Preface
There is an ancient saying in China, called ruthlessness is the most emperor's family, after Li Yu, the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, was captured, he also sighed, and would rather be an ordinary person in the next life, which shows that the power struggle is not something that ordinary people can control.
As soon as the Tang Dynasty was opened, there was a brutal Xuanwumen Change, Li Shimin not only killed his brother and brother, but also eliminated all ten nephews, which made people feel the ruthlessness of the emperor.
However, in the history of the Tang Dynasty, there was also a family that loved each other, that was the family of Tang Ruizong Li Dan, this family is very strange, everyone is not greedy for power, especially the youngest son Li Longfan, the king of Qi, whose life is even more legendary.
1. A special imperial home
Regarding family education, some people have put forward such a point of view, strong parents often educate weak children, and vice versa, weak parents will educate strong children, Li Yuan is a weaker person, and the three sons are stronger than the other.
Wu Zetian and Emperor Gaozong have a total of four sons, due to Wu Zetian's strength, these four sons are very weak in aura, but the misfortune and fortune depend on, sometimes until the last moment, you don't know if this is a bad thing.
Li Dan, as Wu Zetian's youngest son, is very different from his parents, compared to Wu Zetian, who dominates the world, Li Dan is even a little cowardly, he is like an ordinary scholar, with the trembling of a scholar, and the habits of the emperor's family are not contaminated at all.
Maybe with a mother like Wu Zetian, any child will become like this, you have to restrain your edge, in exchange for the safety of your family.
Wu Zetian's eldest son, Li Hong, was originally a benevolent and virtuous king, and as the eldest son, he should inherit the throne, but Li Hong was weak and sickly and died of illness in his twenties, but there is also a saying that Li Hong was killed by Wu Zetian for the sake of the throne.
The second son Li Xian, whose talent is not inferior to the eldest brother Li Hong, after Li Hong's death, Li Xian was made the crown prince by Emperor Gaozong, and also completed three tasks of supervising the country brilliantly.
In the eyes of the ministers of the court, it was a sure thing for Li Xian to become the new emperor, but unfortunately, Li Xian was suddenly imprisoned for rebellion in 680 AD, and was given death at the behest of Wu Zetian.
It can be seen from Li Xian's body that it seems that the death of the eldest brother is inseparable from Wu Zetian, because he really has no reason to rebel, so it can only show Wu Zetian's painstaking road to power.
In such a family, the two brothers Li Xian and Li Dan are relatively far away from the political center due to their young age, especially Li Dan, after seeing the two elder brothers die in the palace fight, he has no intention of being the emperor at all.
After Li Xian succeeded to the throne, Li Dan was completely reduced to the role of a trick, but this was a good thing for him and his wife and children.
Li Dan's children also stayed away from the political whirlpool, and Li Longji, who later became Emperor Xuanzong, had a very close relationship with his brother Li Longfan in the Yuwang Mansion, and the other sons were also harmonious, Li Dan was infinitely relieved in his heart, except for Wu Zetian's occasional signs, which frightened him.
Second, the kind King of Qi
The name Li Longfan is very unfamiliar to many people, but in fact, Du Fu has already written in the poem: "It is common to see it in King Qi's house, and Cui Jiutang has heard it a few times before."
This King of Qi is Li Longfan, after Li Dan was pushed to the throne by Wu Zetian, he was named King Qi, although he is the prince, but Li Longfan does not have any shelf, he often holds literati parties in his palace, and invites the great talents in Chang'an City to come to gather.
It can be seen from Du Fu's poems that almost all of the people who haunted Li Longfan's mansion at that time were literary heroes, such as Li Guinian, Bai Juyi, etc., these romantic poets gathered in the prince's mansion, and a group of people drank and wrote poems, which was quite elegant.
Li Longfan himself likes music and rhythm, and he is good at painting and calligraphy, which makes the literati and ink writers praise him even more, compared to his brother Li Longji, Li Longfan seems to be a little indisputable.
Maybe it's because the pressure of his grandmother Wu Zetian is too great, Li Longfan has never had any thoughts about power from beginning to end, even if Li Dan ascends the throne for the second time, as the king of Qi, he also serves as the general of Zuo Yu Lin Wei, and controls the security of the entire Chang'an City, he doesn't have any moves.
It wasn't until Princess Taiping planned to usurp the throne that a fierce light appeared in Li Longfan's eyes, and he did not allow anyone to destroy his stable family life.
Li Dan can become the throne, Princess Taiping has made a lot of efforts, and she has got everything she wants, but once people gain power, they are easy to float, and Princess Taiping is no exception, she often sits with Tang Ruizong to discuss state affairs, and sometimes she does not receive the emperor's call, she goes directly to the palace.
Although from the perspective of Princess Taiping, her father was the emperor, her mother was also the emperor, and even her two younger brothers were emperors, and the palace was really her home, but a king would not share the world with anyone, and Princess Taiping's practices were already usurping the imperial power.
3. Brothers work together, and their profits are gold
Tang Ruizong is the elder brother of Princess Taiping, but his temperament is very weak, Princess Taiping does not take her brother in her eyes at all, she is only afraid of her nephew Li Longji, in order to continue her power, she began to spread rumors, wanting to get Li Longji off the throne of the prince.
Princess Taiping said to Emperor Rui, saying that she had found someone to calculate, the next emperor needs someone who is as gentle as jade, Li Longji is too sharp, and it is not suitable at all, so it is better to let Li Longfan be the prince.
If ordinary people might fall for Princess Taiping, but she met the Li family brothers, and in order to fight against Princess Taiping, the four brothers united.
In order to settle the matter, Li Dan directly ceded the throne to Li Longji, let him ascend the throne as emperor in advance, and became the emperor himself, this decision accelerated the road to power for Princess Taiping.
After Emperor Xuanzong ascended the throne, in order to avoid suspicion, Li Longfan changed his name to Li Fan, who had never asked about political affairs, and he was also nervous at this time, because Princess Taiping had been operating in the court for many years, and five of the seven prime ministers in the court were promoted by her.
Emperor Xuanzong immediately ordered to transfer Jin Wuwei and Yulin Army into the palace, and at the same time sent people to arrest Princess Taiping, and finally caught her in a temple, and then died of hatred.