Zhu Chao accompanied me to watch short videos

After Li Shimin ascended the throne, Cheng Yaojin, as his confidant, rose rapidly to higher positions and even became Li Shimin's in-law. His second son Cheng Chuliang married Li Shimin's daughter, Princess Qinghe.

In 643 AD, Li Shimin ordered people to paint portraits of 24 meritorious officials based on their actual contributions. Cheng Yaojin was listed as one of the 24 meritorious officials in Lingyan Pavilion, ranking 19th.

Cheng Yaojin was not just a reckless man, on the contrary he had great political vision.

After Li Shimin's death, Cheng Yaojin escorted Crown Prince Li Zhi back to the court to ascend the throne, ensuring a smooth transition of power in the Tang Dynasty. However, with Wu Zetian's rise to power, Cheng Yaojin's fate took a sharp turn for the worse. Li Zhi wanted to depose Queen Wang and make Concubine Wu the empress, but was opposed by old ministers such as Zhangsun Wuji.

Although we don't know what Cheng Yaojin did in the struggle to depose Wang and establish Wu, judging from the subsequent results, it is obvious that Cheng Yaojin was hated by Li Zhi and Wu Zetian.

In 656 AD, Cheng Yaojin, then 68 years old, went to war against the Western Turks. The commander, Wang Wendu, claimed to have the secret order of the emperor and took away the command. The chief eunuch Su Dingfang was very dissatisfied and asked Cheng Yaojin to arrest Wang Wendu and ask the court for clarification.

But Cheng Yaojin, who had fought all his life, shook his head and continued to let Wang Wendu command.

When the Tang army was approaching the city, the other side opened the city to surrender, but Wang Wendu actually instigated Cheng Yaojin to massacre the city.

Despite Su Dingfang's opposition, Cheng Yaojin still ordered the killing of all the Hu people in the city. After returning to the court, Cheng Yaojin was questioned and dismissed from all his official positions, and was appointed as the governor of Qizhou. In order to protect himself, Cheng Yaojin took the initiative to ask for retirement, which brought him a good ending.

In 665 AD, Cheng Yaojin died at his home in Chang'an at the age of 77 and was buried with Li Shimin in Zhaoling Mausoleum.

——"Douyin is amazing, I recommended this to you as soon as I took a shit."

——"Cheng Yaojin is very powerful if he controls his health. He can take on enemies, fight, and output damage."

——"Why is it that Cheng Yaojin in TV dramas is always fat, stupid and idiotic?"

——"It's mainly because the image in Romance of Sui and Tang Dynasties is too popular, but it's just a novel."

[The founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, understand Li Yuan's life in one breath. Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty]

He lost his father in childhood and his wife in middle age. He started a rebellion, wiped out all the warlords, unified the country, and founded the Tang Dynasty. However, he was regarded by later generations as the founding emperor with the lowest sense of presence.

Some people say that Li Yuan became emperor thanks to his son Li Shimin, while others say that Li Yuan was more talented and ambitious than Li Shimin. So what was the real Li Yuan like in history?

In this video, we will walk through the life of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, in chronological order.

Li Yuan was born into a noble family in Guanlong and was granted the title of Duke of Tang at the age of 7. After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, because his mother Dugu was the elder sister of Empress Wenxian Dugu Jialuo of the Sui Dynasty, Li Yuan was loved by Dugu Jialuo and Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty from an early age, and was also highly valued in the Sui Dynasty when he grew up.

At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the country was in chaos. Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty, despite everyone's dissuasion, forcibly left Luoyang, the eastern capital, and toured Jiangdu. Before leaving, he sent Dai Wang Yang You to guard Chang'an, Yue Wang Yang Tong to guard Luoyang, and Tang Guogong Li Yuan to guard Taiyuan.

Seeing that the Sui Dynasty was about to fall, Li Yuan was unwilling to serve Yang Guang any longer, so he sent his son Li Shimin to recruit soldiers and prepare for an uprising. As for the reasons for the uprising's determination to rebel against the Sui Dynasty, there are different records in history books.

The official statement is that Li Yuan was encouraged by his son Li Shimin to rebel against the Sui Dynasty, but there are also historical records that Li Yuan had the intention to rebel against the Sui Dynasty long ago and it was entirely his own idea.

But regardless of whether he was encouraged by his son or not, Li Yuan eventually raised an army in Jinyang when he was 52 years old, and was affiliated with the mistake made by Emperor Yang Guang. Under the name of respecting Dai King Yang You, he led 3 soldiers to march towards Chang'an.

At that time, Yang Guang was still living a life of drunkenness and debauchery in Jiangdu, and the eastern capital Luoyang was surrounded by Li Mi, so he had no time to look west. Li Yuan's army captured cities and strongholds along the way, and quickly expanded the team. By the time they arrived at the city of Chang'an, the number of troops had reached 200,000.

The Chang'an defenders were unable to resist and the city gates were soon breached. Li Yuan made the 13-year-old Dai Wang Yang You the emperor, proclaimed himself the King of Tang, and controlled the Guanzhong region.

When the news reached Jiangdu, Yang Guang had given up on himself and did not want to deal with the mess in the north. However, his imperial guards were all from Guanzhong, and they missed their hometown. Seeing that Yang Guang was unwilling to go back, they launched the Jiangdu Rebellion.

A generation of emperors passed away in such a hasty manner. Upon hearing the news, Emperor Li Yuan of Tang forced Yang You to abdicate and ascended the throne, naming the country the Great Tang. The most powerful dynasty in Chinese history, the Great Tang, was born.

At that time, warlords were separatist. Wang Shichong proclaimed himself emperor in Luoyang, Li Gui in Liangzhou, Dou Jiande in Hebei, and Du Fuwei in Jianghuai. Faced with such a situation, how could Li Yuan and his sons wipe out the heroes and unify the country?

Among all the forces, the most powerful one was the Wagang Army. However, due to the disastrous defeat by Wang Shichong in the Battle of Yanshi, many of the Wagang Army's generals were absorbed by the Tang Army and became famous generals of the founding of the Tang Dynasty. The one who contributed the most to the unification of the Tang Dynasty was naturally the King of Qin, Li Shimin.

Li Shimin was only 19 years old, brave and decisive, courageous, likes to make friends with heroes, and has great military talent. He successively pacified the separatist forces such as Xue Rengao, Liu Wuzhou, Dou Jiande, Wang Shichong, and Liu Heita, and made great contributions to the unification of the world by the Tang Dynasty.

As Li Yuan's second son, he and his eldest brother, Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, had a growing conflict. As a father, Li Yuan knew that his two sons were incompatible, but he was always indecisive, which further intensified the conflict between the two sides.

Prince of Qi Li Yuanji also helped his elder brother to fan the flames in front of his father, and even encouraged Li Yuan to kill Li Shimin.

At this time, someone in the East Palace reported to Li Shimin that the Crown Prince and the King of Qi wanted to assassinate Li Shimin. So Li Shimin decided to strike first and bribed the imperial guards to lay an ambush near Xuanwu Gate.

Three days later, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were deceived, and Li Shimin shot Li Jiancheng to death with an arrow. Li Yuanji, who wanted to escape, was also killed by Li Shimin's men. This is the famous Xuanwu Gate Incident in history.

Two days before the incident, Li Shimin complained to Li Yuan about his elder brother Li Le's affairs in the harem, but Li Yuan didn't quite believe it. When the news of Li Jiancheng's death came, Li Yuan was already panicked. He knew that all this was Li Shimin's conspiracy, but it was too late.

At the age of 61, Li Yuan could only appoint Li Shimin as the crown prince, and soon after he abdicated and became the emperor. In the last 9 years of Li Yuan's life, his relationship with Li Shimin was very cold. Although Li Shimin did not treat Li Yuan badly in terms of material treatment, the Xuanwu Gate Incident was like a thorn in the hearts of both father and son.

In 635 AD, Emperor Taishang Li Yuan passed away at the age of 70. Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, was undoubtedly very capable. He established a brand new Tang Empire in the mess left by Yang Guang.

However, as a father, Li Yuan was a failure. The tension between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin was closely related to Li Yuan's indecisiveness.

[Tian Khan, the life of an emperor of all ages, understand Li Shimin in one breath. Li Shimin's Tang Dynasty history]

At dawn on the fourth day of the sixth lunar month in the ninth year of Wude, at the north gate of Taiji Palace, Li Shimin once again mounted his warhorse, ready for the final battle with his enemy. This time, the enemy was his own brother.

In this fateful confrontation, Li Shimin led 800 soldiers from the Qin Palace and rushed forward, shooting and killing his elder brother Li Jiancheng and younger brother Li Yuanji, forcing his father Li Yuan to abdicate.

As the victor, this carefully planned coup was eventually portrayed as a hastily launched self-defense action due to a change in the stars. So why was Li Shimin, who seemed so ruthless, called the greatest emperor of all time?

What was the real purpose of Li Shimin's Xuanwu Gate Incident? In this video, let's take a look at Li Shimin's legendary life in chronological order.

李世民的一生大致可以分为4个阶段：从他出生至18岁是其少年时期的成长阶段；18岁至20岁是其跟随父亲李渊在晋阳起兵反隋阶段；20岁至28岁是李世民为大唐征战四方的时期；28岁至51岁是其发动玄武门之变，登基称帝，开启贞观之治的阶段。下面就让我们一起走进李世民的世界。

Li Shimin was born in the Li family villa in Wugong. He was very smart and clever since childhood. He always had his own unique insights when facing problems, and sometimes even looked at problems more deeply than adults.

He was also very resolute and decisive in making decisions on many key matters, and everyone thought that this young man's ability was immeasurable.

When Li Shimin was 17 years old, Emperor Yang of Sui was surrounded by the Turks in Yanmen. Li Shimin responded to the court's call to rescue. Before the army set out, Li Shimin suggested that the commander must bring a large number of flags and drums to deploy deceptive troops. The Hulu would definitely flee without a fight when they saw the assembled rescue army. The facts were just as Li Shimin expected.

A year later, the 18-year-old Li Shimin followed his father Li Yuan to Taiyuan, and once again penetrated the enemy camp surrounded by the Gaoyang bandits, defeated the enemy army, and rescued Li Yuan from the enemy camp. He then defeated the enemy army for the second time.

In this way, Li Shimin began the second stage of his life as a young god of war, following his father to raise an army in Jinyang.

At the end of the Sui Dynasty, uprisings broke out in various places. The 19-year-old Li Shimin saw that the fate of the Sui Dynasty's demise was irreversible, so he secretly planned an uprising. He often lowered his status to make friends with heroes and encouraged his father to rise up against the Sui Dynasty.

In this way, the father and son raised an army in Jinyang. Li Shimin led the troops to capture Xihe and was named the Right Commander-in-Chief by Li Yuan.

After arriving in Hedong, all the heroes in Guanzhong rushed to join the rebel army. With Li Yuan's permission, Li Shimin continued to lead the Qin army across the Yellow River, first pacifying Weibei and then Daxingcheng. Along the way, the army was strictly disciplined and did not harm the people. After occupying Chang'an, Li Yuan supported Emperor Yang's grandson, King Dai Yang You, as emperor and appointed himself as prime minister.

In 618 AD, Emperor Gong of Sui, Yang You, abdicated to Li Yuan, who changed the country's name to Tang. The 20-year-old Li Shimin was promoted to King of Qin, and began the third stage of his life, fighting for the Tang Dynasty.

In the next seven years, Li Shimin led his army to first attack Xue Ju and Song Jingang, and then defeated Wang Shichong in Luoyang, captured Dou Jiande alive, and pacified separatist forces such as Liu Heita.

When the Turks invaded the border, he led 100 cavalrymen to hold talks with the Turkic leader, and finally the Turkic army withdrew after forming an alliance. He was promoted to the position of Zhongshu Ling for his merits, and since then, the country has been pacified.

However, as Li Shimin gained military exploits and his prestige grew, his official position had reached a point where he could no longer hold a position. So Li Yuan created an unprecedented position of Tiance Shangjiang and granted it to his son, who was above all the kings and second only to Li Yuan and Crown Prince Li Jiancheng.

The Qin Palace was already full of talented people, and now it had even more supporters, gradually forming the Qin Party and starting to compete with the Prince Party. When the world was not settled, Li Yuan had promised Li Shimin that he would be made the crown prince after he came to power, but now the world has been pacified.

Facing the increasingly successful Li Shimin, Li Yuan was hesitant. Crown Prince Li Jiancheng then joined forces with Qi Wang Li Yuanji to exclude his younger brother. The indecisiveness led to conflicts in the court, which invisibly accelerated the war among the princes.

Li Shimin, unwilling to be outdone, conspired with his cronies in the Qin Palace and concocted the famous Xuanwu Gate Incident. One day when Li Shimin was 28 years old, the star Venus appeared in the south of the sky in broad daylight. According to the people at that time, this was a symbol of change in the sky and a precursor to a revolution or a change of power.

Li Shimin first reported Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji for having affairs with concubines in the harem and planning to kill him. After learning about this, Li Jiancheng decided to go to the palace first to force his father to speak out.

Unexpectedly, the imperial guards at the Xuanwu Gate, the north gate of the palace, had already been bribed by Li Shimin, and eventually both brothers Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji died at the Xuanwu Gate.

When the coup happened, Li Yuan was rowing in the sea pool in the palace. Li Shimin asked Yuchi Gong to enter the palace as a guard. Yuchi Gong, wearing armor and holding a spear, went straight to Li Yuan's boat and told Li Yuan that the crown prince and the King of Qi had rebelled and had been killed by Li Shimin.

Li Yuan knew that things could not be changed, so he simply passed the throne to Li Shimin. From then on, Li Shimin's life entered the fourth stage and began the Zhenguan Reign.

After Li Shimin ascended the throne, he first sent troops to defeat the Turks and made an alliance with Jili Khan Shaboluoyehu. After that, he rejected all sacrifices and prayers that were not in accordance with etiquette, appointed Zhongshan King Li Chengqian as the crown prince, demoted the princes of the royal family who had not made any achievements to county dukes, and stopped accepting rare treasures from all parties as tribute. In politics, he advocated simplicity and seriousness, which made the people of the world happy.

From the age of 29 to his death at the age of 51, Li Shimin crossed the border many times and was honored as the Heavenly Khan by the northwestern vassal states. He issued new decrees to the world, ordered Fang Xuanling and others to revise the Five Rites, and ordered relevant departments to implement them, creating the Zhenguan Reign and laying a solid foundation for the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

But when Li Shimin was 45 years old, Crown Prince Li Chengqian was deposed for treason, and Prince of Jin Li Zhi was made crown prince.

In 649 AD, Li Shimin died in Hanfeng Hall of Cuiwei Palace on Mount Zhongnan at the age of 51.

——"If Li Shimin didn't kill his brothers, his brothers would kill him. There's nothing to say about it."

——"His civil and military skills are both top-notch, a model for emperors."

——"It's a pity that he died at the age of 51. If he could live to be 80 or 90 like Qianlong, perhaps the Tang Dynasty would be more prosperous."

——"Don't do that. He already showed signs of being a tyrant in his later years. He was busy with elixirs and building large-scale projects. It's better for him to die early, so that he can be remembered as the greatest emperor in history."