Tang Ruizong Li Dan ceded the throne to Tang Xuanzong Li Longji in advance, father's kindness and filial piety or swords and sorcery?

Tang Jingyun three years (712 AD) in July, Tang Ruizong Li Dan suddenly issued an edict, the throne passed to the crown prince Li Longji, himself as the supreme emperor. This sixth emperor of the Tang Dynasty sat on the throne for only three years before hastily ceding the emperor's throne.

The Ziji Tongjian depicts this scene as very warm and touching: when the crown prince Li Longji learned that the emperor intended to pass on the throne to himself in advance, he rushed into the palace for an audience, kneeling in front of his father in tears, and said with all his heart, ? I just made a little merit, but therefore was established as the heir to the throne, when the crown prince are worried about their own do not do well, how have the ability to do the emperor? How can I be capable of being the Emperor when I am the Crown Prince and I am worried that I will not do well? Please ask my father to take back his order! Ruizong Li Dan, on the other hand, is even more affectionate,? It is all because of you that the countryside of Great Tang and the rivers and mountains of our ancestors can be preserved and continued, and that I am able to ascend to the throne once again. I now abdicate the throne to you, what is there for you to doubt? Li Longji knelt long and refused to accept the order. Li Dan continued to persuade warmly, ? You are a filial son, my father understands in his heart, why must you stand in front of my coffin before inheriting the throne? Seeing that his father's mind was made up, Crown Prince Li Longji left the palace with tears in his eyes. What a touching scene! Is this really the case? Was Tang Ruizong's early abdication of the throne willingly or out of necessity?

The emperor and the crown prince, has always been a delicate relationship. One is the emperor, a future emperor, one is worried that before he dies, the heir will steal the seat in advance, the other is worried about when the cooked duck somehow flew away. The relationship between this pair of emperors and the crown prince was even more delicate with Tang Ruizong Li Dan and later Tang Xuanzong Li Longji. The throne was taken from others by Crown Prince Li Longji in a coup d'état, and the Emperor Li Dan was considered to be sitting on the throne. According to the situation at that time, Tang Ruizong Li Dan, if you can peacefully do a few years of transition of the Prince of Peace, and then peacefully pass the throne to his son, it is all happy. However, Tang Ruizong Li Dan, who has a light heart and a weak character, will truly think so?

Jingyun first year (A.D. 710), Tang Ruizong Li Dan ascended to the throne of the first major event, is to register the crown prince. Li Dan*** had five adult sons, with Li Longji coming in third. According to common sense, the position of the crown prince was the first eldest son Li Chengqi. However, due to the special merits of the third son of the Emperor, Li Longji, Li Dan was hesitant on this issue. As the first eldest son, Li Chengqi, the King of Song, when faced with the position of the Crown Prince, resigned again and again, and cried and wept in front of Emperor Ruizong for several days in a row, resolutely requesting that he would not be the Crown Prince. The meritorious officials of the Tanglong Coup, represented by Liu Youqui, also resolutely requested that Li Longji, the King of Ping, be made the Crown Prince. It was only under such circumstances that Li Dan issued an imperial edict to install Li Longji as the crown prince. From the decision-making process of the whole incident, the real intention of Li Dan can be found. From the bottom of his heart, he did not want to let Li Longji, who had strong ability and high prestige, to become the crown prince, but Li Chengji repeatedly resigned, and representatives of Liu Youqiu and other meritorious ministers were resolute, so Li Dan could only do what he had to do.

Li Longji became the crown prince, its strength in the dynasty will undoubtedly be further enhanced, the emperor Li Dan if you want to openly suppress, the difficulty will increase a lot. In addition to his status as the crown prince, Li Longji held the positions of the Imperial Household Supervisor and the third rank of the same Zhongshu Menxia, which made him both the prime minister and the commander of the forbidden army. The power of the palace forbidden guards in the Tang Dynasty at that time was the right and left feather forest army, of which the guards with the strongest combat power and closest to the emperor were the ? Ten Thousand Cavalry Guards? The officers of all ranks of this elite force, in the ? Tanglong Coup? fought side by side with Li Longji in the ?Tanglong Coup? and formed a deep bond. What's more, after the successful coup, all the close friends of Wei, the empress of Tang Zhongzong Li Xian, in the Feilin army were beheaded and replaced by Li Longji's direct line, and this army was already completely in Li Longji's hands. In the Tang Dynasty, where military coups were frequent, whoever mastered the forbidden army held the final say.

Another thing that worried Li Dan even more was that a large number of pure and candid officials in the court who were loyal to the Li Tang royal family, such as Song Jing and Yao Chong, were firmly in favor of Li Longji. These people do not belong to any faction, do not have personal political designs, are highly competent and prestigious, and are not just a few people, but a group that represents the hearts and minds of the public opinion of the entire court, a force that Li Dan, as the emperor, must rely on, and a force that cannot be suppressed. Therefore, Li Dan in back to God, in his heart has been very clear, the position of the Prince Li Longji has been unshakeable, what he has to do, is to try to maintain the balance of forces to protect their own security. Therefore, the military and state affairs in the court, have to send the prime minister to discuss with the crown prince in advance, Li Longji recognized before deciding to implement.

But, with another person's change of heart and selfish desire to expand, let Li Dan this careful maintenance of the situation, struggling. This person was Li Dan's own sister, Princess Taiping. Princess Taiping is the daughter of Tang Emperor Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, calm and sensitive, very powerful change strategy, quite a few Wu Zetian style. In the Shenlong Coup and Tanglong Coup, two major key issues related to the fate of the future of the royal family of Li Tang, have played an important role, but also has a great deal of merit in the royal family of Li Tang. When Tang Emperor Li Xian succeeded to the throne, he named Princess Taiping as the Princess Taiping of Zhenguo, Tang Emperor Li Dan succeeded to the throne, but also to Princess Taiping's favor, often discussing military affairs with her, the court of many major decision-making matters, have to consult her opinion beforehand.

At the same time, Princess Taiping took full advantage of the emperor's trust in herself, and actively intervened in the affairs of the dynasty, the management of the dynasty's power. Princess Taiping want to do things, Li Dan did not not agree, since the appointment of the prime minister of the following officials, are her words on the decision, recommended by her to step forward to serve as a key position, countless people. Therefore, in the dynasty formed a huge force, and even more than half of the prime minister of the dynasty are Princess Taiping's people.