In the fourth year of Zhenguan (630 AD), Li Shimin sent Tang Jian, the Duke of Juguo, to send an envoy to the Turks to induce Jieli Khan to submit, and Jieli agreed. However, at this time, Li Shimin sent the military god Li Jing to suddenly attack the Turks, and the history books recorded that "Li Jing broke through the attack and escaped from the country." Although Tang Jian picked up a small life and escaped back, the danger could be imagined.
What makes people wonder is, why did Li Shimin do this? If it is said that it is a strategy to lure the enemy, to bait a duke and a famous hero on the list of Ling Yan Pavilion, this price is really too great. If not, then it is not possible to speculate maliciously, that is, Li Shimin wants to borrow a knife to kill people and get rid of Tang Jian.
Judging from the historical records, at least four years before Zhenguan, Li Shimin and Tang Jian had no contradictions, and even the relationship between the two was still very good. For example, the Book of Two Tang Dynasties records that before Li Yuan's Taiyuan army, a generation of wizards, Tang Jian, spoke to Li Shimin about the reasons for the uprising and the strategic plan for peace in the world, and then Li Shimin persuaded Li Yuan to raise an army against Sui.
In short, according to many historical records, Li Shimin and Tang Jian had a good relationship. Before Li Shimin ascended the throne, in addition to Li Yuan's great regard for Tang Jian, Li Shimin also attached great importance to Tang Jian, for example, Li Yuan promoted Tang Jian to the position of Libu Shangshu (the head of the six ministries), and Li Shimin appointed Tang Jian as the general of Tiance (equivalent to the secretary general), and the degree of importance was clear at a glance.
Since this is the case, why did Li Shimin let Tang Jian fall into danger, "Li Jing broke through the attack, and Jian escaped and returned", this record does not indicate whether Li Shimin had previously informed Tang Jian of Li Jing's raid plan. However, judging from the historical records, there should be no explicit warning. If it had been discussed in advance, as a generation of miracles, the history books should have been recorded.
Of course, whether it was a good negotiation or not, Li Shimin let Li Jing raid, which would put Tang Jian in danger, which could be described as a line between life and death. Could it be that Li Shimin was dissatisfied with Tang Jian? In 1978, a Tang Dynasty tomb was excavated near the Zhaoling Tomb in Xi'an, and the owner of the tomb was Tang Jian, who may have uncovered the truth and subverted history on Tang Jian's epitaph.
When Li Yuan raised an army in Taiyuan, in the previous historical records, without exception, Li Shimin was highlighted, and there were two main theories: (1) Tang Jian persuaded Li Yuan to raise an army, but Li Yuan hesitated, and then Li Shimin appeared, and also used the beauty plan, which finally strengthened Li Yuan's determination to raise an army, (2) as mentioned above, Tang Jian first met Li Shimin, and then Li Shimin persuaded Li Yuan.
However, on Tang Jian's epitaph, the records are not the same, perhaps restoring a real history.
“
Emperor Taiwu (Li Yuan) issued the title of Jinyang (Taiyuan), gongzhi stopped, if He Fuqi, with stone to throw water, a hundred strategies are exhaustive; obedience to words, thousands of miles only win the decision
”
The sentence that Li Yuan "obeys his words" shows Li Yuan's positive attitude toward the start of the army. It can even be suspected that Li Yuan had already planned to oppose Sui, and Tang Jian just happened to meet him. From this record, it can be seen that Li Yuan's decision to raise an army in Taiyuan had little to do with Li Shimin, which subverted history. Because in the history books, the key credit for the Taiyuan uprising was attributed to Li Shimin.
Therefore, when some scholars saw this scene, they couldn't help but sigh: No wonder Li Shimin wanted to kill Tang Jian, and from this record, it can be seen that Li Shimin may want to kill people and bury the truth. Obviously, if Tang Jian's epitaph is true, it will also seriously affect Li Shimin's image, and it is even more necessary to re-evaluate Li Yuan's merits. Therefore, when Li Jing raided and trapped Tang Jian in danger, Li Shimin did not seem to have made any reprimands for Li Jing's behavior.
Fortunately, Tang Jian had a great life and escaped in the rebellion. Perhaps, Tang Jian knew Li Shimin's attitude toward him in his heart, so Tang Jian began to "defile himself." Subsequently, Tang Jianju did not pay attention to affairs, often indulged in drinking with guests, and made some small mistakes from time to time, so that Li Shimin demoted him to an official.
Because Tang Jian could be a man with his tail between his legs, plus Tang Taizong was also worthy of being an emperor throughout the ages, and his heart was very reachable, so he let Go Jian go and included him in the Ling Yan Pavilion, but only ranked third from the bottom. In 656, when Tang Jian died, Li Shimin had been dead for eight years, which may be why this truth is recorded in the epitaph.