Chapter 20 Chapter Eighteen: Selection and Appointment

Turkic Jieli Khan led 200,000 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 an army of 200,000 troops in Jingyang to fight fiercely with Turkic Jieli's 200,000 troops, discussions in the Tai Chi Palace were also going on intensely. This time Xiao Yu was the first to speak. Although he quoted scriptures and spoke for almost ten minutes, he came together in one sentence, advocating the use of harsh punishments and strict laws 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. 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 are facing 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. 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 township' to 'wide township' may solve this problem. I'm only worried that it will be a bit embarrassing for the actual operation." "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 problems of barren farmland, but to fundamentally solve the problem of sparsely populated land, we need to make the population prosperous." Wei Zheng said: "I believe that now we can It stipulates that all males twenty-five and females fifteen should "let their kind seek each other and not restrain them." For widows and widows who have passed the mourning period, "it is necessary to 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 all the ministers: "There are at least 5,000 fertile court ladies in the palace. I 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 lives of the people." The joy of human relations." 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.When Li Shimin saw it, he said to himself: "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 hands to silence the officials.It was read out by Ling Fang Xuanling, and the results of the discussions were summarized as the Zhenguan New Deal of "safety for the people and governance of the country".Fang Xuanling read a lot, and finally summed it up into four: 1. Go to extravagance and save money, Two, light corvee and thin Fu, 3. 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: "Scatter!" 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 3,000 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, 100,000 cavalry will be ready in three days, Li Shimin doesn't want to wait any longer, 3,000 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 fifty years of 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: After Yuchi Jingde led 200,000 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 200,000 Turks are like 20 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 70,000 cavalry, there were also 130,000 infantry. The battle was too urgent, Yuchi Jingde handed over his troops to Qin Shubao to lead, and then he personally led 70,000 cavalry to rush to the Weihe River.Even so, when the 70,000 cavalry of the Tang army reached the south bank of the Weihe River, the nearly 200,000 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 200,000 troops will rush across the Wei River tomorrow. But our army is only one-third of his. Qin Shubao's 130,000 infantry will take at least four days to arrive, and our 100,000 reinforcement cavalry It will take three days to arrive at the fastest." 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 200,000 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. After Li Shimin laughed, he looked to the other side, but he saw dust everywhere, and people called Ma hissing.They have 200,000 people, 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 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. During the discussion of "the gains and losses of governance since ancient times", Li Shimin only sent Yuchi Jingde and 200,000 elite troops to fight Turkic Jieli in order to complete his established discussion.He also knew that Xieli could not be repelled by an army of 200,000, but he could only send so many troops at that time.The treasury of the Tang Dynasty was indeed almost empty.After hearing that the two sides fought in Jingyang, although Yuchi Jingde defeated Jieli bravely, but did not hurt his main force, Li Shimin already felt that the situation was not good.Sure enough, within a few hours, Jieli Khan continued southward to Chang'an and sent envoys to court to blackmail him.When Li Shimin met Jieli's envoy, he ordered his subordinates to detain him before he finished speaking.After finally waiting for the results of the court discussion, he rushed to Weihe in a hurry.Seeing that Jieli had reached the north bank of the Weihe River, Li Shimin knew in his heart that the situation was worse than he had imagined. As long as Jieli crossed the Weihe River, Chang'an would almost be in his hands. This Xieli, tall and big, fierce and brave, once killed a lion with a single palm, has a high prestige among the Turks.As an ancient nation on the northern border of China, the Turks gradually became stronger than the Northern Qi and Northern Zhou Dynasties.By the beginning of the Sui Dynasty, the Turks, who had already controlled hundreds of thousands of troops, were split into two parts, the east and the west, due to the internal occurrence of Mao Dun, and their power was once weakened.At that time, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, who had unified China, took the opportunity to attack the Turks on a large scale, defeated the Eastern Turks, and made them a vassal.The Western Turks also declined very much under the attack of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, and were forced to retreat to Mobei.After Emperor Yangdi came to power, he abused the power of the people and conquered Goguryeo three times, resulting in a great reduction in military strength, but the Turks gradually regained their vitality.In the later period of Emperor Yangdi, the world was in chaos, and the Eastern and Western Turks took advantage of the situation to rise up and plundered the northern border of the Sui Dynasty many times.At this time, in order to protect themselves and eliminate the enemies in front of them, many leaders of the Sui Dynasty raised troops and uprisings turned to Turkic for a while, which enabled Turkic to take advantage of the chaos and develop rapidly.When Li Yuan raised troops in Taiyuan, because of his serious lack of strength and fear of Turkic attacks, he sent Liu Wenjing as an envoy to Turkic. support.Because of this dependence on Turks, Turks have been bullying the Tang Dynasty.After Li Yuan became emperor, although he gave Turks a lot of rewards, he still couldn't satisfy the Turks' desire.The Turks held their own merits, and every time they sent envoys to Chang'an to ask for property, they were very rude.Li Yuan, on the other hand, endured it all the time because the country was first established and the world was not at peace, not daring to turn against the Turks. In February of the second year of Wude, Turkic Shibi Khan died, and Li Yuan mourned for him. He abolished the court for three days and ordered all officials to hang his envoy in the hall.In June of the following year, Chuluo Khan, who succeeded Shibi Khan, also led an army to help the then King of Qin Li Shimin attack Liu Wuzhou.In the autumn of this year, Chuluo Khan died of a sudden illness, and Li Yuan once again "stopped the court" to express his condolences, "order all officials to hang him in the hall." After that, Jieli Khan, who succeeded Luo Khan, inherited the legacy of his father and brother, with strong soldiers and strong horses, and lightened the Tang Dynasty.In view of the fact that the national power has not yet recovered and the people are still not happy, Li Yuan still dare not go to war with the Turks, and only uses a large amount of property to stabilize the Turks.However, Jieli was arrogant in his words and never tired of begging, always revealing his ambition to rule the Central Plains.Li Yuan couldn't bear it anymore, and finally met the Turkic soldiers in Yanmen.Because it was a plan to fight, Li Yuan defeated the Turks this time, beheading more than ten thousand enemies, and Jieli was defeated in embarrassment, and for a few years, he never dared to show his face again. Unexpectedly, now that Li Shimin first boarded the Great Treasure, he would appear again.And they came in a menacing manner, bringing 200,000 cavalry with them, and they made a big move to conquer Chang'an and avenge the Yanmen a few years ago. Li Shimin and Yuchi Jingde tightened their ropes and walked slowly along the river bank, one behind the other, a thrilling plan was forming in Li Shimin's mind.At this time, on the opposite bank of the river, after listening to the report of his subordinates, Jieli also brought dozens of warriors to the river, and along the river bank, he and Li Shimin rode together. The clear river water is gurgling, and the blue sky and white clouds reflect it.Li Shimin looked at the Wei River flowing eastward for a long time, then turned his head, glanced at a group of Turks who had been peeping at him across the river, and suddenly shouted: "Listen, Jieli Khan, in the third year of Wude, your uncle and nephew followed me personally, willing to return the land of Wuyuan and Zhang Changxun's tribe to the Tang Dynasty, and then he broke his promise and repeatedly broke the contract and disturbed him? Did you get a bargain later?" After hearing this, Jieli Khan knew that the next question referred to his Yanmen defeat, and was very annoyed for a while, so he answered loudly: "Ben Khan is here to avenge Yanmen, and to step on Chang'an, so that you, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, can also taste the taste of failure?" "Don't you cherish our former friendship?" "Qiyi, you Tang people, you killed tens of thousands of Hu people before Yanmen Pass, what kind of yiyi is there?" "Xieli, do you know why there was a Battle of Yanmen?" "..." "You don't speak, I'm here to answer for you. It's because you Jieli is a villain. Your desires are hard to fill. Datang has given you everything you promised, and you want more. That's why the Battle of Yanmen happened. Isn't it, Jieli?" Seeing that Jieli was still speechless, Li Shimin continued: "Xieli, do you know why you were defeated in the Battle of Yanmen?" "Ben Khan only had 80,000 cavalry at that time, but you came with 200,000." Jie Li laughed loudly when he said this: "Now, the situation has changed. How many cavalry did Ben Khan bring this time? You know? 200,000, a full 200,000 cavalry!" After finishing speaking, Jieli laughed triumphantly. "Do you know how many cavalry I have now?" Li Shimin asked sternly after Jie Jie laughed. When Jieli heard this, he felt at a loss for a while.He has heard people say that the Tang Empire now has 800,000 troops.But he also knew that the 800,000 troops were going to guard various parts of Ruo Da's country, and it was difficult to concentrate on dealing with his Turkic cavalry from the north.Therefore, Xieli calmed down a little, and replied: "No matter how many cavalry you have, you can't beat the 200,000 elites brought by Ben Khan. By tomorrow, Ben Khan will definitely step on Chang'an City and make you kneel in front of Ben Khan." Li Shimin laughed wildly when he heard this, his voice soared to the sky and shook the clouds and shook the mountains.After laughing, Li Shimin reined in his horse and jumped to the river, shouting loudly: "Young man Jieli, I don't want to use the strong to bully the weak. You just let the horse come over. I will fight you alone now. If you are afraid and want to come here, I will only fight with a hundred horses. Quick! Quick! Hurry! Little man Jieli, come across the river quickly, don't wait until tomorrow!" Turkic Jieli, survived among tigers and wolves, experienced many hardships and dangers, was bold and brave when encountering difficulties, but also cautious and suspicious.Originally, he had already discussed with his nephew Tuli that when he arrived at the Weishui River, he would take a short rest and immediately rush across the river.Now, seeing Li Shimin alone, looking so awe-inspiring, he couldn't help feeling suspicious.At this time, the nephew next to Jieli looked at Li Shimin and asked him: "This person is Li Shimin who captured Dou Jiande alive and forced Wang Shichong to surrender." "It was this man who brought down more than half of the world in the Tang Dynasty, and suppressed all the kings after the Sui Dynasty one by one. This man is not only good at fighting, but also cruel and vicious. Killing his brother, forcing his father to give way, dare to do anything." Jie Li widened his eyes and said, "I never thought that he would become the emperor, and in this situation, he dared to challenge me one-on-one. It's really unbelievable." "According to my nephew, the Han people who became emperors are all greedy for life and afraid of death. If Li Shimin dared to do this, he must have set up an ambush," Tuli said. "My nephew's opinion is exactly what this Khan wants. Pass down the order, the troops set up camp, and send several teams of warriors to go deep into the enemy's rear, find out the enemy's situation, and then make a decision." The two uncles and nephews said, leading the accompanying riders back to the camp, ignoring Li Shimin's roar.Li Shimin saw Jieli's uncle and nephew talking about it, so he quickly retreated, hurried back to the horse camp, and said to Yuchi Jingde: "Send many strong troops quickly to patrol the river bank day and night, and we must not allow Hu Qi to cross the river." After hearing this, Yuchi Jingde understood, and immediately arranged the inspection carefully. For the next three days, the detectives sent by Xieli were either caught or recovered. The specific situation of Tang Jun was still unclear.At this moment, Cheng Zhijie's 100,000 cavalry came surging like waves.The next day, more than 100,000 infantry led by Qin Shubao also arrived.This time, Xieli's detectives saw it all.When Xieli knew that Cheng Zhijie had arrived with his cavalry, he was even more astonished. Not only did he not dare to cross the river rashly, but he retreated to set up camp thirty miles away from the bank of the Wei River.At this time, Xieli deeply thought that Li Shimin set up an ambush to lure him three days ago, so he couldn't help being angry and afraid.After being overwhelmed with fear, thinking of Yanmen's defeat, he eased his attitude and sent envoys to negotiate peace with Li Shimin. At this time, although Li Shimin had 170,000 cavalry and 130,000 infantry, his strength seemed to be greater than that of Xieli, but if he really wanted to fight Xieli, it would be difficult to win.What's more, the national treasury is empty, coupled with the drought and locust plagues, it is really not worthwhile to have a lose-lose situation with the Turks at this time.For this reason, Li Shimin had been restless for a long time, and he was unwilling to eat. Now that the Turkic envoy came to talk, Li Shimin personally comforted him.After several negotiations, Li Shimin and Jieli finally reached an agreement, and the two sides "set up an alliance on a white horse" on the Weiqiao to ensure that brothers will get along with each other in the future and will not go to war again. When Taiyuan raised troops, Li Yuan served the Turks as a minister, but now, Li Shimin is commensurate with the Turkic brothers. Thinking about what happened in the past ten years, Li Shimin was filled with emotion. On the day when the Turks returned, Li Shimin stood on the Wei Bridge, watched the Turks go away, and secretly swore in his heart: "I must work hard, work hard, and make the country strong. In three years, I will be ashamed of myself." , no longer threatened by the Turks!" Returning to the palace from the tense war by the Weishui River, Li Shimin did not feel relaxed at all.He knew in his heart that to govern the country well, first of all, there must be a group of good officials who have the same heart as himself.After repeated weighing, he was determined to do this matter drastically. The first thing is to let the veteran retire. Li Shimin quickly found an opportunity: because of a small matter, the veteran Chen Shuda and Xiao Yu had a dispute in the court.Strictly speaking, such disputes are of course not allowed in the court, but as two senior officials, what's the point of arguing? Li Shimin didn't care what others thought, he held onto this trivial matter tightly and made a big fuss, using the excuse of "noisy court" to let Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda go home at the same time to reflect.Chen Shuda felt that something was wrong, and he didn't want to say anything more, so he stayed at home silently, enjoying the family happiness by himself.Later, when Li Shimin wanted to use him, he refused to return to the court because of his old age and sickness.He missed the past, and occasionally went to see Li Yuan, the Supreme Emperor who moved from the Tai Chi Hall to the Da'an Palace.However, Xiao Yu, who has a strong temperament, was deeply unhappy. When he wrote the letter, his words were sparse, which seemed to be disgruntled.Li Shimin smiled bitterly after reading his book, and had no choice but to let him stay at home longer.It wasn't until later that Li Shimin once went to Da'an Palace to pay homage to Li Yuan's birthday. After Li Yuan interceded, Li Shimin restored Xiao Yu's official title and allowed him to return to the court.Unexpectedly, on the third day after Xiao Yu came to court, he fought fiercely and angrily with the minister in front of Li Shimin.Li Shimin couldn't bear it anymore, he couldn't laugh or cry, and finally dismissed Xiao Yu again for "disrespect".From then on, Xiao Yu never had the chance to enter the court to discuss politics.In the twenty-first year of Zhenguan, Xiao Yu died of illness at the age of seventy-four.The court often issued a posthumous posthumous title of "Su", and Li Shimin believed that Xiao Yu's nature was too guessing, and he was too taboo. Finally, the posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous title was "Duke Zhenxiang", which was given to Sikong and buried with Zhaoling. This is a later story. For another old minister, Pei Ji, Li Shimin has always treated each other with courtesy.Once Li Shimin went to the suburbs to worship heaven, and he was invited to be promoted to Jinluo with his eldest grandson Wuji.But Pei Ji didn't live up to it, and wanted to believe the gossip, someone came up with a book and sued him.Li Shimin had no choice but to dismiss Pei Ji from office for the crime of deceiving the public, cut off half of the fiefdom, and returned him to his hometown.The matter is not over yet, Pei Ji, who has returned to his hometown, is praised by people in his hometown for his "talent" and for being the son of the emperor.Pei Ji was happy when he heard that, but was exposed by a slave who suffered a crime and sued the court.After Pei Ji knew about it, he was worried about being punished, so he killed him to silence him. Before the saying of "talented" was understood, Pei Ji committed the crime of murder again.Li Shimin had no choice but to deal with him, so he was exiled to Jingzhou.After arriving in Jingzhou, Pei Ji had a late luck and caught up with the Shanqiang rebellion. Pei Ji led the slaves to calm down bravely.After hearing this, Li Shimin believed that Pei Ji had contributed to the chaos, so he ordered him to return to the court as an official.But Pei Ji had no life to bear it, and when the imperial edict arrived, Pei Ji died of illness.This year, Pei Ji just passed his sixtieth birthday.Li Shimin was sad and emotional, and posthumously presented him as the governor of Xiangzhou, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and the Duke of Hedong County.This is also a later story. When Li Shimin just came back from the banks of the Weihe River, although Pei Ji, Xiao Yu and other old officials were still there, after the discussion on "gains and losses in governance since ancient times" started, Li Shimin already knew that these old officials had a different understanding of his own strategy for governing the country, so he I alienated them early in my heart. Although I treated them well on the surface, I no longer reused them.Therefore, when Li Shimin returned to the court, the first thing he did was to discuss meritorious deeds and rewards. He wanted to boldly list the contributions of the counselors Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui as the first, and entrust them with the important task of prime ministers to jointly take charge of the government. To a certain extent, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui's qualifications are relatively junior, they are just officials in the former Qin Palace.What's more, there are still many officials in the original Qin Palace, such as Changsun Shunde, Hou Junji, Li Ji, Yin Kaishan, etc., who were before them.However, judging from the credits established in the past and the abilities they have demonstrated, they are indeed unmatched.Li Shimin was sure of persuading the people in the former Prince Qin's mansion.What is difficult to convince is that the former ministers of the Supreme Emperor Li Yuan during the Wude period were all relatives of the emperor and were born in prominent families. In comparison, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui are much different. Fang Xuanling's family has nothing to be proud of. They all rely on their own learning and become officials if they are excellent.Du Ruhui's grandfather, the biggest official was only the minister of the Ministry of Industry in the Sui Dynasty, and his father could only be the governor of Changzhou.Now if they want to be the prime ministers of the dynasty, there will naturally be some discussions.However, to govern the country well, it is necessary to use the most talented people.Thinking of this, Li Shimin issued the imperial decree decisively: "Appoint Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui as prime ministers, and jointly take charge of the government." After the imperial decree was read, there was an uproar, but Li Shimin did not expect that the loudest voices were actually many generals, especially his uncle Huaian Wang Li Shentong and Xiao general Yuchi Jingde.They even despised the imperial power, and the court expressed great dissatisfaction. 李世民静静地望着他们，酸甜苦辣，种种感受，独自慢慢地咀嚼。他一声也不吭，只是想让他们将该说的都说完。 李神通，名寿，是与李渊同父亲的弟弟，因李渊起兵受到炀帝追捕，曾不得不跑到中南山中避祸。在山里，他过了一段非常困苦的逃亡生活，没有吃的，就让儿子李道彦下山去要饭。直到李渊的三女儿平阳公主到了中南山中后，才随公主举兵一道响应李渊，被任命为关中道行军总管。李渊攻占长安，拜李神通为右翊卫大将军，封永康王。后来，李神通跟着李世民平定刘黑闼，在一次激战中，还救过李世民的命，由此迁升左武卫大将军。 听了皇上的圣旨，李神通不敢对皇上不敬，却直径走到房玄龄面前，大声喝斥： “你有何功，敢居相位？” 是啊，这问问得好！朕一直也在想这个问题，而且想了很久，想了很多。李世民在心里对自己说。他最后定下了两个标准，这就是：才干和德行。对这两个标准，他作了较为详细的考虑： 六品以下官吏，应该以身（体貌丰伟）、言（言辞辨正）、书（楷法遒美）判（文理优长）为基本的四个标准。在这个基础上，按德、才、劳三个标准逐级次第选拔。至于五品以上的官吏，则应该根据他的政绩考核，最后由皇帝亲自来裁定。对于选拔官吏，李世民虽说是这样的如饥似渴，却不愿因此就降低选贤的标准。他认为，只有严格按照才干和贤能的要求来衡量，才能真正做到：“内举不避亲，外举不避仇”，让所有真正有才干又贤能的人，都来为大唐王朝的兴盛舍身献力。李世民这么想着、想着，最后还考虑到地方官吏的选拔。 地方官是代表国家直接管理百姓，与百姓打交道的，他们的素质高低、态度优劣，直接影响到百姓对国家的印象。由此，李世民对他们的要求，一点降低，决定县令由京城五品以上的官吏推荐，而刺史则由皇上自己，亲手来选派。 为了选好刺史，李世民将全国刺史的名字及其有关情况写在了自己书房中的屏风上面，根据各方面的信息及时地记录他们的功过，作为以后考核的重要参考。另外，他还考虑到地方官要在每年的年终进京述职，其政绩则由吏部全权考核，最后根据平定的等级来决定升级或降级。 除了这些选拔和考核的措施之外，李世民还开始考虑利用在隋朝就开始实行的科举考试制度，使选官的途径增多，选择的范围也扩大，为一般的读书人提供更好的入仕机会，使之比原来的推荐制度更加合理。对于任命官员的事，李世民确实想了很多，也想得很细，却没有料到，当他将自认为考虑成熟了的意见颁布出来后，武官们的反应竟是这么的强烈。 其实，对于这个问题，李世民应该首先想到，因为李世民非常清楚一直以来重武轻文的传统。从魏晋南北朝时期，这个传统就一直流传下来，至今并没有多大的改变。这是一个很正常的现象，天下必须靠武力争来，所谓胜者王侯败者贼，自古而然。这结果是一个新的国家刚建成时，他的大臣差不多全是行伍出身，是战争的行家、英雄。Hi!这个问题我怎么就给忘记了呢？Li Shimin asked himself in his heart. 是啊，这些人都立过战功，为大唐王朝的建立，流过许多血汗。这些人，打仗很有一套，一个个都是一等一的沙场悍将。可是，对于治理国家，处理政务，他们就不再是那么内行了。这，真是此一时彼一时也。同样是为了国家，李世民这时候就得让有些人受些委屈。对于李世民来说，这也是件十分痛心的事情，还是件十分棘手的事情！这样的内情，能有几人知道啊！ 但是，李世民必须得这么来做，否则就治理不好这个国家。当李世民想清了这些以后，对于怎样处理眼前的这场风波，心里已经有了底。他的脸上，挂着微微的笑意，静静地望着他的大臣们。 李神通声色具厉地喝斥房玄龄，因其为太上皇之弟，房玄龄只是看了看他，然后闭上双眼，再不作理会。在一旁的尉迟敬德见了，心中恼怒，上前再厉声喝斥房玄龄，说： “永康王问你话，为何不答？” 在房玄龄旁的侯君集急了，过来拦住尉迟敬德说：“将军，有话慢说。” 话音刚落，李神通早伸过手来，抓住侯君集： “你是何人，也敢在此说话？” 早在太原起兵前，侯君集就跟着李世民。他与皇上，情同手足。李世民刚做皇帝，就封他为潞国公，食邑一千户。一直都春光得意的侯君集，哪由得李神通如此轻视，不由一用力，挣脱李神通的手臂，说： “大殿之上，我怎不可以言？” 李神通此时年事稍大，力气不佳，伸手欲再抓侯君集，已是无力。尉迟敬德见了，伸出手来，一把再次抓住侯君集。对于李神通，侯君集还有几份顾及，因他毕竟是李世民的亲叔叔，可对尉迟敬德，尽管他作战勇猛，屡建功勋，侯君集还是毫无畏惧。前胸衣襟被尉迟敬德抓住后，侯君集竟挥起拳来，照尉迟敬德伸来的手臂打去。尉迟敬德见了，也挥起另一只拳头还击。一时间，俩人在朝上拳脚相加。 “来人！”李世民突然大喝一声。双方闻听，一时都住了手。十几名威武的卫士闻呼奔来，站在殿里等候李世民的旨意。李世民见双方都住了手，威严地望着李神通与尉迟敬德，好一会，才对卫士挥了挥手，让他们立即撤出去。 “成何体统！”李世民脸色泛红、脖子变粗，这回是真正生了气：“自恃战功显赫，资深位高，口出怨言，扰乱庆功秩序，还敢挥拳伤人！”李世民一字一句地说到这里，凌利的目光集中在李神通身上，棣棣严威地说：“叔父，尔在义旗初举起之时，有首倡之功，后来在与刘黑闼的战斗中，你还救过朕的命。可是，当你单独领军作战时，却从来没有赢过，要不就是全军覆没，要不就是望风逃窜。玄龄和如晦，跟随我转战南北，打了多少胜仗？他们替朕运筹帷幄，所出计谋，从未失算过。现在，朕论功行赏，不是论宗室封王，他们为何不是第一？理当第一！谁还能与之相比。你是朕的叔父，是国家的贵戚，也是朕的救命恩人。但是，朕岂能以这些私亲私恩，而不来论功行赏国之功勋啊？！” 李神通闻言，心中生畏，不敢再辩，垂头丧气，悄然退出大殿。目送叔父离开，李世民转向尉迟敬德，较前温和地说： “朕往日读《汉书》，见汉高祖刘邦的开国将领差不多都被诛杀，心里对高祖刘邦非常不满，怪他狡兔尽，良弓藏，过河撤桥，没有人性。为此，朕曾暗下决心，要引以为鉴，尽力保护功臣，绝不滥杀。然而，现如今，将军却经常居功自傲，触犯法律。朕因念你作战英勇，屡建战功，从不予以追究。没想到，你还敢当廷动手，不把朕放在眼里，尔是不是要让朕一改初衷，认为高祖刘邦杀戮大将韩信和彭越等人，并非是高祖的过失？！” 尉迟敬德听了，心中赫然，跪倒在地，连声说：“请陛下恕罪！” “念及你以往的功劳，朕可以恕尔的罪。”李世民俯首望着尉迟敬德说：“但尔必须明白：国家大事，只有赏罚两种，非分之恩，不可兼行。尔虽功劳屡屡，过失也是很多的，一切请尔自珍自爱，以保一生的荣华富贵。” 尉迟敬德听了，连连拜谢，动情地说：“谢皇上隆恩，从今往后，臣一定自珍自爱，效忠陛下。” 李世民听了，满意地微微一笑。 经此风波，武将们都能明白皇上一片苦心，各自安享自己的太平生活。第三年，李神通病逝，李世民赶去拜祭，哭得非常伤心。尉迟敬德当年被封为吴国公，后又封为鄂国公，册拜为宣州刺史，并准其可以世袭。同时，还给尉迟敬德诸多的赏赐。其中单是丝绢，就过万匹。还使尉迟敬德食实封一千三百户，与长孙无忌、房玄龄、杜如晦相同。不料，生活优裕祥和的尉迟敬德，担心命短，最后信了方术，渴望长生，再不出门，直至老死。其享年73岁，这是后话。