Why did Li Mao, who was originally a winner in life, become the saddest prince of the Tang Dynasty? Interested readers and history encyclopedia editors, let’s take a look together!
Firstly, he appointed Yang Yuhuan as his queen. You should know that Yang Yuhuan was one of the Four Great Beauties of ancient times. Although they didn’t know about it at the time, Yang Yuhuan’s beauty was still considered one or two at that time. And after Li Mao married Yang Yuhuan, their relationship was still good.
Secondly, Li Mao’s birth mother, Empress Wu Hui, was the most favored concubine of Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji at that time. How much favor did she receive? Emperor Xuanzong of Tang once wanted to appoint Lady Wu as his empress, but his courtiers strongly opposed it, fearing that another Empress Wu would emerge. There was no other choice, but Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, under pressure, could only confer the title of Empress Dowager Hui on Lady Wu, but her treatment was equivalent to that of a queen. Empress Wu Huifei gave birth to four sons and three daughters for Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, each of whom was favored by Emperor Xuanzong, which proves her level of favor.
Finally, Empress Wu Huifei conspired with Li Linfu to crown Li Mao. The original crown prince appointed by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was Li Ying, but Empress Wu Huifei employed tactics that led to Emperor Xuanzong killing three sons in one day, including Li Ying. After the death of Li Ying, the most favored Empress Wu Huifei had the highest possibility of her son being crowned as the crown prince.
So, Li Mao not only married a beautiful family member, but also has a high possibility of becoming a crown prince and inheriting the throne in the future. Isn’t this a winner in life? However, Li Mao quickly transformed from a life winner to the most sorrowful prince of the Tang Dynasty. Not only did he lose his eligibility to succeed to the throne, but his wife was also taken away by his father.
Empress Wu Huifei had not yet supported her son Li Mao to ascend to the position of crown prince when she suddenly passed away. According to historical records, Empress Wu Huifei framed Li Ying and others. After they were killed, Empress Wu Huifei had nightmares every day. She even hired a mage to do it, but unfortunately it didn’t work. In the end, Empress Wu Huifei was scared to death.
After the death of Empress Wu Hui, Li Mao lost his biggest support. Li Linfu was never a good person, and without the support of Empress Wu Hui, he naturally would not continue to support Li Mao. Soon after, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang officially established the heir, who was the third son of the emperor, Li Heng. This is equivalent to a complete declaration that Li Mao has lost the qualification to succeed to the throne.
Not only that, his father Tang Xuanzong also took a liking to his daughter-in-law Yang Yuhuan. After the death of Empress Wu Huifei, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was very sad. Even if there were many beauties in the harem, he couldn’t stand any of them. At this time, in order to please Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, someone suggested that Yang Yuhuan, the consort of Shou, had a natural beauty and was suitable for serving in the imperial court.
So, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang believed that Empress Dowager Dou was praying for blessings and ordered Yang Yuhuan to become a nun. After Yang Yuhuan became a monk for two years, she had not heard of Tang Xuanzong’s intention to make her return to secular life. Li Mao became anxious and took the initiative to request that her wife return to secular life. Unexpectedly, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang decided to marry him another wife, the daughter of Wei Zhaoxun. Now Li Mao fully understood his father’s intentions.
Li Mao, who lost his eligibility to inherit the throne and had his wife taken away by his father, can be considered very sad. Unexpectedly, his life has not yet reached its lowest point. After marrying another queen for Li Mao, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang brought Yang Yuhuan into the palace and officially conferred her the title of Noble Consort, with treatment equivalent to that of a empress. It can be seen that at this time, Yang Yuhuan had already received the same treatment as his mother-in-law Wu Huifei.
The love between Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Yang Guifei was once rumored to be a good story, and the outside world continued to spread rumors about how favored Yang Guifei was and how much she loved Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Yang Yuhuan was originally the queen of Li Mao and had a good relationship with her. Since he entered the harem of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, his relationship with him has become a good story. Imagine Li Mao’s feelings at that time.
Although Li Mao must have been somewhat disappointed with his father Li Longji and wife Yang Yuhuan. But it’s impossible for the couple to say that he has no feelings for Yang Yuhuan for a hundred days. After the An Lushan Rebellion broke out, Li Mao fled to Sichuan with Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Unexpectedly, when they arrived at Mawei Slope, the soldiers forced Emperor Xuanzong of Tang to execute Yang Guifei. At this moment, they thought about Li Mao’s feelings.
At the same time as the soldiers mutinied, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang also sent Li Mao to appease the soldiers. You should know that the situation was very critical at that time, and the soldiers had already killed Yang Guozhong. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang himself spared no effort to execute his beloved Yang Guifei in order to save his life, but pushed Li Mao out to appease the soldiers, seeking the extent of Li Mao’s psychological shadow at this time.
Afterwards, there was no record of Li Mao in historical books until the tenth year of the Dali reign of Emperor Tang, when he passed away. After his death, his nephew Emperor Tang posthumously honored him as Grand Tutor.
