Chapter 32 Confucius said benevolence, Mencius said righteousness, and Zhou said courtesy
Chapter 32 Confucius said benevolence, Mencius said righteousness, and Zhou said courtesy
Prince is a respectful title for the crown prince.
It is also a position.
Its power does not come from the emperor, because it itself represents power and is a symbol of power.
It is like a leadership position, it is there vacant, whether it is occupied by someone or not, as long as this position is held, no matter who takes up the position, he can exercise the power of the position.
That's what the prince is like.
But in order to become the crown prince, one must be canonized by the emperor and be the eldest son of the emperor to be eligible.
It is true that Li Chengqian was the crown prince appointed by Li Er.
He was confirmed as the heir to the throne by the current emperor Li Er in accordance with legal procedures.
Indisputable, without any flaws, the whole world is convinced.
It is equivalent to everyone in the world, whether they are kings, ministers, aristocratic families, or ordinary people.
They had no opinion or objection to enthroning Li Chengqian as crown prince.
They believed that it was reasonable and in line with the etiquette and legal system to enthronize the emperor's eldest son Li Chengqian as the crown prince.
But again.
Even if Li Chengqian is not wise and does not have the ability to be the emperor's successor, even if he still has a foot disease, as long as Li Chengqian is not wrong.
Li Er had no reason to abolish it.
Want to abolish it?
The first thing to do is to overcome the ministers.
Just ask the ministers whether they will agree.
Looking back at the emperors of all dynasties who deposed the crown prince, it was always because the crown prince had committed serious faults, which was enough to convince the people of the world to depose him.
Emperor Jing of Han, Liu Qi, deposed Crown Prince Liu Rong. Why did Liu Qi depose Liu Rong so easily because his mother, Li Ji, fell out of favor?
Because Liu Rong was not the eldest son of the emperor at all.
Since he is not the eldest son of the emperor, no matter how strongly the ministers oppose him, the emperor can still insist on his own way.
……
Li Er never said in public that he wanted to depose the crown prince.
He also did not hint in public that he wanted to depose the crown prince.
When he mentioned that Li Chengqian was the crown prince, it was after he was enthroned.
Hinting at the dethronement of the crown prince, yes.
Almost all the ministers understood the meaning of the words.
How can we all sit still?
Openly hinting at deposing the crown prince.
Is this still available?
Do you still want this world?
"Your Majesty...!"
As soon as he finished speaking, many people raised their tablets and prepared to stand up and speak.
Wei Zheng was the most anxious.
But no matter how anxious he was, it was of no use because Li Chengqian spoke.
"I have heard that Confucius said benevolence, Mencius said righteousness, and Zhou said propriety."
Li Chengqian looked at the officials in the court and spoke slowly.
As soon as he opened his mouth, all the ministers were stunned.
Even Li Er looked surprised.
What expansion is this?
Li Chengqian continued to speak, his tone calm and steady, "I am the eldest grandson of Emperor Gaozu and the eldest son of Your Majesty."
"It is legitimate and reasonable to appoint me as the crown prince. It is in accordance with etiquette and is only natural."
He tilted his head slightly, glanced at Li Er, and asked, "Your Majesty, are you warning me or threatening me when you say this?"
As soon as these words came out.
All the ministers were horrified and shocked.
Is the prince crazy?
How dare you speak to Your Majesty like this.
The ministers keenly grasped the meaning of Li Chengqian's words.
The prince previously addressed himself as a subject to Your Majesty.
But now he has changed his mind and calls himself "Gu".
What does this represent.
It’s terrifying to think about it, they really don’t dare to think about it.
All the civil and military officials were completely out of control.
They couldn't understand why a normal court meeting had turned out to be like this.
"Prince!"
Li Er's eyes were cold and he said calmly, "Are you reminding me?"
"His Majesty!"
Li Chengqian turned his back to Li Er, not wanting to look him in the eye. He said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, do you think that I should not be crowned the crown prince?"
"Or...?"
He scanned the civil and military officials one by one, "Do you officials also think that my position as crown prince is not legitimate and reasonable?"
"Too...!" Someone wanted to speak, but Li Chengqian didn't give him a chance and directly called out, "Duke Shen, what do you think?"
"minister……."
Duke Shen Gao Shilian did not expect that he would be mentioned. He panicked and did not want to get involved in this matter at all.
Because if you are not careful, you will be doomed.
If the prince calls his name, he still has to answer. If you don't answer, does it mean that Li Chengqian's position as prince is not legitimate?
At this juncture, acquiescence is a great sin.
But he didn't expect that when he was about to speak, Li Chengqian didn't give him a chance.
Li Chengqian ordered another person.
"Duke Song, what do you think?"
Gao Shilian was so anxious that he was going crazy. "Prince, please give me a chance to speak, please give it to me."
Duke Song Xiao Yu did not expect that he would be the one to be burned by the fire, and he would be the second person the prince named.
"minister……."
"Duke Ju, what do you think?"
Li Chengqian did not give Xiao Yu a chance to speak and called on the next person.
This is just great.
The general of the Ji Ji Kingdom has added another person.
The two of them couldn't stand or sit.
I could only stretch my body and keep the posture as if I were about to speak.
As expected, Duke of Ju Tang Jian did the same as Gao Shilian and Xiao Yu.
Li Chengqian nodded but did not let them answer.
"Duke Liang."
"Is there any controversy over my position as the crown prince?"
Fang Xuanling's buttocks suddenly spring to life and he stood up in an instant, "Your Highness..."
No further information.
Li Chengqian also named other people, including Ma Zhou, Cen Wenben, and Chu Suiliang, and none of them escaped.
They all stood and didn't dare to sit down.
Who dares to sit?
Who can sit here comfortably?
If they sit down, wouldn't it be considered that Li Chengqian's position as the crown prince is not legitimate, and that would mean everything is ruined?
Just roast them over the fire.
Soon, they found that with more people around, things didn't seem so scary.
I don’t understand why the prince didn’t let them speak, but the law does not punish everyone. There are so many people, does the prince really want to overthrow them all?
It's simply impossible.
At this moment.
An interesting thing happened.
They gradually discovered that there were two extremely important people who were not among those named by the prince.
The prince appointed all the civil servants.
It is normal that the military attachés are not included in this list.
But there are two people whom the prince has not yet appointed, even though they should have been appointed according to their ranks.
These two people.
Not someone else.
One of them is the Duke of Zhao, Zhangsun Wuji.
One of them is Duke of Zheng, Wei Zheng.
As for Wei Zheng, they could still understand and figure out the reasons behind it. If they really asked him, he would definitely answer.
Besides, at this moment Wei Zheng was solemn and serious, with a proper demeanor. He was not in a hurry at all. It was obvious that he knew what was going on.
Look at someone else.
I'm sweating slightly now.
In some cases, the more awkward someone is, the more delicate the situation becomes.
As the prince's uncle, Changsun Wuji was not informed when the prince set up his own personal army.
At that time, it caused speculation among the ministers.
now.
On such occasions, almost all the major ministers in the court were invited, but he was not.
Why is that?
Fang Xuanling, Xiao Yu and others almost came to their senses immediately after being thrown into panic.
Those appointed by the prince must maintain the prince's status no matter what the purpose is.
The one who was not mentioned, except Wei Zheng, was considered to be against the prince.
The prince is polite.
They are polite people, but that person is not polite.
In other words, it does not support the system of primogeniture.
The way some officials of lower status looked at Changsun Wuji was very intriguing.
(End of this chapter)