Preface
As we all know, the change of imperial power is the most turbulent time for a country, and many accidents may occur in it, after all, this power is a good thing, and no one in the feudal dynasty is overwhelmed by it.
Some people may wonder why the emperors of the feudal dynasty waited until after their death to pass on the throne to the next generation, instead of passing the throne to the new emperor while they were still alive, so that they could survive this turbulent period in peace. Although this is a good idea from today's point of view, it is difficult to achieve in feudal dynasties.
1. Succession to the throne
In feudal dynasties, there are several situations for the succession to the throne, the first is also the most well-known early appointment of the crown prince, after the death of the emperor, the crown prince will become the next emperor as a matter of course. This is also to avoid fratricidal and sibling rivalry over the throne after the death of the emperor.
The second is the method of succession to the throne used by the Qing Dynasty - the secret reserve system. It can be said that this move is similar to the first one, both of which are to prevent the prince from affecting the rule of the dynasty because of the struggle for the throne.
The third is to say today that Zen is given to his son. After the Anshi Rebellion, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji gave up the throne to his son Li Heng, and he became the emperor, of course, Li Longji's life was not very good after Zen. But that's all for later.
The above three are all thrones obtained through legitimate channels, but the throne is so attractive to people, of course, there are also people who get the throne through improper channels, among which I have to say that Li Shimin, who ascended to the throne through the "Xuanwumen Change". And when the dynasty changed, Wang Mang, Cao Cao, and Sima Jia all belonged to the forced palace to seize the throne.
2. Zen in advance
In fact, there are still many emperors in history, and they gave up the throne to the next heir, and they became the emperor themselves. There are generally several reasons why Emperor Chan became the emperor, some of them are voluntary and some are passive.
The first thing to talk about is one of the active meditation concessions - due to the difficulties of national affairs, it is unable to maintain it. Most of these situations arose from the last emperor, or when the country was in crisis. Of course, there will be exceptions, and Gao Zhan, the fourth emperor of the Northern Qi Dynasty, is one of them, and the Northern Qi Dynasty is also a despicable dynasty in history.
Gao Zhan is naturally fond of fun, even after becoming the emperor, he does not change his character of having fun, but if he is the emperor, it will inevitably affect his fun, so he passed the throne to his son Gao Wei. But Gao Wei is as good as his father, and Gao Wei is also a well-known faint monarch in history.
Northern Zhou had already been looking at Northern Qi with great eyesight, as well as Chen Guo. But just when the army was pressing, Gao Wei directly announced his abdication and gave up the throne to his eight-year-old son.
Speaking of this, everyone should be able to think of the very representative emperor Song Huizong, Song Huizong and Gao Wei are also somewhat similar, but Song Huizong and Gao Wei are still better. At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, Song Huizong also decisively chose the Zen throne in the face of the fragmented Song Dynasty and passed the throne to his son Song Qinzong.
It is a pity that the Northern Song Dynasty at this time was powerless, and even if Song Qinzong actively changed after he ascended the throne, it could only go into decline.
Secondly, let's talk about a few more representative figures in the forced Zen position. I believe that the first thing that appears in everyone's minds should be Tang Gaozu Li Yuan.
If it weren't for Tang Taizong Li Shimin to launch the Xuanwumen Rebellion, Li Yuan would not have taken the initiative to give up the throne to Li Shimin. In addition, there is also an emperor worth mentioning, that is, Sima Zhen who said "why not eat minced meat", after the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings", Sima Zhen liked to mention the title of "Emperor Taishang", but it was a blessing for him to be able to save his life.
Of course, these emperors chose to live their own lives when they became the empress, but according to the temptation of power to people, it is inevitable that they want to meddle in the government after sitting in the position of the emperor.
3. Power struggles
In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was no such thing as "Emperor Taishang", but this did not affect the occurrence of Zen Rang. The first thing to say is the most miserable one in the throne of Chan Rang - King Zhao Wuling.
It can be said that the most glorious time of the entire Zhao Kingdom was the period of King Zhao Wuling, before King Zhao Wuling ascended the throne, Zhao State was a small country that was bullied, and other countries were not willing to play with Zhao State. So King Zhao Wuling began to reform and began to become stronger, and the famous "Hufu Cavalry Shooting" was invented by King Zhao Wuling.
But what people didn't expect was that when King Zhao Wuling was in his prime, he suddenly decided to give up the throne to his son. Later historians explained King Zhao Wuling's actions as that he wanted to go to Qin and learn from Qin's changes. As we all know, the Qin State began to prosper after the Shang Dynasty changed the law.
And several big countries at that time also carried out reforms, if Zhao wanted not to be bullied by other powers, if they wanted to strengthen the country, they would inevitably have to reform. The first is to find a talent who can preside over the reform, if you go directly to the Qin State to find it, no one can guarantee that this person is not a spy.
So King Zhao Wuling decided to go to Qin in person to take a look at their reform policies, and then return to China to preside over the reform after completing his studies, after all, King Zhao Wuling was in the prime of life at this time. It can only be said that King Zhao Wuling's idea is good, but he does underestimate how much he and his son care about power.
When King Zhao Wuling finished studying in the Qin State, he was surprised to find that the court at this time no longer needed him. He originally wanted to let his son handle the government affairs on his behalf for the time being, but at this time, his son had completely replaced him, and Zhao Guo had also replaced King Zhao Huiwen's henchmen.
At the same time, King Zhao Huiwen has long grown up, and he also has his own views on the affairs of the DPRK and China, in short, the father and son have political discord, and the contradictions are constantly intensifying.
At this time, King Wuling of Zhao actually thought of a method that made people feel incredible, that is, he wanted to divide the Zhao Kingdom into two parts, one for each of his two sons. Because seeing his eldest son still have to bow to his younger son, he really can't bear it.
It is conceivable that King Zhao Wuling's thoughts had an impact on King Zhao Huiwen, who directly imprisoned King Zhao Wuling and his brother in the palace, and the father and son were finally starved to death. It is embarrassing that a generation of heroes finally ended up in this end.
In fact, it can also be seen that in the face of power, the love of father and son and the love of brothers must be in the back row. There has never been family affection in the royal family.
So this is also the most important point of why you can't take the Zen position in advance, that is, no one will give up the power in their hands, not even for their own son. Not to mention that when the emperor is old, he will become more and more suspicious, it is not easy to sit on the throne, and it is even more difficult to come down" There are so many delicate rivers and mountains, attracting countless heroes to bend their waists. ”
What's more, some emperors are still reluctant to establish a prince even when they are middle-aged because they are greedy for power, and some emperors are jealous of their own princes and wantonly suppress the prince. From ancient times to the present, there are not a few princes who have died in the crown prince.
epilogue
Therefore, the vast majority of emperors are rarely able to give up the throne voluntarily unless they are forced to do so. It is worth mentioning that even if there is any turmoil after a hundred years, it has nothing to do with him, in fact, this idea has nothing to do with not wanting the dynasty to be defeated in his own hands.