Hello everyone, this is the history encyclopedia editor. Today, I will tell you the story of Li Chongmao. Welcome to follow us.
In the first year of the Tang Dynasty’s Shenlong era (705 AD), Empress Wu Zetian, who was 82 years old, fell seriously ill. Prime Minister Zhang Jianzhi, General Li Duozuo of the Right Feather Forest, General Xue Sixing of the Left Guard, and others launched a Shenlong coup to welcome Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian back to power. After the restoration of Emperor Zhongzong, his children were appointed as kings and princesses, with the youngest son being Li Chongmao, who was granted the title of King Wen. As the fourth son, Li Chongmao was originally quite far away from the throne because he had three older brothers in front of him. However, current events were unpredictable. His eldest brother, Li Chongrun, was killed with a cane at the age of nineteen because of his reactionary grandmother Wu Zetian. His second brother, Li Chongfu, was framed by Empress Wei and exiled to Junzhou before returning to Beijing during the restoration of Emperor Zhongzong. His third brother, Li Chongjun, rose up in anger and “plotted rebellion” against Empress Wei and Princess Anle’s usurpation of power, resulting in his defeat and death. So this is the only son left by Emperor Zhongzong’s side.
Li Chongmao was born in the first year of Yanzai (695 AD) and was the fourth son of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, Li Xian. His birth mother is unknown, but it is speculated that he was a lowly palace maid. In the third year of the Holy Calendar (700 AD), he was appointed as the King of Beihai. In the first year of the Shenlong era (705 AD), he was conferred the title of Prince Wen and appointed as the Grand General of the Right Guard and the Commander in Chief of Bingzhou
Li Chongmao’s life in the palace was not easy because he was not born to Empress Wei, and after his third brother Li Chongjun was killed, he became the last stumbling block for Empress Wei’s party to seize the throne. Princess Anle, who always wanted her father to make her the empress dowager, scolded and cursed him whenever she had the opportunity. Li Chongmao had no support in the palace and suffered from bullying.
In May of the fourth year of Jinglong (710 AD), Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, Li Xian, passed away due to illness (some say it was caused by Princess Anle poisoning herself in a cake). In the same month, Emperor Zhongzong’s youngest son, Prince Wen Chongmao, was crowned emperor (known as Emperor Shangdi in history) and renamed as “Tanglong” by Empress Wei, intending to repeat the story of Empress Wu. Wei Hou wants to depose 16-year-old Li Chongmao and become the empress herself when the time is ripe. But what she didn’t expect was that just one month later, Princess Taiping and Prince Li Longji of Linzi launched the Tang Long coup, using military force to execute Empress Wei, Princess Anle, and the entire Wei, Wu, and other clans.
After the coup, Li Chongmao and his uncle, the Prime Minister of Anguo, Li Dan, climbed up the city tower and said to the people in the city, “Empress Wei is watching and the artifact has been destroyed. Don’t panic, people.” The next day, under the hostage of Princess Taiping and others, Li Chongmao issued an edict to pass the throne to the Prime Minister, Li Dan. The Lord Taiping came to the throne and said to him, “The hearts of the people have already turned to the Prime Minister, and this position is not yours!” In this way, Li Chongmao, who had only been emperor for forty days, issued an edict to abdicate. After abdicating, Li Chongmao was renamed as the King of Xiang and appointed as the Governor of Liangzhou. Of course, such a time bomb could never have lived long. Less than a year after moving to Liangzhou, Li Chongmao died in office, and the cause of his death is unknown. He was posthumously honored as Emperor Shang. In the first year of Guangde (763 AD), King Guangwu Li Chenghong, with the help of Tubo, proclaimed himself emperor in Chang’an and gave the temple name Gongzong to Li Chongmao.
