Diqin Designer

Chapter 355 How Emperor Taizong Came to the Throne

Li Nian asked, "Your Majesty, are you asking when Taizong ascended the throne, or how old he was when he established peace for the Tang Dynasty?"

Thinking of this person's identity as the second son of Emperor Taizong of Tang, and that the Emperor of Li Tang at that time was still his father Li Yuan, the First Emperor understood why Li Nian asked this.

He said, "Tell me everything!"

Li Nian said: "If we say that Taizong basically pacified the world for the Li Tang Dynasty, it was when he was 24 years old, and Taizong ascended the throne when he was 28 years old."

After hearing Li Nian's answer, everyone secretly said "As expected!" From fighting for Li Tang at the age of nineteen to pacifying the world at the age of twenty-four, he can definitely be called a young and accomplished person!
This was a monarch who had been extremely talented and capable since his youth. Could it be that after he ascended the throne, he would remain in this state until his death?

That's a bit scary. No wonder later generations listed him as the greatest emperor of all time, believing him to be the strongest carbon-based creature of the seventh century!
But Taizong was considered the strongest carbon-based being in the seventh century, not only because of his military prowess in internal conquests, but also because the Tang Dynasty gained a great reputation abroad under his governance.

When Emperor Taizong was in power, which ethnic minority around the Tang Dynasty dared to say it would not submit, or claim it would be invincible?

If you dare to provoke the Tang Dynasty, Tang bacteria will breed in your territory, and the Khan will be captured and taken to Chang'an to dance.

The First Emperor said, "He has made such great achievements at such a young age. He is indeed a genius. But are his father Li Yuan and his elder brother willing to watch him achieve success?"

Emperor Taizong of Tang was not the eldest son but the second son. After the establishment of the Li Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan became the emperor. If he appointed a crown prince, it would have been Emperor Taizong's elder brother.

Although they are brothers, they are so capable and competent. Wouldn't his father Li Yuan and his eldest brother feel uneasy?
Later, Emperor Taizong of Tang ascended the throne, and that was when he was 28 years old.

Counting the years, Emperor Taizong of Tang was 28 years old, so it should be the ninth year of Wude.

Could it be that Li Yuan had passed away in the ninth year of Wude, and before his death he made Emperor Taizong of Tang the crown prince?

During this process, the eldest brother of Emperor Taizong of Tang did not object and willingly gave the position of crown prince to his good younger brother?

If this is the case, then it is truly a story of brothers being friendly and respectful to each other, fathers being loving and sons being filial. It is rare to have family affection in heaven!
Of course, there is another possibility. The father did not want to be kind and the brother did not want to be friendly, but Emperor Taizong of Tang was too powerful. They did not want to be decent, so Emperor Taizong of Tang made them decent.

Li Nian smiled and said, "Of course not! Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng certainly don't want to see Taizong accomplish such a feat, but it is difficult not to use Taizong. If they don't use Taizong, it is not certain whether Li Tang can conquer the world. Even if they can, when will it be possible?"

“So this becomes a contradiction!”

Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng tried not to use Er Feng, and to restrict and suppress Er Feng, but unfortunately they created a mess that they couldn't fix, so they had to invite Er Feng out again.

"From Li Yuan's perspective, he both loves and hates his second son, who is extremely talented. Taizong's achievements are too great, which will not only threaten his throne, but also cause things he doesn't want to see. Li Yuan hopes that his eldest son and second son can live in harmony!"

Wang Wan continued, "If Li Yuan's eldest son is as talented as his second son, this is possible. But if the second son is much better than the eldest son, he will force the eldest son and the second son to live in harmony, which will definitely be biased. Not only will it not allow the two to live in harmony, but it will deepen the conflict."

Wang Wan continued to analyze: "In my opinion, Li Yuan must have stood on the side of his eldest son Li Jiancheng. Li Jiancheng is the eldest son and was made the crown prince. It is legitimate and reasonable."

"If Li Jiancheng can ascend the throne smoothly, it will set a good example for the Li Tang Dynasty, and all the successors of the Li Tang Dynasty will follow this example, which will enable the Li Tang Dynasty to last for a long time, and there will be no disasters and turmoil due to the position of the crown prince."

"Li Yuan and Yang Guang are cousins, so he must have known about the affairs of Yang Jian, Yang Guang, and Yang Yong. That's why he wanted to take precautions from the beginning, not wanting the past events of the Sui Dynasty to repeat themselves in the Li Tang Dynasty. But..."

Wang Wan changed the subject: "We have to make the second son suffer, let him suffer some injustice, because although he is talented and capable, he is still the second son! But if this happens, there will definitely be rifts between father and son, and between brothers."

In fact, Li Yuan was unable to keep the two sides even from the beginning because the conditions did not allow it. Li Jiancheng and Er Feng were competing for the throne of Li Tang, so he could only side with Li Jiancheng and suppress Er Feng.

Li Yuan might still be thinking in his heart: Shimin, you are too strong, your elder brother is not as good as you, so you just have to bear the grievance and give way to your elder brother, and everything will be fine after your elder brother ascends the throne.

If you and your elder brother get along well, you will have a bright future!

Li Nian smiled and said, "As the Prime Minister said, Li Yuan did choose to side with Li Jiancheng, but in order to appease Taizong, he made compensation in other aspects, and conferred Taizong the titles of General of Heavenly Strategy, King of Qin, Grand Commandant, Supreme Pillar of the State, Grand Administrator of the East Shaanxi Road, Shangshu Ling of the Yizhou Road, Governor of Yongzhou, and General Manager of Liangzhou..."

After hearing Erfeng's long title, the First Emperor and others understood how great Erfeng's contribution was. There was no limit to the title that could be bestowed upon him, so they tried their best to give that Great Emperor Taizong of Tang more titles.

Upon hearing that Emperor Taizong of Tang was named "King of Qin", the First Emperor was very happy and thought that Li Tang was quite knowledgeable.

Li Nian continued, "But this cannot eliminate the conflict between Li Jiancheng and Taizong, because the root of their conflict is the position of the crown prince and the position of the emperor of the Tang Dynasty! There is only one throne, and although they are brothers, they are two people."

"For Li Yuan, no matter how great Taizong's contributions were, he was still his son. As long as Taizong didn't want to kill his father and seize the throne, even if there was a threat to him, it wouldn't be that big. But this is not the case for Li Jiancheng!"

"From Li Jiancheng's perspective, seeing how great Taizong's achievements were, he would be more worried than Li Yuan."

"Because he and Taizong are 'just' brothers, it is morally difficult to kill his father, but it is not that difficult to take away his position as crown prince or kill him. The matter of his cousins ​​Yang Guang and Yang Yong is just around the corner!"

"Li Jiancheng was worried, so he naturally wanted to suppress Taizong and weaken his power to prevent Taizong from snatching his position as crown prince. Another legitimate son also had a 'contribution' to this."

"This boy's name is 'Li Yuanji'. He has a good relationship with his elder brother Li Jiancheng, but a bad relationship with Taizong. Li Yuanji stands on Li Jiancheng's side and joins forces with Li Jiancheng to suppress Taizong."

Meng Tian asked curiously, "Does Li Yuanji also want to be the crown prince?"

Li Nian smiled and said, "There should have been, but if he wants to become the crown prince, he must overthrow his eldest brother and second brother."

"There is a quote on the internet in later times that describes the relationship between the three brothers: 'Li Shimin felt very upset after killing his eldest brother, but when he thought about killing Li Yuanji as well, he felt much better!'"

This may sound strange, but it does describe the relationship between these three brothers very aptly:

There was still some brotherhood between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, but there was a high probability that Li Yuanji and Li Shimin wanted to kill each other immediately.

With this kind of relationship, Li Yuanji stood on Li Jiancheng's side and must have suggested to Li Jiancheng that Li Shimin be killed. They were brothers, but they killed each other to such an extent. This sentence also reveals an important message: the great Tang Taizong finally embarked on the path of killing his brother!

So was Li Yuan also harmed by Emperor Taizong of Tang?
Considering that Emperor Taizong of Tang ascended the throne in the ninth year of Wude, this is possible...

Li Nian continued, "Li Jiancheng wanted to suppress Taizong, and Li Yuan took sides, and Li Yuanji helped him. Naturally, the conflict with Taizong became more and more intense, to the point where the situation was like fire and water, and there was no room for both sides to maneuver!"

"Some people in later generations said that if Li Jiancheng and Taizong had each taken a step back, they might not have killed each other. But whether from Taizong's perspective or Li Jiancheng's perspective, they had no way back."

"Because they retreat, how can those who follow them retreat?"

"In a power struggle like this, if you take a step back, you could end up falling into an abyss and being crushed to pieces. You can't just retreat if you want to."

"Taizong would think that if he did not fight, but took a step back and let Li Jiancheng ascend the throne smoothly, would Li Jiancheng really let him and his wife and children go after he became emperor?"

The First Emperor said: "If you don't fight now, you will be at the mercy of others in the future, and you will regret it too late."

Li Nian nodded and said, "Li Jiancheng would think the same. Even if he was willing to give up the crown prince position to Emperor Taizong, would Emperor Taizong really let him go? In fact, with Emperor Taizong's tolerance, he might be able to tolerate Li Jiancheng, but Li Jiancheng doesn't dare to gamble!"

Taizong was a man of extraordinary talent. He achieved great achievements at a young age. No one in the whole world could match him, so he was very tolerant and few of his meritorious officials were killed.

Of course, he doesn't need to kill!

Because he is young, many heroes who are older than him will die before him, and they can be sent away by just waiting for time.

"The conflict between Li Jiancheng and Taizong became increasingly intense, and finally in the ninth year of Wude, it reached a point where they were incompatible and only one of them could survive!"

"The history records: 'In the ninth year, on June 4, Crown Prince Jiancheng and Prince Yuanji of Qi plotted to murder Emperor Taizong. On June 4, Emperor Taizong led Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Yuwen Shiji, Gao Shilian, Hou Junji, Cheng Zhijie, Qin Shubao, Duan Zhixuan, Qu Tutong, Zhang Shigui and others to execute them at Xuanwu Gate.'"

"This is the famous Xuanwu Gate Incident in history! During this mutiny, Emperor Taizong personally shot and killed his brother Li Jiancheng, and his general Yuchi Gong killed Li Yuanji."

Although it was a brief speech, it revealed a bloody atmosphere. At this moment, Li Tang's throne was stained with the blood of his fellow brothers, which would have a great impact on his future.

The First Emperor asked, "Where was Li Yuan when this change happened?"

Li Nian said: "Li Yuan was boating on the sea pond in the palace at this time, but Li Yuan went to the sea pond to boat, which should be Taizong's action to ensure that the military strategy could be carried out smoothly. After the Xuanwu Gate Incident was completed, Taizong asked Yuchi Gong to wear armor and hold a spear to come to Li Yuan's boat to report that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji had rebelled and had been killed by Taizong."

It was said that Yuchi Gong was sent to the palace as a guard to protect Li Yuan's safety, but in fact, Yuchi Gong was sent to threaten Li Yuan: Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji are dead, so make me the crown prince. If you don't want to, I don't mind sending you away as well. Anyway, I have already killed two brothers. Too many lice don't itch, and too many debts don't worry.

"Li Yuan understood the situation very well and recognized the rebellion of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji. On June 8, Taizong was officially made crown prince."

Erfeng legitimately ascended the throne from the crown prince, not usurping the throne, which is legally justified.

"Two months later, on the eighth day of the eighth month, Li Yuan issued an edict to pass the throne to Emperor Taizong. Emperor Taizong ascended the throne in the Xiande Hall of the Eastern Palace and honored Li Yuan as the Supreme Emperor. The Tang Dynasty has since entered the era of Emperor Taizong!"

"Although the Xuanwu Gate Incident was recorded in history books as a counterattack by Emperor Taizong under pressure from Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, it had a profound impact on the Tang Dynasty and also made the throne of the Tang Dynasty always shrouded in a thick bloody atmosphere."

This was the result of a bad start. Later members of the Tang royal family would naturally come up with an idea: Since Taizong was able to kill his brothers and seize the throne, why can't we follow his example?
"The throne of the Tang Dynasty was plunged into bloodshed from then on. This way of brothers, fathers and sons, even mothers and sons, grandparents and grandchildren, and aunts and nephews fighting to decide the throne was later dubbed the 'Xuanwu Gate Succession Law' by later generations."

After hearing Li Nian's words, Qin Shi Huang and others did not notice anything unusual at first. They only lamented that although Emperor Taizong of Tang was powerful, he also set a bad precedent for the Tang Dynasty.

But soon, everyone reacted quickly: Wait a minute, something strange seemed to have passed by, what did this kid Li Nian say?
It is understandable that brothers and fathers and sons fight for the throne, but what about mothers and sons, grandparents and grandchildren, and aunts and nephews fighting for the throne?
I heard Li Nian say that the Tang Dynasty was very heroic, but heroic can also be understood in another way - wild. The Tang Dynasty was so wild that women also came to compete for the throne of the Tang Dynasty?

The most a woman could do was be a powerful empress dowager, ruling the country like Empress Lü did, but it would be unlikely for her to actually take that step and ascend the throne.

If this is true, then the Tang Dynasty is also wild!
Feng Jie asked with a strange look on his face, "The mother and son, grandparents and grandchildren, and aunts and nephews of the Tang Dynasty are also competing for the throne?"

Li Nian smiled and said, "Of course, the Tang Dynasty has the only female emperor in Chinese history!"

After hearing these words, the First Emperor and others were really surprised. There actually was a woman in the Tang Dynasty who took that step and became an emperor!

If a woman is allowed to ascend the throne, where are the men of the Tang Dynasty, where are the royal family of Li Tang, and where are the descendants of Emperor Taizong of Tang?

Li Nian said: "Let's not talk about the merits and demerits of this female emperor, but the fact that she ascended the throne as a woman is indeed unique in Chinese history."

"This empress is also related to Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. If Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty had not taken her into the palace, perhaps what happened later would not have happened!"

The First Emperor asked curiously, "Is she the Empress of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty?"

Li Nian shook his head: "No, during the time of Emperor Taizong, she was a talented person of Emperor Taizong, and if Emperor Taizong were still alive, there would be no way he would have given her the opportunity to ascend the throne."

"The surname of the Empress of Emperor Taizong is 'Changsun', her given name is unknown, and her nickname is Guanyinbi. She is the daughter of Changsun Sheng, the general of the Right Guard of the Sui Dynasty, and the younger sister of Changsun Wuji, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty."

The name "Zhang Sun Wuji" has been heard before. Li Nian said that he was one of the people led by Emperor Taizong to launch the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

"Empress Taizong and Empress Changsun were very affectionate. Empress Changsun gave birth to three sons and four daughters for Emperor Taizong. Compared with the children born to other concubines, these children were more favored by Emperor Taizong because they were born to Empress Changsun."

"Some people think that since Taizong's son Li Ke was praised by Taizong as 'this son is like me', he also has a certain chance to inherit the throne. In fact, it is completely impossible. Apart from other things, the fact that he is not the son of Empress Zhangsun is enough to determine the fate of the emperor!"

Erfeng's throne must be passed on to his and Empress Changsun's descendants. Even if Li Ke did not have Sui blood, he would have no chance because he was excluded in his mother's womb.

(End of this chapter)