As we all know, the Tang Dynasty was founded by Li Yuan and his son, and most of them were attributed to Li Shimin. Li Shimin knows people well and treats them with sincerity; He brought many talented people under his command, and was able to coordinate the relationship between kings and ministers. So much so that everyone was loyal and convinced of him.
These talented people played an important role in the founding of the Tang Dynasty, and there were twenty-four people in total. Tang Taizong treated them with clear rewards and punishments, and his attitude did not change after he got the throne, unlike Zhu Yuanzhang, who slaughtered heroes, and in the end, almost all twenty-four people died well.
In order to commend their merits, Tang Taizong ordered people to draw the "Twenty-four Meritorious Heroes", which was widely circulated among the people. Among them, there are the well-known Wei Zheng, the eldest grandson Wuji, Fang Xuanling, etc., there are civil officials and military generals; Today's protagonist is Qu Tutong, a general with outstanding military achievements and integrity
Qu Tutong has been resolute and decisive since he was a child, is good at riding and shooting, is familiar with the way of using soldiers, and is a good seedling who can lead troops to fight. Qu Tutong became a general at a young age, and the reigning Emperor Wen of Sui was at that time, and later rose step by step through hard work.
Qu Tutong dared to speak out. He once found more than 20,000 hidden horses and played them to Emperor Wen of Sui, who was furious and wanted to execute all the people involved, and there were more than 1,000 people involved. After hearing this, Qu Tutong felt that it was too cruel, so he advised the emperor not to deal with it like this.
At that time, Emperor Wen of Sui was still angry, and it was likely that he lost his life instead of persuading him. Qu Tutong said: "If the emperor's anger is hard to quench, exchange one life of the minister for a thousand lives." ”Emperor Wen of Sui only woke up after hearing this, and decided to exempt himself from the death penalty, so Qu Tongtu was remembered by Emperor Wen of Sui.
He was impartial, upright and law-abiding. Everyone is equal before criminal law, even if.
Their own relatives will never bend the law for personal gain. The same is true of his younger brother Qutugai, who governs the place in an orderly manner. The two brothers were famous among the people, and the people were in awe.
Later, Emperor Wen of Sui passed away, Emperor Yang of Sui ascended the throne, and Qu Tutong still worked for Sui。Emperor Yang of Sui was not honored to get the throne, and he took some small measures, which made the other brothers unconvinced. Emperor Yang of Sui wanted to gather his clan brothers in Chang'an and deal with them together, but he couldn't get what he wanted.
So, wave after wave of rebellions began, and the first achievement Qu Tutong gave to the new lord was to quell the rebellion. The rebels lacked generals who were good at leading troops to fight, and the arrangement of troops and strategic tactics were quickly caught by Qu Tutong, and the rebels were finally defeated in one move.
After Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty ascended the throne, it became even more serious, and the people were miserable. **Where there is oppression**, there is resistance, people have revolted, and the situation is difficult to control. Qu Tutong only won the first wave of the uprising, and later against the peasant uprising, he could only guarantee a draw
The general trend of the Sui Dynasty has gone, and its demise is already a foregone conclusion. Those who win the hearts of the people win the world, and the Sui Dynasty has completely lost the support of the people, and it will naturally be destroyed. Subsequently, Li Yuan raised troops in Taiyuan and won the support of most people, including the ** of the Sui Dynasty.
In the army, many generals and soldiers were in the Sui Dynasty, but in fact, their hearts were towards Li Yuan. Qu Tutong's army was the same, they had to obey orders to resist Li Yuan, but they had no military spirit and could not win at all. Qu Tutong knew this, but he didn't allow himself to betray
The defeat had become a fact, and Li Yuan's troops were so strong that they could not stop it at all. At one time, some subordinates persuaded Qu Tutong to surrender, but he said that he had always been grateful for the kindness of the two emperors, and was unwilling to betray the Sui Dynasty, and would rather die to show his will。The soldiers who heard this wept bitterly and were deeply moved.
Later, after the fall of Chang'an, Qu Tutong's son Qu Tushou came to persuade him to surrender, and he ordered his subordinates to shoot arrows at his son for the sake of loyalty, but fortunately the arrows were not shot. Seeing this, the soldiers threw away **, Qu Tutong had no choice but to become a prisoner, and he also bowed three times in the direction of Yangzhou, showing his loyalty to Sui
Li Yuan was very emotional when he saw Qu Tutong and appreciated his loyalty, which was an absolute loyal minister. So he persuaded him in every possible way, perhaps sincerely; In the end, Qu Tutong surrendered to Li Yuan and worked for him. Li Yuan was immediately conferred an official position, and Qu Tutong's journey to the Tang Dynasty began.
After Qu Tutong surrendered, he followed Li Shimin to fight in all directions. First of all, he crusaded against Xue Ju's father and son, and won the victory, seizing countless gold, silver and jewelry. When the soldiers saw these treasures, they couldn't help but be moved, and they all wanted to take them for themselves. And Qu Tutong didn't take it at all, he can be honest and honest at any time, which is admirable
Liu Wuzhou then used his Turkic strength to launch an attack on the Tang DynastyQu Tutong went out with Li Shimin again, and the two seemed to be bound。During this period, Qu Tutong has always been worried about Li Shimin's safety, and carefully followed and protected, for fear of a mistake.
Liu Wuzhou's general, Chi Jingde, surrendered to them, but was questioned by Qu Tutong and many generals. Qu Tutong repeatedly persuaded Li Shimin not to trust others, and even suggested that he be executed. Although Li Shimin disagreed with his views, such loyalty moved Li Shimin again
Then he crusaded against Wang Shichong, who was very cunning, and he imprisoned Qu Tutong's two sons in Luoyang as bargaining chips. Qu Tutong immediately told Tang Gaozu that it was his responsibility as a courtier to crusade against Wang Shichong, and if the two sons were unfortunately killed, it was their destiny and had nothing to do with the country
Tang Gaozu was full of emotion after hearing this, such a ** is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The crusade against Wang Shichong was victorious, and Qu Tutong's exploits should be in the first place. This war was of great significance, and it can be said that it was the key to the unification of the whole country in the Tang Dynasty.
It is not difficult to find that Qu Tutong spent most of his time with Li Shimin, and it should be difficult not to be attracted by his character and strategy when he came into close contact with this future Ming Jun. Through Qu Tutong's previous attitude towards Wei Chi Jingde, it can be seen that Li Shimin's status in his heart.
From any point of view, Li Shimin should be a well-deserved prince. However, Li Yuan's momentary mediocrity made Li Jiancheng the crown prince. As Li Shimin's prestige among the army and the common people grew, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji decided to kill the killers and eliminate the biggest threat to the throne.
When Li Shimin learned of their intentions, he decided not to continue to tolerate it and decisively launched the Xuanwumen Rebellion. Li Jiancheng was killed by Li Shimin at the place where he wanted to murder him, which made people happy. Qu Tutong also participated in the Xuanwumen Revolution and escorted Li Shimin.
Li Shimin thus became the crown prince, and for the sake of Jiangshan Sheji, he could not go out at will, so Qu Tutong continued to go on the expedition for him and defended one side. After Li Shimin ascended the throne, he rewarded him greatly, and this time he chose the right monarch for his loyalty. After his death, Tang Taizong was very sad and has always missed him.
In his seventy-two years of life, Qu Tutong has made great achievements, served many emperors successively, and has done his best for each emperor with a clear conscience. Tang Taizong listed him among the twenty-four meritorious heroes, ranking twelfth, which is enough to prove that he has made great contributions.
His incorruptibility and loyalty make people ashamed, fortunately he did not die when the Sui Dynasty fell, otherwise it would be a pity to have a generation of loyal ministers. For a brutal ruler like Emperor Yang of Sui, Qu Tutong's surrender was not a betrayal, but a renunciation of darkness and surrender to light. It can be seen that choosing the Ming Monarch is the right way, otherwise it will be a waste of loyalty.
In peacetime, there has long been no war, so naturally there is no need to learn Qu Tutong's way of using troops, but it is necessary to learn Qu Tutong's good qualities. That is, abide by laws and regulations, and do not take advantage of the convenience of the position. Those who serve as officials must be honest and honest, ensure fairness and justice, and serve the people.