There is no affection under the imperial power, which is a very cruel and realistic sentence.
Historically, in order to compete for imperial power, stories of fathers and sons killing each other, brothers and sisters, and uncles and nephews fighting each other abound, and the Li Yuan family has not escaped.
During the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Wen of Sui left a prosperous era for his son, but after the Sui Emperor ascended the throne, he began a series of deaths.
During his reign, he built the Grand Canal and the Three Expeditions to Goguryeo, which consumed all the national strength of the Sui Dynasty and also burdened the people with heavy burdens of labor and military service. The people were overwhelmed and rebelled against him.
The Sui Emperor and his Sui Empire also came to an end in the midst of rebellion. After the great chaos in the world, Li Shimin persuaded his father Li Yuan to also raise an army in Taiyuan, and together with Li Mi, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, Liu Heimin and other world tyrants, they competed for the Sui Dynasty's Jiangshan.
Li Yuan's military talent was mediocre, and after he took Luoyang, he stayed in Luoyang and handed over the heavy responsibility of seizing the world to Li Shimin and Li Xiaogong. Li Xiaogong was Li Yuan's nephew, and he defeated Xiao Milling for Li Yuan and surrendered all over Lingnan, and was an important contributor to Li Yuan's conquest of the world. However, Li Xiaogong was only the nominal commander of the army, and most of the achievements he achieved were done by his general Li Jing.
Li Shimin was the second son of Li Yuan, and he led Li Ji, Wei Chi Jingde, Qin Qiong, Cheng Zhijie, Qu Tutong and other generals to defeat Xue Ju, Song Jingang, Liu Wuzhou, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande and other strong enemies in succession, seizing a large area of land for the Tang Dynasty, and was Li Yuan's greatest contributor to the conquest of the world.
Usually, the founding emperors are fierce generals who are more capable of fighting good wars, and his prestige and merits are incompetent, but Li Yuan's world is mainly laid down by his son Li Shimin and nephew Li Xiaogong, who belongs to "lying and winning", so Li Yuan's position is more embarrassing, and the merits and prestige of his son Li Shimin have overshadowed him. At the same time, Li Shimin also had a number of military generals under him, such as Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhan, Changsun Wuji, Wei Chi Jingde, Qin Qiong, Hou Junji, Zhang Gongjin, and others, which also made Li Shimin's strength vaguely surpass Li Yuan.
Even more embarrassing than Li Yuan was the crown prince Li Jiancheng. Most of the Tang Dynasty was laid down by Li Shimin, but Li Yuan established Li Jian as the crown prince according to the system of primogeniture. When fighting the world, Li Jiancheng, like Li Yuan, spent most of his time in Luoyang, although later, at wei Zheng's suggestion, he also led troops to recruit Liu Heimin and pacify Shandong, but his merit and prestige were far inferior to Li Shimin.
Most of the Jiangshan were laid down by Li Shimin and his generals, so when Li Yuan rewarded meritorious men, he should mainly reward Li Shimin's military generals, but Li Shimin's strength was too strong, threatening the position of Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng, and neither of them was willing to reward Li Shimin's generals, but instead gave many official positions and land to their relatives and friends. At the same time, Because Li Jiancheng was jealous of Li Shimin, he also painstakingly cut off Li Shimin's wings and weakened Li Shimin's strength, which made Li Shimin's subordinate generals panic.
The unfair distribution of benefits has made the eldest son Wuji and many other heroes dissatisfied, and Li Jiancheng's suppression has made them feel uneasy, afraid that after Li Shimin falls, they will become the fish on Li Jiancheng's case board, and eventually Li Jiancheng will be removed one by one, so they began to pressure Li Shimin to let Li Shimin take the initiative to get rid of Li Jiancheng. Du Ruyi, Fang Xuanling, and other military generals under him formulated a plan for Li Shimin to make a plan for Xuanwumen, but Li Shimin hesitated, and he wanted to ask Li Jing and Li Ji's opinions before he dared to implement it.
Li Jing and Li Ji were two famous generals of the Tang Dynasty who were particularly outstanding in ability, especially the combat ability of the unified troops was very outstanding. Before Li Shimin prepared to carry out the Xuanwumen Incident, he sent someone to consult the two men. The history books record: "Shimin hesitated, asked Li Jing, the governor of Lingzhou, Jing Ci: AskEd Li Ji, the commander of the march, Shi Min yu was the two of them. Li Shimin attached great importance to the opinions of Li Jing and Li Ji. The answers of the two men were also intriguing, to the effect that they did not see or hear. Although they do not participate, if they do not oppose, they support.
This relieved Li Shimin, who immediately launched the Xuanwumen Incident, killing Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, and seizing the military power into his own hands.
The Xuanwumen Incident was very confidential, and once it was leaked, Li Shimin and his subordinates and military generals involved in the matter would all be doomed, so why did Li Shimin take the risk of sending people to consult the opinions of Li Jing and Li Ji before launching a coup?
First, Li Shimin was very worried about them.
After the Tang Dynasty seized the world, Li Shimin, Li Xiaogong, and their military advisers and generals all returned to the capital Luoyang. The generals of the Tang Dynasty were mainly Li Jing, Li Ji, and Luo Yi. Luo Yi has been bribed by Li Jiancheng and is Li Jiancheng's confidant. Li Jing and Li Ji had both followed Li Shimin in their conquests, but their loyalty to Li Shimin was not as good as that of the eldest son Wujie, Wei Chi Jingde, and others.
After Li Shimin launched the Xuanwumen Incident, if they and Luo Yi joined forces to attack Li Shimin. Under the attack of the Three Roads Army, even if Li Shimin succeeded in the coup, he could not avoid being destroyed by them, so Before Li Shimin launched the Xuanwumen Incident, he must first consult the opinions of Li Jing and Li Ji, even if they do not help themselves to deal with Li Jiancheng, they should not send troops to attack themselves.
Second, they need to stabilize the situation for themselves.
After Li Shimin launched the Xuanwumen Incident, it not only plunged the capital Luoyang into turmoil. Forces supporting Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng from all over the world may raise troops to serve the king. At the same time, turkic and other external forces may also take advantage of the internal turmoil in Datang to attack Datang. Li Shimin wanted to seize the throne, but did not want the Tang Dynasty to fall into great chaos, so Li Shimin needed Li Jing and Li Ji to help him calm the internal strife and defend against foreign enemies.
Only with the support of Li Jing and Li Ji could Li Shimin dare to have no fear and launch the Xuanwumen Incident and fight to the death for himself and his subordinates.