Li Shimin promoted the generalYears later, his son forced the palace to usurp the throne
Li Shimin's personal conquest of Liaodong battle, the generals of that year were very excited. Wei Chigong even took the initiative to find Li Shimin and expressed his willingness to go on the expedition together. However, Li Shimin did not let Wei Chigong participate in the battle, but appointed him as the head of the march, and put the three young generals Li Daozong, Li Ji and Xue Wanche in charge of specific combat missions.
Li Shimin's move was out of concern and protection for Wei Chigong, and he didn't want him to take on too dangerous combat missions when he got older. He publicly praised these three young generals as the best and most famous generals, showing his trust and expectations for the younger generation.
Despite this, Li Shimin was still skeptical, because he found that the youth of Li Ji, Li Daozong, and Xue Wanche was only relative to the older generals such as Wei Chigong and Li Jing.
Therefore, Li Shimin needs to look for really young and promising generals. When he found Xue Rengui, who was only 31 years old, on the battlefield in Liaodong, he was ecstatic and shouted: "The biggest gain from this expedition to Liaodong is to get Xue Rengui!" ”
So, Li Shimin began to ask his subordinates for recommendations, and soon, an "old man" named Cheng Mingzhen entered Li Shimin's inspection list.
Second, Cheng Mingzhen, a native of Pingen County, Zhaozhou, once followed Dou Jiande and was a civil official. Later, he defected to Li Yuan, but was released back in Hebei to open up territory for the Tang Dynasty. Letting civilian officials do the work of military generals is undoubtedly to make them jump into the fire pit.
However, Cheng Mingzhen showed amazing strength, attacking Ye County at night and capturing more than 1,000 people. In the rebellion against Liu Heimin, he followed Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng and made great achievements, especially with only 1,000 people, he cut off Liu Heimin's grain route, which played a key role in Li Shimin's defeat of Liu Heimin.
His family was killed by Liu Heimin because of this, but Li Shimin remembered him. Now, the conquest of Liaodong is imminent, why not interview him?
Cheng Mingzhen was summoned by Li Shimin, and after some conversation, Li Shimin was overwhelmed by his talent and decided to reuse him. However, Cheng Mingzhen was a little stunned, he looked at Li Shimin in puzzlement, neither kneeling down to thank him, nor modestly expressing his shortcomings.
This made Li Shimin very angry, he slapped the table and loudly reprimanded Cheng Mingzhen, saying that he was a tasteless and uninformed mountain villager, and if he really let him be a thorn, it would be the end.
Cheng Mingzhen looked at Li Shimin in a daze, forgetting even the most basic etiquette of kneeling and thanking him.
Cheng Mingzhen was still able to keep his face unchanged and deal with it calmly and calmly in the face of Li Shimin's angry gaze. Li Shimin was attracted by his bearing and considered him a genius, so he appointed him as the "General of the Right Xiaowei" and the "General of the Pyongyang Provincial March".
On the battlefield of Liaodong, Cheng Mingzhen relied on his wisdom and courage to break through Shabei City and Dushan Formation, and was known as a "famous general".
Why was Li Xian deposed? It's a heart-wrenching question. In 684 AD, the Son of Heaven of the Tang Dynasty was replaced by Li Xian, but he did not have the real power of the emperor, and the power was in the hands of Wu Zetian.
Wu Zetian can't be blamed for this, Li Zhi is also responsible. Before he died, he deliberately emphasized that all major matters must follow Wu Zetian's advice. seems to be afraid that Li Xian is inexperienced, so he let his mother serve as the ballast stone of the Tang Dynasty, which is more reliable than those relatives.
As a result, Wu Zetian took full control of the power after Li Zhi's death, which made Li Xian very frustrated. In order to change this situation, Li Xian began to cultivate his relatives, first promoted his father-in-law Wei Xuanzhen to the assassin history, and then planned to make him the prime minister and regain power.
Wei Xuanzhen's promotion caused dissatisfaction among the important minister Pei Yan, who questioned Wei Xuanzhen's lack of political achievements and training, and his inability to convince the public. However, Li Xian was angry about this, because he knew that Pei Yan was married to his younger brother Li Dan, and his wife's niece was Li Dan's wife.
Therefore, Pei Yan was bent on letting Li Dan ascend the throne, and even when Li Zhi was alive, he and Wu Zetian got rid of the crown prince Li Xian. Therefore, when Pei Yan stopped Li Xian's decision, Li Xian was very angry and directly asked him why he wanted to meddle in this matter, even if he gave the throne to Wei Xuanzhen, what did it matter?
Although Li Xian's words are just angry words, they tell a cruel truth - in front of the throne, there is no family affection in front of interests. Pei Yan told Wu Zetian, who was considering ascending the throne as empress, about this, and she immediately decided to depose Li Xian.
In the end, Cheng Wuting, the general of the Zuo Yulin Army, took over the task. Cheng Wuting was the son of Cheng Mingzhen and the first general of the Tang Dynasty at that time. As Pei Xingjian's deputy, he defeated the Turks in the Battle of Great Black Mountain and was known as the most famous general in the Tang Dynasty.
As soon as the Turks heard his name, they fled.
Cheng Wuting's military achievements are far better than his father's, which is an opportunity given by the times. His father had lost in the competition of great gods such as Li Ji, Su Dingfang, and Xue Rengui, but Cheng Wuting did not have such troubles.
The abolition of the emperor needs to be done in secret, and even a strongman like Wu Zetian can't be blatant. Therefore, it is not surprising that she and Pei Yan finally chose Cheng Wuting to carry out this unjustifiable task.
Fate is so peculiar. Forty years ago, Cheng Mingzhen faced Li Shimin's majesty, responded with an unchanged face, successfully opened the door of his life, and became a famous general of the Tang Dynasty.
Forty years later, his son will also face the emperor, but he will make him **.
Cheng Wuting relied on Wu Zetian's secret decree to lead the Yulin Army into the palace with great momentum. Li Xian was stunned, not knowing if these people were going to rebel or what's wrong. Cheng Wuting read out Wu Zetian's secret decree expressionlessly, and everyone was so nervous that they didn't dare to come out.
They all knew that Wu Zetian had the final veto power of the Tang Dynasty, and Cheng Wuting's murderous aura made people feel the breath of death. After reading it out, Li Xian could hardly believe that although Wu Zetian was his mother, the throne he inherited was given by his father Li Zhi personally, and he would not leave the dragon chair easily.
Cheng Wuting's strength was infinite, and he directly pulled Li Xian off the emperor's throne, and it is said that he only gently "helped" him. Behind these four words, there is the truth that Cheng Wuting took Li Xian away.
Li Xian was deposed because of this, and Li Dan ascended the throne, and since then he has deeply understood the difficulty of the throne. Li Dan took the initiative to say that he could ** and did not need to be "helped" by others, and invited the Queen Mother to ascend the throne, showing his humility and wisdom.
Cheng Wuting's ending is regrettable, he was used by Wu Zetian and led troops into the palace to abolish Li Xian, and was finally killed. However, his death led to a reduction in the territory of the Tang Dynasty (now the Great Zhou), and the Turks once again threatened the Tang Dynasty.
This is because at the time of Li Zhi's death, the Tang Dynasty only had Tibet in the west, but Cheng Wuting's death caused the Turks in the north to make a comeback, expelling the Tang Dynasty's power in the Western Regions, and even triggering the invasion of the Khitans.
By comparing the territory map of the Li Zhi period and the Wu Zetian period, it can be seen that Wu Zetian killed many outstanding talents such as Cheng Wuting in order to consolidate the throne, which led to a serious shrinkage of the territory during her reign.
Although Cheng Wuting's behavior is a bit confused, there is a reason behind it, and it cannot be generalized. This is also one of the reasons why I have a negative attitude towards Wu Zetian, although her own status is very high, but the spirit of responsibility for history is lacking, especially for her two husbands, Li Shimin and Li Zhi, and the Tang Dynasty, I feel a little sorry.