Being an emperor is naturally a happy thing, the whole world belongs to itself, and this feeling of the stars holding the moon is very envious of everyone. However, the emperor was not easy to do, and he had to manage the Manchu Dynasty's culture and martial arts well, and at the bottom he had to care about the living of the people, and every day there were endless pieces of music and folds, and he could not handle endless official affairs, and he could not even sleep well.
Even so, in ancient times, everyone still wanted to be an emperor, not forced, and absolutely no one took the initiative to zen and become the emperor. The first Taishang Emperor in Chinese history was Qin Zhuangxiang's father, Qin Zhuang xiang. The second was Liu Bang's father, Liu Taigong (劉太公), who was also the only one in history who had not been emperor himself, but was revered as emperor.
Looking at so many emperors in our country, it seems that there are very few who have voluntarily abdicated the throne and handed over their power in a timely manner. Most of the emperors who become emperors of taishang are out of three circumstances.
First, be forced by the situation
Li Yuan was the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and when the Xuanwumen Revolution occurred, the emperor was still playing in the boat. When Wei Chi Jingde went to see Li Yuan on the orders of the King of Qin, the emperor suddenly realized that the current situation had been decided. After this battle, Li Shimin seized power, and Li Yuan had to take the throne and become the Emperor Taishang.
Tang Xuanzong Li Longji was also an emperor with a good reputation. He destroyed Wei Hou's party, took Li Tangjiangshan back into his hands, and later executed Princess Taiping, avoiding another seizure of power by foreign relatives. However, in his later years, Tang Xuanzong also made a lot of confusion, and even triggered the Anshi Rebellion.
When An Lushan called, Tang Xuanzong fled with his relatives overnight. After Yang Guozhong was killed and Yang Guifei was forced to die, Tang Xuanzong and the crown prince Li Heng acted separately, and finally Li Heng ascended the throne at Lingwu, and Tang Xuanzong, who had taken refuge in Sichuan, was made emperor taishang. After Li Longji returned to Beijing, this matter was settled.
Song Guangzong made a mistake in the matter of Li Chu, and his empress only gave birth to Zhao Kuo, and according to the theory, he was the natural prince. But Guangzong's father, Emperor Xiaozong, seemed to be more optimistic about Zhao Yu. Zhao Was also the grandson of Emperor Xiaozong of Song and the son of Emperor Guangzong's brother.
In order to establish the reserve, Song Guangzong was even more anxious to get seriously ill. Finally, with the support of the empress dowager, the people supported Zhao Kuo's ascension to the throne and directly honored Guangzong as the Emperor Taishang, and Song Guangzong knew nothing about this matter. Later, he knew that he had become the Emperor Taishang, and his condition became even more serious.
Second, take the initiative to meditate, but still hold real power
Emperor Xuan of northern Zhou, Yuwen Yun ,served as emperor in the first year of Dacheng and took the throne with his eldest son Yuwen Yan. But he still holds the power in his hands, and not only that, he also wantsonly selects beautiful women throughout the country, resulting in excessive indulgence and deterioration of his health. At the age of twenty-two, he died.
In 712, Emperor Ruizong of Tang officially took the throne of Li Longji, the crown prince, and could "divide the three or more and impose great punishment on the emperor, and the rest were decided on the emperor." That is to say, the power to appoint officials above the three pins, as well as the decision-making power of important matters of the state, are still in the hands of Li Dan. Although he was already the Emperor Taishang, he still called himself "Yuan".
Another typical example is emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. Sixty years after Qianlong, the emperor issued an edict to Zen in Jiaqing, but Jiaqing did not have any real power. When envoys from various countries came to see them, Qianlong said to them: "Although the government is under the emperor's government, I will still handle important matters." ”
Third, there have been major historical events
The Rebellion of the Eight Kings broke out in the Western Jin Dynasty, when King Zhao held Emperor Hui of Jin hostage, declaring that Emperor Hui of Jin had taken the initiative to give way to himself, and Emperor Hui of Jin became Emperor Taishang.
During the Yingzong period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a change in the Tumu Fort, and Ming Yingzong was captured by Wa La, and the situation was urgent. Yu Qian and other ministers had no choice but to persuade Empress Sun to support Zhu Qiyu the Prince of Li to ascend the throne. After King Hao ascended the throne, Emperor Yaozun made Emperor Ming of Ming as Emperor Taishang.
Through these three situations, we can know that the emperor generally does not voluntarily abdicate, and even if he voluntarily abdicates, he will not surrender power. In fact, the emperor is in a noble position, and he does not have to take care of things, how good it is to eat and drink all day, why are most emperors unwilling to do it, but instead want to be the emperor who has broken his heart?
The author believes that it is still inseparable from imperial power. For now, the Emperor Taishang is not bad, there is no need to read and fold all day until late at night, and there are so many people waiting. But we cannot look at ancient historical events from the perspective of modern people.
Even if the Emperor Taishang is good, he has no real power in his hands, and others respect you, just look at the emperor's face. If even the emperor does not value you, then life is not as good as ordinary people.
For example, after Li Yuan was forced to abdicate, Li Shimin was superficially very filial to him, but externally he constantly belittled his father, saying that many of the laws formulated by his father during his reign were unreasonable. This made Li Yuan really bitter and unable to say, if he was still the emperor, how could anyone dare to slander him like this.
Tang Xuanzong Li Longji, after he was forced to become the Emperor Taishang, his life in the palace was not good, only Chen Xuanli, Gao Lishi and others loyally accompanied him. Later, Chen Xuanli and Gao Lishi were killed by the adulterers one after another, and Tang Xuanzong had no one to take care of him, and finally he was depressed. If he was still the emperor, how could he end up in such a miserable end.
The emperor controls the power of the world, controls the life and death of all people, and even the degree of eating and wearing of the emperor depends on the emperor's eyes. In ancient times, imperial power was supreme, and for the sake of power, even family affection could be given up, so the emperor only wanted to firmly grasp the power, and to have power was to enjoy happiness.
(References "New Book of Tang", "Old Book of Tang", "History of Song", "Zizhi Tongjian", etc.)