Chapter 54 Emperor Taizong of Tang (End)
[In addition to the early deaths of his wife and children, the important ministers who accompanied him in his conquests and governance also died one after another.

In the 17th year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin had portraits of 24 heroes painted by Yan Liben in Lingyan Pavilion in order to commemorate the heroes who accompanied him in the war.

Among the twenty-four heroes in the Lingyan Pavilion, Qu Tutong died in office in the second year of Zhenguan.
In the fourth year of Zhenguan, Du Ruhui died of illness;
In the sixth year of Zhenguan, Zhang Gongjin died of illness;
In the 12th year of Zhenguan, Chai Shao died, Yu Shinan died, and Qin Qiong died of illness; and before the 13th year of Zhenguan, Changsun Shunde died;
In the 14th year of Zhenguan, Li Xiaogong died of a sudden illness;

In the 16th year of Zhenguan, Duan Zhixuan died of illness;
In the 17th year of Zhenguan, Hou Junji was executed for conspiracy with Li Chengqian; in the same year, Wei Zheng died;

In the 20th year of Zhenguan, Zhang Liang was executed for being accused of treason.
In the 21st year of Zhenguan, Gao Shilian passed away;
In the 22nd year of Zhenguan, Fang Xuanling passed away and Xiao Yu died of illness;
In the 23rd year of Zhenguan, Li Jing died of illness.

Li Shimin's tears flowed even more violently. Did he feel that the twenty-three years of his Zhenguan period were spent in constant loss?
Guanyinbi died early, Gaoming also died young because of treason, Lizhi died young, Jinyang was still young (although he was not born at this time)...

His old ministers left one by one. Ke Ming died of illness in just four years! Gong Jin also left so early! Not to mention that they left in succession in the 12th year of Zhenguan...

The ministers present had mixed feelings. They were happy that they were listed as one of the twenty-four heroes by His Majesty, and their names would be recorded in history forever; but they were also a little worried because they knew their own death dates, especially those who died earlier.

Although he was the first to pass away except for Qu Tutong who had already passed away, Du Ruhui was the first to pull himself out of his emotions and began to comfort Li Shimin who was crying uncontrollably. Others also spoke to comfort him, saying that they had no regrets and that the emperor should take care of his health, fearing that Li Shimin would really have health problems if he continued like this.

Eastern Han Dynasty, the 17th year of Jianwu.

Liu Xiu sighed: "This Li Shimin is really pitiful."

The departure of important people one by one is the greatest pain in the world.

[Empress Changsun died young, which was closely related to her continuous childbearing and her own illness.

Childbirth causes considerable damage to a woman's body functions. Every childbirth causes a loss of qi and blood. She herself suffers from qi disease and has to take care of palace affairs, so hidden dangers continue to accumulate.

In the ninth year of Zhenguan, Empress Changsun's mother, Lady Zhao, passed away, followed by the death of Emperor Taizong Li Yuan, which immediately triggered her respiratory disease. She became seriously ill and could not be cured by any medicine.

As for Li Chengqian's rebellion, it was the result of years of accumulation.

Li Shimin doted on all of his and Empress Changsun's children, and did not treat Li Chengqian differently just because he was the crown prince. In particular, Prince Wei Li Tai was very much favored. Originally, this was not a big problem, but after Empress Changsun passed away, Li Chengqian became more sensitive without his mother's mediation. At this time, he also suffered from a foot disease, which made it difficult for him to move.
Afterwards, although Li Shimin selected a group of remonstrants for the Eastern Palace out of kindness and love for his son - in fact, there were many remonstrants who regarded advising the prince as a way to gain merit, and they used harsh words and criticized any single matter repeatedly.

As a result, Li Chengqian's heart began to move towards extremes, and he repeatedly did extraordinary things.

However, Li Shimin had no intention of changing the crown prince. On the contrary, he strengthened Li Chengqian's power and ordered all his legitimate sons above the third rank to serve in the Eastern Palace.

However, Li Chengqian was not successfully appeased. Li Shimin's favor for Li Tai made him worried. Li Tai was also ambitious and repeatedly provoked Li Chengqian.

In the end, Li Chengqian embarked on the path of forcing the emperor to abdicate and rebelling, but he did not succeed.

Li Shimin felt even more distressed as he listened to the explanation.

Is Guanyinbi's physical weakness related to her successive childbirths? And since I ascended the throne, she has not had a chance to rest properly, and she is still working hard for herself and her children...

Seeing what Li Shimin was thinking, Empress Changsun comforted him instead: "Brother, don't worry. Now that I know the reason, I will take care of my health in the future. Why would I leave so early again?" Then, she sighed and diverted Li Shimin's attention, "In terms of the children's education, you should not be too fond of Qingque. And you should also pay attention to the cause of Gao Ming's foot disease."

Li Shimin thought of the endless fighting between his two beloved sons, as if the Xuanwu Gate at that time was a mockery of himself: Look, your beloved sons are killing each other!

Could this be the true situation of his "palace coup initiator"? His own son was the first to bring about such a result?
He said slowly, "I understand." He originally wanted to love every one of his sons, but he didn't expect this to happen. He selected ministers to advise Gao Ming, probably to make him better, but he didn't expect those people to behave like this...

Li Shimin smiled bitterly. It seemed that he needed to consider it carefully and be more careful in educating his children.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Liu Che did not intend to comment on Li Shimin's tragic experience, but one of Li Shimin's actions aroused his interest.

"All legitimate sons above the third rank are appointed to serve in the Eastern Palace?" Liu Che's eyes lit up. He felt that this was very feasible, and he also wanted to do something for his beloved son. "I think the Eastern Palace can also be done this way!"

As for the so-called "advisors", forget it. Just look at what good things those "advisors" who only care about themselves have done. He doesn't want Juer to suffer the same misfortune as Li Chengqian.

Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Years.

Zhu Yuanzhang curled his lips and said, "Tang Taizong is indeed a man of great valor and military power, but he is not good at treating the crown prince." How can other sons be favored as much as the crown prince? "The crown prince is the crown prince, and he is completely different from other sons! Of course, the crown prince cannot be treated the same as other sons."

We did a great job! Biao'er is also excellent! He is completely different from the Crown Prince Chengqian.

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

Kangxi disagreed with Li Shimin's handling of the affairs of his sons. Not to mention that the crown prince was demoted to a commoner for treason, but Prince of Wei Li Tai was involved, had ambitions and put them into action, yet he was only demoted to Prince of Shunyang, and a few years later he was re-enfeoffed as Prince of Pu?

Moreover, he really doted on Li Tai too much, how could he let him have the heart to seize the throne? I have never thought of letting other sons become the crown prince, Bao Chengcai is the crown prince.

Kangxi thought so, but he didn't know that his sons had completely different ideas.

Just like Crown Prince Yinreng, he could empathize with Li Chengqian. He felt that he had been forced to this point by his own royal father, and he had to continue to endure it. How similar was this to Li Chengqian?
As for the eldest prince Yinzhi, who already had a bad relationship with the crown prince at that time, if he knew what Kangxi was thinking, he would probably not understand either.

[In short, in the 23rd year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin ended his life journey and died in Cuiwei Palace. He was posthumously named Wen and temple name Taizong. He was buried together with Empress Zhangsun in Zhaoling Mausoleum.

His life came to an end, but his influence did not disappear.

His brilliant achievements have always been remembered by people and have become a benchmark: "A three-foot sword in the wind and dust, a military uniform for the country." "The great achievements of Emperor Taizong, established very grand and extensive."

His ability to appoint talented people to important posts and his clear political principles were also remembered: "If justice cannot be done at this time, I will cry bitterly in Zhaoling for the rest of my life." Even in the Song Dynasty, there were still people who "cried in Zhaoling for the sake of loyalty".

In the hearts of the Tang people and even in later dynasties, he was the founding emperor. "Emperor Wen braved wind and rain and personally took the lead in conquering the world and passed it on to his descendants." In the late Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, who was relatively accomplished, was given the highest evaluation by his contemporaries as "Little Taizong."

Li Shimin's glory continued to protect the Tang Dynasty until its demise.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court and the royal family had become extremely weak. People living in that era no longer knew what the glorious Tang Dynasty was like, nor did they understand what the Tang Dynasty was proud of. They no longer had confidence in the central government, and the only thing they wanted was to survive well and gain more personal benefits.

At this time, Huang Chao was at the peak of his power and the emperor had fled westward. No matter how much the commander Zheng Ting encouraged them, the defenders of Fengxiang had no intention of fighting. After Huang Chao's envoy arrived, they were ready to submit to Huang Chao and even held a banquet for this purpose.

And the turning point came at this time.

At the banquet, everyone was drinking and the atmosphere was not good. It happened that music was played to liven up the atmosphere. However, the music played was "The Qin King's Battle Music". When the music started, all the generals and subordinates cried. In response to the envoy's doubts, the staff said that "Prime Minister Zheng was unable to come because of paralysis, so he was sad."

But right after that, the attitudes of the generals on whether to surrender suddenly changed. Zheng Ting took the opportunity to explain the righteousness of the cause and finally gained support. He reorganized his troops, gathered the surrounding Shen Ce troops, issued a manifesto, and finally defended the land west of Beijing. 】

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

Li Shimin remained silent for a long time, tears streaming down his face, without a sound or a movement.

No one spoke. Even though they knew that the emperor should be persuaded, no one knew what to say or what they could say. On the contrary, they themselves were also speechless.

The previous contents are all very good. Later generations recognized your majesty and praised your noble benevolence and magnificent governance. Even if dynasties change and times change, your majesty's glory has never diminished. And those who followed your majesty to fight in all directions and govern the government will also surely be remembered in history.

There is no better news in the world.

But, what follows...

Your Majesty’s grace is long-lasting. Even when the Tang Dynasty was in decline and turmoil for a long time, and even the people had long forgotten their past glory and only wanted a place to live, you were still able to give the Tang Dynasty the final blessing.

They should be happy.

Don't such deeds prove that their choices and practices are correct? Taking the will of the people as destiny, working hard to govern, expanding the territory, and paying attention to people's livelihood, their efforts and your Majesty's efforts are rewarded! Even at the moment of national survival, there are still people willing to make another effort for your Majesty.

But they couldn't be happy after all.

The Tang Dynasty is going to fall! Although Zheng Ting in Tianmu used Fengyang as his base to repel Huang Chao's army and defend the land west of Beijing, everyone knew that it was just the last glimmer of light in the end of the Tang Dynasty, and the final outcome could not be reversed.

Moreover, Zheng Ting fought for many days, but the miracle only said that he "defended the land west of the capital", not the capital. What was the implied content? What a miserable state would Chang'an be in!
In the uneasy silence, Li Shimin calmed himself down and spoke slowly: "The Tang Dynasty should thank these soldiers." At that time when the situation was turbulent and everyone with a discerning eye knew that the Tang Dynasty was doomed, they were still willing to fight one last time - no matter what they were thinking at the time, they deserved the Tang Dynasty's gratitude.

He blinked his eyes and held back his tears. How could he not be moved? The song "Qin Wang Pozhen Music" showed that someone still remembered him at the end. This was the best ending he had wanted for his whole life! No, it couldn't be called the best ending. Such a profound blessing was something he had never even thought of.

Seeing that the ministers were gradually calming down, Li Shimin said solemnly: "The emperor is established for the people. 'Heaven sees through the eyes of the people, Heaven hears through the ears of the people'. The people have their own thoughts, and they can sense every move of the court. I want to cultivate virtues so that I can benefit future generations."

The Huang Chao Uprising hundreds of years later was too far away, and even the so-called separatist regimes had not yet occurred. He really could not force future generations to do anything. All he could do now was to strengthen his own good governance and good deeds, protect the people, and seek to benefit future generations.

The important officials of the Zhenguan period who were present straightened their clothes, bowed solemnly, and took over the emperor's words.

Tang Dynasty, the 20th year of Kaiyuan.

Li Longji was very angry about his descendants actually starting the Huang Chao Uprising: "How could I have such incompetent descendants! How could I let Huang Chao become so powerful?"

Although he has slacked off a lot now (of course he doesn't think so), his basic level is still there, especially in matters that have nothing to do with him, his judgment level has not declined. Obviously, the problems of the Tang Dynasty that allowed Huang Chao to create such a situation were not caused by one or two days, but accumulated over time.

Hence, his anger also came from this - why didn't the problem get solved earlier? How did it get to such a point where it was irreversible? How could I have such descendants!
However, recalling what he had heard about the feudal lords, he had a bad feeling. When did this feudal lord come out? Obviously, this was a major reason for the decline of the Tang Dynasty.

Although he seemed to have sensed something, Li Longji was unwilling to think deeply about it. After thinking about it hastily and getting no results, he snorted coldly: "I don't know which emperor caused the rebellion of the vassal states. I am truly an unworthy descendant who is unworthy of being the Son of Heaven!" Anyway, his Tang Dynasty was still doing well. It must have been caused by some unknown emperor in the future.

Hmm, could it be the descendant of Crown Prince Li Ying? Li Longji's eyes were gloomy. In recent years, he felt more and more that this son was not good enough and could not be the crown prince. If this was really the descendant of the crown prince, it would be better to abolish him as soon as possible, so as not to cause the great prosperity of the Tang Dynasty to be gone forever.

Tang Dynasty, Wude period.

Li Yuan, who was directly ignored by later generations, looked very unhappy.

What does it mean that Li Shimin is the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty? I am indeed very pleased with Erlang's civil and military achievements, and I am also very proud of the great achievements of the Tang Dynasty, but why did the founding emperor become Emperor Taizong of Tang?
Wasn't I the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty? !

I also started my own army from Jinyang and fought all the way to Chang'an!
Don't let me know who was the one who started to regard Taizong as the founding emperor, I will make him pay!

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Seeing the end of the Tang Dynasty, Liu Bang was filled with emotion and thought of another key point: "The Qin King's Battle Music? Is it the song that was played after Bai Bi at that time?" It seems that this song is not only a song, but also a carrier of Li Shimin's personal influence.

In this case, "Sir, why don't you let everyone sing "The Great Wind Song"? " Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could achieve the same effect as Li Shimin?

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

As expected of a descendant of Liu Bang, Liu Che’s focus was also very peculiar: “Buried together with Empress Changsun in Zhaoling Mausoleum?” Judging from the meaning of the picture in the miracle, it seems that they were buried in the same tomb?
Liu Che didn't understand. Although they did have a good relationship, shouldn't they be buried in their own tombs? To be more precise, they should be buried in two separate tombs.

They were both emperors and empresses, and there was no shortage of land or people to build tombs, so why did they have to squeeze together?

The ministers looked at each other in confusion. They really didn't quite understand. Perhaps it was a custom of later generations.

(End of this chapter)