Chapter 191: Princess Taiping
Princess Taiping was born in Chang'an, the youngest daughter of Tang Gaozong Li Zhi and Wu Zetian. The pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info is very favored by her parents and brothers, especially her mother Wu Zetian, and she is known as the princess who almost owns the world.
When Princess Taiping was five or six years old, she often went back and forth to her grandmother, Mrs. Rongguo's house, she was forcibly embraced by her cousin He Lan Minzhi, which caused Wu Zetian to be furious, and He Lan Minzhi had previously defiled the future crown princess of the inner decision, Wu Zetian finally decided to revoke He Lan Minzhi's status as the heir of the Wu family, exile and execute He Lan Minzhi halfway.
When Princess Taiping was eight years old, she became a female Taoist priest in the name of praying for the blessing of her deceased maternal grandmother, Mrs. Rongguo, and Taiping was her Taoist name. Although she claimed to be a monk, she lived in the palace until the Tibetan envoy came to propose marriage, naming Princess Taiping by name. Li Zhi and Wu Zetian didn't want their beloved daughter to marry far away, and it was not good to refuse Tubo directly, so they built the Taiping Temple for her to live in and officially became a monk, under the pretext that the princess had already become a monk to avoid harmony.
When Princess Taiping was sixteen years old, she married Xue Shao, the nephew of Tang Gaozong and the second son of Princess Chengyang. The wedding was held at the Wannian County Pavilion near Chang'an, and the scene was so luxurious that the illuminated torches even scorched the trees along the way, and even had to tear down the walls of the county pavilion in order to allow the wide wedding car to pass.
Wu Zetian is very fond of her daughter, she thinks that Xue Shao's sisters-in-law Xiao and Cheng's backgrounds are not noble enough, and they want to force the Xue family to divorce their wives. Xue Shao's brother Xue Yi was also afraid of causing trouble because Princess Taiping was too big, but Princess Taiping kept to herself during her first marriage, and there were no bad incidents.
Princess Taiping's first marriage ended, because Xue Yi participated in the rebellion of Li Chong of the Tang Sect and implicated the concubine Xue Shao, but Xue Shao himself did not participate in this rebellion, it was Wu Zetian who felt that Princess Taiping had married the wrong man. Wu Zetian ordered Xue Yi to be executed, Xue Shao was punished with a hundred rods, and starved to death in prison, when the youngest son of Princess Taiping was just full moon. Afterwards, in order to comfort his daughter, Wu Zetian broke the convention that Princess Tang could not eat more than 350 households, and increased her closure to 1,200 households.
Soon Wu Zetian planned to marry the widowed Princess Taiping to Wu Chenghe, but Wu Chengsi was sick, and the most important reason was that Wu Chengsi was too close to the ruling center, because Princess Taiping's first marriage was more or less broken due to political reasons, so she didn't want to repeat the same mistakes. Princess Taiping remarried to Wu Youji, and this marriage is believed to be a means taken by Wu Zetian to protect Princess Taiping, Wu Zetian officially ascended the throne two months after Princess Taiping's second marriage, and Princess Taiping avoided danger by becoming the daughter-in-law of the Wu family.
During her second marriage, Princess Taiping raised male pets on a large scale, secretly communicated with courtiers, and dedicated her favorite male pet to her mother Wu Zetian, that is, Lotus Liulang Zhang Changzong.
Princess Taiping likes power, Wu Zetian thinks that her appearance and personality are like herself, and often discusses political affairs with her, but Wu Zetian never let Princess Taiping leak her participation in political affairs before her death. Princess Taiping was afraid of her mother, so she acted more restrained, and only renovated the mansion and bought other businesses. In the Wu Zetian Dynasty, Princess Taiping's achievements were only to eradicate the forces of Lai Junchen for self-defense.
In the year of Wu Zhou, the contradiction between the two families of Wu and Li sharpened, and Wu Zetian recalled Li Xian, the king of Luling, as his heir, and linked the two families through a series of marriages, in order to eliminate the future struggle. At the same time, she also began to let Princess Taiping and Shangguan Wan'er and her two male favorites Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi hold power. Although Princess Taiping herself is the daughter-in-law of the Wu family, she has always been a supporter of the Li family in her heart.
Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi killed the heirs of the two families because of slander, and offended the Wu and Li families at the same time. Li Xian, Li Dan and Princess Taiping jointly performed a performance, asking Zhang Changzong to be crowned king, but Wu Zetian refused, and changed the title of Erzhang to the prince of the country, and this performance eased the relationship between the two sides. But soon after, Zhang Changzong falsely accused Wei Yuanzhong and Princess Taiping's lover Si Licheng Gao Jian, which caused Wu Zetian to be furious and sent Wei Gao and the two to prison, and the relationship between Zhang and Princess Taiping and the Li family completely broke down.
Zhang Khanzhi, the supporter and prime minister of the Li family, launched a mutiny, killed Erzhang, and forced Wu Zetian to abdicate to the crown prince Li Xian. Princess Taiping was named Princess Taiping of Zhenguo because of her meritorious participation in the killing of the two Zhang brothers, and her brother Li Dan was named the Prime Minister of Anguo.
After Tang Zhongzong was reinstated, Princess Taiping gradually came to the front of the scene, she was respected by Zhongzong, and Zhongzong had issued an edict to exempt her from saluting the crown prince Li Chongjun, Princess Changning and others. In the Zhongzong Dynasty, Empress Wei and Princess Anle were in turmoil, and the only fear of Princess Taiping was resourceful and decisive
The crown prince Li Chongjun rebelled, Princess Anle and Zong Chuke wanted to take the opportunity to frame Princess Taiping and the brother and sister of the prime minister Li Dan, and falsely accused them of conspiring with the prince, because the chief judge Xiao Zhizhong in the imperial history shed tears and admonished Zhongzong: "Your Majesty is rich all over the world, but you can't tolerate a brother and a sister, and make people fabricate charges and frame them." Princess Taiping and Li Dan were thus spared, but the rivalry between Princess Taiping and Princess An Le has obviously become white-hot.
Tang Zhongzong was poisoned by Empress Wei and Princess Anle, Shangguan Wan'er and Princess Taiping drafted the edict together, Li Chongmao, the king of Wen, as the crown prince, the queen governor, and Li Dan, the prime minister, tried to find a balance between Empress Wei and the imperial family, but Zong Chuke discussed with Empress Wei's henchmen and changed the appointment of Li Dan as the crown prince and prince, which set up Li Dan and broke this balance.
Princess Taiping sent her son Xue Chongjian and Liu Youqiu to participate in Li Longji and others to kill Empress Wei, eliminate Wei's henchmen, and personally pull Li Chongmao off the throne, and support the restoration of Li Dan, the prime minister, for Tang Ruizong. Because of this contribution, Princess Taiping was promoted to ten thousand households, and her three sons were crowned kings, which was the peak of the power of the princess of the Tang Dynasty.
After assisting Li Longji in a coup d'état to get rid of Empress Wei, Princess Taiping had a power struggle with Li Longji, and she once asked Ruizong to depose the crown prince Li Longji and actively cultivate party henchmen. At this time, five of the seven prime ministers in the court were appointed by Princess Taiping, and most of the civil and military officials were attached to Princess Taiping except for a few people such as Yao Chong and Song Jing.
Ruizong tried to find a political balance between Li Longji and Princess Taiping to avoid harming either of them. During this period, Princess Taiping persuaded Tang Ruizong to issue an edict to collect and compile Shangguan Wan'er's works and retain the works of this talented woman.
Ruizong passed on the crown prince Li Longji, and retired as the emperor himself, and in the same year, Princess Taiping's husband Wu Youji died. Li Longji, Guo Yuanzhen, Wang Maozhong, Gao Lishi and others preemptively trapped and killed the left and right generals Yulin and the prime minister. Princess Taiping fled into the Nanshan Buddhist Temple, and returned three days later, the Emperor Li Dan came forward to ask Tang Xuanzong to forgive her for the death penalty, but Tang Xuanzong refused, Princess Taiping was finally given to die at home, and the grave of her husband Wu Youji was also bulldozed.
Whether Princess Taiping really planned a rebellion has always been questionable. Some people believe that she is arrogant and domineering, and she has reached the point of incompatibility with Li Longji, and it is impossible that she does not have the intention of rebellion. However, some people believe that with the situation in which Princess Taiping has completely gained the upper hand in the court and her experience of many successful coups, if she really rebelled, she could not be so easily pacified by Li Longji.
Princess Taiping has a total of four sons and four daughters, and has two sons and two daughters with Xue Shao, the eldest son Xue Chongxun, the second son Xue Chongjian, the eldest daughter Xue, and the second daughter Wanquan County Lord Xue. He had two sons and two daughters with Wu Youji, the eldest daughter Wu, the second daughter Yonghe County Lord Wu, the eldest son Wu Chongmin, and the second son Wu Chongxing. When Princess Taiping died, except for the second son Xue Chongjian, who was spared because he was a member of Li Longji's party, the rest of the sons were executed.
Princess Taiping's father is the emperor, her mother is the emperor, and she herself almost became the emperor, she is the Taiping princess Li Lingyue, who is known as the first princess of the Tang Dynasty.
The term Princess Taiping has a special meaning today, generally referring to a girl with a relatively small chest, but this is not the case with the real history of Princess Taiping Li Lingyue. She has a square forehead and a wide chin, and her body is plump, Li Lingyue can lead a generation of coquettish people in the Tang Dynasty, which is beautiful in plumpness, and has its own uniqueness.
Born under the red flag and raised in the palace, Princess Taiping had an unbearable childhood experience. When she was about five or six years old, she often went to her grandmother Yang's house to play, and in the days when Princess Taiping came and went to her grandmother's house, she was forcibly embraced by her cousin Helan Minzhi.
Helan Minzhi is Wu Zetian's nephew, young and handsome. He had a secret affair with Wu Zetian's mother and his maternal grandmother Yang, and he also forcibly hugged the fiancée of the crown prince Li Hong. Wu Zetian could tolerate Helan Minzhi's many disgusting, but when he hurt his favorite daughter, he did not hesitate to kill the killer, ordered him to be exiled to Leizhou, and restored his real surname Helan.
Like all girls, Princess Taiping ushered in puberty at the age of fourteen or fifteen. Once she put on the costume of a military attache and danced in front of her parents, and her parents laughed at her: "You can't be a military attaché, why do you wear such clothes?"
Princess Taiping replied very seriously: "I can't wear such clothes, but I can." ”
Tang Gaozong saw his daughter's thoughts, and soon married his daughter to Xue Shao, the grandson of Tang Taizong Li Shimin and known as the son of Lantian.
It was the wedding of the century, and the scene was very luxurious. According to etiquette, the wedding took place in the evening, with torches scorching the trees along the way, and even the walls of the wedding venue had to be torn down to allow the wide wedding cars to pass.
In addition to looking like Wu Zetian, Princess Taiping is also similar to her mother in terms of life style. When Wu Zetian was in distress in the White Horse Temple, there was a blue-faced confidante Feng Xiaobao, after the death of Gaozong, Wu Zetian recruited male favorites in the harem, Feng Xiaobao was called into the palace, gave him the surname Xue, changed his name to Xue Huaiyi, and slept with the same pillow every night.
Xue Huaiyi is certainly one of Wu Zetian's male favorites, and he also has many mistresses inside and outside the palace, the largest of which is Princess Taiping. In other words, Xue Huaiyi is the mistress shared by Wu Zetian's mother and daughter, and he is deeply favored by the two. It's just that Xue Huaiyi was arrogant and arrogant after gaining power, and took the opportunity to suppress Wu Zetian's other male favorites. Wu Zetian gradually became disgusted, and under the advice of Princess Taiping, Xue Huaiyi was beaten to death with a stick, and his body was sent to the White Horse Temple, burned to ashes, and a pagoda was built in the mud.
After Xue Huaiyi's death, Princess Taiping saw that Wu Zetian did not have a particularly favored male pet for the time being, so in the spirit of resource sharing, she took the initiative to recommend her lover Zhang Changzong and the two brothers to Wu Zetian. After Wu Zetian saw these two, he was very satisfied and liked them very much, and accepted the brothers as male favorites together, and since then the mother and daughter and the brothers have lived a fairy-like life.
Princess Taiping also has a characteristic that is very similar to Wu Zetian and likes power. Wu Zetian also likes to discuss political affairs with her, but she is never allowed to talk about her participation in political affairs. Princess Taiping was in awe of her mother, so when Wu Zetian was alive, she was relatively low-key politically. It was only once when the famous cool official Lai Junchen threatened his interests that he killed Lai Junchen together with the people of the Wu family.
Princess Taiping's real participation in politics was after Wu Zetian abdicated. Prime Minister Zhang Cambodia launched a mutiny, killed the two brothers Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi, who were in power, and forced Wu Zetian to be the crown prince Li Xian. Among them, Princess Taiping participated in the killing of two and made contributions, and after Li Xian ascended the throne, she was named Princess Taiping of Zhenguo, and she was exempted from saluting the crown prince Li Chongjun, Princess Changning and others.
Tang Zhongzong Li Xian was an unlucky emperor who became emperor twice, and each time he was driven away after a few years. The first time was driven away by Wu Zetian, and the second time was poisoned by his queen Empress Wei and his daughter Princess Anle.
Later, due to problems in the distribution of power, Princess Taiping, Li Longji and others killed Empress Wei and abolished Emperor Li Chongmao of the Tang Dynasty. Princess Taiping and others supported the restoration of King Li Dan for Tang Ruizong.
Li Dan is the elder brother of Princess Taiping, and after he became the emperor, he named his sister the Marquis of Wanhu, and often discussed national affairs with her. Sometimes Princess Taiping did not enter the court, Li Dan would send the prime minister to her home to ask for opinions on the handling of political affairs, and every time the prime minister went to the court, Li Dan would ask them: "Has this matter been asked to Princess Taiping?"
At this time, Princess Taiping's power was at its peak, even surpassing Emperor Li Dan. She made all three of her sons kings, and there were countless scholars who rose to prominence through her hands. Looking at the current dynasty, five of the seven prime ministers were from her disciples, and more than half of the civil and military generals were attached to her.
The so-called boom and bust, there will be peaks and valleys. Li Dan's eldest son Li Longji is very smart and capable, Princess Taiping is worried that he will not be able to control himself after becoming the emperor, so she will do everything possible to abolish his status as the crown prince, what should I do?
The first is to spread rumors, saying that Li Longji is not Li Dan's eldest son and cannot be made the crown prince. The second is to arrange many eyes and ears around Li Dan and Li Longji, and report to her whenever there is any trouble. The third is to personally take a car to stop the prime minister in Guangfan Gate, suggesting that they change the crown prince.
However, none of this worked, and Song Jing, the prime minister of Guangfanmen, rebuked Princess Taiping: "The prince has made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty and is the owner of the Zongmiao Society, why did the princess suddenly make such a suggestion?"
Li Dan is mediocre and incompetent, but there is one thing that he is quite self-aware. After seeing all kinds of chaos in the court, he decided to pass the throne in advance to the crown prince Li Longji, who was far more capable and knowledgeable than himself, for Tang Xuanzong.
Princess Taiping once tried to prevent Li Danchuan from being located in Li Longji, but after it was ineffective, she conspired with Dou Huaizhen and Xue Ji and other ministers who held real power to get rid of Tang Xuanzong Li Longji by poisoning. If this matter is done, Princess Taiping is likely to become the second Wu Zetian in history.
However, Li Longji is not a soft persimmon, with the support of Wang Ju, Zhang Shuo and others, he struck first and sent the Yulin Army to kill Princess Taiping's henchmen. Princess Taiping herself escaped from the palace and hid in a mountain temple, only to come out three days later, and was later ordered by Li Longji to die in her own home. Among Princess Taiping's children, except for Xue Chongjian, who was Li Longji's faction, all the others were executed.