The change of Xuanwu Gate is a stain on Li Shimin's 's life. Although it is not glorious, it is still recorded in historical books, but it has traces of beautification.
On the eve of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Shimin reported that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji , and entered the harem and had an affair with his concubine. This kind of thing happened in the previous Sui Dynasty. Without Li Shimin's actions, Li Yuan and Li Yuanji will be punished.
But this became Li Shimin's "famous move" pawn. The next day, the Xuanwu Gate Incident broke out, and Yuchi Jingde shot and killed Li Yuanji and cut off the heads of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji.
Regarding military achievements, Li Shimin was the first person in the dynasty, but Li Yuan did not support Li Shimin. According to the eldest son system, Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin and Li Yuanji were all born to Empress Dou and . They are all qualified to inherit the throne, but the premise is that the older one must leave first.
Li Yuan appointed Li Shimin as General Tiance and allowed Li Shimin to establish an independent department, which was equivalent to a small court. However, in terms of status, Prince Li Jiancheng overwhelmed Li Shimin. Perhaps Li Yuan wanted to play a check and balance through these two forces, but with contradictions, in the face of fighting for power and throne, the blood of his relatives had to take a detour.
The Xuanwu Gate Incident will happen sooner or later, either you die or I live. After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Yuan was quite dissatisfied with Li Shimin's attitude. The first thing he said when he saw Li Shimin was: "In recent days, there have been some confusion about throwing into the Zhu."
"Confused into the Zhu" is an allusion. Zeng's mother accidentally heard that Zeng Shen killed someone and ran away. At first, Zeng's mother had a lot of trust in her son's nature, but some people kept rumoring again and again. Zeng's mother suspected her son, and finally ran away from home to avoid being caught.
Although Li Yuan did not escape, the seeds of doubt had been planted. It was only waiting for the gap between father and son to be difficult to fill, and one day it would explode.
This is exactly what Li Shimin completely cut off Li Yuan's thoughts and killed all of Li Jiancheng's five sons, Li Yuanji's five sons, that is, his ten nephews.
These ten nephews are all princes. The oldest one is only the twentieth crown, and the lowest one is still the cradle. Li Shimin was decisive in killing and killed him, just for the throne.
Sure enough, three days later, Li Yuan appointed Li Shimin as the crown prince.
So, the first truth of Li Shimin killing all his nephews is Li Yuan's attitude: as long as the legitimate son is still there, the legitimate grandson also has a chance to succeed the throne. Li Yuan is unsteady and completely cut off the offspring of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji.
However, the second truth is to eliminate the power of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji.
Li Jiancheng is the prince and Li Yuanji is the prince. Since Li Yuan planned to compete for the Central Plains, they have begun to cultivate their own power, especially in Hebei. Li Jiancheng has most of his supporters.
As long as their descendants are still in the world, the old forces in the past will choose to support and be loyal to the Lord. Once they grow, it will be a difficult problem.
After ten nephews died, they played a role in killing one to warn hundreds of them. After Xuanwu Gate, there were more than 100 loyal patriots in the Erli Mansion. They were panic and worried that the butcher's knife would fall on their heads. Li Shimin's idea was to end it all and completely cure it. However, Yuchi Jingde said this:
"If they still have to implicate their followers, it is not a way to seek stability."
Simply put, it is to divert the contradictions. Only Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji are the culprits, and the others are not guilty. Those who once offered suggestions and murdered Li Shimin naturally felt at ease and had a chance to breathe their lives.
Moreover, if these more than 100 people survive, they can also serve as a demonstration role for Li Jiancheng's Hebei forces. As long as they surrender and turn against the camp, they will still be popular and spicy.
The third truth is to appease the soldiers.
Li Shimin has a Tiance Army under him, and is the main force involved in the Xuanwu Gate Incident. In the future, they will become Li Shimin's right-hand man in governing the world.
Suppose that the descendants of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji are kept. If they grow up, know the truth, investigate carefully, and unearth the soldiers who participated in the Xuanwu Gate Incident, they will inevitably take revenge one by one.
The hatred of killing his father is to suffer the whole family. This is a heavy burden for anyone who is unbearable for life.
Li Shimin's attitude towards his nephews is just like his attitude towards the meritorious soldiers. Li Shimin gave the order to relieve the soldiers of their worries. If he kept it, Yuchi Jingde was the first to be the one who shot Li Yuanji!
However, Li Shimin's approach is always unexpected. firstly pardoned Li Jiancheng's followers, and secondly, left behind all his niece .
But in Li Shimin's calculation, leaving all the nieces behind is also useful.
First of all, , Li Shimin doesn’t have to worry about his nieces taking revenge. Since , Emperor Wu of Han , the status of the princess has been declining. Before Emperor Wu of Han, there were still legacies of matriarchal society. For example, Empress Lü, Dou Taizhu , Princess Pingyang, etc., were all powerful figures, so Emperor Wu of Han deliberately suppressed it. When it came to Tang Dynasty , the princesses wanted to get involved in the court and the country was delusional.
followed by , Li Shimin showed his tolerance and generosity. In the "rebellion cases" in all dynasties, there are precedents of executing males and leaving behind female relatives. Moreover, these women cannot cause much waves without the protection of their parents. If Li Shimin wants to be a wise ruler, tolerance is a compulsory course, and there is no need to kill everyone.
Finally, it is the use of nieces: marriage.
The Tang system stipulates that the daughter of the crown prince is the princess, and the daughter of the king is the princess, and the daughter of the king is the princess, and the second rank. The best way to win over the noble group and the powerful officials is to become a family.
Li Jiancheng's second daughter Li Wanshun , was named Wenxi County , and was downgraded to marry Liu Yingdao . If the county lord gets married, if the family is a good match, the other party must be above the seventh rank. However, Liu Yingdao was the prince's official servant at that time, and was at the seventh rank.
WenxiThe county lord married and won over the Liu family. Liu Yingdao was born into a nobleman in Longxi. His father, Liu Linfu, had fought with Li Yuan in the south and north.
During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Wanshun was only 5 years old, but her talent was amazing, and even Liu Yingdao was not as good as her. She is cautious and very cautious in her daily behavior. This is the influence left by her father Li Jiancheng, who lives under nightmare all her life.
Perhaps this is the fourth use of Li Shimin leaving these nieces, warning those who want to rebel that once they fail, your children will live like walking on thin ice and trembling and shocking life in the future.
