Changsun Shunde, the founding general of the Tang Dynasty, was the uncle of Li Shimin's wife, Empress Changsun, and one of the twenty-four heroes of Lingyange. For the Tang Dynasty, the eldest grandson Shunde can be described as a minister of Yuan Gong. As early as li yuan's taiyuan rebellion, the eldest son Shunde participated in the conspiracy and arrested Wang Wei and Gao Junya, the sui emperor's close associates who had planted around Li Yuan.
Subsequently, the eldest son Shunde accompanied Li Shimin in his southern expedition to the north, made many military achievements, and was promoted to the rank of Grand General of Zuo Xiaowei and made the Duke of Xueguo. In the ninth year of WuDe (626 AD), the eldest grandson Shunde, together with Qin Qiong and others, participated in the Xuanwumen Rebellion. After Li Shimin ascended the throne as empress, the eldest grandson Shunde received 1200 households. At the same time, Li Shimin also gave him a beautiful palace girl.
The eldest grandson Shunde is both a meritorious servant and a foreign relative, and after his achievements and fame, he will inevitably expand. This man has always been greedy for money, and is a well-known corrupt official. Although Li Shimin knew this, he never bothered.
One day, when the eldest son Shunde was supervising the work of his slaves, he found that they had actually stolen the treasures in the palace, which was a major crime. In order to save their lives, the slaves raised 1,000 silk horses and wanted their masters to keep their lives. When the eldest grandson Shunde saw qian's eyes, he naturally had the right not to see it and pardoned his servants.
However, there is no impermeable wall in the world, and this ugly thing soon reached Li Shimin's ears. The courtiers all believed that the eldest son Shunde should be severely punished immediately. However, Li Shimin said:
"Shunde is a foreign relative, the merit is the yuanxun, the high knighthood is thick, enough to be called rich." If you can diligently read the ancient and modern times, in order to learn from yourself, and promote the mainland family, you should have the same house as the Treasury. Why not obey the name, and be greedy and smelly! ”
The simple translation is that the eldest grandson Shunde is a foreign relative and a yuanxun, and has long been extremely rich. If he can diligently read the past and the present, take it as a mirror, and set an example for the people, I will naturally share the treasury with him. Now he is corrupt and disobedient.
Li Shimin was very disappointed in his eldest son Shunde, but he was not prepared to punish him severely. After all, the eldest son, Shunde, was only greedy for money and did not make political mistakes. If you use this as an excuse to carry out the killing, it is inevitable that you will bear the notoriety of killing the heroes. Therefore, Li Shimin decided to do the opposite.
The next day, Li Shimin sent dozens of silks to his eldest grandson Shunde in front of his courtiers. Li Shimin's behavior puzzled all the courtiers, and Hu Yan, the young secretary of the Dali Temple, proposed to Emperor Taizong: "Shunde is corrupt and perverts the law, and the sin is unforgivable, so why give him silk?" Emperor Taizong replied, "Man is spiritual, and giving him this little silk is better than punishment for him." If he was still ashamed, it was like a beast, and there was no use in killing him. ”
Obviously, Li Shimin's behavior is clearly a reward, but in fact it is a kind of "first salute and then soldier" type of warning. If the eldest grandson Shunde continues to corrupt the law, the punishment he will face will be very terrible. Carrots and sticks, Li Shimin's use of imperial skills can be described as masterful.
As a veteran bureaucrat, the eldest grandson Shunde naturally understood Li Shimin's intentions. In the past, he let go of himself and did not abide by the law, but when he accepted Li Shimin's reward, he no longer dared to act arbitrarily and corruptly. In 628, the eldest grandson Shunde was sent to Zezhou. He put down the shelf of heroes and worked seriously and strictly disciplined. Originally, some officials accepted bribes from the people, and the eldest son Shunde pursued them one by one, and no one was spared, so he was called a good official.
Later, the eldest son Shunde discovered that his predecessors, Zhang Shigui and Zhao Shida, had embezzled and encroached on dozens of acres of good land. For these former comrades-in-arms, the eldest son Shunde showed no mercy, strictly enforced the law, reported them together and chased them back to the poor peasants.
As a result, the eldest grandson Shunde underwent a transformation, from a corrupt official to a good official praised by everyone. However, even so, Li Shimin still despised him in his heart. Once, when the eldest grandson Shunde fell ill because of the death of his daughter, Li Shimin made a harsh comment:
"The eldest grandson Shunde did not have a generous temperament, indulged in the love of those children all day long, and now that he is sick, he is completely self-inflicted, what is worth greeting?"
Even so, after the death of his eldest grandson Shunde, Li Shimin still showed "considerable sorrow", not only abolishing the dynasty for him, but also posthumously awarding him the title of governor of Jingzhou. In Li Shimin's heart, although the eldest grandson Shunde described it as obscene, at least he still had military achievements.