Ying Fusu

Once you understand the reasons behind it, the characters "后" and "戚" become somewhat ambiguous.

—This is indeed a malignant tumor.

Throughout Chinese history, countless calamities have originated from the names of Empress and Consort.

But when faced with the age-old problem of "transfer of power," there is no other solution more reliable than this malignant tumor, this slow poison.

Even Fusu, a time traveler, could not conceive of a perfect alternative without any lingering negative influences to abolish the practice of empresses and their relatives holding power throughout Chinese history.

I'll say it again;

An emperor does not gain the obedience of the people simply because of the title of "emperor";

Rather, one must possess enough power to command the obedience of all under heaven to be worthy of the title of emperor.

Reigning supreme over the world is merely the final fruit and the achievement.

The ability to dominate the world is the nourishment and foundation for bearing this fruit.

Therefore, whether a ruler is young and weak or a wise and capable ruler in his prime, he always needs someone to support him and obey his commands.

For a mature emperor, the people who do the work are often talents who have been examined and cultivated.

But for a young and inexperienced ruler, the idea of ​​assessment and training is utter nonsense.

The only thing one can rely on is a maternal relative whose talent, character, and virtue are unknown, but who is related to them by blood and is close and reliable.

As for the Empress Dowager, on the one hand, she protected the young and weak emperor with her transcendent status as the "former king's wife," and on the other hand, she acted as a mediator between the young and weak emperor and his maternal relatives.

There is no solution to this problem.

Unless Fusu can come up with a way to ensure that no future Qin emperors—or even any emperors of China throughout history—will be child emperors or young and weak rulers.

Otherwise, as long as there is a possibility of a "young and weak ruler" emerging, the empress's relatives will always have a reason to exist.

It was even the only decent solution.

"What does the teacher think?"

Although he had some initial ideas, Fusu did not rush to make a decision on his own. Instead, he decided to gather opinions from various important ministers.

Meng Tian then looked up in response, and remained silent for a long time with some hesitation.

Then, with a hint of helplessness, he said, "In my opinion, if we directly strip the Empress Dowager of her power to appoint empresses and heirs, it would be no different from the First Emperor implementing the system of prefectures and counties throughout the country."

"It's not that it's wrong, it's that it's too hasty."

"In my opinion, we should proceed gradually, slowly weakening the Empress Dowager's power while seeking alternatives."

"Even if no alternative can be found, we can try our best to control the Empress Dowager's power in order to minimize the risk of the Empress Dowager and her relatives causing trouble."

...

For example: His Majesty issued a decree explicitly stating that relatives of the empress cannot serve as prime ministers.

"If this law is followed for a hundred years or so, and becomes the ancestral system of our Great Qin, it can somewhat prevent the abuse of power and chaos by relatives of the empress."

"For example, a law was clearly established stating: When the emperor is young and weak, the empress dowager may temporarily run the government, but once the emperor comes of age, the government must be returned to him."

"In this way, it might be possible to prevent Empress Dowager Zhao from being so attached to power that she deliberately delayed the coming-of-age ceremony of the First Emperor and even caused the farce of the Lao Ai palace coup."

Meng Tian's view was largely the same as Fusu's.

—Conservative treatment is the best approach, prioritizing stability.

Feng Quji, Feng Jie, and even veteran officials like Li Si all agreed with this proposal and offered supplementary suggestions based on the same ideas.

For example, relatives of the emperor are not allowed to be promoted in official rank or title at the same time.

If a relative of the empress holds a position in the court, he cannot receive a high rank; if he receives a high rank such as marquis or duke, he cannot hold a position in the court.

Having only one of these two options can prevent a relative of the empress from simultaneously holding high-ranking official positions such as duke or minister, as well as prestigious titles such as marquis or lord.

For example, during the regency of the Empress Dowager, her relatives and in-laws were not allowed to have private relationships with court officials and were required to obey the orders of the Imperial Clan Court.

This would prevent powerful relatives and ministers from gaining influence in the court and from breaking free from control—especially the control of the imperial family.

Ultimately, it all comes down to preventing such abuse through institutional mechanisms, specifically targeting relatives of the wife.

The same principle applies to generals who are mercenaries stationed abroad, or even feudal lords who have been enfeoffed as hostages or relatives.

Meng Yi, who is slightly younger, put forward a relatively radical view.

—The maternal relatives who help the Empress Dowager rule and support the young and weak emperor are not allowed to have heirs!

The underlying logic is probably: As a relative of the emperor, do you really have no personal desires at all, and are you just trying to help your nephew, the emperor?

Alright;

Since you are so selfless and completely considerate of your nephew, the emperor, then make a thorough sacrifice—give up your bloodline.

In this way, the emperor's nephew can trust you, and people inside and outside the court can also trust you;

You can also wholeheartedly help your nephew secure the throne and even earn a reputation for being 'completely selfless'!

What?

Don't want to give up the right to reproduce?

Then don't even think about using your status as a "relative of the empress" to seize power. Go cool off somewhere else...

It must be said that for a moment, Fusu was indeed somewhat tempted.

—If this can be accomplished, it would be almost the perfect way to deal with relatives of the emperor.

However, after calming down, Fusu still rejected this radical plan.

Simply put, it's too radical and too contrary to human nature.

The wages of avarice is death.

The relatives of the emperor were willing to help a young and weak ruler, saying that they were related by blood and helping the young emperor's nephew, but it was just talk.

Anyone who actually believes that is a fool.

Ultimately, it's all about benefiting oneself.

Even immortals who attain enlightenment still have their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!

How could a relative of the empress dowager who assists in government be completely free of personal desires?

Whether it's personal gain or power, these are the driving forces behind the support of young and weak rulers by their maternal relatives, and even the only means for these rulers to mobilize the enthusiasm of their maternal relatives to assist in governance.

If there were no benefits, why would any maternal relatives be willing to help the emperor's nephew?

Moreover, not only is there no benefit, but one will also be socially castrated and lose the right to reproduce.

Furthermore, personal desires are one of the means by which emperors manipulate people's hearts.

—Having desires means having weaknesses;

Satisfying his desires will secure his loyalty, which is a very worthwhile deal for a monarch.

Those who can be bought off with wealth or women are usually not very respectable.

Those who can only be bought off with power and status are the kind of people that emperors will take notice of.

Wealth, women, power, and status cannot buy it?

Fusu could only say that a sage is a sage not entirely because of his virtue.

—In feudal times, a saint had to be a dead person first.

Only then should one be a person of high moral character.

That is, a dead person of noble virtue.

In the feudal dynasties of China, there were no living saints, nor were they permitted to exist.

A person who cannot be bought by worldly things, such as wealth, women, power, or status, cannot be regarded as a 'saint' without desires, but will be regarded as a traitor plotting something bigger.

Not greedy for money, not lustful, not seeking power or status—indifferent to fame and fortune, yet not living in seclusion in the deep mountains and forests.

This guy's after the country and its people!

This is the thought process of feudal emperors.

Therefore, if in the future a maternal relative emerges who doesn't want any benefits and is even willing to give up procreation in order to support a young and weak ruler, it can only mean that the Qin Dynasty has its own Wang Mang.

Or perhaps someone like Sima Yi.

"In my opinion, the appointment of the Crown Prince this time shall be carried out by both the Empress Dowager's decree and the Emperor's edict."

"It would be more appropriate if the Empress Dowager and the Emperor jointly appointed the Crown Prince."

"From now on, all the succession appointments in our Great Qin will follow this precedent."

"Even if the emperor dies unexpectedly without leaving a will to pass on the throne, at least there will be a crown prince jointly established by the empress dowager and the emperor."

"If the Empress Dowager then supports the Crown Prince's ascension to the throne, it will also gain the trust of the people."

Fusu's words once again drew nods of agreement from everyone in the hall.

The fact that the Empress Dowager held the power to establish the crown prince—even if it was only a symbolic power to issue edicts—was fraught with hidden dangers.

However, if the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were to co-establish the throne, the potential dangers would be greatly reduced.

Moreover, Fusu's words also revealed several key pieces of information.

Firstly, the appointment of a crown prince, especially an early appointment, is likely to become a standard practice.

Starting with Fusu, every subsequent Qin emperor would likely issue a decree to designate his own crown prince immediately upon ascending the throne.

The reasons are also very solid.

Fusu: My father, the First Emperor, almost caused chaos in the Qin Dynasty because he did not establish an heir early and died unexpectedly at Shaqiu.

To prevent similar incidents from happening again, I have decided to establish a crown prince as soon as possible, and to make this a model for future emperors to follow.

It's well-reasoned and there's no way anyone can find fault with it.

Even if in the future, another Qin emperor emerges who is unwilling to accept birth, aging, sickness, and death, and believes that he can "borrow another five hundred years from heaven," he will still have to be bound by the ancestral system established by Fusu and will have to appoint a crown prince as the heir apparent.

Secondly, with the establishment of a crown prince early on, the joint appointment of a crown prince by the empress dowager and the emperor greatly limited the empress dowager's autonomy in the process of power transfer.

In the past, when the late king or emperor passed away without leaving a will or establishing a crown prince, the empress dowager could almost always decide the succession.

To put it bluntly, it means referring to whoever is who.

Whoever is chosen to inherit the throne, is chosen to inherit the throne.

Although limited to the sons of the late emperor and subject to restrictions such as establishing the eldest son if there is a legitimate heir, or establishing the eldest son if there is no legitimate heir, there is still theoretical room for maneuver.

Given that the late king/emperor has passed away, if the empress dowager is truly determined to support a grandson she favors, no one can stop her.

But with Fusu's move of "jointly establishing a crown prince," the situation changed.

There will definitely be a crown prince.

Moreover, it must have been jointly appointed by the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.

Therefore, when the emperor has an accident, the empress dowager can only support one new emperor.

The Empress Dowager had no choice but to support the already designated Crown Prince.

They couldn't even choose whether to help the child stand up—they had no choice but to help them stand up.

After all, the crown prince was also appointed by the empress dowager.

As a result, the Empress Dowager's power to decide on the succession of the throne—specifically, the matter of whoever she designated—was reduced from simply choosing one to "must support the Crown Prince to ascend the throne."

Upon closer reflection, the way everyone looked at Fusu became increasingly filled with admiration.

The key to this problem is that after the emperor's death, no one can restrain the empress dowager;

Fusu's "joint establishment of the crown prince" was a very clever way to allow the emperor to intervene in the succession of the imperial line while he was still alive, thus preventing the empress dowager from making the decision on her own.

After my death, I will naturally have no say in who the Empress Dowager will support as emperor.

But while I am alive, I can decide who to make crown prince, right?

When I am alive, I will establish a crown prince, especially since I will jointly establish the crown prince with the Empress Dowager.

After my death, the Empress Dowager was unable to choose another person to succeed me.

How can this not be considered a disguised form of preemptive intervention, a plan for what will happen after my death?

"Your Majesty's strategy is indeed excellent."

Feng Quji expressed his agreement, and everyone else nodded in agreement.

Seeing that no one objected, Fusu transformed this idea from its 'prototype' stage into a draft.

The next step, however, is not to issue a law or an edict to establish this rule.

Instead, he set an example by personally demonstrating, together with his mother, Empress Dowager Mi, the case of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor jointly establishing the Crown Prince.

Afterwards, taking advantage of the uproar in the court and the public opinion inside and outside the court—everyone was saying that this was against the rules, Fusu stepped forward again to issue a decree, pretending to patch up his inappropriate measures.

In reality, this established the ancestral system of the Qin Dynasty.

If there is no public opinion inside or outside the court, Fusu could easily find some people to stage a scene where "the court is in an uproar and the Second Emperor Fusu has no choice but to issue an edict".

As for informing the senior officials in advance, it wouldn't affect Fusu's subsequent plans.

"There are not many changes regarding the matter of the crown prince."

"—I have established the eldest son of the legitimate wife as the heir of my Great Qin Dynasty."

"The eldest son, Ying Piao, is intelligent, kind, and filial; he is worthy of being molded."

"It can be used to establish ancestral temples."

Upon hearing Fusu's words, the crowd, who had been lost in thought, immediately turned serious.

They exchanged a brief glance and then bowed to Fusu with their hands clasped.

"Your Majesty is wise."

The primogeniture system has been the foundation of Chinese civilization for thousands of years.

Although Confucianism is not well-received in the Qin Dynasty, the system of primogeniture is not excluded from Qin's policy.

Stability is something every regime, especially a unified regime, desires.

The primogeniture system is the most secure and stable way to ensure the succession of power.

All high-ranking officials who desire stability in the court will instinctively favor the primogeniture system.

Fusu's next words made everyone realize belatedly: Why was Fusu in such a hurry to establish an heir apparent?

—It is certainly not wrong to establish a crown prince early;

Fusu had only been on the throne for a short time, the imperial bed was not even warm, and the First Emperor's body was not yet cold, yet he was already in a hurry to appoint an heir...

"Once the crown prince is established, I shall proceed eastward to Hangu Pass."

"—To be stationed in Xingyang."

...

"This year, I fear that the Qin state will not find peace."

"Some time ago, I summoned the Minister of the Imperial Household Department, and I already intended for him to go east first to guard the Guandong region."

"Once the First Emperor's funeral is over and the Crown Prince is established, I will be free from any worries and will then be able to attend to the matter."

"—I favor the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince and the Palace Attendant."

"I will be accompanied by Minister Li on this trip to Guandong, and I have other arrangements for him."

"In recent days, I would like to ask Prime Minister Feng, Doctor Feng, and Grand Tutor Meng to consider the selection of a Left Prime Minister for me."

His powerful and resonant words, clearly prepared in advance, caused everyone to instinctively straighten their backs.

After realizing what had happened, he looked at Fusu with surprise and doubt.

After a long while, the two veteran ministers, Meng Tian and Feng Quji, looked at each other with suspicion and bowed.

"Your Majesty, we humbly obey your decree..."