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Chapter 392: Killing three sons in one day and snatching the daughter-in-law (History of the Tang Dynasty)
"Although the Tang army was defeated in the Battle of Hengluo with the Arabs, it did not suffer too much loss, nor did it lose its influence in the Western Regions. It even continued to expand."

"In the second year after the Battle of Hengrus, Feng Changqing, who was promoted to the new Anxi Jiedushi, sent troops to defeat Tubo and captured the strategic Tubo city of Dabolü, which made the Tang Dynasty's strategy in the Western Regions reach its peak. History records that 'at that time, China was prosperous and strong. From Anyuan Gate to the west of the Tang territory, there were 12,000 miles. Houses and villages were visible from each other, mulberry and hemp covered the fields, and there was no place in the world as rich as Longyou.'

"Seeing that the Tang Dynasty was still strong, the Arabs took the initiative to ask for peace with the Tang Dynasty..."

At this point, Li Nian couldn't help but shake his head: "If it weren't for that chaos, the Tang Dynasty would definitely continue to expand in the Western Regions and compete with the Arabs again."

Li Nian did not immediately talk about the chaos, but said: "Although the Tang army during Xuanzong's time was still powerful and strong, compared with Taizong's time, the border situation of the Tang Dynasty has changed to a certain extent."

"During the reign of Emperor Taizong, the Tang Dynasty almost always expanded its external forces through offensive means, conquering many states and bringing the conquered lands under the governance of the Tang Dynasty. It can be considered that the Tang Dynasty's external strategy at this time was military offensive."

"After Emperor Taizong passed away, your majesty and the others also know what happened during the reign of Emperor Li Zhi. Although the territory of the Tang Dynasty reached its largest during Li Zhi's rule, it was lost again. Tribes such as the Tibetans and Turks also began to constantly harass the borders of the Tang Dynasty."

Wang Jian understood and said, "So, the Tang Dynasty's external strategy changed from the active offensive during Emperor Taizong's reign to defensive?"

Feng Quji asked, "But isn't the Tang Dynasty still sending troops abroad to continue its expansion?"

Li Nian said: "Partial expansion and the change of the main strategy to defense are not contradictory. The Tang Dynasty changed its external military strategic direction because it had to do so: during the reign of Emperor Taizong, the Tang Dynasty had the most elite cavalry at the time, which defeated the surrounding countries and damaged the vitality of many tribes, making them unable to pose an effective threat to the Tang Dynasty."

"But when Emperor Xuanzong came to power, the situation became different! Externally, many tribes around the Tang Dynasty had recovered their vitality and could pose a threat to the Tang Dynasty. Most of these tribes were nomadic. Even if they could not defeat the Tang army on the front battlefield, they would frequently harass the border of the Tang Dynasty: When the Tang army came, I ran away. When the Tang army left, I came again!"

"As for internal affairs, I have said before that the military system of the garrison troops was no longer sustainable during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. The military strength of the Tang Dynasty actually declined at that time. It was Emperor Xuanzong who adopted Zhang Shuo's proposal to change the military system of the garrison troops to the recruitment system, which enabled the Tang army to regain its strong combat power. However, some losses can be made up, but some cannot be made up in a short time!"

Now everyone understands how the situation on the Tang Dynasty’s border has changed. Although the Tang army is strong, the enemy has also become cunning: We cannot defeat you Tang Dynasty head-on, but we can harass you. Come and chase us if you can!

If the Tang Dynasty pursued them, it would not gain much even if it defeated them. If the Tang Dynasty did not pursue them, it would be harassed by them, which was extremely annoying. Moreover, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, the combat effectiveness of the Tang Dynasty's cavalry was lower than that during the reign of Emperor Taizong.

Li Nian continued: "In order to cope with the changes in the border situation, the Tang Dynasty's foreign strategy was naturally adjusted, from military offense to military defense. The Tang Dynasty set up many important towns at the border to gather heavy troops and guard the key places! Therefore, the Jiedushi was born!"

"When the Jiedushi was first established, they were only in charge of local military affairs, and did not interfere in local governance, nor did they have local administrative power. This is just like the governors of the provinces in the late Eastern Han Dynasty."

When they heard about the governor of a province at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Qin Shihuang and others instantly understood what a Jiedushi was. Isn't this just the Tang Dynasty version of the governor of a province?
"In fact, there was no big problem with Xuanzong establishing the Jiedushi system, at least that was the case when the Jiedushi system was first established. Because as long as the Jiedushi were not given administrative power and the central government was strong enough, the Jiedushis at the local level would not be able to cause much trouble. However, Xuanzong was a person..."

"Even if there is no problem, we can still create some problems. The cause of the incident is somewhat related to the Wu family!"

At this point, how can it still be related to the Wu family?
The Wu family is really a centipede that can't stand up. But think about it, Xuanzong is the grandson of Wu Mei, and all the later emperors of the Tang Dynasty can be said to be related to the Wu family.

"Xuanzong had a concubine named Wu Hui, who was the granddaughter of Wu Mei's niece and the daughter of Wu Mei's cousin Wu Youzhi. This concubine was favored by Xuanzong and gave birth to four sons and three daughters for him."

If she wasn't favored, she wouldn't have had so many children, although several of them died young.

The First Emperor and others thought of Wu Mei, Empress Wei, and Princess Taiping. Could it be that Concubine Wu Hui was going to repeat the same thing and make Emperor Xuanzong make a mistake?
"However, although Wu Huifei was favored by Emperor Xuanzong, even though he had no empress, he did not make her empress, let alone make the prince she gave birth to the crown prince."

"Xuanzong's original wife, Queen Wang, had no children. Later, she was deposed in the 12th year of Kaiyuan because of the 'Fuyan Incident'. Therefore, the prince appointed by Xuanzong at that time was not the Queen's legitimate son..."

Another Queen Wang. The Tang royal family loved to marry women with the surname "Wang" as queens and then depose them. They also had a favorite concubine with the surname "Wu".

This story sounds a bit familiar!
But why would Xuanzong use the script of his grandfather Gaozong?
Then we must open a few more unique big eyes!
"Xuanzong appointed a crown prince in the third year of Kaiyuan. The crown prince was his second son, Li Ying, who was born to Concubine Zhao Lifei. However, Concubine Zhao Lifei's family background was not good. According to historical records, she was a prostitute. However, she was quite loved by Xuanzong and was taken as a concubine."

The second son was enthroned, which means there was an eldest son. Even if he was not the legitimate eldest son, this son was not the legitimate son either. What happened to the eldest son of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang?
It seems that the eldest son of an emperor is prone to problems. No matter whether he is the eldest son of a legitimate wife or the eldest son of a concubine, it is difficult for him to have a good ending.

Wang Wan asked: "Even if there is no legitimate son, but the eldest son is in the front, why didn't Xuanzong make the eldest son the crown prince, but the second son? Could it be that Xuanzong's eldest son died young, or was not loved by Xuanzong?"

Li Nian shook his head and smiled, "No, Xuanzong must have loved his eldest son very much. He had the opportunity to be made the crown prince. After his death in the eleventh year of Tianbao, Xuanzong posthumously awarded him the title of 'Prince Jingde'. But this one was unlucky and was injured in the face while hunting."

That was really bad luck. He had the opportunity to become the crown prince of Emperor Xuanzong, but he lost the chance because his face was disfigured while hunting.

"But it was actually a good thing for this man that he was not made crown prince because of the facial injury, as it allowed him to avoid being killed. Xuanzong made his second son the crown prince, and the crown prince's mother was once a prostitute. Your Majesty and the others, what do you think Concubine Wu Hui would think?"

The answer to this question is easy to guess. I was born into a noble family, but I didn't become the queen, and my son didn't become the crown prince. Instead, a lowly woman's son became the crown prince.

How can I swallow this?

Meng Tian said: "Of course Wu Huifei will not accept this. She thinks that if Zhao Lifei's son can be the crown prince, why can't her son?"

Li Nian said: "That's exactly what Wu Huifei was thinking. At that time, Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling had been dismissed. Li Linfu, who replaced Zhang Jiuling, was a great treacherous minister. In order to consolidate his power, he figured out Wu Huifei's intentions and often spoke well of Prince Shou in front of Wu Huifei."

"Prince Shou is the son of Concubine Wu Huifei. When she heard the prime minister of the time praise her son, she was of course very happy. She also felt that if Concubine Zhao Li's son could be the crown prince, why couldn't her own son be?" "So, once again, instigated by her son-in-law Yang Hui, Concubine Wu Huifei designed to frame the then Crown Prince Xuanzong and the other two princes. The frame-up was simple. They couldn't kill the Crown Prince and the two princes, but someone could kill a Crown Prince and two princes!"

The First Emperor narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Did Concubine Wu Hui use Emperor Xuanzong's hand to make him kill his own son?"

Li Nian nodded: "Concubine Wu Hui sent someone to summon the Crown Prince and the two princes into the palace, saying that there was a thief in the palace and asked them to help catch him. The three agreed and brought their soldiers into the palace."

"On the other hand, Wu Huifei told Xuanzong: 'The crown prince and the two princes are planning a rebellion. They are entering the palace in armor!' Xuanzong sent someone to check and found that it was exactly as Wu Huifei said."

"And Xuanzong also gained the throne through a coup d'état, so he was naturally very sensitive to such things. The Crown Prince and the two princes brought their troops into the palace, which just touched his sore spot, making Xuanzong want to kill him!"

Feng Jie said: "That Wu Huifei is indeed Xuanzong's favorite concubine. She has figured out Xuanzong's thoughts and knows what he fears and worries about, so she uses this as a knife."

But up to this point, it is still unclear what connection Concubine Wu Huifei had with the civil strife in the Tang Dynasty. At most, she just caused Emperor Xuanzong to kill a few princes.

Li Nian continued, "When Emperor Xuanzong decided to deal with the crown prince and the two kings, he consulted Li Linfu. Li Linfu replied that this was Emperor Xuanzong's family affair and it was not his place to interfere."

Wang Wan said: "It seems that he is staying out of the matter and not getting involved in Xuanzong's family affairs, but in fact he is retreating to advance, and he is determined to kill the three people."

Li Nian said: "Xuanzong first demoted Crown Prince Li Ying, Prince of E Li Yao, and Prince of Guang Li Ju to commoners, and soon after, he ordered all three to be executed. This was later known as 'killing three sons in one day'!"

Three princes were killed in one day, one of whom was the crown prince. Is this still the Li Longji who was quite wise when he first ascended the throne?
The throne of the Tang Dynasty was truly filled with blood and gore. When I first heard Li Nian talk about Xuanzong's attitude toward his brothers, I thought there would be some changes. Unexpectedly, he raised the butcher knife to his son without mercy!
The First Emperor asked, "How many years has Xuanzong been on the throne?"

Li Nian said: "It has been 25 years since he ascended the throne, and Xuanzong is already 52 years old, so there is a saying that 'Xuanzong was a good emperor, but he lived too long and died too late'."

"If Xuanzong had died before the 25th year of Kaiyuan, he would have been highly regarded in history. If he had died before the 3rd year of Tianbao, his evaluation would have been low, but still good. Even if he had died before the 14th year of Tianbao, he would probably have been regarded as OK. But Xuanzong lived a long life and lived to be 78 years old."

When they heard the age at which Xuanzong died, the First Emperor and others felt that he had indeed lived a long life, nearly eighty years old, which was quite old.

Li Nian added: "Although she framed and murdered the crown prince and the two kings, Wu Huifei did not get the benefits she wanted. It was not because Xuanzong saw through her frame-up, but because Wu Huifei herself became ill because of the frame-up. She died in December of the same year."

Concubine Wu Huifei died at this point. What did the shocking civil strife in the Tang Dynasty have to do with her? How could a dead person affect what happened later?
Li Nian's answer was "Of course!" The First Emperor and others saw a strange smile on Li Nian's face: "Wu Huifei is very favored by Xuanzong. To Xuanzong, she is gentle and considerate, and knows his mind. Although there are many beauties in the harem, no one can compare with Wu Huifei."

"So after Wu Huifei passed away, Xuanzong was very sad and posthumously named her empress and gave her the posthumous title of Zhenshun. But without someone as caring as Wu Huifei, Xuanzong couldn't eat or sleep well. At this time, he heard that Shou Wang Li Ying's wife was extremely beautiful..."

Wait a minute……

Even with the shrewd nature of Qin Shi Huang and others, they could not maintain their facial expressions after hearing what Li Nian said.

Prince Shou Li Ying, this kid Li Nian was mentioned just now, is he the son of Consort Wu Huifei and Emperor Xuanzong, right?

He was the one that Concubine Wu Hui was deliberately trying to push to the position of Crown Prince!
In this case, isn’t the princess consort of Prince Shou Li Ying the daughter-in-law of Emperor Xuanzong and Consort Wu Huifei?

Xuanzong, an old man over fifty years old, fell in love with his own daughter-in-law and wanted to take her for himself?
I finally understood why Li Nian talked about Concubine Wu Huifei. I'm afraid Concubine Wu Huifei never dreamed that after her death, Emperor Xuanzong would snatch her son's princess away.

Moreover, since Xuanzong had snatched the wife of Prince Shou, he would definitely not allow Prince Shou to become the crown prince and inherit the throne. As long as Xuanzong was alive and had not abdicated, Prince Shou would be the prince farthest away from the throne.

All of Wu Huifei's plans and ideas became a very funny joke after Xuanzong started to have feelings for Princess Shou. If she had not died, Xuanzong might not have thought of snatching the princess from his son.

If Concubine Wu Huifei could know what happened later after her death, what would she feel?

Xuanzong is a real playful guy. He has become so morally corrupt that he even snatched his son's princess away. How will the father and son meet in the future? How will Prince Shou and his princess meet each other?
First, Taizong occupied his brother's sister-in-law and his younger brother's wife, then Gaozong had an affair with his stepmother, and now Xuanzong is trying to snatch his son's wife. It has to be said that they are indeed a family!

The situation is now very clear. The civil strife in the Tang Dynasty was most likely related to Princess Shou and Emperor Xuanzong.

The First Emperor then thought of something else. Li Nian had once said that the Tang Dynasty also had one of the most beautiful women in Chinese history. Could it be the Princess Shou?

Li Nian seemed to know what the First Emperor was thinking, and said with a smile: "This Princess Shou's surname is 'Yang' and her name is 'Yuhuan'. She is from the Hongnong Yang family. She is one of the four great beauties in ancient China, the 'shy flower' in the 'sinking fish, falling geese, and hiding the moon and shameful flowers'!"

"After hearing that Princess Shou was very pretty and suitable for serving in the imperial court, Emperor Xuanzong ignored all etiquette and morality and recruited Yang Yuhuan into the palace. He found that his daughter-in-law was indeed extremely beautiful, and Yang Yuhuan was also proficient in music, good at singing and dancing, and had a gentle temperament, and could understand Emperor Xuanzong's mind."

"How could Xuanzong not be moved by such a beautiful woman who understood his feelings and could sing and dance well? How could such a beauty be his daughter-in-law? She should be his concubine. The poet Bai Juyi wrote in "Song of Everlasting Regret": 'It is hard to give up one's natural beauty, once chosen to be by the emperor's side.'"

(End of this chapter)