Historical coups are often inseparable from bloodshed and death, and these struggles are inseparable from the crazy pursuit of power and status. In order to "take the throne", in the process of historical development, there were not only wars and coups between different castes and nationalities for the change of dynasties.
Even fathers and sons and brothers who are closely related are very likely to turn against each other for the sake of the throne.
The change of Xuanwumen is essentially a brotherly struggle triggered by the struggle for the throne. Li Shimin, known in history as "Emperor Taizong of Tang", was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and it was from this coup that he really began to take the throne as emperor.
Killing brothers and killing brothers, is the situation forced?
Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, made his eldest son Li Jiancheng the crown prince, his second son Li Shimin the Prince of Qin, and his younger son Li Yuanji the Prince of Qi. At first, during Li Yuan's reign, these three sons also played to their own strengths and established many meritorious deeds as children of the royal family.
However, over time, the three people in high positions and each with their own forces were at odds with each other in the court. Although Li Shimin was younger than Li Jiancheng, his excellent views on politics made him supported by many ministers and made outstanding military achievements, which made Li Jiancheng extremely dissatisfied.
As the crown prince, Li Jiancheng, in order to maintain his position, repeatedly wanted to unite with Li Yuanji to assassinate Li Shimin, but Li Shimin launched the Xuanwumen Rebellion first, and killed his brother in this coup, forcing his father Li Yuan to ascend to the throne of emperor.
Killing a nephew and marrying a sister-in-law, is it a matter of color?
The winner is the king, the loser is Kou. Li Shimin acted decisively and fiercely. In order to cut the grass and remove the roots, he did not show mercy to his nephew. The crown prince Li Jiancheng and the Qi prince Li Yuanji each had five sons, and no matter how old or young they were, they all died at the hands of Li Shimin.
Not only that, he also occupied his sister-in-law and included her in the palace, known in history as "Yang Concubine", and after the death of Empress Changsun, he loved this "Yang Concubine" to the point of making her empress. Later, after the advice of Wei Zheng and others, he finally gave up in order not to affect his reputation.
It is rumored that this "Yang Concubine" is full of beauty, and Li Shimin also occupied her because he was obsessed with her beauty. But unfortunately, "Yang Fei" is only a title.
Despite being pampered, this Yang clan was not substantively recognized by Li Shimin's harem, that is, although she lived in the imperial harem, she did not receive substantive fame.
Li Ming, the crown prince who gave Li Shimin a son, was later passed on to Li Yuanji. Moreover, Yang Himself, after his death, did not have the qualification to accompany Zhaoling, which can be described as a dismal end.
As emperor, Li Shimin's every move was highly anticipated, and every concubine in the harem inevitably involved political interests. So, does Li Shimin also have this consideration when he includes his sister-in-law in the harem? The answer is yes.
At that time, the status of the Yang family could not be underestimated, and they originally relied on each other with Li Yuanji, the King of Qi. The defeat of The King of Qi in the Xuanwumen Rebellion also deprived them of strong political support.
At this time, Li Shimin accepted the Yang clan, which could not only win the support of this clan for him, but also satisfy his selfish intentions. For the Yang clan, it is also a "reassuring pill", such a happy ending for both birds is what everyone is happy to see.
Marrying a sister-in-law but letting go of the sister-in-law, is it to miss the old feelings?
After the "change of Xuanwumen", there are also people who have a relatively peaceful ending, which is the wife of the crown prince Li Jiancheng, and the sister-in-law of Li Shimin- Zheng Guanyin.
Zheng Guanyin was a native of Xingyang and the daughter of Zheng Jibo, the governor of Tanzhou in the Sui Dynasty. Born in Xingyang Zheng clan, is also a family family.
After the change of Xuanwumen, although Li Shimin killed Li Jiancheng's son, he did not "offend" the sister-in-law. Not only that, but she and her daughter grew old in Changle Gate and enjoyed their old age until they were seventy-eight years old.
Although the living conditions of ChangleMen were different from those of the court, this was already a rare "favor" compared with the way Li Shimin treated others.
Some people speculate that this is due to the fact that the sister-in-law's personality is too "chaste" and unwilling to commit herself to her husband's younger brother. However, this claim is difficult to verify and less convincing.
Because the fate of women was turbulent in ancient times, it was often difficult to decide by themselves. Having lost his husband, zheng shi did not have the ability to oppose Li Shimin, the new emperor.
A more reliable theory is that Li Shimin had received a lot of care from his sister-in-law before, and there was a tradition of "the eldest sister-in-law as a mother" in ancient times. Moreover, Zheng Guanyin's age was not much different from Li Shimin's, and at that time, even if it was beautiful enough, it was no longer attractive.
After Li Shimin occupied the young Yang clan, there was not much need to offend his "eldest sister-in-law".
What's more, the Zheng family clan where Zheng Guanyin belonged was also a large clan at that time, and Li Shimin must have had political considerations in doing so. From another point of view, he let go of the "sister-in-law", in fact, it is also a "co-optation" of the Zheng family's power.
Taizong Qiren: The Divine Lord Mingjun who knows people well and is good at his duties
Li Shimin's various behaviors in the "Xuanwumen Revolution" have always been criticized, and cannibalism has become the biggest stain on his political career.
But on the whole, from the perspective of historical development and evolution, Tang Taizong Li Shimin did contribute indispensably to the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.
During the reign of Tang Taizong, he paid great attention to the people's livelihood, which led to unprecedented political, economic and cultural development and prosperity. It created a prosperous situation of "the rule of Zhenguan" and laid a solid foundation for the future "Kaiyuan Prosperous Era".
He does not care about the past, and he knows people well. Adopting different methods for different talents, he has won the recognition of many courtiers with his own practical actions.
Wei Zheng was one of them, and Li Shimin discarded his previous suspicions, not comparing him to li Jiancheng's subordinates, humbly accepting advice, and achieving a good story of the unity of the king and the subject.
Just like the different attitudes towards yang and zheng, Li Shimin also has his own set of methods in politics.
It can be seen from this that no matter which historical figure is, it is often multi-faceted, history is not a family word, and the comments on the emperor are even more controversial.