PFC Chapter 252
Chapter 252
After Qi Cheng finished reading the article, he went to the kitchen to find some fruit or something, and then returned to the window to continue reading his book. It would have been nice to have a recliner at this time.
It would definitely be more comfortable that way.
The next article actually tells the story of the emperor.
The emperors outside the sky curtain have all come out of the palace. They are not going to list the incompetent rulers again, are they? They can't stand this. The ministers have already scolded them so much that they can't bear it anymore.
And they also changed the way they do things.
For example, there was an emperor in history who was said to be licentious. He had decided not to summon palace maids anymore.
[After becoming emperor, most emperors stayed in the palace, but what happened to these people before they became emperors, or what stories did later generations make up about them?]
【Let me talk about it today. 】
Our first story is about Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin. This story fully demonstrates his intelligence and wisdom. Although I don't know the source, it's likely made up.
[And this might be from a later novelist, the story feels a bit too strong.]
During the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, he deliberately made things difficult for Li Yuan, who was staying in Taiyuan, and gave him three months to build the Jinyang Palace. If he failed to do so, Li Yuan and his entire family would be killed!
If it is built, Li Yuan's entire family will be killed on the charge of illegally building an imperial palace.
Li Yuan: How did I offend Emperor Yang of Sui? I will die anyway.
After receiving the imperial edict, Li Yuan was also quite troubled. He called his sons over and asked them if they had any good ideas.
The other sons remained silent, until Li Shimin stepped forward and said he had a good idea. There was a Tongtian Temple not far from the city, and its main hall was magnificent.
If we demolish the Tongtian Temple and use the existing wood, three months will still be enough.
Li Shimin went to Tongtian Temple and persuaded the abbot with both emotional and logical reasons. He finally convinced the abbot and the two agreed to play a game of chess. If Li Shimin won, the temple would be demolished.
[In the end, Li Shimin won easily. Several monks asked their abbot why he lost so easily.]
The old abbot stated that Li Shimin's first move was to place a bet on Tianyuan, a young talent who must be rare in the world. Furthermore, they had also agreed to rebuild Tongtian Temple in the future.
During the construction, Li Shimin required the craftsmen to use new nails.
When Emperor Yang of Sui arrived at the palace, he found it beautifully built and was about to punish Li Yuan, but Li Shimin said, "This palace is all new."
【If you don’t believe me, you can try pulling out a nail. 】
After the inspection, Emperor Yang of Sui could only reluctantly give Li Yuan some rewards.
Tang Dynasty
Li Shimin coughed and said that the story was made up and he had never done such a thing. However, it can be seen from the story that people in later generations really like him.
It was a bit outrageous.
Does playing Go at Tianyuan mean you are a young talent? The person who wrote this story doesn’t really understand Go.
And he is too self-serving. It seems that no matter where he goes, the old monk can find a reason.
This Tongtian Temple must be demolished. It will not be good for anyone to fall out with it.
Song Dynasty
Zhao Kuangyin laughed out loud. This story was well-written by later generations. He wondered if anyone had made up a similar story for himself. With a burst of aura, he could make everyone bow down to him.
But next time you build pavilions or towers, be careful not to be fooled by those ministers who use old wood.
After reading this part, Qi Cheng thought of another thing in his mind: what would Li Shimin do if he couldn't defeat this old monk? Would he learn from the Han Qi Sheng?
Kill the old monk directly.
How could he, a young man staying in Taiyuan, not be able to borrow some wood?
……
After reading the story of Emperor Taizong of Tang, let's look at the story of Emperor Taizu of Song.
【This story reflects the chivalrous spirit of Emperor Taizu of Song.】
Emperor Taizu of Song: Why do you think Li Shimin is so smart and talented, and I am so chivalrous?
I am the emperor.
When Emperor Taizu of Song was wandering around, he defeated a gang of bandits and rescued a woman named Jingniang from among them. This woman came from thousands of miles away. For the girl's safety, he offered to escort her back to her hometown.
After defeating many bandits along the way, they finally returned Jingniang to her hometown. At this point, Jingniang expressed that she had fallen in love with the chivalrous Zhao Kuangyin.
[However, Zhao Kuangyin said that he was just a deer escorting the girl, and he had no other options in mind.]
Jingniang felt that speaking out was a violation of etiquette and she would be too embarrassed to face anyone. So she committed suicide.
Three Kingdoms
Cao Cao slammed the table in frustration. Is there something wrong with Emperor Taizu of Song? She is just a woman. What's the problem with marrying her or not?
A gentleman should not care about this.
Ming Dynasty
Zhu Di thought this story was ironic. Zhao Kuangyin kept his promise to send Jingniang home, put on the yellow robe and took over the Guo family's kingdom.
This is not chivalry, and it is even less trustworthy.
I don’t know if people in later generations have made up a story for themselves. They don’t have to be like Li Shimin, but at least it has to be better than the story of Zhao Kuangyin.
Qing Dynasty
Emperor Qianlong asked his guards to find the source of this story. He did not envy the two of them because he also had many stories, such as the lost food mentioned earlier.
He wanted to find out who wrote it.
I have written about Emperor Taizu of Song, but I cannot write about him anymore.
"Your Majesty, this story seems to be from a book from the Ming Dynasty," a guard came to report, "there's no evidence of anything earlier than that."
"Okay, you go down!"
……
Finally, I want to talk about Li Heng, the crown prince of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. It is said that once, during a banquet hosted by Emperor Li Longji, Li Heng was asked to cut mutton with a knife. Afterwards, Li Heng wiped the knife clean with a piece of bread.
【Then he ate the bread.】
Li Longji praised Li Heng's behavior.
Tang Dynasty
Wu Zetian frowned after listening to it. These stories about emperors were really... How could the great Emperor of the Tang Dynasty hold a banquet and have a roasted whole lamb?
Even if there is a roasted whole lamb, does the crown prince need to use a knife to cut the meat? What about the servants at the banquet?
And who is so confident that he dares to ask the crown prince to give him some meat?
She was also curious about what kind of story had been told about her. Judging by how future generations would view her, it certainly wasn't a good story.
If things go wrong, it will be a rather outrageous story.
After reading the story, Qi Cheng looked it up online. This thing was a bit like the aristocratic family's method of raising hopes, but did a prince like Li Heng need to use this method?
Moreover, a man like Li Longji, who was willing to make so many people work for a litchi, actually had the nerve to ask others to be frugal.
This is a bit outrageous.
The idea of frugality probably never occurred to Li Longji.