As Crown Prince
Emperor Gaozong's wife and empress Empress Wang did not have a son, and her uncle, the chancellor Liu Shi suggested to her to have Li Zhong made crown prince, hoping that he would be grateful to her. Empress Wang agreed, and Liu Shi subsequently lobbied the other chancellors, including Emperor Gaozong's powerful uncle Zhangsun Wuji, into agreeing to and requesting the same. Emperor Gaozong agreed, and in 652, he created Li Zhong crown prince. The chancellors Yu Zhining, Zhang Xingcheng, and Gao Jifu took on additional titles as the young crown prince's advisors.
In 655, Empress Wang, due to false accusations of murder and witchcraft by Emperor Gaozong's concubine Consort Wu (later known as Wu Zetian), was deposed, and Consort Wu was created empress to replace her. Empress Wu had two sons of her own by this point, and the oldest, Li Hong, was three years old. Empress Wu's ally, the official Xu Jingzong, submitted a petition arguing that it should be the empress' son who is made crown prince. Emperor Gaozong agreed, and in spring 656, Li Zhong was deposed and reduced to the title of Prince of Liang. He was further removed from the capital, to serve as the prefect of Liang Prefecture (梁州, roughly modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi). Li Hong was created crown prince in his stead.
Read more about this topic: Li Zhong
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