1. Appointment:
In the ninth year of Wude (626), Li Shimin launched the Xuanwumen Incident and killed Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji and others. When Li Shimin saw Wei Zheng speak directly, he pardoned Wei Zheng. Wei Zheng was also appointed as the master of Zhan affairs. In the first year of Zhenguan (627), Li Shimin ascended the throne and appointed Wei Zheng as Shangshu Zuocheng. In the third year of Zhenguan (629), Wei Zheng was appointed secretary-supervisor and began to participate in government affairs.
2. Death:
In the 17th year of Zhenguan (643), Wei Zheng died of illness. Li Shimin was very sad and abandoned the court for five days. Wei Zheng was posthumously given the title of Commander-in-Chief of Sikong and Xiangzhou, with the posthumous title "Wenzhen". ?
Li Shimin issued an edict to bury Wei Zheng lavishly, but Wei Zheng's wife Pei refused on the grounds that Wei Zheng lived a simple life and a luxurious funeral was not what the deceased wanted. The Pei family only had a small car to carry Wei Zheng's coffin. Li Shimin summoned all civil and military officials to go out of the city to see it off and personally carved an inscription. In February of the same year, Li Shimin ordered Yan Liben to paint twenty-four portraits of heroes and place them in Lingyan Pavilion. Wei Zheng ranked third.
3. Wei Zheng's remonstrance:
1. In the eighth year of Zhenguan (634), Shaanxi County Prime Minister Huangfu Deshen wrote a letter to offend Li Shimin. Li Shimin thought it was slander. Later, Wei Zheng remonstrated, and Li Shimin felt that what Wei Zheng said was reasonable, and ordered to reward Huangfu with 20 pieces of De Shen silk.
2. In the tenth year of Zhenguan (636), Queen Changsun passed away and was buried in Zhaoling. She was posthumously named Queen Wende. After Empress Changsun was buried in Zhaoling, Li Shimin couldn't stop thinking about her. In order to ease the pain of missing her, he built a layered view in the palace and looked at his wife's tomb all day long. After Wei Zheng's advice, Li Shimin demolished the layered view. .
3. In the eleventh year of Zhenguan (637), Li Shimin visited Luoyang east and lived in Xianren Palace. Most of them were condemned because of poor worship by state and county officials. Wei Zheng told Li Shimin that Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty once asked the nearby people to pay tribute here. The tributes were thrown away before they could be eaten, which was very wasteful.
4. In March of the twelfth year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin said to his courtiers: "Before Zhenguan, he followed me to pacify the world and traveled through troubled times. This was Fang Xuanling's contribution. After Zhenguan, he devoted himself to me. Wei Zheng is the only one who can give honest and honest advice to the country and benefit the people, and dare to offend the dignity of the monarch and correct my mistakes. No famous official in ancient times can surpass them." So he personally took off his sword and gave it to the two of them. .
5. In May of the 13th year of Zhenguan, Wei Zheng took advantage of Li Shimin’s edict to be promoted to an official position with a fifth rank or higher, and comprehensively and systematically summarized the fact that political affairs were not as good as at the beginning of Zhenguan. Ke Zhongshu". After Li Shimin read the memorial, he readily accepted it.
6. In the fourteenth year of Zhenguan (640), Wei Zheng admonished Li Shimin and asked him to start well and end well.
3. Among Wei Zheng's remonstrances, he is most famous for his "Ten Gradual Failures".
Extended information:
1. Wei Zheng is famous for his outspokenness and daring to remonstrate. According to statistics recorded in "Zhenguan Politicians", Wei Zheng presented his remonstrances to Li Shimin fifty times and submitted them to Li Shimin. He wrote eleven memorials and "more than hundreds of thousands of words" of admonitions throughout his life. The number of followers, the passionate words, and the firm attitude are all unmatched by other ministers.
2. Historical evaluation:
Wang Gui: Every time he takes admonition and criticism as his heart, he is ashamed that his emperor is not as good as Yao and Shun, and his ministers are not as good as Wei Zheng.
Li Shimin: Wei Zheng and Wang Gui used to be in the East Palace and did their best. At that time, they were honest and hateful. I can promote it and use it to this day, and I am worthy of the ancients. After Zhenguan, he devoted himself to me, offered his loyalty and admonishment, brought peace to the country and benefited the people, and achieved my achievements today. Wei Zheng is the only one who is known in the world. How can we add such a famous minister in ancient times? How can a politician treat the kings of Yao and Shun, and the help of Long Yi, and drive Wei Zheng by himself? The world will be safe, the borders will be fine, the times will be harmonious, and the years will be peaceful. This is the benefit of his loyalty. Today Wei Zheng passed away, and then one mirror died. ?
Queen Changsun: I have heard that Your Majesty respects Wei Zheng, but I don’t know why. Now that I have heard of his advice, I am able to control the feelings of the king with justice, and I am a true minister of the country. I hope you will keep this attitude forever and never change it today. He likes to hear public words, so he orders people to reward each other. When it comes to public matters, it's the way to go, and don't leave any traces behind.
Chang Gun: Between Wude and Zhenguan, there were Wei Zheng, Wang Gui, Li Jing, Li Ji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, etc., who supported great fortunes, worked hard for the royal family, respected their masters and protected others, and were deadly to bandits. There is a virtue in Xian, which is immortalized in the emperor's heart. He will be cherished forever, and the strong wind is still there.
Quan Deyu: I, Emperor Taizong Wen, have the world, and Wei Zheng, Wang Gui and others’ dangerous words will bring great benefits and will lead to boundless progress. This is a real sign.
Dugu Ji: Wei Zheng used the king's way to assist when he was close to "wen", and when he loved the king and forgot about himself, he was close to "zhen". The two are both excellent, and neither can be eliminated, so it is called Wen Zhen.
Liu Su: Wei Zheng has great ambitions, is very shameful, has extensive knowledge of books, and is quite knowledgeable about the art of kingship. ?
Li Jiang: In the past, Taizong governed the world, with Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui assisting Xiang Shengde, Wei Zheng and Wang Guigui failing to remonstrate, Wen Yanbo and Dai Zhou taking care of political affairs, and Li Jing and Li Ji Train and rectify the army, so the barbarians and Di are afraid to obey, and the world will be safe
Reference: Wei Zheng - Baidu Encyclopedia