Why was Li Chongmao deposed after less than a month in office What exactly did he go through

Looking closely at the history of the Tang Dynasty, we can see that during its most glorious period, it was possible for people from all over to come and pay their respects, while during its darkest period, the rulers were unable to even maintain the throne, causing great concern throughout the country. Li Chongmao was an emperor who could not maintain his throne. He received an abdication edict after only seventeen days in court, and he himself did not know the reason for this outcome. Let’s learn about the story of Li Chongmao below.
Li Chongmao was the grandson of Empress Wu Zetian and the fourth son of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, Li Xian. He was born during the period when Li Xian was first deposed, and there is no record in historical books of Li Chongmao’s birth mother. It is speculated that she was a palace maid of relatively low status. After Li Xian was reinstated as Crown Prince, Li Chongmao was conferred the title of Prince of Beihai. After Li Xian was reinstated, Li Chongmao was granted the title of Prince Wen.
Due to the incompetence and cowardice of Emperor Tang Zhongzong Li Xian, Empress Wei’s ambition grew increasingly ambitious. She fantasized about becoming the second Empress Wu Zetian and ultimately poisoned Li Xian. The feasibility of directly imitating Wu Zetian’s accession to the throne is not high, and the resistance encountered is too great. Therefore, she wants to support a puppet emperor, and Li Chongmao, the youngest son of Tang Zhongzong, who is only 16 years old, is the best candidate. In the fourth year of Jinglong (710 AD), Li Chongmao ascended to the throne with the reign title Tanglong and was appointed by Empress Wei as the regent.
After Li Chongmao proclaimed himself emperor, Empress Wei began preparing to usurp Tang and establish herself, which aroused strong dissatisfaction from Li Longji. Less than a month after Li Chongmao ascended the throne, Li Longji joined forces with his aunt Princess Taiping to launch the Tang Long coup, killing Empress Wei and her followers, and safeguarding Li Tang’s country and state.
After the coup, Li Chongmao knew that his throne was in jeopardy, but he didn’t expect it to come so quickly. He received his abdication decree during the court session. In order to save his life, the young Li Zhongmao reluctantly left the dragon throne that he had only been sitting on for seventeen days and gave the throne to his uncle.
Being deposed from the throne is not the most tragic thing, but even more tragic is being implicated by one’s own brothers. After Li Chongmao was deposed, his elder brother Li Chongfu believed that his eldest son, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, should ascend to the throne. So he falsely transmitted an imperial edict to Luoyang, proclaiming himself as the emperor, and also took the initiative to appoint Li Dan, who was already an emperor, as the Emperor Ji Shu and Li Chongmao, the Tang Shao Emperor, as the Emperor Tai Di. Li Zhongfu did not have a shrewd mind or a very powerful force, and soon after, the officials in Luoyang city solved this farce. The most unjustly accused person in the whole incident was Li Chongmao, who was implicated in his brother’s rebellion and exiled to a local area. He died in office in less than a year, at the age of twenty, with the posthumous title of Shang, and later became known as Tang Shaodi or Tang Shangdi.
Li Chongmao was a forgotten emperor, mentioned briefly in many historical records, and his name cannot even be found in the imperial lineage. Born in a cruel feudal society during the struggle for power, his life was destined to be a poignant tragedy.