There is a very special emperor in the Great Tang royal family - Li Dan of Tang Ruizong. This emperor is the son of Wu Zetian, who has abdicated the throne three times, and can be regarded as a legend in the emperor's circle. So, why did Li Dan give up the throne, and also gave way to three sessions, let's clear the fog and see what are the mysteries behind this emperor's abdication?
As Wu Zetian's own son, Li Dan went through ups and downs to ascend the throne. Wu Zetian is a powerful woman, and her methods are not a joke. However, despite the difficult situation, Li Dan was put on the throne together with his brother Li Xian with his wisdom and spirit of indifference to fame and wealth. However, the two brothers were kicked down by Wu Zetian again. But strangely, Wu Zetian did not treat Li Dan the same way he suppressed Li Xian, but gave him the surname Wu, and even prepared to hand over the world to him before he died. This is really confusing, but this is also where Li Dan's wisdom is brilliant.
What is admirable is that Li Dan has taken the initiative to give up the throne three times. The first abdication was after Wu Zetian deposed Emperor Zhongzong of Tang and installed Li Dan as emperor, but Li Dan did not control the imperial power, and Wu Zetian forcibly participated in political activities as empress dowager. In the second year of the arch, Wu Zetian issued a divine decree to return power to Ruizong, but Ruizong did not accept it, because he knew that his mother's move was only for the people of the world to see, and there was no real intention of returning it.
The second time was to give it to his brother Li Xian. After Wu Zetian became emperor, he was uncertain about whether to establish the Li clan or the Wu clan as the crown prince. However, under the persuasion of Di Renjie and others, she finally decided to make Li the crown prince. Therefore, she sent people to Fangzhou to take Li Xian's family back, hoping to restore Li Xian as the crown prince. At this time, 14 years had passed since Li Xian was demoted.
Li Dan understood that his brother Li Xian's return this time was not only allowed by his mother Wu Zetian, but also supported by many ministers. If he continues to occupy the position of the crown prince and refuses to back down, he may suffer accidents in the future. Therefore, he repeatedly refused to attend the court on the grounds of illness and requested that the position of crown prince be relinquished to his brother Li Xian. With this concession, he gave up the status of "quasi-emperor".
This is the second time Li Dan has given way. Through this act of humility, he saved his entire family.
The third time was to give it to his son Li Longji. After Emperor Zhongzong was poisoned in May of the fourth year of Jinglong, Li Longji, the third son of Emperor Ruizong in June, led the imperial army into the palace to attack Empress Wei, Princess Anle, and Shangguan Wan'er, and together with Princess Taiping, he supported Emperor Ruizong to restore the throne. However, this was not Li Dan's intention, so Li Dan issued the "Fushiguan Ji Crown Prince and Other Persuasion Edicts" to clearly express his unwillingness to be an emperor.
After his restoration, Li Dan faced many challenges and difficulties. Among them, the most headache for him is the power of his son Li Longji and his sister Princess Taiping. Intelligent, witty, bold and insightful, Li Longji was an outstanding emperor in the history of the Tang Dynasty, but his lust for power was also great. He aspired to hold more power, and even competed with his father Li Dan for the throne. Although Li Dan was eventually successfully restored to the throne, Li Longji's power and position were also strengthened, and he had more power in the dynasty, which became a major threat to Li Dan's rule. And Princess Taiping? She is Li Dan's younger sister, smart and witty, and is known as a "hero". However, she also has a strong desire for power. After Li Dan's restoration, Princess Taiping's power also expanded rapidly, and she controlled more political resources and the army, which became another major threat to Li Dan's rule.
Feeling anxious and worried about the power of his son Li Longji and his sister Princess Taiping, Emperor Ruizong understood that his rule would not last long if he did not take effective measures to balance these two forces, so he began to actively seek solutions to try to maintain his power and stabilize the situation in the Tang Dynasty. In the end, he chose to give way to his third son, Li Longji, later Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Li Longji did not live up to Li Dan's expectations, and immediately took action after assuming the throne, effectively weakening the power of Princess Taiping and laying the foundation for the political stability of the Tang Dynasty. He paid attention to the selection and appointment of talented people and devoted himself to the governance and development of the country, thus ushering in the prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty, the Kaiyuan Dynasty.
Tang Ruizong Li Dan is not only a wise and wise emperor, but also a person who is indifferent to fame and fortune and has a broad mind. His three abdications demonstrate a high level of political structure and judgment. However, his last abdication left a great regret, and his successor Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, played a good hand of cards in the second half of his reign, leaving the Tang Dynasty in a protracted chaos of division of domains and towns.
Of course, that's an afterthought.