Li Hong, the eldest son of Wu Zetian and Emperor Gaozong of Tang, was made crown prince in the first year of Xianqing and oversaw the administration of the state seven times. He was filial piety and benevolence, sympathetic to the people's feelings, and was deeply loved by the military officials of the Chinese Dynasty, and Li Zhi of Tang Gaozong also had high hopes for him. However, what is surprising is that in the second year of the first century, Li Hong accompanied him to Luoyang, and suddenly died suddenly in the Qiyun Hall of the Hebi Palace, when he was only 23 years old. Li Hong's death grieved Emperor Gaozong and Wu Zetian of Tang, and he was posthumously honored as Emperor Xiaojing and buried in Gongling with the courtesy of the Son of Heaven.
When Crown Prince Li Hongxue died, Emperor Gaozong of Tang certainly was very sad, and it was not certain whether Wu Zetian was really sad. Because according to the records in the history books, the crown prince Li Hong was most likely poisoned by his mother Wu Zetian. In this regard, Sima Guang recorded in the Zizhi Tongjian: "Hehai, the prince is in the Hebi Palace. At that time, people thought that the Queen of Heaven was also a dove. In addition to Sima Guang, Ouyang Xiu, Song Qi, and others also believed in the New Book of Tang that it was Wu Zetian who poisoned the crown prince Li Hong.
However, although Sima Guang, Ouyang Xiu, and others all believed that Li Hong's death was related to Wu Zetian, they did not produce convincing evidence. However, in ancient times, there was also a saying called empty holes and no wind, if the death of prince Li Hong really had nothing to do with Wu Zetian, then it was obviously impossible for such a record to appear in the history books. It was not until 1995 that an epitaph unearthed in Shaanxi revealed the bestiality of Wu Zetian a thousand years ago (1320), and the history books did not deceive people.
The question of the real cause of death of Crown Prince Li Hong has always plagued historians throughout the ages. Because of the lack of relevant historical materials, no one dared to explicitly say that Li Hong's death was really the work of Wu Zetian, and could only make a rough inference. If Crown Prince Li Hong dies, who will be able to reap the greatest benefits? There is no doubt that this person is Wu Zetian. Although everyone at that time knew that Li Hong's death was related to Wu Zetian, no one dared to say it to the outside world.
In his later years, Emperor Gaozong of Tang had begun to gradually regain power from Wu Zetian, and he began to train the crown prince Li Hong, who handled the imperial government in his place. All that Li Zhi had done was obviously unacceptable to Wu Zetian, and it was impossible for her to give up the power that had already arrived. In this way, there will inevitably be a contradiction between the crown prince Li Hong and his mother Wu Zetian, and Li Hong will become a stumbling block in Wu Zetian's eyes.
Perhaps Wu Zetian did not intend to get rid of Li Hong at first, but as Emperor Gaozong of Tang's health deteriorated, the imperial succession of the Tang Empire had to be put on the agenda, leaving wu Zetian not much time. Because Li Zhi was already planning to cede the throne to the crown prince Li Hong, if Li Hong really became emperor, the situation of the Second Saint Linchao would inevitably be broken immediately. Li Zhi's desire to give up the throne was not an empty phrase, and in the tribute he wrote to Li Hong, he clearly confided his heart: "Shuo Fang wants to take the throne as crown prince, but he can't avoid it, so it is advisable to give his life, to honor his name, and to honor the emperor." ”
Wu Zetian had accompanied Li Zhi for decades, and she must have known Li Zhi's thoughts very well, and since she knew that Li Zhi already had the idea of giving up the throne, she would definitely take action to prevent all this from happening. The only viable way, then, is to get rid of the people who took the throne, so that the problem can be solved once and for all. It is precisely because of such a strong and power-hungry mother that the fate of prince Li Hong was doomed from the beginning.
In fact, not only Li Hong, but also his other younger brothers have also become victims of Wu Zetian's pursuit of imperial power. After the death of crown prince Li Hongxue, Wu Zetian and Li Zhi's second son Li Xian were made crown princes, during which time he supervised the state three times, which was also praised by the courtiers and the public, and also recognized by Li Zhi of Tang Gaozong. But what was his result? It was not long before he was deposed by Wu Zetian on the charge of conspiracy to rebel, and finally killed by Wu Zetian's cool official Qiu Shenji. Although the two brothers Li Xian and Li Dan became emperors, the abolition of the establishment was nothing more than a matter of Wu Zetian's words, and they were completely puppet emperors.
"Entanglement in the ant bed and disaster" and "death with the crane version", these two sentences implicitly indicate that Yan Zhuang's death is deeply related to the sudden death of the crown prince Li Hong. If Yan Zhuang died a normal death, the word "disaster" would not be used in the epitaph.
As the saying goes, the tiger poison is not yet able to eat children, and Wu Zetian poisoned his own son in order to step on the throne, so the beastly behavior is really discolored. However, it is precisely because Wu Zetian has such a ruthless means that he can finally successfully step on the throne! Otherwise, in terms of the status of women in ancient times, if the means were not strong enough, it would be impossible to become an emperor in any case. And Wu Zetian may also realize that what he did was too much, so he erected a wordless monument after his death, leaving the right and wrong deeds to posterity for comment.