Chapter 895 Let the Holy King shine for thousands of years! (Seeking monthly tickets in early April)
Time flies like flowing water, and the situation in the world also flows like flowing water.
Since conquering the Dong Turks, there has been no war in the Tang Dynasty. The emperor and his ministers have once again begun to focus on domestic affairs and the people's livelihood, and the country's momentum has once again risen.
The rising sun shone on the open palace door, giving the vermilion gate a layer of color like the golden makeup of a Buddha statue.
This layer of golden light scattered into the Taiji Hall. Eunuchs and palace maids stood on both sides of the hall. Li Shimin was holding a pile of papers and flipping through them, with a smile on his face.
"Summon me."
Li Shimin raised his head from the pile of papers and gave instructions to the eunuch.
…
Editing the national history is a very long task, especially now that we have to find mistakes, the artifact Qingshi cannot be opened all the time, and Luo's luck points cannot bear it, so it can only be opened at the critical moment.
After Luo Xuanjing was ordered to come to Chang'an, the first thing she did was to submit a memorial to Li Shimin, detailing her next steps and the general catalogue.
The content is clear and detailed.
Li Shimin quickly reviewed it, with only four words, "As you say."
From then on, Luo Xuanjing took up the position of a visiting official in the Hongwenguan, specializing in compiling national history. She became one of the most respected dignitaries in the Tang Dynasty.
Because compiling history is an honorable, noble and prominent position, especially since Li Shimin attached great importance to the Hongwenguan, many talented and promising ministers would go to work in the Hongwenguan, and compiling history was the most important thing to accumulate qualifications.
In other words, here you can see a lot of first-hand information, which is undoubtedly very beneficial.
Luo Xuanjing attached great importance to compiling history, because after she entered Chang'an, she was called to Lingtian Pavilion by Luo Su. After that, Luo Xuanjing wrote a letter to Luo Xuanxing, asking Luo Xuanxing to send all the sisters to Chang'an to help her compile history books.
In the sixth year of Zhenguan, Luo Xuanjing completed the draft of the historical chronicles of the late Han Dynasty and submitted it to Li Shimin.
Because Li Shimin was very concerned about the emperors of various countries at the end of the Han Dynasty, after receiving this draft, Li Shimin summoned all the ministers to discuss it in the Taiji Hall.
The history books presented by Luo Xuanjing were circulated among these prime ministers or knowledgeable scholars.
“The words are concise and precise.”
“The language is beautiful and even rhythmic.”
"However, there are some words that, if I hadn't seen them here, I really wouldn't know how to understand them."
Everyone commented on it. No one dared to say anything about the format of the history book compiled by Luo Xuanjing. Luo was a professional in this field, and even Chu Suiliang did not dare to say anything.
The only thing that made them feel a little uneasy was the content. Many of them almost overturned the old history books and historical materials, and were more detailed than the old history books and historical materials.
Are these the things obtained through "spiritual communication"?
Everyone in the hall was worried, but no one really raised any opinions in this regard, because wasn't this "spiritual communication" the very reason why His Majesty had sent Ms. Luo to study history?
As expected, when Li Shimin saw that everyone had finished reading, he said with emotion: "I asked Madam Chu to list the chapters about the Annals in the history book she compiled, so we have the current draft.
My original intention in compiling history was, firstly, to expose the wise and foolish rulers to the world, and secondly, to serve as a warning to future rulers.
Now that I have read it myself, I have gained a lot. Many of the mistakes here are ones I have made before.
From this perspective, the compilation of this history book is indeed beneficial and harmless.”
The prime ministers and literati were no longer surprised by what Li Shimin said. This was Li Shimin. He was always humble and sometimes thought he was very powerful, but he would soon return to being humble again.
"Do you know why I asked Madam Chu to compile the Chronicles first?"
ah?
Li Shimin's question left everyone confused. Although it was more normal to revise each country one by one, it was not a big deal to revise the chronicles first. What was the deeper meaning behind this?
Seeing this, Li Shimin did not keep the secret any longer and said directly: "Once in Zhaocheng, there was a temple of various schools of thought, which enshrined the saints of that glorious era.
Countless precious words thus circulated throughout the world, nourishing the spiritual world of the Han people.
I'm sure you all know this."
As soon as Li Shimin mentioned this, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became visibly heated. Even Wei Zheng asked directly: "Your Majesty, are you going to rebuild the Temple of the Philosophers?"
Even if no one of this era has ever seen the Temple of the Philosophers, one can still feel its grandeur and magnificence just from the few words in historical records.
The literati in the world, whether they are studying Confucianism, Taoism, witchcraft, medicine, music, or crafts, the saints they respect are all in the Temple of the Philosophers.
Wei Zheng's question made everyone quite excited, but then the mood became gloomy. How could they rebuild it?
The most precious things in the Temple of the Saints, besides the texts, are the statues. According to legend, the statues fully record the true appearance of the saints.
Even if we were to rebuild the Temple of the Saints now, where would we get the chance to carve the voices, faces and smiles of those saints?
"I cannot restore the Holy Temple of the Sons."
Li Shimin said, sighing: "Perhaps that is the fate of the Temple of the Masters. Zhaocheng was destroyed in that once-in-a-millennium torrential rain.
The grass is sparse, the water is winding, and among the broken walls and ruins, the former glory and brightness can no longer be seen.
But the spirit of the Temple of the Sons will live on forever.
I was wondering where the source of the philosophers' thoughts came from, it was the Sage King.
The spirit of the Holy King must also be passed down forever.
I, with my humble status, have been blessed with the grace of the Supreme Emperor, and have won the hearts of all the people of China, to where I am today.
To show and warn future generations.
In order to enable all the people in the world to follow the right path and know the right way, it was decided to build an imperial temple.
In the Imperial Temple, holy kings with great merits and virtues are enshrined.
I will erect a high stone monument, build this temple with stone, and then decorate it with gold, jade, silver, precious stones, agate, and crystal.
I will list all the objects in this world that are related to beauty. Only magnificence can enhance majesty. The majesty of the Holy King is included in it. "
Li Shimin said in high spirits that he had also been thinking about this matter for a long time. Many years had passed since Luo Su first mentioned it to him, and now was the time to complete this matter.
He built this imperial temple not only to worship the ancient holy kings, but also to enter it himself in the future.
He has the confidence!
"The Holy King resides in the main hall, and the other emperors are in the side halls. The Holy Kings are listed for their achievements, and the other emperors are listed behind them. This will make the order of orthodoxy clear."
What Li Shimin meant was very simple. This temple of emperors should list most of the emperors who could represent the succession, that is, emperors who were of the same lineage, or who branched out in the middle but finally merged together.
The most important of them are the Holy Kings, and these Holy Kings will have their own separate palaces set up in the future.
The other kings who were not selected as the Holy Kings were listed together in the other halls.
Then there is a very crucial question, "Your Majesty, how big is this Palace of the Holy King?"
Li Shimin said without hesitation: "The Hall of the Yellow Emperor, the Hall of the Yao Emperor, the Hall of the Shun Emperor, the Hall of King Yu, the Hall of King Shang Tang, the Hall of King Kang of Zhou, the Hall of King Zhao of Zhou, the Hall of Emperor Wen of Han, the Hall of Emperor Wu of Han, and the Hall of Emperor Xuan of Han.
What do you think of these ten Holy Kings, the ten Holy Kings I have chosen?"
The emperor chosen by Li Shimin was an emperor. First of all, Huangdi, Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang must occupy the five positions, because these five were the holy kings written by Su Wang himself.
No matter how rebellious Li Shimin was, he could not kick out the Holy King who was personally recognized by the King of Su. Moreover, these five people were exactly the order of succession of the Xia Dynasty, from the ancient mythological era to the Zhou Dynasty.
Without any one of these five people, the whole thing would be incomplete.
The five people after that are very questionable.
After the Shang Dynasty, there were the Zhou Dynasty, the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu of the Chu State, the Han Dynasty, and the Sui Dynasty. To become a sage king was definitely an emperor, so the various kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties will not be mentioned.
The final result was two in the Zhou Dynasty and three in the Han Dynasty.
Let’s not mention the Qin Dynasty.
Xiang Yu gained the world quickly and lost it just as quickly, so we won’t mention it here.
In the Sui Dynasty, there was no such thing as a holy emperor.
Even Emperor Wen, from Li Shimin's perspective, was not good enough. In the palace, there was another person who particularly looked down on Emperor Wen, and that was Fang Xuanling. When Emperor Wen of Sui was the emperor, he said that the Sui Dynasty would not last long.
The final result indeed confirmed his words.
In the end, only the Han Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty remained. King Kang of Zhou was assisted by King Su, and King Zhao of Zhou was assisted by Duke Wen of Luo. This is called the Kang-Zhao Prosperous Era in history books.
There is a sentence in the evaluation of Emperor Xiaowen of Han that says his rule is better than that of King Kang of Zhou and King Zhao of Zhou. This is the highest evaluation for ancient emperors.
If you choose these two people, there will be no dissatisfaction.
As for the Han Dynasty, there is no dispute about Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Wu of Han. The only ones missing may be Emperor Guangwu of Han and Emperor Xuan of Han.
In Li Shimin's opinion, these two people are of similar level.
However, Emperor Guangwu of Han was dragged down by his descendants, so after thinking for a long time, Li Shimin decided to remove Emperor Guangwu of Han from the list.
So we have the current list of ten people.
Li Shimin had given this list very careful consideration and had clearly identified ten holy kings, so the ministers did not know how to add or subtract from them.
This is exactly what Li Shimin wanted.
In the end, I can only look at this list and say, "Your Majesty is wise and wise!"
Your Majesty is wise and incomparable!
————
In the sixth year of the Zhenguan reign, Emperor Taizong read history and said, "I have observed the 3,000-year history of the Chinese nation. Although the Mandate of Heaven has experienced ups and downs, it has never been broken. When the heaven falls, a sage king appears, and when the destiny ends, a new dynasty is established. I want to build a temple to worship the sage kings, and place the emperors under the sage kings to clarify the history of the Chinese nation and to make the order of the history books clear."
People at that time praised it, so they built a temple to worship the emperors and built ten halls to worship the ancient sage kings. People at that time said: "The temple built by the emperor is the order of the Chinese. The ten halls of sage kings protect our Tang emperor!" - "Book of Tang·Biography of Taizong"
Sacrifice, sacrifice hard, and push another book!
(End of this chapter)
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