Daming Palace Harem Zhang Baotong 2017.11.30

When the Tang Dynasty was first established, power was not unified under imperial power, but was dispersed among the crown princes, the kings of Qin, and the kings of Qi. At that time, Gaozu Li Yuan lived in the Taiji Palace, and these palaces, mountain pools, and four sea pools were the living quarters where the emperor carried out his daily ruling activities and the concubines lived. Qin King Li Shimin lives in the Chengqian Palace, Qi King Li Yuanji lives in the backyard of the Wude Palace, and the East Palace built by the crown prince Li passes day and night, and there is no restriction on re-prohibition. The crown prince and the two kings came and went to the stage, and they all rode horses and carried swords and bows, and they met like a family. The Prince's Decree, the Qin Qi Wangjiao and the Imperial Edict are parallel, and if there is a conflict, the order of service will be determined. For example, Zhang Jieyu was Li Yuan's favorite concubine in his later years. She wanted to get good land for her father. Tang Gaozu wrote her an edict to give her land. However, when Gaozu's edict was delivered, Li Shentong refused to give the land to Zhang Jieyu's father, saying that the king of Qin had already sealed the land to him. So, Zhang Jieyu complained to Tang Gaozu and said, "The good land that you gave to your concubine's father was given by your edict, but the King of Qin took it away and gave it to someone else. Tang Gaozu was furious when he heard this, and scolded King Qin, "Is my edict not as effective as your royal sect?" One day, Tang Gaozu shouted Li Shimin's nickname and said to Pei Lian, "This kid has been leading troops outside for a long time, and he is used to being autocratic, and he has been instigated by those scholars, and he is no longer the son I used to be." ”

The division of power between the three of them and Gaozu is also not very clear. First of all, the palace ban is not strict, and the princes and Gaozu live together in the Great Interior, and there is no strict division. The unclear distinction between the monarch and the minister will not only shake the authority of Gaozu, but also cause the instability of the crown prince's throne. As the crown prince, Li Jiancheng did not have a etiquette system that could highlight his identity, and he did not get a corresponding status in the imperial court. The parallel of several orders was also a threat to Gaozu's imperial authority, and he gradually realized the threat of his sons to his throne, especially the Qin king Li Shimin, who had made great contributions to the founding of the country.

After that, Gaozu began to gradually support the prince's power, and when the prince Jiancheng asked for an order to crusade against Liu Heimin, Gaozu ordered the marshal of the march of Daxingtai and Shandong Province in eastern Shaanxi, and the prefectures of Henan and Hebei were punished by the prince, which also weakened the strength of Li Shimin, the king of Qin, and gave the prince the opportunity to win over the heroes of Shandong and establish meritorious deeds to consolidate the prince's throne. After that, Gaozu became more and more suspicious of King Shimin of Qin, but when he was in danger, he could only rely on King Qin to lead his troops to fight, and after the war, his suspicion of him would be even heavier.

Although the crown prince Li Jiancheng has no military achievements, he has been helping his father in Chang'an City to deal with government affairs. Therefore, his importance still exceeds that of Li Shimin, the king of Qin. In terms of the strength of the two sides, Li Shimin is obviously inferior to Li Jiancheng. Li Jiancheng had the legal status of the crown prince, the support of Gaozu and the ministers of the imperial court, formed an alliance with his fourth brother Li Yuanji, had the firm support of Gaozu's concubines, and had first-class strategists such as Wei Zheng and Wang Qi. can be reasonable and legal identity and means to suppress the Qin king Li Shimin. And what Li Shimin has is generals such as the eldest grandson Wuji, Wei Chi Jingde, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, as well as a decisive military strategy. The contradictions between the two gradually became public and intense, so that water and fire were incompatible. From the killing of Liu Wenjing in 619 to the Xuanwumen Incident on July 2, 626, in the past few years, Li Yuan has tried to punish Li Shimin several times, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji have also tried to murder Li Shimin several times, and Li Shimin has also tried to rebel several times, kill Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, and force his father to abdicate, but for various reasons, he has not taken action.

In 626 AD, the Turkic Yu Shushi led tens of thousands of cavalry to capture Wuwei in Gansu, stationed south of the Yellow River, broke into the border of the Great Wall, and surrounded Wucheng. The imperial court decided to send people to carry out a crusade. Li Jiancheng suggested that Li Yuanji replace Li Shimin, the king of Qin, to supervise all the troops and horses, and lead the army to the north to resist the Turkic invasion. Gaozu followed his advice and ordered Li Yuanji to lead Li Yi, the general of the Right Military Guard, Zhang Jin, the general of Tianji, and others to rescue Wucheng. Li Yuanji took the opportunity to ask Gaozu to let the lieutenants Chi Jingde, Cheng Zhijie, Duan Zhixuan, and Qin Qiong, the right three commanders of the Qin Wangfu, go out with him, and include the elite soldiers under the Qin king's account into his army. Wang Hui, who served as the leader in the prince's east palace, had been bribed by Li Shimin, the king of Qin, and he secretly told Li Shimin, "The prince said to King Qi that you have obtained the tiger generals and elite soldiers of the king of Qin, and you have tens of thousands of soldiers. I want to go with the King of Qin in Kunming Pool for you. At that time, let the warriors kill the king of Qin in the tent, and then the father said that he fell ill and died. Then, I sent someone to give me another message, forcing my father to hand over the affairs of the state to me. You will kill Wei Chi Jingde and the others again. ”

Li Shimin quickly mobilized the people in the palace of the Qin prince to discuss, and the eldest grandson Wuji, Wei Chi Jingde and others persuaded Li Shimin to preemptively kill Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji. Li Shimin felt that cannibalism was a great crime throughout the ages, and he seemed very hesitant. The eldest grandson, Wuji, Wei Chi Jingde, and others believed that Li Shimin was facing danger, but could not make a decision immediately, so they threatened Li Shimin that if he did not want to do so, they would no longer follow the king. Moreover, at this time, they had brought into the palace the eight hundred warriors that the King of Qin usually raised. Dressed in armor and armed with weapons, these warriors were ready for the uprising.

At that time, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were expelled from the Qin Palace, and they were not allowed to enter the Qin Palace. Li Shimin secretly sent the eldest grandson Wuji to invite Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui and others into the Qin Palace. Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and others replied, "Your Majesty's edict stipulates that we are no longer allowed to serve the King of Qin, and if we visit us privately, we will definitely kill my whole family, so I dare not accept the order of the King of Qin." Li Shimin lost his temper and said to Wei Chi Jingde, "Are Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui trying to betray me?" Wei Chi Jingde and the eldest grandson Wuji together clearly indicated Fang Xuanling and the others that "the king has decided on the plan of action, and all the Ming princes should go to the Qin Palace" to discuss major matters as soon as possible. The four of us couldn't walk together on the street. So he ordered Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui to put on Taoist clothes and enter the Qin Palace, and Wei Chi Jingde also came to the Qin Palace.

However, at this moment, a strange thing happened. On the third day of the sixth month (July 1, 626), the star Platinum again appeared at noon directly south of the sky during the day. Fu Yi secretly played, "The appearance of Venus on the division of Qin Land is a sign that the King of Qin should own the world. Gaozu showed Fu Yi's secret performance to Li Shimin, the king of Qin. Li Shimin was taken aback, knowing that this was Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji who were hurting him, so he said to his father, "Erchen didn't feel sorry for the emperor's brother and brother at all, but now they plan to kill Erchen, it's like avenging Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande." Now that I am about to die unjustly, I will leave my father forever, and my soul will return to Huangquan, and I will be ashamed if I see Wang Shichong and all the thieves!" Then, he secretly told his father that Zhang Jieyu and Concubine Yin Defei had committed adultery with Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji in the harem, and wanted to kill themselves. And Zhang Jieyu and Concubine Yin De are the two most favored concubines of Gaozu and the stepmothers of their three brothers. The sons dare to fornicate their stepmothers, which is cuckolding their fathers. Imagining how angry Li Yuan would be, he was very surprised and said, "I will interrogate this matter tomorrow, and you should come to see me as soon as possible." ”

It is a false accusation to say that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji fornicated with the palace, and it was Li Shimin's words that he said in a hurry when he was questioned by Li Yuan at that time. Although the concubines in the harem hated Li Shimin and had a lot of dealings with Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, they did not have adultery. This kind of false accusation is very clumsy, and as long as the three of them confront each other, the truth can be revealed, which will be even more unfavorable to Li Shimin. However, this kind of clumsy false accusation has played a crooked role and effect. That is, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji can be transferred from the East Palace and the Qi Palace. If this method is not used, it may be difficult to lure the crown prince and the king of Qi out of other methods.

Zhang Jieyu secretly learned the gist of Li Shimin's secret performance, and hurriedly told Li Jiancheng to be careful. Moreover, after receiving the edict, Li Jiancheng summoned Li Yuanji to discuss the matter, and Li Yuanji said, "We should take care of the soldiers in the East Palace and the Qi Palace, and pretend not to go to the court because of illness, so as to observe the situation." Li Jiancheng said, "The army in the palace is already very well guarded, and my brother and I should enter the court to see and inquire about the news in person." He wanted to expose the second brother's false accusations and conspiracy to his face. However, he didn't expect that this conspiracy would lead him to the Yellow Springs Road.