2. The Four Emperors of the Later Tang Dynasty 2, Li Siyuan, who died of hatred (3)

It wasn't until early July that Li Siyuan once again barely supported the sick director of the Golden Palace, and people's hearts gradually settled down. Seeing that the old emperor's health was so bad, the civil and military officials first jointly gave him the "Shangzun title" in early August, honoring him as "Shengming Shenwu Guangdao Fa Tianwen De Gongxiao Emperor", and then the minister He Ze cautiously made a recital: Your Majesty, you should canonize your son as the crown prince and establish the heir to the throne, right? What do you think of that Qin King Li Congrong? When Li Siyuan saw this recital, he was not only very unhappy, but also burst into tears, and privately said to the left and right courtiers: "The ministers of civil and military affairs have asked to be crowned crown prince, so I have to go back to my old residence in Taiyuan to retire." The frustration and loss are palpable. It must be known that according to historical records, Li Chongrong is still his "beloved son"! However, because this request of the ministers of civil and military affairs was both reasonable and reasonable, Li Siyuan could not shirk and refute it, so he had to reluctantly let the prime minister and the privy envoy discuss the matter. Fortunately, Li Congrong himself resigned, and the ministers of civil and military affairs saw through the emperor's mind that he did not want to establish a crown prince, and the matter was shelved. In fact, Li Siyuan only needs to turn his mind to think that the establishment of the crown prince is just to determine the successor of the revolution, not to ask your old man to abdicate immediately, isn't there a crown prince in history who has been in office for several years, more than ten years, or even decades? As long as the old emperor does not die, the crown prince will always be the crown prince, and even if some emperors have given up their position to their sons, what kind of "emperor" should they be, and they will still have monopoly, which is no different from when they were emperors? Probably because he is uneducated, straight-minded, and does not turn around, he can't think about this, but he can't be harsh on him, but because he doesn't want to be the emperor at all, he refuses to let go after tasting the taste of power, and he doesn't even want to let his own son be the crown prince, this contrast is too great!

There are similar examples: Li Congcan, the fourth son of Li Siyuan, has a straightforward temperament, is hospitable and wealthy, open-minded and informal, and was named the general of the right guard by his father. When An Chongzhu was in power, everyone tended to be obedient, but he did not bow his eyebrows in front of An Chongzhi, so he was deeply jealous of An Chongzhi. In March of the fourth year of Tiancheng (929 AD), Li Siyuan went to Bianzhou to inspect and left Li Congcan as the envoy of the Imperial City, that is, let him guard and manage the Luoyang Imperial Palace. Li Congcan feasted the guests in the imperial garden, and when the wine was hot, he lost his temper for a while, and "played on the imperial couch" (the biography of "The History of the Old Five Dynasties"). An Chongzhi took the opportunity to play, saying that Li Congcan was rebellious and asked him to be killed. Li Siyuan first demoted him to the rank of Sihu of Fangzhou (present-day Fangxian County, Hubei) to join the army, and then forced him to commit suicide. In the "edict" issued by Li Siyuan, Li Congcan was charged with "crimes" such as "but wandering freely", "frequent singing and happy meetings", and "making noise". Indeed, in addition to the emperor himself, it is not appropriate to feast guests and drink noisily in the imperial garden, but Li Congcan is the prince after all, and he is responsible for managing the palace, including the imperial garden, even if he is negligent, he will not be sentenced to death, right? And Li Siyuan also said in the holy decree that "the party should legislate, and the party will not be pro-party", in order to flaunt that he enforces the law fairly, and even his own son does not protect him. Of course, there are factors in this that An Chongzhi exaggerated and fueled the troubles, and the big idea was taken by your emperor himself, and the "holy decree" to kill his son was issued by yourself, how can you complain about others? Later, An Chongzhi was killed, and Li Siyuan announced that Li Congcan's official title would be restored and posthumously awarded him the title of "Taibao", but can people be resurrected after death? A lively son was deprived of his life by his father just because he sat on his father's dragon chair and slept on his father's dragon bed for a while. Isn't it too cruel? He wasn't like that at first! After the death of Li Cunqing, Li Siyuan entered Luoyang, at that time had not officially ascended the throne, only as a "prison of the country" to preside over the state affairs, after capturing Yuan Xingqin, Li Siyuan wanted to avenge his eldest son Li Congjing, and asked Yuan Xingqin: "What do I owe to you?" You have killed my son? Yuan Xingqin stared at him and asked, "What did the first emperor do to you, that you actually took his throne?" ”

Li Siyuan didn't say anything more and killed Yuan Xingqin. Li Congjing is "loyal, brave and thick, devastating and trapping, and rarely married" (the biography of "The History of the Old Five Dynasties"), and is also a brave general, formerly known as Li Congxian, and was later accepted by Li Cunqiao as his godson, before changing his name to Li Congjing, also known as Li Jijing; And Yuan Xingqin was accepted as his godson by Li Siyuan. It can also be seen from the killing of Yuan Xingqin that although Li Congjing has become a godson for others, and the nature of father and son, family affection is still there, Li Siyuan still killed his godson for his own son. However, if he had been emperor for a few years, that is, after being corrupted by unchecked imperial power for several years, it is difficult to say whether he would still have made such a choice between his godson and his own son.

Yuan Xingqin (?) -926)

Isn't it, after his own son got drunk, he accidentally sat on the old man's special dragon chair, and paid the price of his life, what kind of family affection is there between such a father and son? Of course, Ouyang Xiu, the author of "The History of the New Five Dynasties", said that Li Congcan was only Li Siyuan's nephew, but Xue Juzheng, who revised the "History of the Old Five Dynasties" before Ouyang Xiu, thought that it was his son, and Sima Guang, who later compiled "Zizhi Tongjian", also thought that he was a son. Perhaps, Ouyang Xiu thinks that killing his son in such a trivial matter is unreasonable, and it is even more inconsistent with the character of Li Siyuan, who has always been more loyal and benevolent, so he changed his son to a nephew? If this is the reason, then Mr. Ouyang Xiu has at least neglected an important point, that is, Li Siyuan's attitude towards the emperor's throne: from resolute resignation to infinite infatuation, the contrast is so great that it is simply jaw-dropping!

Let's talk about Li Siyuan's second son Li Congrong. He was not only named the king of Qin, but also successively served as the Yedu Guard, the Tianxiong Army Festival Envoy, Henan Yin and other positions, and also held the army in his hands. As the son of Jiangmen, he not only has a heroic temperament, has the ambition of flattening the small countries in the south and unifying the world, but also loves to read, "recruit more literary scholars, write poems and drink" ("The History of the New Five Dynasties: The Biography of Tang Mingzong's Family"). He claimed that "chapters and sentences are unique in one moment", and wrote more than 1,000 poems by hand, which were compiled into "Purple Mansion Collection". Of course, he also has arrogance, such as every day in the court, he has to take hundreds of cavalry with him, and everyone is galloping through the streets and alleys with bows and arrows, which is daunting and avoidable.

("The Height is Unbearable - The Emperor and His Concubines and Children" series No. 633)