" 'If I were to grant your wishes and bestow fiefs, in a few years, the overseas kingdoms bestowed upon would seek to harm the Nine States. What then?' "
"The First Emperor and Li Si disliked the system of feudalism. Not only did it undermine centralized power, but also due to the lessons of Zhou, which had caused a hundred years of chaos due to its feudal system, they believed that it was not a sustainable solution."
Having experienced this period of chaos, the First Emperor and Li Si naturally did not want to return to the feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty, which would have led the world back into a time of great division.
The Records of the Grand Historian states: "Lǐ Sī, the judge of the court, proposed: 'Under the Zhou Dynasty, many princes were granted fiefs with the same surname as the kings. However, they became distant and alienated, attacking each other as enemies. The feudal lords frequently carried out extermination campaigns against each other, and even the Zhou emperor was unable to prevent it.'"
On the vast land of the Nine States, even when members of the same family separate for a long time, their relationships become strained, leading to mutual attacks akin to enmity. How much more so when territories are granted outside the Nine States, with greater distance from heaven and earth and the emperor? How can those feudal lords not harbor ill intentions when they are bestowed fiefs overseas?"
Given Ying Zheng's understanding of the human heart, it's not a matter of possibility but certainty.
The feudal lords bestowed with fiefs overseas would surely covet the Nine States, leading to even more brutal warfare and mutual extermination.
Li Nian said straightforwardly, "I am also unable to resolve this!"
The First Emperor stared at him, "If you can't resolve it, why did you even propose this solution?"
"The First Emperor frowned, pondering Li Si's words. It was true that with the might of the Qin Dynasty at present, it was indeed impossible to solve this problem. However, Li Si continued, 'Instead of waiting for foreign tribes to attack us from the outside, why not take these places over and make them part of our Qin territory? That way, even if the kings overseas have malicious intentions in the future, it will be akin to a feud within a family. The flesh will rot in the pot.'"
Li Nian's meaning was clear: The king desires to rule over all the lands of the world, which is currently unattainable. However, if we do not occupy these overseas territories now, they will be taken over by barbarians.
These barbarians may also attack the Han Dynasty in the future. It would be better to occupy the feudal lords first, even if they rebel and engage in mutual attacks in the future, it would still be a conflict between brothers, not an invasion by foreigners.
It's better for the flesh to rot in the pot of Han than to be stolen and consumed by foreign tribes!
Win Zhao thought for a moment and realized that this system of feudalism was the only way he could control such a vast territory. Unless he chose to ignore the lands outside of Qin and adopt a policy of isolationism, focusing solely on the land within Qin.
As a ruler with an intense desire for conquest, how could he possibly let such a large territory be in the palm of his hand without occupying it?
It is recorded in history that Emperor Qin was greedy, and this is not untrue. Almost all rulers are greedy. But who among the common people would not be greedy?
Moreover, these lands were not as originally thought, barren places. Some were even more fertile than the Nine States, and he also wanted to make the Qin Dynasty the first never-setting sun empire in the history of China.
This is a choice for Emperor Qin: either you don't want overseas feudalism, then give up the overseas territories, or if you don't want to give up the overseas territories, then you must implement overseas feudalism.
The First Emperor suddenly realized that this boy had been answering for quite some time, but it seemed he hadn't given a serious answer to how to resolve the issue of the heir. That is, how to ensure that the successor who would ascend to the throne after his sudden death was the one he intended to choose, and not be manipulated by others into a conspiracy, just as Li Nian had said about what happened in history?
The First Emperor said immediately, "Your words have made me understand, but I wish to know how to avoid the situations of Zhao Gao, Hu Hai, and Li Si?"
The best solution to this problem naturally is to establish an heir beforehand, or to create a system of inheritance that everyone recognizes and must abide by.
Why was the eldest son inheritance system so popular in ancient times?
Were the ancients that foolish, unable to see the harm in this system, or unaware that the eldest son may not necessarily be the most outstanding among them?
The ancients, of course, recognized the shortcomings of this system, but compared to its advantages, the eldest son inheritance system had more benefits than drawbacks. Therefore, it was chosen.
Must we adopt the secret system of appointing an heir in our Qing Dynasty?
Although it appears convenient at first glance, once you delve into it, you'll discover that there are many problems as well. For example, when no one knows who will ascend the throne, it's better to either refrain from ascending or reduce competition. Therefore, the descendants of Qing emperors after Guangxu had relatively few children.
The entire imperial harem of the Qing Dynasty became a dark forest, where anyone who got pregnant faced a gun: "What, she's pregnant? It might be a son? I don't get along with her, and if she gives birth to a son, what's good for me? I need to find a way to get rid of it."
Li Nian also couldn't come up with a perfect solution. He said, "To avoid situations like Haixia Prince, Zhao Gao, and Li Si falsifying the will and plotting to change the succession, Your Majesty, I think we should establish a succession system that everyone must abide by. However, no system is perfect, and there are always defects. My wisdom is limited, so I will leave it to Your Majesty to decide!"
"Subsequent dynasties' inheritance systems can generally be divided into: establishing the most virtuous, the eldest son, secret appointment of heirs, and the selection of the king's favorite. Establishing the most virtuous is to choose the most virtuous one from all the princes, and this method has its advantages in selecting a virtuous successor who will not usually lead his dynasty to ruin when he inherits the throne."
The reason for using the word "usually" is that Li Nian thought of Guangshen. Remember when Yang Yong was still a prince, how virtuous Guangshen appeared. However, after becoming an emperor, Guangshen was so unrestrained.
The person seemed to have unleashed their primal instincts all at once. If Guanluo, his mother, saw the later performance of Guangshen, she would probably be so shocked that she would drop her jaw: Is this my virtuous second son?
"But the drawback of this method is that it easily leads to disputes among the various princes, resulting in internecine struggles between royal descendants. The prince who ascends to the throne often needs to eliminate his relatives through bloodshed, which is not conducive to national stability."
In the early years, Er Feng did not have a good head, leading to a dynasty filled with bloodshed and "filial piety" most of the time. Have you not seen the Xuanwu Men Inheritance Law?
Of course, Er Feng also had no choice. If he didn't kill his brothers, they would kill him, especially Li Yuanji, who was eager to eliminate Er Feng.
"The eldest son inheritance system, also known as the 'right of the line', is the most commonly adopted inheritance system in later dynasties. Its advantage lies in stability, as it is unlikely to lead to situations like those involving Haixia Prince, Zhao Gao, and Li Si, as everyone knows who should ascend to the throne according to this system."
"But the disadvantage of this system is that the eldest son may not be outstanding or favored by the king. If the eldest son is a incompetent and cruel individual, he will still inherit the throne according to this system, which may lead his dynasty to ruin."
"Another is the secret appointment of heirs, a system established by the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, the last dynasty in China. Its advantage is that it reduces the struggles among princes, and ensures that the succession of the throne does not become a chaotic and bloody affair on the surface, thus better securing the safety of the heir to the throne."
"However, the secret appointment of heirs means that before the secret edict is revealed, no one knows who will be the next emperor. Then how can we cultivate the base for the prince and improve his abilities?"
"The secret edict will only be retrieved and read after the previous emperor's death, and no one knows who will be chosen as the emperor until then. If the new emperor is completely unprepared and suddenly ascends to the throne, he may not be familiar with all his ministers, so how could he truly have the ability to govern a dynasty?"
"And, after the implementation of the secret appointment of heirs, the number of Qing emperors' descendants decreased rapidly, and eventually even reached a point where there were no sons left to inherit. This is not without reason due to this aspect as well."
It is said that the secret appointment of heirs was only used three times in the Qing Dynasty: by Yanyan for Yifan, by Yifan for Jiaging, and by Daoguang for Xianfeng.
However, in reality, Xianfeng had only one son (Tongzhi), who did not require a secret appointment of heirs. Tongzhi also had no sons, and his cousin Zaitian (Guangxu) succeeded him. Guangxu also had no sons, and his nephew Pu Yi succeeded him.
There was no need for a secret appointment of heirs.
