How did the emperors of the Tang Dynasty ascend to the throne? It’s cruel than you think.

Ancient poems say: Under Putian, could it be the king's soil; the land of the land, could it be the king's court, the emperor is the lord of the world, and he controls the life and death of the people of the world, and the power he possesses can be said to be supreme. It is a pity that despite this, theory is sometimes not equal to reality. If a dynasty appears as a sage monarch, it will naturally be able to firmly control the current situation and power, but once a faint monarch emerges, especially for successive generations of faint monarchs, the power of the emperor There is a danger of falling aside, and it’s not even clear whether one can keep the throne. It’s okay to lose the throne. If the root cause is not resolved and the situation goes on, whoever one of his descendants can ascend to the throne depends on the face of the people. The Tang Dynasty is Classic example.

In the 289th year of the Tang Dynasty enjoying the national fate, the emperor seemed to have changed 21 (recognized by official history) when he watched the lanterns. The average number of times each emperor’s reign was in all ancient China The unified dynasty is not among the top but only slightly better than the short-lived dynasties such as the Yuan Dynasty and the Qin Dynasty. The main reason is not that the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was short-lived but that the emperor’s path to the throne was too bumpy. Throughout the entire history of the Tang Dynasty, we will find that most of the emperors of the Tang Dynasty were full of blood and helplessness when they became the throne. It involves how the emperor of the Tang Dynasty became emperor. So how did each emperor of the Tang Dynasty ascend the throne? What is the source of this turmoil?

The founding emperor of Tang Dynasty, Tang Gaozu, Li Yuan was originally the nephew of Emperor Wen (Li Yuan’s mother was the sister of Emperor Wen’s wife Dugu Empress), the cousin of Emperor Yang, but The cousin of Emperor Yang of Sui did not lend a helping hand when the Sui Dynasty was in crisis, but a dynasty established by taking advantage of the fire when various insurgents attacked the Sui Dynasty. After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Li Yuan, the emperor of Tang Dynasty, failed to handle the contradiction between the eldest son and the second son on the issue of heirs. As a result, the Xuanwu Gate was triggered. The second son Li Shimin passed a bloody coup. This was the first bloody transfer of power in the Tang Dynasty. Tang Taizong Li Shimin made a very bad start in the transfer of power, so from the early Tang Dynasty to the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the transfer of power in the Tang Dynasty was accompanied by bloodshed and sacrifices inside the royal family.

Tang Taizong Li Shimin was followed by Tang Gaozong Li Zhi. Although this power transfer did not produce blood, but Li Zhineng ascended the throne. The original prince Li Chengqian and his second brother Wei Wang Li Tai contributed to them, otherwise the throne would be It's not Li Zhi's turn.

After Tang Gaozong Li Zhi and before Tang Xuanzong Li Longji, these emperors Li Xian of Tang Zhongzong and Li Dan of Tang Ruizong were deposed by their mother, Wu Zetian and lost the throne. Although Wu Zetian usurped the Li Tang dynasty, she was beaten back to its original form in her later years because of the Shenlong coup of Li Xian, Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty. After Tang Zhongzong, Li Danneng of Tang Ruizong became the emperor, and it was also full of coups, namely the Tang Long coup. Tang Xuanzong Li Longji also completely grasped the real power and emptied Tang Ruizong because of the congenital coup.

After the mid-Tang Dynasty, the Anshi Rebellion broke out due to the indulgence of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty turned from its prosperity to decline. At the same time, the subsequent Tang Dynasty emperors also renewed their majestic talents. Failing to surpass the ancestors, and even showing signs of mediocrity for several generations, leading to the fall of the monarchy and the eunuchs beginning to take power.

Tang Suzong Li Heng after Tang Xuanzong proclaimed himself emperor without the consent of Tang Xuanzong during the Anshi Rebellion, his behavior is tantamount to usurping the throne. After Tang Suzong, Li Yu of Tang Dynasty and Li Shi of Tang Dezong did not have a coup, but the trouble was not small. For example, Empress Zhang of Tang Suzong wanted to launch a coup to get rid of Li Yu, who was still the prince. Therefore, since the Tang Dynasty and Tang Dezong, the eunuch has more and more say in the change of the throne of the Tang Dynasty.

After Tang Dezong, Tang Shunzong Li Song became the emperor by his will. Unfortunately, Tang Shunzong reigned only half a year because of the persecution of the eunuch Ju Wenzhen and others and had to cede the throne. Tang Xianzong Li Pure was embraced as emperor by the eunuch under such circumstances. After Tang Xianzong, the eight emperors of Tang Muzong, Tang Jingzong, Tang Wenzong, Tang Wuzong, Tang Xuanzong, Tang Yizong, Tang Xizong, and Tang Zhaozong all ascended to the throne with the support of eunuchs. It can be said that in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. Whether a prince can become the emperor is not the emperor’s final say, but the eunuch in charge of power has absolute wordsFor example, during the time of Tang Xianzong, eunuch Wang Shoucheng sent people to kill Tang Xianzong and Li Yun, who was a threat to Li Heng, in order to make Tang Muzong Li Heng ascend the throne without interference and worries.

After Tang Zhaozong, the Tang Dynasty ushered in the last emperor, Tang Aidi, Li Zong. Li Zong’s access to the throne was not supported by eunuchs but by treacherous minister Jiang Xuanhui. Jiang Xuanhui was not someone else. He was the confidant of Zhu Wen, the separatist power in the late Tang Dynasty. After Wen sent him to kill Tang Zhaozong, Jiang Xuanhui falsely preached the imperial decree and made Li Zong the emperor. Li Jong knew that he was a puppet. After he became a king, he did not even dare to establish the most basic reign of an emperor, but continued to follow the reign of Tang Zhaozong, Tianyou. It is a pity that God did not bless him. After the wolfish ambition Zhu Wen eliminated the eunuchs and ministers loyal to the Tang dynasty who had been occupying the middle and late Tang dynasty, he replaced the emperor Li Jong of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang dynasty perished and the world entered the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Troubled times.

The Tang Dynasty is another unified Central Plains dynasty after the Sui Dynasty. It occupies an important position in the entire history of ancient China. The dynasty is tied with the great Han dynasty, which established the title of the Chinese nation. Although both dynasties are prosperous, compared with the Han dynasty, the emperor of the Tang dynasty inherits the throne more complicated and cruel. Although there have been several in the early Tang dynasty. The emperors of Shengming, but their way of inheriting power is full of blood and violence. Although the competition between princes has been reduced in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, but due to the mediocre and favored eunuchs of the previous generations of emperors, whether the next emperor can be When enthroned as emperor, the eunuch holds the absolute right to speak.

As a result of the eunuchs possessing such power, two emperors have to mention, one is Tang Suzong Li Heng who became emperor during the Anshi Rebellion, and the other is Tang Dezong Li Shi. Before Tang Suzong, the eunuchs were able to gain the favor of the emperor with their own efforts, such as Gao Lishi in the Xuanzong period of the Tang Dynasty. Although they were favored by the emperor, they could not interfere with the operation of the government without military power, so the danger was within control. . Tang Suzong Li Heng became the emperor and did not trust military commanders and favored eunuchs, such as eunuch Yu Chaoen, Li Fuguo, and Cheng Yuanzhen. For these eunuchs, Tang Suzong asked them to supervise the army. With Tang Suzong's favor, these eunuchs began to manipulate the military and political power.

Tang Dezong Li Shi as the emperor was originally repellent to eunuchs, but after experiencing the "change of Jingshi", Tang Dezong changed his attitude towards eunuchs, and he was rebelling. When the army attacked the city, the imperial army he trusted abandoned him, surrounded by a group of eunuchs. After the rebellion was settled, Tang Dezong began to reuse eunuchs and let them directly control the military power of the imperial army. Although he was a prison army, Tang Dezong set up a military seal for them for an unprecedented time. Therefore, the history book has this record: 说深德王定远, please cast Jianjun Yin, from it. The Jianjun has printed since Dingyuan.

The status of the eunuch with military power has undergone a fundamental change. Whether the emperor after Tang Dezong can become the emperor basically depends on the eunuch. This situation continued until the emperor Li Zong of the Tang Dynasty was embraced. Of course, at this time, the Tang Dynasty was not far from being replaced.

If it is said that due to Tang Suzong and Tang Dezong, the eunuchs affected whether the emperor can ascend the throne in the middle and late Tang dynasties, the turmoil caused by the early Tang dynasty Tang Taizong Li Shimin can hardly be blamed.

Reference material: "Zi Zhi Tong Jian·Volume 235·Tang Ji Fifty One"

"Zi Zhi Tong Jian·Volume 191·Tang Ji Qi"

"New Tang Book·Volume 280·Wang Shoucheng" etc.