What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
For Tang Taizong Li Shimin, Presumably everyone is very clear to him, although he killed his eldest brother Li Jiancheng and his younger brother Li Yuanji through the "Xuanwumen Change" and successfully inherited the unification. However, for the great achievements he made during his reign, he can indeed be praised as the emperor of the ages, but some people say that after his brothers were killed one after another, perhaps Tang Taizong should not have any brothers.
In fact, he also had a cousin, this person's name was Li Daozong, because they had a great-grandfather, Li Shimin's father, that is, Tang Gaozu, and Li Daozong's father were also cousins, so when he came to Li Shimin, he and Li Daozong naturally became cousins.
Today, we may only know about Li Daozong's impression of Li Daozong in a TV series called "The Legend of Xue Rengui", and our impression of him is very bad due to the miswritten and misrepresentation of film and television works. Li Daozong in this drama is portrayed as a traitor and has framed loyal subjects many times, but the historical Li Daozong is not such a person.
In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan sent Li Shimin to often consult other forces outside, so Li Daozong, who was only 17 years old, went with his cousin to consult. At that time, there were many military generals of the Tang Dynasty, especially the famous military generals, including Li Jing, Qin Shubao, Wei Chigong, etc., but Li Daozong, as a member of the Li family, was no worse than these famous generals in leading the army, and was even praised by Li Shimin as one of the three famous generals of the early Tang Dynasty.
When Li Daozong was 20 years old, because he defeated Dou Jiande and eliminated Wang Shichong's forces, he was given the title of Governor of Lingzhou by Li Yuan, the Emperor Gaozu of Tang, and after that, he led his troops to successfully defeat the invasion of the Turkic army, so he was once again made the King of Rencheng. Li Daozong was not complacent about this, and after Li Shimin succeeded to the throne, he personally participated in famous battles such as the destruction of the Eastern Turks and the destruction of Tuguhun, and made great achievements for the Tang Dynasty in expanding its territory and defending its territorial integrity.
One of the most memorable battles of Lee Dojong was when he was fighting goryeo, when he personally led hundreds of cavalry and sneaked into the Goryeo camp many times. Once discovered, besieged by the Goryeo army that multiplied them, he was eventually able to break out of the siege, so much so that he was praised by Tang Taizong as a hero of Xiao Yong at that time.
Li Daozong was very easy-going, although he was a prince, he did not have any shelf, and often discussed poetry with the literati and scholars of the time, basically the kind of general who could write and fight. When Li Shimin died, he did not want to participate in the affairs of the government, so he fell ill and recuperated at home, preparing to enjoy his old age in peace.
But fate is always so unfair, in the subsequent fang yi ai and princess Gaoyang case, Li Daozong was involved. So he was sent to Xiangzhou, because of his advanced age, coupled with a long period of running and fatigue, he died in prison. It is really regrettable that a generation of Famous Tang Dynasty generals encountered such a situation in their later years.