Diqin Designer

Chapter 358: Using Taizong’s Case to Advise the First Emperor

Even if Taizong's family was just an ordinary family, he would have problems if he did this, not to mention that his family was a royal family, so the problem would be even bigger.

After all, there really is a throne to inherit!

The First Emperor shook his head and said, "Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was wise throughout his life, but he was confused about this matter. This is really a way to disaster!"

"Since he has already appointed Li Chengqian as the crown prince, he should put him first, not only in his heart, but also to show the world with facts: Li Chengqian is the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, and the eldest son who is favored by him."

"This will reassure Li Chengqian and prevent some people from having inappropriate thoughts."

"It's not because he feels he owes the other two sons and wants to make up for it, so he favors Wei Wang Li Tai over Li Chengqian in public."

Li Nian nodded in agreement: "Emperor Taizong is indeed confused about this matter. His actions will not only make Li Chengqian feel uneasy, thinking that he is not favored by Emperor Taizong and will be deposed as the crown prince at any time, but will also make Li Tai feel that Emperor Taizong favors him so much that he may have a chance to replace Li Chengqian. He and Li Chengqian are of the same blood. If Li Chengqian can be the crown prince, why can't he?"

When it comes to Li Chengqian and Li Tai, Erfeng should learn from Zhu Yuanzhang and stand firmly on Li Chengqian's side.

But perhaps because he had experienced the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he did not want to see his descendants killing each other like he did, and hoped that they could live in harmony with each other and not repeat his mistakes, so Erfeng did such a foolish thing.

In fact, in this regard, he did not do as well as Li Yuan.

Li Yuan stood on the side of Crown Prince Li Jiancheng and helped Li Jiancheng to suppress him, but his strength and means were greater than Li Jiancheng's, so he successfully sent Li Jiancheng away.

Perhaps he wanted his children to live in harmony because he desired what he lacked. However, he did not realize that his actions not only failed to make his two legitimate sons live in harmony, but deepened the conflict between the brothers.

"At that time, Li Chengqian suffered from a leg disease, and his character became more radical and rebellious. Li Tai, because of Emperor Taizong's favor for him, wanted to seize the throne, which made Li Chengqian even more frightened. In this environment, Li Chengqian finally embarked on the path of rebellion!"

Li Chengqian was forced to this point purely under high-pressure circumstances, and it was Taizong who created this high-pressure environment.

When the First Emperor heard Li Nian say that Li Chengqian had embarked on the path of rebellion, a look of "Just as I expected" appeared on his face.

The princes who had been cultivated for many years by Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang all rebelled. It would be better for him, at least no son would dare to rebel while he was alive, resulting in a fratricide between father and son.

"In the 17th year of Zhenguan, Li Chengqian colluded with Han Wang Li Yuanchang, Du He, Hou Junji and others, intending to raise an army to force the emperor to abdicate and repeat the incident at Xuanwu Gate, but the plan was exposed before they could start the uprising."

"It started with a rebellion by another son of Emperor Taizong, Prince of Qi Li You, which implicated a Hu guard beside Li Chengqian. After being imprisoned, this guard exposed Li Chengqian in order to save his life."

However, the First Emperor was not interested in Li Chengqian’s experience of rebellion. He was more concerned about: What, Emperor Taizong of Tang also had a son who rebelled?
As a king, Emperor Taizong of Tang was indeed successful and could be called a great ruler. However, as a father and a head of the family, he was quite unsuccessful in educating his children and managing his household.

"Emperor Taizong really loved Li Chengqian. Even at this time, he still didn't want to believe that Li Chengqian wanted to rebel against him. He ordered Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Xiao Yu, Li Ji, Sun Fujia, Cen Wenben, Ma Zhou, Chu Suiliang and others to verify the matter."

"According to Tang Dynasty law, even if the crown prince plotted rebellion, he should be executed, but Emperor Taizong couldn't bear to do it, so he only demoted Li Chengqian to a commoner and exiled him to Qianzhou."

It can be seen that the Emperor Taizong of Tang really loved his son. Even though it was a capital crime like treason, he insisted on sparing Li Chengqian's life.

Li Nian laughed and said, "Li Chengqian rebelled, but his life was saved by Emperor Taizong. But Li You was not treated the same way. He was captured after his rebellion failed, and was demoted to a commoner, and then was directly sentenced to death. It was because he was not reborn into Empress Changsun's womb!"

This is real discrimination. The children that Guanyin left for me must be carefully cared for. Even if the eldest son wants to force the palace to rebel, he must save his life. Otherwise, how can I have the face to see Guanyin a hundred years later?

But if the children born to other concubines dare to rebel, they will all be killed!
"After Li Chengqian was demoted to a commoner, Wei Wang Li Tai had the highest chance of becoming the crown prince, but Li Tai said something very stupid in order to please Emperor Taizong, thus ruining all his chances."

"Because of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Emperor Taizong did not want his descendants to be like him. Li Tai knew this mentality of Emperor Taizong. When trying to please Emperor Taizong, he said to him: 'I have a son. When I die, Your Majesty will kill him and pass the throne to the King of Jin.'"

Meng Tian couldn't help laughing and said, "I thought Li Tai was a smart man, but he turned out to be a fool. Taizong is so smart. This statement of killing the son and passing the throne to the younger brother will not only not make Taizong appreciate it, but will make Taizong more afraid. How good can a man who can even kill his own son be to his younger brother?"

"In the past, Yi Ya cooked his son and presented him to Duke Huan of Qi, gaining his favor. But when Duke Huan of Qi was seriously ill, Yi Ya and Shu Diao rebelled and starved Duke Huan of Qi to death. How can we expect a man who is so cruel to his own son to be loyal?"

"With Taizong's wisdom, he must have known about the incident between Yi Ya and Duke Huan of Qi. Li Tai's words cannot be trusted. If you believe them, a hundred years later, Li Tai will definitely harm his other sons, especially Li Chengqian and Li Zhi, the Prince of Jin, who were both born to Empress Changsun."

After hearing Meng Tian's analysis, Wang Ben said, "Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and Empress Zhangsun had three sons: Crown Prince Li Chengqian, Prince of Wei Li Tai, and Prince of Jin Li Zhi. Now Li Chengqian has been deposed, and Li Tai has also been removed from the throne by Emperor Taizong. In the end, the youngest legitimate son, Prince of Jin Li Zhi, will inherit the throne of the Tang Dynasty?"

According to Li Nianzhi, other princes who were not born to Empress Changsun had no chance of inheriting the throne. Two of Empress Changsun's three sons had passed away, leaving only the last one.

Li Nian said, "It was Li Zhi! After Li Tai said that, Taizong was quite moved, but Chu Suiliang woke Taizong up with a word. After Taizong woke up, he said: 'If Tai is enthroned, Chengqian and Prince Jin will both be gone; if Prince Jin is enthroned, Tai and Chengqian will both be fine.'"

"Therefore, Jin Wang Li Zhi, who originally had little chance of becoming the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, ascended to the throne of the Tang Dynasty because of the mischief of his two elder brothers and became the next emperor of the Tang Dynasty."

"The problem with Emperor Taizong's succession to the crown prince can also be seen as a continuation of the Xuanwu Gate Incident."

"He wanted so badly to eliminate the impact of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, but he was too anxious. Not only did he fail to eliminate the impact, but he allowed the impact to continue to spread."

If the throne was successfully passed to Li Chengqian, there would be a chance to eliminate the impact of the Xuanwu Gate Incident on the Tang Dynasty. Just like Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, he was a vassal king who rebelled to seize the throne, but he did not leave this problem for the later Ming Dynasty!
Li Nian continued: "Another problem left by Emperor Taizong was that he was too lenient to foreigners. This was not only reflected in the fact that he moved foreigners to the Tang Dynasty, but also in the fact that he allowed foreigners to learn the advanced technology of the Tang Dynasty."

"This problem did not occur during the reign of Emperor Taizong, but occurred in later generations, with far-reaching impacts. However, being lenient to foreigners was not only done by Emperor Taizong, but also by later Tang emperors. So it cannot be entirely attributed to Emperor Taizong. After all, he could not have anticipated what would happen dozens or hundreds of years later." After hearing Li Nian talk about this issue, the First Emperor and others became more serious.

Because the Qin Dynasty also has to face the problem of foreign races and foreign countries, it can use the experience of the Tang Dynasty as a reference.

"The foreign races that migrated into the Tang Dynasty were not strictly assimilated by Emperor Taizong and the subsequent Tang emperors. Instead, they were given considerable autonomy and self-government. This also led to the fact that they did not transform into Tang or Han people at all, and still maintained their essence as Hu people!"

"And what is the nature of the Hu people?"

"They are like wolves, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, and 'fearing power but not virtue'. When the Tang Dynasty was strong and its military was powerful, they were naturally obedient and well-behaved, wagging their tails at the Tang Dynasty like a loyal dog. But when the Tang Dynasty weakened, they would turn from dogs into wolves and bite their former masters back."

"They don't remember the kindness that the Tang Dynasty had shown them. They just want to tear and bite the flesh of the Tang Dynasty like crazy. This kind of harm has continued even after the Tang Dynasty!"

The Han Dynasty was also affected by this kind of operation. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, those ethnic minorities who had once submitted to the Eastern Han Dynasty saw the weakening of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and some rebelled and caused trouble, while others invaded the territory of the Eastern Han Dynasty and plundered.

"So when dealing with foreign races and nations, we must never think that being kind to them will earn their loyalty. We must abolish their original nature and assimilate them to become like us. We must force them to change their customs and habits, speak the language of the Qin, learn the characters of the Qin, and use the etiquette of the Qin."

"If there are foreign races that are unwilling to do this, they must have ulterior motives towards the Qin Dynasty. If there is a chance, we must strike them hard and strangle them in the cradle."

We cannot defeat the alien races and make them surrender and then let them do whatever they want. We must restrain them and implement an assimilation policy, otherwise they will betray us sooner or later.

Li Nian continued, "In the early Tang Dynasty, many foreign races that interacted with the Tang Dynasty were far behind in civilization. Some were not much better than the barbarian tribes. It was the Tang Dynasty that gave them the opportunity to see more advanced civilizations and learn more advanced technology."

"However, they did not appreciate the kindness of the Tang Dynasty in teaching and educating people, but instead became enemies of China after becoming stronger."

"For example, there was a country called 'Tubo' to the west of the Tang Dynasty. The ruler of Tubo at that time, Songtsen Gampo, sent an envoy to ask for marriage from Emperor Taizong. Emperor Taizong named a daughter of his clan a princess and married her to Songtsen Gampo."

"Princess Wencheng brought a very rich dowry to Tubo. In addition to gold, jade and jewelry, she also brought many technical classics: cooking techniques, methods of making drinks, construction and engineering works, medical prescriptions for treating diseases, agricultural technology treatises... Tubo suddenly acquired a large number of advanced technologies."

"In addition to the large number of technical classics brought by Princess Wencheng, Songtsen Gampo also sent Tibetan nobles to study in the Tang Dynasty to learn about Tang things."

"The Tang and Tubo have had a long-standing feud. During the Zhenguan period, Songtsen Gampo led his army to invade the Tang, but was repelled by the Tang. Later, when Princess Wencheng married into Tubo, the two sides lived in harmony for another 30 years. But during the reign of Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi, the wars between Tubo and the Tang gradually increased..."

"It was not until the reign of Emperor Muzong of Tang that the war between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo came to an end, as both sides entered a period of decline."

The First Emperor and others understood what Li Nian meant. The Tang Dynasty allowed Tubo to learn many advanced things, which was helping the enemy to become stronger.

"There was another country that also came to the Tang Dynasty to learn. This country was Jiaoben. They sent envoys called 'Tang Envoys' to the Tang Dynasty. From the reign of Emperor Taizong to the reign of Emperor Zhaozong, for about 264 years, Jiaoben sent more than a dozen Tang Envoys to the Tang Dynasty to learn about Chinese things."

"They learn the etiquette of the Tang Dynasty, the architecture of the Tang Dynasty, the diet of the Tang Dynasty, the military tactics of the Tang Dynasty, the smelting methods of the Tang Dynasty, and the weapon forging techniques of the Tang Dynasty..."

The First Emperor and Meng Yi knew that this country had caused great harm to later Chinese generations, but they did not expect that this country actually learned from the Tang Dynasty and became strong, and after becoming strong, it turned around and harmed China.

Li Nian said: "Even in later times, the foot basin still retains many traces of the Tang Dynasty, such as Tang-style architecture, Tang-style etiquette, and Tang-style craftsmanship..."

"Because of these, they also think they are the most legitimate successors of the Tang Dynasty, but we Chinese people are not!"

"The Foot Basin sent Tang envoys and used what they learned from the Tang Dynasty to become powerful, and then became a scourge to China: During the Ming Dynasty, the Foot Basin people often transformed into Japanese pirates and wreaked havoc along the coast of the Ming Dynasty, raping and looting, committing all kinds of evil."

"In modern times, it invaded China on a large scale, and large areas of Chinese land fell. Countless Chinese people died because of it."

"The atrocities they committed against China are like the bamboos in the Nanshan Mountains, which cannot record all their crimes; the waves in the East China Sea, which cannot exhaust all their evil. They cannot be called human beings. Even beasts are worse than them!"

It was the first time that Wang Jian, Wang Ben and others had seen Li Nian so serious. Usually, Li Nian gave them the impression of being peaceful and there was almost nothing that could make him angry. But when the foot basin was mentioned, they could clearly feel Li Nian's anger and hostility.

It seems that this Jiaoben Country is really a piece of shit. It brought great harm to China in later generations, otherwise it would not have been remembered so clearly by Master Li Nian.

There are definitely good people among the people of Jiaoben, and they cannot all be defined as bad people. But returning to this era and having the opportunity to change history, Li Nian will naturally not let China in this world repeat the same mistakes.

Li Nian said: "Taizong advocated equality among all ethnic groups, so he was tolerant of other ethnic groups. His original intention was very good, and he was also given the title of 'Tian Khan', which means a Khan greater than ordinary Khans."

"But if you want to make the foreign races truly submit to China, you can't just treat them with kindness and equality. Taizong has the prestige and ability to suppress the foreign races, but it doesn't mean that other emperors of the Tang Dynasty can do the same!"

"On the contrary, what they did has left a certain amount of trouble for the Tang Dynasty and even China. The Qin Dynasty should take this as a lesson and be more cautious in dealing with foreign races."

"If foreigners come to Daqin to study, we must carefully consider what they can learn and what they cannot learn, and do not do anything that would aid the enemy."

Li Nian advised the First Emperor: "Be lenient to the foreign races and allow them to learn from us. Although this may bring you a good reputation and win their hearts for a while, it will cause disasters far beyond the borders!"

The purpose of telling the First Emperor about the history of later generations was not only to let him know what happened in later dynasties, but also to let him learn from it and avoid doing the same thing.

(End of this chapter)