For ordinary people, being able to be summoned by the emperor as a donkey horse is simply a blessing cultivated in a previous life and a great glory of the family. However, in history, there are some "unruly" people who have adopted a gentle attitude towards marrying a princess, such as Chi Gong, the founding father of the Tang Dynasty, who is a typical example. While refusing to marry, Wei Chigong also said a sincere word, which made Tang Taizong deeply admire. What's going on here?
Wei Chi Gong (尉迟恭字敬德), who was originally a general under the warlord Liu Wuzhou of Hezhou, surrendered to the Tang Dynasty after Liu Wuzhou's defeat and was killed, and was placed under the command of Li Shimin, the King of Qin, and with the southern conquest of the northern war, he repeatedly made special contributions. In the "Xuanwumen Rebellion", Wei Chigong was trusted by Tang Taizong because he had a life-saving grace for Li Shimin and coerced Tang Gaozu to make Li Shimin the crown prince afterwards. Wei Chigong was appointed as the Grand General of the Marquis of Right Wu for his meritorious service, and was appointed the Duke of Eguo, ranking seventh among the "Twenty-Four Meritorious Servants of Ling Yan Pavilion".
Wei Chigong followed Li Shimin in his southern expedition to the northern war and made many military achievements
Wei Chigong was upright in temperament and proud of his achievements, and when he saw Fang Xuanling, Du Ruqian, and Changsun Wuji, the prime minister, he would often ridicule them in person, and sometimes even argue with them in the courtroom, which had a very bad impact. Although Emperor Taizong was favored by Wei Chigong, he was very worried about his words and deeds, and in order not to let him take the "evil road", he had to be beaten.
During a meeting in the inner court one day, Emperor Taizong deliberately said to Wei Chigong: "Some people said to Wei Chigong that Aiqing wanted to rebel, why is this?" After hearing this, Wei Chi was furious and angrily told the emperor, "Wei Chen really wants to rebel!" I think that when Wei Chen followed His Majesty to conquer the four directions, he experienced hundreds of battles and suffered no less than a hundred sword and arrow wounds. If today has been settled, His Majesty has begun to suspect that Wei Chen wants to rebel, what is the reason for this? ”
Li Shimin used the excuse to beat Wei Chigong, which made the latter furious
Wei Chigong became more and more angry, so he simply stripped off his shirt and threw it on the ground, showing the emperor the scars on his body. Emperor Taizong felt very guilty in his heart, so he told him with tears: "Ai Qing put on her clothes, and it is precisely because she did not doubt you at all that, so she told you this, why is Ai Qing so angry?" Subsequently, Emperor Taizong rewarded Wei Chigong again, which calmed down the storm.
Shangyu said of Jingde: "Why should a person or a man speak against him?" "The subject is the opposite!" His Majesty has conquered the four directions, and has experienced hundreds of battles, and now the survivors are all sharp and dystop. The world has been decided, but it is even more suspicious of the subject! "Because of undressing and throwing into the ground, out of its fistula." Shang wei drooled, and said: "Qing Fu obeys, and qing is not doubted, so Yu Qing, why hate evil even more!" See Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 195.
Emperor Taizong of Tang wanted to marry his daughter to him in order to spy on Wei Chigong
Although Emperor Taizong ostensibly eliminated his suspicion of Wei Chigong, he still had some doubts about him in his heart, and in order to monitor his every move, he told Wei Chigong that he was going to marry his daughter to him and make the relationship between the monarchs and courtiers go further. Although Wei Chigong looked like a big old man, he had been accompanying the king for a long time in the middle of the dynasty, and he could still speculate about the emperor's thoughts, knowing that the emperor was nominally marrying his daughter to himself, but the real idea was just to install an eyeliner around him to monitor him.
What's more, Wei Chigong was more than half a hundred years old at this time, more than ten years older than the emperor, and if he married a princess, he was bound to pay tribute to the emperor. Therefore, Wei Chigong did not think long and politely refused the emperor's "kindness". But in an era when the emperor's fate was like a mountain, rejecting the "kindness" of the emperor often meant standing in opposition to the latter and taking great risks. Fortunately, Wei Chigong was prepared, and in order to prevent the emperor from turning his face, he had already thought of a legal reason for refusing to marry the princess.
For the emperor's marriage, Wei Chigong responded with a gentle refusal
Moreover, after Wei Chigong listened to the emperor's words, he immediately knelt down and prostrated his head and apologized: "Your Majesty's marriage to Wei Chen is indeed a great honor for Wei Chen. It's just that although Wei Chen's wife is vulgar and shallow, she and Wei Chen are united in wei chen, and have been together until today, and Wei Chen can't bear to abandon it. Although Wei Chen did not learn no skills, he heard that the ancients would not divorce his wife and marry another wife after he became rich, and Wei Chen was admired in his heart, so marrying a princess was not a blessing that Wei Chen could enjoy. Emperor Taizong nodded after listening to it, thinking it made sense, so he stopped thinking about marrying his daughter to him.
Shang also said of Jingde: 'Why do you want to take a female wife?' Jingde prostrated his head and thanked him: "Although the wives of the courtiers are despicable, they have been poor and lowly together for a long time." Although the subject does not learn, it is not easy for the ancients to be rich and not easy to marry, which is not what the subject wishes. 'The upper is the end. Ibid.
After the above two events, Wei Chigong knew very well in his heart that the emperor was very uneasy about himself, and once he made a slight mistake, he would inevitably incur the disaster of killing himself. Therefore, not long after, Wei Chigong proposed to the emperor the idea of resigning his official post and returning to seclusion on the grounds that he was ill, and although Emperor Taizong did not approve of it, he was very appreciative of his approach.
In his later years, Wei Chigong closed the door and did not ask about the world, so he was able to die
In order to completely eliminate the emperor's suspicions, Wei Chigong indulged in alchemy in his later years, grinding gold stones and swallowing mica powder every day, and was very busy. At the same time, Wei Chigong also excavated ponds in the mansion, expanded the platform, decorated the pavilions with a large amount of silk, and learned to play Qing shang music for self-entertainment. Wei Chigong closed his doors in the palace and "lived happily" for sixteen years, and finally died in the third year of Emperor Gaozong of Tang (658), at the age of 74.