Chapter 57: A few things about the black material (Please do not raise personal opinions)

[The first was the Xuanwu Rebellion, in which he killed his brother and forced his father to death.]

This is a fact and there is no need to deny it.

There are always people saying that Li Jiancheng might have done a better job than Li Shimin. Well, I personally don't make any comments, but history does not allow assumptions.

Emperor Taizong of Tang made the Tang Dynasty so far ahead of other countries and made the people of the world live in peace and stability, so he was a good emperor. 】

[During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Yuan's palace guards all assisted the King of Qin, which shows how popular he was.]
[Killing his brother is a bit beyond the moral limit, but because of the Zhenguan Reign, I unilaterally chose to forgive him on behalf of Li Jiancheng.]
[Li Jiancheng: ...I am not that magnanimous.]
Li Jiancheng during the Wude period: ...I am really not that magnanimous.

Li Yuanji was completely ignored and was going crazy.

King Qin Li Shimin was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, so he decided to just let this matter go.

[The second is to tamper with history and confuse right and wrong.]

From a historical perspective, when a new dynasty is established, history will be rewritten to strengthen the political legitimacy of the dynasty. It is normal and understandable that history will be exaggerated a little.

The main criticisms include:
The first point is to belittle his father Li Yuan and his elder brother Li Jiancheng.

Some people used the descriptions of Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng in "The Diary of the Founding of the Tang Dynasty" to accuse Li Shimin of changing history and belittling the two.

First of all, Li Yuan asked Wen Daya to write the "Da Tang Founding Daily Records", which was completed during the Wude period. He couldn't have written a bad story about the emperor and the crown prince.

Secondly, this book was not banned and was still circulated in the official circles during the reign of Wu Zetian. If it was really changed, why was it not banned?
In the end, there were too many supernatural events in the book, including purple air like a rainbow rushing towards the Big Dipper, purple clouds floating above Li Yuan's head and changing into five colors, the river water suddenly rising several feet and flowing upstream, etc. It was so magical that the credibility of the book was questionable.

The second point is that Li Shimin fought for the credit of being the "mastermind of the uprising."

The host personally believes that the mastermind of the uprising is not that important in historical evaluation.

For example, Zhu Yuanzhang, who single-handedly founded the Ming Dynasty, recognized Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and Li Jing as the three greatest contributors to the Tang Dynasty, but none of these three participated in the planning of the uprising.

This was just the icing on the cake for Li Shimin, so there was no need to go through the trouble of changing it.

The third point is still about the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Li Shimin did read "The Veritable Records of Emperor Gaozu" and "The Veritable Records of Emperor Taizu", but the one he read was written by Jing Bo, who was famous for his straightforward writing. After reading them, he even said that he would write the events of Xuanwu Gate in a straightforward manner.

Some people also say that Li Shimin asked Fang Xuanling to revise history, but history books clearly record that Fang Xuanling was the mastermind behind the murder of Li Jiancheng, which would be criticized in the ancient moral system. Since he wanted to change it, why not blur the story a little?
In short, there is no clear evidence to support the claim that Li Shimin changed history, and it is all subjective speculation.

Li Shimin thought it was a bit ridiculous. If he wanted to change history, why didn't he just erase the Xuanwu Gate Incident from the history books, instead of writing about it in such detail?

Since such a big thing has been recorded, do other small things need to be changed?

[Some smart people think that Xuanwu Gate was immoral, so Li Shimin changed the history; after reading the records, they say that Xuanwu Gate was written directly, but in fact Li Shimin was speaking in a sarcastic way, just wanting to change history. Anyway, they are just guessing.]
[“The King of Qin shot the Crown Prince to death with his own hands”, if I were to change the history, I would change it to the King personally shooting his younger brother who had committed a serious crime to death, and the elder brother was killed by his subordinates, wouldn’t that be good?]
[There was no literary ban in the Tang Dynasty, but no "restored" notes and novels of Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng have been passed down. Doesn't this explain the problem?]

Li Jiancheng felt ashamed. He didn't need these people to flatter him. This would only make others think that he, Li Jiancheng, was a good-for-nothing.

Li Yuanji continued to be furious.

(Tang-××: His Majesty Taizong is upright and aboveboard, how could he be such a person?)
(Tang-××: His Majesty Taizong is the greatest man in ancient and modern times!)
(Tang-××: Emperor Taizong has a great reputation and many military achievements. We admire him. He does not need to do such a thing.)
Li Shimin blushed at the praise and was moved, because these were all the people of his Tang Dynasty.

[Many people in ancient times believed that Li Shimin was the actual founding emperor, but some people think they know better than the ancients.]
[From what Li Yuan said, he really doesn’t seem like a very powerful person. He said that it was shameful for Emperor Gaozu of Han to fight in person, and that Xiao He and Cao Shen were both clerks, and that only he and Pei Ji were the most noble.]
I was just watching the fun, but ended up becoming one of the fun.

(Han-X Bang: ...What's wrong with the Lord personally fighting in battle?)

(Han-×He:???)
(Han-×參: So what if I was born a clerk? I eat your food?)

隋。

Dou looked at her husband helplessly.

Li Yuan was born into a noble family and was naturally arrogant, but since Emperor Gaozu of Han, who came from a humble background, was able to achieve such great achievements, what right did he have to say such things?

Don.

Aye was besieged, and Li Shimin just stood there and watched.

[The third is to raise an army to rebel against Sui, but the campaign was mediocre.]

Well, it’s hard to comment. I’ve already introduced it in detail before, but let’s look at what the teacher said, “Since ancient times, no one has been better at military than Li Shimin, and the next best is Zhu Yuanzhang.”]

[Haha, haha, "The mediocre conquest" Li Shimin (dog head)]

[The campaign was mediocre, that is, he defeated the Sui general Song Laosheng, captured one-third of Chang'an, defeated the Western Qin in the Battle of Fufeng, destroyed the Western Qin at Qianshuiyuan, defeated Liu Wuzhou, and captured two kings in one battle (modest)]

[It's really funny that his military achievements were mediocre. There are also people who slander Li Shimin's achievements. Let's just say that the title of General Tiance was originally a title that Li Yuan could not give away because of his great contributions. So why didn't he give this title to someone else?]
During the Zhenguan period, the military generals under Emperor Taizong were angry.

Cheng Zhijie: "If your majesty calls the war a mediocre one, then what do you think of us generals?"

[Li Shimin traveled through five thousand years and was awarded like a prize to loyal ministers and generals who were let down by the emperors of all dynasties, but he was still criticized for this.]
[Li Shimin: It seems that everyone knows how good I am (dog-head holding a rose)]

This expression was so vivid that when Empress Changsun saw it and thought of Erlang making this expression, she couldn't help but laugh.

Li Shimin: Thank you for your appreciation, but he still likes the Tang Dynasty the most.

The loyal generals who were betrayed: …

If their Majesty had half the magnanimity of Emperor Taizong of Tang, they would be satisfied.

Especially the civil and military officials of the Song Dynasty who advocated war and insisted on the Northern Expedition.

[Fourth, massacre the meritorious officials and take revenge on Wei Zheng.]

Let’s talk about the massacre of heroes first.

Just look at the endings of the twenty-four heroes in the Lingyan Pavilion. Only three of them were executed for treason. Yu Shinan and Tang Jian died of natural causes, and the rest died of illness.

Duke of Lu, Hou Junji, was indeed involved in Li Chengqian's rebellion, and was executed after the rebellion failed. Duke of Xun, Zhang Liang, became disloyal in his later years, adopted 500 sons, was accused of treason, and was beheaded in Xishi. As for Duke of Zhao, Zhangsun Wuji, was falsely accused of treason by Xu Jingzong during the reign of Emperor Gaozong, exiled to Lingnan, and hanged himself. Later, Emperor Gaozong, Li Zhi, rehabilitated Zhangsun Wuji and buried him in Zhaoling Mausoleum.

The heroes basically had a good ending.

Secondly, take revenge on Wei Zheng.

After Wei Zheng's death, the crown prince rebelled, Duke of Lu Hou Junji was executed, and the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Du Zhenglun was implicated and exiled. Because Wei Zheng had recommended these two people, Taizong began to suspect that he was forming a clique for personal gain.

In anger and desperation, he pushed down the stele, which was the stele of merit written by Emperor Taizong of Tang himself for Wei Zheng, not a tombstone. After finding out the truth, he put the stele back in place.

Wei Zheng's tombstone was not toppled, no order was issued to search his property, and his corpse was not whipped.

Therefore, the massacre of meritorious officials and revenge against Wei Zheng are completely rumors. 】

Wei Zheng couldn't hold it anymore, so how could he spread rumors that his corpse was whipped?
[Changsun Wuji was framed for treason, but he later became greedy for power and reaped the consequences.]
[Li Zhi was a treacherous man, and even Zhangsun Wuji could not defeat him. He was the one who led the whole thing, and it was Wu Zetian who bore the bad reputation.]
[Massacre of meritorious officials? This is massacre? How do you think Zhu Yuanzhang's Hongwu Battle Royale would look like?]
Hongwu Battle Royale???

Even a battle royal was necessary, which shows how dangerous the court was at that time.

The officials of the Hongwu court all changed their expressions and said, "Your Majesty, you have such a cruel heart!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked and wondered, is he such a person?
Li Shimin frowned. This daughter-in-law named Wu Zetian seemed very extraordinary.

Also, when she spoke before, why was Wu Zhou mentioned first?

I have some guesses, but I'm not sure. It's too unbelievable.

[The fifth is the Weishui Alliance, which was a great shame and humiliation.]

The Weishui Alliance almost emptied the national treasury, which was a great humiliation for Li Shimin himself.

However, it avoided fighting under unfavorable conditions, consolidated the foundation of the early Tang Dynasty, and bought time for the development of Li Tang. 】

[The Weishui Alliance is nothing to talk about. Jie Li Khan will come to Chang'an to dance in a few years.]
[How should I put it? Whether in history or now, there are no completely good people, but some people don’t have to be so harsh on Li Shimin.]
[Shouldn't the Weishui Alliance be considered an achievement? How did it become a shame?]

[It can’t be called an achievement, but he regained his face later.]
[Maybe it was confused with the Danyuan Alliance.]
[Li Er felt ashamed for giving away so much gold and silver, but he probably didn't expect that someone in the future would actually consider it a shame.]
[Let people say what the historical merits and demerits are. They have been dead for thousands of years. Let them say whatever they want.]
Li Shimin said that he had not been dead for thousands of years. He was still alive and still cared about it.

[Sixth, he is fond of ostentation and warmongering.]

The essence of feudal society is exploitation and being exploited. No matter how wise the emperor is, he is ultimately an exploiter.

From the perspective of ordinary people, they definitely don't want to go to war.

But not wanting to fight doesn’t mean not to fight, otherwise you will be the only one who gets beaten, like Song.

Except for the controversial attack on Goguryeo in his later years, almost every military action during the Zhenguan period achieved a major strategic goal, and there were no repeated tug-of-war battles with foreign races.

Wars, big and small, were all fought to maintain the stability of the Tang Dynasty. They were purposeful and targeted, not simply militarism.

But Li Shimin was not a perfect man, and it was impossible for him to be without selfish motives. At least when it came to attacking Goguryeo, his motives were not so pure.

First of all, the Tang Dynasty was prosperous and all nations came to pay tribute. Li Shimin had accomplished great achievements and would not tolerate Goguryeo snoring beside him. Moreover, at that time, it seemed that Goguryeo's territory had been split from the Central Plains and must be recovered.

Secondly, Goguryeo had higher political foresight and cultural literacy than the nomadic peoples. From the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it secretly provoked the relationship between the Central Plains dynasty and the nomadic peoples whenever it had the chance in order to protect itself in the chaos. It was always a huge hidden danger to the Central Plains dynasty.

Therefore, in the 19th year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin went against the majority opinion and withdrew his troops after the failure of the expedition against Goguryeo.

Subsequently, in the 21st and 22nd years of Zhenguan, two small-scale expeditions against Goguryeo were launched.

But in the 23rd year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin died of illness.

The host personally believes that except for the conquest of Goguryeo, every other war cannot be attacked.

Of course, it is undeniable that the three expeditions to Goguryeo caused huge consumption of the Tang Dynasty's human, material and financial resources.

[In summary, there are two reasons for conquering Goguryeo. One is that he wanted to show off his achievements in his later years, and the other is that he did not want to leave hidden dangers for the next generation.]
[The first time, he was not defeated, but he took the initiative to withdraw his troops when the situation was unfavorable. However, for Li Shimin, this was a major stain on his life.]
[Emperor Yang of Sui failed in his three expeditions to Goguryeo, which led to the complete collapse of the Sui Dynasty. Li Shimin also failed in his three expeditions to Goguryeo, which eventually became his lifelong regret.]
[Li Shimin believed that Crown Prince Li Zhi was weak, and if he did not resolve the Goguryeo issue, the Tang Dynasty would definitely suffer in the future, although Li Zhi was not a weak person.]
[The old father has too strong a filter for his son.]
[Warmocracy is more suitable for Emperor Wu of Han. During the Zhenguan period, countless battles were fought, but the more they fought, the lower the grain price became, the richer the people became, the larger the territory became, and the greater the influence became.]
Don.

Li Shimin frowned. After three expeditions to Goguryeo, he still failed to conquer that tiny country?
Wei Zheng strongly disagreed and was ready to make a suggestion after the curtain fell.

The previous Emperor Yang of Tang completely lost his country because of Goguryeo. When the Tang Dynasty was first established, it was not yet stable. How could it rashly go on an expedition?

Fang Xuanling and other counselors also disagreed.

The fact that Emperor Yang of Sui launched three expeditions to Goguryeo really left a huge shadow on the Central Plains.

隋。

Yang Jian wanted to beat his son again, but he failed three times and ended up ruining his country. Yang Guang was really a little evildoer.

[Seventh, outsourcing technology will only bring harm to you.]

Some people believe that Emperor Taizong of Tang gave some advanced technology and culture to the surrounding ethnic minorities and countries, so that they could develop and cause hidden dangers to themselves, such as Japan. "Zhenguan Zhengyao", "Old Tang Book", "New Tang Book" and "Zizhi Tongjian" clearly record that the Confucian Six Classics were given during the reign of Emperor Taizong, and the envoys who came to the Tang Dynasty studied Confucian classics.

What happened later could not be predicted by the predecessors, so it is a bit inappropriate to say that raising a tiger will bring disaster. 】

[This is a difficult point to comment on, and I have nothing to say.]
[The main reason is that the history was so tragic that everyone wondered if Japan had not learned so much, would the subsequent events have not happened?]

[The above clearly tells you that it won’t happen. Life is so cruel and vicious that you will always find an opportunity.]
[Curse it, it has done so many evil things, why hasn't the island sunk yet?]
Wuzhou period.

Wu Zetian was just about to name Wakoku Japan, but after hearing what Tianmu said, she changed her mind.

It seems that in later generations, this small country seemed to have done some bad things, which made people in later generations so disgusted.

Let’s continue to call it Japan.

Her eyes turned fierce and she ordered people to keep the Tang envoys under guard. Whether they could survive would depend on what their descendants did.

(End of this chapter)