Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 37
Du Fuwei is a native of Zhangqiu Hetan Village, Qizhou, with a bold and dissolute nature.At the end of the Sui Dynasty, due to political corruption and social turmoil, Du Fuwei and his friend Fu Gong Er enthusiastically defected to Zuo Caixiang's peasant volunteer army.Unexpectedly, Zuo Cai was suspicious by nature, and Du Fuwei and Fu Gong Er had been together for a long time, and they couldn't even gain trust.The two were extremely unhappy. When Zuo Caixiang's army was surrounded by Sui general Zhang Xutuo's army, they led their troops to break out, left Zuo Caixiang, and called themselves generals.From then on, Du Fuwei moved to the Huaihe River Basin, fighting against the government everywhere.Du Fu is not only powerful and resourceful, but also brave and good at fighting. Whenever he goes to battle, he will be in the front when he goes out, and he will be in the back when he enters. He is deeply respected by his subordinates.It didn't take long for Du Fuwei to merge with Miao Haichao, Zhao Pozhen, Li Zitong and other rebel armies successively, and their momentum in Jianghuai became stronger and stronger.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was very angry when he saw that Du Fuwei was getting bigger and bigger. He sent troops to encircle and suppress Du Fuwei many times, but nothing worked.After Du Fuwei broke Gaoyou and occupied Liyang, he established a political power in Liyang and called himself the chief executive.He reduced or exempted local taxes, punished corrupt officials, and brought a new look to Gaoyou, Liyang and other places.Just when the rebel army was developing, Du Fuwei suddenly changed his original intention, and in the 14th year of Daye, he submitted to the Sui Dynasty.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty appointed him as the general manager of the Southeast Road and named him King of Chu.Two months later, Emperor Sui Yang was killed by Yu Wenhuaji, but King Du Fuwei of Chu quietly grew stronger.Two years later, when Du Fuwei took the Tang army and Wang Shichong to fight Luoyang, he led his army across the Yangtze River and besieged Li Zitong.Li Zitong's military strength was ten times that of Du Fuwei's when he was in the world, but he was defeated by Du Fuwei.Du Fuwei occupied Nanjing, called Wu after founding the country, and became the king of Wu.With a series of reforms carried out by Du Fuwei, the political power construction in Nanjing was strengthened, which made the area under Du Fuwei's rule enjoy economic revival and social stability.

At this time, Li Jing, under the order of Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty, led the troops to destroy this new small country.With the enemy at hand, Du Fuwei weighed the pros and cons and had no choice but to descend to Tang.After descending to the Tang Dynasty, Du Fuwei was named King of Wu by Li Yuan, worshiped as the prince and Taibao, and concurrently carried out the order of Taishangshu, and stayed in Chang'an.In this way, on the territory of the Tang Empire, the only separatist force left at this time was Liang Shidu in Jingbian, Shaanxi.

These Liang masters are all from Shuofang, Xiazhou.Like Du Fuwei, they were all local separatists in the late Sui Dynasty.Liang Shidu was a member of Xiazhou's wealthy family and served as a general of Yingyang Lang in the Sui Dynasty.In the 13th year of Daye, Liang Shidu killed Tang Shizong, the prime minister of the county, and claimed to be the great prime minister. He united with the Turks to fight against the Sui Dynasty, occupied Diaoyin, Honghua, Yan'an and other counties, and called himself emperor.After Li Yuan unified the country, Liang Shidu was isolated and weak, and internal conflicts continued to intensify.After Li Shimin became emperor, he was ordered to surrender.Master Liang didn't follow.Li Shimin sent a large army to attack.Liang Shidu's cousin, Luo Ren, knew that the country was about to perish. In order to protect himself, he killed Liang Shidu and dedicated Nanjing to Li Shimin.This is something.

At that time, the existence of Liang Shidu had little impact on the Tang Dynasty, but to eliminate him, it was located in the south and the road was far away, so the cost was too great.For this reason, Li Yuan decided to let him linger on for a while, while he devoted his energy to the construction of the regime and the reform of the system.

At this time, Li Yuan had already witnessed the sudden collapse of a huge Sui Empire building.This empire was once so powerful that it seemed that it could last for thousands of years, but unexpectedly, it disappeared in the blink of an eye.It was terrible!Now, Li Yuan's Tang Empire has just been established.Although, he is so young, strong, and full of vitality, like a raging torrent, destroying everything that stands in his way.However, he is also immature and weak, just like a seedling that has just been unearthed, it will perish prematurely with the slightest wind, frost, cold and snow.Therefore, Li Yuan didn't dare to have the slightest idea of ​​fluke, so he could only carefully manage this newly established empire, so that he could grow and mature as soon as possible.Based on this understanding, Li Yuan seriously summed up the gains and losses of the previous dynasty, and tried his best to make his empire grow safely.

For the original system of the Sui Dynasty, Li Yuan carried out some reforms, and there were many new developments.He established a political system of six departments and 24 divisions in three provinces, and set up Yushitai as a supervisory organ to supervise and impeach civil and military officials.For the development of the economy, Li Yuan implements the system of land equalization and adjustment of rent and servants, in order to allow everyone to have land to grow, and at the same time to limit the land of the nobles.Regarding the law, at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang had acted recklessly, and what people said was the law. The confusion of the law gave rise to many great disasters. Li Yuan vividly remembered this and felt deeply.In order to have laws to follow in everything, after Li Yuan became emperor in Chang'an, he abolished Emperor Yang's "Daye Law", and revised the new Tang law on the basis of Emperor Wen's "Kaihuang Law".Regarding the military system, Li Yuan, as a military family, admired the Fubing system that was founded in the Yuwentai period of the Western Wei Dynasty and was used by the Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties.This kind of government military system separates the right to train troops from the right to lead troops, so as to prevent generals from supporting their own self-respect and fighting against the central government; It can fundamentally reduce the burden on the country.For the selection and appointment of talents, Li Yuan has his own mature experience and views.He boldly further improved the imperial examination system established in the Sui Dynasty, so that candidates included not only students from the schools affiliated with the Imperial College, but also students from private schools in various places who passed the prefectural and county examinations.It is held regularly every year as the regular event, and it is temporarily determined by the emperor as the official event.In this way, it not only opened up the career path for scholars, but also provided convenience for the emperor to temporarily select talents.

Employing people is the main job of every emperor, and it is Li Yuan's top priority.Now that Li Shimin has returned triumphantly, Li Yuan is very happy to reward Li Shimin and give him special privileges.The powerful enemies on the periphery have been wiped out, and even the small separatist forces have basically been wiped out. Li Yuan wants to expand his ambitions and make greater reforms to the court's employment system.He excitedly asked people to call Pei Ji and Xiao Yu, and wanted to hear their opinions on this in advance.

Among the ministers in the court, Pei Ji had the deepest friendship with Li Yuan.Li Yuan raised troops in Taiyuan, and he was one of the planners and supporters.When it was time, it was his persuasion that made Li Yuan decide to raise troops immediately.Afterwards, Pei Ji used all of Jinyang Palace's possessions, and donated all of Jinyang Palace's rice, 900 million hu; miscellaneous colors, 40 pieces; and armor, [-] sets.After Li Yuan captured Chang'an, it was he who strongly supported Li Yuan to proclaim himself emperor.After Li Yuan proclaimed himself emperor, he immediately appointed Pei Ji as the servant of Shangshu.

For Xiao Yu, Li Yuan felt that he was an upright person, belonged to the royal family, and he was also the son-in-law of the Queen's Dugu family.So, very respectful.As soon as he ascended the throne, Li Yuan recruited Xiao Yu to Chang'an, conferred the title of Doctor Guanglu on Xiao Yu, made him Duke of Song, and worshiped Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.He regarded him as a confidant, and every time he came to the court to listen to politics, he not only gave Xiao Yu a promotion to stand on the imperial couch, but also affectionately called him "Xiao Lang".Among the courtiers at that time, Xiao Yu was the most familiar with the national codes and court rituals. In addition, he worked hard on himself and studied political affairs very well, so he won Li Yuan's trust.Whenever I have doubts, I always like to ask him to ask.Seeing them coming, Li Yuan said after performing the ceremony of a monarch and a minister:
"At the end of the Sui Dynasty, there was no way, and the upper and lower sides deceived each other. The emperor was arrogant, and his ministers were flattering and treacherous. The emperor didn't know how to correct his mistakes, and his ministers were not loyal to the country. If Emperor Yangdi did this, he finally put the country in danger, and he himself died under the influence of his ministers. Hand. Now, I set out to bring order out of chaos, aiming at peace and stability of the country. To calm the troubled times, we must use military generals, and to maintain the state and govern the country, we must rely on civil servants. Only by making the best of their talents, the country can rest easy and move towards prosperity. Now, the world is basically calm, and I want to I don't know what the prime minister thinks about further implementing this matter?"

After hearing this, Pei Ji didn't answer eloquently as in the past, but looked down at the tip of his shoe, and remained silent for a while.When Li Yuan saw him, he couldn't help coughing loudly, intending to remind Pei Ji to answer quickly.Pei Ji was silent for a while, and then he said in a whisper: "This matter... Is my mind really too messed up at this time?"

"Chaotic, mind?" Li Yuan was a little surprised, Pei Ji's mind was always clear and quick thinking, how could it be chaotic?

"Is the prime minister sick?" Li Yuan asked with concern.

"No, it's just, it's just..." Pei Ji faltered, and then raised his eyes to look at Xiao Yu beside him.

When Li Yuan saw Pei Ji's actions, he immediately understood: he had something important to say, and he didn't want to be in front of Xiao Yu, so he couldn't help but feel a little angry, so he said loudly:

"Just what, tell me quickly! Xiao Lang is not an outsider."

Pei Ji was forced to be helpless, so he opened his mouth and said: "Just now the prince came to the minister's house and told about King Qin."

Xiao Yu listened on the sidelines, raised his hands and said: "Since we are talking about the emperor's family affairs, I will take my leave." After speaking, he left slowly.

Li Yuanwen said that it was the crown prince who talked about King Qin's affairs. It is better for few people to know about such family affairs, so Xiao Yu was not kept.Watching Xiao Yu leave, Li Yuan thought about Pei Ji's words in his heart, and asked himself strangely: "What is it that can make the prime minister's mind go crazy?"

9
Li Yuan never expected that the triumphant return of the King of Qin, Li Shimin, brought stability and tranquility to the court, but it was only superficial; Won, new war.A life-and-death struggle for power and profit!

Seeing that Pei Ji, who was always upright, was still chattering, Li Yuan felt very unhappy.After glaring at him, Li Yuan quickly walked out of the hall.He raised his head and looked into the distance, only to see that the sky was still as clear as blue when he came, but now it was full of dark clouds.With a deafening thunder and the icy autumn wind blowing, Li Yuan couldn't help shivering, turned around, and said to himself:
"It was still sunny and sunny just now, but it will be stormy again in a blink of an eye?!"

Pei Ji just followed in a panic. Hearing Li Yuan's words, he couldn't help being surprised: "Your Majesty, you already know."

Li Yuan didn't speak, just covered Pei Ji firmly with his eyes, waiting for him to speak.Pei Ji didn't dare to say anything anymore, walked into Li Yuan, and explained everything about the Prince's residence.

It turned out that Pei Ji had just woken up today when Wang Gui from the Prince's residence came to invite him.Pei Ji followed Wang Gui to the Prince's East Palace.Prince Li Jiancheng and Qi Wang Li Yuanji were waiting there.Seeing Pei Ji's arrival, the two brothers were more enthusiastic than ever.The two welcomed Pei Ji into a luxurious meeting room, and after presenting tea and fruit, Prince Li Jiancheng said politely, "I'm really sorry to invite the prime minister so early."

What a shrewd person Pei Ji was, he knew that since the Crown Prince and King Qi had invited him to the East Palace early in the morning, he must have something to say, so he said politely:

"The prince's invitation is the honor of being a minister. How can you feel sorry? If the prince has anything to do, just ask."

"The prime minister is the number one honorable minister in the court, how dare the crown prince give orders. The prime minister is invited to come only for the affairs of Lu Guogong Liu Wenjing."

"Liu Wenjing?" Pei Ji was a little surprised.Over the years, both he and Liu Wenjing have served as ministers under Li Yuan, but their temperaments are different, and both sides look down on each other.In terms of resourcefulness, Pei Ji is obviously not as good as Liu Wenjing.The only two times when he volunteered to ask for orders to kill the enemy, Pei Ji lost his troops and lost his generals, and returned in a big defeat.But in terms of dealing with people, Liu Wenjing is not as good as Pei Ji.Especially for Li Yuan, Pei Ji knew his heart well, did what he liked, and did his best to help him, so he won Li Yuan's heart.And Liu Wenjing thinks she is resourceful and decisive, and often just makes some suggestions.With Li Yuan's wisdom, he was naturally far away from Liu Wenjing, so he gradually alienated him, so he simply let him follow Li Shimin.In the battle of Qianshuiyuan, Liu Wenjing was defeated because of her eagerness to fight, and was almost killed by Li Yuan. Thanks to King Qin's plea, she saved her life.Things have changed, Pei Ji is now a prominent figure, and he doesn't like what Liu Wenjing said, and he doesn't take it to heart.Unexpectedly, when the crown prince invited him, it was the unlucky Liu Wenjing.I couldn't help thinking in my heart: Could it be that he sued me for something tricky in front of the prince?Then he asked the prince, "Did he say something about me in front of the prince?"

The prince nodded and said: "Duke Lu did say you, but not in front of me, but in Zuixian Tower."

"In the Drunken Immortal Building, what did he say about me?"

"Did King Qi hear it with his own ears, or let King Qi tell you."

Hearing what Li Jiancheng said, Pei Ji turned his attention to Li Yuanji.

(End of this chapter)