One evening, a monk saw that there was no one around and went to the door of a mansion. The owner of the mansion asked who he was, and he said that I was sent by Choi Riyong, a soldier of the army, and my name was Purun.
The owner of the mansion was Li Longji, who was still the king of Linzi at that time, and when he was wondering why Cui Riyong, who had always been close to Wei Hou and others, was looking for him, Purun began to speak again, saying: "Princess Anle and the others want to kill Li Dan and Princess Taiping, you must make plans in advance. ”
Cui Riyong, who was part of Wei Hou's gang, had no confidence in Wei Hou at all, and it was better to sell personal favors to Li Dan and Princess Taiping. After Li Longji learned the news, a sense of mission was born, and the fate of the Great Tang Empire was in his hands. But this matter can't be said to his father Li Dan, because his personality is too benevolent, if he wants to think about it, it is better to go to his aunt Princess Taiping to help him.
Cooperation between aunts and nephews
Princess Taiping has also always disliked Empress Wei and others, and more importantly, Princess Taiping is powerful and has a deep city, which is very suitable as a partner, according to the New Book of Tang:
The host has a broad forehead and many conspiracies, and is often called "like me". And the Lord is inwardly and intrigued, and the outside is fearful, and there is nothing else to do in the afterlife.
Even Wu Zetian admired Princess Taiping's strategy and often consulted her on countermeasures. That young Li Longji naturally had no reason not to cooperate with her.
When Princess Taiping saw this nephew who only knew how to play, she was also very happy in her heart, and he thought that Li Longji, who had no influence, must be very easy to control. The two hit it off, Princess Taiping was responsible for the behind-the-scenes work, Li Longji was responsible for organizing troops, and then launched the Tang Long Revolution, killing Empress Wei and Princess Anle and others, and successfully put Li Dan on the throne.
Later, in order to thank Princess Taiping, Li Dan increased the actual seal of Princess Taiping to 10,000 households, and her husband and children had real seals. You must know that a Tang Dynasty prince is at most a thousand households. In this way, Princess Taiping became the richest man in the Tang Dynasty at that time.
However, as her power grew, Princess Taiping's relationship with Li Longji changed.
There was a rift in the relationship between aunt and nephew
Originally, Li Dan was unwilling to take the throne, but with his character, he was very satisfied with being a king, according to the "Zizhi Tongjian":
Princess Taiping passed on the order of the young emperor, please give way to King Xiang, and King Xiang stubbornly resigned.
After Li Longji found out, he was very anxious, and his ambition was immediately exposed, and what he said to Liu Youqiu was recorded in the "Zizhi Tongjian":
The king is gentle and does not conceive on behalf of the baby. Although there is a world, it is still given to others, and the son of his own brother, Anken replaces!
Li Longji is hinting to Liu Youqiu that my father has a quiet personality, and he will definitely not take the throne, so it is better to let me come. However, it is a pity that Liu Youqiu could not understand Li Longji's voice, and in the end, Li Dan still sat on the throne.
At this time, Li Longji thought to himself, since the imperial throne is temporarily out of my place, then the position of prince should always be mine, after all, he has the greatest credit in Tang Long's change. Soon, Li Longji found that things were not so simple.
After Li Dan ascended the throne, he made his eldest son Li Chengji crown prince. Who knew that Li Chengqi was so frightened that he quickly refused, and Liu Youqiu and others also proposed to make Li Longji the crown prince, and Li Dan had to obey the public opinion.
At this time, there was a person who was not satisfied, this person was Princess Taiping, after this cooperation, she saw the true face of her nephew, if Li Longji became the prince, then her road to power would definitely be blocked, so she challenged Li Longji, according to the "Zizhi Tongjian":
Numbers are rumors, cloud: "The prince is not long, and he should not stand." ”...... The prince is often the eyes and ears of the princess, and the prince is deeply uncomfortable.
There was another thing that Li Longji couldn't bear in particular, that is, every time his good-tempered father listened to the prime minister, he had to ask: "Has this matter been discussed with Princess Taiping?" Then he asked, "Have you discussed it with the prince?" Li Dan did not dare to offend anyone, but Li Longji really did not want to be suppressed by Princess Taiping.
Then Li Longji began to fight back against Princess Taiping, and the power struggle between his aunts and nephews became more and more intense. One day in 712, the confident Princess Taiping decided to fight back.
The death of Princess Taiping
One day in 712 AD, a comet appeared in the western sky. The next day, Princess Taiping sent a warlock to tell Li Dan that the appearance of the comet meant that the crown prince was about to ascend the throne, and His Majesty should have made plans earlier.
Who knew that the next move surprised Princess Taiping, because after Li Dan listened to the warlock's words, he decided to follow the celestial phenomena and cede the throne to Li Longji.
Originally, Princess Taiping had always had the upper hand in the fight with Li Longji, but suddenly, everything was turned upside down again.
However, what Li Longji did not expect was that Li Dan was nominally retired, but he still held the power to appoint and remove officials above the third grade and the right to make decisions on major issues. In this way, Li Dan, who has always felt sorry for his sister, continued to support Princess Taiping, and the princess's power was tilted to the opposition.
Li Longji's patience was limited, and instead of being angry, it was better to launch another palace struggle. Originally, he had no chance of victory, but Princess Taiping underestimated the enemy, and after Li Dan was controlled, he handed over all power, and Princess Taiping ran to a temple on Junan Mountain for three days.
Three days later, Princess Taiping, who did not want to be a shrunken-headed turtle, ran home, and she found that Li Longji's people had been waiting for her for a long time, and sent a white silk.
In this way, Princess Taiping committed suicide and was less than 50 years old when she died.
Conclusion: After Wu Zetian's death, Princess Taiping was unrestrained, and the two emperors, Li Xian and Li Dan, loved her very much. But she was not satisfied, she wanted to become an empress like Wu Zetian.
But becoming a queen is not an easy task, in addition to talent, environmental factors are also indispensable. If she could be the richest man in the Great Tang Dynasty, it would not be this ending. Princess Taiping is self-inflicted and cannot live. If Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had not destroyed Princess Taiping, the Tang Dynasty would have perished in advance.
In 713, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang suddenly issued an edict to Princess Taiping to commit suicide. Who knows, Princess Taiping refused to die: "Three years ago, I helped you to condemn the latter party, helped your father to ascend the throne, and made you the prince, why today you will take revenge and destroy my whole family?" ”
Tang Xuanzong was silent, it was time for her aunt and nephew to end, and even her own son Xue Chongjian was on the side urging: "Mother, it's time to hit the road!" ”
In fact, for his only aunt, Tang Xuanzong did not plan to be cruel at first. After Tang Long's coup, he ignored his aunt's pleas and resolutely killed Shangguan Wan'er, and then ignored the etiquette law and destroyed Shangguan Wan'er's tomb, Li Longji just wanted to tell Princess Taiping through these two things: Don't fight with me, I will never allow women to take power again!
It's a pity that Princess Taiping inherited Wu Zetian's strong and competitive side, and she didn't see the Yellow River and didn't die, didn't see the rabbit and didn't spread the eagle, and had to fight with Li Jiasanlang for your life and death, and ended up putting her and the whole family's lives into it.
Why did Tang Xuanzong have to give death to his aunt Princess Taiping?
In my opinion, there are three main reasons:
1. Defend the hard-won imperial power of the Li and Tang royal families
Since the death of Emperor Gaozong of Tang in 683, the Li and Tang royal family has been frequently purged for blocking Wu Zetian's way.
It was not until 705 that Emperor Li Xian of Tang launched the "Shenlong Coup" with the support of everyone, which regained imperial power from the hands of Empress Wu Zetian.
But before the Li family stood up for a few days, Tang Zhongzong's powerful wife, Empress Wei, was officially launched.
Empress Wei has always followed the example of her mother-in-law Wu Zetian, who, like her daughter Princess Anle, wants to become an empress like Wu Zetian, so they did not hesitate to force the crown prince Li Chongjun to death, poison Zhongzong Li Xian, and also tried to kill Li Dan and Princess Taiping, and the Li Tang royal family once again faced destruction.
At the end of the day, Li Dan's third son, Li Longji, decided to unite with his aunt Princess Taiping to launch the "Tanglong coup".
On July 21, 710, Li Longji led an army into the palace and killed Empress Wei and Princess Anle, and Li Dan the Prince of Xiang was put on the throne, while Li Longji was made crown prince, and Princess Taiping was crowned Princess Zhenguo.
Since then, imperial power has once again returned to the hands of the Li and Tang royal families.
In order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and preventing women from taking power, when Princess Taiping repeatedly extended her hand to the imperial power, Tang Xuanzong could not bear it anymore and finally made a killing intention.
2. The Jedi counterattack against Princess Taiping's approaching Jedi
After the Tanglong coup, the "honeymoon period" between Li Longji and his aunt Princess Taiping ended, and in order to compete for the right to speak and rule the imperial government, the aunt and nephew began round after round of "fighting the law".
Round 1: Scrapped
The reason why Princess Taiping chose her nephew Li Longji as the object of cooperation in the Tanglong coup was mainly because he was young and had no roots in the dynasty, which was convenient for future control.
But when the big thing was done, Princess Taiping was surprised to find that Li Longji's courage and skill far exceeded her imagination, and this 25-year-old young man was not a master at the mercy of others at all.
At this point, the prince can only be quickly replaced, fortunately, Li Longji has an obvious weakness - that is, his identity and the status of the third in the ranking.
According to the primogeniture inheritance system passed down for thousands of years, the throne cannot be inherited by Li Longji at all, and the heir of the Eight Classics of Zheng'er should be Li Chengji, the eldest son of Emperor Ruizong Li Dan.
Princess Taiping believed that as long as she caught this weakness of Li Longji and made a big fuss, she could completely make the East Palace change hands.
For this reason, Princess Taiping first ordered people to spread public opinion throughout the court and the public, saying that Li Longji was not the eldest son of Concubine and was not qualified to be crown prince.
Then, he used the network of contacts he had built up for many years to constantly plant eyes and ears around the prince, and implemented 24-hour uninterrupted monitoring of him without dead ends.
As long as the crown prince made mistakes in his private life or government affairs, she could grab the handle as soon as possible and impeach the crown prince to the emperor's brother.
But the result was completely unexpected.
Li Longji knew that I was in the open and the enemy was in the dark, so he was very careful in every move, even when he slept with his wife and concubine, he strictly controlled the number of times.
In 711 AD, the impatient Princess Taiping suddenly made a move that everyone did not expect - Princess Zhenguo actually took a chariot and blocked the prime ministers on the way home from work, and then had a public showdown: "I think the current prince is not suitable to sit in this position, for the sake of imperial politics, let's change a prince!" “
The prime ministers looked at each other one by one, speechless for a while, everyone knew the powerful relationship here, one was the princess of Zhenguo who was in power, and the other was the prince of the dynasty with the right of inheritance, which could not be provoked!
Just as everyone was searching their stomachs and thinking about how to deal with it, Prime Minister Song Jing stepped forward and took the lead in breaking the silence: "The prince has great merit to the world and is the future master of our country's subjects, why did the princess suddenly have such an idea?" ”
It is clear that Song Jing is a staunch princeling.
Princess Taiping suppressed her anger and stared coldly at this unknown Song Jing, not expecting to touch a nail here.
Soon, Princess Taiping, who had won the victory, received another "bad news" - Emperor Ruizong Li Dan did not want to see his sister too powerful in the dynasty, so he issued an edict ordering that no one was allowed to talk about the deposition of the crown prince.
In the first round, Princess Taiping exerted her strength everywhere, but did not hurt the prince in the slightest.
The "General Guide to the Governance of Resources" records:
The princess also invited the prime minister to the Guangfan Gate, ridiculing the East Palace, everyone was discolored, and Song Jing protested: "The East Palace has great merit in the world, the lord of the Zhenzong Temple Society, the princess suddenly has this discussion!"
However, Princess Taiping was not flustered, and with the wisdom and experience she had accumulated over the years in the court, she was still very confident to deal with this fledgling Li Jiasanlang.
Since one plan can't be done, then regenerate it.
But what Princess Taiping didn't expect was that it was Li Longji who took the lead this time.
Round 2: Transfer
Seeing that Princess Taiping and Li Longji were already in a state of fire, the ministers of the DPRK and the Central Committee also took sides, and no one cared about the government and people's livelihood anymore.
Prime Minister Song Jing and Yao Chong hurriedly said to Ruizong:
"King Chengji of Song is His Majesty's eldest son... Now, Princess Taiping is sowing discord in it, vainly trying to depose the crown prince, and the ministers and others are worried that the crown prince will be in danger. In order to ensure the tranquility of the community and the unharmed East Palace, the King of Song and the King of Feng should be released as local assassins, eliminating the idea of Princess Taiping, and in addition, Princess Taiping and the horse Wuyuji should be moved out of Chang'an and resettled in Luoyang. ”
Obviously, this suggestion is more beneficial to Crown Prince Li Longji and more conducive to stabilizing the political situation.
On the grounds of missing his own sister, Ke Ruizong only agreed to the arrangement for the prince, and arranged Princess Taiping in Puzhou, which is closer to Chang'an.
Suddenly transferred from the center of power, Princess Taiping did not make a move in this round, and seemed to have lost. But Princess Taiping has long cultivated the ability to be immortal in danger in Wu Zetian's perennial teachings.
As long as things are not a foregone conclusion, there must be a chance to turn around.
After thinking about it, Princess Taiping decided to do two more things before leaving, no matter what, she would not let the prince succeed.
First, instructed her confidants and ministers to impeach the prince's staunch supporters, Yao Chong and Song Jing, for the crime of great disrespect for the emperor;
The second thing was to go to the imperial womb in person, put up the shelves of the elders, and accuse the prince of crossing the river and tearing down bridges and being ungrateful.
In front of a group of subordinates, Li Longji was scolded for losing face and majesty, but he quickly reacted, Princess Taiping still has a lot of power in the dynasty, if you are tough with her this time, maybe it will be yourself who will suffer in the end.
Thinking of this, Li Longji already had a way to deal with it in his heart.
He quickly admitted his mistake to his aunt and admitted that Yao Chong and Song Jing had done something wrong, but he changed his tone and accused the two grandsons of being completely self-made, and they did this to provoke the relationship between Princess Taiping's aunt and nephew, which shows that his intentions are sinister, and such a person should be divided into capital punishment.
At a critical moment, Li Longji chose to endure humiliation and bear the burden and lose his pawn to protect the car, which is a necessary quality for a politician and the only way for an emperor to grow.
Inflicting eight hundred self-damage and one thousand wounded enemies, Princess Taiping achieved her goal. She went to Puzhou very reluctantly, and at the same time, Yao Chong and Song Jing were also removed from the post of prime minister and demoted to local assassins.
No one is the real winner in this round.
But until the last moment, Princess Taiping will not give up.
Round 3: Zen position
In July 712 AD, a comet dragged its long tail and cut through the quiet night sky.
Princess Taiping looked up at the sky and thought of a plan that was enough to destroy Li Longji.
She immediately played to Ruizong: "Recently, there has been a vision in the sky, it seems that the prince is about to depose the saint and establish himself as the Son of Heaven!" ”
To rest on other dynasties and other emperors, Princess Taiping's letter is folded, and the prince immediately has to fall to the ground, and the heavens warn + rebel, this sin is great!
But Ruizong, in the years of treacherous political struggle, has long seen through the imperial power, tired of being the emperor, and he wishes that the crown prince would take the throne as soon as possible! Since the heavens have given instructions, then what are you waiting for?
Therefore, in August 712, Emperor Ruizong of Tang Li Dan officially gave the throne to the crown prince Li Longji, and he became the emperor himself.
I wanted to pull Li Longji down from the crown prince's throne, but who knows, stealing chickens will not lead to eroding rice, and a letter will turn and push him onto the throne of the Nine Five. Princess Taiping looked up to the sky and sighed, beating her chest, a big mistake!
And like Princess Taiping, there is Li Longji, who has just become the emperor, and he sees the situation very clearly: on the one hand, his aunt Princess Taiping, who is eager to fight back and ready to fight back, on the other hand, his father Taishanghuang, who holds real power and is good at balance, is really not good for him, the emperor, caught in the middle.
Round 4: Coup d'état
In order to end the saber rattling between the two sides, in July 713, Princess Taiping decided to take the lead and launch a coup d'état to overthrow Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Li Longji by force.
However, just the day before the move, Wei Zhigu, the prime minister who originally belonged to Princess Taiping's party, suddenly rebelled and told Tang Xuanzong and Pan about Princess Taiping's plan, and as a result, before the coup officially began, Tang Xuanzong took most of the initiative.
The ending can be imagined, Princess Taiping was defeated, so she had to flee to a temple in the mountains to take refuge, and three days later, she returned to Chang'an disheartened, hoping that her nephew would see the merits of the past and allow her to support her.
However, when she stepped into the house with her front foot, the emperor's edict of death arrived.
In this round, Princess Taiping became a complete loser, she not only took her own life, but also pulled the whole family except her son Xue Chongjian to be buried, and the mountain treasures of the Zhenguo Princess Mansion also naturally became the property of Tang Xuanzong.
The General Guide to Information and Governance contains:
"Princess Taiping fled into the mountain temple, and in three days she went out, and died at home, and the princess's sons and the party and dozens of people died. Xue Chongjian told his mother that he was beaten and specially spared death, given the surname Li, and the official title remained the same. Princess family. ”
3. Regain power in the hands of Emperor Taishang Li Dan
After Emperor Ruizong Li Dan abdicated, he still held the power to appoint officials above the third grade, the power to judge major criminal cases, and the power to adjudicate major national policies.
Li Longji, the emperor, deserves to be unscrupulous.
Therefore, while eradicating the Taiping party, Emperor Taishang Li Dan was also controlled by the forbidden army, and he immediately understood: This is the son who came to ask Lao Tzu for power!
The next day, Emperor Taishang Li Dan issued the last edict of his life, announcing that from now on, "all military and political punishments will be punished by the emperor; Fang has nothing to do to nourish the will, so as to achieve the heart."
From then on, Emperor Taishang Li Dan officially withdrew from the center of power and faded out of the sight of officials and subjects.
Da Tang is Li Longji's.
Summary:
As Wu Zetian's only and most admired daughter, Princess Taiping has courage and resourcefulness, and political forces are all over the court, and even Wu Zetian can't help but praise: "Princess Taiping is most like me."
In the struggle for power and politics, she gained supreme glory and wealth, but she also ended up dying for power.
Princess Taiping became the last vestige of Tang women in the political arena, and the era of empresses is gone.