In most people's impressions, the image of Emperor Gaozong of Tang as a whole appears weak and incompetent. This impression mainly stemmed from two aspects: the first was that during the tang taizong period, he was eventually made a crown prince because of his mild personality; the second was that he was plagued by illness in his later years and handed over most of the administrative affairs to empress Wu Zetian.
Li Shimin and Wu Zetian are both hot spots in the creation of historical literary and artistic works, and Li Zhi is always reduced to a background board in the works with these two people as the protagonists, and over time, he will inevitably give people a feeling of weakness and incompetence. If Li Zhi did have a lucky factor in becoming the crown prince, his final victory in a series of political games after his succession and his real control of the supreme power shows that he is not as stupid and sweet as most people think.
On the contrary, Li Zhi can be called Li Shimin's qualified successor.
The unexpected winner of the Battle of the Crown Princes
Li Shimin, who is known as the "Emperor of The Ages", is often criticized for his children's education. In his later years, the crown prince Li Chengqian and many princes fought endlessly for the succession to the throne, and there were attempts to plan coups and even open rebellions. But if we take a closer look, it is not difficult to find that Li Shimin's children's education was not too failed, but too successful--in order to prevent the change of Xuanwumen from repeating on him, he cultivated several princes who had the ability and ambition to ascend to the throne.
Unfortunately, there is always only one throne.
Initially, the throne was undoubtedly inherited by Li Chengqian. He was the first son of Li Shimin and Empress Eldest Sun, both the eldest son and the concubine, which can be described as a righteous name and deeply loved by Li Shimin, and he was crowned prince at the age of 8. With the excellent genes of his parents, under the guidance of Fang Xuanling, Wei Fu and other famous courtiers, he showed the talent of a politician early on, and Li Shimin was also extremely satisfied after examining his governing strategy.
Li Chengqian in film and television dramas. Source/TV series "The Legend of Wu Meiniang"
When Li Chengqian was 16 years old, Li Yuan, the emperor of Tang Gaozu, died of illness, and during Li Shimin's mourning, Li Chengqian supervised the country for the first time, and performed well, "quite knowledgeable" and "quite able to listen to judgments." Li Shimin was obviously very satisfied with his son's performance, and when the mourning period was over, "the details were still entrusted to the prince", li Chengqian was still allowed to handle many government affairs, and when he went out on his tour, he let the prince supervise the country.
Li Shimin, who relied on the "Xuanwumen Change" to kill his brothers and force his father to come to power, knew better than anyone that a son who was too good would let the old father turn over the shift in advance. Therefore, as Li Chengqian grew older, Li Shimin on the one hand liked this son, on the other hand, he was afraid that his power was too big to empty himself, so he began to show great favor to Li Tai, another son born to Empress Eldest Sun.
Li Shimin's children's education was very successful, and Li Tai, who was praised by the history books as "brilliant", was also a prince who performed well in all aspects. By giving Li Chengqian and Li Tai great favors at the same time, Li Shimin on the one hand hoped that Li Chengqian could succeed him smoothly, and on the other hand, he also hoped that Li Tai's existence would constitute a check and balance on Li Chengqian and prevent the recurrence of the "Xuanwumen Change".
At that time, when Li Yuan was playing a balance of power among the princes, Li Shimin chose to forcibly ascend to the throne. Now, Li Chengqian decided to follow suit. He first sent someone to try to assassinate his competitor Li Tai, but after failing, he decided to let go and play a bigger game: murder Li Shimin and succeed to the throne in advance.
What is surprising is that Li Chengqian's layout has been extremely successful, and the strength of the conspiracy group is extremely strong. Hou Junji, a famous tang dynasty foreign war general who single-handedly destroyed Gaochang and participated in the crusade against tuguhun and other forces in the Turks, Li Shimin's half-brother and Han king Li Yuanchang, du Ruyi's son-in-law Du He, the son of the famous minister Du Ruyi and Li Shimin's son-in-law, and Li Anyu, one of the main responsible persons of the palace guards, were all main members of this coup conspiracy group.
Although Li Anyu was not as famous as the others, he had mastered Li Shimin's life: Li Anyu once continued to fight with Li Jiancheng's Eastern Palace Guards after Li Jiancheng's killing in the "XuanwuMen Revolution", and Li Shimin felt that he was a loyal subject, so he took him in. Li Shimin had a special trust in him and put him in charge of the palace guards for more than ten years. A major factor for Li Shimin's success in the "Xuanwumen Revolution" was that he bribed the Xuanwumen guard Chang He. Nowadays, Li Chengqian has successfully bribed Li Anyu, who has been in charge of the palace guards for more than ten years, and once he raises a matter, the wise gods and martial arts such as Li Shimin are probably doomed.
Just as Li Chengqian's plot was gradually advancing, the rebellion of Li Shimin's fifth son, Li You, the Prince of Qi, unexpectedly exposed this conspiracy. At that time, one of Li Chengqian's guards was involved in the rebellion of the King of Qi, and confessed Li Chengqian's plot in order to save his life during the interrogation. In addition to being shocked to learn of this, Li Shimin was also extremely afraid: there was such a huge conspiracy group under his own eyes, and even Li Anyu, who controlled his own guards, was a core member of the conspiracy group, and if it were not for the rebellion of king Qi who accidentally discovered this conspiracy, no matter whether Li Chengqian could sit firmly on the throne after the rebellion, he would be dead.
This defender not only saved his life, but also became a big winner: Li Shimin felt that Heaven had sent him to save himself, and not only pardoned him for the crimes of participating in the rebellion of king Qi and prince, but also promoted him to an official. The main members of the conspiratorial group are executed or given to death.
Only Li Chengqian, the eldest son of his sister-in-law and his deceased wife Empress Eldest Sun, Li Shimin really couldn't be bothered. Li Shimin not only exiled him, but also hoped that he would survive after his death. If Li Tai, who has a great deal with Li Chengqian in the future, succeeds to the throne, Li Chengqian will undoubtedly die. On the other hand, after Li Chengqian was deposed, the balance of sons that Li Shimin painstakingly managed was broken, and Li Tai's power also lost its restraint, and if he was made crown prince, he would inevitably be dominant. Therefore, Li Shimin decided: while exileing Li Chengqian, he demoted Li Tai to the title of trying to seize the wife.
After Li Chengqian and Li Tai were out at the same time, of the three concubines born to Empress Eldest Sun who had preferential succession rights, only the youngest Li Zhi remained. Li Zhi has a mild temperament and is also young. To make him crown prince would neither be in a hurry to ascend to the throne in advance like Li Chengqian, nor would he take the initiative to embarrass the two deposed brothers after succeeding to the throne. In this way, Li Zhi unexpectedly became the winner of the battle for the crown prince during the Zhenguan period, and inherited the throne after the death of Emperor Taizong of Tang.
Through the case of Princess Gaoyang, the patriarchs who threatened the imperial power were purged
Li Zhi was only 16 years old when he was made crown prince, and he was only 22 years old when he succeeded to the throne. After succeeding to the throne, Li Zhi relied on the courtiers led by the first of the Lingyange heroes and the eldest grandson of his own uncle, Wu Ji, to exercise his rule. Compared with the two half-brothers who had a strong team and were known for their strength, his succession may not convince many Li Tangzong and the founding fathers. These clans and the founding fathers carried out various tandems in private, posing a greater threat to Li Zhi's rule. Because Li Chengqian died of illness in the last year of Zhenguan and Li Tai died of illness shortly after Li Zhi succeeded to the throne, these clans and yuanxun did not find a new lord who could be supported by Li Zhi together to replace Li Zhi. At this stage, the situation was surging undercurrents, but Li Zhi relied on the help of the eldest grandson Wujie and clearly took the initiative.
At this time, the family dispute of the Fang Xuanling family finally triggered the contradiction between the two sides. Fang Xuanling's eldest son, Fang Yizhi, inherited his father's property and title, and the younger son Fang Yi'ai married Princess Gaoyang, the daughter of Li Shimin. Known for her chaotic private life, the princess once had an affair with Xuanzang's apprentice and was the protagonist of various TV dramas for many years. In order to allow Fang Yi'ai to obtain Fang Xuanling's property and title, Princess Gaoyang wrote a false accusation against Fang Yizhi, saying that he had repeatedly used his hands and feet to insult himself. In the process of hearing the case on the orders of the emperor, the eldest son Wuji discovered that there was a small group opposing Li Zhi next to Fang Yi'ai and Princess Gaoyang.
Li Zhi was the youngest son of Li Shimin. Image source/Screenshot of the TV series "The Legend of Wu Meiniang"
According to the results of the trial of Changsun Wuji, Fang Yi'ai and his wife formed a cabal group with Li Yuanjing, the King of Jing, Chai Lingwu, the lieutenant of Qima, and the general Xue Wanche. The conspiracy group opposing Li Zhi was also exposed in the tandem stage because of the family disputes of Fang Yi'ai, and the core members of the conspiracy, such as Fang Yi'ai and his wife, Chai Lingwu and his wife, Li Yuanjing, and Xue Wanche, were eventually executed or given to death.
However, this case was obviously expanded in the follow-up interrogation and handling. Fang Yi'ai framed Li Ke, the King of Wu, in order to survive. Li Ke, the King of Wu, was the son of Li Shimin and the daughter of emperor of Sui, and the eldest of all Li Shimin's surviving sons at this time.
Li Zhi let go of the ministers headed by the eldest grandson Wuji to do dirty work, and he was infinitely connected when handling the case of Princess Gaoyang. When Li Ke, the King of Wu, was also implicated, Li Zhi said to the ministers, "I would like to ask you for mercy and spare my uncle and brother from death." The ministers then told Li Zhi the great truth that although His Majesty was lenient and benevolent, the laws of the land could not be abolished, and finally all the princes implicated were killed. Later researchers believe that at this time, the Guanlong nobles led by Changsun Wuji had begun to empty the imperial power. However, Li Zhi only showed his acting talent well here. According to the Records of the Yuangui of the Book, when Li Zhi personally interrogated Fang Wei'ai, he once directly rebuked: "Isn't it too late for you to report Li Ke now?" This is the real face of him in this case: it is Li Zhi himself who will involve Li Ke in the case no matter what!
Let's carefully review the forces that were purged by this super-big case: Li Yuanjing, the oldest surviving of Li Yuan's sons, and Li Ke, the oldest surviving of Li Shimin's sons, were the two clans that posed the greatest threat to Li Zhi's throne after the death of their maternal brothers Li Chengqian and Li Tai. Li Daozong, Xue Wanche, and others were generals who had little ties to Li Zhi, and after the fall of these people, Li Zhi began to promote his own concubines in the army in large numbers. Only the Fang Xuanling family, which was first involved in the case, as a representative of the Kanto Hanmen clan, belonged to the political enemies of the Guanlong clique represented by The Eldest Sun Wuji.
Therefore, the biggest beneficiary of the Princess Gaoyang case is undoubtedly Li Zhi himself. In this case, he eliminated the two clans who were the most threatening to the throne, replaced them with a group of his own concubines in the army, and in the process let the eldest grandson do the work of offending people. In contrast, although the eldest son Wuji defeated the descendants of Fang Xuanling, the representative of the Kwantung Shi clan, he also took over all the work of the offended people. Before his death, Li Ke, the King of Wu, who was innocently involved in the case, scolded the eldest son Wujie for framing Zhongliang and cursed the destruction of his family. As the representative of the Kwantung Wu people, Li Ji inherited the position of Li Kesikong, the king of Wu, who had been overthrown. The downfall of the Fang Xuanling family was a huge shock to Li Ji, and he also highlighted this matter when he came to his last words. Li Ji's attitude is crucial to the development of the future political situation.
Crack down on the eldest grandson to achieve monopoly of power
Taking advantage of the Princess Gaoyang case, Li Zhi became the biggest winner and cleaned out a series of disobedient clans. At the same time, the two auxiliary ministers left by Li Shimin, changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang, also became small winners, and their voice in the court was further expanded. In particular, the eldest son Wujie, as the first meritorious servant of LingYange, has played an important role since the era of Li Shimin, at this time, the identity of the centralized courtier, the foreign relative and the representative of the Guanlong noble family are one, and the power is huge, and Chu Suiliang is also attached to him. After eliminating Li Ke and other clans that posed a direct threat to imperial power, his presence posed no small threat to Li Zhi.
The prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, Sun Wujie, was unscrupulous. Image source/Screenshot of the TV series "The Legend of Wu Meiniang"
At that time, the most powerful empress Wang of Li Zhi's harem was from the well-known Taiyuan Wang clan, after the Guanlong nobleman Wang Sizheng, and Xiao Shufei was from the Lanling Xiao clan, which founded the Southern Dynasty Qi and Liang Dynasties, and these families were closely related to the representative of the Guanlong noble family, Changsun Wujie. After the case of Princess Gaoyang, the eldest son Wuji's family became dominant in the court, and if his allies continued to control the harem, Li Zhi's power would be further eroded.
Instead of directly attacking the court, Li Zhi chose to start with the harem. He seized on Empress Wang's transgression of cursing Wu Zhaoyi with the method of victory, and proposed in the court to abolish Empress Wang and establish Wu Zhaoyi as empress dowager. Most of the courtiers, such as Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang, were resolutely opposed.
At this time, Li Ji supported Li Zhi.
As a first-class famous general who was on a par with Li Jing in the foreign conquests of the early Tang Dynasty, Li Ji was a very complex figure on the historical stage of the late Sui and early Tang dynasties. Originally named Xu Shixun, he was one of the leaders of the wagangzhai rebels in his early years, and was famous for his literary and artistic works (Xu Shixun zi maogong, which was often alienated as Xu Maogong in literary and artistic works). The historical Li Ji is not a scholar, as a generation of tyrants who stumbled out of the chaotic world at the end of the Sui Dynasty, his acting skills are no less than those of Li Shimin and Li Zhi's father and son.
Initially, Xu Shijian was a confidant of Zhai Rang, the founder of Wagangzhai, and was almost killed when Li Mihuo and Zhai Rang were slashed in the neck, and he was saved by Li Mi's confidant Wang Bodang when the ambush soldiers were preparing to mend the knife. He survived and paddled many times in Li Mi's camp to pit Li Mi not lightly. After Li Mi's defeat, he chose to vote for Tang. When the Tang government recruited Xu Shixun, he said that he was representing Li Mi in dedicating the population of his army to the Tang Dynasty. This was the standard to roast Li Mi on the fire, for fear that Li Yuan would forget how this tyrant who had surrendered to himself was on fire and Zhai Rang had broken the Sui Dynasty. Li Yuan directly called Xu Shixun a "pure minister", so he deliberately belittled Li Mi, forced him to flee and then intercepted him. Xu Shixun not only gained a good reputation, but also became a representative figure of the Wagangzhai family, accepted Li Mi's political legacy, and was given the surname Li. During the Zhenguan period, Li Shixun (li shimin changed the rules of avoidance after his death, and changed his name to Li Ji) followed Li Shimin in the southern expedition to the north and made great military achievements.
When Li Shimin arranged the aftermath before his death, from the perspective of seniority and strength, Li Ji was enough to assist the government together with the eldest grandson Wuji. However, Li Shimin saw through Li Ji as much as Li Mi, ordered him to be demoted to the post of governor of Diezhou, a remote area in present-day Gansu, and specifically instructed Li Zhi: "Li Ji is the person with the highest ability and wisdom." You have no kindness to him, it is difficult to control him. I am now demoting him, and if he goes to work as soon as he is ordered, it means that he has no dissent. When you ascend the throne, recall him to Chang'an for reuse, and he will be loyal to you. If he hesitates to leave the capital after receiving the order, you kill him immediately. ”
Some people accuse Li Shimin of being mean and unkind. Li Shimin witnessed how Xu Shixun and his father Li Yuanbiao killed Li Mi, and knew that Li Ji was not only a famous general who could fight a good war, but also a high-quality politician, and a veteran actor whose acting skills were no less than his own. Li Shimin was jealous and wary of him, and designed him to the greatest extent to be used by Li Zhi, which can only be said to be a master trick. As for Li Ji himself, he was able to play on the same stage with Li Yuan thirty years ago, and naturally understood Li Shimin's meaning. After hearing the demotion order, his family did not return to Diezhou. When Li Zhi succeeded to the throne, he was recalled and reused, and after killing Li Ke, the king of Wu, he gave him the vacated position of Sikong.
Now, Li Ji has become Li Zhi's most reliable ally politically and in the military. After Li Zhi and the eldest son Wuji had been fighting over the matter for the sake of deposing the queen, Li Ji claimed that who to make the empress was the emperor's family affair, and it was not the turn of outsiders to speak. With his support, Li Zhi finally dared to let go of the empress dowager and crowned Wu Zhaoyi as the new empress. The canonization ceremony of the new empress was presided over by Li Ji. By this time, the eldest grandson Wujie's family had lost power in the court.
A few years later, The eldest son Wuji, Chu Suiliang, and others were demoted from the court and were successively given death or died of illness in the degraded place. Here, Li Zhi once again played the scene of himself as a good man who wanted to be pardoned, and the courtier who insisted that the law must be given to the death of the eldest son, and once again proved that it was his own decision, just like li Ke, the king of Wu, who was unjustly killed.
On the issue of giving death to the eldest grandson, Li Zhi undoubtedly went too far. After all, the eldest son Wuji did not have a reverse track, and he was also an evil person who excluded all the contenders for the throne in the case of Princess Gaoyang, but the monopoly was somewhat stubborn. Li Zhi chose to kill the eldest grandson, who was no longer a threat, in addition to the ruthlessness of the politician, in large part because he was only in his early 30s at this time and began to have a physical illness. The year after the death of the eldest grandson Wuji, Li Zhi had a "wind vertigo" attack, and for a time he was dizzy and dizzy, unable to look at politics, and from then on this disease will accompany him for the rest of his life. It is likely that a year before the official onset of illness, Li Zhi had already felt unwell, so he had to kill his uncle, who had been degraded and exiled. More than ten years after the death of the eldest grandson Wuji, Li Zhi, who was seriously ill, personally restored his reputation.
In this way, Li Zhi, who seemed weak and incompetent, defeated all political enemies and won the power game within ten years after Li Shimin's death. With the cooperation of Empress Wu and Li Ji and others, the monarch not only continued the reign of Zhenguan, but also fulfilled the unfulfilled wishes of many Sui and Tang monarchs, including his father Li Shimin, to conquer Goguryeo, which had dominated the northeast region for hundreds of years, cleanly defeat the Japanese army at the Battle of Baijiang Village, and even expand his territory to Central Asia west of the Onion Ridge.
Li Zhi can be said to be Li Shimin's qualified heir and politician. Although in his later years, due to illness, he handed over most of the specific government to Empress Wu, he still firmly controlled the authority and the general direction of the country. Ironically, as in the performance at the time of the killing of Li Ke and the eldest grandson Wujie, the king of Wu, he was so disguised that most people in later generations really believed that he was a cowardly and incompetent man who lived in the shadow of his father and wife.