"What Section Chief Qian said is really interesting. If, I mean if - if the Imperial Concubine is really involved in the conspiracy, planning or at least participating in the 'Medicinal Diet', then can the identity of the Imperial Concubine be preserved? ?
If she cannot keep this identity, then the third emperor's son will be just an ordinary prince, neither his legitimate son nor his eldest son, and he will no longer be qualified to compete with the emperor's legitimate son and eldest son. Let me ask, how could this be counterproductive? "
Zhong Zhaodou and Qian Menggao originally had a very good relationship. Unfortunately, in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, the teacher-student relationship was something that could never be betrayed. The friendship of friends... might as well go back a little bit.
In this world, except that the kindness of parents may be attributed to human nature, all relationships between people actually have a price. Loyalty is often just that the cost of betrayal exceeds the benefits available, and the opposite is true for betrayal.
Of course, after the "nation-state" idea was formed, some people with higher moral standards sometimes risked their lives simply out of loyalty to the nation and the country. This is another special case.
In short, Zhong Zhaodou's attitude has shown that he will side with the teacher without hesitation, at least on this current matter, he is at odds with Qian Menggao.
His rebuttal was reasonable, as he had already made it clear before. The distinction between noble and concubine is the main principle for arranging the status of wives and concubines in Confucian etiquette, and the status of the mother also affects the status of the children she gives birth to.
Therefore, even if nothing can be done to Concubine Zheng herself, as long as her status as imperial concubine is removed, the matter will be considered a success. Why do you, Qian Menggao, still say that it will be "counterproductive"? Counter, where is the counter?
For this issue of status, you can refer to "Spring and Autumn Gongyang Zhuan", which says: "Yin (Gong) is a virtuous man, so why should he not be established? A direct descendant is established to be elder, not to be virtuous; to establish a son is to be noble, not to be elder. Huan (Mr.) Why is it noble? The mother is noble. If the mother is noble, why should the son be noble? The son is noble to the mother, and the mother is noble to the son."
That is to say, the son of the principal wife is the legitimate son, and the older of the legitimate sons is chosen as the heir, rather than the virtuous one; the son of the concubine is the concubine, and if there is no legitimate son, the concubine needs to be chosen as the heir, then the noble one is the heir. Principle to avoid disputes over the order of inheritance caused by concubines giving birth to children at the same time.
Therefore, He Xiu's note says: "Etiquette, if the wife has no children, she will be concubine on the right, and if the concubine on the right has no children, she will be concubine on the left." [Note: In different periods in China, it is not fixed whether the right or the left is respected. From this, it can be seen that at that time, the concubine was respected. Right. ]
In the marriage system of one wife and multiple concubines, the wife's status in the family is respected than that of the other concubines, and she is known as the "female monarch." The status of the legitimate son is higher than that of the concubine, which is because the biological mother is the legitimate son and has a noble status.
Both Yin Gong and Huan Gong were the sons of Hui Gong, but they were not born by their legitimate wives. However, "Huan's mother, your concubine" was the most respected among the concubines, so Huan Gong was more noble than Yin Gong.
The so-called "son is more valuable than mother" means that the son arranges the order of inheritance according to the status of his mother. Therefore, although Yin Gong was older than Huan Gong and had a reputation as a virtuous man, he was still unable to stand because of his "mean mother".
It can be seen that the distinction between concubines and concubines involves two levels. One is the distinction between the status of wives and concubines, and the other is the difference between the high and low status of descendants. The former affects the latter, and the latter is closely related to the issue of family inheritance. It can be seen that the "discrimination between concubines and concubines" is a very important part of the etiquette of polyandrous concubines, and the status of mother and son is closely related.
The reason why Zhu Yijun mentioned Concubine Zheng's identity again and again in the previous years, and finally raised it to the position of "Vice Queen" as "Emperor's Noble Concubine", was not only to show his love for her, but also to a large extent to improve her status. Zhu Changxun's status.
Just imagine, Zhu Changluo is the eldest son of a concubine, and there is no way to change this. So Zhu Yijun, the father of the emperor, wants Zhu Changxun to gain an advantage over Zhu Changluo, or at least keep pace with Zhu Changluo. In addition to this mentioned in "The Legend of Gongyang" If the system comes up with a solution, what else can we do?
Of course, people in later generations may still hear more about "the mother is more valuable than the son". Especially after being bombarded with many palace battle scenes, many people may have become confused, and they don't know whether "the son is more valuable than the mother" or "the mother is more valuable than the son."
Looking back at this time, you will find that "Mother is more valuable than her son" in "The Legend of Gongyang". So, what does it mean that "a mother is more valuable than her son?" He Xiu notes: "As for etiquette, if a concubine is established, the mother will become a wife. It is the custom for a wife to become a wife."
The "Mrs. Cheng Feng" here refers to the "Spring and Autumn Classic": "On the 11th month of Renyin in the winter of the fourth year of Duke Wen, Mrs. Feng passed away." Also, "In March of the fifth year of Xinhai, I buried my little king Cheng Feng."
Feng was the mother of Duke Xi and the concubine of Duke Zhuang. Since Duke Xi was established, she was honored as his wife. "The Spring and Autumn Annals of the Zuo Family" says: "It is said that in the spring of the fifth year, the king sent Uncle Rong to Han, and invited Duke Zhao to attend the funeral."
"Han" refers to the pearls, jade and other objects placed in the mouth of the deceased in ancient times, while "赗" refers to the things given to the bereaved family for burial. Du Yu's note said: "Chengfeng is the concubine of Duke Zhuang. The emperor married her with the courtesy of his wife, and the mother of the Ming Dynasty honored her son, so it is called courtesy."
However, the "Spring and Autumn Period: The Ninth Year of Wen Gong" says: "The people of Qin came to return to Duke Xi and became the emperor of the wind." "The Biography of Gu Liang" also said: "The people of Qin also have a wife, that is, the people from outside the country see the right person." The people of Qin did not regard Cheng Feng as a wife and it was inappropriate to treat a concubine as a wife, so they were correct.
It’s a bit complicated here. The Spring and Autumn Classic records that Duke Xi’s concubine’s mother was his wife. The three biographies have conflicting interpretations of the events recorded in the Spring and Autumn Annals:
"Gongyang Zhuan" did not explain specifically that Cheng Feng was his wife, but in "The First Month of the Spring King of the Yin Dynasty" it was proposed that "mother is more valuable than her son"; "Zuo Shi Zhuan" said that the emperor of Zhou buried Cheng Feng He with the ceremony of his wife According to the etiquette, Chengfeng is recognized as a wife and the etiquette is met; "Gu Liang Zhuan" ridicules Chengfeng as a wife and treats a concubine as a wife.
The three Chuanqiu Dynasties have obviously different opinions on whether it is appropriate to treat Chengfeng as a wife according to etiquette. Therefore, whether "mother is more valuable than son" has a principled status in etiquette and law has always been a controversial issue.
In fact, there is a conflict between "mother is more valuable than son" and "distinguishing between direct concubines and concubines". The distinction between wives, concubines, and concubines originally came from the ceremony of marriage. The status of concubines was fixed, but "mother is more valuable than son" broke this fixed status principle.
Of course, if we must ask whether "son is more valuable than mother" or "mother is more valuable than child", then we can only distinguish based on time.
Generally speaking, in a big family, or simply in a heavenly family, when a son is still young and his status is uncertain, the son is more important than the mother; when the son overcomes all difficulties and inherits the family business or the throne, it is the son who is more important than the mother. Mother is more valuable than her son.
Of course, occasionally there is an intermediate state, that is, when the son has obtained the status of heir but has not yet inherited. In this case, as the biological mother of the child, the mother can usually be valued more than the son.
However, there are exceptions in history. For example, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che pioneered a shocking system: establishing a heir apparent and killing his mother. This system has been mentioned before in this book, so I won’t go into details again.
In short, establishing a prince is a very complicated matter. Even though the Ming Dynasty's rules have been established for a long time, Zhu Yijun still tried - at least once tried to change them through "ancient" means.
However, Zhu Yijun was not the only one who tried to find a way from the "ancient" practice. At that time, the Heart School made a suggestion that the empress could adopt the emperor's eldest son Zhu Changluo. This would avoid the emperor's eldest son's status being The trouble of being "dragged" by his biological mother.
However, this suggestion was stymied by Gao Pragmatism at the time. Gao Pragmatic didn't use any other tricks. Again, the Queen is still young. How do you know that the Queen will not have trouble in the future? In addition, Zhu Yijun really didn't like Zhu Changluo, so this matter did not go as planned by the Xin School.
However, although the matter has been suppressed, this kind of thinking inertia will not disappear, so what Zhong Zhaodou said at this time still follows this approach.
However, Zhong Zhaodou really miscalculated this time.
This is not to say that this approach can be rejected by Qian Menggao. How dare he deny the Spring and Autumn Annals, one of the "Five Classics"? Don't talk about him, even Gao Pragmatic, who was born in the Liushu No. 1 Scholar, now dares not to directly deny the views of "Spring and Autumn" under the name of the Practical Learning Sect. The most he can do is write a review of "Spring and Autumn", saying that everyone I misunderstood when I read this book before. In fact, this is not the meaning of "Spring and Autumn", but something else...
If this is the case, then why do you still say that Zhong Zhaodou miscalculated? In fact, it is because Qian Menggao does not want to debate the scriptures this time, he wants to talk about human nature.
Qian Menggao not only did not refute Zhong Zhaodou's words, but instead first echoed: "What Section Chief Zhong said is absolutely true. As long as the Imperial Concubine loses her status second only to the Empress in the harem, the Third Prince of the Emperor will naturally be gone." Capital for the right position.”
Zhong Zhaodou raised his eyebrows slightly. Although he said nothing, everyone could see what he meant: Then you are talking nonsense?
But at this time, Xiao Daheng seemed to have thought of something, and frowned quietly, a hint of gloom flashing between his eyebrows. However, he still did not speak and continued to remain silent.
Qian Menggao smiled, first looked at Xiao Daheng, and then raised his hand towards Zhong Zhaodou, Shi Shiran said: "General Xian and Chief Zhong, with their understanding of the emperor, they will think that Concubine Zheng will be fine after this incident." Will you be in ruins?"
Not only did Xiao Daheng not reply, he even closed his eyes gently. He didn't think what Qian Menggao said was nonsense. On the contrary, he agreed with what Qian Menggao wanted to express, but he just didn't want to admit it, so he closed his eyes and rested.
But Zhong Zhaodou finally felt that things were getting tricky this time, and he frowned deeply, forming the character "Sichuan" between his eyebrows. He thought for a while and said with a little reluctance: "Even if the emperor is nostalgic and is unwilling to send Concubine Zheng to the cold palace or give a more serious punishment, but with such evil deeds, it is impossible for the emperor to punish Concubine Zheng soon after the incident. She regains her identity.
Then, as long as we work harder, we can determine the overall situation within this period of time and make the third prince completely lose the chance to win the throne. "
"Oh, really?" Qian Menggao didn't seem to believe it, and asked with a smile: "I wonder what Section Chief Zhong's so-called efforts really mean? Could it be that... he wanted the emperor's legitimate son to be canonized earlier?"
This is actually a bit of a slap in the face, because whether Zhong Zhaodou or Zhao Zhigao, the two masters and disciples are ultimately from the Xin School, and the Xin School has always supported Zhu Changluo. Those who support the empress and the emperor's legitimate son and mother have always been members of the Practical School. To be more precise, they are the highly pragmatic group of the Practical School.
You are a member of the Heart School. Because of "Brother" Zhao Fengwei's incident, you followed your mentor Zhao Zhigao and went to help Gao Pragmatic once. I Qian Menggao recognized this, but are you even planning to abandon the identity and position of the Heart School? ? This is a bit like "bullying the master and destroying the ancestor"!
However, if Zhong Zhaodou can be valued by Zhao Zhigao, he naturally has a few brushes. He snorted softly and said: "I can't comment on the crown prince's canonization. What I am talking about is the matter of the third emperor's son being crowned king of the country.
All in all, the third son of the emperor can definitely be crowned king this year, and after being crowned king, he can consider his country. In this way, as long as Concubine Zheng is being punished to create a great momentum, so that the emperor has to listen to the calls of the officials, canonize the third son of the emperor as king, and at the same time command his country, then the thoughts of Concubine Zheng, mother and son for the throne will naturally be It was settled in one fell swoop. "
Just as Qian Menggao's words caught Zhong Zhaodou off guard, Zhong Zhaodou's words also made Qian Menggao speechless for a moment. But he reacted very quickly and immediately shook his head and said, "I think Section Chief Zhong oversimplified this matter."
He paused and said: "The emperor's third son was born in the fourteenth year of Wanli (the fourteenth year of Wanli). According to Taizu's rules, he should be crowned king at the age of ten and vassal at the age of twenty. Then the emperor can definitely say that he will wait until the third year of Wanli. I will order my country again in fourteen years..."
Zhong Zhaodou shook his head and said: "Chief Qian, you and I are both extraordinary villagers, so there is no need to say such things. Grandpa Taizu did say this, but in fact, how many vassal kings really followed this What is the number of years to carry out the canonization and vassaling?"
Well, it's really no wonder that Zhong Zhaodou didn't take Zhu Yuanzhang's "ancestral methods" seriously, because in fact Zhu Yuanzhang himself didn't do it.
Among Zhu Yuanzhang's sons, the eldest son Zhu Biao was awarded the title of prince when he was thirteen years old... Let's ignore this for now. After all, the prince is special and incomparable with ordinary vassal kings.
Then look at some of his other sons. Except for the second to fifth sons, who were strictly arranged according to the age of twenty, starting from the sixth son, there have been thirteen consecutive sons who have not reached the age of twenty. Among them The youngest is fifteen and the oldest is eighteen.
Your great-grandfather himself couldn't strictly follow the rules. Naturally, the subsequent emperors followed suit. There were basically no rules when it came to conferring kingships and vassalage. For example, Zhu Di's son, King Zhu Gaosui of Zhao, took 21 years to become a vassal after being crowned king. He was already thirty-nine years old at that time.
If it was too long ago to become an ancestor, then take a look at Zhu Yijun's good brother Zhu Yixi. His Royal Highness Prince Lu was crowned king when he was only two years old, but he only became a vassal of Weihui - Zhu Yuanzhang's so-called ancestor - at the age of twenty-three. It's useless here.
There is another situation that Qian Menggao and Zhong Zhaodou cannot possibly know now: In the original history, Zhu Yijun not only kept Zhu Changxun by his side and refused to let him go to his country, but also his other sons later. They were treated the same way, and Zhu Yijun refused to let them go to the country.
Counting Zhu Changxun, he was the only one who was released from the country when Zhu Yijun was alive. It was already the forty-second year of Wanli, and Zhu Yijun was really tired of the dispute over the country.
After Zhu Changxun, Zhu Yijun's other three sons, Zhu Changhao, Zhu Changrun, and Zhu Changying, were even more exaggerated. They did not let their country go until Zhu Yijun's death. It was not until March and April of the seventh year of Tianqi that the three emperors' uncles of Emperor Tianqi were able to gather together in the country and established vassals in Hanzhong, Jingzhou and Hengyang respectively.
So in short, Zhong Zhaodou proposed to force the emperor to confer Zhu Changxun as king as soon as possible and demand his immediate kingdom. From the perspective of Ming Dynasty's customary practices, there was no problem.
In this way, the ball...oh, Cuju was kicked back to Qian Menggao's feet again.
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Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "Cao Mianzi" and "Ding Qi Zhao Bi Xin" for their monthly ticket support, thank you!
ps: My cousin is pregnant, and at the same time, there seemed to be something wrong with the sound in my son's throat last night. I plan to observe it during the day today. Antigen reagents are limited, so we dare not use them indiscriminately. Alas, maybe parents have the same mentality, praying that all diseases and disasters will come to you, and don't look for your children...
