According to the records of historical books, the time when the eldest grandson Wuji really went to the political stage and was under one person and above ten thousand people was the seventeenth year of Zhenguan. Before that, he was just an idler who had been dismissed. But is that really the case? If so, how do the following questions be answered?
1, why did he become the first hero of the Zhenguan Dynasty?
2, in the eleventh year of Zhenguan, Taizong issued an edict to hereditary assassination history, why did he almost force Taizong to take back his life with the power of one person?
3, how can he push Li Zhi, the king of Jin, who was originally unrelated to the throne, to the position of crown prince?
4, why was he able to wipe out the Li Tang clan and the emperor's son-in-law with a case of rebellion?
Let's take a look at the first question first, why did the eldest grandson Wuji become the first hero of the Zhenguan Dynasty? What exactly did he do?
The life of the eldest grandson Wuji can be divided into two parts, with Li Zhi, the king of Jin, being established as the crown prince in April of the seventeenth year of Zhenguan. Before the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, it was the stage when the eldest grandson Wuji retreated behind the scenes to influence the court situation. After the fourth year of Tang Gaozong's Xianqing, it was another stage when the eldest grandson Wuji came to the forefront, turned the clouds and rained, and ended in a tragic fate.
The trajectory of the eldest grandson Wuji's activities before the Xuanwumen Revolution is unknown, and he defected to Li Yuan and served as the marching warden of Weibei Province. This position has been established in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and the southern regime such as the Song and Qi dynasties is equivalent to the inspectors sent from the first to the grassroots level, one to assist the vassal king in handling political affairs, and the other to monitor the local state pastor, all for the purpose of strengthening the centralization of power.
* An important basis for the appointment and promotion of local ** is the work report of the pawn. Over time, the power of the canons overrode the local governors. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the royal palaces of the clan also set up pawns, but they were only in charge of documents.
Therefore, the main work of the eldest grandson Wuji after returning to the Tang Dynasty was also biased towards clerical work. Later, he followed Li Shimin's Quartet to discuss, and his evaluation of his "sexual understanding and strategy" in "The Old Tang Dynasty Book: The Biography of Changsun Wuji" should also be the same as Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and others.
The change of Xuanwumen in the ninth year of Wude was the beginning of the eldest grandson Wuji's real appearance.
At that time, Li Yuan intended to suppress Li Shimin, who was highly meritorious and difficult to appreciate, and Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji kept saying bad things about Li Shimin in front of Li Yuan. Even Li Yuanji advocated a "quick kill" of Li Shimin in front of Li Yuan.
Everyone knew that the situation of Li Shimin, the king of Qin, was quite dangerous, and his staff were worried and fearful, and they didn't know what to do.
Yuan Jimi asked to kill the king of Qin, and said: 'He has the merit of determining the world, but the crime has not been written, why should he resign?' Yuan Ji said: "At the beginning of the Qin Dynasty, the king of Qin leveled the eastern capital, and he didn't pay it back, and he scattered money and silk to build personal favors, and he violated the edict, so he didn't do it!" But it should be killed quickly, and there is no excuse for it! 'No. The subordinates of the Qin Mansion were all worried and did not know what to do.
Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 191.
As a confidant, Fang Xuanling first thought of the first strike. But after all, this is a rebellion, and it also makes the brothers die in the net, and the so-called lack of kinship has some scruples. How to convey opinions to Li Shimin? At this time, he thought of the eldest grandson Wuji, he is Li Shimin's eldest brother, the two have been iron buddies since childhood, and it is very appropriate for him to convey the intimacy.
So Fang Xuanling said to the eldest grandson Wuji: Now that the suspicion between the prince and the king of Qin has arisen, if a catastrophe comes, not only will the palace of the king of Qin be hit hard, I am afraid that Sheji will also be overturned. It is better to persuade the king of Qin to do the things of the Duke of Zhou to settle down the country. The opportunity for survival is not allowed to happen, just today. Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 191.
I have to admire Fang Xuanling's art of speaking, the so-called Zhou Gong refers to the rebellion that occurred in the Shang Wangji area in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. After King Wu destroyed Shang, he divided the son of King Shang Wu Geng Yu Yin, and at the same time sent his brothers Uncle Guan, Uncle Cai and Uncle Huo to establish three feudal states around Wu Geng's territory to monitor Wu Geng.
After the death of King Wu of Zhou, King Cheng was young and was assisted by the Duke of Zhou. aroused the suspicion of Uncle Guan and others. Wu Geng took the opportunity to win over Guan, Cai and others to launch a rebellion. Zhou Gong went on an expedition to the east, exterminated Wu Geng, killed Uncle Guan, exiled Uncle Cai, and deposed Uncle Huo as a concubine. It is known as the Rebellion of the Three Prisons. It is clear that this is a counterinsurgency incident.
And Fang Xuanling's so-called doing Zhou Gong's business, who is Zhou Gong? Who is Guan Cai? And who is preparing to rebel?
It doesn't matter what the answer is, what matters is that it gives legitimacy to the coup d'état that follows. Later, Li Shimin's characterization of the Xuanwumen Revolution after reading the history of the country was also based on this.
The eldest grandson Wuji listened to Fang Xuanling's words, and he secretly applauded. Reply: I wanted to do this for a long time, but I didn't dare to speak, and listening to your words is exactly what I want. Then go and tell the king. The record of the "New Tang Book" here is that the two of them entered the King of Qin together, and there is a discrepancy with the record of the "Zizhi Tongjian". (Note: "The New Tang Dynasty Book The Biography of the Eldest Sun Wuji": Fang Xuanling said that Wuji said: "The disaster has budded, and defeat will not be followed.") The husband is careful about the big plan, and Zhou Gong is so careless and Cai Ye. "Then they all entered the white king, please punish him first, the king did not allow it. ）
And Li Shimin listened to the conspiracy conveyed by the eldest grandson Wuji, and immediately consulted with Fang Xuanling. A military coup d'état to seize the throne by force is on the agenda.
When Li Shimin hesitated, Li Jiancheng continued to move, not only transferring the staff of the Tiance General's Mansion such as Fang Xuanling and others from his post, but even taking the opportunity of the Turkic Koubian to prepare to transfer Li Shimin's subordinate Wei Chi Jingde and others to the control of Li Yuanji, the king of Qi.
Everyone can see that this is constantly cutting off King Qin's wings.
The situation was running wild on the road of deterioration, and the eldest grandson Wuji and others kept persuading Li Shimin to kill Jiancheng Yuanji day and night. So on the fourth day of June in the ninth year of Wude, the Xuanwumen Rebellion broke out.
In the ninth year of Wude, the hidden prince was built, and the king of Qi Yuanjimou was about to harm Taizong, and Wuji asked Taizong to punish him first. So he was ordered to secretly summon Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and others to plan together. On June 4, Wuji, Yu Chi Jingde, Hou Junji, Zhang Gongjin, Liu Shili, Gongsun Wuda, Dugu Yanyun, Du Junxuan, Zheng Rentai, Li Mengwei and other nine people, entered the Xuanwu Gate to discuss Jiancheng, Yuanji, and Pingzhi.
The Old Tang Dynasty Book The Biography of the Eldest Sun Wuji.
Later, Li Shimin often said that I can have the power of the world. After the coup d'état, Sun Wuji, the eldest of the ** awards, was also ranked first, and he was the top of the list of twenty-four heroes of Lingyan Pavilion. It can be seen that the eldest grandson Wuji has the weight in Li Shimin's heart.
The reason why this is so is because the Xuanwumen Revolution was a major turning point in Li Shimin's life, which directly prompted him to ascend to the throne. No matter who put forward the opinion first, but it was the eldest grandson Wuji who was the first to tell Li Shimin in person, and it took great courage to let the family kill their brothers and slaughter their brothers. If it is not adopted, it is forgotten, but once it is adopted, it is the first credit. This kind of meritorious service, in the emperor's heart, even if it is a great military merit can not be compared, people may not be able to encounter it once in a lifetime, this kind of unattainable opportunity Changsun Wuji not only seized it, but also grabbed it twice. So he became the first hero of the Zhenguan Dynasty.
However, as mentioned above, the "New Tang Book" believes that it is the King of Qin who Fang Xuanling and the eldest grandson Wuji entered together. And it was Fang Xuanling who first proposed a coup d'état to solve the existing problems. The eldest grandson Wuji is afraid that he has robbed others of the credit by virtue of his relationship with the eldest grandson queen. Li Shimin has always been a person with clear grievances, and if Fang Xuanling was the first to open his mouth in front of Li Shimin, it is unlikely that he will take the credit just because of the nepotism of the eldest grandson Wuji. Therefore, the record of "Zizhi Tongjian" is more logical, that is, "Fang Xuanling made an idea, but it was conveyed by the eldest grandson Wuji".
Sometimes no matter how much dry goods you have in your stomach or how big a blue ocean you have in your head, if you can't turn it into action, everything is equal to zero.
This is the origin of the eldest grandson Wuji**, so Li Shimin specially told Chu Suiliang until he was dying: "I have the world, and I have no jealousy." Assist the government, do not let the slanderers harm them. (New Tang Dynasty Book Changsun Wuji Biography).
Therefore, in the above, we have adopted the statement of the "General Guide to Governance".
So the second question: In the eleventh year of Zhenguan, Taizong issued an edict to hereditary assassination, and why did he almost force Taizong to retract his life with the power of one person?
We'll get to that later.