Li Chengqi was the eldest son of Emperor Ruizong of Tang, Li Dan, who ceded his position as crown prince to his younger brother, later known as Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, so after his death Li Longji also posthumously honored him as Emperor Rang. As for why he ceded the position of prince to his younger brother Li Longji, I personally believe that Li Chengqi was willing to give up the throne more because of brotherhood and consideration of the overall situation, and that the royal affection between their brothers was indeed rare in history.
The background of Li Chengqi's abdication
In 705 AD, the Five Kings of the Divine Dragon, led by Zhang Kamzhi, launched the "Divine Dragon Revolution" with the support of various political forces. After the end of Wu Zetian's reign, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang was restored to the throne, but Emperor Zhongzong's cowardice caused the subsequent Tang Dynasty to experience several upheavals in just a few years:
In 705, Zhang Kamzhi and others launched the Shenlong Revolution, and Emperor Zhongzong of Tang was restored.
In 706, Seven Princesses such as Princess Taiping and Princess Anle opened the government to take up official positions, and zhang Kamzhi and other five kings of the divine dragon were framed and degraded.
In 707, the crown prince Li Chongjun, who was forced by Empress Wei's mother and daughter and Wu Sansi, launched a coup d'état, killing Wu Sansi's family and weakening the Wu clique. After that, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang intervened in the coup d'état and failed, and the crown prince Li Chongjun was killed.
In 710, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang was poisoned by Empress Wei's mother and daughter, and Wei made Li Chongmao crown prince, and Wei Hou took control of the imperial government.
A month after Emperor Zhongzong's death, Li Longji, with the support of Princess Taiping, contacted the generals of the Wanqi Battalion who were dissatisfied with Wei Hou's abuse of power to launch the Tanglong coup. Kill Wei Hou's mother and daughter and Shangguan Wan'er, and eliminate Wei's party. Princess Taiping presided over the imperial court and established her brother Li Dan on the throne, which was for Emperor Ruizong of Tang.
This was the political situation faced by Li Chengqi, li Dan's eldest son, after Emperor Ruizong of Tang ascended the throne in 710 AD. At that time, although his father Li Dan was emperor, Li Dan, who had always been equally cowardly, was not politically strong. The power of the government was controlled by the political forces headed by her aunt Princess Taiping, and her younger brother Li Longji had a certain reputation among the courtiers because of the merits of the Tang Long coup.
Reserve dilemma
Li Dan had five adult sons, of whom Li Chengqi was the eldest son, and had been made crown prince when Li Dan first ascended the throne. The third son, Li Longji, played a great role in the Tanglong coup and showed a bold personality and strong political ability, so Li Dan was quite hesitant on the issue of Li Chu.
Li Chengqi: As the eldest son of a concubine, and once made a prince, Li Chengqi was the natural candidate for the crown prince in terms of etiquette. However, Li Longji also contributed to sheji, and Li Dan had concerns about re-establishing Li Chengji as crown prince, on the one hand, his political ability needed to be tested, and on the other hand, he was worried about repeating the story of Xuanwumen's change.
Li Longji: Although he made great contributions to the neutrality of the Tanglong coup, Li Longji could not compare with Li Shimin before the Xuanwumen Incident in terms of strength and prestige. He only had some influence among some courtiers, and even the courtiers who supported him as crown prince did not dare to raise it publicly because of the influence of etiquette. As for the power at that time, he was only a prince who had made great achievements and did not have much real power, and the power of the Tang Dynasty was mainly in the hands of Princess Taiping at that time, because the real big man behind the Tang Long coup was actually her.
In the end, this dilemma was solved under the resolute resignation of Li Chengqi, who firmly believed that the country was in an eventful autumn and should establish a virtuous person rather than a long one. His resignation enabled Li Dan to make Li Longji crown prince.
Whether Li Chengqi has the opportunity to compete for reserves
There is a view that Li Longji's power made Li Chengqi wisely choose to withdraw from the battle for the throne of the crown prince. However, just now we have analyzed that in fact, Li Longji's power at the time of giving up the reserve was not too great, and it was not comparable to Li Shimin when he challenged Li Jiancheng's position as crown prince, so Li Chengqi was fully capable of competing for the reserve position.
Li Longji was actually a weak prince, and he was still unstable after being made crown prince. Princess Taiping, who controlled the government, constantly challenged Li Longji and repeatedly publicly demanded the removal of the crown prince, on the grounds that Li Longji was not the eldest son of a concubine and was incompatible with etiquette. If Li Chengqi did not really abdicate the throne, he could completely choose to unite with the Taiping Princess Group, and with the help of the power of the Taiping Princess Group, Li Chengqi was entirely possible to regain the position of prince.
However, Li Chengqi supported his brother throughout the struggle between Li Longji and Princess Taiping. So much so that later, in order to weaken Li Longji's power, Princess Taiping turned to askIng Tang Ruizong Li Dan to release Li Chengqi and others.
Li Chengqi and Li Longji's brotherhood
In addition to this time, judging from the lives of Li Chengqi and Li Longji's brothers, the feelings of the five brothers are really good. This may have something to do with their personal upbringing.
The same year of mutual support: Li Chengqi and Li Longji's childhood was spent in the high-pressure terror of grandma Wu Zetian. Li Chengqi and Li Longji's mother were both killed by Wu Zetian, and the two who lost their mothers at an early age must have a different foundation of brotherly feelings.
Brotherhood of the Five Kings' Mansion: In 698, Li Xian became the crown prince again, and Li Dan retired to the Xiang King, so the five Li Chengqi brothers moved out of the palace to live. Their brothers' houses were all adjacent to each other, hence the name House of the Five Kings. Here the five brothers support each other and have a very good relationship with each other.
It can be seen from this that the brotherhood between Li Chengqi and Li Longji is indeed not false, so his abdication is more based on the overall political situation and brotherhood. He could not unilaterally explain his abdication from the perspective of power conspiracy, and it was precisely because of this that Li Longji still maintained a good relationship with Li Chengqi and others after he ascended the throne and became emperor. Li Chengqi was posthumously honored as Emperor Rang, and the other three of the five brothers were posthumously honored as crown princes, apparently all of them were posthumously honored at a higher level than their own.