If it weren't for the courtiers loyal to the Great Tang fighting for their lives, if it weren't for Wu Zetian's fear that he wouldn't be able to eat after death, Li Tang's length would not be as good as the Yuan Dynasty, and Li Yuan would probably be so angry that he would beat Li Shimin underground: Let you choose such a loser as your successor!
Yang Jian may sigh: Every family has a difficult scripture, it is all fate! Li Shimin will also wipe his tears: If I don't choose Xiao Jiu, who can I choose? It's all retribution!
Li Shimin knew very well that Jiu'er Li Zhi was indeed not an ideal candidate, so he once repented and was ready to replace San'er Li Zhi as the prince. However, the emperor could not do whatever he wanted, so Li Shimin tentatively praised San'er as "Yingguo like me", and was blocked by Changsun Wuji.
Sitting on the dragon chair may be an emperor or a puppet, everything depends on the attitude of the sanctimonious scholars, leaving the protection of Changsun Wuji and others, the third child of "Yingguo I" can't sit on the dragon chair.
Originally, Li Shimin should not worry about the aftermath, but it is a pity that the prince Li Chenggan, who he carefully cultivated, grew into a crooked neck tree, murdered his teacher, harmed his brother, and plotted to seize the imperial throne, which was simply heinous.
In history, no emperor has devoted so much effort to his successor as Li Shimin, but seventeen years of hard work once came to zero, and he had to turn his attention to his fourth son Li Tai.
In ancient times, the successor was selected by Concubine, and Empress Changsun gave birth to four sons: the eldest son Li Chenggan, the fourth son Li Tai, and the ninth son Li Zhi. After Li Chenggan was out, Li Tai was the first candidate, how did Li Zhi pick peaches?
Because Li Tai followed his eldest brother and stabbed him in his father's heart.
Li Tai is Li Shimin's favorite son, and history books say that Li Tai is extremely sensitive, he is good at literature, works in grass, has a collection of thousands of books, is also a connoisseur of calligraphy and painting, and he also edited a legendary work "Records of the Ancient Land". Whoever has a smart and studious son, his father is half a head taller than others when he goes out, and Li Shimin is the same, he gave Li Tai the most outrageous love.
How out of the ordinary? To give a few examples, for example, Li Tai's mansion occupies a square meter of land (about 300,000 square meters) and a water park of 300 acres, and later Li Shimin gave him the Furong Garden. Together, these places cover a well area of well over 1 million square meters.
For example, Li Tai's various rewards and treatments actually surpassed that of the prince, which caused the ministers to look at it, and they warned Li Shimin that this move would easily cause big trouble.
For another example, Li Tai was allowed to open a literary museum in Fuzhong. Don't underestimate the Literature Museum, Li Shimin originally relied on opening the Literature Museum to attract talents from all over the world and defeated Li Chenggan in one fell swoop.
Li Shimin still felt that his love for Li Tai was not enough, and he even gave the Wude Hall to his precious son. Wude Hall has a special symbol, it used to be the former residence of Li Yuanji, the king of Qi, doesn't this encourage Li Tai to be a prince who competes for the crown prince?
Sure enough, Li Shimin tasted the bitter fruit, and Li Tai's courage became fatter and fatter under the arrogance. Looking at his eldest brother's limping appearance and his father's disgusted eyes, Li Tai felt that his opportunity had come, and he took Chai Lingwu, Fang Weiai, Wei Ting, and Du Chuke as the core, secretly befriended the courtiers, and Jinsuke bribed the widow, and set up a Weiwang party.
Pity Li Shimin loves his son very much, and he is completely unaware of the open and secret fight between the two brothers. Seeing that his father favored his brother without a bottom line, Li Chenggan had to "fight back in self-defense" and moved the idea of killing his brother.
After Li Chenggan's plan was revealed, Li Tai thought he had won, and he couldn't wait to coquette in his father's arms: "When I am a hundred years later, I will definitely kill my son and pass the throne to Xiao Jiu." ”
Li Tai is very clever, he can see at a glance what the old father is most worried about, and he is also stupid, trying to win his father's favor with lies. Surprisingly, Li Shimin, who loved his son, actually fainted and believed his nonsense.
So, what is Li Shimin most worried about? Of course, it is the safety of his sons, and he does not want the tragedy of the Xuanwu Gate change to repeat itself on his sons!
This is an eternal pain in Li Shimin's heart, he has been having nightmares for many years, and he is always worried that retribution will come. Li Chenggan was abolished, and if the successor was not well chosen, it would be another fratricidal battle, including the deposed Li Chenggan, who might not be able to keep it.
Li Tai's self-righteous confession deceived the confused Li Shimin, but he could not deceive the minister, Chu Suiliang said bluntly: How can a person who does not care about the love of father and son think of brotherly love?
Li Shimin fell down! So he came to Li Chenggan's prison residence with mixed feelings, trying to uncover Li Tai's true face. Sure enough, Li Chenggan revealed the secret of his harm to Li Tai, and it turned out that he had no choice but to fight back under the oppression of the Weiwang Party.
Li Shimin stumbled all the way out, he could not have imagined that his favorite son was actually a sinister villain with a bad heart.
It can be imagined that once the imperial throne falls into his hands, it is equivalent to telling the world that the throne can be taken, just as Li Shimin took Li Jiancheng's position. What will Li Tai do to his brothers when he takes the throne in the future? It will definitely not be softer than Li Shimin back then, and Li Chenggan and Li Zhi may not be able to keep it.
Oh my God, isn't the change of Xuanwu Gate going to repeat itself? Wasn't the scar that Li Shimin tried to cover up bloodily uncovered again?
Therefore, Li Tai must be out, and the new heir must be a Renjun. Concubine Xiaojiu Li Zhi just met this condition, and Changsun Wuji, Chu Suiliang and others also agreed with Li Zhi.
But in Li Shimin's mind, Li Zhi is too cowardly, there is no way, he chooses "benevolence", he must bear "weakness". It can be seen from this that Li Zhi is not actually Li Shimin's most ideal candidate, but a "retreat to the second" required by the situation.
When the dust settled, Li Shimin, who calmed down, felt that Li Kei was more suitable than Li Zhi. But he is no longer able to compete with Changsun Wuji and other forces, there is no doubt that it will be another storm, who dares to say that its destructive power is not comparable to the change of Xuanwu Gate?
Therefore, Li Shimin can only accept Li Zhi as his successor.
In fact, cowardice is just Li Zhi's mask, this is a person who is good at disguise, judging from his life's deeds, he can pretend to be a grandson more than anyone, and he has a black belly than anyone. During Li Zhi's reign, he overthrew the old gate valve of Guanlong under the guise of Wu Zetian and achieved the monopoly of imperial power, but left all the notoriety to Wu Zetian.
In fact, the Great Tang was usurped by Wu Zetian, and Li Zhi cannot be completely blamed, he was generally successful during his reign, and Wu Zetian was just his crutch. So, who will be responsible for Wu Zetian's usurpation of the Tang Dynasty?
Personally, I think that the "old man of history" is to blame, that is a historical stage when the gate valve group goes downhill and is bound to be killed by the imperial power, Wu Zetian and Li Zhi are at this historical node, they are like-minded and work hand in hand to complete the important task given by this history.
Since Wu Zetian has the ability to shoulder the heavy responsibility of history, why doesn't history reward her with a chance to sit on the dragon chair? Li Chenggan, Li Tai and Li Zhi were all born to Empress Changsun, Li Shimin's beloved and close friend. Li Chenggan, as the eldest son of Concubine, naturally became the crown prince, but Li Shimin's favorite was the fourth son Li Tai, and the only one who was not included in the scope of investigation was the ninth son Li Zhi, whose status was not even as good as that of the third son Li Ke. However, behind the seemingly impossible tide, there is a dark tide, and a mysterious force has been fueling the waves, and finally put Li Zhi on the throne.
King Li Tai of Wei was multi-talented—he wrote the famous geography book "Zhizhi", so he was deeply loved by Li Shimin, and a literary museum was built for him. Li Tai is pampered and arrogant, and Li Chenggan does not fight - this kid not only has a problem with his feet, but also has pedophiles in his spirit, so he has a covetous heart, and uses the literary museum to recruit talents, forming a group against the prince. Members include Chai Shao's son Chai Lingwu, Fang Xuanling's second son Fang Ai, and Du Ruxian's younger brother Du Chuke.
Li Shimin discovered that the seeds were wrong, killed Li Chenggan's pederasty, and sent Wei Zheng to educate him ideologically. However, these protective measures were all regarded by Li Chenggan as monitoring and distrusting him, and he plotted to usurp the throne in panic, and finally the matter was abolished. Li Tai went to his archenemy, and the crown prince position was within reach, but without thinking, a third faction was born to support Li Zhi - someone secretly reported to Emperor Taizong, saying that "more than three grades is more light than the king of Wei", which is tantamount to sending a strong signal that a huge group has emerged in the DPRK to compete with Li Tai. The leader of this faction was Changsun Wuji, the elder brother of Empress Changsun and the head of the 24 ministers of Lingyange, and the members included the important ministers of the dynasty, Zhu Suiliang, Fang Xuanling, and Wei Zheng.
Faced with a menacing new opponent, Li Tai had to turn to his father and plunged into Li Shimin's arms, promising that after he inherited the throne, he would kill his son to make way for Li Zhi when he died. Emperor Taizong was so moved that he almost made up his mind. However, Li Tai was clever and misunderstood, and after saying this, he went to intimidate Li Zhi and made him retreat. Li Shimin felt deceived and cut him out of Beijing in a fit of anger, while Changsun Wuji and others took the opportunity to push Li Zhi to the foreground.
Li Zhi was cowardly, and Li Shimin examined him from the perspective of a king, judging him as embarrassing. Changsun Wuji and others packaged him as a moral filial piety from the perspective of a courtier, and publicized it to form a consensus between the government and the public. Li Chenggan and Li Tai became a fire and water, whoever was in power had to die, and Li Tai had to ride in Li Zhi, perhaps only if Li Zhi, who was "benevolent and filial", was elected, the third son could be safe and sound. Based on the above considerations, Li Shimin finally listened to the advice of Changsun Wuji and made Li Zhi crown prince. However, Li Shimin always believed in his own judgment, and just a few months after Li Zhi took office, he also had the idea of establishing Li Ke, the king of Wu (born of the Yang family) - it is better to establish a house and abolish it, how unoptimistic Li Zhi is! However, Changsun Wuji resolutely opposed it, so he didn't toss it anymore.
Perhaps Changsun Wuji fancy this nephew's benevolence, which is easy to control so that he can do Yiyin Huoguang's affairs in the future. Unexpectedly, this silly boy recruited a capable daughter-in-law Wu Zetian, and the woman sang and her husband followed, and a purge passed, and finally Changsun Wuji, Zhu Suiliang and others were all cleaned up, and even the Great Tang changed his surname.
Li Shimin passed the throne to Li Zhi, which did objectively create a situation in which Wu Zetian was autocratic. However, this is also something that cannot be helped: first, Wu Zetian has not yet emerged in the era of Emperor Taizong, even if he is a little politically clever, he will not remain in the eyes of the wise and martial Taizong; Second, Li Shimin dealt with Wu Zetian in the aftermath, and after her death, she went to Kanye Temple to become a monk and stayed away from politics, but she did not expect that Li Zhi's ghost obsession dug her back again. As shrewd as Emperor Taizong of Tang, he has nothing to do about family affairs, let alone influence the affairs behind him. Emperor Taizong of Tang Li Shimin had a total of fourteen sons, namely Li Chenggan, Li Kuan, Li Ke, Li Tai, Li Zhi, Li Su, Li You, Li Yun, Li Zhen, Li Shen, Li Yao, Li Jian, Li Fu, and Li Ming.
Among them, Empress Changsun gave birth to three sons, namely the eldest sons Li Chenggan, Li Tai and Li Zhi, and the three of them were concubines and were truly qualified to compete for the crown prince.
Let's talk about Li Chenggan first.
When Emperor Taizong of Tang Li Shimin ascended the throne, his eldest son Li Chenggan was only eight years old and was made crown prince.
When he was a child, Li Chenggan was smart and cute, and Emperor Taizong of Tang was extremely fond of him, allowing him to learn to handle political affairs early. However, the older Li Chenggan gets, the more problems he has, his voice is soothing, everything is bad, and he has done countless absurd things.
For those who opposed him, Li Chenggan hated it deeply, saying: "In the future, when I become an emperor, I can do whatever I want." Whoever dares to stop me or persuade me will be killed. Kill him five hundred, and no one will dare to say anything more. ”
Emperor Taizong of Tang chose Yu Zhining as the left son of the crown prince, Li Chenggan's usual words and deeds were not in line with the courtesy, Yu Zhining specially wrote a twenty-volume "Counselor", Tang Taizong was very happy to see it. Yu Zhining advised too much, and finally annoyed Li Chenggan, he found two assassins, one named Zhang Shizheng and the other named Mi Gan Chengji, and asked them to kill Yu Zhining, but Yu Zhining escaped.
The evil plot of the crown prince Li Chenggan was discovered by his father and the emperor, because he was affected by his younger brother Li You.
Li Yu the Prince of Qi, the fifth son of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, was created King of Qi, concurrently served as the governor of Qi Prefecture, and Zhenguan went to the domain for eleven years.
In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, Li You rebelled, and after his defeat, he was given death in the province of Neishu. In the process of investigating and liquidating Li You, that Gang Chengji was involved. During the interrogation, Mi Gan Chengji confessed a terrifying inside story: it turned out that the crown prince Li Chenggan was also planning to usurp the throne!
Li Chengqiangui is the crown prince, under one person, above ten thousand people, why did he plot a coup? This has a lot to do with his fellow brother Li Tai.
Li Tai (李泰), courtesy name Hui, was created King of Wei. Li Tai is very talented and once presided over the compilation of a "Zhidi Zhi". Emperor Taizong of Tang looked at Li Tai differently, his status was relatively special, and he enjoyed the same treatment as the crown prince in all aspects.
Li Tai was very fat and had a huge waistline, and Emperor Taizong of Tang specially allowed him to enter the palace in a small car, and even wanted Li Tai to live in the Wude Hall, but Wei Hui thought it was inappropriate, and Emperor Taizong of Tang had to give up.
The straight-tempered Yu Suiliang also believes that it is very important that the titles of the crown prince and the princes should be clearly determined. Tang Taizong was deeply impressed by this and said, "I am fifty years old, and my health is getting worse and worse. In addition to the crown prince, there are more than fifty younger brothers and sons. If the internal affairs of the royal family are not handled well, the light will be cannibalistic, and the heavy will die. ”
It seems that Tang Taizong is very clear in this regard, and the problem is that he cannot control his sons.
King Li Tai of Wei had a high reputation, good popularity, and was very favored and appreciated by his father, so he naturally had ideas about the position of crown prince, which was almost an open secret at that time. Wei Ting, Du Chuke, Chai Lingwu, and Fang Wei'ai formed a small group around Li Tai.
All this made the crown prince Li Chenggan feel great pressure and threat. Li Chenggan's legs and feet are not good, he does not walk very sharply, and he is very worried that he will be replaced by Li Tai. The contradiction between the two became deeper and deeper.
At this time, an episode occurred, Li Chenggan raised a pederast beside him, and Emperor Taizong of Tang was furious when he found out and killed several people involved. Li Chenggan was extremely sad and did not go to the upper dynasty for several months. He thought that Li Tai must have done something behind his back. If you can kill Li Tai, you will not only avenge your sweetheart, but also remove your competitors by the way.
Li Chenggan sent three assassins, Feng Shijin, Zhang Shizheng, and Mi Gan Chengji, to murder Li Tai, but without success. Therefore, he secretly discussed with Li Yuanchang the King of Han, Shangshuhou Junji of the military department, Li Anjian of Zuotunwei, Zhao Jie of Yangzhou Assassin, Du He of the Horse Du, and others to prepare for a coup d'état.
Because of Chengji Chengji, Li Chenggan's plot was exposed, and the status of the crown prince would definitely not be preserved, and the question was who to choose to replace him.
Emperor Taizong of Tang once favored Li Tai the King of Wei, and Cen Wen and Liu Huan of the imperial court also publicly proposed this proposal. Tang Taizong also told Li Tai about this idea in person. Li Tai threw himself into Tang Taizong's arms and said, "Today is the day of my rebirth. I only have one son, and when I die in the future, I will kill him and pass the throne to my younger brother Li Zhi. ”
Chu Suiliang disagreed, and said, "If King Wei's idea is not valid, how can there be such a thing in the world?" At the beginning, His Majesty established Chenggan as the crown prince, but he was still unstable between Chenggan and Li Tai, and the chaos caused has continued to the present. If His Majesty must appoint Li Tai, please properly place the King of Jin first to protect them. ”
Tang Taizong listened to Chu Suiliang's words, and cried and said three words: "I can't." ”
Another obstacle to choosing Li Tai was Changsun Wuji, and among the two nephews, Changsun Wuji favored Li Zhi the King of Jin. But Li Zhi has a very obvious weakness, that is, his personality is too weak.
Li Tai knew that his uncle Changsun Wuji did not stand on his side, and went directly to his younger brother Li Zhi, with a hidden threat in his words. Li Zhi was worried all day because of this. Tang Taizong asked the reason and understood that Li Tai was also a cold person, and once he obtained the supreme status, he was afraid that there would be no way for Li Zhi to live.
It is said that a strange stone was previously found in Taiyuan, and three characters "Zhiwanji" were naturally formed on the stone. Emperor Taizong of Tang regarded this as a plot, and instead wanted to establish Li Zhi, hesitating.
One day, Emperor Taizong of Tang left Changsun Wuji and Li Wei alone to discuss the affairs of the crown prince. Tang Taizong said sadly: "I have three sons and a younger brother. I can't be sure which one to choose as the crown prince, I don't have anything to rely on in my heart. ”
Saying that, Tang Taizong threw himself on the bed, pulled out the saber on his waist, and aimed it at himself to stab down. Everyone ran up and hugged Tang Taizong, took the saber down with force, and asked him why he did such a stupid thing? Isn't it to make a crown prince? Which one does he want to establish?
Tang Taizong actually had a suitable candidate in his mind, and said, "I want to establish the king of Jin." ”
Changsun Wuji was the first to speak: "Honor the will." Who has objections, chop! ”
As soon as Changsun Wuji spoke, no one dared to say a single "no", and there was no big problem with this choice itself. Tang Taizong waited for this sentence, and immediately turned to Li Zhi, the king of Jin, and said: "Your uncle promised to make you the crown prince, and I don't want to thank him quickly!" ”
As a result, Li Zhi the King of Jin was made crown prince, Changsun Wuji was crown prince, and Yu Zhining was sent to Li Zhi's side, still serving as the prince's left son.
Mr. Huang Yongnian once wrote that the biggest reason why Li Chenggan and Li Tai were abandoned was that they violated Li Shimin's taboo, that is, they both formed their own group of friends, threatening Li Shimin's own status. At that time, Li Shimin was able to seize the throne thanks to this small clique.
And Li Zhi, the king of Jin, did not form a party, just because he was much younger than his two brothers and did not have the corresponding ambition and ability.
After that, Emperor Taizong of Tang was not very satisfied with the crown prince Li Zhi and wanted to change Li Ke.
Li Ke, the third among his brothers, was created King of Wu. His biological mother Concubine Yang was the daughter of Emperor Jiao of Sui. Although Li Kei is a son, he has a noble bloodline, has a high reputation among ministers and people, and is good at riding and shooting, both civil and martial, and very similar to his father in all aspects.
Emperor Taizong of Tang planned to reinstall Li Ke, but Changsun Wuji resolutely disagreed, saying: "Li Zhi has a benevolent character and is a monarch who keeps it. Everything is most afraid of undecided, and the crown prince is especially taboo repeatedly. ”
Emperor Taizong of Tang understood that the foreign qi clique represented by Changsun Wuji was powerful, so he had to give up Li Ke.
The losers in the struggle for imperial power were often more vulnerable than the lives of civilians. In the nineteenth year of Zhenguan, Li Chenggan died in Qianzhou.
Li Tai was first renamed King of Shunyang, imprisoned in general, and later ordered to leave Chang'an, where his political life ended. In the third year of Emperor Gaozong of Tang's Yonghui, Li Tai died in Yunxiang, Chinese New Year's Eve at the age of five, and the cause of death is unknown.
When dealing with Fang's bereavement against him, Changsun Wuji took the opportunity to include Li Kei in the case and sentenced him to death to avoid future troubles.