Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 35
9
Wheat ripens with the wind, and plums turn yellow in the rain. It is a good day for a good harvest.Li Shimin was wearing golden armor and sitting on a black horse.His huge head was raised high, and his piercing eyes shone with joy.Beside him are Qi Wang Li Yuanji and his generals and advisers, and behind him are tens of thousands of heroes who have returned in triumph.The crowd hugged their young commander who was just 25 years old like the stars and the moon, and walked slowly into Chang'an City.Between the ranks of generals and soldiers, there is a set of cars.The car was not a soft sedan with a canopy, but a large rough wooden cage.At this moment, Wang Shichong, who was smiling wryly, and Dou Jiande, who was deeply regretful, were locked in the wooden cage.Behind them, [-] iron cavalry and [-] armored soldiers were full of energy and paced neatly.The majestic military music was played high, and it was connected with the laughter of people from all walks of life who lined the streets of Chang'an City.

Chang'an City is boiling!For the victorious division, the people of Chang'an showed unprecedented enthusiasm and respect.For King Qin, who has made great military exploits, they gave him the etiquette of an emperor, and they knelt down on both sides of the street to express their respect and worship.This time, from leaving Chang'an City to returning to Chang'an City, it took King Qin almost a year.He finally won, and won so brilliantly!In one fell swoop, the two emperors who dominated one side and threatened the Tang Dynasty were eliminated.Father, Li Yuan, can now sit back and relax as his emperor!The imperial brother Li Jiancheng can also sit back and relax as his prince!

Therefore, after hearing the news that Li Shimin captured Dou Jiande alive and forced Wang Shichong to surrender, Li Yuan immediately announced that tomorrow he would hold a banquet at Chengtian Gate to welcome Qin Wang Li Shimin.Excited all night last night.No matter how coquettish Concubine Yin Gui is, she is not moved by her, but just keeps talking about his Erlang Li Shimin all night long.Li Yuan told Concubine Yin with emotion, saying: When Li Shimin was born, he was given such a good name because of a dream of his own.Concubine Yin was very bored all night, and for the first time felt jealous of Li Shimin.

At this moment, she was sitting next to Li Yuan in the middle of Chengtianmen, with Tai Chi Palace behind her.This Chengtian Gate was originally the place where the emperor held the grand ceremony of the "outside court".If the emperor wanted to receive tribute envoys from all nations and guests from Siyi, he would do so here.Li Shimin hadn't arrived yet, but Li Yuan came early because of his excitement.Concubine Yin Guifei couldn't arouse Li Yuan's interest last night, and fell asleep early in Li Yuan's voice praising Li Shimin.At this moment, she was in good spirits, she peeled off a bright lychee, and was about to deliver it to Li Yuan's mouth, when she heard the news: "King Qin is here!" Li Yuan actually jumped up, stepped down from the stage, When he came to Chengtian Gate, he personally greeted his proud Erlang Li Shimin.Concubine Yin Gui felt unhappy, but she could only drop the lychee in her hand and follow closely.Prince Li Jiancheng, ministers Pei Ji, Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda and others at the side all followed Concubine Yin and walked to Chengtian Gate after a moment of hesitation.

"Father!" Li Shimin saw his father coming to the door from a distance, rushed a few steps, called out, and knelt down to salute.

"My son sees my father."

Li Yuan bent down, supported Li Shimin with both hands, and looked at his son for a long time, but couldn't utter a word of many things in his heart.After a long time, I finally said a word: "Good!"

After hearing this, Li Shimin turned to his eldest brother Li Jiancheng: "Shimin pays tribute to the crown prince."

Li Jiancheng nodded: "Your brother has worked hard."

"Being able to unify the world for the Tang Dynasty is a blessing for the people of the world. It can't be said to be hard work. Father, prince, look, what gifts Shimin brought to you." Li Shimin turned around and ordered: "Take Wang Shichong , Dou Jiande, come up."

Following the shouts, the two emperors who used to be high above were escorted up by the warriors.

In life, there is nothing more sad and embarrassing than being the captive of an opponent who once fought for a long time!The two emperors who used to call the wind and rain, did not dare or would not look at Li Yuan at this time, they just glanced at each other complaining, and then lowered their once so noble heads.The victorious emperor Li Yuan stared proudly at the two defeated opponents.At this time, Li Yuan didn't want to understand their attitude towards him, let alone understand their mood at the moment, but was just thinking about how to "place" them.In Li Yuan's view, although Wang Shichong has always been against him, he is still a minister of the Sui Dynasty after all.Comparing your heart to your heart, everyone wants to be an emperor.Now that Wang Shichong is defeated, he can finally lead tens of thousands of people in Luoyang to open the city and surrender.It is right to save him from death.As for Dou Jiande, a farmer, he wants to rise up and become the emperor, it is really hateful!If such a person is not killed, can he still be left as an example for the world?With this in mind, Li Yuan issued an imperial decree:
"Demoted Wang Shichong to be a commoner, and sent his family to Xishu. Dou Jiande gathered a crowd to rebel, and he was killed in the city."

Although Wang Shichong pardoned Li Yuan, he couldn't enjoy the life of exile.On the way to the remote Shu, the enemy Dugu Xiude perfected Wang Shichong.At this time, Dugu Xiude was Li Yuan's governor of Dingzhou.His father was Yang Tong's confidant. After Yang Tong was killed, Dugu Xiude wanted to kill Wang Shichong and descend to Tang Dynasty, but he failed.Now Li Yuan exiles Wang Shichong, surrounded by a few soldiers and prison guards.Dugu Xiude succeeded in one fell swoop, not only killing Wang Shichong, but also killing all eighteen members of his family.After killing Wang Shichong, some people worried that Li Yuan would blame him, and once advised Dugu Xiude not to do anything, because he would not be punished for being an exile.Dugu Xiude said: "Your Majesty also hates Wang Shichong deeply. If someone kills him on his behalf, he will not be held accountable." As a result, as Dugu Xiude said, Li Yuan just didn't know about the killing of Wang Shichong's family.This is something.

Li Yuan arranged for the two failed emperors, and continued to celebrate the success of Li Shimin and other officials who made the first contributions.In Chengtianmen, Jiayao's royal wine is in front of him, music and singing and dancing are in the meantime, Prince Li Jiancheng, Qi Wang Li Yuanji, Prime Minister Pei Ji, Duke Sun Wuji of Qi, Duke Liu Wenjing of Lu and other ministers, Wang Gui, Wei Zheng, Feng Li and other advisers of the prince Generals, Duan Zhixuan, Qin Wangfu, Yuchi Jingde, Li Jing, Xu Shiji, Qin Shubao, Hou Junji, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling and other generals and advisers gathered together to celebrate the victory of the Tang army.Li Yuan, who had always been hiding his secrets, was now flushed with joy, his face beaming with joy, and he sat tall and upright in the gate of heaven.Concubine Yin Gui beside her, the little bird wanted to get close to him, but Li Yuan gently pushed her away.Ever since hearing the news of Li Shimin's victory, Concubine Yin realized that Li Yuan only had Li Shimin in her heart, and only had the victory of the Western Expedition.Li Jiancheng, who was closest to her, saw all this clearly, and hurriedly handed the largest longan to Concubine Yin, and said softly, "Please use it, Concubine." Concubine Yin glanced at the prince and nodded gratefully.Wei Zheng, the counselor behind Li Jiancheng, saw him, but couldn't help shaking his head slightly.

"Since the first year of Wude, since the establishment of our Tang Dynasty, wars have never stopped. The remaining separatist forces in various places have always wanted to prevent our Tang Dynasty from unifying the land of China and prevent the people from living a stable life. So much Over the years, our Great Tang has sent righteous troops to fight many times. Now, we have finally put down these separatist forces one by one, and we have also put down the two most powerful forces since the end of the Sui Dynasty. The people of the Great Tang Dynasty , From then on, I can live a stable life. The person who established such great military exploits for the Tang Dynasty and did such good things for the people of the Tang Dynasty, who is my Erlang, Qin Wang Li Shimin!"

When Li Yuan said this, the whole hall cheered happily. Many people, especially Li Shimin's generals, stood up one after another, competing to toast Li Shimin, and shouted loudly:
"King Qin's achievements are unmatched in the world, and he is unparalleled in the world."

When Qi Wang Li Yuanji saw it, he turned to Li Jiancheng and whispered in his ear, "Your Highness, Qin Wang is more powerful than you."

When Li Jiancheng heard this, he felt very uncomfortable.I raised my eyes to look at Li Shimin, although I also heard him saying: "Don't shout like that, don't shout like that!" In Li Jiancheng's opinion, this was all just putting on a show.He saw Li Shimin's face clearly showing a smug look, as if a bottle of vinegar had been poured into his heart, he felt very sour.The good impression towards Li Shimin all the time disappeared suddenly; the joy of being the prince without any worries also disappeared.Li Jiancheng clearly felt a challenge in his heart, a challenge to his crown prince status, and he couldn't help feeling nervous.He raised his head to look at his second brother Li Shimin again, seeing that he was still so complacent, he couldn't help cursing in his heart:

"Too flamboyant!"

9
As the eldest son of Li Yuan and the Dou family, Li Jiancheng is ten years older than Li Shimin.As early as when Li Jiancheng was 16 years old, he followed Li Yuan and served as an official in Kyoto and Shanxi, and spent little time with his three younger siblings, Li Shimin, Li Yuanji, and Pingyang.Li Yuan raised troops in Taiyuan, summoned Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, Chai Shao and others to help in Taiyuan, and granted Li Jiancheng the left-leading governor and the Duke of Longxi County, and Li Shimin the right-leading governor and the title of Duke of Qin.From then on, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin shared military power and participated in the uprising.Because the fourth brother is too young and more playful, Li Yuan has always asked him to do some things to stay behind and assist.Since then, the three brothers have seen more together.After getting to know each other better, Li Jiancheng liked and respected his second brother Li Shimin more and more, but he didn't like or respect his fourth brother Li Yuanji very much.

Li Jiancheng himself was tall and handsome, open-minded and generous, and his talent and courage were not inferior to Li Shimin. Li Yuan also liked him very much.As early as when Li Yuan made Wang You, the grandson of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, as Emperor Gong, Emperor Gong named Li Yuan the king of Tang, and Li Yuan made Li Jian the heir of the king of Tang.Li Yuan was the successor, and Li Jiancheng became the crown prince as a matter of course.Because the prince will inherit the throne in the future, be the emperor, and take charge of state affairs, according to the usual practice, the prince Li Jiancheng must assist Li Yuan in Beijing and preside over the great affairs of the early Tang Dynasty.Unexpectedly, this "assisting in Beijing" has allowed the second brother King Qin to establish such a prominent achievement.Today, Li Jiancheng witnessed Li Shimin enjoying a very warm welcome that he had never enjoyed as a prince heir to the throne, listening to his father's very proud praise of Li Shimin as if he was the emperor himself, and listening to the general They praised him like a god, and they felt very uncomfortable.Hearing Li Yuanji say "King Qin is more powerful than you", I felt even more bitter.However, he is a prince after all, and he needs to have the demeanor and patience of a prince. He can only sit upright with a smile on his face, and congratulate Li Shimin from time to time.

"He is unparalleled in the world, where will the crown prince go?" Seeing that Li Jiancheng didn't care about his words, Li Yuanji couldn't help but add another sentence.

Li Yuanji grew up with Li Shimin since he was a child. He was brave and ambitious, and his relationship with Li Shimin was originally very deep, but with Li Jiancheng, because he was too young and often not together, they were relatively unfamiliar.When Li Yuan raised his army, although Yuan Ji was still too young.But at that time, Li Yuan, looking around the world, felt that no one seemed to be trustworthy except his own son.After letting Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin lead the left and right armies respectively, the important task of staying in Taiyuan was handed over to Li Yuanji, who was only 15 years old and had never had combat experience.As a result, Dou Jiande's troops arrived, and Li Yuanji abandoned the city and fled.Back in Taiyuan, Li Yuan criticized Li Yuanji and almost imprisoned him.Thanks to Pei Ji's intercession, Li Yuanji's punishment was spared.Li Yuanji was very unhappy when he first took on the important task, and he was very unhappy after suffering such a disastrous defeat. Coupled with his father's severe criticism, it was impossible for him to live up to expectations.Because whether it is the eldest brother or the second brother, they are the most outstanding people.Li Yuanji couldn't compare to them no matter what, as time passed, he became lazy and became bored.As for the two elder brothers, he would speak ill of whoever was more outstanding.Li Shimin took command of the Western Expedition. In order to train Li Yuanji, Li Yuan asked him to follow Li Shimin.At this time, although Li Yuanji was 17 years old and grown into an adult, Li Shimin still did not give him real power due to various considerations.During the entire Western Expedition, Li Yuanji remained unknown. He neither made any outstanding performances nor made any major contributions.For this reason, Li Yuanji became more and more dissatisfied with Li Shimin in his heart. Over time, dissatisfaction gave birth to jealousy, and jealousy gave birth to hatred. Now that Li Shimin is so beautiful, he mischievously asked Prince Li Jiancheng to help him vent his anger.

Li Jiancheng felt uncomfortable at first, but when he heard the question from his fourth brother, he couldn't bear it anymore, stood up boldly, and wanted to shout something to the cheering generals.Seeing Wei Zheng behind him, he hurriedly pulled the prince's sleeve and whispered:

"Prince, don't be impatient. They vainly boast that King Qin is unparalleled in the world. This is the emperor's taboo. Whether or not the crown prince does something like this will affect his reputation."

After hearing this, Li Jiancheng gradually calmed down.He only turned a pair of gloating eyes to see his second brother Qin Wang Li Shimin.

Returning triumphantly, so ecstatic and unparalleled in the world, let's see how the emperor treats you then!Thinking of this, Li Jiancheng took a glass of wine, left the table, came to Li Shimin's table, raised his glass and said:

"King Qin's expedition to the west has made great achievements. This crown prince congratulates you here, and I offer you a toast."

Seeing the prince coming, Li Shimin stopped everyone's conversation, raised his wine glass and said: "The prince has done a lot to help his father manage the government, and the king of Qin is here to congratulate you, and I offer you a toast."

Seeing the harmony between the two brothers, everyone congratulated each other and cheered again.Li Jiancheng returned to the crown prince, looked back at Wei Zheng, and expressed his gratitude.Wei Zheng at this time was completely different from what Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji brothers thought.As the most intelligent counselor of Prince Li Jiancheng, he naturally would not care about how arrogant and proud Qin Wang Li Shimin was.His eyes only saw the generals and counselors who returned triumphantly beside King Qin.He already knew very well that the people around King Qin were better than those around the prince.That is to say, the power of Prince Qin's Mansion has surpassed that of the Prince's East Palace.In Wei Zheng's view, this is a very terrible thing.Because Wei Zheng knew that imperial power was always won by force.King Qin's power is too strong, and it will definitely threaten the smooth succession of the prince.For this reason, he leaned over to Li Jiancheng's ear and said softly:
"His Royal Highness, look at the generals beside the King of Qin, all of them are brave and powerful; the counselors beside him are full of scriptures, this is what needs to be considered."

The prince, who had just relaxed a little, tightened up again after hearing this, and looked straight at the counselor general beside Li Shimin.

"When the King of Qin entered Chang'an, he was entertained by the emperor's etiquette." Li Yuanji couldn't hear what Wei Zheng and Li Jiancheng had said, so he rushed over to join in the fun.He leaned close to Li Jiancheng's ear and whispered: "At that time, I was beside the King of Qin, and I felt uncomfortable all over, but when I turned to look at him, I was elated."

"You..." Li Jiancheng pushed Li Yuanji, feeling angry.At this moment, Li Yuan was heard loudly announcing:

"Now, I appointed the King of Qin as Tiance Admiral, Leader Situ, and Shandong Road Daxingtai Shang Shuling, and the number of food towns increased to [-]. The Tiance Mansion is authorized to set up its own officials and appoint and dismiss officials on its own."

"In this way, wouldn't Prince Qin's Mansion become a small dynasty?" Wei Zheng muttered to himself worriedly.Li Jiancheng seemed to have heard something, but he didn't hear it clearly, so he couldn't help but turned around and asked Wei Zheng with his eyes.

"After returning to the East Palace, Wei Zheng will report to the Crown Prince in detail." Wei Zheng said softly.

Li Jiancheng nodded thoughtfully.

9
Wei Zheng, styled Xuancheng, was born in Julu.He was intelligent and fond of reading since he was a child.Because of his poor family, he once became a monk and became a Taoist priest.Soon he defected to Li Mi and joined the army for the literature of Marshal Li Mi's mansion.Li Mi had no choice but to descend to the Tang Dynasty, and Wei Zheng followed closely.In the second year, Wei Zheng took the initiative to ask for orders to appease Hebei.With Li Yuan's permission, he traveled to Liyang by post to persuade Li Shiji to surrender to the Tang Dynasty.Soon, Dou Jiande captured Liyang, and Wei Zheng was captured.After being rescued by Li Shiji three months later, he had to return to Chang'an and was accepted as a counselor by Prince Li Jiancheng.Because of his resourcefulness and decisiveness, and his outspokenness, he was increasingly valued by Prince Li Jiancheng.

After the celebration banquet, Wei Zheng, Wang Gui, and Feng Li embraced Li Jiancheng and returned to the Prince's Mansion. Without waiting for the Prince to ask questions, Wei Zheng said on his own initiative:

"During the banquet, I heard that the emperor gave permission to the Tiance Mansion to appoint and remove officials, so I was very worried and couldn't help talking to myself. Because once the Qin Palace has obtained these rights, it will really become a small dynasty. The development of its power is bound to be very fast, which is really worrying."

After hearing this, Li Jiancheng seemed to understand something in his heart, but he didn't quite understand it, so he said, "You can explain in detail."

"In Yichen's opinion, no matter how much merit the King of Qin has made or how high an official position he has been awarded, it is not a matter of concern. Because in the whole world, except for the emperor, the most powerful person should be the crown prince, and the one who inherits the great rule must be the crown prince." It's just that the most worrying thing in front of you is the abundance of talents in Prince Qin's mansion. As early as when Taiyuan raised troops, the emperor ordered the prince to secretly recruit powerful friends in Hedong, and the king of Qin to make handsome friends in Jinyang. Since then, both of you They all began to have their own talents. From Taiyuan to Chang'an, the prince and Qin Wang, each serving as the governor of the left and right armies, fought all the way, and both sides recruited a large number of talents. When the soldiers entered Chang'an, both of them were called civil servants Military generals are full of talents. However, with the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the crown prince had to assist the emperor in governing the court. The Chinese and military officials in the court were all appointed by the emperor. It was difficult for the crown prince to recruit talents. In addition, they recruited a large number of talents for a long time. When they first entered Chang'an, they got Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui; when they defeated Liu Wuzhou, they recruited Yuchi Jingde; One of the civil servants and military generals. In addition to the needs of the war, the court sent many ministers to follow the King of Qin for a long time to fight abroad, such as Liu Wenjing, Changsun Shunde, Liu Hongji, Chai Shao, Changsun Wuji, etc. These people fought with the King of Qin to the death On the battlefield, they all naturally became members of Prince Qin's mansion. So far, in terms of talents, King Qin's mansion has far surpassed our East Palace. And the emperor, because of King Qin's outstanding military exploits, even authorized him to set up his own officials and appoint and dismiss him. Officials. Qin Wangfu has really become a small dynasty, and its power will become bigger and bigger. At that time, the crown prince will definitely be threatened to inherit the great rule."

After hearing this, Li Jiancheng felt that the matter was a little serious.However, he and I are brothers, and we have a good relationship. Besides, the second brother has been open-minded and righteous since he was a child. Could it be... Thinking of this, Li Jiancheng couldn't help but blurt out: "Does King Qin have the ambition to take the throne from me?"

(End of this chapter)