introduction
Sima Guang said: Taizong's civil and military talents are higher than those of the ancients. After three generations, China's prosperity is unknown.
Ouyang Xiu said: Shengzai, Taizong's entrepreneurship is also! In addition to the Sui Rebellion, it is comparable to Tang and Wu, and the beauty of governance is a few percent and Kang.
Li Shimin's martial arts set the country, pacified the world, and ended the turbulent era at the end of the Sui Dynasty;
So why did Li Yuan choose Li Jiancheng instead of Li Shimin?
Li Shimin has a long-term vision and lofty ambitions
In the last years of the Sui Dynasty, due to Yang Guang's poor military force, he repeatedly raised swords and soldiers, which caused the domestic people to have a poor life, and the officials were also full of complaints. Yang Guang did not repent, but was suspicious of the minister, and killed the military generals. Where there is oppression, there is resistance, so the peasants in the country have risen up one after another, and gradually some nobles who hold military power have also begun to listen to the tune and do not listen to the propaganda, and the yang and yin finally developed into armed secession.
Li Shimin was still a teenager at this time, but he had a long-term vision, and he could see from the current signs that the Sui Dynasty was exhausted, and felt that the uprising at this time must be promising. So he began to recruit customers and recruit heroes from the rivers and lakes. Although he is in a famous family, he is low-key and friendly, never put on the shelf of the son of a family, he often squandered money, and his actions are very appetizing to all kinds of heroes. Soon there were all kinds of heroes and thieves and capable people around him, and all of them were willing to swear allegiance to the death.
After Li Yuan served in Taiyuan and became the highest military governor in Shanxi and Hedong, Li Shimin began to advise him and encourage Li Yuan to revolt. Li Shimin said: "Tang is our feudal country, and Taiyuan is where Tang is located. Now we are here because we have given a good opportunity, but we have not taken it, and disaster is coming. Later, Li Yuan listened to his suggestion and raised a flag against Sui in Taiyuan.
Li Shimin's various performances in the troubled times can be seen that he is not a thing in the pool, he doesn't want to live under people for a long time, he has always had a voice in his heart, and he keeps shouting, "The prince will have a kind of Xiangning?"
Li Shimin's military achievements are great, and his achievements are high
In the twelfth year of the Great Cause (616), Li Yuan was appointed to stay in Taiyuan, and Li Shimin followed him to Taiyuan. There was Wei Dao'er, the thief chief of Gaoyang, who came to attack Taiyuan, and Li Yuan attacked Wei Dao'er, went deep into the camp of thieves, and was surrounded by people. Li Shimin broke through with elite cavalry and rescued Li Yuan in the midst of thousands of enemy camps.
After Li Yuan raised troops in Taiyuan, Li Shimin took the initiative to ask for orders to attack Hexi, and after capturing Hexi, he announced a series of decrees that made him famous among many rebel armies. Therefore, Li Yuan made Li Shimin the prince of Dunhuang County, and the governor of the right leading army.
After Li Yuan became emperor, Li Shimin divided the forces for Li Yuan's three Qing Dynasty. Defeated Xue Ju and Xue Rengao to pacify Longyou, Hexi, defeated Song Jingang and Liu Wuzhou to protect Taiyuan and pacify Daibei, and fought the Battle of Tiger Prison to pacify Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande and other warlord forces. Since then, Li Shimin has made great achievements in war, and his prestige among the military and civilians has been rising, especially after the Battle of Tiger Prison, when the squad returned to Beijing and was ceremoniously welcomed by the soldiers and civilians of Chang'an. In October of the fourth year of Wude, Li Shimin's meritorious and ordinary titles were no longer enough to reflect his brilliant military exploits, so he was named "General Tiance", above the prince, second only to the prince.
Li Shimin is not the crown prince
At this time, Li Shimin was already a very popular minister, and he won the support of the people, and he had a large number of contacts in the army. So why didn't Li Yuan choose Li Shimin to be his heir after returning to the heavens? In fact, according to the historical background at that time and the situation of Li Yuan's family, we can conclude that there are three reasons:
First, the crown prince Li Jiancheng's achievements and ability are not below Li Shimin
Li Jiancheng is known as the founding prince with the greatest credit, and Li Jiancheng is not inferior to Li Shimin at all. At the beginning of the army, Li Shimin led the right route army, Li Jiancheng led the left route army, Jiancheng led the army to attack Xihe, take Huoyi, reject Tongguan, and then conquer Chang'an and capture the capital of the Sui Dynasty. After that, Liu Heimin led the Turks to revolt in Shandong, and the prince of Jiancheng asked for his own conquest, and finally put down the rebellion in Shandong.
After Li Jiancheng was named the crown prince, as the prince of the country, he should not risk his life, and the world was initially determined that he needed to assist Li Yuan in handling government affairs in the imperial court, and then it would be difficult to see him and lead the troops to the battle. This also gave Li Shimin more opportunities to lead the army and seize military merits.
Li Jiancheng's political foresight and the concept and practice of governing the world are even more sophisticated and mature than Li Shimin. Li Jiancheng has a benevolent personality, a courteous corporal, gentle and elegant, and can often put forward good policies for governing the country. Therefore, some scholars later said that even if Li Jiancheng became the second generation of monarchs of the Tang Dynasty, his achievements would not necessarily be worse than the rule of Zhenguan.
The primogeniture inheritance system is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, reasonable and reasonable, and can make the country more stable
Li Jiancheng is the eldest son of Li Yuan, and in the feudal period, "establishing a long and standing heir" was the legal principle of the inheritance of the throne. In this regard, Li Jiancheng has more advantages than Li Shiming.
Secondly, Li Yuan saw Emperor Wen of Sui, abolished his eldest son Yang Yong and established Yang Guang as the crown prince, which led to chaos in the world, and the bloody example of the death of Sui II was right in front of him. Yang Yong and Yang Guang are both outstanding in military and political affairs, which is similar to Li Jiancheng and Li Shiming in front of them. Li Yuan was afraid of following in the footsteps of the Sui Dynasty, so he did not dare to break the tradition easily, fearing that he would die like the Sui Dynasty.
Balance the forces of all parties, so that you can be the emperor for a few more years
Li Shimin saw the opportunity to compete for the world and win Kyushu during the early turmoil of the world, and encouraged Li Yuan to raise troops. With his foresight and ambition, how could he just be a Qin king with peace of mind, and then let others sit in the world. I think Li Yuan also knew Li Shimin's ambitions, so he made Li Jiancheng the crown prince, so that Li Shimin's power could be balanced, and there would be no more tragedy like Yang Guang who killed his brother and father for the throne. You must know that during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties not far from them, in order to compete for the throne, the matter of killing brothers, brothers, fathers, and kings is really not new at all.
epilogue
Although Li Yuan finally chose to establish Li Jiancheng as the crown prince for various reasons. However, the competitive relationship between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin did not ease because Li Jiancheng became the second prince, but became more intense. Both of them have a loyal and power-hungry group of pro-pumps. They fought for themselves, their families, and those who followed him. The struggle for power has always been very cruel, especially the battle for the throne. Dynasties and dynasties have not yet had a good death after failing to fight for the throne. In the end, Li Shimin won the throne and became the second monarch of the Tang Dynasty. Although Li Shimin ascended to the throne by killing his brother, the rule of Zhenguan created by Li Shimin when he was in power was really a unique prosperous era.