Alternative-Heir Protection Failure / 备位继承人保护失灵

Alternative-heir protection failure / 备位继承人保护失灵 is the succession pattern Hanji 181 derives from 刘邦’s treatment of 戚姬 / 戚夫人 and 刘如意. Liu Bang considers replacing crown prince 刘盈 with Liu Ruyi, but cannot or does not complete the change. The favored branch is therefore visible enough to threaten 吕雉 and Liu Ying, yet not strong enough to rule.

The failure is not simply that the replacement plan does not happen. The source’s sharper claim is that Liu Bang creates fear and resentment by raising the possibility, then gives the exposed branch only a narrow protection device: 周昌 is sent to Zhao as chancellor after 赵尧 recommends a strong protector. In the host’s reading, Zhou Chang’s prestige cannot substitute for central court power, military command, or a real ministerial base.

This concept is adjacent to 宠爱驱动的立储风险 and 宠幸驱动的废嫡立庶, but it focuses on the aftermath of an incomplete displacement. A ruler’s affection can make an alternative heir dangerous to others; protection failure appears when the ruler then leaves that alternative branch dependent on personal favor or a single official rather than durable institutions.

Hanji 189 adds the failed final push. Liu Bang still tries to move 刘如意 into 刘盈’s place, but 张良 refuses to help, 叔孙通 makes a state-root argument for preserving the crown prince, and 商山四皓 display Liu Ying’s public scholar support. The failure is therefore no longer only thin protection for Liu Ruyi; it is an exposed favored branch after the established heir’s coalition has visibly hardened.

Key Claims

• Hanji 189 adds that once the established heir’s support becomes publicly visible, a failed final replacement attempt can leave the favored branch even more exposed.
• Raising an alternative heir can endanger that branch even if the formal heir is never replaced.
• A protector appointed outside the central power core may signal concern without providing real security.
• Personal favor is weaker than court, military, and factional support when succession becomes a survival contest.
• The established heir branch may read a failed replacement attempt as evidence that it must neutralize future risk.
• The concept differs from simple non-designation because the danger comes from an announced or attempted alternative, not silence.

Connections

• Hanji 189, 刘邦, 刘盈, 刘如意, 戚姬 / 戚夫人, 吕雉, 叔孙通, and 商山四皓 - final failed replacement attempt after Liu Ying’s support network becomes visible.
• 刘邦, 戚姬 / 戚夫人, 刘如意, 刘盈, and 吕雉 - source case.
• 周昌, 赵尧, and 赵国 - protective arrangement whose limits define the concept.
• 宠爱驱动的立储风险 and 宠幸驱动的废嫡立庶 - upstream succession pressures.
• Autocratic Succession, Succession Non-Designation Risk / 未定继承人风险, and 靠山更替暴露风险 - adjacent succession and patron-dependence frames.
• 同姓王分封 - Liu Ruyi’s royal title becomes a platform for protection and exposure, not only territorial control.