< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > introduction</h1>
In the historical situation of the collapse of the former dynasty and the rise of the later dynasty, many heroes who have been passed down through the ages will often be created, such as Xiang Yu, Han Xin, Zhang Liang and others in the early Qin Dynasty; Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and other generations in the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty.
In the era of heroes, there were two civil servants under Li Shimin, the King of Qin, who were known as "Fang Mou Du Duan", the left servant shooting Fang Xuanling good planning, and the right servant Shooting Du Ru Obscure Decision.
▲ Statue of "Fang Mou Du Duan"
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right">01</h1>
The reason why Li Shimin, the king of Qin, was able to perform outstanding feats and launch the "Xuanwumen Revolution" as the second son, and ascended the throne as emperor for thousands of years, was inseparable from the assistance of these two virtuous kings. Li Shimin, who achieved the "rule of Zhenguan" with the assistance of Fang and Du, was very important to the two, and even after they died, they were buried with Zhaoling. According to legend, before Li Shimin launched the "Xuanwumen Rebellion," he ordered Wei Chigong to bring back Fang and Du, who were degraded outside, and if they did not want to, they could be killed on the spot. Fang and Du were extremely clever, and after knowing that the King of Qin was a man and the shortcomings of the needle, when Wei Chigong arrived, he made up his mind to assist Li Shimin in achieving a great cause.
▲Paintings by Japanese envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty during the Zhenguan period
The "Change of Xuanwu Gate" successfully directly promoted Li Shimin to eliminate his old enemies and ascend to the throne. In this bloody palace coup, not only the bloody sacrifice of the warriors who fought bravely, but also the painstaking planning of the courtiers, fang Xuanling, who was good at planning, was undoubtedly the soul of this coup, and he gave advice and dedication to Li Shimin's imperial cause. Fang Xuanling in the coup d'état was no different from Zhang Liang to Liu Bang, Kong Ming to Liu Bei, and Fang Xuanling, who had worked hard and made great achievements, was later awarded the title of Duke of Guo by Li Shimin, and his portrait was listed on the Ling Yan Pavilion, ranking one of the twenty-four meritorious men. Of course, if this merit is only one achievement, it will inevitably be unconvincing.
▲ Stills of "The Change of Xuanwu Gate"
Fang Xuanling, who can be so valued by Li Shimin and convinced by the people of the time, naturally has other skills. Due to improper positions and other reasons, after Li Shimin ascended the throne, in order to cover up his own stains, he ordered the revision of the historical records before and after the Xuanwumen Revolution, and the ministers were reluctant to come forward to revise them for fear that their reputations would be tired of tampering with historical facts, and only Fang Xuanling "bravely" stood up and solved problems for Li Shimin. After taking over this arduous task, Fang Xuanling did not violate the principle of scholars, and repaired this period of history very skillfully, and finally successfully completed the task, which was appreciated by the emperor. Fang Xuanling was not only capable of working, but also very cautious and good at guessing the Holy Will.
▲Fang Xuanling stills
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right">02</h1>
However, gold is not perfect, and no one is perfect. After Li Shimin ascended the throne, in order to ensure the clarity of the officials and the peace of the country, he began to follow the flow of advice. Under such circumstances, Wei Zheng and other courtiers carefully picked faults for His Majesty the Emperor and advised him to change them, and only Li Shimin's brother-in-law, Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling, had never picked up Problems with His Majesty the Emperor. These two people can be described as "human spirits" in the official field, and they are both masters of contemplating the holy will, and when they say that His Majesty the Emperor is a saint and a sage, there is no opinion to mention at all, because because of this, the two were quite valued in the Zhenguan dynasty and were liked by Li Shimin. There are not a few capable ministers under Li Shimin's command, and those who are capable and able to take care of the emperor's face will certainly be more outstanding, and the holy family will not fade, and the sacred heart will not be reduced.
▲ Tang Taizong Li Shimin stills
In the Zhenguan Dynasty, Fang Xuanling served diligently as prime minister for more than twenty years, recommended a large number of talents for the country, and was very loyal to the emperor. Of course, Li Shimin was well aware of Fang Xuanling's exploits, and whenever Fang Xuanling and other courtiers disagreed, Li Shimin would stand on Fang Xuanling's side without thinking. The two of them got along harmoniously, and for a while it was a good story, and Li Shimin even married his daughter Princess Gaoyang to Fang Xuanling's second son Fang Beloved, and the two families became in-laws.
▲Princess Gaoyang stills
The profound relationship between Li Shimin and Fang Xuanling was not only that. Li Shimin personally conquered Liaodong, and Fang Xuanling stayed in the rear to preside over the government, and at that time, some people were jealous of Fang Xuanling's heavy use, so they sent small officials to the Liaodong front to slander Fang Xuanling to Li Shimin and wanted to rebel. Li Shimin raised his account in the Chinese army, met with the small official, and rebuked who wanted to rebel, the small official replied that it was Fang Xuanling, Li Shimin was furious, ordered the left and right swords and axemen to kill him, and the accompanying ministers were extremely surprised, even if it was a fabrication of the distortion of the incident, the emperor did not try it in advance to kill him, how could he trust Fang Xuanling so much? Afterwards, the indignant Li Shimin directly repaired a letter and sent it to Fang Xuanling, saying that the incident had happened, and said that if there were any informants of you, you could cut it off first and play it later.
▲ Stills of the barracks entrance
In the twenty-second year of Zhenguan (648 AD), Fang Xuanling was critically ill and would soon die. For the sake of the country's stability and prosperity, and the people's living and working in peace and contentment, Fang Xuanling actually wrote to the emperor to request that the Liaodong War of Labor and Wealth be stopped, and called his son Fang Yi'ai to the sickbed, asking him to put these thousands of words into the book of speeches, personally handing them over to Emperor Li Shimin, and then with old tears, he said eight words with true feelings: "Knowing but not speaking, with hatred in the ground!" After receiving his exhortation, Emperor Li Shimin was moved to tears and said to Princess Gaoyang: "People will die, and their words are good!" Li Shimin then issued a decree: "He will personally visit his sickbed, and make his son Fang Ai the Right Guard Zhonglang General, and fang will be the Zhongsan Doctor, so that he can see the second son when he is alive." ”
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
On July 24, the twenty-second year of Zhenguan (648 AD), a generation of sages Fang Xuanling passed away at the age of seventy. Li Shimin thanked Fang Xuanling for his merits, quit the dynasty for three days, and posthumously awarded him the title of Tai wei (太尉), "Wen Zhao", and accompanied him to the funeral of Zhao Ling.
Resources:
Old Book of Tang and Biography of Fang Xuanling
New Book of Tang and Biography of Fang Xuanling