After Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty unified the country, intense political strife broke out within the royal family. The two opponents in the political strife were Prince Li Jiancheng and King Qin Li Shimin. The purpose of the political strife was the succession to the throne. The climax of the political strife was in the ninth year of Wude. A coup - the Xuanwu Gate Change.
Tang Gaozu had twenty-two sons. Gaozu's first wife, Queen Dou, gave birth to four sons: the eldest son Li Jiancheng was crown prince, the second son Li Shimin was named King of Qin, the third son Xuanba died early, and the fourth son Yuanji Conferred the title of King of Qi. Jiancheng, Shimin, and Yuanji were all talented. However, before the Taiyuan uprising, only Shimin participated in the planning. After the uprising, in the war to bring peace to the heroes, Shimin made the greatest contribution. However, Shimin was not the eldest son. According to traditional customs, the throne It should be inherited by the eldest son, so after Tang Gaozu ascended the throne, he immediately became the crown prince.
Because Li Shimin was able to fight and had both wisdom and bravery, he became an important leader of the Tang army. After Wude defeated Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande in the fourth year of Wude, Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty appointed Shimin as "General Tiance". Above all the kings, he also served as Situ, Daxingtai of Shaanxi Province, and Shangshu Ling. Officials were set up in the palace of the King of Qin, and the people of the country also opened a literature museum in the palace. They recruited literary scholars from all over the world and treated them with great courtesy, including Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Yu Shinan, Kong Yingda, Chu Liang, Yao Silian, Li Xuandao, Yu Zhining, Su Shichang Eighteen people including , Xue Shou, Lu Deming, Li Shouxu, Cai Yungong, Yan Xiangshi, Xu Jingzong, Xue Yuanjing, Gai Wenda, and Su Xu were all bachelors of the literature hall. They took turns staying in the hotel and discussing history. Every time Shimin talked with the bachelors Late at night, after that, the people of the world ordered Lu to make a painting of eighteen bachelors. Chu Liang praised it and named it eighteen bachelors. The scholar-bureaucrats were all proud of it and went to Yingzhou for eighteen bachelors. These people were all from the world. The people's strategists. In addition, the people of the world conquered the south and the north and recruited many brave generals and warriors in Tiance Mansion, such as the famous generals of the early Tang Dynasty Li Shiji, Wei Yun Jingde, Qin Shubao, Cheng Rujie, Duan Zhijie, etc. were all in Tiance Mansion.
Since he had many counselors and brave generals, King Qin Shimin naturally formed a powerful political group at that time, which directly threatened the crown prince Jiancheng. Under an autocratic regime, political power is exclusive. In order to consolidate the prince's status and ensure the succession to the throne in the future, Prince Jiancheng will inevitably compete with the King of Qin and the people, hoping to reduce the power of the people.
Prince Jiancheng is not an incompetent person. Just because he is the crown prince, he cannot go to the battlefield often, so his military achievements are not as prominent as those of the people. In the fifth year of Wude, Liu Heitai led the Turks to invade. Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty ordered Prince Jiancheng to go to attack them. He actually wanted Prince Jiancheng to achieve military success. King Yuanji of Qi had few talents but many desires, and colluded with Prince Jiancheng to deal with King Qin and his people. Yuanji once said to Jiancheng: "King Qin's achievements are growing day by day, and he is loved by his superiors. Although His Highness is the prince, his position is uneasy, and it will not be long before it is too late." Yuan Ji wants to kill the people, but he does not really care about Jiancheng. Yuan Ji once said to Xue Bao, who belongs to him: "If you get rid of the King of Qin, you can take Dongguan like a palm." Therefore, Yuan Jisuke had another conspiracy.
Prince Jiancheng adopted three strategies to strengthen himself and weaken the power of the people. The first strategy was to deliberately contact Tang Gaozu's concubines and ask them to be his domestic help. Gaozu had many domestic favors in his later years, among which Zhang Jieyu and Concubine Yin De were the most favored by Emperor Gaozu, and Prince Jiancheng befriended them. At that time, troops were still being used everywhere. The king of Qin and the people often sent troops out, and the concubines rarely saw the people. When Luoyang was pacified, Gaozu sent his concubines to Luoyang to inspect the harem of the Sui Dynasty. These concubines saw that the empress officials in Luoyang had many treasures. He wanted to take some for himself, and his concubines also sought official positions for their brothers. However, King Qin Shimin, who was in charge of Luoyang affairs, said that the treasures left by the Sui Dynasty had been registered one by one and sent to the treasury. They could not be given to private individuals. As for official positions, Rewards should be based on merit. Official positions cannot be given without merit.
As a result, the concubines resented the people. At this time, King Qin Shimin was appointed as the Daoxingtai of Eastern Shaanxi. Emperor Gaozu allowed Shimin to decide all affairs within the jurisdiction, so Shimin gave a piece of land in the jurisdiction to Li Shentong, the king of Wei'an who had made meritorious service in the war. It happened that Zhang Jieyu also served as the governor. His father asked for this piece of land, and Emperor Gaozu issued an edict to grant it to Zhang Jieyu's father. However, Li Shentong said that King Qin and the people of the Qin Dynasty had given him the land first and refused to hand it over. Zhang Jieyu then distorted the facts and told Gaozu that Said: "The emperor gave my father the land, but the king of Qin took it and gave it to others."
Gaozu was furious and summoned the king of Qin and his people to serve as officials. He reproached him and said, "Isn't my edict as good as what you said?" A few days later, Gaozu said to Pei Ji: "The King of Qin has been mistaken by Confucian scholars for a long time. He is no longer my son."
"Another time, Ruhui, a scholar of Qin Yu's Mansion, rode past the door of Concubine Yin De's father's house and pointed his finger at Concubine Yin. Seeing that she had caused trouble, Father Yin asked Concubine Yin De to falsely accuse King Qin's right and left in front of Emperor Gaozu and beat Father Yin. Emperor Gaozu was furious and scolded her. Qin Wang Shimin said: "Your right and left men dare to insult my concubine's family. Wouldn't it be worse for the people?" Qin Wang Shimin quickly explained himself, but Gaozu ignored it. Under the instigation of dissension by his concubines, Gaozu gradually became alienated from the people. Emperor Gaozu once called a banquet for the kings. During the banquet, King Qin and the people thought that his mother (Queen Dou) had died before he could see the world being pacified. He felt sad and shed tears. Emperor Gaozu was not happy when he saw the actions of the people. They then took the opportunity to slander the people and lobby for the completion of the project. The concubines said: "Now that the world is peaceful, your majesty should have fun and enjoy it, but the king of Qin is sad and weeping. He is resentful and jealous of us. If your majesty unfortunately passes away and the king of Qin comes to power, we will All these people will be killed by him. We feel that the prince is still kind and he will be able to take care of us." The cries of the concubines moved Gaozu. Gaozu did not like Jiancheng at first. After the concubines' lobbying, he gradually changed his view of Jiancheng. The status of the established prince was consolidated.
The second strategy of Prince Jiancheng is to strengthen his military strength. The capital secretly recruited 2,000 strong men as guards of the East Palace and stationed them at the Changlin Gate of the East Palace, known as the "Changlin Soldiers". In addition, Jiancheng colluded with Yang Wenqian, the general manager of Guangzhou (now Qingyang, Gansu), and ordered Wenqian to recruit troops and send them to the capital to prepare for a coup. Jiancheng sent generals Er Zhuhuan and Xiaoweiqiao Gongshan to deliver weapons to Wenqian and asked Wenqian to send troops to the capital. Erzhuhuan and others were afraid, so they surrendered and reported that Wenqian wanted to rebel, echoing the prince's inner and outer views. Emperor Gaozu urgently summoned Wen Qian, but when Wen Qian saw that the situation was exposed, he led his troops to rebel. Emperor Gaozu knew that Yang Wenqian's rebellion was planned by Prince Jiancheng, so he summoned Jiancheng to serve as an official. He kowtowed to Emperor Gaozu to plead guilty. Emperor Gaozu was angry and imprisoned Jiancheng. Soon, Yang Wenqian captured Ningzhou (now Ningxian County, Gansu Province), and the great ancestor Qin Wang Shimin attacked Wenqian. Wenqian was killed by his subordinates in July of the seventh year of Wude. After the chaos subsided, Emperor Gaozu blamed Jiancheng and Shimin brothers for their incompatibility, but did not punish them. Only the prince's advisers Wang Gui, Zhang Ting and Tian Ce's soldiers Cao Shenjun were demoted to a distant place. However, the conflict between Jiancheng and Shimin became more acute.
The third strategy of Prince Jiancheng was to bribe the subordinates of King Qin Shimin. When Jiancheng was built, he sent a secret letter to the general Wei Yun Jingde, expressing his intention to fight for it and presenting a cart full of gold and silver utensils. Jingde remained unmoved. Duan Zhixuan, another brave general who was built and lured the people with gold and silk, also failed. Since bribery failed, the method of exclusion was adopted. Jiancheng proposed to Emperor Gaozu and appointed Cheng Zhijie, Shimin's heroic general, as the governor of Kangzhou. He also expelled Shimin's advisers Fang Xuanling and She Ruhui from the Qin Palace to cut off Shimin's power. .
Under the three strategies, King Qin and his people were indeed under great threat. Therefore, the people of the world intended to use Luoyang as a base, so they sent Qin Wangfu's cavalry general Zhang Liang to lead more than a thousand people to Luoyang to secretly recruit Shandong heroes. Qi Wang Yuanji sued Zhang Liang for his evil intentions. Emperor Gaozu ordered Zhang Liang to be arrested to find out the truth. , but no evidence of guilt was found and Zhang Liang was released.
One night, Prince Jiancheng invited King Qin and Shimin to drink and poisoned the wine. Shimin immediately felt heartbroken after drinking the wine and vomited several liters of blood. The king of Huai'an helped Shimin return to his official position with his magical power. When Emperor Gaozu heard about this, he rushed to visit the people, and then said to Jiancheng: "The King of Qin has never been able to drink, and he is not allowed to drink at night from now on." Emperor Gaozu also said to the people: "The first plan to build a big plan, and the leveling of the sea, are all yours." I want to make you my heir, but you have resigned. I have been established for a long time, and my heir will last for a long time. I can't bear to take it away. Seeing that your brothers seem to be incompatible, and they live in the same capital, there will be disputes. I'll leave you alone. Tai, located in Luoyang, controls everything from Shaanxi to the east. I still order you to build the banner of the emperor, just like the story of King Liang Xiao of Han Dynasty. "This instruction of Emperor Gaozu is equivalent to dividing the Tang Empire into two parts, the east and the west. The people of the world will occupy the east part and build it." As for the people in the west, the power of Prince Jiancheng in the capital was huge and difficult to resist. Looking eastward for development was a feasible way, so the people agreed to go to Luoyang. When the people were preparing to set off, Jiancheng and Yuanji discussed: "If the King of Qin comes to Luoyang and has land armor and soldiers, they cannot be copied. It is better to leave them in Chang'an, and it will be easy to get a man's ears." So, he secretly ordered several people to report to Emperor Gaozu. "The king of Qin left for Luoyang on both sides, and everyone was very happy. Seeing his ambition, he was afraid that he would not come back." He also asked the ministers around Gaozu to advise Gaozu, so Gaozu changed his mind and refused to let the people of the world go to Luoyang.
Jian Jiancheng, Yuan Ji, and the concubines of the later officials spoke ill of the people in Gaozu's ears day and night. Gaozu gradually believed it and wanted to punish the people. Chen Shuda remonstrated with Gaozu: "The King of Qin has made great contributions to the world. It can be punished, and the King of Qin has a strong temper. If he is restrained, he will probably be very worried. If something unexpected happens, it will be too late for your majesty to regret it." Gaozu then gave up. Yuan Ji secretly requested that the people be killed. Emperor Gaozu said, "The people of the world have contributed to the rule of the world, and the charges have not yet been brought, so why should I excuse myself?" Yuan Ji said, "The king of Qin first pacified the eastern capital, but he did not pay back the money he wanted, and he scattered money and silk to cultivate personal favors. It's against the order, what's wrong? But if you kill him quickly, there's no need to worry." Gaozu refused to agree.
In June of the ninth year of Wude, the situation was very unfavorable for the people. Qin’s palace officials were extremely worried. Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Changsun Wuji all persuaded the people to launch a coup to kill Jiancheng and Yuanji. Shimin hesitated. At this time, tens of thousands of Turkic cavalry invaded the bandits, and Jian Jian recommended Yuan Ji to supervise the northern expedition on behalf of the people. Emperor Gaozu then ordered Yuan Ji to supervise the Youwu Guard General Li Yi and others to go on an expedition. Yuan Ji asked several brave generals from the Qin Palace to be dispatched, including Wei Yun Jingde, Cheng Zhijie, and others. Duan Zhixuan, Qin Shubao and others went together. He led Gengcheng Wang Hao to inform the people secretly: "The prince told the king of Qi, now you have the king of Qin's capable generals and elite soldiers, with tens of thousands of people. The king of Qin and I will bid farewell to you at Kunming Lake, and order the strong men to kill the king of Qin, and then report to the emperor." It is said that King Qin died of a sudden illness, and the emperor would probably not disbelieve it." Shimin told Changsun Wuji and others based on Wang Hao's words that Changsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde and others believed that the situation was urgent and they should take preemptive action. In fact, the people of the world also understood their dangerous situation and really had no choice but to launch a coup.
On June 3, the people secretly reported to Emperor Gaozu that Jiancheng and Yuanji had committed adultery with the post-officials. They also said: "I owe nothing to my brothers. Now (Jiancheng) wants to kill me, as if he is a (king)." Shichong (Dou) Jiande took revenge, but I died in vain, and my soul will be buried in the ground forever. I am really ashamed to see the thieves." Gaozu was very shocked and replied: "This matter will be investigated tomorrow. You can come early to attend." Six On the fourth day of the lunar month, Shimin led his eldest son Sun Wuji and others to ambush in Xuanwu Gate. At this time, Zhang Jieyu informed Jiancheng about Shimin's complaint. Jiancheng summoned Yuanji to discuss it. Yuanji advocated that Jiancheng should not enter the court and restrained his troops to observe the movement. , Jiancheng thought that the military preparedness was tight, and the guard of Xuanwu Gate was his old department, so it should be quite safe to enter Xuanwu Gate, so Jiancheng and Yuanji entered Xuanwu Gate. Xuanwu Gate is the north gate of Chang'an Taiji Official City. It is the seat of the palace guard headquarters. It has strong fortifications and strong military strength. Controlling Xuanwu Gate can control the entire palace and even the capital, so Xuanwu Gate has a very important status. important. Chang Heyuan, the guard of Xuanwumen, was originally a subordinate of Jiancheng, so Jiancheng believed that Xuanwumen was his sphere of influence. Unexpectedly, Chang Heyuan was secretly bribed by the Shi family, so Chang Heyuan allowed Shimin and others to sneak into the ambush, but Jiancheng did not do anything. have no idea. When Jiancheng and Yuanji arrived at the lake palace, they noticed something had changed. Their guards were outside the Xuanwu Gate. They immediately fled back on horseback. Shimin came from behind. Yuanji and Shimin shot each other with bows and arrows. Jiancheng was first He was shot to death by Shimin. Yuchi Jingde led 70 cavalrymen and attacked Yuanji from both sides. Yuanji fell off his horse. At this time, the horse Shimin was riding ran into the woods. Shimin was hooked by a tree and fell off his horse. Yuanji came to kill Shimin, but Yuchi Jingde ran to stop him and shot Yuanji dead. Two thousand elite troops from the East Palace and Prince Qi's Mansion, led by Jiancheng's subordinates Feng Li and Xue Wanche, attacked Xuanwu Gate. The guards at Xuanwu Gate responded. General Yunmi Jing Junhong and Zhonglang General Lu Shiheng who guarded Xuanwu Gate were both killed in the battle, but Dong In the end, the troops of Guan and Prince Qi failed to attack the Xuanwu Gate. Yuchi Jingde showed the heads of Jiancheng and Yuanji, and the troops of Dongguan and Prince Qi were defeated, and victory was given to the people. This coup was called the "Xuanwu Gate Change".
After it was built and Yuanji was killed, the people of the world sent Weiyun Jingde to Gaozu's side as a "guard". At this time, Gaozu was boating in the Guannai Lake. When he saw Weiyun Jingde coming fully armed, he was shocked. Jingde He reported to Emperor Gaozu: "The King of Qin used the crown prince and the King of Qi to cause rebellion and raised his troops to kill them. In order to avoid alarming His Majesty, he sent his ministers to guard." Emperor Gaozu asked what should be done with the ministers on the left and right. Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda thought that as long as the government affairs of the country were handed over to the people. Then nothing happened, Gaozu said: "This is my long-cherished wish." So he ordered all the internal and external armies to be under the command of the King of Qin, and sent Pei Ju, the servant of Huangmen, to Dongguan to inform the officers and soldiers, and the officers and soldiers of Dongguan dispersed. Then the people of the world came to see Gaozu and mourned him for a long time. Gao Ren issued imperial edicts to deal with the affairs of the country, and all matters were handled by King Zhao. Three days later, Emperor Gaozu established Shimin as the crown prince, and all military and state affairs were entrusted to the crown prince for execution. In August, Emperor Gaozu was passed down to Prince Shimin, and he became the Supreme Emperor. Shimin ascended the throne as Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.
The victory of the Xuanwu Gate Revolution was won by the weaker Li Shimin. The key was that Shimin controlled the Xuanwu Gate. Jiancheng and Yuanji's troops could not attack the Xuanwu Gate. Shimin controlled the Xuanwu Gate and then controlled the Xuanwu Gate. The imperial palace also controlled the central government. There were four central political revolutions (or coups) in the Tang Dynasty before Xuanzong. The Xuanwu Gate Revolution on June 4, Takenori 9 was the first, and the second occurred in the first year of Shenlong (70 AD). The fifth year) Zhang Jianzhi abdicated after force, the third was the coup of Prince Chongjun in the first year of Jinglong (707 AD), and the fourth was the coup of Li Longji in the fourth year of Jinglong (710 AD) , the key to the success or failure of the ranking political revolution lies in whether it can control the Xuanwu Gate. The party that controls the Xuanwu Gate is the winner.
The Xuanwu Gate Incident had an extremely negative impact on the politics of the Tang Dynasty. That is, the status of the prince in the Tang Dynasty was unstable. Within the palace, there were often overt and covert fights over the succession of the throne. The person may not be able to safely inherit the throne. The instability of the prince's status in the Tang Dynasty resulted in fierce battles for succession to the throne, which affected the formation of cliques among courtiers and the distribution of eunuchs. Therefore, although the Xuanwu Gate Incident ended quickly, the consequences for the descendants of the Tang Dynasty were far-reaching.