【Confusing ending】
The Battle of Xiazhou lasted less than four months and ended hastily with the defeat of Tang Central. The casualties and duration of this war were not huge, but its impact was immense.
Li Yichao greatly improved the prestige of the Tuoba Li family among the Dangxiang tribes, consolidated the power of the Dangxiang people in the Xiazhou area, and laid the foundation for Li Yuanhao to establish the Xixia regime in the future. The story of Li Yuanhao's establishment of Xixia will be described in detail later.
The failure of the Battle of Xiazhou was a heavy blow to Li Siyuan.
Since Li Siyuan ascended the throne, he has worked hard to create a "prosperous era of Mingzong". He has successfully suppressed rebel forces in the territory many times, such as the capital of Dingzhou, Zhu Shouyin of Bianzhou, etc., and has achieved certain results in strengthening centralization and reducing vassals. , but its efforts to extend the central power have repeatedly encountered obstacles.
Three external wars (appearing to be in harmony but separated from each other, claiming vassalage on the surface but actually separatist power), the Battle of Jingnan, the Battle of Liangchuan, and the Battle of Xiazhou, all ended in failure.
Especially in the Battle of Xiazhou, Li Siyuan's concerns were correct. The Tuoba Li family had a close relationship with the Khitans, and finally formed a tripartite power (Liao, Song, and Xixia). Xixia was able to move between Qi and Chu between the Liao and Song Dynasties with ease, selling both sides well, and became a strong enemy of the Song Dynasty. It successfully survived until the Southern Song Dynasty, and was eventually destroyed by the Mongolian cavalry.
Of course Li Siyuan could not foresee the establishment and unification of the Song Dynasty, but he knew that the party members entrenched in Xiazhou would definitely unite with the Khitan and become a serious problem for the Central Plains dynasty, whether it was the Later Tang Dynasty or another dynasty.
Li Siyuan has no chance, he doesn't have much time.
Li Siyuan was already 60 years old when he came to the throne. He had no money, no food, no soldiers, and was very weak. Therefore, he was quite frustrated as the emperor. He had a bad temper and a strong personality, so he had to become a good man and compromise everywhere.
In just seven years, he suffered successive political setbacks, such as the defeat of three foreign wars.
In contrast, the political struggle without swords and guns is more cruel, and in it he is more like a lonely boat that has lost power. He sees him rise and fall, and sees him drifting, but he is unable to control his own destiny.
He sacrificed his mentor and best friend An Chongjie, but this did not help. An Zhongjie's death is only a product of the general trend, but it cannot change the trend.
The heavily armed vassal town was still a serious concern for the imperial court; the rise of the harem, eunuchs and other forces threatened the imperial rule from within. Li Siyuan felt that he would make the same mistake as Li Cunxu.
What made him even more unbelievable was that his son Li Congrong actually wished that he would die soon so that he could inherit the throne.
Today, 67-year-old Li Siyuan is plagued by numerous illnesses, his health is deteriorating, and he is in danger of dying at any time.
Li Congrong finally couldn't wait any longer, and Mingzong's version of the "Xingjiaomen Incident" was staged.
During the Li Siyuan uprising, the eldest son Li Congshen was killed by Yuan Xingqin. According to the eldest son succession system, the second son Li Congrong is expected to become the heir to the throne. Li Siyuan also had high hopes for Li Congrong. After he came to the throne, he entrusted him with important towns, first in Weibo and then in Hedong. He also managed affairs under Tong Zhongshu's family, and also judged the guards of the Sixth Army. He also selected well-known intellectuals as his staff. .
However, Li Congrong was a frivolous person. He created a persona for himself that was "very fond of Confucianism", pretending to be courteous to virtuous corporals and respectful to Confucian scholars. He fooled around with poets every day, was arty, and often recited poems and composed poems. It is said that he He wrote more than a thousand poems and compiled them into a volume called "Zifu Collection". He also proudly claimed that his poems were the best in the world.
But his careful packaging had the opposite effect. The civil and military ministers scorned him. Even Li Siyuan personally told him, saying that you like reading, which is good, but you will be the emperor in the future, and there will be professionals who can explain the principles in the book. Let me help you interpret it. Moreover, we are military commanders. The so-called poems we wrote were actually of very low quality. Instead, we were ridiculed by scholars. Didn’t the late Emperor Zhuang Zong just like to write poems? Look at what he wrote. What a nonsense. !
A scumbag is a scumbag, why are you pretending to be a top student? If one day you are asked about CNKI, you will be cheating. Li Siyuan taught his son earnestly, but Li Congrong refused to listen.
The reason why Li Congrong wanted to create the persona of a scholar and poet was not just a personal hobby of being arty. In fact, he even hated Confucian scholars very much. He was a martial artist with a cruel temperament. And he put on the cloak of "cultural man" mostly out of the need of political struggle.
According to feudal etiquette and the eldest son inheritance system, Li Congrong is the undisputed heir to the throne. But the problem is that since the end of the Tang Dynasty, no emperor has been born according to this system. Li Congrong may not be able to successfully seize the throne.
For example, the person An Zhongjiao most wanted to help Li Siyuan get rid of was Li Siyuan's adopted son Li Congke. Li Congke has followed Li Siyuan since childhood and has been for more than 30 years. He has made countless achievements. He has a close relationship with Li Siyuan and is older than Li Congrong.
An Zhongjie reminded Li Siyuan many times before his death that Li Congke would definitely rebel against you in the future. When An Zhongjie was about to die, he even expressed regret that "I wish I could not get rid of King Lu for the country."
Li Congke is one of the threats to Li Congrong's successful accession to the throne.
Li Congrong's half-brother Li Conghou looked most like Li Siyuan, so he was doted on by Li Siyuan. And he was also calm and taciturn, liked to read, was polite, and treated people well, and won the support of all officials. His wife was the daughter of Kong Xun (originally he wanted to marry the daughter of An Chongjie). Therefore, Li Conghou also gained a large number of fans in the court.
There is also a small threat, which is Li Siyuan's youngest son Li Congyi. Li Congyi's specific age is difficult to verify, but he must not have been more than 7 years old at this time, because he was born after Li Siyuan ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor.
What bad thoughts can a child have? Of course, Li Congyi didn't know what factional fighting and fighting for heirs meant, but at a young age he would be used as a pawn by people with ulterior motives.
This led to the most powerful faction in Li Siyuan's court struggle-Wang Defei.
Concubine Wang De was Li Siyuan's favorite concubine, no one, but she failed to give birth to children for Li Siyuan. Therefore, when another concubine in the palace gave birth to a child, Li Siyuan "adopted" the baby to Wang Defei as her child and asked her to raise it.
The prince adopted by Concubine Wang De was Li Congyi.
Although she is not her biological child, Concubine Wang De regards Li Congyi as her own child and has a deep affection for her since she was a child. A son is more precious than his mother. Li Siyuan once said to Concubine Wang De, "This prince is the only one born in the palace, and I like him very much. (This son was the only one born in the palace, so I love him especially)"
Born and raised in the imperial palace, Xiao Li Congyi has the aura of dragon in his body. And because of Wang Defei, the possibility of the young Li Congyi inheriting the throne is not completely impossible.
