If someone wants to ask: Who are the good emperors in history? I think: many people will think of Tang Taizong Li Shimin. He reigned from 626 to 649 AD, with the reign name Zhenguan. It is said that during these 23 years, the country was prosperous and the people were happy. "Old Book of Tang: The Benji of Taizong" says: At that time, "as far east as the sea and south as the mountains", people did not need to close the door when sleeping, did not need to bring food when traveling, and could eat wherever they went. These 23 years were the famous "Reign of Zhenguan" in history.
Why he can govern the country so well is very simple to say, that is: first, he can employ people and make the best use of their talents; second, he can "accept advice", that is, he can accept opinions and what others have to say. Dare to say it. In particular, he was able to accept advice. The famous minister Wei Zheng spoke out and dared to give advice. The harmony between the monarch and his ministers has been passed down for generations. In fact, being able to accept opinions and manage national affairs well is also a good thing for yourself, so why not do it? Li Shimin's courage to accept advice became his greatest virtue, which shows that most other emperors are unwilling to accept opinions, are unreasonable, and are like tigers. Intangible. This is indeed the case. Officials who spoke carefully to the emperor were beaten and killed just because what they said did not suit the emperor's taste. This has happened throughout the ages. In the past, a standard was set for loyal ministers in autocratic dynasties, that is, "literate people die in admonishment, and military personnel die in battle." It is easy to understand that a military attache who can die on the battlefield is considered a loyal minister. As for the "literary death remonstrance", requiring civil servants to die for remonstrance (admonition to the emperor) is unreasonable. It is of course possible to hope that civil servants will "tell everything they know and speak everything they know" to persuade the emperor. Whether the emperor listens or not is his business. If there is a disagreement or dispute, the emperor will kill people. Isn’t that too arrogant? Putting forward the "literary death remonstrance" as a request is equivalent to recognizing that the emperor can kill people at will. , it’s quite scary.
Since many emperors were unwilling to accept remonstrances, some emperors even got angry because they were tired of the nagging ministers who came to remonstrate. Why is it that only Li Shimin can accept advice with an open mind and follow it readily? We have to ask why. Is it because he is very well-educated? No. Is it because he has read thoroughly and understands the truth? No. When he gained the reputation of being an admonisher, he was still very young and in the prime of his youth, and his career was in full swing. At this time, there is always a special reason why he can humbly and patiently accept advice. To understand why, you have to tell the story a little longer.
Li Yuan, the founder of the Tang Dynasty, had 22 sons. Queen Dou's wife gave birth to four sons, the eldest son Jiancheng, the second son Shimin, the third son Yuanba died early, and the fourth son Yuanji. After Li Yuan ascended the throne, Feng Fei became the prince, Shimin became the king of Qin, and Yuan Ji became the king of Qi. Shimin was more capable. He made great contributions when he followed Li Yuan to conquer the country. He was worshiped as "Heavenly Strategy General" and his status was higher than that of other kings. He was arrogant about his achievements, and his relations with Jiancheng and Yuanji were very tense, to the point of becoming irreconcilable. Although Jiancheng was the prince, he had no authority and was very uneasy, so he united with Yuanji to resist the common people. Both sides formed factions and fought against each other. They all came to Li Yuan to complain, accusing the other party of "intentional evil". Li Yuan tried many times to make a proper arrangement to resolve the conflict, but failed. In the end, the contradiction intensified, and finally a great tragedy of fratricide broke out - the Xuanwu Gate Incident.
On June 4, 626 AD, 27-year-old Li Shimin brazenly launched a palace coup. He led his men to ambush in the Xuanwu Gate north of Chang'an Palace, and suddenly attacked Jiancheng and Yuanji who came to court. Unable to wait for his subordinates to take action, he personally drew his bow and shot his eldest brother, Prince Jiancheng, to death. Yuanji was also killed at the same time.
This is a major event that shocked the whole country. What happened is clear and cannot be concealed. Li Shimin used extremely disgraceful means to murder the prince behind the emperor's back. At the same time, he committed the grave crime of treason and dehumanization. Both public and private crimes were unpardonable. Before launching this incident, he had made great determination. He also made some necessary preparations, but after the incident was completed, he was extremely frightened and did not dare to see Li Yuan. His concerns at the time are conceivable. Before taking action, he had the idea that if I don't kill you, you will kill me, and he was determined to take risks in order to succeed. I didn’t think much about how to deal with the aftermath after it was done. But after the action, the situation faced was very serious. Although our side is quite powerful, the other side still has a certain amount of power and cannot be eliminated in a short period of time. Moreover, in terms of morality, law and public opinion, I am in a very disadvantageous position. Although the surprise attack was successful, the next step was a blessing or a disaster. It's hard to predict. Li Yuan's attitude is very important at this time.
If Li Yuan is angered and must be held accountable for this matter, then he will be very passive. In addition to killing his brother and brother, is he also forced to kill his father in the conflict and bear a greater crime? If Li Yuan is treated with both soft and hard tactics, After temporarily stabilizing him, there is still the possibility of resolving the conflict. Therefore, he decided to ask his general Yuchi Jingde to report his betrayal to Li Yuan, act according to circumstances, and strive to ease the conflict.
Yuchi Jingde was entrusted with the task, and went into the palace to see Li Yuan, armed with armor and spear. It is intended to both persuade and intimidate. Li Yuan was shocked when he heard the news and sighed: "I never expected that something like this would happen today!" He was both saddened and extremely embarrassed. If this coup is seriously pursued, they will inevitably fight each other. I don’t know how long it will take to end the killing. This is naturally extremely detrimental to the Li regime. After thinking about it again and again, he had no choice but to ask Yuchi Jingde to call Shimin over to discuss how to deal with the aftermath. When Shimin saw Li Yuan, he "whispered for a long time". He didn't know whether it was because he had a guilty conscience or was just pretending. At this moment, a stone in his heart fell to the ground, and he felt that he had survived from a desperate situation. Li Yuan first made Shimin the crown prince, and two months later, he became the crown prince and himself became the supreme emperor. Semin's partisans took over power. Although Jiancheng and Yuanji died unjustly, Li Yuan's compromise decision finally avoided a major bloodshed.
Although Li Yuan no longer pursues the case, the matter is not over yet. "Old Book of Tang" says: At that time, people's minds were as chaotic as "seeking rain from drought seedlings." Why was the overall situation unstable and people confused after Li Shimin came to the throne? He knew it well. That's because he used conspiracy to kill his brother to seize the throne, which aroused the dissatisfaction of many knowledgeable people in the government and the public, and the people's support was not on his side.
Faced with this crisis-ridden situation, Li Shimin was relatively calm and came up with a series of ways to treat the symptoms and the root cause. The so-called symptomatic treatment is to solve the immediate problem: for the rebels who have already emerged, we have to resolutely attack them without being soft at all to avoid spreading; for those who have not yet emerged but know that they are emotionally unstable, try to appease, win over, and strengthen them. Use officials and rewards to win them over to you. What is more difficult is how to cure the root cause. As an emperor, he has a dishonest name, a dishonest speech, and is unworthy of all his subjects. If you want to fundamentally change everyone's perception of yourself, you have to be humble and prudent, do things carefully, and behave with your tail between your legs.
Accepting advice with an open mind is of course a good way to win people's hearts. This is the real reason why he is more willing to accept advice than any previous emperor. The main target of his remonstrance was Prime Minister Wei Zheng. There are special reasons for this. Wei Zheng, an old minister, was originally a confidant of Prince Jiancheng and had always made suggestions for Jiancheng. He had no choice but to join Li Shimin after Li Yuan compromised. He has a certain reputation. He also knew the inside story of the struggle between the two sides. Because of his own concerns, Li Shimin did not dare to offend many people, let alone Wei Zheng. It was under this situation that Wei Zheng dared to go against Yan Zhijian and point out some of Li Shimin's shortcomings. Later generations did not know the truth and discussed the matter. They felt that Wei Zheng was upright and outspoken, and Li Shimin accepted it humbly. Such a relationship between monarch and minister was rare throughout the ages. It can be regarded as a model and has been praised for thousands of years.
But they don’t know that they are often singing a double act. They had discussed many things in advance. For some things that should not be done, Li Shimin first wanted to do it. Wei Zheng stood up and remonstrated. Li Shimin immediately accepted the remonstrance humbly and withdrew his orders. This is what modern people call "showing off." Who is the show for? Who is the double reed for? The target is the common people. Li Shimin sang the double reed and became a sage king, and Wei Zheng sang the double reed and became a wise prime minister. On the surface, the sage, the king, and the virtuous complement each other, but in fact that is not the case. Li Shimin was not really magnanimous and could really accept opinions. Even when he sang the oboe, he still felt very uncomfortable.
There is a passage in "New Book of Tang·Biography of Wei Zheng" that is enough to explain Li Shimin's change process from "happy to accept advice" to disgusted with giving advice. It can also be said to be the truth about Li Shimin's acceptance of advice. This passage is: (Wei Zheng said to Li Shimin) At the beginning of his Zhenguan period, your Majesty led people to give advice (induced others to give advice); after three years, when he saw the advice, he followed it; after one or two years, he reluctantly accepted the advice, and then It’s not peaceful in the end (I feel uncomfortable). The emperor was shocked and said: "What evidence is there for you to test it?" (Wei Zheng) said to him: "When your Majesty first came to the throne, he discussed the death of Yuan Law. Sun Fujia admonished him and thought that the law should not lead to death. Your Majesty gave Princess Lanling Garden, which can be used for hundreds of years." Ten thousand. Or say: The reward is too generous. Answer: I did not give any advice when I came to the throne, so I rewarded him. This guide is used to admonish people. Later, Liu Xiong falsely sued Sui Zi, and some officials were able to impeach him for being false. When he is about to die, he wears his armor and reports that the crime should be transferred. He holds four or five of them, and then pardons him. He says to his armor, "Firstly, if you abide by the law like this, you will not be afraid of indiscriminate punishment." This is a pleasure and I follow the advice. Huangfu Deshen wrote to him recently.
It is said that repairing the Luoyang Palace is a labor of labor; collecting land rent is a generous act; the customs of high buns are reflected in the palace (the outside world is influenced by the palace people). His Majesty said angrily (very unhappy): This son has made the country not to serve anyone, not to charge a single rent, and the people in the palace have no hair (to shave their heads), so he said what he wanted (he was satisfied). The minister said: If the minister writes a letter, he will not be able to inspire others. To be aggressive is to be close to slander. At that time, although His Majesty followed the advice of his ministers and rewarded him with silk, he was still dissatisfied. This is difficult to accept remonstrance.
The reason is not difficult to understand. When Li Shimin came to the throne, the shadow of the Xuanwu Gate Revolution was still there, so he had to pretend to be open-minded and accept advice in order to win the favor of his subjects. A few years later, things changed and he was no longer so patient with remonstrances. Later, when the situation is stable and worries are eliminated, and someone expresses his opinion directly, he will inevitably get angry, even if he temporarily restrains himself, "their intention will end up being unfair." It can be said that the magnanimity to accept advice no longer exists.
However, in order to maintain his reputation of being in harmony with Wei Zheng and his ministers for a long time, and to promote his virtue of being willing to accept advice for a long time, the double act must continue to be sung. Even if others feel that the atmosphere is not good and do not dare to say anything, Wei Zheng can always use his old tricks to help others with a little scolding. Or don’t say the specific content, just say something innocuous like “just to remind you.” For example, the famous "Ten Thoughts":
1. When you see what you want, think about contentment,
2. When repairing is about to be carried out, think about it and know how to stop it,
3. , When in high danger, think about humility,
Fourth, when faced with abundance, think about losses,
Fifth, when encountering pleasure, think about obedience,
Six. When banquet is in peace, think about future troubles,
7. Prevent obstruction, then think about delaying acceptance,
8. When you are sick of slander and evil, think about rectifying yourself,
9. Action When it comes to rewards, don’t think about it because of joy.
10. When punishing people, don’t think about it because of anger.
It is a commonplace to say it, and the words are neat and contrasting. It can be said to be a word game. Later, Li Shimin took the initiative to ask Wei Zheng, how has the governance situation in recent years been compared with the past? Wei Zheng was neglected during the "Ten Gradual Periods". The text says:
Your Majesty has just begun to purify himself of few desires, and has transformed into the wilderness. Now he is sending envoys thousands of miles away to visit and find treasures, and gradually he will do so. In the beginning, he loved the people like his own son, but now he uses the people's strength freely, which is the second step. In the beginning, I worked hard on things, but now I want to work on people. Although I am worried about the time, I can't stop talking about it. However, the things I enjoy doing are real in my heart, which is the third step. When you first met a gentleman, you stayed away from a villain. Now, with a gentleman, you treat him respectfully and at a distance. With a villain, you approach him intimately and gradually. In the beginning, it was useless to do nothing but to do harm and gain. Now, playing well and doing well go hand in hand, which is the fifth step. In the beginning, I was thirsty for virtuous people, but now my likes and dislikes follow my heart, so that my lies can be carried out. Six gradual also. At the beginning, there was no field for hunting and sightseeing. I went out this morning and returned in the evening to amuse myself by galloping. It was the end of the year. When we first met, we were polite and friendly, but now we are questioning each other carefully, and our loyalty has not been repaid, which is the end of the road. In the beginning, we diligently sought for governance, but the days were not enough; now, we have been arrogant for a long time, and we have started to build military and military force, which is the end of the world. At the beginning, there were frequent floods and droughts, but pensions were not enough; now, corvee service is gradually becoming more and more popular. Yuanyuan's heart may not be as stable as before, and it will gradually become worse.
Li Shimin watched it. The person was ordered to write the full text on the screen so that he could remind himself at any time (actually it was a propaganda to show that he was willing to accept criticism). Wei Zheng was immediately given "ten catties of gold and two stable horses", and both parties were very happy.
Even so, Wei Zheng still had to exercise caution and not speak too much. If you cannot control the heat, it will still offend Tianyan and bring unexpected disasters. According to the record in Volume 194 of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", after he dismissed the court once, Li Shimin returned to the inner garden and became furious and said, "Wei Zheng humiliates me every court." (It made me look bad in public). "You will have to kill this old man in the field" (I will kill this old man one day). After the queen repeatedly persuaded him and explained the stakes, he calmed down. It can be seen that his patience in accepting remonstrance is too limited. Not only will he get angry after hearing harsher opinions, but he will also think of killing someone. Moreover, the person he wanted to kill was none other than Wei Zheng, an old minister who had a good relationship with him. Please think about it, how true are these beautiful words?
If we say that Li Shimin humbly accepted advice, it was because he was unpopular and the political power was unstable, so he had no choice but to do so. Then there is another thing that proves that he is a hypocrite who is seeking fame and reputation and deceiving the world. This is the so-called "incarceration" incident. Perhaps it is because he has been used to singing double acts for self-promotion for many years. He still finds some topics to make articles about when he has nothing to do to promote himself as a rare great saint in ancient and modern times. It's a pity that his IQ is not very high, and there are many loopholes in the tricks he came up with, which can be seen by anyone with a discerning eye. As a result, not only did it fail to achieve the expected purpose, but it became a joke.
The general process of this incident is as follows: In 632 AD, Li Shimin believed that under his governance, the people would live and work in peace and contentment, and their moral standards would be greatly improved. In order to make a surprising test, he ordered that all 390 prisoners who had been sentenced to death be temporarily released to visit relatives for one year. Next year today, I will return as scheduled to receive the death penalty (it is really very humane). It is said that when the term expired, all these people came back, no less. Li Shimin was very happy and ordered them all to be pardoned. This incident was widely circulated at the time, and it was believed that the prisoners on death row were moved by Li Shimin's kindness and kindness, and they all became righteous gentlemen. Ouyang Xiu of the Song Dynasty wrote an article "On Indulgence in Prison", criticizing Li Shimin's attempt to gain fame and deceive others. The real situation is that both Li Shimin and the death row inmate used their minds to reach a tacit understanding. That is to say, Li Shimin expected them to come back before letting them go, and the death row prisoners also expected to be pardoned before they came back. This was a good show for the common people to see. Li Shimin gained a good reputation, and the prisoners on death row received the benefit of pardon. Both sides benefited, but the people were the ones who were fooled. Commenting on this matter in "Long Prison Theory", he said: The husband intends that he will come and let him go. This is the feeling of being a thief from the top; thinking that it will definitely come back again is the feeling of being a thief from the bottom. I see people above and below working together to achieve this name. There is so-called kindness and trustworthiness! (There is no such thing as "showing kindness" and "keeping trustworthiness".)
It can be seen that using power to deceive the world can only deceive people for a while, but it is difficult to deceive them for a long time. This kind of farce can only fool all living beings, but cannot fool many discerning people and knowledgeable people. It is not easy to use clever tricks to deceive future generations! Use despicable means to seize "Lanting Preface"
Chinese calligraphy is an art unique to the Han people. Being able to write well is a basic skill that intellectuals must have. Xiao Yan, Emperor Liang Yuan of the Southern Dynasties, was admired by scholars all over the world for his exquisite calligraphy, and Li Shimin was also envious of him. As long as his handwriting is good, he will naturally become a qualified emperor. This is the fundamental reason why Li Shimin loved calligraphy and practiced calligraphy hard throughout his life. If you want to practice calligraphy well, you must read famous posts and monuments all over the world. The famous calligraphy written by Wang Xizhi and his son, the greatest calligrapher in ancient and modern times, became the treasure he dreamed of. The emperor has wealth and power, so there is nothing he can't do. So, according to the imperial edict, the names of the two kings in the world were all sent to the Hanfeng Hall of Yuhua Palace in Chang'an. For example, Wang Xizhi's "Youmu Tie" and "Quick Snow and Clear Tie", Wang Xianzhi's "Mid-Autumn Tie", "Pear Sending Tie", etc. are all in the hands of Li Shimin. Hurray! Hurry!
This is Wang Xizhi's best The famous "Lanting Preface" post has never been found. Someone provided clues that this post was kept in the hands of a famous Zen master named Biancai in Yuezhong (Zhejiang). According to an imperial edict, the old monk Biancai was invited to Chang'an. Although the emperors and ministers of the Tang Dynasty said thousands of good things, the old monk refused to admit that he had hidden this thing. Li Shimin had no choice but to look up to the sky and sigh: "You are the emperor, but you don't have the chance to see this divine product. What's wrong! What's wrong!" Li Shimin had two capable ministers under his command, Fang Xuanling who was good at planning and Du Ruhui who was good at making judgments. When everyone was discussing good strategies, Fang Xuanling came up with a good idea, that is, to let the debate go back to Vietnam, let the matter cool down, and then send Xiao Yi, a eloquent censor, to "fraud". How to "cheat" the method? Xiao Yi pretended to be a well-known disciple who has been scholarly for generations. He carried a few genuine calligraphy works from the two kings, and in the name of seeking advice from his master, he introduced them to Biancai. After a period of dealings, Xiao Yi lived up to his orders and deceived the trust of Biancai, and saw the authentic copy of "Lanting Preface" in the hands of Biancai. As soon as the authentic product appeared, Xiao Yi immediately "changed his face" (the speed of his face change was no less than that of the "face change" in Sichuan Opera). He immediately showed his official power as an imperial envoy and censor, and severely scolded the old monk for not telling the truth to the emperor. It is a serious crime to deceive the emperor." He announced in person that the genuine article would be confiscated and handed over to the court. The poor 82-year-old monk was so shocked that he died of depression soon after. The Xiao Yushi returned to the court in great joy and victorious. Li Shimin obtained this national treasure and finally realized a dream he had had for many years. Before his death, he ordered that this national treasure be buried with him and be accompanied by a holy bow forever. Later, although people robbed the tomb many times, they never saw this thing. Some people ridiculed corrupt officials, saying that if you want this or that, you can't take it to the coffin when you die. Li Shimin actually brought the authentic "Lanting Preface" into the coffin. He is in this world forever and his whereabouts are still unknown.
After understanding the above historical facts, we can't help but think: Under the system of autocratic monarchy, being an emperor is really cheap. No wonder so many people risk their lives and use any means to fight for the throne of the emperor.
Because ordinary people (including civil and military officials) have to "responsible for their own profits and losses" when doing things. If something is done well, they will be credited, and if something is done badly, they will have to bear the responsibility. Only being an emperor can "lose profits" and not "bear losses". Those who did good things, such as the "Reign of Zhenguan" and the "Reign of Kaiyuan", will of course be solemnly recorded in history; those who did bad things, such as Li Shimin's murder of his brother to seize the throne, caused a series of fratricidal palace coups in the future, such as Li Longji favored the generals who single-handedly caused the Anshi Rebellion and almost destroyed the Tang Dynasty. It seemed that they did not need to bear any responsibility. It's not like modern people who are presidents. No matter how good they are, if something goes wrong once they are re-elected, they will have to bear the responsibility and may step down early. Therefore, today's people's fight to be president is far less desperate than the ancient people's fight to be emperor.
A history book is an account. Since it is an account, it should be recorded clearly. Whether it is profit or loss, it must be recorded truthfully. Although it cannot be exactly right, it should at least be roughly good. The records in Chinese history books give special treatment to the emperors, especially those who founded the country, that is, they should record their merits but not their demerits, and their gains should not be borne by their losses. In this case, the history book has become a confusing account with unclear explanations. It records the benefits of the emperor in endless chapters. Why did the country collapse in the blink of an eye? I would like to ask the historian who wrote the book, how do you explain to the future generations of the world? It is a fake account. How can future generations learn from the past and understand the present? Therefore, for the emperors of the past dynasties, it is best to record all the merits and demerits, profits and losses, and uncover their heads so that everyone can see their true colors.
Looking back at the hundreds of emperors in Chinese history over the past two thousand years, Li Shimin, the leader, was nothing more than that. It is easy to imagine what the emperors of various grades who followed him were. . It's ridiculous that Emperor Taizong tried every means to cover up the scandal of the Xuanwu Gate Incident and used many methods to change his impression in everyone's mind. Later, he actually developed a habit of constantly seeking fame and reputation, and deceiving the world and stealing his reputation. collapse". In response to this, the author lamented in a poem:
To hide his bad reputation and gain good reputation,
To gain fame and pardon the death penalty:
To hide it from the people of the world,
It is difficult to deceive the discerning people of future generations!