Chapter 29 9. Smile instead of anger: the outspoken Wei Zheng

Among the many politicians in the early Tang Dynasty, Wei Zheng was undoubtedly a very prominent one.Although he was born in a poor family, he studied hard, was calm and rational in situations, and could always put forward effective suggestions. He experienced several vicissitudes at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and he was always appreciated for his intelligence.But when Li Shimin met the most upright and virtuous minister in history, he almost missed him because of his own selfishness. Wei Zheng became a counselor under Li Tang's flag, which happened when Li Mi was defeated and surrendered to Tang when Li Yuan proclaimed himself emperor in 618 AD.That year, Wei Zheng followed Li Mi to Chang'an, saw the austere atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty, the uniform marching team and Tang Gaozu who was diligent in government and loved the people, and couldn't help admiring Li Yuan.

Working under Li Mi is a very hard work.Because Li Mi himself is a person who is good at strategy, and he is very conceited.The suggestions put forward by Wei Zheng, who served as a counselor, not only will not be taken seriously, but also often refuted by Li Mi, who thinks that these people who follow him are just making a living and have no real skills.This kind of depression made Wei Zheng extremely depressed, so after Li Mi was killed in an attempt to rebel, he did not disarm and return to the field like the others, but chose a person he thought had the most future to follow, and this person was Prince Li Jiancheng .

At that time, Li Jiancheng was promoted from the prince of Tang Guogong to the crown prince, and he was the legitimate heir of the newly established Datang Dynasty.Although the world has not yet settled down, it is only a matter of time for the Tang Dynasty. Whether it is Li Yuan or the ministers, they are very confident that the world will return.Wei Zheng felt that Li Jiancheng would definitely become the next leader of the Tang Dynasty, so he put all his energy into planning for Li Jiancheng.When he saw that King Qin's mansion was growing day by day, and King Qin became ambitious, he was keenly aware of his intentions, and promptly reminded Li Jiancheng to pay attention.

Although Li Jiancheng, who had just won the world, was not as outstanding as Li Shimin in military achievements, he still occupied a very important position in the court because of Li Yuan's favor.So when Wei Zheng suggested that he should pay attention to Li Shimin, he just said lightly: "Although Shimin has military merits, the father has no intention of passing on the throne to him. You don't have to worry about that." Wei Zheng said: "His Royal Highness, you were not by the Emperor's side when he raised his troops, so the King of Qin was able to build up so many military achievements. Now, you have been designated as the Prince, and you can contact the Emperor every day. Why don't you take advantage of these opportunities and have a good time?" How about showing your wisdom and strategy to the emperor? Let him see that you are no worse than the King of Qin. Only with the emperor's affirmation and trust can you keep your crown prince position."

Li Jiancheng said: "The relationship between Shimin and I has always been good. Although the father has a lot of trust in him, but the elders and children are orderly, Shimin will never do such a thing." Seeing that Li Jiancheng was so stubborn, Wei Zheng couldn't help but start to worry.After he carefully analyzed the power of Qin Palace in the court, Li Jiancheng began to realize the seriousness of the matter, because nearly half of the people holding important positions in the court were actually Li Shimin's cronies.Wei Zheng said: "If things go on like this, even if you become the emperor, how many people will listen to you when you give orders? Even if the King of Qin does not become the emperor, one day he will control the government."

Li Jiancheng thought of his younger brother who grew up with him, used to play together and fight on the battlefield together, but turned against each other in the face of power.He sighed and said, "But, he is my younger brother, so what can I do?" Wei Zheng said: "If he intends to usurp you, then he doesn't regard you as his elder brother! Are you abandoning the throne because of brotherhood?" Li Jiancheng shook his head and gradually began to make up his mind. He asked Wei Zheng, "Then what should I do next?" Wei Zheng said: "The struggle for power is actually as cruel as the battlefield. Although there is no blood on the blade, the purpose to be achieved is the same. Since the King Qin's heart is so obvious, we can only start as soon as possible."

Under Wei Zheng's suggestion and arrangement, Li Jiancheng warmly invited Li Shimin to his mansion for a drink.After drinking for three rounds, Wei Zheng quietly ordered someone to deliver a jug of wine. There is a great mystery in this wine, which has been poisoned.After Li Shimin drank it, he suddenly felt burning in his stomach, and told Li Jiancheng that he was not feeling well and wanted to go to court. When he came to the outer courtyard, he ordered someone to lead the horse back to the Qin Palace immediately. Wei Zheng discovered that Li Shimin had escaped from the prince's east palace, and hurriedly said to Li Jiancheng: "He should have discovered that there is poison in the wine, but he didn't drink much. I'm afraid the poison can't kill him. The prince should send someone to chase him now. Before he informs others about this matter, it is best to kill him halfway, even if he died suddenly, the emperor will not blame you."

However, Li Jiancheng, who saw Li Shimin coming out in a hurry, began to soften his heart at this time. He hesitated and said, "We have poisoned, but now we have to kill, isn't it too cruel?" Wei Zheng jumped up anxiously, and said: "After the poisoning, our killing intent has already appeared. If we don't hunt him down now, we are afraid that he will come back to life, and all our previous efforts will be wasted. We can only scare the snake away. The King of Qin will definitely not let go in the future." over ours." Li Jiancheng hesitated for a moment, waved his hands and said, "We are siblings, but now we want to kill him, how do you tell me to do it? If those poisons work and kill him, then it's his fate; if he doesn't die , then take it as my fate.”

Despite Wei Zheng's persuasion, Li Jiancheng just couldn't make up his mind.Looking at the time, Wei Zheng reckoned that Li Shimin should have arrived at Prince Qin's mansion, where his fierce generals Hou Junji, Yu Chigong and others were all there.Wei Zheng stamped his feet in regret, turned and left. Things did not go as expected by Wei Zheng, after Li Shimin returned to Qin Palace, he summoned the imperial doctor, prepared antidote, and recovered within a few days.Because he didn't drink much and was caught early, the venom didn't seep in as much.But after this incident, Li Jiancheng's murderous intent has been fully revealed, so Li Shimin also began to be careful everywhere, not only guarding against Li Jiancheng, but also looking for his own opportunities.Finally at the Xuanwu Gate, Hou Junji shot Li Jiancheng to death with an arrow.

Among the two sons, Li Yuan likes Li Jiancheng more, because Li Jiancheng inherits Li Yuan's personality the most, he is kind-hearted and cautious, but at the same time he is also timid.What Li Shimin inherited, however, is more of the character of his mother, Dou Shi, who is decisive in doing things without hesitation.Different personalities endowed the two sons with different destinies.Li Jiancheng lost his best chance because of his momentary soft-heartedness and hesitation, and once Li Shimin had the intention to kill, he demanded to hit him with one blow, and he would never give his opponent a way out.

After killing Li Jiancheng, Li Yuan had no choice but to absolve his son who held great power.Li Shimin was unwilling to leave hidden dangers for himself, so those who had followed Li Jiancheng were dealt with one by one, either exiled or dismissed from office, and the advisers around him were even more difficult to escape the death penalty. When Wei Zheng was tied up in front of Li Shimin, Li Shimin sneered and said to him, "It was you who decided to kill me?" Knowing what is waiting for him, Wei Zheng is only ashamed that he has not achieved anything in this life.But he is not afraid of life and death. Since he chose Li Jiancheng, he has to bear the consequences.At the beginning, he made a plan for Li Jiancheng to kill Li Shimin, these things must have been confessed, so when faced with Li Shimin's questioning, he just looked up into the distance and kept silent. Seeing his cold and arrogant attitude, Li Shimin couldn't help feeling angry, and said to Wei Zheng, "I fought with my father in the north and south, and half of the country in the Tang Dynasty was brought down by me. Even so, I accepted my father's appointment For the prince's will, he wanted to assist him wholeheartedly to be a good emperor of the Tang Dynasty. But he was provoked by you villains, so that my brothers turned against each other. But now, I have been recognized as the new prince, and I want to thank you all, if you didn’t push my elder brother to do these things, how could I be where I am today?” He said with a smug smile: “With Li Jiancheng’s talent, can it bring happiness to all people? This is a question. But if it were me, Li Shimin, I would definitely be able to make the world peaceful and prosperous. So, you can go to Huangquan Road to accompany your lord with peace of mind!" Wei Zheng listened to Li Shimin's defense and ridiculed Li Jiancheng. He couldn't help being angry. He turned his head, stared into Li Shimin's eyes, and said word by word: "If the prince listened to my suggestion, the king of Qin would not There will be today! You can’t stand here and say something like this.” Li Shimin didn't expect Wei Zheng, who had been silent for a long time, to suddenly say such sharp words, and couldn't help being taken aback.Wei Zheng went on to say: "Each person is his own master. I am the prince's adviser, so naturally I have to plan for him. So now that the matter has failed, I have no complaints. How to deal with it depends entirely on the king of Qin, but you don't have to do it just because I am loyal to you." humiliate me for my duty." Wei Zheng's words made sense, which not only made Li Shimin's act of killing Wei Zheng unreasonable and absurd, but also made Li Shimin feel a little bit wrong.But Li Shimin is not a narrow-minded person after all. He found that Wei Zheng could still do every word at such a time, every sentence was impeccable, and he hit the bull's-eye. He couldn't help being surprised and delighted.Surprised that he was so calm on the execution ground; happy that such a virtuous minister was fortunately not killed. Li Shimin loves and cherishes talents, and couldn't bear to kill Wei Zheng, so he put him in prison and persuaded him to serve him. Wei Zheng did not live up to his expectations, bravely admonishing him, and finally became a generation of famous ministers. The protagonists Wei Zheng experienced were Yang Guang, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, Li Mi of Wagangzhai, and Li Jiancheng, the prince of Tang Guogong. Li Shimin is the only one who has made achievements, and the relationship between Li Shimin and Wei Zheng also reveals the principle of mutual achievement between virtuous ministers and wise emperors.