The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 27 Hiding One's Merits
On the first day of the sixth month, an imperial edict was issued, posthumously bestowing upon Crown Prince Yiwen the title of Emperor Xiaokang.

On the third day of the sixth month, an imperial edict was issued to confer the title of prince upon the sons of Emperor Xiaokang.

On June 12th, Zhu Yunwen, the eldest son of Emperor Xiaokang, was made the Crown Prince and bestowed with a golden book and golden seal.

The emperor's series of moves came swiftly and suddenly, causing an uproar throughout the court and the country, with discussions erupting everywhere.

Everyone was curious as to why the emperor made his decision so quickly.

Honestly, the Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen is not outstanding enough for His Majesty to choose without hesitation. Even if a Crown Prince is chosen, Zhu Yunwen, with his powerful maternal family, is also an option.

This discussion became even more heated after a record of the conversation between the emperor and his ministers circulated within the palace.

No one expected that the person who prompted the emperor to establish his grandson Zhu Yunwen as crown prince would be "Li Qi, a descendant of a disgraced official"!
They carefully observed the dialogue between the ruler and his ministers.

It's simply amazing!

Throughout the entire process, the prince consort did not offer any suggestions on who should be chosen as the crown prince, nor did he express any of his own preferences.

He remained neither humble nor arrogant, repeatedly reiterating the imperial system established by His Majesty, thus clarifying the imperial order.

He believed that the Prince of Qin should be established according to the imperial ancestral precepts, but almost everyone knew that His Majesty would not establish the Prince of Qin. Therefore, what Li Qi said actually cut off the path for the princes to succeed to the throne.

Ultimately, His Majesty was able to appoint the most suitable successor for the Ming Dynasty.

"The world has its own system, and a subject can accomplish things by acting in accordance with the system. Is this not the great way for a subject to govern?"

This actually implies the profound meaning of "the sage emperor governs the world by doing nothing," that is, "the emperor establishes the correct system," and then "everyone follows it," and the world will be well governed.

What's even more astonishing is that after His Majesty chose a grandson from among the princes and grandsons, this consort once again strengthened the status of the crown prince's lineage in a way that was "extremely in line with Confucian aesthetics."

Some things are not considered inappropriate if they are not mentioned. For example, directly establishing the grandson as the crown prince and then succeeding to the throne as emperor is actually not much different from normal circumstances.

But when Li Qi mentioned posthumously honoring the late Crown Prince as an emperor, the situation instantly changed.

Only the emperor's son can become emperor!

How perfectly in accordance with the way of the sages this is!
How perfectly in line with royal opinion this is!

Even the Crown Prince would probably celebrate!
No wonder His Majesty so decisively posthumously honored Emperor Xiaokang and established a new imperial grandson.

In scholarly circles, words of praise for Li Qi circulated: "Lord Jinghe's conduct and words have the style of ancient sages. He does not resort to trickery, abuse power, or flatter superiors, yet he accomplishes everything. This is truly close to the Way!"

[Achieve the status of a great Confucian scholar of our time, standing proudly among the literati, Achievement Value +100, Current Achievement Value 300]

……

The person who encouraged and promoted Li Qi was none other than the talented scholar Xie Jin, who at this time was not yet the Grand Secretary who presided over the compilation of the Yongle Encyclopedia.

Although he was talented, his status among scholars was far inferior to that of Li Qi.

At this moment, he was in Princess Lin'an's residence, proudly boasting to Li Qi about his achievements.

"Jinghe, some people are jealous of your great contribution in establishing the heir apparent for the Crown Prince. They even tried to slander you, but I refuted them and left them speechless. It was truly satisfying!"

As fellow scholars from Jiangnan, I am truly ashamed to be associated with them. They are only capable of jealousy and envy of the virtuous and talented. In terms of Confucian learning, they are far inferior to you; in terms of literary talent, they are far inferior to me; in terms of practical ability, they are far inferior to the Jiying (a group of scholars). They are nothing but empty talkers.

Li Qi knew that this was Xie Jin's personality: too clever and lacking in discretion. From a favored minister of the Yongle Emperor to being impaled in the snow and dying, his mouth was at least 70% responsible.

However, Xie Jin did play a significant role this time, and Li Qi's reputation increased by 5 points, now reaching a high of 77 points.

Even the Li family's reputation was restored to normal, having stubbornly maintained its reputation as a criminal clan. This shows how significant this wave of "immense wealth" was.

Chen Ying laughed and said, "Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng and others have always regarded the Eastern Palace as the exclusive domain of Jiangnan literati. Now that Jing He has suddenly emerged, His Majesty is personally promoting Jing He. It is intentional to let Jing He enter the Eastern Palace to counterbalance the Jiangnan literati. Naturally, they are dissatisfied."

Li Qi poured a full glass of wine for Xie Jin, saying, "Jin, I need your help with something."

“Jing, let me tell you.”

After pondering for a moment, Li Qi slowly said, "I was originally a criminal, and now I have been granted the title of Grand Secretary of the Fifth Rank, which is already a great favor from the Emperor. It will be difficult for me to make any further progress in the future."

Even if I were to enter the Eastern Palace Secretariat, and later Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, and others were to become the Nine Ministers, while I would still be a Grand Secretary, wouldn't that be an insult to such a petty person?

Therefore, I do not wish to enter the Eastern Palace. I implore the gentry to speak on my behalf to the people of the capital, stating that the matter of the Crown Prince is of little concern to me and is entirely up to His Majesty's decision.” Upon hearing this, Xie Jin became anxious, “Jinghe, the Duke of Han's mansion may not be unable to overturn the verdict. You possess extraordinary talent; why be so dejected?”

Xie Jin almost blurted out that he would wait until the Emperor passed away before having the Crown Prince exonerated.

Restoring the title of Duke of Han may be difficult, but as long as he is exonerated as a commoner and his innocence is restored, there is great potential for him to achieve this.

"If Emperor Xiaokang were here..."

Li Qi only said half a sentence before stopping, but Xie Jin and Chen Ying both understood: Emperor Xiaokang could be exonerated, but the Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen could not.

Because Zhu Biao's prestige and ability far surpassed those of Zhu Yunwen, and Li Qi's relationship with the two was also completely different.

On an emotional level, Zhu Biao and Lin'an had a deep sibling bond, while Zhu Yunwen and Lin'an had little affection for each other.

In terms of prestige, Zhu Yunwen could not possibly use his already limited prestige to slap Zhu Yuanzhang in the face and exonerate the Li family.

……

Outside the princess's residence, Xie Jin asked Chen Ying with eyes full of doubt, "Ji Ying, is it just my imagination? It seems that Jing He doesn't want the Crown Prince to be grateful to him and wants to distance himself from the Crown Prince."

While it has been said that each new emperor has his own set of officials throughout history, this was a helpless situation. There has never been a case of an official actively distancing himself from the new emperor.

Chen Ying pondered, he shared the same sentiment, “Jinghe is a man of extraordinary talent, his thoughts are like a dragon, his actions are like clouds. Since he is unwilling to get close to the Crown Prince, this matter is easy to resolve.”

Xie Jin sighed, "Jinghe has fought several times to gain the respect of the literati. Is this excellent situation going to be ruined in an instant?"

Chen Ying's body trembled. "So that's how it is! I understand now!"

Jinghe has no hope of a career in officialdom, which stems from his position in the literati. If he were to force his way into the imperial court, he would gain very little.

If he could advance by retreating, and gain a reputation for not coveting power, then writing books and mentoring disciples among scholars would be far better than playing with a power position that is destined to have no future.

Xie Jin suddenly realized, and immediately felt relieved. "Jinghe really is planning ahead step by step, and has a well-thought-out strategy."

Ugh.

It's such a pity he possessed such talent in both literature and martial arts.

Both of them felt a pang of regret and got into their respective cars and left.

In the princess's mansion.

Princess Lin'an was also curious, "Does the prince consort harbor deep ambitions to conceal his merits and fame?"

"Duke of Liang, Lan Yu, is the maternal great-uncle of the imperial grandson, Zhu Yunwen. However, the emperor has chosen Zhu Yunwen as the crown prince. Lan Yu is also unruly and difficult to control. Do you still remember what I once said?"

Princess Lin'an's expression changed almost instantly, and she exclaimed in horror, "The Duke of Liang is doomed!"

Li Qi calmly said, "Yes, Lan Yu will surely die. This is a good opportunity to kill Marquis Jingning Ye Sheng. My third sister's revenge will be avenged soon. After the revenge is achieved, I will retire from the court."

From the moment I killed Yang Jing, I have been at the center of controversy in the capital. My reputation has grown ever stronger, but I am still a cripple. I can only stir up trouble by relying on my father’s power.

Once the Crown Prince ascends the throne, the political landscape will change dramatically. The days of readily executing ministers will be over. At that time, my humble position as a fifth-rank Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion will be insufficient in the court.

In that case, it would be better to retreat strategically, cultivate relationships within the scholarly community, and only make a few moves at crucial moments.

Writing books and establishing doctrines to become a saint is the right path; court infighting should end there.

My goal is to be honored with a place in the Temple of Confucius!

Li Qi's gaze was deep and unfathomable; no one knew that Zhu Yunwen's throne would only last for four years.

When Zhu Di stormed into Yingtian, the renowned Confucian scholar was far more influential than an ordinary official.

Cultivate one's reputation, cultivate one's reputation.

Its focus is on nurturing, accumulating strength throughout the world, and unleashing thunderous power from the heavens!
This is what is meant by—

Instead of competing for Jianwen's power, they seized Yongle's dominance!

(End of this chapter)