liu, please explain this sentence so that no one will misunderstand it again."

Liu Zongzhou did not want to cooperate with the emperor to throw dirty water on Emperor Jianwen, but the emperor treated him with such courtesy, he had to explain, so he could only say:
"This sentence comes from the book "Mencius: King Hui of Liang"."

"Zhongni said: 'The first person to make clay figures, will he have no descendants?' They are used because they resemble human figures."

"Zhu Xi's Annotations to the Mencius says: 'Yong (a figurine) is a burial figurine. In ancient times, people used bundles of grass to make a human figure as a burial figurine. This figurine was called a 'Chu Ling' and was only slightly similar to a human figure. In the Middle Ages, this figurine was replaced by a 'Yong (a figurine)' figure. This figurine had a face and mechanical structure and was more like a human figure. Therefore, Confucius hated it for being unkind and said that it would definitely have no descendants."

"During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, people were buried alive with the dead. In the Zhou dynasty, straw spirits, or straw dogs, were gradually used instead. They were similar to today's paper figures and paper horses, but only slightly similar in shape."

"During the time of Confucius, human-like pottery figurines began to appear."

"Confucius was worried that the practice of burying people alive with the dead would reappear because the figurines were becoming more and more like humans, so he sighed."

Zhu Youjian nodded repeatedly and said to the ministers:
"Does anyone disagree with Mr. Liu's explanation?"

“Is this Confucius’ view?”

No one stood up to oppose the words of Mencius and Zhu Xi.

Kong Zhenyun also added:
"The Analects of Confucius says: Ziyou asked Confucius: The practice of using painted carts and straw spirits for funerals has existed since ancient times, but nowadays people use puppets, which are also human beings, and are of no benefit to funerals. Confucius said: Those who use straw spirits are good, but those who use puppets are unkind, and are not dangerous in using people."

"Confucius was against burying the dead alive with the dead, and he was against using the utensils of the living for the dead." "The Book of Rites says: Confucius said that those who make Mingqi know the way of mourning, and they prepare things but cannot use them. Alas! Using the utensils of the living for the dead, isn't it the same as using them for sacrifice? Mingqi means to show the gods. Painting carts with straw spirits has existed since ancient times, and it is the way of Mingqi. Confucius said that those who make straw spirits are good, and those who make clay figurines are unkind, isn't it the same as using people."

These records all show Confucius' attitude. Zhu Youjian nodded in approval:
"Confucius is worthy of being called the most holy teacher. Although he advocated the Zhou rituals, he did not blindly follow them."

"But Lord Jianwen is unlearned and has not learned the true meaning of the sages. Instead, he has learned the long-abandoned practice of burying the dead alive with the dead in the Zhou rituals."

"This man is extremely unkind and unfilial. He hurt Taizu's virtue by burying people alive with him, and he also forced the Prince of Xiang to burn himself to death and forced Chengzu to start a rebellion."

"If we really want to give him a posthumous title, I think the word 'Li' that he gave to the King of Xiang is more suitable for him."

This made the ministers break out in cold sweats again, knowing that Emperor Jianwen's bad reputation could not be shaken off.

If anyone wants to ask for a temple and posthumous title for Emperor Jianwen in the future, they must first overturn the word "Li". This informal bad posthumous title is more damaging than a real bad posthumous title.

After all, if an evil posthumous title was really given to Emperor Jianwen, someone would certainly defend him, so as to avoid the reputation of Jianwen's loyal ministers such as Fang Xiaoru being damaged by following an evil emperor.

But the interesting thing is that the emperor was not officially given a posthumous title, it was just an exclamation.

If someone objects, then the evil deeds of Emperor Jianwen will be borne by his loyal ministers.

This was something the ministers were even more unwilling to accept, so they could only accept this evaluation and let the emperor throw the dirty water on Emperor Jianwen.

From now on, I am afraid that no one will think that it is a good thing for Jianwen to learn Zhou rituals and reform the system, and no one will say things like "The world of our dynasty should be as good as Confucius' Zhou Dynasty, but it was ruined because of Emperor Yongle."
-
After successfully placing the blame for the burial alive on Emperor Jianwen, Zhu Youjian, in order to solidify the conclusion that Jianwen was evil, said to his ministers:

"Tang Taizong once said: History is a mirror that can help us understand the rise and fall of nations."

"How can we avoid the three evil things related to Lord Jianwen?"

"Please try to speak for yourself, gentlemen!"

The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment, realizing that the emperor was planning to pin the blame on Emperor Jianwen for the three evil deeds of Emperor Taizu: killing meritorious officials, burying palace maids with the dead, and forcing clan members to death.

If any system is established because of this, the evaluation of Jianwen Jun will never be overturned.

When the rituals and music are remade, any new system may be written into the remade rituals and music.

If one wants to overturn the evaluation of Emperor Jianwen, one must overturn the new ritual and music system.

That was almost impossible, which made the ministers who had temporarily retreated and planned to fight for a temple and posthumous title for Emperor Jianwen in the future feel a little uneasy.

However, Wen Tiren, the Minister of Rites, has already spoken in agreement with the emperor:
"Taizu killed the meritorious officials because Jianwen's succession to the throne was not proper, and Taizu had to eliminate the possible threat to him."

"I believe that Your Majesty should strictly abide by the etiquette and appoint the successor according to etiquette."

"This way, you don't have to worry about inheriting the throne improperly, and naturally you don't have to eliminate others."

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly at this and did not reject Wen Tihen's proposal to determine the heir according to the etiquette.

Since Emperor Chengzu, the succession of the throne in the Ming Dynasty has been extremely stable, and all can be explained by the system of primogeniture. Unlike the Tang Dynasty, after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, there was almost no normal succession.

Zhu Youjian still appreciated this point. When he proposed the system of primogeniture and the order of inheritance, he was aware of the need to abide by this system.

Moreover, he did not want the court to be torn apart because of the dispute over the throne.

In addition, the Ming officials were generally not interested in competing for the throne. The previous dispute over the national foundation was to avoid competing for the throne and taking sides. Zhu Youjian nodded and said:
“Inheriting rituals and laws is indeed one of the most critical aspects of the ritual and music system.”

"The core of Zhou Li lies in the system of primogeniture."

"I have ordered you to re-create the rituals and music, and you will naturally abide by the re-created rituals and music."

"Master Han, you come and draft the imperial edict, ordering the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Punishment, the Censorate, the Supreme Court, the National Assembly and other relevant institutions to formulate the "Ming Dynasty Succession Ritual Law", which the emperor and all the people shall abide by."

This order excited all the ministers, because it was a clear statement from the emperor that he would abide by the established etiquette and laws.

This means that they have more constraints on the imperial power, and in the future they no longer have to worry about taking sides on the issue of the crown prince.

The Jinshi of the Ming Dynasty were so honorable that as long as they did not make mistakes they could be promoted step by step. Not many officials were willing to compete for the throne and fight for their future.

This is also the reason why the previous dispute over the national capital was so intense.

None of the ministers wanted to set this precedent, so as to avoid having to compete and take sides when determining the crown prince in the future.

Now the emperor has expressed his willingness to abide by rites and laws and determine the successor according to rites and laws.

The ministers present were all delighted and excited, and praised the emperor in unison.

As for the previous question raised by Lord Jianwen, they had long since put it aside.

Compared with the emperor's statement of abiding by etiquette and laws, what is the problem of Emperor Jianwen?
If the emperor could formulate and abide by more etiquette and laws, they would be happy to cooperate with the emperor to throw mud at Emperor Jianwen.

Now, some officials are thinking about formulating more etiquette and laws to restrict the emperor's power.

Zhu Youjian knew the consequences of this statement, and could even guess that this was the beginning of constitutional monarchy. Future emperors would gradually lose power under the constraints of etiquette and law.

But he knew even more that this was an irreversible trend of the times. It was better to take control of it himself than to have a revolution.

After seeing the excitement and joy of the ministers, Zhu Youjian continued:

"Among the three evils of Emperor Jianwen, the burial of palace maids with the dead is actually a matter of etiquette and law."

"The three judicial officials should formulate funeral rituals and strictly prohibit such evil things."

"If anyone violates the etiquette and laws by burying people alive with their loved ones, or forces others to die for their chastity, the City God Department in charge of the funeral will be held responsible, and the three judicial departments will also hold the relevant personnel accountable!"

At this point, Zhu Youjian remembered something and said to his ministers:
"In the Imperial Ming Ancestor's Instructions, Taizu strictly prohibited torture and warned his descendants that when they became emperors, they should only abide by the laws and the imperial edicts, and not use tattooing, piercing, cutting off the nose, or castration."

"This is Taizu's benevolence, to avoid physical damage due to punishment."

"If there are any violations of this article in the criminal penalties, they must be strictly rectified."

"The same applies to civilians and the military. It is strictly forbidden to use corporal punishment or cause injury to others."

“If this happens, everyone will be held accountable.”

"The laws and regulations regarding the harvesting of living things, dismemberment, and the production of poisonous insects must be strictly enforced."

Although the emperor spoke harshly, all the ministers praised him for his benevolence.

This benevolence came from Taizu, which naturally made the burial of Emperor Jianwen seem even more cruel.

Anyway, after this incident, Lord Jianwen's reputation will become infamous.

The reputation of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang might become better.

After clearing Taizu of the two most criticized things and pinning them on Emperor Jianwen, Zhu Youjian talked about the last of Jianwen's three evils:

That is, the Prince of Xiang was forced to commit suicide by burning himself, an incident that was completely led by Emperor Jianwen and his ministers and resulted in the death of a clan member.

Zhu Youjian asked his ministers:

"During the reign of Emperor Jianwen, many kings were deposed for no reason, and the King of Xiang was even forced to burn himself to death."

"How can we prevent this from happening and ensure their safety?" (End of this chapter)