Tang Taizong Li Shimin usually liked his second son Li Tai the most, but Li Tai did not become the crown prince in the end, and as for the reason for this, it was entirely because he himself did not understand the principle that "many acts of injustice will kill themselves". What's going on here? If you want to know, let Xiaobian reveal the secret for you:
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The Tang Dynasty was the most prosperous dynasty in the history of the feudal dynasties on the mainland, and the glory of the Tang Dynasty depended to a large extent on the Wenzhi martial arts of Tang Taizong Li Shimin. In later history, no historian can erase Li Shimin's exploits and call him a generation of Ming Emperors. But there is an old saying that is called "it is difficult for a Clean official to judge family affairs", as a generation of Ming monarchs, Li Shimin actually had troubles from the family, and the situation of the crown prince seizing the throne also occurred within the Tang Dynasty royal family. In the same way that Li Shimin launched the Xuanwumen Rebellion in his early years, Li Shimin's three sons were also covetous of the throne, especially his second son Li Tai.
Li Tai was the second son of Li Shimin, and he received an extremely good education in the royal family, so his education level was quite high, and he could both recite poetry and be quite scheming. Unfortunately, Li Tai was sinister, because he coveted the throne of his eldest brother Crown Prince Li Chengqian, so he was always looking for an opportunity to frame his eldest brother. Li Chengqian was the eldest son born to Empress Changsun, and as the eldest son, he naturally also had a unique right to inherit the throne, so when he was 8 years old, Li Shimin could not wait to make him crown prince.
However, the prince himself is a "unsupportable Ah Dou", he is not scheming and lustful, once because a woman and his father turned their faces, and his daily life was also very unruly, which undoubtedly provided an opportunity for his younger brother Li Tai to find his weaknesses. In the end, Li Chengqian felt that his father was getting more and more discouraged about himself, so he poured all his resentment on Li Tai, ready to stage another "Xuanwumen Change" directed by his father. However, Li Chengqian himself did not have the ability of his father, and was eventually suppressed by the imperial court, and he himself became a prisoner of the order.
Emperor Taizong Li Shimin was very disappointed in his eldest son Li Chengqian, and since the eldest son was not worthy to become crown prince, the second son Li Tai naturally became the best candidate for the crown prince. The matter of deposing the crown prince was related to the foundation of the country, so the emperor held a special meeting to ask the minister about it. There were many capable people among the courtiers, chu Suiliang, changsun Wuji, and others who were resourceful, and when they heard about Emperor Taizong's deposing of the crown prince, they immediately set off a voice of opposition. Even Chu Suiliang secretly reminded Tang Taizong that if Li Tai became crown prince in the future, with his vicious heart, he was afraid that his brothers Li Chengqian and Li Zhi would die soon. Emperor Taizong Li Shimin broke out in a cold sweat when he heard this, and he also had many scruples about Li Tai's appointment as crown prince.
Tang Taizong Li Shimin wondered in his heart that he had launched a coup d'état entirely because his position was threatened, so he took the risk, but the crown prince was already the heir to the throne, why would he also rebel? In prison, Li Chengqian answered his father's question, it turned out that all his actions were powerless to resist before being forced to the cliff, and the commander behind the scenes was the second brother Li Tai. In other words, if there was no Li Tai secretly persecuting and bitterly persecuting, he would not have fallen into such a situation at all.
Since the crown prince Li Chengqian has been deposed, and the second son Li Tai cannot become the crown prince, who will be the candidate? Emperor Taizong of Tang also had a choice, and this person was his third son Li Zhi, who was also the heir of Empress Changsun. If from the perspective of ability, Li Zhi is indeed inferior to the two eldest brothers, if from the perspective of status, the "primogeniture inheritance system" implemented by the feudal dynasty also doomed him not to become a prince. But fate is such a trickery, in the case of two brothers fighting and losing both, the incompetent Li Zhi, and Li Zhi, who should not be the emperor, have become the biggest beneficiaries.
It is a pity that the second prince Li Tai is smart, but his hard work has still made a wedding dress for others, which is indeed lamentable. However, he did not deserve to be pitied by future generations, because he was a thorough conspirator, and if the throne would really fall on Li Tai's head, then his two brothers would probably die as Chu Suiliang said. Li Zhi was a generous man, and after he became emperor, he did not dispose of his two brothers, but exiled Li Chengqian and Li Tai to other places. Two years later, Li Chengqian died of depression due to the loss of the throne, and although Li Tai was made the King of Pu in the twenty-first year of Zhenguan and enjoyed favorable treatment, the reluctance in his heart still did not dissipate, and finally died in Yunxiang at the age of thirty-five.
When Li Tai himself calculated others, he did not think that he would also become a victim, which was really a joke for eternity. As for Wu Zetian's seizure of Li Zhi's throne in the future, I am afraid that it was also difficult for Tang Taizong and his sons to predict.
Reference: "Datang" by Huang Jian published by Shaanxi Publishing House
Wen xiucai, editor-in-chief of Wenlan Hairun Studio, written by: Special history writer: Changshan Zhao Zi worm