The Seventh Century's Strongest Carbon-Based Life-Form, Governor of Asia, Spokesman for the Eastern Hemisphere
[The rise to power of the seventh century's strongest carbon-based life-form, governor of Asia, spokesman for the Eastern Hemisphere #history #Great Tang]
People in ancient times could make little sense of this title.
"Seventh century's strongest carbon-based life-form? What do 'seventh century' and 'carbon-based life-form' mean? I don't understand!"
"Which province is Asia? A governor is a provincial governor, right?!"
"Spokesman for the Eastern Hemisphere. That sounds impressive!"
"Who is this person? He's amazing!"
In the late Qing, people who had dealt with Westerners and encountered science understood these designations best, and had a vague idea of what the titles meant.
["Standing before you is the seventh century's strongest carbon-based life-form, governor of Asia, spokesman for the Eastern Hemisphere, possessed of the bearing of a dragon and phoenix and the countenance of heaven and the sun: grand commandant, minister over the masses, director of the department of state affairs, director of the central secretariat, director of the Shaanxi East Circuit grand branch department of state affairs, director of the Yi Province Circuit branch department of state affairs, governor of Yongzhou, commandant of Liangzhou, grand general of the left and right martial guards, grand general of the twelve left and right guards, supreme pillar of state, Prince of Qin, grand general of heavenly strategies, Heavenly Khagan, Great Emperor Taizong of Tang Wen, Li Shimin."]
"So it was Li Shimin!"
"The bearing of a dragon and phoenix, the countenance of heaven and the sun!"
"Read all the offices Li Shimin held together with his temple name and posthumous title, then add those other titles, and it's truly intimidating! What grandeur! What dominance!"
"Compared with Emperor Taizong of Great Tang, I am ashamed of my own inferiority!"
Zhu Di: People of later generations, how much did Li Shimin pay you? You're praising him to the skies!
"The heavenly screen is talking about me?! People of later generations actually introduced me this way!"
A surge of heroic spirit welled up in Li Shimin's heart. These offices and titles were proof of the achievements of his lifetime.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations!"
Li Shimin's ministers offered their congratulations at his side.
In Emperor Gaozu of Tang's plane, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji gnashed their teeth.
Though they had long known that Li Shimin would become Emperor Taizong of Tang, they could not help it. Whenever they saw videos about Li Shimin, especially short videos that praised him and lauded him to the skies, they gnashed their teeth in hatred!
["Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, was born in 599 CE and joined the army in his youth."]
["In 617 CE, he followed his father Li Yuan in raising an army against Sui at Jinyang. They captured Chang'an and destroyed Sui."]
"The one who destroyed my Great Sui was actually Jialuo's nephew!"
Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, sighed. When he had just heard the name of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, from the heavenly screen, he had thought it was someone who shared the same name.
At that moment, Dugu Qieluo had complicated feelings.
The one who had rebelled and overthrown Great Sui was her nephew. Dugu Jialuo, who had watched "What Would a Founding Ruler Say When He Met a Ruler Who Lost His Kingdom?", understood that even without Li Yuan, there would have been a Zhao Yuan or a Zhang Yuan. Great Sui still could not have escaped its fate of destruction.
In another plane, Emperor Yang of Sui, Yang Guang, roared in fury, "That traitor's entire family should be executed!"
["In 618 CE, Li Yuan proclaimed himself emperor and established the Tang Dynasty. He renamed Daxing Chang'an and adopted Wude as his reign title."]
["After the Tang Dynasty was established, its territory was confined to Guanzhong and the Hedong region. To unite the whole country and eliminate the separatist powers in the various regions, six major campaigns were fought in succession."]
["Li Shimin commanded four of those campaigns, subduing warlords such as Xue Rengao, Liu Wuzhou, Dou Jiande, and Wang Shichong. He won brilliant military achievements in the establishment and unification of the Tang Dynasty."]
Watching the heavenly screen, Li Shimin recalled those momentous years.
["In 621 CE, Li Shimin was made grand general of heavenly strategies, and his fief was increased to thirty thousand households."]
["In addition, the Tang emperor Li Yuan issued an edict granting the Tiance Office special permission to establish its own offices."]
["Li Shimin then established a literary academy at the Prince of Qin's residence in Luoyang, and outstanding talents came flocking in from all directions."]
["The name Chang'an once represented the grand spirit of the Han. It was the starting point of a glorious golden age."]
["In 618, Li Yuan changed the name of the Sui capital, Daxing, back to Chang'an. He hoped to enter the annals of history through more enlightened rule and a more glorious vision. But history gave him no such chance. A struggle for the succession drenched in blood and swept by savage winds left him on the throne for only eight years. The one who broke this state of affairs was none other than his second son, Li Shimin."]
Li Yuan was still alive in Emperor Taizong of Tang's plane. His face was full of anguish, and his heart was heavy with regret over what he had done.
["Prince of Qin Li Shimin's wings for contending for imperial power grew strong amid battles fought north and south."]
["After the Sui capital was captured, Li Shimin was made Prince of Qin and appointed director of the department of state affairs, concurrently serving as grand general of the right martial guard. Against this backdrop, Fang Xuanling entered the Prince of Qin's residence and in turn recommended Du Ruhui to the prince. The two worked together in perfect accord and became Li Shimin's left and right arms. Later, 'Fang's counsel and Du's decisions' became a celebrated tale in the politics of the early Tang."]
["Just as Li Shimin captured cities and seized territory, Fang Xuanling devoted himself to gathering men of courage and resourcefulness into Li Shimin's staff."]
["The eighteen scholars of the Prince of Qin's residence at the literary academy in Luoyang were in truth a brain trust plotting to seize the realm. They galloped across battlefields alongside the young Prince of Qin, Li Shimin. As they helped solidify the Li-Tang realm, they also became vital support in Li Shimin's final struggle for the throne."]
["Prince of Qin Li Shimin quietly laid his plans in Luoyang, while also taking care to target the court's senior ministers in Chang'an. This campaign of planning, no less fierce than a contest on the battlefield, advanced steadily step by step."]
["After Li Yuan proclaimed himself emperor, his eldest son Li Jiancheng was made crown prince and became heir to the throne. The ruler's legitimate heir could not lead armies."]
["Li Jiancheng no longer faced the mortal dangers of fighting on battlefields. He assisted Li Yuan in the transition to governing the country. During this same period, Li Shimin spurred his horse forward, reports of victory arrived one after another, and there were no rewards left to bestow. Li Yuan specially created the office of grand general of heavenly strategies to honor him."]
["This was an office that ranked above princes and dukes. With nothing higher to grant, it was a balance of power: aside from a political standing slightly below that of the crown prince, its military standing was even stronger."]
["At the time, Wei Zheng, then serving as the crown prince's aide, warned Li Jiancheng that the Prince of Qin's achievements surpassed all under heaven and that people at court and beyond had given him their hearts."]
["In the sixth month of the seventh year of Wude, while Li Yuan had taken Li Shimin to Mount Yuhua to escape the summer heat, Li Jiancheng ordered Li Yuanji to join forces with Yang Wengan, intending to put Li Shimin to death. Unexpectedly, a timid confidant exposed the plan."]
["When Li Yuan ordered Li Shimin to suppress Yang Wengan, he promised: 'Wengan's affair implicates Jiancheng. I fear many will answer his call. You should go yourself. When you return, I will make you crown prince.'"]
["However, after the rebellion was put down, the matter of changing the crown prince came to nothing."]
["Li Shimin, with his outstanding military achievements and followers as numerous as clouds, made Li Yuan feel threatened by a subject whose achievements overshadowed his ruler."]
["Li Yuan's vacillation made the struggle for the succession even more savage."]
["On the third day of the sixth month of the ninth year of Wude, the day before the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the grand astrologer secretly reported to Li Yuan that Venus had appeared in the celestial sector of Qin, and that the Prince of Qin was destined to possess the realm."]
["Li Yuan once again turned his suspicious gaze toward Li Shimin."]
["The various factions at the Prince of Qin's residence also quickly began arranging an ambush to kill Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, choosing Xuanwu Gate as the site."]
["Xuanwu Gate was the only route into the inner palace. If one man held the pass, ten thousand could not force it open."]
["On the morning of July 2, 626 CE, Chang He, the general guarding Xuanwu Gate, became a decisive piece in determining the future course of the Great Tang empire."]
["That day, before Xuanwu Gate, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were shot dead. The two thousand Eastern Palace guards who rushed there upon hearing the news dropped their weapons in a great clatter before the heads of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, held high for all to see."]