Li Jing (571–649), a medicine man from Sanyuan, Yongzhou (present-day Sanyuan, Shaanxi), and a general of the late Sui and early Tang dynasties, praised Li Jing in the Old Book of Tang and the Biography of Li Jing, saying: "The present is not directly into Gong Yazhi, and wants to take Gong as a model for a generation." ”
Li Jing was both literate and martial, good at using troops and good at using strategy, initially a general of the Sui Dynasty, and later served Li Tang, Nanping Xiao Milling, Auxiliary Gongyuan, pacifying Lingnan, destroying the Eastern Turks in the north, and Breaking tugu (yù) Hun in the west, making great military achievements for the establishment and development of the Tang Dynasty, and becoming one of the twenty-four heroes of Lingyange.
Although Li Jing has always been on the front line and most of his tenure has been a military career, his political ability has long been revealed.
In pacificing Lingnan, Li Jing showed a statesmanship, and then for a short time served as the governor of Yangzhou. After Li Shimin ascended the throne, he promoted him to shangshu of the Punishment Department. In the second year of Zhenguan, Li Jing was again appointed as the official and inspector of the zhongshu order, and held the position of prime minister. The following year, Li Jing was appointed as the Shangshu of the Army, in preparation for attacking the Turks.
As the saying goes, a companion is like a companion tiger. Li Jing knew very well that not only did he not participate in the conspiracy of Li Yuan's father and son to raise an army against Sui, but he also had to report this matter to the Sui Emperor, which left a deep impression on the minds of the two generations of Tianzi in the Tang Dynasty. Li Yuan had tried to kill him twice, both of which were related to this incident.
In the fourth year of Zhenguan, Li Jing broke the Jieli Khan, and after Banshi returned to the dynasty, Tang Taizong appointed him as the right servant of Shangshu and was in charge of administrative affairs. However, Li Jing did not take credit for his own pride, but was modest and respectful, and concealed his ability to govern. In addition to his freedom on the battlefield, he was always very cautious on other occasions, afraid of leaving any adverse consequences.
As his military exploits grew heavier, Li Jing was even more afraid of his achievements and was very restrained about his behavior. Every time he attended a meeting of prime ministers, he always pretended that he did not understand anything, very modestly listened to Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng and others to discuss politics, and sometimes had to use self-obscurity to eliminate Tang Taizong's suspicions.
Once, after Li Jing pacified the Eastern Turks, Wen Yanbo, the imperial master, was jealous of Li Jing's merits and slandered Li Jing for not restricting his subordinates strictly, military discipline was loose, and the jewels of the Turks were mostly taken away by the rebel army.
Tang Taizong beat and pulled Li Jing, first scolding him profusely, and then saying that he would forgive his sins and reward him for his merits. Li Jing did not argue at all, but acquiesced, and kept apologizing.
Afterwards, Li Shimin found that Li Jing's subordinates had not plundered jewelry, and he was very embarrassed and said to Li Jing: "The last time someone said Ai Qing's rumors, now that li shimin has awakened, please don't take it to heart." ”
Despite this, Li Jing still learned the power of Tang Taizong's suspicion of the military generals. At the time of pacifying Tuguhun, due to Li Jing's strict rule of the army, he offended the governor Gao Yusheng. After graduating, Gao Yusheng and Shi Tangfengyi, the governor of Guangzhou, falsely accused Li Jing of plotting rebellion.
Tang Taizong did not give li jing any explanation because of his meritorious deeds and advanced age, and still ordered the judge to perform the examination.
Another time, Emperor Taizong of Tang asked Li Jing to teach the art of war to the general Hou Junji. However, soon after, Hou Junji reported to Tang Taizong that Li Jing only taught him superficial things, not essence, and was obviously plotting rebellion.
Tang Taizong then asked Li Jing what was going on. Li Jing calmly replied, "This is Hou Junji's plot of rebellion. Now that the country is stable, the martial arts I have taught him are enough to subdue the four sides, and he still has to learn all my martial arts. Tang Taizong listened, which eliminated his suspicions about Li Jing.
Li Jing was very self-aware, he felt that he had been an official in the imperial court for many years, his merits were not small, and he had also received many rewards, and he should be disarmed and returned to the field as soon as possible to avoid future troubles.
Therefore, Li Jing took advantage of the opportunity sent by Tang Taizong to visit the people's customs and customs, and used the excuse of "foot disease" to ask the old man to return to his hometown.
When Emperor Taizong of Tang saw Li Jing's words of pleading, he agreed to his request, not only praising him as a "model of a generation," but also rewarding him with two good horses and a thousand satin horses, and also making him a scepter to facilitate his walking.
In the twenty-third year of Zhenguan (649), Li Jing's condition deteriorated, and Tang Taizong personally visited the sickbed to comfort him. On July 2 of the same year, Li Jing died of illness at the age of 79.
Li Jing's great wisdom is also very outstanding in the whole history. He ascended to the throne with military merit, and his political talents were increasingly revealed, but he did not show his talents at all. In this way, he protected himself from the tragic ends that had been faced by the famous courtiers of the past, and spent the rest of his life unharmed.
Li Jing hid the other half of his great wisdom, so that the merits he had made in the past were not damaged in the slightest, and his life was full of glory and worry. This is clearly a greater kind of wisdom that shows talent more than it does.
And because of Li Jing's outstanding military achievements, he often appeared after his death, often for the people to save the danger and relieve difficulties, the people built a temple for him to worship, to the late Tang Dynasty, Li Jing was gradually deified, developed to the Ming Dynasty, so by the novelist Wu Cheng'en wrote in the "Journey to the West", became the prototype of the "Tota Heavenly King".
This article is referenced from: "Chinese Legend", "The Words of the King from a Contemporary Perspective"