Chapter 9 4. Zhenguan route

While defeating the Turks, Datang also ushered in the rule of Zhenguan. The representative figure of the rule of Zhenguan is Wei Zheng. Wei Zheng was originally a member of Li Jiancheng, the official position of Prince Xima (washing reads like a sign), and his official rank is from the fifth rank.Although his position is not high, he is the core figure of the "princelings". He once urged Li Jiancheng to take action against Li Shimin as soon as possible.Therefore, after the Xuanwumen Incident, the first thing Li Shimin said when he saw him was: Why do you want to divorce my brother?

This is Daxing's teacher of questioning crimes, menacing and aggressive. Wei Zheng didn't answer well.Repudiation is not acceptable, everyone knows his position and actions.Explanation doesn't work either, the more you explain, the more unreasonable it becomes.It's even worse to admit the debt, that's sending yourself to death.What's more, what Li Shimin raised is a fake question.Their brothers are fighting to the death, where is it because someone provoked them, and who can separate them? So, why did Li Shimin ask such a question? In order to exonerate himself, and to understate the shocking murder.According to the internal logic of this question, the Xuanwumen incident was his self-defense counterattack, and Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji wanted to get rid of themselves because they were instigated by villains.

But why did Wei Zheng ask this question? Because Wei Zheng needed to show his point of view.Wei Zheng is the most intelligent and influential person among the princelings. His answer not only represents the political attitude of the remnants of the Li Jiancheng Group, but will also determine the political situation and fate of the Tang Dynasty—if Wei Zheng questions the legitimacy of the Xuanwumen Change, Then I don't know how many heads will fall to the ground. What is Wei Zheng's attitude? Neither humble nor overbearing, with a calm expression. He said: If the former prince had listened to me earlier, how could he be today?

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat. Li Shimin was relieved.He immediately changed his attitude and very politely asked Wei Zheng to work by his side.Because he got the answer he wanted: the struggle between the East Palace and the King of Qin is neither right nor wrong, and has nothing to do with morality. There is only one question of who should strike first.Therefore, this case will be interpreted according to the logic of winner and loser.Wei Zheng's personal attitude and position are also very clear: scholars die for their confidants. The difficult ball was gently kicked back. There is no doubt that Wei Zheng's answer is not without risk.If Li Shimin can't hear the meaning behind the words, he will have only one dead end.However, although the crown prince is not considered a confidant, at least he has the grace of knowing you, so let him die for him.

Wei Zheng handed over his fate to God. Li Shimin caught the ball.He immediately reacted and judged: instead of killing Wei Zheng and letting him die for Li Jiancheng, it is better to entrust him with a heavy responsibility and let him die for himself.He even accepted Wei Zheng's suggestion and agreed that Prince Yudang would attend the funerals of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji.Being so open-minded and magnanimous, turning enemies into friends not only quickly stabilized the political situation, but also strengthened his strength, and finally created the rule of Zhenguan. This is Li Shimin's political wisdom.

Wei Zheng also decided to do his best for this confidant.In his view, national interests are definitely higher than personal grievances, and where the Tang Dynasty goes is far more important than who is right and wrong among the Li family brothers.Therefore, when Li Shimin extended an olive branch to him, his generous gift in return was to help the new emperor establish a political line. So, what is the core of the Zhenguan line? benevolent. On the surface, this is just a cliché of Confucian ethics, but it had extraordinary significance at the time.Because from the Western Wei Dynasty, the Northern Zhou Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Guanlong Group has always relied on domineering to start its business.Changing to the kingly way means deviating from the Guanzhong standard policy to a certain extent. Can Tang Taizong, who has not gained a stable foothold, do this?

He decided to have a discussion. In October of the ninth year of Wude, that is, two months after Li Shimin ascended the throne, a debate about the political line was launched among the ministers.Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty first asked: Is it difficult to govern the world now that it is in chaos? Wei Zheng thought that not only could it be done, but it was also very easy.He said: People in troubled times are better governed by their minds than people in long-term peace who are arrogant and lustful.This is like a person who is both hungry and thirsty. Just give him food and drink to solve the problem.

The meaning is also very clear: must follow the kingly way, benevolent government. A man named Feng Deyi jumped out to object.He said: The era of kingship has passed, and it cannot be realized even if it is wanted.Qin Shihuang imposed severe punishments and strict laws, and Han Wudi miscellaneously used domineering, not because they didn't want to rule under the roof, but because people's hearts were not old, and the world was getting worse and out of control.Wei Zheng is a nerd, we can't let him talk about the country! Wei Zheng retorted face to face.He said: Yao and Shun practiced the way of emperors and achieved great harmony, while Tang and Wu practiced the way of kings and became well-off.It can be seen that what kind of political line is implemented will have what kind of social form.The human heart is eternal.If it really got worse and worse as Feng Deyi said, the world would have turned into a ghost town long ago, so where can we discuss governance?

Feng Deyi was speechless. However, most of the ministers in the DPRK and China sided with Feng Deyi. So, Wei Zheng and Feng Deyi, who is right? Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.Tang Taizong adopted Wei Zheng's suggestion to implement the kingly way, achieved reconciliation with political opponents, and let the people recuperate. As a result, the world was ruled in only four years.It is said that in the Tang Dynasty four years later, everyone lived and worked in peace and contentment, and every household had enough food and clothing. There were only 29 people on death row in a year, and the price of goods was as low as three yuan for a bucket of rice. Taizong himself became the khan of all ethnic groups.

It's a pity that Feng Deyi couldn't see it.Tang Taizong sighed. Wei Zheng succeeded, but Feng Deyi was not without reason.In fact, it is risky to deviate from the Guanzhong standard policy, and Emperor Yang of Sui was a lesson.The problem is that Feng Deyi and the others only know one thing but not the other.Don't forget that the Sui Dynasty had the rule of Kaihuang, because of Emperor Wen's benevolent government.The problem with Emperor Yangdi was not only to break away from the Guanlong Group, but also to run rampant.He was abandoned by the Guanlong Group and the masses together.

However, there was nothing wrong with Emperor Sui Yang's shift of focus and opening up the north and south.If Luoyang can be built more simply and slowly, there will be nothing wrong with it.Because Luoyang's geographical location is indeed better than Chang'an.As a real "in the world", Luoyang is more convenient and faster than Chang'an, whether it is allocating supplies, dispatching troops, or issuing orders.Luoyang, the capital, is actually more conducive to building a centralized empire. Therefore, in June of the fourth year of Zhenguan (630), that is, three months after Emperor Taizong of Tang was honored as Heavenly Khan, the edict to build Luoyang was issued with the original intention of facilitating management and saving costs.Unfortunately, Tang Taizong was boycotted. The person who resisted was Zhang Xuansu. Zhang Xuansu wrote a long letter to Tang Taizong, and the main reason for his opposition was that it was a waste of time and money.He even issued detailed bills for Tang Taizong. For example, when Emperor Sui Yang built Luoyang, it took hundreds of thousands of labor to move just one pillar.Zhang Xuansu also said that today's national power is far from comparable to that of the Sui Dynasty, and the lesson of Sui's demise is close at hand.If you want to repeat the same mistakes, then even Emperor Sui Yang will be inferior. Taizong said: Am I not as good as Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, but comparable to Xia Jie and Yin Zhou? It is not difficult to imagine that he must have been very angry at the time. But Zhang Xuansu said that as long as Luoyang is built, there will be no difference. However, Zhang Xuansu then said: Back then, when His Majesty pacified Luoyang, the Supreme Emperor ordered the destruction of the palace, but His Majesty proposed to give the demolished bricks, tiles and wood to the poor.This matter has been praised by the people so far, has His Majesty himself forgotten it? Tang Taizong had no choice but to say: I didn't think carefully. The matter of building Luoyang was left alone, but Tang Taizong's decision was by no means a whim.He even wanted to follow the old path of Emperor Sui Yang, because the two of them were so similar: they both ranked second among the princes, both ascended to the throne by defeating the current crown prince, and both relied on forces other than the Guanlong Group.That's right, in the long-term battle, the relationship between Li Shimin and the "Shandong Heroes" is extraordinary. So everything became the same as in the Sui Dynasty: the princelings stick to Chang'an based on Guanzhong, and the second gang favors Luoyang based on Guandong.The difference is that due to Zhang Xuansu's generous statement, the dispute between Chang'an and Luoyang became the difference between kingly and overbearing, and Tang Taizong had no choice but to take the middle route and implement benevolent government based on Guanzhong. Wei Zheng seems to agree with this, but he doesn't necessarily care much about whether the base should be in Guanzhong or Kanto.What he cares more about is establishing a new kind of politics.In his opinion, that is what should be pursued all his life. So what should the new politics look like?

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Notes: Volume 193 is recorded in the fourth year of Zhenguan, and it is also clearly recorded after Jieli Khan was captured and Tang Taizong was honored as "Tian Khan". Volume one hundred and ninety-one. Volume 1 "Regime", "New Book of Tang Wei Zheng Chuan", Volume 193.But it is wrong to record this debate in the seventh year of Zhenguan, because Feng Deyi died in June of the first year of Zhenguan.Wang Xiangong's Chronicle of Duke Wei Wenzhen recorded shortly after Tang Taizong ascended the throne, which is in line with history.According to the investigation, Wei Zheng traveled to Kanto from July to September in the ninth year of Wude, so the debate should be held in October after returning to Beijing.Please refer to Zhao Keyao and Xu Daoxun's "Tang Taizong Biography". Volume one hundred and ninety-three.