First of all, it is also in the Book of Old Tang Dynasty that Li Ke is "Taizong often calls himself" (Tang Yao Hui recorded it as "Taizong once called himself"). It can be seen that the common taste here means once, not often), for Prince Chenggan, it is "Taizong's favor", while for Li Tai, it is said that "Wei Wang is too fond of Chu Jun". In contrast, Emperor Taizong's love for Li Ke, the so-called "beloved son", is really unremarkable. What's more, there are countless records about the love of Tang Taizong's three sons in the history books, but the care for Li Ke is much thinner than this, and it is even impossible to enumerate. Whether Li Ke can be regarded as the son of Emperor Taizong is really worth pondering.
Secondly, according to historical records, Li Ke went to the fief in the seventh year of Zhenguan at the latest, but Lee Tae, who was the same age as Li Ke, was not only not a "country", but Emperor Taizong even thought about letting him "live in the Wude Hall" and was finally discouraged by Wei. Li Zhi has been raised by Emperor Taizong himself since the death of his eldest grandson. Even though he was made a prince, Emperor Taizong kept him around at the expense of blatantly violating the etiquette system, which led Chu Suiliang, Liu Yue and others to go to Zhenguan for eighteen and twenty years respectively, pleading with the emperor not to keep the prince around and spoil him blindly and let him go back to the East Palace.
When Li Ke went to be the governor of qi zhou in the seventh year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong said to Li Ke, "Do you have to meet each other often?" But things at home are special, so we need to make a screen. It can be seen that the reason why the vassal was named a vassal was because of the "special events in the country" and the "coveted heart" of the vassal. But these grandiose words are actually more suitable for Lee Tae, the mother and brother of the Prince, than Li Ke, the concubine. After all, as the prince's mother and brother, Lee Tae is the biggest threat to Chu. However, in the face of "family affairs", Emperor Taizong left his beloved Lee Tae and Li Zhi at his side, but sent Li Ke, who did not pose a threat, to the fief. If Emperor Taizong really couldn't bear to give up Li Ke's trip to the fief and really loved his son, presumably Li Ke should stay with him like Lee Tae and Li Zhi, but he didn't do so, but said some scenes, such as "It is human nature for a father to love his son" and "But one country is special". In this way, we can also think that Li Ke is the son of Emperor Taizong, and personally think that such a "son" is actually not mentioned.
Moreover, when Zhenguan 1 1, Emperor Taizong said these words to Li Ke-"Although father and son are close relatives, they are guilty, and the law of the world cannot be private." Korea has made Zhao Emperor, but Yan Wangdan refuses to accept it. Huo Guang cuts it and punishes it. As a courtier, you must quit! "Translated into popular Chinese, although father and son are close relatives, once a crime is committed, the laws of the world cannot be partial. Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty was founded, but Liu Dan, the prince of Yan, refused to accept it and secretly plotted to rebel. Huo Guang killed him with a note. Be a servant, take a warning!
Obviously, this tone is already quite harsh. It's not father-son contact at all, but reprimand. Think about it. It was in this year that Li Ke was removed from the secretariat of Anzhou by Emperor Taizong for hunting and trampling on people's crops. So what I said was actually that Emperor Taizong reprimanded Li Ke very seriously: "Although you are my son, I can't save you if you don't obey the law!" I really don't know how to tell that Emperor Taizong actually loved his son.
As for the letter written by Emperor Taizong to Li Ke in Zhenguan 12, if we only pay attention to the sentence "You broke your knee, you grieved for what you did, and I want to keep you as a treasure, but I am afraid of arrogance and extravagance", we will naturally feel that it is full of father-son feelings. However, the title of this letter is "A Book of Commandments to Wu". The admonisher means warning and warning. When Li You, the king of Qi, made repeated mistakes in fiefs, Emperor Taizong also wrote a letter to "admonish". Therefore, this letter is not about the feelings of missing after leaving, but that Emperor Taizong wrote a letter warning Li Ke to stay in his fief honestly and not to run amok again.
And just like Mrs. Tang said to Li Ke, "If you want to keep treasures for fun, you will be afraid of arrogance"-refusing to give him more property on the grounds of avoiding Li Ke's arrogance and extravagance. As a result, in the face of Li Chenggan and Li Taishi, Emperor Taizong took the opposite attitude. Emperor Taizong not only rewarded Li Taishi with "ten thousand Thai things", but also gave Lee Tae "more things than the crown prince" every month, and even directly lifted the restrictions on Li Chenggan's use of the treasury.
As for how Emperor Taizong would express his love for his son in his letters, let's take a look at a letter written to Li Zhi by Emperor Taizong when he went to Koguryo. It was disgusting. But perhaps this letter from Emperor Taizong to Li Zhi is more like an ordinary love between father and son than an earnest warning to Li Ke.
"Two posts" original:
I got the book twice, but I didn't see the slave's watch. Yes, yes, I want to die forever. When time was running out, I suddenly got my slave's calligraphy, reported my wife's illness and worried for a while. I wanted to be a dead man, but I was late today, but I will report it as soon as I believe it. Yes, yes, if you are less sick, you will report one by one. I got the news from Liaodong today. I recorded it and sent it. I remember slaves wanting to die. I don't know how to get back. Yeah, yeah.
Translation:
I received the documents from ouchi twice, but I still haven't seen your letter. Dad, I was so worried. I suddenly received your calligraphy just now, saying that my wife was ill, and my worries and fears suddenly disappeared, just like coming back from the dead. From now on, write to me as soon as you have a headache. Dad, if I am sick, I will write to you letter by letter. I got the news from Liaodong (battlefield) today. I'll copy it for you. You miss your little slave so much that you don't know when you can go back. That's all you have to say. Dad, please.
Finally, it was discussed by many people. Emperor Taizong wanted to make Li Ke king of Wu.
In Zhenguan 17, it took more than half a year for Emperor Taizong to set up Li Zhi, and he felt that his youngest son was only fifteen years old, and he had always stayed with him and had no experience. As the future heir of the empire, he is not strong enough, fearing that he can't control state affairs well. After all, he is "a country that relies on a long-term monarch." So Emperor Taizong considered changing the storage, and Li Ke was the only suitable candidate at that time, because look at several other governors besides Li Ke:
The second son, Li Kuan, died young
The fourth son, Lee Tae, was demoted for taking office.
The fifth son, Li You, was punished for rebellion in the seventeenth year of Zhenguan.
Li Cheng, the sixth son, was denounced as an animal by Emperor Taizong.
The seventh son, Li Yun, was so greedy that he was impeached by the company.
Li Zhen, the eighth son, is only one year older than Li Zhi.
The tenth son, Li Shen, is younger than Li Zhi.
Young Li Xiao, Li Jian, Li Fu and others below all died young. Under such circumstances, does Emperor Taizong have any other choice except Li Ke, who is nearly 9 years older than Li Zhi?
At the end of the day, Emperor Taizong wanted to establish Li Ke because other older princes were either demoted or killed for taking the throne, or they were really helpless. Although Li Ke was once demoted twice for stepping on crops and gambling, there was nothing Emperor Taizong could do except Li Ke.
However, it is obvious that Emperor Taizong's idea of establishing Li Ke was not well thought out, but on a whim. Because if Emperor Taizong really wanted to change Li Ke, or was determined to change the storage, then Sun Chang Wuji would never have a chance to "fight in the dark", let alone make a final decision just by a word from his family. After all, the world belongs to Li, not his grandson. In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, although Sun Chang Wuji was an excellent Si Tuleideng, Si Tuleideng's position was only a hollow position as far as the regime of the Tang Dynasty was concerned. With no real power at all, how can Sun Chang Wuji keep state affairs? At this time, he was dead, but these ministers of Fang, Li Jing, were still alive, and Emperor Taizong was in the prime of mastering the military power. How can you let Sun Chang, who has neither real power nor military power, control state affairs indefinitely?
Besides, the abolition of the Crown Prince is a national event, not a joke. If Emperor Taizong is determined to change the crown prince, he will definitely take the matter to the court for deliberation. At worst, he will also consult with several confidant ministers, just like when he wanted to establish Li Zhi, he "consulted with Wuji and Fang", instead of just discussing with Wuji, who was the least likely to agree with him, or even giving up immediately after being refuted by Wuji.
Judging from the narrative of Li Ke's regime change in the official history, it is obvious that Emperor Taizong only had such an idea on a whim, and then gave Sun Chang Wuji a warning, and Sun Chang Wuji opposed it. When Emperor Taizong understood it, he completely dismissed the idea. Not to mention Sun Chang's opposition to Li Ke, because he is not his nephew. In fact, what really cares about Li Ke is not his son, but Emperor Taizong himself, not Sun Chang Wuji. After all, once Li Ke, who was born out of wedlock, was changed, it would be difficult to guarantee the future of Li Chenggan, Lee Tae and Li Zhi. For Emperor Taizong, this is obviously more worrying than Sun Chang Wuji, because the purpose of Emperor Taizong's Li Zhi is to save these three beloved sons:
"Lee Tae, Cheng Gan and Wang Jin do not exist; Wang Li of Jin, Thai * * * can be taken care of. " (Biography of Taizong Philosopher in Old Tang Dynasty)
When Emperor Taizong changed princes, he always wavered between Lee Tae and Li Zhi, and decided to establish Li Zhi, because Li Zhi had a kind heart, and even if he became emperor, he would not be bad to his two brothers. During this period, Emperor Taizong never imagined that Li Ke, an unmarried but elderly woman, could be considered, and how Li Ke's position in the heart of Emperor Taizong was evident. Because if Li Ke still has some weight in the eyes of Emperor Taizong, Emperor Taizong will definitely think of him first when he changes princes, instead of waiting for half a year after all the dust settles. It was not until the end of the seventeenth year of Zhenguan that the princes returned to Beijing for the New Year that they discovered that there was such an ordinary eldest son to consider, and it was only a flash in the pan.
As for what Li Ke said, he is far away from the capital and has no friendship with the DPRK ministers. Naturally, no one wants to recommend him as a prince. In fact, it doesn't matter what the minister's wishes are, but the key lies in the attitude of Emperor Taizong himself. Look at Li Zhi, and you will know that Prince Li Zhi is supported by Emperor Taizong. In order to write Li Zhi, Emperor Taizong even drew his sword and committed suicide in front of the minister; After Emperor Taizong officially appointed Li Zhi as the Prince, he devoted himself to building a strong and reliable team of Oriental Palace to assist the Prince.
"Ugly, Stuart, Zhao Guogong, Prince Wuji, a surname, Liang Guogong, Prince Fang, a teacher; Special Jin, Song Guogong, Xiao Yu's Prince Taibao, Ministry of War Shangshu and British Gong Li Ji are princes, and they are still the same as the three books. " ("Old Tang Book Taizong Biography")
"Li Daliang, the general of the left guard, led the right guard. In the past, Zhan Shiyu Zhining and Zhongshu assistant minister Ma Zhou were left illegitimate children, and the assistant minister Su Xu and Zhongshu assistant minister Gao Jifu were right illegitimate children. Zhang, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Punishment, acted less like Zhan Shi and advised the doctor Chu Suiliang to be the guest of honor." (Purple Tongzhi Sword)
At the same time, Emperor Taizong knew that Li Zhi had lived in the palace for a long time and lacked experience, so he began to strengthen the cultivation of his ability to handle government affairs, and often set an example with him.
"Every time Emperor Taizong looked at the DPRK, he often did it by the side. He decided to be a politician, or he became the Senate. Taizong is good at counting. " (Biography of the Old Tang Dynasty Emperor Gaozong)
"In the eighteenth year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong called courtiers and said,' There were viviparous births in ancient times, and I was at a loss. But since the recent establishment of the prince, there must be instructions when it comes to things. "("Zhenguan dignitaries ")
Therefore, if Emperor Taizong really intends to change Li Ke into a prince, he can completely copy the move of changing Li Zhishi, rather than just mentioning it verbally. After being rejected, he has never seen any loss and regret, and he has never seen the guilt of not changing Li Ke's son Li Ke. Even two days later, Emperor Taizong held a grand banquet because of the birth of Li Zhi's eldest son, Jong Li, who not only danced happily at the banquet. On the other hand, after Liu Bang failed to establish Ruyi Zhao, he lamented that the future security of Miracle's mother and son could not be guaranteed, and even "was unhappy and lamented". Not only did he deliberately let Zhao shoot, but when he heard that Fan Kuai was going to kill his mother and son in a hundred years, he immediately ordered others to "be beheaded in the army". If Li Ke wants to have a place in the heart of Emperor Taizong, how can he be treated like this?
As for Li Ke's saying that he can't be an emperor because of his ancestry in the previous dynasty, that's even more nonsense. Li Ke's lineage in the two dynasties is not unprecedented. As early as the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there were many heirs to the throne in the same strain, such as Taizi Stone of Shi Hu, the post-Zhao dynasty, whose biological mother was Princess Anding of the former Zhao dynasty. For example, Yu Wenjue's biological mother in Ming Di in the Northern Zhou Dynasty was Princess Fengyi in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Even Prince Yang Zhao of Yang Di, Yang Zhao, is also the mother of Xiao Huanghou, the daughter of Emperor Xiliang Xiaoming.
Besides, if the lineage of the former dynasty is really a problem and a taboo, then why did Emperor Taizong make Li Ke a prince when he knew that he had the lineage of the Sui Dynasty? Why didn't Sun Chang Wuji use this reason to oppose Li Ke of Emperor Taizong? Therefore, Li Ke has nothing to do with the storage, and his biological mother, Yang Fei, is the daughter of Emperor Yang Di.
Others think that Li Ke is the wise king of the Tang Dynasty because Emperor Taizong wanted to change Li Ke. Even as Mao said, Li Ke must be British and Li Zhi must be rotten. When Emperor Taizong chose Li Zhi as his successor, he was puzzled for a moment (in fact, just look at Mao Xuan's successor and you will know what his vision is). However, throughout Li Ke's life, we really can't see his achievements in literature and military affairs. In the Book of Old Tang Dynasty, there is an introduction to Li Chenggan's ability to govern the country, that is, "Emperor Taizong lived in darkness, but he knew everything in politics". For Lee Tae, he can at least know that he is "not very good at literature", and he did compile a chronicle with brackets. Among other concubines, some people are praised by local people for their excellent handling of local government affairs.
But Li Ke is only famous for his literary talent and military talent, which is a very general commendatory term. As for the specific deeds that can show his talents, there is not a word in the history books. Even Li Ke's "good riding and shooting" is just the most basic accomplishment of a military aristocrat in Guanlongli. In the Tang Dynasty, even the harem talents could accompany the emperor to ride and shoot, and Li Ke's "good riding and shooting" did not have any military merits or outstanding deeds to prove.
This is especially true of Li Ke's so-called literary talent. Even the most common calligraphy skills of members of the royal family in Li Tang are not recorded, while Hanwang Li Yuanchang, who was also convicted of rebellion, is famous for his calligraphy in various history books. Li Yuanchang's epitaph is even engraved with all kinds of kind words: "Beautiful as a flower, beautiful as a flower." Fishing and hunting tomb, nice music. As for the cleverness of crying wild goose, the hit is like ecstasy; Show off pictographic works, and it is better to turn poor. "A handsome and versatile prince who is good at classics, music, marksmanship and exquisite painting will stand in the eyes of future generations. In contrast, Li Ke's talent is simply not reflected in history books or epitaphs.
Therefore, it is arbitrary to judge Li Ke's virtue just because of one sentence of Emperor Taizong. After all, Emperor Taizong just felt that Li Zhi was kind and gentle, and did not say that he was not as virtuous as Li Ke. How can he rashly infer that Li Ke is a good king of Datang?
As for "Old Tang Book", it is said that "the reputation is always high and very emotional". You know, Li Ke, as the eldest brother of Tang Gaozong Li Zhizhong, has a decent virtue compared with the younger brothers below. It is not strange that he has a reputation, but it is strange that he has no reputation. After all, when he was in Tang Zhongzong, Tang Ruizong, as the prime minister, was "realistic and high"; Tang Wenzong's younger brother Zhang Wang Li Cuo is also "virtuous and promising"; Li Xiaoyi, the great grandson of Tang Taizu, is also "famous in the world, and his reputation is naturally heavy"; Li Yuanjia, the son of Tang Gaozu, was appeased and reused in Zetian Dynasty, not only because of "respecting land and attaching importance to weapons", but also because of "accommodating things".
After Li Ke was killed unjustly, the history books said that "the public can't wait, the family can't punish", which seems to be highly appraised. However, when Emperor Taizong appointed Wei Zhi as the prince's teacher, he also said, "You can't look at the world". Not only that, when Wu Sansi killed Huan and others, it was to "never look back"; Wang Shichong killed Yang Dong also for "disappointing"; Wu Zetian killed Li Yuanjia for the sake of "imperial clan hope"; Xiu Yuan advised Zhu Tong to cut down the imperial clan of the Tang Dynasty for the sake of "popularity". But being killed, Ge Fuyuan is "unjust at home", being killed by a stick by Lv Chongdao and his son is also "unjust at home and abroad", being strangled by Cui Ning is "unjust under the world", being killed by Ann's brother and being framed by Li is also "unjust under the world". It can be seen that the so-called "contempt for public expectations and blaming the family" is just a idiom of historians. You can weigh it yourself.
What's more, the Tang people at that time did not think that Li Ke was wronged. When referring to the four-year rebellion case of Yonghui, the Epitaph of Xia Houxuan, the secretariat of Zhou Mu, clearly stated that "Jason Wu rebelled", and both Jing Wang Li and Wu Wang Li Ke rebelled. This attitude is completely contrary to what historians say. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that Xiahou Mao is Li Cheng, a long history, and Li Cheng is none other than Li Ke's half-brother. After Li Ke's rebellion was killed, Li Cheng was also abolished as Shu Ren. Therefore, according to Xia Houxuan's identity, when referring to the brother of the immediate superior who was framed for rebellion, he should be shouting for it, rather than speaking out about his "rebellion". Even people who should have interceded for Li Ke think that Li Ke is a rebellion. At that time, how many people thought that Li Ke was wronged can be imagined.
In fact, Li Ke was just an ordinary prince in the Tang Dynasty, but in recent years, some TV dramas and novels have tampered with history so much that a large part of the audience have been misled, thinking that Li Ke is the favorite son of Emperor Taizong and the most wise prince in the Tang Dynasty. Anyone who is willing to read the official history carefully and see how Emperor Taizong dotes on his three sons recorded in the history books can know what the real son of Emperor Taizong should look like. Compared with countless stories of favor, is it necessary to say that this son "doesn't like himself" only by relying on the whim of Emperor Taizong and the phrase "likes himself" in this environment (in the case of establishing a prince, don't say "likes himself"? ), it is necessary to prove that Li Ke's human feelings are obviously untenable.
Especially in the second year of Zhenguan, Li Ke and Lee Tae were blocked at the same time, but they were obviously treated differently. Li Ke was appointed as the secretariat of Yizhou, with only 8 fiefs, and Lee Tae is not only the secretariat of Yangzhou and Yuezhou, but also as many as 22 states!
Regardless of the quantity, the fief of Lee Tae is almost twice that of Li Ke. Li Ke's fief Yizhou, that is, today's Sichuan area, was definitely not a hot potato in the Tang Dynasty, and the statement of "Yang Yier" had to wait until after the Anshi Rebellion. Since ancient times, the terrain of Sichuan has been a natural barrier, and the ancient traffic was underdeveloped. When tang gaozu privately promised to replace him with a prince, he once said that he would put the seal of Li Huancheng and Sichuan, because "a secluded place is easy to make. I can't do things for you, it's easy to get my ears. " It can be seen how Sichuan existed in people's minds in the early Tang Dynasty. Needless to say, Yangzhou's wealth, not to mention the fiefs including Suzhou and Hangzhou.
Not to mention that Li Ke was appointed as the governor of Yizhou, instead of being the governor like Lee Tae. According to Tang Yao Hui, the word "big" was changed from the Governor's House in Yizhou on February 20th of the second year of Zhenguan, and it was not until the second year of Longshuo that it was upgraded from the Governor's House to the Governor's House. So in May of the second year of Zhenguan, although Li Ke and Lee Tae were blocked at the same time, Li Ke was only blocked as the Yizhou secretariat-not only the scale of the secretariat was far less than that of Lee Tae, but also the fief was nearly two-thirds less than that of Lee Tae.
Later, when Li Ke was in Zhenguan 1 1, he was reduced from the secretariat of Anzhou to the secretariat of Anzhou, and 300 households were cut (only 800 households were actually sealed by the prince at that time). It seems that the fief is still in one place, but in fact, the place under its jurisdiction has been greatly reduced, because as a viceroy, Li Ke can "supervise the military affairs of An, Sui, Wen, Zhen and Fu Wuzhou", but as a secretariat, he can only manage the land of Anzhou. Later, Li Ke was dismissed again for gambling with the wet nurse's son. Since then, Li Ke has never been reinstated in the twenty-third year of Zhenguan * *12. Apart from Li Ke, only his younger brother Li Cheng was denounced by Emperor Taizong as a "stone worse than animals" and enjoyed such treatment, while other princes who made mistakes far more serious than stepping on crops had never been so severely punished.
Although Emperor Taizong is the king of a country, he can only be like ordinary people in the face of his beloved son. How do ordinary people love their sons? That's what Emperor Taizong did.
So even if Li Chenggan committed such a big crime of rebellion, Emperor Taizong would try his best to save his life. Therefore, after Li Taihou failed to seize the office, Emperor Taizong still said that he was "my beloved son and really loyal to him". Even less than four years after being demoted, he was promoted to King Pu again. So, although Li Zhi has been living with Emperor Taizong, how many times have Chu Suiliang and Liu Yue remonstrated on this matter? I haven't seen Emperor Taizong send Li Zhi out of the palace life on the grounds of "special family affairs".
I love my son too much. I have attracted the kindness and suggestions of courtiers in Wei Zhi again and again, but none of them is soft on Li Ke's son. In this way, can Li Ke be said to be the "beloved son" of Emperor Taizong?