Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 52
"It seems that this is the only way to go. Xiao Yu drafted an imperial edict." After Xiao Yu brought a pen and paper, Li Yuan dictated the imperial edict: Make Li Shimin the crown prince!At the end of the imperial edict, it said: "The crown prince and the people have long been endowed with knowledge, knowledge and understanding, Wende and martial arts, peace in one universe, nine officials are in order, and four schools are Mu. I have entrusted people, and I have shared the same righteousness and let go of the burden. Xia Er Ning Tai , Jiawei Liangshen. From now on, military planes and battles, financial warehouses and food, all the affairs of the common people, no matter how big or small, I will appoint the crown prince to make a decision, and then I will hear it." Li Yuan finished dictating the imperial edict, and Xiao Yu was flying like a dragon and a phoenix danced. The book is completed.Li Yuan had no intention of retrialing, so he waved his hands to Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda and said:

"You two go and send the edict to King Qin, see what he has to say, and then come back quickly and tell me the situation."

Chen Shuda and Xiao Yu led away, Li Yuan stood there blankly.After a long time, four words were softly called out: "Concubine Zhang, Concubine Yin."

The two beauties came over upon hearing the sound, and with their support, Li Yuan walked slowly towards the inner room.

13
Li Shimin has killed the crown prince, king Qi and their ten sons, controlled the key areas of the capital, and issued a pardon to all those involved in the prince's east palace and the palace of the king of Qi. The most important thing to do is to wait for the news of Li Yuan .People say that there is no better way to know a son than a father, but in fact, this can also be said in reverse, and there is no better way to know a father than a son.Li Shimin knew that his father, Li Yuan, was wise, rational, and very pragmatic.When encountering things, he will always weigh the pros and cons well.Now that things are up to this point, the only one who can help him support the Li family is Li Shimin, after all, they are biological father and son.Who else can I?Li Shimin said to himself confidently, An Anxin waited for Li Yuan's own awakening.Taking advantage of this little free time, Li Shimin told Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui about his dream.

"It is the will of God to help the world and the people." After hearing this, Du Ruhui said thoughtfully, "This is not only your Majesty, but also our mission as ministers. It is my honor to be able to follow the Majesty and do things that benefit the people in this life." !"

"That's right, the sooner your Majesty grasps the power of military affairs and public affairs, the sooner our Tang Dynasty will prosper and prosper." Fang Xuanling said.

"This king has mastered the power of military affairs, what should I do now?" Although Li Shimin was still the king of Qin, not even the prince, he asked Fang Xuanling in the tone of an emperor.

"Naturally there are many things to do. In Yichen's view, there are mainly these few things." Fang Xuanling also looked like an important minister in the court, and analyzed: "Since the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor has made great efforts in politics, military affairs, and economy. Some reforms have been made, but they mainly follow the great system of the Sui Dynasty. Although there is development, there are too many disadvantages and hidden dangers. Judging from the reasons for the overthrow of the Sui Dynasty, apart from the character of Emperor Sui Yang who was very happy, one of It is the corruption of the historical system, capable people do not use it, and only the gentry monopolizes the way of high-ranking officials; the second is the ignorance of the people and the lack of compassion for the people. Governance should mainly start from these two points, put an end to chaos, select talents and appoint talents, and be close to the people and love the people. In this way, the Tang Dynasty will surely prosper and the people will live and work in peace and contentment.”

"Xuanling is right. A country is established by its people. When the seven heroes fought for hegemony, Qin was able to wipe out the six countries and one country became independent. It was because of talents." Du Ruhui went on to say: "When Duke Mu of Qin lived in a small country, he was able to do his best. He tried his best to attract talents. Baili Xi, Jian Shu, and You Yu were invited one by one by him with his unique insight. With the joint efforts of these three people, the small country of Qin, which lived far away, was able to plunder thousands of miles. Become the overlord of one party. When Qin Xiaogong was thirsty for talents, he not only personally issued the order of seeking talents, but also dug Shang Yang, a rare talent, from the state of Wei with high officials and generous salaries. After Shang Yang's reform, the country became rich and the people strong, and ruled the world The next king of Qin, Yingzheng, not only inherited his ancestors' employment strategy, but also was good at treating people equally, and sincerely accepted different opinions and criticisms. He saw Li Si's remonstrance against the deportation order, immediately reflected on himself, and withdrew the letter issued by himself. Order."

"Yes." Li Shimin nodded and said, "A country is built on its people, and it is very important to select talents and appoint talents. It is also very important to be close to the people and love the people. The end of the Great Sui Dynasty was a peasant uprising that shook its foundation. The people can carry the boat." , can also overturn the boat. The destruction of the Sui Dynasty must be said to be a lesson of blood. To the people, there should be a heart of love so that they can live and work in peace and contentment. Only in this way can our Tang Dynasty last forever. However, there is still There are many specific matters, such as the resettlement of the existing personnel and related personnel of the Second Mansion, and the punishment of the jealous people in the clan..." Li Shimin said here, and saw Chen Shuda and Xiao Yu, both arrived, Li Shimin hurriedly stopped talking and greeted them. go forward.

"The emperor has a decree to make Qin Wang Li Shimin the crown prince!" Xiao Yu stepped forward and handed the decree to Li Shimin with both hands.

"From now on, military aircraft, battles, financial granaries, all military and political matters, no matter how big or small, are entrusted to the crown prince to make decisions..." Li Shimin took the imperial edict, opened the scroll and read it silently, feeling very happy in his heart.

Father, I know you, and I will let the people of the world take care of the country for you!Li Shimin whispered in his heart, raised his head, looked at Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda, and said:

"You two ministers, thank you. Since the emperor ordered me to take care of the government affairs, I still have an unfeeling request here. I wonder if you two can listen."

"Why should the prince be so polite? I am the emperor's minister and the prince's minister. The emperor has handed over the government affairs to the prince. The minister will do everything according to the prince's orders. Why can't you listen." Xiao Yu said.

"I also mean the same thing." Chen Shuda continued.

Li Shimin was even more happy when he heard this. He looked at Xiao Yu and said, "The people of the world have always fought in all directions, and there are still many puzzles about the affairs of the court. Now, with the love of the father and the emperor, he has full power to manage the affairs of the court. There is still Lao Shangshu on this matter. Support. Shimin wants to appoint Shangshu as Zuo Pushe, if Shangshu is willing, Shimin will immediately join the emperor."

"To serve the prince is to serve the emperor, there is no one who is not willing, Xiao Yu can only obey his orders and devote himself to everything."

"The left servant shoots the true minister Ji Ji." Li Shimin praised Xiao Yu, and then asked someone to bring a pen and paper to write a poem for Xiao Yu, saying: "The strong wind knows the strength of the grass, and the toughness knows the honest minister."

Xiao Yu took the poem and looked at it with open eyes, shedding two old tears with gratitude.When Li Shimin saw him, he smiled slightly, turned around and said to Chen Shuda: "The Duke of the state is very talented, loyal, filial and benevolent. Shimin wants to appoint the Minister of Rites to the Duke, and please help him in the future."

"Thank you for the kindness of the crown prince, and I will do my best and be loyal to my duty." Chen Shuda said.

Li Shimin nodded, and then said: "I think when Shimin wiped out Wang Shichong and Du Jiande and returned to Beijing, there were many slanders against Shimin. Thanks to the Duke of the State, he said bluntly to his father that Shimin did not sit on the throne. Shimin learned at that time, and he has always been in his heart." I am grateful, but I have never had the chance to talk about it, so I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude."

Chen Shuda was shocked when he heard this.He recalled carefully, it seems that there was such a thing, when he was chatting with Li Yuan in the study, Yuan Ji said that after every battle, the King of Qin would leave behind many surrendered generals, and he only wanted to impress himself.Li Yuan asked Chen Shuda for his opinion on this, and Chen Shuda said: "The king of Qin loves talents, and he painstakingly recruited them, only to retain talents for the Tang Dynasty." Li Shimin was a little more afraid.

After seeing off the two old ministers, Li Shimin said to Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui: "It seems that the things we just talked about really need to be practiced one by one. You two, from now on, you have to work harder. We You must do well.”

"Having such a good opportunity to serve the country, I will not be afraid of any hard work." Fang Xuanling said.

"Okay, but there is one more thing to explain. You have to work hard, but now you can't get any official positions. Now, this king can only promote Ruhui to the crown prince Zuo Shuzi, Xuanling..." Li Shimin thought deeply.

"I don't have a good impression of the emperor. Please don't arrange a position for the time being." Fang Xuanling said.

"Okay, I have only wronged you." Li Shimin said sincerely.

"Being able to serve the prince and contribute to the Great Tang Dynasty is too late to be happy, so how can there be any reason for being wronged?" Fang Xuanling also replied sincerely.

"Okay, the prince is very happy to have you all by his side." King Qin said.

"It is our blessing to be able to follow the prince to help the world and the people." Du Ruhui said.

"Yes, being able to help the world and the people in this life is a blessing for all of us, and it is also a blessing for my Tang Dynasty." Li Shimin said confidently.

"It's still a blessing for the people." Fang Xuanling added.

"Yes, the blessings of the common people!" Li Shimin laughed loudly as he said.Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui both burst into laughter.

140,

Li Shimin personally held the military and political power, and he had just turned 27 years old at this time.He is young and strong, with a clear mind, full of ideas, full of enthusiasm, and ready to do something big.However, when Li Shimin arrived at the court, there were very few people who came to the court.It turned out that although Li Yuan was the emperor in the past two years, it was Li Jiancheng who took care of the government. In the eight years since the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Li Jiancheng had been assisting Li Yuan in managing the government.Of all the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, which one was not involved with him?Especially the people in the Prince's Mansion and Prince Qi's Mansion, although they have publicly stated that they are all pardoned.But most of them escaped, and the rest stayed at home, not daring to come to court.Seeing this, Li Shimin thought to himself, it seems that this matter is not so simple, and great efforts must be made to win people's hearts and stabilize the government.Just as he was thinking, he suddenly caught a glimpse of someone, it was Wei Zheng.

It is well known that Wang Gui, Wei Ting, and Wei Zheng are Li Jiancheng's capable ministers and his cronies.Wang Gui and Wei Ting were exiled to Junzhou by Li Shimin.Only Wei Zheng was lucky enough to escape.In the recent fight between the crown prince and the king of Qin, Wei Zheng made many tricks, but unfortunately many of them were not adopted by the crown prince.Especially before the prince entered Xuanwu Gate, Wei Zheng knelt down and begged the prince not to go because he was sick, and killed Li Shimin first.If the prince really listened to him, there would be no Li Shimin in the world.Thinking of this, Li Shimin really broke into a cold sweat.This Wei Zheng is really daring!Nowadays, everyone who has a slight relationship with Li Jiancheng can escape and hide, but Wei Zheng, who is the only one, dares to come to the court ostentatiously.

Li Shimin looked at Wei Zheng coldly, and all the ministers in court saw it, and they were all trembling, sweating coldly for Wei Zheng.Wei Zheng himself was the only one, but he still acted as if nothing had happened.He was sitting in his chest, as if he was deep in thought.

It seems that his character is not bad, the prince wants to see how long he can last.Thinking of this, Li Shimin suddenly shouted:
"Wei Zheng!"

"The minister is here." Wei Zheng stood up in response, his expression still very calm.

Wei Zheng's courtesy name was Xuancheng. When he was young, his family was very poor, but he had great ambitions and loved reading.At the end of the Sui Dynasty, he joined the Wagang Army and was in charge of the secretary.He has given advice to Li Mi ten times, and every time he uses it, it will definitely work.It's a pity that Li Mi was more suspicious than scheming, and eventually lost and surrendered to Tang.Wei Zheng descended to the Tang Dynasty from the lord, and was placed under Li Jiancheng's command by Li Yuan.Unexpectedly, Li Jiancheng did not listen to Wei Zheng's advice and went to Xuanwumen to die.The crown prince was killed. Wei Zheng was very sad and lost. He had long ignored his personal life and death. He just firmly believed that he was passionate, loyal and courageous, and full of economics.So he came to the court calmly, and didn't care about Li Shimin's cold eyes and the ridicule of all the bureaucrats.

Seeing that Wei Zheng didn't panic, Li Shimin couldn't help asking:

"Wei Zheng, do you know the crime?"

"I don't know."

Li Shimin didn't bother to ask any more, he gave Fang Xuanling a look, and stared at Wei Zheng sternly.Fang Xuanling understood, and asked Wei Zheng in a clear voice:

"You instigated the crown prince to claim that he was ill and violated the order, and advised him to quickly deploy troops and horses, storm the palace of the king of Qin, kill the king of Qin, and still say that he is innocent?"

"Everyone is the master, fulfilling the duties of a minister, what crime is there?" Wei Zheng replied confidently.Fang Xuanling, who was always eloquent, was at a loss for words and pointed at Wei Zheng:

"You... don't you really plead guilty?"

"Originally innocent, why admit it." Wei Zheng replied coldly: "If the former crown prince had followed Wei Zheng's words, how could he have been killed?" burst into tears.

Li Shimin was resentful towards Wei Zheng at first, and then he was moved by his righteousness. "Everyone is the master and fulfills his duties as a minister." Li Shimin chewed Wei Zheng's words in his heart, and saw a loyal minister.Sadly, Li Jiancheng did not listen to good advice.Li Shimin said to himself in his heart that he couldn't help but have some good feelings for Wei Zheng.Now, seeing that Fang Xuanling was blocked by his words, and when he mentioned Li Jiancheng's death, Wei Zheng was so sad, and he was even more emotional.

Wei Zheng, you are so loyal!If the prince doesn't use it, wouldn't he be ridiculed by the loyal ministers of the world?Thinking of this, Li Shimin walked up to Wei Zheng, patted him on the shoulder and said:
"Don't be sad, Mr. Wei. State affairs should be the most important thing. Whether you are a king or a minister, it is your duty to help the world and the people. The prince thinks that you are a loyal and good man. Regardless of previous suspicions, I entrust you as an admonishing doctor. Shandong and Hebei, soothe the hearts of the people. In order to enable you to have the authority and act boldly, you are now allowed to be privileged and suitable for you."

Wei Zheng couldn't believe his ears when he heard this, and looked at Li Shimin with tears in his eyes.When he saw Li Shimin's trusting gaze, he was overjoyed.I finally found someone who understands me!This thought flashed into his mind, and Wei Zheng immediately knelt down on the ground, weeping and saying:
"I obey my orders!"

It turned out that when Wei Zheng was under Li Jiancheng, he put forward the suggestion of "accepting heroes from Shandong and Hebei", which was approved by Li Jiancheng, and Wei Zheng was fully responsible for the matter.After two years of operation, Wei Zheng laid a solid social foundation for Li Jiancheng in Shandong and Hebei, and forged a close relationship with the social forces in the two places.Li Shimin's move can be said to kill two birds with one stone, with foresight and foresight, and he is still complacent when thinking of his decision for many years afterwards.

14
After weeping, Wei Zheng finished the three words "The minister takes orders!", he didn't speak any more, and he couldn't get up again, and knelt down on the ground, sobbing endlessly.At the beginning, the sound is like a clear stream in the mountains, gurgling and flowing, the sound is thin but very long; then it is like the waves of a river, the sound is loud and very passionate, which is very moving.Li Shimin called Wei Zheng to speak, but both times he covered up his sobs and Wei Zheng didn't hear him.When Changsun Wuji saw him, he motioned to Hou Junji to help him, and the two helped Wei Zheng up, only to see that he was crying like a fountain, and his chest was already wet.Seeing this, everyone was moved.

Li Shimin looked at Wei Zheng solemnly, and thought to himself, let him appease Shandong and Hebei, and take over Li Jiancheng's old department, this matter can be worry-free.Thinking of this, he said, "Help Doctor Wei to rest."

The two guards helped Wei Zheng away, and Li Shimin remembered what he said just now: "Each is the master, and he should fulfill his duty as a minister." It seems that only loyal people can say such words in such an occasion.Thinking of this, Li Shimin thought of Wang Gui and Wei Tinglai who had assisted Li Jiancheng together with Wei Zheng.These two people, especially Wang Gui, used to be Li Jiancheng's most effective advisers, why not call them in for my use?So people called Wang Gui and Wei Ting from Junzhou.Above the court, Li Shimin asked Wang Gui:

"I heard that Qing advocated Confucianism all his life, and encouraged himself with Confucian loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness and etiquette. Compared with Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Li Jing, Wen Yanbo, Dai Zhou, Wei Zheng and others, I don't know how good or bad he thinks he is?" Wang Gui listened. , replied calmly: "I am not as good as Fang Xuanling in serving the country diligently, being resourceful and strategic; I am not as good as Li Jing who is capable of writing and martial arts, and I am not as good as Li Jing; I am not as good as Wen Yanfu when I explain clearly and clearly; I'm not as good as Dai Zhou if I don't stay behind; I'm not as good as Wei Zheng if I'm loyal and selfless, and I'm admonishing you directly.” At this point Wang Gui paused for a moment, then raised his voice and said:

"However, I am a day longer than them in agitating the turbid and exalting the clear, jealous of the evil and loving the good!"

After hearing these words, Li Shimin was filled with emotion, and said sincerely: "From the perspective of the prince, what Qing said comes from the heart, and it is true. The prince will use your strengths, and Wei Ting will do everything together. To advise the doctor. From now on, the crown prince will have no faults." From then on, Wang Gui repayed his kindness, "sincerely, sincerely, and generously." He was deeply trusted by Li Shimin.When people asked why, Wang Gui replied: "How could anyone who was born receive his kindness and escaped with death!"In the 11th year of Zhenguan, he was ordered to set the "Five Rites" with other Confucians.After the book was completed, he received a lot of rewards, and was granted a son as a county baron.In the same year, he was appointed as the teacher of Wei Wang Li Tai, which is a later story.

After Li Shimin reused Wei Zheng, Wang Gui, and Wei Ting, he used many civil servants in the East Palace for his own use according to their strengths.All of a sudden, people from the former princelings who were hiding or hiding showed up one after another, and they belonged to Li Shimin. The tension between the people in the court gradually eased, and the court began to stabilize.

On this day, Li Shimin was discussing matters in the court, when he suddenly heard the commotion outside the palace, Li Shimin was suspicious: who dares to come to the palace to make trouble?At this time, a guard came to report: "Feng Li asks to see you."

Hearing this, Li Shimin frowned, thinking of the slaughter in the Xuanwu Gate, and thinking of so many warriors dying in his hands, he couldn't help but frowned, and uttered four words between his teeth:
"Bold Feng Li!"

When Hou Junji saw him, he said to the guards, "Pull it out and chop it up."

"Slow!" Li Shimin said, "Let him in."

Feng Li slowly came to Li Shimin and saluted respectfully.Although his face was dignified, there was no trace of fear.Li Shimin looked at him for a long time, with a serious expression on his face, unforgiving and pretentious. After a long time, he asked in a muffled voice:

"General Feng, are you guilty?"

"The last general is stupid, so I really don't know what crime he has committed?"

"Then, this crown prince will tell you: you used to be in the East Palace, and you used to be an intermediary, separating my brothers and sisters. This is the first crime; you once led troops to fight in Wumen, killing and wounding countless of my warriors. This is the second crime." Do you recognize it or not?"

(End of this chapter)