At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and for a time the masses rose up at the same time, and the warlords and generals appeared in an endless stream. Li Ji is one of the few legendary figures who are both literate and martial, and who will enter the picture. His original name was Xu Shixun, also known as Xu Maogong, and he was the "half immortal" in the Sui and Tang dynasties.
After Emperor Taizong of Tang ascended to the throne, most of them were military generals who followed him to launch the "Xuanwumen Revolution", and Li Ji was one of the few who did not participate in this matter and was also named. It was such a great hero that Tang Taizong finally instructed his son Li Zhi to kill him, what mystery was behind this?
First, brave and fierce
At the end of the Sui Dynasty, Li Ji, a rich man's son, first joined Zhai Rang's rebel army, and his power continued to grow in the canals. Later, he followed Li Mi to defeat the Sui Dynasty's armies many times, and also suggested opening warehouses to release grain to buy people's hearts. After Li Mi surrendered to Li Yuan, Li Ji registered the household registration information of the prefectures and counties he occupied, and wrote a letter for Li Mi to personally present to Li Yuan.
Li Ji was grateful for Li Mi's offer, refused to sell the Lord for glory, and asked for merit for himself. Li Yuan was greatly appreciative and began to reuse him. Later, Li Mi rebelled and was killed, and others avoided him. However, Li Ji requested that Li Mi's body be collected and solemnly buried, and Li Yuan issued an edict to approve his request, and his reputation for his great affection and righteousness was far and wide.
Later, Li Ji followed Li Shimin, the king of Qin at the time, and defeated several powerful rebel armies led by Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, and Liu Heimin. Later, he quelled Xu Yuanlang's rebellion and participated in the battle to pacify Jiangnan. Li Ji's eastern expedition to the west made great contributions to the unification of the world by the Li Tang Dynasty.
After the Li Tang Dynasty pacified the world, Li Ji was responsible for guarding against The Turkic attacks on the northwestern border. He presided over the state for sixteen years, with strict laws and regulations, military discipline, the Turks never dared to invade, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. Tang Taizong Li Shimin lamented that Li Ji was the living Great Wall on the border of Datang.
In ancient Chinese history, the Central Plains Dynasty has always attached great importance to the prevention of nomadic tribes in the north. It took several generations of hard work for the Han Dynasty to completely defeat the Xiongnu in the era of Emperor Wu of han. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Turks in the north posed a great threat. After Emperor Taizong of Tang ascended the throne, Li Ji and another famous general, Li Jing, took the initiative to attack and completely defeated the Eastern Turks, opening up territory for the Tang Dynasty.
2. The Art of Imperial Courtiers
The relationship between ancient emperors and heroes was more complicated. On the one hand, the heroes went around for the emperor, and the emperor also rewarded the merits, and the fame and fortune of the heroes were both rewarded. On the other hand, the political resources and influence accumulated by the heroes are a potential threat to the emperor, and the founding monarch can suppress them, but the successor is difficult to say. Many of the founding fathers could not escape the fate of being killed.
In 643, Li Shimin ordered Li Ji to assist the crown prince Li Zhi in managing large and small affairs, which shows Li Shimin's trust and dependence on him. This is mainly because Li Shimin deeply recognized Li Ji's ability and character during the long founding war. He is not only brave in battle, but also very serious, and will not live up to the trust.
Once, Li Ji fell ill with an acute illness, and Li Shimin did not hesitate to cut off his beard and cure him according to the folk test, and Li Ji was grateful for this. Tang Taizong said: "Don't thank me, the country needs you, I am doing this for the sake of the country's long-term peace and stability." "
When Emperor Taizong of Tang told Li Zhi when he was seriously ill, "You have no kindness to Li Ji, and he may disobey you." I will demote him to a foreign official now, and after I die, you will quickly promote him, so that he will surely thank you for your kindness and be loyal to you. Later, on his deathbed, he said, "Li Ji is too powerful, so you should kill him." "It's the fear that if he doesn't use it well, he'll cause a big disaster."
Sure enough, Emperor Taizong demoted Li Ji to the position of Governor of Diezhou. Li Ji's performance is also very intriguing, as soon as he received the order, he did not return home, and went directly to his post. He knew that if he hesitated, Tang Taizong would think that he was ambitious and difficult to control, so what awaited him was the disaster of killing himself.
Emperor Gaozong of Tang immediately promoted Li Ji according to Emperor Taizong's instructions. Within a year, Li Ji first served as a local magistrate in Luozhou, and soon he was allowed to open a mansion to set up officials, enjoy the rank of three dukes, and finally became the prime minister.
3. Wentao Wuluo
In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the Guanlong aristocratic clique represented by Changsun Wuji was huge and intertwined. Tang Gaozu Li Yuan and Tang Taizong Li Shimin were the founding princes of the country, and they could also suppress these old heroes. After Emperor Gaozong of Tang ascended the throne, these magnates relied on the old and sold the old, and they did not give Li Zhi face.
In 655, Li Zhi wanted to depose the original Empress Dowager Wang and establish Wu Zhaoyi as empress. However, the two ministers, Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang, objected, on the grounds that Empress Wang was chosen by Li Zhi's father, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, and was of noble birth and could not be deposed. In addition, Wu Zetian's status was low, and he was originally a talented person of Tang Taizong, and he absolutely could not be made empress.
When the ministers met to discuss the matter of deposing Wang Liwu, another minister of the ministry, Li Jitui, said that he was ill and did not attend. Li Zhi was almost unanimously opposed by the ministers and was very depressed. He privately summoned Li Ji to ask him what he thought of the matter. Li Ji only said lightly: "This is Your Majesty's family affair, just decide for yourself, why ask outsiders?" ”
In fact, the matter of deposing the empress is really not only the emperor's family affair, but also has a huge impact on the whole country, and it should indeed be treated with the same caution as the state affairs. However, Li Zhi had long been very dissatisfied with these ministers, who were very dissatisfied with the constraints everywhere, and with the support of Li Ji, the minister who held military power, he tried his best to defy the public opinion and finally succeeded in deposing Wang Liwu.
Through this incident, Emperor Gaozong of Tang trusted Li Ji even more, and Empress Wu looked at him differently. After Empress Wu ascended to the throne, Emperor Gaozong of Tang set out to crack down on these powerful and old courtiers, some of whom were demoted to officials and some exiled, and even the uncle of the emperor, The Emperor, was framed and degraded, and later forced to commit suicide. At this point, Emperor Gaozong of Tang monopolized power.
In addition to standing by the side of Emperor Gaozong of Tang in the court and attacking the powerful elders, Li Ji also continued to make meritorious achievements in the military and reached the peak of his own glory. In 668, Li Ji led an army to conquer Pyongyang and destroy Goguryeo. Emperor Gaozong of Tang established the Andong Capital Protectorate to oversee the entire old goguryeo lands.
Goguryeo on the Korean Peninsula was well organized and well-established, and was a great threat to the Central Plains Dynasty. The Sui Emperor conquered Goguryeo three times, which eventually led to the demise of the Sui Dynasty. Emperor Taizong of Tang's attack on Goguryeo was also fruitless. Li Ji's destruction of Goguryeo can be said to have fulfilled Tang Taizong's last wishes and established immortal merits.
In 669, Li Ji died at the age of seventy-six and was able to die well. Emperor Gaozong of Tang gave Li Ji the title of Tai wei (太尉) and governor of Yangzhou (州大都督), with the courtesy name "Zhenwu". It can be seen that Emperor Gaozong of Tang had great trust and respect for Li Ji.
4. Summary
When Emperor Taizong of Tang told Li Shimin on his deathbed, "Li Ji is too powerful, you should still kill him." In fact, he knew Li Ji very well, knew that he had made great achievements in battle, was loyal and very affectionate, but it was difficult to control. Li Zhi also wisely reused Li Ji, and finally struck a blow to the powerful and old ministers, and monopolized power. Li Ji also did not live up to the expectations of Tang Taizong and Tang Gaozong, and established a greater merit.