I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 378: The dispute over changing the king's title

Change the king's title?
The ministers present had already become extremely alert. They knew that Zhu Houzhao would not simply ask for a change of title today. There must be a deeper meaning behind it.
There was a precedent for changing the king's title in the Ming Dynasty, so the ministers present would definitely be more receptive to it, but the prerequisite was that the title should not be changed to something sensitive.

"I wonder what title Your Majesty wants to change His Royal Highness the Prince of Jing to?" Yang Yiqing asked with a stiff face. Liang Chu had not yet recovered from the shock.

"I think the title of King Wu is good," Zhu Houzhao said very straightforwardly.

"King Wu."

Although the ministers present had been prepared, they were still shocked after hearing Zhu Houzhao's words.
Yang Yiqing couldn't help but look up at Zhu Houzhao, trying to see something from his face, but he saw nothing.
The people present were all very politically sensitive and naturally knew what the title of King of Wu meant.
King of Wu was the title of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang before he became emperor.

This alone is sensitive enough. After that, there were only two examples of Ming Dynasty princes being granted the title of King of Wu:

Zhu Su was the fifth son of Taizu. In the third year of Hongwu, he was named King of Wu. In the seventh year, officials requested to place guards in Hangzhou. In the eleventh year, on the first day of the first month, the title of King of Wu Su was changed to King of Zhou.

Although it is not clear why Zhu Yuanzhang named his fifth son the King of Wu, he was certainly aware of the political significance behind the title. This title would definitely have an adverse impact on the then Crown Prince Zhu Biao, so he took the initiative to change the title.

Zhu Yunhuan, son of Zhu Biao, was born in the 1402th year of Hongwu and was granted the title of Prince of a County. In the first year of Jianwen, he was granted the title of Prince of Wu and established a fiefdom in Hangzhou. Before he became a fief, the Jingnan Campaign began. After the Prince of Yan entered the capital, he was demoted to the title of Prince of Guangze and lived in Zhangzhou. In September , he was recalled, deposed as a commoner, and imprisoned in Fengyang.

Zhu Yunhuan was definitely Zhu Yunwen's strongest contender for the throne, because he was the younger brother of Zhu Biao's eldest son Zhu Xiongying, and Zhu Biao's second son. His mother was Zhu Biao's original Crown Princess Chang, who was the daughter of Chang Yuchun. Lan Yu was Zhu Yunhuan's uncle and had a relatively high social status.

When Zhu Yunwen was born, his mother, Lu, was only Zhu Biao's second concubine, and Lu's father was a surrendered minister of the Yuan Dynasty. When Zhu Yunwen was born, he was only the eldest son of a concubine.

But later, Chang died early, so Zhu Biao made Lu his legal wife and made her the Crown Princess. Zhu Yunwen was also promoted from a concubine's eldest son to a legitimate eldest son, while Zhu Yunhuan, who was one year younger than Zhu Yunwen, was still the legitimate second son.

After Zhu Biao's sudden death, the question of succession to the throne was put before Zhu Yuanzhang again. In fact, who to choose was just a matter of Zhu Yuanzhang's words. One was the second son of Zhu Biao's original wife, and the other was the eldest son of Zhu Biao's second wife. No matter who was chosen, Zhu Yuanzhang's great Confucian scholars could find a reasonable basis for succession. But Zhu Yuanzhang obviously thought more about it. He was worried about Lan Yu. If Zhu Biao were still alive, he might be able to control Lan Yu. As soon as Zhu Biao died, his two sons, Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yunhuan, were not very good, and at this time Zhu Yunhuan's background became a disadvantage.
In the second year after Zhu Biao's death, Zhu Yuanzhang killed Lan Yu.
Zhu Yunhuan was named King of Wu in the first year of Jianwen, and in the first year of Jianwen, Zhu Yunwen had already begun to reduce the power of the vassal states with practical actions. Under such circumstances, his giving Zhu Yunhuan the title of King was somewhat like flattery.
I have said so much just to illustrate that the title of King of Wu was very sensitive in the Ming Dynasty.

Now Zhu Houzhao's decision to change Zhu Houxun's title to king can be interpreted in various ways.

The people present who could reach this position were all quick-witted and they quickly analyzed the matter.
Then they all felt their scalps tingling.
"Your Majesty, you can't do that. The King of Wu was the title given to Taizu before he founded the country. How can it be given to anyone easily? Please give up this idea, Your Majesty," Liang Chu said in a solemn voice.

“Although King of Wu was the title before Taizu founded the country, there is precedent of granting it to members of the royal family. You don’t have to be overly sensitive.” Zhu Houzhao began to pretend to be confused.

"Your Majesty, this is no longer the case. Your Majesty's actions will cause misunderstanding among the people of the world. In serious cases, it will shock the world and make the country uneasy." Yang Yiqing also said in a solemn voice.

The current situation of the Ming Dynasty royal family is very different from that of the beginning of the country. When Zhu Su was named the King of Wu, he was under pressure from the crown prince Zhu Biao. When Zhu Yunhuan was named the King of Wu, Zhu Yunwen already had a legitimate son. But now the situation of the Ming Dynasty is that the throne of the Ming Dynasty is vacant, and Zhu Houzhao has no heirs. The meaning that can be interpreted at this time is relatively clear.
After all, Zhu Yuanzhang became the emperor of the Ming Dynasty from the King of Wu. Now another King of Wu has appeared and is deeply loved by the emperor, so the signal revealed by this incident is very obvious.
The other ministers present also expressed their strong opposition.
Zhu Houzhao was still pretending to be confused, using the other two Wu kings as shields and arguing with the ministers.
The ministers now understood Zhu Houzhao's thoughts clearly and were also aware of the purpose of his actions.

Zhu Houzhao's decision to change Zhu Houxun's title to King of Wu was an obvious political test, in order to show the world that he intended to make Zhu Houxun the crown prince, and to test the world's reaction.
This is a very common tactic in politics. After all, you have to eat one bite at a time and take one step at a time. If you want to achieve a political goal, you cannot do it all at once, but have to work on it slowly.

Perhaps Zhu Houzhao's ultimate political goal was to make Zhu Houxun the crown prince, which was a political goal that was almost impossible to achieve because of the huge institutional and legal resistance and would affect the interests of many people.

If a direct decree was issued to appoint Zhu Houxun as the crown prince, all contradictions would be intensified instantly, all problems would break out instantly, and there would be no room for maneuver politically. This would make Zhu Houzhao very passive, and even if he was the emperor, he would not be able to withstand this powerful force of opposition.

But the situation would be different if a different strategy was used. If this big political goal was broken down into small political goals and the time to achieve this political goal was extended to five or even ten years, there would be a lot of room for political maneuver. This was equivalent to solving the problem of achieving this political goal within these five to ten years. In this way, Zhu Houzhao could completely attack or defend. During this period, he could continue to win over and divide the opposition forces, make progress day by day, and finally achieve his political goal.

After all, politics is the art of compromise.

However, in the eyes of the civil officials now, changing Zhu Houxun's title to King of Wu is totally unacceptable. China emphasizes legitimacy, and after Zhu Houxun became King of Wu, he was "legitimate" to a certain extent.
(End of this chapter)