Emperor Shunzong of Tang ascended the throne in the first month of the twenty-first year of Zhenyuan (805), but in September of the year before he ascended the throne, he suffered a severe stroke. After becoming ill, Li Shu not only had difficulty in moving, but also struggled to speak, relying on the favored concubines and eunuchs around him, others could understand what he wanted to say.
At this time, his father, Tang Dezong, was in a critical condition. The emperor and the crown prince fell ill at the same time, causing the emperor to die until his death, and the crown prince Li Xuan could not see his father in person!
After Tang Shunzong ascended the throne, although his health was not optimistic, he launched a series of reforms, which are known in history as the "Yongzhen Innovation". However, because the reform process touched the interests of eunuchs, there were also divisions within the reformers. Tang Shunzong was emperor for only eight months, but was forced by the eunuch Ju Wenzhen and others to give the throne to the crown prince Li Chun (Tang Xianzong), becoming the shortest reigning Emperor Taishang.
However, the most controversial thing is not his short career as emperor, but his bizarre death. Four months later, in the first month of the first year of the Yuan And Yuan Dynasty (806), Tang Shunzong suddenly died of health reasons. As for the cause of Tang Shunzong's death, many people believe that Tang Xianzong colluded with eunuchs to kill him. And based on a creepy and strange novel "Xin Ping Shangxian Ji", the inside story of Tang Shunzong's murder was revealed!
Li Chun
"The Book of Xin Ping's Shangxian" pretends to be two officials who went to the capital to take up posts, Xin Gong and Cheng Shilian, and met Wang Zhen, the "greeter" of the underworld, and Wang Zhen's mission is to "welcome the emperor to ascend to immortality"!
Xin Pingli witnessed the whole process of the "Emperor Ascension": five hundred heavily armed troops easily entered the inner courtyard of the palace, and the guards seemed to be bought off and let them go all the way. The Divine Strategist Army at the Emperor's side was invited to attend a banquet, and Wang Zhen and the "Great General" men and horses surrounded the Divine Strategist Army in the banquet.
Then they led fifty men straight to the emperor's residence. The emperor was watching the song and dance, and a strange man dressed in green and black pants pulled out a golden dagger and shouted in a voice that was neither male nor female: "The time has come!" Then he knelt down and offered the dagger to the emperor. The emperor was dizzy, and surrounded by a group of people, entered the inner chamber.
The great general kept urging the inside outside not to delay the emperor's time to go to the immortals, and replied inside that the emperor needed to clean the imperial body. After the emperor took a bath, he was helped to the imperial carriage. The Great General led all the horses and horses out of the palace in a crowd. Behind them, the concubines of the palace, holding blood in their hands, followed the car and cried all the way!
Lee chanted
This absurd novel is considered by many historians to be the only historical evidence of Tang Shunzong's murder! Of course, there are also different opinions.
Treating novels as historical evidence is probably unique in the era of history! The reason is that Tang Shunzong died strangely, and no record can be found. Historians believe that the author is likely to be the first person who witnessed the killing of Tang Shunzong, and presented this history to everyone in a strange novel.
Did Tang Shunzong die strangely? There is indeed a point! The biggest point is that the day before Tang Shunzong's death, Tang Xianzong announced to the world in the form of an edict that emperor Taishang was critically ill. This practice is not in line with the convention, and it is a bit of a meaning to cover up. Of course, there are other doubts, such as the fact that the place where the critical illness and death were declared was not a place.
Some people even speculate that Tang Shunzong was probably killed in the second month of his zen reign because of the "Luo Lingze Incident". The murderer must be Ju Wenzhen, and it is very likely that the person behind the curtain is Tang Xianzong.
So, what exactly caused Tang Shunzong, who was praised by later generations, to be forced to take the throne after only eight months as emperor, and only four or five months later, he suddenly died?
Wang Shuwen
Political struggle! After Tang Shunzong ascended the throne, he immediately launched the "Yongzhen Innovation" that he had already planned during his time as crown prince. However, any change will touch vested interests, and eunuchs are one of them. While offending the eunuch forces, there was a rift within the reform faction, and the core member Wang Shuwen acted arbitrarily, contradicting the prince group, and even a huge disagreement with Tang Shunzong.
The eunuch clique took advantage of this contradiction and took the opportunity to win over the crown prince Li Chun and force Tang Shunzong to abdicate in a coup d'état. In just eight months, with the abdication of Tang Shunzong, the Yongzhen Reformation was declared a failure!
Tang Shunzong was a tragic figure, he was the crown prince for twenty-five years, during which time he was almost deposed because the crown princess's mother was involved in the treason. Forced him to learn from Tang Suzong and divorce the crown princess to avoid trouble. If it were not for the help of Li Bi, the prime minister of the mountain, I am afraid that Tang Shunzong would not be able to escape the fate of being deposed.
In the twenty-five years of the prince's career, Tang Shunzong was always cautious. He was forty-four years old when he ascended the throne, and as the successor to the throne, this age can be counted as "advanced age".
It is conceivable that the tension under twenty-five years of political high pressure was very harmful to Tang Shunzong's health. This is a basic historical law, the prince reigned for too long, either died of illness early, or was deposed, this strange circle few people can escape, this is the sadness of the political focus of the figure.
Like Tang Shunzong, who has been doing this for twenty-five years, he still survived, and he can still take the throne smoothly, basically there are few! Even so, his lamp oil was almost exhausted, resulting in a serious illness before he ascended the throne!