At the side of every founding emperor, there were many civilian and military generals. After these people helped the emperor lay a foundation, the emperor would usually reward them for their merits. However, there are some generals who have high merit and shock the lord, but they will cause the emperor to be jealous. As the saying goes: "Rabbits and dogs cook, birds hide their bows", many founding heroes are difficult to end well. Today, Shi Jun will introduce you to the eight founding heroes of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Yuan stills
First place: Liu Wenjing.
Liu Wenjing, zi Zhaoren, a native of Wugong County, Jingzhao County. For Li Yuan to raise troops from Jinyang, Liu Wenjing played a key role. Liu Wenjing served as the Commander of Jinyang County at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and was friends with Pei Ning, the then superintendent of Jinyang Palace. When Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang, was appointed as the retainer of Jinyang, Liu Wenjing saw that Li Yuan had great ambitions and took the initiative to befriend him. And for Li Yuan's second son Li Shimin, Liu Wenjing is also full of praise. Later, the world was in chaos, and Liu Wenjing forced Li Yuan to raise an army under Li Shimin's arrangement, and was ordered to contact the Turks.
Stills of Liu Wenjing
After that, Liu Wenjing went south with his army and defeated the Huyalang generals Sang Xian and Hedong Tong to defend QuTutong. After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Liu Wenjing was promoted to the post of prime minister and was given the title of Duke of Lu. But because he was always inferior to Pei Ning in terms of status, he felt angry in his heart, so he drunkenly talked wildly. Unexpectedly, he was reported by the concubine for rebellion, and Li Yuan, the emperor of Tang Gaozu, was already suspicious of Liu Wenjing, and coupled with Pei's rumors, he was executed. Later, when Li Shimin ascended the throne as emperor, his reputation was restored.
Second place: Dewey.
Du Fuwei, whose real name was Du Yao (杜尧), was one of the leaders of the peasant rebel army at the end of the Sui Dynasty. In the ninth year of the Sui Dynasty Emperor Daye, he joined forces with the Auxiliary Dukes and occupied a large area of Jianghuai, surrendering to the Emperor Yang Tong and the Tang Dynasty successively. In order to win him over, Li Yuan made him the King of Wu and shangzhu guo, and gave him the surname Li. Because of his support for Li Shimin, the King of Qin, in pacifying Luoyang, he was given the title of Crown Prince Taibao (太保) and was above Li Yuanji(李元吉), the King of Qi.
Dewey stills
However, in the sixth year of WuDe, he was deposed and stripped of his title because he was implicated in the rebellion of the Auxiliary Duke. In the seventh year of WuDe,Fu Gongyi surrendered and was sentenced to death. On the eve of his death, he pulled a cushion and said that Dewey was the mastermind. So Li Yuan sent him to prison, and soon after he was unjustly killed in prison. After Li Shimin succeeded to the throne, he was rehabilitated.
Third place: Kan Ling.
Kan Ling is the adopted son of Du Fuwei, with a majestic appearance, who is good at using strange knives and killing several people in every move. When Du Fuwei occupied Jianghuai, Kan Ling had considerable military merit and was given the title of Left General. Later, Du Fuwei surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and Kan Ling also followed. After Fu Gong's rebellion, the Tang army, with Li Xiaogong the Prince of Zhao as his commander and Li Jing, Li Shiji, and Kan Ling as generals, launched a general attack on Fu Gong. The Tang army was strong and strong, and the auxiliary gong lian suffered defeat in the battle, so he chose to surrender. As a result, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan sentenced Fu Gong to death.
Kan Ling stills
It may be that he is not willing to go on the road alone, and Fu Gongruo is the mastermind before he dies. Because Li Xiaogong confiscated the private property of Du Fuwei and Kan Ling when confiscating the anti-thief family property before, Kan Ling and Li Xiaogong had a big fight. Li Xiaogong took advantage of this opportunity to falsely accuse Li Yuan of rebellion between Du Fuwei and Kan Ling, and executed them. After Li Shimin ascended to the throne, he was rehabilitated.
Fourth place: Luo Yi.
Luo Yi was an important general in the late Sui and early Tang dynasties, fierce and cunning, and familiar with military affairs. Because of his repeated military achievements, he was sent to the general Ofhu Benlang in the last year of the Sui Dynasty, stationed in Zhuo County, and took charge of Youzhou. In the third year of WuDe, Luo Yi surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, was given the surname of Li, and was given the title of King of Yan County. He assisted the Tang army in eliminating Liu Heimin and befriended Li Jiancheng, the Prince of Cain. After Li Shimin ascended the throne, Luo Yi was worshipped as the Kaifu Yi Tongsan Division, and his position was higher than that of the Three Dukes.
Luo Yi stills
However, because he had offended Li Shimin and was worried that Li Shimin would not let him go, he rebelled in the first year of zhenguan and occupied Fengzhou. Li Shimin sent Changsun Wuji and Wei Chigong to attack Luo Yi, and Luo Yi was forced to flee to the Turks. At the border of Ningzhou, his men beheaded him and sent his head to Chang'an.
Fifth place: Zhang Liang.
Zhang Liang was one of the "Twenty-Four Heroes" of Lingyange, born into poverty in his early years, participated in the Wagang Uprising, and was subordinate to Xu Shixun. After surrendering to the Tang Dynasty, he became a general under Li Shimin, the King of Qin. After Emperor Taizong of Tang succeeded to the throne, he was promoted to the throne and was trusted by Li Shimin. In particular, after exposing the rebellion of the official Shangshu Hou Jun, he was also promoted to Shangshu of the Punishment Department. However, Zhang Liang was late in life, spoiling the warlock in his later years, and had a different ambition, and adopted 500 nominal sons. Eventually denounced, Li Shimin beheaded him in Chang'an West City.
Zhang Liang stills
Sixth place: Hou Junji.
Hou Junji was also a favorite general of Li Shimin, the King of Qin, and in his early years he followed Li Shimin to conquer the four sides and made many contributions to the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Because he actively planned and participated in the "Xuanwumen Revolution", after Li Shimin ascended the throne and became emperor, he was worshipped as a general of the Left Guard and was given the title of Duke of Lu. Later, he participated in major military operations such as the destruction of the Eastern Turks, the great destruction of Tuguhun, and the destruction of Gaochangguo. However, because he was involved in the rebellion of the crown prince Li Chengqian, he was executed for sitting on the crime, and his family was exiled to Lingnan.
Hou Junji stills
Seventh place: Li Junxian.
Among the several heroes who were killed, Li Junxian should have died the most unjustly. In his early years, he participated in the Wagang Uprising and was loyal to Li Mi, the Duke of Wei. After Qin Shubao surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, Li Junxian also followed him, and has been following Li Shimin ever since. In the process of attacking Dou Jiande, Liu Heimin and others, Li Junxian had quite a battle achievement.
Li Junxian stills
After Emperor Taizong of Tang succeeded Tonzong Li Shimin, Li Junxian moved zuo wu to the rank of lieutenant general, enfeoffed Wulian County, and garrisoned Xuanwumen. However, due to the rumor that "the heroine Wu Clan has the world" circulated in the government and the public, his nickname was "Five Niangzi", so he was executed by Li Shimin. Therefore, Li Junxian completely carried the black cauldron for Wu Zetian. Therefore, Wu Zetian ascended the throne as empress dowager, and posthumously awarded him the title of Grand General of Zuo Xiaowei, Assassin of Taizhou, and Duke of Wuchang County.
Eighth place: Xue Wanche.
Xue Wanche was subordinate to Luo Yi during the Sui Dynasty, and after Wu De's return to the Tang Dynasty in the early years, he was given the title of CheQi General. He participated in the pacification of Dou Jiande and Liu Heimin. Later, he defected to Li Jiancheng, the prince of Cain, and was quite appreciated. At the time of the XuanwuMen Rebellion, Xue Wanche led the Soldiers and Horses of the Eastern Palace to fight with Li Shimin's Qin Dynasty's qin royals, and fled to Zhongnan Mountain after failure. Later, Li Shimin repeatedly summoned him, and he agreed to go out of the mountain and married Princess Danyang.
Stills of Xue Wanche
Later, when he pacified the Turks, Tuguhun, Xueyantuobu, and Goguryeo, he made many great achievements. However, due to his four years in Yonghui, he plotted to support Li Yuanjing, the King of Jing, as emperor, and was executed by Emperor Gaozong of Tang. Therefore, of the eight founding heroes of the early Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan killed three, Li Shimin killed four, and the last one was executed by Li Zhi.