Many people are not familiar with Li Dan and Li Longji, so let’s appreciate them together with the history encyclopedia editor. As Li Longji’s son, why did Li Dan support the inclusion of Princess Taiping? Does Li Dan not like this son? What was the reason for Li Dan’s suppression of Li Longji?
Friends who are familiar with the history of the Tang Dynasty know that Emperor Ruizong Li Dan became emperor for the second time with the support of his sister Princess Taiping and son Li Longji. In general, after Tang Ruizong’s accession to the throne, Li Dan should be treated equally, with similar support for Princess Taiping and Li Longji, and his son should definitely be closer than his sister.
When Li Dan first ascended the throne, he did treat Princess Taiping and Li Longji equally, but in the following years, Li Dan began to clearly support Princess Taiping and suppress Li Longji. This somewhat biased support tendency reached its peak after Li Dan voluntarily stepped down, ultimately allowing Li Dan to indulge in the “addiction” of Tang Gaozu Li Yuan. So why does Li Dan favor one over the other?
According to historical records, it can be found that neither Princess Taiping nor Li Longji sincerely supported Li Dan as emperor. Son Li Longji was particularly insincere, as he hinted to his subordinates to support him in ascending to the throne while eliminating the Empress Wei group. Because the conditions were indeed insufficient at that time, Li Longji exchanged his father’s support for becoming emperor for his father’s appointment as crown prince.
Li Dan is well aware of his son Li Longji’s ambitious aspirations. What made Li Dan even more uncomfortable was that Li Longji’s talent almost surpassed his father in all aspects. In addition, the position of Crown Prince gave Li Longji the legitimacy to participate in court politics and inherit the throne. Many important officials and scholars, represented by Yao Chong and Song Jing, supported Crown Prince Li Longji instead of Emperor Li Dan.
It can be said that Li Dan and Li Longji are the “low-level versions” of Tang Gaozu and Tang Taizong, and the person who poses the greatest threat to Li Dan’s imperial power is his own biological son Li Longji. In order to counterbalance Li Longji, who aspired to the throne and had high popularity, Li Dan supported his sister Princess Taiping to fight against him. As a result, Li Longji became increasingly dissatisfied with his father, and Princess Taiping’s ambition grew bigger and bigger.
In order to balance his younger sister and son, Li Dan came up with a seemingly clever method: giving the throne to Li Longji, becoming the Supreme Emperor himself to control the highest real power, and relying on his sister to control the government, which resulted in Li Longji’s power shrinking after becoming emperor. However, Li Dan’s practice of forcibly separating imperial power from the emperor could only create greater contradictions, ultimately leading to a ‘congenital coup’.
