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Text Chapter 731 Am I a good emperor?

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    On the flat cement road, a team rushed towards Chang'an against the setting sun.  Li Min on the carriage looked quietly at the dusk scenery outside the window, turning his head from time to time to look at Li Shimin with his eyes closed.  Today they stayed at Xianling Mausoleum for a whole afternoon and waited until dusk before leaving Xianling Mausoleum.

    During this afternoon, Li Shimin's mood fluctuated violently. It was not until he finally offered sacrifices to Li Jiancheng that he slowly regained his composure. Now he was half lying in the carriage, his eyes were closed, and his face showed a bit of tiredness.  His expression looked like he was asleep, but Li Min knew that Li Shimin was still very awake.

    "Liu Lang, tell me honestly, am I a good emperor?" Li Shimin suddenly asked. Although he had repeatedly claimed that he was a good emperor in front of his brother Li Jiancheng's tomb, and the current prosperity of the Tang Dynasty also proved this,  However, in his heart, he still felt a little unsure, so now he wanted to hear how his son would evaluate him?

    When Li Min heard Li Shimin's question, he hesitated for a moment, then looked out the car window, and then replied solemnly: "Father, I don't need to answer this question. Look at the people on the road.  , these people are ordinary people who work or do small business in Chang'an. Their clothes are clean and tidy, and their complexions are rosy and healthy. Many of them still carry purchased goods. This shows that these people live a prosperous life and even have  Beyond the level of having enough food and clothing, what is this scene other than a prosperous age?"

    Hearing Li Min's words, Li Shimin suddenly became interested, propped himself up to the window, and then looked out.  As a result, a group of students wearing Hu costumes were riding bicycles just in time for the end of class at a nearby school.  While they were joking and riding by the carriage, a little guy sitting in the back saw the old Li Shimin on the carriage.  He actually made a face at him very naughtily, which made Li Shimin couldn't help but smile in astonishment.

    Although these children are noisy, the clothes they wear, whether new or old, are all very clean and tidy, and most of them are chubby and look particularly lovable. As for the bicycles they ride, they are now popular throughout Datang and Daqi.  Come on, adults and children alike.  Almost everyone has one, and the price is very cheap. Even the poorest people cannot afford to buy a bicycle.  It's just that today's bicycles are mainly made of wood, and most of the parts are usually replaced after a period of use. As for the stronger iron bicycles, because they are more expensive, generally only some wealthy people will buy them.

    Look at these noisy children, and then look at the people on the road who are also neatly dressed.  Most of them, like those children, rode bicycles on the cement road. There were also some wealthy people riding tall horses and moved forward calmly with the crowd.  Although the price of horses has dropped a lot in recent years, it is easy to buy a horse, but it takes a lot of manpower and material resources to raise a horse.  Even if most people can afford it, they still find it too troublesome.  Only those rich people who need to support the scene will hire people to feed their horses.

    Li Shimin grabbed the window with both hands.  After looking at the crowds of people outside for a long time, a smile of relief finally appeared on his face. As an emperor, seeing the people in his country living in such a prosperous life made him feel an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.  As for whether he is a good emperor, just look at the smiles on the faces of the people.

    That night, Li Shimin was in a good mood after letting go of the heaviest burden in his heart. Although he felt very tired physically, he was in good spirits. He even drank an extra bowl of porridge as an exception, which made everyone very happy.

    And it is worth mentioning that after Li Min arranged for Li Shimin to rest, Li Zhi went to find him and asked where they went today.  Originally, Li Shimin told Li Min not to disclose the matter to anyone, but due to some considerations, Li Min finally told Li Zhi the truth.

    Of course, Li Min only gave an overview of what happened this afternoon. He didn't tell Li Zhi about Li Shimin crying while holding Li Jiancheng's tombstone. He only said that he went to pay homage to his grandfather, and by the way, he went to pay homage to their son.  uncle.  When Li Zhi heard that it involved Prince Yin, who was competing with his father for the throne, he immediately understood and didn't ask any more questions.

    In the following period of time, Li Min accompanied Li Shimin out every once in a while, mostly to offer sacrifices to some dead people. Some of these people were Li Shimin's friends and courtiers, and some were his former enemies.  Among them, four of them impressed Li Min the most. Two were his ministers Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng, and the other two were his enemies Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande.

    Wei Zheng is well known to the world for his direct remonstrance.  In fact, the real reason why Wei Zheng repeatedly violated Yan Zhijian, although Li Shimin was very angry, but did not dare to deal with him, was that Wei Zheng could point out his mistakes and had a lot of popularity in the court.  Also with Li Jian?It has a lot to do with it.

    Wei Zheng was originally Li Jiancheng's man. Later, Li Jiancheng was killed, and he had no choice but to serve Li Shimin.  It is precisely because of this relationship that in Li Shimin's view, Wei Zheng is not an ordinary minister, but a ruler to measure the merits of himself and his brother Li Jiancheng.  He wanted to prove to others and himself that Wei Zheng could exert his talents with his brother Li Jiancheng, and he could also exert his best talents in his own hands, so no matter how hard Wei Zheng refused to give him face, Li Shimin would endure it.

    However, after Wei Zheng's death, someone framed Wei Zheng's cronies, and Wei Zheng copied his words of admonishment to Chu Suiliang, the historian at the time, which made Li Shimin mistakenly think that Wei Zheng was using this to become famous, so he was very angry. Not only did he dismiss several of Wei Zheng's disciples from their official positions,  He also wanted to smash the tombstone he wrote for Wei Zheng himself, and even the marriage between Princess Hengshan and Wei Zheng's son had to be aborted.

    Fortunately, some of Wei Zheng's former friends desperately came forward to remonstrate, and they asked Li Min for help. As a result, Li Min also remonstrated repeatedly, which finally reminded Li Shimin of all the help Wei Zheng had given him during his lifetime, and finally calmed down the anger in his heart.  This last bit of unhappiness for the eternal monarch and his ministers was avoided, and the wedding of Princess Hengshan was held as usual.

    Compared with Wei Zheng's direct advice, Fang Xuanling, the Tang Dynasty Prime Minister, was more helpful to Li Shimin. Especially after Du Ruhui's early death, Fang Xuanling single-handedly took over half of the Tang Dynasty and assisted Li Shimin in governing with all his heart.  The government helped him create a Zhenguan rule that was famous for later generations. Although Fang Xuanling was ranked lower than Wei Zheng in Lingyan Pavilion, in fact, in terms of his contribution to the Tang Dynasty, Fang Xuanling was ranked first compared to his eldest grandson.  Wuji deserves more credit.

    It was precisely because of the above that in the last days of his life, Li Shimin dragged his seriously ill body to the graves of the two of them, and talked a lot about what was in his heart, and even mentioned the things that Datang was encountering now.  Some questions were raised, as if they wanted to discuss them again with two close ministers. Unfortunately, the two deceased people could no longer give Li Shimin a good suggestion.

    As for Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande, these two were the two most difficult opponents that Li Shimin encountered when he unified the Central Plains. Especially at that time, the Tang army only occupied Chang'an in Guanzhong, while Wang Shichong was entrenched in Luoyang and interacted with Dou Jiande north of the Yellow River.  In response, if the two people's alliance cannot be broken, Datang will be trapped in Guanzhong.

    So in this case, Li Shimin personally led the troops and fought the Battle of Hulao with these two major opponents. At the same time, that battle was also Li Shimin's most proud victory, because it was in that battle that determined the rule of the Central Plains, Li Shimin  Together with his generals Qin Qiong and Yu Chigong, they led three thousand cavalry to defeat Dou Jiande's 100,000 troops, captured Dou Jiande alive, and forced Wang Shichong to surrender.

    It was also that battle that made Li Shimin's reputation for invincibility spread throughout the world, and his Xuanjia Army became the most powerful army in the world.  With the prestige of this battle, Li Shimin almost swept the world in the subsequent wars, pacifying all the princes in the late Sui Dynasty, laying the foundation for the rule of the Tang Dynasty in one fell swoop.

    Although Li Shimin later launched many foreign wars and destroyed the Turks, Goguryeo, Xichang and other countries, some of the wars were far larger in scale than the Battle of Hulao, but most of those wars were commanded by his generals, so they were far inferior to his personal command.  And the Battle of Hulao, where he fought in person, had a greater impact on him.  Therefore, in the last days of his life, Li Shimin also listed these two former enemies as sacrifices.

    And it is worth mentioning that Li Shimin still admired Dou Jiande very much. Although this hero who came from a rough background was suspicious by nature, he also had many advantages, such as a generous temperament and being very kind to the people under his rule. After his death,  , there are still people in the north of the Yellow River who built temples to worship him. This shows how he was loved by the people under his rule.

    Even after worshiping the two enemies, Li Shimin happily took the train to the battlefield of the Battle of Hulao, and personally gave Li Min instructions on the situation of the two armies, and how he defeated Dou Jiande with three thousand cavalry.  The process of a hundred thousand troops.  Looking at Li Shimin's high-spirited look, no one can believe that his days are numbered.

    However, during these days of sacrifices, Li Min did not accompany Li Shimin all the way. One of them, Li Shimin was going out to perform sacrifices, but Li Zhen and Li Yun happened to rush to Chang'an that day, and Li Zhi was overwhelmed with a mountain of government affairs.  He turned his head and had no time to greet him, so he had to trouble Li Min.

    It was also that time that Li Min failed to accompany Li Shimin out.  And the strange thing is that Li Shimin only took people from the shadow guard with him on this trip, and the itinerary was also very secretive.  Afterwards, Li Min made some insinuations, trying to find out from Li Shimin where he went that day.

    But Li Shimin smiled and said nothing, which made Li Min even more curious. Unfortunately, no matter how he inquired, Li Shimin refused to tell.  It was not until later by chance that Li Min finally found out where Li Shimin had been that day.  (To be continued)?.  )
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