In May of last year, Tang Gaozong issued a letter posthumously conferring the title of "respecting the emperor" on Prince Li Hong, and held a funeral of "restraining the emperor". In the history of China, Li Hongzhang was the first and only prince who was chased as emperor by his father. In this regard, Zhao Yi, an official of the Qing Dynasty, said in Notes on the Twenty-two Histories that "it is very unreasonable for Tang Gaozong to respect the emperor with the prince while chasing the prince with his father", that is, criticizing Tang Gaozong for his absurdity; Cai Dongfan also called for "all funeral systems, but allowed gifts from the emperor, claiming to commemorate the emperor." . The death of the prince and the emperor is "unprecedented". Then, why did Tang Gaozong make an exception and let Li Hong, who died soon after, be emperor, regardless of royal etiquette?
Li Hong, whose real name is Xuan Ci, is the fifth son of Tang Gaozong and the eldest son of Tang Gaozong and Wu Zetian. Li Hong's name is quite meaningful. It is said that in the late Sui and early Tang Dynasties, there were prophecies in Taoism that "the old gentleman should be ruled" and "Li Hong should be released". The prophecy was mainly based on the reincarnation of the old gentleman and Li Honglai was used as a pseudonym to save all beings. Tang Gaozong named him Li Hong, which shows that he has high hopes for this son. Born in Wu Zetian, Tang Gaozong loves me, my dog and Li Hong very much. At the age of four, Li Hong was named acting king; At the age of five, Tang Gaozong abolished the former Prince Jong Li and made Li Hongzhang the Prince. In order to cultivate Li Hong, Tang Gaozong not only selected famous officials as teaching assistants, but also often asked him to practice and participate in politics. For example, in the second year of Longshuo, Tang Gaozong "warmed the soup in Lishan, and the prince supervised the country"; The following year, "Prince Zhao was at the door on the 5th, depending on each department, and all small matters were decided by the prince"; In the first month of the second year of Xianheng, Tang Gaozong "fortunately, he left the crown prince to supervise the country in Beijing"; In October of the following year, he ordered the Crown Prince to supervise the country.
Li Hong is generous and kind, and "won the favor of emperors and princes". After Li Hong became a prince, he "respected his ministers, was a great scholar, and never had a place". Parents, ministers, ordinary soldiers and ordinary people are all the same. During his prison term, Li Hong cared about the soldiers, sympathized with the people's feelings and made many moves to be close to the people. At that time, in the Tang Dynasty to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, "not the first to escape, but many deserters" often appeared in the army. Therefore, it will be severely punished by "being beheaded, no official is light." After Li Hong knew it, he quoted the classics and emphasized that "it is better to lose than to kill". He hoped that the court could amend the law, so that the existing soldiers would escape again in the future, so that their families would not have to suffer from the crime of sitting together, and Tang Gaozong would "follow". Li Hongsha Garden and Tongzhou also asked Tang Gaozong to lend money to the poor. It is not difficult to see Tang Gaozong and Wu Zetian's appreciation of Li Hong. However, what Li Hong did next greatly angered Wu Zetian, and Wu Zetian had a view of him from then on.
It turned out that after Wu Zetian brutally killed her opponent Xiao Shufei, she still didn't feel revenge. Two princesses, Yiyang and Xuancheng, who were born in Xiao Shufei, were "secluded in the palace", which made the two imprisoned princesses too old to get married. When Li Hong suddenly saw that the two sisters were offended by their mother, she was first "shocked" and then moved with compassion. Therefore, he "begged Tang Gaozong to let them get married and lead a normal life like women". Tang Gaozong felt guilty about Xiao Shufei's death. After all, the two princesses are their own flesh and blood, but they are forced by Wu Zetian's arrogance and dare not expect anything. Li Hong's last play expressed Tang Gaozong's heart, so he "made a promise". When Wu Zetian heard the news, she was betrothed to two ordinary bodyguards, not only to continue her resentment against Xiao Shufei, but also to prevent the two princesses from making waves in the future. In Wu Zetian's view, as his own son, Li Hong did not stand on his side, but helped the enemy. Since then, Wu Zetian has alienated and even resented Li Hong, and Li Hong "also fell out of love because of this".
In February of the fourth year of Xianheng, Li was sent to Luoyang, the eastern capital, and accepted Pei Judao, the daughter of General Sargingo, as the crown princess. Therefore, Tang Gaozong also ordered a new palace for Li Hongzhang. Pei is a very polite and virtuous woman Tang Gaozong said to the courtiers with satisfaction, "I'm not worried about the internal affairs of the East Palace at all." It means that Li Hongyou has such a good wife that if he takes office in the future, he won't have to worry about the palace. In July, "Xintai uterus was completed, and more than five kinds of wedding banquets were invited in it, which was very popular." Tang Gaozong is in poor health. After drinking this time, his health collapsed. In August, Tang Gaozong "wrote to the Crown Prince to listen to the company's announcement". This arrangement shows that Tang Gaozong, considering his weak body, has the intention of surrendering to the Prince, which Wu Zetian, who is used to "listening to politics", does not want to see. Since then, the personal feud between Wu Zetian and Li Hong has become a political opposition involving future power.
Wu Zetian is a woman with a strong desire for power. It is the only way for Wu Zetian to realize the queen's dream to improve herself step by step and then seize the imperial power. In August of the first year of Shang Dynasty, at the instigation of Wu Zetian, Tang Gaozong promulgated the imperial edict that "the emperor is called the emperor and the queen is called the queen", which is called "double saints" both inside and outside. Wu Zetian has always been an equal with Tang Gaozong. After so many years of marriage, Tang Gaozong knew Wu Zetian very well. This heartless woman can do anything for power, including killing her own flesh and blood. As the emperor of the dynasty, Tang Gaozong could not contain Wu Zetian's powerful political momentum; A hundred years later, who can control this powerful woman? As a father, Li Hong is no match for Wu Zetian. In order to protect Li Hong, Tang Gaozong even came up with the idea of "taking the national government after imperial edict", that is, handing over power to Wu Zetian. However, under the pressure of the governors that "the world is the world, and the world of Taizong is the world of double saints, not the world of your majesty". Your Majesty is guarding the ancestral temple, guarding the descendants of ancestors, being honest with the people and being private to future generations, so Tang Gaozong continues to be emperor.
Shortly after this incident, that is, in April of the second year of the Yuan Dynasty, Li Hong died suddenly in Yun Qi Palace on the way to Qi Xie Palace in Luozhou with Tang Gaozong and Wu Zetian at the age of 24. The death of Li Hongzhi is a mystery in the history of Tang Dynasty and even China. How did Li Hong die? There have been arguments for thousands of years, among which there are two main arguments. First, Li Hong suffered from severe tuberculosis, which was incurable at that time. Li Hong died of natural causes while dealing with state affairs. Secondly, although Li Hong has the side of "benevolence and filial piety", he also has the side of "heroic fruit". No matter what Wu Zetian thinks, the last time two half-sisters got married was an example. When she is a prince, once Li Hong ascended the throne in the future, it will be difficult for Wu Zetian to control her son who is a carrot and stick but disobedient. Li hong
In fact, as early as Tang Suzong's time, there was a saying about the death of Li Hongzhang. From 0755 to 79000, it was said that "the sky is in the rear, the court is facing the DPRK, and it is Li Hong who killed filial piety". When Ouyang Xiu compiled the Book of the Old Tang Dynasty and handed it to the Emperor of Heaven in the Song Dynasty, he wrote in the Book of the New Tang Dynasty: "In April of the following year, Ji Hai killed the Crown Prince." When Sima Guang wrote the third edition of Chronicle, he also used the spring and autumn brushwork. "Ji Hai, the prince is in the wedding palace, and people think that Tianhou Palace is also." According to various historical records and the analysis of the political situation at that time, the author thinks that Li Hong did die unexpectedly. First, although Li Hong was ill, he was able to accompany Tang Gaozong to a happy marriage hall as if nothing had happened, which showed that he was in good health and would never be violent. Second, after Tang Gaozong's idea of handing over power to Wu Zetian was denied, he could only "keep the ancestral temple and pass it on to future generations", that is, pass the throne to Prince Li Hong in the future. Therefore, Wu Zetian hated her own son Li Hong even more. Although Li Hong suffered from tuberculosis, Wu Zetian committed suicide in order to control power as soon as possible.