Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, had a high reputation in Chinese history, and during his reign, he opened the rule of Zhenguan and laid a good foundation for the prosperous Tang Dynasty. However, it is surprising that such a strong male lord died at the age of 51. What exactly caused Tang Taizong's "sudden death"?
The first is "wounded and killed".
When Emperor Taizong of Tang was young, Li Shimin was a general who was brave and good at war, and at the age of 16, he participated in the rescue of the Sui Emperor who was surrounded by Turks at Yanmen. Later, he followed his father to the southern expedition to the northern war, and was the first hero of the Tang Dynasty to pacify the world.
Of course, the sword on the battlefield had no eyes, so Tang Taizong was seriously injured many times because of this. It is reported that when Li Yuan just revolted, he encountered the Battle of Huoyi, and after the 18-year-old Li Shimin was shot by an arrow, he pulled out the arrow shaft and continued to charge and kill, and continued to kill dozens of people, killing a bloody road.
In this regard, the Zizhi Tongjian records that Emperor Taizong and the military leader Duan Zhixuan leapt on horseback and went deep into the thief line. The enemy's arrows rained like rain, and Emperor Taizong was hit by the arrows, and he pulled back to fight and clashed with his position. After being furious, he killed dozens of people with his hands, and the two blades were exhausted, and the blood flowed into the sleeves, spilling and resuming the battle.
It can be seen that Tang Taizong once suffered a serious arrow wound, and it had a great impact on his health, and he could not understand it when he was young, but after he was forty years old, the old injury recurred, and his body deteriorated.
At the same time, during the war years, Tang Taizong's life and diet were also irregular.
The Zizhi Tongjian has such a record: The people of the world tasted the handsome and light horses to attack the enemy, and the horses were scattered, and the people of the world slept alone with a knight on the hill. ...... In a few moments, Jingde and Xiangxiang sneaked in to guide the elite to ride to help Wang Xingben in Pusaka, and the people of the world rode three thousand on foot, from the middle road to Anyi at night, invited to attack, and broke it, and Respected Virtue and Xiang only spared themselves, captured their people, and returned to Baibi.
It can be seen that when Tang Taizong fought on the battlefield in his early years, he often ran all night to seek war, and he fought very hard when fighting. As a result, long-term work and rest and irregular diet, such a long-term conquest accumulated, resulting in unhealthy health.
The second is "exhaustion".
After Tang Taizong succeeded to the throne, it can be said that there are internal and external troubles. Internally, the people's livelihood after the great chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty withered away and was in ruins. Outside, foreign enemies are all around, and the tiger is looking at it. In this regard, Tang Taizong also used his strong personality charm to reconcile with the powerful Eastern Turks in a timely manner and signed the Weishui Alliance to ensure the peace of the party.
Internally, Tang Taizong began to exert great efforts to govern, pioneering and innovating, and created the foundation of the rule of Zhenguan for Datang.
During this period, Tang Taizong can be said to have been able to sleep at night, and how much hard work he has paid is probably not something that ordinary people can know.
According to the "Zhenguan Politicians", the Tang Dynasty had a lot of administrative affairs, and Tang Taizong was also very industrious. He often excerpted important places for his courtiers and pasted them on notes in the study. In order to be able to deal with the affairs of the people in a timely manner, he often could not sleep at night, and the names of officials would be written down on the screen to facilitate the assignment of tasks. In the early days of Tang Taizong's reign, he could not sleep at night and devoted himself to public service. Even in the late Zhenguan period, Li Shimin maintained such a workaholic style. Such a high density and high intensity of work obviously exhausted him, which eventually led to his early life.
The third is "poisoning"
Tang Taizong also had a confused time, in order to live forever, in his later years he became obsessed with warlocks and elixirs. So he often took the elixirs refined by the warlocks, and these elixirs basically contained highly toxic minerals.
It is reported that when Wang Xuance was ordered to go to Tianzhu, it happened that when the country was in civil strife, Wang Xuance, who was alone, went to Tubo and Nibola to borrow troops, and then destroyed the country, and Wang Xuance, who created the myth, brought to Tang Taizong a worldly high-ranking person when he returned to the Tang Dynasty- the famous monk Naluo Baoyu of Tianzhu.
Na Luo Bao Claimed to have lived for more than 200 years, because he had Xian Fan- "Tianzhu Immortal Elixir". For this reason, Tang Taizong worshipped Na Luo as a god and asked him to refine Dan Medicine.
A year later, the "Tianzhu Immortal Elixir" refined by Luo Xuanbo was released, and Tang Taizong began to take it regularly in the hope of prolonging his life and eventually moving towards a road of no return. Therefore, later generations speculated that Tang Taizong's obsessive Elixir was most likely to lead to his chronic poisoning and death. And this reason is obviously difficult for Tang Taizong, who has always been wise.
The fourth is "heart death"
Tang Taizong stepped on the bones of his brothers through a coup d'état, which caused a huge shadow on Tang Taizong's psychology. It is said that Tang Taizong often dreamed that his brother Li Jiancheng and younger brother Li Yuanji, who had been killed by him, came to ask for their lives, so they tossed and turned, and could not sleep at night. Later, he had to send Qin Qiong and Wei Chi Jingde to stand guard outside his bedroom door, and later Qin Qiong and Wei Chi Jingde were rumored to be door gods.
At the same time, in the later years of Tang Taizong,his son also staged a scene of brotherly cannibalism. The eldest son, Li Chengqian, was originally pinned high hopes on by Li Shimin, but Li Chengqian was uninhibited in letting go of medicine, spending days and drinking, and engaging in homosexuality. Until later, he even tried to misbehave. For this reason, Tang Taizong was furious and deposed the crown prince Li Chengqian, alienating Li Tai, who was also ambitious, and choosing his third son, Li Zhi.
There is no greater sorrow than death. After that, the deposed crown prince Li Chengqian died of depression. In this regard, Tang Taizong was devastated and even more depressed. Six years later, Emperor Taizong of Tang died.
In short, due to various reasons, it is surprising that the young and powerful Tang Taizong died at the age of only 51.