In the ninth year of Tang Gaozu Wude (626), Jiazi was born in the autumn of August (the ninth day of the first month), and Emperor Taizong Li Shimin was the emperor in the Xiande Hall of the East Palace. At the beginning, Gaozu wanted to strengthen the power of the royal family to impress the world, so Gaozu's uncles and brothers, distant uncles and brothers and their children, and even the youngest child, were all made kings, and there were dozens of such kings.

Taizong gently asked his ministers, "Is it good for the country to let all the princes be kings?" Feng Deyi replied: "In the past, only the prince and his brothers could be crowned king, and other princes would not be crowned king without making great contributions." In order to promote the harmony of the nine clans, Tai Huang created a royal family, which has not been so numerous since the Han Dynasty.

Respecting titles and giving a large number of servants may not show justice to the world. "Taizong said," that makes sense. As the son of heaven, I should raise the people. How can I make people tired of supporting my tribe? "In November, Gengyin (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month) reduced all the royal county kings to the chief, and only a few heroes did not demote their titles.

1 1 month (2 1 day) in the afternoon, Emperor Taizong and his ministers discussed the prohibition of banditry. Some people demand severe punishment to stop theft. Emperor Taizong laughed at him and said, "The reason why people become bandits is that taxes are numerous, corvees are heavy, officials are greedy for money and the people are hungry and cold, so they can't care about shame."

I want to give up luxury, save money, reduce corvees and taxes, choose honest officials, and make the people have plenty of food and clothing, so the people will naturally stop stealing, so why should they be severely punished! "From then on, a few years later, the world was peaceful, the road was not connected, and the outside door was not closed. Vendors dared to camp in the wild.

Emperor Taizong once said to the ministers around him: "The monarch depends on the country and the country depends on the people. Exploiting the people to support the monarch is like cutting your own flesh to fill your stomach. If you are full, you will die, and if you are rich, your country will die. Therefore, the monarch's worries do not come from the outside, but often from himself.

If the desire is strong, the cost will be high. If the cost is high, people's taxes will be heavy. If taxes are heavy, people will be very sad. If the people are sad, the country will be in danger. If the country is in danger, the king will perish. I often think about this problem, so I dare not indulge my desires. "Emperor Taizong heard that Jingzhou secretariat Zhang joined the army, so he summoned him and asked him for advice on how to govern the country.

Zhang replied, "The emperors of the Sui Dynasty liked to manage their own daily affairs. They didn't appoint their ministers. Ministers are afraid, and they only know how to accept orders and carry them out. No one dares to go against the wishes of the monarch.

Judging the complex affairs of the whole country by one person's intelligence, even if the gains and losses are equally divided, there are many mistakes and shortcomings. If you flatter your deputy, your majesty will be cheated. What are you waiting for if you don't die? If your majesty can really carefully select ministers, appoint them to handle state affairs respectively, sit quietly and examine the success or failure of ministers' deacons, and replace punishment with awards, why worry about poor state governance! "

Emperor Taizong praised what he said and promoted him as a counselor. Emperor Taizong was worried that many officials would take bribes and secretly arranged for people around him to try to pay bribes. A janitor took a silk, and Emperor Taizong tried to kill him. Pei Ju, Minister of Civil Affairs, protested: "As an official, he should be executed for taking bribes.

It's just that your majesty sent someone to him to induce him to take bribes. This is framing and making people break the law. I'm afraid it doesn't conform to the old saying of Confucius that "guide people with morality and standardize people with courtesy". Emperor Taizong was very happy when he heard this, and summoned the ministers with five or more civil and military qualities to tell them: "Pei Ju, as an official, argued for it, not because he obeyed in front of me. If everything is like this, why worry about the failure of national governance? "

Sima Guang, a Mitchell, commented: There is an old saying: "When a monarch is observant, his deputy is more outspoken." Pei Ju was a courtier in Sui Dynasty, but a loyal courtier in Tang Dynasty. It's not that his nature has changed The monarch didn't want to hear about his faults, so loyalty turned into flattery. The monarch likes to listen to outspoken advice, so flattery becomes loyalty. Therefore, the monarch is like a shadow meter, the liegeman is like a shadow, and the shadow moves with the shadow.