Li Yuan's father, Li Xun, had four sons in his lifetime, namely Li Cheng, Li Zhan, Li Hong, and Li Yuan. Among them, Li Yuan is the youngest son. However, in the end, Li Xun passed on the title of Duke of Tang to the youngest son, but not to the other three sons who were slightly older.
(Li Yuan stills)
Historical records record very little about the deeds of Li Xun's first three sons. Among them, the eldest son, Li Cheng, had no descendants, and it was speculated that he may have died early. The third son, Li Hong, also had no descendants, and probably died early. However, the second son, Li Zhan, probably did not die, because he also gave birth to two sons, Li Boyi and Li Fengci, both of whom were later crowned kings by Li Yuan.
However, even if Li Cheng and Li Hong died early and Li Zhan was still alive, Li Zhan should also pass it on to Li Zhan when he passed the throne. But why didn't he pass on the throne to him, but to the youngest Li Yuan?
We don't know what kind of person Li Zhan's life deeds are, and we don't know what kind of person he really is. However, from the situation of Li Zhan's two sons, we can roughly infer what kind of person Li Zhan will be. According to historical records, Li Boyi, the King of Longxi Gong, was "arrogant and did not follow the law, and had hundreds of concubines, dragging luo and sorghum meat, and putting it in vocal music to entertain himself." His brother Li Fengci was also absurd." In other words, Li Zhan's two sons are not instrumental. Since the son educated by Li Zhan is so bad, I believe that Li Zhan cannot be better.
Let's take a look at Li Yuan again to see what is excellent about him.
Before looking at Li Yuan, let's first look at the domestic situation at that time.
(Yuwen Tai stills)
At that time, it was the Northern Zhou, and the Northern Zhou evolved on the basis of the Western Wei. The Western Wei Dynasty was a split from the Northern Wei Dynasty. The Northern Wei Split into Eastern Wei and Western Wei, with its Middle Wei evolving into Northern Qi and Western Wei evolving into Northern Zhou. From here we can see how chaotic and turbulent the entire Northern Dynasty was. And even in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, it was turbulent at that time. The founder of Northern Zhou was Yuwen Tai, a powerful minister of Western Wei. When Yuwen Tai died, he asked his nephew Yuwen Hu to support his son Yuwen Jue. Yuwen Jue established northern Zhou, but power was in the hands of Yuwen Hu. In order to control power, Yuwen Hu killed Yuwen Jue and made Yuwen Yu emperor. He then poisoned Yuwen Yu and made Yuwen Yong emperor. Yuwen Yong then killed Yuwen Hu and took control of the power himself.
It can be seen from this that not only the Northern Dynasty, but even the Northern Zhou Dynasty, was very unstable in power. In the struggle for power, what is practical is the law of the jungle. Whoever has the greatest power and the most clever means can control power. And even after Yuwen Yong killed the powerful minister Yuwen Hu, he did not have absolute control over power. During the Western Wei Dynasty, there was an eight-pillar state. These eight-pillar countries still have huge power groups behind them. Among them, Li Xun's father, Li Hu, was one of the Eight Pillar States, the Duke of Tang, who controlled Longxi County. And Li Xun's wife, who was also the daughter of DuGu xin in Hanoi County, one of the Eight Pillar States, was the Duke of Weiguo. It can be seen from this that the power of Li Xun's family was quite powerful in Northern Zhou.
Since Li Xun's power was strong, and at that time, various princes were secretly accumulating power and trying to make a difference. During the Northern Weekend Period, Yang Jian, who was also one of the Eight Pillar States, had already achieved a change of dynasty through his own operation. Therefore, it is certainly impossible to say that Li Xun did not have such a mind. And if you have the heart to get the country into the hands of your own family, you must choose a successor. Perhaps in Li Xun's generation, it is unlikely that the purpose of changing dynasties will be realized. But as long as the successor is selected and the generations continue to operate, it is still possible for his family to succeed.
(Yang Jian stills)
With such a mind, Li Xun had to choose a capable descendant. Why did Li Xun choose his youngest son, Li Yuan, in the end? We have to see what kind of person young Li Yuan really is.
First, Li Yuan likes to make friends. Networking is the foundation of building a country. Having connections and having support means that everyone will help you and support you. When Li Yuan was very young, he liked to make friends very much, so he also had many friends, and these friends were very supportive of him. Therefore, Li Yuan laid an excellent foundation for the Li family to fight in the later period. This is what Li Yuan's father, Li Xun, looks up to him the most.
Second, Li Yuan's appearance is extraordinary. When Li Yuan was very young, there was a man named Shi Shiliang who told Li Yuan that his bones were pure and strange, and he would certainly be very expensive in the future. And Li Yuan himself is also very proud of this point, and has had a very far-sighted vision in looking at the problem since he was a child. Since Li Yuan was so extraordinary, his father Li Xun naturally had to choose him when choosing a successor.
Third, Li Yuan was deeply favored by Yang Jian. Emperor Yang Jian of Sui was very fond of Li Yuan, and Li Yuan was a thousand cattle by Yang Jian's side very early on, equivalent to Yang Jian's personal bodyguard, and Yang Jian's love was definitely also an important reason for Li Xun to pass on the position of heir to Li Yuan. Because from the historical process of the Northern Wei to the Western Wei to the Northern Zhou to the Sui Dynasty, only the people closest to the emperor had the possibility of seizing jiangshan. Li Yuan and Yang Jian were so close together, his possibility was obviously the greatest.
It is precisely because Li Yuan has such an advantage. Therefore, although he was the youngest, Li Xun also passed on the title of Duke of Tang to him.
(References: Book of Zhou, Book of Sui, Old Book of Tang, etc.)