Today, the History Encyclopedia editor will bring you the Divine Dragon Coup, hoping to be helpful to everyone.
Li Xian was the son of Empress Wu Zetian and also the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty. However, his path to becoming emperor was full of twists and turns. After becoming the crown prince, he had to resort to a divine dragon coup in order to ascend the throne, which was truly cowardly. Li Xian was exiled by Empress Wu Zetian for 14 years. Wu Zetian grew old and only then summoned him back to continue as the crown prince. At this time, Li Xian had already established a family and a career, with both sons and daughters. However, he still had to listen to his mother’s words, which made him very embarrassed. But he couldn’t refuse. All power was in the hands of Empress Wu Zetian, and whether he could ascend to the throne smoothly depended on her face.
Li Xian’s position is very awkward. Although he is a crown prince, he has no real power. The royal family surnamed Li around him has been killed or exiled since Li Shimin. The Li family really has few people left, and the reason why Li Xian became the crown prince is because Wu Zetian had her own standards.
Wu Zetian’s idea was simple: the throne should not be passed on to her nephew, descendants of the Wu family, or to her son. In comparison, it was her son who was closer to her. Although Wu Zetian was a female figure, her courage and bravery were not something that ordinary people could possess. She had the courage to change dynasties, but it did not benefit her in the slightest. Making descendants of the Wu family emperor would only cause chaos in the world, as no one in her nephew could shoulder this heavy responsibility.
As a female emperor, Empress Wu Zetian’s considerations were not her own gains and losses. The interests of her own family were often secondary, and the overall situation of the world was what she cared about. Therefore, after careful consideration, she could only appoint Li Xian as the crown prince and make him the emperor.
Li Xian’s Crown Prince was very uncomfortable in front of him. Although he was the Crown Prince, he had no real power and instead tried to change his ways to bring closer the relationship with Wu Zetian and the Wu family. Li Xian married his own daughter into the Wu family one after another, allowing the two families to become relatives. The Wu family was also very willing, and he became a member of the imperial family, no longer relying on Wu Zetian to establish a relationship with Li Xian. In the future, when Wu Zetian abdicated, the Wu family also had a place and would not be isolated and attacked by other ministers.
And these were all preparations made by Li Xian to compete for power. After ascending to the throne and receiving support from the Wu family, he had a certain degree of influence in the court, rather than Wu Zetian following behind the scenes. This is the reason why Li Xian flattered the Wu family. In addition, only by befriending the Wu family and telling Wu Zetian that she would not be detrimental to the Wu family after ascending the throne, can Wu Zetian pass on the throne to him with peace of mind.
The occurrence of the Shenlong Coup was not unexpected. Wu Zetian’s rule caused dissatisfaction among the ministers who supported the Li royal family. These people joined forces to restore power for Li Xian. Li Xian was only a beneficiary in this coup, not the initiator. Li Xian was forcibly pushed onto the stage, otherwise with his personality and strength, he would never have done such a thing. And behind the Shenlong coup, there was also the tacit approval of Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian was submissive in the Shenlong coup.
One reason is that as they get older, they don’t want to get involved in these things. If someone is in a hurry to seize power, then give them the power. The second reason is that she didn’t want to cause turmoil in the world. In the Shenlong coup, if Wu Zetian reacted strongly, the generals guarding the border were all Wu Zetian’s confidants, and officials in various places were promoted by Wu Zetian. If she wanted to suppress this coup, Wu Zetian would have been easy, but she didn’t do it because she knew that her throne would eventually belong to Li Xian. Why not delegate power now and let Li Xian be the emperor with peace of mind.
After Wu Zetian stepped down, she lived a comfortable life, far away from conflicts, and no one dared to provoke her. And Wu Zetian’s comfortable life does not mean that others are also comfortable. The few people who launched the Divine Dragon Coup were successively demoted, and some even suffered from family destruction and loss. This is the strength of Wu Zetian and the Wu family in the court. Even if Li Xian became the emperor, it would depend on the face of the Wu family. Although Wu Zetian stepped down, the Wu family still thrived in the court. Anyone who offended Wu Zetian or the Wu family was held accountable by them, while Li Xian, as the biggest beneficiary, was not targeted by the Wu family because Li Xian was tacitly approved by Wu Zetian, while others went against Wu Zetian’s wishes and forced her to step down.
The Shenlong Coup and Wu Zetian’s swift abdication were also due to the fear that the Zhang brothers would spread false imperial edicts and cause the country to become unstable again. Wu Zetian also had male favorites around her, and the most favored ones were the Zhang brothers. The Zhang brothers also had great ambitions. Wu Zetian knew that her health was not good. If Wu Zetian died suddenly in the deep palace, the Zhang brothers would falsely proclaim an imperial decree and let Li Xian commit suicide, causing the country to fall into chaos.
Wu Zetian had figured out everything, and if she didn’t abdicate, it would easily cause national turmoil. The other party wanted to use the Shenlong coup to weaken Wu Zetian’s rule and strengthen Li Xian’s regime. Wu Zetian also had the same goal, so she allowed the Shenlong coup and Li Xian directly succeeded to the throne. After Li Xian succeeded to the throne, he also behaved very foolishly, condoning others to execute the ministers of his faction. He dared not say anything and was not a wise ruler at all. In the end, he was poisoned by his own wife and ended his life.
