Li Shimin joined the army as a teenager and went to Yanmenguan to rescue Yang Di. Propose Jinyang arise, worship the Emperor, seal Dunhuang Duke, lead the troops to attack Chang 'an, worship the ministers and doctors, and seal Qin Gong and Zhao Gong. After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, he led the troops to pacify the separatist forces such as Xue, Liu Wuzhou, Dou Jiande, Wang and Liu Heita, and made great contributions to the establishment and unification of the Tang Dynasty, worshiping the generals and sealing the king of Qin. On the fourth day of June (July 2, 626), Wude launched the "Xuanwumen Rebellion", killing Prince Li and Li Yuanji, the king of Qi, and was posthumously named the Crown Prince. On August 9th, Tang Gaozu Tang Gaozu abdicated, and Li Shimin proclaimed himself emperor, with the title of Zhenguan. In the early days of his rule, he listened to the opinions of ministers and accepted advice with an open mind. Governing the country and leveling the world with Chinese characters, practicing economy, persuading farmers and mulberry workers to recuperate, making the country prosperous and the people safe, and creating "the rule of chastity." Open up territory to the outside world, attack and destroy East Turkistan and Xueyantuo, conquer Gaochang, Qiuci and Tuguhun, and hit Goguryeo hard. The establishment of the four towns in Anxi, living in harmony with all ethnic groups in the northern region, won the title of "Tiankhan" and laid an important foundation for the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty 100 years.
Li Shimin also did a lot of stupid things in the later period of his administration. In his later years, Emperor Taizong did the following six stupid things:
First of all, I hate speaking frankly. Emperor Taizong was most famous for listening to ministers' outspoken suggestions. Even if he disagrees with the minister, he will never retaliate. But in his later years, he stopped listening. Some outspoken ministers, such as Liu Yue, were even retaliated by Emperor Taizong. Wei Zhi was loyal and outspoken all his life, but after Wei Zhi's death, Emperor Taizong did something to destroy his tombstone, which seemed to be a kind of revenge.
Second, the construction scale is large. Building a large-scale project is a routine action of a bad king. The great construction projects of ancient emperors were looked down upon by people, mainly because of the low level of productivity and weak national strength in ancient times, which they could not afford. Emperor Taizong rebuilt Yuhua Palace and other palaces in his later years, which really consumed a lot of national strength.
The third is the pursuit of longevity. The pursuit of immortality is a common fault of ancient emperors. The more emperors who have made great achievements in history, the more they like to live forever. After all, their strength is infinite, and so is the enjoyment of the world. In any case, they don't want to abandon all this and die. Tang Taizong also had this problem in his later years. Moreover, the death of Emperor Taizong, in a sense, was caused by the pursuit of immortality and the indiscriminate eating of Dan medicine.
The fourth is overjoyed. Tang Taizong launched some foreign wars in his later years. Including the wars against East Turkistan, Tuguhun and other western countries. In addition, many wars were waged against Koguryo. Although these wars have played a certain role in the stability of the border. But there are too many wars, and the national strength is also very consumed. At the same time, it also embodies Tang Taizong's thought of loving success.
The fifth is to tamper with history books. In order to leave a good reputation in history, Emperor Taizong repeatedly asked historians to show him Zhu Zhu and other historical materials. There is a tradition in history, and the emperor can't interfere with the behavior of historians. However, Li Shimin was afraid that things like the "Xuanwumen coup" would leave a bad influence on future generations, so he was fully involved in the writing behavior of historians. This has had a very bad influence on future generations.
Sixth, indulge in pleasure. In his later years, Emperor Taizong was somewhat slack in politics and indulged in pleasure. Many beautiful women were chosen to fill his harem, including Wu Zetian, who was also a candidate for the harem. And he chose Wu Zetian, but he rarely looked at Wu Zetian. It can also be seen that what he wants is mainly ostentation and extravagance. This point of Emperor Taizong is also very similar to those bad emperors in history.