When the balance between the monarch and the minister is broken, it is time for the show to begin.

When the power of the monarch's side took the initiative, the heart and liver of the Shang Dynasty Bigan were taken out; When the forces of his subordinates took the initiative, Emperor Xian of the Eastern Han Dynasty was held hostage by Cao Cao to "order the princes". And when the two are temporarily in equilibrium, loyal ministers are mass-produced—such as Li Shimin's Tang Dynasty.

☆ Shimin and Wei Zheng are like Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, they are both regarded as thousands of years of models for monarchs and ministers. But in comparison, Liu Bei's hypocrisy is really very different from Li Shimin. Liu Bei was relatively able to listen to the opinions of others in the early stage, and obeyed Zhuge Liang and others.

Only with everyone's hard work and sincere unity did they have a little foundation in Yizhou and established a small court of Shu Han. However, after Guan Yu's death, he was eager to avenge him and tried in vain to destroy the state of Wu in one fell swoop, and seemed to forget that he was the weakest force in the Three Kingdoms.

A war to destroy the country, because Zhuge Liang did not agree to launch it, Liu Bei did not let this military genius participate. As a result, Liu Bei's soldiers were defeated and killed in the Battle of Yiling (now southeast of Yichang, Hubei), and Zhuge Liang's painstaking foundation for Liu Bei was also greatly damaged.

Miserable! The past of "looking at the thatched house three times" and "being like a fish in water" seems to have happened to others. Liu Bei lacks some of the most basic qualities of a political family: calmness and self-knowledge. Yang Guang did even more desperately, he couldn't listen to anyone's good words, and put to death the ministers who had the courage to give him advice. Those who had made talents and visionaries left him one after another. Either set up another mountain, or cast another name for the Lord. These are some of the lessons and enlightenments that history has left for Li Shimin and us. Li Shimin, who is good at taking history as a mirror and taking people as a mirror, is naturally very different from those who have a beginning and no end. He was a true wise man, an almost perfect master of politics. Let those who want to do things have opportunities, those who can do things have positions, and those who can do things have status!

In addition to the thirst for talent, make good use of talents. Li Shimin's most well-known reputation in history is his admonition. Li Shimin often said: "Only when you speak up and give advice will there be peace in the world." "The most important reason for the emergence of Zhenguanzhi is that Li Shimin dares to accept even the most ugly anti-ear advice. This is actually a must-have for a mature, successful leader. Of course, it is also the most difficult to do. Anyone, who wants your subordinates to confront you all day long? Though. You probably know him for your own good, too. Li Shimin is laying the foundation for his empire with the most magnanimous imperial measure in his history.

☆ In the talent pool of Shimin, there are a large number of Qing officials and direct ministers: Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Wang Qi, Ma Zhou, Sun Fujia, Yu Shinan, Li Jing, Chu Suiliang, etc., talents with one heart and one mind, and both ability and political integrity. He believes that "the key to the stability of the country lies in the acquisition of talents." With such a view of talent, it is possible to create a clean and honest "official morality" and "official governance". Li Shimin once asked Wei Zheng "what is the light and what is the darkness". Wei Zheng's answer later became a famous idiom: "Listening to both is clear." Partiality is dark". Therefore, he is particularly good at listening to the criticism and opinions of the ministers. According to statistics, Li Shimin has been in office for more than 20 years, and there are more than 30 officials who regularly admonish him. Among them, Wei Zheng alone admonished more than 200 things before and after, and all of them directly pointed to Li Shimin's fault. His hundreds of thousands of words of recitals all hit the shortcomings of the government at that time, which were very helpful to improving the government. In the face of Wei Zheng, the most outspoken and good admonition supervisor, ancient historians even directly pointed out: "The previous generation of Zhengchen was only one person." The relationship between him and Wei Zheng is an eternal story of the acquaintance of the monarch and the minister. It is enough to set an example for future emperors. Among them, Wei Zheng's wisdom and courage and Li Shimin's measurement are indispensable conditions!

Wei Zheng, Julu people (now Julu, Hebei). He once took refuge in the Wagang Army, and also served for Dou Jiande, and after entering the Tang Dynasty, he was under Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin's sworn enemy. He was Li Jiancheng's think tank, and when the two brothers fought to the death, Wei Zheng persuaded Li Jiancheng more than once that he must strike first and kill Li Shimin. It is said that Li Shimin should hate him to the bone marrow, so after Li Shimin ascended the throne, people believed that Li Shimin would kill Wei Zheng to vent his anger, and the result was that Li Shimin not only appointed the 47-year-old Wei Zheng as the supervisor (counselor). also married him to a family of children (Princess Hengshan married Wei Shuyu, the eldest son of Wei Zheng). Because Li Shimin is well aware of Wei Zheng's ability and character, and he also knows the shape of the political struggle in the past and the needs of the construction of the Tang Dynasty today. The emperors of all people have repaid their grievances with virtue. You Wei Zheng can't repay you with a spring. Since then, he has been for the prosperity of the Tang Empire. Do your best, do your best! …

Sometimes Li Shimin's ideas were inconsistent with Wei Zheng's, and they would argue in the court and refuse to give in to each other. In the end, almost every time, it was Wei Zheng who gained the upper hand and reversed the emperor's wrong decision. Wei Zheng often criticized Li Shimin's mistakes in person, and sometimes made him unable to step down. However, Li Shimin is often able to smell it, choose the good and obey, and show his magnanimity. Even if he was angry again, Li Shimin didn't really do much with this stubborn old man. When Li Shimin first ascended the throne, he issued an edict to recruit soldiers. At that time, Tang Law stipulated that only those who had reached the age of 21 could be selected. But Feng De Yi Jian yì, anyone over the age of 18 tall and strong can be selected. However, Wei Zheng, who had been promoted to prime minister (Shizhong, the head of Menxia Province, who was responsible for the review of edicts), rejected the edicts four times in a row and refused to issue them. Li Shimin angrily rebuked Wei Zheng, and Wei Zheng retorted: "Didn't you say that you should govern the world with integrity? "The Law of the Tang Dynasty" is a country*, and it cannot be changed overnight because of a person's temporary preference, so as to lose trust with the people. How can we rule the world with integrity in the future? After hearing this, Li Shimin was silent for a moment, then turned his anger into joy, changed his mistake and immediately abolished this order.

Li Shimin respected him and was a little afraid, afraid that he would chatter again if he didn't do well enough. Once Li Shimin got a harrier that had been very good, and was playing with it, and when he saw Wei Zheng coming, he quickly hid it in his arms. Wei Zheng had actually seen it a long time ago, but he pretended not to know, so he deliberately spoke very slowly, and also told a bunch of trivial truths. When he was finally gone, the harrier had been suffocated to death. The harrier is innocent, but unfortunately he came to the wrong place; Li Shimin is cute, and he actually gave Wei Zheng such trust and patience; Wei Zheng is very tricky, he used this method to force Li Shimin to quit the occasional absence.

Wei Zheng also gave 10 pieces of advice to all leaders in his famous "Ten Thoughts". He warned the leaders that the heavy responsibility is on their shoulders, and they must "think before acting" in everything:

One. When greed arises, think of contentment;

Second, when you want to build a large number of buildings. Think of stopping;

Third, when you are in a high position, complacent and narcissistic. Think of humility;

Fourth, when you are complacent and forgetful, you should think of self-restraint;

Fifth, when trying to be comfortable and happy, we should think of thrift;

Sixth, when you are happy, you should think of sorrow.

Seventh, when you are worried about being deceived by villains. Listen to the opinions and counsel of the people.

Eighth, when you are disgusted with traitors framing you for loyalty, you should think of improving your own character and wisdom;

Ninth, when you want to reward someone, you should reflect on whether you are reckless and reckless because of your personal preferences.

Tenth, when you want to punish someone severely, you should ask yourself whether you are blindly punished because of the moment.

Wei Zheng believed that as long as he could consider the problem from these 10 aspects and then hand over power to talented people, the emperor would do nothing. The world can be peaceful. Wei Zheng considered Li Shimin's ruling interests in everything, and his feelings were sincere, which moved His Majesty the Emperor very much. This memo of his. He can already go down in history. It has had a great influence in history and is often cited by later generations. In fact, there are not many new and groundbreaking ideas proposed. It's just that he summarized it very carefully and comprehensively, and pinned all his hopes on the emperor's own introspection. To do ordinary things to the extreme is extraordinary! We can't be too him, he's not easy enough and he's lucky. We should be glad that he met the Lord and is familiar with the rules governing the operation of power. In that era, if you didn't rely on the emperor to awaken on his own, what else could you rely on? Is it really difficult to have any system or regulation that can effectively supervise and restrain the emperor? We should pay tribute to Wei Zheng, and even more to Emperor Li Shimin! …

Good medicine is bitter. Advice is against the ear! Li Shimin and Wei Zheng are not tacit and unusually like husband and wife, he will listen to your opinions as soon as you mention them. can accept it immediately with an open mind. Although, most of Wei Zheng's opinions and suggestions are very reasonable. Li Shimin is also a very smart person. However, Wei Zheng's admonition method is indeed often very abrupt and direct, and Li Shimin, as the emperor, also has his leader's frame, face and his own judgment after all. So, there are often some small frictions between them. The strictest one is a well-known story: in 632, Wei Zheng accused Li Shimin of his mistakes in front of the minister of civil and military affairs in the main hall, but did not give Li Shimin face at all, so that Li Shimin's patience finally reached the limit. He immediately returned to the palace in a rage, and said cruelly to the Empress Changsun who came to greet him: "One day I will kill this farmer!" "Empress Changsun asked who the farmer was? Li Shimin said, "Who else will there be besides Wei Zheng?" He always insulted me in public. After hearing this, Empress Changsun immediately put on the queen's court dress and solemnly paid homage to the emperor: "Congratulations on getting an upright minister. Because there is a wise king, there are righteous ministers. Facing such a virtuous wife, Li Shimin's anger immediately disappeared, and he began to think of Wei Zheng's good again.

In 643, at the age of 64, Wei Zheng died. Li Shimin said with emotion in front of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty: "Using copper as a mirror, you can arrange clothes and hats; Using history as a mirror, we can know the rise and fall of success and failure; Using people as mirrors, you can know your own gains and losses.

I used to have three mirrors like this, and now that Wei Zheng has passed away, I have lost one mirror. Li Shimin also said: "Before I ascended the throne, Fang Xuanling contributed a lot to the people who followed me to conquer the south and the north to pacify the world."

Since I ascended the throne, I have devoted myself to loyalty, offered advice, stabilized the country, benefited the people, and helped me achieve today's achievements, and only Wei Zheng was praised by the subjects of the world! Wei Zheng's two articles that were widely circulated in later generations - "Ten Thoughts of Emperor Taizong" and "Ten Gradual and Unrestrained Final Thoughts", are both classic twists and turns of Li Shimin's advice.

Therefore, although there are too many deficiencies and hidden secrets from outsiders, the relationship between Li Shimin and Wei Zheng still seems to be valuable. The two shape each other, making the king a wise monarch and the minister a good minister, and smearing the evil monarch* with a trace of "democracy".

Therefore, Wei Zheng is an iconic figure, he single-handedly washed the blood on Li Shimin's "Xuanwumen Change" and calmed the unbalanced imperial image of Li Shimin. It is also in this sense that not long after Li Shimin smashed Wei Zheng's tombstone, he found an opportunity to rebuild it (after Wei Zheng's death, Du Zhenglun and Hou Junji, whom he had strongly recommended, were involved in the "Prince Li Chengqian's rebellion case").

Li Shimin also learned that Wei Zheng had handed over his exhortation to the historian Chu Suiliang. Only care about making a name for yourself. Ignoring this would discredit the emperor. Therefore, Li Shimin, who was furious, sent someone to smash the tombstone of Wei Zheng with his inscription.

One year later, Li Shimin's personal expedition to Goryeo was frustrated. missed Wei Zheng even more, and ordered his tombstone to be restored. and condolences to their families). After all, the emperor's face, the dignity of the empire, and the country's long-term peace and stability are all greater than the personal grievances between the monarch and the ministers. Of course, Li Shimin, who is eloquent and strategic, knows this truth better than anyone else.

"If you listen to both, you will be clear, and if you listen partially, you will be dark" is really a good saying. Li Shimin, who has a strong sense of crisis, took this sentence as his guide to action with humility and advice. He rewarded ministers with great fanfare, so ministers who dared to speak to him kept emerging.

Ma Zhou, who used to supervise the imperial history, has been an official for more than ten years. Most of the twists and turns were made by picking Li Shimin's political mistakes. He admonished Li Shimin: "I have heard that the world should be based on the common people." "People-oriented" is also regarded by Li Shimin as a magic weapon for governing the world. …

Later, Ma Zhou fell ill, and Li Shimin personally gave him a decoction. There are also some people who point the finger at some of Li Shimin's life styles, and when Prime Minister Wang Shizhong saw Li Shimin, he saw the beautiful concubine of Li Ming, the defeated king of Lujiang, standing beside the emperor. I deliberately asked who this woman was? Li Shimin said: "This is the concubine of King Lujiang. When the king of Lujiang heard that she was quite attractive, he killed her former husband and forcibly took him for himself.

How can you not perish if you are so tyrannical and unkind! Wang Shizhong asked: "Then do you think King Lujiang is right or wrong?" Li Shimin said: "Killing people and taking their wives, what else is there to say!" The king's servant sneered: "Since you know that King Lujiang has done something wrong, why do you take his concubine for yourself." Isn't this a repeat of the mistakes of King Lujiang? These ruthless words actually moved Li Shimin greatly: "If it wasn't for your direct reminder, I almost did something wrong." Li Shimin immediately sent someone to send the woman out of the palace. and rewarded the king's servants.

But on the whole, after the death of Empress Changsun, Li Shimin's style of listening to advice seems to be becoming weaker and weaker. Requisitioning the people's power and building a large number of buildings are no longer as cautious as before. Even so, the huge energy accumulated by Datang was enough for him to solve a big problem that had been haunting his father and son for a long time. That is - Turkic!

After Li Shimin ascended the throne, he fully demonstrated his far-reaching political strategy, magnanimous courage, and extraordinary ability to deal with the Turkic issue. He is not only a powerful politician, but also a battle-hardened commander. In addition, as an emperor, he has great power. Therefore, he seems to be comfortable and familiar with these problems.

Li Shimin also knew the internal situation of the Turks well. They can make full use of the contradictions between their various tribes and constantly divide and disintegrate them. Li Shimin understood. At this time, the Eastern Turks' number one leader Jieli Khan and the second-in-command Turki Khan had a deep contradiction. The Turki Khan was the sister-in-law of the previous Khan, Shibi Khan, and the nephew of the Jieli Khan. After the death of Shibi Khan in 619, his son Shipobi (later known as Tuli Khan) was too young to ascend to the throne immediately, so he appointed Shibi Khan's younger brother Tsrifsheth, which was called Chuluo Khan.

In less than 1 year, Luo Khan died, and passed the throne to his younger brother Dubi, which was Jieli Khan. That is to say, the most legitimate successor to the throne of the Turkic Khan, Shi Bobi, waited for many years, and watched this position circulate among his uncles, but it never reached his own hands. Shi Bo Bi, who was already an adult (24 years old at the time), also felt resentment in his heart day by day.

Jieli was obviously also aware of the dissatisfaction and prestige of the former prince, so after ascending the throne, he made him the Turki Khan, in charge of the affairs of the eastern Turkic region, ruling the Khitan, the Yan and other ethnic groups, and he himself became the Great Khan. However, at the same time, Tuli increased the power of his younger brothers, and he guarded against Tuli everywhere. Therefore, the contradiction between Tuli and Jieli has never been able to reconcile. And this kind of upper-class contradiction in the Turkic country was captured by Li Shimin, who was discerning. Li Shimin used various channels to show favor to the Turks, secretly dividing the camp of the Turkic nobles and weakening their strength.

Of course, in addition to his superb political wisdom, what really made Li Shimin proud was the restoration of the national strength of the Tang Dynasty. In real politics, there is always strength and charm! Li Shimin gradually built up a cavalry team of his own, and even introduced Turkic war horses and trained them diligently. When horses began to combine with warriors, the powerful war machine qì - cavalry rose.

It is precisely with the support of excellent cavalry equipped with excellent sabers that there are similar to the Western Han Dynasty general Chen Tang's "If you invade the Han Dynasty, you must destroy it even if you are far away" (those who commit strong men will be punished even if they are far away). There was a strong man at the beginning, and then there was a prosperous Tang Dynasty. Later, the powerful Tang cavalry held their sabers high, their bodies at a 45-degree angle to the horse's back, and slashed all the way to Central Asia. …

And for good reason. Next, two of the most legendary scenes in Chinese history are about to be staged: the invincible Turkic Jieli Great Khan, who was twice sent back to his hometown by Emperor Li Shimin in a few words. Strange or not?

The first wonder:

Old Tang Book? The Turkic Biography records: In August of the seventh year of Wude (624), the two khans of Jieli and Tuli jointly led the army of the whole country to invade the Tang Dynasty. Occupy Yuanzhou (now Guyuan, Ningxia), and the company camp stretches endlessly.

Li Shimin was ordered to lead the army to resist, and the troops were stationed in Fengzhou (now Bin County, Shaanxi), and Li Yuanji gave him a hand. At that time, it was raining continuously in the Guanzhong area, and the road for transporting grain was blocked, and the soldiers were very worried. At this time, Jieli and Tuli led more than 10,000 cavalry to the west of the city of Fengzhou, occupied the high ground, and prepared to charge. Most of the soldiers, including Li Yuanji, were panicked.

Li Shimin personally led more than 100 personal soldiers and came to the Turkic position on horseback. He admonished them, saying, "The Tang Dynasty has sworn non-aggression with you, why did you break your promise and penetrate into our territory?"

I am Li Shimin, the king of Qin of the Tang Dynasty, and I am here to fight you in a decisive battle. If you Khan come by himself, I can fight with him alone; If I want to go together, I'll have enough of these 100 people. "Alright, let the horses come!

Jieli had not yet figured out the strength of the Tang Army at this time, but he was completely suppressed by Li Shimin's momentum. So, I can only smile innocently and not answer. Li Shimin drove forward again and said to Tuli: "You swore an oath to me before, and you must take care of each other in everything.

Why don't you take care of the brotherhood of the past when you are leading the troops here? You come out, and the two of us will fight it out. Tuli didn't know how to answer, and he probably wanted to use Li Shimin's prestige to improve his status.

Li Shimin stepped forward again, about to cross the ditch. Jieli saw that Li Shimin was unusually relaxed and calm, and heard Li Shimin and Tuli talk about brotherhood, and suspected that Tuli and Li Shimin had already colluded. Therefore, he sent an envoy to Li Shimin and said: "You don't have to cross the river, I don't have any malicious intent, I just want to discuss and decide some things with you." ”

As a result, both sides retreated without a fight. A vicious battle was resolved invisibly by Li Shimin! How many lives have been lost! (To be continued)