In the later years of the Sui Dynasty (581-618), the country was in turmoil. Realizing that the Sui Empire was facing collapse, many officials rose in revolt and declared themselves as emperor. In 615, Li Yuan, an important Sui minister and his sons raised troops in Taiyuan and overthrew the rule of the Sui Dynasty ((581-618). In 618, Li Yuan founded the Tang Dynasty (618-907), becoming Emperor Gaozu of Tang.
After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Li Jiancheng, as the oldest son, was created crown prince, Li Shimin, the second son, the Prince of Qin, and Li Yuanji, the fourth son, the Prince of Qi.
Among the three brothers, Li Shimin was the ablest. He assisted his father in defeating their most powerful rivals and unifying the country, so he enjoyed greater prestige. Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, fearful that Li Shimin would contend for the throne with him, allied with Li Yuanji to secretly marginalize Li Shimin and together they plotted their brother’s assassination. Li Shimin was not willing to give up the land he had gained, so there was both open strife and a behind the scenes power struggle between the princes.
The two brothers -Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji - won the day with the help of some of Emperor Gaozu’s favorite concubines. They asked them to speak ill of Li Shimin in front of their emperor father. This method worked and Emperor Gaozu became suspicious of Li Shimin.
Li Jiancheng invited Li Shimin for a drink. When Li Shimin had drunk for a whil, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He knew then that his wine had been poisoned. He immediately returned home, thus narrowly avoiding death.
Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji secretly wrote a letter to try to sow division between Li Shimin and his favorite general Yuchi Jingde. However, the plot failed. Li Shimin’s allies all were loyal and devoted to their master.
In 626, the Eastern Turks (a minority in ancient China) had been incorporated into Tang territory. Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji believed that this offered a good opportunity to get rid of Li Shimin. They wanted to transfer his trusted followers and troops there using the pretext of war on the frontier.
Seeing the danger, Li Shimin decided
to act first and he staged a coup, partly at the
urging of his brother-in-law Zhangsun Wuji .
On the second day of the 7th lunar month, Emperor Gaozu summoned the three brothers to the court to make inquiry about Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji’s accusations.
Li Shimin ordered Yuchi Jingde to ambush a group of troops at Xuanwu Gate -the north gate to the Imperial Palace in Xi’an.
When Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji arrived at the Xuanwu Gate, they began to sense that something was wrong, and so they began to head back to Li Jiancheng’s palace.
Li Shimin personally chased after them and yelled out, “Big brother!”
Li Yuanji drew his bow and fired arrows at Li Shimin, but failed to hit him. Li Shimin fired an arrow at Li Jiancheng, killing him instantly.
Yuchi Jingde then arrived with a group of cavalryman. He chased Li Yuanji down and killed him with an arrow.
Li Shimin’s guards kept out the armed escort of the crown prince and Prince of the Qi. Meanwhile, Li Shimin sent Yuchi into the palace with his guards, and Yuchi advanced all the way into Emperor Gaozu’s presence, forcing Emperor Gaozu to accept the coup.
Three days later, Emperor Gaozu made Li Shimin crown prince. Eight months later, he passed the throne to Li Shimin, who became Emperor Taizong.
Li Shimin was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China -one of the greatest emperors in Chinee history - Taizong.
