(Tang Dynasty Palace)
Li Jiancheng, the first prince of the Tang Empire, did not sleep well every day.
Tang Gaozu Li Yuan had a total of 22 sons, and among his sons, there was nothing special about himself except that he was the eldest son.
He deeply understood that he had no ability to do it, that he had no ability, and that if it were not for his father (Li Yuan) favoring him, the throne would not have fallen on his head at all.
Therefore, he was always afraid that these brothers would take away his position as prince.
The person who made him most jealous was his second brother Li Shimin, the King of Qin.
He understood that sooner or later a decisive battle would break out between himself and Li Shimin, and this decisive battle would determine the fate of Datang in the future.
It will be a ferocious, bloody power struggle, one of both high and low and life-or-death.
Li Shimin also couldn't sleep.
He often remembered that when his father raised an army from Taiyuan to rebel against the rule of the Sui Dynasty, he personally said to him this sentence:
"If it is done, then all the people in the world will be caused by Ru, and Ru should be the prince." —— "Zizhi Tongjian"
Li Yuan told Li Shimin, son, follow your father well, and after your father wins the world, the position of the prince is yours.
Li Shimin believed.
He thought his father wouldn't lie to him, so since then he has become one of the most diligent "hit workers".
Rebelling against the Sui, he attacked the city and pulled out the village, rushing to the front, the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin made great contributions.
The world was initially decided, and Datang was established, and he fought for his father in all directions to open up the territory of Datang.
He dedicated half of his life to his father's promise that as long as he gave, he would reap.
However, what he was waiting for was the news that Li Yuan had established his eldest brother Li Jian as crown prince.
Li Shimin was very angry and devastated, and his expectations for many years had become a dream bubble at this time.
He felt cheated on by his father.
But what about the father who had made a great promise to himself, who was now a high emperor?
He couldn't have picked up Li Yuan and asked him why he was such an old man and talked backwards.
Because although he was famous, he was still just a courtier in front of his father and emperor, and he did not dare to anger Long Yan, let alone offend Tianwei.
He could only swallow his anger and honestly be his King of Qin.
Because Li Shimin's life was not good, his relationship with his father Li Yuan often became very delicate.
Li Yuan approved a field for his favorite concubine Zhang Jieyu's father, whose father took Li Yuan's handwritten approval note to the relevant units to ask for it, but the official in charge of the field said that this land had been approved by Li Shimin, the King of Qin, to someone who had meritorious service to the imperial court and could not give it to you again.
Li Yuan was very angry, and he asked Li Shimin: Why, my words are not as good as your words?
Li Shimin was dumbfounded.
His own reward was clearly seen by his father as a challenge to the emperor's power.
(Tang Gaozu, Li Yuan)
Li Yuan even lamented to the people around him that Li Shimin had been leading soldiers outside for many years, and his mind was no longer as pure as it was then.
I am not the same person I was then, so are you the same person you were?
Unconsciously, there was a deep estrangement between father and son.
And another thing happened, pushing this layer of estrangement to another level.
Old Comrade Li's other favorite concubine, Yin Defei's father, Yin A-Rat, was very arrogant in his daily life, and Li Shimin's close confidant Du Ruyi passed by Yin A-Rat's mansion and was actually caught and beaten by the family members outside the palace.
Afterwards, Yin A rat was afraid that Li Shimin would seek revenge, and came to a move to the evil person to file a complaint first, instructing his daughter to falsely accuse Li Shimin's men of bullying him.
After Li Yuan learned of this incident, he did not confirm the authenticity of this matter, but showed deep disappointment in Li Shimin.
He said to Li Shimin, Yin Ah Rat is also the father-in-law of Yuan, is my relative, you even dare to bully my relatives, let alone the people under the whole world?
Li Shimin was very wronged, because the whole thing had nothing to do with him.
But in the face of Li Yuan's groundless suspicion and blame, Li Shimin could only choose silence.
Because he understood that his father might have lost all trust in himself long ago, and that whatever he said or did would not help.
More crucially, the crown prince Li Jiancheng almost bought all the favored concubines around Li Yuan, and as long as they had the opportunity, they would frame Li Shimin in every way.
Li Yuan, on the other hand, never chose to believe Li Shimin.
Family affection is estranged, father and son are centrifugal.
Li Shimin knew that he could no longer sit still like this, and he understood that all this was the conspiracy and trickery of Prince Li Jiancheng, and he must act, otherwise what awaited him in the end would be a situation of no return.
So under the planning of Li Shimin, the "Xuanwumen Change" that shocked the government and the opposition occurred.
The "Change of Xuanwu Gate" is complex and complex, and it is simple and simple.
Li Jiancheng wanted to strike first and take Li Shimin to do it, but he did not expect that Li Shimin seized the opportunity to fight back and shoot at The Xuanwu Gate with his own bow and arrow.
The princelings were immediately eliminated by Li Shimin.
He took over Li Jiancheng's power in an all-round way, and grasped the political power and military core of the dynasty.
The crown prince Li Jiancheng pressed forward step by step, and he gained the trust of the emperor, the help of concubines, and the support of the government and the public, and almost put Li Shimin to death.
He used a huge and complex court power technique to beat Li Shimin to the point of no return.
But Li Shimin only did one thing, that is, to quickly cut through the chaos with a knife -- you want me to be doomed, and I want you to return to jiuquan.
He was finally able to stand in front of his father Li Yuan without anyone's obstruction.
He told Li Yuan that the crown prince Li Jiancheng had plotted a rebellion and had already ambushed him outside the Xuanwu Gate.
But father and son know what this is all about.
The story develops here, according to the historical laws of previous dynasties and dynasties, forcing the palace, killing the king, and changing the day and day may all develop on this father and son.
But Li Shimin made a move that everyone did not expect.
He fell to the ground and hugged Li Yuan and cried.
Years of grievances, bitterness, were all vented at this moment.
In front of the world, he is a hero of Wenzhi martial arts.
In front of the minister, he was the son of the decisive killer.
In front of the people of the world, he was the most popular King of Qin.
But in front of Li Yuan, he was not just a son who had been wronged and grown up, but a child.
And Li Yuan gently stroked Li Shimin's back and said this:
"In recent days, there have been several temptations." —— "Zizhi Tongjian"
Li Yuan told Li Shimin, child, the father blamed you.
The hearts of the most legendary father and son in the history of Datang have finally been relieved.
Everything ends and all the dust settles.
Two months later, Li Yuan took the throne of Li Shimin and moved out of the imperial palace, completely giving up the rule of the Tang Empire.
The founder of the Tang Empire was depressed and desperate.
Because of his personal decision-making mistakes and indecisiveness, this scene of fratricide occurred.
But history has no chance to do it all over again.
After a bloody power struggle, Li Shimin finally became the second master of the Tang Empire, known in history as "Tang Taizong".
(Tang Taizong, Li Shimin)
Facts have proved that Li Shimin is indeed a material for being an emperor.
And he was a good emperor without compromise.
His great achievements, such as the reuse of talents, the flow of advice, the improvement of the legal system, the expansion of territory, etc., have long been well described by people, and these achievements can be summarized into four words.
The rule of chastity.
This is a prosperous era in the history of Datang.
If Li Yuan is the pioneer of the Tang Empire, then Li Shimin is the founder of the Tang Empire.
The emperor said that the heifer had opened the door and the cow had arrived home.
The evaluation of Li Shimin in history cannot be said to be low, basically all of them are all songs of merit and praise, but if we calm down, seriously, and rationally look at this period of history and look at Tang Taizong, is this really the case?
In the contest for the throne, the crown prince Li Jiancheng and the Qi king Li Yuanji belonged to the same camp.
After the thrilling Xuanwumen Revolution, he executed all of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji's sons, even the newborn babies.
He incorporated all of Li Jiancheng's concubines and daughters into his harem, and occupied his sister-in-law and sister-in-law, yang shi, who was originally Li Yuanji's wife, and actually gave birth to an heir for Li Shimin.
He killed most of the ministers who were serving the crown prince Li Jian, causing a bloody political purge.
And let us go back and carefully analyze the "change of Xuanwu Gate", and we can't help but have a question, that is,
Is Li Jiancheng a bad guy?
Is Li Jiancheng really damned?
(Tang Chang'an City)
He was indeed jealous of Li Shimin and also dealt with Li Shimin, and even squeezed and suppressed Li Shimin everywhere above the court, but Li Jiancheng never thought of killing Li Shimin.
Even a long time ago, when Li Yuanji, the King of Qi, wanted to send someone to kill Li Shimin, the first person to stand up and advise Li Yuanji was Li Jiancheng.
To some extent, Li Jiancheng respected this capable and talented younger brother.
But Li Shimin vented the grievances, suspicions, and years of resentment that Li Yuan brought to him on Li Jiancheng.
For the sake of the throne, for the sake of power, for the sake of this world that he had in mind, he killed his brother who had been like a sibling without blinking an eye.
He was even suspected of coercing his father into passing the throne to himself.
And that's where being an emperor is ruthless.
How prosperous the Tang Dynasty he will create in the future will be, and how deep the sins he has committed in the past will be.
I think that even if Li Shimin is a highly praised emperor in Chinese history, we must not forget this history.
For no matter how great a person's deeds and feats are, the sins and massacres he has committed can never be forgotten.
Blind praise or absolute criticism is not advisable.
We must look at history rationally, because no one is perfect.
There is no true benevolent king, and there is no true sense of the wise emperor.
In the long river of Chinese history, those princes and nobles, emperors and generals, in essence, are just tools of power.