Mu Zong of Tang Dynasty

Li Heng

Li Heng (July 26, 795 - February 25, 824) was born in Chengji, Gansu Province. The 12th emperor of the Tang Dynasty (except Wu Zetian and Tang Shangdi, who reigned from 820 to 824). Li Chun, the third son of emperor Xianzong of Tang Dynasty, was born to Guo, Queen of Yi'an.

Zhenyuan 11 years, was born in Daming Palace bieguan. As a grandson, he was granted the title of Jian'an Prefecture. Emperor Xianzong of Tang Dynasty ascended the throne (806) and became king Sui. Yuanhe five years (810 years), remote lead Zhangyi army Jiedushi. In 812, it was named Li Heng. In the 15th year of Yuanhe period, Emperor Xianzong of Tang Dynasty collapsed suddenly. Supported by eunuch Liang Shouqian, he ascended the throne for emperor muzong of Tang Dynasty. During his reign, there were too many banquets and excessive travel. Xiao Chu and Duan Wenchang, the two prime ministers, were short of foresight. They thought that the vassal towns had been leveled and should be eliminated, which led to another rebellion in Heshuo.

He died in the fourth year of Changqing (824) and was in office for five years. He was 30 years old at that time (he was under 29 years old when he died). He was buried in Guangling with the posthumous title of "Ruisheng wenhuixiao emperor".

Life of the characters

Early experience

Li Hengchu, named Li you, was born in July of the 11th year of Zhenyuan (795) in Daming Palace. He was first granted the title of Jian'an Prefecture. In August of the first year of Yuanhe (806), he was granted the title of Sui king. In March of the fifth year of Yuanhe (810), he led the Zhangyi army as a festival ambassador. In the seventh year of Yuanhe (812), Prince huizhao Li Ning died, and Zuo Shence's lieutenant Tu Tucheng wanted to establish Li Wang Li Yun. Considering that Li Yun's mother's status was low and she was not suitable for Li Yun, so Li you, the king, was appointed as the crown prince and changed his name to Li Heng.

Before muzong was born, his father Xianzong had his eldest son Li Ning and his second son Li Yun. Mu Zong, the third oldest, had a powerful mother, the concubine Guo's, who was married in 793 when Xianzong was the king of Guangling. She was the granddaughter of Guo Ziyi, who had made great contributions to the reconstruction of the Tang Dynasty. The mother of Li Ning, the eldest son, is Ji Shi, a member of the imperial palace. The mother of Li Yun, the second son, did not leave a name. In this case, Xianzong has not made up his mind which prince to choose.

Things dragged on until four years after he ascended the throne. In March of the fourth year of Yuanhe (809), Xianzong gradually inclined to his eldest son. At this time, Li Ning was already 17 years old. He always liked reading, and his behavior was quite in line with the etiquette. He was deeply loved by Xianzong. So when Li Jiang, the Minister of state, suggested that the crown prince should be established as early as possible in order to stop the desire of the traitors, he announced the decision to establish the eldest son as the heir. It took a lot of twists and turns this time. The ceremony, which was supposed to be held in spring, was delayed until October of the winter because of continuous heavy rain. How much resistance from Mu Zong's mother Guo during this period has been unknown to later generations.

In December of the sixth year of Yuanhe (811), Li Ning, who had just been Prince for two years, died of a disease at the age of 19. Grieved, Emperor Xianzong unexpectedly abolished the dynasty for him on the 13th, and specially formulated a set of funerals, with the posthumous title of "huizhao". After Li Ning's death, Tang Xianzong had to choose his successor again.

At this time, both inside and outside the court suggested the selection of Li you, the third son of the emperor born to Guo. Tu Tu Cheng Cui, the eunuch most favored by the emperor, suggested that Li Yun, the second son, should be established in order. Xianzong intended to establish a second son, but Li Yun could not get support in the court because of his mother's humble status. The power of the Guo family in the government and the field is too strong. The voice of Li you, the third son of the emperor, prevailed, and Xianzong had nothing to do with it. I had to ask Cui Qun, the academician of the Imperial Academy, to draft a schedule for showing humility on behalf of Li Yun, the second son. In July 812, the seventh year of Yuanhe reign, Li you was appointed Prince and renamed Li Heng. In October, a ceremony was held.

In fact, Xianzong was not satisfied with the new crown prince. Tu Tu Chengcui speculated about the emperor's mind and never gave up the business for Li Yun. This incident of emperor Xianzong's establishing a crown prince laid a curse for emperor Mu Zong of Tang Dynasty and left a disaster for himself.

In October of the eighth year of Yuanhe (813), just one year after the establishment of the new crown prince, the court officials who supported the crown prince went up to ask the emperor Xianzong to appoint Guo as the queen. After Xuanzong, only empress Zhang of suzong of Tang Dynasty has ever been the empress of the harem. That's because she made special contributions in the special period of fighting against rebellion. Tang Xianzong made Guo's book a concubine, which is already the most honorable role of the harem. Tang Xianzong rejected the motion with various excuses. After the incident, Guo Guifei formed a large number of cliques both inside and outside the government, including the powerful eunuchs, such as Liang Shouqian, lieutenant of Shence army, and Wang Shoucheng, who secretly competed with Tu Tu Chengcui and others.

Succeeding to the throne

At the end of Yuanhe's fourteenth year, Tang Xianzong's health deteriorated because he took the pill of Liu MI, the alchemist. Tu Tu Tu Cheng Cui stepped up his plan to reform Li Yun. Prince Li Heng was very nervous and asked Ji Yu's uncle Guo Zhao. Guo Zhao, who was Si nongqing at that time, told him to be filial and respectful and not to consider other things. That is to say, he is ready for the death of Tang Xianzong. On the 27th of the first month of the 15th year of Yuanhe (820), Tang Xianzong died suddenly. Liang Shouqian, Wang Shoucheng and others immediately established the crown prince to ascend the throne. This is Tang muzong. Tu Tu Cheng Cui and Li Yun, the second son of the emperor, were unprepared for the sudden coup and were sent to huangquan road.

During the period when Emperor Mu Zong was the crown prince, he was in a state of panic. With the successful accession to the throne, it disappeared. He gave different rewards to a group of people who helped him ascend the throne, especially his mother, Princess Guo, as empress dowager in return for her hard work over the years. In contrast, he punished and denounced his father's cronies and favorite ministers. It is the so-called "one emperor and one courtier".

After Mu Zong ascended the throne, he did not forget to change all the place names that were guilty of his own taboos. For example, Hengyue (Hengshan) was changed to Zhenyue, Hengzhou to Zhenzhou, and Hengyang County in Dingzhou to Quyang County. In this way, another new emperor of the Tang Dynasty ascended the throne.

Mu Zong was 26 years old when he ascended the throne. For the emperors who ascended the throne in their prime years, if they want to make some achievements in politics, this is an admirable age. Taizong ascended the throne at the age of 28, and Xuanzong ascended the throne at the age of 28. If you want to eat all day, play and enjoy, it is also a time that no one can compare. Mu Zong did not follow the example of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Xuanzong, but indulged in pleasure without restraint.

When he was still in the imperial court for the funeral of emperor Xianzong, Mu Zong made no secret of his preference for amusement. When Emperor Xianzong was buried in jingling in May 820, he became more and more unrestrained. Soon he went hunting with his cronies. In June, the Empress Dowager Guo moved to Xingqing palace in Nannei, and Mu Zong led the six palace attendants to have a feast in Xingqing palace. After the banquet, he went back to the right army to reward the trusted lieutenants and generals. On this day, the purpose of jiuzong's hunting was to drive the horses to the gate of the gate of the gods. July 6 is mu Zong's birthday. He made a set of celebration ceremony whimsically. It was only because some ministers suggested that there had been no such practice since ancient times.

He built Yongan hall, Baoqing hall and so on. The rockery in the palace collapsed, killing seven workers at one time. When the Yong'an hall was newly built, he watched all kinds of operas there and enjoyed himself. In the Yong'an hall, Mu Zong also set up a "secret banquet" with the Lord of the palace for fun, and even his concubines took part in it. In addition, he used a lot of money to renovate and decorate the temples in the capital, such as Anguo, Ci'en, Qianfu, Kaichang, Zhangjing, and even invited Tibetan envoys to watch.

In August, Mu Zong went to the yuzao pond in the palace again and enlisted 2000 people from the Shence army to dredge the water surface that had been silted up in the Xianzong period. After the second pond was opened in early September, he held a large banquet in yuzao palace to watch the palace people take a boat race. As the time approached the Double Ninth Festival, Mu Zong wanted to feast his ministers. Li Jue, who was the collector of the relics, advised: "Your Majesty has just arrived at Dabao, the year has not been changed, and the emperor Xianzong's garden is still new. If you have such a big banquet in the inner court, I'm afraid it's not appropriate." Mu Zong didn't listen at all. On the day of the Double Ninth Festival, his uncles, brothers Guo Zhao, royal family members, princess's son-in-law and so on were specially called to the Xuanhe hall for drinking.

One day in November, Mu Zong suddenly issued an imperial edict: "I will go to Huaqing Palace on the coming day and return it at sunset." At this time, when the Northwest Minorities led troops to invade the border, the Shence Army Lieutenant Liang Shouqian sent 4000 Shence troops and eight Town soldiers to help. The situation was very tense. The imperial historian Li Jiang and his constant servant Cui yuanlue knelt down outside the Yanying hall to admonish. Mu Zong even said to the ministers, "I have decided to go on a trip. Don't bother me any more." The admonishment is also invalid. Early the next morning, Mu Zong left the city from Fudao of Daming Palace to Huaqing Palace, accompanied by the guards of honor of the lieutenants of Shence army and more than 1000 envoys, kings and sons in law of the six armies. He didn't return to the palace until very late.

As for mu Zong's "too many banquets, too much travel", Zheng Qin, a doctor of remonstrance, and others advised: "now the border is tight and the situation is changeable. If there is an urgent military situation on the front line, I don't know where your majesty is, what can I do? In addition, your majesty often makes love with the actors who advocate excellence, and lavishly rewards them. These are all the sweat and blood of the common people. How can you reward them without credit? " Mu Zong felt very fresh when he saw such a seal, so he asked the prime minister who they were. The prime minister replied that it was an admonitor. Mu Zong offered consolation to Zheng Qin and others, and also said that "we should follow Qing's words.". Mu Zong's attitude made the prime ministers happy for a while, but in fact, he didn't take what he said seriously at all. Turning around, Mu Zong still went his own way.

Chinese PinYin : Tang Mu Zong