There have been many outstanding founding monarchs in history, but one of them is rarely mentioned, he is Li Yuan. Perhaps his founding path was relatively low-key, often caught between two illustrious predecessors and juniors, and thus overlooked. However, Li Yuan's life was full of wisdom and decision-making, which played a crucial role in the rise of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Yuan was born into a family and was favored by Emperor Yang Jian of Sui and Empress Dugu at an early age. During the Yang Guang period, he served as a defender of Taiyuan and held important frontier posts. Just as Yang Guang's three failed conquests of Goguryeo and the country fell into chaos, Li Yuan saw the opportunity and went south to capture Chang'an, a move that laid the foundation for the rise of the Tang Dynasty. In those chaotic times, his strategic vision was crucial, as well as his political and diplomatic skills.
At the end of the Sui Dynasty, there were many rebels, known as the eighteen-way anti-king and sixty-four roads of smoke. In such chaos, Li Yuan seized the opportunity and calmed the world one by one. However, he did not rush to change the system of the Sui Dynasty, but took a series of measures, reducing taxes, encouraging peasants, and amending laws so that the people could rest and recuperate in troubled times.
However, despite unifying the world, Li Yuan did not sit on the throne for a long time. In 624, Li Xiaogong destroyed Jiangnan Fugongyou, marking the basic unification of the Tang Dynasty. Just two years later, there was a famous coup d'état in history, the "Xuanwu Gate Change". Li Shimin seized the crown prince, and a month later, Li Yuanchan took the throne and retired as Emperor Taishang. From then on, he no longer participated in imperial politics, but also kept his distance from his son, immersed in alcohol and beauty.
Li Yuan died in Chang'an in 635 at the age of 70 due to wind illness. On his deathbed, he instructed that his death should not interfere with Li Shimin's handling of imperial politics, and that funerals should be held according to the Han system. He was buried in the Xian Mausoleum, with the nickname Emperor Taiwu and the temple number Gaozu.
Some people may think that Li Yuan had problems in choosing an heir, but in fact, he adhered to the system of primogeniture and avoided chaos and bloodshed in the court. However, his abdication also set a precedent for political change in the history of the Tang Dynasty, making the throne no longer secure. In subsequent history, this precedent led to more palace coups.
Overall, Li Yuan was a wise and cautious monarch whose decision-making and strategic vision laid a solid foundation for the rise of the Tang Dynasty, making it one of the greatest dynasties in Chinese history.
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