Li Shimin, as the most representative monarch of the Tang Dynasty, has described him in many TV dramas in our descendants, but in fact, who is perfect, what is hidden behind history, and what is the real situation of the change of XuanwuMen?
I. The change of Xuanwu Gate
The history books record that the two sons of Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng, were both powerful figures who followed their father to conquer the world, and after Li Yuan ascended to the throne, because Li Jiancheng was obsessed with women and did not understand political affairs, he wanted Li Shimin to be the crown prince, but Li Jiancheng, as the eldest son of the concubine, was not willing, so Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji jointly formed a princeling party to exclude Li Shimin.
However, Li Shimin had been fighting abroad for many years, and he had a large number of troops under his command, and just when Li Shimin was gradually being squeezed to the edge, he fought hard, killing his brothers Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji at Xuanwu Gate, and forcing Li Yuan to change himself into a prince and inherit the throne.
2. Cut the grass and remove the roots
After killing his brother, Li Shimin quickly used his own troops to control the entire capital and arrested the relatives of the dead brothers, and the strategists under him at that time told Li Shimin to cut the grass and remove the roots, otherwise there would be great chaos in the future. His father, Li Yuan, bitterly begged Li Shimin to leave a bloodline, but Li Shimin was the one who came out of the bloody storm, and he was decisive in the face of this situation, so he killed these relatives, including 10 nephews.
After the killing, Li Yuan bitterly told Li Shimin, "You killed my descendants today, and your descendants will do the same in the future." Li Yuan's more than ten grandsons were all killed, which as a grandfather certainly could not accept this fact, but as an ambitious rebel, Li Shimin must not have any soft heart, and for these residual dangers, he must destroy them in their swaddling.
But the actual situation may not be so, Sima Guang believes that this period of history may have been rendered and modified, and where can people who can attack the world together go? The actual situation may be that Li Shimin, as a rebellious prince, felt that this was very disgraceful, and this was the excuse he was looking for.
But in fact, there are many such situations in history, every dynasty has its own reason for existence, although Li Shimin did not honor this, but the subsequent rule of Zhenguan helped him erase most of the stains, so the change of the imperial dynasty is of certain historical significance, which is also the inevitable development of history.
After Li Shimin successfully usurped the throne, he included all his concubines in his harem, and for Li Shimin, this period of history was a stain that he could not erase. Li Shimin's efforts to govern were also largely due to his success in proving that his usurpation of the throne was correct, and the rule of Zhenguan made great progress for the Tang Dynasty. We sigh that there was a monarch who did something unkind, and we feel fortunate that the Tang Dynasty under the leadership of Li Shimin has become a model in history.