Emperor Taizong of Tang | One of the greatest Emperors of China | Tang Dynasty

Emperor Tuzong of Tang was the second monarch of Tang dynasty of China. He is traditionally regarded as the co-founder of the dynasty and played pivotal role in defeating several of the dynasty. Tuzong is considered to be one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history and all the future emperors regarded him as the exemplary model. His era, the reign of Zhengun is considered a golden age in ancient Chinese, as China flourished with economically and militarily. Emperor Tuzong was born as Li Shimin into an honourable, aristocratic clan of the Sui dynasty. His grandfather was a noble lord and his grandmother was the sister of Queen Dugu. His father Li Yuan was the Duke of the Tang and a general in the army of the Sui dynasty, which had become more and more corrupt. In the final years, the last emperor of the Sui drained the imperial treasury on military campaigns, ignoring the needs of the people. Li Yuan joined with other rebels to lead a revolt, which overthrew the Sui dynasty and established himself as Gaoju, first emperor of the Tang dynasty. Emperor Gaoju, the new emperor of Tang has nominated his oldest son, Li Jiancheng as the crown prince and Li Shimin the second son as the prince of Qin and marshal of the Tang's army. Gaoju was a good emperor who continued the best policies of the Sui dynasty, reducing the abuses and reforming those policies which had allowed them. In the next few years, Li Shimin led Tang's army and defeated other strong uprising troops and done irreplaceable contributions to the Tang's kingdom. Although Gaoju ruled well, Li Shimin was becoming increasingly popular among the people for his military exploits and this concerned his brothers. Li Jiancheng, the crown prince worried about the great reputation of Li Shimin and considered him the biggest competitor as heir, so he conspired with the other brothers to eliminate Li Shimin. Li Shimin heard his brothers were going to stage a coup to remove Gaoju and take the throne and Li Jiancheng would become the emperor. So, Li Shimin placed loyal soldiers near the Xuanwu gate of the palace, the route he knew his brothers would take. Then Li Jiancheng led 2,000 elite soldiers to invade Shimin's palace and was killed by Li Shimin along with his brothers. Li Shimin ascended the throne as emperor Tuzong and sentenced all the sons of Jiancheng and Yuanji to death. He buried his brothers using After all the enemies were eliminated, Tuzong started his rule as one of the greatest emperors in the history of China. Religious tolerance and diversity in China flourished under Tuzong's reign. Buddhism became widely practiced exceeding Confucianism. When Shimin and his older brother were fighting over the throne, the powerful empire Turkic Khaganate kept invading the Tang empire. After Tuzong ascended the throne, Tuzong sent his army against the eastern Turkic Khaganate after diplomatic measures failed. After Tuzong ascended the throne, he immediately nominated his beautiful and talented wife, a girl that supported through most of his life, the Empress Zhangsun. They loved each other deeply and had three sons and four daughters together. However, Empress Zhangsun passed away when she was only 35. Tuzong had a few imperial concubines and he selected 14 years old girl, Wuzhou as one of his concubines. Wuzhou became Tuzong's constant companion at court and was involved in all of the meetings and conferences the emperor held. She was very clever and intelligent but also beautiful and she attracted the attention of many men at court. One of these men was Li Zhi, Tuzong's son, who fell deeply in love with Wuzhou. She began an affair with him while still holding her position as Tuzong's favorite concubine. Emperor Tuzong wanted to be a good leader and to help his people. He started a new regulation called the Equal Distribution of Land. At the same time, he was improving China, he was conquering new lands. Under Tuzong, China expanded to become the dominant power in Asia and the largest nation in the world. Emperor Tuzong became ill in 649 and died. He was buried with the great ceremony in his home province, in a tomb known as the Zhao Mausoleum. Emperor Tuzong's youngest son Li Zhi ascended to the throne as Emperor Gaozong and became an exceptional monarch that further extended Tang's territory. Gaozong was so in love with Wuzhou, so he had brought back to the palace and made her his first concubine. She became the power behind the throne and when Gaozong died, Wuzhou seized power and became the Empress Wuzetian.