When I was a child, I took history class, and I was most impressed by Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, because the textbooks and teachers praised him, and I remember an example that said that because of the great martial arts of Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, but he was kind to the ethnic minorities at home and abroad, so he was deeply loved by the leaders of all ethnic groups and was respected as the "Heavenly Khan". Later, I read the "Old Tang Book" by myself, and saw that in the fourth year of Zhenguan (630), the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Eastern Turks and captured Jieli KhanKnowing that this was the case, Tang Taizong himself was willing to use the names of the emperor and the heavenly khan when he issued an edict to the leaders of the subject states or tribes in the northwest.
In my impression of nearly half a century, Tang Taizong has always been a recognized figure, which is probably unique among ancient Chinese emperors. Although *** has the verse "Tang Zong Song Zu, slightly inferior", in fact, even during the "** period, Tang Taizong also maintained a positive image. Since the beginning of reform and opening up, after high-level leaders have expressed their opinions on advocating frugality, accepting criticism from the masses, drawing lessons from history, opening up to the outside world, and uniting ethnic minorities, it is common to see the story of Tang Taizong published in newspapers.
However, after reading a little more history, I was also puzzled that this Heavenly Khan had done another thing that was unique among emperors during his lifetime: he had to read the history recorded by the historians for himself several times, and personally urged them to revise it until he was satisfied. This is completely inconsistent with Chinese historical traditions, because even if there is a ninety-five honor, the emperor cannot see what the historians have recorded about him. Historians' records of his daily activities and speeches were to be sealed at all times, and only after his death could they be formally compiled into a book and preserved forever. Why did Tang Taizong break the routine and personally do such a thing that might have left an adverse impact on him?
In May of the ninth year of Zhenguan (635), Li Yuan, who had been the emperor for ten years, died. On October 27, the "Emperor Gaozu Taiwu", the founder of the Tang Dynasty, was solemnly buried. Just ten days before the funeral, Tang Taizong informed the historian that he wanted to personally check Emperor Gaozu and his own "Actual Records", but the historian who adhered to the ancestral system politely refused.
In April of the sixteenth year of Zhenguan, Tang Taizong asked the doctor Chu Suiliang again: "Are you still responsible for remembering the "Living Note"?Can you remember anything for me to see?Chu replied: "Historians record the monarch's words and actions, both good and bad, so that the monarch will not dare to do bad things." I haven't heard of the monarch himself taking a look. Tang Taizong asked: "Then if I have anything bad, do you remember it?"Chu replied: "This is my duty, and I dare not remember it." Liu Xun, the waiter of the Yellow Gate, interjected beside him: "If Chu Suiliang doesn't remember it, everyone in the world will remember it." Tang Taizong hit another nail. However, just two months later, Tang Taizong suddenly ordered the eldest brother who was killed 16 years ago and was posthumously seized of the title of prince to be restored from "King Xiyin" to the crown prince, and the younger brother Yuanji, who was killed at the same time, was changed from "King Hailingra" to "King Chaora".
In April of the following year, the crown prince Chengqian was deposed as a concubine for his crimes, and Taizong's uncle, Yuanchang, the king of Han, was killed for participating in the conspiracy. Taizong promised to make his most favored fourth son, Wei Wangtai, the crown prince, but changed his mind and appointed his ninth son, Jin Wangzhi, as the crown prince. Wei Wangtai was demoted to the title of King of Donglai County, and soon changed his title to King of Shunyang, and placed under house arrest in Yunxiang, Junzhou, a remote and isolated township in the mountains of present-day northwest Hubei. In those few days, Taizong was exhausted for a while, lamenting that "I made these three sons and one younger brother like this, and it is really meaningless to think about living", fell to the ground from his seat, and before his henchmen could help him up, he pulled out his saber and wanted to commit suicide, but was taken away by Chu Suiliang. This accident caused Taizong, who has always regarded himself as wise, to be a great blow, and he personally went to the Taimiao Temple to worship and apologize to his ancestors for the work of Chengqian.
There was a solar eclipse on the first day of June, and in July, rumors spread among the people that the emperor sent evil spirits to dig out people's hearts and livers to sacrifice to the Tengu Star. For a while, the people were panicked, and Taizong had to send people to various places to refute the rumors and comfort the people, and it took more than a month to calm down.
It is unknown whether these things are related to the changes in the palace that have been introduced to the people, but it undoubtedly prompted Taizong to pay more attention to the records given to him by the historians, so he made a third request to Fang Xuanling, the prime minister who supervised the revision of the history of the country: "My intentions are different from those of previous monarchs. The emperor wants to read the history of the country himself so that he can understand his past mistakes, and as a warning for the future, you can write them down in order. Zhu Zihao, the counselor, strongly objected: "Your Majesty is full of holy virtues, there is no fault in words and deeds, and the natural records of the historians are perfect, so it is not inappropriate for Your Majesty to consult the "Living Note". But since then, the system has been passed on, and I am afraid that when I reach my great-grandchildren and great-grandchildren, it is difficult to guarantee that there is no gentleman who cannot reach the wisdom of the high, and he will be able to write and disguise wrongdoing, and the historian will inevitably be punished. In this way, in order to protect themselves and avoid disasters, the historians all cater to the direction of the wind and obey the will, can the history of thousands of years still be believed?This is the reason why the emperor has never been allowed to see it. Taizong insisted on reading it, so Fang Xuanling and Xu Jingzong and others had to delete and modify 20 volumes of "Gaozu and Taizong's Records" to submit to the imperial review.
In fact, Fang Xuanling and the others all understood in their hearts which part Taizong was most concerned about, so they naturally worked the text. But after Taizong read the record of "June 4th", he still thought that they wrote too vaguely: "Back then, the Duke of Zhou killed Uncle Guan and Uncle Cai to stabilize the Zhou family, and Ji You poisoned Uncle Ya to bring peace to the Lu State." I am doing this for the sake of stabilizing the community and benefiting all people. Why do you have to keep it secret when the historian writes?It should be revised, the inaccuracies removed, and the facts should be written down straightforwardly. With such clear instructions, the historians headed by Fang Xuanling could naturally only observe the sacred heart and revise the relevant texts in the "Actual Records" of the two dynasties until Tang Taizong was satisfied. This is the "Xuanwumen Change" that we can see today in books such as "Old Tang Book", "New Tang Book" and "Zizhi Tongjian":
In June of the ninth year of Gaozu Wude of Tang Dynasty (626), the Turks invaded, and the crown prince Jiancheng suggested that his fourth brother Qi Wang Yuanji lead the army to the north, and requisitioned the generals of the Qin King (Shimin) Mansion Chi Jingde, Cheng Zhijie (i.e., Cheng Biting Jin) and Qin Shubao and others to go out with the army, which was approved by Gaozu Li Yuan. He has always been jealous of the completion of the military exploits and prestige of the King of Qin, and has been looking for an opportunity to murder him, trying to take advantage of the opportunity of traveling with the King of Qin in Kunming Chiyang to ambush the armor to assassinate him. King Qin quickly got the news from the prince's subordinate he bribed, Donggong Cheng Wang Hui, and discussed countermeasures with the eldest grandson Wuji, Fang Xuanling and others overnight. Everyone persuaded King Qin to strike first, but Li Shimin couldn't bear to kill each other and hesitated. The aides gave the example of Shun hiding from his father, who was instigated by his evil brother Xiang, and finally persuaded him to take action.
Coincidentally. In May and June, the star appears several times during the day, and in early June.
First, the third day of the first month reappeared, and Fu Yi secretly played to Gaozu "Taibai sees Qinfen, and the king of Qin should have the world". When Gaozu heard this, he was furious, believing that this indicated that the people of the world would rebel and usurp the throne, and immediately summoned the people of the world to question. Shimin pleaded that it was Jiancheng and Motoyoshi who wanted to murder him, and secretly played the scandal of Jiancheng and Motoyoshi's "fornication harem". Li Yuan was immediately taken aback and decided to summon the three brothers together the next day to "interrogate" in person. Early in the morning of the fourth day of the sixth month, Shimin led the eldest Sun Wuji and others to ambush in Xuanwumen. When Jiancheng and Yuanji walked to the Linhu Palace, they suddenly found that the situation was abnormal, and immediately turned around and wanted to escape back to the East Palace. Shimin led the people to rush out and chase after him, Yuanji pulled the bow and released arrows at the Shimin, because he was panicked, the bowstring was not opened, and he missed three arrows in a row. Shimin fought back with his bow and was killed by an arrow. At this time, Wei Chi Jingde led more than 70 cavalry to arrive and shot Yuanji's mount, and Yuanji fell from his horse. The horses of the people were frightened and fled into the woods, and tripped over the branches. Yuanji arrived, took the bow and arrow to strangle the people, and Wei Chi Jingde jumped on his horse angrily and shot Yuanji with an arrow. At this time, more than 2,000 elite soldiers of the East Palace and the Qi Palace, heard the news and rushed to attack the Xuanwu Gate, the situation was very critical, Wei Chi Jingde hurriedly held the heads of the two to show, and the palace army saw that the master had been killed, and immediately dispersed.
Li Shimin sent Wei Chi Jingde to be fully armed and enter the palace to defend Gaozu. Who knew that Gao Zu, who was originally scheduled to interrogate the three brothers in person that morning to determine right and wrong, was actually full of interest and was on a cruise ship in the Houyuan Sea Pool. Seeing Wei Chi Jingde, who was armed with a spear and dressed in armor, rushed in front of him, Gao Zu was taken aback. Jingde reported that the crown prince had rebelled with the king of Qi and had been killed by the king of Qin, and now the ministers advised him to hand over state affairs to the king of Qin. Gao Zu agreed very happily: "Very good!."That's what I've been hoping for a long time!He immediately wrote an edict in his own handwriting, ordering the armies to obey the orders of the King of Qin. The overall situation has been decided, the king of Qin rushed to meet Gaozu, and the father and son hugged and cried. Gaozu immediately issued an edict to establish King Shimin of Qin as the crown prince, and the ten sons of Jiancheng and Yuanji were all executed for the crime of rebellion. Two months later, Gaozu announced his abdication and became the Emperor Taishang who enjoyed his life in peace. The "Xuanwumen Change" ended with the early accession of King Shimin of Qin to the throne.
It is a pity that Tang Taizong is not yet an expert in the set of cultural governance, especially he did not attach great importance to the role of history from a long-term strategy, and did not unify the thinking of his subjects with the "Actual Record" as the outline, and lacked a "Goebbels"-style figure to do a good job in publicizing and explaining the great significance of the "Xuanwumen Change", let alone thoroughly investigating and destroying all kinds of treatises and historical materials that violated the spirit of the "Actual Record". Although there was a Tang Dynasty, because all the emperors were descendants of Taizong, no one dared to turn over the "Xuanwumen Incident", but since the Song Dynasty, from time to time some people have exposed contradictions in historical materials and questioned the official records of the Tang Dynasty. Today, as long as we analyze the historical materials a little, it is not difficult to see the cause and effect of the incident and the truth.
According to the "Records of Gaozu Taizong", "built young and uninhibited, barren and drunk, good hunting";"The curtain is thin and not repaired, there is a trip of poultry and dogs, and it smells far away";"The king of the nest (Yuanji) is fierce, ambitious, and acts like a beast. At the same time, abandoning the town and losing it, there are many crimes, and it is the ability of Taizong", which is completely a hooligan beast, and it is obviously not enough to succeed and more than to lose. And Tang Gaozu Li Yuan was also indecisive and did not dare to raise troops for a long time. Since the father and son can't become the climate, they can only rely on the wise and brave Li Shimin. "Gaozu has the world, all of them are the merits of Taizong." It's just that these statements are so absurd that even Sima Guang, who is confined to the traditional view of history and regards Taizong as orthodox, has doubts, "Shi Chen is not without suppression and slander, and he will not take it all now";It was not fully adopted in the compilation of the "General Guide to Information Governance".
Through the historical materials that have been tampered with by Taizong's historians, Li Yuan's army can still be distinguished.
In the thirteenth year of the Great Cause of the Sui Dynasty (617), Li Yuan, who stayed behind in Taiyuan and attacked the Duke of Tang, raised troops from Jinyang (now Taiyuan, Shanxi) in the name of Yang Yu, the grandson of Emperor Yang of Sui. According to the records of the old and new "Book of Tang" and the "Zizhi Tongjian", the planning and deployment of this army were all made by Li Shimin alone. Everything was ready, but Li Shimin was afraid that Li Yuan would not agree, so he hesitated for a long time and didn't dare to tell him. Sure enough, when Shimin told Li Yuan about the plan, he was shocked: "How dare you say such a thing, I will immediately escort you to the imperial court for justice." After that, he started to write the music. Li Shimin said unhurriedly: "Now that the time has reached such a point, I will make such a plan." If you have to send me to the court for investigation, I am not afraid of death. Li Yuan said, "How could I bear to accuse you?"But you must be careful not to say any more. After repeated persuasion by Li Shimin and others, Li Yuan was forced to agree, saying that it was up to you to break the family or turn the family into a country in the future. Previously, Pei Lin also secretly gave the palace maid in the Jinyang Palace to Li Yuan for use, and when he was drunk, Pei Lin threatened again: "It is the crime of killing the head of the courtier to occupy the palace maid, and Erlang (Shimin) conspired to raise troops because he was afraid that this matter would be exposed, so he prepared like this." At this point, Li Yuan has no way out, "What else can be done now?"I have to listen to him!"If Li Yuan is just trying to keep his son a secret, why should he write a serious chapter to denounce him when only the father and son are present?And when it comes to the uprising, how can you say such things?also wants his son and strategists to plot to lure him into the bait with women, it seems that Li Yuan is really a cowardly, fearful, ambitious, and lascivious villain, and it is really wronged to make him the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty!
However, according to the Old Tang Dynasty Book and the Biography of Yu Wenshi, as early as the sixth year of the Great Cause (613), Li Yuan and Yu Wenshi were in Zhuojun (now Beijing) to "taste the secret discussion of current affairs at night". Since it is to be discussed in secret, it is naturally not a matter of allegiance to the Sui Dynasty. According to the "Old Tang Book: Xiahou Duan Biography", a year before the army started, Li Yuan served as a hunting envoy in Hedong. His friend Xiahou Duan once persuaded him with the abnormality of the celestial phenomena: "The golden jade bed is shaking, and this emperor is uneasy." When the ruins are old, there must be real people who start from the time of the real sinking. The world is chaotic, and those who can be safe are in Minggong. ......If it is calculated early, it should be blessed, otherwise it will be punished. After hearing this, Li Yuan "spoke deeply" and fully agreed with his analysis and suggestions. Wen Daya's "Notes on the Livelihood of Datang Entrepreneurship" is more specific: after being appointed as the "pacification ambassador of Taiyuan Province", Li Yuan "privately rejoiced in this trip, thinking that it was a gift from God." Wherever he passed, he showed generosity, wisdom and wisdom, like influence. It is worth noting that Wen Daya was appointed as "the secretary of the general's mansion to join the army and take charge of Wenhan" after Li Yuan raised the army, and was Li Yuan's confidential secretary, and this book was written in "Yining and Wude", that is, in the years after 617 AD, it seems that it was not deleted after the Xuanwumen Change, which should be more credible. It can be seen that Li Yuan had already had the intention of rebelling against the Sui and raising troops, but he felt that the time was not yet ripe, so he kept his head in obscurity. Some people have been aware of his political attitude and conspiracy, and Jiang Xu, the chief of Jinyang, once privately said to his cronies: "Sui Zuo is about to die, and there must be a great talent in the world, so as to respond to the plan, Tang Gong (Li Yuan) has the degree of overlord, and in my opinion, he will be the master of chaos." (See "Old Tang Book: The Biography of Jiang Xuan") Li Jing was sure that Li Yuan "had the ambition of the Quartet" and wanted to report it to Emperor Yang of Sui in person, but he gave up because the road was blocked. Wen Daya's record is more clear, and Li Yuan clearly told the people: "The Sui calendar is coming to an end, and my family will inherit the talisman." "Li Yuan should be the protagonist of Jinyang's rebellion, and taking a step back, at least he is also a conspirator, and he is by no means forced by Li Shimin's fait accompli.
Li Shimin was born in the eighteenth year of Emperor Kaihuang of Sui (598), only 15 years old in the ninth year of the Great Cause (613), and only 19 years old when Li Yuan officially started the army (617). And Li Yuan's eldest son Jiancheng was 29 years old at the time, so he should obviously become Li Yuan's right-hand man. "Tongjian" clearly records that under Li Shimin's repeated urging, Li Yuan still "postponed and did not develop", because at that time "it was completed and Yuanji was still in Hedong". Due to Li Yuan's defeat against the Turks, Emperor Yang of Sui once wanted to arrest him and send him to Jiangdu (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu) for punishment. In this case, Li Yuan was still reluctant to raise troops, didn't he reveal that he would wait for Jiancheng and Yuanji to plan a major event after they arrived in Jinyang?Moreover, once Li Yuan openly rebelled, the life of his son who remained in Hedong would definitely be in danger, and Li Shimin would not be ignorant of this. Moreover, it is clearly recorded in "Notes on the Entrepreneurship and Living of the Tang Dynasty" that Li Yuan told Shimin: "Those who do not rise early, the Guer brothers have not gathered their ears." Sure enough, after Jiancheng, Yuanji left Hedong, and Li Yuan raised troops, Zhiyun, the son of Li Yuan's wife Wan, was captured by the Sui Dynasty and sent to Chang'an to be killed. If Li Shimin really had such a purpose, it means that the conflict between him and his eldest brother has been going on for a long time, and he has long wanted to kill people with a knife and put him to death, so it is not surprising that he will kill his brother and slaughter his brother in Xuanwumen in the future.
Regarding the actions of Yuan Ji before the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the "Old Tang Dynasty Book: The Biography of the Yin Prince" said that they "did not premeditate when the righteous flag was created, and since its establishment, they have no merit, and they often worry about themselves, and they are evil." But Wen Daya's account is completely different. As mentioned earlier, what Li Yuan said to Shimin is overflowing with his reliance on completion. Hedong is a military important place, between Taiyuan and Guanzhong, built to stay there, is responsible for Li Yuan's special mission "hidden handsome", and the completion also lives up to expectations, "pouring money and charity, humble corporal", "so the favor of the scholars, all of them." Later, after the Tang army conquered Huoyi, "hundreds of people along the Yellow River in the east of the river rushed to take the initiative to send ferries" ("Old Tang Book, Gaozu Benji"), which shows the effect of winning people's hearts before it was built. Jiancheng, Yuanji rushed back to Taiyuan from Hedong, and then jointly commanded the first major battle related to the success or failure of the imperial industry with Shimin, conquered Xihe City in one fell swoop, and it took only nine days to go back and forth, which laid the foundation for marching into Guanzhong and taking Chang'an. However, when the two "Tang Books" deal with this crucial battle, they only say that the people of the world conquered the Xihe River on the orders of Gaozu and wiped out the achievements of the building. After the Battle of Xihe, Jiancheng was awarded the Duke of Longxi for meritorious service, commanding the left army, and the people of the world were named the Duke of Dunhuang, commanding the right army, it can be said that all the military activities before the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Dingxi River, taking Huoyi, Weihedong, Tun Yongfeng, Shoutongguan, Kechang'an, etc., were all direct participants and commanders. Wen Daya belongs to Li Shimin**, although it was impossible to predict the future despair between their brothers at that time, but he would never deliberately belittle Shimin and elevate Jiancheng, his record should be much more authentic and credible than "Gaozu and Taizu Records".
After the capital of Chang'an was established in the first year of Wude (618), Li Yuan immediately established Li Jiancheng as the crown prince, Li Shimin as the king of Qin, and Li Yuanji as the king of Qi. As a prince, Jian's main responsibility was to help Gaozu deal with daily government affairs, "Gaozu was worried about his political skills, and every time he ordered to Xi current affairs, he was not a major military affairs, and he was entrusted with it." (The Old Tang Dynasty Book, The Biography of Prince Yin) and appointed the respected ministers Li Gang and Zheng Shanguo to assist. The task of leading the army to fight and pacifying the separatist forces in various places was basically undertaken by the Qin Wang Shimin, which objectively created conditions for him to establish outstanding military exploits, forming a situation in which "the Qin King's Xunye was cloned, the power was shocked all over the world, and the people's hearts were desired" ("The Old Tang Dynasty Book: The Biography of the Hidden Prince"). It is very biased to conclude that the political and military talents of the built people are far inferior to those of the people of the world from this point alone, as evidenced by the Liu Heimin incident.
After Dou Jiande was defeated by the Tang army, his general Liu Heimin raised troops in the fourth year of Wude (621) and soon reoccupied the old land. Shimin was ordered to encircle and suppress and carry out brutal suppression, the captured small leaders were all killed and displayed to the public, and their wives were captured by the Tang army, and even Liu Jun did not accept the surrender. The Tang army paid a great price and barely won, but only a few months later, Liu Heimin raised troops again in the fifth year of Wude, "restored the old city in ten days" ("Old Tang Book: Liu Heimin's Biography"), and also (and) set the capital of Zhaozhou, called the king of Handong. At this time, Jiancheng accepted the suggestion of Wang Qi and Wei Zheng, took the initiative to ask for an order, changed the high-pressure policy of the people, implemented leniency and pacification, and sent all the prisoners back to their hometowns, "the people were happy", so Liu Heizhu rebelled and left, and he was also captured alive. It took only two months to pacify Shandong, these are the facts recognized by the "New Tang Dynasty Book: The Biography of Prince Yin". It can be seen that the military talent of the construction is no less than that of the people of the world, and even surpasses it. In order to depreciate the completion of the "Zizhi Tongjian", he borrowed the mouth of Wang Qi to say that "now Liu Heimin is scattered, the people are not satisfied with 10,000, the resources and food are scarce, and the army is approaching, and the momentum is like decay", and the completion can easily win the fame and fame. But compared with the "Old Tang Dynasty Book, Liu Heimin Biography", the situation is not so clear, after Liu Heimin raised troops again, with Turkic forces to attack Shandong, Yingzhou Assassin Shi Ma Kuangwu City was killed, Beizhou Assassin Shi Xu Shanhu was annihilated, Huaiyang King Li Daoxuan was killed, the former Guogong Shi Wanbao was defeated and fled, Cangzhou Assassin Shi Cheng Damai, Lujiang King Li Ying abandoned the city and fled, it can be seen that its momentum is very huge, so Qi King Yuanji is also "afraid of the black and strong soldiers, dare not enter." (Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 19).
According to the records of the historians of the old times, they all said that Jiancheng and Yuanji were jealous of the virtuous and virtuous, and the two were embarrassed and conspired to harm the people of the world many times, and the change of Xuanwumen was really his last resort. It is said that on the night of the first day of June three days before the Xuanwumen Change, Jiancheng summoned the people to the East Palace to drink, and poisoned the wine. The authenticity of this is really questionable. Since it is built to put the people of the world to death, it is necessary to use highly poisonous, and the people of the world are several liters on the spot, indicating that the toxicity has attacked, and they are safe and sound after returning homeAnd Jiancheng actually did not ambush the armor, and let the people of the world get out alive, with the political experience of Jiancheng, don't you know the serious consequences of poisoning and killing?Besides, since Shimin had already mastered many crimes such as building a "harem of fornication", and there was ironclad evidence that his uncle witnessed him being poisoned, why did he wait two days before reporting it to Li Yuan, and never mention the poisoned alcohol incident?It seems that most of this matter is due to the fiction of Zhenguan Shichen.
Jiancheng is the eldest son born to Gaozu and Queen Dou, and he is justified as the crown prince. He had made great achievements for the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, mastered the independent armed Changlin soldiers of the East Palace, and won the support of his fourth brother Qi Wang Yuanji, who held military power. Gaozu's most trusted prime minister, Pei Lian, is also a staunch supporter of Jiancheng, and Gaozu's favored Zhang Jieyu, Yin Defei and others often say good things about Jiancheng. Obviously, the status of the completed "** people" is very stable, and there is no need to engage in conspiracy and trickery at all. As the second son, Shimin has no possibility of being an emperor under normal circumstances, unless there is an accident or a coup d'état to seize power, it can be seen that he has the need to secretly act behind Gaozu and Jiancheng. Shimin did have the ambition to seize the throne, according to the "Old Tang Book: The Biography of Du Ruhui", after Shimin pacified Chang'an, many civil and military ** in the Qin Wangfu were transferred to other places, which made him quite uneasy. Strategist Fang Xuanling told Shimin that no matter how many of these people are transferred, there is no need to be a pity. But Du Ruhui is different, this person is a talent to assist the emperor, if you just want to be a vassal king, a person like Du Ruhui is useless, but if you want to "run the Quartet", it must be this person. Shimin was shocked when he heard this, "If you don't say it, I almost lost this talent." "Hurriedly transferred Du Ruhui, who had been transferred to the governor of Shaanzhou, back. These dialogues could not have been fabricated by the editors of the Old Tang Book, but must have been written by the historian of Zhenguan. At that time, the inclusion of this matter was nothing more than to highlight the importance of talents to the people, but it was inadvertently exposed that as early as the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, he was actively preparing to "operate the Quartet" and deliberately seize the throne.
In this storage struggle, Gaozu Li Yuan's attitude is quite crucial. According to the two "Book of Tang" and "Tongjian", as early as the beginning of Jinyang's army, he promised to establish Shimin as the crown prince, but he was resolutely resigned by Shimin. In the fourth year of Wude (621), Gaozu once again privately promised to make Shimin the crown prince. It seems to be true, but it contradicts several other materials of the same **. After the Battle of the Eastern Capital, Li Shimin gradually used Luoyang as a base to expand his power, set up a literature museum in the fourth year of Wude, and recruited Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, the eldest grandson Wuji and other "Eighteen Scholars of the Qin Mansion", and the military generals had "eight hundred warriors", which caused Gaozu to be extremely dissatisfied. In the fifth year of Wude, he said to Prime Minister Pei Lian: "This son has been a soldier for a long time, and he has been outside **, taught by scholars, and he is not my old son." After that, the military power of the people was restricted, and in April of the same year, his military power was transferred to King Yuanji of Qi, and he was soon dismissed from his post as the governor of the Eastern Shaanxi Province and the military governors of Shandong, Henan, and Hebei, and was replaced by the crown prince. Then he expelled the confidants of the people of the world, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, so that on the third night of the first month of June, when the people of the world summoned the two to conspire, they all wore Taoist uniforms and disguised themselves and sneaked back. Gaozu also once reprimanded Shimin to his face: "The emperor has his own destiny, which is not obtained by intelligence, why are you in such a hurry to want it?"(Zizhi Tongjian, Vol. 191) It can be seen from this that Li Yuan's attitude towards the establishment of the prince has not changed, and he has never been inclined to the people. Under these circumstances, it would have been easy for the crown prince, Jiancheng, who was the legitimate heir to the throne, to get rid of the people who wanted to usurp it, and the strategist Wei Zheng "often advised the prince to get rid of the king of Qin as soon as possible" (Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 191). Although Jiancheng took many actions to defend his position and fight against the Qin king's forces, he never adopted the suggestion to directly assassinate him. In the seventh year of Wude (624), King Yuanji of Qi volunteered to get rid of the people of the world for the completion of the building, "Yuanji ambushed the army Yuwenbao in the bed, and wanted to assassinate the people." The completion is quite benevolent, and it is stopped. Even if it is completely true that Jiancheng and others "sued the people of the world day and night" (Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 191), it can only show that Jiancheng has always hoped to be able to resolve sibling disputes through Gaozu according to normal procedures, rather than killing each other. Until the day of the Xuanwumen Change, Jiancheng received a secret report from Zhang Jieyu, and learned that the people of the world were secretly playing their fornication harem in front of Gaozu, and Gaozu would summon the three brothers into the palace to "interrogate". (Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 191), but Jiancheng thought that he should enter the court with his fourth brother, and personally explained to Gaozu ("Zizhi Tongjian" vol. 191), and entered the palace calmly without taking any measures, which shows that he is "quite benevolent" and "kind" is by no means false. In the face of all kinds of unfavorable circumstances, the only way to seize the throne was to make a desperate attempt to launch a coup d'état against their own compatriots. According to the Dunhuang manuscript P2640 "Li Yifu Wrote Chang He Epitaph" in the Paris Library, Chen Yinke determined that the key to Taizong's victory in the Xuanwu Gate was to buy off Chang He, a confidant of the original Jiancheng and the guard of the Xuanwu Gate ("Essay on the Political History of the Tang Dynasty"). It can be seen that the ambush of the Xuanwu Gate is by no means a hasty plan, and the appearance of this bloody scene is only sooner or later.
Due to the conspiracy between Tang Taizong and Zhenguan Shichen, it is impossible to restore the truth of the "Xuanwumen Change". But we can completely speculate that this was a coup d'état that Tang Taizong had planned for a long time, but the crown prince Jiancheng and Qi Wang Yuanji were unguarded, so that they did not take corresponding countermeasures after obtaining clear information, and only fled after being ambushed, and naturally they would surely die. Tang Gaozu, who was coerced by force, could only comply, and after completing the crime of announcing his son Jiancheng and Yuanji, killing 10 young grandsons, changing the crown prince, and transferring power, he honestly became the emperor.
Twenty-two years ago, in the fourth year of Sui Renshou (604), the crown prince Yang Guang launched a palace coup d'état because he was in danger of being deposed, killing his father Emperor Wen Yang Jian and his brother Yang Yong, the deposed crown prince, to establish themselves. The difference is that the masters of the coup d'état are threatened, and the other is not a "**person" at all;One is to kill his father, and the other is to make his father the emperor. However, if Tang Gaozu is unwilling to give in and does not take the initiative to cooperate, the emperor who is already sixty years old will "die", who knows that it is not one of the plans implemented by Wei Chi Jingde?Yang Guang, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty who remained in the history books, was a tyrant who was shameless and exterminated, while Li Shimin, who directed a coup d'état at the same court, was the founder of the Tang Empire and a rare Ming monarch in history. The reason why there is such a huge difference is, of course, related to what the two did, but it is also the result of the death of Emperor Yang of Sui. If the Sui Dynasty had not died, Emperor Yang would have worked the "Record" like Tang Taizong, and the Yang Guang we know today would not be like that, and he would never have received the evil scorn of "Emperor Yang", which has been stinking for 10,000 years.
A historical figure should not be judged only by moral standards, but by all his merits and demerits. Especially for emperors and political leaders, it is mainly about the role and influence they played on the society of the time, and not too much attention should be paid to their personal qualities or private life. Although Li Shimin became Tang Taizong by cruel and despicable means, Tang Taizong's historical contributions should still be fully affirmed. But this does not mean that we should fully believe in the history books he concocted, so that the truth of the "Xuanwumen Change" will be forever lost in the fog of history. Even if you are talking about the title of "Heavenly Khan", don't take it too seriously. In the case of only Chinese historical materials, who knows whether this is the masterpiece or deliberate mistranslation of which Tang Dynasty minister, just like the British envoy Macartney came to China during the Qianlong period, and the ministers translated the English king's equal greeting letter into the expression "Congratulations on Long Life". When we read the remaining Turkic inscriptions, we can be sure that the Turkic people who were ruined would never have so much respect for the "Heavenly Khan", and would the countries and ethnic groups that were incorporated into the Tang Empire by force really love Tang Taizong wholeheartedly?