Since Qin Shi Huang established the Qin Dynasty, China has had more than a dozen founding emperors, but the most tragic one is Li Yuan. After the death of the emperor, it is relatively common for the princes to often stage violent tragedies of cannibalism in order to compete for the throne.
However, while the emperor was still alive, the princes rarely committed the following acts. And Li Yuan is also the only founding emperor who has not died, and his sons have begun to kill each other.
The sons of the founding emperors often faced more intense power struggles than ordinary princes. This phenomenon is particularly prominent in Chinese history.
Countless royals, from glory to decline, have performed such dramas. The battle for the throne is probably one of the oldest family conflicts.
Imagine a founding monarch with remarkable intellect and tenacious will, uniting a divided nation. The child has fallen into the point of fratricide, which may be difficult for anyone to accept.
The reason behind the cannibalism of the founding emperors was actually caused by the interaction of several deep-seated factors.
1. It is difficult to start a business, and it is difficult for the children who have made great contributions to give up their power.
The founding monarchs needed the help of their children in building their dynasties, and these people, who often had achieved remarkable success in helping their fathers fight for the war, were naturally reluctant to easily transition their power and position.
Li Yuan's sons are all excellent. When Li Shimin was still the king of Qin, he followed his father to fight everywhere. It can be said that most of the land in the early Tang Dynasty was laid by Li Shimin.
The crown prince Li Jiancheng and the king of Qi Li Yuanji are not ordinary people, they have both experienced troubled times and have martial arts strategies.
So each of them has their own power, and even if they can give up, the ministers on their side are not fuel-efficient lamps, and until the throne is finally revealed, the two sides with opposing political views will continue to fight until the suspense is revealed.
The same is true for Nurhachi, after the abolition of the eldest son Chu Ying because of his excessive power, the second son Daishan swelled again, which also made his original soon-to-reach position as the crown prince gone. I didn't choose to dispose of them, just because I had made great contributions.
2. The founding monarch could not control those ambitious people in his later years.
Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng fought in secret, and Li Yuan knew it. He once punished Li Jiancheng for plotting against Li Shimin, but this punishment of sprinkling water did not teach Li Jiancheng a lesson.
Regarding the matter of the prince, Li Yuan was also undecided. He made Li Jiancheng the crown prince and promised Li Shimin to be the crown prince, but he did not take any action.
It was his approach that made Li Jiancheng act without scruples and gave Li Shimin hope. This led to an increasingly fierce struggle between the brothers, which eventually led to a family tragedy.
In the end, Li Yuan's power was hollowed out, and he couldn't control the situation in front of him and was forced to abdicate.
The sons of Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty, also had fierce competition. Although Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest son, Zhu Biao, was appointed crown prince with everyone's tacit approval, his untimely death led to disputes between his descendants and other princes.
The war ended dramatically in the Battle of Jingnan, where Zhu Di succeeded in seizing the throne and is known in history as the Yongle Emperor.
3. The concubines in the harem will also participate in the seizure of the throne
In the struggle for the throne, not only in the previous dynasty, but also in the harem, the concubine is also a help in the struggle for the throne. Liu Bang's Empress Lu and Yang Jian's Empress Dugu Jialuo, they are both powerful in political affairs and have unique opinions.
The struggle for the throne, although carried out within the palace walls, actually had an impact on the entire country. The winner ascends to the throne of supremacy, while the loser may have nothing left or even lose his life.
These stories were recorded in the history books and left a profound lesson for future generations. Game of Thrones never stops, and similar plots are playing out in every dynasty and era.
This is perhaps the charm of power, and it is also an inevitable part of the cycle of history.
The charm of power is always greater than imagined, so there is a saying that "the most ruthless emperor".