It is said that the most ruthless imperial family, in order to fight for power and profit, brothers and brothers kill each other, killing fathers and brothers can be described as not uncommon in the imperial family. The Xuanwumen rebellion that occurred during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Tang was one of them, and it is rumored that during this coup d'état, Emperor Taizong of Tang forced his father Li Yuan of Tang Gaozu to make himself the new crown prince, and killed Li Jiancheng, who was originally the crown prince, and then naturally became emperor with the era name Zhenguan. On the eve of this coup, the crown prince Li Jiancheng originally got a woman's whistleblowing, but he did not pay attention to this precaution, and eventually led to a tragedy.
After Li Yuan, the Emperor Gaozu of Tang, succeeded to the throne, he made Li Jiancheng crown prince. According to historical records, Crown Prince Li Jiancheng was a generous, benevolent, talented, and talented prince who had a very unique view of the general situation in the world, excellent political and military ability, and was not inferior to Li Shimin's Prince donggong in all aspects. The struggle between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin has also been around for a long time, and we know that Li Shimin's military ability is outstanding, and a large part of the Tang Dynasty was fought down by him, so you can imagine how much authority he holds in his hands, and Li Shimin is ambitious, and he looks down on Li Jiancheng, the prince, from the bottom of his heart. So he has been secretly accumulating forces, waiting for the time to be ripe to overthrow Li Jiancheng.
In fact, Li Jiancheng also knew about Li Shimin's secret recruitment of troops and horses, and he also knew that his military achievements and prestige were inferior to Li Shimin's, and he was jealous, so he always united with his younger brother Li Yuanji, the King of Qi, to exclude and frame Li Shimin together. And Li Jiancheng also has many opportunities to completely eliminate Li Shimin's opponent, but because he is the prince, Li Jiancheng has always occupied the advantage, coupled with the concern for brotherhood, Li Jiancheng did not put Li Shimin to death. Therefore, he gave Li Shimin the opportunity to launch the Xuanwumen Revolution, which eventually made Li Jiancheng lose his life.
On the third day of the first month of June in the ninth year of Wu De (626), on the eve of the Coup d'état at Xuanwumen, it is rumored that on this day, Zhang Jieyu, the favorite concubine of Li Yuan, the emperor of Tang Gaozu, who had a festival with Li Shimin, sent someone to secretly pass on to Li Jiancheng the news that Li Shimin was going to launch a coup the next day. But this was not the case, the news that Zhang Jieyu sent to Li Jiancheng was not directly the news of the coup d'état, and what she told Li Jiancheng was that Li Shimin was exposing their adulterous harem in front of the emperor.
Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, who learned of this matter, did not realize the urgency of this matter, so they did not formulate corresponding countermeasures for this matter. After Li Jiancheng knew about this incident, he thought that he was riding a tiger at this moment, and if he did not go to clarify, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan would think that he acquiesced to Li Shimin's complaint, which would be equivalent to confirming his charge of fornication in the harem, and after that, in the struggle with Li Shimin, he would only become more and more passive.
In order to clarify his innocence and preserve his prestige, Li Jiancheng chose to go to the palace to meet Tang Gaozu Li Yuan and confront Li Shimin face to face. And Li Jiancheng believes that if Li Shimin is convicted of slandering himself on this matter, then he will be even more victorious in this court battle. But how could Li Jiancheng have thought that before Li Shimin could reach the palace, he was ambushed by Li Shimin at the Xuanwu Gate at the north gate of Chang'an Palace, and he died.
After the change of Xuanwu Gate, the situation was finally controlled by Li Shimin, such a development was completely caused by the negligence of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, the national situation at that time was peaceful on the surface, Li Jiancheng thought that he was sitting firmly in the position of prince, and did not pay attention to precautions when Zhao Jieyu reported the whistleblower, and eventually lost jiangshan and his life. This coup shows us a brotherly slaughter for power and profit. The struggle for power and desire has existed since ancient times, and the expansion of power and desire often blinds our eyes, and on the way forward, we must polish our eyes, judge the situation, and take every step.