As one of the few enlightened emperors in China's history, Tang Taizong Li Shimin made great military achievements for the unification of the Tang Dynasty. Intelligent and decisive, he was good at using soldiers, and launched the "Xuanwumen Revolution" in the ninth year of WuDe, so he was made crown prince.
After Li Shimin ascended the throne, he ruled the world with civility at home, and created the rule of Zhenguan; he opened up territory and expanded the territory to lay a solid foundation for the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.
Regrettably, Li Shimin eventually chose the cowardly Jin king Li Zhi as his successor, but the result was the tragedy of Empress Wu's dictatorship and changing Tang to Zhou. As a result, the imperial power of Li Tang fell by the wayside for decades, almost ruining the national zuo of the Li Tang Dynasty.
Then, Tang Taizong Li Shimin knew that Li Zhi was cowardly and could not be a great responsibility, but why did he choose him to be his successor?
Back in 643, the crown prince Li Chengqian was imprisoned for treason, and just after Emperor Taizong of Tang abolished Li Chengqian's position as crown prince, Li Tai, the prince of Wei, followed him every day to serve him diligently.
During this period, Emperor Taizong of Tang promised to make Li Tai crown prince. For this decision of Emperor Taizong, Zhongshu Shilang Cen Wen and Shi Zhong Liu Huan all expressed their approval, but Situ Changsun Wuji opposed it and insisted on making Li Zhi the Prince of Jin crown prince.
Just after Emperor Taizong of Tang agreed to make Li Tai crown prince, Li Tai once said to him: "Until today, I have become the true son of Your Majesty, and this is the day of my rebirth!" Your Majesty, I have only one son, and when I die, I will definitely kill him and pass the throne to the King of Jin..."
Tang Taizong was very touched after hearing this, so he gave these words to the ministers and sighed: "Where under the heavens is there a father who does not love his son?" I was very relieved to see him being able to do this, and I liked him very much! ”
At this time, Chu Suiliang, the counselor, stood up: "What Your Majesty just said seems unreasonable, please think twice, so as not to make a big mistake." Your Majesty thinks for a moment, after you 'long live', if the King of Wei wins the world, how can he kill his only son and pass the throne to the King of Jin? Moreover, It is because His Majesty has already made Chengqian the crown prince, and because he has favored Li Tai, the King of Wei, too much, and the treatment given to him has far exceeded that of Chengqian, so it will lead to today's changes..."
Chu Suiliang's heartfelt words were to let Tang Taizong take this as a lesson, and if he insisted on making Li Tai the Prince of Wei the crown prince, the best way was to dispose of Li Zhi, the King of Jin, first, so that everyone would be at ease.
In the face of Chu Suiliang's advice, Tang Taizong burst into tears: "I can't do it..." After saying that, he got up and went back to the palace.
According to the Zizhi Tongjian, at that time, Li You, the fifth son of Emperor Taizong of Tang, was killed for launching a rebellion; and Li Yuanchang, the prince of Han, who was the younger brother of Emperor Taizong of Tang, was also executed for participating in the plot of the crown prince, so Emperor Taizong was in a very bad mood.
Just after Li Chengqian's position as crown prince was abolished, Li Tai, the king of Wei, was very worried that Tang Taizong would make Li Zhi the Prince of Jin the crown prince, so he said to Li Zhi: "You have always had friendly relations with the King of Han, and now that he has an accident, don't you have any worries at all?" Listening to Li Tai's words, Li Zhi felt fearful and uneasy, and he frowned all day long.
After Tang Taizong saw Li Zhi's sad face, he couldn't help but feel very strange, so he asked why. Li Zhi told his father Li Shimin what Li Tai had said to him, and his father was very surprised when he heard it, and at the same time began to regret that he should not say that he wanted to make Li Tai the crown prince.
Recalling that when he scolded Li Chengqian for plotting rebellion, Li Chengqian said: "I have already become a prince, what else can I ask for?" If it weren't for the persecution of Li Tai, the King of Wei, in order to protect himself, but did not want to be provoked by the bad guys, he would have done something deviant... If His Majesty really wanted to make him crown prince, he would have fallen into his trap. ”
Thinking about it, Tang Taizong was even more uneasy about Li Tai, the King of Wei.
Once, in the palace, Tang Taizong said to several of his confidant ministers, "It is not painful for the three sons and one younger brother of Yuan's three sons to do such a thing!" After saying that, he turned around and crashed into the head of the bed, and under the scramble of the ministers, Tang Taizong pulled out the saber again and tried to commit suicide, but fortunately, Chu Suiliang quickly grabbed the saber and handed it to Li Zhi.
Tang Taizong said that now he wanted to make Li Zhi the Prince of Jin the Crown Prince, but he was afraid that some of the civil and military officials would not refuse, and he did not know what the public opinion outside was. Eldest Sun Wuji said, "The King of Jin is kind and filial, the people of the world have long since returned to their hearts, Your Majesty, please rest assured, if anyone dares to oppose, I will cut off his head!" ”
On the same day that Emperor Taizong of Tang made King Jin crown prince, Li Tai, the King of Wei, led more than a hundred cavalry to Yong'an Gate, and when Emperor Taizong learned of this, he ordered the officials guarding the gate to stop the cavalry, bring Li Tai into the Zhangmen Gate and imprison him in the Beiyuan. Immediately afterward, Emperor Taizong of Tang issued an edict establishing Li Zhi, the King of Jin, as crown prince for Emperor Gaozong of Tang.
After this, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, once said to his attendants: From now on, if any prince has no way and the king of the clan wants to replace him, he will depose them together as a system for future generations.
We can see from Tang Taizong Li Shimin's words that the reason for his establishment of Li Zhi as crown prince could not be clearer: Tang Taizong was also forced to do so! At the beginning, in order to become emperor, he himself made the brothers fight each other, and the final result was that his brothers were killed and the father and son were at odds, so now he did not want such a tragedy to repeat itself on his sons.
What's more, Tang Taizong knew very well in his heart that if Li Tai, the king of Wei, were to be made crown prince, Li Chengqian and Li Zhi would definitely lose their lives; on the contrary, although Li Zhi was cowardly in temperament, he was benevolent in nature, and if he were made crown prince, Li Chengqian and Li Tai would be safe and sound, and their lives would be worry-free.