Do you really understand what Li Longji relied on to create the prosperous era of Kaiyuan? The history encyclopedia editor provides detailed related content for everyone.
Recalling the heyday of the Kaiyuan era in the past, there were still thousands of households hidden in small towns. Rice flowed with fat, corn was white, and both public and private granaries were abundant. The Kaiyuan era was undoubtedly the pinnacle of Chinese feudal society; But this is not because Tang Xuanzong was so outstanding. In terms of personal comprehensive ability, he may not be able to compare with many emperors, and is even worse than his great grandfather Li Shimin. The realization of the prosperous era of Kaiyuan was partly due to the foundation laid by Li Shimin in the early period of Wu Zetian’s reign, and on the other hand, it was closely related to two advantages of Li Longji in the early stage of governance: knowing how to appoint people well and not favoring personal interests and deposing officials.
But just these two points have made many outstanding emperors willingly bow down to the enemy. Let’s combine two examples below to give us a more intuitive understanding.
Although my appearance may be thin, the world will surely be fat
The Tang Dynasty implemented the system of group ministers, which means that there were multiple prime ministers at the same time, each responsible for different tasks. In 733 AD, Prime Minister Pei Guangting passed away, leaving a vacancy in his position. Therefore, Li Longji asked Prime Minister Xiao Song to recommend a candidate.
Xiao Song once served as the military governor of Hexi, and his representative work was to eliminate the Tibetan general Xinuoluo Gonglu through a counter strategy, and to appoint famous generals such as Zhang Shougui. He defeated his strong enemy Tubo several times and later entered the court as prime minister for his achievements. But in the position of prime minister, he didn’t perform very well, often speculating and lacking any independent opinions.
When Li Longji asked him for a candidate, he originally wanted to recommend his old friend Wang Qiu, but the latter gave the opportunity to Han Xiu. In Xiao Song’s impression, Han Xiu had always had a calm personality and should be easy to control, so he followed Wang Qiu’s advice.
However, he glanced away. Before Han Xiu, he remained calm because he was not in his position and did not seek political advice. In fact, he was an upright and resolute person, always saying one thing and two things, and never succumbing to the influence; For a job, he often scolded Xiao Song until he turned pale, and even Emperor Li Longji himself was often criticized and humiliated;
Another famous prime minister, Song Jing, often exclaimed, “I didn’t expect Han Xiu to be so upright!” I didn’t expect Han Xiu to be so honest. I, Song Jing, feel inferior to him.
And Li Longji was also quite wary of such courtiers. On weekdays, he would play in the palace or backyard. Whenever there was a slight mistake in his words and actions, he would immediately nervously ask those around him, “Does Han Xiu still not know about this?” However, what made him depressed was that every time he finished speaking, Han Xiu’s remonstrance form would be handed over.
Being criticized like this every day, not to mention being a high-ranking emperor, even ordinary people cannot bear it. One day, Li Longji looked gloomy in the mirror, and those around him naturally understood what was going on. So he suggested to him, “Your Majesty, since Han Xiu became the prime minister, you have been getting thinner and thinner. Why not just dismiss him
Li Longji sighed and said:
Although my appearance may be thin, the world will surely be fat. Xiao Song reported that things often go smoothly, but now that he has withdrawn, my sleep is restless. Han Xiu always strives hard, but after retiring, my sleep will be peaceful. I use Han Xiu as an ear for the country, not for myself.
Although I have lost weight, the people of the Tang Dynasty will definitely become fatter. Xiao Song often flatters me, but every time we talk about political matters, I feel uneasy and even have trouble sleeping and eating; Han Xiu is different. Although he always argues with me until his face turns red and his neck becomes thick, I must have slept soundly that night. I chose Han Xiu as my prime minister not for myself, but for the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.
The saying ‘flattery is easy to please, integrity is difficult to get close to’ has been our human nature from ancient times to the present, loving to hear good words and hating different opinions; Throughout the dynasties, even the most outstanding individual abilities of monarchs could not resist this human flaw, which is also the reason why upright courtiers are difficult to be valued and those who slip their beards and beat their horses achieve great success in most periods. But at that time, Li Longji not only understood who was right and who was wrong among his subordinates, but also suppressed his own preferences and favored officials who made him extremely unhappy. With this alone, he could be called an extraordinary monarch.
Without hesitation, kill one’s favorite courtier for the sake of the National Protection Law
At that time, there was a dwarf named “Cucumber” in the palace, whose identity was to “worship the dwarf”, which could be understood as a jester who specialized in making the emperor happy. This person has a quick witted personality, quick reflexes, and is eloquent and versatile, which has won the love of Li Longji; Due to his just right height, Li Longji often used him as a walking stick, carrying him wherever he went, and jokingly referred to him as the “meat table”. On weekdays, Li Longji would often give him generous rewards, which made many people envious of his generosity. In common terms, cucumbers are Li Longji’s favorite subjects; In many dynasties, such people often became arrogant and favored, and received the emperor’s unconditional protection.
One day, the cucumber entered the palace much later than usual, and Li Longji felt strange and asked him what was going on. Cucumber said, “Just now when I entered the palace, I met the official who was catching the thief head-on on the road. In order to fight for passage, I dismounted him, so I came late.” After saying that, I knelt down and kowtowed to apologize.
Relying on the emperor’s favor to act arrogantly and collide with law enforcement personnel, such scenes were very common in ancient times and were often regarded as trivial by most emperors. At most, they would curse a few words and settle the matter amicably. At that time, Li Longji said, “As long as no one writes a memorial about this matter, you don’t have to be afraid. I’ll just pretend it never happened
However, the cucumber was very unlucky. After a while, the report from the officials in Jingzhao was handed over. Li Longji immediately turned his face and denounced the cucumber, handing it over to the relevant departments to be beaten to death according to the law.
In any era, talent is the primary productive force; In the feudal society of our country, there was never a shortage of talents, but what was lacking were emperors who favored virtuous officials over petty ones; The opening of those prosperous times is closely related to the ruling emperors’ knowledge and utilization of people, as well as their appointment of talents; The downfall of a dynasty also began with the improper use of personnel and chaotic politics.
In the early stage of Li Longji’s reign, he was able to suppress his own preferences well and created a Qingming political arena where famous officials and everyone showed their abilities, laying a solid organizational foundation for creating the prosperous era of the Kaiyuan era; But in the later stage, as he became increasingly complacent and lost his ambition, Li Linfu and others, who had been controlling the court for more than ten years, gradually became corrupt, and beneath the surface of the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, there were hidden currents surging. Eventually, the An Lushan Rebellion broke out, completely interrupting the development momentum of the previous hundred years. This also reflects that in the highly ruled feudal society, the development and rise and fall of dynasties are closely related to individual monarchs, which is also the main reason why ancient China could not break out of the vicious cycle of “prosperity and decline” for two thousand years.
