Tang Gaozu Li Yuan was also a monarch with many heirs, Gaozu Li Yuan had 22 sons and 19 daughters in his lifetime, except for Li Shimin, Li Jiancheng, Li Xuanba, Li Yuanji and Princess Pingyang. Interestingly, of these 22 heirs, only three are vying for the crown prince. So, what are Gaozu Li Yuan's other sons doing? Are they really not interested in the throne?
Li Yuanshu's heirs did not actually give up the struggle for the throne, but they were not as fierce as Li Shimin and the other three. Among Li Yuanshu's descendants, especially Li Yuanchang and Li Yuanjing are the most famous. Both Li Yuanchang and Li Yuanjing were born later, so in the battle for shizi in the early years of the Tang Dynasty, these two did not participate, and they only showed their ambitions until the time of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong.
Before the change of Xuanwumen, there were only three elderly sons of GaoZu, namely Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, and Li Yuanji, and as for the other princes, they were still in their infancy. Li Shimin's brother Li Xuanba was frail and sickly since he was a child, so he died before the age of three. As for Shuzi, there was no chance of competing for the throne.
Among Li Yuan's sons, Li Zhiyun was the earliest born, but Li Zhiyun was kidnapped by the old Sui Dynasty general when Li Yuan was in the army, and he eventually died innocently at the hands of the Sui general, and Li Zhiyun died at the age of fourteen, so he missed the battle for the throne. Since the old five were so young, not to mention the other princes, Li Yuanjing and Li Yuanchang were not yet ten years old when Li Yuan ascended the throne, even when Li Shimin succeeded to the throne, they were not adults, they were still young, and they could not form their own forces at all.
The restrictions of the inheritance system are also the reason why other princes cannot compete for the position of the son of the world, and ancient China has always pursued the system of primogeniture, so only the concubine is eligible to run for the position of prince. Gao Zu's concubines were only four, except for Li Xuanba's death, the other three were all qualified to compete for the position of prince, while the other descendants, because of the patriarchal restrictions, naturally could not compete for the prince.
From the beginning, Li Yuan also made his eldest son Li Jiancheng the crown prince, but it was only because of the rise of Li Shimin, the King of Qin in the later period, that the change of Xuanwumen was finally brewed. As Gao Zu's concubine, Li Shimin naturally also had the qualifications to inherit the throne, so there was a scene of Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, and Li Yuanji confronting each other.
Emperor Gaozu Had many descendants, but they were not at peace, and during the years of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong, some of Emperor Gaozong's descendants also tried to subvert the regime of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong. Li Yuanchang, the King of Han, was the seventh son of Emperor Gaozu, and after Emperor Taizong of Tang succeeded to the throne, this prince served in Liang Prefecture. Li Yuanchang was arrogant and arrogant, bullying and dominating the market, which caused Taizong to be very dissatisfied, and later, Taizong reprimanded him in person for his oppression of the people, but unfortunately, Li Yuanchang had the idea of seizing the throne from then on.
In order to usurp the throne, Li Yuanchang colluded with Li Chengqian, the eldest son of Emperor Taizong, and at this time, Li Chengqian was competing with Emperor Taizong's third son, Li Tai, for the position of crown prince, and Li Yuanchang took this opportunity to instigate Li Chengqian to attack Emperor Taizong.
In 643, Li Chengqian and Li Yuanchang launched a mutiny, and When Emperor Taizong discovered their plot, he preemptively attacked them, and Li Chengqian's party was eventually captured. Li Yuanchang instigated the prince to rebel, and the crime was unforgivable, and afterwards, Emperor Taizong ordered Li Yuanchang to be executed and stripped of his title.
In addition to Li Yuanchang, Li Yuanjing also had the heart of usurpation, and Li Yuanjing once dreamed that he was holding the sun and the moon in his hand, so he decided that he was a candidate for the son of heaven. In the early years of Gaozu,Li Yuanjing joined forces with a group of ministers dissatisfied with Emperor Gaozong to challenge the emperor, and at that time, the eldest son Wuji was in power. Eldest Sun Wuji had already detected the conspiracy of Li Yuanjing and others, so he used the matter of Princess Gaoyang to frame Li Yuanjing.
In 653, Li Yuanjing and others were arrested for participating in the rebellion of Princess Gaoyang, and in the same year, he himself was executed together with Li Ke and others.
Gao Zushu's descendants belonged to Li Yuanchang and Li Yuanjing, who had the greatest ambitions, and most of the other princes died well. Some people say that emperors are the most dangerous profession in ancient times, but in fact, why not princes?