July 2, 626. On this day, Li Shimin led Weichi Gong and others to ambush Xuanwu Gate (the north main entrance of Chang 'an Taiji Palace) with a team. Not long after, Prince Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, King of Qi, also rode horses. They all came to see the driver on the orders of Tang gaozu. But when they arrived at Xuanwu Gate, they felt something was wrong. The familiar general who led the troops often didn't know where to go, and the guards looked strange. While wondering, the door officer came out and sent a message asking them to leave the guards and go to see Tang gaozu alone.
Li Jiancheng turned his horse and ran back. At this time, Li Shimin shouted: "Stop, don't go!" While riding a horse. Li Jiancheng refused to listen, but ran as fast as he could. Li Shimin, with a load of eyes and an arrow, shot Li Jiancheng. Li Yuanji said, also want to bow shot Li Shimin, but panic in my heart, he didn't pull the bow several times. Then Weichi Gong arrived with seventy cavalry, and a burst of disorderly arrows shot Li Yuanji off his horse. Li Yuanji scared to flee, and was hacked to death by Weichi Gong.
Li Yuan was waiting for his three sons in the palace, but he heard the chaos outside. Just don't know what's going on, Weichi Gong has been holding a spear with troops poured in. He told Li Yuan that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji had conspired to make trouble and had been killed by the king of Qin. "The king of Qin was afraid that the mutinous soldiers would disturb the emperor and sent me to escort him." He asked Tang gaozu to order the guards of Taiuterus and Qi Wangfu to stop resisting.
Li Yuan was shocked. Faced with such a situation, he had to take advantage of the situation and made Li Shimin the Prince. Two months later, he passed the throne to Li Shimin, known as Emperor Taizong in history. Tang gaozu went to be the "emperor's father" himself.
This bloodshed is the famous "Xuanwumen Change" in history. This is an inevitable event.
According to the feudal patriarchal clan system (the ancient system for maintaining the hereditary rule of nobles), after Li Yuan proclaimed himself emperor, he could only make his eldest son, Li Jian, a prince, and Li Shimin, who had repeatedly made meritorious military service in establishing the Tang Dynasty, was only named King of Qin. Li Jiancheng is therefore very uneasy about Li Shimin. He formed a party with Li Yuanji, wooed Tang gaozu's favorite concubines, and let them speak ill of Li Shimin in front of Tang gaozu, which gradually alienated him from Li Shimin. They don't give up, want to further murder Li Shimin. One day, Li Jiancheng invited Li Shimin to Taiuterus for a drink. Who knows that he was poisoned in the wine, and Li Shimin had abdominal pain and vomiting after drinking a few mouthfuls. Thanks to the timely rescue of Li Shentong, the younger brother of Li Yuan and the king of Huai 'an, Li Shimin saved his life.
Li Shimin has been patient with this time and again, but Li Jiancheng is pressing hard. He and Li Yuanji came up with the idea of hollowing out the palace of Qin. In 626 AD, the Turks invaded the Central Plains, and Li Jiancheng suggested to Tang gaozu that Li Yuanji should go to war. Tang gaozu agreed, but Li Yuanji offered to transfer Li Shimin's generals, Weichi Gong and Qin Qiong, to fight together, and also demanded that all the military forces of Qin Wangfu be placed in his charge. And it is reported that he will bury all these men alive after transferring them, and then get rid of Li Shimin.
At this critical moment, Weichi Gong and others quit. He said angrily, "I can't stay with the King and be killed!" Changsun Wuji and others also think that they are heartless, and we can be unjust, so we should get rid of them first.
At the strong demand of the soldiers, Li Shimin finally listened to the advice and launched the "Xuanwumen Rebellion" when Li Yuan summoned the three brothers.
after Li Shimin ascended the throne of the emperor, he faced very serious problems. Due to the tyranny of the Sui Dynasty and years of war, people's lives were poor and social production was greatly damaged. Li Shimin, who experienced the peasant uprising at the end of Sui Dynasty, deeply knew the power of the people, so he made great efforts to restore social order and economic production.
Li Shimin is good at reassuring people. In the "Xuanwumen Change", he had to kill the Li Jiancheng brothers. When he ascended the throne, he made Li Jian king of Xi and Li Yuanji king of Hailing County, and ordered them to be reburied as a prince. On the day of the burial, Li Shimin not only allowed the two palaces to pay their respects, but also attended the funeral in person.
After the change of Xuanwu Gate, someone reported to Li Shimin that Wei Zhi, an official under Li Jiancheng, had persuaded Li Jiancheng to murder Li Shimin.
Li Shimin called Wei Zhi and asked, "Why do you want to sow discord between us?"
Wei Zhi calmly replied, "Because I was a subordinate of the Prince at that time, I had to do my best to think of him. It's a pity that the prince didn't listen to me, otherwise there wouldn't be such a result today. "
Li Shimin thought that Wei Zhi was upright, courageous and outspoken, so he promoted him to be a doctor of advice. Emperor Taizong also publicly said to ministers: "Governing the country is like curing a disease. Even if the disease is cured, you must pay attention to rest. Now the world is at peace, and all sides have come to surrender. This is a rare prosperity since ancient times. But I still have to be cautious and keep a peaceful life. This requires listening to your opinions. " In order to stabilize people's hearts, Li Shimin also sent Wei Zhi to Shandong to appease Li Jiancheng's old staff, providing them with a stage to display their talents.
due to years of war, the population lost a lot in the early Tang dynasty. Li Shimin vigorously reformed the military system, strengthened military equipment, defeated the East Turkistan, and let them return to the captured Central Plains people. At the same time, he released 3, ladies-in-waiting, which greatly strengthened the recovery of the population. He also carried out the policy of eliminating extravagance and saving money, and neglecting taxes and levies, built water conservancy projects and reclaimed wasteland, so that the people could feel at ease in production and restored and developed the social economy. This series of measures were very effective, and finally achieved the "rule of chastity" that was admired by later generations, laying the foundation for the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.