China DOS Union

Recently I read a few history books about the Li Tang, and got quite a few impressions from them.


Li Yuan Rather than say he was the founding emperor of the Li Tang realm, it would be better to say he was the number one treacherous hero of the Sui dynasty. He even dared to kill Yang Guang's favored consort Zhang Lihua. After Yang Guang murdered his brother, killed his father, and usurped the throne, he started playing coward. If Shimin hadn't forced him to rebel, he might not even have rebelled at all.

Li Shimin Once in five hundred years there must arise a true king. This man was the real creator of the Li family's realm. Later he killed his brother, murdered his younger brother, forced his father to abdicate, and ruled all under Heaven. The greatest regret of his life was that he should not have sent Lady Wu to the nunnery, but should have had her buried with the dead.


Li Zhi Another A-dou. If he couldn't even control the woman by his side, how was he supposed to govern the realm. This man was no great ambitious hero, but merely a transitional piece for Wu Zetian's personal rule. But without him, it is hard to imagine Wu Zetian would ever have come out of the nunnery.


Wu Zetian Li Zhi's woman. But from this woman you simply cannot see any of the base nature of women. On the contrary, what she had more of was the bearing and talent of emperors and ministers. In any case, no matter what, she was the disgrace of China's imperial enterprise through the ages. If this person were not removed, the realm would never know peace.


Li Longji (also called Emperor Ming of Tang, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang) In his youth he destroyed the Wei clan and opened the Kaiyuan golden age. Later he took his son's wife Yang Yuhuan and made her Noble Consort. He trusted petty men and kept worthy men at a distance. He neglected court affairs and shut himself up in the inner palace. This man was really the same kind as Yang Guang. In the first half of his life he was the number one hero in the world of his day. In the second half he was the number one coward in the world of his day. And in both cases he lost the realm because of a woman.

Below are some comments on several women who influenced the Li Tang realm.


Yang Ji'er Daughter of Yang Guang, later she gave herself to Li Shimin and was made Consort Yang. This person cannot be said to have had much influence on the Li dynasty itself. The key was her son Li Ke. Li Ke was a rare all-around talent in both civil and military matters in the Li dynasty. After the struggle between the Crown Prince and Li Tai was settled, Li Shimin wanted to make Li Ke heir apparent. If not for Consort Yang yielding again and again, however you count it, the ninth son Li Zhi would never have become emperor.

Zhangsun Wugou Li Shimin's original wife, later made empress. She was also a ruthless character like Wu Zetian. But Li Shimin was a man of grand talent and strategy—how could A-dou Li Zhi compare. So the extent of her power stopped at the inner palace. Her third son Li Zhi later became emperor.


Bingru Wife of Li Jiancheng. Her lust for power was no less than Zhangsun Wugou's. What a pity she married a rash brute with courage but no brains. Clever all her life, muddle-headed for a moment. Later she was driven to death by Jiancheng. If Jiancheng had listened to her in many matters, he would not have been killed by Shimin in the Xuanwu Gate Incident.


Wu Zetian There is no inscription on this viper's stele. That means her achievements were so great that even words could not describe them. And that was indeed the case. From the nunnery to the Golden Throne Hall, it was a trail of blood all the way. Later she changed the dynastic name to Zhou and proclaimed herself sage ruler. But when she died, she was still buried under the status of a daughter-in-law of the Li family.


Yang Guifei This was the real beauty-viper. The women mentioned before her at least still had some real ability in governing the state and managing a household. But as for this viper, apart from her skills in bed, I truly don't know what other abilities she had. As for this sort of viper, kill on sight!

Princess Taiping Wu Zetian's daughter. She inherited her mother's ambition and intelligence. Although she rendered merit in overthrowing the Wei clan, in the end she was still destroyed by Li Longji. So Li Longji really was a once-in-the-ages imperial talent in his younger days. Princess Taiping ran into Li Longji, so she got what she deserved.


The Wei clan Ever since Wu Zetian, all the women in the realm wanted to be the second Wu Zetian. That damn viper poisoned her father-in-law Zhongzong, and also wanted to enjoy the thrill of ruling from behind the curtain. But who knew that the legitimate Li family forces of Li Longji already had rebellion in mind, and in addition there were the old Wu clan forces of Princess Taiping. It would have been hard for the Wei clan not to perish.

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Anti-Tang Heroes Ranking
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An Lushan This man truly had imperial qualities. He knew that if you can't endure small things, you ruin great plans. When it was time to play the grandson, he played the grandson; when it was time to play the tough man, he played the tough man. He deceived Li Longji into trusting him for many years. After rebelling, within three months he broke into the Tang capital Luoyang, founded Yan, and declared himself emperor. Later he was murdered by his son Qingxu. Tragic.

Shi Siming Also a man with imperial talent. During the An-Shi Rebellion, there were simply too many people who wanted to become emperor. But in the end, among those who truly left their names in history, there were only a few. This man destroyed Qingxu and unified the rebel army, but in the end he was still killed by his unworthy son Chaoyi. Like An Lushan, he too was a tragic heroic figure.

Huang Chao is missing from the Anti-Tang gang.

Huang Chao should count as a hero who destroyed Tang. His subordinate Zhu Quanzhong later killed off all the imperial bloodline of the Li Tang and founded Liang, proclaiming himself emperor. After that came the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.