Diqin Designer

Chapter 365 What did Xuanzong do?
"Li Dan was caught in the middle of a dispute between his favored sister and his son, which made him feel very awkward. He wanted to appease both sides so that the conflict would not escalate."

"When encountering something, Li Dan would first ask Princess Taiping for her opinion, and then ask Li Longji for his opinion. According to historical records, whenever the prime minister reported something, the emperor would always ask, 'Have you discussed this with Taiping?' Then he would ask, 'Have you discussed this with Sanlang?' Only then would he approve it."

The First Emperor shook his head and said, "Li Dan is a good man, but a good man is not necessarily a good king. If he really wants Princess Taiping and Li Longji to get along peacefully, he must suppress one of them so that it is impossible for them to obtain the artifact. Otherwise, he is just trying to ease the conflict between the two parties and delay the conflict for a while."

The conflict will still break out, and may even break out more violently than Li Dan expected.

Because Li Dan's mediation will not really ease the conflict between the two parties. On the contrary, it will accumulate more deeply due to the delay of time, and the strength of both sides will become stronger over time.

When it is forced to explode, it will become more explosive, and there will be no end to it, with no room for easing.

Wang Wan also agreed: "If you don't make a decision when you should, you will suffer the consequences. In this matter, Li Dan must completely cut off the thoughts of one party and fully support the party he likes. Maybe this party will let go of the other party after he ascends the throne."

How can we be wishy-washy about this matter?
We must unwaveringly support one side and suppress the other in order to have a chance for the two sides to live in peace.

But this is also difficult to do. Princess Taiping and Li Longji are not easy to deal with. No matter who they support or suppress, there will be trouble.

This is a difficult problem that has no standard solution, only a better solution.

Li Nian said, "Princess Taiping felt that Crown Prince Li Longji was smart and capable, and would hinder her, so she wanted to appoint another crown prince. And Li Longji was not a good person either. How could he not know what his aunt was up to? He also wanted to get rid of his aunt."

Wang Jian discovered a problem and asked, "Li Longji is Li Dan's third son, which means Li Dan has two other sons. Why is Li Longji the crown prince? Could it be that the other two sons are dead?"

It is said that one can become a famous general only if he accurately grasps the tiny details in Li Nian's words.

Li Nian shook his head and said, "That's not the case. These two are not dead. When Li Dan first became emperor, Li Xian, the eldest son of Li Dan, was also named the crown prince. When Li Dan became emperor the second time, according to the system of primogeniture, Li Xian should be the crown prince, but Li Xian firmly refused. He said, 'When the country is safe, the eldest son should be the first, and when the country is in danger, the meritorious should be the first.' He recommended Li Longji as the crown prince."

Wang Wan stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "Li Xian is a man of virtue and wisdom. He knew that his ability was not as good as his brother's, so he gave up the crown prince position to Longji. This not only avoided a disaster of brothers killing each other, but also saved the Tang Dynasty from a civil strife."

Although we don’t know much about Li Longji, based on what we know so far, he was a talented man with ambitions for the throne.

If this kind of person is not made the crown prince and is not eliminated in time, he will definitely launch a coup for the throne, and then a fight between brothers and even between fathers and sons is inevitable.

Li Xian was also an extraordinary person. Many people knew that doing certain things would bring disaster, but they still couldn't help but do them because of the desires in their hearts.

It’s not that they can’t see the situation clearly, but that they can’t resist the temptation and control their desires.

However, Li Xian was faced with the huge temptation of the position of crown prince, but he not only restrained himself, but also actively refused it. This is not something that ordinary people can do.

Meng Tian asked, "What does Li Longji do to Li Xian?"

It would be interesting if Li Longji had killed Li Xian. The elder brother gave the position of crown prince to the younger brother, but the younger brother thought that the elder brother's life was a threat and eliminated him, which further proved the cruelty and bloodiness of the Tang Dynasty throne!
However, Meng Tian still wanted to see Li Longji treat Li Xian well. Brotherly love and respect are definitely not as good as brothers killing each other.

Li Nian smiled and said, "Li Longji treated Li Xian very well. When Li Xian was alive, Li Longji treated him very well. He did not address Li Xian as the emperor, but as 'brother Longji'. Not only Li Xian, but Li Longji treated all his brothers very well. Even if someone tried to sow discord between them, Li Longji would not believe it."

"Li Longji even wrote to Li Xian and his brothers, saying that he had obtained the legendary elixir that could make one ascend to heaven with wings, and that he was willing to share it with his brothers so that they could live long and forever."

Meng Tian praised: "Brothers are friendly and respectful to each other. Li Longji is worthy of Li Xian's relinquishment. If Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty saw this, would he be envious?"

Li Nian did not answer Meng Tian's question, and continued: "When the other brothers had passed away and only Li Xian was still alive, Li Longji favored this eldest brother even more. When Li Xian had a birthday, Li Longji would definitely be there to celebrate for him. If he had eaten something that he thought was delicious, he would immediately share it with Li Xian..."

"After Li Xian's death, Li Longji was very sad and issued an edict to posthumously honor Li Xian as 'Emperor Rang'."

Meng Tian sighed: "He can treat his brothers like this and has the talent to govern the country. No wonder he can lead the Tang Dynasty to its peak. I think when he is in power, the things that happened to Emperor Taizong and Li Zhi will not happen again."

"It's a pity that he didn't choose a good successor, which led to the decline of the Tang Dynasty after him."

Meng Tian felt that he had guessed Li Longji's future development process. Li Longji was talented and capable, and was kind to his brothers. Even if he was not as good as Taizong, he must be not far behind.

Especially in terms of brothers, Li Longji was far superior to Taizong. Under his rule, brothers were friendly and respectful, fathers were kind and sons were filial, and the harem was peaceful.

It's just that Li Longji made a common mistake among emperors and failed to choose a good crown prince...

But after Meng Tian finished speaking, he saw Li Nian showing that strange expression again. Could it be that there was a reversal in the matter of Li Longji?

But Meng Tian couldn't figure out where the reversal was for a moment.

Li Longji was indeed very good to his brothers, but as for his sons, Crown Prince Li Ying, Prince of E Li Yao, Prince of Guang Li Ju, and Prince of Shou Li Heng said that it was truly "the father is kind and the sons are happy."

Moreover, the Tang Dynasty did not decline because Li Longji failed to choose a good crown prince. It was he who created the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, and it was also he who brought the Tang Dynasty into decline.

Li Nian returned to the matter of Princess Taiping and Li Longji: "After Li Xian declined, Li Longji was enthroned as the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty."

Seeing that Li Nian did not answer Meng Tian's opinion on Li Longji, Qin Shihuang and others understood: the more this kid deliberately did not say anything, the more it showed that there was something wrong with this Li Longji.

Could it be that apart from being friendly and respectful to his brothers, Li Longji was rather outrageous in other aspects? In fact, Li Longji was quite lustful, very cruel to his children, and his harem was not harmonious at all?
Even the Tang Dynasty did not decline because of the subsequent emperors of the Tang Dynasty, but it was ruined in his hands.

He was the creator of the Tang Dynasty's heyday, but also the one who started its decline?
Li Nian continued: "After Li Longji became the crown prince, Princess Taiping deeply realized that Li Longji was the biggest obstacle to her ascending the throne, perhaps even greater than the reigning emperor Li Dan. Li Longji also understood that his aunt was the biggest competitor for his throne."

At this time, Wang Ben raised a point of view: "Is this also the reason why Li Xian resigned the position of crown prince, thinking that he could not compete with Princess Taiping?"

This is really possible. If there was no Li Longji, Li Dan's other sons might not be able to defeat Princess Taiping.

Although Princess Taiping was only Li Dan's sister, Li Dan only had this one sister at that time and he was very fond of her.

Li Nian smiled and said, "It may be possible. Princess Taiping is indeed not someone that ordinary people can fight against."

"The conflict between Princess Taiping and Li Longji deepened day by day. Princess Taiping tried several times to get Li Dan to depose Li Longji from the throne. According to historical records, she even stopped important officials of the Tang Dynasty outside the palace and hinted that they could help depose Li Longji."

"But after the chaos caused by Empress Wu and Empress Wei, how could the ministers of the Tang Dynasty not understand Princess Taiping's thoughts? These ministers were more inclined to Li Longji, and some ministers even questioned Princess Taiping directly."

This is because Wu Mei and Empress Wei narrowed the path for those who came after them, and they were all afraid of another Wu Mei or Empress Wei appearing.

Of course, the difference between Princess Taiping and Empress Wu and Empress Wei is that her surname is "Li". Even if she ascends the throne, it can still be said that the country belongs to the Li Tang Dynasty. But the ministers will also think about what will happen after Princess Taiping?
Will Princess Taiping pass the throne to the Li Tang royal family, or to her own children?
Should the children who succeed to the throne change their surname to "Li" or continue to use their father's surname?
If it is the latter, what is the difference between what Wu Mei did and what Empress Wei wanted to do?

For the sake of stability in the country, it is better for this Tang Dynasty's sacred weapon to be controlled by a Li Tang man!

From the very beginning, the possibility of Princess Taiping ascending the throne was not high.

But that position was too tempting, and her mother had succeeded before, and her sister-in-law had almost succeeded, so how could Princess Taiping be willing to give it up?
"Seeing that the conflict between his sister and his son had reached a point where he could not reconcile, Li Dan made a very interesting decision."

The First Emperor's heart moved and he guessed what the decision was, but he found it a little unbelievable.

The First Emperor asked, "Could it be that Li Dan took the initiative to abdicate the throne to Li Longji?"

The others also reacted when they heard it. From Li Nian's words, they had roughly seen Li Dan's character and felt that this was a decision that this person could make.

Although Li Dan does not seem to have any great talent, the fact that he was able to abdicate voluntarily has surpassed many people.

Li Nian smiled and said, "Yes, Li Dan felt that he could not reconcile the conflict between Li Longji and Princess Taiping, so he simply turned a blind eye to it. Moreover, he might have intended to let Li Longji ascend the throne and create a fait accompli, which would completely cut off Princess Taiping's thoughts and stop the two from fighting."

"In fact, the reason why Li Dan abdicated was also due to Princess Taiping. She originally wanted to use the prophecy of 'the connection between heaven and man' to attack Li Longji in front of Li Dan."

At this point, Li Nian was ready to give some warning to the Confucians of later generations. Although the Confucians of today are not the Confucians of later generations, they still need to remain vigilant to prevent the Confucians of the Qin Dynasty from deteriorating.

"Your Majesty and the other ministers must be aware of the theory of 'the connection between heaven and man', but this theory was reinterpreted and associated with the monarch by the great Confucian scholar Dong Zhongshu in the Western Han Dynasty. Later, it was used by some people with ulterior motives as a weapon to attack the monarch or political enemies."

"The correspondence between Heaven and man" has its good and bad sides. We cannot think that it is completely bad because it originated from Confucianism.

"To put it simply, if the emperor is immoral, God will send down strange phenomena and disasters. If the emperor is a virtuous monarch, God will send down auspicious signs and congratulations. Therefore, if there are disasters or strange phenomena in the world, it must be that there is a problem with the emperor himself or someone around him. If it is not handled in time, God will send down even more serious disasters, endangering the entire country."

Qin Shi Huang and others used to believe this to some extent, but after learning about science from Li Nian, they no longer believed it.

But they also understood how useful this method of criticism would be to those superstitious emperors.

The First Emperor looked at Li Nian and thought to himself: Fortunately, he has this kid, he is not like those superstitious emperors!

Li Nian continued, "According to historical records, Princess Taiping found a sorcerer who understood astronomy and said to Li Dan: 'The comet is to get rid of the old and bring in the new, and the throne and the star in front of the heart have changed, so the crown prince should become the emperor.'"

Hearing this, Meng Tian had a strange expression on his face and said, "Princess Taiping wants to slander Li Dan in front of him and use this prophecy to make Li Dan suspicious of Li Longji, so as to create a rift between father and son?"

Wang Ben continued, "But Princess Taiping didn't expect Li Dan to do this. Since the sky showed strange signs and wanted Li Longji to be the emperor, why didn't he follow the will of heaven and take the initiative to abdicate?"

Princess Taiping really did not expect that her brother would be willing to give up the imperial power.

This script is wrong, my royal brother. I want you to be afraid of Li Longji, not to abdicate the throne to that brat Li Longji.

Li Nian smiled and said, "When Li Dan heard the sorcerer's words, he probably thought 'it's a deal', so he took this opportunity to abdicate directly, so as to avoid having to watch his sister and son fighting each other."

"When Princess Taiping and her followers heard that Li Dan was going to abdicate, they became anxious. It was actually more beneficial for them to have Li Dan on the throne, but if Li Dan abdicated to Li Longji, they would be at a disadvantage."

"Li Dan, the emperor, is Princess Taiping's greatest supporter. But now this supporter is leaving, and her enemy is about to be put on the throne. She has to face not the crown prince Li Longji, but the Tang Emperor Li Longji."

"And if Li Dan is the emperor, he can reconcile the conflict between her and Li Longji, so that the two can have some room to ease the tension. Once Li Dan abdicates, she and Li Longji will start a life-and-death struggle, which will determine who is superior and who is inferior."

Li Nian said: "So there was a very interesting scene. After Li Dan announced that he would abdicate to Li Longji, Princess Taiping and her followers strongly advised against it."

Princess Taiping didn't expect that her brother Li Dan was so "honest". She shot herself in the foot.

"But Li Dan had made up his mind and was determined to abdicate to Li Longji. After Li Longji ascended the throne, Princess Taiping's ambitions were still there and she still wanted to fight for the throne. According to some historical records, Princess Taiping seemed to have more followers and was more powerful, so Li Longji was in a more dangerous situation."

"But in July of the second year of Xiantian, the more powerful Princess Taiping was vulnerable and was defeated by Li Longji in one fell swoop. Her subordinates were quickly captured and killed. Princess Taiping fled to a temple in the mountains. Three days after the incident, she left the temple and was sentenced to death at home by Li Longji."

Meng Tian asked, "Is Li Dan still alive at this time? Has he not pleaded with Li Longji for Princess Taiping?"

Li Nian said: "Li Dan is still alive, of course, and he also knew about the coup, but how can he persuade him? His sister and son are already at odds with each other, and one of them must die. Besides, Li Longji was already in power at that time, so he couldn't force him."

"After Princess Taiping died, Li Dan officially handed over power to Li Longji. He retired to Baifu Hall and lived out his days in peace, becoming a true emperor. The Tang Dynasty also officially opened a new era at this time, which was called 'Kaiyuan'!"

"The great poet Du Fu once wrote in his poem "Recalling the Past": Recalling the heyday of the Kaiyuan period, even small towns could house tens of thousands of households.

The rice is fat and the corn is white, and the public and private granaries are full.

There are no jackals or tigers on the roads of Kyushu, and you don’t need to wait for an auspicious sunrise to travel far.

The chariots carrying Qi silk and Lu silk are lined up in rows, and the men plough and the women mulberry work without missing a beat.

The sage in the palace played the Yunmen music, and all the friends in the world were close to him.

There has been no disaster for more than a hundred years, Shusun's rituals and music and Xiao He's laws."

"You can see how glorious the Kaiyuan Era was. In that era, there was the immortal poet Li Bai, whose poems seemed to come from heaven. There was also Xiohua, one of the four great beauties in Chinese history, and Zhang Ruoxu, who wrote the famous poem "Spring River Moonlight Night". It was a dazzling era."

Li Nian shook his head and sighed, "What a pity. Xuanzong made him successful, and he also made him fail... Who first saw the moon by the river? When did the moon by the river first shine on people? Life has been endless from generation to generation, and the moon by the river looks the same every year."

Although I had long guessed that Li Longji was both the creator of the Tang Dynasty's heyday and the initiator of its decline, I still felt a little sad when I heard it at this moment.

"Many people in later generations believed that if Xuanzong had died 20 years earlier, even if he could not be ranked first among the many emperors, he would definitely be in the top three, and even Emperor Wu of Han might not be able to surpass him."

"Xuanzong was a good emperor, but he lived too long and died too late!"

What did Li Longji do later to deserve such an evaluation?
(End of this chapter)