The Tang Dynasty lasted 289 years and had a total of 22 emperors. In addition to China’s first female emperor, there was another young emperor who reigned for only 17 days. He was Emperor Shang of Tang, also known as Emperor Shao of Tang. So today we will explore why Li Chongmao, who is neither the legitimate son nor ranked last, was able to ascend to the throne as he wished?
Li Chongmao, as the son of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, Li Xian, was not born to Empress Wei, because according to historical records, among Emperor Zhongzong’s four sons and nine daughters, only the eldest son Li Chongrun and Princess Anle were born to Empress Wei, while the birth mothers of the other children are not recorded in history. In theory, Li Chongmao was just a illegitimate prince, why could he still become emperor? It turns out that all of this has to start with Empress Wei.
Empress Wei was the only empress of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, and she was also a woman with excessive desire for power. Her lifelong dream was to become the second female emperor after Empress Wu Zetian. When Li Xian lived in the shadow of his mother Wu Zetian, it was Wei Shi who accompanied him through a very tragic life. Therefore, after becoming emperor, Li Xian was very grateful to Wei Shi and would agree to any request.
But in the context of Empress Wei’s interference in political affairs, Li Xian clearly felt that Wei was a woman like her mother Wu Zetian. Therefore, in order to prevent Li Tangjiangshan from falling into the hands of others again, Li Xian began to reduce Empress Wei’s power. But Empress Wei was not a bad person either. In order to clear her path to the throne, she disregarded her marital relationship and brazenly poisoned Emperor Tang Zhongzong Li Xian to death. Afterwards, Empress Wei wanted to usurp the title of emperor, but was stopped by Zong Chuke, who believed that the time was not yet ripe.
Therefore, they suggested that Empress Wei should learn from Empress Wu Zetian and establish a prince as a puppet emperor. After all political enemies were dealt with, she could become an emperor on her own. Coincidentally, Li Chongmao became the best candidate because his title was “Wen Wang” and his personality was very gentle and weak. So, on June 4th of the same year, Empress Wei conferred the title of Emperor on Li Chongmao and renamed him Tang Long. Later, she also served as the Empress Dowager in court.
Unfortunately, before Empress Wei could plan everything, Princess Taiping, the sister of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, joined forces with her nephew Li Longji to launch the “Tang Long Coup”, which ultimately ended with the execution of Empress Wei and Princess Anle. Emperor Shang of Tang, Li Chongmao, was also forced to abdicate in favor of Prime Minister Li Dan after serving as emperor for 17 days.
