The birds are exhausted, the good bows are hidden; the cunning rabbits die, and the lackeys cook. Historia Volume 41
Since ancient times, many famous generals who have made meritorious achievements on the battlefield have not escaped the fate of birds hiding in the bow. For example, the blue jade of the Ming Dynasty, the Bai Qi of the Warring States Period, and the Han Xin of the Han Dynasty are all famous representatives of it. So when the fate of the country is already in the hands of one person, often smart people begin to learn to know where to go.
In addition to advancing and retreating, this is also a certain amount of learning. For example, Tang He, who is a representative figure in this regard, immediately disarmed and returned to the field after finding the right time after the end of the war, away from the strife of the court, and eventually became one of the founding generals of the Ming Dynasty. However, the protagonist of our story today, like Tang He, has outstanding achievements and even laid the foundation for the Tang Dynasty.
This person is Qin Qiong, under the premise of laying the royal inheritance for Li Shimin, this famous Tang Dynasty general suddenly fell seriously ill, which made people sigh. The strangest thing is that after Li Shimin hand-picked the Tai Doctor to prescribe medicine for him, Qin Qiong actually dumped it immediately after the Tai Doctor left.
1. Sui and Tang Dynasty hero Qin Qiong
Presumably, everyone has seen the legend of the Sui and Tang heroes, among which Qin Qiong is not only superb in martial arts, but also extraordinary in appearance. However, this young fierce general was ill-fated, and after extreme twists and turns, he came to Li Yuan's door. Qin Qiong, who had just arrived, was in Li Shimin's mansion, so the relationship with Li Shimin has always been very good, and he has always regarded himself as a brother.
Subsequently, Qin Qiong, who was in Li Shimin's mansion, was soon appointed as the commander of the Ma Army, and although his official position was not high, he could not hide Qin Qiong's aura in the slightest. Qin Qiong's outstanding military ability was thoroughly revealed in the Sui and Tang Wars. In November of that year, the Sui Dynasty general Song Jingang was ordered to raid Jinzhou and the surrounding territories of the Tang Dynasty, which left the Tang Border Army defenseless and defeated in an instant.
Therefore, in order to stabilize the situation in the east, Qin Qiongfeng led the Guanzhong soldiers and horses to confront Song Jingang. In December of the same year, the Song Jingang army destroyed Li Xiaoji, the king of Yong'an, and on the way back to Huanzhou, Qin Qiong suddenly killed, and the caught off guard by song jingang was defeated, and more than 2,000 people were beheaded in this battle, which can be described as a complete victory.
However, such victories could not completely shake the foundation of the Song Jingang department, and in the continuous battle, the Song Jingang army front was stretched too long, and slowly the grain and grass were too tight, and finally the grain and grass were exhausted, and the army had to choose to retreat. With this retreat of Song Jingang, Qin Qiong's strategic purpose was completely achieved, and taking advantage of Song Jingang's retreat to pursue him, Song Jingang, who was exhausted and running for his life, finally entered the ambush circle that Li Shimin and Qin Qiong had already set up, and finally completely defeated.
This defeat can be said to have directly and completely widened the military gap between the Sui and Tang dynasties, and the Sui Dynasty eventually went to its demise, and the Tang Dynasty finally stepped onto the stage of history. Qin Qiong's military ability during this period amazed all people, and Li Shimin favored it even more, but Qin Qiong's real shining point was the change in the cruel Xuanwu Gate.
Second, the change of Xuanwu Gate
As we all know, Li Shimin's biggest black history as a generation of Ming emperors is the change of Xuanwumen, where he brutally killed his brother and brother, and finally coerced his father to abdicate. Among them, in the change of Xuanwu Gate, Qin Qiong's situation was very embarrassing, because he chose neutrality!
After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Li Jiancheng, as the eldest son, knew that he was far inferior to his younger brother Li Shimin in both battle merit and strategy, so as the crown prince, he felt pressure. Therefore, Li Jiancheng joined his brother Li Yuanji to exclude Li Shimin, and the most important thing was to completely drive Li Shimin out of the struggle for imperial power.
However, Li Shimin is not an idle person, as he has many famous generals in his hands, he knows that if he does not resist, the final result is likely to be killed by his brother. So behind the scenes, Li Shimin was already secretly launching a coup d'état to completely rob the holders of imperial power.
In private, Li Shimin repeatedly asked Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong and many other famous generals for their opinions, of course, most of the famous generals agreed, because under Li Shimin's door, if Li Shimin died, their result would naturally be only one. However, as a neutral Qin Qiong, it was his lifelong wish to make meritorious contributions to the country and be loyal to the Ming Lord, and he was not willing to participate too much in it.
So Qin Qiong chose neutrality, and it was also his choice that laid the groundwork for him to retire due to illness. Although Qin Qiong chose neutrality, Li Shimin did not feel jealous of Qin Qiong because of this, after all, Qin Qiong was also a fierce general who had followed him for a long time, and since he chose neutrality, it was a bad thing to let him maintain a neutral attitude. So Li Shimin did not say so much, but planned the change of XuanwuMen together with other famous generals.
Subsequently, in the ninth year of Wude, Li Shimin launched the Xuanwumen Rebellion, killing the crown princes Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, and Li Yuan also chose to abdicate in this coup, and finally two months later, Li Shimin successfully became the emperor. But all this, Qin Qiong also saw in his eyes, and he also knew that he was about to leave this stage of history.
Third, the birds are exhausted, and the bow is hidden
After Li Shimin sat on the throne, he immediately rewarded the heroes who launched the coup with him, but only Qin Qiong was very afraid. Because in such a coup d'état, although his attitude did not affect the overall situation, but the monarchs and courtiers already had a grudge, it was inevitable that they would be afraid of being destroyed that day.
So Qin Qiong began a 12-year career of pretending to be ill, during which Time Li Shimin had been sending a doctor to treat his injuries, but heart diseases could be cured with medication. Qin Qiong, who had no pain in his body, would be dumped every time the Taiyi Decoction left, and only in this way could Qin Qiong finally escape from the center of power.
However, the fact was also just as Qin Qiong expected, during the period of his illness and recuperation, he slowly moved away from the center of power, and at the same time, he did not have any military power or real power in his hands, and Li Shimin no longer had any jealousy about it. In the end, Qin Qiong spent the rest of his life in the peaceful mansion, a generation of famous generals, and finally could not escape the fate of the bird's bow hiding.
However, if you think about it carefully, Li Shimin's move is not unreasonable, and in such a dangerous coup, not showing his attitude is actually a disguised partiality. Qin Qiong consciously favored Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng's team, which made Li Shimin's meritorious group very jealous, even if Li Shimin did not care about anything, but it was inevitable that someone above the court would use this as an excuse to suppress him. Therefore, it is better to retreat into the advance, and finally end up with a happy ending.
epilogue:
A generation of words is worthy of being born in the imperial family, this sentence shows how much bitterness there is in ancient and modern times. Born in the imperial family, in the end, it was only a victim of politics, and many people died in the struggle for imperial power among the princes. Qin Qiong knew this truth very well, and finally chose to retire, and it was this wise choice that allowed him to die well.
But if Qin Qiong firmly chose the Li Shimin Group, then his result may be very perfect. After all, Li Jiancheng's wise minister Wei Zheng Li Shimin could tolerate it, which showed how well Li Shimin did in appointing people on meritocracy. But the gears of history are always so interesting, and there is only one choice and opportunity in a person's life, so only Qin Qiong himself knows which is good or bad!
References: "History Of History Volume 41", "History of Tang"