Li Chongjun was the third son of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang. After wu Zetian was ousted from power in the "Shenlong Coup", Emperor Zhongzong of Tang was reinstated as emperor, and Li Chongjun was made crown prince and became the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty.
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang was very faint when he was young, so his first imperial career lasted only 55 days before he was deposed by his mother Wu Zetian. After twenty years of suffering, Tang Zhongzong, who had reached the age of knowing his destiny, did not grow much. He allowed his wife Empress Wei to listen to the government without illness or disaster, and also used Wu Sansi (Wu Zetian's nephew), who had originally wanted to put him to death, as prime minister.
In addition, Princess Anle, the younger daughter born to Emperor Zhongzong of Tang and Empress Wei, was petulant and willful, openly seizing the people's land, and also engaged in selling officials and lords. Tang Zhongzong turned a deaf ear to this.
Emperor Zhongzong's incompetence fueled the ambitions of Empress Wei and Princess Anle, and both mother and daughter wanted to emulate Wu Zetian as empresses.
One day, Princess Anle came to Tang Zhongzong and asked to appoint her as the Crown Princess. Although Emperor Zhongzong of Tang was confused, he also knew what the Imperial Princess meant, so he did not agree to the princess's request. However, as compensation, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang still granted the princess the privilege of opening the palace.
Although the matter of the crown princess did not follow, this incident made the crown prince Li Chongjun break out in a cold sweat. Li Chongjun was not born to Empress Wei, so Empress Wei never gave him a good look. Princess Anle, who was the concubine of Tianzi, looked down on this prince and often called him a "slave" to her face.
Li Chongjun was well aware of The ambitions of Empress Wei and Princess Anle to reach the pinnacle of power, and his status as crown prince was obviously the biggest stumbling block in the eyes of the mother and daughter duo. Therefore, when he learned that Princess Anle had made a request to the Imperial Princess, Li Chongjun naturally understood that his future life would become more and more difficult.
Seeing that the power of the "post-party" is getting bigger and bigger, sooner or later it will die in this way. Instead of sitting still, it is better to fight back. Therefore, Li Chongjun decided to launch a coup d'état to eliminate several key roles of the "post-party" in order to regain the initiative.
On the sixth day of the first month of July in the third year of shenlong (707), the crown prince Li Chongjun and the zuo Yulin general Li Duozuo and others forged an imperial edict and mobilized more than 300 Yulin troops to kill the residence of wu Sansi, the prime minister, and successfully beheaded Wu Sansi's father and son. Subsequently, Li Chongjun led people into the palace, claiming to kill Tang Zhongzong's concubine Shangguan Wan'er.
The news that the crown prince had staged a coup and had led his army into the palace frightened Tang Zhongzong, and he quickly ran to the Xuanwu Gate north of the palace with Empress Wei, Shangguan Wan'er, and others, and ordered the right Yu Lin general Liu Jingren to lead more than a hundred soldiers to escort him.
Soon after Emperor Zhongzong of Tang arrived at Xuanwu Gate, the crown prince arrived with his men and horses. At this time, the crown prince had more than three hundred well-equipped Yulin troops under his command, while the emperor only had more than a hundred people who had hastily assembled. The situation is a sure victory for the prince. However, at this critical moment, the prince himself dropped the chain.
Seeing his father and emperor standing on the tower of Xuanwu Gate City, Li Chongjun suddenly did not know whether to launch an attack, and the people and horses on both sides fell into a state of confrontation. Originally, these soldiers who followed the prince had already killed the red eye, and they had all committed the crime of rebellion anyway, as long as the prince spoke, who still cared whether the emperor was standing on the upper floor of the city. However, as soon as the prince instigated it, the soldiers' heads gradually calmed down.
At this critical juncture of life and death, Tang Zhongzong, who had been confused all his life, had rarely sobered up. He saw that the prince's army did not dare to attack for a long time, so he shouted to the soldiers involved in the coup: "You are all the guards of the Fall, why bother to follow Li Duozuo to rebel?" As long as you submit now and kill the thief, promise to give you a fortune! ”
As soon as the emperor's voice fell, the soldiers in the prince's army looked at each other. After a brief hesitation, they turned and pointed their swords and guns at the generals who had led them into the palace.
Li Chongjun saw the failure of the coup and ran out with his cronies, planning to flee to Zhong Nanshan to hide. Later that day, however, Li Chongjun, who was on his way to escape, was beheaded by his own cronies. The event, known historically as the "Jinglong Coup", ended with the defeat and murder of Crown Prince Li Chongjun.
References: Old Book of Tang, New Book of Tang, Zizhi Tongjian