Li Yuan’s son has as many as 22 crown prince positions

For those who are very interested in Li Yuan’s position as crown prince, the History Encyclopedia editor brings a detailed article for your reference.
In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the internal political struggles were very serious, and the most famous one at that time was the political struggle between the three sons of Tang Gaozu Li Yuan. His three sons were Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, and Li Yuanji. These three princes all wanted to become the successors of the future Tang Empire throne, so they went through a fierce political struggle before finally deciding the winner.
However, from historical records, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan actually had more than just these three children. Li Yuan had 41 children throughout his life, of which 22 were sons. So why are only the three brothers Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, and Li Yuanji able to compete for the position of emperor in the end? What special qualities do they have to truly become the inheritors of the future imperial throne? This can be seen from two main aspects.
Firstly, these three brothers are all legitimate sons of the emperor
Firstly, we need to understand that in ancient China, the inheritance of rights generally adhered to the system of eldest son inheritance, so the eldest son naturally had priority in inheritance rights. But if the eldest son dies suddenly, then the eldest son of the same clan and origin as him will become the next in line successor to the emperor. But if there are no legitimate sons, it will be the turn of other illegitimate sons to become possible heirs to the emperor.
At that time, among the princes, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate was whether they were the sons of the current empress. And Li Shimin, Li Yuanji, and Li Jiancheng were all sons born to the empress, so they were born with the right to inherit the position of emperor. However, at that time, Li Jiancheng was the crown prince because he was the eldest son. However, in terms of inheritance, Li Shimin and Li Yuanji also have the possibility of inheriting the position of emperor, and their legitimate son status gives them the possibility of competing for imperial power.
Secondly, apart from these three sons, the other children themselves have no possibility of competing for the position of emperor
Firstly, when Li Yuan rose up, he was already very old, and he only had three capable sons, namely Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, and Li Yuanji. These three sons made great contributions to the establishment of the Li Tang Dynasty. In official history, it is recorded that both Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji had very powerful abilities. After the establishment of the empire, these three princes already had a very large political power within the imperial court. Apart from them, the remaining sons of Li Yuan had basically nothing else except for their position as princes, and they had no basis to compete for the throne.
As the eldest son of Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng naturally became the Crown Prince of the Tang Empire and the future heir after its establishment. But in fact, his position as crown prince was not very stable, because his younger brother Li Shimin was a very outstanding political and military figure. Li Shimin truly made countless military achievements in the establishment of the Tang Empire. He himself once led the army to help Li Yuan pacify multiple local warlords, and Li Yuan even had no more titles for Li Shimin. In the end, he could only make Li Shimin the so-called Tiance General. However, Li Shimin’s ambition was clearly not just to become a so-called commander-in-chief of the world, and Li Yuan did indeed give Li Shimin too much power in the process of establishing the dynasty, so Li Shimin also had the possibility of competing for the position of emperor.
And Li Yuanji himself is also quite capable in historical records, and has indeed made many military achievements on the battlefield. However, Li Yuanji himself found it difficult to compete with his two older brothers. Li Jiancheng’s position as the eldest son gave him a lot of points, and Li Shimin’s own political and military strength also made him a strong contender for the throne. So Li Yuanji chose to stand on Li Jiancheng’s side, trying to fish in the water and see if he could become the future emperor. Moreover, Li Yuanji also has some influence within the literary community, as his literary ability is relatively excellent, making it easy to gain the support of some literati. However, due to his military achievements, not many literati were willing to get close to Li Shimin.
At that time, the special situation of the Tang Empire determined that only these three princes had the possibility of competing for the position of emperor. Some of these three princes were the eldest sons, some had obtained military support through their huge military achievements, and some had considerable fame within the literati group. If one wants to become an emperor, they must have the ability to firmly hold that position. Among Li Yuan’s 22 sons, only these three sons have such a foundation. So they have the confidence to compete for the highest and supreme throne, and the other princes can only serve as companions in the battle for the throne.
Finally, as we all know, Li Shimin became the emperor of the Tang Empire through the Xuanwu Gate and created the famous prosperous era of the Zhenguan period in Chinese history. Anyway, Li Shimin is absolutely qualified to be the emperor.