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

Chapter 60: Submitting a Memorial to the Throne!
The study in the Han residence.

Sandalwood curls.

At his desk, Han Zhang held a cabinet decree in his hand, deep in thought.

Jiang Zhao entered and respectfully bowed: "Teacher!"

Han Zhang looked up in surprise, then waved his hand and said, "Zhao'er, sit down."

Jiang Zhao nodded and sat down calmly.

Seeing this scene out of the corner of his eye, Han Zhang put down the government decree in his hand.

In the past, when Jiang Zhao came to the study, he would either find a book to read or practice calligraphy.

Now that he appears so calm and serious, and shows no signs of reading or practicing calligraphy, he must have something to say.

Han Zhang stroked his beard as usual and asked, "Zhao'er, what's wrong?"

Jiang Zhao stood up, walked over, took out the memorial he had just written from his sleeve, and handed it to him: "Teacher, what do you think of this method of establishing an heir?"

Methods for establishing an heir apparent?

"Is this the 'having your cake and eating it too' method that Zhao'er mentioned before?" Han Zhang asked curiously as he took the memorial.

Jiang Zhao nodded: "Exactly."

Han Zhang's interest was piqued, and he began to observe silently.

A secret method for establishing an heir?

The memorial was not long.

Aside from the first few sentences, which are almost formulaic, and the explanation of the necessity of establishing an heir, the real core content consists of only a few sentences.

After reading it, Han Zhang couldn't help but get up and pace around, lost in thought.

The heir was secretly chosen, and two edicts were issued, one placed in the inner court and the other hidden on his person.

In this way, objectively speaking, there was indeed an "orthodox" system, and the concerns of the civil and military officials were dispelled.

As for the emperor, by keeping the selection of the heir apparent a secret, the members of the imperial clan would inevitably doubt each other, thus ensuring the emperor's power.

Most importantly, with each new emperor comes a new set of officials, and the "entrustment of the young emperor" process can safeguard the interests of the older generation of officials.

After a long pause, Han Zhang nodded and exclaimed, "Brilliant, truly brilliant!"

This method, which benefits both the ruler and his ministers, is truly rare.

Of course, if both the ruler and his ministers benefit, then there must also be those who suffer losses.

Those who suffered losses were undoubtedly the two most popular princes, the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Yong.

Originally, the choice of heir apparent was almost entirely limited to the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Yong.

With this secret method of establishing an heir apparent, several members of the imperial clan can be selected to go to the capital for evaluation, and the two princes will no longer be the only candidates.

The minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor is destined to be the most powerful minister.

The existence of regents once again lowered the "power requirements" for becoming the crown prince, and instead placed more emphasis on the crown prince's personal abilities.

At the very least, after ascending the throne, you must have the ability to transfer power from the regents.

This method is interesting!
"I recall seeing a similar prototype of this method in ancient books," Han Zhang said, his hands clasped behind his back as he recalled.

The advantage of a long history is that no matter how things develop, there are always lessons to be learned.

"During the Han Dynasty, there was the witchcraft accusation. Emperor Wu established Liu Fuling as his heir, but did not publicly announce it," Jiang Zhao interjected, having read almost all the books in the library.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Crown Prince Liu Ju committed suicide due to the "Witchcraft Persecution," necessitating the selection of a new heir.

The youngest son, Liu Fuling, was intelligent and favored by Emperor Wu.

However, Liu Fuling's birth mother, Lady Gouyi, was young, which can be described as "the master is young and the mother is strong".

The Han dynasty system was a dual-palace system, and it was also influenced by filial piety.

Once Liu Fuling ascends the throne, Lady Gouyi will surely rule from behind the curtain, and relying on her filial piety, she will likely suppress the young emperor for the rest of her life.

Emperor Wu of Han was bullied by his grandmother, Empress Dowager Dou, and his mother, Empress Dowager Wang, both of whom were empress dowagers. This caused Emperor Wu to develop psychological trauma.

Therefore, Emperor Wu decisively "removed the mother and kept the son," and ordered Lady Gouyi to commit suicide.

Furthermore, the heir apparent has not been announced for a long time.

Until his deathbed, he painted "The Duke of Zhou Assisting King Cheng" to imply that Liu Fuling should be the crown prince, and entrusted Huo Guang to assist in governing the country.

This is the closest thing to a "secret succession law".

Later, the Persian dynasty used this method during its succession, and it was a completely secret method of choosing an heir.

The "Biography of the Western Barbarians" in the Old Book of Tang records that when the Persian king first ascended the throne, he secretly selected the most capable son among his sons to succeed him, wrote down his name, sealed it, and hid it away. After the king's death, the ministers and princes opened the seal and examined it together, and the one whose name was written down became the ruler.

However, Persia was a barbarian land and was not recognized by the Central Plains.

The claim that the secret succession system originated in "Persia" is certainly not accepted by scholars and intellectuals.

In the past, there must have been officials who had read the Old Book of Tang, but none of them proposed a secret method for establishing an heir.

This was mostly due to the arrogance of the Central Plains orthodoxy, which led them to disdain using the methods of the small Persian kingdom.

Today, it is said that Emperor Wu of Han created the prototype, but the result is different.

Then came the reign of Emperor Shizong of Jin and the secret establishment of an heir during the Qing Dynasty.

However, neither the Jin Dynasty nor the Qing Dynasty had been established yet.

Once Jiang Zhao put this method into practice, it would be the prototype first created by Emperor Wu of Han, and he would carry it forward and make it more popular.

After Jiang Zhaoyi reminded him, Han Zhang suddenly realized.

Emperor Wu's hints about establishing an heir and the secret method of establishing an heir are indeed very similar.

However, this time it was proposed as a systemic issue.

"In that case, go to the palace and present your memorial." Han Zhang waved his hand and returned the memorial to Han Zhang.

On the one hand, he was not the kind of person who would steal credit from his disciples.

On the other hand, as Jiang Zhao's teacher, if this memorial is submitted, the Emperor will surely remember his contribution as a teacher.

This is similar to how a particularly accomplished son is often posthumously honored for the achievements of his father and grandfather. Having such a son means you've accomplished something great!
Similarly, the significance of this method of establishing an heir is immense, once Jiang Zhao solves the problem that has plagued the emperor for nearly ten years.

As a teacher, Han Zhang has done a great job by producing such a good student!
For Han Zhang, this memorial came at a very opportune time.

The wealthy young master, holding the emperor's robe, advised the emperor to establish an heir, but he was destined to step down.

The position of head of all officials will become vacant sooner or later.

He originally had a good chance of winning the position of Grand Chancellor.

Now, this memorial has been issued.

The position of Grand Chancellor is practically in his pocket.

With this thought in mind, Han Zhang put his hands behind his back, and his demeanor exuded an immense sense of grandeur.

He felt he had the responsibility to oversee the two capitals and thirteen provinces!

Royal study room.

Emperor Zhao Zhen held the scroll in his hand, but he couldn't read it no matter what.

He got up and took a couple of steps, then wanted to sit down again.

I had just sat down, but I felt restless and wanted to get up and move around again.

I couldn't walk, I couldn't sit, I was really restless.

The discord between the ruler and his ministers has far-reaching consequences.

Even the operation of the country and its people has been affected to some extent.

Some local scoundrels took advantage of the court's inability to attend to them and desperately tried to make a living.

Occasionally, when they go too far, there are even small-scale uprisings.

Furthermore, as the emperor, he was bound to be advised once he attended court.

He usually attends court every five days, but since the officials began to remonstrate with him, he has not attended court for nearly ten days.

Even so, quite a few officials still came to the Imperial Study to offer their advice.

There's simply no way to avoid it!
what can we do about it?

This cannot continue indefinitely.

Emperor Zhao Zhen sighed.

Surely we can't really adopt someone from the royal family?
If all else fails, the only recourse is to resort to shamelessness and desperately delay.

Just then, Li Qi, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, stepped forward and announced: "Your Majesty, Jiang Zhao, a Hanlin Academician, requests an audience."

"Jiang Aiqing?"

Zhao Zhen frowned slightly, then waved his hand dismissively: "Let him in."

In his view, Jiang Zhao was indeed a pragmatic and capable minister who was not only good at political struggles but also often came up with practical solutions to problems.

Only ministers who can simultaneously address people's livelihood and governance while also managing political struggles can possibly get things done.

I wonder if Jiang Qing has come to offer advice this time?
A short while later, Jiang Zhao, dressed in a white brocade robe, entered the imperial study.

"Your subject Jiang Zhao greets Your Majesty." Jiang Zhao bowed.

"No gift."

"sit down."

Zhao Zhen sat upright in the main seat, holding a book, and calmly asked, "What brings you here, my dear minister?"

He did not expect Jiang Zhao to be someone who came to offer advice.

Jiang Zhao took his seat and said, "I have come here with the intention of submitting a memorial concerning the matter of establishing an heir."

"There's no need to say more about advising on establishing an heir; the officials in the court have already offered their advice." Zhao Zhen's expression immediately became much more impatient.

His patience was wearing thin from the constant admonitions.

"The memorial I submitted was actually a proposal to change the method of establishing an heir apparent," Jiang Zhao said calmly, having anticipated this.

"Change the method of establishing an heir?" Zhao Zhen's heart stirred slightly.

Since ancient times, the eldest son of the legitimate wife has been established as the crown prince to inherit the country. Is there any error in this?

“Exactly.” Jiang Zhao stood up and bowed again: “During the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu established his youngest son Liu Fuling as emperor, but kept it a secret. This was to prevent trouble from the maternal relatives and the imperial clan.”

"Throughout history, the throne has always been inherited by the crown prince. However, there are occasional instances where the heirs of princes die young, which can lead to infighting among the imperial family and even war."

But if a member of the imperial clan is chosen as crown prince, what will become of the monarch? Given this special circumstance, I request that the method of selecting an heir be changed to a secret method.

After speaking, he bowed deeply.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhen immediately became interested.

If a member of the imperial clan is made crown prince, where will the monarch be placed?
These words struck a chord with him.

Moreover, what was Emperor Wu of Han's method of establishing an heir?
Zhao Zhen quickly waved his hand: "Bring it here."

Jiang Qing is a pragmatic and capable minister!
These days, he's been receiving advice from ministers on establishing an heir, and it's rare to find one who offers a solution. Even if the memorial is terrible, he'll still take a look.

Not to mention, this person is Jiang Zhao?
In the past, Jiang Zhao also had many insights into the handling of government affairs.

Even if it's bad, it's still above average.

It's above average, not necessarily excellent, but definitely usable!

After the memorial was presented, Jiang Zhao sat down and straightened his posture.

"This memorial reflects my humble opinion, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

It's best to take precautions against these kinds of things in advance.

"In any case, I forgive you for your innocence."

Zhao Zhen held the memorial in his hand and began to peruse it.

(End of this chapter)