On February 28, the seventeenth year of the Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty, in order to remember the many heroes who fought together in the world, Tang Taizong Li Shimin ordered the painter Yan Liben to paint a portrait of the twenty-four heroes in the Ling Yan Pavilion, which was for the "Twenty-four Heroes Map".
The twenty-four were: Sun Wuji, Duke of Zhao, Li Xiaogong the Prince of Hejian, Du Ruyi, Duke Cheng of Lai, Wei Zheng, Duke Wenzhen of Liang, Gao Shilian of the Duke of Shenguo, Chi Jingde, Duke of Eguo, Li Jing of the Duke of Weiguo, Xiao Yu of the Duke of Song, Duan Zhixuan, Duke of Zhongzhuang, Liu Hongji the Duke of Suiguo, Qu Tutong, Duke of Jiang Zhong, Yin Kaishan, Duke of Yunjie, Chai Shao, Duke of Qixiang, Sun Shunde, Duke of Pixiang, Zhang Liang, Duke of Lu, Zhang Gongjin, Duke Of Lu, Duke Cheng Zhijie of Lu, Duke Of Yongxing Wenyi, Duke Yu Shinan, Duke Liu Zhenghui of Yuxiang, and Tang Jian of Juguo , Li Ji, Duke of England, and Qin Qiong, Protector of the Country.
For Tang Taizong's "Twenty-Four Heroes of Ling Yan Pavilion", it has always been mixed and discussed.
The most typical question is: Are these twenty-four heroes heroes heroes of the Tang Dynasty or the heroes of Li Shimin?
In addition, from the eldest son Wuji to Qin Qiong, are they "LingYange Heroes" or "Xuanwumen Heroes"?
These two problems can be described as a sharp point!
The original meaning is: Are these twenty-four people on the list because of their meritorious service to the Tang Dynasty, or because these people helped Li Shimin seize the throne, they were able to enter the list?
In fact, if you take a closer look at the resumes of these twenty-four people, it is not difficult to find that there are too many cats in this so-called "twenty-four heroes"!
First of all, the first six of these twenty-four meritorious men basically had no military merits, and they were either civilian strategists or relatives of Li Shimin.
Among them, the eldest grandson Wuji was Li Shimin's uncle and had no outstanding military achievements before the Tang Dynasty; Li Xiaogong was Li Shimin's cousin, and Du Ruyi was originally a strategist in Li Shimin's mansion;
Wei Zheng also had no outstanding military achievements before opening the Tang Dynasty, on the contrary, Wei Zheng also rebelled against Tang and surrendered to Dou Jiande, and offered a surprise attack on Chang'an, which was not only useless, but also guilty.
Fang Xuanling, who ranked fifth, had served as a strategist in Li Shimin's mansion in his early years.
As for Gao Shilian, the sixth Duke of Shenguo, he was Li Shimin's uncle (The uncle of Empress Wende of Tang Taizong)!
So you see, these six people in front of Wei Chi Jingde basically have no battle achievements.
Among them, except for Wei Zheng, everyone else has a common feature, that is, in the "Xuanwumen Change", they are almost all staunch supporters of Li Shimin!
As for the "meritorious men" who ranked after Wei Chi Jingde, there were also several relatives of the emperor or courtiers.
For example, Xiao Yu the Duke of Song, Chai Shao, Duke of Xiang, Sun Shunde, Duke of Pixiang, Yin Kaishan, Duke of Yunjie, Yu Shinan, Duke of Yongxing Wenyi, Liu Zhenghui, Duke of Yuxiang, and Tang Jian, Duke of Juguo.
After removing the above 13, the remaining 11 are basically heroes and famous generals who have been hit by real knives and guns.
The 11 military generals were ranked as follows: Chi Jingde, The Duke of Eguo, Li Jing, the Duke of Weiguo, Duan Zhixuan, the Duke of Baoguo, Liu Hongji, the Duke of Guo, Qu Tutong, the Duke of Jiang, Zhang Liang, the Duke of Yun, the Marquis Junji of Chen, Zhang Gongjin the Duke of Tan, the Duke of Lu, the Duke of Lu, the Duke of Lu, the Duke of Lu, the Duke of Guo, and The Duke of Qin Qiong;
Among them, Lieutenant Chi Jingde had the highest status, followed by Li Jing, and the lowest status was Qin Qiong! But when you look closely at this list, it is not difficult to find that there are certain problems in this!
First of all, the two most obvious questions were: Wei Chi Jingde was actually ranked first among the ling yan pavilion martial generals? Qin Qiong was actually ranked at the end of the Ling Yan Pavilion martial generals?
We all know that during the Han and Tang Dynasties, military generals relied on the number of decapitations to worship the generals, in short, who has more heads on horseback, then who can get more rewards, the larger the food, and vice versa.
However, in the conquest to create the Tang Empire, in addition to Li Shimin sending a box of gold and silver to Wei Chi Jingde, Li Yuan, the emperor of Tang Gaozu, did not have any reward for it, and later under Li Yuanji's accusation, Li Yuan almost killed him.
This is not something the author made up, and it is clearly recorded in the Old Book of Tang:
"(Jianyuan Ji) will be killed because of Gaozu," and Wang (King Shimin of Qin) will be spared. The New Book of Tang, Liechuan 14" "Yuan Ji Nai Washu Jingde Yu Gaozu, ordered to be interrogated in prison, and killed him, and Emperor Taizong was released.
It is precisely because he is not welcomed by Li Yuan that during the Tang Gaozu period, Wei Chi Jingde has always been in a "white body". But in contrast to Qin Qiong, his status is very high!
Qin Qiong was originally a famous general of Wagang, and after the defeat of Wagang, he switched to Wang Shichong.
However, not long after, Qin Qiong, because he despised Wang Shichong's treacherous behavior, so he took Cheng Yaojin and Niu Jinda (the prototype of You Junda in the "Biography of Sui and Tang Heroes") and other fierce generals to defect to Li Tang, and was later arranged by Li Yuan to serve in the palace of Li Shimin, the King of Qin.
Li Shimin had always heard that Qin Qiong was brave and good at fighting, and was a rare fierce general, so he was very courteous to him.
Qin Qiong, who was heavily used by Li Tang, was also very competitive, and in many subsequent battles, he made great achievements.
In particular, Mei Liangchuan defeated the Song general Chi Jingde in one fell swoop and was greatly rewarded by Li Yuan, who also comforted Qin Qiong and said:
"You have come to me in spite of your wife and children, and now you have done such a great deed, my flesh can be cut off and given to you to eat, let alone reward some servants and treasures?"
What a high rating that is?
And this is why in the "Biography of Sui and Tang Heroes", the Li Yuan family will value Qin Shubao so much, and also call it "Engong", which actually has a certain historical origin.
After that, Qin Qiong was given the title of Right Third Unified Army of the Qin Dynasty. After pacifying the Song King Kong, Li Yuan rewarded Qin Qiong with 100 jin of gold, 6,000 pieces of miscellaneous color, and sealed the pillar state.
Here we will explain a little that the so-called "pillar country" refers to the rank of the order, which is a special commendation against those who have made military achievements.
In the Tang Dynasty, the rank of the medal was divided into 12 grades, the highest rank was the "Shangzhu Guo", followed by the "Pillar State", whether it was an ordinary soldier or a general, they were eligible to receive this honor, and those who received the honor, no matter how big the official position, could enjoy the treatment of Zheng Erpin.
Therefore, it can be seen from this that Qin Qiong's battle achievements should be how prominent!
And the reason why Li Yuan didn't want to see Wei Chi Jingde was actually very easy to understand! Because Qin Qiong came from the uprising, while Wei Chi Jingde surrendered under siege, there was an essential difference between the two.
Therefore, from this point, it is not difficult to see that Qin Qiong ranks first from the bottom, and Wei Chi Jingde ranks first, which is obviously a bit unspeakable!
Of course, in addition to these two people, Li Ji's ranking is also very strange!
Li Jing, the Duke of Weiguo, and Li Ji, the Duke of England, were known as the "Second Li God of War" of the Tang Dynasty. If it is said that Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin and others are the warlords of the world, then these two people are truly "famous marshals in the world".
However, in the ranking of martial generals in Ling Yange, Li Jing actually ranked second from the bottom after Wei Chi Jingde, and Li Ji was even second to last, which had to make people wonder.
Therefore, we can't help but wonder: Is this so-called "Twenty-Four Heroes of Lingyange" a hero of the Tang Dynasty, or a hero who helped Li Shimin ascend to the throne and consolidate his rule?
In fact, when you see this, the answer is clear at a glance - of course, the latter!
In the "Xuanwumen Rebellion", those who urged Li Shimin to launch a coup d'état were Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruyi, Wei Chi Jingde, and Hou Junji, who "persuaded the King of Qin to try first."
In the actual action, in addition to these people, the participants also included Zhang Gongjin, Liu Shili, Gongsun Wuda, Dugu Yanyun, Du Junqiu, Zheng Rentai, Li Mengtian, etc., who "entered the Xuanwu Gate to discuss Jiancheng, Yuanji, and Pingzhi." ”
Among these people, there were no figures of Li Ji, Li Jing, Qin Qiong, and Cheng Yaojin at all.
Therefore, it is easy to understand that Li Ji and Qin Qiong ranked last!
The so-called "Twenty-Four Heroes of Lingyange" are actually the "heroes" who helped Li Shimin ascend to the throne and consolidated his imperial rule.
But then again, in that era of feudal centralization, didn't Li Shimin represent the entire Tang Empire? These people are the heroes of Li Shimin's ascension to the throne, are not they the heroes of the Tang Empire?
What is wrong with ranking according to the size of the emperor's own merits and the distance between relatives and relatives?
Moreover, history is fair and just, and who should be ranked in what position, in fact, in the history of Yo-Yo Qing, there is already a conclusion.