History live broadcast: the beginning is Qin Shihuang's live broadcast of the subjugation of th

"Tang Taizong also had problems in his later years."

"As I just said about beauty, Li Shimin is actually even more corrupt when it comes to pleasure."

"In his early years, Li Shimin issued a ban on all kinds of extravagance in the palace, but starting from the sixth year of Zhenguan, he gradually reneged on his promise. In his later years, he became even more indulgent."

“For example, “Looking for steeds from thousands of miles away, and selling rare treasures from outside the territory”, under the request of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, “Rare goods can be obtained at any time, and treasures can be obtained at any time.” "

"The palace furnishings and costumes made by the capital and the surrounding areas are also very gorgeous."

"Especially with Wu Zetian. After the death of the 36-year-old Empress Changsun in the 14th year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin began to continuously recruit beautiful women to enrich the harem, which made the people miserable. It was at this time that Wu Zetian, who was only [-] years old at the time, was absorbed into the palace. , to become a “talented person”.”

"After Lujiang King Li Yuan was killed, his concubine was also taken into the house by Li Shimin."

"Why do I talk about cholera in the Tang Dynasty? You, Li Shimin, made a good start."

"Furthermore, I said that in his later years, he was very happy with his achievements and went on a military expedition."

"The most criticized thing in Li Shimin's life was his three expeditions to Liaodong, which were not only in vain, but also made "the soldiers and horses tired of their armor, and the boats and their chariots tired of transporting goods," which placed a particularly heavy burden on the people of the country."

"Since the collapse of the Jin Dynasty, many separatist regimes have emerged in northern my country, and the Liaodong region has since been lost and occupied by Goryeo."

"Later, although Emperor Sui Yang made many conquests, they all ended in failure."

"After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, they also wanted to recover this area as soon as possible, but the time was not ripe enough, so we had to put it on hold temporarily."

"In the 18th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin believed that the Tang Dynasty had the conditions to recapture Liaodong, so he planned to "conquer the East."

"Moreover, Li Shimin decided to lead the expedition himself."

"Since Li Shimin came to the throne, he has swept Mobei and Pingxi, but he has never personally gone on an expedition. This personal expedition not only showed his determination to win, but also meant to save face for the Sui Dynasty's failure in the "Conquest to the East."

"It is undeniable that Li Shimin's military achievements in his life were very great. He destroyed the Turks, Xueyantuo, Tuyuhun and other countries, and pacified the countries in the Western Regions. He was so powerful that all nations came to court, and he became the Khan of Heaven."

"Careful people can find that Li Shimin's early military thinking was still very pragmatic. For example, when he first came to the throne, when faced with the invasion of the Turkic army, he signed the Weishui Alliance with a sense of current affairs. After he developed and strengthened, he signed the Weishui Alliance. Go back and deal with the Turks."

"Also, when annihilating the Turks, Tuyuhun and other countries, Li Shimin only used foreign troops to fully ensure domestic economic development and order stability. Therefore, although he continued to launch wars, the Tang Dynasty continued to grow."

"However, in Li Shimin's later years, his military thinking changed greatly. He was no longer so pragmatic, and more often fought to maintain the dignity of Tian Khan."

"The most typical example is Goguryeo. In the 19th year of Zhenguan, a powerful minister committed regicide in Goguryeo. Li Shimin was not reported to Li Shimin in time afterwards. Li Shimin felt very embarrassed, so he ordered the army to prepare for war and ordered the twelve states in the south of the Yangtze River to Build large warships.”

"At that time, many people advised Li Shimin that Goguryeo was very far away and was still a city-walled country, making it difficult to capture."

"Furthermore, Goguryeo has rainy summers and extremely cold and long winters. The only three to four months from April to July are suitable for fighting. If we send a large number of troops to Goguryeo, we will be very passive if we fail to win immediately."

"More importantly, Goguryeo is just a small country, not rich, and not worthy of the Tang Dynasty's efforts." "However, Li Shimin couldn't listen at all. He just wanted to seize Goguryeo, incorporate it into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and bring this country to the Tang Dynasty." Every achievement is written in one’s merit book for future generations to admire.”

"Especially, Li Shimin felt that only if he succeeded in what Emperor Sui Yang failed to accomplish, would he be able to distinguish between high and low."

"As a result, Li Shimin not only insisted on conquering Goguryeo, but also did so himself. During the interval between the wars, a war broke out on the western front of the Tang Dynasty. Xue Yantuo invaded the border in a large scale, and the Tang Dynasty had to face the dilemma of fighting on two fronts."

"Although Goguryeo and Xueyantuo were eventually destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, due to the long duration of the war, the Tang Dynasty consumed a lot of financial, human and material resources. In addition, Li Shimin built a lot of construction projects and indulged in pleasure, so the burden on the people increased greatly."

["There is the army of Liaohai in the east, and the battle of Kunqiu in the west. The soldiers and horses are tired of armor, and the boats and chariots are tired of transportation."]
["The army is in turmoil, the palaces are prosperous, and the people are suffering from labor abuses."]
"It can be said that attacking Goguryeo was not a wise move, and it was quite militaristic. However, Li Shimin insisted on going his own way in order to demonstrate his achievements. In the end, it was the people who suffered."

[The "New Book of Tang" points out: "At the end of Zhenguan, several troops were mobilized to conquer the barbarians, and the palace was slightly managed, but the people complained."]
"And before the expedition, Li Shimin consulted Zheng Yuanchi, who had followed Yang Guang on the Liaodong expedition, for operational advice."

"Zheng Yuanchi said: "Liaodong is far away and the transportation of grain is difficult. Dongyi is good at defending the city and cannot attack it suddenly. "

"Obviously, this is Zheng Yuanchi's personal experience of fighting in Liaodong."

"However, Li Shimin believed that the Tang Dynasty was unparalleled in terms of national power and military strength and that the Sui Dynasty could not match it. He expected victory and did not take Zheng Yuan's words to heart at all."

"In the 19th year of Zhenguan, after Li Shimin personally led the army into Liaodong, he sent troops to capture Liaodong towns while dividing his troops to block the way of Goryeo's reinforcements to Liaodong."

"At the beginning of the war, the Tang army successively captured Gaimou City, Beisha City, Liaodong City, and Baiyan City. It was an overwhelming force."

"On June 15, the Tang army arrived at Anshi City, and Goryeo dispatched [-] troops to rescue Anshi."

"After June 23, most of Liaodong was captured by the Tang army, with only Anshi City still holding on tenaciously."

"On July [-], when the Tang army besieged Anshi City, the Anshi people climbed to the city to insult Li Shimin."

"Li Shimin was furious when he heard this, and decided that on the day Anshi was destroyed, all the people would be killed."

"After the people of Anshi heard the news, in order to save their property and lives, they risked their lives and defended the city to the death."

"Li Shimin saw that Anshi was difficult to capture for a while, so he asked the generals for advice."

"Both Li Daozong and Gao Yanshou believed that troops should be sent to attack Pyongyang from afar to cut off the retreat of the Goryeo army and then attack it from a flank."

"Li Shimin wanted to adopt this strategy, but Changsun Wuji said: "The emperor personally conquers, unlike the generals, he cannot take advantage of danger and surrender. "

[Today, there are hundreds of thousands of captives in Jian'an and Xincheng. If they all follow me like Wu Gu, it is better to break through An City first, capture Jian'an, and then march forward. This is a safe strategy. "

"Subsequently, Li Shimin listened to Changsun Wuji's advice and continued to besiege Anshi, but still could not capture it."

(End of this chapter)