The person who said this is Li Shimin's henchman Xiaode, who has been with the emperor for many years, and has been serving by his side since the emperor ascended the throne.

That is, after following the emperor for so many years, Xiaode can say this, and dare to say this, otherwise the emperor would have been furious. Li Shimin's most annoying thing is that the inner servants interfere in politics, and the queen is also quite disgusted with the internal servants interfering in politics, because the queen herself abides by the purpose of the harem and is not allowed to interfere in politics, so how can she watch the eunuchs and internal servants interfere in the government affairs.

The emperor and queen are very consistent and unified in such a matter, if it weren't for Xiaode, and other chamberlains dared to say so, then they would be beaten to death with sticks and thrown out to feed the dogs, and there would be absolutely no other end.

It's just that because he is a small virtue, the emperor didn't react when he was irritable, but sighed as if he was talking: "Things are not so simple, of course, I can turn Dang Renhong from death to life with one sentence, but this is really unfair law enforcement." Moreover, there are many heroes in the court, and once this case is opened, its disasters are endless! ”

Xiaode said: "It would be good if I could think of a way to let the ministers know that His Majesty forgave Renhong only once, and not as an example!" ”

Xiaode's words made Li Shimin's mouth open. He thought that according to ancient times, there were also stories of sages who blamed themselves and apologized. During the Warring States period, Lian was quite guilty of asking for guilt, and he reconciled with each other; During the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang was strict with the law, and the first Northern Expedition failed, so he demoted himself to three levels. Since I ascended the throne, I have not avoided revenge, punished relatives, and not dared to harm the law for personal gain. Now, because of the old age of Dang Renhong, I can't bear to kill him, why don't I follow the example of the ancients, blame myself, ask for the forgiveness of the ministers, and leave a way for Dang Renhong to live."

Do it when you think of it.

The next day, that is, on the first day of December in the sixteenth year of Zhenguan, in the early morning, Li Shimin asked Xiaode to prepare straw mats, incense mounting, etc., and summoned the officials above the fifth grade of the imperial court to the Taiji Palace.

Li Shimin put on a posture and looked up to the sky and sighed, and said to the ministers: "The Dang Renhong case has made me uneasy. Dang Renhong is a hero of the country, but he disregarded the law of the country so much, did whatever he wanted, and as an official of the imperial court, he harmed the people and died innocently.

Now, many ministers also believe that he deserves to be killed for his crimes, and he deserves to be discussed. Wei Zheng often told me that the Son of Heaven should go to the private sector. However, for Dang Renhong, I am now full of personal feelings. Dang Renhong's family, for the sake of Jiangshan Sheji, has two sons who died on the battlefield. His eldest son died at the Battle of Xue Ju. We were ambushed, and Xue Ju's platoon of arrows was the first to penetrate Dang Renhong's eldest son. There were more than a dozen arrows all over his body. Dang Renhong lay on his son's corpse and licked the blood on his son's face with his tongue. Turned around and got on the horse, and went to kill again.

In the fifth year of Wude, under the city of Luoyang, we fought with Wang Shichong, and Dang Renhong came to me with his injured son in his arms, pierced through his chest with a spear, and he was dying. I took him, but Dang Renhong still didn't speak and continued to rush and kill. The second child was in my arms, and his voice said intermittently: 'I can't fulfill my filial piety, and he wants me to take care of his father.' 'How can I not agree to the death of man?' He died in my arms.

The two children died for the sake of the Tang Dynasty, and now, for the sake of the laws of the Tang Dynasty, the father is also dead. I, Li Shimin, have killed countless people on the battlefield, but I really can't bear Dang Renhong. I beg you here, just spare Dang Renhong and die. As the emperor, I can't kneel, but I beg you to spare him his death. “

After sighing, he raised his head on the platform in front of the palace and announced in a heavy tone: "The law is the law of the whole country, and the monarch and the ministers should abide by it. Today, I did something illegal. Dang Renhong should have been executed for corruption, but remembering that he had contributed to the court and was old, he changed the "death penalty" to "dismissal". This practice is an act of violating the law. I knew I was wrong, but my feelings forced Lian to do what he didn't want to do. In order to examine my guilt, I decided to punish myself by sitting on a straw mat in the southern suburbs from today onwards, eating only vegetarian dishes once a day, and apologizing for three days. “

The emperor's move is actually a bit of a show, a bit of a scoundrel, even though you are the emperor, but you pardon a person who has a big sin, it turns out that it is just three days of apologizing, sitting on a straw mat, eating vegetarian dishes, and it is over, and after it is over, you have to let the ministers pinch their noses and agree to him pardon Dang Renhong.

After that, the ministers can't say anything else, because if you oppose it, it seems that you are deliberately against the emperor, and the emperor himself has admitted the punishment and you still hold on to it, do you think that the emperor's self-punishment is not enough?

If the emperor had such an understanding of a minister, would the minister still be fine?

Therefore, no minister is a fool, listening to the emperor's "self-blame", and the ministers, whether they are sincere or against their will, are all moved to tears anyway.

Yes, from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Qin and Han dynasties, from the Three Kingdoms to the Sui Dynasty, since ancient times, the emperor has been supreme and noble. The king told the minister to die, and the minister had to die. Although the dynasties had their own laws, the laws could not bind the emperor. Life and death are all based on the emperor's "sacred heart", how can there be any reason for the emperor to review to his subordinates? Turning over the thousand-year-old history, there are a few Ming monarchs like the current emperor!

Originally, the minister admired the emperor for taking the lead in abiding by the law, but now seeing that he wants to plead guilty for three days, how can he pass emotionally! The ministers knelt on the ground almost at the same time and begged the emperor to retract the decision to "plead guilty". Fang Xuanling and other old ministers said: "It is the prerogative of the monarch to decide whether the minister is alive or dead, and to decide how the case will be resolved." The emperor's edict is the law, and there are no exceptions in all generations. Why should Your Majesty apologize and blame yourself like this? ”

Many ministers asked the emperor one after another to retract the act of "asking for guilt", but Li Shimin did not allow it. When the ministers saw that the emperor had to "ask for sin", everyone knelt on the ground, kowtowed frequently, and sang in unison: "If the Holy Lord does not accept the reprimands of his subordinates, we will not leave here!" ”

In this way, the ministers knelt from early morning until late afternoon, and none of them got up to return to their homes. Li Shimin saw that everyone insisted on not allowing it, and said: "Since you Aiqing will not let me go to the southern suburbs to apologize and blame myself for three days, then allow me to blame myself here." ”

He sent down an edict and said: "From the handling of the matter of Dang Renhong, it can be seen that I have three faults: one is not knowing the person, the second is to use the law for personal purposes, and the third is not knowing the reward and punishment. I will do my best to overcome these shortcomings, and I hope you will give you great advice. ”

It's a good word, but it's just a step down for your own mess.

I know that I have to do it if I am not doing it right, and if I am really a law-abiding emperor, I will not do it.

Li Shimin is very good at putting on a show, and after playing such a play, not only the ministers were moved to an uproar, but also obtained the consent of the ministers through "self-blame", saving Dang Renhong and demoting him from being killed to being a concubine.