In the 23rd year of the Zhenguan reign (649 AD), Emperor Taizong of Tang passed away and Crown Prince Li Zhi ascended to the throne, becoming Emperor Gaozong of Tang. Today, the History Encyclopedia editor brings you an article. Welcome to read it~
Princess Gaoyang was the beloved daughter of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin. Her birth mother is recorded as ominous in historical records.
Due to her deep affection from Emperor Taizong of Tang, he was also very devoted to her marriage and found a prestigious family for her, making her the daughter-in-law of the famous prime minister Fang Xuanling in the early Tang Dynasty.
However, it was Princess Gaoyang, who was highly favored by Li Shimin, who was later granted death by Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi in 653 AD. Why is this?
To answer this question, let’s first understand the situation of Princess Gaoyang,
Princess Gaoyang’s husband’s family, Fang Xuanling, was not only a famous family in Shandong, but more importantly, he was the prime minister of the court, holding the position of Zhongshu Ling, and was in charge of government affairs for 20 years, deeply trusted and valued by Emperor Taizong of Tang.
One is Princess Gaoyang, the beloved daughter of Emperor Taizong of Tang, and the other is the second son of Empress Dowager Fang Xuanling, whom Emperor Taizong highly valued. From this perspective, their marriage can be described as a perfect match made in heaven.
However, the fact is not like that. Due to the noble status of Princess Gaoyang and her extreme favor from Emperor Taizong of Tang, even the posthumous love of the son of Zaifu pales in comparison.
Because Princess Gaoyang relied on her prominent status as a golden branch and jade leaf, she acted quite spoiled.
When Fang Xuanling was alive, he was conferred the title of Duke of Liang for his meritorious service. Originally, Fang Yiai was the second son, and Fang Yizhi was the eldest son. In theory, it should be the eldest son, Fang Yizhi, who inherited the title of Duke of Liang in an orderly manner.
But Princess Gaoyang was not happy anymore. She felt that she was the beloved princess of Emperor Taizong of Tang, and her husband naturally inherited the title. So, Gu Nongfang Yiai and his brother Fang Yizhi competed for succession.
However, this matter made Emperor Taizong of Tang very unhappy. And Princess Gaoyang was favored by Emperor Taizong since childhood, and almost everything went smoothly. Suddenly, when Emperor Taizong made her unhappy, she developed resentment,
As a result, there was a conflict in the father daughter relationship between Li Shimin and Princess Gaoyang, and they gradually began to distance themselves.
At this time, Princess Gaoyang not only failed to repair the father daughter relationship between her and Li Shimin, but also did something that made Li Shimin even angrier, which was that she had an affair with the Debate Monk.
After learning about this, Li Shimin was furious and did not expect the Tang princess to do such a thing. In a fit of anger, he not only executed the debate monk, but also executed more than ten servants.
This matter made Princess Gaoyang unable to accept it, so she became even more dissatisfied with her father Li Shimin, and the conflict between them deepened again.
Of course, some historical materials, such as the “New Book of Tang” and the “Zizhi Tongjian”, do indeed record the affair between Princess Gaoyang and the monk Bianji, so their affair seems to have become a fact.
But there is another explanation for the authenticity of this matter, because there is an earlier book called “Old Book of Tang” that does not record the affair between Princess Gaoyang and the monk Bianji.
So, there are still different opinions on this matter. As for the truth, what do you think?
Of course, whether true or false, there was indeed a conflict in the father daughter relationship between Princess Gaoyang and Li Shimin.
So much so that when Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, passed away, Princess Gaoyang did not show much sadness, let alone much admiration for her brother, Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi.
When Li Shimin was alive, Princess Gaoyang became estranged from him due to the dispute over inheritance between Gu Nong Fang Yi Ai and Fang Yi Zhi, which made Li Shimin unhappy. However, this matter was not over.
During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty, Princess Gaoyang brought up old issues again. In order to compete for the position of Duke of Liang inherited by Fang Yizhi, she falsely accused Fang Yizhi of sexually assaulting herself.
The indecent assault on the princess is a big deal, let alone the husband’s older brother, so the court immediately organized an investigation and ordered the Assistant Minister Sun Wuji to thoroughly investigate the matter.
It doesn’t matter if we don’t investigate this farce, but after investigating it, we found out that it was another major rebellion case, which caused the Fang Xuanling family to suffer a catastrophic disaster.
Because Changsun Wuji discovered that Fang Yi’ai, Princess Gaoyang and her husband, and Prince Jing Li Yuanjing were plotting rebellion, which is a serious crime and has a wide range of implications,
As a result, Prince Jing Li Yuanjing, Fang Yiai, Princess Gaoyang, and others were all executed. Although Fang Yizhi did not participate in the rebellion, he was also implicated. Fortunately, his father Fang Xuanling’s high achievements saved him from death, but he was demoted to a commoner.
This is why Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, ordered the death of Princess Gaoyang. Who allowed her to participate in the rebellion!
However, although Changsun Wuji claimed to have discovered Princess Gaoyang’s involvement in the rebellion of King Jing, there are different opinions on the authenticity of this matter, such as the following.
1、 Princess Gaoyang and Fang Yiai did indeed participate in the rebellion of King Jing.
2、 At that time, the Assistant Minister was Changsun Wuji, who represented the power of the elders and old ministers,
And Prince Jing Li Yuanjing, Princess Gaoyang, and others were members of the Li family’s kinship forces.
These two major forces find it difficult to work together, so there has been a power struggle.
The result of the competition was that the veteran officials led by Changsun Wuji won, and it can be imagined that the losing side was naturally purged.
3、 At that time, Li Zhi became the emperor, and some members of the Li family were dissatisfied, so they wanted to replace him. As the holder and defender of imperial power, Li Zhi naturally needs to firmly grasp the imperial power in his hands. The struggle for imperial power has always been cruel, which is why the royal purge event of Prince Jing’s rebellion occurred.
