Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 48 Blood Splattered Wumen (1)
12
On June 6rd in the eighth year of Wude, it was a cool day in summer. When Li Shimin was discussing with his bureaucrats how to deal with the welcome banquet in Yuquan Palace in his pleasant garden, Li Yuan was in the meeting of Concubine Zhang and Concubine Yin. Accompanied by boating in the South China Sea pool.

After the rain, the water in the pool is not as clear as usual, but it is more exciting than usual because it suddenly rose a few inches, and the light boat roaming in it is more exciting than usual; Looking at it, he became more comfortable; moreover, the blue sky, the exceptionally fresh air, and so on, all these made Li Yuan's spirit much better.The scenery is picturesque, and the two concubines are also stunning beauties. Li Yuan roams in it, chatting a few jokes with the two beauties from time to time, but he is as happy as a fairy.It's a pity that, in his heart, he still couldn't let go of Shimin, Jiancheng, and Yuanji, the three brothers.

In the 13th year of the great cause, Li Yuan captured Chang'an and became the emperor of the Tang Empire.He had just turned 52 that year.Although he became emperor at that time, the country had not yet been truly unified.Li Yuan still has a lot of things to do, and there are still a few powerful forces outside that can compete with him.The politics, economy, and culture of the Tang Dynasty were all abandoned and needed to be re-established.But at this time, Li Yuan was full of energy and energy, coupled with his experience and wisdom beyond ordinary people, he was able to strategize with confidence and win things thousands of miles away.After four years of hard work, the powerful enemies outside have been wiped out one by one, and the domestic politics, economy, and culture have all been on the right track. The Tang Dynasty he established has begun to breathe life on the submerged ruins of the late Sui Dynasty.From then on, Li Yuan's Tang Dynasty seemed to be able to prosper step by step.However, at this moment, he discovered a new crisis:

His Erlang, Qin Wang Li Shimin, is coveting his throne.As a relative of the former emperor, Li Yuan witnessed with his own eyes the entire process of his cousin, Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty killing his brother and father and seizing the throne.Unexpectedly, such a terrible and sad thing could happen again in his Li family!This, cannot but make Li Yuan angry, distressed and afraid and worried.What's even more frightening is that he seems to have lost the courage and wisdom that he used to have against powerful enemies. He doesn't even know how to deal with many things.He racked his brains and tried his best, but it was rare to achieve the ideal situation.It can be considered that the sky has eyes, the Turks invaded, Li Jiancheng took the initiative to invite Ying, and then transferred Li Shimin's three generals and [-] elite soldiers, and drove away his two most effective advisers.All of this, in Li Yuan's view, seemed to be the will of the heavens, happened naturally, and proceeded in a logical manner.As a result, the power of the prince far surpassed that of the king of Qin, and the prestige of the prince gradually rose.All of this was what Li Yuan hoped but could not do.

Li Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, and when he was happy, he heard that the prince returned from the Turkic expedition.Li Yuan had already planned that once the crown prince returned triumphantly, he would come out and congratulate the crown prince with great fanfare.Later, the prince suggested: I hope that the king of Qin will come forward to meet him and the king of Qi in Yuquan Palace.After hearing this, Li Yuan thought it would be better.The three brothers can get along alone and have a harmonious relationship.If the two of his brothers can really get along peacefully from now on, it will be Li Yuan's great fortune, as well as the Great Tang Empire's great fortune.

Li Yuan has just turned 60 years old this year, and has entered the age of sixty. He deeply feels that his body is not as good as before.Not as good as energy, not as good as physical strength.When Li Yuan was very young, he heard people say this jingle: the third child is not talented, he pisses and wets his shoes, he drools when he speaks, and shit comes out when he is spanked.Li Yuan is "enjoying" the three talents of the elderly among these ordinary people one by one.A person with a very high IQ is always a little lonely and a little out of the group. If this person is a high-ranking emperor, this reaction will be even stronger.Above the main hall, when the ministers shouted long live three times, Li Yuan would sometimes think of the piss or fart just now, and he couldn't help but feel a little bitter and ridiculous.These inexplicable associations in my heart sometimes show on the face of the old man.When people see it, they will say that old people are sometimes weird and ridiculous like children.At that time, when you are old, you will know that the reason for this is that the old people have seen more things than the young people, and they have experienced more and more thoroughly, but they cannot be understood by the young people. It's weird and ridiculous to be able to do that.Ordinary people are like this, and Li Yuan, who has become the emperor, is not much better.After becoming emperor, the courtiers said that Li Yuan was bestowed by the gods, and that he was the son of heaven, which seemed to be a bit of a fairy.But Li Yuan knew very well in his heart that his throne was all won by force by taking advantage of the chaos and ignoring his conscience.If he is not ignorant of his conscience, he can definitely help his cousin Sui Yangdi, put down the chaos at the end of Sui Dynasty, and keep Yangdi's throne.Li Yuan is a man of temperament, whenever he thinks of these things, he still feels a little bit ashamed in his heart.However, when he thought of the 40-odd years of hard work in the Sui Dynasty in order to stand out, he forgave himself in the end.An indomitable man, a descendant of a illustrious military group, finally encountered the opportunity to be emperor, how could he give up? !Li Yuan understood these things in his heart, but no one could understand them when he said them. For this reason, he would also show some inexplicable expressions.What's more, he clearly felt that his body was getting old, but the courtiers and the people were always beside his ears, shouting long live three times.In recent years, every time he heard the cry of long live, he would feel very funny in his heart.If you don't control it well, you will show an inexplicable expression.

In this world, older people always understand each other better than younger people.Comparing his heart with his heart, Li Yuan could understand Li Shimin's thoughts, but he absolutely could not tolerate Li Shimin taking away his elder brother's crown prince.Because in Li Yuan's view, if Li Shimin seized the crown prince one day, he would naturally also seize the emperor's throne.This is undoubtedly a very terrible thing for him.He has sat on the throne for eight years, and the aging of his body is constantly destroying his heart that was once so passionate and vigorous, and he did not hesitate to go through life and death in pursuit of honor, power, and the pursuit of extreme dignity and dignity.Now, he has got all these things, but he can enjoy very little. He is more and more troubled because he cannot enjoy his own possession. This trouble makes him extinguish the enthusiasm for pursuit, and people gradually become lazy Hold on to the enjoyment that is okay, and even fall into the nest of enjoyment, unwilling to do what an emperor should do.However, this does not prevent him from still being an emperor, and he must have the reputation of the emperor, and have the life of the emperor who is extremely dignified and noble, and can do whatever he wants until the Dragon Emperor returns to heaven and rides the crane to the west.Li Yuan doesn't want to give up this possession, he has been deeply attached to this possession, and he doesn't want to give up again.Li Yuan knows that this has a temptation to people, and he is always very vigilant to prevent others from coveting.Now, Li Yuan has seen very clearly that his possessions are full of crises.The crux of the problem is: Li Shimin is such a stubborn boy, it is difficult to admit defeat in front of the crown prince.

Concubine Zhang and Concubine Yin, hugging their man and the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, were rafting and roaming in this picturesque South Sea Pool.Although the two beauties were always smiling, they kept muttering in their hearts: In the arms of beautiful women, why does the emperor always look absent-minded? Could it be that we are not attractive?
Li Yuan, who was once so smart, and who was so good at understanding people's hearts, now has no energy and no worries to figure out what his two beauties are thinking.Watching the sun set in the west, Li Yuan asked softly:
"Why don't you light the lamp?"

Concubine Yin ordered people to light up all the lights on the boat, came to Li Yuan, and asked affectionately:

"Aren't you going back to the palace tonight?"

"You can go back." Li Yuan replied coldly, hugging Concubine Zhang vigorously.Concubine Yin was a little sad, her beautiful eyes seemed to be filled with tears, but soon changed to a smiling face, she walked slowly behind Li Yuan, stretched out her fair white hands, and gently rubbed Li Yuan's shoulder blades.Li Yuan closed his eyes and enjoyed it for a while, then reached out and pulled him into his arms.

12
Li Shimin raised his noble head, left the Qin Palace, and strode towards the palace.Along the way, his heart was full of awe-inspiring righteousness.However, when he walked into the palace, he felt a bit of embarrassment for no reason, and he couldn't help lowering his head, looking at the toes of his shoes.A son actually wanted to report such a thing to his father: his elder brother and younger brother had an affair with his father's concubine.

As the Li family with Xianbei blood, incest doesn't seem to be such an ugly thing.But now it's stealing chaos in the royal family, and it's an infringement on the supreme emperor, so it's a different matter.It's just that it's a bit funny for this kind of thing to be reported by him, the king of Qin, who is dignified, meritorious and powerful, and what he reports is something that is speculative.However, in this world, how far is the distance between high-sounding and ugly?Perhaps, the high-sounding and the ugly are just the two sides of a person.It was also because of this that Li Shimin slowed down his pace a little, reassured himself, quickly let go of the embarrassment in his heart, and comforted himself with every reason:
This king's move is for a big plan.When a man is alive, if he wants to make a big plan, he can spare his life, so what else?What's more, the sage said: The way is right, and the things are right.In order to seek the way, even the dirtiest things will become clean, even bright and clean.That's the way it is, and I don't have to blame myself for it.Thinking of this, the young king of Qin raised his noble head again, and strode towards his father's inner room with awe-inspiring righteousness in his heart.Eunuch Liu stood anxiously in front of the door. When he saw him coming, he smiled submissively and said:
"King Qin wants to see the emperor?"

"Exactly, hurry up and report to the king."

"Your Majesty, you haven't come back yet." Eunuch Liu smiled slavishly again.

"Where have you been?"

"Rafting in the South China Sea."

"It's so late, what's the matter?" Li Shimin was really anxious, turned around, and hurried to Nanhaichi without looking at Eunuch Liu's ugly smiling face.

The mountain light has already set in the west, and the cold moon is gradually rising to the east slope.If in the past, Li Shimin would have been in his study, reading "Lu Shi Chunqiu" or the policy poems of the Warring States period; Talking about wine with a few officials, commenting on the past and the present... But now, he is going to do such a nasty thing.Alas, he followed his father in Taiyuan to start a military service, and he became a general before he was 17 years old.He fought east and west, conquering the wind and clouds, although it was bitter, dangerous, and sometimes failed, but he always held his noble head high, showing soaring arrogance, never had the slightest bit of timidity, let alone the slightest intention of retreating.

Now, walking on the road from the imperial palace to Nanhaichi under the hazy moonlight, Li Shimin was really timid and couldn't think about it.As soon as this thought flashed in his mind, he stopped abruptly.They are all my brothers!Once I go to meet the emperor, there is no turning back!He said to himself, raised his head to the sky, and closed his eyes.He clearly saw a slaughter, he, his elder brother, and his fourth younger brother were all wielding sharp swords, desperately killing each other.Afterwards, his elder brother and his fourth younger brother fell in a pool of blood.I can't do this!can not be like this!He said to himself, but immediately asked himself again: If I don't do this, should I let them both drive the sword into my chest? !
no!Absolutely not!I am still so young, no one can match my wisdom and achievements, I have the responsibility to bring the Great Tang Empire to prosperity.Well, that's the only way, I have no choice.What's more, their current power far surpasses me, Li Shimin, if I lose to them, I will naturally have no regrets, and if they lose to me, it means that they are not as good as me.Then, the future throne should naturally be mine.What is the order of seniority?wrong!The world should be home to the virtuous and capable.If I am more capable than them, and I am better than them, I should get the future throne.

That being the case, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, let's compare who is better and whose sword is sharper.All of this may be fate, it is God's destiny that we brothers will compare each other.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin opened his eyes, browsed the sky slowly and coldly, browsed the surrounding mountains, and finally turned his eyes back to the path under his feet.

"I can only do this, elder brother, fourth younger brother, all of this is fate! Don't blame me, Li Shimin!" Qin Wang murmured to himself, took big steps, and walked towards Nanhaichi.

12
Li Yuan, who has sat on the emperor's throne for eight years, has almost completely downplayed the concept of "home" in the hearts of ordinary people. "Is it the king's land in the whole world?" Li Yuan's home is the whole world.His home is everywhere in the world.Wherever you are happy and comfortable, you can live there.As time goes by, Li Yuan has become used to the world as his home.Now that the boat is happy in the water, Li Yuan doesn't want to go snoring in the backyard of the palace.Yes, no matter where you go, you are always accompanied by beautiful women and delicious food, but in the backyard of the palace, where is the fresh air in the boat on the lake?Li Yuan had dinner on the boat, supported by two beauties, walked onto the strings of the boat, leaned on the railing to look at the scenery in the pool, and was about to say something when someone came to report:

"Prince Qin, please see me!"

"King Qin!" Li Yuan was a little surprised, and turned to look at the two beauties.

"It's so late, let him see you tomorrow?" Concubine Yin asked him.

"No, let him come to see me now."

Li Shimin stepped onto the boat, saluted his father respectfully, and said, "I have something to report to my father."

"Get up and talk." Li Yuan smiled and looked straight at King Qin, his gaze was clearly urging: "What's the matter, tell me quickly."

Li Shimin knew the meaning in his father's eyes, but lowered his head, but soon raised it again, looking at his father with helpless eyes, and then at his two concubines, clearly asking his father to let him go. They leave.Li Yuan knew what Li Shimin meant, but he still didn't say a word, the smile on his face faded a lot, his eyes still fixed on King Qin.

"I have something important to report to my father." Li Shimin repeated, but added a word, and said the added word "want" very emphatically.

Li Yuan was not very happy when he heard this, but with his own son in front of him, and being so persistent, he could only give in. He winked at Zhao Yin and Zhang Erfei, and the two beauties gave Li Shimin an unhappy look, and left slowly .

"Father, my son was also planning to rest, but the Wei people in the palace came to report a very bad thing, so my son rushed to report to my father."

"whats the matter?"

"Father listened, don't be angry."

"Say it!"

"Wei people say that Concubine Zhang and Concubine Yin have an ambiguous relationship with the Crown Prince and King Qi!"

"nonsense!"

"My son reprimanded the Wei people like this at the time, but he said that he has evidence and can confront them face to face."

"Does he have evidence? Dare to confront him face to face?"

"Yes, that's what Wei Ren said to his son."

"These four beasts, how dare they do such a thing?" Li Yuan said through gritted teeth.

"My son didn't want to believe it, so I came to report to my father, and everything will be decided by my father."

"Who else knows about this?" Li Yuan asked in a low voice.

"In addition to the Wei people, it is the father and the sons."

"The Wei people didn't mention it to anyone?"

"No."

"Where is he now?"

"Leave me in the mansion."

"Okay, tomorrow morning, you will bring the Wei people to the palace, and I will order the crown prince and the king of Qi to also come, and let the three of them confront each other in court."

"My son complies with the order. It's just about the reception of the wind in Yuquan Palace..."

"Let me 'receive the wind' for them."

"My son knows."

"Go, I'm tired." Li Yuan said wearily.

"Father, please take care of the dragon's body, and don't be angry with them."

"You go." Li Yuan closed his eyes after finishing speaking.

Li Shimin looked at his father, turned around and left in a hurry.

130,

It rained yesterday, and it rained again this morning, but it was more violent and urgent than yesterday's rain.The palace of Prince Qi is gorgeous and picturesque, with the flying corners, the sturdy and magnificent doors, and the exquisitely carved window lattices, all of which show the nobility and grandeur of the owner.

Before dawn, Li Yuanji woke up. He was awakened by a nightmare.He stabbed his second brother Li Shimin with a sword, and watched as the sword penetrated deeply into Li Shimin's chest, but he didn't see Li Shimin fall down, but laughed loudly instead.Li Yuanji was amazed, and suddenly felt that his heart was hurting more and more, the pain was so severe that his chest was split open, and bright red blood flowed out... Li Yuanji woke up clutching his chest, and was shocked: Could it be that I can't win this time? ? !
In recent years, Li Yuanji has indeed experienced too many failures, but this does not mean that he is incapable.In fact, Li Yuanji was very brave, smart and willing to work hard since he was a child, but his two older brothers were so outstanding that he could only be submerged in their brilliance.The eldest brother Li Jiancheng is 14 years older than Yuanji, and the second brother Li Shimin is 4 years older than Yuanji.When Li Yuan raised troops in Taiyuan, Yuan Ji was only 13 years old.At such an age, and without any experience in politics or the army, he was asked to accept the important task of staying in Taiyuan.This heavy responsibility is too heavy, too heavy for him.But at this time, Li Yuan only believed in his son, and of course the political power and military power could only be handed over to his son.Therefore, Yuan Ji suffered a shameless defeat when he presided over the military and political power for the first time.He saw a strong enemy pressing down on the city, but he didn't want to die, so he left the old and weak soldiers to defend the city, while he took the main force and fled quietly back to Chang'an.With this humiliation, Yuan Ji could no longer hold his head up.In the subsequent wars of the Tang Empire to unify the country, Yuan Ji participated in many battles, but they were all fought under the shadow of his overly outstanding second brother Li Shimin.He commanded independently, and only a few battles ended in failure.Maybe it's because he's really not as good as his two elder brothers, maybe it's because he's really younger.Too many failures can hit people's self-confidence the most, especially for the young prince Li Yuanji.This makes Li Yuanji often doubt whether he can win what he is going to do.Because of that dream, because of this doubt, Li Yuanji stood in front of the window like a ghost for a long, long time.

(End of this chapter)