Chapter 45 Battle of Wulongban

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

"Li Yuan's statement still has an impact on Li Shimin." Zhang Liang said, regardless of whether he was emotionally hurt, from a purely political perspective, Li Yuan was showing his position to warn Li Shimin and the court officials at the same time.

It means something like: I am the emperor, and you should all follow me!

But Liu Bang laughed: "According to Tianmu, the local offices were originally independent political systems. In addition, given the war situation before the Tang Dynasty, it is not surprising that local prefectures and counties listen to Li Shimin." Li Yuan, why did you give your son such a system?
[This happened more than once.]

Concubine Yin De's father, Yin Ashu, was a tyrant. When Du Ruhui, an official of the Prince of Qin's palace, rode past the gate, his servants pulled him off his horse and beat him, "Who are you? How dare you pass by my gate without getting off your horse!"

Yin Ashu was afraid that Li Shimin would complain, so he told Concubine Yin De, who then complained first: "Li Shimin's subordinates are very vicious and cruel, and they bullied my father."

Li Yuan became angry again and scolded Li Shimin: "Your subordinates dare to bully even my concubines. I wonder what kind of misery ordinary people will suffer!"

Although Li Shimin tried his best to defend himself, it was of no use.

Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Years.

Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts turned to the issue of harmony among descendants: "Listen to me, you all must love your brothers and sisters, and care for your descendants. You must not bully or harm your relatives! Is there anything that cannot be discussed in time?"

When talking about the family matters that he cared about most, Zhu Yuanzhang looked solemn and stared at his sons fiercely.

Zhu Biao and the others responded sincerely and swore an oath, which made their father look away.

Song Dynasty, the first year of Kaibao.

Zhao Dezhao tried to find reasons why Li Yuan made such clear and repeated statements: "In fact, it is not surprising that Emperor Gaozu of Tang did so. The Tang Dynasty succeeded the Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty, and internal strife within the royal family was extremely common during these dynasties. Emperor Gaozu of Tang probably also considered the stability of the Tang Dynasty." And his own power and life.

When the internal strife among the royal families of several dynasties was mentioned, everyone present sighed.

Looking at Jiankang City from afar, the small river flows upstream. In front, I see a son killing his father, and in the back, I see a younger brother killing his older brother.

Although this sentence was written in "Book of Wei - Biography of Liu Yu, the Island Barbarian", there are more than one Liu Song that can be described by this sentence.
The same was true of the Xiao Qi Dynasty after the Liu Song Dynasty. After the demise of the Xiao Qi Dynasty, although the killing of clan members was restrained, it still existed. Although the Sui and Tang dynasties were unified, the impact of the more than 100 years of the Northern and Southern Dynasties was not easy to eliminate.

Li Yuan probably also had such concerns. Just as he generously accepted the Sui Dynasty royal family and surrendered ministers from all over the country instead of openly slaughtering them, he also wanted to set an example of tolerance.

[In addition to forming an alliance with the concubines in the harem, what other preparations did Li Jiancheng make for Li Shimin's increasing achievements?
On the one hand, he also tried to increase his military achievements, such as eliminating Liu Heita; on the other hand, he continued to increase his power in Chang'an City.

He privately gathered brave men from all over the place, as well as the evil young men in Chang'an, a total of more than 2,000 people. He made these people his own private soldiers and stationed them at the left and right Changlin Gates respectively, calling them the Changlin Soldiers.

The evil teenagers in Chang'an can be said to be a group with a long history. The Han Dynasty once recruited evil teenagers from Chang'an and various counties and kingdoms to go to the border. In the Tang Dynasty, this group was still active.

However, the process of establishing a private army was not always smooth.

Among the brave men who helped Li Jiancheng gather together from all over the country was one named Yang Wengan, who was the governor of Qingzhou and had served as Li Jiancheng's guard.

On the third day of the sixth month in the seventh year of Wude, Li Yuan prepared to go to Renzhi Palace to recuperate, leaving Li Jiancheng to guard Chang'an.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Huo Qubing said, "Something is going to happen." Although he was a full-time military officer, it was not difficult to see from Tianmu's deliberate emphasis that Li Yuan's departure left a considerable gap, and during this period, trouble was bound to arise between Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng, who were already in intense friction.

"It's probably a rebellion." Liu Che concluded that he had formed a private army, but it was not smooth sailing. Wouldn't it be a threat to Li Yuan? The most threatening thing to Li Yuan was rebellion.

As for whether it is true or not? Of course it is possible that it is true, after all, the struggle between the crown prince and the King of Qin was very intense at that time; of course there may be doubts, but does it matter? As long as Li Yuan thinks it really needs to be dealt with, it is enough.

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

Just as the Han Dynasty's monarchs and ministers thought, the Qing Dynasty's Crown Prince Yinreng was obviously extremely envious of Li Jiancheng's ability to hold military power and station troops in the capital.

Why would I worry about these things all the time if I could just command a real army?

In fact, there was another prince of the Qing Dynasty who shared the same idea as him, namely the future Emperor Jiaqing.

Li Yuan had not been happy for a few days after arriving at the Renzhi Palace when he suddenly received a piece of news: Li Jiancheng was planning a rebellion!
The general situation was this: while Yang Wengang was constantly recruiting strong men to join Li Jiancheng, Li Yuan happened to arrive at the Renzhi Palace. So Li Jiancheng sent General Erzhu Huan and Captain Qiao Gongshan to deliver weapons to Yang Wengang and ordered him to raise an army to cooperate with the support.

But when Erzhu Huan and Qiao Gongshan learned about this, they were worried and ran to Binxiang to tell Li Yuan about it.

After learning about this, Li Yuan did not make it public, but wrote an imperial edict in person, ordering Li Jiancheng to go to Renzhi Palace with other reasons. When Li Jiancheng arrived at Renzhi Palace, Li Yuan was furious, and Li Jiancheng kept kowtowed and confessed his guilt, almost dying.

That night, Li Yuan placed Li Jiancheng in the tent and asked Chen Wanfu, the palace supervisor, to guard the Renzhi Palace, but Yang Wengan still rebelled.

Qin Dynasty.

Watching the changing situation, Ying Zheng's expression remained unchanged. In his opinion, this time it would not cause excessive and unbearable losses to Li Jiancheng, which meant that Li Yuan would definitely not change the crown prince at this time.

Although it seems very likely that Li Jiancheng’s uprising this time was true, so what?

What Li Yuan wanted was stability and checks and balances in the court, and Li Jiancheng could not fall at this time; moreover, the root of this matter was that Li Jiancheng had private soldiers, or was able to mobilize the army. And private soldiers or military power, according to the situation in the Tang Dynasty in the miracle, were something that everyone had.

Did Li Shimin have it? Yes. Without the Changlin soldiers, did Li Jiancheng lose his army? No, he could. Even Li Yuanji had a certain amount of power, at least his personal guards could be mobilized.

But will Li Yuan cut all of these off? At present, it seems that he will not, and even if he does, it will be in the future.

[Afterwards, Li Yuan called Li Shimin to discuss how to quell the rebellion.

Li Shimin thought that Yang Wengan was not a concern and that sending a general would be enough. However, Li Yuan did not think so. He thought that Li Shimin should go there in person: "Wengan's affairs are related to Jiancheng, and I am afraid that many people will respond to him." After all, it is related to the crown prince. I can only feel at ease if you, the King of Qin, go there in person.

Moreover, "I cannot follow the example of Emperor Wen of Sui and kill my own flesh and blood, depose Jiancheng and make him the King of Shu. Since the land is remote and small, it is easy to control." In this way, if Li Jiancheng does not listen to you in the future, it will be convenient for you to deal with him. Yes, here Li Yuan said to Li Shimin: "Return, I will make you the crown prince." When you pacify Yang Wengan, you will be the crown prince.

No matter what Li Yuan thought, Li Shimin set off at this time.

Later, Li Yuanji and the concubines in the harem who stood on Li Jiancheng's side all pleaded for Li Jiancheng, and Feng Lun and Feng Deyi also encouraged him. So Li Yuan gave up the idea of ​​changing the crown prince, and continued to recuperate in Renzhi Palace, allowing Li Jiancheng to return to Chang'an to stay.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

"Li Yuan may not have wanted to change the crown prince at the beginning." Liu Che sneered. As his father's crown prince, and a changed crown prince, he was very clear about this kind of thing. If an emperor really wanted to change the crown prince, how could he change his mind just because of someone's persuasion or pleading?

No matter how many people try to persuade him, it won't work. At most, it will just let the emperor know that this matter is not easy to handle.

After all, it was not the first day that the prince had been recruiting soldiers and expanding his influence in Chang'an and other places. As the founding emperor, even if Li Yuan was not clear about the details, he would always know about such things.

Since he had chosen to let it go before, why would he pursue it now?

Sui Dynasty, the 18th year of Kaihuang.

Yang Jian was very unhappy after being stepped on from a distance: "I killed my own flesh and blood? How dare you compare me to me, Li Yuan!"

Your own Li Tang dynasty is still full of problems, how can you say that my father and son are at odds and that I killed my own flesh and blood? Look at what your eldest son, second son, fourth son, and three legitimate sons have been fighting about!

Of course, there are issues of personal ambition involved, but don't you have any faults at all? I killed my own flesh and blood, and aren't you also killing your own flesh and blood by letting them go?
[Since there was no intention to hold Li Jiancheng accountable, this matter of rebellion ended with Li Yuan blaming "brothers for not getting along" and putting the blame on Prince's Assistant Wang Gui, Left Guard Commander Wei Ting, and Tiance Bingcao Du Yan, and exiled them to Yizhou.

By the way, in this incident, the new characters Feng Lun and Feng Deyi appeared, who were also quite famous people with a lot of stories. 】

Song Dynasty, the first year of Kaibao.

Zhao Guangmei commented on the outcome of this incident: "It was quite hasty, although I know that Emperor Gaozu of Tang had his own considerations."

However, this is also a feature of the Tang Dynasty. Many times, the affairs within the royal family were intricate and messy. Li Chengqian, the crown prince of Emperor Taizong of Tang, was only demoted to a commoner and exiled even though he actually rebelled. However, Li Ying, the crown prince of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, was sentenced to death...

In short, the situation in the Tang Dynasty was really a little different.

As for Feng Deyi... speaking of this person, there is indeed a lot of story.

"You are being naughty." Zhao Kuangyin said with a smile, saying that Feng Deyi was quite famous, but he did not say what kind of fame he had or what kind of story he had. "But he does have some talent, but it's not the right path."

[After this incident, the struggle between the brothers became more intense.

In the autumn of the seventh year of Wude, the Turks invaded Guanzhong again, led by Tuli Khan and Jie Li Khan.

Faced with the repeated invasions by the Huns and the fact that the Tang Dynasty was not very strong at that time, Li Yuan began to convene court officials to discuss how to deal with the Turkic issue.

So someone suggested: If we can’t defeat them for now, can we run away?

The ministers who held this view believed that the reason why the Turks repeatedly invaded Guanzhong was because Chang'an was rich and they were seeking money and food. So as long as we burn down Chang'an and do not establish the capital here, the Turks will not invade Guanzhong again.

This was a solution. So Li Yuan sent the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, Yuwen Shiji, to inspect Fanzhou and Dengzhou south of Mount Zhongnan to find a suitable place for the new capital.

But not everyone agreed with this method. Xiao Yu and others thought that this was inappropriate, but after all, Li Yuan had not officially proposed to move the capital, so it was difficult for these ministers to directly refute it.

Li Shimin also did not think that moving the capital was a good idea, so he stood up and tactfully persuaded Li Yuan, saying that he would never allow the Turks to threaten the Tang Dynasty.

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang stretched his body, changed his posture, and thought: "Li Yuan's choice to move the capital is just a choice, which is nothing. But, among the reasons for his decision to move the capital, how much was due to the Turks? And how much was due to other reasons?"

After all, the Turks did seem to be quite powerful at that time, and the Tang Dynasty had only been unified for a few years, so it was not the best time to launch a full-scale war. There was nothing wrong with avoiding disaster.

But in fact, moving the capital itself is not the best option - under the premise that there are other possibilities, Chang'an still has considerable political significance after all; and, as I said before, the Tang Dynasty was unified not long ago, would moving the capital at this time shake domestic confidence?

Xiao He and others also believed that moving the capital was not the best option, and Li Yuan did not really move the capital, but only investigated the location, and it did not matter whether he moved or not. However, it is hard to say whether he made such a gesture because of the reorganization of the court power and the struggle between his three sons.

Liu Bang sighed: "The information is still not enough." So far, Tianmu has not specifically said what Li Yuan did when the country was basically unified and the Crown Prince and King Qin were fighting.

Eastern Han Dynasty, Jian'an period.

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and said, "Even if Li Shimin doesn't care about moving the capital, since most of his achievements are military merits, he cannot support moving the capital."

He must fight! Although no specific information was obtained, since the Tiance Mansion was able to set up officials, plus the officials of the Shaanxi East Road Grand Secretariat, it can be inferred that Li Shimin should be surrounded by some meritorious officials from the founding period.

These people must also be part of the group that supports not retreating and fighting against the Turks.

[Li Yuan was not immediately convinced. On the contrary, he was very unhappy that someone refuted his orders, so he sent Li Shimin with more than 30 cavalrymen to Guanzhong for inspection and asked him to draw up a plan to repel the Turks.

Perhaps Li Yuan wanted Li Shimin to see the current situation of the Tang Dynasty and make him realize that moving the capital was the best option.

But Li Shimin did not change his mind. After returning from the inspection, Li Shimin still resolutely submitted a memorial requesting that the capital should not be moved. In the end, Li Yuan gave up the idea.

Afterwards, he sent Li Shimin and Li Yuanji to resist the Turks, which was the Battle of Wulongban. In this battle, although the Tang army was weak, Li Shimin took advantage of the conflict between Tuli Khan and Jie Li Khan to dispel the Turks' plan to continue invading the Tang Dynasty and temporarily established an alliance.

At the same time, the Tang army in various places resolutely resisted and fought back against the Xiongnu, and won, which further dispelled the idea of ​​the Turks to invade the Central Plains.

(End of this chapter)