(599-649 AD)
Time of reign: 626-649 AD
Year used: Zhenguan
posthumous title: unknown
Temple number: Taizong
Burial place: unknown
598 AD.
In 617 AD, Li Shimin, his elder brother Li Jiancheng and others * * * encouraged his father to rise up, officially playing the banner of anti-Sui.
in 618, Li Yuan proclaimed himself emperor, and Li Shimin was made king of Qin.
In 626 AD, after the change of Xuanwu Gate, Li Yuan abdicated and Li Shimin ascended the throne for Emperor Taizong.
in 629 ad, the Tang dynasty defeated the Turkic armed forces and unified the northern border.
in 631 ad, Japan sent the first envoys to the Tang dynasty.
In 64 AD, Princess Wencheng entered Tibet, which promoted the cultural exchange between the Han and Tibetan peoples.
in 649 ad, Li Shimin died suddenly because of taking Dan medicine poisoning, at the age of 52.
high risk of humanity and evil,
keep an open mind and avoid extravagance;
Na Shan observes loyalty and admonishes,
Ming Ke is cautious about punishment;
offer sincere respect to heaven, and
care for the people and care for them.
This is a poem from Emperor Jing, a poem written by Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong.
Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, was the second son of Tang Gaozu Li Yuan and the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty. As the saying goes, "A handsome man covers a hundred ugliness." Li Shimin once slaughtered flesh and blood, forced his father to abdicate, and later tried to live forever and died of poisoning by taking Dan medicine. This is the ugliest side of Li Shimin. But, after all, he was a rare generation of Mingjun in history, who was skillful in literature and martial arts and lacked everything. After a series of measures he took, the rule of chastity appeared in the early years of the Tang Dynasty. With so many "handsome", so many ugly things, also slowly turned to sex, has become a rich image of Li Shimin. No one is perfect, and there are a few flaws, so there is no need to pursue them too much. Imagine what would happen if Li Jiancheng was made emperor?
in January, 599, Li Shimin was born into a bureaucratic aristocratic family in Wugong county, Shaanxi province. The Li family had a prominent political background since the Western Wei Dynasty, and Li Yuan was in-laws with Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty. As a prominent gatekeeper for generations, Li Shimin was influenced by the martial customs of his family since he was a child, and his education was also sword fighting and martial arts. Therefore, as a teenager, Li Shimin developed the habit of "being good at riding a horse and making good use of bows and arrows" and developed a superb skill. Li Shimin not only likes riding and shooting, but also likes to browse the art of war and tactics. When he was young, he familiarized himself with the Art of War, and he was able to tell his father Li Yuan about the tactics of using troops and disposal in Sun Tzu's words, which won his father's love.
Li Shimin had a happy childhood. Unexpectedly, when he was eight years old, Yang Guang murdered his father Sui Wendi and became emperor. Since then, heaven and earth have changed dramatically. Building civil works and palaces, and making three expeditions to Korea in a row, can be described as "the six armies are endless, all kinds of services are flourishing, the walkers don't return, and the residents are unemployed." At this time, Li Shimin, along with his family's transfer from his father's position, has been to many places, and gradually formed his stubborn, bold and strong-willed character, and formed a good habit of loving brains and being good at thinking, and he was calm and decisive in handling things.
At this time, the peasant uprising had already broken out at the end of Sui Dynasty. In 611 AD, Wang Bo, a farmer from zouping county, Shandong Province, took the lead in launching an armed uprising. For a time, peasant uprisings were also surging everywhere, and various forces within the Sui ruling class began to fall apart. In 613 AD, Yang Xuangan, son of Yang Su, an important official, launched a large-scale anti-Sui uprising, which dealt a heavy blow to the regime of Emperor Yangdi. Two months later, the rebellion was suppressed, but peasant uprisings have broken out all over the country, and the Sui Dynasty is teetering.
In 616 AD, Li Shimin came to Taiyuan, Shanxi Province with his father to participate in the suppression of the peasant army led by Wu Duaner, which gave Li Shimin a preliminary military exercise. In 617 AD, Li Yuan became the left-behind in Taiyuan, and Li Shimin followed his father.
under the attack of peasant rebels, Emperor Yangdi was trapped in Jiangdu and was in danger. The Sui Dynasty was doomed to perish. Emperor Yangdi, who was at the end of the road, was in constant fear, suspicious of ministers for no reason, and always put them to death or belittled. Tang gaozu was also suspected by Emperor Yangdi. Tang gaozu, who had already replaced the heart of the Sui Dynasty, was also ready to fight against the Sui Dynasty, but he was still hesitant. At this time, Li Shimin was generous in aiding needy people, making friends with righteous men and chivalrous men in private, and won many people of insight to advise him. At that time, Liu Wenjing, the magistrate of Jinyang County, and Pei Ji, the deputy supervisor of Jin Yanggong, were Li Shimin's best friends. Together with Li Shimin, they persuaded Tang gaozu to start an uprising as soon as possible, and Tang gaozu finally made up his mind. In May of the lunar calendar in 617 AD, Li Shimin helped his father Li Yuan to get rid of the cronies sent by Emperor Yangdi to monitor them, and announced that he would arise in Jinyang, officially playing the banner of anti-Sui.
after Jinyang started to fight, Li Shimin's elder brother Li Jiancheng, younger brother Li Yuanji and brother-in-law Chai Shao also led some teams from Hedong and Chang 'an to join forces in Jinyang, which made the uprising force expand rapidly. Later, Li Yuan established the left, middle and right armed forces, and Li Shimin was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the right and right armies in Dunhuang. However, Li Yuan soon met with resistance from the Sui general and Song Laosheng. Due to the continuous rain, the pay did not arrive, and the Turkish reinforcements did not come. Tang gaozu lost confidence and was ready to return to Jinyang for another plan. Li Shimin persuaded his father, which strengthened Tang gaozu's confidence. In the fierce battle against Song Laosheng, Li Shimin took the lead and led the soldiers to defeat Song Laosheng.
After that, Li Yuan led the army eastward, and met with stubborn resistance from Qu Tutong, the general of Sui Dynasty. There were different opinions within Li Yuan's army, and Li Shimin urged the main force to bypass Qu Tutong and March on Chang 'an quickly. Tang gaozu once again listened to Li Shimin's bold suggestion, and ordered Li Shimin to incorporate the landlord armed forces along the way, and Li Shimin's marked army quickly developed to more than 1, people. After capturing Chang 'an, Li Yuanxian made Yang You, the grandson of Emperor Yangdi, a puppet emperor, in order to command the world. Then actively develop power in Guanzhong. In May 618 AD, Li Yuan officially acceded to the throne, with the title of Tang, and Li Shimin was appointed as the Minister of Books and renamed the King of Qin. Since then, Li Shimin has been active in the political arena as the King of Qin, dominating Longxi and Kanto.
after the establishment of the Tang dynasty, the regime was not very stable. In the political arena at the end of Sui Dynasty, Lee's strength was not the strongest. Who can calm the situation and adopt the correct operational policy can finally win. However, it is inconvenient for Tang gaozu to go out in person after he proclaimed himself emperor. After the completion of the Crown Prince, he also needs to stay in Beijing to assist his father in handling various government affairs. Therefore, the important task of commanding and leading the unified war naturally fell on Li Shimin, the king of Qin, and began his arduous career of unified war, which lasted more than four years.
Li Shimin, king of Qin's first opponent was Xue Ju, who was entrenched in Jincheng (now Lanzhou, Gansu). At that time, Xue Ju had 8, troops and a unique geographical position. If this disease is not removed, Tang gaozu will not dare to go east to Tongguan and invade Kanto. In November 618, Li Shimin personally led a great army against Xue Ju. After two fierce confrontations, the separatist regime was finally wiped out. At that time, Liu Wuzhou, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande and other powerful warlords and peasant armies were still in China, and the northern Turkic khanate was even stronger. In the northern part of the Tang Dynasty, Liang Shidu, who occupied Shuofang (now Hengshan, Shaanxi), and Liu Wuzhou, who occupied Mayi (now Shuoxian, Shanxi) were fostered. Liu Wuzhou went south to attack the Tang Dynasty, and at that time the momentum was huge. Tang gaozu gave up Hedong and retreated to Guanzhong. Li Shimin objected and volunteered to defeat Liu Wuzhou. The Li and Tang dynasties turned the corner.
After that, Li Shimin moved to the Central Plains. In July 62, the army approached Luoyang. Dou Jiande, out of self-protection, was advancing 1, troops to reinforce Wang Shichong, who was trapped in Luoyang. Li Shimin correctly judged the military situation, measured his own military strength, resolutely expanded the scope of the campaign, decisively divided into two ways, continued to attack the city all the way, led by him, and entered Tiger Prison (now Si Shui, Henan Province), blocking Dou Jiande's way. In May of the following year, Dou Jiande was defeated and captured in a decisive battle against Tiger Prison, and Wang Shichong was cornered. Li Shimin defeated the battles of Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande in one fell swoop, which fully showed Li Shimin's wit and determination, as well as his excellent military courage and command art.
Li Shimin's outstanding achievement in reunifying the whole country has made his prestige and power increase day by day, and his political status and military status are growing rapidly. Li Shimin also used his special position and conditions to collect a large number of advisers in Jinyang's war to unite the whole country, and gradually formed a political group with him as the core. Li Jiancheng was very jealous of Li Shimin's military and political status, and worried that Li Shimin would compete with him for the crown prince's position. In order to maintain his right to inherit the throne, Li Jiancheng also vigorously collected people, and made an alliance with his younger brother, King Li Yuanji of Qi, to deal with Li Shimin. Therefore, around the issue of succession to the throne, a "princeling party" headed by Li Jiancheng and a "military party" headed by Li Shimin were formed. They fought with each other and stabbed in the back, getting worse and worse. It was not until 626 AD that Li Shimin's preemptive action ended the royal struggle.
At this time, when the Turks entered the fortress and besieged Wucheng, Li Jiancheng asked Tang Gaozu to let Li Yuanji go north, and Tang Gaozu agreed.
Before going to war, Wang Zhi of the Prince's East Palace secretly took refuge in Li Shimin. He told Li Shimin about the plot that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji took advantage of Li Shimin to bid farewell to Li Yuanji. Li Shimin was shocked when he heard this, and finally made up his mind to take Changsun Wuji's and Wei Chijingde's advice and get rid of Professor Li and Li Yuanji first. After a conspiracy, Li Shimin entered the palace that night, complained to Tang Gaozu, and got Tang Gaozu to order the three brothers to enter the palace to confront each other early the next morning.
The next morning, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji entered the palace on orders. When they came to Xuanwu Gate with several family members, they found Li Shimin waiting for them at the door. Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji felt that something was wrong, so they quickly turned their horses' heads and prepared to go back. Li Shimin rode after him, and Li Yuanji hurriedly turned around and drew his bow, trying to shoot Shimin, but before the bowstring was drawn, Li Yuanji shot the arrow out in a panic. Li Shimin easily escaped, immediately drew his bow and arrow, and shot Li Jiancheng, who was running in front, to death. Li Yuanji was so scared that he rode wildly and was shot by Wei Chijingde, Li Shimin's confidant. More than 2, guards from the Prince's East Palace and Qi Wangfu rushed to the scene and scuffled with soldiers from Li Shimin. Li Shimin ordered the soldiers to guard the Xuanwu Gate, let Wei Chijingde enter the palace, forced Tang Gaozu Li Yuan to make Li Shimin a prince, and entrusted the affairs of state to Li Shimin. Two months later, Tang gaozu was forced to abdicate, and Li Shimin immediately became emperor, for Emperor Taizong.