This person was originally the prince of the dynasty, but he became a victim of the palace fight, and was eventually deposed as the prince.
He was Li Zhong, the son of Emperor Gaozong of Tang.
So why did this Li Zhong become a victim of the palace fight? And how did he lose his position as prince?
1. Lineage
An important reason for Li Zhong's loss of the crown prince's position was his death.
But when it comes to this, everyone will definitely think, is he not the son of Emperor Gaozong of Tang? The prince must have been born to the empress?
In fact, it is not all right, Li Zhong is definitely the son of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, but not the empress dowager.
His mother was a palace maid of the Liu clan.
However, Emperor Gaozong's wife, Empress Wang, had no sons, and Liu's status was low, so Empress Wang asked Emperor Gaozong to foster him.
Later, Empress Wang's uncle Liu Yi (柳奭), as well as Shangshu's right servant Chu Suiliang,His Servant Han Yiyi (侍中汉瑗瑗), Taiwei Changsun Wujie (太尉長孙 Wuji), and Right Servant Yu Zhining (虞志宁), suggested that Li Zhong be made crown prince, and Emperor Gaozong gladly agreed.
However, at this time, Li Zhong did not know that he was just a pawn, and Empress Wang fostered him and made him crown prince, just to keep the position of empress dowager.
2. Victims of palace fighting
There was constant strife in the harem, and Empress Wang, Concubine Xiao Shufei, and Wu Zetian competed with each other for favors.
As a result, Li Zhong's adoptive mother, Emperor Wang, was doused by Wu Zetian, and after Emperor Gaozong deposed her, he made Wu Zetian empress.
It didn't take long for Wu Zetian to give birth to a son named Li Hong.
At this time, Xu Jingzong, the head of the Rebbe Shangshu, was a member of the Wu Zetian clique, and he hoped that Emperor Gaozong would make Li Hong the crown prince, and that Li Zhong was not a concubine, and that his position as crown prince should be abolished and his eldest son Li Hong should be made crown prince, and Emperor Gaozong agreed to this matter without much thought.
Of course, Emperor Gaozong so cheerfully agreed to depose Li Zhong not because he was not a concubine, but because Wu Zetian, because Emperor Gaozong only liked Wu Zetian, otherwise she would not have become the winner of the palace fight.
Give death
In the first year of Xianqing, Li Zhong was deposed and made the King of Liang, the governor of Liang Prefecture, and the seal of 2,000 households, 20,000 duan, and the first district of Jia.
In its year, the history of the transfer state thorn.
Li Zhong, who had been deposed as crown prince, suffered from persecution paranoia.
The Old Book of Tang records that he was often afraid of not being at ease, or dressed in the clothes of a woman in private, in preparation for assassins. There are also several demon dreams, often self-divination.
This means that he often wears women's clothes to guard against assassins, and often has nightmares, so he often uses witchcraft for divination.
However, this matter was soon learned by Emperor Gaozong, who was furious and reduced him to a commoner, and finally died in Qianzhou.
This is Li Zhong, a man who was born destined to become a pawn.