Li Shimin first gave a bunch of sweet and delicious carrots, and then added a few large mallets, and the civil and military officials obediently closed their mouths. After getting the courtiers, Li Shimin had to face Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji.
Li Shimin is a politician whose task is to eliminate all his competitors. The problem is that Li Shimin is the son of Li Yuan and the brother of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, and he must consider the public opinion of the people.
Think about it, the common people guard their own property, live an ordinary life, and they do not have the values of success and defeat in their hearts, nor do they have the so-called political overall situation. In the eyes of the people, fatherly kindness and filial piety, family harmony are the ethical rules of society, Li Shimin wants to convince the people, always have to set an example, right?
Therefore, many emperors in history, after usurping power and usurping the throne and killing their fathers and brothers, have tried their best to reduce the negative public opinion after the coup. In any case, the Xuanwumen Rebellion was an illegal military coup, and his brother died tragically at his own hands, so how should posterity evaluate Li Shimin's character? And how to evaluate Li Shimin's change in Xuanwumen? How should Li Shimin face his conscience?
In October of the ninth year of Wu De (626), Li Shimin issued an edict: posthumously crown prince Li Jiancheng as the King of Qi, and Li Yuanji the Prince of Qi as the King of Lai.
The title is the ancient Chinese emperor, high-ranking official and dignitary after the death, the posterity according to his life's merits and wrongs, according to the ancient etiquette system to give the evaluation, to put it bluntly, is the coffin of this person.
The Sui Emperor's courtesy name was "炀", agreed by Li Yuan, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, which meant to abuse the people against heaven, to destroy the government, to be weak and widowed, and to leave the country of virtue. However, the grandson of the Sui Emperor, Yang Tong the King of Yue, gave the title of "Ming", such as Liu Zhuang, the Emperor of Hanming, and Cao Rui, the Emperor of Weiming. Dou Jiande gave him the nickname "Min", which means "CiRen Bu Shou", and his evaluation of the Sui Emperor was also very positive.
Let's look at Li Jiancheng's nickname.
History proves that Sima Guang may have made a oolong here. Because Li Jiancheng's nickname "Cain" was not fixed at this time, but was finally finalized in March of the second year of Zhenguan (Zhenguan II (628)).
Archaeologists have found Li Jiancheng's epitaph in Xi'an, and according to the rules of the general tombstone of the general prince, it is necessary to record in detail the deceased's name, the time of death, the time and place of burial, and the merits and merits of the deceased before his death. However, Li Jiancheng's epitaph is only fifty-five words, recording that he died on the fourth day of the first month of June in the ninth year of Wude (626), and was buried in Gaoyangyuan, Chang'an County, on the thirteenth day of the first month of the second year of Zhenguan (628).
According to the Tang Huijiao, "In March of the second year of Zhenguan, there was a si song to kill the king, and the order was changed. Du Drowning was changed to Spirit, and not allowed." That is to say, on the thirteenth day of the first month of the second year of Zhenguan (628), Li Jiancheng was officially buried. As for Li Jiancheng's nickname, in fact, there are two possibilities, the first is that there is no nickname, because the matter has not been agreed on at that time, and the second is that there is a nickname, as for what the word is, no one knows (the possibility is small).
In March of the second year of Zhenguan (628), Li Shimin issued an edict and ordered the relevant departments to agree on Li Jiancheng's title.
The first version of the plan: Li Jiancheng's nickname was set as "戾".
"戾" refers to the fact that after Emperor Wu of Han's crown prince Liu Zhu was killed, the relevant departments agreed on Liu Zhao's nickname as "戾". Although Emperor Wu of Han lost his beloved son bitterly, he was always grumpy about his rebellion, and it is understandable to give him such a nickname.
For Li Shimin, Li Jiancheng is actually a passive victim, and to describe him as unrepentant is indeed a bit of a donkey's lips against the horse's mouth. What's more, the word "戾" has the meaning of violence, and using such a nickname to build a coffin for Li Jiancheng is a bit hurting the feelings of the old ministers of the Prince's Mansion.
Li Shimin: "Let's discuss it again!" ”
Therefore, Du Yan proposed the second version of the plan: to set Li Jiancheng's nickname as "Spirit".
According to the excavated tombstone data, Li Jiancheng's nickname should have been changed. To be sure, before the word "hidden" was engraved, there was already a nickname on the tombstone, and according to archaeologists, the craftsman scraped the previous handwriting and re-engraved the word "hidden", and the previous word was "spirit"!
Why did Li Shimin agree to the title of "spirit"?
According to the Fa, there are actually many interpretations of "spirit", both positive and negative, and no one knows what Li Shimin is interpreting according to.
However, it is certain that compared with the word "戾", the word "ling" already belongs to his subordinates, at least it can be said that Li Jiancheng's life is a mixed achievement! Such a statement is actually acceptable to both the former courtiers of the Crown Prince's Mansion and Li Shimin himself.
However, in March of the second year of Zhenguan (628), Li Shimin once again denied the title of "spirit".
The third version of the plan: Li Jiancheng's nickname was set as "Hidden".
"Cain" and "Ling", there are both positive and negative evaluations, Li Shimin did not say which one, no one knows his original intention. However, there is a historical precedent to refer to.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, The Ruler of the State of Lu, Duke Hui of Lu, died and ordered the succession of the throne to the crown prince Ji Yun. At that time, Ji Yun was still a small child, and he was simply unable to handle state affairs, and after consultation with the ministers of the State of Lu, they decided to elect the eldest son Ji Xi as the monarch, who was mature and sensible, gentle and humble, and indeed a perfect heir.
In the face of the minister's recommendation, Ji Xi was not easy to resign. However, when Ji Xi came to power, he made a remark: he was only a temporary worker, and when his younger brother Ji Yun grew up, he announced his retirement and handed over control of the State of Lu.
In the following ten years, Ji Xi led his courtiers to be diligent and earnest, and governed the country in an orderly manner, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the country was rich and prosperous, and it had a prosperous atmosphere. At that time, Lu Guo's patriarch Yu found Ji Xi and said, "Your Majesty, under your leadership, our life has been very good!" However, seeing that Ji Yoon is about to grow up, you have to think about the way back in advance. ”
Ji Xi: "What's the back road?" ”
Father Yu: "In the sense of the courtier, you have to kill this younger brother so that you can sit on the throne for a long time!" ”
Yu Father is not a Santa Claus who has no desires and no needs, he is loyal to Ji Xi with only one purpose: to be the Dazai (chief prime minister) of the Lu Kingdom! Unfortunately, Ji Xi directly refused, his meaning is very clear: he is the acting monarch, which has long been agreed, and when his brother becomes an adult, he will announce his retirement!
Ji Xi didn't make a scene, but really thought so.
Who would have thought that Yu Father began to tremble, and according to this situation, if Ji Yun became the king, wouldn't he be guilty of killing his head with these words today? In order to protect himself, Yufu turned around and found Ji Yun, claiming that his brother planned to continue to occupy the throne and also planned to kill Ji Yun.
Good people can never fight bad people, and people who are not prepared can never fight people who sharpen their knives. Subsequently, Ji Yoon joined forces with Yu Father and set up a plan to murder his brother Ji Xi. After Ji Yun became king, the nickname set for his brother Ji Xi was "Cain", and about this history, "Spring and Autumn" is also secretive.
In fact, the feud between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin is very similar to that of Ji Xi and Ji Yun. For example, the same brother launched an armed coup and killed his capable brother; for example, in order to hide his eyes and ears, the younger brother tried his best to cover up this matter, but he was unwilling to beat his brother into the eighteenth layer of hell; for example, the nickname was also "hidden", and Li Shimin gave Li Jiancheng the title of "Xie", which coincided with Ji Xi's name!
All in all, Li Shimin recognized Li Jiancheng's merits and abilities, but he could not say it too obviously, so he could only use Lu YinGong Ji Xi as an example to change Li Jiancheng's new nickname. The word "hidden" actually means that the failure is imminent, and its position is not the end, and it can be seen that Li Shimin also feels sorry for Li Jiancheng.
The number is clear, but there is still a problem with time.
If in March of the second year of Zhenguan (628) began to agree on Li Jiancheng's title, and the courtiers proposed three plans in a row, how to explain the problem that when Li Jiancheng was buried, the word "ling" was first on the tombstone?
If as expected, after the Xuanwumen Revolution, Li Shimin, in order to publicize his legitimacy, declared Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji to be the culprits, so the first nickname was set as "戾". After the political situation stabilized, Li Shimin began to face his heart, he felt that robbing the position of the prince first, launching the Xuanwumen revolution later, he was always at a loss, so he wanted to return the eldest brother a slightly fairer nickname.
On the thirteenth day of the first month of the second year of Zhenguan (628), Li Shimin announced that Li Jiancheng would be reburied with high-standard etiquette and adopted Du Yan's courtesy name "Ling". Until this time, Li Shimin's heart was still entangled, because although the word "spirit" was slightly better than "戾", he always felt that it was almost meaningless.
In March of the second year of Zhenguan (628), Li Shimin re-established the new nickname "Yin" and sent people to Gaoyangyuan to scrape off the epitaph of Li Jiancheng with a knife, and re-engraved the word "Cain" on the original handwriting.
If so, you can actually explain the rest of the story.
According to historical records, on the day that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were buried, Li Shimin issued a special edict: The subordinates of the former Prince's Mansion and the Qi Royal Palace, whether they had submitted to the imperial court or not, could go to their old lord to send them off.
After the courtiers left, Li Shimin came alone to the Yiqiu Gate of the Eastern Palace.
It had been two years since the Coup d'état at Xuanwumen, but he would never forget that he personally took out his bow and arrow and shot Li Jiancheng, and then watched the bloody scene of Wei Chi Jingde cutting off Li Yuanji's head.
With the change of Xuanwu Gate, Li Shimin did pit his brothers, but as an ordinary person, Li Shimin was full of guilt for the cruelty and bloodshed of his hand-bladed relatives. Recalling the many past events of the brothers starting a business together, Li Shimin was devastated and grief-stricken, so he cried bitterly at Yiqiumen.
After a thousand years, we should not take Li Shimin's painful lament as a political performance, when the ministers of culture and military affairs were not there, and YiqiuMen was a secluded place in the Eastern Palace.
In the thirteenth year of Zhenguan (639), Li Shimin issued an edict to pass on Li Jiancheng the Prince of Zhao (the thirteenth son) to Li Jiancheng, and the cao king Li Ming (the fourteenth son, born to Li Shimin and Li Yuanji's concubine Yang) to Li Yuanji. In the sixteenth year of Zhenguan (642), Li Shimin issued another edict, posthumously sealing Li Jiancheng, the prince of Xi, as crown prince, and posthumously sealing Li Yuanji, the king of Hailing County, as the king of Chao.
The change of Xuanwumen is the scar of Li Shimin's life, and when we see the bloodiness of political struggles and despise Li Shimin's cruel character, we also need to go into the depths of the emperor's heart. For decades, Li Shimin has been trying to find a way to make up for his guilt. The change in Li Jiancheng's nickname shows that Li Shimin has been weighing the political status of his eldest brother after the coup, and he does not want to deny his legitimacy, but he also does not want to completely destroy Li Jiancheng's historical image, so he has to leave endless room for the world to guess in an ambiguous attitude.
Throughout the ages, many emperors have not given justice to their royal brothers who died infighting, but instead their descendants have returned to their titles or overturned the case for their uncles. However, in an edict in the sixteenth year of Zhenguan (642), Li Shimin faced reality and made a conclusive conclusion on the change of Xuanwumen with practical actions.
As an emperor, Li Shimin was ruthless and lonely. As a mortal, Li Shimin's heart is still full of family affection and deserves everyone's respect.
Text/Jiugao Han shuo