Chapter 44 Liu Wenjing

Qing Dynasty, the 28th year of Kangxi's reign.

Kangxi did not agree with Li Yuan's practice of conferring official titles on Li Shimin. He did not agree with it when he read the history books.

There was certainly no problem with Li Shimin becoming the emperor, but from Li Yuan's own perspective, he should not have given Li Shimin such great power - indeed, Li Yuan also imposed various restrictions on Li Shimin's power, but the effects were not very significant, or it could be said that sometimes the restrictions were imposed too late, and Li Shimin had already gained all the power and gathered all the connections he needed.

As a ruler, one should understand the balance in the court.

As a minister, you should understand the principles of being a ruler and a father.

Of course, in the Qing Dynasty, it was not only Kangxi who was touched after seeing this scene, his sons also had their own thoughts.

[In addition to his external achievements, in the second year of Wude, Li Shimin's eldest son was born, named Chengqian, with the courtesy name Gaoming.

Regarding Li Chengqian's name, one theory is that it was because Li Shimin lived in Chengqian Hall at that time, so he named it after it; another theory is that it was given by Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, to express his expectations.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Liu Che's expression suddenly looked a little strange. Chengqian, Chengqian, although there is no such palace in the Han Dynasty, the word Qian can already refer to the monarch. If it is named after a palace, it also reflects the thoughts of the person who named it; if it was chosen by Li Yuan... Don't you seem to still insist that Li Jiancheng succeed to the throne?
Dong Zhongshu was also present at the time. Seeing this, he tried to explain: "Your Majesty, Qian means heaven, and it can also refer to father. The name of Cheng Qian may not be a hope that he can inherit the style of his father and grandfather..."

Although it seems a bit far-fetched, maybe when naming the child, everyone didn't have any extra thoughts and just wanted to give the child a good name.

[Also in the second year of Wude, a major event occurred: Liu Wenjing died.

Who is Liu Wenjing? He is a veteran who has followed Li since the uprising in Taiyuan and has a stable position.

There was another person who was also present when the army started from Taiyuan. That person was Pei Ji. Before the army started, Pei Ji had a good personal relationship with Li Yuan. 】

"There's going to be a conflict among the heroes." Someone said casually. It was obvious that Liu Wenjing could not defeat Pei Ji.

"More than that, I remember that Liu Wenjing seemed to be quite close to Emperor Taizong of Tang when he was in Taiyuan..." another person said, exchanging a meaningful look with the person in front.

[In the second year of Wude, Liu Wenjing followed Li Shimin to guard Changchun Palace.

As both were meritorious officials in starting the rebellion, Pei Ji rose to prominence in the central government after Li Yuan entered Chang'an and founded the country and proclaimed himself emperor, while Liu Wenjing's status was not as high as Pei Ji's. As a result, Liu Wenjing became resentful and confronted Pei Ji in the court, and the conflict between the two gradually deepened.

Once, Liu Wenjing and his brother Liu Wenqi were drinking. Liu Wenjing complained and claimed that he must kill Pei Ji. He also took a knife to chop the pillars of the hall. It happened that during this period, several strange things happened in Liu Wenjing's mansion. Liu Wenqi asked a wizard to perform a ritual. The method was to let his hair down at night and hold a knife in his mouth.

What's more, Liu Wenjing happened to have a concubine who had fallen out of favor. After seeing this, she told her brother and asked him to sue Liu Wenjing for treason.

Qin Dynasty.

Li Si couldn't help but laugh: "It just so happens that there is a concubine who has fallen out of favor and is resentful of Liu Wenjing. She also happens to know all this and then asks my brother to report Liu Wenjing for treason?"

This is purely a hoax. How could such a coincidence happen? You know, all the coincidences are carefully planned. This was clearly planned and created by Liu Wenjing's political enemies - who may be related to Li Shimin, or may simply want to target Liu Wenjing.

"Li Yuan is indeed partial." Ying Zheng said. This was indeed partiality. Of course, the emperor did have this power. As long as he could control the court situation and not harm the world, there would be no harm.

Li Si took the opportunity to say: "He is far from being as magnanimous and upright as Your Majesty, who cares about the world." This was not entirely flattery. After all, the emperor did notice those who were talented and meritorious, and his rewards were fair and reasonable.

[When Li Yuan heard the news of Liu Wenjing's rebellion, he handed him over to Pei Ji and Xiao Yu for interrogation.

Of these two people, Pei Ji and Liu Wenjing have always been at odds with each other, while Xiao Yu is generally an upright person and has no hatred towards Liu Wenjing.

By the way, Xiao Yu was born in the Western Liang Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties. He was the seventh son of Emperor Ming of Liang. His wife was Dugu, the niece of Dugu Qieluo. Therefore, he was a cousin of Li Yuan, and his sister was Empress Xiao of Emperor Yang of Sui.

When Liu Wenjing was interrogated, he confessed his dissatisfaction with Pei Ji and his current official treatment. In this regard, Xiao Yu and Li Gang both believed that Liu Wenjing did not rebel.

Li Shimin also pleaded with Li Yuan, believing that the original plan of raising an army was Liu Wenjing's first idea, and he told Pei Ji after perfecting it. As a result, the status of the two was far apart at that time, so he was angry, not wanting to rebel. 】

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

"In fact, someone has accused Liu Wenjing of treason. Whether it was a coincidence or a long-standing conspiracy, what Liu Wenjing and his brother did was inappropriate." Liu Che made a conclusion. Find a wizard to do something? What do you want to do? Are you trying to clear the "evil spirits" in your mansion, or do you want to curse someone?

Moreover, even if you are really dealing with your own family affairs, why are there "evil spirits" in your home?
All of the above, no matter which one, is the highest level of taboo!

If you are involved in these mysterious and spooky wizard spells, your entire family may be executed.

Regarding these matters, the civil and military officials present kept silent and were determined not to get involved at all.

"However, the families in the Sui and Tang dynasties and the Northern and Southern dynasties were indeed closely connected." The Yang family, the Dugu family, the Li family, and the Xiao family can be seen everywhere. The network formed by these people is really large. Liu Che's mind began to turn. While thinking, he asked a question: "Why do I feel that Li Shimin's words seem a bit strange? It won't work?"

Song Dynasty, the first year of Kaibao.

Several people in the Song Dynasty also felt that this statement had no effect.

"After hearing what Emperor Taizong said, wouldn't Emperor Gaozu feel that Liu Wenjing was blaming him?" Zhao Guangmei said. Although she was indeed begging for mercy and indeed stating Liu Wenjing's achievements, Li Yuan would probably associate it with who caused this situation? It was me! It was all me who appointed Pei Ji, and it was me who appointed you, Liu Wenjing!

If you are dissatisfied with your treatment now, isn't that dissatisfaction with me? Are you trying to say that I appoint people based on personal connections and don't know how to reward or punish clearly?

Zhao Kuangyin shook his head slowly: "Liu Wenjing's case cannot be viewed in isolation. On the one hand, he was indeed at odds with Pei Ji, and on the other hand, he was appointed by Li Yuan as the Left Prime Minister of the Eastern Shaanxi Circuit. During the second year of Wude, Liu Wuzhou invaded and Emperor Gaozu of Tang sent people to stop him."

From Li Yuan's perspective, he had actually begun to suppress Li Shimin's power at this time. He sent Liu Wenjing to Li Shimin's Shandong Road Xingtai as Zuo Pushe. It is hard to say whether it was for checks and balances or because he thought Liu Wenjing was Li Shimin's man and simply kicked him out. And if he was regarded as Li Shimin's man, then in Li Yuan's eyes, was Liu Wenjing's discord with Pei Ji a sign of dissatisfaction with himself, or was there any intention of Li Shimin involved?

Furthermore, when Liu Wuzhou invaded, Li Yuan sent Pei Ji to garrison the city. This was undoubtedly an attempt to expand Pei Ji's influence and thus his own reputation. If Li Yuan regarded Liu Wenjing as someone who had surrendered to Li Shimin, then was there any reason for killing him at this time to warn Li Shimin?

"Oh." Zhao Dezhao nodded, thought for a while, and said, "So, in fact, Liu Wenjing complained that his status was not enough at this time, and he was actually dissatisfied with the situation of Emperor Taizong of Tang at that time." Regardless of whether he stood on Li Shimin's side, he always thought that the treatment at that time was not commensurate with his merits.

What was Li Yuan's attitude? "Wen Jing's words are quite clear."

In fact, he had already had the intention to kill Liu Wenjing. Then there was Pei Ji's opinion, that is, although Liu Wenjing was indeed very talented, he was suspicious and sinister, and did not know how to consider the overall situation. At this time, the external enemies of the Tang Dynasty had not been eliminated, and keeping Liu Wenjing would be the root of trouble.

Li Yuan agreed with this view and subsequently executed Liu Wenjing and Liu Wenqi and confiscated their property.

Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Years.

The princes gathered together to discuss the matter.

Zhu Chong said: "In fact, Emperor Gaozu of Tang was not completely indecisive. Let's not talk about the things before the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Just killing Liu Wenjing was very decisive."

"Indeed, he was mainly roundabout and tactful in dealing with the affairs of Emperor Taizong of Tang and Prince Yin," Zhu Gang analyzed.

Zhu Di did not completely agree: "He was indeed a bit tactful in dealing with his sons' affairs, but at the same time, he sometimes turned a blind eye to the struggle between Crown Prince Yin and Emperor Taizong of Tang, and watched coldly, especially in some matters directed against Emperor Taizong of Tang." And judging from these things, although he did not take direct action, he was actually quite ruthless.

[Liu Wenjing's death was mixed with the political struggles in the early Tang Dynasty, and it is very likely that it also involved the problems between Li Shimin, Li Yuan, and Li Jiancheng.

As early as the beginning of the Wude period, conflicts within the Li family began.

At that time, Li Shimin and Li Yuanji both lived in the palace, Li Shimin in Chengqian Hall and Li Yuanji in the back yard of Wude Hall. They were connected to Li Jiancheng's East Palace and Li Yuan's palace day and night with no obstruction at all. When walking in the palace, they could ride horses and carry swords and miscellaneous items, and the etiquette they performed was just family etiquette.

At the same time, since it was just a new era, Li Yuan's edicts, Crown Prince Li Jiancheng's orders, and the King of Qin and the King of Qi's notices could all be issued and executed.

After Li Yuan ascended the throne, he favored many concubines, who were on good terms with the older princes. Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji naturally did not miss this opportunity, and they formed a coalition with the inner palace to jointly suppress Li Shimin.

Li Shimin himself did not have any contact with the concubines in the harem. This responsibility was assumed by the wife of the Prince of Qin, who later became Empress Zhangsun. She tried her best to interact with the harem, especially when Li Shimin was away on military campaigns. She "was filial to Emperor Gaozu, respectful to the concubines, and tried her best to make up for the gaps and maintain internal support."

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

Seeing Empress Zhangsun, who was the Princess of Qin at the time, maneuvering in the harem, Li Shimin was extremely moved. He held Empress Zhangsun's hand with tears in his eyes and said, "Guanyin, I wronged you back then." He, the Prince of Qin, was not well-received at the time, but he was still able to fight wars outside and hold power. How could Guanyin, who was maneuvering in the harem for him, be treated well by the concubines?

Empress Changsun smiled, full of comfort and soothing: "Second brother, why do you have to worry about these things? It's all over now. Besides, even if they don't agree with me, they still have status. How could they do something rude directly?"

Ming Dynasty, the 16th year of Yongle.

When Zhu Di heard Empress Changsun, he thought of his own wife, Empress Xu, and for a moment he could not help but feel grief-stricken: "Everyone says that Empress Changsun is virtuous, so why can't my Empress be called a virtuous Empress? I only regret that God did not give her a longer life. Why did God take her away from me so early!" When he got to the emotional part, he burst into tears.

He and his wife had known each other since childhood and got married after three years of getting along. They lived in harmony and had seven children. But in the fifth year of Yongle, she left forever, abandoning him and the children... It has been eleven years since then, and according to the miracle, his reign title continued to the twenty-second year. Why did she leave so early after such a long time?

Speaking of which, his mother, Queen Ma, also died early. Why did God do this?
Zhu Gaochi also burst into tears when he recalled his mother's tender love.

Zhu Zhanji also started crying. Although he was not very old at the time, he had spent his childhood in the Prince of Yan's Mansion and also remembered his grandmother's earnest teachings and gentle care...

[Is it useful to win over the concubines in the harem? Of course it is useful.

The concubines in the harem stood on the side of Crown Prince Li Jiancheng and said to Li Yuan: "After the Supreme Lord lives long, the King of Qin will succeed, and mother and son will definitely be gone." Not only did they say bad things about Li Shimin, they also praised Li Jiancheng: "The Crown Prince is kind and will definitely be able to raise me and my son."

It might not be a big deal for one concubine to say this once, but many concubines said this many times, including some of the most favored concubines, so Li Yuan naturally listened to them.

Coupled with his original fear of Li Shimin, Li Yuan became more determined to let Crown Prince Li Jiancheng succeed to the throne. His favor towards Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji grew, while his favor towards Li Shimin gradually faded.

The roles of concubines in the harem are not limited to these.

When it comes to taking advantage of every opportunity, the role of concubines is extremely obvious.

Huai'an King Li Shentong made great contributions, and Li Shimin, as the governor of the Eastern Shaanxi Road, gave him dozens of hectares of land. Later, Zhang Jieyu's father asked her to privately ask Li Yuan to take the land, and Li Yuan wrote a handwritten edict. Li Shentong was naturally unwilling, so he refused to give it to him on the grounds that he had received the award first.

Concubine Zhang told Li Yuan that the land he had granted to her was taken away by Li Shimin and given to Li Shentong.

Li Yuan was furious and accused Li Shimin of "not following my imperial edicts, but obeying your orders in the prefectures and counties". Later, he told Pei Ji and others that Li Shimin "has been in charge of the army for a long time and has been autocratic outside the country". He was corrupted by those scholars and was no longer my son.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Liu Che was not surprised that the harem asked the emperor for land.

However, Li Yuan’s reaction to this incident is indeed quite interesting.

"This Huai'an King Li Shentong, if I am not mistaken, seems to be a genuine royal family member of the Li Tang Dynasty." Liu Che said, a real royal family member, not someone who was given a surname later.

Although the relationships among the Liu family members of the Han Dynasty are difficult to describe, why is Li Yuan also like this?

Of course, Liu Che was just talking. He knew very well that this matter was obviously Li Yuan's attack on Li Shimin. Regardless of whether the person who was granted the land was Li Shentong, Li Yuan would have done this. Concubine Zhang only played a role in promoting it. Otherwise, would it be difficult for Li Yuan to find out the situation and deal with it fairly?

(End of this chapter)