Chapter 53 144 Change of Xuanwu Gate

After Tang Gaozu came to the throne, he named Li Jian the crown prince, Li Shimin the king of Qin, and Li Yuanji the king of Qi.Among the three, Li Shimin contributed the most.It was originally his idea to raise troops in Taiyuan; in the next few battles, he also made the most military exploits.Li Jiancheng's military exploits are not as good as Li Shimin's, and he only gained the status of prince because he was the eldest son of Gaozu. Li Shimin is not only brave and resourceful, but also has a group of talents under his command.In the Palace of the King of Qin, there are Wen Xuanling, Du Ruhui, etc., known as eighteen scholars; Wu Chi Jingde, Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin and other famous brave generals.Prince Jiancheng knew that he was not as prestigious as Li Shimin, so he was jealous, so he joined forces with his younger brother Qi Wang Yuanji to exclude Li Shimin.

Jian Jian and Yuan Ji knew that Tang Gaozu loved some concubines, so they would often give gifts to these concubines to please them.Li Shimin did not do this.After Li Shimin pacified the Eastern Capital, some concubines privately asked Li Shimin for treasures in the Sui Palace, and even sought officials for their relatives, but Li Shimin refused.Therefore, the favorite concubines often spoke good things about the prince and the shortcomings of King Qin in front of Gao Zu.Tang Gaozu listened to the words of his beloved concubine, and gradually alienated Li Shimin. Li Shimin made many meritorious deeds, Jian Jianhe and Yuanji became more jealous, and tried every means to get rid of Li Shimin.

Once, Jiancheng invited Li Shimin to the East Palace for a drink.Shimin drank a few cups and suddenly felt a stomachache.When others helped him back home, he was in pain and vomited blood.Li Shimin knew in his heart that Jian Jiancheng must have poisoned the wine, so he quickly consulted a doctor and took the medicine, and finally recovered slowly. Jian Jiancheng and Yuan Ji wanted to harm Li Shimin, but they were afraid that Shimin would have too many brave generals, and if they really took action, they would not be able to take advantage of it, so they wanted to buy these brave generals first.

Jiancheng privately sent someone to send a letter to Yuchi Jingde, a brave general under King Qin, expressing that he wanted to make friends with Yuchi Jingde, and also sent Yuchi Jingde a cart of gold and silver. Yuchi Jingde said to Jiancheng's envoy: "I am a subordinate of the Prince of Qin. If I associate with the Prince in private and half-heartedly treat the Prince of Qin, I will become a villain who is greedy for profit and forgets righteousness. What use is such a person to the Prince. With that said, he returned a cart of gold and silver intact. Jian Jian was terribly angry when Yuchi Jingde rejected him.That night, Yuan Ji sent an assassin to Yuchi Jingde's house to assassinate him.Yuchi Jingde had long expected that they would not let him go in Jiancheng.At night, deliberately open the door.The assassin slipped into the courtyard and peeked through the window, only to see Yuchi Jingde leaning on the bed with a spear beside him.The assassin was aware of his fame, and was afraid that he would have been prepared, so he didn't dare to make a move, so he sneaked back.

Jian Jian and Yuanji failed at one plan, but made another plan.At that time, the Turks invaded the Central Plains, and Jiancheng suggested to Tang Gaozu that Yuan Ji should replace Li Shimin to lead the army to the north.After Tang Gaozu appointed Yuan Ji as the commander in chief, Yuan Ji also requested that the three generals Yuchi Jingde, Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin and the elite soldiers of the Qin Palace be placed under Yuan Ji's command.After they planned to transfer these soldiers, they could kill Shimin freely. Someone reported this secret plan to Li Shimin.Sensing the urgency of the situation, Shimin hurriedly consulted with his brother-in-law eldest Sun Wuji and Yuchi Jingde.Both persuaded Li Shimin to strike first.Li Shimin said: "It's not a decent thing for brothers to kill each other. Let's deal with them after they do something."

Yuchi Jingde and Changsun Wuji became anxious, saying that if the people of the world did not take action, they would not want to stay in Qin Palace and wait for death in vain.Li Shimin saw that his subordinates were very determined, so he made up his mind. That night, Li Shimin went to the palace and sued Tang Gaozu, telling how the crown prince and Yuan Ji had murdered him.Tang Gaozu promised to ask the three brothers to enter the palace together in the early morning of the next day, and he would personally investigate. The next morning, Li Shimin asked Changsun Wuji and Yuchi Jingde to bring a group of elite troops to ambush at the Xuanwu Gate in the north of the palace, waiting for Yuanji to enter the palace after it was completed.

Not long after, Jiancheng and Yuanji came towards Xuanwu Gate on horseback. When they arrived at Xuanwu Gate, they felt that the atmosphere around them was a bit abnormal, and they became suspicious.The two turned the horse's head and prepared to go back. Li Shimin rode out from Xuanwu Gate and shouted, "Your Highness, don't go!" Yuan Ji turned around, picked up the bow and arrow beside him, and wanted to shoot Shimin, but he panicked and couldn't even pull the bowstring.Li Shimin had sharp eyes and quick hands, shot an arrow, and shot Jiancheng to death first; then, Yuchi Jingde rushed out with seventy cavalry, and Yuchi Jingde shot Yuan Ji off his horse with an arrow.

When the soldiers of the East Palace and Prince Qi's Mansion heard that something happened at Xuanwu Gate, they all dispatched to attack the soldiers of Prince Qin's Mansion.Li Shimin commanded the soldiers to resist, and at the same time sent Yuchi Jingde into the palace. Tang Gaozu was waiting for the three of them to meet in the palace. Yuchi Jingde rushed into the palace panting with a spear in his hand and said: "The crown prince and King Qi launched a rebellion, and King Qin has killed them. The King of Qin was afraid of disturbing His Majesty, so he came to the palace with a spear in his hand. Send me to escort."

Only then did Gaozu know that something had happened outside, and he was so frightened that he didn't know what to do. Prime Minister Xiao Yu and others said: "Jiangcheng and Yuanji had no merit at all. They were jealous of the King of Qin and resorted to treacherous schemes. Now that the King of Qin has eliminated them, this is a good thing. Your Majesty entrusts the state affairs to the King of Qin, and it will be fine." At this stage of the field, it was useless for Tang Gaozu to object, so he had to listen to the words of the left and right ministers, announced the crimes of Jiancheng and Yuanji, and ordered all the officers and men of the prefectures to be under the command of the King of Qin.After two months, Tang Gaozu abdicated to King Qin and became the Supreme Emperor himself.Li Shimin ascended the throne, that is, Tang Taizong.