Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 57
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Turkic Jieli Khan led 20 elite soldiers to attack, and the striker has broken his martial arts!Li Shimin sent Yuchi Jingde, the chief of the march, to Jingyang to meet Jieli's army, and at the same time ordered martial law in the capital.Although the situation is extremely urgent, Li Shimin still insists on completing the governance discussions that have already begun.When Yuchi Jingde led the 20 troops in Jingyang to fight fiercely with the Turkic Jieli's 20 troops, discussions in the Tai Chi Palace were also going on intensely.

This time Xiao Yu was the first to speak. Although he quoted the scriptures and spoke for almost 10 minutes, he came together in one sentence, advocating the use of severe punishment and strict law to bring the world into great order.After hearing this, Wei Zheng stood up first again to refute:

"I believe that the words of the prime minister did not take into account the people's desire for tranquility and peace of mind. Nowadays, frost and drought are disasters, and rice and grain are expensive. From the capital to Hedong, Henan, and Longyou, the famine is especially severe. A horse Only a bucket of rice can be obtained from silk. Coupled with the Turkic invasion, the prefectures and counties are in a state of commotion. If the people are still severely punished, wouldn’t it be worse and hurt the people? As a result, the rebellion was not ruled, and the country was ruined. According to the views of the ministers, in order to achieve great governance in the Tang Dynasty, the monarchs and ministers need to be concerned about the people, be careful in governing, advocate frugality, and be kind and respectful. .As long as it is solid and beneficial to the people, the word 'government' will come without a trace. Modern monarchs and ministers rule the country..."

Wei Zheng talked eloquently, the more he talked, the more excited he became, and he had no intention of stopping at all. When Xiao Yu saw it, he was annoyed and couldn't help interrupting him: "Don't tell us history, old minister..."

"Please Prime Minister Rong Xiaochen to finish." Wei Zheng also boldly interrupted him, Xiao Yu was about to speak when Li Shimin said: "Xiao Aiqing, let him finish."

After hearing this, Xiao Yu didn't dare to speak anymore, and just gave Wei Zheng a hard look. Wei Zheng pretended not to see it, and continued:
"Modern monarchs and ministers governing the country are much inferior to the ancient ones, why? The ancient emperors were all aspiring to be quiet and peaceful, and they took the hearts of the people as their heart; the modern emperors were in government, but they only harmed the people to suit their desires. Ministers are not scholars of classics. The ancient emperors were all proficient in the classics. If the court had any doubts, they would quote the scriptures to make a decision. Therefore, people understand the etiquette, and the rule leads to peace; the modern emperors value martial arts over Confucianism, or Participating in the law, Confucianism is at a loss, and the pure wind is bad. The little minister thinks that the way for the emperor to prosper is to observe the time. The time depends on the most clear, and the most clear lies on the most public. Then everything is right. If you understand the principles, you can change the evils of the world; if you are right, you can establish the teachings of the world. Therefore, there is no rule in the country."

Wei Zheng said this in one breath, before he stopped, stopped and looked at Fang Xuanling, eager to hear his evaluation of what he just said.Fang Xuanling saw him, smiled slightly, and said: "The theory of Wei Gong, who is a talented person, has the meaning of a sage, and it is the same as what I think. If my emperor accepts his words and tries his best to change the disadvantages of the times, so as to practice the king's way, great rule will come unexpectedly. I think that after the great chaos, establish the teaching method, don't rush to make achievements, so as to bring peace and virtue to the last, oh my goodness!"

"I think it is most appropriate to govern our Tang Dynasty with the purpose of 'preserving the people' and the characteristics of 'quietness'." Du Ruhui followed Fang Xuanling's words: "Our Tang Dynasty now is based on chaos. Seeking medical treatment, the Tang Dynasty is like a person who has just recovered from a serious illness. He is very weak. Of course, he needs to be able to lie down or sit, sit or stand, stand or walk, or walk or run. It is better to be still than to move. Only in this way can the people be quiet. Only by letting the people rest and recuperate can they quickly become strong and recover. Because only when the country is governed in a peaceful manner can the world be peaceful and the corvees be stopped; only when the country is governed in a peaceful manner can the year be prosperous and the people be happy.”

Listening to Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, etc. singing together, Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda and other veteran officials, although they disagreed in their hearts, they saw that the emperor kept nodding after listening to their words, so they didn't bother to say anything.Li Shimin had hoped that there would be a few, even if it was an old official who would come out to join him, but he couldn't hear it in the end. He couldn't help but feel very regretful, so he had to come out to express his opinion.

"I remember what Wei Zheng said yesterday. In the past, when the capital was first pacified, there were no courtyards dissatisfied with the beauties and treasures in the palace. Emperor Yangdi was not satisfied, so he sought endlessly, conquered both east and west, resorted to military force, and the people were unbearable, so they perished. Regarding this, we all agree I have seen and heard it personally, so I think about it day and night. Only by governing the country quietly can the world be peaceful, as Duke Wei said, so that the corvee will not prosper, the years will be abundant, and the people will be happy. I think that a husband governing the country is like planting trees. If the roots are not shaken, the branches and leaves will flourish. If the king can be quiet, how can the people be unhappy?"

At this point, Li Shimin stood up suddenly, and shouted with emotion: "Govern the country quietly, good! Good! Good!"

Above the main hall, there was no sound, only Changsun Wuji hurried over with a small bamboo cage.When all the ministers saw it, they were all curious and followed him with their eyes.

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Li Shimin was constantly praising "Quietness is good for governing the country" in the hall, but seeing Changsun Wuji rushing in with a small bamboo cage, he was also very curious and sat down to look directly at Changsun Wuji.

"My Majesty, I have looked around the farmlands around the capital, but I saw locusts but no ears of wheat. Tens of thousands of farmlands have no harvest."

"There are locusts in the cage?"

"Exactly."

"Show me."

The eunuch took the bamboo cage from Changsun Wuji and handed it to Li Shimin.After picking up the bamboo cage to look at it, Li Shimin caught a locust out of the bamboo cage and looked at it with gritted teeth.

As early as when he planted wheat seeds, Li Shimin once asked Fang Xuanling: "I don't know if there will be a bumper harvest in the coming year." Fang Xuanling replied: "This matter must be determined by God." After hearing this, Li Shimin said: "The country is based on people, and people live on food. , if the grains are not listed, it may be caused by my failure to do it myself." After speaking, Li Shimin went to Xiaowai, the capital, and plowed the farmland for half a day.When all the ministers who followed saw it, they all cheered and were eager to try it.Li Shimin was happy to see him, but he also had doubts, and asked his eldest grandson Wuji who came with him, saying:
"Plowing the fields, many kings in ancient times had this ceremony, why did the officials do this?" Changsun Wuji replied: "The long-term war and turmoil are endless; if you don't do farming, it has become a habit; the ceremony of plowing the fields has already It has been abandoned for a long time. Now that the emperor is personally trying farming, the viewers are naturally cheering and eager to try."

After hearing this, Li Shimin thought that since the Western Jin Dynasty, the Central Plains had been divided, and the wars continued. I can't help feeling sorry.Immediately issued a decree to persuade farmers to teach farming and mulberry, officials from all over the country were ordered to strictly inspect, "all those who are idle and lazy will follow it."

At this time, Li Shimin was not yet 30 years old, and he was in his prime, but the whole afternoon of farming made him sore and backache, and he still felt exhausted the next day.After the decree of persuading farmers and mulberry was issued, he said with great emotion: "Plowing an acre of land is more difficult than fighting. Thinking about it, you can understand it. Farmers are really hard. If God doesn't give a good harvest in the coming year, I'm really sorry for the farmer." Later, whenever he had free time, Li Shimin would always ask about the growth of the wheat, and he was very happy to hear that the wheat had grown well.

It's just that in the past few months, there has been no rain around the capital, and repeated reports of drought have made Li Shimin feel very uncomfortable.Unexpectedly, now that the drought is continuing, the locusts are on the rise again, and it has caused tens of millions of farmlands to fail.Li Shimin thought: there is not much left in the national treasury, ordinary people's homes have experienced wars, and there is no food in stock. When the wheat should be ripe, they will face famine, and all these are caused by this locust.Thinking of this, he couldn't help being extremely annoyed, staring at the locust, Li Shimin cursed it angrily:

"People live on grain, and you eat it, which is harming my people. The people have faults, but I am alone, and I have a spirit, but you should erode my heart and don't harm the people." After all, the locusts were killed Put it in your mouth, blushed and thickened your neck, and swallowed it raw.When all the ministers saw it, they were all moved, and they all shouted:
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Li Shimin gradually calmed down, looked at the ministers, and said: "I am fine, and I feel happy, but the people are facing famine, how to deal with it?"

"I believe that the drought and locust plague in the capital are limited to one corner, and our Tang Empire has a vast territory, so that other lands with good harvests can provide assistance." Fang Xuanling said: "More importantly, as long as the court does not expropriate The power of the people, the people can still save themselves."

"What Zuo Shepu said is very much in line with what I want." Li Shimin said: "In my opinion, the root of Emperor Yang's demise was that he had no compassion for the people and expropriated their power. In the eyes of Emperor Yang, he treated the people like animals and used them at any time. , completely disregarding their life and death. On the issue of treating the people, I will do the opposite. From now on, there will be no time for hard labor, and the labor of the people must be reduced. If the capital encounters such a natural disaster, the labor must be reduced. Free of charge. Fang Xuanling is in charge of handling this matter and formulates a regulation."

Soon, Fang Xuanling and others formulated the "Order of Camp Repair", which stipulated: "To repair the city wall, build embankments, raise manpower, and build something. The amount of manpower required according to the order should be submitted to the Minister of State, and the joint service will start after hearing the report. Or not The words are not to be reported, and everyone thinks that the people they serve are mediocre, and the theory of taking stolen goods will be reduced."

From then on, although the Tang Dynasty did not see any thin taxation, it really achieved light corvee, and began to rule the country by law, and there were laws to follow in its actions. , Regardless of whether the people live or die, they are forced to do tyrant politics.

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With his concern for the farmers, Li Shimin resumed the ancient plowing ceremony.With the honor of the emperor, he plowed and cultivated, and offered sacrifices to the first farmers, so that all the officials came to care about and support farming.When the discussion returned to this topic, Wei Zheng stood up and made a generous statement:
"In my Great Tang Empire, more than nine out of ten people in the country are engaged in farming. Farming prospers and Pepsi prospers, and Pepsi prospers and Great Tang prospers."

Wang Gui, who hadn't spoken for a long time, listened and asked his own questions, saying: "Nowadays in the Tang Dynasty, due to the war at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the population has dropped sharply, and there are many places with large land and sparsely populated. There are fewer people and more 'broad townships'. The uncultivated fields are uncultivated; the "narrow township" with many people and little land has too many people to cultivate and not enough fields. So, what should we do?"

Li Shimin listened and showed Du Ruhui with his eyes.After contemplating for a while, Du Ruhui got up and said, "Encouraging farmers to move from "narrow" to "wide" may solve this problem. I'm only worried that it will be difficult to operate."

"It's not hard to say." Fang Xuanling interjected: "We can formulate relevant policies, stipulating that farmers in Kuan Township will not violate the law if they occupy more land than the limit. In this way, if farmers want to own more fields, they will go to Kuan Township. Migrate without government coercion."

Because Li Shimin was about to issue the "Land Equalization Order" at that time, he listened very carefully and felt that the speeches of Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui were valuable, so he nodded frequently and kept their speeches in his heart, which was regarded as the finalization of this policy.

"Moving people from narrow towns to wide towns can solve some of the barren problems of farmland, but to fundamentally solve the problem of sparsely populated land, it is necessary to make the population prosperous." Wei Zheng said: "I believe that now we can It stipulates that all males with [-] and females with [-] years old should 'let their kind seek each other and not restrain them'. For widows and widows who have passed the mourning period, 'they must also apply for a matchmaker so that they can get along well' , give birth to children as soon as possible, and add more people to our Great Tang Empire."

From the issue of equal land to the issue of fertility, Li Shimin smiled slightly after hearing this.This Wei Zheng thought deeply about it, so he said, "That's a wonderful idea. In the future, I will issue an 'Edict to Encourage the People to Marry' as a regulation. Speaking of this, I also thought of a beneficial person." A good way to prosper." Li Shimin burst out laughing at this point.After laughing, he said to the ministers: "There are at least 5000 fertile court ladies in the palace. I have decided to let them all go out of the palace and return to the people. Let them marry, form families, have children, and enjoy the human relations of the common people." joy."

After Li Shimin finished speaking, all the ministers shouted long live three times.Above the main hall, the ministers praised each other, and some were so happy that they burst into tears.Li Shimin saw it, and said to himself in his heart: "It seems that there are too many women in the palace, and the officials still have complaints in their hearts, but they dare not speak out. Thinking of this, Li Shimin waved his hand to make the officials quiet. You Lingfang Xuanling read it out, summarizing the results of everyone's discussions and summing up the Zhenguan New Deal of "safety and governance". Fang Xuanling read a lot, and finally summarized it into four items:
[-]. Go to extravagance and save money,
Two, light corvee and thin Fu,
[-]. Select talents and appoint talents,

Fourth, love the people.

Li Shimin was very happy after hearing this. Although he discussed the strategy of governing the country publicly, he still could not tolerate any differences in the major policies in his heart.After this discussion, he not only came up with a more accurate strategy for governing the country, but also found out the background of the ministers of the court, and soon adjusted the ministers of the court, so that a group of veteran ministers such as Pei Ji and Xiao Yu faded out of the political arena .Let a group of officials who resolutely implement the "pacification of the people and tranquility" that is completely different from the former Sui Dynasty be in charge of the government.

With a good policy, it is often a headache to implement it. Li Shimin feels the same about this.So he issued an edict in court:

Officials above the fifth grade in Beijing were ordered to take turns to be on duty in Zhongshu Introspection, which was located in the forbidden center, so that the emperor could summon him for consultation at any time.From then on, every time Li Shimin summoned officials, he invited them to sit down and talk together, mainly asking them about the sufferings of the people and whether the imperial policy was beneficial to the people.This is something.

That day in the court, when Li Shimin issued the imperial edict, he just breathed a sigh of relief, before he could catch his breath, he suddenly thought that the Turks were approaching Chang'an and needed to deal with it quickly, so he couldn't help but look at the eunuch.The eunuch understood, and shouted in a long male-female tune:

"Disperse!"

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Li Shimin insisted on completing the discussion on "the gains and losses of governance since ancient times", and he had no time to rest for a while, nor did he have time to mobilize his troops, so he personally led [-] elite cavalry and rushed to the Weihe River.When the officials saw him, they all sweated for him.

Before, Yuchi Jingde was in a hurry to pick up Yuchi Jingde. The Turkic main force had already rushed to Weihe River, and Yuchi Jingde had already rushed to Weihe River to wait.The situation is so critical, at the moment the capital is short of horses, [-] cavalry will be ready in three days, Li Shimin doesn't want to wait any longer, [-] elite cavalry dare to come to Weihe for emergency!
All the way to speed up the horse, gallop and gallop.Li Shimin was even more anxious when he saw a wheat field that had been eaten up by locusts and farmers begging along the way.Where did the 50-year grain storage in the Sui Dynasty go in a blink of an eye?There are also these Turks who are taking advantage of the fire, it is really hateful!Li Shimin sighed, raged, and cursed all the way, and he reached the bank of the Wei River the next day.

Yuchi Jingde was naturally very happy to see the emperor's personal expedition, but seeing that the emperor only brought three thousand cavalry, he couldn't help being extremely anxious, and immediately reported the military situation to the emperor:
Since Yuchi Jingde led 20 elite soldiers to meet Turkic Jieli, the two sides fought in Jingyang. Although Yuchi Jingde defeated Jieli bravely, he did not hurt his main force.Jieli Khan saw that it was impossible to go east, so he hurried to the west, trying to go down to Chang'an from the Weihe River.Li Shimin was shocked when he heard this.He knew that this Turkic cavalry was extremely brutal and powerful in combat.The reason for this is that each of them is a born fighter.From childhood to adulthood, in order to survive, the Turkic people have been hunting and killing, either killing wild animals or killing people.Any skill lies in more practice, practice makes perfect.Turkic men have been killing all their lives, and their killing skills are naturally higher than those of ordinary Han people.In addition, the Turks spent their lives on horseback, came and went quickly, and fought more often than the Han army.The Turks' 20 horses are like twenty wolves, and their prey are the gold, silver, jewelry, and food beauties in Chang'an City.The Turks were blocked from going east, and Huladu went west.Yuchi Jingde's troops were not so flexible. In addition to 13 cavalry, there were also [-] infantry.

The battle was too urgent, Yuchi Jingde handed over his troops to Qin Shubao to lead, and then he personally led 20 cavalry to rush to the Weihe River.Nevertheless, when the [-] cavalry of the Tang army reached the south bank of the Weihe River, the nearly [-] Turkic cavalry of Xieli also reached the north bank of the Weihe River.

"Very likely, Jieli's cavalry will charge across the Wei River tomorrow." Yuchi Jingde said, looking at his emperor worriedly.

"The Turkic army of nearly 20 will rush across the Wei River tomorrow. But our army is only one-third of his. Qin Shubao's 13 infantry will take at least four days to arrive, and our [-] reinforcement cavalry will finally arrive." It will take about three days to arrive." Li Shimin thought to himself, raised his head, and looked at the Turkic warriors running around on the other side with a contemptuous smile on his face.This smile is clearly saying to Yuchi Jingde: "Don't be afraid, I have my own way of doing everything."

Yuchi Jingde fought all his life, no matter how dangerous the battle he faced, how could he ever be afraid?As a brave general who is good at fighting, he knows that fighting should not only be based on courage, but also on strength.Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you be victorious in every battle.The emperor's smile could not dispel the doubts in his heart, he looked at his emperor solemnly, and asked softly:

"May I ask the emperor, who will lead the reinforcements?"

"Cheng Zhijie!"

"How many troops are there?"

"One hundred thousand cavalry, but..." Li Shimin paused for a moment, then continued, "It will take three days for them to arrive."

Yuchi Jingde let out a soft "ah", Li Shimin turned his head and looked at him intently: "Marshal, what do you think?"

"My minister, please return to Chang'an as soon as possible!" Yuchi Jingde knelt down on his knees and said with his head resting on his head.

"and then?"

"Then," Yuchi Jingde raised his head and said firmly, "I will order the whole army to build fortifications all night and prepare their bows and arrows to wait for the Turks tomorrow."

"Are you sure you can withstand the attack of nearly 20 Turks?"

"I am willing to fight to the death."

"The marshal can fight to the death, but even if I return to Chang'an, the Turkic cavalry will surely follow one after another. At that time, I can only fight to the death with them."

After hearing this, Yuchi Jingde raised his head, looked at Li Shimin in great pain, and said: "The emperor...the minister is incompetent."

"Marshal, it's not that you are incompetent, I think you are confused!"

"Does the emperor have a good strategy?" Yuchi Jingde asked eagerly.

"Of course." Li Shimin burst out laughing suddenly, the laughter was like thunder and lightning, startling away the birds on the tree behind him, and startling the Turkic on the other side, turned his brown head and stood on his horse to listen.

Yuchi Jingde was infected by the emperor's laughter, and burst into laughter for a moment.The two monarchs and ministers, facing the Weishui, laughed at the same time, and they were so shocked that the Weishui was rippling and fish jumped out of the water.

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After Li Shimin laughed, he looked to the other side, but he saw dust everywhere, and people called Ma hissing.There are 20 of them, and they will rush across the Wei River tomorrow to kill me?Li Shimin asked himself in his heart, but there was no worried expression on his face, it was dignified and desolate, with a look of self-defense.

These Turks, since the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, they seem to have never stopped harassing the Tang Dynasty.It's just that, as the commander-in-chief of the army in the past, I was just ordered to conquer every time. Now that I am the emperor, I feel that the situation is threatening. If I don't solve this problem fundamentally, there will be no peace for the country!Even if there is a good policy for governing the country, how can I govern this country with peace of mind!Thinking of this, Li Shimin cursed angrily:
"These bastards!"

When Yuchi Jingde saw this, he didn't say a word, but thought secretly in his heart, what kind of unexpected good strategy his young emperor would have.

(End of this chapter)