Since ancient times, imperial power, the supreme power of the feudal era, has been the coveted and coveted thing of many people. Throughout the history of our country, the struggle for imperial power has led to the tragedy of countless relatives and friends turning against each other and killing each other, and there are also many ministers who have already stood at the peak of power and forcibly forced the monarch to make concessions in order to formally exercise imperial power at the expense of being cursed by future generations.
However, in the long and long history, there have also been figures who have taken the initiative to hand over imperial power to others. In the two major dynasties of ancient China, the Han and Tang Dynasties, there was a prince who gave up the throne, and they were Liu Jiang and Li Xian. As princes, they could have justifiably inherited the unification, but they took the initiative to give way to the sages, thus completing the two prosperous dynasties of the Han and Tang dynasties, and their character deserved respect.
Liu Jiang, also known as Liu Qiang, was the eldest son of Liu Xiu, the founding prince of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu, and empress Guo Shengtong. At the beginning, when Liu Xiu had not yet developed, he once admired Yin Lihua, and for this reason he also left a famous saying that "Shi Eunuch should be a Jinwu, and marry a wife should be Yin Lihua". Unfortunately, although Liu Xiu officially married Yin Lihua after the Battle of Kunyang, after ascending the throne, he was forced by political factors to appoint Guo Shengtong, the niece of Liu Yang the Prince of Zhending, as empress.
Liu Xiu, who was deeply in love with Yin Lihua, always had no affection for Guo Shengtong, who was married for the purpose of political marriage, and Liu Jiang, as their son, although he was made crown prince according to the primogeniture system shortly after birth, was obviously not the real candidate in Liu Xiu's mind. In the seventeenth year of Jianwu (41), Guo Shengtong was deposed by Liu Xiu without committing any major transgressions, while Yin Lihua was successfully promoted to empress after serving as a nobleman for many years.
Although Liu Jiang was only seventeen or eighteen years old at the time, he also understood the embarrassing situation he was in. Therefore, he repeatedly offered to resign from the position of prince, and two years later he was deposed as the prince and renamed the King of the East Sea. Liu Xiu knew Liu Jiang's "knowledge of current affairs", so he specially allowed one of them to be granted the title of twenty-seven counties of the two countries.
After Liu Jiang abdicated the throne, Liu Xiu made liu Zhuang, the eldest son of himself and Yin Lihua, crown prince, the future Emperor Ming of Han. After Liu Zhuang ascended the throne, he further exerted efforts on the basis of Liu Xiu's governance, and also sent Ban Chao to the Western Regions, strengthening the ties between the Han Empire and the western regions. Under the efforts of the Han Ming Emperor Liu Zhuang and his successor Liu Ju of Han Zhang, the world entered a period of prosperity and stability, known in history as the "rule of Ming Zhang".
#Kaiyuan Shengshi #Next, let's look at Li Xian. Li Xian was born in the first year of Emperor Gaozong of Tang (679) and was the eldest son of Emperor Ruizong of Tang, Li Dan. At the beginning of Li Dan's reign, he made Li Xian the Prince of Yongping County, and officially made him crown prince when he was six years old. After the Shenlong coup d'état broke out, Wu Zetian was forced to abdicate, and Emperor Zhongzong of Tang succeeded in restoring the throne. However, the Wei hou rebellion immediately occurred, and Li Xian's younger brother Li Longji joined forces with Princess Taiping to launch the TangLong coup d'état, not only removing the Wei hou clique, but also supporting Li Dan's restoration.
After Li Dan ascended the throne again, although he was nominally the king of a country, Li Longji, who almost single-handedly held him on the throne, was undoubtedly the real hero. On the other hand, Li Longji's ability and skill in the Tang Long coup also impressed the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu and accumulated a lot of prestige for him. Under these circumstances, Li Xian took the initiative to ask Li Longji, who had made great contributions at the time of the difficulty of establishing the country, to be crown prince, and not only did he "weep and weep for days and give in, but he even said it to the point", but even asked for death.
Finally, Li Longji was made crown prince, and Li Xian was successively given the titles of Sikong and Taiwei after Li Longji took the throne. In the fourth year of the new century (716), Li Xian was crowned the King of Ning, and despite his extremely high status, he always maintained a cautious and respectful attitude and never discussed political affairs, so the brotherly feelings with Li Longji have always been quite harmonious.
On the other hand, after ascending the throne ceded by his brother, Li Longji chose to be able and diligent in his administration, creating the famous "Kaiyuan Prosperous Era". However, with Li Longji's slacking of government and decentralization in his later years, the Tang Dynasty gradually declined, and it was difficult to recover for a long time after suffering from the Anshi Rebellion.
In the first year of Yongping (58), Liu Jiang fell ill and died in the second year of Liu Xiu's death, and Liu Zhuang was deeply saddened by the death of his brother, and then buried him thinly, in order to "show the ambition of King Zhuo'er to go it alone". In November of the twenty-ninth year of the new century (742), Li Xian died at the age of sixty-three, and Li Longji wept bitterly after hearing the news, and the next day issued an edict to honor this selfless brother as "Emperor Jean".
To sum up, Liu Jiang and Li Xian can be said to be two very special figures in the history of our country, they are the eldest sons of their respective fathers, they have all sat on the throne of the crown prince, and they have also chosen to give up the throne. It is true that the reason why they abdicated the throne can be said to be forced by the situation and pressure, but just as the so-called "time-conscious people are Junjie", they can recognize the situation they are in, and suppress their desire for imperial power, and make concessions, which shows that they are at least quite rational and sensible. In the face of great temptations and being able to make up their minds unswervingly, and finally completing the rule of Ming Zhang and the prosperous era of Kaiyuan, Liu Jiang and Li Xian are worthy of praise and respect.