From the Start: The Xuanwu Gate Incident

More than twenty years had passed since the chaotic final years of the Sui Dynasty. Now the ruler was the renowned Grand General of the Heavenly Strategies of the Great Tang, Emperor Taizong, Emperor Wen of the Great Tang, the Heavenly Khan, Li Shimin, also known as Li Erfeng. It was now the seventeenth year of the Zhenguan era. Under Li Shimin's rule, the Great Tang was gradually regaining its former prosperity. Yet beneath the surface of Chang'an, undercurrents were stirring. But with Li Shimin keeping things under control, none of it was a real problem. One day, just as evening was drawing near on what seemed like an utterly ordinary day, forces across Chang'an began secretly mobilizing. The most suspicious activity was centered on...