In the early morning of June 4, 626 A.D. (the ninth year of Wude), Li Shimin, the king of Qin, led a group of fierce generals of the Qin Mansion to ambush in the Linhu Hall near the Xuanwu Gate in advance, and when the prince Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, the king of Qi, passed by the court, they suddenly killed and killed the two, and then led the troops into the Taiji Palace, forcing Li Yuan, the ancestor of the Tang Dynasty, to abdicate as the emperor and seize the throne of the emperor, which is the famous "Xuanwumen Change" in history.
Why did Li Jiancheng fail in the struggle? Is Li Jiancheng really inferior to Li Shimin in history?
People with strength often lose in the struggle because their hearts are too soft. As the crown prince, Li Jiancheng's strength far surpassed that of Li Shimin, the king of Qin, and the strength of the crown prince Li Jiancheng was even stronger when he formed an alliance with Li Yuanji, the king of Qi. If they wanted to kill Li Shimin, Li Shimin would have become a ghost under the knife a long time ago. However, they were too soft-hearted, always thinking of brotherhood, and couldn't bear to attack their brothers, so they died at the hands of their brothers. Under autocratic rule, either don't fight for power, or if you want to fight, you have a black conscience.
1. Li Jiancheng is a righteous prince, and he is also a young talent with both wisdom and bravery, and he is conceited and disdainful of exchanging killing for power
Li Jiancheng is the successor personally chosen by Li Yuan, the rightful prince, and as the eldest son, he bears the heavy responsibility of the family. His talent is not below Li Shimin, he is also a young man with both wisdom and courage.
At the end of the Sui Dynasty, when the world was in turmoil, heroes from all over the country surged up, and Li Yuan wanted to continue to hibernate, Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng suggested that their fathers rebelled. And Li Jiancheng is in assisting Li Yuan to fight for the world, made great contributions, when the army was raised, recruited civilian children, Li Jiancheng was worried that he could not fight without formal training, so he personally purged the three armies.
He even shared weal and woe with the soldiers in the barracks, and did not harass the common people on the way to the army, and the fruits and vegetables planted by the people on the side of the road must be paid to enjoy, which is completely the practice of the righteous army, Li Jiancheng practiced himself, ate and lived with the soldiers, and did not have a little noble children's style, Li Jiancheng led his troops to wherever he went, and the people expressed their willingness to take refuge in service.
There is a county Cheng Gao Deru refused to surrender, Li Jiancheng personally led the army to attack the city, captured Gao Deru alive and beheaded him, brave and abnormal, but he was kind-hearted, and the rest of the unrelated personnel were all pardoned, Li Jiancheng pacified the West River, all the way to destroy the withering and decaying unstoppable, Li Yuan was very happy to hear it, and named him the Duke of Longxi, and the governor of the left leading army.
Li Jiancheng is deeply loved by Li Yuan, and he doesn't bother to use other means to gain status, which is where he is conceited and where he neglects to take precautions. Wei Zheng and the others did not suggest that he kill Li Shimin, Li Jiancheng, who has been favored and valued by his father since he was a child, thinks that the emperor's throne will not fall, and is unwilling to go on a killing spree because of a suggestion.
Second, the people around Li Jiancheng advised him to get rid of Li Shimin more than once, but his hesitation made him lose the opportunity to eliminate his political enemies
Li Jiancheng is not a person without virtue and talent, he has a wise and brave adviser around him, and Wei Zheng, who followed him, has been persuading Li Jiancheng to kill Li Shimin, but he did not listen.
In the ninth year of Wude (626), Li Shimin launched the Xuanwumen Incident and killed two brothers, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, and the fratricide was tragic. After Li Shimin's yellow robe was added, he heard that Wei Zheng had often advised Li Jiancheng in the past, asking him to transfer Li Shimin elsewhere, Li Shimin asked Li Jiancheng: "Why do you want to separate our brothers?" Wei Zheng replied: "If the prince had done what I said, there would have been no disaster today." From this incident, it can be seen that Wei Zheng did not blow the wind around Li Jiancheng and asked him to transfer Li Shimin.
But Li Jiancheng did not listen to these suggestions, he did not want to turn the struggle for the throne into a bloody fight, he even reported a trace of unrealistic illusions, he tried to follow his own way, step by step to eradicate Li Shimin, it was because of his hesitation that the situation became serious, and finally died under Li Shimin's arrow in the Xuanwumen Incident.
"Taizong tasted from Gaozu and was fortunate to be the first, and Yuan Ji subdued his protector Yuwenbao in the bed, and he will stab Taizong. I am afraid that the completion will not be fruitful, Yuan Ji said, "For my brother's ears, what harm will it do to me!" It can be seen from this sentence that not only Wei Zheng and others suggested to prevent Li Shimin, but even Li Yuanji wanted to help him assassinate Li Shimin, he was afraid that this would not happen, so he stopped Li Yuanji, Li Yuanji said angrily: "This is your business, brother, and we have nothing to do." ”
He was indecisive again and again, soft-hearted, and missed the best opportunity to eliminate political opponents. In fact, since ancient times, there have been many such things about losing fighters because of indecision, such as the "Hongmen Banquet", if Xiang Yu killed Liu Bang, would there be no later things? In the same way, if Li Jiancheng killed Li Shimin without hesitation, would the history of the Tang Dynasty be rewritten?
Li Jiancheng's ideal is beautiful, he wants to achieve the goal of eradicating Li Shimin step by step, but he ignores that the opponent is a tiger, not a sheep, and Li Shimin has a group of fierce people around him, who are also wise and brave, and have excellent strategies, and his hesitation makes him lose a chance to win.
3. Li Jiancheng's opponent, Li Shimin, is more thoughtful, more decisive in action, and more ruthless in his methods.
Li Shimin can stand out in the Xuanwumen coup, there must be something different about him, his thoughts are deeper, his actions are more decisive, and his methods are more ruthless.
Therefore, Li Jiancheng is also facing a powerful role, it can even be said that this is a bloodthirsty tiger, he mercilessly kills his brother and forces the palace, he doesn't care about the means, only cares about the result, his road to imperial power is stained with the blood of his relatives, in the face of such a ruthless person, every hesitation of Li Jiancheng is equivalent to losing an opportunity.
Li Shimin first obtained the power to command the troops of the expedition abroad, defeated the forces of Xue Ju, Song Jingang, Liu Wuzhou, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, etc., and won the support of most of the people. He set up the Tiance Mansion and the Literature Museum, and his strength was enough to confront Li Jiancheng, which shows that Li Shimin has never been soft on Li Jiancheng.
Li Jiancheng used astrological superstition to frame Li Shimin, but he was calm and unhurried, and took the first step before Li Jiancheng to report him and Li Yuanji's defilement of the harem, and his words were convincing, making Li Jiancheng speechless.
After dealing with these family affairs, he had a clear reason to launch a coup d'état, in June of the ninth year of Wude, Li Shimin controlled Xuanwumen, and by the way, his father was also held hostage. When Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji did not react at all, they decisively launched a coup d'état, Li Shimin personally shot Li Jiancheng, and his subordinate general Chi Jingde beheaded Li Yuanji, and Li Shimin exchanged the blood of his relatives for imperial power.
Li Shimin did not have Li Jiancheng's hesitation, after he killed his brother, he did not give his descendants a chance to take revenge at all, and killed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, which shows the cruelty of his heart.
Li Shimin's skills are superior, and the Xuanwumen change has a great chance of winning strategically, but it is tactically dangerous, of course, Li Shimin is not a person who can be slaughtered, and it can be seen from many arrangements that Li Shimin has already premeditated, such as the people who took refuge in Li Jiancheng's camp to Li Shimin's camp, such as Lu Shiheng and Jing Junhong who were attracted by Li Shimin, such as the key figure Chang He. Putting aside the elements of the palace fight, the Xuanwumen Revolution was a very wonderful military operation, inserting internal responses, intelligence gathering, preemptive strikes, and destroying the leader.
Li Jiancheng is not incapable, on the contrary, he is a very capable heir, and he was generous and benevolent when he raised troops in the early Tang Dynasty. In the competition, he has the upper hand, and his assistant ministers have no more than one Wei Zheng; his defeat lies in carelessness, conceit, underestimation of the enemy, and benevolence and righteousness.
In short: Li Jiancheng is not as incompetent as said in film and television dramas, nor is he as brutal as said in film and television dramas; he took into account his brotherly feelings, so he did not use the knife against Li Shimin for a long time, and he trusted the so-called own people too much, so he was betrayed by Wang Hui and Chang He; this is the more fundamental reason for his failure.