It was normal for Li Shimin to have such a reaction. In the city of Chang'an, no one had a higher dignity than himself. He originally thought that he was loved by the people, but after this incident happened, he thought he was a little too wrong.
Li Shimin can be considered a wise ruler, but it depends on who you compare him with. If Li Xiang had not appeared, he would have really created a good Tang Dynasty, but if compared with Li Xiang, it would be a bit disappointing.
Li Shimin achieved the reputation of Heavenly Khan, but it was just an empty title. For the common people of the entire Tang Dynasty, they did not gain any benefits from it. Instead, it increased their burden.
Whenever other countries came to pay tribute, the imperial court would give them more gifts to make them feel the great love of the Tang Dynasty. But where did these gifts come from? Could they just appear out of thin air in the imperial palace warehouse? That was absolutely impossible.
All the gifts were still added to the heads of ordinary people. Although the amount increased little each year, it accumulated to a considerable amount.
Li Xiang did not choose this false reputation. Every step he took was real. A defeated country should have the awareness of a defeated country. Why should your people enjoy the same things as our people?
Now the streets of Chang'an City are almost full of goods from surrounding countries, but because of the court's pricing, goods from various countries are 20% cheaper in Chang'an City than before. This 20% price is the profit of each country. Now that you are all defeated countries, this profit must be passed on to the people.
The common people felt the benefits in a real way, so they all wanted to kowtow to Li Xiang spontaneously, which led to the situation just now.
Sometimes Li Shimin also reflected on himself. Compared with what Li Xiang did, what he did seemed to be more imposing and seemed to better demonstrate his ability, but he did not consider the gains and losses of the people. If he could consider the gains and losses of the people and let them gain more profits from it, perhaps he would be the beloved person.
Another issue is the families of the army. Li Shimin had fought wars all over the country, but after every battle, many people who followed Li Shimin died.
Even if the Tang Dynasty won, someone in their family died, which was equivalent to losing the pillar of the family. Li Shimin did a poor job of post-disaster relief, which plunged the family into poverty. Even if you achieved good results, our lives became a mess. How can you expect us to support you?
Li Xiang also often fought in surrounding areas, but the casualty rate in Li Xiang's army was very low, never lower than in history. Because of the support of new weapons, when Li Xiang fought with neighboring countries, the casualty ratio even reached an astonishing one to twenty.
Under such circumstances, the casualties were less than one-tenth of the original number. Even if someone died fighting for the country, in addition to the pension from the court, some agencies under Li Xiang would also provide new pensions to these families, and every month until the children in the family became adults.
If he had parents, Li Xiang would choose to take care of them until the end of their lives. They not only fought hard for the Tang Dynasty, but also for Li Xiang. Li Xiang understood this very well, and this was why the soldiers loved him. Who would not want to follow such a commander?
They told their families everything about the army, and their families told the neighbors. Word spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred. Many people benefited from it, and their impression of Li Xiang became better and better. When Li Xiang entered Chang'an City, this good impression finally broke out.
"You guys step back first, keep an eye on these people, and report to me immediately if they make any moves."
Li Shimin is about to meet Li Xiang. This is not a simple meeting between the two of them. Li Shimin has already regarded Li Xiang as a giant in the court. So in this situation, these men in black cannot come on the stage. You must step back.
These men in black also understood that no matter how important the things they did for Li Shimin were, they could not appear at such an important occasion, because they were engaged in some dishonorable things. If they were brought to the table, it would show that the entire Tang Dynasty still had a dark side.
"The Emperor's grandson is in the palace."
The orders were passed down layer by layer, and listening to the voices outside, Li Shimin felt a little relieved. No matter what achievements you have made outside, you are ultimately just a minister of the Tang Dynasty, and I am the emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Xiang had different feelings when listening to the voice inside. When he became emperor in the future, he should not make these procedures so complicated, but should simplify them. From the scene just now, Li Xiang felt that he should be closer to the people and know more about what the people want, so that his dynasty can continue.
The grandfather and grandson came to different conclusions based on a simple action, which shows the difference between the two. In history, Li Shimin paid great attention to the ideas of the common people. Before he traveled through time, Li Xiang also believed this to be true.
When Li Xiang traveled through time, he realized that Li Shimin only paid more attention to the people than other emperors, but if compared with himself, there was still a big gap, because Li Xiang, who had lived two lives, came from the people, and he understood the needs of the people better than Li Shimin.
Most of the ministers in the palace have already left. At this moment, apart from Changsun Wuji who accompanied Li Xiang in, only Fang Xuanling is still here.
When Li Xiang was outside the city of Chang'an, he felt that this time when he came back, Li Shimin was deliberately simplifying his influence. Normally, most of the officials in the court should be present on such an occasion, but at this moment there were only a few of them, and even Li Chengqian did not come. Li Shimin's intention can be imagined.
However, Li Xiang didn't care about this. In the past, he paid attention to these false reputations because his strength was not strong enough, so he had to rely on this to win over others. But now our strength is here, and no one can shake our position. What's the point of those false reputations?
"Your Majesty, I, Li Xiang, pay my respects to you."
What surprised everyone was that Li Xiang did not call himself grandson, but instead used this title.
This seems to make sense, but it is a bit unreasonable. Who doesn't want to have a closer relationship with the emperor? Doesn't Li Xiang want it?