If we talk about The Ming Dynasty, Tang Taizong Li Shimin is bound to have a place. He was a gentleman who made good use of talents and was a very generous emperor who had been a rare courtier in the past. However, even if he is as generous as Li Shimin, he is still very wary of the famous general Li Ji, even to the point of stressing to his son that this person needs special attention.
Li Ji (李勣), courtesy name Maogong, was a native of Cao Prefecture (曹州; present-day Dongming County, Heze, Shandong). His original surname was Xu, his original name was Xu Shixun, and he was once known as Li Shixun, and he was a local magnate. The "Xu Maogong" in the saying "Calling the wind and rain to Zhuge Liang, the divine trick to calculate Xu Maogong" refers to him.
In the last years of the Sui Dynasty, there were many uprisings in various places, and Li Ji, who was only seventeen years old, also joined in. When he first started in the Wagang Army, he used his clever mind to give a number of excellent plans in succession, which not only laid the foundation for the Wagang Army, but also laid his own position. Therefore, when Li Mi proclaimed himself the Duke of Wei, Li Ji, who could be crowned with a crown, was the second person with the same status as Shan Xiongxin.
In the autumn of the first year of Wu De (618), the Wagang army was severely damaged by Wang Shichong, and Li Mi led the people to submit to Li Yuan. I don't know whether it was true or false, Li Mi dedicated all the areas he still controlled to Li Ji. Li Ji, on the other hand, showed great determination: these lands belonged to Li Mi, and he could not take them for himself, as a weight to surrender to Li Yuan.
Li Ji's righteous and verbal rejection of Li Mi's kindness not only made Li Yuan feel that although Li Ji was young, he was indeed a "pure subject" and did not "betray morality", but also let Li Ji win a rare name of loyalty in the midst of chaos. Therefore, Li Yuan gave Li Ji the surname "Li", and "Xu Shiji" became "Li Shiji". As for the change from "Li Shixun" to "Li Ji", it was after Li Shimin took the throne and the courtiers needed to avoid it.
From the midsummer of the third year of Wude (620) to the beginning of the following summer, Li Ji was ordered to follow Li Shimin against Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande, and successfully defeated the enemy army, laying an important foundation for Li Tang's regime to unify the world. And in the elimination of Liu Heimin, Xu Yuanlang and other separatist regimes, Li Ji still played an important role. Therefore, the name of "founding hero" is well-deserved by Li Ji.
In the foreign war after the initial decision of the world, Li Ji, who started with strategy, can also be called a generation of war gods. Whether it was Xue Yantuo or the Eastern Turks in the northern desert, Li Ji was a pioneer and repeatedly performed miracles, laying a solid foundation for Li Tang to develop the western region. For this reason, Li Shimin likened him to the Great Wall that guarded the tranquility of the Saiyuan.
There is no doubt that Li Ji has outstanding military talent and a keen sense of political smell. But probably because he is too smart, so in the end, "smart is mistaken by smart", becoming a usable talent in Li Shimin's eyes that is both worthy of praise and more worthy of vigilance.
Before defecting to Li Yuan, Li Ji was forced to join Dou Jiande's camp and left his father as a hostage. However, after seeing the situation in the world, Li Ji resolutely reneged on his promise to Dou Jiande, and even ignored his father's life and death, and fled back to Chang'an alone to join Li Yuan. At that time, because there was a shortage of manpower, Li Yuan and Li Shimin did not care about Li Ji's apostasy. But at that time, it did not mean that Li Shimin really did not realize that Li Ji weighed the situation too much and the advantages and disadvantages.
Another thing can also be seen that Li Ji has the signs of "being smart but being mistaken by smart". Shan Xiongxin, who served Li Mi with Li Ji in his early years, was Li Ji's brother-in-law, and later served Wang Shichong. When Li Shimin led a large army to annihilate Wang Shichong, Shan Xiongxin was captured and should be beheaded as usual. At this time, Li Ji was particularly concerned about his old feelings, interceding for Shan Xiongxin again and again, and shed tears for him several times. When Shan Xiongxin was about to be executed, Li Ji also cut off his own thigh flesh to Shan Xiongxin to show his farewell.
How could Li Shimin not be suspicious of him when he had given up his father for his own future, and now he had achieved this point for a brother who worshipped him.
It is true that after taking the throne, Li Shimin also attached great importance to Li Ji. Li Shimin appointed Li Ji as the crown prince of Li Zhi and the head of the left guard, and added the position of Special Jin and Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin. However, in Li Shimin's exhortation to Li Zhi, Li Shimin also made it clear that he would first demote Li Ji to Hezhou and let Li Zhi later promote him back to the central government, so as to force Li Ji to continue to be loyal to Li Zhi.
It can be seen that Li Shimin never really admired Li Ji as a person, but valued Li Ji's status and talent. Li Shimin and Li Ji's monarchs and courtiers were harmonious, but both sides felt that they could continue to use each other.
And after Emperor Gaozong of Tang ascended the throne, Li Ji's political speculation became more pronounced. When eldest Sun Wuji and Zhu Suiliang were arguing on the basis of reason and disagreed with the abolition of Wang Liwu, Li Ji only said that this was the emperor's family affair, and I, as a minister, was not qualified to speak.
When Dou Xuande and Xu Jingzong clashed over a question raised by Li Zhi, Li Ji stood up against the emperor and affirmed that Dou Xuande and Xu Jingzong had their own strengths.
Therefore, it can be said that in his later years, Li Ji completely lost sight of his original demeanor, and only revealed his skillfulness in wandering among various forces and his ambition to pursue fame and profit.
So with his father's advice and seeing his drill camp with his own eyes, would Li Zhi sincerely reuse Li Ji? Of course not. Like Li Shimin, Li Zhi maintained a superficial harmony with Li Ji and continued to take advantage of Li Ji's political status as a founding hero, giving him titles and increasing his food, but in fact blocking Li Ji's way to continue to climb up.
What is even more ironic is that Wu Zetian, who had allowed Li Ji to grow stronger for the sake of self-interest, later seized the handle of Li Ji's grandson's rebellion, stripped Li Ji of his title and the surname of "Li", and returned Li Ji's lifelong business to the same state.