Do you know Li Ren’s identity? Next, the editor of History Encyclopedia will explain it to you
After Li Zhi became emperor, Changsun Wuji slandered King Li Ke of Wu in order to crack down on royal relatives who posed a threat to Li Zhi’s throne. It is said that King Li Ke of Wu participated in a rebellion, killed him in the capital Chang’an, and exiled his four sons to Lingnan. These four sons include the protagonist we are going to talk about today, Li Ren, the grandson of Emperor Taizong of Tang and the eldest son of King Li Ke of Wu.
Li Ren, also known as Li Qianli. The name ‘Qianli’ comes from a commendation from Empress Wu Zetian, who said, ‘Son, my family is a thousand mile horse.’. He was exiled to Lingnan from a young age due to his father’s guilt, and he was only 7 years old at that time. And he did not live well in Lingnan. When Li Zhi exonerated Li Ke, he did not allow Li Ren to inherit his father’s title and ignored him. It can be said that Li Ren’s first half of life was not very good, but after enduring for 50 years, he participated in two major events.
The first one is the Dragon Revolution, which overthrew the rule of Empress Wu Zetian and enthroned Li Xian. After Li Xian succeeded to the throne, he conferred the title of Grand General and Prince on his cousin Li Ren, and soon after, he was further conferred the title of Prince. He thoroughly pacified Li Ke’s rebellion and posthumously honored him as Sikong.
The second thing is that he participated in the Jinglong coup. At that time, the Crown Prince Li Zhongjun was saddened and angry because his birth mother was lowly and was treated unfairly by Empress Wei and Princess Anle. He led Li Duozuo, Li Sichong, and others to execute Wu Sansi, Wu Chongxun, and more than ten of their followers, and sent Li Ren to guard the gates of the palace city. But the coup failed and Li Ren was also killed. Later, after becoming emperor, Li Dan rebelled against Li Renping.
In history, it is recorded that Li Ren was a “restless and incompetent” person. However, Li Ren was able to gain Wu Zetian’s trust when she brutally killed the Li clan, which shows that Li Ren was not an ordinary person.
