Chapter 23 Forgive none!

Why did Changsun Wuji instigate Fang Yiai to bite these people? The reason is simple - Changsun Wuji doesn't like them. Li Ke, king of Wu, was the third son of Emperor Taizong, and his biological mother was the daughter of Emperor Yang Guang of Sui Dynasty.It is said in history that Li Ke is both civil and military and talented, so Taizong Li Shimin admired this son very much. Among the fourteen princes, Li Shimin always said that only Li Ke was the most like himself.In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan (AD 643), after Jin Wang Li Zhi was established as the prince, Taizong once regretted it and wanted to abolish Li Zhi and re-appoint Li Ke as the prince.After Changsun Wuji learned about it, he firmly opposed it.Taizong was rather displeased and said, "Is it because Li Ke is not your nephew that you object?"

Taizong's words were very sharp, basically exposing Changsun Wuji's selfishness at once.But Changsun Wuji didn't change his face, and put forward two reasons plausibly: first, Li Zhi is kind and generous, and he is most suitable to be a successful monarch; It made sense for Taizong to think about it, so he had to give up Li Ke and continue to maintain the status quo. After Li Ke heard about this incident, he couldn't help but greet his grandson Wuji's eighteen generations of ancestors in his heart.Hatred turns to hate, but Li Ke has nothing to do.Because in the late Zhenguan period, Changsun Wuji did have strong political energy, even enough to influence the will of the emperor.

In this way, Wu Wang Li Ke and Changsun Wuji formed Liangzi.Whenever Li Ke returned to the capital to pay his respects, Changsun Wuji could always see Li Ke's knife-like eyes slashing across his face. Undoubtedly, Changsun Wuji hated this kind of gaze. Once he had the chance, of course he would make this look disappear from the world. After Gaozong Lizhi came to the throne, on the surface, the politics was clear and the world was peaceful, but Changsun Wuji knew very well that there was a political hostility surging quietly in the ruling and opposition parties. Wang Like is a prince of the clan who "has a high reputation and is loved by things" (Volume 199).If a person like Li Ke raises his arms one day, the result may be a gathering of responders.

Therefore, Changsun Wuji must take precautions before they happen.Whether in public or private, he must get rid of Wu Wang Li Ke! Except for Wu Wang Li Ke, the other three who were framed by Changsun Wuji are of course people he doesn't like. Reasons for dislike vary. Although Yu Wenjie is the prime minister and governs in the same dynasty as Changsun Wuji, he is a good friend of Fang Yiai, so Changsun Wuji has always wanted to get rid of him.In addition, after Fang Yiai was arrested and imprisoned, Yu Wenjie, in the spirit of helping his friend, ran around for him in many ways and tried his best to protect him.Changsun Wuji simply arrested Yu Wenjie and threw him into the prison to be Fang Yiai's companion, allowing them to express their friendship in prison.

Li Daozong, the king of Jiangxia, is the nephew of Li Yuan, the great ancestor. Since he was seventeen years old, he has followed Qin Wang Li Shimin to fight in the north and south, destroying Liu Wuzhou, Pingdou Jiande, and defeating Wang Shichong. contribution.In the middle period of Wude, Li Daozong was in charge of guarding the northern border of the empire. Not only did he repeatedly repel the invasion of the East Turkic and Liang Shidu allied forces, but he also "showed off his might, opened up the frontier, and opened up more than a thousand miles", so "the people on the border were pleasing" (" "Old Book of Tang·Jiangxia Wang Daozong Biography"), was highly appreciated by Gao Zu.

During the Zhenguan period, Li Daozong, Li Jing and others successively pacified the Eastern Turks and Tuyuhun, and made great achievements in the process of expanding the territory of the Tang Empire.So in the eighteenth year of Zhenguan (AD 644), Emperor Taizong Li Shimin put him together with Li Shiji and Xue Wanche, and was praised as the three famous generals in the world. However, even such a clan prince and founding father with outstanding military exploits cannot escape the ubiquitous political persecution. In this case, Li Daozong may be regarded as the most innocent one. From the perspective of personal quality, because he was once imprisoned for corruption and bribery in his early years, and was severely punished by dismissal from office and removal of fiefs, Li Daozong learned a lesson deeply, and became more humble and self-sustaining later on.It is said in history that he was "quite studious in his later years, admired the sages, and did not bully others with the terrain", so he was praised by the people of the time and "heavily valued by the contemporary era".In addition, from the perspective of political performance, Li Daozong neither belonged to Fang Yiai's small circle like Xue Wanche, nor was he regarded as a politically unstable factor like Wu Wang Li Ke, and he had neither reactionary speeches nor rebellion on weekdays. Xingji can be said to be a typical character who hides his strength and bides his time, and is indifferent.But even so, Li Daozong couldn't escape the frame of Changsun Wuji.This in the end is why?

Unfortunately, the only reason is - "Changsun Wuji, Sui Liangsu and Daozong disagree" ("Old Tang Book·Jiangxia Wang Daozong Biography"). The so-called discord means that the relationship between the two parties is not harmonious.In the eyes of the elder Sun Wuji who is in power, whether it is the golden signboard of "the famous general in the world" or the social reputation "valued by the contemporary era", they are all pale and worthless. As long as you dare to be in disharmony with him, your The end is here. During the Yonghui period, Changsun Wuji's political philosophy can basically be summed up in this sentence-either my friend or my enemy!

In addition to Li Daozong, the son-in-law Du Weizhi who was framed by Changsun Wuji was also a brave general of the Zhenguan Dynasty.He is a native of East Turkic, originally a confidant of Jieli Khan. After the fall of Eastern Turkic, he returned to the Tang Dynasty, served as the general of Zuo Xiaowei, and married Gaozu's daughter, Princess Jiujiang.During the Zhenguan period, Zhishisili also made military exploits in the wars of pacifying Tuyuhun and the Northern Expedition to Xue Yantuo.How this person offended Changsun Wuji is not recorded in the history books, but it is estimated that, like Li Daozong, he was not in harmony with Changsun Wuji, so he was purged together.

In February of the fourth year of Yonghui (AD 653), the case of Fang Yiai's treason, which had been tried for more than three months, was finally settled. Under the pressure of Changsun Wuji, Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi reluctantly issued an edict: Fang Yiai, Xue Wanche, and Chai Lingwu beheaded; Li Yuanjing, Li Ke, Princess Gaoyang, and Princess Baling were given to commit suicide; Lost Sili was exiled to Lingnan; abolished Li Ke's brother-in-law Li Min, the king of Shu, as a commoner, and exiled Bazhou (now Bazhong City, Sichuan); Xue Wanche's younger brother, Xue Wanbei, was exiled in Jiaozhou (now Hanoi, Vietnam); Fang Xuanling's ceremony in the ancestral temple was stopped (as a meritorious official, he was given a sacrificial tablet in Taizong's other temple).

This result not only shocked the ruling and opposition parties, but also greatly exceeded Gaozong Lizhi's expectations.He never dreamed that such a small sexual harassment case would lead to such a serious political case, and even drove a group of important officials and relatives of the emperor into a place of eternal doom. Li Zhi was deeply confused. He didn't believe that all these people participated in Fang Yiai's rebellion. Slowly cover the emperor's jade seal. Before the edict was promulgated, Li Zhi decided to make a last-ditch effort with his weak strength, begging Changsun Wuji to spare the lives of two of them: King Li Yuanjing of Jing and Li Ke, King of Wu.

Facing a group of ministers headed by Changsun Wuji, the young emperor shed silent tears, and said in a sad and powerless voice: "King Jing, my uncle, King Wu, my brother, I want you Is it possible to die?" (Volume 199) "匄" (gai), the same as "beggar", means to beg.At this moment, the only thing Li Zhi, who has long been powerless, can do is to beg in a low voice. However, the emperor's begging was met with deathly silence. Changsun Wuji remained expressionless and said nothing.He didn't speak, and the other ministers didn't dare to speak. The ministers didn't speak, but the emperor burst into tears, and the atmosphere on the scene was extremely embarrassing.After a long time, Changsun Wuji winked at Cui Dunli, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and Cui Dunli immediately stepped out, responding to the emperor's begging with a full-bodied voice. Two words - no. At that moment, Li Zhi felt that his emperor's face was gone. Everything is irreparable. What Changsun Wuji is going to do, no one in the entire Tang Dynasty can stop it. Those who should be beheaded beheaded, those who should be given death should be given death, those who should be relegated are relegated, those who should be exiled... Forgive none! On the day of the execution, Xue Wanche stood fearlessly on the execution ground, and shouted at those former colleagues who were ordered to supervise and behead him: "Xue Wanche is a great athlete, it's good to stay and serve the country to the death, how can you just sit in the house and let your love kill you?" ?” Before the execution, Xue Wanche calmly took off his shirt, bare his arms and told the supervisor to hurry up.It is said that the executioner was frightened by Xue Wanche's aura and kept fighting with his hands and feet, so that he couldn't cut off Xue Wanche's neck twice. Xue Wanche scolded sharply: "Why don't you use force?" It fell to the ground. ("Old Tang Book·Xue Wanche Biography": "Then undressing means that the prisoner will be killed quickly, but the one with the knife will be cut differently. Wan Che said: 'Why don't you increase your strength!' Three cuts are absolutely impossible.") But Li Ke, king of Wu, after receiving the death edict, turned his face to the sky and issued a terrible curse: "Changsun Wuji steals authority and harms goodness. The clan has a spirit, and the family will be destroyed soon!" (Volume 1 ninety-nine) Many years later, when Changsun Wuji also suffered the fate of family ruin and was forced to hang himself in the remote and desolate exile place of Qianzhou (now Pengshui County, Chongqing), I don’t know if Li Ke’s words will ring in his ears. The curse. So far, the treason case of Fang Yiai, which shocked the government and the public, has finally come to an end. A bloody full stop. In the spring of the fourth year of Yonghui (AD 653), Gaozong Li Zhi saw himself like a weak moth, entangled in an overwhelming black net and struggling hopelessly.And Changsun Wuji is firmly entrenched in the center of this giant web woven by power, ambition and conspiracy, looking like a huge black spider. Li Zhi didn't know when he would be able to break free from this net.