Summoning the world to be one

Chapter 656
Chapter 657: Patriarchal Ancestral Training
In the fifth year of Tiantong, in July, on the occasion of returning to the imperial court, Cui Hao and Zhang Bin were ordered by Zhongshu to submit their resignations to the emperor Deng Sheng. He promoted Kou Zhun, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, as the order of the sect, Fan Zhongyan, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, as the Order of Zhongshu, and Xun Yu, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, as Minister of the Ministry of Officials.

The departure of Cui Hao and Zhang Bin symbolized the end of an era in Deng Guo. Since Deng Sheng ascended the throne, for decades, the government and the public have long been accustomed to the leadership of Cui Hao, Zhang Bin, Jiang Wan, and Su Hong, the four giants. , and now that Su Hong has passed away, Cui Hao, Zhang Bin, and Jiang Wan have left the court one after another. From that moment on, the four major factions that once dominated Deng's political arena have officially come to an end.

Tiantong five years, July 25th, Qianyang Palace, today Deng Shengping retreated to the left and right, and summoned the prince Deng Hao alone.

As Deng Sheng grows older, Deng Sheng feels more and more that there are still many flaws in the various systems of Deng State. These flaws may be nothing when Deng Sheng was alive, but once Deng Sheng is gone, these problems may be directly solved at any time. Deng Guo's life.

Deng Sheng was not too convenient to discuss some sensitive issues with his courtiers, and the only person in the whole country of Deng who was qualified to discuss these issues with Deng Sheng was Deng Hao, the future emperor.

Currently, there are two issues that Deng Sheng needs to solve the most, that is, the system of succession to the throne and the system of succession to the title, especially the system of succession to the throne, which is directly related to the inheritance of the entire Deng Kingdom.

China's imperial succession system generally adopts the patriarchal system of the Zhou Dynasty, where the eldest son inherits the eldest son. Since then, the patriarchal clan system has officially disintegrated, and since then, various forms of the country's inheritance system have emerged.

However, after the establishment of the Han Dynasty, the Chinese dynasties have basically followed the patriarchal system of the Zhou Dynasty, but there have never been fewer battles. Deng Sheng analyzed the reason, that is, there is no clear regulation on the order of succession to the throne.

Throughout the past dynasties, most queens have no heirs, so when there are no sons, the other sons of the emperor have the same chance of inheriting the throne. It depends on whether they can be favored by the emperor. Of course, if they dare to fight for the throne , is another story.

However, the dynasties established by several ethnic minorities such as the Jin, Yuan, and Qing did not have any clear regulations on the inheritance of the throne. Intrigue and bloodshed.

Among the emperors of the Yuan Dynasty, except for Yuan Chengzong, Yuan Renzong, and Yuan Yingzong, who succeeded to the throne relatively smoothly, other emperors had to go through a bloody battle before ascending the throne. If you win, you are the emperor.

Compared with the Yuan Dynasty who liked to fight with real swords and guns, the Qing Dynasty was more inclined to various intrigues and tricks. Perhaps this is also related to the fact that the princes of the Qing Dynasty generally did not have military power, otherwise there is a high probability that they will fight very well.

The Qing Dynasty did not have a clear succession system, and most of the time it was decided by the emperor himself. Every time the Qing Dynasty changed the throne, it was a game. It was later that after Yongzheng established the secret reserve, he never stopped. In contrast, Jiaqing was definitely lucky. Although he was also a secret reserve, everyone knew that he was the next emperor. They were able to live, and most of the sons were boiled to death, leaving only a few. Among the remaining sons, the oldest and better able one was Jiaqing.

In contrast, Deng Sheng prefers the succession system of the Ming Dynasty. Although the Ming Dynasty also had a battle for the throne in the Battle of Jingnan, why is there so many vassal kings in the Ming Dynasty, and only Ming Chengzu Zhu Di dared to raise troops?In addition to his own strength, the more important thing is that at that time, Prince Zhu Biao, Qin Wang Zhu Yu, and Jin Wang Zhu Yu all died. Among the remaining sons of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, he was the oldest. At this time, he was The eldest son, so after Zhu Biao's lineage ended, he was the most qualified to inherit the throne. After all, at that time, although Zhu Di was powerful, he was not the most powerful. There were still people who were stronger than him. But only he dared to fight.

In the Ming Dynasty, apart from this battle of Jingnan, the rest of the succession of the throne was relatively smooth. Although Zhu Di didn't like Ming Renzong Zhu Gaochi very much, he had to pass on the throne because of Zhu Yuanzhang's ancestral instructions left by the emperor. Zhu Gaochi, because as long as Zhu Xi still recognizes Zhu Yuanzhang as his father, he has to listen to the emperor's instructions.

Among the subsequent emperors, the only ones who had troubles were Ming Muzong and Ming Guangzong. Among the sons of Emperor Jiajing, only two sons lived to adulthood. Although there were fights, Ming Muzong, the oldest, succeeded in the end. The same is true of Ming Guangzong. Ming Shenzong wanted to establish his third son, King Fu. For this reason, he had just been with courtiers for decades, but in the end he still had to pass the throne to Ming Guangzong, the eldest son.

Of course, this system also has drawbacks, that is, if the eldest son is a fatuous and incompetent person, he will harm the entire country, but people, how can he consider so many things? If the emperor's sons are useless, is it possible to choose a wise man from the clan?This is obviously unrealistic.

And Deng Sheng wanted to imitate the patriarchal system of the Ming Dynasty and establish a patriarchal system that belonged to Deng. Although Deng Sheng could not guarantee that each generation of his descendants would be Ming lords, this system guaranteed the smooth transition of the dynasty to a certain extent. , to reduce bloodshed as much as possible.

The founders of the Deng State were not nobles left over from the Zhou Dynasty, and they did not have a special understanding of the patriarchal system. Therefore, although the Deng State has been established for almost 300 years, there is actually no standard inheritance system.

The successor to the throne is generally produced in three forms, one is outstanding ability and is recognized by the king, the other is favored by the king, and the third is that he is so powerful that he forces the king to recognize him.

For example, Deng Sheng at the beginning won the throne only after winning his brothers, and because of this, every change of the throne in Deng State was accompanied by various intrigues and bloody storms.

It was also because Deng Guo did not have a clear succession system that Hu Weiyong dared to contact Deng Zun, because the patriarchal clan of Deng Guo did not clearly stipulate that Deng Hao must be the crown prince and the throne, and he is also a prince. Deng Hao has innate conditions , Deng Zun also has it. If Deng Zun is determined to compete with Deng Hao, although he is at a disadvantage, it is not impossible.

And it was only from Hu Weiyong's actions that Deng Sheng realized the problem that he had neglected for a long time, that is to say, all of Deng Sheng's sons, even if they were not legitimate sons, were actually qualified to inherit the throne, which could easily arouse intrigue in the royal family. Fighting, even bleeding, of course, with Deng Sheng's prestige, as long as Deng Sheng does not nod, Deng Zun and the others dare not take any action, and Deng Hao has been the crown prince for more than ten years, with full wings, it is not so easy Shakeable.

However, the Deng Hao brothers will not have any problems, and there is no guarantee that there will be no problems in the succession of the throne in the future. Deng Sheng has to consider the long-term.

The second is the succession system of titles. Before Deng Sheng ascended the throne, the titles of Deng Guo only had the three ranks of monarch, marquis, and uncle. , Prince, County King, and Honored King were added, and the Duke was subdivided into State Duke, County Duke, and County Duke, a total of ten grades, and according to the merits of each person, the title was awarded, but the title was awarded, but there was no clear title Inheritance and hereditary system.

Surrounding two issues, Deng Sheng, Deng Hao and his son deliberated all night, and finally came up with a general plan.

The first is the inheritance system. The inheritance is mainly based on the father's death and the son's succession, and the brother will end up with the younger brother as the auxiliary.

As for the selection of heirs, there is the principle of establishing the heirs and establishing the elders without a heir. After setting the general direction, Deng Sheng and Deng Hao set the order of the heirs according to the status of the heirs.

The heir prefers the eldest son. If the eldest son dies early and there are heirs, he will be selected from the eldest son and heirs, and ranked according to the elder and younger.

If the eldest son dies early and has no heirs, the second son will be established, and then the second son will be the next generation, and so on.

If there are no sons or grandsons, the eldest son will be established, and the rest of the heirs will be ranked according to their elders and children.

That is to say, in the first house of the son of the eldest son, all the first sons and later grandchildren, and if the first house dies, the next son will be in line, while among the sons of the concubine, if the son dies early, the next son will be in the order, and there will be no immediate successor. Concubine's.

According to the current situation in Deng Guo, Deng Hao, as the eldest son, is the first in line to inherit, followed by the eldest grandson Deng Huan, then the second grandson Deng Song, and then Deng Hao's concubines.

If Deng Hao's lineage can't wait until the day of inheriting the throne, then the throne will fall to Deng Zun, the second-in-law son, and then Deng Zun's first-line son and concubine son. The throne fell to Deng Han, the eldest son of the concubine, but Deng Han did not ascend the throne for a day, and none of his sons had the right to inherit. The second son of the concubine, Deng Yu, was behind Deng Han.

As for when to establish the position of the crown prince, Deng Sheng also made clear regulations. If the son is ten years old and has no physical defects, the position of heir can be determined; The eldest son.

According to the regulations, if the emperor has no heirs, he will have a direct brother and nephew, and if he has no direct brother or nephew, he will pass on the title to his concubine.

After determining the system and order of succession to the throne, Deng Sheng set the rules for the succession and hereditary titles.

There are ten ranks of the titles of Deng Guo. Among them, princes and county kings cannot be awarded unless they are royal families, and honorable kings cannot be awarded unless they have established the country and opened up territories. The rest of the titles are awarded according to their merits.

When Deng Sheng ascended the throne, the two clan generals Deng Ai and Deng Qiang were crowned as county kings, and several of his own brothers were also named county kings. This is a special case.

Next, Deng Sheng made regulations on the conferment of titles of princes and county kings.

The emperor's heirs, after reaching the age of ten, can be granted the title of prince. The prince's title will be hereditary for three generations. Except for the eldest son, other heirs who have reached the age of ten can be granted the title of duke of the country. The title of duke of the country is hereditary for three generations.

Clans without titles are granted a certain salary according to their kinship for living. They can also engage in politics, the army, business, or agriculture.

In addition to the prince, Deng Sheng also made regulations on the titles of the clan women. The emperor's eldest daughter was awarded to the eldest princess, whose status was lower than that of the prince and higher than that of the prince; Women are awarded the title of princess, which is lower than the prince and higher than the county king.

The eldest daughter of the prince's concubine confers the status of the princess as the princess; the eldest daughter of the concubine confers the status of the princess as the princess, and the other daughters confer the status of the prince, which is lower than the prince and higher than the duke.

The eldest daughter of the county king is awarded the title of Wengzhu, which is equal to the status of the princess; the eldest daughter of the concubine is awarded the title of Wengzhu, which is higher than the Duke of the state, and the other daughters are awarded the title of Wengzhu, which is lower than the Duke of the state and higher than the Duke of the county. .

Below the Duke of the State, including the Duke of the State, the women's family members are not granted titles. Like other clans without titles, they enjoy the salary and are banned after marriage.

The above are the relevant regulations on the title of the clan.

The next step is the hereditary and inheritance system of the country's lords. There is nothing to say about the inheritance system. It is the same as the system of succession to the throne. will take it back.

The title of King Xun is not hereditary, and his heirs are awarded the title of Duke of the country, and the rest of the princes are not inherited.

The titles of Duke, County Duke, and County Duke are hereditary for three generations. Except for the eldest son, the rest of the princes do not inherit the title.

Monarchs and marquises are hereditary for two generations. Except for the eldest son, the rest of the princes do not inherit the title. After two generations, the monarch descends to the marquis, and the marquis descends to the earl.

Earls and viscounts are hereditary for one generation. Except for the eldest son, the rest of the sons do not inherit the title. After one generation, the earl descends to the viscount, and the viscount takes back the title.

Giving a title is just a name. The most important thing is the food town. The reward for the food town is usually to allocate a piece of land directly, and the people in it are yours. These people don’t need to pay taxes to the country. It is easy to cause the country's population to be hidden and tax revenue to be reduced, so Deng Sheng directly changed the system of food towns, not giving land, but giving money, that is, the amount of food towns is directly converted into money and food, and it is still based on the year's state taxation.

As long as there is a title, there are [-] households for the eldest princess; [-] households for the princess and prince; [-] households for the princess and the princess; Households; county lords and grand chiefs, [-] households in staple food cities; chief weng lords, and state lords, hereditary [-] households; Weng lords, hereditary [-] households; county lords, [-] households in food towns; county lords, [-] households in food towns; There are [-] households in Shiyi, [-] households in Marquis Shiyi, [-] households in Earl Shiyi, and [-] households in Viscount Shiyi.

These food cities are all private property and cannot be invaded until the title is revoked, and the property generated by the former food city cannot be recovered unless the crime of ransacking the house is committed.

In other words, as long as it is the money obtained by your noble title, unless the court directly ransacks the house, no matter what crime you commit, it cannot be recovered, and the property generated by the female family title, whether it is before or after marriage, belongs to the Individuals, natal family and husband's family are inviolable.

However, Deng Sheng thought that most of the princesses in Chinese history were very powerful, while their husbands were more wronged. First, the status of the princess was high. They all need the help of the princess, which also makes the princess more and more powerful.

So Deng Sheng also specially gave food to his daughter-in-law and husband-in-law, but it was not many, and it was not hereditary.

The husband of the princess is called a son-in-law, and there are five hundred households in the city of food;
The husband of the princess is called a horse, and there are three hundred households in the town;
The husband of the Weng Lord is called Weng Ma, and there are one hundred households in the city of food.

Although they are few and far inferior to his wife, they are still able to be self-sufficient in food and clothing.

"Hao'er, have you remembered everything?" Deng Sheng asked. After discussing the plan, Deng Sheng was in charge of dictation, while Deng Hao was in charge of recording.

Deng Hao stopped writing, nodded, and said: "Return to Father, I have memorized it all, please look over it!" After finishing speaking, he handed it to Deng Sheng.

Deng Sheng looked carefully, but found no discrepancy, so he nodded and said, "Hao'er, you record it in the form of an imperial decree, and then I will cover it with a jade seal and announce it to the world, and then enshrine it in the Taimiao Temple as the ancestor instruction." , future generations must follow, and cannot be changed!"

"Here!" Deng Hao nodded. Deng Hao had no objection to Deng Sheng's decision. After all, once this ancestral precept came out, the biggest beneficiary was his own line. Deng Guo's throne will always be inherited in his own line. In this way, Deng Hao doesn't need to worry too much that his younger brothers will compete with his line. This is the right time and place, and if such a loser, he really can't blame others, and once this ancestral precept comes out, Deng Hao's position will be further consolidated. As long as he doesn't risk his life, the throne will not escape.

"Father, the ancestral precepts only stipulate the patriarchal inheritance system, title inheritance, and eunuchs, but there is no mention of the imperial court's military and political system. My son thinks whether it should be regulated on the ancestral precepts to prevent future generations from doing anything wrong. What?" Deng Hao thought for a while and said.

Deng Hao's intentions were good, he was worried that some unworthy descendants would appear among the descendants of future generations, who would use the power in their hands to misbehave in the court and harm the entire country.

But Deng Sheng shook his head and said: "No need, the times will change, the times will change, and the system can't stay the same. As the saying goes, this time, that time, the current system is suitable for the current situation, but it may not be forever." Appropriate, don't let the ancestors limit the changes, as for future generations, that's their business, we can't think so long-term."

Although Deng Sheng formulated the ancestral precepts this time, he referred to the ancestral precepts of the later generations, but they did not copy them. In addition to the patriarchal system, the ancestral precepts of the Emperor Ming also stipulated the national system, which cannot be changed. In the later period of the dynasty, in the various operations of the country, there was a pool of stagnant water, which remained unchanged, and finally fell behind the world. Although the emperor's ancestral precepts left by Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang stabilized the country and society, it made the country lack the drive for progress and change. Motivation, this is not what Deng Sheng wants to see.

Although Deng Sheng came from later generations, he couldn't think so long-term about the development of this era. Although he didn't stipulate the ancestral precepts, there might be unworthy descendants who behaved mischievously, but he could also make future generations a promising king in the face of the changing times. Time, don't be tied up.

The ancestral system has advantages and disadvantages, but in Deng Sheng's view, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages in the early stage, and the disadvantages outweigh the advantages in the later stage.

In the later dynasties, the most powerful implementation of ancestral precepts was the Song and Ming dynasties. The Ming Dynasty's ancestral precepts directly became a weapon for courtiers to fight against the emperor. In the Song Dynasty, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin did not kill a word Literati, let the civil servants of the Song Dynasty let themselves go, anyway, as long as they don’t rebel, they won’t die. No matter how big a mistake they make, it’s nothing more than exile. If you succeed, you will be famous forever, if you lose, you will start all over again. This also made the civil servants of the Song Dynasty feel confident.

"I understand!" Deng Hao responded.

(End of this chapter)