Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World

"In that case, wouldn't there only be distinctions between members of the imperial family and the crown prince, but no princes?" asked Ouyang Xiu, the Minister of Justice.

As he spoke, he looked at Jiang Zhao.

In the past, the process of establishing an heir was always that a member of the imperial family would be adopted as a prince, and then the prince would be established as the crown prince.

This is also the usual process for establishing a successor.

“Exactly.” Jiang Zhao nodded.

Ouyang Xiu understood and closed his eyes to ponder.

“If we do not establish a prince or crown prince, there will be no foundation for the Eastern Palace. If we hastily choose a member of the imperial clan to inherit the throne, how can we win the hearts of the people?” Wang Yaochen, the Minister of Rites, asked at the opportune moment.

As a second-rank official, the highest-ranking official below Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, he was definitely one of the most responsive officials.

It was more of a message to Jiang Zhao, asking him to explain the benefits of this system for scholars.

"If His Majesty intends to establish an heir, he will naturally select civil and military officials to entrust the young emperor with the task. At that time, those of high moral character and prestige will support the new emperor's governance and form the core of the new monarch's team, which will surely win the hearts of the people."

Jiang Zhao's answer surprised many of the slower-reacting civil officials.

Entrusting the young emperor to his civil and military officials!

What this means is not hard to imagine.

This is definitely a good thing for a subject!

There has been a saying throughout history: "A new emperor brings a new court."

With the emperor entrusting his son to a caretaker, the old ministers would certainly not lose power after the new emperor ascended the throne, but would instead gradually transition the official ranks.

The Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet exchanged glances, having already reached a conclusion.

Currently, in the struggle between the two kings, the officials they are trying to win over are relatively concentrated among those below the third rank.

Even officials of the third rank and above rarely had anyone take sides.

Once this system is in place, the emperor will inevitably have to entrust his son to someone on his deathbed to ensure that the legitimate heir appointed by him will ascend to the throne.

Why have subjects chosen sides throughout history?

This was so that the new emperor would not lose power after he ascended the throne.

With this method of entrusting the young emperor to others, the six Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet no longer need to intervene!

If the party leader doesn't participate, then the other officials of the third rank naturally don't need to either.

With these two questions in mind, almost all the ministers made up their minds.

"If the crown prince is not prominent, and the princes each harbor different intentions, how will the court officials conduct themselves? I fear this could lead to factional strife and bring disaster to the country!" asked a cautious official.

These officials tend to be more stable in character and consider the consequences more carefully when they act.

Jiang Zhao calmly replied, "In the eastern suburbs of Bianjing, the Duke of Ying commands an army of 100,000, which can certainly uphold legitimacy."

The official in purple robes nodded.

Everyone knows that the Duke of England holds military power, and as long as there is legitimacy, it is almost impossible for the rebels to succeed in a palace coup.

One hundred thousand imperial guards—that's no joke!

"Is this a new method? Is there any precedent?" an official asked.

Jiang Zhao looked around and said, "Emperor Wu of Han was involved in the witchcraft scandal. He made his young son Liu Fuling the heir, but kept it a secret. On his deathbed, he entrusted his son to the emperor."

After a few questions were asked, the ministers had already made a decision.

"My esteemed ministers, what do you think?" Zhao Zhen stood up, took two steps, and asked slowly.

From the moment Jiang Zhao presented his proposal on establishing an heir, the elderly emperor felt a sense of security again and was no longer restless.

"In my opinion, it is acceptable!" Han Zhang bowed, taking the lead in supporting the proposal.

Nonsense, this is an incredible achievement!

If this achievement is carried out well, it will be enough to earn my beloved disciple a place in history.

In fact, this approach can be considered a model for "how to establish an heir when the emperor has no son".

Even he, as a teacher, will benefit from it.

Now, it is destined that the wealthy young master will abdicate.

Originally, the government had a relatively higher opinion of him.

If someone still wants to compete, then another political struggle is inevitable.

Now that he has this method for establishing an heir, he has calmly stood out from the crowd.

What a fine apprentice!

“I think this method is excellent.” Wang Yaochen, Zhang Fangping and six or seven other high-ranking officials from the Korean faction, all wearing purple robes, nodded in approval.

The boss has spoken, so everyone just needs to follow suit.

Moreover, they are not fools; they naturally know what benefits such a method for establishing an heir apparent would mean during this special time period!

Boss, we're about to reach the top!

“Not bad.” Grand Chancellor Fu Bi opened his eyes slightly and nodded.

As a childless man, all he could think about was how to avoid making any mistakes and ensure his reputation after death.

Now that this method has been used, his reputation has been completely preserved.

At the very least, the historical records of the "pulling the dragon robe" incident would definitely favor praising his integrity.

This method is excellent!

"In my opinion, this method is not wrong," Grand Secretary Wang Qinruo thought to himself.

The position of Grand Chancellor is probably out of his reach.

Similarly, Grand Secretaries Shen, Pang, and Wen all expressed their approval, and in their hearts, they all sighed in agreement.

They've already reached the point of holding high positions in government, and soon the position of head of all officials will be vacant. Everyone will have some thoughts about that.

Han Zhang already had the advantage of being young.

This time, thanks to his disciple's method of establishing an heir, his position is probably already secure.

Several of the senior ministers felt a sense of regret.

Why don't I have an apprentice like that?

If we include the time with the congratulatory message, this is already two times that he was forcibly carried!

pity!

Several Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet expressed their opinions one after another, and the other officials also expressed their approval.

"Good!" Zhao Zhen felt a rare sense of relief and laughed heartily.

This method truly solved his major problem!

"Jiang Qing, in your opinion, how should this method be implemented?"

Zhao Zhen made no attempt to hide his admiration as he looked at the only fifth-rank official in the imperial study.

"I believe that it is possible to gather the imperial relatives that Your Majesty has high regard for, ranging from three to five people to seven or eight or more, to perform a joint sacrifice and carry out the process of adopting a member of the imperial family. Two special edicts should be prepared and shown to all civil and military officials."

Afterwards, the emperor could observe the imperial clan for several years, selecting the most outstanding members and inscribing their names. One copy was hung behind the plaque of the 'Wende Hall,' while the other was hidden by the emperor.

Jiang Zhao carefully considered his words and calmly said, "When to establish an heir and to whom is entirely up to the Emperor to decide in secret with a stroke of his pen."

Of the thousands of members of the imperial clan, only a few on the list were qualified to be considered "legitimate," which effectively extinguished the ambitions of the rest of the clan.

The remaining members of the imperial family went through some procedures in advance, and the emperor selected one of them, who was then chosen as the crown prince with a stroke of his vermilion pen.

"Good!" Zhao Zhen was very satisfied.

Even knowing that the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Yong were already fighting, this method of choosing an heir did not prevent him from feeling very secure.

Besides, how much power do the two kings actually have?

Nothing to fear!

"By order: summon the six members of the imperial clan—Zhao Yunqi (Prince of Yan), Zhao Yunyuan (Prince of Yong), Zhao Yunchu, Zhao Zongquan, Zhao Zonge, and Zhao Congshi—to the capital!"

These days, his ministers have been urging him to establish an heir, and Zhao Zhen has already thoroughly considered who to choose and which members of the imperial clan would be suitable.

Zhao Zongquan?

Jiang Zhao raised his eyebrows slightly, not surprised.

Zhao Zongquan was a member of the lineage of Emperor Taizu.

Since the famous story of "Candlelight and Axe Shadow" between Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong, the throne has always been inherited by the lineage of Emperor Taizong.

The lineages of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong are entangled in a complex web of grudges, and the Emperor has likely long intended to ease tensions.

It's not surprising that he was specifically chosen.

Moreover, based on the original storyline, when the emperor encountered a palace coup, his first priority was to send Zhao Zongquan to the capital to rescue him, which shows that Zhao Zongquan definitely held a high position in his heart.

Most of the officials probably thought that Zhao Zongquan had no hope of ascending the throne.

After all, any normal emperor would not allow someone from the lineage of the founding emperor to ascend the throne.

Little did people know that Zhao Zhen was not a normal emperor either.

Why would an emperor without a son care about the lineage of Emperor Taizu or Emperor Taizong?

However, it remains unclear whether Zhao Zongquan will be able to ascend the throne this time through the secret succession law.

Jiang Zhao shook his head inwardly, his brows relaxing.

No problem!

In a few days, his teacher Han Zhang will become the Grand Chancellor!

Compared to military generals who "conquered the world" by following the emperor, civil officials followed the emperor more by assisting him in seizing power.

However, if the new emperor wants to seize power, he cannot bypass the head of all officials!

From the dragon, whose dragon is not a dragon?

As long as you follow the dragon, it doesn't matter who the dragon is!

This merit of supporting the emperor is something that the master and disciple are determined to claim, no matter who comes to power!

Jiang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and began to observe.

Of the six members of the imperial clan personally selected by Emperor Zhao Zhen, the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Yong were undoubtedly the frontrunners for the throne.

Zhao Yunchu was the grandson of Emperor Taizong and served as the military commissioner of Ruzhou.

His father, Prince Jing, Zhao Yuanran, was one of the few members of the royal family with real power, and was even posthumously awarded the title of General of the Heavenly Strategy.

The popular term "Eighth Prince" refers to him.

In the early years, the Empress Dowager ruled from behind the curtain, and the Emperor and the Empress Dowager had a period of power struggle. Zhao Yunchu entered the palace and served as a substitute heir.

This person was once a contender for the throne with the emperor.

Whether in terms of kinship or seniority, this person is a first-rate individual.

Of course, this person also faces the same predicament as the official.

Childless!

The remaining two, Zhao Zong'e, was the great-grandson of Emperor Taizong and the son of the Prince of Xin'an. He was also a member of the imperial clan with a very close blood relationship with the emperor and served as the military commissioner of Muzhou. He was known for his virtue.

Zhao Congshi was the emperor's cousin and had served as the military governor of Baokang Army. He was known for his strong and capable nature.

Of the six members of the royal family, the most attention-grabbing are undoubtedly the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Yong.

The rest of the imperial clan were all roughly the same, lagging behind the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Yong by more than one level.

Zhao Zhen appointed: "The Ministry of Rites, the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, and the Imperial Academy Attendants shall all be responsible for welcoming the imperial family members to the capital. The drafting of the imperial edict shall be temporarily undertaken by the Hanlin Academy Attendants."

Jiang Zhao served as a Hanlin Academician Reader and was in charge of drafting imperial edicts.

This time, I'm in charge of welcoming the imperial clan, so naturally someone has to handle the drafting of the imperial edict.

The Minister of Rites, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, Jiang Zhao, and Hai Chengyan all bowed in unison: "Your subject obeys the decree."

Zhao Zhen stood with a rare smile.