The brave man knows righteousness, and the wise man must be benevolent. ”When it comes to Li Shimin, the first thing that comes to our mind is "the rule of Zhenguan".
In the year of Zhenguan, under the rule of Li Shimin, the most prosperous dynasty in ancient history was ushered in.
The world has different opinions about Li Shimin's actions, thinking that he is a "virtuous gentleman", but Li Shimin's emotional career is not satisfactory, and even left an unkempt love past.
The fact that Li Shimin, who was only 30 years old, actually occupied the 50-year-old Empress Xiao was puzzling to many people, and it was not until decades later that people discovered the secret.
What is the reason for Li Shimin's occupation of Empress Xiao?
Is it because Li Shimin was attracted to Empress Xiao's beauty? Or is there something else going on.
Let's start with Empress Xiao's life experience, Empress Xiao's name is Xiao, her background is not simple, but she is a descendant of the Nanliang royal family.
But the Xiao family did not live a princess-like life, and ran around for the development of the family at a young age.
This made Xiao feel the political deceit, and she understood that if a woman wants to gain a foothold in this turbulent and unstable era, beauty alone is untenable, and learning flattery and forbearance can achieve great things.
Subsequently, when the Xiao family was in its prime, he happened to meet Yang Guangxuan, the king of Jin.
Xiao seized the opportunity to win Yang Guang's favor, coupled with Xiao's family background, he was successfully elected as the princess by Yang Guang.
The Xiao family did not live up to Yang Guang, and after becoming the princess, she used her family's prestige to recruit talents and strengthen Yang Guang's political status.
Xiao used the "flattery and forbearance" she learned in her early years to increase her power, and in the end, this ability also made her successful as a rightful queen.
At that time, Yang Guang and Yang Yong competed for the crown prince, Xiao Shi was not idle for a moment, she chose to start with her mother-in-law, thinking about how to please her mother-in-law every day, and all kinds of rare treasures were given to her mother-in-law without hesitation.
In order to be able to speak well of her husband in front of her mother-in-law, in the face of the cynicism and ridicule of other concubines, she chose to forbear.
In the end, the emperor lived up to his wishes, and Yang Guang was successfully elected as the crown prince.
A few years later, the emperor died, and Yang Guang succeeded him, known as Emperor Yang of Sui.
At this point in the story, Xiao thought that she could enjoy her position as "queen" with peace of mind, but she didn't calculate that it was her husband who pulled him down the abyss.
After her husband Yang Guang succeeded to the throne, she only cared about pleasure and often ignored the government and politics, which also made the villains in the court in charge and began to oppress the people and collect money from the people.
Under Yang Guang's rule, it can be said that the people are not living well, and there are uprisings in various places, and in the face of Yang Guang's inaction, Xiao Shi has also advised many times, but Yang Guang disdains it.
With the fermentation of uprisings in various places, the situation is no longer under Yang Guang's control, and Yang Guang is naturally greeted by the overthrow of his own regime.
The Xiao family had already been disheartened, and under the arrangement of the family, he defected to the Turkic tribes far north, where he started a new life.
During the more than 20 years that the Xiao family lived in the Turks, the Central Plains had undergone earth-shaking changes.
As a rising star, Li Shimin successfully defeated the last peripheral force, and the entire Central Plains was under the rule of the Tang Dynasty.
At that time, Li Shimin ushered in his last battle, that is, to compete with Li Jiancheng for the crown prince.
In the end, Li Shimin designed to kill his own brother and became the crown prince justifiably.
After becoming the crown prince, Li Shimin did not wait for Li Yuan to abdicate, but forced Li Yuan to abdicate through the threat of force, and soon after, Li Shimin ascended the throne and became the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Shimin did not become a tyrant like Yang Guang, but reused virtuous ministers, opened up the way of speech, and created the "rule of Zhenguan".
Under the rule of Li Shimin, it was also the most prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty.
The Turkic tribe is Li Shimin's last "thorn in the eye", as long as this thorn in the eye is removed, then the vast territory of the north will be included in the territory of the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, Li Shimin ordered Li Jing to lead a large army to crusade against the Turks, at this time the Turks at this time after the change of several generations of leaders, the strength has been greatly inferior to before, in the face of the well-equipped Tang army, it can be said that there is no power to parry.
After several encounters, the army collapsed, and the army led by Li Jing wiped out the Turkic tribes in a few days.
And at this time, Li Jing also discovered the former queen Xiao, at this time, the Xiao family no longer had the peerless appearance of the year, and she was nearly fifty years old.
In the end, Xiao followed Li Jing back to Chang'an City and met with Li Shimin, the emperor of the current dynasty, but what Xiao never expected was that Li Shimin actually asked to marry him.
As soon as these words came out, the ministers in the court were shocked, you must know that Li Shimin was only thirty years old at that time, and the Xiao family was already over half a hundred years old, is this marriage with a difference of 20 years because of love?
In fact, Li Shimin is not interested in the Xiao family, and Li Shimin is interested in the forces behind the Xiao family.
Although the Xiao clan was the queen of the Sui Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty had been destroyed, the influence of the Xiao clan was still strong, and there were still many clans willing to follow the Xiao clan.
If Xiao comes back and becomes the queen of the Tang Dynasty, then Li Shimin will naturally be able to get these expensive "resources".
Xiao naturally understood Li Shimin's intentions, and marrying her was only a nominal husband and wife, and he could not get any rights because of this.
But the Xiao family, who is over half a hundred years old, is already at the end of her strong crossbow, and in the face of Li Shimin's request, she can only comply.
In this way, the two entered this period of empty husband and wife life, and after Xiao became the queen, she made an almost unreasonable request to Li Shimin, that is, to be buried with Yang Guang after her death.
If Li Shimin didn't agree, then she wouldn't do anything beneficial to Li Shimin, and Li Shimin had no choice but to agree.
It is not difficult for us to see from this that the relationship between the two of them has completely become a tool for maneuvering power, and we have to admire Li Shimin's ruthlessness and willingness to sacrifice his own happiness in order to stabilize the regime.
In the end, the Xiao family also achieved Li Shimin's goal and used his prestige to win the hearts of Li Shimin.
In 647 AD, Xiao died of illness, and Li Shimin complied with Xiao's last wish to bury him with Yang Guang, and Xiao's ill-fated life came to an end.
Li Shimin, as a generation of kings, decisively abandoned his happiness and chose power.
We can't think that Li Shimin is wrong, because as the king of a country, if you want your people to live a stable life, you must give up many things, and Li Shimin must have made such a decision because of this.
It's just that the Xiao family suffered, experienced failed marriages again and again, and finally didn't get the happiness they wanted, for what happened to Queen Xiao, we can only sigh lightly, "Bitter, bitter!" ”