Ying Fusu

In the stereotypes of later generations, Prince Fusu was a weak, gentle, and stubbornly unlucky fellow.

He was seemingly punished by the First Emperor, but in reality, he was being "exiled" to Shangjun. He thought this was because his father, the emperor, was estranged from him, and he became depressed.

When the First Emperor died at Shaqiu, Zhao Gao and Li Si, relying solely on a flawed and forged edict, managed to force Prince Fusu to surrender.

Historically, when the forged imperial edict was sent to Shangjun, Meng Tian, ​​who was also mysteriously executed, did not fail to warn Prince Fusu.

But in the end, Prince Fusu ignored the many flaws in the forged edict and only said: "If my father is going to kill me, what is there for me to argue about?"

Then he drew his sword and committed suicide...

This is almost the entirety of later generations' impressions of Prince Fusu.

However, one point that is often overlooked is that Prince Fusu died at the age of thirty.

In other words, the current second emperor, Fusu, is also an emperor who is over thirty years old, in his prime—or even past his prime.

In an era where the average lifespan was in the early twenties and even nobles lived to around thirty, an emperor over thirty was certainly not considered young.

The Qin Dynasty, in particular, has several precedents to learn from.

—Fusu's great-grandfather: King Zhaoxiang Ying Ji lived quite long, reaching the age of 74;

However, Fusu's great-grandfather, King Xiaowen Yingzhu, only lived to be 52 years old and reigned as King of Qin for a mere three days.

By the time of Fusu's grandfather, King Zhuangxiang Ying Yiren, his lifespan was further shortened to 34 years old, and he died after only two years as King of Qin.

The First Emperor Ying Zheng, whose body was barely cold, lived only a dozen years longer than his father, but he did not outlive his grandfather, passing away at the age of 49.

Considering these precedents, to put it nicely, Fusu has a chance to emulate his great-grandfather, King Zhaoxiang, and live to be around seventy years old, with more than forty years of life ahead of him;

To put it bluntly, Fusu might not have lived to the age of only thirty, like his grandfather, King Zhuangxiang.

—Now, Fusu is already in his early thirties!

Who knows, one day, a sudden illness might force the Qin Dynasty to face the death of its second emperor just a few years after the death of the First Emperor.

There are precedents for this as well.

—From King Zhaoxiang, to King Xiaowen, then to King Zhuangxiang, and finally King Zheng of Qin;

The throne of Qin was passed down through four generations, with only four years in between.

If things were to repeat themselves, it would be this year: the First Emperor would die, and the Second Emperor, Fusu, would ascend the throne.

Fusu will pass away next year, and the third generation will ascend the throne.

The year after that, the third emperor died, and the fourth emperor ascended the throne...

As a time traveler, Fusu was naturally confident that he could extend his lifespan to the maximum extent through self-discipline in areas such as diet and rest.

Even if he doesn't live to seventy or eighty, he can certainly live for another ten or twenty years, reaching the age of "fifty," given Fusu's current physical condition.

But as confident as he was, Fusu couldn't really be sure if he was going to make a guarantee.

In particular, the Qin Dynasty had just experienced the near-disaster of an emperor who kept saying, "I can borrow another five hundred years from heaven," suddenly dying during an inspection tour.

What if Fusu also said: "My health is still good, I should be able to live for many more years, there's no rush to establish a crown prince?"

Then everyone will automatically imagine "Dune 2.0".

Therefore, Fusu definitely did not intend to delay the matter of establishing a crown prince.

Even if Fusu himself is not in a hurry to establish an heir, he still has to make this gesture to reassure people both inside and outside the court.

This was to assure those inside and outside the court that the First Emperor's failure to establish an empress or heir, and his sudden death abroad, which nearly led to the collapse of the ancestral temples and the state, would not happen again during Fusu's reign.

Since this was the only way to do it, Fusu didn't hesitate and put his ideas on the table.

as predicted.

The moment Fusu revealed the style of the painting, all the important officials in the palace showed expressions of relief.

"I have heard it said: If we do not forget the past, it will serve as a guide for the future."

As the saying goes, "He who does not plan for the future will have trouble in the present."

"Your Majesty's foresight in establishing an heir early to secure the foundation of the nation is a blessing for the ancestral temples and the state."

"Your subject humbly offers congratulations to the world..."

Feng Quji's reaction was undoubtedly in line with the position of the prime minister—especially the head of all officials: the right prime minister.

It doesn't matter who is chosen as the crown prince, as long as they are chosen, that's fine.

And the earlier the better.

Since Feng Quji had said that, the reactions of the others were naturally much the same.

— Fusu has only just ascended the throne, and he hasn't even warmed his seat on the imperial throne yet. At this juncture, it's clear that no one would be thinking of "planning ahead" and betting on the crown prince in advance.

But their thoughts were exactly the same as Feng Quji's: establishing a crown prince, especially an early one, is always a good thing...

"Cough, cough..."

"Your Majesty, are you going to personally issue an edict to officially appoint the Crown Prince?"

"Or perhaps it's a fake imperial edict from the Empress Dowager..."

Just as everyone was expressing their great satisfaction and praising Fusu's decisiveness, Li Si, who always had a keen sense of smell, suddenly asked such a question.

After everyone was taken aback, he said meaningfully, "According to ancestral rules, when the late king passed the throne to the new ruler, he needed to establish an heir by royal decree."

"However, the crown prince must be appointed by imperial edict issued by the Empress Dowager to demonstrate the virtues of respect, filial piety and respect for elders."

"However, after the Huayang Palace Coup, King Zhuangxiang established the First Emperor and never again followed the Empress Dowager's decree."

"The First Emperor never established an empress throughout his life—his worries and concerns might well have stemmed from the fear that the empress dowager and her relatives might seize power in the future..."

Initially, when Fusu took the initiative to bring up the matter of establishing a crown prince early, the people in the hall were not quite there to react.

It was only after Li Si's casual remark that everyone suddenly realized the truth.

—Fusu, where is the advice you seek from everyone on the question of whether or not to establish a crown prince?

To put it bluntly, as long as Fusu wants to establish a crown prince, no one can stop him.

Conversely, if Fusu doesn't want to, no one can persuade him, let alone change his mind.

Wasn't the First Emperor one?

The eldest son, Fusu, is already in his thirties. People have been trying to persuade him for at least twenty years, if not thirty.

When Fusu turned ten, the court officials advised King Zheng of Qin at the time: "Your Majesty became King of Qin when you were twelve years old."

Now that the eldest son is over ten years old, it's time for him to become the crown prince...

When Fusu was sixteen or seventeen, the officials and ministers again urged the First Emperor: "The six states have been destroyed, and Your Majesty is now the First Emperor. It's time to establish a 'First Crown Prince'..."

A few years later, when Fusu came of age, the officials urged him to come of age again;

A few years later, Fusu married and had children, and the officials again urged him to...

In the end, the persuasion continued until the First Emperor began to loathe the word "death" and any topic related to "life and death."

At first, the First Emperor angrily retorted: "I am still searching for the way to immortality and can live for many more years!"

Later, he even took action, sending Xu Fu to seek immortality and ask questions, but by chance, Xu Fu became the ancestor of the common people.

This makes it clear that the issue of who the crown prince is not a matter of whether court officials advise him or not.

It all depends on the monarch's self-awareness.

If a monarch wants to be established as emperor, there's no need to persuade him; you can't stop him even if you try.

If the monarch is not established, persuasion is useless, and you can't force him to do anything.

Naturally, Fusu didn't need to specifically consult his court officials if he wanted to establish a crown prince.

Whether to establish an emperor or not, or who to establish, was not something that the court officials could or dared to advise on.

Li Si was right.

Fusu's question was not about whether or not to establish a crown prince.

Instead, he was asking everyone present: Should we change the tradition of appointing the crown prince and bestowing titles upon the empress by imperial decree of the Empress Dowager?

If we are to take action, how should we do so so as not to affect Fusu?

besides;

How should we deal with the maternal relatives who are closely connected with the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and even the Crown Prince?

This is the real problem that Fusu truly wants to ask for opinions from everyone.