Why did Li Longji and Princess Taiping turn against each other

Why did Li Longji and Princess Taiping turn against each other? Below, the History Encyclopedia editor will bring you a detailed article introduction.

From a historical perspective, there is a saying that seems very true and heart wrenching, which is often said by people, ‘There are no eternal friends or enemies, only eternal interests.’ In the face of reality, especially in the face of some major changes in history, this sentence appears even more true.
During the Tang Dynasty, Li Longji and the nephew of Princess Taiping were the most classic interpreters of this sentence. They had cooperated in many important historical events, but eventually went their separate ways for their own interests, and even killed each other. During the Tang Long coup, Li Longji even took the initiative to cooperate with Princess Taiping in order to achieve victory. However, after the success of the matter, everything changed.
How powerful is Princess Taiping

It can be said without mercy that in ancient Chinese history, Princess Taiping was definitely one of the most powerful princesses, especially during the Tang Dynasty. It can be said without hesitation that Princess Taiping was the most powerful princess. Although Princess Anle later became a powerful figure, she was no match for Princess Taiping in terms of rank. One relied on her father Li Xian’s protection to act recklessly, and the other relied on her own hard work to achieve success.
To figure out how powerful Princess Taiping really is, I think we may need to start from her youth. Originally, Princess Taiping was the youngest daughter of Empress Wu Zetian and Li Zhi. Therefore, from birth, she received countless favors from Li Zhi and Empress Wu Zetian. Later, when Princess Taiping grew up a little, she married Xue Shao and lived a happy life.
However, fate played a cruel trick on people. Xue Shao was implicated in his brother’s rebellion and eventually died in prison. Princess Taiping lost her first husband in an instant. Although Wu Zetian later arranged for her nephew Wu Youji, the marriage at this time was far from the initial feeling. In the process of the marital upheaval, Princess Taiping gradually realized the importance of power.
From this time on, Princess Taiping gradually approached Wu Zetian’s power center and helped her deal with some shady matters. Understanding Wu Zetian’s hobbies, Princess Taiping gave her male pet Zhang Yizhi to her, gaining her unanimous recognition. Later, Princess Taiping’s power in the palace gradually increased, and her opportunities to appear in public also increased.
With the convenience of frequently being with Wu Zetian, Princess Taiping also got to know Shangguan Wan’er. Their relationship gradually strengthened and they shared common interests, hoping that one day the country would return to the hands of the Li family. In this way, Princess Taiping and Shangguan Wan’er would gain more power and supporters.
In Wu Zetian’s later years, due to the incident involving the two Zhang brothers, the Divine Dragon Coup was launched by Zhang Jianzhi and others. In this coup, Princess Taiping and Shangguan Wan’er played an important role in both internal and external cooperation. Therefore, after Li Xian ascended to the throne, Shangguan Wan’er and Princess Taiping were both highly valued, and Princess Taiping was directly appointed as the Taiping Princess of Zhenguo by Li Xian, who could fully participate in court politics.
At this point, the power of Princess Taiping was already evident to all, and many people sought refuge with her. However, Shangguan Wan’er chose to ally with Empress Wei due to a dispute over a man with Princess Taiping. At that time, Empress Wei and Princess Anle benefited from Li Xian’s excessive indulgence and acted recklessly in the court. Many people who supported Li Tang’s rule could no longer bear it.
In a sense, at that time, Princess Taiping and Li Longji represented the righteous side that supported Li Tang, while Empress Wei and Princess Anle were a group of forces attempting to emulate Wu Zetian. It should be noted that Li Tang’s kingdom had only recently been taken from the hands of the Wu family, and this behavior of imitating Wu Zetian was highly despised by everyone. Therefore, the original intention of Empress Wei and Princess Anle did not receive more support, and it was only a matter of time before they failed.
It was during this special historical moment that Li Longji gradually emerged and won the support of some people, because everyone understood that as long as Empress Wei and Princess Anle were overthrown, Li Dan would inevitably ascend to power later. Once Li Dan became emperor, Li Longji had the most hope of becoming the Crown Prince. In other words, the future emperor would be Li Longji, and as long as he supported Li Longji now, he would gain more benefits in the future.
Although the ideal was like this, from the reality at that time, there were far more people who supported Princess Taiping than those who supported Li Longji. If Li Longji wanted to launch a coup, he had to have the support of Princess Taiping, otherwise he had no chance of success. Why do you say that? We will continue to conduct in-depth analysis.
Why must Li Longji unite with Princess Taiping
During the reign of Li Xian, Princess Taiping was the Princess of Zhenguo Taiping, and Li Dan was the Prime Minister of Anguo. Their identities were similar, in other words, the most powerful person at that time, besides Princess Taiping, should have been Li Dan. However, Li Dan was not particularly interested in politics, so compared to Princess Taiping who was very interested in power and politics, Li Dan’s power was far inferior. Li Longji was only Li Dan’s son, not the eldest son. Even if Li Longji wanted to gain more power, his identity was not allowed.
For these reasons, Li Longji’s nominal and actual power at that time could not be compared to Empress Wei and others. Only Princess Taiping and Li Dan had this strength and justice. Therefore, the Tang Long coup was launched in the name of Li Dan for the sake of justice and legitimacy, just like the Shenlong coup in the past.
It is precisely because of the support of Princess Taiping that the entire Tang Long coup was able to achieve victory. Essentially, Princess Taiping provided power support, while Li Longji was the actual executor, and Li Dan provided righteous support. All three are indispensable. Li Longji had the ability to execute, but lacked strength, and Princess Taiping had the ability to execute, but lacked both justice and execution. Only by combining the three can the final victory be achieved.
However, as the actual executor, Li Longji had already set the stage for his future downfall of Princess Taiping by killing Shangguan Wan’er before Princess Taiping arrived. It should be noted that Shangguan Wan’er had already chosen to continue cooperating with Princess Taiping at that time. If Li Longji did not kill Shangguan Wan’er, it would be even more difficult to deal with Princess Taiping in the future.
Conclusion
In the face of reality and interests, people often think more about their own interests. At a certain stage, if someone has similar interests to themselves, they can cooperate. However, if there is a conflict of interests between the two, they may go their separate ways at any time and continue to cooperate with those with similar interests. History is like this, and life is often like this!