#History##History##讲好中国文化#
Li Chenggan was the eldest son of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, and the crown prince of the early Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty. He was born in the Chengqian Hall, hence the name. He is intelligent and benevolent, rich and majestic, benevolent and pure, and deeply loved by Li Shimin. He once judged state affairs on behalf of his father and praised the world as good. His wife was Su, the eldest daughter of the secretary Cheng Su and the niece of Empress Wende's Changsun clan. Many of his descendants became prime ministers or high-ranking officials. He was supposed to be the only "legitimate" heir to the throne, but because of a rebellion, he was deposed as a commoner and exiled to Qianzhou, where he died in depression. After his death, he was posthumously honoured as King Hengshan and buried in Zhaoling. His life was full of tragedy and regret, so why did he embark on the road of rebellion?
To answer this question, we need to analyze Li Chenggan's personality, family and political environment. First of all, although Li Chenggan is smart and benevolent, he also has his own shortcomings. He has foot problems and is not good at walking, which may affect his self-confidence and mental balance. He has a reverence and dependence on his father Li Shimin, but also has a yang and yin and impatient side. He sometimes lacked respect and modesty for his division commanders and colleagues, and even sent strong men to assassinate his teacher, Lu Deming. He also did not have the love and tolerance that his brothers deserved, but suspected and hostile. To a certain extent, these character flaws buried the bane of his future rebellion.
Secondly, Li Chenggan's family has also brought him a lot of trouble and pressure. His mother, Empress Wende, Changsun Shi, died in the eighth year of Zhenguan (634), which was a huge blow to Li Chenggan. The Changsun clan is not only his closest mother, but also his strongest support. She had great prestige and influence in the dynasty, and her brother Sun Wuji was one of Li Shimin's most trusted prime ministers.
During her lifetime, she interceded and defended Li Chenggan many times to protect him from attacks and slander. After her death, Li Chenggan lost an important pillar and a warm haven. Shortly after her death, Li Shimin married Wu Zetian as empress. Wu Zetian was an ambitious, scheming, and cruel woman who did not have a true mother-son affection for Li Chenggan, but wanted to push her son Li Hong or Li Zhi to inherit the throne. She formed a party alliance in the DPRK and China for personal gain, wooed her cronies, rejected dissidents, and suppressed and framed Li Chenggan and his supporters. She even secretly sent someone to assassinate Li Chenggan, although it was unsuccessful, but it also made Li Chenggan feel fear and resentment. In such a family, Li Chenggan felt lonely and helpless, as well as crisis and threat.
Third, Li Chenggan's political environment was also an important factor in his path of rebellion. As the crown prince, Li Chenggan should have won the support and respect of the ministers of the central government, but in fact he was subjected to a lot of obstruction and suspicion. On the one hand, during Li Shimin's reign, a series of reforms and opening-up were implemented, which made the national strength and national prestige of the Tang Dynasty reach an unprecedented height. He was also good at employing people and recruiting talents, which led to the emergence of a number of talented and meritorious officials in the DPRK. Some of these officials were Li Shimin's early comrades-in-arms and cronies, and some were later newcomers and people with different surnames, and they all had deep feelings and loyalty to Li Shimin. They did not want to see Li Shimin abdicate or die, nor did they want to see Li Chenggan succeed to the throne or intervene in government.
They believed that Li Chenggan was young and ignorant and did not have enough ability and experience to govern the Tang Dynasty, and they feared that Li Chenggan's coming to power would change Li Shimin's policies and personnel, weakening their status and interests. Therefore, they were hostile or indifferent to Li Chenggan, and even secretly ostracized and framed. On the other hand, although Li Shimin doted on Li Chenggan, he was not completely trusted and relieved. He had high expectations and requirements for Li Chenggan, hoping that he could become a wise lord of the Ming Dynasty, inherit his legacy, and continue his merits. He conducted strict education and training on Li Chenggan, and sent some wise men to assist and supervise him.
However, he also discovered some shortcomings and mistakes of Li Chenggan, such as disrespecting the division commander, assassinating Lu Deming, and snubbing the ministers. He was dissatisfied and disappointed by this, and also severely rebuked and punished it. He even thought about deposing Li Chenggan and installing his other sons as crown princes. All this gave Li Chenggan a lot of pressure and blows, causing him to resent and resist his father.
To sum up, Li Chenggan's embarkation on the road of rebellion was not impulsive or for no reason. It is due to the influence and role of many factors such as his own character defects, changes in his family environment, and difficulties in the political situation. Of course, this does not make an excuse or reason for his rebellion. As a prince, he should be loyal to his father and emperor, filial to his mother, love and care for his brothers, respect his teacher, accept good words, cultivate his family, and govern the country and the world, but he did not do this, but did something that violated filial piety, loyalty, benevolence, and etiquette, violated heavenly reason and people's hearts, and eventually led to his own demise and tragic end. His rebellion also brought great shock and crisis to the Tang Dynasty, affecting the stability and development of the Tang Dynasty. So, how did he rebel? What were the consequences of his rebellion? Let's break it down in detail.
Li Chenggan's rebellion took place in the fourteenth year of Zhenguan (640), six years after he was made crown prince. In this year, Li Shimin set out to fight in Gaochang and left Li Chengqian to oversee the country. Li Chenggan should have handled state affairs with peace of mind and waited for his father's triumphant return, but he took the opportunity to conspire with some dissatisfied and ambitious people to usurp the throne. These people mainly fall into the following categories:
One category is Li Chenggan's cronies and henchmen, such as Shi Wangjie, the governor of the left guard, Shi Zhangliang, the governor of the right guard, Xue Rengui, the general of the left Xiaowei, and Cheng Zhijie, the general of the right Xiaowei. These people are all Li Chenggan's confidants and diehards, and they have deep feelings and interests with him. They were loyal to Li Chenggan, but they were also dissatisfied or afraid of Li Shimin. They hoped that Li Chenggan would ascend the throne as soon as possible so that he could obtain higher official positions and greater power.
One category is Wu Zetian's cronies and henchmen, such as Cui Xuanwei, Shangshu Zuocheng Han Yu, Shangshu Youcheng Liu Huan, and so on. These people are all Wu Zetian's eyeliner and minions, and have close ties and cooperation with her. They were loyal to Wu Zetian and hostile or jealous of Li Shimin. They hoped that Wu Zetian would take more real power to pave the way for her son or herself.
One category is some frustrated and resentful people, such as Chu Suiliang, the left son of the crown prince, Wang Xun, the right son of the prince, and Wei Zheng, the son of the prince. These are talented but unused or snubbed officials who have conflicts or grudges with Li Shimin. They disobeyed or held a grudge against Li Shimin and had little status and influence in the DPRK. They hoped to use Li Chenggan's power to change their fate or take revenge on their enemies.
At the instigation and planning of Li Chenggan, these people began a series of activities and preparations. They first wanted to assassinate Li Shimin's agent in the field, Prime Minister Changsun Wuji. Changsun Wuji was the younger brother of Empress Wende's Changsun clan and one of Li Shimin's most trusted and valued ministers. He held great power and prestige in the DPRK, which posed a great threat and obstacle to Li Chenggan's rebellion. Li Chenggan sent Wang Jue, Zhang Liang, and others, with some swords and poison, to Changsun Wuji's mansion in an attempt to kill him. However, their actions were discovered by Changsun Wuji's family, Changsun Wuji escaped in time, and Wang Jue and others were arrested.
This incident caused an uproar in the DPRK, and Li Shimin was furious when he learned of this, and immediately sent an envoy back to Beijing to investigate. Li Chenggan panicked and hurriedly discussed countermeasures with Wu Zetian and others. They decided to seize the throne before Li Shimin returned to Beijing. They also sent Xue Rengui, Cheng Zhijie and others, with some soldiers and weapons, to the East Palace to prepare for a coup d'état at night. They planned to kill Li Shimin's other two prime ministers, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruxi, then attack the palace, force Li Shimin to abdicate or commit suicide, and finally install Li Chenggan as emperor.
However, their plans were leaked again. It turned out that Chu Suiliang, Wang Xun, Wei Zheng and others felt uneasy and regretful in their hearts after participating in the rebellion. They felt that they had done something that betrayed their father and violated their loyalty, and they also felt that they had followed a master who was not worthy of trust and loyalty. They decided to betray Li Chenggan and snitch on Li Shimin. They wrote a secret letter exposing Li Chenggan's rebellious plans and the list of accomplices, and shot arrows into the palace.
Li Shimin was shocked when he received the secret letter, and immediately gathered some loyal generals and soldiers to arrange defensive and counterattack measures. That night, Xue Rengui and others led some soldiers and horses from the East Palace to attack the palace. However, as soon as they arrived at the gate of the palace, they were ambushed by Li Shimin. Li Shimin personally led some elite cavalry and infantry to rush out from inside the palace and fought fiercely with Xue Rengui and others. After a bloody battle, Xue Rengui and the others were defeated and captured, and Li Chenggan's rebellion failed.
Li Chenggan's rebellion had a profound impact and consequences on the Tang Dynasty. First of all, politically, this incident undermined Li Shimin's prestige and authority, and also shook the stability and unity of the Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin was very sad and angry that his son would betray him, and he was also very disappointed and doubtful about his political judgment and ability to employ people. He also developed distrust and vigilance towards the ministers of the DPRK, and began to strengthen his control and intervention. He also developed disgust and resentment towards Wu Zetian and began to weaken her status and power. He also developed doubts and worries about his other sons and began to consider changing the choice of the crown prince. He also made adjustments and changes to some important policies and personnel of the DPRK, such as abolishing the rent and quasi-modulation and dismissing some meritorious generals and officials
These actions aroused dissatisfaction and opposition from the government and the public, and also affected the development and progress of the Tang Dynasty. Secondly, militarily, this incident consumed the military and financial resources of the Tang Dynasty, and also affected the foreign wars and expansion of the Tang Dynasty. In order to quell Li Chenggan's rebellion, Li Shimin had to interrupt his conquest of Gaochang and withdraw most of his troops. This allowed Gao Chang to breathe and fight back, causing the Tang Dynasty's power in the Western Regions to be challenged and threatened. In order to punish Li Chenggan's accomplices, Li Shimin had to execute or exile some talented and meritorious generals and soldiers.
This caused the Tang Dynasty to lose some excellent military talents and resources, resulting in the Tang Dynasty's security in the frontier being endangered and violated. Finally, culturally, this incident hurt the civilization and atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty, and also affected the cultural creation and dissemination of the Tang Dynasty. In order to clean up Li Chenggan's power, Li Shimin had to ban or restrict some beneficial cultural activities and exchanges, such as banning private book collection, restricting school education, and preventing foreign envoys. This made the cultural atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty closed and depressed, resulting in the cultural innovation and development of the Tang Dynasty being hindered and backward.
In short, Li Chenggan's rebellion was an extremely important and tragic historical event, which not only destroyed Li Chenggan himself, but also brought far-reaching influence and consequences to the Tang Dynasty. It allows us to see how a heavenly son can degenerate into an eternal sinner, and it also allows us to see how a prosperous dynasty can fall into a crisis and turmoil. It makes us reflect on the weaknesses and mistakes of human nature, and it also warns us of the complexities and dangers of politics. It is a historical story that deserves our deep reflection and lessons.