Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 21 Entering Chang'an (3)
Today, as far as the power of the Sui Dynasty is concerned, there is Emperor Sui Yang of Yangzhou in the south, and Wang Shichong of Luoyang in the north.As far as the rebels from all walks of life are concerned: if Li Mi is defeated by Wang Shichong, there are also Xue Ju, Liu Wuzhou, Dou Jiande, etc., which of them can now compete with Li Yuan. To the bullseye, to let the crowd shoot?Thinking of this, Li Yuan shook his head, threw the notebook aside, and proceeded in an orderly manner according to what he had thought up before.He first announced the abolition of all previous harsh laws and decrees, and then renewed the twelve articles of the civil contract.This move won the support and support of the landlords and gentlemen in Guanzhong.Li Yuan's reputation immediately ranked first in Guanzhong.Under the great reputation, Li Yuan moved from Changle Palace to Daxing Palace, so that Yang You appointed him as the prime minister, Jin made him the king of Tang Dynasty, and took Wude Palace as the prime minister's residence.At the same time, Li Jian, a descendant of his Li family, was named Tang Shizi, Li Shimin was named Jing Zhaoyin, Duke of Qin, and Li Yuanji was named Duke of Qi.Finally, let Yang You issue an edict:

"Military and state affairs, no matter big or small, there are civil and military officials, no high or low positions, charter punishments, rewards, salty return to the prime minister's house." He also ordered that "the king of the Tang Dynasty put his sword on the palace, and he did not tend to enter the court. He was not famous when he was praised, and he was advocating before and after."

At this point, all the military and political power of the Sui Dynasty in Chang'an belonged to Li Yuan, and the emperor only had to "worship heaven and earth in the suburbs" and deal with ghosts and gods.

Li Shimin watched from the side, secretly admiring his father's skill.

5
Shimin respected his father in his heart, and often went to the Daxing Hall to talk with Li Yuanshen and ask for advice on military and government affairs.At this time, although Li Yuan had not yet become an emperor, he had already considered the affairs of the world as an emperor.He is ambitious and has many ideas about politics.Although there are a group of close friends such as Pei Ji and Tang Jian by his side, he can have a lot of fun talking about his son's ideas.When talking about employing people today, Li Yuan felt a lot of emotion, and said to Li Shimin:

"At the end of the Sui Dynasty, there was no way, and the upper and lower sides deceived each other. The emperor was arrogant, and his ministers were flattering and treacherous. The emperor didn't know how to correct his mistakes, and his ministers were not loyal to the country. In the end, the country was in danger, and I could only struggle on the death line. I Now we want to bring order out of chaos, aiming at peace and stability of the country. Now to calm the troubled times, we must have military generals; in the future, we must rely on civil servants to manage the country. Only by making civil servants do their best can the country develop stably."

Li Shimin nodded after hearing this, and said, "Father's thinking is better than that of the ancient sages. After we calm down the world, we will surely create a great cause for a generation."

Li Yuan was very happy when he heard this, and further discussed his thoughts on governing the country, saying: "To govern a country well, we must not only select and use talents well, but also take the lead in everything for the ruler himself, be strict with himself, be frugal and serve the public. , so that the talents will not be corrupted. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, because of extravagance and waste, they loved rare treasures, so that the officials offered them one after another. As a result, the people complained and the country was ruined. things, so as not to play with things and lose one's mind."

Li Shimin sat on the right side of Li Yuan, listening to his father's way of governing the country without blinking his eyes.Seeing that his son listened carefully, Li Yuan started to talk about it. After talking about employing people, he talked about loving the people.

"The way to be a king is to last for a long time. The most important thing is to win the support of the people." Li Yuan said: "The reason why Emperor Sui's country has been destroyed and people are about to perish is not that I, Li Yuan, overthrew him. Overthrow yourself. He drives the people like animals, making people in the world angry and resentful, so they rebel one after another. When I become emperor in the future, I must respect and love the people, and let everyone have fields and food. Now, Pei Ji is formulating the "Equal Land System" and "Rent-Handling Modulation" according to my ideas. I want to grant one hectare of land to each middle-aged male and above, and to old men over 60 years old, those who are sick and those who are disabled Forty mus of land are given to the widowed wife and concubines, and [-] mus of land to the widows and concubines. There are restrictions on the land of nobles. From princes to dukes, the number of lands granted is reduced from one hundred hectares to five hectares. Serving officials, from first-rank Up to the eighth and ninth grades, the number of land granted ranged from [-] to [-] hectares. In addition, officials at all levels also had their own land, which was supplemented by land rent as part of their salary..."

Li Yuan talked enthusiastically, and Li Shimin listened carefully, expressing sincere appreciation from time to time.The father and son went away for several hours as soon as they talked, and they didn't feel tired at all.At this moment, the attendant reported:

"We caught Li Jing."

As early as in Taiyuan, after Li Jing concluded that Li Yuan was going to rebel, he left Taiyuan overnight and wanted to go to Yangzhou to meet the Holy Majesty.As a result, as Li Shimin expected, Li Jing could no longer move forward when he arrived in Chang'an amidst the chaos.Chang'an was besieged by Li Yuan, and later broke through the city. Li Jing expected Li Yuan to catch him and would not let him go. He hid in Tibet for several months, trying to sneak out of the city, but he was caught by the guards.It turned out that Li Yuan had been "mindful" of Li Jing, and his face had been drawn long ago, which made the city guards search for him.

Li Jing was tied up and pushed to Li Yuan's feet.Li Yuan was discussing the way of governing the country with his son, he was happy and didn't want to humiliate Li Jing, so he glanced at him with a smile, then waved his hand and said:

"Drag it out and cut it off."

Li Jing was born in a family of officials. Not only was he handsome in appearance, but he was also talented in civil and military affairs, and quite enterprising.Now he is in his prime of life, he is full of enthusiasm, and his ambition has not been fulfilled, but he is about to be beheaded, he is not reconciled to it.When the warriors dragged him out of the palace, Li Jing suddenly shouted: "Duke Tang raised his troops to eliminate riots in the world. He wanted to accomplish something great. How could he kill a wise man because of personal grievances?!"

Li Yuan and his son had already heard about Li Jing and knew that he was a capable person.It was only because Li Jing was going to tell the secret and put them to death that he had the heart to kill them.Hearing Li Jing's call now, Li Shimin respected his talent and courage, and couldn't help but say to his father:

"This person stays for my use, and he will definitely make great achievements."

"It's just that what he did is really hateful." Li Yuan said with a sigh.

"At the beginning, each was his master, which also shows that he is a loyal minister, father..."

"Okay, let him spare his life and stay in your Duke Qin's mansion for use."

When Li Shimin heard this, he hurriedly shouted loudly:
"Leave people under the knife!"

At this time, Li Yuan had taken over many elders in the imperial court, such as Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda, etc. For Li Jing, he was unwilling to stay by his side because of his original dislike.Therefore, Li Yuan handed over Li Jing to Shimin, and asked him to be called into the shogunate to act as the third guard.

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Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty came to Yangzhou at the suggestion of Yu Wenshu after he rescued Yanmen.Because of the continuous uprisings and rebellions in various places, and Yangzhou was very warm and comfortable, Emperor Yang of Sui was nostalgic and refused to return to Chang'an.However, his entourage and guards called "Xiao Guo" were all from Guanzhong, and some couldn't stand the lonely life away from home for many years.

According to the rules of imperial power: the world belongs to the emperor, and everything in the world belongs to the emperor.All the women in the world, the emperor can enjoy it.In this way, Emperor Sui Yang could live the same life no matter whether he was in Chang'an or Yangzhou.Enjoy the delicacies of Yangzhou and enjoy the peerless beauties of Yangzhou.However, the imperial guards who had been stationed in Yangzhou with Emperor Sui Yang for a long time had to suffer the pain of being separated from their family members, relatives and friends for a long time.Day after day, this pain gradually turned into dissatisfaction.Over time, this dissatisfaction turned into anger.

The dissatisfaction and anger of the guards were all clearly seen by their commander Wu Benlang, General Sima Dekan.Compared with the general followers of the imperial guards, his life is much better.Therefore, Sima Dekan began to try to calm down the anger of the guards by means of persuasion.As the dissatisfaction of the guards grew, he finally had no way to calm down.At this moment, news came that Li Yuan had captured Chang'an.For these imperial guards around Emperor Yangdi, it was a thunderbolt.A ruthless voice announced: from now on, they will never go home!

The retinue roared, and the Janissaries drew their swords.They all believed that all this was caused by Emperor Yangdi.Seeing that a military rebellion was about to break out, Sima Dekan, in desperation, said to General Yu Wenhuaji of Youtunwei:
"The imperial guards are homesick, and the emperor refused to return to the capital earlier. Now, Chang'an is occupied by Li Yuan, and there is no hope for the teacher to return to Beijing. The imperial guards have turned their backs. If we don't do anything now, we will definitely suffer from them. "

Yu Wenji is an ambitious person.His father, Yu Wenshu, defeated Goryeo. He was implicated and was blinded for more than a year. Before his death, his father appealed to Emperor Sui Yang, and then he was reinstated.He has always been brooding about this.Now hearing that the guards have turned their backs, I can't help but secretly happy, but on the surface they pretend to be worried and say:
"This matter is too dangerous for us. The guards can kill us, and the emperor can also kill us."

"What should I do?" Sima Dekan asked.

"In my opinion, until now, only according to what you said, we can only make the best of the situation and follow the wishes of the guards..."

In terms of culture and so, so, whispered to Sima Dekan, Sima Dekan nodded again and again.

Yu Wenhuaji smiled, and ordered Sima Dekan to gather his guards.The enraged imperial guards soon came to Dongdu's training ground.Standing on a high platform, Yu Wenji asked them loudly:
"Emperor Yang has waited for me for a long time, but now I want to do the opposite, what do you think?"

As soon as this question came out, there was cheering from below.In the voice of "reverse, reverse!", everyone unanimously supported culture and became the governor.Yu Wenhuaji laughed loudly, drew out his long sword, and shouted loudly:
"Since this is the case, from now on, all of you must obey my orders, and those who disobey will be punished without mercy!"

When the guards heard this, they knelt down in front of him and swore loudly, "I will obey the governor's order, and I will die!"

"Okay!" Yu Wenhuaji yelled, pointed his sword at Emperor Yangdi's inner palace, and shouted: "I will kill Emperor Yangdi first, and then go back to Chang'an!"

As Yu Wenhuaji's voice fell to the ground, more than 2 imperial guards rushed towards Emperor Yangdi's inner palace like a raging wave.Emperor Yangdi suddenly saw that his entourage and guards had changed from their previous slave appearance, and they were coming towards him with their swords raised like enemies. He immediately thought of 18 years ago, when he held a long sword in his hand, he led a group of wolves and tigers. The scene of his confidant going to kill his father Yang Jian.I remember my father back then, he didn't have the slightest fear of him and his cronies, only anger.Now, facing Yu Wenhua with a long sword in his hand and his entourage of guards like wolves and tigers, Emperor Yangdi didn't even feel angry anymore.He looked at these people who had been so servile to him in the past very peacefully, with a slight smile on his face.The emperor's former guards didn't know why he laughed, and they didn't want to pay attention to it. They all rushed forward and slashed at the smiling emperor.

In an instant, the emperor was gone, leaving only a pile of bloody bones and rotten flesh.After Yu Wenhua and his great success, he also learned from Li Yuan and made Yang Hao, the son of Qin Xiao Wang Jun, the third younger brother of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, as emperor, and became a prime minister himself.

When the news reached Chang'an, Li Yuan was overjoyed.After some preparations, he ordered Yang You to promote himself to Xiangguo, add nine tins, give special gifts, add special gifts, and change the prime minister's mansion to Xiangguo mansion.Li Yuan has become the actual emperor, and Yang You, the superficial emperor, is just a decoration.Li Yuan teased and despised the imperial power to his heart's content, and became the actual emperor.All of this is of course based on strength.The emperor is the product of the competition of power and the reflection of human animality.Just like the lion in the pride, just because it is the most powerful in the pride.When another lion appears stronger than him, he can only die!Since the birth of the emperor, human society has been so ruthless!Now, at least in Chang'an, Li Yuan has become the most powerful lion.Perhaps because he was a human being, he was not in a hurry to drive away the emperor or let the emperor die, but just used him as a display to show off his kindness and loyalty.

The emergence of all virtues is the result of self-restraint, which also includes the balance of gains and losses.Li Yuan is a real monarch and a man of foresight.He knows best when to restrain himself, and when to allow himself to live a little more freely.Now the Supreme Emperor has been killed by his subordinates, and this emperor has become a passive idiot.For this passive stream, it has lost its meaning.More importantly, at this time, Li Yuan had already accumulated enough strength, and he could completely wage a war of encirclement and suppression with all the forces in the world.After thinking for a month, Li Yuan finally figured it out.

At the repeated request of the ministers, he moved from Daxing City to Taiji Hall, and became the emperor.Li Yuan established the Tang Dynasty, renamed it Wude, and established Chang'an as its capital.The eldest son Li Jian became the crown prince, Li Shimin was named King of Qin, and Li Yuanji was named King of Qi.On this day, the ceremony was grand and solemn, starting at noon and ending when it was getting dark.

This year was the 13th year of Daye, May 618, 5 AD, the No. 28th year since Emperor Yang of Sui won the throne of his father Yang Jian.This year, Li Yuan was 13 years old, and Li Shimin was only 52 years old, and the first year of Wude began.

Even though he stood for a whole afternoon, when Li Shimin returned to Chengqian Palace from the front hall, he was still excited and couldn't calm down for a long time.Li Shimin was walking back and forth in the hall, when he suddenly heard a baby crying loudly, he immediately reacted, and rushed into the inner room in three steps at a time.Changsun was lying on the bed wearily, and her maid, Chanyuan, was holding a chubby baby in her arms.Seeing this, Li Shimin rushed forward in ecstasy.

Mrs. Changsun was so tired that he didn't even have the strength to call him, so he just greeted him with a forced smile.

"Give birth?" He threw himself in front of Changsun, lovingly stroked her messy temple hair, and then picked up his son from her side.

"He is really blessed. Today, when his father ascended the throne, you were born. You were born in this Chengqian Palace. Chengqian, Li Chengqian, give him this name. Can you say yes!" He looked at the Changsun family happily, Waiting for her answer.Changsun struggled to open her beautiful eyes, smiled and nodded.

"Chengqian, Chengqian!" Li Shimin called his son, watched, kissed, and kept walking back and forth.

"My father, your grandfather, became emperor today, do you know?" Li Shimin asked his son loudly: "Tell you, today is the day your grandfather ascended the throne. Today is the first year of Wude, May 28th." , Hahaha laughed loudly.As soon as the laughter fell, he heard the noise outside.

"Outside, what's going on?" he asked.

"Master Joining the Army, many of them have come." The servant girl Chanyuan replied.

Li Shimin put down his son, walked to the bed, kissed the eldest Sun's cheek, and said:

"You have a good rest, I will greet them."

Changsun nodded.

Li Shimin walked out of the bedroom and saw Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Chai Shao, Changsun Wuji, Hou Junji, Liu Hongji and others standing in a row. When Li Shimin came to him, they said in unison:

"Congratulations to King Qin, congratulations to King Qin on his precious son."

Seeing this, Li Shimin stared at Fang Xuanling and said with a smile, "You must have taught me."

"The King of Qin has wronged me this time. The King of Qin has double happiness. I will come to congratulate him from now on. Who else will I teach?" Fang Xuanling said.

"Double happiness comes to the family, conferring the title of king of Qin, and being happy to have a precious son. It's really like this." Li Shimin said: "However, in my opinion, this double happiness is not as good as the other happiness."

"What else does King Qin want?" Fang Xuanling asked in surprise.

"I have you brothers, this is the greatest joy." Li Shimin said, laughing passionately.

Everyone was emotional and laughed out loud.For a moment, in the palace of King Qin, laughter was deafening.

(End of this chapter)