As an emperor, did Li Shimin really go eat locusts? Interested readers and history encyclopedia editors, let’s take a look together!
Tang Gaozu Li Yuan had a total of four sons, the Li brothers. The eldest Li Jiancheng is a talented person, the second Li Shimin is strong and robust, the third Li Yuanba had bad luck and died early, and the fourth Li Yuanji was born with deficiencies and grew crooked and cracked dates.
According to the inheritance system of the eldest son at that time, the only one who could inherit the throne in the future was the eldest son Li Jiancheng. Therefore, every time Li Yuan went on a campaign, he took Li Shimin out, while Li Jiancheng stayed at home to oversee the affairs of the court. In this way, Li Shimin led troops everywhere to fight and pacify the world, and his military strength became increasingly outstanding. His power grew stronger in wars.
I don’t know if Li Jiancheng was afraid that Li Shimin, who had made outstanding contributions, would shake his position as crown prince, or if Li Shimin was unwilling to settle for the second line and wanted to go further. Anyway, the two brothers fought against each other openly and secretly.
Both Li Yuanji, the younger brother, and Li Shimin’s father chose to stand on the side of Crown Prince Li Jiancheng. Therefore, they used all means to reduce the wings around Li Shimin, nitpicking everywhere, forcing Li Shimin and his subordinates to launch the “Xuanwu Gate” Incident, taking the lives of their elder brother Li Jiancheng and younger brother Li Yuanji. Later, Li Shimin killed both of their sons to prevent future troubles, and then went to the palace to force them.
When Li Shimin’s henchmen appeared carrying the heads of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, Li Yuan was on vacation in the Royal Park. Seeing this situation, he was so scared that he immediately announced his resignation to Li Shimin and retreated to the palace to become the Grand Emperor.
Li Shimin rose to power from then on, but he would eventually have to pay back if he left. In Journey to the West, Li Shimin felt uneasy about killing too many people and wanted to do Buddhist rituals to save the souls of the deceased. He invited Tang Monk, a representative of the Great Tang Buddhist School, to recite scriptures. Halfway through the recitation, Guanyin jumped out and said, “You have committed a great sin. Only the Mahayana sutra of the Western Heaven can save evil spirits.” Therefore, Li Shimin quickly sent Tang Monk to go and retrieve the sutra. Although going on stage was very disgraceful and left a stain. But during the reign of Li Shimin, he was a rare and good emperor who loved his people as his own.
In just a few years of taking office, he used policies and laws such as light corv é e and low taxes, and the development of production to reverse the dark situation caused by war, allowing the people to live a prosperous and stable life, and the country to prosper, known as the “Zhenguan Reign” in history. Not only that, Li Shimin is also innovative in eliminating locusts, with astonishing achievements.
In the second year of the Zhenguan reign, there was a major locust plague in the Chang’an area of the capital city, even the emperor’s imperial garden was not spared, and locusts were everywhere. Li Shimin grabbed a few and cursed, “The common people rely on crops to survive, but let you pests eat them! I would rather you eat my five organs and six viscera than eat the food of the common people
After finishing speaking, Li Shimin raised his hand and was about to swallow the locusts. The attendants on both sides quickly advised him, “Your Majesty, you must not use this thing. If you eat it, you will get sick. The health of the dragon is important.” Li Shimin said, “I am suffering from disasters for the common people, so I am not afraid of getting sick.” So he stuffed the locusts into his mouth and ate them.
Perhaps Li Shimin’s sincerity moved the gods, and that year, locusts did not cause any disasters. So, it can be said that Li Shimin is a good emperor.
