Chapter 9 The meeting of a person and an era

Li Yuan and his wife, Mrs. Dou, lived together with four sons and one daughter: the eldest son Li Jiancheng, the second son Li Shimin, the third son Li Xuanba, and the fourth son Li Yuanji;Among them, except for the third son Li Xuanba who died early, the other three men, one daughter and one son-in-law all participated in the whole process of Li Yuan's rebellion against the Sui Dynasty and the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Among them, the most outstanding person is Li Shimin. On January 23, 599 AD, that is, December 22, the eighteenth year of Kaihuang Sui Dynasty, Li Shimin was born in a villa in Wugong (now Wugong County, Shaanxi Province), which is a villa of the Li family here.Compared with Li Yuan, Li Shimin's birth has an extra layer of mystery.According to history, when he was born, there were two dragons playing and making noise at the door of their house, and they left after three full days.The situation is similar to the dragon dance team we invited to add festive atmosphere to the opening ceremony today.The only difference is: they are real dragons that swallow clouds and mist, and they come here uninvited. It is purely a voluntary performance and a friendly support; we dance fake dragons, and we have to serve tea to other dragon dance teams , Pass cigarettes, and pack red envelopes.

When Li Shimin was four years old, another mysterious fortune teller came to their home and said to Li Yuan, "You are a noble man, and you must have a noble son!" Seeing Li Shimin again in a blink of an eye, the fortune teller suddenly said with sparkling eyes: "Dragon and Phoenix His posture is like the watch of the sun! The year will be twenty, and he will be able to help the world and the people!" ("Old Tang Book·Taizong Benji") Li Yuan was surprised and delighted.The joy is that both father and son have a destiny, and they will surely have the world in the future; the surprise is that if this matter is leaked, it will definitely lead to death.Li Yuan was cruel and decided to kill this fortune teller who didn't know where he came from.But when he was in a daze, the mysterious figure suddenly disappeared without a trace.From then on, Li Yuan named his second son Li Shimin in the meaning of "helping the world and calming the people".I don't know if Li Shimin had another name before this, but from this moment on, this name with profound meaning will accompany him all his life, and it is destined to be recorded in the annals of history and shine through the ages.

Regarding Li Shimin's youth, the records in various related historical books are very brief. In the early years of Zhenguan, Li Shimin once said to Xiao Yu, who was then Shangshu Zuopushe: "I am good at bows and arrows, and I think I can do my best." (Volume 1) During the Zhenguan period, Li Shimin said in a edict to Wei Zheng: "I am young and mighty, not good at studies, and the way of the first king is as vague as going to the sea." ("Quan Tang Wen" Volume 9) In the fifteenth year of Zhenguan (AD 641), Li Shimin, who was 43 years old, held a banquet in the Wucheng Hall. He recalled his past and said: "I am young in Taiyuan. Thirty years have passed." ("Old Book of Tang Taizong Benji")

Based on the sporadic records of the above-mentioned various historical materials, we can basically restore a general outline of the young Li Shimin.At first glance, this is a typical aristocratic child, and he is quite suspected of being a dude.Because he is "good at bows and arrows", "likes to play opera", and "advocates mighty martial arts", but he just doesn't like reading; he can play bows and arrows, riding and shooting very delicately, but he is "at a loss" about the way of kings and the knowledge of sages. "sea", eyes blacked out!

Isn't this a dude? Compared with the second son of the Yang family who was "eager to learn and good at writing", who was able to recite poems and compose Fu at the age of seven, this second son of the Li family was simply ignorant, stubborn and humble.However, it was the talented and magnificent second son of the Yang family who ruined a prosperous and peaceful empire with his own hands, and nailed himself to the pillar of historical shame of "innocent tyrant" and "death of the second generation" .However, this "ignorant, stubborn and humble" second son of the Li family created an era of "Tian Khan" in which all nations came to court, and finally created a unique Tang dynasty in Chinese history!

This may seem a little strange. But it's not surprising at all. Because Yang Guang is not a qualified politician, let alone a competent ruler.His strong poetic temperament and vanity nature seriously blocked his political rationality. His morbid pursuit of perfection and unrestrained romantic passion made his ruling career always run through the word flashy.Perhaps it was because he had been exposed to the frivolous and beautiful Jiangnan culture during his ten years as the general manager in Jiangdu, or maybe his nature was in line with it. In short, Yang Guang is not so much a politician as he is a A "political aesthete".And when an emperor's personality traits deviate from his professional requirements, he is doomed to only become a poor ruler.In addition, Yang Guang's consistent disposition of relying on his talents and being proud of his achievements has led to a fatal conceit, which made his tenacity and ability to resist setbacks in adversity almost zero.All of this combined to drive him to the ultimate path of failure and demise.

Contrary to Yang Guang, Li Shimin's lively and powerful martial spirit, that simple and original life energy is actually inherited from the excellent tradition of Guanlong Group.In that era when everything depended on force and strength, Li Shimin did not learn the so-called "laws of the former kings" from books. required traits and traits. "Old Tang Book: Taizong Benji" said: "Taizong was young and wise, with profound knowledge, decisive at the moment, informal and unfathomable." From Li Shimin's various deeds and performances in history in the future, we can see There are reasons to believe that this is not the praise of historians.The inner temperament and character traits of the young Li Shimin, on the one hand, inherited the bloody and powerful genes of the Xianbei nation, and on the other hand, they also matched the personality traits of the military and political successors of the Guanlong Group.

Also as a descendant of the Guanlong Group, Yang Guang betrayed the tradition.Li Shimin, on the other hand, inherited his predecessors, and he is worthy of the Xianbei blood flowing in him.Just like what Mr. Chen Yinke said: "The reason why the Li and Tang clans prospered was that they took the blood of barbarism outside the Great Wall and poured it into the decadent body of Central Plains culture. The old stains were removed, new opportunities were restarted, and expansion and recovery were achieved. The World Bureau!" We can say that this quick-witted, decisive, brave and tough young man is already ready for the upcoming wars of regime change and scenes of thrilling and cruel political games, and he is fully qualified to compete.

In other words, Li Shimin is destined to meet this magnificent era head-on. Around the tenth year of Daye (614 A.D.), 15-year-old Li Shimin married the daughter of Sun Sheng, the chief general of Sui Youxiaowei.As we all know, the daughter of the eldest grandson's family was later the famous eldest grandson empress in the history of the early Tang Dynasty.She is well-educated, understands righteousness, assists wholeheartedly without interfering in politics, and made a lot of contributions in obscurity in the process of Li Shimin ascending the throne and governing the world. It can be said that she is one of the most exemplary and model empresses in Chinese history.

The Changsun family was a wealthy family in the Northern Dynasties. Their ancestors came from the Tuoba family of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Because they made the most contributions in the Wei clan and were the head of the clan, they changed their surname to Changsun.In the generation of Changsun Sheng (sheng), his status is still prominent.He was an important minister and famous general of the Sui Dynasty. He was highly valued by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty since his youth. Afterwards, he managed the Turks for many years.In the national defense affairs and diplomatic strategy of the Sui Empire, Changsun Sheng made a lot of contributions and made outstanding achievements.Five years after the great cause, Changsun Sheng died of illness.In the eleventh year of Daye, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was besieged by Turks in Yanmen. He once sighed to the left and right: "Xiangshi Changsun Sheng is here, so the Xiongnu will not come here!" ("Sui Shu · Changsun Sheng Biography")

After the death of Changsun Sheng, the eight-year-old Changsun and his elder brother Changsun Wuji were taken in and raised by their uncle Gao Shilian.Gao Shilian came from the royal family of the Northern Qi Dynasty. His grandfather Gao Yue was the cousin of Gao Huan, the actual founder of the Northern Qi Dynasty. shoot.Gao Shilian has read a lot of books since he was a child, especially in literature and history.Under his influence, Changsun and Changsun Wuji naturally fell in love with reading.It is said in history that Changsun Wuji is "eager to learn, and should blog about history" ("Old Tang Book·Changsun Wuji Biography"), and Changsun's family is also "seldom fond of studying, and must follow the rules of etiquette" ("Old Tang Book·Queen Wende"). Changsun's Biography"). When Changsun was thirteen years old, because Gao Shilian admired Li Shimin very much and knew that he was not a generation who lived under others for a long time, he betrothed Changsun to Li Shimin.Since then, the fate of Gao Shilian and his eldest grandson has been closely tied to the Li Tang family, especially Li Shimin. In the eleventh year of Daye (AD 615), Yang Guang, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, was besieged by the Turks in Yanmen. " strategy.Although the retreat of the Turks and the siege of Yanmen were the result of the gathering of the Sifang Qinwang's divisions and not the credit of Li Shimin's strategy, this strategy is enough to demonstrate Li Shimin's extraordinary military talent. In the twelfth year of Daye (AD 616), when Li Yuan served as the pacifying ambassador of Taiyuan Dao, he placed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji in Hedong, but he took Li Shimin to Taiyuan.We don't know the specific reasons for Li Yuan's arrangement, but one thing is certain, that is, from this time on, Li Shimin has become Li Yuan's right-hand man in the military.This was very evident in the ensuing battle of Li Yuan against Zhen Zhaier. At that time, Wei Daoer, the leader of the mutiny, nicknamed "Li Shanfei", connected the Turks in the north and Yanzhao in the south, and his power was very rampant.Zhen Zhaier was one of his followers. He led more than 20,000 people to station in Xihe County (now Fenyang City, Shanxi Province), and often harassed Taiyuan. He once killed Sui Dynasty general Pan Changwen in battle.In April of the twelfth year of Daye, Li Yuan and Li Shimin led more than 5,000 horsemen to conquer, and launched a fierce encounter with Zhen Zhaier in the Queshu Valley in Xihe.Li Yuan ordered the elite soldiers to spread their wings, and put the weak soldiers in the center, setting up a big formation to confuse the enemy with great fanfare.This move is exactly the same as Li Shimin's strategy back then, and it is likely that his suggestion was adopted by Li Yuan. Afterwards, Li Yuan personally led hundreds of elite cavalry into the enemy's formation and quickly disrupted the enemy's formation.At this critical moment, Li Shimin "went forward with a light cavalry, shot at them, invincible everywhere, and pulled Gaozu out of the crowd. When the infantry arrived, Gaozu and Taizong fought hard again, breaking it" ("Old Tang Book" · Taizong Benji"). The officer and army won this battle completely, and quickly established the prestige of Li Yuan and his son.Although Li Yuan was the main commander of this battle, Li Shimin's wit, courage and bravery in this battle are enough to make the world's eyes shine. The Battle of Queshugu can be said to be a glorious beginning of Li Shimin's military career, and it was also his official debut on the historical stage at the end of the Sui Dynasty. Great characters and great eras always conceive and create each other. In the last years of the great cause, Li Shimin, who has not reached the weak crown, of course does not realize what kind of glorious era will be waiting for him in the not-too-distant future.It was also impossible for him to predict his own position in this era, but this did not prevent him from clearly seeing that the once prosperous and powerful Sui Dynasty was on the verge of collapse. At the same time, it did not prevent the eighteen-year-old Li Shimin from staring at the dying giant in front of him with piercing eyes, and smiling at each other with his father Li Yuan.At this moment, they are still dormant under the water of history, but they have quietly put an arrow in their hands. No one knew that this historic arrow would be shot from Taiyuan immediately, and then directly hit Chang'an, the heart of the old dynasty.Of course, no one knows that a vibrant new dynasty will thrive from here.