In 643, the seventeenth year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty. In this year, a major earthquake occurred in the upper echelons of the Tang Dynasty: Li Chengqian, as the crown prince, attempted to rebel, and was finally deposed by Li Shimin as the crown prince. However, after the crown prince was deposed, Li Shimin did not follow the succession system and made his second son Li Tai the crown prince. Instead, he directly skipped Li Tai and replaced his third son, Li Zhi, as the crown prince.
This result made many people feel strange at the time. Because the reason why the crown prince Li Chengqian would rebel was because Li Shimin was too fond of Li Tai, Li Chengqian felt that his prince could be replaced at any time, so he would take the risk and want to rebel.
Then, after Li Chengqian was deposed, why did Li Shimin directly skip his beloved second son and make his third son Li Zhi the crown prince? What kind of person is this prince Li Tai, who was jumped over by Li Shimin?
Li Tai, the character Hui Praise, nicknamed Qingque. In 620, Li Tai was born in Chang'an. When Li Tai was born, his father Li Shimin had just crushed Liu Wuzhou in Shanxi and was about to go to fight Wang Shichong in Luoyang. Before Li Tai was born, Li Shimin actually had three sons. One of them was Li Tai's half-brother Li Chengqian; the other two were Li Shimin's two sons, Li Kuan and Li Ke.
I have to say that in addition to fighting a fierce war, Li Shimin is also quite powerful in giving birth to a child. Li Shimin had a total of 14 sons and 21 daughters, for a total of 35 children! If this were put into modern times, Li Shimin would have to be punished by the family planning department to bankruptcy. Moreover, Li Shimin's eldest son, Li Chengqian, who was also the eldest son, was born in 619 AD, while Li Tai was born in 620 AD. That is to say, Li Shimin gave birth to four sons in just one year!
This fertility is really no one...
When Li Tai was born, his father Li Shimin was still just a King of Qin. However, at that time, Li Shimin was already extremely powerful in the dynasty and became the leader of the Tang military. When Li Tai was born before he was one year old, Li Shimin was in the Battle of Luoyang, and he was made a double king in the First World War, and then he was named a general of Tiance. Later, Li Shimin began to launch a sprint for the position of prince. Finally, in the ninth year of Wude, after a Xuanwumen Incident, he became the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Tai's childhood was raised in such a treacherous struggle. However, because of the protection of his parents, Li Tai was actually not affected, but spent a very happy childhood. When Li Tai was 7 years old, Li Shimin officially ascended the throne as emperor, and Li Tai also changed from the son of a prince to a prince!
In the second year of Zhenguan, Li Tai was renamed the King of Yue, and was also made the governor of Yangzhou and the governor of Yue Prefecture, and concurrently served as the military inspector of sixteen prefectures, with fiefs covering 22 states. Three years later, the 12-year-old Li Tai was again made the Grand General of the Marquis of Zuowu. At the age of 13, he was given the title of Governor of YanZhou, at the age of 15 he was given the title of Governor of Yongzhou, and at the age of 17 he was renamed the Prince of Wei.
Have a good dad, it's so domineering! For Li Tai, the official position that ordinary officials may not be able to obtain after a lifetime of struggle is just a small reward. It is no wonder, after all, for Li Tai at that time, the world was his family. And these official positions are only fictitious titles, only official positions and do not have to participate in actual work. To put it bluntly, Li Shimin has given his son so many official titles, in fact, he just wants to give his son more pocket money.
Giving Li Tai a false title, he could be allowed to receive Feng Lu directly from the imperial court. Not only can he take the money, but he does not have to pay money from the pocket of his harem, this account is still very cost-effective.
For Li Tai, the second son, Li Shimin never hid his preference. Moreover, Li Shimin's preference for Li Tai was not the same as that of other princes. Take the crown prince Li Chengqian, who is the eldest son of Li Shimin, and Li Shimin certainly loves him very much. But as the crown prince, Li Shimin hoped that he could become an excellent crown prince. Therefore, in terms of education, Li Shimin was extremely strict with Li Chengqian, even to the point of being harsh.
Compared with Li Chengqian, Li Tai's life is much better. On the one hand, Li Tai, as the second son of a concubine, from a legal point of view, will not be related to the throne in the future, so Li Shimin is not so strict with him. On the other hand, Li Tai was born to Li Shimin and the Empress Sun Clan, and this identity, whether emotionally or institutionally, is far from being comparable to other princes.
Li Shimin's preference for Li Tai is not just about giving more money. Zhenguan ten years, Li Tai turned 16 years old. According to the Tang Dynasty's clan system, all princes needed to go to their own fiefdoms to take up domains when they reached adulthood, or to hold official positions in other places. Li Shimin's other sons all obeyed this rule. However, for Li Tai, Li Shimin gave a special order to let Li Tai stay in Chang'an to take up an idle post.
Of course, the reason why Li Shimin made an exception to let Li Tai stay was not only because of Li Shimin's preference for Li Tai. In addition, there is a very important reason that this year, Li Tai's birth mother, Li Shimin's wife, the eldest grandson empress, died of illness.
The death of Empress Changsun had a very far-reaching impact on Li Shimin and even on the entire history of the Tang Dynasty. Empress Eldest Sun married Li Shimin very early, and had a very good relationship with Li Shimin. Many times, Li Shimin was furious and could not listen to the advice of others, and only the eldest grandson empress could persuade him. Moreover, when Empress Eldest Sun was alive, she also taught her children very well, so that Li Shimin could not worry about his harem.
However, with the death of Empress Eldest Sun, Li Shimin's harem began to be in turmoil.
First of all, without the suppression of empress dowager, Li Shimin's harem would not have a main palace lady, and the harem ladies would begin to fight openly and secretly. Just over a year after empress dowager's death, Wu Zetian entered the palace. Secondly, without the communication of the eldest grandson empress, Li Shimin could only educate his children by himself, and Li Shimin was a typical strict father, who only knew the strict requirements for the crown prince Li Chengqian, resulting in a worse and worse relationship between father and son, which also doomed the later tragedy.
Facts have proved that a man who returns to his career also needs the support of a virtuous wife and motherly woman behind him. And when that woman disappears, no matter how powerful the man is, he will make mistakes frequently and no longer have the wise and divine martial arts of that year.
For Li Tai, the death of Empress Eldest Sun is an important turning point in fate. This year, because Empress Eldest Sun was getting worse and worse, Li Shimin made an exception and let Li Tai stay in Chang'an. Shortly thereafter, Empress Eldest Sun died of illness, and Li Shimin was even more reluctant to let Li Tai leave. On the one hand, it was because Li Tai needed to give filial piety to empress dowager. On the other hand, it was also because Li Shimin could not bear to let the son of the eldest grandson empress leave again.
But Li Shimin's soft heart at this time laid the foundation for the subsequent tragedy.
After Li Tai stayed in the capital by exception, Li Shimin still did not hide his preference for him, and even favored her three sons even more because of the death of empress dowager. Empress Eldest Sun had three sons, the eldest son was The Crown Prince Li Chengqian, the second son was Li Tai, and the third son was the later Emperor Gaozong of Tang. At that time, Li Chengqian was the crown prince, and although Li Shimin also loved him, he often showed his stern side. And Li Zhi is still young, and some things are not understood, so this preference is not particularly obvious. Only Li Tai enjoyed the favor of far exceeding other princes.
For example, Li Shimin once wanted Li Tai to move to the Wude Hall and live in the Wude Hall. Li Shimin's idea at that time was very simple, because the Wude Hall was very close to Li Chengqian's East Palace, and it was also close to Li Shimin's palace, and father and son could often meet. But Li Shimin ignored another issue at that time, that is, the importance of the Wude Hall.
Wude Hall, very close to the East Palace. Letting Li Tai move to the Wude Hall would send a signal to the outside world, making people mistakenly think that Li Shimin wanted to make Li Tai the crown prince instead.
Li Shimin did this at that time, probably just because he wanted to meet Li Taiduo. However, just after Li Shimin gave the order, Wei Zheng promptly consulted and reminded Li Shimin, and later Li Shimin also withdrew the order. But this incident became a beginning of many things later.
Li Shimin's move, falling into the eyes of Li Chengqian and Li Tai, will have more significance. In Li Tai's view, this may be a sign that Li Shimin wants to change himself to be the prince. And for Li Chengqian, the same is true. So from this time on, contradictions began to appear between Li Chengqian and Li Tai's brothers.
In the years that followed, Li Shimin would reward Li Tai again every once in a while. But at the same time, Li Shimin actually did not want to change the meaning of the prince, so he did not give Li Tai any real power. And Li Tai himself also knows this, so he did not fight for power, but developed in the direction of literary masters. And Li Shimin also encouraged Li Tai to develop in this direction, in Li Shimin's view, this can not only give Li Chengqian some pressure, but also allow Li Tai not to become a cunning prince.
However, all of this, falling into Li Chengqian's eyes, is a completely different meaning.
In Li Chengqian's view, Li Tai's growth and Li Shimin's preference for him have fundamentally threatened his position. Moreover, shortly thereafter, Li Shimin formally ordered the establishment of a literature museum in Li Tai's palace, and found a bunch of great Confucians to come and engage in learning with Li Tai.
This seems to be very normal. Just find a few big Confucians, write a few books together, how to look at it is not related to the position of prince. But the problem is that in the Tang Dynasty, especially in the Zhenguan period, the meaning of this matter is completely different.
After Li Shimin was made a general of Tiance, Li Yuan also realized that Li Shimin's military power was too large, so he began to limit Li Shimin's military power and let Li Shimin stay in Chang'an and become an idle prince. In order to reassure Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin also established a literary museum in his own Tiance Mansion, and in the name of study and learning, he found eighteen great Confucians to come over.
Later, however, these eighteen great Confucians became one of the most important forces in Li Shimin's conquest of the concubine, helping Li Shimin plan many, many things. After Li Shimin ascended the throne, these eighteen great Confucians, except for a few people, almost all of them served as prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty!
So, now that Li Shimin has helped Li Tai set up a literature museum, does it have the same meaning as in the past?
If at this time, the eldest grandson empress was still alive, it was completely possible to convey the thoughts of the father and son to each other in a gentle form. However, because the eldest grandson empress has died, the three fathers and sons can only guess if they want to understand each other's thoughts.
The contradictions are thus getting bigger and bigger.
In the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, Li Tai, with the help of those great Confucians, compiled a book called "The Chronicle of The Land". This "Chronicle of The Lands" can be roughly understood as the Tang Dynasty version of the geographical encyclopedia. After this book was compiled, Li Tai's reputation soared in an instant, from an idle prince to a great Confucian of the world. This change has made Li Chengqian feel like a man on his back.
Under this pressure, Li Chengqian finally began to consider whether to leave some backhands. It was precisely at this time that the Tang Dynasty general Hou Junji also had the intention of supporting Li Chengqian's rebellion. So the two hit it off and began a series of formal preparations for the rebellion.
However, just before the two sides were about to formally implement the plan, a sudden change changed all this. At that time, another son of Li Shimin, because he could not stand Li Shimin's strict discipline, directly rebelled in his own fiefdom. This rebellion naturally ended in failure. However, after the failure, when the Punishment Department conducted the interrogation, it unexpectedly involved the subordinate officials of the Crown Prince's Mansion. After that, from the mouth of this subordinate official of the Crown Prince's Palace, the officials of the Punishment Department accidentally interrogated him, and The crown prince Li Chengqian even had a plan to rebel!
Now, the problem is big.
Li Chengqian and Li You are different. Li You was just a prince, and when he died, he died. However, after Li Chengqian's rebellion, Li Shimin could only depose him as crown prince, which would fundamentally change the future of the Tang Dynasty.
After the news came out, there was an instant uproar in the government and the opposition.
No one knows how Li Shimin will eventually deal with this matter. However, there is no doubt that no matter how Li Shimin deals with it, this matter is destined to have a far-reaching impact.
When everyone is watching, Li Shimin, as a father, is actually the most painful.
Whether it was as an emperor or as a father, Li Shimin at this time was actually heartbroken. As a father, his most beloved son, to create his own rebellion, this kind of pain can naturally be imagined. As an emperor, Li Shimin was betrayed by his own prince, which proved that his previous ten years of rule were failures!
An emperor can't even manage his own son, how can he manage the world?
However, no matter how painful Li Shimin was, Li Shimin still had to finally order the deposing of Li Chengqian as crown prince. A rebellious prince is absolutely impossible to continue to be a prince. However, after being deposed, how to treat Li Chengqian and who should be made the crown prince next also gave Li Shimin a headache.
At this moment, Li Tai jumped out.
At this time, Li Tai began to do his best to plead with Li Shimin and make himself crown prince. In Li Tai's view, Li Shimin originally loved himself the most, and at this time Li Chengqian made a fatal mistake, and he was the second son. No matter from which aspect, he should be unconditionally made a prince. In order to get Li Shimin's consent, Li Tai even declared that after his death in the future, he would not make his son crown prince, but would directly kill his own son and make the third li zhi the next emperor.
Li Tai would never have thought in any way that it was precisely because of his pleading that it had played the opposite role.
At this time, Li Shimin was worried about how to deal with Li Chengqian. The appearance of Li Tai made him realize a problem: if Li Tai became the crown prince, he would become emperor in the future. Based on Li Chengqian's previous experience of fighting for the crown prince, after Li Tai ascended the throne, it was absolutely impossible to let Li Chengqian go. That is to say, as long as Li Shimin wants to save Li Chengqian's life, he must not make Li Tai the crown prince!
But in this case, besides Li Tai, who should be made the prince?
At this time, Li Shimin also had no idea, and could only ask his close confidant and brother-in-law, Eldest Sun Wujie. The answer given by the eldest grandson Wujie was somewhat concerned about his meaning, and did not give practical advice. But Li Shimin could hear that the eldest son Wuji had actually given him the answer: I don't care who you are willing to set up, but you must have a concubine, you must have a son born to my sister.
At this point, Li Shimin knew what to do.
In addition to Li Chengqian and Li Tai, he and Empress Eldest Sun also had a son! As long as the third eldest is set up as the prince, the eldest and the second will be able to survive?!
Therefore, Li Shimin immediately ordered that li zhi, the third son of his wife, be made crown prince. Without his knowledge, Li Zhi was pushed to the position of prince. However, Li Tai's organs did not succeed, but instead waited for a sternly worded holy will. This holy decree of Li Shimin severely rebuked Li Tai's previous practice of seeking the position of crown prince, and directly abolished Li Tai's position as King of Wei and renamed him king of Donglai County.
At this time, Li Tai is undoubtedly stealing chicken and not eating rice.
In this civil unrest in the Li family, there is actually no real winner, and everyone is a loser. Even Li Zhi, who was made crown prince in a vacuum, was actually a loser. Because in his previous life, no one had ever told him that he would become emperor in the future, and he had not received any relevant education. Therefore, this also laid the groundwork for many things that Li Zhi experienced later.
After this storm, Li Shimin finally made up his mind and drove Li Tai out of the capital and to his fiefdom. However, even if Li Shimin drove away Li Tai, in fact, he was still worried about his son in his heart, and he often thought of Li Tai.
However, what Li Shimin could not have imagined was that he was so deliberate that he could not save the lives of his two sons in the end. After Li Chengqian was deposed, he was exiled to Qianzhou by Li Shimin, and as a result, he died of illness just after arriving in Qianzhou. Li Tai, on the other hand, died of illness three years after Li Shimin's death.
Three years after Yonghui, Li Tai died in the fiefdom at the age of 33. After Li Tai's death, Li Zhi held a funeral for him with the highest standards, completely exceeding the specifications he deserved. However, for Li Tai's death, there has always been controversy in later generations. Many people say that Li Tai may not have died naturally, but a black hand under Li's rule.
What the truth is, in fact, does not matter anymore.
What is important is that in the seventeen years of Zhenguan's dethronement storm, Li Shimin's family has completely disappeared because of its power. The so-called family affection, in the face of power and interests, is ultimately not worth mentioning.
Li Tai's story actually gives us a revelation: as a parent, don't have any eccentric behavior. For their children, it is best to have a bowl of water flat. Because the parents are biased, the children are out of harmony, and there are many contradictions within the family. There are too many such examples throughout the ages.
Between parents and children, we must ensure smooth communication, parents must not care about their so-called identity, and pretend to be a posture. If Li Shimin can communicate well with his children, this family may not have a sad ending later.