Martial arts
Historical records record that Li Shimin was extremely strong when he was young. Among the weapons he carried with him, the most famous one was a two-meter-long giant sky bow, which shows that his martial arts skills were first-rate.
Li Shimin once led only one cavalryman to perform reconnaissance work before going into battle with the enemy. Passing through a grassland highland, he fell asleep with the soldiers because he was too tired. He was discovered by the enemy, who originally intended to surround and kill Li Shimin. At this time, suddenly a snake chased the mouse and ran into the face of the cavalry. It woke up the cavalry and found that they were surrounded by enemies. So Li Shimin and the cavalry mounted their horses and fled. Li Shimin himself fired his bow left and right, hitting the target with every shot, and finally escaped from the pursuit.
Before Taizong succeeded to the throne, he served as General Tiance and established Tiance Mansion. After Taizong succeeded to the throne, he was hunting in the garden, and a group of wild boars ran out. Taizong killed four of them with four arrows, but a majestic male wild boar still rushed forward. Tang Jian, the Minister of Civil Affairs, dismounted his horse in a hurry and fought with him. Taizong drew his sword and chopped the wild boar to death. He smiled and said to Tang Jian, "Tiance has a long history, but you don't see the general attacking the thieves? Why should you be afraid!" It turned out that Tang Jian had been the chief history of Tiance Mansion. Tang Jian immediately replied: "The ancestors of the Han Dynasty captured it with horses, but did not use horses to deal with it. Your Majesty used your divine force to control the four directions, how can you show your ambition on a beast!" Taizong felt that Tang Jian's words were reasonable, so he stopped hunting.
People, the governor of Shangshu Province only had left and right servants, and later other officials were used to participate in the government affairs and perform the duties of prime minister with the title of "Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin". During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, low-level officials were used to participate in government affairs and perform the duties of prime minister with the title of "Tong Zhongshu Menxia Ping Zhangshi". Zuo and Youpushe became officials who followed orders and could not participate in major political affairs. After Tang Zhongzong was restored to power, Pushe no longer held the position of prime minister. Zhongshu Ling and Shizhong were no longer permanent after the Anshi Rebellion. Tong Zhongshu Menxia Ping Zhangshi became the most common name for the prime minister.
Name changed
According to the Anthology of Taizong in the Two Tang Dynasties, when Li Shimin was four years old, he met a physiognomist during an outing with his father Li Yuan. The physiognomist first praised Li Yuan as a noble man. , and also praised the people of the world, saying that "anyone who is twenty years old will be able to help the world and bring peace to the people." After Li Yuan searched for the fortune teller but could not find it, he changed his name to Li Shimin (that is, Li Shimin's real name may not be Li Shimin).
Calligraphy
Li Shimin loves calligraphy, and his calligraphy is famous for official script. He also loves the famous calligraphy "Lanting Preface" (that is, "Lanting Collection Preface"), which is a treasure of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. Wang Xizhi has many calligraphy works. There are more than ten changes in the word "zhi"). It is said that a certain minister saw that Taizong seemed to be depressed and could not get rid of it. He asked the reason and found out that he wanted to get the "Lanting Preface", so he met the monk Biancai (Wang Xizhi). At that time, the calligraphy treasure was passed down to his seventh generation Sun Zhiyong. Zhiyong became a monk and passed the calligraphy treasure to his disciple Monk Biancai. After a battle of wits, Li Shimin finally obtained it. However, Wang Xizhi did not want "Lanting Preface" to fall into the hands of the emperor and become a burial object. But in the end, the result was counterproductive, and "Lanting Preface" eventually became a burial object for Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.