Getting caught up in the vortex of power struggles is a common fate in power games. But in the turbulent Tang Dynasty, there was still an anti-involution expert, who just wanted to escape from the dispute between right and wrong and stay away from the core of power. He voluntarily abdicated the throne three times, as if he wanted to escape the shadow brought by the imperial power, but he was ill-fated and difficult to get rid of the palace strife. This person is Tang Ruizong Li Dan, who has experienced ups and downs in his life, witnessed the death of his relatives, and just wants to save himself and his family's lives. So, why did Li Dan give up the throne three times? How did he survive in the whirlpool of power? How will the story unfold?
The price of power: Li Dan's first ascension to power
As the youngest son of Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, Li Dan originally had little connection with the throne. Several of his brothers-in-law have all served as princes, all of them are strong and lively, and their prospects are immeasurable. Who would have thought that these princes who were flying in the wind would be out one by one in Wu Zetian's conspiracy, and in the end, it would be the turn of this gentle old boy to inherit the unification.
Everything starts with Wu Zetian's ambition. When she first became the queen, she had not yet shown her edge, but secretly manipulated Li Zhi to strengthen her power. With the sudden death of the crown prince Li Hong, she began to wait for an opportunity to suppress the new crown prince Li Xian, fabricating rumors and slander, and finally causing Li Xian to lose the position of crown prince. Next, she designed to depose the third crown prince Li Xian, and imprisoned him in Fangzhou for only 55 days.
Just when the government and the opposition were shocked, Li Dan, an old boy, was unexpectedly canonized as the emperor. For a while, there was an uproar in the palace, and everyone questioned how this scholar who had passed by power could control the heavy weapons of a great country. Li Dan knew that although he had the name of the emperor, he was actually just Wu Zetian's puppet emperor heir for her to temporarily control power. Sure enough, after only two years of reign, Wu Zetian publicly deposed him and personally succeeded him as emperor.
In the face of this unexpected change, Li Dan did not feel too much indignation. After all, in the face of Wu Zetian's tricks and conspiracy, these imperial relatives are just pawns for her to lay out and rearrange. The road to power is full of twists and turns, Li Dan has long been downbeat, he only hopes to save the lives of his family. Therefore, when Wu Zetian asked him to let Xian, he did not hesitate to obey his mother's wishes in order to survive. In this way, he was forced to abdicate for the first time, became the puppet emperor of the samurai family, and lived a palace life with limited whereabouts.
Intrigue and Suspicion: Life in Li Dandonggong
After Li Dan abdicated, although he avoided the rolling red dust, he did not get a comfortable life. Wu Zetian changed his surname to Wu, demoted him to the position of "imperial heir", and placed him in the East Palace. Despite enjoying the courtesy of the crown prince, Li Dan has since become the target of the samurai clan's coveted relatives, and has spent eight years of life in the East Palace in intrigue and suspicion.
The first to covet Li Dan was Wu Zetian's nephew Wu Chenghe. He secretly instructed his cronies, spread rumors and slander, and demanded that Li Dan be abolished as the imperial heir and establish himself as the crown prince. Wu Chengsi also took advantage of the opportunity of the major sacrifice to let Wu Zetian grant him the special courtesy of "Yaxian", intending to establish the prestige of the prince. was once in the limelight, and Wu Chenghei was about to ascend to the throne of heir.
In the face of this incident, although Wu Zetian wavered, he did not change his arrangements for Li Dan in the end. However, Wu Chengsi's conspiracy was just the beginning for Li Dan. What's even more terrifying is that there are cronies in the palace who are plotting to harm Li Dan's family. Once, a maid of Wu Zetian, who was the commander of the forbidden army, tried to seduce Li Dan, but after provoking his refusal, she tried her best to frame her for revenge. Fortunately, someone reported it in time, and the maid attempted the plot. However, Li Dan paid a heavy price - his wife and a concubine were suspected by Wu Zetian and were suddenly summoned to the Forbidden City, and they have not been heard from since.
encountered conspiracy in the palace one after another, and Li Dan became more and more vigilant. Just as he was cautious, an even greater disaster struck. The government and the opposition began to spread rumors, claiming that Li Dan had rebelled and intended to seize the throne. Wu Zetian has always been very precautionary, and after listening to the slander, he immediately sent Dali Qing Lai Junchen to lead the crowd into the East Palace and torture the people around Li Dan to extract confessions. Lai Junchen's style was ruthless, and his subordinates actually tortured an East Palace musician to death. This tragic scene finally touched Wu Zetian, and she couldn't bear to see more unjust cases, so she stopped Lai Junchen's interrogation.
In this way, Li Dan spent eight thrilling years in the East Palace. Surrounded by intrigue in the palace, he was once imprisoned, and his life hung by a thread. Although the martial arts clan was extremely vicious to him, Li Dan finally escaped the scourge of killing. It's just because Wu Zetian knows that if Li Dan loses, the government and the opposition will have no support, and her throne will be unstable. This concern made Wu Zetian always open up at a critical moment, preserving the remnants of Li Dan and the Li Tang clan around him.
Li Dan's way of survival
In the palace full of martial intrigue, Li Dan managed to survive many disasters through his own resourcefulness. He first stayed away from the government and devoted his energies to poetry and calligraphy, avoiding getting involved in disputes in the center of power. At the same time, he carefully made friends with a group of nobles in the palace to obtain the trends of the inner palace and prevent problems before they happen. Although these measures seem to be gentle and elegant, they have found a way for Li Dan to survive.
Li Dan, who has been smart and studious since childhood, had a unique experience of poetry and calligraphy in his early years. After retiring to the East Palace, he spent most of his efforts on these elegant things to entertain the hardships in the palace. On a beautiful day, he tasted tea in the pool, or played with the four treasures of the study, and exchanged poetry with some elegant scholars. Occasionally, in his spare time, he would also summon some skilled craftsmen to discuss calligraphy and brushwork. This kind of life is comfortable and tranquil, but it keeps Li Dan away from the authority of the court, thus avoiding the contradictions of the Wu family.
However, it is not enough to dodge, Li Dan needs to plan before acting. He knew very well that the Wu family was eyeing him and was guarded, and he could be caught in a disadvantageous situation at any time. Therefore, he took great pains to make friends with a group of nobles with prestige in the palace. Among them are Yang Gen in the imperial history, Cui Quan and others in the matter. They all served as officials in the Wu Zetian Dynasty, were familiar with machine maintenance, and backed the mountains to their backs. In this way, as long as Li Dan pleases them, he will be able to learn about the changes in the palace in time.
What's more critical is that Li Dan also teamed up with Wu Zetian's eldest grandson, Li Longji. This person is smart and capable, and he was made the crown prince at an early age, and he is highly regarded by Wu Zetian. Although the two are not in-laws, they are also quite related to each other. With Li Longji's strong backer, Li Dan can be regarded as gaining a foothold in the palace, and he has more confidence to dodge around. In fact, this kind of cooperation has also benefited Li Longji a lot. He can use Li Dan's hand to find out the conspiracy and tricks of the Wu family, and prescribe the right medicine to avoid being affected in the future.
In this way, Li Dan survived in the fierce eye of the martial court. Staying away from politics was his life-saving measure, but obtaining information, befriending nobles, and winning over the prince cleared the way for him to hide in Tibet alone in the palace. This set of precautionary survival methods has run through Li Dan's career in the palace for decades, and he can be described as a master of power and strategy.
The Price of Power: The Dilemma of Ascending the Throne Twice
After Wu Zetian's death, the Tang Dynasty entered a period of turmoil. First, Li Xian, the third son of Wu, succeeded to the throne, and was assassinated soon after. This aroused turmoil in the government and the opposition, and Li Dan was once again put on the throne and became Emperor Ruizong. But as soon as he returned to power, he encountered a challenge from Li Longji.
At first, after Li Xian, the third son of Wu, ascended the throne, in order to stabilize his rule, he set out to sweep away the remnants of the martial family. He put Li Dan under house arrest in Fangling Yuan, where he was forbidden to enter and exit. Soon, the conspiracy of the government and the opposition arose again, and Li Xian was killed by his cronies and died in his bedroom. This plunged the entire Tang dynasty into extreme turmoil.
In the chaos, the ministers of the government and the opposition saw that the person in charge did not exist, so they had to invite Li Dan out of Cishou Palace and ascend the throne again, for Emperor Ruizong. However, Li Dan, who returned to power, soon encountered a new threat - his eldest grandson Li Longji killed himself from the East Palace, held power hostage, and actually took control of the government. This put the already exhausted Li Dan in a dilemma. You must know that Li Dan and Li Longji joined forces to fight against the conspiracy of the Wu family back then. Now, Li Longji is the real power holder of the DPRK and China, but the two have become old enemies.
In the face of the strong Li Longji, Ruizong Li Dan was not at a loss. He first wrote a statement in an attempt to dissuade Li Longji by saying that "he is dethroned in the people." But Li Longji has always been cunning and turned a deaf ear to this. In desperation, Ruizong was forced to take strong measures to remove Li Longji from power in the court. However, this move backfired and annoyed Li Longji. As a result, Li Longji directly ordered Ruizong to be imprisoned in the inner palace and cut off all material supplies to him.
The situation is on the verge of breaking out, and the situation is very tense. Fortunately, Ruizong's daughter, Princess Taiping, played a key role. As a buffer between Ruizong and Li Longji, Princess Taiping tried her best to channel the relationship between father and son and avoid fierce confrontation. About two months later, under the maneuver of Princess Taiping, Li Dan took the initiative to give way to Li Longji, who officially succeeded him as Tang Xuanzong.
Along the way, it can be said that Li Dan's life has been another big ups and downs. Just now, due to the change of the dynasty, he ascended the throne again, but he had no choice but to fall into a power struggle with his eldest grandson Li Longji. Fortunately, he still took the life of his family as his highest goal, and finally survived this crisis safely with the help of delaying the army. This marks the second time in Li Dan's life that he took the initiative to give way, and the road to power has added another twist and turn.
The last stand: Li Dan's palace endgame
Despite the voluntary abdication twice, Li Dan's court career did not end there. In the later years of the Xuanzong Dynasty, he was once again put on the dragon throne and became the last emperor of the Tang Dynasty. It's just that this time the experience of being in power was even more bumpy, and in the end it suffered a tragic fate.
After Xuanzong abdicated, his son Suzong succeeded to the throne. However, the new master of Suzong was mediocre and incompetent, and was soon overthrown by Wu Boxiu, the great-grandson of his younger brother Wu Zetian. As soon as Wu Boxiu ascended to the pole, he immediately dragged Li Dan out of the cold palace and canonized him as the emperor, which was Emperor Longyuan. At this time, Li Dan was over eighty years old, and he was really a sad victim of the palace struggle.
As a puppet emperor, Li Dan has no real power. Wu Boxiu put him under house arrest in Zichen Palace, and stripped all his powers. He also imprisoned Li Dan's prince Li Xian in the inner court and treated him as a hostage to prevent Li Dan from causing trouble. Under such strict control, Li Dan can only be at the mercy of others and spend his last old age in the palace.
However, Li Dan did not give in, but actively sought a glimmer of life. He secretly contacted the disadvantaged royal family, including the same family Zongzheng and Yuan and Yuan and Yuan. With the power of this exiled aristocracy, Li Dan launched a palace rebellion in 716 AD and overthrew Wu Boxiu's rule. Although this battle seemed to be won, the price was extremely heavy - in retaliation, the Wu family gouged out Li Dan's prince Li Xian alive, and was tortured to death.
Just when Li Dan was saddened by the death of the prince, he suffered an even greater misfortune. Wei Wanduan, a remnant of the Wu Zhou Dynasty, conspired to rebel, not only regaining control of the palace, but also detaining Li Dan's family. After several rounds, they were finally imprisoned in the walls of the Imperial City. There, from Li Dan to his children and nephews, they were all tortured. The tragic scene was unbearable, and many witnesses shed tears of sympathy.
In this way, Li Dan's road came to an end. Under Wei Wanduan's brutal killing, the former emperor, his concubines, and his relatives were all slaughtered, and even the ancestral tomb was destroyed. What is regrettable is that what Li Dan wants in his life is nothing more than to save his family's life, and he has no intention of usurping. However, in the palace power game, he fell into a whirlpool from which he could not extricate himself, and finally suffered the greatest injustice in his life.