Chapter 885: The End of Major Events in the First Year of Zhenguan

The extent to which Emperor Zhenguan cared about the affairs of the world was noticed by people all over the world. From the beginning of the first year of Zhenguan, in just less than six months, thirteen imperial edicts and more than forty imperial decrees were issued from the three provinces.

In the second half of the first year of Zhenguan, the emperor and the prime minister did not implement any major policies, but instead began to examine the implementation of the imperial edicts and decrees from the previous half year in the prefectures and counties.

This was an extremely complicated task, and Li Shimin and the prime minister were on high alert. As early as when the imperial edict was issued, Li Shimin said solemnly in the government hall, "It is impossible to expect lower-level officials to obey the imperial edict now. You all should be alert. I guess there will be people who pretend to obey and disobey, and people who act on their own will soon."

The predictions of Li Shimin and the prime ministers were completely correct.

From the Wude period to the Zhenguan period, there were changes in political power, and there were too many people who wanted to manipulate it. There is never a shortage of people in this world who try to guess the intentions of their superiors.

Saying one thing and doing another has happened too many times over the past few hundred years.

Let’s not talk about those things that are too far away to count.

Take the Tang Dynasty for example.

Wang Shichong was exiled and then killed on the way. The person who killed Wang Shichong was demoted for a short time and then reinstated soon after. Everyone knew that this was Li Yuan's intention.

Past experience is a lesson for the future!

"We, as ministers, should take the initiative to share the worries of His Majesty. His Majesty is wise and brave, so he naturally cannot do these dirty jobs. If we are ignorant and really let these thieves, treasonous criminals, and enemies who tried to kill His Majesty go free, then His Majesty will have no choice but to be held there, and this will be our fault!"

One of the assistants hesitated and asked, "But didn't His Majesty clearly say that he wanted to reconcile? Isn't it a bit wrong for us to speculate like this?"

"Which king in history didn't say this? But in the end, which king didn't settle accounts with his political enemies?

First, make a superficial reconciliation to avoid causing a big mess, lure the snake out of its hole, then put him in a high position, wait until the situation stabilizes, deprive him of his power, and finally find out his crimes and mistakes, catch them all in one fell swoop, and kill them all with righteous indignation.

You should read more books. This has happened not just once or twice in history, but ten or a hundred times!"

Just ask yourself, if Li Shimin was almost killed, how many people would really believe that he would forgive his enemies? How many people since ancient times could have such true magnanimity?

Aren’t they all magnanimous on the surface but secretly looking for opportunities to kill you?

Just like Li Yuan's previous attitude towards Du Fuwei, there were too many people holding this attitude in the prefectures and counties, especially in Shandong.

These people cannot even be said to be simply treacherous ministers.

Because most kings, even the excellent ones, are used to playing these political tricks, the bureaucrats will naturally use these tricks to figure out the kings, which eventually leads to this situation.

It’s a pity that they met a true saint king in the world, and a saint king who walked on the grand path, Li Shimin!

Especially now that Li Shimin has just become emperor, he has endless passion in his heart and only wants to treat others with sincerity. He still disdains those imperial tactics.

…

June of the first year of Zhenguan.

The dusty messengers rushed all the way from Youzhou, Yizhou and Yangzhou to Chang'an. They looked very haggard and their faces were dirty, but no one dared to stop them or despise them because they all carried urgent military orders.

These envoys from the military governorates of various places entered the Ministry of War unimpeded, and the matter was quickly submitted to the Council of State. When the prime ministers saw it, their faces turned ugly, as this was not a simple case of treason, but involved royal relatives.

This issue had to be reported to the emperor immediately, so the group hurried into the palace.

Li Shimin's face looked very ugly. Li Ai, the Prince of Lujiang and the governor of Youzhou, had rebelled and had been killed by Wang Junkuo, the chief secretary of the Governor's Office. The Zuo Pushe, the minister of the Yizhou Xingtai, had reported the Yizhou Xingtai's minister of war for rebellion and the rebel had also been killed.

But Li Shimin was not happy at all!

Li Ai was the member of the royal family who stood on Li Jiancheng's side, and Li Shimin was well aware of this.

But precisely because of this, whether to kill Li Ai or not has a very demonstrative effect, because there are quite a few people in the royal family who take sides.

Wang Junkuo killed Li Ai without saying a word. In his opinion, this was a blatant disobedience to his orders and against the imperial court's policies.

According to Li Shimin's idea, even if Li Ai really rebelled, Wang Junkuo should not be killed directly, because from the first year of Zhenguan to the third year of Zhenguan, there was no case of treason in the Tang Dynasty!

Wang Junkuo didn't even give the court a chance to appease him. This was a typical example of trying to gain promotion through merit!

As for the incident in Yizhou, it was not so serious, but it was also the case that the foreign relatives took advantage of the downfall of Crown Prince Jiancheng to eliminate dissidents, and the people who did it were still the foreign relatives of the Dou family.

No wonder the prime minister brought these matters directly to them. They really had no way to handle these matters and could only give suggestions but not make any decisions.

Li Shimin forced himself to suppress his anger and calm himself. As the saying goes, a king should not raise an army out of anger. By the same token, a king should not govern the country in a state of anger. The still young Li Shimin was so wise and decisive as to be feared.

He had a blank expression on his face and asked in a cold voice: "Gentlemen, what do you think? How should this matter be handled? Tell us."

How to deal with it?

This is not one question, but two. First of all, what to deal with?

It was about Wang Junkuo killing Li Ai.

Or deal with Wang Junkuo?

If you don’t understand this clearly, you won’t be able to grasp the scale of subsequent handling.

Seeing that no one spoke, Li Shimin raised his hand and called out, "Fang Xuanling, you have always been resourceful. Go ahead and speak."

Fang Xuanling said, "Your Majesty, the Inspector of the Ministry of Justice is here, so you should ask the Minister of Justice for his opinion."

The Acting Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice was Wei Zheng, who was promoted by Li Shimin.

Although Wei Zheng was the prime minister, his original rank was too low, so Li Shimin promoted him so that he no longer had to sit in the Ministry of Justice. He continued to serve as a loyal minister and worked in the Council of State.

Wei Zheng had nothing to say because this matter involved Li Jiancheng's past. He walked out of his seat, stood in the hall, clasped his hands, and then stood up in the hall and spoke freely: "Since Prime Minister Fang said that I am the Minister of Justice, I will make suggestions to Your Majesty according to the Zhenguan Law.

Your Majesty's edict was approved by the Council of State Affairs, and then sealed by the Secretariat and handed over to the Chancellery for execution. Its effectiveness was equal to, or even superior to, the Zhenguan Law.

Your Majesty had already issued an edict in January this year, announcing that no cases of treason would be accepted for three years and that the Tang Dynasty would cancel the three-year treason case.

The actions of Wang Junkuo, the Chief Clerk of Youzhou Military Governor's Office, and Dou Gui, the Left Prime Minister of Yizhou Daoxingtai, were all based on the Zhenguan Law, which provided that if there was evidence of treason, the rebels could be killed on the spot if they tried to resist.

The imperial edict is above the law, and the law is invalid, so the law that the two relied on does not exist. The two are suspected of killing a senior official of the court without reason and should be executed. This is my opinion on this matter. "

Tsk.

He turned the table over right from the start with good reason.

Luo Xuanchen felt it was a bit amusing when he heard this. Wei Zheng was really a very interesting person. He proposed a solution that was difficult to implement.

Wei Zheng leisurely returned to his seat and sat down, which stumped Li Shimin.

Naturally, he didn't care about Wang Junkuo's life, but the political situation was different.

It was impossible for Li Shimin to really kill people who were loyal to him because of such a thing, but the plan of reconciliation could not be destroyed, so there must be other solutions.

Li Shimin calmly asked again: "What do you think of Wei Zheng's idea?"

Fang Xuanling knew that he could no longer pretend to be dead, so he said slowly: "Your Majesty, I think that this matter cannot be rewarded, but must be punished.

The reconciliation between Prince Yin and the party of King Chuli is related to the major affairs of the country.

But Wei Shilang's suggestion to kill him directly was indeed a bit too extreme.

What we are discussing now is how to punish him. I think you can issue an imperial decree to reprimand him for disregarding the imperial order, and then fine him and confine him to his home to show the world your attitude. "

"Your Majesty, it's too light!"

As soon as Fang Xuanling finished speaking, Luo Xuanchen immediately stepped out and said in a serious tone: "Your Majesty, the punishment is too light, so light that people will think that you ordered this, and some will speculate that when this matter is over, you will reinstate him or even promote him, and then more people will take risks and do such things.

If you want to punish someone, you have to find a typical example. A chief secretary of a governor's office is a very typical person, a frontier official who holds a high position and power in the local area. He can be used as a warning.

Moreover, Your Majesty, my third brother in Youzhou once mentioned Li Ai and Wang Junkuo.

I am also in charge of the administration of the country. I have heard people mention that this Wang Junkuo has a very good relationship with the former King of Lujiang Li Ai. Li Ai has no military talent, so in Youzhou he obeys Wang Junkuo's orders and even wants to marry his children to Wang Junkuo's.

From this point of view, although Li Ai is incompetent, he is clear about his own capabilities.

Why would he directly rebel and even dare to rebel against Your Majesty? He doesn't even know how to command troops. This is unreasonable.

Now Wang Junkuo directly beheaded Li Ai, and then confidently said that Li Ai was plotting a rebellion. Is there any hidden reason behind this?"

Li Shimin sat up straight after hearing this. Others also looked over with doubtful expressions. Luo Xuanchen's words made sense. Li Shimin asked directly, "Ji Chen, what's the secret?"

Luo Xuanchen said directly: "I am just guessing, I can't guarantee it is correct, but in the Biography of Sang Hongyang in the Book of Han, it was recorded that 'the blood of the King of Jiaodong made Hongyang noble'. Sang Hongyang used the blood of the King of Jiaodong to make himself noble.

Now, the blood of Prince Lujiang could probably make Wang Junkuo noble. Doesn't he really have such an idea in his mind?

Your Majesty can check to see whether he is a loyal minister to Your Majesty and the Tang Dynasty, or a speculative villain. "

Words are sharp swords that kill people, especially those spoken by people with good reputations, which have infinite power.

Smart people even heard some hidden meaning from the fact that Luo Xuanchen only mentioned Wang Junkuo and not Dou Gui. It seemed that Luo Xuanchen did know something about Wang Junkuo, and these words did not seem like simple guesses.

This inevitably made everyone think of the third brother that Luo Xuanchen had just mentioned, another legitimate son of the Luo family, Luo Xuanxing. After Luo Su came to Chang'an, Luo Xuanxing had been staying near Youzhou.

Most of the eighteen tribes that Luo Xuanxing had given surnames to were in Youzhou and Liaodong, which was close to Youzhou. The brave warriors under Luo Xuanxing were also here.

So far, these people and the Tang Dynasty have not interfered with each other, and the Tang Dynasty court has not yet figured out how to deal with the relationship with these people.

Because in the Northeast region, there is another agricultural power, that is, Liaodong Kingdom, which has never submitted to the Tang Dynasty.

Some people seemed to be thinking about something. It seemed that Luo Xuanxing had said something, which allowed Luo Xuanchen to have some understanding of Wang Junkuo who was thousands of miles away.

Li Shimin's expression looked a little ugly. As a monarch with great power, he naturally could not tolerate himself becoming a tool for his subjects to fight for power and profit, and using the Xuanwu Gate incident to seek benefits for himself.

He hesitated for a moment, then said murderously: "I think what Wei Zheng and Luo Xuanchen said just now is very reasonable. This matter concerns the great cause of the country, and I must let everyone in the world see my determination to reconcile.

The emperor issued an edict severely reprimanding Wang Junkuo, depriving him of his title, removing him from his post as Chief Clerk of the Youzhou Military Governor's Office, and exiling him to Lingnan, ordering him to leave immediately without any delay.

The emperor issued an edict severely reprimanding Dou Gui, stripping him of his honors and titles, removing him from his post as Xingtai Zuo Pushe, and exiling him to southwestern Guizhou, ordering him to leave immediately without any delay.

He appointed envoys to Hebei Province and Yizhou Province to explain the imperial edict again and express the imperial court's will to the people of the world.

Appoint the Inspector of Hebei Province to investigate the case of rebellion by Lujiang Prince Li Ai to see if there is any hidden secret and whether there is someone involved who is secretly causing trouble and deceiving the court. If Wang Junkuo is really involved in the case, kill him.

Do you have any objections? If not, then proceed as per this."

The emperor's words can decide a person's life or death, and the prime minister's words can change the emperor's attitude. This is where the power of the central government lies.

The reason why Li Shimin liked to call all the prime ministers in the Council of State to hold meetings was very simple. After calling these people together for a meeting, they would reach a common resolution. After that, the procedures of the three provinces would just be a matter of going through the motions.

Otherwise, if he gave an order here and it was rejected by his subordinates, it would be too troublesome to go back and forth. It would be better for the prime minister and the emperor to discuss it directly.

The prime ministers were dissatisfied with the matter of Wang Junkuo and Dou Gui from the very beginning, believing that these two people were just making trouble. There were indeed rebellions in the world, but how could Li Ai, a mere acting minister, dare to rebel?

If the emperor had used such a ruthless hand, normally he should have given advice and admonished them, but now these two people were seeking death, so it was no wonder that they had used such a ruthless hand.

"I have no objection. Peace in the world is the foundation of the country. Wang Junkuo and Dou Gui have done bad things and should be severely punished."

"I have no objection!"

Several prime ministers expressed their attitudes, and Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction. This was the best situation. The prime ministers had the same idea as he did, and even Wei Zheng, the old argumentative person, did not argue with him.

If only it could always be like this.

After all the prime ministers left, Li Shimin walked out of the hall and felt a pressure coming. It was only the first year, and he had encountered such a difficult matter. He didn't know how much pressure the new policy would face in the future.

The imperial edict was quickly sent out through the three provinces. The newly appointed envoy of Hebei Province was Tang Jian, who was also an old minister of the Qin Palace. As he set off, news gradually spread from Chang'an that Li Ai, the governor of Youzhou and Prince of Lujiang, had rebelled, but was suppressed by Wang Junkuo, the chief secretary of the Youzhou Governor's Office.

The envoy from Youzhou had come to report this news. The moment the news came out, it spread throughout the streets and alleys of Chang'an officialdom, causing an uproar almost instantly. People, who had just felt relieved, became panicked again. Is His Majesty starting to settle accounts so soon?

Soon after, news from the palace and the three provinces began to calm people's hearts.

When everyone heard that the emperor had simply demoted the two of them and exiled them to those wild and miasma-ridden places instead of places like Luling, they knew that His Majesty was not just putting on a show but was really angry.

Especially later I heard that the emperor believed that there was a frame-up, so he had sent an inspector to investigate thoroughly.

"His Majesty said that he doesn't believe that under the amnesty, there are still people who would risk their lives to rebel. He believes that everyone will unite under the Zhenguan New Deal. Those so-called treason are all frame-ups, and he will clear the names of those who have been framed."

"Your Majesty is truly a holy king. There are probably not many kings like your Majesty who are so perceptive and care about their subjects. How lucky are we to be born in the Zhenguan era?"

"I have said it before. When your majesty said amnesty, it really meant amnesty. When your majesty was still the King of Qin, there were many talents recruited from other forces in the palace. Your majesty is open to all and has an extremely broad mind. What does a mere old friend of the hidden crown prince mean to you?"

Countless such remarks are spread in the streets, which represents the current public sentiment. Reconciliation is indeed the general trend. Only by putting aside disputes and hatred as soon as possible can everyone focus their energy on building the Zhenguan New Deal.

Wang Junkuo, who was far away in the Youzhou Governor's Mansion, thought that he was about to be promoted, but he did not expect to receive a series of imperial edicts reprimanding him and taking away all his power.

After the imperial edict was read, he still couldn't believe it and asked: "Messenger, did you read it wrong? I am the hero who suppressed the rebellion of Prince Zong. How can you treat a hero like this?"

Tang Jian sneered and said viciously: "How could the prince be plotting a rebellion?

There is no crime of treason among princes in our Tang Dynasty. You killed the prince without authorization, but I didn't kill you directly. This is already a decent excuse for you because of your past meritorious services.

According to the imperial edict, you must set off for Lingnan immediately. Let's go, Wang Changshi, no, commoner Wang Junkuo!"

Tang Jian came to Youzhou not only to read the imperial edict, but also to find out what the circumstances of Li Ai's rebellion were.

It is truly a case of monkeys scattering when the tree falls.

As soon as Wang Junkuo fell, many of his servants betrayed him.

What a changing world, today it's Wang Junkuo's turn to be unlucky.

After Tang Jian found out what was going on here, he hurried back to Chang'an.

He went to the palace and reported, "Your Majesty, Wang Junkuo is indeed involved in the Lujiang Prince's rebellion. According to Wang Junkuo's subordinates, it was Wang Junkuo who instigated the Lujiang Prince Li Ai to rebel.

It was Wang Junkuo who told Li Ai that the emperor would never let him go and that he must make plans early. He also hinted to Li Ai that he would lend a helping hand. Li Ai believed it and detained the court envoy out of fear.

It turned out that Wang Junkuo had deceived him. He turned around and led his soldiers to surround Li Ai's mansion and then killed Li Ai directly.

It is said that before his death, Li Ai said, "Wang Junkuo, you despicable villain, I will wait for you in the underworld." It is conceivable how much resentment Li Ai had towards Wang Junkuo.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin took a few quick steps in the hall, exhaled a few times, and said in hatred: "This Wang Junkuo really deserves to die. Let him die in Lingnan and never come back again."

Tang Jian was dumbfounded when he heard this. Just kill him directly?

Before he could persuade him, Li Shimin realized his mistake and said, "I cannot destroy the laws of the court because of such a despicable villain. I will report the results of your investigation to the Ministry of Justice, and then go to the three provinces and ask the prime minister to issue an order in accordance with the court's system and laws.

Kill him and give a warning to others who are ready to do something, telling them that there are some things they cannot do. "

Tang Jian then breathed a sigh of relief. His Majesty still knew the importance of things. Just as Li Shimin said, it was not worth it to undermine the country's laws just because of a Wang Junkuo.

He received the order and left in a hurry. The expression on Li Shimin's face was very complicated, naturally mixed with anger and sadness, but also a little relieved. At least he did not really kill his meritorious officials, which was also a good thing.

The result of handling this matter was announced very quickly. This was a result that no one had expected. King Lujiang Li Ai was actually provoked to rebel.

Now Li Shimin's previous actions won over the hearts of the people and made all the ministers shout that he was wise and did nothing wrong.

The biggest event of the first year of Zhenguan came to an end just like that. In various states of the Tang Dynasty, many people were ready to make moves, but after seeing the end of Wang Junkuo, these people stopped their actions almost in an instant.

The emperor's attitude was too clear. Even if there was a real rebellion, as long as you dared to report it, the reporter would be punished.

In other words, during these three years, even if there was a rebellion in the local area, the local officials would not be punished, which was actually a good thing.

Faced with the drastic reduction in conflicts and reports of treason, Li Shimin and the prime ministers all knew that after this incident, the affairs of Prince Yin's party and King Chuli's party were really over.

No one will doubt the emperor's sincerity anymore!

This judgment was soon verified. Some officials of the Eastern Palace who had been on the run appeared in Shandong and took the initiative to surrender to the government. Li Shimin waved his pen and reiterated the amnesty order.

"All the former officials of the Eastern Palace and the officials of the King of Chu do not need to turn themselves in. They can just report to the Ministry of Personnel according to their original official positions and be re-evaluated."

Not only did he save his life, he even kept his official position. This was truly beyond the expectations of most people.

Li Shimin's reputation rose greatly through these events, and the effect of reducing politics and easing punishments was very good.

During the period of recuperation, the best way of governing is for the government to not interfere. Under the operation of the prime ministers, almost all large-scale projects were stopped except for the repair of water conservancy projects, which greatly reduced the number of corvee labor.

In addition, the Tang Dynasty pursued a defensive strategy. It did not actively attack the Turks, but instead fought some small-scale wars with the Turks on the border. It did not require a large number of auxiliary troops and the requirements for military service were extremely low.

Under this major policy, the Tang Dynasty recovered extremely quickly. Its population was originally very large, although it was much smaller than during the heyday of the Sui Dynasty.

But because Li Tang unified the world at an extremely fast speed, a population of 30 million was still very powerful.

You should know that at its peak, the Central Plains had a population of less than 60 million. Together with foreign vassal states such as the Western Regions, the total population was more than 60 million. Now the Central Plains has a population of 30 million, which is basically enough to support almost all internal and external strategies.

…

In August of the first year of Zhenguan, a major event occurred. Li Shimin's eldest son, Li Chengqian, was canonized as the crown prince and officially entered the Eastern Palace. This was something that everyone expected.

At this moment, one person's status suddenly became somewhat different.

It can even be said that the eyes of the entire court were cast upon him. He was Luo Xuanye.

Luo Xuanye's status in the current Tang court is very different. Because his status is too high, since he was rewarded in the first year of Zhenguan, Luo Xuanye has never held any real position that could allow him to make meritorious contributions.

Because he has reached a point where he can no longer be promoted or restricted.

His most common thing was to go to the palace and drink with Li Shimin, which was similar to Pei Ji who was beside Li Yuan at the time.

After Li Chengqian was made the crown prince, after paying his respects to Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun, he came to pay his respects to Luo Xuanye.

Because Luo Xuanye is the Prince's Grand Tutor and the Prince's Grand Guardian!

These two official positions are the highest in the Tang Dynasty now, because there are no non-royal princes serving as the first-rank three dukes and three masters in the Tang Dynasty now.

Therefore, his official position of the first rank is already the highest level.

Now that Luo Xuanye serves as the Prince's Grand Tutor and the Prince's Grand Guardian, he is destined to have a certain relationship with the Prince. Under such circumstances, a new appointment was soon made.

Luo Xuanye's eldest son, Luo Juncheng, entered the Eastern Palace to study with Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

There is no doubt that Luo Juncheng will be a member of the prince's team in the future. He has Luo Xuanye to protect him, as well as Empress Changsun's status and the trust of Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji.

Li Chengqian's position as crown prince is much more secure than that of his uncle.

————

The curtain fell on the first year of Zhenguan. We may not be able to draw a conclusion based on just one year of governance, but the fact is that in the first year of Zhenguan alone, Li Shimin and his prime minister gave perfect answers to almost all the challenges they faced.

During this year, the Tang Dynasty not only determined the major policies for the next few years, but also promulgated the imperial examination system, a far-reaching system for selecting officials.

The people, who had experienced long-term wars, finally felt the grace and kindness from the central court in the fifth year after the unification of the country. In fact, it was not until the first year of Zhenguan that the Tang Dynasty finally began to assume the responsibilities that a unified dynasty should bear.

This situation did not end until the third year of Zhenguan, which is the content of the next section. ——"The Rise and Fall of the Tang Empire"

(End of this chapter)