Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 7
He went back to childhood again, his mother taught him to write and read poems, and told him stories about King Qin and Han Wu... His mother's eyes were very beautiful, always hiding deep concern, and her voice was sweet and crisp, always Can make convincing arguments.Mother, the most respected woman in the world; mother, the love of children.Why, his mother suddenly complained. This was the first time in Li Shimin's life that he saw his mother so sad. He couldn't help being shocked, but he clearly heard his mother say to him:
"My son, I want to ride the crane west!" After finishing speaking, she fluttered and left him leisurely.Seeing that it was getting farther and farther away, Li Shimin became anxious and ran after him. He ran desperately, desperately.But he couldn't run anymore, and his mother was getting farther and farther away from him, farther and farther away, as if in the cloud and mist.Li Shimin shouted anxiously and desperately:
"Mother, mother!"

He finally woke up, opened his eyes, saw Changsun's tearful face, and heard her call sadly:

"Shimin, Shimin."

"You..." Li Shimin was fully awake now, recalling the dream just now, and also recalling the things in front of him.He suddenly sat up and hugged Changsun tightly, tears streaming down his face.

"Second Brother, Second Brother, Second Brother!" He heard his brothers and sisters calling sadly.

"Third brother, fourth brother, little sister Pingyang!" Li Shimin let go of the eldest grandson, stood up and hugged his poor younger siblings.Since then, they have all become motherless children.The four brothers and sisters hugged each other tightly, feeling very sad for this sudden disaster.

"Second brother, mother..." Ping Yang cried out.

"Mother, mother, second brother..." Xuan Ba ​​yelled heartbreakingly.

Yuan Ji gritted his teeth tightly, and his round eyes, which were originally swollen, suddenly widened.

Li Shimin listened and watched, and gradually stopped crying.He felt that he had grown up and matured suddenly, and had become the pillar of the Li family.In the Duke Tang's mansion in Yuncheng, he, the 16-year-old Li Shimin, is the oldest. He has the responsibility to support the building of the Li family. He must take the lead to deal with what is happening in front of him.So, he wiped away his tears vigorously, and comforted his siblings by saying:

"My mother has gone to heaven. She hated us crying when she was alive, and she certainly doesn't want to see us crying now. Right now, we can't just be sad, we have to bury our mother properly so that she can rest in peace as soon as possible. Then, we will go to Taiyuan together Go, help father." After speaking, Li Shimin led his siblings to his mother's mourning hall.

The long hair is lightly covered with a purple skirt, and the mother is still so moving and beautiful.A quiet and elegant face is so beautiful that it makes people intoxicated.Those eyes, which were full of wisdom and love in the past, have lost their usual aura at this time, appearing a little dull and a little sad.Li Shimin stared at his mother's open eyes, stretched out his hand, and gently closed it.

"I've closed it for her, why?" Little girl Pingyang said to Shimin in surprise.

"She is not reconciled." Li Shimin said to his sister seriously, and then turned to his mother: "Mother, Shimin came to see you, on behalf of his father and elder brother. Don't blame them, they miss you very much and want to see you , but they can't help themselves!"

Tears blurred Shimin's eyes again, and all the brothers and sisters burst into tears again.When Li Shimin heard this, his heart felt sore, and then he became tense again.He gritted his teeth and said to himself in his heart: "I am the oldest now, I shouldn't cry with them, I have to arrange my mother's funeral quickly, and then go to Taiyuan to help my father."

Thinking of this, Li Shimin stood up, called the manager, and gave instructions.

1
Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty arranged for Li Yuan to guard Taiyuan for him, and specially arranged for two cronies to supervise Li Yuan well.In this way, Yangdi can be said to be basically relieved of the attack from the Turks in the north.As for the uprisings in various places and the rebellion of officials, although he was very angry, he didn't take them seriously.Emperor Yang firmly believed that what he did was a great event that opened up the world. As for the common people who can't understand and have no spirit of sacrifice, this is the common people's business.What are the people, I will deal with them sooner or later.Yangdi thought so, and didn't want to worry about these things more.He was just over 48 years old this year, and he felt that many things were beyond his capabilities.Especially the beauties in the palace, he looked at and thought about it, but he was often unable to do what he wanted.In the Taiyuan Palace, hundreds of beauties were waiting for him. After waiting for several years, he finally met two beauties, Shuzhen and Shuhui, who were as beautiful as angels.It's a pity that so many beauties are left for nothing.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty had a full night of fish and water, and in the incomparable pity, he leisurely took a dragon boat to Yangzhou.

Yuwen said it well. Yangzhou has a mild climate and rich products.This Yangzhou beauty is even more charming and charming.Emperor Sui Yang was in danger of being chased and killed by the Yanmen Turks, and was troubled by the people everywhere. Thinking that he was born as a proud son of heaven, he was so useless in ordinary things, he was wasting his life.In a fit of anger, he dived into the beauty's cleavage, and in the romantic joy, threw all the troubles that he thought were vulgar to the sky.Emperor, it should be like this: if you own the world, you should enjoy the world, otherwise, what's the point of just owning it?Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty thought so, and played more happily.

However, the enjoyment in the cleavage can only be a temporary ecstasy for Emperor Yangdi, and the things outside the golden house have not changed a little because of this.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty had great ambitions and a romantic temperament of a poet, but he didn't take the common people seriously.So, he only wanted to build his own great career.The construction of the Grand Canal has indeed benefited the future forever, but it has hurt the people too much and damaged the country; his three Liaodong, the military service is too heavy, which not only brought a heavy burden to the people, but also lost a lot of the main force The army; a series of land expansion, the result is that a lot of manpower and material resources are exhausted.At this time, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty had already fallen into a quagmire of internal and external difficulties such as dissatisfaction among his subordinates, resistance from surrounding areas, common people's righteousness, and frequent rebellions.Emperor Sui Yang, who had always been very confident, also vaguely felt the ground under his feet vibrating.

At this time, Emperor Sui Yang's most trusted and capable assistant, Yu Wenshu, fell ill, and he couldn't afford it.When Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was in need of employing someone, he seemed unable to do without Yu Wenshu. He sincerely hoped that this honored official would get better soon, so he kept sending people to visit Yu Wenshu's condition.

On this day, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was drinking and having fun in a dragon boat with a very charming Yangzhou beauty. Sigong Wei Wa came to report:
"Yu Wenshu died of illness."

When Emperor Sui Yang heard this, he was very sad and asked the Yangzhou beauty to retreat, but he bowed his head and remained silent.After a while, he seemed to suddenly think of something, raised his head and asked Wei Wa:
"Can he leave me something?"

"He said that his two sons are very loyal to the emperor, because he was tired and could not serve the country. I hope that after his death, the emperor can use them again."

When Emperor Sui Yang heard this, his heart moved, and he couldn't help shedding a tear. He nodded and said:

"Why did I forget about this? Hurry up and find Yu Wenhuaji and Yuwen Shiji, I want to use them again."

Simong Wei Wa heard this, agreed, and hurried out to run errands.

It turned out that when Yu Wenshu conquered Korea, tens of thousands of innocent soldiers lost their lives due to a command error, and the war that could have been won also ended in a disastrous defeat.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was furious when he found out, and sent Yu Wenshu and his family to prison.Soon after the incident, many generals who fought with Yu Wenshu were brutally killed, because Yu Wenshu had always been favored by Emperor Sui Yang, and his eldest son Yuwen Shihe married Princess Nanyang, the daughter of Emperor Sui Yang. In the end, Emperor Sui Yang couldn't bear to kill Yu Wenshu's family members, imprisoned them for less than half a year, and then released his whole family as Zheren.Soon, when it was used for writing again, it failed to take into account his family at the same time.

Not long after, Simong Wei Wa brought Yu Wenshu's two sons Yu Wenhuaji and Yu Wenshiji in.I saw that Yu Wenhuaji was tall and thin, with slender hands and feet, and a pair of eyes that were unpredictable. On the contrary, Yuwen Shiji, the son-in-law of Chenglong Kuai, was white and clean, gentle and gentle, and looked faithful and rich.

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty looked at his brothers quietly, watched them kneel down to perform the emperor's salute, and watched them shout long live three times.Regrettably, although Emperor Yang did not leave their eyes for a moment, he could not see their hearts clearly.At this moment, Emperor Sui Yang's eyes were blurred by the slight apology to the brothers' father.As everyone knows, only half a year later, it was Yu Wenhuaji, one of the two brothers, who led Yangdi's guards and cut off Yangdi's head with his own hands.At this time, Emperor Sui Yang looked at his brothers for a long time, then slowly said:

"Yu Wenhuaji, and Yu Wenshi and listened to the decree. I gave Yu Wenhuaji the title of General Youtunwei, and Yu Wenhuaji and Feng Shangchai served as emperors." After finishing speaking, he closed his eyes, opened them after a pause, and said, "Ling Pei Ju, the servant of the Huangmen, sacrificed to the prison, and Honglu guarded the funeral of Prime Minister Wen."

Seeing Yu Wenhua and his brothers leaving the hall respectfully, Emperor Yang of Sui breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to announce his retirement when Fan Zigai stood up and said:
"I still have something to report. Li Mi, who fled, joined Zhai Rang's Wagang Army and became the leader."

"Li Yuan, what did Li Yuan do? Didn't I strictly order him to intercept and kill Li Mi?" Emperor Sui Yang almost roared.

This Li Mi, the master of calligraphy, is a native of Chang'an, Jingzhao. As early as the time of Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, he inherited his father's title of Duke of Pushan.Li Mi was born in an aristocratic family, and received a good education since he was a child. He is capable of writing and martial arts, and has lofty ambitions.In the early years of Daye, Emperor Yang granted Li Mi the personal guard of the Great Governor, but Li Mi didn't like it, so he pretended to be sick and refused to go to court.Soon, another nobleman in the Sui Dynasty, Yang Xuangan, the son of the Minister of Rites of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, was dissatisfied with the chaos of the government and wanted to overthrow Emperor Yang's rule.Li Mi and Yang Xuan felt like-minded, and they had long been life-and-death friends, so they rebelled when Emperor Sui Yang made his third eastward expedition to Goguryeo.Emperor Yang returned from Goguryeo to attack Yang Xuangan.The rebellion failed, and Yang Xuangan and Li Mi fled for their lives.After Yang Xuangan escaped into the pass, he was arrested and killed for reporting to his neighbors, but Li Mi fled to the Taiyuan area.When Emperor Yang heard the news, he was worried that Li Mi would defect to the Wagang Rebel Army, and urgently ordered Li Yuan to intercept and kill Li Mi.Unexpectedly, Li Yuan missed it.After the yelling, Emperor Sui Yang closed his eyes and held his breath. After a while, he opened his eyes wide and stared at Fan Zigai gloomyly, and said word by word:
"Xuan, Li Yuan is coming to Yangzhou!"

Seeing this, Fan Zigai was shocked: This time, Li Yuan's life is over!Thinking of this, Fan Zigai received the imperial decree, and retreated with a heavy heart.

1
Li Shimin buried his mother with grief, packed his luggage, and led more than 100 people, including his wife, younger siblings, eldest grandson Wuji, Hou Junji, and family members, all the way to Taiyuan.When Li Yuan learned that Li Shimin was waiting to come back, he put down all his official duties and hurried back to the mansion.Looking at the beleaguered sons and daughters, Li Yuan's eyes became moist.

"Is it all settled?" Li Yuan asked Li Shimin beside him softly after the children sat down in the middle hall.

"The child took care of everything according to his father's instructions. My mother was buried in Queshan, and Xingbo was left to take care of the mansion. Before coming to Taiyuan, I will go to say goodbye to Yuncheng..."

Li Yuan listened and nodded frequently.After Shimin left, he once blamed himself in his heart: Why did you let a 16-year-old child handle such a big matter?At that time, I was really worried and had no idea. I didn't expect Shimin to do everything clearly and do it so well.Li Yuan looked at the lively and sensible children, a teardrop came out of his eyes. "Dou Hui, marrying you is the greatest luck in my life! Thank you for raising such wonderful children for me? Dou Hui, my wife, why did you leave me so early?!" Li Yuan Crying in my heart, looking at the Shimin brothers and sisters quietly, another teardrop fell down.

"Father!" Li Shimin called softly.

"Father!" The children all called out in unison.

"Your mother is an unparalleled good woman in the world." Li Yuan stopped his tears and said emotionally to his children: "I am today thanks to your mother."

Li Yuan recalled Dou's advice to him to donate a horse to Emperor Sui Yang, and said with a sigh:
"I would have listened to your mother earlier, so I wouldn't be like this today! Your mother is not only knowledgeable, but also considerate to me. Thinking that I was seriously injured back then, your mother served day and night, and she, who is the most particular about cleanliness, turned out to be a Yue does not take off her clothes, shoes and socks. But now that she has passed away, I can't go see her off! Cough!"

Li Yuan sighed heavily with regret, tears streaming down his long and thin face, tears were already flying like rain.The four sons and daughters were all heartbroken and cried out "Mother" loudly.

After a while, Li Yuan wiped away his tears and sighed again, "I'm sorry for your mother, my father."

"You can't blame your father, you have to blame that emperor." Li Shimin said angrily, "That Emperor Sui Yang, he was very happy and eager for quick success, so that in our duke's house, even our mother passed away and we couldn't see our relatives!"

After hearing this, Li Yuan hurriedly waved his hands to signal Li Shimin to shut up, and then said seriously:
"My son, you can't say such a thing!"

Li Shimin was stunned for a moment, Xuanba saw him at the side, turned his head and asked his father: "Isn't what the second brother is telling the truth?"

After hearing this, Ping Yang also said, "I think what the second brother said is the truth."

"Shut up!" After Li Yuan yelled at his children, he was silent for a while, then lowered his voice and said:
"Let me tell you, in any occasion from now on, you are not allowed to say anything that is disrespectful to the emperor, do you understand?" After speaking, Li Yuan looked at Li Shimin: "Especially you, you must remember! "

"My child understands." Li Shimin replied in a low voice.

Seeing the nonchalant expressions of his children, and thinking that they had just lost their mother, Li Yuan's heart softened, and his words became much gentler, and he said, "You guys, don't blame your father for forgiveness. Disrespect to the emperor is a major event to be beheaded." , you must remember."

Li Shimin nodded, but suddenly remembered that he hit Yuan Ji in a moment of anger when he was a child.For this matter, he regretted it so much that he couldn't even eat.His mother first blamed him, and then enlightened him, saying: "People are not sages, no one can make mistakes, if you know your mistakes, you can correct them, there is nothing good..."

He also remembered Yun Dingxing's words "the emperor is always right" when King Qin said, so he couldn't help but blurted out and asked Li Yuan: "Father, my son wants to ask a question, may I?"

"Of course." Li Yuan replied readily.

"Is the emperor always right?"

Unexpectedly, his son would ask such a question, Li Yuan's heart moved.Although the emperor is related to him, he doesn't treat him very well.Since the death of Emperor Wen, he has not been promoted, and now he needs to employ people, and he is required to work hard for the peace of the border, so he is given an important official position.Even so, the emperor was wary of him.While adding an official to him, he sent two confidantes to supervise him, which made him very unhappy, thinking that the emperor should not do this.What's more, in Li Yuan's view, many of the military and construction things the emperor has done over the years are inappropriate.However, he could only keep all this in his heart, and he couldn't tell his son.Unexpectedly, his son would ask such a question, which made Li Yuan a little embarrassed. He looked at Shimin solemnly and said:

"The emperor is the lord of a country, so you can't show any disrespect to him. You brothers and sisters should keep this in mind, you know?"

"Understood!" Li Shimin replied in a low voice, avoiding his father's gaze.But I was asking myself in my heart: Is it possible that dissatisfaction with the emperor can only be expressed in the heart, and it will cause trouble for the upper body?

"What about you?" Father's gaze turned to Xuan Ba, Ping Yang, and Yuan Ji again.

"Understood!" The three brothers and sisters seemed to be a little confused, and they were still a little bit upset, and their voices were very low.

1
The Jinyang Palace in Taiyuan was the residence of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. It was not only grand and magnificent, but also rich in collections.There are plenty of food and rice, not to mention countless soldiers, armor, knives and guns, and there are also five hundred beauties, waiting for the emperor to enjoy it when he arrives in Taiyuan.Now Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty went south to Yangzhou. In order to avoid the eyes and ears of Gao Junya and Wang Wei, Li Yuan became a frequent visitor here.

This is a good day when "the autumn air is as clear as water, and the night is sleepless". After finishing all the troubles, Li Yuan came to the palace to drink and chat at the invitation of Pei Ji.Along with him, Liu Wenjing, the commander of Jinyang, and his second son, Li Shimin, went there.In the Pinzhai residence where Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty remained, Fei Ji raised his wine glass with a smile on his face, waved it to Liu Wenjing, gestured to Li Shimin, then stretched out in front of Li Yuan, saying: "This is Guizhou wine." The wine that the county specially presented to the emperor is so delicious that everyone drank it up."

Li Yuan frowned, shook his head, and waved his hands.

Pei Ji put down the wine, and asked with concern: "Too much trouble?"

"How can there not be many?" Li Yuan sighed and said, "There are three most difficult things today: one is Zhai Rang's Wagang Army, Dou Jiande's Hebei Army, and Du Fuwei's Jianghuai Army. If I grow bigger, I will threaten Taiyuan from the east, south, and west; second, the Turkic Shibi Khan in the north is ready to move and aggressive, and threatens Taiyuan from the north; third, the emperor has suspicions about me, and it is getting worse. , It has fundamentally threatened me." Speaking of this, Li Yuan sighed and said: "I am left behind, how big an official is, and I am flattered to be taken care of by all directions, even the emperor, and I can't sleep or eat. !"

Liu Wenjing had already picked up the wine glass, but after hearing Li Yuan's exclamation, she put down the wine glass, looked at Pei Ji, then at Li Shimin, and said:
(End of this chapter)