Since ancient times, royal disputes have been cruel, and becoming a king and proclaiming emperor is also synonymous with corpses. Now that we ask, which son of Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty did he like best? Every son is the "heart and soul" of his parents. As for who they love the most, some people love whoever the throne is passed to, and that must be Li Zhi. Others say they love whoever is the crown prince. Well, if you think about it, it’s actually not entirely right. < /p>
Meaning: Li Tai is the most favored son of all the kings, and Li Shimin's favorite son among them. Then why was Li appointed Prince Chengqian? "Spring and Autumn Gongyang Zhuan" records:
Establishing a son is based on fitness, not virtuous, and establishing a son is noble, not long.
The feudal etiquette follows the principle of "respecting the elder" and "the eldest brother is the father", which means: whoever is the oldest will have priority in inheritance. Unless the legitimate son dies, it is the concubine's turn to inherit.
When it came to Li Chengqian's generation, Li Shimin loved his children very much and sent Lu Deming, Kong Yingda, Yu Zhining, Du Zhenglun, and Wei Zheng to assist and teach Li Chengqian. As Li Chengqian's eldest son, Li Shimin naturally followed the same system. The crown prince was appointed. From a father's perspective, who doesn't love his children? Every prince is naturally his own heartthrob and his "potential stock" who can inherit the great achievements of the Tang Dynasty for thousands of years. At that time, the late emperor Li Yuan named his grandson Li Chengqian, which meant "inheriting the imperial legacy and taking charge of the world". Li Shimin also liked him very much. The "Edict to Order the Crown Prince to Accept Qian and Hear the Litigation" records:
From now on, if the complainant is the one who refuses to submit to the minister, he will issue an order to the East Palace to order Cheng Qian to make a decision. Now if you are stubborn about what you see and say that you can't understand it, then listen to it
It means: If you have any problems, you should report them to the East Palace, and the prince will make the decision. If the prince doesn't understand anything, he can't understand it. Beat Li Shimin.
It can be seen that Li Shimin has been consciously training Chengqian's political ability as the prince. Later, Li Shimin visited Qizhou, and Li Chengqian stayed in the capital as the prince to supervise national affairs. From this, it can be seen that Li Shimin did not want to Those who have passed the crown prince have high hopes for the prince's love and care.
The second son, Li Tai, is also very talented, extremely intelligent, and a scholar who loves literature. He was a calligrapher and a connoisseur of calligraphy and painting at that time. It was customary for Li Tai to go to the fief when he came of age, and he was not allowed to stay in the capital for a long time. Because Taizong liked his second son, he specifically allowed him to stay in the capital without having to take office. He also allowed Li Tai to set up a literature hall in his mansion and allowed him to recruit scholars freely. This also shows how much Li Shimin dotes on Li Tai.
As the saying goes: "There are unforeseen circumstances in the sky." It can also be said that it was Li Chengqian's own doing. Li Chengqian favored Taichang Leren, who was known as "beautiful and good at singing and dancing". He was a man. It sounds like Isn't it speechless? It's true. When Li Shimin found out, he was furious and killed Taichang Le. In grief, Li Chengqian claimed to be ill and could not go to court for several months. Because a man abandoned himself because he did not care about the country, the estrangement between Li Chengqian and Li Shimin It deepened, but even if Cheng Qian was acting like this, Tang Taizong never thought of abolishing it and establishing something later. But Li Tai saw that his childhood idol was so useless in this situation, and he gradually began to have thoughts about the throne.
However, Emperor Taizong was worried about how to deal with Prince Yi Li, his son who he had doted on in every possible way. Li Shimin did not want to see them continue to kill each other. After Prince Li Chengqian was deposed, Li Shimin Tai took the opportunity to act coquettishly to his father, claiming that he would kill his son in a hundred years and pass the throne to his younger brother Li Zhi.
When Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty saw Qingque thrown into his arms, his heart softened immediately. After hearing such a guarantee, he immediately promised to make him the prince. However, such lies were exposed mercilessly by Chu Suiliang. Emperor Taizong calmed down and understood that it was impossible to kill his son to pass on his younger brother.
In this way, Li Tai was demoted to the king of Donglai County. Decisively, Li Zhi was made the crown prince. This is why Li Zhi came to power, but his favorite son did not come to power.
In his later years, Li Shimin wrote "Emperor's Model" and strictly disciplined the prince. He summarized his governance experience and evaluated his own merits and demerits in his life. He once told Prince Li Zhi: "The principles of government are all contained in it. Once I don't hold back, I will have nothing to say.
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So, throughout Li Shimin’s life, his favorite son was Li Tai, but Li Chengqian followed his love, and Li Zhi came to the throne to preserve his bloodline. As for who he would be the crown prince for, Whoever you pass on to is not the criterion for loving your son the most, but you have a lot of love for your three sons. Father's love is great.