How should we evaluate Li Longji for bringing about the prosperity of the Kaiyuan era and the An Lushan Rebellion

Li Longji reigned for 44 years, bringing the most prosperous Kaiyuan era to the Tang Dynasty, and his reputation was second only to Li Shimin. Interested readers can follow the history encyclopedia editor to read further.
Of course, later on, due to the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty, which was like burning oil, suddenly fell to the bottom, which also gave Li Longji a roller coaster like experience in his life.
But any monarch who can create a new era must have extraordinary courage and bravery, and Li Longji is such a person. His success and failure all come from coups, and his resolute execution of Shangguan Wan’er shows Li Longji’s extraordinary talent in creating a prosperous era.
If we consider Wu Zetian, a woman in power, to be in chaos, then her death was the beginning of the real chaos in the Tang Dynasty, because the so-called Wu Zetian chaos was only in terms of ideology.
Because Wu Zetian became an emperor, both in terms of personal talent and the environment at that time, she was no different from Li Tang men who became emperors, and even better than many later Li Tang emperors.
But after Wu Zetian’s death, chaos began. Wu Zetian gave many women the illusion that, as modern success studies claim, her success could be replicated. However, in fact, Wu Zetian’s success was unique and almost impossible to replicate. At that time, the wealthy ladies at the top of the Tang Dynasty did not know this truth and were eager to try women’s rule everywhere.
Shangguan Wan’er was one of the power manipulators. She was a typical representative of women’s power during the Wu Zetian era. In addition, women such as Empress Wei and Princess Taiping would take turns to appear and stir up the changes in the Tang Dynasty.
The heir established before Wu Zetian’s death was Li Xian. The five ministers led by Zhang Jianzhi, faced with the increasing authoritarianism of Zhang Yizhi’s brothers, finally launched a coup and enthroned Li Xian ahead of schedule.
Wu Zetian abdicated, and Li Xian was exiled for a long time. He was completely unfamiliar with the court and Chang’an. Faced with almost empty power, the Tang Empire began its most chaotic decade, and various forces began to struggle like a stew. Li Longji silently watched everything and achieved ultimate victory.
Power hates vacuum the most, and Li Xian is not capable. Naturally, it is the people under him who have started to act like demons. The five ministers, as meritorious officials, are the rightful rulers in the court. Like all powerful officials, as long as there is a mountain on the throne of the emperor, their thoughts immediately change, and the former meritorious officials immediately become enemies of the emperor.
In order to resist the ministers, Li Xian also involved Empress Wei in the court affairs. Shangguan Wan’er and Empress Wei joined forces and became another powerful force in the court at that time. There was also Wu Sansi, a representative figure of the Wu family. Not only was he not purged due to Wu Zetian’s abdication, but with the support of women, his power became even stronger.
Court struggles happen in any era, and the only difference this time is that women have become the protagonists. Empress Wei thought she had all the power, but in fact, she was far from Wu Zetian. She didn’t understand the essence of power at all.
Wu Zetian spent decades cultivating her confidants, while Wei, like Li Xian, was exiled for a long time and had no confidants to speak of. Her so-called confidants were nothing but weeds on the wall, lacking both ability and loyalty.
During this period, Shangguan Wan’er became the mistress of Wu Sansi, and within less than a year of their collaboration, all five ministers who sent the Divine Dragon Coup were exiled and executed.
In the end, the Crown Prince was driven to rebellion, and Wu Sansi was killed. Shangguan Wan’er saved her life, and then Li Xian was poisoned by Wei Hou and his daughter. The sudden death made many people think so, but we can read historical materials and find that the truth of the matter should be like this.
Even Li Xian’s daughter was involved, which shows how many women were eager for power at that time, not to mention the powerful Princess Taiping. However, Wei Hou in the group left too hastily. As soon as Li Xian died, she urged her ministers to come forward and she wanted to become a female emperor.
The dying testament was a stroke of genius by Shangguan Wan’er. As a political veteran, she keenly felt that Empress Wei’s actions would soon lead to her downfall. So, taking advantage of her convenience in drafting the testament, she secretly extended an olive branch to the Li Dan group. Although the earlier part was written according to Empress Wei’s wishes, an additional clause was added, allowing Li Dan to participate in the final power distribution. Shangguan Wan’er thought she had done it perfectly.
If we follow the general understanding, Shangguan Wan’er is already betting on both ends, and this Li Dan is Li Longji’s father. If everything is normal, Li Longji will not have a chance to become emperor. It was Empress Wei’s misconduct that gave Li Longji the opportunity and he decided to eliminate everything.
Li Longji’s goal is very clear, which is to eradicate the root cause of all chaos. He is not targeting anyone, but all those who cause chaos. To put it bluntly, Li Longji believes that women are the root cause of chaos.
As long as a woman wants to take power, she must resort to extreme measures. After all, it is a male dominated society, and whether it is the court or the Li Tang royal family, there will always be people who oppose it. Whether successful or not, it will be a bloody storm. To end all of this, there must be thunderous means.
So Li Longji launched the Tang Long Coup, killing Empress Wei and Princess Anle Li Hou’er in one fell swoop. When Shangguan Wan’er presented a decree stating that she was from Li Dan’s side, Li Longji did not even look at it and executed her without delay. What Li Longji wanted was to completely end everything. Li Longji had such courage and ability.
Just like when he launched another coup a few years later, forcing his father to abdicate and kill his aunt, Princess Taiping, he must thoroughly eliminate these people, otherwise as long as women are in power, there will always be disputes and a continuous stream of imitators.
After more than a decade of constant turmoil, the Li Tang Dynasty finally regained peace. Li Longji ascended to the throne and declared himself emperor. With Li Longji’s courage, he ushered in a new era of glory.
Shangguan Wan’er is just a character that must be eliminated before the arrival of the new era. No matter what she does, she cannot change her fate of being killed, just because she is a woman. This is enough for Li Longji.