Cheng Yaojin was a famous general in the late Sui and early Tang dynasties, and also the most familiar one among many characters in the Sui and Tang dynasties, but most of everyone's understanding of him was learned in classical novels and operas such as "Sui and Tang Yanyi". And the real Cheng Yaojin is not a stupid man who is as stupid and black as the literary and artistic works, and relies solely on the three-plate axe to break through the world, but a person who has a city government in his heart and is well versed in political strategy.
After he joined the Tang Army, although he did not make any Gestapo feats, his career was a smooth one, and even until the time of Wu Zetian's reign, he killed many founding heroes, but he did not dare to move to bite jin, from this point of view alone, you know how strong this person's political mind is.
Born in a reckless background, he changed masters many times
Cheng Yaojin, also known as Cheng Zhijie, a native of Dongping, Shandong, first organized more than 100 township heroes to protect the border and the people at the time of the great chaos in the world at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and later joined the Wagang Army and became a capable general under Li Mi.
However, when Li Mi and Wang Shichong were defeated, Cheng Yaojin surrendered to Wang Shichong, because of his bravery in battle, he was also favored by Wang Shichong. Despite this, Cheng Yaojin has always been very disgusted with Wang Shichong in his heart, and the reason why he is willing to bend over backwards and seek perfection is actually just a stopgap measure.
Later, when he learned of Li Shimin, he felt that although this person was young, he must be a person who would achieve great things in the future, so Cheng Yaojin consulted with Qin Qiong on a road to go out for Wang Shichong and decided that the two of them would join Li Shimin with their troops.
At that time, Li Shimin was in the midst of a major general and a widow, and suddenly added two generals and his men and horses, of course, he couldn't help but be happy, so he paid more attention to the two. After that, Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong followed Li Shimin to fight in the four directions together, and it can be said that they finally followed the right lord and laid a good foundation for the future fame and fortune.
Judge the situation and retreat from the rapids
In fact, compared with Li Jing, Wei Chigong and others, Cheng Yaojin's military achievements for Li Tangli were not much, but he joined with Qin Qiong when Li Shimin was a major general, which was considered to be a charcoal for Li Shimin, and at that time Li Shimin and Wang Shichong were mortal enemies, and the people and horses under their command were Wang Shichong's elites, so calculated, the battlefield uprising between the two of them not only added two forces to Li Shimin, but also weakened the opponent by 20%, and it was precisely because of this that Cheng Yaojin was made the Duke of Suguo by Li Yuan after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty. The status is almost equal to that of Li Jing and Wei Chigong.
As Li Shimin's concubine, when Li Shimin launched the xuanwumen change, Cheng Yaojin intelligently actively participated, because he knew that the greatest merit of the courtiers was to support the lord and the savior in danger, and Li Shimin's xuanwumen's change of clear-eyed people looked ten to nine stable, so Cheng Biting Jin naturally actively participated, so he also became a more important member of Li Shimin's love general because of this great achievement.
Even if his performance was mediocre afterwards, it did not affect the emperor's favor for him in the slightest, and he successively served as the governor of Luzhou, the grand general of the left leading army, the governor of yuanzhou, the governor of Jiang Wangfu, the governor of Youzhou, the general of Zuotun Wei, the great general of the Zhenjun Army, the hereditary puzhou assassin history, the renaming of the Duke of Lu, and ranked among the twenty-four heroes of Lingyange.
On May 26, 649, the 23rd year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong of Tang died at cuiwei Palace in Zhongnan Mountain, and Cheng Yaojin was regarded as the closest general, and after burying Li Shimin, he escorted Emperor Gaozong of Tang back to Chang'an to ascend the throne, and for the next 6 years was ruled by the eldest son Wuji.
After the eldest son Wuji came to power, although Li Zhi was already an adult, he was still at the mercy of him like a child, and the major affairs and small affairs of the country were decided by the eldest son Wuji, and the political enemies before the eldest son Wuji were naturally eradicated by him one by one, Cheng Yaojin because he and the eldest son Wuji were both from the Qin Dynasty, and there was no gap between the two before, so the career was still very frank, and he was moved to the posts of auxiliary general and left guard general.
After that, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, who were not willing to be puppet emperors, together with the Kwantung civilian generals to balance the eldest son Wujie, Cheng Yaojin was born in Shandong, and Wu Zetian was a fellow villager, which was naturally the object of their couple's solicitation.
Cheng Yaojin also supported Li Zhi's retake of imperial power, but did not want to get involved in their political struggle with the eldest son Wujie, so when he was the chief of the march of onion mountain road and attacked Ashina Helu, he acquiesced to the slaughter of his officers, and Li Zhi naturally dismissed the military power to retain Feng Lu and return home to retire, living peacefully and steadily for eight years of peace, and enjoying his old age in his hometown.
Return to your hometown and enjoy your old age in peace
When the eldest son Wuji was later stripped of power by Li Zhi, and then Wu Zetian succeeded to the throne, Cheng Yaojin was not affected by half a point, and even his descendants were reused.
According to historical records, Cheng Zhisi, the eldest son of Cheng Yaojin, was given the title of General of Mingwei and the Duke of Guizhou, and later inherited the Duke of Lu. The second son, Cheng Chuliang, married Princess Qinghe, the daughter of Emperor Taizong of Tang, as the son of a meritorious hero, and was awarded the posts of Duke of Tuoma, the founding duke of Dong'a County, and the general of Zuo Wei Zhonglang.
The third son, Cheng ChuBi, was the official to the right Jinwu general, the assassin of Bian Prefecture, and the founding duke of Guangping County. Even his grandsons were almost all county dukes, and they were all stable and did not suffer any political persecution, while Cheng Yaojin himself enjoyed his life until the end of his 77th birthday, which was already a rare high life among the founding heroes of ancient times, and it was a lifetime of glory and fame and fortune.
This has to be said that Cheng Yaojin has a high political mind, and when he was young, he judged the situation and changed the lord many times, and then aimed at the opportunity to follow a Ming lord to establish meritorious achievements, laying his own political foundation. Later, he was impartial in the official field and bravely retreated in the face of the rapids of the political whirlpool, which made him enjoy a lifetime of glory.
As for the founding fathers and elders who killed a lot of Li Tang during The reign of Wu Zetian, but they did not move Cheng to bite Jin, that is because Cheng Biting Jin himself was a fellow villager of Wu Zetian, and he and Wu Zetian's father were also old acquaintances.
In the political contest with the eldest son Wujie, although Cheng Yaojin did not obviously side with Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, he chose to deliberately make a mistake, and Was taken over by Li Zhi to take over the military power and return home to enjoy his old age. For such a compatriot who has no real power in his hands and is very knowledgeable about current affairs, Wu Zetian likes it too late, where will he go to clean him up?
Moreover, she had killed so many of Li Tang's meritorious old ministers, even if she were to make an example for the people of the world, indicating that those people were killed because they had made mistakes, she would also retain a part of the more obedient Yuanxun meritorious servants to make a name for herself, so Cheng Yaojin should naturally become a political tumbler that Wu Zetian would never move.