Chapter 433: Changing the Party and Governing the Tang Dynasty According to Law

【We all learned a sentence in school, called "objective laws are not subject to human will."

What is objective law?

Starting from when Wu Zetian was busy changing the name of the Tang Dynasty, in order to save face:

The Wanxiang Temple and the Heaven were built twice.

The Tianshu Copper Pillar worth hundreds of billions of coins was also built.

The Dayun Temple, the Buddhist Conference, the man-made auspicious signs, the Fengshan in Songshan, etc., all cost money.

During the Wu Zhou period, there was no population explosion and no industrial revolution.

The old lady's life was endless, and the common people's life was crying and cursing. This is the objective reality.

The old lady tried to achieve immortality with these wonders that could neither climb the technology nor the army and spacecraft. This is human will, and the result is self-evident.

Just when Wu Zetian was having fun changing the year name and granting amnesty, news came from the north: Khitan rebelled!

The first reaction of the court to this news was disbelief, because among the northern miscellaneous Hu, Khitan has never been the ambitious one.

Due to the limited strength of the tribe, the Khitan was beaten by Gao Yang during the Northern Qi Dynasty.

When the Turks rose in the Sui Dynasty, they were caught between the Turks and the Sui Dynasty and suffered from both sides.

During the Tang Dynasty, the Khitan rulers saw that Erfeng had a lot of ideas about Jie Li Khan, so they simply surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, accepted the surname Li and were named Khitan Khan.

Since the second year of Zhenguan, the Khitan tribe has been following the lead of the Tang Dynasty for 68 years. How could they rebel?

The story is not too complicated. The initial cause was a natural disaster.

From 695 to 696, when the old lady frequently changed her name.

First, hail fell in February in the states east of Luoyang, which made the people worried.

Then, cold frost fell in the Jiangdong area in midsummer in June, resulting in a significant reduction in grain production.

When the New Year came, the people were greeted by spring famine and drought. It is conceivable how their lives were. The only thing they could rely on was the official relief food, and the Khitan was no exception.

Logically speaking, the officials who can guard the borders must have the most basic political literacy. It is not required that you treat ethnic groups equally, but at least you should be able to use the power of others to fight against them, right?

But Zhao Wenhui, the Protector General of Dongyi in Wu Zhou, did not do that. Since he was ordered by Wu Zetian to take office, he ordered the two ethnic minorities around and treated them as slaves.

This famine was no exception. He issued a death order, and the warehouses were not allowed to be opened to provide relief to the victims, even though the hungry people cried.

In this case, after the reign title of Wansui Tongtian was used, the first major event that occurred in this reign title was also recorded:

Li Jinzhong, the governor of Songmo, joined his cousin Sun Wanrong to rebel against Zhou, killed Zhao Wenhui, captured Yingzhou, and besieged Danzhou.

After confirming the authenticity of the news, the old lady made two preparations.

First, she ordered Yan Zhiwei to go to the Turks as the chief envoy to tell the other Khan: I agree to the proposal of marriage, as long as we fight Khitan together, we will still be a family.

The only slight mistake was that the Khan of the Turkic people wanted to marry Wu Zetian's daughter to form a family relationship, or at least recognize the old lady as his godmother.

Unexpectedly, Yan Zhiwei sent Wu Chengsi's son Wu Yanxiu, who was ordered by Wu Zetian to marry the daughter of the Khan of the Turkic people as a marriage alliance. This made the Khan of the Turkic people furious: If this is the case, will the Turkic people also have the surname Wu in the next generation?

So this envoy was either imprisoned, killed or surrendered, trapped in the Turkic interior.

If you can't rely on foreign aid, you can only do it yourself. It took Wu Zhou two years and two battles to quell the rebellion in Yingzhou.

The first time, the children of the Wu family led tens of thousands of people to fight, but they were defeated and wiped out.

The second time, Yang Xuanji and Zhang Jiujie led 200,000 people together to finally quell the war.

If Xue Rengui's defeat in Dafeichuan was the end of the invincibility of the early Tang Dynasty, then the rebellion in Yingzhou was the precursor to the decline of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

After the fall of Goguryeo, most of the people of Goguryeo were dispersed and moved to the Tang Dynasty, among which the Mohe tribe was settled in Yingzhou.

Taking advantage of the chaos in Yingzhou, the Mohe leaders Dae Jo-yeong and Qiqi Zhongxiang also led their troops to cross the Liao River to return to their hometown.

Even in this process, the Mohe tribe and the Khitans joined forces to defeat the Tang (Wu Zhou) army at Tianmenling, and the Bohai Kingdom became independent from then on.

Later, the Bohai Kingdom formed alliances with many forces in Liaodong and the Korean Peninsula, and fought more than thirteen major battles with the Tang Dynasty in more than ten years, including the Battle of Dengzhou, the Battle of Madu Mountain, the Battle of Bohai, etc.

The border troubles were pressing step by step, and finally Xuanzong adopted the strategy of using barbarians to control barbarians, and An Lushan finally came to the stage.

Oh, by the way, it is also worth mentioning Yan Zhiwei.

At that time, in the entire delegation, Yan Zhiwei was cowardly and at a loss, Wu Yanxiu knelt on the spot, and only the deputy envoy Pei Huaigu was loyal and unyielding, preferring death to surrender.

For the Turkic Khan, Wu Yanxiu and Pei Huaigu were not worthy of him at all. He valued Yan Zhiwei the most, who was the grandson of Yan Lide and had a good reputation in the court. He forced him to surrender and gave him the title of Southern Khan, intending to recruit more surrenders.

When the news was passed back to the court, Wu Zetian simply and neatly executed the Yan family, and only two Yan family members who married into the Wu family survived.

When the war between the two sides stopped temporarily, Yan Zhiwei, who returned to Wu Zhou, was sentenced to chariot and torn apart by Wu Zetian and ordered all officials to shoot his body with arrows.

Later, he was ordered to remove his flesh and crush his bones, and to pursue and execute his three clans.

Wu Yanxiu returned to Wu Zhou and was granted the title of Duke of Hengguo, until he was beheaded by Li Longji at Suzhang Gate during the Tanglong coup. 】

"Pah"

This sound was particularly prominent in the quiet Ganlu Hall.

Everyone turned their heads and saw Yan Lide busy picking up the hard brush used for painting from the ground.

This general who always had a calm smile on his face in the past, now had a confused look on his face.

After all, Yan Lide is only thirty-five years old now, and he is still waiting for his eldest son to be crowned. Who would have imagined that he would suddenly learn that his grandson has such a bad fate, and is also connected to the three barbaric tribes...

These three words were unprecedentedly heavy, and they also made him, who had always been optimistic, feel a bit silent.

Li Shimin hesitated for a moment, and finally, with the encouragement in Empress Changsun's eyes, he comforted:

"Lide..."

Yan Lide shook his head and said:

"Your Majesty, there is no need to say more. It's okay for Yan to not enter the official career."

No need for Li Shimin to say anything, Yan Lide pulled Daodao out first and said that he would not play with you anymore.

It’s no wonder, after all, nowadays, whether it’s painting, arithmetic, or engineering, a person can study the classics for a lifetime.

Since accompanying the royal family is so dangerous and the descendants may not be useful, then we just don't get involved.

But Yan Lide's simple words made Li Shimin speechless for a long time.

Du Ruhui sighed secretly on the side: It's thanks to the old Yan family who either studies architecture or is obsessed with painting, and it's also thanks to His Majesty that he won't be angry at these negative words.

But before Du Ruhui could come out, Changsun Wuji, who had been silent for a long time, stepped forward and said:

"The reason Yan Jiang complained about for making these remarks, and for future generations to sigh, is none other than Wu Zhou's laws and regulations."

His face was calm, but in fact his hands in his sleeves were pinched together nervously and were sweating.

Living in the Ganlu Palace, his eldest grandson Wuji would never want the honor and disgrace of his eldest grandson's family to be tied to the queen alone.

But now that the way forward is known, the road to returning to office will remain in a state of limbo for a long time.

In fact, I know from later generations that during the Zhenguan Dynasty, one person more than him was not enough, and one person less than him was not enough. If you want to realize your long-cherished wish, then you can only show your uniqueness.

What is his eldest grandson Wuji good at? Both civil and military affairs are involved, especially the legal code. I have been thinking about it for many days and have finally solved it today.

"Looking at future generations, we can see that without a king, there will be no royal relatives. Without honor, there will be no one who can express kindness to others."

"Why control the people? After much deliberation, I can only come up with four words that later generations casually said when they commented on Zhuge Wuhou: Governing the country according to law."

Li Shimin listened attentively, and at the same time, Ma Su was executed according to law in his mind. When he thought about Yan Zhiwei's severe punishment and Wu Yanxiu's reward, it was indeed ironic to compare them together.

Thinking about later generations' attitudes towards Confucianism and the inclusive attitude revealed in his words, Li Shimin had already vaguely guessed about Changsun Wuji's thoughts.

There was no fool present. Almost immediately, many people cast their eyes over: So hard?

Changsun Wuji, who was in the center of the storm, spoke impassionedly:

"Han Zi once said that the strength of a country depends on the strength of those who follow the law. I believe that the strength of those who follow the law depends on whether the law can be followed."

"Wei Yangguo had a promise to govern the Qin Dynasty, but the law was not implemented and he violated it himself, so he punished the two young masters, Qian Gong and Sun Jia. The people of Qin all followed the orders."

"Today, the Tang Dynasty can still be called the first establishment. Although there is the "Wude Law", it is only the law that quasi-founded the emperor."

"Emperor Yang has subjugated his country by following this law. If everyone wants to achieve unparalleled achievements, they should also have laws and regulations that connect ancient and modern times to govern the people."

"I would like to ask you to revise the laws of Zhenguan to restrain Zhenguan, promote its majesty, highlight its brightness, and praise its virtues."

After Changsun Wuji finished speaking, he bowed calmly, raised his hands above his head, and waited for the Tang Emperor's decision.

As for the looks of Wei Zheng and others behind him, although he couldn't see them, he could still imagine them, and they were probably not very happy.

After all, in the final analysis, Confucianism advocates etiquette rather than law. This is a fundamental issue.

But for Changsun Wuji, borrowing the slogan of later generations to govern the country according to law, raising the banner of Legalism, finally gaining the power to compile laws, and using this to resume his official career, this is the safest path he can think of. .

Continuing to remain unmoved would certainly keep him rich and prosperous, but he didn't want future generations to talk about him with only the name of a relative and the Duke of the country.

The period of time when Changsun Wuji raised his hands over his head and begged for help once again felt like his days were like years. But fortunately, he finally heard the voice in the distance after an unknown amount of time:

"allow".

The quiet air became noisy, and the Ganlu Hall, which was slightly cold when we arrived, now felt extremely hot, and my back, which was wet with sweat, felt particularly uncomfortable.

The only dissatisfaction at this time is probably that Hou Junji is not here, otherwise this talented person would be overwhelmed by his knowledge and skills.

Changsun Wuji sighed slightly excitedly.

Li Shimin really didn't think so much. He knew what Han Fei and Wei Yang said, and he also knew Han Fei's other two sentences:

Don't avoid ministers when punished, and don't spare ordinary people when you reward good deeds.

He can do this if he is ambitious, but what about his children and grandchildren?

Putting aside such troubles for the time being, Li Shimin looked back and sighed in boredom:

"This rebellion in Yingzhou...compared with the inner court Yingying's plan, this emperor seems to have to deal with border troubles by more than one person."

In fact, in his opinion, the difference between his son and his daughter-in-law is not very big. They both grew up in the palace and do not understand the rules at all and give orders from afar.

It is the nature of Zhu Hu to be afraid of power but not to be virtuous.

The four million kilograms of red gold cast in Kyoto are no better than half a kilogram of inferior iron placed on the neck of a barbarian.

Only by making others fear the power of China can they be forced to learn the virtues of China.

Otherwise, it will be just like the Song Dynasty's "virtue is not dangerous", which is just a rant in sleep that makes people laugh.

In comparison, later generations simply and straightforwardly reminded the seriousness of the unreliability of frontier officials.

The responsibility of the Great Protector requires that he not fall under the authority of the central government, but also needs to be able to care for the people of the barbarians and Di, and needs someone who pays equal attention to power and virtue.

In addition, the Khitans who have been won over can rest assured for the time being. Only the Turkic troubles need to be completely settled. Li Shimin will keep these in mind one after another.

Du Ruhui wrote down two words that interested him:

What is the state of population explosion?

What is the scene of industrial revolution?

That’s all for tonight. I got back late from the IV drip today. I’m in much better condition now.

I’ll update as usual tomorrow.