Why did Tang Xuanzong and Chen Li pretend to be crazy and stupid for 36 years? Legend of Tang Xuanzong

Chen Li, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, had a withdrawn and dull personality since she was a child. She was always laughed at by people in the palace as a fool. Since his birth thirty-six years ago, he has almost never enjoyed the treatment of a true prince. But no one could imagine it. After Tang Xuanzong ascended the throne at the age of 36, he suddenly showed unprecedented wisdom and courage. In just one year, it eliminated the dispute between Niu and Li that had plagued the Tang Empire for half a century, greatly curbed the arrogance of the vassal forces and eunuchs, and recovered the mountains and rivers that had fallen into the hands of Tubo for nearly a century.

In the fifth year of the Yuan Dynasty, Chen Li, the thirteenth son of Tang Xianzong, was born in Daming Palace. According to the order of succession, Chen Li never had the chance to become the emperor. Moreover, his mother Zheng was from a humble background and was just a little-known palace maid, so although she was a prince, she could not enjoy the same treatment as other princes. Because of her identity, he was always laughed at and teased by other princes. To cover up his cowardice, he locked himself up. In the face of other people's cynicism, he could only respond silently, so even his father thought that his son might be a little demented.

When she grew up, Chen Li was labeled as mentally retarded and became the target of bullying. For example, one day, Li Ang and Tang Wenzong hosted a banquet for the king in the Sixteenth Palace. At the banquet, everyone was in high spirits, but Chen Li remained silent and sat there alone in a daze. Li Ang saw it, pointed at him and said: Whoever can make Chen Li speak, I will reward him. Li Ang was originally Chen Li, but in his eyes, Chen Li was obviously just a clown for fun. Facing the swarming kings, Chen Li remained silent. No matter how much they teased him, he wasn't happy. Nothing has changed, he always seems resigned to his fate. This made everyone proud, but also made Prince Li Yanqi suspicious. Li Yan was Li Ang, his younger brother, who later became Emperor Wuzong of Tang Dynasty. Facing Chen Li, who was never sad or unhappy, he began to doubt whether this person was really crazy, so in the days that followed, he seized every opportunity to test Chen Li.

After Li Yan ascended the throne, on a snowy afternoon, Chen Li and the kings went to enjoy the snow with the emperor. When everyone came back happily, it was already dying. No one noticed that the stupid Chen Li fell off the horse and fell into the ice and snow. Although historical data says it was an accident, Chen Li experienced too many unexpected things during Li Yan's rule. Every so often he fell off his horse and then off his feet while walking on level ground. It's incredible. Being left in the ice and snow this time, Li Yan thought he would never come back. But what I didn't expect was that the next morning, the guard came to report that Chen Li appeared in House No. 16 again.

In this way, Li Yan decided that there was something wrong with Chen Li, so he decided to kill him directly to avoid any trouble in the future. A few days later, poor Chen Li was caught by a eunuch who suddenly broke into Yongxiang. Since the Han Dynasty, Yongxiang has been a place of confinement for palace maids and concubines, similar to a prison, and most of the prisoners are victims of political struggles. After Chen Li was imprisoned, she was bundled in a dumpling and thrown into the toilet. At that time, there was an eunuch named Qiu beside Li Yan. He told Li Yan that it was useless to raise such a fool, so he might as well kill him. Li Yan agreed. However, the eunuch did not actually kill Chen Li, but secretly took him out of the palace and hid him for later use.

Since then, the fool who had been teased disappeared from the court. According to records, he fled to Zhejiang and became a monk. Some people say that he was put under house arrest by Eunuch Qiu. In short, he left this complicated palace for the time being.

Hui Liu thinks about spring. Li Yan is dying. His son was very young, not yet. A prince has not yet been established. So people and people in the government are floating. Eunuchs were very powerful at that time. After Wu Zong's death, the eunuchs surnamed Qiu united to create their secret weapon: Chen Li. Although Chen Li has always been considered mentally retarded, he is the uncle of Tang Jingzong, Tang Wenzong and Tang Wuzong. His qualifications are definitely old enough. He had the support of the eunuchs and the courtiers did not dare to oppose him. Then, the forgotten Chen Li came back and became the emperor.

In the sixth year of Huichang, Chen Li ascended the throne for Xuanzong. When the eunuchs in charge of this stupid emperor thought they could control the world by manipulating Chen Li, they were blinded by Chen Li's series of major actions.

He is not as overwhelmed as people think, but is very familiar with handling government affairs, just like a prince who has been tempered for a long time. They suddenly woke up. Everything before was an act. After 36 years of patience, the emperor finally waited for this day, and he could no longer wait for drastic reforms. On the second day after taking office, the more than 40-year-old party dispute between Niu and Li Changda was resolved, and the central government was further consolidated. Then, taking advantage of the civil strife in Tubo, he recovered Tubo and divided up the territory of the unified Tang Dynasty.

Chen Li was very diligent during his reign and was able to praise his talents and make suggestions. He clicked on "Zhenguan Politician" written on the screen of the house to remind himself at any time. He also asked Hanlin University Scholars to read to him the Golden Mirror written by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty every day. In order to familiarize herself with the names and ranks of officials, Chen Li specially compiled profiles of the staff and placed them on her desk for reference at any time. Because Chen Li once lived among the people, he understood their pain and sympathized with them. Under his rule, the Tang Dynasty ruled the world for the last time and is known in history as Xiao Zhenguan. Unfortunately, he eventually died from the medications he was taking.