Why Did Taizong Emperors in History Never Inherit the Throne Normally?

"Heaven is unjust!"

"Why couldn't we get such a good emperor?"

"All taxes waived! Oh, my heavens, I wouldn't even dare dream of such a thing!"

"Emperor Wen of Han was truly a good emperor!"

"Why couldn't there be more good emperors like him?!"

Apart from those under Emperor Taizong of Tang and in certain prosperous dynasties, the common people of nearly every dynasty were green with envy.

[Why did Taizong emperors in history never inherit the throne normally? #History]

This title struck a sensitive chord with certain Taizong emperors.

["Throughout history, emperors with the temple name Taizong have all achieved a great deal. Their credentials were exceptionally impressive, and their abilities were no less than those of founding emperors."]

["What's more, oddly enough, most Taizong emperors did not inherit the throne through the normal order of succession, because earning the temple name Taizong is extremely difficult."]

["When Taizong is mentioned, the first person many people think of is probably Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, followed by his Xuanwu Gate Incident."]

["But in fact, Li Shimin could almost be said to have acquired his throne through relatively normal means compared with all the other Taizong emperors in history."]

Hearing the heavenly screen say this, Li Shimin smiled.

["First, let's talk about what it means to acquire the throne normally. It simply means being the successor tacitly recognized by the founding emperor."]

["Now, let's count the Taizong emperors in history."]

["The first was Emperor Wendi Taizong of Han, Liu Heng. He was installed as emperor by the ministers in the capital after the Han ministers had crushed the Disturbance of the Lü Clan."]

["Zhou Bo and Chen Ping, meritorious officials who had helped found the Han Dynasty, thought Liu Heng was mild-mannered and easy to control, so they backed him as emperor. But Liu Heng advanced by retreating, alternately drawing people in and striking at them. Before they knew it, he had stripped Zhou Bo of his post as chancellor and seized a firm grip on power."]

["Liu Heng was not the successor designated by Emperor Gao Taizu, Liu Bang. Moreover, after he arrived in Chang'an, he tacitly allowed his ministers to kill the children of Emperor Hui of Han, Liu Ying. No matter how you look at it, those methods hardly resemble a normal succession."]

"Crushed the Disturbance of the Lü Clan and killed Hui'er's children!" Lü Zhi could no longer hold herself together.

Zhou Bo, Chen Ping, Liu Heng, and the others in Emperor Gaozu of Han's plane could no longer hold themselves together either.

Liu Heng: "I killed my elder brother's children?!"

The common people did not care whether Liu Heng had killed his own nephews. They only knew that with Liu Heng as emperor, they could live good lives.

["The second was Emperor Taizong of Wu, Sun Xiu. After Sun Liang was deposed, he was installed by a powerful minister. He was not designated by the Great Emperor of Wu, Sun Quan, either."]

["Next comes a whole slew of Taizong emperors from the Northern and Southern Dynasties."]

["Emperor Taizong of Jin, Sima Yu, was the eighth emperor of Eastern Jin, and his father was Sima Rui, its first emperor. But he too was installed by the powerful minister Huan Wen amid a power struggle."]

["Emperor Taizong of Former Qin, Fu Deng, was able to ascend the throne because Former Qin was already falling apart by then, and he was the only remaining branch of its bloodline."]

["Then there were Emperor Taizong of Liu Song, Liu Yu, and Emperor Taizong of Southern Liang, Xiao Gang. Both ascended the throne without trouble after internal coups took place."]

["Compared with them, the next one, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, was indeed quite normal. Although the Xuanwu Gate Incident also counted as an upheaval among the upper ranks, he was at least the biological son of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan. After getting rid of his elder brother, he ascended the throne as crown prince. So the only problem with Li Shimin himself was how he became crown prince, not how he acquired the throne."]

Li Shimin nodded and said, "The retired emperor passed the throne to me!"

Li Shimin could barely keep the corners of his mouth from turning up. The more he watched, the happier he became.

["As for later emperors like Emperor Taizong of Liao, Emperor Taizong of Jin, and Emperor Taizong of Dali, each had his own problems with how he came to power."]

["Emperor Taizong of Liao, Yelü Deguang, was not the crown prince. Only after Yelü Abaoji died did the empress choose a side and stand with him. There was clearly something off about her choice."]

["Emperor Taizong of Dali, Duan Siliang, snatched the throne from his own nephew."]

["As for Emperor Taizong of Song, the legends about him killing his elder brother to seize power have never died out. That affair of Candle Shadows and Axe Sounds earned him the title of Axe Gang leader."]

["After Emperor Taizu of Song died, he hurriedly changed the era name before the usual time had come, so much so that even Sima Guang thought there was something a little off about this fellow."]

Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin: Axe Gang leader.

Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi: I inherited the throne in the proper order. My imperial elder brother passed it to me! That's right, that's how it happened!

Zhao Guangyi made his last stubborn stand in his heart.

["Emperor Taizong of Ming was even more famous. What Zhu Di did wasn't even a coup; he directly launched a civil war, seized power by force, fought his way into Nanjing, and snatched the damn throne."]

Too ashamed to watch!

Zhu Di was not the only one too ashamed to watch; some Ming Dynasty emperors were too.

"Fought his way into Nanjing and snatched the damn throne"—those were not the words of a decent person. Only bandits and mountain brigands talked like that.

If Zhu Di had failed, the history books would surely have recorded his rebellion.

Zhu Di had succeeded, and the history books were his to write.

["Although Emperor Taizong of Qing, Hong Taiji, succeeded to the throne with the support of his brothers and ministers, rumors that he usurped the throne and seized power have never died out either. After all, among the four great beiles at the time, his abilities were almost at the bottom, and Emperor Taizu of Qing, Nurhaci, had intended to pass the throne to Gurgun. Rumor has it that Hong Taiji killed the great consort Abahai and forcibly seized power."]

Hong Taiji: "Utter nonsense!"

Whether what the heavenly screen said was true or not, Hong Taiji could not admit to any of it.

["Looked at this way, the Taizong emperors in history all seem to have rather dirty hands."]

["To a large extent, this happened because Taizong was often the second or third emperor after the founding emperor."]

["For a feudal dynasty, the beginning was always the least peaceful time. The emperor's authority had not yet been fully consolidated, the ties among powerful ministers were still a serious issue, and an uneven distribution of benefits could easily lead everyone to fight. Only after Taizong, as the imperial court gradually stabilized and order was restored, could the throne pass through the normal order of succession."]

The Taizu emperors of successive dynasties agreed with this explanation.

But some were unwilling to accept it and still wanted their own chosen successors to take the throne, including a certain Taizu surnamed Zhao who did not wish to reveal his name.

[Some Taizong emperors' struggles to seize the throne were more thrilling than the Taizu emperors' conquests!]

[Li Shimin: Looking across the Taizong emperors of every dynasty, how many acquired the throne more legitimately than I did?]

Li Shimin: Compared with the Taizong emperors who came after me, I did indeed acquire the throne most legitimately!

[Wasn't Zhu Di Emperor Chengzu of Ming?]

[Zhu Di himself used the temple name Taizong. Chengzu was a change made by someone who came after him.]

[Taizong? Chengzu!]

[Zhu Di's temple name was changed by the Jiajing Emperor, Zhu Houcong. Zhu Di was Taizong before, and he changed it to Chengzu.]

[Jiajing Emperor: Our Great Ming Dynasty has only one ancestor, Chengzu!]

Jiajing Emperor: I did no such thing. I never said that!