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Chapter 210 The Reign of Zhenguan

After hearing the ins and outs of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the common people in the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty all had complicated expressions.

It turned out that their emperor had gone through so much and was not as ruthless as they imagined, but was forced to do nothing.

They had previously learned that the emperor had killed his brother to seize the throne, and they felt a little resentful in their hearts.

Although they were full of admiration for the emperor's outstanding military achievements at that time, they could not hide the fact that the emperor was fratricidal.

Although the emperor ordered the people across the country not to discuss the Xuanwu Gate incident, they still could not stop their dissatisfaction with the emperor.

But now they listened to the anchor's detailed account and realized that their emperor also had his own reasons.

After all, when it comes to that point, either you die or I live.

In such a desperate situation, it was understandable for their emperor to launch the Xuanwu Gate Revolution.

Immediately, countless people posted comments expressing their understanding and support for Li Shimin.

Li Shimin saw the overwhelming barrages on the sky, all of them supporting him. At this moment, he was deeply moved and his eyes were red.

He also thought that if the anchor told this unbearable past event, the subjects of the Tang Dynasty would criticize him verbally and writingly.

But he never expected that, beyond his expectation, they all understood him for launching a coup.

At this moment, he was extremely relieved, and the heavy shackles in his heart were finally let go.

You know, since he launched the Xuanwu Sect incident, he has been under great pressure.

He didn't want to mention this past incident and was afraid that people would criticize him.

But now, people all over the world understand his behavior, and he can finally get rid of the psychological burden.

At this moment, he secretly made up his mind to work diligently and love the people so that the people of Tang Dynasty could live a good life in peace and contentment.

"When it comes to Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty, we have to talk about the rule of Zhenguan."

"It is precisely because of the prosperous Zhenguan era created by Li Shimin that Li Shimin's reputation is at its peak and he has become a role model for emperors of all dynasties and generations."

"After the Xuanwumen Incident, Li Shimin ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, and changed the Yuan Dynasty to Zhenguan."

"The anchor will now focus on the rule of Zhenguan and see what political achievements Li Shimin made."

"After Li Shimin ascended the throne, he faced the Tang Dynasty, which was in ruins due to the war in the late Sui Dynasty and was waiting to be revitalized. How to establish the rule of Zhenguan and rebuild the shattered Tang Dynasty became a top priority."

"Li Shimin has been good at recruiting talented scholars for a long time. As early as the fourth year of Wude, Li Shimin, the king of Qin, established a literature museum to extensively recruit talented scholars."

"There are eighteen bachelors in the museum, including Yu Shinan, Chu Liang, Xu Jingzong, etc. who are famous for their poems and essays, and Kong Yingda, Lu Deming, Yao Silian, etc. who are famous for their classics and history. They also include people with great political and military talents. Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Du Yan and others."

"Eighteen bachelors formed Li Shimin's think tank, which not only helped him successfully seize the throne, but also became the core personnel of the Zhenguan rule in the future."

"However, from the Qin Mansion to the Imperial Palace, Li Shimin faced a more complex court environment at this time. This dangerous situation came from three types of people in the court at that time."

"Does anyone know what three types of people they are?"

The anchor's interaction achieved good results, and soon someone answered the question on the barrage.

Li Zhi: One type is the old ministers from Emperor Gaozu's time. These people were all from Guanlong nobles or Shandong gentry.

The characteristics of the Guanlong family's thoughts are conservatism, especially their fear of the common people.

In the end, his father reused these powerful officials, which caused him a lot of trouble, and he spent a lot of energy to suppress them.

Zhao Kuangyin: The second type is when Li Shimin was the king of Qin, his subordinates.

Speaking of Li Shimin's staff at that time, all of them were very famous.

Especially one of the most famous figures, Fang Xuanling, who advised Li Shimin.

However, although these talents were good at making suggestions, they did not know much about the situation of the entire society at that time.

Zhu Yuanzhang: The third type of people are the forces from the people, especially those in Shandong who followed Li Shimin to participate in the uprising.

Because of this, these people know the situation in Shandong very well.

Especially after the turmoil of the Xuanwu Gate Incident ended, he knew their situation very well.

Therefore, they were able to analyze the situation very accurately and provide valuable opinions to Li Shimin.

"Yes, the three emperors are right. Li Shimin was facing these three types of people at that time."

"Faced with a complex situation, how did Li Shimin make these three types of people with different backgrounds work for him?"

"Shortly after Li Shimin ascended the throne, he ordered to summon a minister. This minister was none other than Wei Zheng, who firmly sided with Prince Li Jiancheng during the Xuanwumen Incident and advised him."

"Li Shimin sternly asked Wei Zheng why he wanted to alienate the three brothers."

"Wei Zheng said calmly, if the prince had listened to me earlier, today's fatal disaster would not have happened."

"The ministers were all worried about Wei Zheng, but Li Shimin admired Wei Zheng's frankness and understood his loyalty to what he did."

"Not only will we no longer pursue old grudges, but we will immediately re-appoint Wei Zheng."

"Grateful to Li Shimin for his kindness, Wei Zheng has since said everything he knows."

"Li Shimin listened to Wei Zheng's advice. Hearing both will lead to enlightenment, and partial belief will lead to darkness. Therefore, during the Zhenguan period, a good custom of listening to both and accepting advice was formed."

"In addition to Wei Zheng, the ministers who often gave advice at that time included Wang Gui, Dai Zhou, Ma Zhou, Zhang Xuansu and others, as well as his wife, Queen Changsun."

"Even Feng Deyi, who was famous for his flattery and flattery during the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, has records of remonstrances made many times."

"Li Shimin has been in office for more than 20 years, and more than 30 officials have come to remonstrate with him."

"Among them, there are more than 200 things before and after Wei Zheng's advice, amounting to hundreds of thousands of words, all of which hit the mark and played a huge role in improving the government and helping Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty implement correct decisions."

Li Shimin: As an emperor, it is very necessary for me to listen both to gain enlightenment and to believe only to gain darkness.

He deeply understood that the emperor actually had desires, which were very likely to harm the country.

If a high-ranking emperor does not listen to advice, he will be dictatorial and do whatever he wants.

Then it will inevitably affect the court's decision-making, which is likely to lead to mistakes in decision-making, and seriously put the country in a dangerous situation.

Emperors in the past who did not listen to advice had taught him profound lessons, so he must actively learn these lessons to avoid making the same mistakes again.

He is very grateful to Wei Zheng for his outspoken advice, which allows him to always examine himself and avoid making wrong decisions.

The reason why he reused Wei Zheng was because he valued Wei Zheng so much and actively adopted Wei Zheng's advice.

It all depends on Wei Zheng's understanding of the theory of governance, the lessons of history, and the current situation of society.

Such an admonisher stands tall and sees far.

Wei Zheng's formulation of policies for governing the country played a very important role in helping him become a wise monarch.

"Two months after Li Shimin seized the imperial power with arms, in the early morning of this day, the capital Chang'an was extremely lively, and officials, both civil and military, flocked to Xuanwu Gate from all directions."

"They are coming to participate in a debate titled 'The pros and cons of governance since ancient times' hosted by Li Shimin himself, trying to find a way to achieve great governance in the world."

"However, as soon as the debate began, there were two opposing views."

"However, how to make the people settle down and carry out great governance?"

"Li Shimin hopes to find answers from history."

"Li Shimin couldn't help but ask himself, why did the once prosperous and powerful Sui Dynasty collapse in less than forty years?"

"He summarized the three main reasons for the demise of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty: first, extensive construction and palace administration; second, collecting beautiful women and having excessive sexual pleasure; third, conquests from east to west and military violence."

"Li Shimin marveled at the people who created miracles in the prosperous days of the Sui Dynasty. In the subsequent wars, they exploded with such tremendous power that the Sui Dynasty regime collapsed."

"These gave him a very clear understanding of the relationship between the country and the people, and the relationship between the king and the people."

Feng Deyi: To achieve great governance in the world, we must continue to implement high-pressure policies.

As the representative of the Shandong nobles, he naturally wanted to speak out for them.

People's hearts are broken, the people's hearts are broken, and the only solution is to implement high-pressure policies.

In the turmoil of the late Sui Dynasty, the Shandong gentry were the targets of attack.

Now that they have finally stood up, they must counterattack.

Wei Zheng: After a great turmoil, the people's thoughts on governance are just like if a person has been thirsty for a long time, everything he drinks will taste sweet, and if he has been hungry for a long time, everything he eats will taste delicious. People who have been in war for a long time hope to settle down and live a stable life.

As a bureaucrat from the ordinary landlord class, he represents the interests of Shandong heroes.

They came all the way from Wagangzhai, and they were also a force against the Sui Dynasty. They knew best the trends of the people in Shandong and Hebei.

He deeply understood that what the people wanted was a stable life.

"In order not to repeat the mistakes of the Sui Dynasty, Li Shimin and his ministers often gathered together to discuss how to better govern the country."

"In Li Shimin's eyes, the people are like water, the monarch is like a boat, and the monarch and the people are one, sharing weal and woe."

"If a monarch satisfies his own desires by harming the interests of the people, it will inevitably lead to the subversion of the regime."

"Knowing the ancient saying that water can carry a boat and capsize it, Li Shimin repeatedly emphasized that the people should be at heart, and the way to be a king is to save the people first."

"Under this concept, Li Shimin formulated a strategy to calm the people and formed a set of people-oriented ideas."

"Li Shimin transformed these thoughts into a series of specific policies, and the prosperous scene of Zhenguan's rule was unfolded step by step."

"The main content of the discussion between monarch and ministers was recorded in the book "Zhenguan Zhengyao" written by Wu Jing, a historian during Li Shimin's period, and was passed down by later generations."

Li Shimin: Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. If I don’t implement benevolent policies, I will surely be destroyed by the people.

He clearly understood the truth that as an emperor, one must be vigilant.

If the Son of Heaven has the Tao, people will regard him as the master. If he does not have the Tao, he will abandon him and not use him. This is something to be feared sincerely.

This sentence is a lesson he learned from the fall of the Sui Dynasty, and it always alerts him.

The emperor is just elected by the people because you are righteous, but if you are ungrateful, the people can immediately reject you, just like what happened to Emperor Sui Yang.

"The emergence of a clear society must be based on the rule of law and ensure the fairness of law enforcement."

"As soon as Li Shimin ascended the throne, he ordered Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling to revise the "Wude Code" and formulate the "Zhenguan Code".

"Later, Changsun Wuji organized nineteen ministers and legal experts to write annotations for the "Tang Code" and completed thirty volumes of "Tang Code Commentary", which had a significant impact on subsequent feudal laws."

“Comprehensive legal provisions are certainly important, but enforcement is even more important.”

"In this regard, Li Shimin emphasized that everyone is equal before the law, including relatives, old friends, princes and ministers."

"In the ninth year of Zhenguan, Gao Zhengsheng, the commander-in-chief of Yanze Road's march, was convicted by Li Jing for violating military orders. He was later spared from death and sent to the frontier."

"Someone wrote a letter asking for leniency as an old minister of the Prince of Qin's Palace."

"But Li Shimin did not miss his old feelings, dismissed the petition, and upheld the original verdict."

"Li Shimin believed that by pardoning him, he would be lucky. There are many meritorious people, and by pardoning him, others would be less likely to commit crimes."

"The emperor leads by example and enforces the law like a mountain."

"In an era when I rule the world, which emperor dares to lock himself in a cage of power like Li Shimin? Only Li Shimin can do it."

Zhu Yuanzhang: Our Ming law is also formulated with reference to the Tang law.

The reason why he referred to the laws of the Tang Dynasty was not only because the Tang Dynasty itself was powerful.

There is another important reason, that is, Tang Taizong, like him, was also people-oriented and valued the common people.

The laws of the Tang Dynasty had a major feature. In addition to the regulations regarding the palace and emperor, the first was some regulations for officials.

As for thieves and the like, those related to the common people, the regulations that suppressed the common people in the past are all behind the laws of the Tang Dynasty.

This is enough to illustrate a problem, that is, the law first regulates officials.

Once you become an official, you must abide by the law and do your job well in accordance with the laws and regulations.

His philosophy is the same as that of Li Shimin. Only after officials have done their job well can they manage the people.

"The other side of the rule of law is education. Li Shimin has repeatedly emphasized that law enforcement must be cautious and lenient. The dead cannot be reborn, and the use of legal services should be lenient."

"In the fifth year of Zhenguan, he returned the final adjudication power of death penalty to the imperial court."

"And there are clear provisions for review to increase the chances of correcting unjust, false and wrongly decided cases."

"The next year, Li Shimin personally interrogated the prisoners when he saw that the death row prisoners were about to be executed."

"I suddenly felt pity in my heart, and ordered him to be released home, agreeing to come back next fall for execution."

"He also ordered all death row prisoners across the country to be released and asked them to gather in the capital before the deadline."

"When the deadline came in the fall of the second year, there was no one to supervise or organize, and a total of 390 death row inmates released in the first year actually arrived on time."

"Li Shimin was very moved and ordered them all to be pardoned."

"During the Zhenguan period, on the 21st day of the first lunar month every year, the streets of Chang'an City were deserted."

"On this day, the emperor takes off his dragon robe and puts on short clothes and casual shoes. He will go to the fields to cultivate the crops in person to show the importance he attaches to farming."

"This kind of scene is rare among countless feudal emperors in ancient times, and Li Shimin is one of them."

"In the third year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty ordered the restoration of the Tiantian ceremony that had been abandoned for hundreds of years."

"While the people were horrified, they all cheered."

The people in the Zhenguan period were all grateful to Li Shimin. It was their blessing to meet a monarch who valued agriculture and mulberry.

In their impression, the current emperor never imposes corvées or military service during busy farming periods.

One of the things they talked about the most was the crowning ceremony for the prince.

Generally, if the prince wants to carry out the coming-of-age ceremony, he must mobilize soldiers to act as an honor guard.

But this time happened to be spring plowing. In order not to delay the spring plowing and not to affect the common people's farming, the emperor did not mobilize farmers to serve as ceremonial guards, but chose to postpone the crown ceremony to a later date.

Although this is a small thing, it is enough to show that their emperor attaches great importance to Nong Sang.

"In an agricultural society, whether the food harvest is good or not is closely related to water conservancy construction."

"The completion of Dujiangyan has contributed to the prosperity and stability of the Land of Abundance for thousands of years."

"A flood or a severe drought can cause people to lose their harvest."

"And it may cause social unrest and political instability."

"In order to strengthen water conservancy construction, Li Shimin vigorously reorganized water control institutions."

“During the Zhenguan period, there were 27 large-scale water conservancy projects recorded in the New Book of Tang alone.”

“The Yangzhou Gouchengtang Water Conservancy Project, built to solve the drought in Yangzhou, irrigated more than 800 hectares of farmland. Since then, Yangzhou has had bumper harvests year after year.”

"Cangzhou dredged the Wudi River, Changlu River, Zhang River and Heng River, and there has been no water damage since then."

"In the seventh year of Zhenguan, Xiazhou Shuofang opened the Yanhua Canal to divert Wushui into the Dize reservoir."

"In the tenth year of Zhenguan, Chen Liu opened Guanyin Slope in Bianzhou and irrigated hundreds of hectares of fields, creating excellent conditions for a bumper grain harvest."

"Even today's farmers, regardless of whether they are north or south of the Yangtze River, still enjoy the water conservancy achievements of the Zhenguan period."

Every time the anchor mentioned a state or county, the local people showed great respect to Li Shimin.

It is precisely because of the water conservancy project built by the current emperor that they can achieve bumper harvests every year and no longer have to worry about going hungry.

Before the emperor built water conservancy projects, they often faced droughts or floods, which brought disastrous consequences to them.

If the grain harvest fails, it is a trivial matter. In serious cases, the family will be destroyed, and the wife and children will be separated. But they were lucky enough to meet a good emperor who cared about their people.

If their emperor had not built water conservancy projects, they would not have had such a good harvest today.

"In an agricultural society, there is another crucial condition for economic development, and that is population."

"In the wars at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the Turks in the north took a large number of Han people captive."

"At the same time, many Han people fled north to avoid the chaos, resulting in a sharp decline in the population."

“During the Wude reign of Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, the country’s population was only over two million households, less than a quarter of what it was at the peak of the Sui Dynasty.”

"After Li Shimin came to the throne, he immediately realized the problem of serious population shortage, and rapidly increasing the population became an urgent task."

"In order to stabilize the Han population, Li Shimin also stipulated that the legal age for marriage is 20 for men and 15 for women."

"Families that give birth to boys will be appropriately rewarded, and those who are unable to marry will be helped by the court."

"Li Shimin also included marriage and population growth into the assessment indicators for local officials as a reference for promotion and demotion."

"By the third year of Yonghui, when Li Shimin's son Tang Gaozong Li Zhi came to the throne, the number of registered households in the country reached 3.8 million, with a population of nearly 20 million, nearly double that of the Wude period."

"Population is the most valuable resource for maintaining a political power, and it is also an important criterion for testing the success of governing a country."

"The population has nearly doubled, which shows that Li Shimin's policy of calming the people has very obvious effects."

"In the fourth year of Zhenguan, Guanzhong had a good agricultural harvest, and the dispersed population returned to their hometowns one after another."

"In the sixth or seventh year of Zhenguan, the weather was good, and the vast Shandong area changed its dilapidated appearance."

"The eighth, ninth, thirteenth, and sixteenth years of Zhenguan were also good harvest years."

Wei Zheng: The population is seriously insufficient, and increasing the population of ordinary people is a top priority.

He had set out east from Luoyang all the way to the East China Sea. He could not see a few people along the way, which showed how poor the population was.

If someone goes from Luoyang to Shandong, he must bring his own dry food.

Because we didn’t meet many people along the way, we couldn’t get any supplements of dry food at all.

After the war in the late Sui Dynasty, the economy at that time had been severely damaged.

Zhu Di: During the Zhenguan period, the number of ordinary people was seriously insufficient. In order to encourage the increase of population and to encourage more children, Li Shimin issued many imperial edicts.

He remembered that one was to encourage widows to remarry, which was very controversial.

After all, in ethics, widows are expected to observe chastity and cannot remarry at all.

But Li Shimin forced the widow to remarry in order to increase the population.

Another is to redeem Han people from the Turks and quickly replenish the population.

During the war in the late Sui Dynasty, some Han people were plundered by the Turks, and some Han people fled to the Turks to avoid the war.

It was against this background that Li Shimin redeemed a large number of people from the Turks, and even redeemed 80,000 Han people in one year.

But I have to say that Li Shimin still admired him very much.

The same emperor, he obviously did not do as well as Li Shimin.

The social situation at the time of the Zhenguan period had some similarities with the Datong society dreamed of by Confucius.

For example, the politics are clear and the society is stable, the houses are not closed at night and the roads are not picked up, cattle and horses are everywhere, the people live a stable life, and everyone lives and works in peace and contentment.

All these are the results of Li Shimin's governance.

He still needs to study hard and strive to govern the Ming Dynasty like this.

"Society has initially stabilized and the economy has recovered. Next, Li Shimin can finally start to solve the border problems that have been a headache for many years."

"In the second year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty eliminated the separatist forces Liang Shidu, basically solving the chaotic situation of separatist regimes across the country, and unified the whole of China."

"Two years later, the famous general Li Jing led the Tang army to eliminate the Turkic forces that had been harming the border for many years, allowing the northern border of the Tang Dynasty to stabilize."

"In the following ten years or so, Tuyuhun, Gaochang, Yanqi, Qiuci, etc. were either defeated or voluntarily surrendered."

"The power of the Tang Dynasty reached the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, and the western frontier became stable from then on."

"Although the Tang Dynasty had enough troops to win the war at that time, Li Shimin believed that the price paid for the war was too high and the stability would not last long."

"Only by adopting a gentle policy, convincing people with virtue, and treating them as equals can we make them sincerely join us."

"In the midwinter of the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, the sixteen-year-old Princess Wencheng put on her wedding dress and painted red makeup."

"This intelligent, beautiful and poetry-reading princess is about to leave her hometown."

"Married to distant Tubo and became the wife of its leader Songtsen Gampo."

"This was also Li Shimin's marriage strategy with ethnic minorities. He not only sent a marriage to Tubo, but also asked Princess Wencheng to bring the Tang Dynasty's advanced agricultural technology, exquisite handicrafts, and even a large number of craftsmen and bands."

"Although I have doubts about the distant Tubo, I am also full of novel yearning."

"Escorted by the marriage team, Princess Wencheng entered Tubo after a long journey of more than a month, which also allowed Han people's farming, textile, construction, papermaking, agricultural tool manufacturing and other technologies to spread in Tibet."

"Today, the road that Princess Wencheng once walked has become a link to spread the Chinese civilization, and it has also witnessed the story that has been praised by future generations."

Li Shimin: For the peace and tranquility of the Tang Dynasty, I have to do this. I hope Wencheng, who is far away in Tubo, will not blame me.

Although with the strength of the Tang Dynasty, it was completely possible to win against foreigners.

But such a victory is not what he wants. One is that the cost is too high, and the other is that stability will not last long.

To make foreigners sincerely surrender, it is essential to adopt a tolerant policy.

For this reason, Wen Cheng had to sacrifice her happiness and let her get married.

Since ancient times, emperors of all dynasties have valued China and despised foreign races. People in the Central Plains have looked down on foreign races around them.

Many emperors even believed that people who were not from our race must have different minds, thinking that they could not communicate with China.

But he didn't think so. Those foreigners were also human beings, the same people as them.

As long as he can treat them as equals and care for the foreigners as he does the people of the Tang Dynasty, he believes that those foreigners will sincerely join the Tang Dynasty.

It is precisely with this concept in mind that he also reused many tribal leaders from foreign tribes.

"The Zhaoling Museum in Shaanxi contains official figurines from the Tang Dynasty as funerary objects."

"There are Han Chinese and ethnic minorities among them."

"After DTZ joined Datang, it strengthened its management."

"Li Shimin left most of them to settle where they were, retaining their original organizations and customs and practicing a high degree of autonomy."

"The other part moved to the interior, selected some people to serve as military officials in the capital, and their successful governance experience was extended to other ethnic minority tribes."

"The Tang Dynasty was so powerful that all ethnic groups in the world were grateful and integrated into the Tang Dynasty family. They bowed their heads and called Li Shimin the Khan of Heaven, which means the common master of the world."

"The reason why Li Shimin is so loved by various ethnic minorities reflects the strong attachment and influence of the Tang Empire, a multi-ethnic country that was unprecedentedly vast, stable and unified in Chinese history."

"During the Zhenguan era, the territory of the Tang Dynasty exceeded that of the powerful Western Han Dynasty."

“In the fourteenth year of Zhenguan, the territory of the Tang Dynasty extended to the East China Sea in the east, to today’s Xinjiang in the west, to present-day Vietnam in the south, and to the Mongolian desert in the north.”

"The Tang Dynasty became the most powerful dynasty in the world at that time."

Zhu Di: I hope that one day, I can have the same achievements as Li Shimin, become the common master of the world, and gain the support of all the foreign races around me.

He had also heard about the official servants that the anchor mentioned as burial objects and knew what was going on.

The foreign stone men among the official servants were all foreign leaders who were conquered by Li Shimin and submitted to him.

These foreign leaders were very grateful to Li Shimin because Li Shimin trusted them very much.

Originally they were foreign leaders subdued by Li Shimin, but Li Shimin did not guard against them and allowed them to bring weapons to court at first.

These foreign leaders were deeply moved by Li Shimin's trustworthy approach.

And he also knew one thing. On the Liaodong front line, a Turkic general was hit by an arrow.

At that time, the doctor's medical skills were not very good, and the arrow wound quickly suppurated.

At this time, Li Shimin personally leaned down and sucked out the pus and blood of the Turkic general, which greatly moved the Turkic general.

Later, after Li Shimin passed away, these foreign generals expressed their intention to be buried as martyrs and wanted to go to the underground world to accompany Li Shimin.

However, Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, did not agree, so he made stone men like their generals to guard Li Shimin's mausoleum.

It's no wonder that these foreign generals were grateful to Li Shimin. Anyway, he couldn't suck pus and blood for others.

"The prosperity of the Zhenguan Dynasty under Li Shimin's rule was not only reflected in social stability, economic development, vast territory, the coming of barbarians from all over the country, and the harmonious coexistence of people of all ethnic groups in the country, sharing the era of peace, but also in the rapid progress of cultural construction."

"Li Shimin established the Literature Hall and the Hongwen Hall, and recruited talented scribes to collect and organize classics and books."

"Li Shimin loves reading history and attaches great importance to the impact of historical experience on the present."

"The Book of Jin, the Book of Northern Qi, the Book of Zhou, the Book of Liang, the Book of Chen, the History of the South, the History of the North, and the Book of the Sui."

"Eight of China's famous "Twenty-Four Histories" were completed under the leadership of Li Shimin during the Zhenguan period."

"After becoming the emperor, Li Shimin, who was a military general, insisted on the strategy of governing the country by combining civil and military forces."

"Not only did he contribute to the great development of cultural governance across the country, but he also worked hard on himself."

"According to historical records, Li Shimin often studied hard all night long and didn't even know when it would break."

"With Li Shimin's elegant cultural interests and his personal practice, the cultural development of the Zhenguan Dynasty was a matter of course."

Zhao Zhen: Li Shimin attached great importance to music, dance, calligraphy, painting, etc., so the Zhenguan period also left many cultural masterpieces.

As far as he knew, the four masters of calligraphy during the Zhenguan period were very famous, such as Ouyang Xun and Chu Suiliang.

The same is true in painting. Painting masters such as Yan Liben and Yan Lide all appeared during the Zhenguan period.

As for culture, one of Li Shimin's biggest characteristics is the inheritance and development of traditional culture.

Regarding foreign cultures, Li Shimin adopted an inclusive policy.

At that time, Li Shimin asked Wei Zheng to compile a book called "Qunshu Zhiyao", which was compiled according to the classics and history and was suitable for the politics of the time. It was used as a textbook for the noble ministers at that time.

It can be seen that Li Shimin attached great importance to learning in terms of traditional culture.

When the Song Dynasty formulated its cultural strategies, they drew on some policies from the Zhenguan period.

"However, all good shows in the world must come to an end one day."

"In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, the heyday of Zhenguan ushered in a turning point."

"On the seventeenth day of the first lunar month of this year, Wei Zheng, a famous minister, passed away."

"This was a very heavy blow to Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. He announced a five-day suspension of court and ordered all civil and military officials to attend Wei Zheng's funeral."

"On the day of the funeral, Li Shimin climbed up to the west tower of the Royal Forbidden City and looked at the funeral procession fading away under the setting sun, feeling extremely sad."

"Li Shimin was infinitely grateful to Wei Zheng, and he later said an eternal saying to the ministers."

"If you use copper as a mirror, you can straighten your clothes; if you use ancient times as a mirror, you can know the ups and downs; if you use people as a mirror, you can know gains and losses. I always keep these three mirrors to prevent my own mistakes. Now that Wei Zheng has passed away, one mirror has died." "

"With the loss of Wei Zheng's most precious mirror, who else can bluntly remind Li Shimin of his mistakes?"

"With the departure of the iconic figure Wei Zheng, the dazzling glory of Zhenguan's rule seems to have gradually dimmed."

"Du Ruhui, Empress Changsun, Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling... loyal ministers, beloved wives, and admonishers also left one by one."

"Under such circumstances, Li Shimin slacked off in the late Zhenguan period, and there was a regrettable phenomenon of gradual failure."

Li Shimin: The importance of Wei Zheng to the rule of Zhenguan is self-evident. If Wei Zheng leaves, it will be a huge loss to the Tang Dynasty.

He knew very well that Wei Zheng was the soul of the Zhenguan rule.

It is no exaggeration to say that the rule of Zhenguan was led by Wei Zheng.

He has not shied away from this at all and has spoken to ministers on many public occasions.

The most important heroes who followed him to conquer the world were people like Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji.

But it was Wei Zheng who followed him to govern the world, and who created the situation of great governance in the world.

Li Zhi: Some of my father’s actions in his later years caused me a lot of trouble.

In the last few years of his father's life, his suspicion of those ministers from ordinary backgrounds, especially those from Shandong, became more and more intense.

Instead, he paid more and more attention to ministers who came from the Guanlong noble family, such as his uncle Changsun Wuji.

This caused a very troublesome point. When he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, the entire court was filled with people from the Guanlong nobles.

"Li Shimin's health was in poor condition in his later years. Coupled with the turmoil of deposing the crown prince and the failure of the conquest of Goryeo, he was depressed and suffered from various diseases."

"In May of the 23rd year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin died of illness in Cuiwei Palace. He was only fifty-two years old."

"When Li Shimin passed away, everyone was saddened, and the city of Chang'an shed tears like a river."

"Many ethnic minority compatriots spontaneously organized teams of hundreds of people and traveled thousands of miles to Chang'an to express their condolences."

"Li Shimin has made arrangements for his posthumous affairs in his will."

"Hurry up and bury the deceased seven days after death, that is, keep the funeral ceremony simple."

"Although Li Shimin relaxed his requirements somewhat in his later years."

"But until the last moment of his life, he could still generally adhere to the principle of self-restraint and frugality."

"For a feudal emperor who created great achievements, this is really a touching and beautiful character."

"The Reign of Zhenguan has come to an end, and a great era has finally come to an end in a lonely and sad atmosphere."

"Love the people like a son, do good deeds, be introspective and restrained, thirst for talents, and advocate simplicity... Li Shimin undoubtedly possessed the above virtues during his tenure."

"This is so valuable for an emperor with supreme power."

"Li Shimin said that if you use people as mirrors, you can know what is right and what is wrong."

"He once used Wei Zheng as a mirror to check his own rights and wrongs. Now that Li Shimin is gone, it has become an everlasting mirror for future generations, from the highest emperors to ordinary officials."

"China during the Zhenguan period was a harmonious society rare in history."

"In terms of the emperor's own virtue, the good relationship between the monarch and his ministers, the monarch and the people, and even ethnic relations."

“They have all set a lofty benchmark for future generations and left a legacy worth cherishing.”

"Li Shimin and his era will forever be engraved in the deepest collective memory of future generations."

Li Shimin: Although I had some difficulties in my later years, my life was considered brilliant and I did not disappoint the expectations of the people in the world.

Since he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, he has been looking forward to being recognized by the people of the world because he ascended the throne through a dishonorable coup.

For this reason, he strictly required himself to treat others according to the standards of a holy king.

Now that he heard the comments about himself from the anchor, he knew that he had done it and that all his efforts were not in vain.

Originally he was a little depressed because of some difficulties in his later years, but after his death he was satisfied with such a high evaluation.

(End of this chapter)