Since ancient times, there have been many examples of fratricide and fathers and sons attacking each other because of the struggle for the throne. It was not until after the Song Dynasty that this phenomenon gradually decreased due to the deep penetration of Confucianism in the hearts of the people.
In the Xuanwumen Incident, Li Shimin shot Li Jiancheng with an arrow, why did he cut off his head?
When Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were all killed, Li Shimin even ordered someone to cut off Li Jiancheng's head, and he did this mainly for the following reasons:
- End the battle as soon as possible. When Li Shimin and the two brothers were fighting, Li Jiancheng's subordinates Feng Li, Xue Wanche and others had already noticed it, and in a hurry, they led two thousand elite troops to the Xuanwu Gate, and when they broke through the encirclement and entered the Xuanwu Gate, they found that their master's head was cut off, and they suddenly lost the motivation to resist, so they would quickly rout and flee, if Li Shimin did not do it at that time, it was likely that they would fight to the death, and finally further expand the battle damage.
- Punish someone as a warning to others. Li Shimin cut off Li Jiancheng's head not only to deter their remaining subordinates, but more importantly, to warn his father Li Yuan that this was the end of resisting him. Because Li Shimin's strength at that time had completely threatened Li Yuan's throne, since he even killed his own brother, it was not bad to force his father to abdicate, and the final result was naturally that Li Yuan chose to compromise.
- Pass the buck. This Xuanwumen incident was originally caused by Li Shimin, but in order to leave a good reputation in future generations, he decided to shift all the responsibility to Li Jiancheng and them. Killing the crown prince itself is a great crime to exterminate the nine clans, and Li Shimin is not doing anything, and even his own Lao Tzu is ousted from power. After ascending to the throne, he naturally became a dictator, in order to block the mouth of the people, he created a precedent for interfering in the records of historians, belittled Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji to nothing, and at the same time threw the pot of the Xuanwumen incident on them, making his act of cutting off his brother's head a "helpless" thing.
To sum up, Li Shimin killed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji brothers and cut off their heads, on the one hand, he directly killed his competitors, and on the other hand, he made an example of chickens and monkeys, ensuring that the throne was successfully obtained.
The contradiction between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin
After Li Yuan Taiyuan raised troops, he quickly developed and grew with the help of the situation of chaos in the world, and his subordinates were like clouds, and fierce generals were like rain, so he became the strongest one among the heroes at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and he could completely unify the world and create a prosperous era. In the process of the rise of the Tang Dynasty, in addition to Li Yuan's personal ability, Li Yuan's three sons played an important role.
The eldest Li Jiancheng, the second Li Shimin, and the third Li Yuanji, everyone is strong, but when it comes to comprehensive strength, Li Shimin is still superior, especially the military ability is obviously superior, and it can be said that he has made the first contribution to the growth of Datang.
According to traditional practice, Emperor Li Yuan established his eldest son Li Jiancheng as the crown prince, but Li Shimin's ambition, strength, and prestige were not at all under Li Jiancheng, and even more so, which caused a deep contradiction between the two.
Li Jiancheng was worried that Li Shimin would pose a threat to his crown prince, but in fact Li Shimin had already posed a serious threat, so he was wary of Li Shimin everywhere, and even wanted to get rid of him quickly; Li Shimin, on the contrary, was worried that Li Jiancheng would be envious, jealous and hateful to him, and look for an opportunity to kill himself, and he was also very excited about the throne.
The contradiction between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin is irreconcilable, because this is not a personal grudge, but a struggle for the fundamental interests of the throne, and it is really a life-and-death struggle between you and me and me.
Summary: The main responsibility for the occurrence of the "Xuanwumen Change" lies with Li Yuan, maybe Li Yuan also wants to balance the forces of all parties, but he didn't expect that in the end, the emperor's art was not slippery, and he was forced into the palace by Li Shimin. Li Shimin won in the "Xuanwumen Change", careful planning is the key, and it is estimated that these schemes were planned by the eldest grandson Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and others.
Li Shimin's plan was perfect, but something went wrong, Li Shimin himself was almost killed by Li Yuanji, and Wei Chigong appeared in time to save King Qin's life. And when the soldiers of Xuanwumen were about to be unable to resist, showing the head of the crown prince Li Jiancheng to Feng Li and others was also the key to success.
Finally, to sum up, the key point of the victory of Li Shimin, the king of Qin, was that Chang He, the general stationed in the Xuanwu Gate, and the courage and careful planning of Wei Chigong, cut off the heads of the crown prince and the king of Qi, and controlled Li Yuan. These points are basically indispensable, which is why Li Shimin dared to risk the world's condemnation and cut off Li Jiancheng's head.