Tang Xuanzong Li Chen (formerly known as Li Yi) was the thirteenth son of Tang Xianzong. His birth mother, Zheng Shi, was a concubine of Li Qi, the former Zhejiang West Observer. Next, the editor of the History Encyclopedia will bring you the truth about history. Let’s take a look together!
Afterwards, Li Qi rebelled and was executed by the court, and Zheng followed Li Qi’s family into the Ye court as slaves. At that time, Emperor Xianzong’s noble consort Guo took notice of her and transferred Zheng from Yeting to her side as a maid.
Zheng was born with beautiful qualities, and soon after, Tang Xianzong favored her and went from being an ordinary palace maid to a concubine in the imperial harem. On June 23rd, the fifth year of the Yuanhe reign of Emperor Xianzong, Zheng gave birth to his son Li Yi at the Daming Palace, who later became Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.
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In March of the first year of Changqing, Tang Muzong, who inherited the throne of Emperor Xianzong, conferred the title of “Prince of Light” on Li Yi, and he has been living in the Sixteen Mansions as a prince ever since.
Unlike other princes, Prince Guang Li Yi had some intellectual deficiencies from a young age and was quiet and introverted, not good at conversing with others. Due to this situation, he became the least threatening prince to the throne at that time.
Afterwards, the three emperors Jing, Wen, and Wu all inherited the throne in a brother to brother manner, and Li Yi naturally became the uncle of the three generations of emperors. Although Li Yi is their uncle and elder, she has never received the respect of these nephews.
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During the reign of Emperor Wu Zong, there was a time when he suspected that the reticence and peaceful attitude of King Guang were deliberately put on, but in fact, there were hidden secrets deep inside his heart. In order to completely eliminate the threat posed by King Guang, Emperor Wu of Tang secretly ordered eunuchs to imprison him and sink him in the palace toilet.
The eunuchs sympathized greatly with King Guang and said to the emperor, “King Guang should not have been sunk in the toilet. It would be better to kill him just for now.” Tang Wuzong also felt that there was some truth to their decision and agreed to it. Afterwards, these eunuchs rescued King Guang and secretly provided for him, falsely claiming that he was dead, in order to save his life.
It is said that in order to stay away from disputes, Li Yi chose to become a monk, and since then he has left Chang’an and been wandering in the rivers and lakes. But there is still a lot of debate about whether this is true or not.
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Emperor Wuzong of Tang passed away at a young age, and his eldest son was only a few years old, still a naive and ignorant child. In this situation, Prince Li Yi slowly entered people’s sight.
In the eyes of eunuchs, Prince Guang Li Yi was a foolish and foolish person, and after ascending to the throne, he would definitely be manipulated and do nothing. If he is crowned emperor, then the world will be like his own in the future.
On March 20th, the sixth year of Huichang (846 AD), the court announced to the people of the world the posthumous edict of Emperor Wu of Tang: Emperor Wu’s son is too young, and Prince Guang Li Yixian is virtuous and can be appointed as the Crown Prince’s uncle to govern the country before officially ascending to the throne. On the second day after the announcement of the will, Prince Guang Li Yi, who had already been appointed as the imperial uncle, received the civil and military officials at Shaoyang Academy.
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In the following days, Emperor Taishu Li Chen began to handle political affairs on behalf of Tang Wuzong, who was seriously ill. His confidence and courage in every move and gesture were completely different from the previously dull and stagnant Prince Guang, and the months long backlog of government affairs were easily resolved in his hands.
Li Chen’s outstanding performance surprised everyone, and they didn’t even know whether they should be happy or worried about this moment. Anyway, Li Chen became the rightful heir to the throne despite numerous obstacles.
Shortly after Tang Xuanzong ascended to the throne, he respectfully honored his mother Zheng Shi as the Empress Dowager and placed her in his birthplace – the Daming Palace, serving her day and night without any negligence.
