Preface
In the long history of the Tang Dynasty, there was a power struggle that shocked the government and the opposition. This secret struggle, which lasted for many years, not only led to the rebellion of Yongwang Li Lan during the Anshi Rebellion, but also an important step towards the decline of the Tang Dynasty. What kind of grievances and grievances made the two generations of monarchs of the Tang Dynasty go to opposition? What are their inner struggles and choices?
Xuanzong's desire for power and Yang Guifei's downfall
As the longest-reigning emperor in the history of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji was undoubtedly a very charismatic monarch. At the beginning of his ascension to the throne, he showed a strong desire for power.
At the beginning of Xuanzong's ascension to the throne, he personally launched the Xuanwumen Incident that shocked the government and the opposition, killed his brother Li Jiancheng, and seized the throne. Since then, he has deposed two princes, including his own son Li Ying. It can be seen that even if it is his own relatives, as long as he poses a threat to his position, Xuanzong will not be merciful.
However, Xuanzong's lust for power was not satisfied by this. After reigning for many years, he gradually sank into the favor of Yang Guifei. Yang Guifei is not only beautiful, but also good at power and scheming, she skillfully manipulated Xuanzong, making him neglect the government and indulge his selfish desires.
This situation lasted until the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion. At that time, Xuanzong was immersed in his affection with Yang Guifei and completely ignored the government and politics, so much so that he turned a blind eye to the signs of rebellion. It wasn't until the rebels broke through Tongguan that Xuanzong fled to Shu in a hurry, and then he realized his mistake.
Suzong's political ambitions and power struggles
Unlike Xuanzong's indulgence, his crown prince Tang Suzong Li Heng has always been cautious, for fear that his father will find any flaws.
Suzong was regarded as a thorn in Xuanzong's side since he was a child, because he was the second prince of Xuanzong, and the previous prince Li Ying had been deposed and killed by Xuanzong. In order to keep his status as the crown prince, Suzong had to always guard against all the powerful ministers under Xuanzong.
Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong and others successively used various means to attack Suzong, although Xuanzong did not directly depose the crown prince, but also turned a blind eye and let his subordinates torture Suzong. This constant pressure made Su Zong always fearful, for fear that he would lose his life if he was not careful.
However, Suzong was not completely passive. He also secretly accumulated strength and privately formed alliances with Wei Jian, Huangfu Weiming and others to try to resist the suppression of Li Linfu and others. Unfortunately, this conspiracy was eventually discovered by Li Linfu, resulting in the murder of Wei Jian's entire family and the debasement of Huangfu Weiming.
This power struggle, which lasted for many years, made Suzong deeply aware that only by ascending to the throne could he truly grasp the power and get rid of the control of Xuanzong and his subordinates. So, when the Anshi Rebellion broke out and Xuanzong fled to Shu in a hurry, Suzong finally seized this opportunity, launched a coup d'état, deposed his father, and ascended the throne as emperor, becoming the eleventh emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
The rebellion of Yongwang Li Lan and the last fight of Xuanzong
After Suzong ascended the throne, he did not feel at ease, but always guarded against Xuanzong's movements. He successively dismissed the important ministers sent by Xuanzong to his side, and did not allow Xuanzong to interfere too much in court affairs.
This kind of confrontation made Xuanzong feel very unwilling. As an emperor with a strong desire for power, how could he be willing to retreat to the position of the emperor and let his son take power independently? Therefore, he began to use various means to fight against Suzong.
One of the most crucial steps was to send his son, Yongwang Li Luan, to Jiangnan to recruit troops. Although Li Lan is confused by nature, as Xuanzong's biological son, he naturally inherited his father's desire for power. With the support of Xuanzong, Li Xuan soon gathered tens of thousands of troops in Jiangnan and recruited the famous poet Li Bai into his command.
This is undoubtedly a major provocation to Suzong. As the marshal of the world's soldiers and horses, Su Zong naturally will not sit idly by. He immediately ordered Li to return to Shu, but Li ignored him and instead began to clash with the local Tang generals. This was the beginning of the rebellion of the Eternal King Li Xuan.
In the end, Li's rebellion was suppressed by the Tang army. Xuanzong was saddened by this, because Li Lan was his biological son after all. Suzong, on the other hand, did not severely punish Li Xuan's crimes, which also reflected his tolerance for Xuanzong.
This father-son dispute finally ended with Xuanzong's complete loss of power. Although he once tried to fight against Suzong through Li Lan, he was finally completely controlled by his son. This also marked an important step in the decline of the Tang Dynasty.
Xuanzong's desire for power and Yang Guifei's downfall
As the longest-reigning emperor in the history of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji was undoubtedly a very charismatic monarch. At the beginning of his ascension to the throne, he showed a strong desire for power.
At the beginning of Xuanzong's ascension to the throne, he personally launched the Xuanwumen Incident that shocked the government and the opposition, killed his brother Li Jiancheng, and seized the throne. Since then, he has deposed two princes, including his own son Li Ying. It can be seen that even if it is his own relatives, as long as he poses a threat to his position, Xuanzong will not be merciful.
However, Xuanzong's lust for power was not satisfied by this. After reigning for many years, he gradually sank into the favor of Yang Guifei. Yang Guifei is not only beautiful, but also good at power and scheming, she skillfully manipulated Xuanzong, making him neglect the government and indulge his selfish desires.
This situation lasted until the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion. At that time, Xuanzong was immersed in his affection with Yang Guifei and completely ignored the government and politics, so much so that he turned a blind eye to the signs of rebellion. It wasn't until the rebels broke through Tongguan that Xuanzong fled to Shu in a hurry, and then he realized his mistake.
Suzong's political ambitions and power struggles
Unlike Xuanzong's indulgence, his crown prince Tang Suzong Li Heng has always been cautious, for fear that his father will find any flaws.
Suzong was regarded as a thorn in Xuanzong's side since he was a child, because he was the second prince of Xuanzong, and the previous prince Li Ying had been deposed and killed by Xuanzong. In order to keep his status as the crown prince, Suzong had to always guard against all the powerful ministers under Xuanzong.
Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong and others successively used various means to attack Suzong, although Xuanzong did not directly depose the crown prince, but also turned a blind eye and let his subordinates torture Suzong. This constant pressure made Su Zong always fearful, for fear that he would lose his life if he was not careful.
However, Suzong was not completely passive. He also secretly accumulated strength and privately formed alliances with Wei Jian, Huangfu Weiming and others to try to resist the suppression of Li Linfu and others. Unfortunately, this conspiracy was eventually discovered by Li Linfu, resulting in the murder of Wei Jian's entire family and the debasement of Huangfu Weiming.
This power struggle, which lasted for many years, made Suzong deeply aware that only by ascending to the throne could he truly grasp the power and get rid of the control of Xuanzong and his subordinates. So, when the Anshi Rebellion broke out and Xuanzong fled to Shu in a hurry, Suzong finally seized this opportunity, launched a coup d'état, deposed his father, and ascended the throne as emperor, becoming the eleventh emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
The rebellion of Yongwang Li Lan and the last fight of Xuanzong
After Suzong ascended the throne, he did not feel at ease, but always guarded against Xuanzong's movements. He successively dismissed the important ministers sent by Xuanzong to his side, and did not allow Xuanzong to interfere too much in court affairs.
This kind of confrontation made Xuanzong feel very unwilling. As an emperor with a strong desire for power, how could he be willing to retreat to the position of the emperor and let his son take power independently? Therefore, he began to use various means to fight against Suzong.
One of the most crucial steps was to send his son, Yongwang Li Luan, to Jiangnan to recruit troops. Although Li Lan is confused by nature, as Xuanzong's biological son, he naturally inherited his father's desire for power. With the support of Xuanzong, Li Xuan soon gathered tens of thousands of troops in Jiangnan and recruited the famous poet Li Bai into his command.
This is undoubtedly a major provocation to Suzong. As the marshal of the world's soldiers and horses, Su Zong naturally will not sit idly by. He immediately ordered Li to return to Shu, but Li ignored him and instead began to clash with the local Tang generals. This was the beginning of the rebellion of the Eternal King Li Xuan.
In the end, Li's rebellion was suppressed by the Tang army. Xuanzong was saddened by this, because Li Lan was his biological son after all. Suzong, on the other hand, did not severely punish Li Xuan's crimes, which also reflected his tolerance for Xuanzong.
This father-son dispute finally ended with Xuanzong's complete loss of power. Although he once tried to fight against Suzong through Li Lan, he was finally completely controlled by his son. This also marked an important step in the decline of the Tang Dynasty.
epilogue
This power struggle between Tang Xuanzong and Tang Suzong is undoubtedly a tortuous and turbulent history. One is an emperor who has a strong desire for power and is immersed in selfish desires in his later years; The other is the prince who is cautious and has to be on guard at all times in order to maintain his position. The entanglement of grievances between them eventually led to the rebellion of Yongwang Li Lan during the Anshi Rebellion, which also became an important step in the decline of the Tang Dynasty.
This history has undoubtedly left us with a profound enlightenment: the struggle for power often leads to the rise and fall of families and countries, and the conflict between father and son often evolves into greater disasters. We should draw lessons from this, cherish the peace in front of us, and work together to safeguard social stability and development. Only in this way can we avoid a repetition of the tragedy of history.