Chapter 50: A Century-Old Question
On August 9, the ninth year of Wude, Li Yuan abdicated, and Li Shimin ascended the throne in Xiande Hall of the Eastern Palace and issued a general amnesty.

But crises ensued.

On the 19th, the Turkic Khan Jieli and Khan Tuli invaded Jingzhou. On the 20th, they invaded Wugong, and the capital was under martial law. On the 24th, they invaded Gaoling, which was only 80 miles away from Chang'an.

On the 26th, the general commander of the army, Yuchi Jingde, fought a fierce battle with the Turks in Jingyang, defeated them, and beheaded more than a thousand of them. But this did not stop the Turks. On the 28th, Jie Li Khan arrived at the Wei River.

Although Yuchi Jingde's great victory did not stop Jie Li Khan, it also shook his determination to continue the attack. In addition, he actually lacked intelligence about the Tang Dynasty, so when he arrived at the city of Chang'an on the Wei River, he did not continue the attack, but sent his trusted general Zhishisili to meet Li Shimin. 】

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Huo Qubing frowned: "What's wrong with the Tang Dynasty's defense?" Just like his Han Dynasty, although there were repeated invasions before the counterattack against the Huns, the Han Dynasty's defense on the border was also good. At least the Huns had never penetrated deep into the hinterland.

Not even when the Han was at his weakest.

Liu Che smiled. This was obviously related to the political changes in the Tang Dynasty at that time.

Once the crown prince Li Jiancheng and the prince of Qi Li Yuanji died and their descendants were wiped out, what would happen to their old subordinates scattered all over the country? Although Li Shimin did say that these people were innocent, there were always people who were worried, and there were always people who wanted to suppress these old subordinates to seek credit and reward. Maybe there were also people who were loyal to their old master and wanted to teach Li Shimin a lesson.

【Zhishisili relied on the strength of the Turkic people. Although he was meeting the emperor, he threatened Li Shimin and others with words. But his words also exposed a key problem: Jie Li Khan lacked understanding of the specific situation of the Tang Dynasty.

In other words, Jie Li Khan knew that the political situation in the Tang Dynasty was changing at this time and that Chang'an might not have many troops, but he was not sure and did not have any specific intelligence.

What was the situation of the Tang Dynasty at this time? On the one hand, although there were not many soldiers in Chang'an, there were still tens of thousands of elite soldiers; on the other hand, soldiers from all over the country, including the soldiers led by Li Jing, who was known as the god of war, were ready to support Chang'an.

The most crucial thing is Li Shimin himself. As the person who laid the foundation of the Tang Dynasty and a general who often used the few to defeat the larger force, he was also prepared for the current situation.

He did not listen to Zhi Shili's threats and instead imprisoned him. Then he took an extremely bold and crucial step.

Li Shimin, along with Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian and six other riders, a total of seven people, rushed to the Wei River in person and talked with Jie Li Khan across the Wei River, accusing Jie Li of breaking the covenant. Seeing that Li Shimin was riding alone with only a few people, Jie Li began to feel worried.

Afterwards, the Tang troops in the city arrived one after another, with flags flying and their military appearance in neat order. Jie Li Khan's heart, which was not very firm to begin with, became even more shaken. When he learned that Zhishisili had been detained, he immediately lost the will to continue fighting and began to want to negotiate peace with Li Shimin.

Li Shimin certainly agreed to this. Being able to buy time through peace talks was the best option for the Tang Dynasty.

On August 30, Li Shimin came to the bridge over the Wei River again and signed an alliance with Jie Li Khan by killing a white horse. Then the Turks withdrew.

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Seeing the Turks approaching Chang'an, Liu Bang actually had some common language: "This is somewhat similar to my Han Dynasty..." After saying that, he shook his head. No matter how much Li Shimin paid for this alliance, there was one thing that was completely different from the Han Dynasty. "However, with the army and national strength of the Tang Dynasty at this time, if we want to avenge the Weishui Alliance, we probably don't have to wait as long as my Han Dynasty did."

The Han Dynasty was in a state of national weakness, its people were exhausted, and there was a lot of work to be done. Even with the hatred of the Siege of Baideng, it would be difficult to take revenge on the Huns within one or two generations.

But the situation in the Tang Dynasty was not exactly the same. If there were any problems with the Turks, the time for revenge would be even shorter.

Tang Dynasty, the eighth year of Wude.

Li Yuanji had stopped cursing and was actually speechless.

Li Jiancheng said nothing. He watched the Turks advance rapidly, but was forced to retreat by his second brother's clever strategy. He felt extremely confused and powerless.

Although the invasion of the Turks was indeed related to the changes in the Tang Dynasty, could he guarantee that if he had killed Li Shimin at that time, the Turks would not have invaded Chang'an?
he can not.

Could he, like Li Shimin, sign an alliance with the Turks and force them to withdraw without sacrificing a single soldier?

It’s not that he doesn’t understand military affairs, but precisely because he does, he isn’t sure.

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

Although there is still a choice of succession to the Xuanwu Gate, the atmosphere in the hall has eased a lot.

Especially when seeing the Turkic invasion of Chang'an in the past, Li Shimin and his ministers, while angry, also felt a sense of relief that they had a great revenge - soon, the Turks would become a historical term.

[The threat from the Turks has receded, and in the near future, they will completely lose their ability to threaten the Tang Dynasty. At that time, Jie Li Khan will successfully join the Chang'an Song and Dance Troupe and be awarded the honor of King of Dance.

But Li Shimin's biggest challenge did not come from the Turks or any foreign invasion; in other words, for the Tang Dynasty at this stage, any foreign invasion would eventually be eliminated.

The biggest problem lies in the Tang Dynasty itself.

This issue involves two aspects: one is stability and unity, and the other is policy and philosophy.

When discussing this issue, one thing must be made clear, and that is the historical situation of the Tang Dynasty.

Although the Tang Dynasty succeeded the Sui Dynasty, which had already unified the Central Plains, it lasted for too short a time, so short that it seemed like a coincidence.

What was the historical norm before? Division and turmoil.

Since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the Three Kingdoms coexisted, the Central Plains had been plunged into a period of division and chaos that lasted for more than three hundred years. Not only was the Han dynasty in the Central Plains itself in chaos, but there were also continuous invasions by foreign tribes from the north, causing great suffering to the people and making their living in misery.

During this period, there was indeed some development in the areas of iron smelting mentioned earlier, and the organization and combat of the army also continued to improve, but on the other hand, what also continued to develop was the blood and tears of the people everywhere and the rapid change of dynasties.

More than three hundred years and more than a dozen generations were enough to completely erase the memory of the once glorious and unified Han Dynasty from everyone's mind, leaving only the natural division and change of dynasties.

It was also enough to bury deep in the soil the once powerful Han Dynasty's immense pride, fearlessness and strong self-confidence that "wherever the sun and moon shine, wherever the rivers flow, all is Han territory", leaving behind only the weakness and decline of the broken mountains and rivers.

The Sui Dynasty did unify the country, but it was short-lived, and soon there was another dynasty change. Under such circumstances, how can people believe that unification is lasting? Moreover, Emperor Yang of Sui, who unified the country for only two generations, was besieged by the Turks at Yanmen Pass, which made it difficult for people to believe that he was "strong".

In particular, the Xuanwu Gate Incident occurred during the Tang Dynasty.

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan. Li Shimin remained silent. This was indeed a real problem, and an extremely thorny one.

Moreover, it was indeed more than three hundred years ago! More than three hundred years ago, even though wars were raging everywhere, the Han Dynasty still existed in the hearts of the people, and also in the hearts of the owners of various forces - regardless of whether they intended to proclaim themselves emperors.

What happened after the Jin Dynasty? China was unified for a short time, but before it could develop, China experienced a dramatic change... He was born into an aristocratic family, but that didn't mean he couldn't understand the hardships of ordinary people, or their doubts about the Tang Dynasty.

It is difficult and troublesome. To change this situation, brilliant achievements are needed to give people confidence, and long-term stability is needed to give people peace of mind. But even this may not be enough, luck is also needed...

But he was not discouraged. Perhaps he was a little cautious about the heavy responsibility, but Li Shimin's inner confidence was enough to support him to take on all the responsibilities, rather than hesitating because of fear.

Moreover, Li Shimin did not regret his choice of Xuanwu Gate. He always believed that such problems would be better handled in his own hands.

Several high and low sighs could be heard faintly in the hall. They were from the older ministers among the important ministers. Although the oldest of them was born during the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty and had not witnessed the tragic turmoil under the Northern and Southern Dynasties, they had experienced more and understood Tianmu's words better.

Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Years.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly recalled his childhood experience, when he had no money, no land, and his parents starved to death, and there was no place to bury them. This was the Yuan Dynasty! It was hell on earth!
However, according to the few records in history books, the chaotic times of the Northern and Southern Dynasties were countless times more terrible than the chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and natural disasters such as "rivers and seas overflowing, and the water eight feet deep on flat ground" continued, and man-made disasters such as "thieves and bandits swarming, famine in Siji, and people eating each other" never stopped.

"The people of the Northern and Southern Dynasties suffered so much..." He could only sigh deeply. The only thing he could be thankful for was that Emperor Taizong of Tang was a wise ruler who was able to handle this mess.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Liu Che was very happy about the praise of the Han Dynasty. What made him even happier was the glory of the Han Dynasty revealed in these words of praise: "Wherever the sun and the moon shine, wherever the rivers flow, all is Han territory... Hahahaha, good! That's great!" Isn't this his lifelong dream?

Although he did like to build wonders, what he loved more was to expand territory, so that the glory of the Han Dynasty could spread to every corner of the world and the people of every country could feel the kindness of the Han emperor.

In the past two years, the Han Dynasty has already crippled the Xiongnu. The next step is to let the Western Regions feel the supreme glory of the Han Dynasty.

In order to better "become Han territory", why not slow down the construction of gardens and palaces in the next two years? Liu Che pondered secretly.

However, the dynasties that followed the Han Dynasty were too useless. They failed to achieve unification for more than 300 years and allowed the foreign tribes in the north to cause great suffering to the Central Plains.

[The later Ming Dynasty also faced the problem of division, especially the division between the North and the South, and that problem was a huge pit left by the Song Dynasty.

Today, the Tang Dynasty is facing the same sinkhole, and this sinkhole is the evil result left behind by those dynasties that have not been enterprising and only knew how to fight for power in the past three hundred years.

Despite the efforts of Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, who tried his best to unite the world after physical unification, and Emperor Guangda also made some contributions in gaining control of the south of the Yangtze River, but the time was too short, too short.

How should Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, solve such a problem?
Moreover, the Tang Dynasty also had to face another question: Can you continue to exist stably? Will you disappear in three or four generations? 】

Sui Dynasty, the 18th year of Kaihuang.

Yang Jian and Dugu Jialuo smiled bitterly.

Yes, they unified the world, but the people's hearts were not truly unified! How many methods did they try to bridge the gap between people's hearts?

Apart from other things, Yang Guang married Xiao, undoubtedly for the purpose of appeasing and winning over the hearts of the people in the south of the Yangtze River.

The couple believed in Buddhism and promoted it vigorously, not only because of their own beliefs, but also because they hoped to unite people's hearts through Buddhism. However, this method did not seem to be very successful.

This historical pit is too big!

[Apart from the issues of unity and stability, the policy concept of question 2 is also crucial.

If there is a policy or idea that can be effectively implemented throughout the country, it will be extremely effective in maintaining unity and resolving problems and in healing people's hearts.

This problem is also a big pit left over from more than three hundred years.

Before the Tang Dynasty and after the Han Dynasty, was there a policy concept that could be implemented stably and recognized by everyone?
No.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Dong Zhongshu combined various parties and created a theory of "heaven's will" in the name of Confucianism. Why did the Liu family become emperors generation after generation? Because it was heaven's will! Emperor Taizu Gao was the son of the Red Emperor! Why did he want to unify the world? Because it was heaven's will!

Although this had the side effect of requiring the emperor to issue an edict of guilt for natural disasters, it did maintain the sacred aura of the emperor and the dynasty. This theory continued to operate for 400 years during the Han Dynasty.

But this system had completely failed after the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. The last emperor of Cao Wei was killed in the street, and the Sima family took the throne; the Sima family suffered casualties, and a new family took the throne...

During the frequent changes of dynasties between the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the constant internal strife among the royal family, no one sincerely believed in the concept of destiny anymore.

From then on, there was a melee among the forces of destiny, gods and ghosts, and religions. Everyone was immersed in it, and promoting various beliefs had become the norm. There was even an emperor like Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, who became a monk four times and was redeemed by ministers and the court with money.

This chaos continued until the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, respected Taoism and tried to add a halo to the Tang Dynasty through the connection between the Li family and Laozi.

Faced with this situation, Li Shimin finally broke free from the Mandate of Heaven, gods and ghosts, and religion. The Mandate of Heaven in the Han Dynasty no longer worked, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties plus the Sui Dynasty had personally tried gods and ghosts and religion, proving that they were also ineffective. Finally, Li Shimin proposed a completely new direction.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Dong Zhongshu held a piece of silk in his hand and wrote furiously from time to time. He was very concerned and interested in this passage.

He was naturally clear about the theory he created. Fundamentally, this theory was meant to serve the current emperor. However, on the basis that it could be recognized by the emperor, he tried to incorporate various Confucian viewpoints into it.

In this way, Confucianism finally gained the recognition of the emperor, and was able to take the lead among the hundreds of schools of thought and win the ultimate victory.

And such a theory could last for four hundred years, which was indeed enough, but he hoped it could last longer.

So, where could Emperor Taizong of Tang find a new path? Dong Zhongshu began to think, apart from destiny, gods and ghosts, and religion, what else is there?
"People, and people!" he murmured. No matter whether it was destiny, gods and ghosts, or religion, it was ultimately "heaven", and the only thing that was opposite to "heaven" was people.

(End of this chapter)