At the age of 16, I was still immersed in the classroom memorizing and juggling endless homework. At the same time, Li Shimin had already set foot on the battlefield, and his first battle was to relieve the siege of Yang Guang, the Great Sui Emperor who was trapped in Yanmen. Subsequently, in the changes at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Li Shimin stood on Chang'an City like a god of war, pacified the Xue father and son at the age of 19, defeated Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang at the age of 20, conquered Wang Shichong at the age of 22, killed Dou Jiande, and settled in Luoyang City, becoming the military merit since the Tang Dynasty.
First, the record.
First, the ability first.
1. Heroes with the first prestige. And Tang Taizong Li Shimin, even when he ascended the throne at the age of 28, he had worries and doubts. So what is it that makes him so nervous?
In history, Liu Bang was afraid that Han Xin, Peng Yue and other meritorious and prominent people would shock the master, so he beheaded the king with a different surname;Zhu Yuanzhang was worried that it would be difficult for future generations to suppress Xu Da, Lan Yu and others, so he took the best measures;And Zhao Kuangyin was afraid of the division of the feudal town and could not have enough strength to suppress it, so he chose to solve the problem of military power with a wine glass. However, what is Li Shimin, who is 28 years old and in the prime of spring and autumn, worried about?Is it a military general's high achievement?But his credit is the greatest;Is it for fear that future generations will be slaughtered?But he himself was the youngest;Is it worried that the generals will rebel?But no one could beat him. In his ruling career, there were a total of 23 years, and compared with the early heroes, among the 24 Lingyan Pavilion heroes such as Qin Qiong, the old men who were already old had already grown old and no longer existed. In the era of Tang Gaozong, only the eldest grandson Wuji and other six people were still alive, and they had already entered the age of antiquity, and the only thing left for them was nothing other than the old bones.
The reason why Li Shimin was able to maintain his prestige for a long time among many meritorious heroes and not become the target of the rebellion was first of all due to his clear attitude in terms of rewards and punishments. In ancient China, there were very few rulers who could distinguish between public and private, except for Zhuge Kongming, only Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. In his later years, when the general Qin Qiong, a fierce general who followed Li Shimin in the early battles, was injured in many battles, Li Shimin arranged for him to serve as a garrison commander in the palace. This move was intended to prevent him from taking risks on the front lines in his later years, to prevent unnecessary **, but also to save his face. As a general, Qin Qiong's exploits no longer allow him to become someone else's subordinate, but in his later years, whether Qin Qiong still has enough ability to command the army is a question worth considering. Li Shimin's comprehensive consideration in this regard can be said to be an intimate arrangement made for the ancient generals. At the same time, in terms of treating meritorious heroes, we can also see Li Shimin's way of reward and punishment from Li Jing. When Li Jing attacked the Turks, his men plundered the Turks' treasures. This behavior reached the ears of Li Shimin, who severely reprimanded Li Jing for not governing the army strictly. However, he then proved his respect for the heroes with the case of Shi Wansui. not only sealed Li Jing's official position, but also rewarded him with rich wealth. And when Li Jing was sick in his later years, in order to let him recuperate with peace of mind, Li Shimin did not send Li Jing on many expeditions. This undoubtedly expresses his concern and respect for the heroes.
The design of the military system is also one of the key factors in Li Shimin's long-term prestige. Throughout history, it has been difficult for a general to maintain military power for a long time if he or she relied solely on his personal prestige. The period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties is the most obvious example, and Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty and Emperor Wu of the Zhou Dynasty were all seized by ministers who controlled the army. For this reason, the Tang Dynasty adopted the government military system to limit the military power of generals. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the government soldiers in the country were divided into 635, of which 260 were in Guanzhong, and the troops directly controlled by the imperial court were close to half of the country. Any general who wants to rebel must think twice. Generals who fought foreign wars were appointed by the imperial court and needed to go through multiple procedures, which almost eliminated the opportunity for generals to directly control the army. The armies commanded by generals such as Li Jing and Qin Qiong when they fought abroad were not divided into mountains, because they themselves did not have their own mountains. The generals of the early Tang Dynasty were more like the spokesmen of the army appointed by the imperial court, although they could directly command foreign operations, they could not control the core strength within the army, because the lifeblood of this army was always in the hands of the imperial court.