The historian sympathizes with Li Ke in the history books. Although Li Ke's achievements and talents can't be listed at all, he still praises Li Ke in various ways. Therefore, in his biography, he specifically mentions the phrase "Ke Mu, Emperor Yangdi's daughter" in recognition of Li Ke's unique birth mother status. But even so, there is still only the title of Emperor Yangdi's daughter. It can be seen that Yang Fei's status is not high in Sui Palace or Tang Palace-there is no princess title in Sui Palace, and the grade of concubines in Tang Palace is so low that it is not recorded or even worth being recorded by historians.
At the same time, according to Mr. Cen Zhongmian's statistics, in the fourteen years of Yang Guang's reign, the accumulated time spent in Chang 'an was only 186 days, and most of the time was either on the way or preparing for a patrol. Therefore, if Princess Yang is favored, she should stay away from Chang 'an at the side of Emperor Yangdi, just like her eldest sister Princess Nanyang. But the fact is just the opposite. According to the fact that Li Ke was born in Wude for two years, Princess Yang should have entered the palace in the first year of Wude. In other words, as soon as Tang gaozu ascended the throne in Chang 'an, Princess Yang became a member of the backyard of Qin Wangfu. Obviously, although this Princess Yang is also the daughter of Emperor Yangdi, she can't get her father's attention and love at all, so she will be forgotten in Chang 'an and accepted by the newly established Li Tang Dynasty.
Besides, both Li Yuan and Yang Guang's mothers are dugu's, and they are sisters. The Queen Dugu was very attentive to Li Yuan. The Tang Dynasty established by Li Yuan was at least nominally ceded from Emperor Sui Gong. As a result, Li Yuan left his cousin's daughter in Chang 'an to his son as a concubine. If Tang gaozu still values the princess of the former dynasty who is somewhat related to himself, he should marry her as a wife instead of a concubine-whether she is a prince or a minister. And even if you are a concubine, you should give it to Prince Li Jiancheng, not to Li Shimin, the king of Qin, who seemed to be out of the throne at that time. After all, Li Jiancheng was a prince in Wude nine years ago. If there is no accident, Princess Yang, as Li Jiancheng's concubine, can mix five or more concubines after the prince ascended the throne, and be a concubine for the prince, which is only a Confucian with five products at most.
What's more, according to the fact that Yang Guang died in March of the second year of Yining (618), but Li Ke was born in the second year of Wude, Li Tang (619), it is obvious that Princess Yang was pregnant during the period of fervent filial piety, and even failed to observe the filial piety for her biological father for 27 months. This shows what kind of existence this so-called "Emperor Yangdi's daughter" is in the eyes of the Li and Tang Dynasties, let alone what kind of courtesy she can get. If Princess Yang's identity is still noble, how can she be sent away at will, and even have no chance to keep a filial piety for her father?
It's only natural that Yang Fei will be treated like this. Since ancient times, the king of the country has been defeated, let alone the princess of the country. Think about the miserable appearance of the six countries "concubines, princes and grandchildren, leaving the downstairs hall and coming to Qin" after Qin destroyed them. Think about Chen Houzhu's sisters after the demise of the Chen Dynasty. Princess Lechang was awarded to Yang Su as a concubine, Mrs. Xuanhua and Mrs. Hongzheng were buried in the Sui Yi Court, and several were awarded to the ministers and princes of the DPRK. Think again about Song Huizong's daughter, Jou Fu Di Ji, who is also a princess, but what day she lived in the rulers, and we can see that these subjugated princesses are just trophies in the eyes of the new dynasty.
Look at her title in the harem. During the Zhenguan period of Tang Dynasty, the titles of the four ladies were in the order of Guishu Dexian, and the titles of Wei Guifei were very clear. Another Yang Guifei, who gave birth to the 13th Prince Li Fu, was given the title of posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous title, so it is very likely that the title is Shu Fei. Yan Defei was promoted from a virtuous princess to a virtuous princess because Li You, the son of Yinfei, was punished for rebellion, and Yinfei was reduced to a concubine. There is also a Zheng Xianfei, who was promoted to the position after Yan Xianfei was promoted to De Fei. Therefore, Yang Fei did not have a concubine position before her death, but she was posthumously named as a "concubine", which improved her grade. Yang Fei was born Li Ke, the king of Wu De in the second year, and Li Cheng, the king of Shu, in the eighth year of Wu De's reign. All the princes and grandsons in Wu De's reign were conferred titles at the age of one, while in the eighth year of Wu De's reign, only the fifth son Li You was sealed, so the sixth son Li Cheng was born eight years later. Yang Fei has no daughters, because among the 21 princesses of Emperor Taizong, as long as their biological mothers are high, they are recorded in history books or epitaphs, and the biological mothers of the other 15 princesses are not recorded because of their humble origins.
As for Yang Fei's two sons, Li Ke, the king of Wu, and Li Cheng, the king of Shu, although many people have been mistaken for Li Ke as the favorite son of Emperor Taizong for a long time due to the propaganda of TV dramas, as far as historical facts are concerned, when it comes to who has the worst treatment among all the sons of Emperor Taizong, Li Ke says that no one can be worse than him. What is the truth? Let's take a look at how the history books are recorded.
First of all, in the Book of Old Tang Dynasty, Li Ke was "Taizong often called himself" (Tang Huiyao recorded that "Taizong tried to call himself"). Visible here often taste, meaning once rather than often), for the prince ChengGan is "Taizong love", and for Lee Tae is used "Wei Wangtai pet crown kings" such a statement. By comparison, the love of Emperor Taizong for Li Ke, the so-called "beloved son", is really unremarkable. What's more, there are countless records of Tang Taizong's love for the three sons in the history books, and even his love for Li Ke cannot be listed.
Secondly, according to historical records, Li Ke went to the fief in the 7th year of Zhenguan at the latest, but Lee Tae, who was the same age as Li Ke, not only refused to be a "country of China", but Emperor Taizong even thought about letting him live in the Wude Hall, and was finally dissuaded by Wei Zhengli. Li Zhi has been personally raised by Emperor Taizong since the death of his eldest grandson. Even after being named as a prince, Emperor Taizong was still allowed to stay with him at the expense of blatantly violating the etiquette system, which led to Chu Suiliang, Liu Yue and others who went to Zhenguan for 18 years and 2 years respectively and begged the emperor not to leave the prince around and spoil him blindly, and let him go back to the East Palace.
When Li Ke went to be the governor of Qizhou in the 7th year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong said to Li Ke, "Father and son love each other, don't you want to see each other often?" However, the family affairs are special, and it is necessary to make a screen. " It can be seen that the princes were made vassals because of the "special family and state affairs", but also for the sake of the "coveted heart" of the princes. But these grandiose words are actually more suitable for Lee Tae, who is a prince's mother and brother, than Li Ke, who is a concubine. After all, as a prince's mother and brother, Lee Tae is the biggest threat to the storage. However, in the face of "family affairs", Emperor Taizong not only refused to let Lee Tae be a vassal, but even wanted him to move into the Wude Hall. Not to mention Li Zhi, Emperor Taizong has always brought this son with him personally, never mentioning the matter of Francisco. After 16 years of Zhenguan, he even directly let him go to court to participate in politics, but it happened that Li Ke, who was not a threat, was sent to the fief.
Furthermore, if we only pay attention to this letter written by Emperor Taizong to Li Ke in the 12th year of Zhenguan, we will naturally feel that it is full of affection between father and son. However, the title of this letter is "The Book of Commandments to Wu Wangke". The admonisher means warning and warning. When Li You, the king of Qi, repeatedly made mistakes in the fief, Emperor Taizong also wrote a letter "admonishing it". Therefore, this letter is not about the feelings of missing after parting, but that Emperor Taizong wrote to warn Li Ke to stay in his fief honestly and stop running amok.
And just when Mrs. Tang told Li Ke, "If you want to keep your treasures for fun, you will be afraid of being arrogant and extravagant"-he refused to give him more property on the grounds of avoiding Li Ke becoming arrogant and extravagant. As a result, when facing Li Chenggan and Li Tai, Emperor Taizong took the opposite attitude. Emperor Taizong rewarded Li Taishi not only with "ten thousand pieces of Thai things", but also with "more things than the Crown Prince" for Lee Tae every month, and even directly lifted the restrictions on Li Chenggan's use of the treasures.
As for how Emperor Taizong would express his love for his son in his letters, let's take a look at a letter that Emperor Taizong wrote to Li Zhi when he went to Koguryo. It was simply disgusting. But perhaps this letter from Emperor Taizong to Li Zhi is more like the ordinary love between father and son than the earnest warning to Li Ke.
The original text of "Two Postings": I got the internal book twice, but I didn't see the slave's table. Yeyeyee was jealous of eternal death, and suddenly I got the slave's calligraphy in less time, and I reported my wife's illness, and I was worried for a while, and I wanted to recover as if I were dead. Today is over, but when the wind blows, I will report it immediately. Yeah, yeah, if there are few diseases, they will be reported one by one. Today, I got news from Liaodong. I recorded it and sent it. I remember that slaves wanted to die. I don't know how to make it back. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
translation: I received the documents from ouchi twice, but I still haven't seen your letters. Dad, I'm worried sick. Just now, I suddenly got your handwritten book, saying that my wife was ill, and my worries and fears suddenly disappeared, just like coming back from the dead. From now on, as long as you have a headache, write to me immediately. Dad, if I am sick, I will write to you one by one. I got news from Liaodong (battlefield) today, and I will copy it for you. You miss your young slave so much that you don't know when you can go back. That's all you have to say. Dad, please.
finally, it is talked about by many people. Emperor Taizong wants to make Li Ke, the king of Wu, a prince.
In the 17th year of Zhenguan, it took more than half a year for Emperor Taizong to establish Li Zhi, and he felt that the youngest son was only fifteen years old, and he had been kept by his side without any experience. As the future heir of the empire, he was not strong enough, and he was worried that he would not be able to control the state affairs well. After all, he was "dependent on the country". So Emperor Taizong thought of changing the storage, and Li Ke was the only suitable candidate at that time, because look at several other princes besides Li Ke:
Li Kuan, the second son, Lee Tae, the fourth son who died young, Li You, the fifth son who was demoted after seizing the office, and Li Cheng, the sixth son who was punished after the rebellion in Zhenguan seventeen years, was lambasted by Emperor Taizong as an animal, which was not as good as Li Yun, the seventh son. Under such circumstances, besides Li Ke, who is nearly 9 years older than Li Zhi, does Emperor Taizong have any other choice?
In the final analysis, Emperor Taizong wanted to establish Li Ke because other older princes except Li Ke were either demoted or killed because they seized the office, or they were really helpless. Although Li Ke had been demoted twice in a row for stepping on crops and gambling, Emperor Taizong had no choice but Li Ke.
obviously, however, the idea that Emperor Taizong wanted to establish Li Ke was not well thought out, but a whim on impulse. Because if Emperor Taizong really thought about changing Li Ke, or if he was determined to change his storage, then Changsun Wuji would never have a chance to "fight in secret", let alone make a final decision just by his family's words. After all, this world belongs to Li, not his grandson. In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, although Changsun Wuji was an excellent Stuart, as far as the government system of the Tang Dynasty was concerned, Stuart's position was just a hollow post. In the absence of real power at all, how can Changsun Wuji hold on to state affairs? Wei Zhi is dead at this time, but these ministers of Fang Xuanling Excavate are still alive, and Emperor Taizong is in the prime of life with the relieving power. How can you let Changsun Wuji, who has neither real power nor relieving power, manipulate the state affairs?
Besides, the abolition of the crown prince is a national event, and it is not a joke. If Emperor Taizong is determined to change the crown prince, he will definitely take this matter to the higher court for discussion. At worst, he will also ask several confidant ministers to discuss it together, just like when he wanted to establish Li Zhi, "discussing it with Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and Li Ji", instead of just discussing it with Changsun Wuji, who is the most unlikely to agree, or even giving it up immediately after being refuted by Changsun Wuji.
From the narrative of the official history about the change of Li Ke, it is obvious that Emperor Taizong just had such an idea on a whim, and then revealed to Changsun Wuji that Changsun Wuji opposed it. When Emperor Taizong understood it, he completely dismissed the idea. Not to mention that Changsun Wuji opposed Li Ke because he was not his nephew. In fact, it was not Changsun Wuji who really cared that Li Ke was not his son, but Emperor Taizong himself. After all, once Li Ke, an illegitimate son, was changed, it would be difficult to guarantee the future of Li Chenggan, Lee Tae and Li Zhi, which was obviously more worrying for Emperor Taizong than Changsun Wuji, because the original purpose of Emperor Taizong's establishment of Li Zhi was to save these three beloved sons:
"Tai Li, Cheng Gan and Jin Wang are all gone; Wang Li of Jin, Tai * * * can take care of it. " (Biographies of the Scholars of Taizong in the Old Tang Dynasty)
When Emperor Taizong changed to a prince, he always wavered between Lee Tae and Li Zhi, and decided to set up Li Zhi because Li Zhi was kind-hearted, even if he became emperor, it would not be bad for his two brothers. During this period, Emperor Taizong never thought that Li Ke, an unmarried but elderly woman, could be considered, and how Li Ke's position in Tang Taizong's heart was evident. Because if Li Ke still had some weight in Emperor Taizong's mind, Emperor Taizong would definitely think of him first when he changed his position as a prince, instead of waiting for half a year after all the dust settled. It was not until the end of the seventeenth year of Zhenguan that the princes returned to Beijing for the New Year that they found that there was such an ordinary eldest son to consider, and it was only a short-lived idea.
As for Li Ke's being far away from the capital and having no friendship with the ministers of the DPRK, naturally no one will be willing to recommend him as a prince. In fact, it doesn't matter what the minister's wishes are, but the key still lies in the attitude of Emperor Taizong himself. Look at Li Zhi, and you will know that Li Zhi, the prince, was supported by Emperor Taizong. In order to book Li Zhi, Emperor Taizong even drew his sword to commit suicide in front of the minister; After the official establishment of Li Zhi as the Prince, Emperor Taizong devoted himself to building a powerful and reliable East Palace team to assist the Prince.
"I'm so ugly. I add Stuart and Zhao Guogong, Prince Changsun Wuji, and Sikong and Liang Guogong, Prince Fang Xuanling, a teacher; Tejin, Song Guogong, Xiao Yu Prince Taibao, Ministry of War Shangshu, and British Gong Li Ji are the princes, and they are still the same as the three products in the Chinese book. " (The Book of Emperor Taizong of the Old Tang Dynasty) "Li Daliang, the general of the left-back, led the right-back, with Yu Zhining, the former Zhan Shi, and Ma Zhou, the assistant minister of the official department, Su Xu, and Gao Jifu, the assistant minister of the Chinese book, as the right-back, and Zhang Xing, the assistant minister of the criminal department, as the young Zhan Shi, and Chu Suiliang as the guest." (History as a Mirror)
At the same time, Emperor Taizong knew that Li Zhi had been living in the deep palace for a long time and lacked experience, so he began to strengthen the cultivation of his ability to handle government affairs, and often took him with him to teach by example.
"Every time Emperor Taizong looked at the DPRK, he always made it on the side, judged the ordinary government, or made it participate in the discussion. Emperor Taizong counted as good." ("The Book of the Old Tang Dynasty, the Biography of Emperor Gaozong") "In the eighteenth year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong said that the courtiers said,' There was an ancient son of prenatal education, but I was overwhelmed. But since the establishment of the prince recently, there must be instructions when it comes to things. " "("Zhenguan dignitaries ")
So if Emperor Taizong really intends to change Li Ke into a prince, he can completely copy Li Zhishi's move, instead of just mentioning it verbally. Was it rejected?