Chapter 343: Emperor Wen of Zhenguan
As for why the protagonist is given the identity of a descendant of Li Tang, it is entirely out of personal admiration for him.

It is indeed a blessing for China to have a son of destiny like Li Shimin. He is the only emperor in history who has achieved the goals of "saving the people, restoring order, and creating an era". He is a man who saved the fate of China.

After the chaos of the Three Kingdoms, China was weak and the Western Jin Dynasty briefly unified China. However, before China could return to its normal level, the Rebellion of the Eight Kings broke out. The Central Plains dynasty became extremely weak again, and this was followed by the Five Barbarians Invasion.

The Jin Dynasty fled south and lived in a corner, barely surviving. In the north, the Five Barbarians and Sixteen Kingdoms were in chaos. It was the darkest moment in Chinese history. The land of China was in ruins and there was no light at all.

China fell into an extremely weak state. After that, during the chaotic period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the country was always in a state of division, while the surrounding ethnic groups continued to grow stronger. With the long-term ethnic integration, the equipment and technological level advantages of the Central Plains dynasty were shrinking.

During the Northern Zhou Dynasty, when the Northern Qi Dynasty and the Southern Dynasty were in a three-way confrontation, the Turks still became the most powerful country in Asia, and both the Northern Qi Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty paid tribute to them.

Later, the Sui Dynasty briefly unified China, but it was only a flash in the pan. Under the scourge of Emperor Yang of Sui, "the greatest emperor of all time", China was once again divided and in turmoil, and the population dropped by 80%.

China once again fell into a state of extreme weakness, and during this period, it was surrounded by powerful enemies. The Eastern and Western Turks, Wei Dynasty, Goguryeo, Tuyuhun, Tubo, etc., all rose up and invaded the border. The Turks once surrounded Emperor Yang of Sui in Yanmen. If it were not for Emperor Taizong who came to the rescue, his life and death would be in danger.

It is no exaggeration to say that during this period of time, if the pace of unification had been slower, there would have been a second Five Barbarians Invasion. Among the separatist warlords at the end of the Sui Dynasty, no one except Li Shimin had the ability to quickly wipe out the separatism and unify the country.

Even though the Tang Dynasty basically completed the unification in five years, it was still harassed by the Turks in the early stage. Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng were almost forced to move the capital. At this time, Li Shimin led a hundred cavalrymen to repel the Turks and refused to allow the relocation of the capital. After Li Shimin succeeded to the throne, the Turks once approached the Wei River. At this time, it was the time of the handover of power and Chang'an was short of troops. It was Li Shimin who deployed a strategy of confusing the enemy and led six cavalrymen to make the Wei River Alliance with Jie Li Khan.

It won precious time for the development of the Tang Dynasty. Six riders formed an alliance and rode alone across the temporary bridge. Who could have such courage and spirit?
The divine wisdom and destiny of God led the heroes to mend the breaches, repair the broken parts, continue the rest, and replenish the exhausted parts. East, west, south, and north, he recreated the universe, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and the bright sun and moon. The one who had such a great achievement was Emperor Taizong Wen of Tang!

Before Emperor Wen came to power, the four directions were in ruins. After Emperor Wen took the throne, the eight wastelands became as sharp as a whetstone. Emperor Wen's traces are as bright as red ink, and his achievements are comparable to those of heaven and earth!
Divine Mandate and Divine Wisdom: Born to be a king with outstanding talent, with the ambition to save the world and bring peace to the people, with the ability to rule the world, and with great talent and strategy that surpasses the ancient emperors.

Lead the heroes, mend the breach, repair the broken, continue the rest, and replenish the exhausted:

At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the people had experienced the rule of a tyrant, separatist regimes, and frequent wars. He led heroes from all over the world to pacify the Central Plains, unify the world, allow people's livelihood to be improved, and get society back on track.

East, west, south, north, the universe is recreated; spring, summer, autumn, winter, the sun and moon are bright again: it completely ended the chaotic and disordered state of division from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the end of the Sui Dynasty, expanded the territory outward, and for the first time raised China's territory to the level of a superpower.
He created a system to maintain the international order and became the Heavenly Khan, which means the Lord of the World and the King of Kings. This enabled the Chinese nation to win worldwide respect and glory with unprecedented hard power and attitude.

The one who made such great achievements was Emperor Taizong of Tang: there has been no other heroic ruler in history who put an end to chaos.

Before Emperor Wen came to power, the four directions were in ruins; after Emperor Wen took the throne, the eight wastelands were as sharp as a grindstone: A world without you is filled with endless darkness.

The deeds of Emperor Wen are as brilliant as painting, and his achievements are comparable to those of heaven and earth: your achievements will be immortal.

Li Shimin and the era he created are symbols of the heyday of Chinese civilization. His light spans ancient and modern times and still shines on the land of China today - I'm not saying this, the "History of World Civilization" and various documentaries all say so.

The great man said: Since ancient times, no one can match Li Shimin in military ability. Among all emperors, Li Shimin's military skills are the best.

"Old Book of Tang": "There is only one person who can be praised for thousands of years!"

"New Book of Tang": "It is rare to see a ruler who can rule the country! It is rare to see a ruler who can stand out in the future generations!"

Ouyang Xiu: "How great is the power of Emperor Taizong! He eliminated the chaos of Sui Dynasty, which was comparable to Tang and Wu; he brought about a good governance, which was comparable to Cheng and Kang. His merits and virtues were unprecedented since the Han Dynasty." "Since the Three Kings, no one has surpassed him."

Wang Anshi: "You were not born during the Zhenguan period, when there were no soldiers or wars!"

Su Che: "He appointed virtuous people to positions of power, and all the generals and ministers were of the right caliber. He was respectful, frugal, and thrifty, and the whole country was almost at the point of punishment. Since the Three Dynasties, there has been no parallel to him!"

Wang Zhijian: "After three generations, there are those like Emperor Wen of Tang who are truly the greatest emperors of all time!"

The biography of Emperor Taizong in the Complete Tang Poems: "During the reign of Emperor Zhenguan, the country was close to becoming a prosperous one, and its merits and virtues were great, which had never been seen since the Han Dynasty." Qian Mu: "Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, was a man of great power and wisdom, unmatched in ancient and modern times." Chen Yinke: "The only Khan in ancient and modern times, this is the work of a rare genius!
Sima Guang: "Emperor Taizong's talent in both civil and military affairs surpassed that of the ancients. Since the Three Dynasties, China has never been so prosperous."

Lu Jiuyuan: "Emperor Taizong was the richest man in the world. His Zhenguan reign was comparable to that of the Three Dynasties."

Wu Cheng: "The prosperity of the Zhenguan period was beyond the reach of the Kaiyuan and Yuanhe periods, and Taizong was the most outstanding of the three Tang emperors."

Zhu Yuanzhang: "Emperor Taizong of Tang was a man of unrivaled valor, who pacified the four directions with military force, and whose governance during the Zhenguan Period was a model of literary virtue. He was a man of great virtue who ruled the world and whose achievements brought peace to the world for eternity. His spirit is in heaven and will live forever."

Zhu Di: "Tang Wendi led the people to fight against rebellion and brought the country under one roof. He wore armor and stepped into the imperial palace to ascend to the throne. His consideration of dangers was thorough and his foresight was far-reaching. He wrote twelve chapters of "Emperor's Model" to teach his son, and taught him how to govern the country every day."

"In the past, Emperor Taizong of Tang restored order and established the prosperous Zhenguan era, which has rarely been discussed since ancient times. To find out the reason, those who are loyal to the country will be rewarded even if they are enemies, and those who harbor ulterior motives will be punished even if they are relatives."

Ming Xianzong: "After the Three Dynasties, the achievements of governance were not as good as those of the Tang Dynasty, and during the three hundred years of the Tang Dynasty, the prosperity was not as great as that of the Zhenguan period." Kangxi: "After only three dynasties, the records are also brilliant. Looking back over the past thousand years, the prosperity of governance was the best during the Zhenguan period." "I have observed that the emperors of the past, such as Tang Yu's Du Yuxiao and Tang Taizong's listening to advice and accepting advice, the monarch and his subjects were like family members and fathers and sons, with a harmonious relationship, so they were able to promote good and suppress evil, and each fulfilled his own wishes, and achieved the best governance."

"History of World Civilization": "The reason why China was able to enter another great era was due to the wisdom of China's greatest emperor, Emperor Taizong of Tang. He used his military genius to repel the unprecedented invaders and recover the territories lost after the Han Dynasty."

Bo Yang: "Emperor Li Shimin was one of the most outstanding and wise monarchs in China. He used his great wisdom to govern his empire diligently and carefully, and soon created a second golden age for China that lasted for 130 years."

The Cambridge History of China: "For later Chinese scholars, Taizong represented a prosperous era in which civil governance and military achievements were ideally combined:
The country was governed by an energetic but wise and cautious emperor, who kept a firm grip on his empire while always being modest and patient in listening to the opinions of his ministers, who were themselves remarkable men.

Taizong's style of governance is admired not only for its achievements, but also because it is close to the Confucian ideal of accepting advice and loving the people as the basis of governing a country, and also because it reflects the harmonious relationship between the monarch and his subjects. "

The Reign of Zhenguan was the best governance, the best governance of the time, and the pinnacle of civil governance.

The Heavenly Khan made the four barbarians submit to him, expanded the territory, and attracted tributes from all nations, which was the greatest military achievement.

Li Shimin's "political way" thought is his greatest historical contribution.

The famous saying “Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it” was actually first coined by Xunzi, but most people regard it as a famous saying of Emperor Taizong of Tang. Why?

It’s not because he read too little, but only when people of Li Shimin’s status believed in and practiced it, it changed from an ordinary motto in the corner of a book to a political code that is integrated into the history of a nation-state.

"The way to be a king is to save the people first. If you sacrifice the people to serve yourself, it is like cutting your thigh to feed your stomach. Your stomach will be full but your body will die."

"If the emperor has virtue, people will support him and make him their master; if he has no virtue, people will abandon him and not use him."

"Those who succeed slowly but fail quickly are the foundation of a country; those who lose easily but gain hard are the position of heaven"

——Because of Li Shimin's existence, these concepts that emphasize equal rights and responsibilities have, to some extent, overwhelmed the Mandate of Heaven theory and have become the core of Chinese political thought since ancient times. I always believe that the so-called historical contribution is to do things well, so that people at that historical node can reap tangible benefits and leave a platform with fewer conflicts and easier development for future generations. This is called contribution.

Going a step further, we can leave behind some "paths and methods on how to get things done" to make it easier for future generations to do it. This is the system.

Furthermore, a glorious era becomes the common memory of the ethnic group and becomes cohesive. “Because light has existed, even in darkness, we still believe that we can revive.” This is the ideological influence.

Force, political intrigue, and system are only means, not ends.

Li Shimin is the most worthy emperor of all time, the true crown of emperors.

(End of this chapter)