After the Xuanwumen Incident, Li Yuan expressed his stance in 10 words, and Li Shimin knelt down and cried bitterly

In people’s minds, the Xuanwu Gate Incident goes like this: Li Jiancheng wanted to murder King Qin, so he set up an ambush inside the Xuanwu Gate. When Li Shimin and his party arrived, the city gate was immediately closed. In the fight, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji's heads fell to the ground. However, in the history books, it was Li Shimin who wanted to ambush Li Jiancheng, and the ambush location was not at Xuanwumen at all; the latter had almost no knowledge of the former's premeditation that day before the incident.

Before Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji entered the palace, they had received news from Zhang Jieyu and learned that Li Shimin had reported on them to invade the harem. Li Yuanji once advised Li Jiancheng not to go, but Li Jiancheng didn't think there was any problem, because Li Yuan was going to interrogate three princes on that day, which was of great importance, and there would be more security forces around him than usual, so there should be no need to worry about safety issues. So the two of them passed through the Xuanwu Gate safely and came all the way to Linhu Palace. Li Yuan was waiting for the trial on the boat. It can be said that Linhu Palace is right under Li Yuan's nose.

I thought I would see Li Yuan soon. At this time, Li Shimin, who was ambushing nearby, appeared. He chased and shouted after them. Li Yuanji set up his bow and shot an arrow, trying to kill Li Shimin, but he failed. The bow could not be drawn, so Li Shimin saw the opportunity and shot Li Jiancheng dead.

At this time, Yuchi Jingde led 70 cavalrymen to come for reinforcements. Dozens of them shot arrows together. Li Yuanji was hit by an arrow and fell off his horse, and fled. At the critical moment, Li Shimin's horse was frightened and ran into the nearby woods. He was also caught in the trees and fell off his horse. Seeing the opportunity coming, Li Yuanji immediately caught up and wanted to strangle Li Shimin to death with a bowstring. Seeing this, Yuchi Jingde rode his horse to save the savior. Li Yuanji was so frightened that he ran away, but how could his legs outrun the horse? Soon, Li Yuanji was shot to death by Yuchi Jingde.

Why didn’t Li Shimin set up an ambush at Xuanwu Gate, but instead went to Linhu Palace?

Because during the coup, killing Li Jiancheng was as important as controlling Li Yuan. If Li Jiancheng was killed only at Xuanwu Gate without controlling Li Yuan in advance, Li Yuan would be left with a chance to react. When he learns the news, he may mobilize troops to hinder Li Shimin's actions; without his approval, what Li Shimin did was a rebellion. It is the best choice to go directly to the lake to control Li Yuan and leave some manpower to ambush in the nearby Linhu Palace.

Up to this point, the coup was progressing generally smoothly, although there were dangers in the middle. But the bad news came as soon as it came. The generals of Dong Palace and Qi Mansion led two thousand elite soldiers and went straight to Xuanwu Gate to avenge their master. They were able to obtain information indicating that the gates to and from Taiji Palace were not closed during the coup, causing the information to leak. If the troops of the East Palace and the Qi Mansion invade the Xuanwu Gate, the consequences will be disastrous. The Qin Mansion general who is at the Xuanwu Gate at this time is Zhang Gongjin. No, this situation once again proves that the ambush location is not at Xuanwu Gate.

The garrison general stationed at Xuanwu Gate had long been bribed by the King of Qin. Instead of attacking Zhang Gongjin, he prepared to send troops to resist the palace army. Some of his subordinates advised him to wait and see and not to rush to send troops, but he refused and shouted to advance. , died heroically. With the strong city wall, the two sides fought for a long time and reached a stalemate. Seeing that there was no progress, Xue Wanche, the general of the East Palace, threatened to break into the Qin Palace. The defense facilities there were no better than the Xuanwu Gate, and the soldiers of the Qin Palace were very afraid.

At this time, Yuchi Jingde showed the heads of the prince and the king of Qi to the soldiers of the East Palace, and they dispersed one after another. The soldiers of the East Palace have already learned about the death of the prince. They came here for revenge. Why did they give up when they saw the head? Because the attack on Xuanwumen had been for a long time, the effect was mediocre, and the energy was lost. The anger before departure subsided, and gradually became discouraged and became rational. At this time, the sudden sight of the head aggravated the negative emotions. Li Jiancheng was dead, and Xuanwumen If we can't capture it for a long time, what will happen even if we capture Prince Qin's Mansion? Doesn’t the world still belong to him, Li Shimin? There is no point in continuing to resist.

Forcing an imperial concubine is not an honorable thing, and it could lead to a lasting infamy. Li Shimin decided to let Yuchi Jingde take the blame. This man was loyal, brave and good at fighting, and had a strong deterrent effect. He would definitely be able to complete the task.

Not long after, Yuchi Jingde, fully armed and holding a spear, stood majestically in front of Li Yuan.

Li Yuan was kidnapped for no apparent reason before, but it was not certain that it was Li Shimin. Now seeing Yuchi Jingde's attire, he was very frightened and asked: "Who is causing trouble today? What are you doing here?"

Yuchi Jingde replied: "The prince and the king of Qi made a rebellion, and the king of Qin has brought people to deal with them. Because he was worried that your majesty would be frightened, he sent me to protect you."

Yes, this kind of thing , besides King Qin, who else would do it? Li Yuan finally understood. Nowadays, everyone is a swordsman, and I am a fish. Li Yuan asked the ministers around him what to do. The ministers said that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji had no merit in the first place, and their hearts were sinister. Now that the King of Qin killed them, they deserved their punishment. As long as they handed over the power obediently, nothing could be guaranteed. None.

Looking around at the ministers, Li Yuan knew that he was in a desperate situation, so he had no choice but to say: "Good! This is my long-cherished wish." At that time, the battle was still not stopping, and Yuchi Jingde asked Li Yuan to give an order to let all the troops suffer. The King of Qin punished Li Yuan.

After the coup was over, the father and son met each other. Li Yuan comforted Li Shimin and said: "In recent days, I have been tempted to surrender (almost believe some rumors)." Seeing his father in front of his Faced with surrender, Li Shimin excitedly "knelt down and sucked his breasts, moaning for a long time" and cried with joy. On the surface, the two reached a tacit understanding of "resolving their old feud". (As for the meaning of "kneeling and sucking father's breasts", it should only mean lying on the chest of his father Li Yuan and crying bitterly.)

In the second year of Zhenguan (628), on the day of Li Jiancheng's burial, Li Shimin "cryed" at Yiqiu Gate. Very sad", firstly to show his affection for his brothers, and secondly to appease Wei Zheng and others. Laugh when it's time to laugh, cry when it's time to cry, and when it's time to be ruthless, Li Shimin will not show mercy. Soon he will deal with Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji's sons.