Fang Xuanling and the eldest grandson Wuji were both ministers of Li Shimin, and in the early days of Li Shimin's reign, the eldest grandson Wuji was obviously more favored than Fang Xuanling. Due to the suppression of his sister Empress Eldest Sun, the eldest grandson Wuji had been a high-powered and light soy sauce player until ten years before Zhenguan.
In the case of Du Ruyi's death and the eldest grandson's unscrupulous playing with soy sauce, Fang Xuanling became the prime minister of Zhenguan. The Tang Dynasty implemented the group phase system, and Li Shimin was in the dynasty for twenty-three years, using a total of twenty-seven prime ministers. Fang Xuanling is the leader among the prime ministers and the well-deserved first prime minister of Zhenguan.
The eldest grandson did not obey Fang Xuanling, but was suppressed by his sister, and could only envy and hate Fang Xuanling. After empress dowager's death, Emperor Taizong of Tang sent his eldest grandson Wu Ji out of the mountains to serve as chancellor. Although the eldest grandson wuji is no longer the role of playing soy sauce, there is still a certain gap compared with Fang Xuanling.
The crown prince Li Chengqian and the Wei king Li Tai fought fiercely for the chair in the Taiji Hall. The eldest grandson supported his eldest nephew Li Chengqian, and Fang Xuanling supported Li Tai the Prince of Wei. A figure of Fang Xuanling's level could not personally support Li Tai, the King of Wei, otherwise he would be suspected of forming a party for personal gain. Fang Xuanling remotely commanded behind the scenes, and he let his son Fang Yi'ai join the Wei king's shogunate, and also let Cen Wenwen and others become the pawns of Li Tai.
The eldest grandson Wuji explicitly supported the eldest nephew Li Chengqian from the beginning, offending the second nephew Li Tai. After Li Chengqian was deposed, if Li Tai ascended to the throne, the life of the eldest grandson would certainly not be better. The eldest grandson wujie immediately made a decision and supported the third nephew Li Zhi. Changsun Wuji, in conjunction with Chu Suiliang and others, defeated the Wei wang party led by Fang Xuanling and put Li Zhi, the king of Jin, on the throne of the crown prince.
The New Book of Tang compiled by Ouyang Xiu records that when Li Shimin announced that Li Zhi was crown prince, in front of Fang Xuanling and others, he said to Li Zhi: "Uncle Xu Ruyi, it is advisable to thank him." ”
When Li Zhi heard his father's words, he immediately followed the etiquette of his nephew to his uncle and thanked his eldest grandson. Li Shimin crowned Li Zhi as crown prince, marking the failure of Fang Xuanling to support Li Tai. At this time, although Fang Xuanling was still the prime minister, there were signs of falling out of favor.
Li Shimin went on an expedition to Liaodong and took his eldest grandson Wujie on a expedition. Li Shimin asked Fang Xuanling to stay in the capital division, and he was afraid that Fang Xuanling would control the prince. Li Shimin sent the crown prince Li Zhi to Dingzhou, Hebei Province, and called him the governor of grain and grass. After Tang Taizong set out on the expedition, Fang Xuanling encountered a crisis of killing opportunities.
Someone found Fang Xuanling and denounced Fang Xuanling for plotting rebellion. Fang Xuanling did not dare to deal with the informants without authorization, and could only send the informants to the front line. When Li Shimin heard that someone had accused Fang Xuanling of plotting rebellion, he killed the informant without saying a word. Xiao Yu, a meritorious servant of Lingyange, the chancellor, and the Duke of Song, also denounced Fang Xuanling for rebellion, and Li Shimin stripped Xiao Yu of his title and demoted Xiao Yu to the outside world.
Historians generally believe that the two incidents of denouncing Fang Xuanling's rebellion were the eldest grandson Wujie. The eldest grandson wanted to kill Fang Xuanling and then replace him as prime minister. Li Shimin showed with practical actions that he believed that Fang Xuanling would not rebel. The eldest grandson saw that he could not shake Fang Xuanling, so he designed to cut off the prime ministers promoted by Fang Xuanling.
Zhang Liang was originally from the Wagang Army, and was introduced by Fang Xuanling to Li Shimin, the King of Qin. Zhang Liang flew all the way to the Zhenguan Dynasty, not only becoming a great general, but also becoming a prime minister. Liu Huan, the character Si Dao, is also the prime minister supported by Fang Xuanling. The eldest son asked Chu Suiliang and others to come forward, accused Zhang Liang and Liu Huan of plotting against each other, and sent Zhang Liang and Liu Huan to the guillotine.
Zhang Liang and Liu Huan were killed, and Cen Wenwen died depressed. The prime ministers of the Fang Xuanling clan have lost their positions, and Chu Suiliang and others of the eldest grandson Wu Jie have entered the post of Zaifu one after another. Fang Xuanling knew that the eldest grandson could not tolerate himself, and he also knew that Tang Taizong trusted the eldest grandson more. Fang Xuanling judged the situation and took the initiative to submit his resignation and apply to resign from the post of prime minister.
Li Shimin wanted his eldest son Wuji to become a chancellor, and he was already waiting for Fang Xuanling's resignation. Li Shimin received Fang Xuanling's resignation and did not approve it immediately, but followed the process to comfort him. Fang Xuanling judged the situation and repeatedly applied for resignation. Li Shimin played enough consolation drama, highly praised Fang Xuanling's contribution to datang, and then approved Fang Xuanling's resignation.
Fang Xuanling resigned and conceded defeat to the eldest grandson Wuji, hoping that the eldest grandson Wujie could spare himself and his family. The eldest grandson was narrow-minded, and in the case of Fang Xuanling conceding defeat, the eldest grandson still refused to let Go of Fang Xuanling. The eldest grandson was jealous and had to meet with Fang Xuanling. When Fang Xuanling was alive, there was Li Shimin covered, and the eldest grandson could not help Fang Xuanling.
Emperor Taizong of Tang died, and Li Zhi ascended the throne as emperor. The eldest grandson was unscrupulous to cover the sky with one hand, and at this time, Fang Xuanling was already worthy of the Taimiao Temple. The eldest grandson Wujie vented his envy and jealousy of Fang Xuanling on Fang Hui'ai. The eldest grandson Wuji concocted the "Fang Relic Love Conspiracy Case", causing the Fang Xuanling family to be destroyed and killed, and also threw Fang Xuanling's tablet out of the Taimiao Temple.
Poor Fang's beloved love is actually a victim of Fang Xuanling's struggle with the eldest grandson Wujie. The Fang Yi Ai conspiracy case is essentially the aftershock of the power struggle between the eldest son Wuji and Fang Xuanling, and that's all.
Remarks: The historical materials of this article are derived from the New Book of Tang compiled by Ouyang Xiu, and the pictures in this article are all taken from Yongshu Park, Yongfeng County, Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province, Ouyang Xiu's hometown.