Did Li Longji live a miserable life after losing Yang Guifei? Below, the History Encyclopedia editor will provide a detailed introduction to the relevant content.
During the six years after Li Longji was honored as the Supreme Emperor, his life was extremely bleak. Many people believe that this is because he lost his beloved Yang Guifei and felt very lonely. He never forgot Yang Guifei in his heart. So, is it really because Li Longji has always been obsessed with Yang Guifei that he feels so desolate?
After returning to Chang’an from Chengdu, Li Longji did some things that indeed showed his unforgettable feelings for Yang Guifei. According to historical records, as soon as Li Longji returned to Chang’an, he sent people to pay tribute to Yang Guifei and prepared to relocate her burial. However, due to the obstruction of the powerful eunuch Li Fuguo at that time, this matter was not successful. However, in the end, Li Longji secretly sent someone to relocate Yang Guifei’s burial to another place. In addition, when a eunuch presented Yang Guifei’s sachet to him, he also kept it hidden close to his body. In addition, he specifically asked the painter to draw a portrait of Yang Guifei and hang it in the room for viewing at any time.
All of these things indeed demonstrate Li Longji’s nostalgia for Yang Guifei.
However, as a powerful figure, one important reason why Li Longji misses Yang Guifei so much is that he did not find a replacement. If a replacement is found, he will never miss Yang Guifei.
Li Longji doted on many women throughout his life. For example, he first doted on his hair tied wife, Queen Wang. But after he became emperor, he no longer liked Empress Wang, but fell in love with Consort Zhao Li. Later, he didn’t like Zhao Lifei again, but instead fell in love with Wu Huifei. Furthermore, he quickly forgot about Wu Huifei and fell in love with Yang Guifei. In Li Longji’s life, at least four women were deeply loved by him.
If a new concubine appeared after Yang Guifei was killed, his emotions would definitely transfer to this new concubine, and he would never forget Yang Guifei forever.
So, in a sense, the more important reason why Li Longji has always missed Yang Guifei is actually his despair and frustration about losing power.
During the Ma Weipo Incident, Li Longji began to lose power. Although there was no clear leader in the history of the Ma Weipo Incident, in reality, these leaders were Li Fuguo, Chen Xuanli, and others. They instigated the soldiers to mutiny in order to help Tang Suzong stand up. If Li Longji had held power at that time, it would have been impossible for Chen Xuanli, Li Fuguo, and others to kill Yang Guifei. Killing Yang Guifei is a manifestation of Li Longji’s loss of power.
Why did Li Longji relocate Yang Guifei after returning to the capital? We cannot say that he did this because he did not have feelings of nostalgia for Yang Guifei. But the more important reason is that he wanted to accuse Tang Suzong, Li Fuguo and others of their crimes by relocating Yang Guifei. He wanted to tell them that it was under their coercion that Yang Guifei was brutally killed. Why did Li Longji accuse him? It was because he was dissatisfied with being the emperor. He wants to arouse sympathy from more people in this way, in order to regain his own power.
In fact, Tang Xuanzong’s approach successfully aroused sympathy from the common people. Bai Juyi’s “The Song of Pipa” vividly depicts the passionate love between Li Longji and Yang Guifei. Bai Juyi did not imagine this out of thin air, but because there is such emotion among the people, that is why he wrote it this way.
Li Fuguo and Tang Suzong were smart people who knew they couldn’t let Li Longji do this. If Li Longji were to do this, everyone would sympathize with him. He is likely to compete for power and create new troubles. So, Li Fuguo firmly refused Li Longji’s plan to relocate Yang Guifei.
In addition, Li Fuguo also drove away all the ministers and attendants surrounding Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, including royal family member Princess Yuzhen, minister Chen Xuanli, and eunuch Gao Lishi. He did not allow these people to surround Li Longji and form a small group, nor did he allow them to play a role. What Li Fuguo did even more outstandingly was to drive Li Longji to the even more remote and hot Ganlu Hall, leaving him alone and living in loneliness until his death.
Some people may think that Li Fuguo’s actions are too exaggerated and unfair to Li Longji. However, it should also be noted that Li Fuguo was taking preventive measures, fearing that Li Longji would regain power and create even greater trouble in the palace.
During the process of Li Fuguo torturing Li Longji, Tang Suzong remained silent. Obviously, this is a tacit understanding between Tang Suzong and Li Fuguo. Both of them understood that only by attacking Li Longji and forcing him to a dead end, would he not have the chance to make a comeback.
In short, Li Longji’s nostalgia for Yang Guifei is more of a lament for his own loss of power. The desolation of Li Longji is not the desolation of losing Yang Guifei, but the desolation of losing power.
