Li Ke (李恪), the third son of Emperor Taizong of Tang and li Shimin, was the grandson of emperor Of Sui. Because his mother had a blood line from the previous dynasty, although Li Ke was outstanding, he had always been jealous of Li Shimin.
During the Tang Dynasty, In order to win over the former Sui courtiers in the court, Li Shimin attached great importance to his third son. But no matter how important it is, it is still not as good as his sister-in-law Li Chengqian and Li Tai.
Fortunately, Li Ke also knew that he did not have access to the throne, so he was not keen on power. It is precisely because of this that Li Ke did not fight for power like Li Chengqian and Li Tai.
In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, Li You's rebellion also corrected Li Chengqian's rebellion, and the position of crown prince was deposed. Under the operation of the eldest grandson Wujie, Li Tai was not able to take the position of crown prince, and Li Zhi, the King of Jin, became the crown prince.
However, Li Zhi was somewhat weak in Li Shimin's eyes, and Li Shimin felt that Li Zhi was not like himself, and worried that after his death, the country would not be stable under Li Zhi's rule. He was most worried about the brother's partition wall, and something similar to the Xuanwu Gate would happen again, so he had the following story:
At that time, the crown prince Li Zhi was only fifteen years old and had a somewhat weak personality. Li Shimin was ostensibly worried that the crown prince would not be able to guard this Jiangshan Sheji, so he secretly summoned the eldest grandson Wujie to discuss the matter of Yi Chu.
Tang Taizong said to the eldest grandson Wujie, "Wujie, do you see that our prince's personality is a little benevolent?" ”
The eldest grandson said, "How can this be?" The character of the prince happens to be the king of shoucheng, and with such a prince, the Tang Dynasty will surely be solid. ”
Tang Taizong said, "If this is the case, I am worried that the character of the childish slave will not be able to guard this Jiangshan Sheji, so how can I trust Tang To him?" Li Ke, the King of Wu, is more like Yuan in every way, and he wants to make him the crown prince, what do you think? ”
Since Li Shimin had already said this, it showed that he already had the idea of Yi Chu. This was completely out of the interest of the eldest grandson, so he strongly opposed it.
Seeing the eldest grandson Wuji was a little anxious. Li Shimin felt that the heat was almost over, but he still had to add another fire. He said, "Are you strongly opposed because King Wu is not your nephew?" ”
Eldest Sun Wuji's face changed slightly, and he replied, "Your Majesty, whether King Wu is my nephew or not, I will oppose it." The position of prince is so important that it cannot be easily changed. The present crown prince is a benevolent man, and he will certainly be a benevolent monarch in the future, and he asks His Majesty to make a decision after careful consideration. ”
Li Shimin was persuaded by the eldest son Wujie, and did not mention Yi Chu after this. Instead, Li Ke was summoned by Li Shimin for no reason to admonish:
The Father loves the Son, and the common sentiment of man, is not to be taught. If the son can be loyal and filial, he is good. If he does not obey the temptation and forsakes the law of etiquette, he will be tortured himself, and though the Father loves it, what will he do? Or emperor Wu of Han collapsed, Emperor Zhao's heirs, The King of Yan Dansu was arrogant, and He Zhang disobeyed, and Huo Guang sent a fold to rebuke him, then he died and the country was removed. Husbands and courtiers had to be cautious.
The meaning of this passage is:
It is human nature for a father to love his son, and you don't have to wait until I teach you to know some truth. If you can maintain your loyalty to Datang, filial piety to your parents is good. If you do not follow my teachings, forget and abandon the lyom, you will suffer the consequences of yourself, and no matter how much I love you, the law of the land will not let you go.
You see that when Emperor Wu of Han died, Emperor Zhao of Han had already inherited the unification, but Liu Dan, the king of Yan, was somewhat dissatisfied and privately plotted a rebellion. Huo Guang could kill him with only a single edict. Ke'er, you have to take this as a warning.
Li Shimin's words to Li Ke could not be described as heavy, and he pointed out clearly, "Li Ke, I have established Li Zhi as the crown prince, you don't have to think about it, otherwise Liu Dan, the King of Yan during the Han Dynasty, will be your example." ”
The eldest grandson has no scruples about film and television image
After such severe intimidation by Li Shimin, Li Ke did not dare to have the slightest other thought. Therefore, after Li Zhi inherited the unification, he has been doing his own work conscientiously in the fiefdom.
Li Ke had no intention of taking the throne as emperor at that time, but the other two people were unwilling to let him go. One is Li Zhi, who is very jealous of Li Ke, and the other is the eldest grandson Wujie.
Eldest Sun Wuji has never forgotten what Li Shimin secretly talked about when he recruited him into the palace, and that sentence "Yingguo class me" made Eldest Sun Wuji feel a little chill behind his back. Therefore, when Fang Yi'ai and the horses of the horse elected Li Yuanjing to rebel, the eldest son Wuji made a bureau to involve Li Ke as well.
Li Zhi pretended to intercede for Li Ke, which further confirmed Li Ke's rebellion. Eldest Sun Wuji also cooperated with Li Zhi in singing the double reed: "In the past, when the princes rebelled, they all punished them with the laws of the state, and Li Ke, the king of Wu, was no exception, and he also hoped that His Majesty would not be soft-hearted." ”
Li Zhi film and television image
In this way, Li Ke was pushed into hell. Before Li Ke's death, he did not blame Li Zhi, but angrily scolded the eldest son, saying that his family was not far from extinction. Later, Li Ke's curse was fulfilled, and in the power struggle with Wu Zetian and Li Zhi, the eldest son Wu Ji was defeated and finally killed.
In Li Zhi's death, the eldest son Wuji was the direct murderer, and the indirect murderer was Li Zhi of Tang Gaozong, but the original reason was on Li Shimin's side.
Among the many sons, Li Ke's personality is the most restrained, and at the same time, he knows the most about forbearance. True to Li Shimin's sentence "YingGuo is like me", if Li Ke, who is both literate and martial, is not Shu Out, he will certainly be a strong contender for the throne.
Because of his strong ability, he was jealous of Li Shimin. After all, Li Ke had a deep blood connection with the Sui Emperor, and Li Shimin would never let him inherit his throne.
Li Shimin film and television image
So why is there still the idea of Yi Chu? The reason is that Li Ke is too talented, but Li Zhi is very benevolent on the surface. In Li Shimin's eyes, Li Zhi was like Liu Fuling, the Emperor of Han Zhao.
Therefore, in order to avoid the Jiangshan falling into the hands of Li Ke, Li Shimin made an insurance. He summoned the eldest son Wujie to the palace to discuss Yi Chu's affairs in order to prevent Li Ke from having a disobedient heart. That long-winded warning was another shackle that Li Shimin had put on Li Ke.
But what Li Shimin never expected in his heart was that Li Zhi was not as simple as he seemed. Emperor Gaozong of Tang was also a powerful emperor, and his political means were no worse than those of any emperor.
In order to cut off the opponent, Li Zhi cooperated with the eldest son Wuji to destroy Li Ke, and even the useless sixth brother Li Yan could not escape, and was reduced to a commoner, and Li Zhi's jealousy of those brothers was evident.
Portrait of Emperor Gaozong of Tang
Tiger poison does not eat children, Li Shimin has an intolerable heart for the rebellious Li You, not to mention this Li Ke who most resembles him? Li Shimin did not have the intention of harming Li Ke, he just did not want to kill each other again after his death, Li Ke and Li Zhi, the brothers, for the throne.
Although the admonition is a shackle, how can it not be a father's admonition to his son's love? In Li Shimin's eyes, eldest sun Wuji was not a powerful courtier like Huo Guang, and although Li Shimin used the eldest son Wujie, he really did not expect that he would attack Li Ke.
Although Li Shimin has the wisdom of people, the eldest son Wujie hides too well, and the relationship with Li Shimin is too close, so that Li Shimin does not perceive anything wrong. Therefore, the matter that Li Shimin and the eldest grandson Wuji discussed with Yi Chu became Li Ke's catalyst.
Tang Palace
All in all, Li Shimin did not have the intention of harming Li Ke, he just wanted to be able to reduce the turmoil of the Tang Dynasty after his death and pave the way for his heirs. The real murderers who killed Li Ke were Li Zhi and the eldest grandson Wujie.