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Why did Li Zhi bury his sister as empress? 1,000 years later, experts: the frescoes in the tomb are disgraceful

Under his rule, The Tang Dynasty created the "Rule of Zhenguan", and the people lived a rich life, so that the Tang Dynasty was in an era of national peace and security and strong national strength for a long time.

The state's wealth also created a luxurious lifestyle for the royal family and the dignitaries to a large extent, so the Tang Dynasty had endless secrets of court life. During the 23 years of Tang Taizong's reign, both the strategy of governing the country and his personal private life were talked about.

Li Shimin had many children in his lifetime, of which Princess Xincheng was the most favored by him.

Princess Xincheng is also the youngest daughter of Li Shimin and Empress Changsun, and she has been loved by her father and brothers since birth.

It can be said that she grew up soaking in love, but these pets cannot change her unfortunate life.

Why did Li Zhi bury his sister as empress? 1,000 years later, experts: the frescoes in the tomb are disgraceful

Pampered

Princess Xincheng was born in the eighth year of Zhenguan and was the youngest daughter of Li Shimin. Since ancient times, the old family has been favored, even in the court compound with many children. So to what extent did Tang Taizong's favor for this daughter reach?

According to historical records, "the princess of Fenghengshan County, only Hui, the plains are ugly and its gavo",

That is, when princess Xincheng was eight years old, she was given the title of Hengshan.

Hengshan is now located in the territory of Hunan Province, China, and has the title of one of the "Five Mountains" of China.

During the Tang Dynasty, there were legal inscriptions stipulating that the famous mountain dachuan could not be used as a title, and Tang Taizong was willing to risk the world for his daughter, and insisted on naming princess Xincheng as "Princess of Hengshan County", which shows the degree of Tang Taizong's love for this young daughter.

Why did Li Zhi bury his sister as empress? 1,000 years later, experts: the frescoes in the tomb are disgraceful

Soon after, Emperor Taizong of Tang gave Tang Muyi the title of Princess of Xincheng.

According to the regulations of the Tang Dynasty, princesses could only get fiefs after they were married.

When princess Xincheng got the fiefdom, she was still an eight- or nine-year-old child.

It can be seen that Tang Taizong really loved his daughter very much, and in order to spoil her, he actually gave her rewards in violation of the provisions of the law twice.

Princess Xincheng grew up slowly under the protection of Emperor Taizong of Tang, and when she reached the age of sixteen and completed the ceremony, Emperor Taizong of Tang promised her to Wei Zheng's son.

Why did Li Zhi bury his sister as empress? 1,000 years later, experts: the frescoes in the tomb are disgraceful

Three marriages

Princess Xincheng's childhood was carefree, but after becoming an adult, she began to become bumpy, and her misfortune was basically related to her three marriages.

In the sixteenth year of Zhenguan, Wei Zheng was seriously ill, and Li Shimin personally went to visit. The two chatted for a while, Li Shimin asked him what other unfulfilled wishes he had, wei Zheng knew that his limit was approaching, so he said: "My family's affairs have nothing to worry about, that is, I am afraid that the country will be in chaos."

This remark touched Li Shimin unceasingly, and he did not expect that Wei Zheng still remembered the country during his illness, worthy of a generation of loyal subjects.

Subsequently, Li Shimin betrothed Princess Xu of Xincheng to Wei Zheng's son, which was also a reward for Wei Zheng's loyalty, and Wei Zheng died soon after.

Why did Li Zhi bury his sister as empress? 1,000 years later, experts: the frescoes in the tomb are disgraceful

Four months later, Hou Junji was executed for treason, and Du Zhenglun was subsequently deposed. Because Wei Zheng had recommended Hou Junji as prime minister before his death, Li Shimin believed that Wei Zheng was also involved in the rebellion, and in a fit of anger, he canceled the marriage contract of princess Xincheng.

Subsequently, Tang Taizong has been choosing the right horse for the Princess of Xincheng,

On the birthday of Empress Changsun in the twenty-third year of Zhenguan, Empress Changsun's cousin Changsun interpreted the hall of fame and was appreciated by Li Zhi, so he took the initiative on the spot and gave him his sister Xu.

However, before the princess could get married, Tang Taizong died. According to the Tang Dynasty custom, children had to keep filial piety for their parents for three years, so the marriage between the princess and the eldest grandson was delayed for another three years.

Why did Li Zhi bury his sister as empress? 1,000 years later, experts: the frescoes in the tomb are disgraceful

Later, Emperor Gaozong of Tang succeeded to the throne, and as soon as the period of filial piety expired, he helped his sister hold a grand wedding. At that time, the eldest grandson's family could be said to be at its peak and was deeply loved by Emperor Gaozong of Tang. The eldest grandson's father also added officials to the knighthood because of this marriage and enjoyed the high-ranking official Houlu.

After the marriage, princess Xincheng and the eldest grandson were very affectionate, and the couple Qinse and Ming were envious of others.

When the princess got married, Tang Gaozong gave 5,000 households a dowry, which shows tang Gaozong's attention and love for this sister.

In the fourth year of Xianqing, Li Zhi wanted to depose Empress Wang and establish Wu Zetian as empress, so the eldest son Wuji raised objections, and the two people had a contradiction. Later, Emperor Gaozong of Tang exiled his eldest son Wujie, and the eldest grandson was also implicated and given death by Emperor Gaozong of Tang.

Why did Li Zhi bury his sister as empress? 1,000 years later, experts: the frescoes in the tomb are disgraceful

Losing her beloved husband, princess Xincheng could not accept it for a while, and lived a decadent and depressed life every day.

The dissatisfaction and resentment in her heart for her brother could not be vented, so she used to punish herself to gain relief.

Tang Gaozong looked anxious in his eyes, in order to ease the relationship with his sister

He then made the decision to ration Princess Xu of Xincheng to Wei Zhengji.

Princess Xincheng did not want to marry at all, but the emperor's fate was difficult.

After the two got married, Wei Zhengju was promoted to eight levels in a row, which can be described as a smooth step. However, in the marriage, the two are very difficult. Although Princess Xincheng married, she still missed her eldest grandson, missed her deceased husband day and night, and was lukewarm and lukewarm towards Wei Zhengji.

Why did Li Zhi bury his sister as empress? 1,000 years later, experts: the frescoes in the tomb are disgraceful

After a long time, the contradictions between the two began to expand, and quarrels became commonplace.

Princess Xincheng was also depressed in such a marriage and eventually died.

Queen's size mausoleum

After the death of Princess Xincheng, Tang Gaozong was very guilty. I thought that finding a good husband would help her get rid of her pain, but I didn't expect to push her into a bottomless abyss. However, Emperor Gaozong of Tang did not believe that Princess Xincheng was depressed, believing that Wei Zhengju had killed her, so he ordered Wei Zhengju to be executed.

Later, in order to make up for his sister, Tang Gaozong buried the princess of Xincheng with the specifications of an empress.

In the hundreds of years of history of the Tang Dynasty, only the Princess of Xincheng can be buried in the imperial tomb as an empress, which shows Tang Gaozong's love for her.

Why did Li Zhi bury his sister as empress? 1,000 years later, experts: the frescoes in the tomb are disgraceful

Later, when archaeologists excavated the Zhao Tomb in Xianyang, Shaanxi, they found a tomb with the same specifications as the empress, and later determined that it was the tomb of the princess of Tang Xincheng. During the excavation of the mausoleum, archaeologists also discovered an interesting phenomenon.

There are many exquisite murals in the tomb of the Princess of Xincheng,

But the maid's head on the fresco was painted off. This caught the attention of historians,

It has been suggested whether the tomb robbers did it, because the tomb was visited by tomb robbers before the arrival of archaeologists.

Later, others denied this claim, and the general tomb robber was only interested in funerary goods, rarely paid attention to the murals in the tomb, and even if it was impossible to destroy, it would only be the head of the maid.

Why did Li Zhi bury his sister as empress? 1,000 years later, experts: the frescoes in the tomb are disgraceful

Therefore, archaeologists believe that the frescoes were destroyed before the princess was buried.

So who is so bold as to destroy the Princess Mausoleum? The only answer can only be Li Zhi of Emperor Gaozong of Tang.

It is said that when princess Xincheng died that year, Li Zhi was very remorseful, and even blamed the maid next to the princess for not serving the princess well, which led to her death. So in order to vent his resentment, he painted all the heads of the maids in the tomb murals.

Since Tang Gaozong's resentment was already so deep, it could also be reasonably speculated that

At that time, the maids around princess Xincheng should also have been pulled to accompany the funeral.

After analyzing it, I have to say:

"The back of this mural is really not very glorious."

Why did Li Zhi bury his sister as empress? 1,000 years later, experts: the frescoes in the tomb are disgraceful

Venting his resentment on innocent people for his own comfort shows Tang Gaozong's ruthlessness in handling this matter, and how indifferent the ancient emperors are.

Princess Xincheng received endless favor from her father from birth to adulthood, which can be said to be the envy of other children in the palace. But luck didn't always accompany her, and her misfortunes all began with marriage.

Both the first and second husbands were politically implicated, and they were depressed because they had no feelings for the third husband. In this process, the princess of Xincheng has to passively bear the result, which is the tragedy of the fate of the royal children.

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