Among the royal families of ancient China, there was a very special identity, which was the Taishang Emperor. The so-called Emperor Taishang refers to the living but Zen emperor, but there is a huge problem in this, that is, the distribution of imperial power. Political struggles have always been bloody and cruel, and even fathers and sons and brothers will lose their emotions in the face of the throne, so there are not many Taishang emperors in Chinese history. However, the Tang Dynasty was an exception, there were four Taishang Emperors in the Tang Dynasty, and most of them were very famous emperors in history, they were: Tang Gaozu Li Yuan, Tang Ruizong Li Dan, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji, Tang Shunzong Li Shu.
Most of the Emperor Taishang of the Tang Dynasty were princes of the prosperous world, but on their way to becoming Emperor Taishang, the struggle around imperial power was no less than that of the prince to seize the throne. Almost all of these four Emperors, except for Li Xuan, were forced to abdicate, and their later life after abdication also revealed the cruelty of the power struggle.
The founding emperors of successive dynasties basically did not pass the throne to the prince until after death, and very few became the emperor. Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, had the same idea, but what he did not expect was that he eventually became the first Emperor Taishang of the Tang Dynasty. In the ninth year of Wude (626), the Xuanwumen Incident broke out, and Li Shimin killed his brothers Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji. Seeing that the general trend was gone, Li Yuan was forced to make Li Shimin the crown prince, and two months later he "took the initiative" to abdicate, Li Shimin succeeded to the throne, and Li Yuan became the Emperor Taishang. The Zizhi Tongjian records: "The system is located in the prince; The prince insisted that he would not allow it. The record of this passage may be true, but as for the real situation, presumably Li Yuan and Li Shimin know it.
As the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan could not have no power in the dynasty, and there was probably no shortage of old ministers in Li Yuan's clique who persuaded him to seize power with Li Shimin. However, Li Yuan saw it more thoroughly, or that he had no choice, he had already lost his two sons, and he did not need to fight with Li Shimin to the death. Li Yuan hopes that through cooperation, he can enjoy his old age in peace. However, Li Yuan did not expect that his life after becoming emperor taishang was not leisurely. The Zizhi Tongjian records that when Li Shimin was taking refuge in the summer, Yushi Ma zhou advised him: "The Emperor Taishang still stays in the summer, while His Majesty lives alone in the cool place." "A Taishang Emperor, but he is not even qualified to live in the summer palace, presumably Li Shimin did not take Li Yuan too seriously."
In addition to his material life, Li Yuan's spiritual life was not very pleasant. After staying away from politics, Li Yuan's favorite thing was to talk about the past with his former old ministers, but Li Shimin dismissed all the old ministers who had a good relationship with Li Yuan, and even the capital city would not let them stay. At this time, Li Yuan was of course nominally still the honorable Emperor Taishang, but his actual status and power were probably not even as good as one of Tang Taizong's favorite concubines. A generation of founding emperors, in their later years, the situation is so miserable, it is inevitable to lament.
The second Emperor Ruizong of the Tang Dynasty suffered a very similar situation to Li Yuan, but at the beginning of his abdication, his situation was much better than That of Li Yuan. Tang Ruizong was actually a puppet emperor during his reign, and as a son of Wu Zetian, as long as his mother lived, he could not have real power. However, Ruizong Li Dan's personality is very similar to Sima Yi's, and for his mother's domineering, he has followed two words: forbearance. Wu Zetian asked Li Dan to abdicate, and he immediately gave the throne to his mother, and then to his brother Li Xian. In short, Li Dan is a sentence: I am a good puppet, don't kill me. It is no wonder that even the "Zizhi Tongjian" commented on him: "King Xiang is generous and respectful, and he is peaceful and good, so the world of Jingwu and Wei is exempt from difficulties."
Ruizong wanted to be patient, but his son Li Longji was unwilling to endure. Li Longji was a male lord who led an army to eliminate the Wu clique, and then put his father Ruizong back on the throne. Emperor Ruizong knew that he could play an important role in becoming the emperor's son again, so he soon made Li Longji crown prince. However, the situation at this time was very delicate, Li Dan was the emperor, but Li Longji's prestige had gradually surpassed him, but Princess Taiping was not willing to be lonely and confronted Li Longji tit-for-tat.
The end result of the struggle was that Princess Taiping was forced to commit suicide, Li Dan announced his abdication, and Li Longji became emperor. Hong Mai praised Li Dan in the "Essays of Rong Zhai": "The Wei Rui Sect feared the Heavenly Precepts, sent out of sincerity, and was represented in the annals of history. However, in fact, Li Danchan was probably forced to do so. At the beginning of his abdication, Emperor Taishang Li Dan lived a leisurely life, and Li Longji was still relatively filial to him. However, as a puppet emperor, Li Dan was seized power by his mother, stripped of the throne by his brother, and finally forced to abdicate by his own son, and whether his later life as emperor Taishang was happy or not, I am afraid that only he himself knows.
And Tang Xuanzong Li Longji probably would not have thought that what he did to his father, his son still drew gourds to him again. Li Longji is a male lord, and most of the male lords are not very concerned about feelings, which is vividly displayed in Li Longji. Li Longji's possessiveness of imperial power was strong, and at first Wu Huifei framed the crown prince Li Ying and three other princes, saying that there were thieves in the palace and letting them wear armor into the palace, and when the three princes entered the palace, Wu Huifei and Tang Xuanzong said that the prince had rebelled. Tang Xuanzong was furious and involuntarily put his three sons to death, which was enough to show his fierceness. Li Heng grew up in such an environment, and the tragic deaths of Li Ying's three reminded him of his father's cold blood. Therefore, after the change of Ma Song, Li Heng announced his ascension to the throne without any psychological guilt, and Li Longji was forced to become the Emperor Taishang.
However, Li Heng was still very filial to his father Li Longji, Li Longji would always taste Li Heng when he ate, Li Longji took a car Li Heng even drove for him personally, and Li Heng, a precious tribute in the dynasty, would also be given to Emperor Taishang. Regardless of whether Li Heng's move was a show or not, Li Longji's life in his later years was still very pleasant at the beginning. However, an incident in Li Longji's later years exposed Li Heng's true attitude towards his father.
The most leisurely part of Li Longji's later years is that he has many old ministers around him, such as Gao Lishi, Chen Xuanli and others who have always been loyal to him. However, the powerful minister Li Fuguo was very dissatisfied with Gao Lishi and others, so he framed gaolishi and others in front of Li Heng and said that GaoLishi and others had plotted against emperor Taishang. The history books record that Li Heng did not believe it, so Li Fuguo corrected the edict and led hundreds of swords and axemen to surround Li Longji and others, and let Li Longji move. Li Longji was so frightened that he was half dead, and he quickly withdrew from the Xingqing Palace without asking about the affairs of the court. And Gao Lishi and others were deposed and even exiled, Li Heng also selected more than a hundred eunuchs to serve the Emperor Taishang, as to whether to serve or monitor, I am afraid that Li Heng himself knows best. After this blow, Tang Xuanzong's health deteriorated, and he finally died in 762 at the age of seventy-eight.
The last Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Shunzong Li Shu, was the most special emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he was the crown prince for twenty-five years, and was threatened by eunuchs shortly after succeeding to the throne, and finally Zen was placed in the position of prince Li Chun, who called himself Emperor Taishang. Soon after, Tang Xianzong announced that Tang Shunzong was critically ill and that Li Xuan died the next day. Some people speculate about Li Xuan's death that he was killed by a eunuch, but no one knows the truth.
Looking at the four Emperor Taishang of the Tang Dynasty, you will find that their later years of life seem to be not very pleasant, and some of their situations are even very miserable, which is a difference from their vigor during their reign. In fact, in the final analysis, most of these emperors are the losers of political struggles, they were once the owners of imperial power, but in the end they became victims of imperial power, which is the cruelty of power struggle.
Resources:
"Zizhi Tongjian" Sima Guang
"Rong Zhai Essay" Hong Mai