Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 36
After hearing this, Wei Zheng went to see Wang Gui thoughtfully.Wang Gui, styled Uncle Wang Jie, was born in a family of officials and officials for generations. He was "dull in nature, hidden in aspirations and upright."When Li Yuan entered Chang'an, he was recommended by Li Gang, Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office, and Li Yuan ordered him to join the army as Li Jiancheng's counselor.After Wang Gui arrived in the East Palace, like Wei Zheng, he was loyal to Li Jiancheng and resourceful, which won Li Jiancheng's trust.At this moment, hearing the prince's question and seeing Wei Zheng looking at him, he stroked his beard and said:
"Whether King Qin has the ambition to win the throne with His Highness, I don't have any real evidence, so I can't say for a while. But one thing is very clear: King Qin not only wants to be a military commander, but also has political ambitions."

"Quickly explain it." Li Jiancheng was shocked and urged.

"His Royal Highness also knows that after the King of Qin destroyed Liu Wuzhou, he opened a literary museum in the mansion and recruited 18 scholars of literature from all over the world, such as Yu Shinan, Kong Yingda, Xue Yuanjing, etc., named 'Eighteen Scholars'. The King of Qin divided them into three groups. , was on duty every day, provided precious meals, and generous gifts. King Qin himself took advantage of his spare time to go to the library at any time to discuss classics with fellow scholars. Sometimes it was late at night when the discussion was over, and he slept there. They even asked Yan Liben to paint portraits of the scholars, and praised each other greatly. King Qin respects scholars so much, which shows that King Qin has turned from military affairs to politics, and that he has ambitions for the political power.”

After listening to Wang Gui's words, Li Jiancheng couldn't help but sweat profusely, but he was still unwilling. He opened his eyes wide, approached Wei Zheng, and asked:

"Mr.'s opinion is also the same as joining the army?"

Wei Zheng nodded heavily, and said slowly: "During the campaigns in recent years, the King of Qin has not only greatly expanded his military strength, but also greatly expanded his political strength. A political think tank headed by Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui. Now, the emperor has authorized him to set up his own officials and appoint and remove officials on his own. His small government can do whatever it wants to prepare for future seizures. When the time comes..." Wei Zheng sighed deeply, then shook his head slightly.

"Is this God's will?!" The prince raised his head, walked slowly to the window, and looked out.But seeing the autumn scenery far and near, and the sound of killing, I couldn't help but let out a long sigh and said:
"In the past, Emperor Sui Yang killed his father for the sake of the throne. My father, Emperor Yang, was a general guarding the northeast of Emperor Yang. Because he was dissatisfied with the cruelty of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty and pleaded for the people, he had no choice but to take advantage of the chaos and seize the throne from his cousin. Now, the Crown Prince and the King of Qin are brothers who have the same father and mother. Are they going to kill each other again for the sake of the throne, causing blood to splash in the capital? Sure enough, this Crown Prince is really unwilling! This Crown Prince... is annoying! Really Terribly annoying!" After finishing speaking, he waved to Wei Zheng and Wang Gui.

Seeing that the prince was troubled, Wei Zheng and Wang Gui bid farewell and left.

9
The mountain light has already set in the west, and the new moon has risen in the east.When the autumn moon wins the spring tonight, the joy in Chengtianmen is still there.Li Shimin returned triumphantly, and enjoyed the victor's joy at his father's celebration banquet.At this moment, he was walking excitedly on his way home.

If there is one regret, Dou Jiande was beheaded.In Li Shimin's view, Dou Jiande is a talent with a certain prestige among the peasants, and he can use it for himself after surrendering.But the emperor wanted to kill him, but he had no choice.After defeating Xue Rengao last time, he felt that Xue Rengao was also a talent, and he could keep it to play a role, so he deliberately escorted Xue Rengao back to Chang'an, and repeatedly pleaded with his father for him, but in the end his father still beheaded him.Although these people were all captured by him, it was not his turn to deal with them.Li Shimin felt a little regretful about this, but also a little dissatisfied.This time his father wanted to kill Dou Jiande, but he didn't intercede again, because he knew that it was useless to intercede.The imperial power is above everything else, and no one can violate it in the slightest.Thinking of Fang Xuanling's words, he was a little worried that his father would blame him for violating the order and not returning when he attacked Luoyang for a long time.As a result, the father did not mention this matter in the end, except for his praise and awards, there are some special gifts... Victory can get everything, including forgiveness for violating the orders of the father.If I was defeated by Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande, my father would definitely not forgive me for violating his imperial edict.He would be furious, and would sternly accuse you: I see that you are unable to attack again and again, and I am afraid that you will be attacked from both sides and make you return to the imperial court, but you... Father Emperor is a real emperor, and has always been rewarded and punished.Yuanji lost Taiyuan and was almost imprisoned by him. If I lose to Wang and Dou, I will go against the order again.Maybe... Li Shimin didn't want to think about it anymore, and said to himself very firmly in his heart: I will not fail, and I still want to strive for greater victories.

In the dead of night, with a cool breeze blowing, Li Shimin felt unusually refreshed and sober when passing by the lotus pond.Temporarily putting aside his thoughts on fame and fortune, he immediately and clearly felt that there was an instinctive desire stirring in his young and strong body.

At this time, as King Qin, he already had several women.Among them, the ones he misses the most are Changsun and Yang.The eldest grandson is wise and considerate, virtuous and gentle. The eldest son Li Chengqian, born the year before last, can't run away. Last month, he gave birth to a fourth son, Li Tai.Not to be outdone, Yang Shi also gave birth to Li Shimin's third son, Li Ke, three months after Changsun gave birth to Li Chengqian.

This Yang family is the biological daughter of Emperor Sui Yang, the Emperor of the Great Sui Dynasty, and also the spoils of Qin King Li Shimin's capture of Chang'an.She was originally a proud and beautiful princess, but because of the fall of Chang'an, she became Li Shimin's captive in an instant.In the history of human warfare, starting from the oldest clan wars, the victors always show mercy to women, but kill all men.This is not because women are noble, on the contrary, because women are humble.Because in the eyes of the victor, a woman is not even an enemy, but an item to be enjoyed.As the emperor's daughter, of course, is no exception.If she only had a special status, she would definitely not show any mercy to the young King Qin.However, in addition to her special status, the Yang family also has an extraordinary temperament and the appearance of a peerless beauty.This makes those generals who know that good things belong to their superiors dare not take possession of them rashly.They suppressed their irrepressible desire and sent her to Li Shimin.Li Shimin was stunned by her beauty, moved in love, and finally remembered the connection between him and her, and thought that his Li family and Yang family were cousins ​​- Li Yuan's mother Dugu, and Sui Yangdi's mother Empress Dugu is a biological sister, Li Yuan and Sui Yangdi are cousins ​​with different surnames, and Li Shimin and Yang are naturally cousins.The war is over, cousin has defeated cousin.When Li Shimin attacked Chang'an, he forgot about this relationship.Thinking about it now, it's time.Qin Wang Li Shimin condemned all the people away, put the long sword stained with the blood of his cousin's subordinates into the scabbard gracefully, then walked up to Mrs. Yang with a smile on his face, and called out very gently:
"cousin!"

The country is ruined and the family is dead, with no relatives.The smart Yang is naturally very clear that what is waiting for her now can only be the slave status of any official or military officer in the new dynasty.Mrs. Yang has regained her mind and is ready to end her unfortunate life at any time.Unexpectedly, in this situation, there was someone, and it was the handsome and heroic King Li Shimin of Qin!Call my cousin!This call was so sudden, and it shocked the soul.In the past, she seemed to have heard vaguely that she had such a relative.However, it was like she heard that there was a fish in the lotus pond, she couldn't get it in her heart at all.She is Emperor Yangdi's favorite daughter and the jewel in the palm of Emperor Yangdi's hands. There are too many people around her who care for her, so she doesn't think about her relatives at all.But now, all her relatives have been killed, or they are separated from each other and cannot see each other.At such a moment, someone came to recognize her as a relative.She was moved, but also regretful, and felt the warmth of the world, and had a feeling of being rescued from a desperate situation.After that, she unreservedly gave her temperament, beauty, and body that would warm up when she saw him, to her cousin - Li Shimin.She has nothing else to ask for in her life, her only wish is to please him, satisfy him, make him ecstasy, and bear children for him.

The autumn wind is moving thousands of miles, and the love is really in a hurry.Li Shimin finally walked through the lotus pond, and in the clear moonlight, he entered the palace of King Qin.Li Shimin was thinking about Changsun's family in his heart, but he couldn't help walking into Xiwanmen, where Yang's family lived.After the banquet, the people return, and the beautiful women should have no sleep.Qin Wang Li Shimin murmured in his heart while opening the red embroidered incense curtain.He looked inside, and sure enough, he saw Yang's bright, creamy smiling face, Yang's outstretched jade arms, and her joyful welcome.Li Shimin's heart was intoxicated, he finally forgot about the battle, the joy of victory, and all the ambitions in his heart.As the days go by, the wine is mellow, and the long-term love is stronger.Li Shimin, king of Qin, hugged the beauty tightly, moved to the bedside, and enjoyed the wonders of the world in the beauty's cleavage.Cool!Is there any more wonderful pleasure than this for a man to enjoy in this world?
In the early morning, the autumn wind is still rustling, and the flowers and trees in the mansion are swaying.After a night of ecstasy, Li Shimin had exhausted the restlessness in his body, and only felt refreshed and comfortable, and his heart was full of peace and tranquility.Looking at Yulu Meimei and the smiling Yang family, Li Shimin couldn't help but want to get down again and kiss that face that makes people can't help but look away.Yang Shi smiled brightly, and hugged him tightly while taking advantage of the situation.The little restlessness in his body was swaying again.Li Shimin knew that he was fully capable of another fight, but he also knew that he had to rush to the Literature Museum at this moment.There, there are many people waiting for him there. Although the things there are not as fun as being in a woman's cleavage, they are the embodiment of the value of a man's life.

So, the young commander-in-chief resolutely left those sweet lips, that face that was never tired of looking at, kissed enough, as clean as cream, and as bright as the sun.She let go of her jade arm very understandingly. Although her beautiful eyes were full of nostalgia, she still got up quickly, and carefully put on and arranged the noble royal clothes of King Qin for him.

9
The Literature Museum is next to Tianxing Road not far from the Qin Palace. After Liu Wuzhou was pacified, Fang Xuanling suggested: "Now that the world is gradually leveling off, the King of Qin can open a Literature Museum to recruit scholars from all over the world to discuss matters related to literature, history and society. .”

After hearing this, Li Shimin took it seriously, and ordered Du Ruhui to be responsible, so that 18 talented people in the palace, such as Yu Shinan, Yao Silian, Kong Yingda, Su Shichang, etc., held their original official positions and concurrently served as bachelors of the Literature Museum.Today's Li Shimin, although he still focuses on the military and is constantly leading the army to fight, but besides fighting, he is more and more interested in literature and history.In my spare time, I often study hard on literature and history books.The more books you read, the more fascinated you will naturally become, and the more you know, the broader your horizons will be.Gradually understand: Martial arts have a period, but literature has no period.The reason why martial arts exist is to pursue literary ways.A person's deeds, war can make him famous, but what is really valuable is to help the world and the people.It is to handle social affairs well so that the country will prosper and the people will live in peace.With these understandings, Li Shimin became more and more enthusiastic about the literature museum, and Li Shimin often personally asked the literature museum to discuss matters in the literature, history and society.He divided the bachelors into three groups, who took turns to work in the literature hall.They also provide them with generous treatment, so that everyone is enthusiastic about the affairs of the Literature Museum.As for Li Shimin himself, as long as he can spare time, he will come to the Literature Museum to discuss literature and related social issues with the scholars.Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande were put down, and the literati naturally praised it enthusiastically.Thanks to the efforts of the scribes, Li Shimin's prestige was unprecedentedly improved in the dynasty.When Li Shimin was in a trance, Fang Xuanling immediately whispered in his ear: "King Qin, it is time to discuss the future development of the country and the issue of recruiting talents." Li Shimin listened and ordered him to arrange this topic Go ahead and start a discussion today.

After Li Shimin rushed to the literature museum, he asked everyone to express their opinions and express their opinions.As usual, he sat there quietly, listening attentively to everyone's speech.Regarding the issue of employing people, Li Shimin had a lot of emotions. After hearing this topic, he stood up with a smile and said:
"The king has led the army for so many years, and he feels that his personal strength is very insufficient. As a commander, he is like a piece of jade, and a good minister and counselor is like a craftsman. Jade is constantly carved by the craftsman, and only then can there be beautiful jade; Commander-in-Chief Only when good ministers and counselors continue to advise, can they strategize and control the enemy. As in war, so should governing the country. If the king can humbly listen to the good words of his ministers and accept them openly, then he can have good policies to govern the country and make the country continue to prosper."

Li Shimin's speech made all the scholars nod and applaud.It's just that no one expected that when Qin Wang just spoke this speech, Prince Li Jiancheng had already come to the window.Yesterday, Wang Gui talked about King Qin's opening of a literary museum, intending to gain political power, which made Prince Li Jiancheng worry and sleepless all night.Waking up early in the morning, he strolled towards the Literature Museum.Originally I wanted to go in and listen, but as soon as I got to the window, I heard my second brother talking, so I stood quietly and listened carefully by the window.After listening to Li Shimin's testimonials, he didn't go in to meet him again, and hurried back to the Prince's Mansion with an unhappy expression on his face.He ordered Wang Gui and Wei Zheng to be summoned to repeat Li Shimin's words word for word.

"This is talking about literature, it's clearly talking about governing the country!" Wang Gui said coldly.

"That's not right. I heard Wang Gui's words yesterday. I didn't quite believe it, and I didn't want to believe it. Now it seems that my second brother really has political ambitions. King Qin is like this, two sages, what will this prince do?" What?" the prince asked angrily.

"The current plan is to make the lining as soon as possible to avoid bloodshed." Wei Zheng said with emotion:
"How to make the lining, please tell me, sir."

"It has always been the case since ancient times that the honorable ones have to fight for power. It is not surprising that King Qin has such honors and political ambitions. However, ambition is ambition, and it needs manpower to put it into practice. The matter is not something to worry about. Now that the emperor is wise and the war has stopped, he will take measures to cut off his military power in a short time. It is only the ministers who are close to King Qin in the court and the first-class advisers in the palace of King Qin are the most terrifying. It is these people who can not only make the king of Qin increase his ambitions and covet the throne, but also disturb the emperor's heart and do things that are not good for the prince. For this reason, the first thing to do is to cut off those who are close to the king of Qin around the emperor. Then get rid of the generals and advisers around King Qin one by one. At that time, even though King Qin is ambitious, he can only be a courtier under the crown prince."

Wei Zheng's words made the prince nod frequently, and after listening to him quietly, the prince turned his head and looked at Wang Gui.

"I think what Wei Zheng said is very true. If you want to destroy King Qin's ambition, you must first get rid of his supporters in the court." Wang Gui agreed and said: "In my opinion, the most important ministers around the emperor, the prime minister Pei Ji and others Most of them support the crown prince, only Duke Sun Wuji of Qi State, and Liu Wenjing, Duke of Lu State, are friendly with the King of Qin and firmly support them. The eldest grandson Wuji is the emperor's quick successor, and it is difficult to get rid of him now. Although Liu Wenjing came from Taiyuan, he followed the emperor , but he doesn't have much relationship with the emperor, and he often opposes Pei Ji, the most trusted prime minister of the emperor, and they often quarrel with each other during court meetings, and they have deep conflicts. Therefore, it is not too difficult to get rid of this person. As long as you investigate carefully If you find his handle, you can plan to get rid of him. As for the counselors in the Qin Palace, the only ones to be feared are Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling. After Liu Wenjing is eliminated, their faults are found out, and they are transferred to the emperor. It shouldn't be difficult to get away from Prince Qin's mansion."

Hearing this, the prince let out a long sigh of relief, and said: "What you said is exactly what the prince wants. Now, please make some specific arrangements, and let Wei Zheng assist you to do this well. If necessary, Xue Wanche, the chariot and cavalry general, must cooperate at any time, and there must be no mistakes."

Wang Gui, Wei Zheng and Xue Wanche took orders to bid farewell to the crown prince and leave the East Palace.

9
The scenery in Chang'an is beautiful, and autumn is like warm spring.Pingshan is green and green, and autumn water flows quietly.With the triumphant return of King Qin, the strong man who could compete with Li Yuan for hegemony no longer exists.In the Tang Dynasty, a warm, stable and tranquil atmosphere gradually appeared, just like the green flat mountains and rivers, like the clear and gurgling green stream, which made people feel a kind of peace and stability. Feel a comfortable satisfaction.

As a promising politician, Li Yuan not only wants to defeat those powerful heroes who have the power to compete with him for hegemony, but also eliminates those small forces that affect the unification of his empire.As early as when Li Shimin was sent to conquer Wang Shichong, General Li Jing was sent south to attack Xiao Xian in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

Xiao Xian was originally the great-grandson of Emperor Liang Xuan of the Southern Dynasty. He was the local emperor who took advantage of the chaos in the Jiangling area at the end of the Sui Dynasty.Xiao Yan's grandfather, Xiao Yan, fled to the Chen Dynasty when Liang was destroyed by the Sui Dynasty. Later, Chen was also destroyed by the Sui Dynasty, and Xiao Yan was beheaded in Chang'an.Because Xiao Xian and his empress Xiao were both descendants of Liang in the Southern Dynasty, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty did not kill him, but instead appointed him as the county magistrate of Luo.At the end of the Sui Dynasty, uprisings continued in various places, and Xiao Xian was promoted by the local general school as the leader.He took advantage of the situation to separatist against the Sui Dynasty and continued to expand his territory.After a series of battles, the territory stretched from Jiaozhi in the south, Hanshui in the north, the Three Gorges in the west, and Jiujiang in the east, and finally became the biggest overlord in the south.When he knew that Li Jing was leading troops south to attack, in order to prevent the generals from taking the opportunity to seize his military power, he lied that he was going to stop the troops to manage agriculture, which was already reassuring.Unexpectedly, it turned out to be self-defeating, and when all the generals learned that he had stopped the army to manage agriculture, they were all heartbroken and left him one after another.In the end, Li Jing defeated Xiao Mian without much effort, forcing Xiao Mian to surrender to Tang obediently.

Li Jing was done, and returned to Beijing to face the saint.Li Yuan rewarded Li Jing heavily, and then said: "Xiao Xian is gone, the south is unified, and the general's contribution is indestructible. Now there is Du Fuwei's separatist regime in the Jianghuai area. If the general is willing, please lead a victorious army and go to recruit Du Fuwei." Fu Wei."

After Li Jing heard this, the soldiers were disarmed and went to Jianghuai.

(End of this chapter)