The ancient patriarchal system focused on the stability of the royal family, and the early succession of the throne had a tradition of brothers and brothers, and traditional Chinese culture has always advocated brotherhood and brotherhood. However, born in the imperial family, half a point is not by people.
The struggle between power and money is often like a huge whirlpool, as long as you take half a step, you will be involuntary, and eventually kill each other. In the Tang Dynasty Xuanwumen Revolution, Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng fought each other to the death. Moreover, Li Shimin not only cut off the head of his brother Li Jiancheng, but also did a shameful thing, all of which must start from their father.
1. The Lee Dynasty
In May of the thirteenth year of Daye, Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang, chose to raise an army in Jinyang and began his grand plan. With the support of his eldest son Li Jiancheng, the second son Li Shimin, and other able generals, Li Yuan occupied Chang'an, the capital of the Sui Dynasty, in only six months. Subsequently, he proclaimed Yang You, the grandson of the Sui Emperor, as emperor, that is, Emperor Gong of Sui. At this time, Li Yuan only chose to be a grand chancellor behind the scenes, and later declared himself the King of Tang.
This move was only Li Yuan's expedient measure, of course, his ambitions did not stop there. Therefore, in the second year of Yining, Li Yuan found the right time to usurp sui as emperor, changed the name of the country to Tang, and also established his eldest son Li Jian as the crown prince of Tang. This immediately caused a lot of dissatisfaction in the court, because regardless of talent or military talent, the second son Li Shimin was far above the eldest son Li Jiancheng.
Because of Li Shimin's repeated military achievements, Li Yuan also promised that if they could establish their own dynasty, he would make Li Shimin crown prince. Now that the world is at peace, Li Shimin's political talents are also increasingly revealed, facing the "prince" Li Shimin, who is expected by everyone. Li Yuan began to hesitate, and Li Jiancheng, who knew that the opportunity was coming, immediately joined forces with his younger brother Li Yuanji to squeeze Li Shimin together.
As a result, he took advantage of Li Yuan's hesitation and successfully obtained the coveted position of prince. The indecisiveness of Emperor Li Yuan also made the atmosphere in the court tense, and this atmosphere accelerated the soldiers of the sons to meet each other, thus brewing the bitter fruit of brotherhood.
2. No access to the throne
When he learned that his father did not keep his promise and let his brother Li Jiancheng sit firmly on the throne of the crown prince, Li Shimin, the king of Qin, did not give up on himself. On the contrary, he was even more unwilling to show weakness, and he made many military achievements outside, and his prestige increased day by day. Although Li Yuan did not make him crown prince at this time, he did not treat Li Shimin badly, allowing him to rise all the way from a small Situ to Zhongshu Ling.
At this time, Li Shimin was already the best official, not only was he shrewd and capable, but he also attracted a group of capable people to assist him. These supporters united and gradually formed the Qin Wang Party, led by Li Shimin, to compete with the princelings.
Unlike Li Shimin, the crown prince Li Jiancheng can be described as completely faint. According to the "Zizhi Tongjian", the crown prince Li Jiancheng was a loose politician, and his lust for people and Li Yuanji could be described as smelly. Looking at Li Shimin, whose performance was completely different from Li Jiancheng's, Li Yuan was shaken, and even had the idea of letting Li Shimin take his place.
However, when Li Shimin was always singing and dancing in the palace, he remembered his mother Empress Taimu, who died early, and wept bitterly that his mother had not been able to see the current Tang Dynasty. Such a scene also caused Li Yuan's dissatisfaction, coupled with the constant denigration of the concubines, Li Yuan's newly germinated idea of changing the crown prince was snuffed out in the cradle.
To this end, he also deliberately alienated Li Shimin, and became increasingly close to Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji. Li Jiancheng, seeing that he had gained power, wanted to cut li Shimin to the root. At this time, Li Shimin was also completely disappointed in what his father and eldest brother had done.
Therefore, when he learned that Li Jiancheng was going to kill him, he finally made up his mind not to think about the brotherhood of the past. Li Shimin told Li Yuan in advance about the rebellion of the crown prince Li Jiancheng.
Third, dominate the fate
In the ninth year of WuDe, Li Shimin led a group of henchmen into the dynasty, and before entering the dynasty, he buried an ambush at Xuanwu Gate to prepare to arrest Li Jiancheng. Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were unknown, but the father suddenly summoned them to be wary. Even if they suspected that they had to enter the DPRK, they did not realize that danger was coming.
At this time, Li Yuan had already summoned the ministers involved and was ready to investigate the matter. Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanjilai had just arrived at the palace when they sensed the change and decided to take the best strategy. Seeing that they were about to flee, Li Shimin quickly tried to catch up with them.
Due to his weak heart as a thief, Li Yuanji decided to strike first, pulled the bow full, and fired three arrows at Li Shimin. Because the martial arts were not perfect, not a single arrow was shot. And Li Shimin could not be slaughtered, so he took a bow and shot at Li Jiancheng, Li Jiancheng was killed with an arrow, and Li Shimin got off his horse and cut off Li Jiancheng's head.
Li Yuanji was stunned and fell off his horse. When Li Shimin came to inspect, he grabbed the bow and prepared to strangle Li Shimin with the bow. Just at this time, the soldiers appeared and protected Li Shimin. Li Yuanji himself was unable to defeat the soldiers, so he let go of Li Shimin.
Seeing that the coup failed, he also had a chance and wanted to run into the Wude Hall to seek Li Yuan's protection. However, Li Yuan's guards thought he was going to do something to the emperor and shot directly at him, and Li Yuanji was killed by an arrow. So Li Shimin ended the coup as a victor.
Fourth, the criticism of future generations
The coup was successful, but Li Shimin did not stop there, he brutally killed all the men in Li Jiancheng's and Li Yuanji's family, even the infant son could not escape his poisonous hands. Whether it was the Eastern Palace or the Qi Palace, although the female relatives inside were exempted from the death penalty, they could not escape the fate of being included in the palace by Li Shimin and forming his harem.
This is also the main reason why Li Shimin was criticized by later generations, because these female relatives did not become traditional palace women, but were accepted by him as concubines. One of the most well-known is the wife of Li Yuanji, the King of Qi, Yang Shi, who was admitted to the harem by Li Shimin after Li Yuanji's death, and even if she did not have a formal title, she conceived children in Li Shimin's harem.
Such behavior was not ashamed at the time, believing that he had overpowered his sister-in-law and regarded ethics as nothing. However, some people thought that this was normal at the time, because the Li Tang royal family had ethnic minority blood and an open atmosphere, and Li Shimin's move was also reasonable.
5. Summary
From ancient times to the present, scholars have mixed opinions about Li Shimin's attitude toward launching the Xuanwumen Revolution. Some people take an attitude of understanding, sympathy, and even appreciation. For example, a historian Bai Yang once said: "In fact, Chinese should be glad that Li Shimin succeeded in seizing the throne, because he brought to China the famous 'rule of Zhenguan' and made a model for future generations of monarchs to rule the world." ”
But for Li Shimin, starting a military and fighting against his brothers was definitely the most painful experience in his life. The suspicion and calculation between his father and brother made him feel scarred, so he would only behave in such an extreme and even disgraceful manner after he gained power.