Comrade | Guevara
Before being killed, Liu Zhun, the little emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty, cried out: "May the imperial family never be reborn in the next life", and the scene was so miserable that everyone who saw it was moved. In fact, whenever the Empire State Building collapses, not only the lives of the fallen monarchs are not guaranteed, but also the fate of the princes and grandchildren, they are either killed, or humiliated, or displaced, and there are few survivors who are safe and sound. For example, as the last prince of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yu's ending is typical.
01 The Eastern Palace Years
Li Yu was the eldest son of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, Li Ye, whose birth mother was unknown, and was crowned King of De in June of the second year of Da Shun (891). Since Emperor Suzong of Tang, successive emperors have almost ceased to appoint crown princes, which is both a manifestation of the emperor's selfishness and lack of self-confidence, and also out of the consideration of stabilizing the situation, in order to prevent the powerful feudal towns or eunuchs from holding the deputy monarch hostage. However, under the persecution of the great warlord Han Jian, Tang Zhaozong still made Li Yu crown prince in February of the fourth year of Qianning (897).
Although Tang Zhaozong was named Emperor, he was actually a puppet
Due to the political turmoil and frequent wars at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the phenomenon of the loss and destruction of the palace files was very serious, so that Li Yu's personality, talents, hobbies, and performance in the East Palace were unknown to future generations, but according to his age and the situation at that time, it seems that there will be no dazzling performance. It should be known that the phenomenon of the late Tang Dynasty and the monopoly of power by eunuchs was very serious, and the emperor's decree was difficult to get out of the Daming Palace, no different from a puppet, and as for the prince who was the vice prince of the empire, the situation was even more imaginable.
02 Two months of heavenly son
Tang Zhaozong, like the Chongzhen Emperor of later generations, was a tragic emperor who aspired to zhongxing but was unable to return to heaven, and during his 17 years of reign, he was dressed and fed, and he could be said to have risen earlier than chickens, slept later than dogs, and worked more than cattle, and he wanted to eliminate the evil government of the previous dynasty and revitalize the imperial glory. Unfortunately, at this time, the Tang Dynasty was only left with an "empty shelf", and the powerful feudal towns and eunuchs who were stubborn not only refused to support the emperor to achieve ambitious revenge, but also secretly restrained or openly resisted, making the Tang Zhao disciples who did not have any real power in their hands feel guilty.
Stills of tang dynasty eunuchs
Full of ambition but unable to exert it, Tang Zhaozong, in the case of extreme grief and depression, inevitably bred the idea of cursing eunuchs and flattening the town, and repeatedly talked to the prime minister Cui Yin about this matter. However, there were no impermeable walls in the world, and the content of the conspiracy between the emperor and the chancellor was soon learned by the eunuchs, who, driven by fear, began to plot the abolition of the emperor, and colluded with Fengxiang Jiedu, who was dissatisfied with the imperial court, to make Li Maozhen and Zhen guojun Jiedu to make Han Jian a backup.
In November of the third year of Gwanghwa (900), Tang Zhaozong, who had drunk several drunken drinks in a row, killed many eunuchs and maids in one breath to vent his emotions, causing the palace to fall into a huge panic. In order to protect themselves, Liu Jishu, Wang Zhongxian, and other lieutenants of the Shence Left Army led a thousand soldiers into the palace to arrest the emperor, and then threatened Cui Yin to lead hundreds of officials to sign a petition to the crown prince Li Yu to supervise the country, who was afraid of death and did not dare not obey. On the seventh day of the same month, Tang Zhaozong was forced to give the throne to the crown prince Li Yu, and then was imprisoned by eunuchs in Shaoyangyuan as emperor of the Taishang.
Li Yu claimed that the emperor was deposed only two months later
Although Li Yu ascended to the throne, he was not recognized by the local feudal towns, and he was subject to eunuchs everywhere, and his situation was worse than that of his father, and at this time, the chancellor Cui Yin was already secretly carrying out plans to kill eunuchs and support the restoration of Tang Zhaozong. On the first day of the first month of the first month of the first year of Tianfu (901), Cui Yin and the general Sun Dezhao of the Forbidden Army killed Liu Jishu and Wang Zhongxian, and then rescued Tang Zhaozong and put him back on the throne. After Tang Zhaozong's restoration, considering that Li Yu's claim to be emperor was not out of his own heart, he spared his life, but only deposed him as crown prince and demoted him to the title of Prince of Virtue.
03 Death
Although Tang Zhaozong successfully restored, the eunuch clique was still powerful, and Li Maozhen, Han Jian, and other feudal commanders who colluded with them also endangered Chang'an from time to time, and in this case, Cui Yin began to cite the great warlord Zhu Wen as a supporter, with the intention of eradicating the threat and consolidating the imperial family. However, Zhu Wen harbored wolf ambitions, and after helping the imperial court eliminate the eunuch clique and defeat Li Maozhen and Han Jian, as his power and prestige continued to rise, he actually bred the idea of usurping the throne and claiming the throne.
Zhu Wen Image
However, Zhu Wen was not a reckless man, and knew that if he wanted to implement his own plan, it was necessary to eliminate the powerful members of the royal family. Therefore, when Zhu Wen entered the dynasty and saw Li Yu, who had a clear and beautiful eyebrow and grew up, he could not help but be deeply afraid, always worried that he would become a "stumbling block" to hinder his usurpation. Therefore, Zhu Wen instructed Cui Yin to make a proposal to Tang Zhaozong, hoping to put him to death on the grounds that Li Yu had stolen the throne and was disloyal and filial.
Tang Zhaozong was not stupid, of course, he knew that this was Zhu Wen's idea, and he also understood his intention to do so, so he rejected Cui Yin's proposal. After being forced to move the capital to Luoyang, Tang Zhaozong's every move was monitored by Zhu Wen, but even in this case, he was still worried about the safety of his eldest son, and he bit his middle finger and bit his middle finger to blood while he was sad and tearful. Tang Zhaozong's actions were reported to Zhu Wen by the Privy Councillor Jiang Xuanhui, who, in anger and fear, sent his henchmen into the palace on August 11, 904, to kill the emperor, and then proclaimed the emperor's ninth son, Li Zhao, as emperor, as Emperor Of Tang.
Jiang Xuanhui followed Zhu Wen's instructions and killed Li Yu and other princes
In February of the second year of Tianyou (905), in order to eradicate the imperial family, Zhu Wen instructed Jiang Xuanhui to invite Tang Zhaozong's sons Li Yu the Prince of De, Li Qi the Prince of De, Li Yu the Prince of Qi, Li Yu the Prince of Qi, Li Yu the Prince of Qi, Li Xiang the Prince of Qiong, and others to feast, and then while the princes were drunk, they were all hanged and then thrown into the Jiuqu Pond. Because Emperor Zhaozong of Tang did not appoint a crown prince after his restoration, and Emperor Ai of Tang had no heirs, Li Yu became the last prince of the Tang Dynasty, but his end was so tragic that it was really regrettable.
epilogue
After the completion of the great purge of the imperial family and the secretary of state, Zhu Wen's road to usurpation of the throne was no longer unstoppable. In March of the fourth year of Tianyou (907), Zhu Wen officially forced the Tang Emperor to "take the throne", and at this point, the Tang Dynasty, which had been established for 289 years, collapsed. After the Tang Emperor "ascended the throne", he was demoted to the title of King of Jiyin and moved to Cao Prefecture to live, but after only 1 year, he was poisoned by Zhu Wen at the age of 16. However, the evil Zhu Wen did not end up well in the end, and he was hacked to death by his son Zhu Youjue's henchmen after stealing the throne for 5 years (912).
bibliography
Liu Xun and Zhao Ying (Later Jin): Old Book of Tang, Zhonghua Bookstore, 1975.
Song Qi and Ouyang Xiu (Northern Song): New Book of Tang, Zhonghua Bookstore, 1975.
Sima Guang (Northern Song Dynasty): Zizhi Tongjian, Zhonghua Bookstore, 2015.