The eldest brother voluntarily refused the throne and gave it to his younger brother, and later gave up the woman and was written into poetry
As the "most open" dynasty in Chinese history, the Li Tang Dynasty had many heirs, and a large number of clans served as generals and prime ministers. However, the inheritance of the Li family's throne is far from smooth, and in the history of nearly 300 years, except for Wu Zhou, who was inserted in the middle, almost few princes can safely take over the throne. It is rumored that these emperors and princes have been subjected to a "curse".
This curse came from the founding emperor Li Yuan. When Li Shimin brazenly staged a coup d'état, personally shot his brothers and brothers of his compatriots, and led troops to force his father, it naturally aroused a lot of criticism. Li Yuan lamented the tragedy in front of him, and once said to Li Shimin sadly: "My sons kill each other, and your descendants will do the same in the future!" Although the relationship between father and son seemed to be "reconciled" later, and Li Shimin also relaxed his surveillance of his father, this curse has been passed down. At least among his sons, the struggle was extremely fierce.
However, among the successive princes of the Tang royal family who "continued the tradition", there was a benevolent prince who "understood the great righteousness", and as the eldest son, he took the initiative to resign the position of prince to his father, gave up the future throne, and insisted on ceding it to a younger brother who was not a mother, thus reducing the upcoming chaos and coup d'état, and his life was also very smooth. He was the brother of the famous Tang Ming Emperor, Li Chengqi.
Wu Zetian's son, later Emperor Ruizong of Tang, Li Dan, like his brother, had twice ascended the throne as emperor. At first, when Wu Zetian put him on the throne, the eldest son, Li Chengqi, naturally became the crown prince. He himself knew very well that the power was all in the hands of his mother, and he was a puppet. Sure enough, within 6 years, Li Dan was driven down, and pitifully retained only one position as an imperial heir, whose status was no better than that of Wu Zetian's nephews.
In his later years, Wu Zetian once again brought back the former emperor Li Xian as crown prince. By means of a coup d'état, Li Xian once again ascended the throne as emperor. However, Li Xian's power had always been controlled by Empress Wei, and this woman wanted to be crazy when Wu Zetian wanted to, but she did not have half of her talent. When Li Xian mysteriously died, and Empress Wei and others were secretly mourned, Li Dan's third son Li Longji and his sister, the equally famous Princess Taiping in history, joined forces to prop up Li Dan to the throne.
After Li Dan succeeded to the throne, the first issue to consider was choosing an heir. Originally, the problem was very simple, Li Chengqi was a well-deserved eldest son, and he had been a prince before, and his first succession was not opposed. However, everyone knows that Li Dan is just sitting back and enjoying his success, and it is Li Longji who really contributes. Moreover, although Li Longji is considered a concubine, he has already won the support of some governments and publics, and his prestige is higher than that of Li Chengqi.
Li Dan was very hesitant, on the one hand, he did not want to destroy the ancestral system of "establishing a concubine and establishing a long head", on the other hand, he did not want to see his sons kill for the throne. Li Chengqi was very clever, and he took the initiative to provoke this point to his father. He said that if the country is peaceful, then it will be given priority to appointing me, the eldest son; but now that the country has just come out of the calamity, the position of crown prince should be handed over to a hero like his brother, so that the people of the world can be convinced. At the same time, he tried many times to let his brother succeed to the throne, and he wept a lot about it.
Li Dan was deeply moved, knowing that his son was not "cheating sympathy" with false feelings, but really for the sake of Jiangshan. Li Chengqi is not only benevolent, but also not low in intelligence, he knows that he can't compete, in case he fails, he can't save his life, so he simply gives up freely, in exchange for future human affection and glory. As a result, Li Longji successfully sat on the position of prince, and of course he was very grateful to his brother.
According to historical records, Li Chengqi, who later changed his name to "Li Xian", was greatly respected by his younger brother. He wanted to be a noble prince, so he was given 5,500 fiefs, as well as the honors of opening the house and "Yi Tong Sansi", which was enough to ensure that he had no worries about food and clothing. In addition, as Li Longji's only living brother, the emperor would give his brother a delicious meal every time he received. A monk cured Li Xian of his illness, and Li Longji was so happy that he directly rewarded the equivalent of a five-pin official with a silk robe and a silver fish bag.
Although Li Xian was quite cautious throughout his life, never interfering in politics, and never making friends with ministers and nobles, so that his later deeds were not recorded in the canonical history, his story was still circulated in the folk. Rumor has it that he once bought the wife of a cake vendor and was very fond of the new lover. One day, he inadvertently asked the concubine if she missed her ex-husband, and she just wept silently. Wang Wei, a poet who was present at that time, was very emotional after hearing this, so he wrote a poem that praised future generations, "Lady Xi", with this strange woman in history, praising the current virtuous woman.
Li Xian was also deeply touched after seeing it, so he re-found the vendor and returned his wife to him, so that the bitter couple could be reunited. It can be said that although Li Xian could not get rid of the extravagant habits of the feudal nobility, he still had a conscience in his heart, which was probably the reason why he could spend his old age peacefully and not be jealous.