In fact, throughout Li Ke's life, we can't see any achievements in literature and martial arts. In the Book of Old Tang Dynasty, there is an introduction to Li Chenggan's ability to govern the country, that is, "Emperor Taizong lived in darkness, but he knew everything in politics". For Lee Tae, he can at least know that he is "not very good at literature", and he did compile a chronicle with brackets. Among other concubines, some people are praised by local people for their excellent handling of local government affairs.
As far as Li Ke is concerned, I only know that he has literary talent, which is a very general compliment. As for the specific deeds that can show his talents, there is not a word in the history books. Even Li Ke's "good riding and shooting" is just the most basic accomplishment of a military aristocrat in Guanlongli. In the Tang Dynasty, even the harem talents could accompany the emperor to ride and shoot, and Li Ke's "good riding and shooting" did not have any military merits or outstanding deeds to prove.
This is especially true of Li Ke's so-called literary talent. Even the most common calligraphy skills of Li Tang royal family members are not recorded, while Hanwang Li Yuanchang, who was also convicted of rebellion, is famous for his calligraphy, painting and shooting.
Yuan Gui, a bookstore: "Chang Yuan, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, is alert, brave, riding and shooting, quite involved in literature and history, and can also run official books."
Records of Famous Paintings in the Tang Dynasty: "Hanwang Yuanchang was good at drawing horses, and his brushwork was wonderful, which was not seen by later generations. Painting eagles, pheasants and rabbits to see the world, the master sighs. "
"The Book of Dharma to Record": "Hanwang's childhood is full of books. Inheritance, dedication and law-abiding. "
"Famous Paintings of Past Dynasties": "The posture of heaven and man is full of comprehensive skills and quite charming. Natural transcendence, deep worship pavilion, rare relics. Above the top grade. "
A handsome prince who specializes in classics, is good at music, is exquisite in painting and looks like a hunter will stand upright in the eyes of future generations. In contrast, Li Ke's talent is not reflected in history books or epitaphs.
Even through the history books, I can only find two stories about Li Ke's own fief:
"Zi Zhi Tong Jian" Volume 195: "In October of the eleventh year of Zhenguan, Anzhou secretariat of Wu Shu hunted, which was quite harmful to the people; Liu Fan, the imperial adviser, played the bullet. Ding Chou was relieved of his official position and broke 300 households. "
"Biography of Li Ke in the New Tang Dynasty": "Sit down and talk to the wet nurse, don't be the governor, break 300 households."
Neither of these things is a good thing. One is that Li Ke was impeached by court officials because hunting trampled on the crops of ordinary people, was dismissed from the title of viceroy, and cut off 300 families in the food city; The other was removed from the governor's office because of gambling with the son of the wet nurse, and 300 households were cut down (at that time, the prince only sealed 800 households).
Because of a small mistake, the title of viceroy was picked twice in a row. Li Ke's experience was unique among the governors at that time-even Li You, who was later granted a suspended death sentence, retained the title of viceroy before the rebellion in Zhenguan seventeen years. Li Ke's brother Sung Jae Lee ran amok in the fief. Even though it was lambasted by Emperor Taizong that "stone animals are worse than animals", it was only in the thirteenth year of Zhenguan that it was demoted to secretariat. Other princes who made far more serious mistakes than stepping on crops and gambling have never been so severely punished.
As for the history books that Li Ke is "very popular and prestigious", you should know that Li Ke, as the oldest brother of Tang Gaozong, is also a vassal of the Prince, and his virtue can be justified. It is not strange that he has a reputation, but it is strange that he has no reputation. After all, when he was in Tang Zhongzong, Tang Ruizong, as the prime minister, was "realistic and high"; Tang Wenzong's younger brother Zhang Wang Li Cuo is also "virtuous and promising"; Li Xiaoyi, the great grandson of Tang Taizu, is also "famous in the world, and his reputation is naturally heavy"; Li Yuanjia, the son of Tang Gaozu, was appeased and reused in Zetian Dynasty, not only because of "respecting land and attaching importance to weapons", but also because of "accommodating things".
However, after Li Ke was killed unjustly, the history books said that "the public can't be expected to be wronged", which seems to be highly appraised. However, when Emperor Taizong appointed Wei Zhi as the surname of the Prince, he also said, "It's hard to match the world.". Not only that, when Wu Sansi killed Huan and others, it was to "never look back"; Wang Shichong killed Yang Dong also for "disappointing"; Wu Zetian killed Li Yuanjia for the sake of "imperial clan hope"; Xiu Yuan advised Zhu Tong to cut down the imperial clan of the Tang Dynasty for the sake of "popularity". But being killed, Ge Fuyuan is "unjust at home", being killed by a stick by Lv Chongdao and his son is also "unjust at home and abroad", being strangled by Cui Ning is "unjust under the world", being killed by Ann's brother and being framed by Li is also "unjust under the world". It can be seen that the so-called "disappointing people and wronged their families" is just an idiom of historians. You can weigh it yourself.
What's more, the Tang people at that time did not think that Li Ke was wronged. When referring to the four-year rebellion case of Yonghui, the Epitaph of Xia Houxuan, the secretariat of Zhou Mu, clearly stated that "Jason Wu rebelled", and both Jing Wang Li and Wu Wang Li Ke rebelled. This attitude is completely contrary to what historians say. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that Xiahou Mao is Li Cheng, a long history, and Li Cheng is none other than Li Ke's half-brother. After Li Ke's rebellion was killed, Li Cheng was also abolished as Shu Ren. Therefore, according to Xia Houxuan's identity, when referring to the brother of the immediate superior who was framed for rebellion, he should be shouting for it, rather than speaking out about his "rebellion". Even people who should have interceded for Li Ke think that Li Ke is a rebellion. At that time, how many Tang people thought that Li Ke was wronged can be imagined.
Of course, some people say that if Li Ke has no talent, why did Emperor Taizong make him a prince? Then let's see why Emperor Taizong thought of replacing Li Ke with a prince.
In Zhenguan 17, it took more than half a year for Emperor Taizong to set up Li Zhi, and he felt that his youngest son was only fifteen years old, and he had always stayed with him and had no experience. As the future heir of the empire, he is not strong enough, fearing that he can't control state affairs well. After all, he is "a country that relies on a long-term monarch." So Emperor Taizong considered changing the storage, and Li Ke was the only suitable candidate at that time, because look at several other governors besides Li Ke:
The second son, Li Kuan, died young
The fourth son, Lee Tae, was demoted for taking office.
The fifth son, Li You, was punished for rebellion in the seventeenth year of Zhenguan.
Li Cheng, the sixth son, was denounced as an animal by Emperor Taizong.
The seventh son, Li Yun, was so greedy that he was impeached by the company.
Li Zhen, the eighth son, is only one year older than Li Zhi.
The tenth son, Li Shen, is younger than Li Zhi.
Young Li Xiao, Li Jian, Li Fu and others below all died young. Under such circumstances, does Emperor Taizong have any other choice except Li Ke, who is nearly 9 years older than Li Zhi?
At the end of the day, Emperor Taizong wanted to establish Li Ke because other older princes were either demoted or killed for taking the throne, or they were really helpless. Although Li Ke was once demoted twice for stepping on crops and gambling, there was nothing Emperor Taizong could do except Li Ke.
However, it is obvious that Emperor Taizong's idea of establishing Li Ke was not well thought out, but on a whim. Because if Emperor Taizong really wanted to change Li Ke, or was determined to change the storage, then Sun Chang Wuji would never have a chance to "fight in the dark", let alone make a final decision just by a word from his family. After all, the world belongs to Li, not his grandson. In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, although Sun Chang Wuji was an excellent Si Tuleideng, Si Tuleideng's position was only a hollow position as far as the regime of the Tang Dynasty was concerned. With no real power at all, how can Sun Chang Wuji keep state affairs? At this time, he was dead, but these ministers of Fang, Li Jing, were still alive, and Emperor Taizong was in the prime of mastering the military power. How can you let Sun Chang, who has neither real power nor military power, control state affairs indefinitely?
Besides, the abolition of the Crown Prince is a national event, not a joke. If Emperor Taizong is determined to change the crown prince, he will definitely take the matter to the court for deliberation. At worst, he will also consult with several confidant ministers, just like when he wanted to establish Li Zhi, he "consulted with Wuji and Fang", instead of just discussing with Wuji, who was the least likely to agree with him, or even giving up immediately after being refuted by Wuji.
Judging from the narrative of Li Ke's regime change in the official history, it is obvious that Emperor Taizong only had such an idea on a whim, and then gave Sun Chang Wuji a warning, and Sun Chang Wuji opposed it. When Emperor Taizong understood it, he completely dismissed the idea. Not to mention Sun Chang's opposition to Li Ke, because he is not his nephew. In fact, what really cares about Li Ke is not his son, but Emperor Taizong himself, not Sun Chang Wuji. After all, once Li Ke, who was born out of wedlock, was changed, it would be difficult to guarantee the future of Li Chenggan, Lee Tae and Li Zhi. For Emperor Taizong, this is obviously more worrying than Sun Chang Wuji, because the purpose of Emperor Taizong's Li Zhi is to save these three beloved sons:
"Lee Tae, Cheng Gan and Wang Jin do not exist; Wang Li of Jin, Thai * * * can be taken care of. " (Biography of Taizong Philosopher in Old Tang Dynasty)
When Emperor Taizong changed princes, he always wavered between Lee Tae and Li Zhi, and decided to establish Li Zhi, because Li Zhi had a kind heart, and even if he became emperor, he would not be bad to his two brothers. During this period, Emperor Taizong never imagined that Li Ke, an unmarried but elderly woman, could be considered, and how Li Ke's position in the heart of Emperor Taizong was evident. Because if Li Ke still has some weight in the heart of Emperor Taizong, Emperor Taizong will definitely think of him first when he changes princes, instead of waiting for half a year after everything is settled. It was not until the end of Zhenguan 17 that the princes returned to Beijing for the Spring Festival that they discovered that there was such an illegitimate child to consider, and it was only a flash in the pan.
As for what Li Ke said, he is far away from the capital and has no friendship with the DPRK ministers. Naturally, no one wants to recommend him as a prince. In fact, it doesn't matter what the minister's wishes are, but the key lies in the attitude of Emperor Taizong himself. Look at Li Zhi, and you will know that Prince Li Zhi is supported by Emperor Taizong. In order to write Li Zhi, Emperor Taizong even drew his sword and committed suicide in front of the minister; After Emperor Taizong officially appointed Li Zhi as the Prince, he devoted himself to building a strong and reliable team of Oriental Palace to assist the Prince.
"Ugly, Stuart, Zhao Guogong, Prince Wuji, a surname, Liang Guogong, Prince Fang, a teacher; Special Jin, Song Guogong, Xiao Yu's Prince Taibao, Ministry of War Shangshu and British Gong Li Ji are princes, and they are still the same as the three books. " ("Old Tang Book Taizong Biography")
"Li Daliang, the general of the left guard, led the right guard. In the past, Zhan Shiyu Zhining and Zhongshu assistant minister Ma Zhou were left illegitimate children, and the assistant minister Su Xu and Zhongshu assistant minister Gao Jifu were right illegitimate children. Zhang, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Punishment, acted less like Zhan Shi and advised the doctor Chu Suiliang to be the guest of honor." (Purple Tongzhi Sword)
At the same time, Emperor Taizong knew that Li Zhi had lived in the palace for a long time and lacked experience, so he began to strengthen the cultivation of his ability to handle government affairs, and often set an example with him.
"Every time Emperor Taizong looked at the DPRK, he often did it by the side. He decided to be a politician, or he became the Senate. Taizong is good at counting. " (Biography of the Old Tang Dynasty Emperor Gaozong)
"In the eighteenth year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong called courtiers and said,' There were viviparous births in ancient times, and I was at a loss. But since the recent establishment of the prince, there must be instructions when it comes to things. "("Zhenguan dignitaries ")
Therefore, if Emperor Taizong really intends to change Li Ke into a prince, he can completely copy the move of changing Li Zhishi, rather than just mentioning it verbally. After being rejected, he has never seen any loss and regret, and he has never seen the guilt of not changing Li Ke's son Li Ke. Even two days later, Emperor Taizong held a grand banquet because of the birth of Li Zhi's eldest son, Jong Li, who not only danced happily at the banquet. On the other hand, after Liu Bang failed to establish Ruyi Zhao, he lamented that the future security of Miracle's mother and son could not be guaranteed, and even "was unhappy and lamented". Not only did he deliberately let Zhao shoot, but when he heard that Fan Li was going to kill his mother and son a hundred years later, he immediately ordered others to be "beheaded in the army", and even specially left a letter asking him to take good care of Zhao Wang in the future. If Li Ke wants to have a place in the heart of Emperor Taizong, how can he be treated like this?
As for Li Ke's saying that he can't be an emperor because of his ancestry in the previous dynasty, that's even more nonsense. Li Ke's lineage in the two dynasties is not unprecedented. As early as the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there were many heirs to the throne who came down in one continuous line, such as Taizi Stone of Shi Hu in the post-Zhao Dynasty, whose biological mother was Princess Anding of the former Zhao Dynasty. For example, Yu Wenjue's biological mother in Ming Di in the Northern Zhou Dynasty was Princess Fengyi in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Even Prince Yang Zhao of Yang Di, Yang Zhao, is also the mother of Xiao Huanghou, the daughter of Emperor Xiliang Xiaoming.
Besides, if the lineage of the former dynasty is really a problem and a taboo, then why did Emperor Taizong make Li Ke a prince when he knew that he had the lineage of the Sui Dynasty? Why didn't Sun Chang Wuji oppose Li Ke of Emperor Taizong with such a good reason? Therefore, Li Ke has nothing to do with storage, and his biological mother Yang Fei is the daughter of Emperor Yang Di, but because Li Ke and Yang Fei are not allowed to spoil Emperor Taizong.