Live History Broadcast: Opening Ceremony Spoilers - Our Ancestor Was Enraged

Chapter 57: Killing Three Sons in One Day

Lin Ke continued, "Next, let's talk about the love story between Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan."

Emperor Li Heng of the Tang Dynasty: ...

"Bai Juyi's poem 'Song of Everlasting Regret' says: 'The Yang family has a daughter who has just come of age, raised in seclusion and unknown to the world... A single glance back and a smile can launch a thousand ships, and the beauties of the six palaces pale in comparison...' This refers to Yang Guifei. But since we are talking about this account, we must mention another person, Li Heng."

"Li Heng was the third son of Consort Wu Hui and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, and also Yang Yuhuan's first husband. That's right, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang stole his own daughter-in-law to be his concubine."

Wan Chaozhong's people: Tui! Shameless old man! You beast!

"Li Longji was both amorous and devoted. In his early years, when he favored Consort Wu Hui, he did not forget to treat her equally, which resulted in as many as 52 princes being recorded."

"As for Consort Wu Hui, she was Wu Zetian's grand-niece. She was brought into the palace to be raised after her father's death when she was young. She was more than ten years younger than Li Longji, and according to seniority, she might have had to call Li Longji her cousin."

"Before giving birth to Li Heng, Consort Wu Hui had three other children, but they all died young. In case this child could not be raised, Li Longji and Consort Wu Hui entrusted little Li Heng to Prince Ning for upbringing. Therefore, little Li Heng not only received the love of Prince Ning and his wife, but also the affection of Li Longji and Consort Wu Hui from a young age."

"But as Li Heng grew up, Consort Wu Hui was no longer content to remain a concubine, and she set her sights on the Eastern Palace and the Central Palace."

"At this time, the Empress was still Empress Wang, Li Longji's first wife. Because she had no children and the eldest prince's face was disfigured, he was no longer eligible for the position of crown prince. Therefore, the position of crown prince was inherited by the second prince, Li Ying."

"If Consort Wu Hui wants to become Empress, she must first get rid of Empress Wang. If she wants to make her son the Crown Prince, she must first get rid of Crown Prince Li Ying."

"As the saying goes, when you're sleepy, someone brings you a pillow. Empress Wang's brother gave Consort Wu Hui a handle to use against her. He gave Empress Wang, who was worried about having children, a suggestion: to have her wear a magically made thunderwood so that she would not only have a son but also be able to rival Empress Wu Zetian."

"As a result, she did not conceive, and the matter escalated. You must know that witchcraft and sorcery were extremely serious matters in the palace, let alone compared to Wu Zetian. When Li Longji found out, he was furious and immediately deposed Wang from her position as empress."

Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty: ……..

"However, the vacancy of the Empress's position does not mean that Consort Wu Hui will necessarily become Empress. The ministers stood up to oppose it for two main reasons."

The minister retorted to Li Longji: "Has Your Majesty forgotten that Consort Wu Hui's surname is Wu? Have you forgotten how Wu Sansi and his gang committed acts of disorder and chaos? Your Majesty, didn't you already establish a Crown Prince? Consort Hui has a son. If she becomes Empress, does Your Majesty intend to depose the Crown Prince?"

"When Li Longji saw that there were so many people opposing it, he gave up. Although Consort Hui did not become empress, she had all the treatment that an empress should have, she just lacked the title."

"In the thirteenth year of the Kaiyuan era, Li Longji conferred titles of kingship upon a group of princes who had reached the required age, and Prince Shou, Li Chang, was among them. Just by looking at the character 'Shou' in his title, one can understand Li Longji's expectations for this child."

"In the twenty-third year of the Kaiyuan era, Prince Shou, Li Heng, married Yang Yuhuan, and at the same time, Consort Wu Hui accelerated her efforts to secure his succession."

"On the other hand, Princess Xianyi's husband, Yang Hui, became Consort Hui's good son-in-law. He was ordered by Consort Hui to first infiltrate the princes' social circle and then find out some private complaints from the Crown Prince and the other two princes."

"The complaints were about how Li Longji treated his birth mother coldly and how he favored Consort Hui's children."

"After Consort Hui found out, she added fuel to the fire and told Li Longji: 'The Crown Prince is forming a faction and will harm me and my son, and will also harm Your Majesty.'"

"The aging emperor and the crown prince, who was in his prime, seemed to have a natural conflict. With such provocation, Li Longji was furious and determined to depose the crown prince and the other two princes. Fortunately, the prime minister Zhang Jiuling advised him against it."

"When Consort Hui saw that Zhang Jiuling was obstructing her, she sent the eunuch Niu Guier to his house to persuade him. He said: 'My lord, now that the crown prince has been deposed, there will naturally be a new heir apparent. If you are willing to help, you can sit in the position of prime minister for a long time.'"

“Zhang Jiuling was no ordinary man. He immediately scolded Niu Guier away and then reported the whole matter to the emperor. Being publicly executed like this embarrassed Li Longji, so he could no longer bring up the matter of deposing the crown prince.”

"In the twenty-fifth year of the Kaiyuan era, Consort Wu Hui once again whispered in his ear, slandering the three princes, Crown Prince Li Ying, Prince E Li Yao, and Prince Guang Li Ju, along with the Crown Princess's brother, as plotting a rebellion. Li Longji was furious upon hearing this and immediately wanted to depose the Crown Prince. At this time, the prime minister had been replaced by Li Linfu, who was too busy flattering him to stop him."

"Throughout this process, Consort Wu Hui told the Crown Prince that there were thieves in the palace and asked them to come and help, while at the same time she told the Emperor that the Crown Prince had entered the palace in armor with the intention of rebelling."

"Li Longji believed it, so Crown Prince Li Ying and the other two princes were all deposed and quickly put to death. This is the famous story of killing three sons in one day in history."

"Regarding this account, the New Book of Tang describes the entire process of Consort Wu Hui framing the three princes, while the Old Book of Tang does not record this process. Regardless of the truth, Li Longji still believed Consort Wu Hui's one-sided account."

"Perhaps there really is retribution. After their deaths, Consort Hui often had nightmares, saying that she saw the ghosts of the three men. She died soon after, out of fear. But if there really are ghosts, shouldn't they go after Li Longji, who deposed and killed them?"

Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty: ……..