Chapter 3 Erxuanzong fled: Anshi Rebellion

Tang Xizong was not the first emperor in the history of the Tang Dynasty to escape from the capital, nor would he be the last.And the first Emperor Tang to put oil on the soles of his feet was Tang Xuanzong who created the "Golden Age of Kaiyuan". People are used to calling a good age the "golden" age, because gold is a precious thing.This golden age has appeared several times in Chinese history, and the most acclaimed one is the "Golden Age of Kaiyuan" by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty.This is indeed an era shining like gold, an era of outstanding political achievements, stability and prosperity, and it can even be said to be an era of brilliance.Brilliant achievements have been made in domestic affairs, diplomacy, military affairs, culture and art.

During the Kaiyuan period, the land was opened up, and there were many "high mountains and gullies, and Leisi was also full".Due to increasing income and reducing expenditure, the country's finances have become more and more abundant, and the granaries of the whole country have been filled, resulting in very cheap prices.According to Du You's "Tong Dian": "In the thirteenth year of Kaiyuan, Mount Tai was granted, the rice bucket reached thirteen wen, and the Qingqi Gudou reached five wen. Since then, there have been no valuables in the world, and the rice bucket in the two capitals is less than twenty. Wen, thirty-two wen for face, and two hundred and ten wen for one piece of silk.” It can be seen that at that time, the production of grain, cloth and silk was abundant, the price of goods was low, and commerce was flourishing.There are Du Fu's poems as evidence: "Recalling the heyday of Kaiyuan in the past, there are thousands of houses in the small town. The rice is fat and the corn is white, and the public and private warehouses are full. The onyx car runs every shift, and the man who cultivates and the woman who cultivates the mulberry will never lose each other." Until the middle of the Tang Dynasty, China was the only country in the world that had paper.Chinese silk traveled to the west along the Silk Road, and immediately became a luxury item more precious than gold in the hands of Roman nobles.

The people at that time not only lived and worked in peace and contentment at home, but also traveled comfortably, with smooth roads and safe travel. "Tong Dian" records: During the Kaiyuan period, as far as Luoyang and Bianliang in the east, and Qizhou in Guanzhong in the west, Jialu was lined with shops and restaurants, and wine shops were overflowing. Every post station rented donkeys and horses for guests to ride.There are post stations and shops in Jingxiang in the south, Taiyuan and Fanyang in the north, and Chunfu in Shuchuan in the west.Du Fu described that the post houses from Qinzhou (now Tianshui, Gansu) to the Western Regions (now Xinjiang) had ponds, swamps, forests, and bamboos.There is another statistic that can well explain the stability and peace of the society, that is: there are very few crimes committed by officials and civilians.It is said that in the eighteenth year of Kaiyuan (730), only twenty-four people were imprisoned for crimes across the country.

A strong national power is another important symbol of Kaiyuan rule.Since Tang Gaozong, Tubo became powerful and became a serious threat to the west of the Tang Dynasty.During the post-Wu period, the Eastern Turks revived in Mobei, and the Khitan rose in the northeast, which caused tension in the northern situation of the Tang Dynasty.Many areas that belonged to the Tang Dynasty during the Zhenguan and Yonghui years were out of control again.After Xuanzong ascended the throne, he strengthened the army in the adjacent areas, set up garrisons, greatly enriched the defense, and established four towns from the northeast to the northwest and the south: Pinglu, Fanyang, Hedong, Shuofang, Longyou, Hexi, and Anxi. Tian, ​​Shule, Suiye), Yixiiting, Jiannan and other nine Jiedu envoys and one Lingnan five government envoys to command and defend the military in a unified manner.Foreign wars have also achieved brilliant results.In the fifth year of Kaiyuan (717), the Tang Dynasty recovered 21 prefectures in western Liaoning from Khitan, reset the governor's office in Yingzhou, and Mobei Bayegu, Tongluo, Huihe, etc. all returned to the Tang Dynasty.In the northwest, the Tang Dynasty regained Suiye City and defeated the mighty Tubo and Xiaobolu.As a result, the road to Central Asia was reopened, the Tang Dynasty's sovereignty over the Western Regions was restored, and the prestige of the Tang Dynasty spread far and wide in West Asia.Japan and the Korean Peninsula had frequent contacts with the Tang Dynasty, and countries in South Asia had constant exchanges with the Tang Dynasty.Messengers and merchants from various countries kept coming and going.

Many Hu people who came to China (the Tang people collectively called people from all countries "Hu people", foreign traders called "Hu businessmen" and "Hu Jia", foreign monks collectively called "Hu monks", and foreign women collectively called "Hu Ji" ) Seeing the unparalleled prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, he was so happy to miss Shu that he didn't even want to return to China, so he simply stayed in China.At that time, the ethnic minorities in the Western Regions generally yearned for the Eastern Paradise, and the capital Chang'an was a sacred place that everyone hoped for. Therefore, there gathered an astonishing number of Hu people from the Western Regions, sometimes as many as 200,000.The masters of singing, dancing, a hundred operas, illusion (acrobatics) and other masters who performed in Chang'an, and accompanied by them were Hu merchants and Hu Ji who opened restaurants, restaurants, singing houses and dance pavilions in Chang'an. They soon became the cultural giants of the Tang Dynasty. A novel landscape in the field of vision.

The prosperity of the social economy will inevitably promote the development of culture, and the achievements of the prosperous Tang Dynasty in literature and art are also fruitful.Tang poetry is the most praised by later generations, and the great poets Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei, Meng Haoran, etc. are all unprecedented literary geniuses.The artistic achievements of the great calligraphers Zhang Xu and Yan Zhenqing, the great painter Wu Daozi, and the great musician Li Guinian are also unprecedented and unprecedented.Other arts such as dance, sculpture, and shaping have also created brilliant achievements.

In a feudal dynasty, there are so many outstanding talents who can stand as an example through the ages, which is the best portrayal of Wenzhiwugong in the early period of Xuanzong's rule. During the entire Kaiyuan period, the monarchs, ministers and common people of the Tang Dynasty spent time singing and dancing. What could be more satisfying than living in such a prosperous age?The Tang Dynasty became a legend in the East.Chang'an has become a paradise of legends. However, the good times didn't last long.Sima Qian, a historian of the Western Han Dynasty, said: "When things prosper and decline, their changes are fixed." ("Historical Records Ping Zhun Shu") also proposed to "see prosperity and see decline".It is a pity that Xuanzong did not learn from historical experience. He saw the prosperity and prosperity on the surface, but he did not see the deeper political crisis behind it.During the Tianbao period, the virtues of the emperor disappeared, the government changed, the prime minister's power was wronged, and the generals harbored evil intentions. The political and economic situation of the Tang Dynasty took a sharp turn for the worse, and a social turmoil rarely seen in history broke out.

On the ninth day of November in the 14th year of Tianbao (755), An Lushan, the envoy of Pinglu and Fanyang and the envoy of Hedong, said that he was ordered to attack Yang Guozhong. Xi, Khitan, and Shi Wei had a total of 150,000 soldiers, claiming 200,000. They started in Fanyang (southwest of Beijing today) and headed south to the two capitals with great fanfare.But at this very moment, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty is drinking and singing with Concubine Yang in Huaqing Palace, living a life like a paradise. The Tang army hardly resisted the counties and counties where the rebels went.Since the defeat of the Eastern Turks in the reign of Zhenguan, there has been no war in the Central Plains for more than a hundred years. Now suddenly the Anlu Mountain rebels crossed the border aggressively, and the people along the way were terrified.The various states and counties opened their arsenals to fight, and found that most of the weapons were rotten and unusable.Soldiers of the Tang army had to fight with sticks.This is what is said in history books, "The so-called world is safe, but if you forget the battle, you will be in danger."An Lushan's subordinates are all elites of the Tang army, who are good at fighting. The county defenders are far less well-trained than the rebels.Since they were unable to resist, all counties and counties opened their city gates one after another to welcome the enemy.Some local officials fled, some were captured and killed by the rebels, some committed suicide by the roadside, and those who surrendered were insurmountable.Beijing (Taiyuan) deputy left behind was hijacked, Chenliu, Xingyang and other counties fell again and again.The entire Tang Dynasty fell into great chaos.The coming of great turmoil is destined to change the lives of many people.

The Tang court hastily responded to the battle, and named Anxi Jiedu Envoy Feng Changqing as Fan Yang and Pinlu Jiedu Envoy to fight against the rebellion in the east.Feng Changqing is a veteran on the battlefield, resourceful and rich in combat experience, but all of his leaders are untrained recruits.However, the rebel army is a well-trained elite force, known in history as "Lushan elite soldiers, unmatched in the world".After Feng Changqing suffered repeated defeats, Luoyang fell, Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi withdrew from Tongguan, and An Lushan's army approached Tongguan.

When Xuanzong heard that Feng Changqing was defeated, he cut off his rank and made him serve in Gao Xianzhi's army in white clothes.Gao Xianzhi appointed Feng Changqing to patrol the left and right armies to help him.While Feng Gao and the others were busy strengthening their defenses, a tragedy happened. When Gao Xianzhi led the army to march eastward, Bian Lingcheng, the supervisor of the army, suggested several things to Gao Xianzhi.Bian Lingcheng usually doesn't go out of the palace gate, so he doesn't know anything about military affairs.Gao Xianzhi naturally didn't obey, but Bian Lingcheng held a grudge because of it.After Gao Xianzhi retreated to Tongguan, Bian Lingcheng went to the court to play a role, and reported to Xuanzong the defeat of Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing, and said: "Changqing used thieves to shake the crowd, but Xianzhi abandoned Shaanxi for hundreds of miles, and then stole and reduced Sergeant rations." ("Zizhi Tongjian Volume 217") means that Feng Changqing exaggerated the bandit's power to shake the morale of the army;

Xuanzong was already an old man at this time. Years of drinking and sex had anesthetized his thinking. In addition, he was stimulated by the An Lushan Rebellion, and he began to distrust the generals, especially Gao Xianzhi was from Korea. Immediately furious, without thinking he sent Bian Lingcheng to the army to kill Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing. The enemy is present, but Tongguan is full of grievances, and the general is still alive. This is the saddest and most deplorable place in history.Both Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi were famous generals in the dynasty. They had served as border commanders for many years and had rich combat experience, but their death in the end was not a crime.Xuanzong killed the general without authorization, not only self-destructed the Great Wall, but also caused Tang Ting to lose two generals with combat experience, and also caused the morale of the army to be shaken.At that time, Tongguan officers and soldiers complained one after another, but they dared not resist because of the imperial order, but there were many people who were aggrieved in their hearts.It was from this time that the hearts of the people and the army began to diverge, and Datang lost its most precious wealth. After Xuanzong killed Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi indiscriminately, reinforcements from all over the country rushed to the capital. Xuanzong appointed An Lushan's mortal enemy Ge Shuhan as the deputy marshal in charge of guarding Tongguan.After Ge Shuhan led his army to station in Tongguan, he immediately strengthened the city's defenses, took advantage of Tongguan's dangerous and favorable terrain, built deep ditches and high fortifications, and retreated and defended.On the eleventh day of the first lunar month in the fifteenth year of Tianbao (756), An Lushan sent his son An Qingxu to lead troops to attack Tongguan, but was repelled by Ge Shuhan.After the victory in the first battle, Ge Shuhan immediately pointed the finger at An Sishun, the sworn enemy of Chang'an. An Sishun was a brother of the An Lushan clan, and before An Lushan rebelled, he had repeatedly reported to Xuanzong that his clan brother An Lushan was about to rebel.After An Lushan rebelled, Xuanzong did not question An Sishun because he had reported it first, but he was still relieved of his military power as a military envoy and changed to Minister of the Household Department.An Sishun is also happy to enjoy life in Chang'an, but Ge Shuhan doesn't want to let him go.Ge Shuhan had always had conflicts with An Sishun, and at this time he was in power, so he deliberately forged a letter from An Lushan to An Sishun, and asked someone to pretend to deliver the letter. To the court.At the same time, he also listed An Sishun's seven crimes and asked Xuanzong to execute An Sishun. Xuanzong was very clear about the old grievances between Ge Shuhan and An Sishun, and even acted as a peacemaker to help reconcile.At this time, it's not that he didn't understand that An Sishun was framed by Ge Shuhan, but when he wanted to rely on Ge Shuhan, he had to sacrifice An Sishun.Naturally, An Sishun was unwilling to sit still, and sent someone to bribe Yang Guozhong (the cousin of Concubine Yang) to curry favor with the Prime Minister, asking Yang Guozhong to intercede.However, Xuanzong had already made up his mind in order to win over Ge Shuhan.On the third day of March in the fifteenth year of Tianbao (756), An Sishun and his younger brother An Yuanzhen, the imperial servant, were both executed, and their family was exiled to Lingnan. Ge Shuhan was ordered to deal with political enemies by taking advantage of the country's crisis.If such a broad-minded person is appointed as the coach of the Tang army, the Tang army will inevitably be in danger!Later historians commented: "Ge Shuhan abolished the disease at home and set up a special military handle. The 200,000 people refused to close the door. The Son of Heaven uses it to spread it, and he himself uses it to restrain him. These are all ordered to be handsome and not to be his own." ("Old Tang Book, Volume 104, Ge Shuhan Biography") Yang Guozhong's efforts to rescue An Sishun failed, and he began to realize that Ge Shuhan had posed a great threat to him, and he began to fear Ge Shuhan from then on. At that time, people all over the world believed that the An Lushan rebellion was caused by Yang Guozhong's arrogance and indulgence, and they all hated Yang Guozhong.General Wang Sili of Ge Shuhan once secretly persuaded Ge Shuhan, saying: "Lushan blocked the army in the name of punishing Yang Guozhong. If you leave 30,000 troops to guard the pass, and you know that you will use the elite to return to punish Guozhong, this is also the plan of the Han Dynasty to defeat the Seven Kingdoms." , what do you think?" Ge Shuhan shook his head in disapproval.Wang Sili said again: "If it is on the table, it may not be as requested. The servant is willing to rob Yang Guozhong and kill him at Tongguan with thirty horsemen." The mountain is turned upside down. How can such words come out of the mouths of the kings?" Wang Sili didn't dare to say any more. Soon, news of Wang Sili's conspiracy with Ge Shuhan reached Yang Guozhong's ears, and someone said to him: "Ge Shuhan is in the hands of all the imperial court troops. If Ge Shuhan helps Qixizhi, Yu Gong will not be in danger!" Yang Guozhong Hearing the words, he was horrified, thought of countermeasures anxiously, and then said to Xuanzong: "The art of war is 'safety does not forget danger'. Although the soldiers in Tongguan are prosperous today, there is no apse. If it is unfavorable, the capital will have nothing to fear! Please choose a supervisor. Three thousand children are trained in the garden." Xuanzong felt that this was reasonable, and immediately asked Yang Guozhong to handle the matter.Yang Guozhong quickly recruited 3,000 elite soldiers and trained them day and night, under the command of his confidants Li Fu and Liu Guangting respectively.Yang Guozhong was still worried, and asked to recruit 10,000 troops to station in Bashang, under the command of his confidant general Du Qianyun, in name to resist the rebels, but in fact to guard against Goshuhan. After Ge Shuhan got the news, he knew that Yang Guozhong's deployment was aimed at him. He was afraid of being plotted against and the enemy was behind him, so he decided to act first.So the above table asked the army stationed in Bashang to be under the unified command of the Tongguan army.On the first day of June in the fifteenth year of Tianbao (756), Ge Shuhan summoned Du Ganyun to Tongguan on the grounds of discussing the military situation, and then beheaded him with an excuse, thereby annexing the Bashang army. After this incident, the conflict between Ge Shuhan and Yang Guozhong has become public, and it has developed from a secret fight to an open one.When Yang Guozhong got the news, he panicked even more, and said to his son, "I have nothing to die for!" The existence of Ge Shuhan, who was close at hand, made him feel like a thorn in his back.And Ge Shuhan was also restless all day long, unable to make up his mind to kill Yang Guozhong.There is a famous saying in later generations: "Since ancient times, there have been no powerful ministers inside, and generals who can make contributions to outsiders." ("Continued Zizhi Tongjian Volume 123") Ge Shuhan's hesitation not only hurt himself , It also harmed the world of Datang. The infighting between the frontline coach and the rear prime minister consumed precious energy and time.Ge Shuhan was worried, "fear of being plotted by the loyalists of the country" ("Zizhi Tongjian Volume 218"), and his condition worsened.He had more than enough heart but not enough energy to deal with daily military affairs, so he had to hand over the military power to the marching commander Tian Liangqiu, who did not dare to be arbitrary.Ge Shuhan then put general Wang Sili in charge of the cavalry and Li Chengguang in charge of the infantry.Wang Sili and Li Chengguang argued and disagreed, it was difficult to cooperate, and the whole army had different orders.In addition, in his later years, Ge Shuhan, because of his high position and weight, although the military discipline remained the same as before, he did not care about the suffering of the soldiers.When the supervisor Li Dayi was in the army, he not only didn't care about his affairs, but also took pleasure in gambling, drinking, and playing the piano with the generals all day long, while ordinary soldiers couldn't even eat enough.When Xuanzong sent people to comfort the army, the soldiers reported that there was a lack of clothes. Xuanzong specially made 100,000 war robes to give to the army, but Ge Shuhan suppressed them, so that after the defeat, the clothes were still hidden in the warehouse.Soldiers risked their lives to fight, but they couldn't even solve the most fundamental food and clothing problems. Naturally, they were full of resentment, which led to the up and down separation.This is what is said in the history books that Ge Shuhan commanded troops "with strict usage and no mercy, the soldiers are all slack and have no fighting spirit".Prestige without grace was one of the reasons why Goshuhan later failed. During the time when Ge Shuhan was defending Tongguan and fighting secretly with Yang Guozhong, the situation on the battlefield had undergone great changes.Wherever the rebels went, they burned, killed and looted, arousing the incomparable anger of the local people and greatly losing their hearts.Yan Zhenqing, the prefect of Pingyuan, and Yan Gaoqing, the prefect of Changshan, led the army and the people to fight against the rebels, and many counties in Hebei responded one after another.Li Guangbi, the governor of Hedong, and Guo Ziyi, the governor of Shuofang, successively led their troops out of Jingxing and into Hebei.Zhang Xun and Lu Jiong blocked the rebels' eastward advance and southward advance in Yongqiu and Nanyang.An Lushan was unable to advance, and the rear was threatened again. The morale of the army was shaken, and he planned to abandon Luoyang and retreat to Fanyang.The war situation showed a turning point that was obviously beneficial to the Tang army.It is a great pity that political intrigue has dictated that events go in the opposite direction.Due to internal strife, Tang Jun opened the gate of Tongguan for An Lushan who was in a dilemma. Ge Shuhan has always adopted the strategy of sticking to Tongguan, guarding against natural dangers, and blocking the rebels from under Tongguan.The main force of the rebel army lingered under Tongguan for half a year, but they were still unable to overcome the natural danger and became an embarrassing stalemate.Ge Shuhan was worried that Xuanzong blamed him for not wanting to fight. He had spoken to Xuanzong many times before, emphasizing his strategy of sticking to it: "Although Lushan steals Heshuo, it is unpopular. Please be cautious and use it to harm you. The other is self-centered, so you will destroy it." Therefore, it is not necessary to injure the soldiers and capture the Kou.” Seeing that the strong attack was not effective, An Lushan ordered his subordinate Cui Qianyou to hide the elite troops in advance, and led 4,000 old, weak, sick and disabled troops to station in Shan County, trying to lure Ge Shuhan to abandon the danger and go out to fight.But Ge Shuhan was unmoved.He knew very well in his heart that even though he had the so-called 200,000 troops in his hand, they were all made up improvised. They were too many but not skilled, and had no fighting spirit, so he insisted on closing the city.But Ge Shuhan forgot that behind him, there was still a pair of eyes staring at him, looking for an opportunity to get rid of him. In May of the fifteenth year of Tianbao (756), Xuanzong received information from the rebel general Cui Qianyou that "there were less than 4,000 soldiers in Shan County, and they were all weak and unprepared". Excited, Xuanzong optimistically estimated the battle situation, eager to win, and ordered Ge Shuhan to switch from defense to offense, and immediately sent troops to recover Shanjun and Luoyang.For this reason, Xuanzong also made a special divination, and the hexagram showed that: "Thieves are unprepared, and there are plans." Ge Shuhan was shocked when he heard the news, and immediately wrote a letter to Xuanzong, saying: "Since the thief was a rebel at the beginning, Lushan has been accustomed to using troops for a long time, so he will not be unprepared. The teacher fights his own ground, the advantage lies in holding on, and the disadvantage is not easy to get out; if you get out of the pass lightly, it will be counted. Beg to watch the situation." From the memorabilia, Ge Shuhan and Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing were guarding Tongguan. The views at that time were exactly the same. They both advocated sticking to Tongguan, and then sent the Shuofang Army to the north to capture Fanyang, occupy the lair of the rebels, and cause the rebels to collapse internally.This strategy of defending dangerous points, exhausting the enemy for a long time, and waiting for an opportunity to attack was feasible at the time. Not only Ge Shuhan, but also the generals Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi of the Shuofang Army who were on the front line in Hedong also held the same view.The two said in the memorial: "Han is sick and old. The thieves know it well, and the armies are not enough to fight. Now the thieves know that they have broken Wan and Luo in the south, and they are guarding Youzhou with the rest. I will attack them directly and overthrow them." In its lair, traitorous clans are used to attract traitors, and the leader of Lushan Mountain can be the leader. If the teacher leaves Tongguan and becomes a capital, the world will be idle." Yan Zhenqing also said: "Tongguan is a dangerous place, and it is a barrier to Chang'an. It is admirable to stick to it. The thief is trying to lure me, so please don't be fooled by gossip." Memorials against Ge Shuhan's battle were posted one after another. At the critical moment when Xuanzong hesitated, Yang Guozhong suspected that Ge Shuhan's refusal to send troops was out of self-seeking. In order to divert the tiger away from the mountain, he immediately said to Xuanzong: "The thief is unprepared, and if Han stays, he will lose his chance." Living in a peaceful and prosperous age, he didn't understand military affairs, so he believed Yang Guozhong's slander, and sent envoys to urge Ge Shuhan to fight, so that the envoys "looked at each other with their backs" ("New Book of Tang, Volume 135, Biography of Ge Shuhan") ").Soon after, he issued an order to punish Ge Shuhan: "You have a heavy army, you don't take advantage of the bandit's unpreparedness, and rush to restore the important land, but you want to wait for the bandit to collapse. If you don't fight, you will miss the opportunity. Unsolved. If it continues for a long time, the unprepared will become prepared, our army will be delayed, or there will be no success, and the law of the country is in place, so I dare not ignore it.” And sent the eunuch Bian Lingcheng to supervise the battle.Xuanzong had completely lost his shrewd mind when he was young. He was eager for success and made a wrong judgment on the comparison of the strength of the enemy and himself. Seeing the emperor's decree to severely punish Ge Shuhan, who was under pressure, he knew that the situation was unstoppable, so he led the troops out of Tongguan on the fourth day of June in the fifteenth year of Tianbao (756).Before leaving the customs, Ge Shuhan seemed to have predicted that the battle would inevitably fail, and couldn't help crying.The law of war says: "Whoever is able but does not control the king wins." Now Ge Shuhan is restrained by the court everywhere, knowing that he should not leave the customs easily, but he is forced by the imperial edict and has to go out to fight.It can be said that he embarked on the journey with the grief of seeing death as home.Fundamentally, failure will be inevitable.The Tang Jun coach cried bitterly in front of the battle, showing the helpless decline of a dynasty. On the eighth day of June, Ge Shuhan led his army out of Lingbao County (in today's western Henan Province) to fight Cui Qianyou's tribe.Lingbao is surrounded by mountains in the south, with steep peaks; in the north, it faces the Yellow River, with turbulent waves; and in the middle is a narrow mountain road 70 miles long, which can be described as an extremely dangerous place for soldiers.Cui Qianyou ambushed the elite soldiers on the southern mountain in advance, led the weak soldiers to fight the Tang army, and fought and left. Ge Shuhan and marching commander Ma Tianliangqiu took a boat to observe the military situation in the Yellow River. Seeing that Cui Qianyou had few soldiers, he ordered the army to advance.Wang Sili and others led 50,000 elite soldiers in front, Pang Zhong and others led 100,000 troops to follow, and another 30,000 people were sent to beat drums on the high north bank of the Yellow River to assist.As soon as the two armies fought, the rebels died down and pretended to be defeated. Seeing the dangerous terrain around him, Wang Sili didn't dare to move forward rashly, but just kept advancing step by step.Cui Qianyou, the rebel general, came to challenge with his weak soldiers.Their formation was irregular, one pile in the east, one cluster in the west, in threes and fives, just like ordinary people who had never practiced formation.Seeing this situation, the soldiers of the Tang army couldn't help laughing.Without waiting for Wang Sili to issue an order, the soldiers rushed forward first.Seeing that they were chasing the rebels, the rebels immediately lowered their flags and retreated.Wang Sili sent his troops to chase after him, and Pang Zhong and other supporting troops followed suit.So the two armies scrambled into the gorge, only to see cliffs on both sides, and only a narrower narrow road in the middle, which is creepy.Wang Sili felt bad, so he stopped to wait and see. As soon as Ge Shuhan saw the terrain, he immediately found out that he had been tricked by Cui Qianyou. He wanted to get out of the predicament, but it was too late.So he commanded the battle in the middle of the Yellow River on a floating boat.At that time, the commanding heights were occupied by the rebels, and the situation was very critical. The only way out was to move forward bravely, break through the blockade of the rebels in front, and fight a bloody road.Seeing that Cui Qianyou had few troops, Ge Shuhan urged the soldiers to advance bravely.Due to the narrow mountain road, Tang Jun was like beans filled in a bamboo tube, and could only roll forward one by one. At this time, the rebel army ambush rose, condescending, and threw rolling wood and stones from the mountain. All the soldiers of the Tang army crowded in the pass, and it was difficult to deploy their troops, causing many casualties.Ge Shuhan hurriedly ordered a felt cart to rush forward, trying to open a passage.In order to survive, the generals and soldiers of the Tang army began to rush forward, and the team was in chaos all of a sudden.Ge Shuhan's command failed, people's hearts were lax, and people had no fighting spirit. In the afternoon, the weather changed suddenly, and the east wind blew hard.Seeing that the time had come, Cui Qianyou hurriedly ordered his subordinates to set fire to dozens of carts full of hay, blocking the passage and preventing the Tang army from advancing.Immediately, the flames rose into the sky, and the thick smoke filled the air. Tang Jun was blinded by the smoke and couldn't see the target clearly. He thought the rebels were in the thick smoke, so they fired crossbow arrows randomly. At this time, Cui Qianyou ordered his cavalry to detour from the south valley to the back of the Tang army and fight out.Some abandoned their armor and fled into the valley, and some were squeezed into the Yellow River and drowned.Seeing the defeat of the former army, the rear army of the Tang Dynasty collapsed without fighting.Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the Tang army guarding the north bank of the Yellow River also collapsed one after another.Ge Shuhan escaped with only a few hundred riders, crossed the Yellow River from the west of Shouyang Mountain, and entered Tongguan.There are three trenches outside Tongguan City, each two feet wide and one foot deep. The people who fled back fell into the ditch, and soon filled the ditch, and the people behind stepped on them to pass through. In the battle of Lingbao, nearly 200,000 Tang troops left the customs, and only 8,000 people fled back to Tongguan.At this moment, even with the natural danger of Tongguan, the Tang army does not have enough troops to defend.On the ninth day of June, Cui Qianyou led his troops to capture Tongguan.At this time, it was less than five days since Ge Shuhan left the customs in tears. After the fall of Tongguan, the capital had no danger to rely on.In the fifteenth year of Tianbao (756), at midnight on June 12th, Chang'an City was still in silence. Official Shi Dafu Wei Fangjin, Longwu General Chen Xuanli, Palace Supervisor General Gao Lishi and other important figures secretly sneaked out of Yanqiu Gate and fled westward.Except for the soldiers of the Sixth Army, there were no more than a hundred officials, relatives and friends accompanying him.Most of the officials and the royal family were abandoned in the capital and ignored, even including the concubines, princesses, princes and grandsons living outside the palace.Xuanzong therefore became the first emperor in the history of the Tang Dynasty to escape from the capital Chang'an.At that time, none of the civil and military officials knew the whereabouts of the emperor. The emperor of the Tang Dynasty wanted to leave quietly like a thief, for fear of being found out.When Emperor Xuanzong entrusted Mount Tai to the east, all civil and military officials, relatives of the emperor, and chiefs of the four barbarians followed suit, and the chariots and horses lined up for hundreds of miles.It's such a shame now!The prosperous Tang Dynasty has become history, and history is so ruthless! When a group of people passed by the Daying Warehouse in Zuozang, Yang Guozhong requested that the warehouse be burned down, so that a large amount of cloth in stock would not be obtained by the rebels.Xuanzong was in a miserable mood, and sighed: "the rebels have no money when they come, and they will definitely collect it from the people. It's better to leave it to them to alleviate the suffering of the people." After passing the bridge, Yang Guozhong ordered people to burn the bridge to stop the rebellion Army's pursuit.When Xuanzong knew about it, he said: "The officials and the common people are fleeing for their lives. Why should they cut off their way of life!" He immediately sent Gao Lishi to lead people to put out the fire, leaving a bridge for the people behind to escape. Xuanzong had sent the eunuch Wang Luoqing to various places along the road first, and asked the officials to prepare for reception.When they arrived in Xianyang, the eunuch Wang Luoqing and Xianyang county magistrate had already fled.Then eunuchs were sent to recruit, but neither the officials nor the people came.The fleeing emperor was so hungry that he could only satisfy his hunger with the Hubing that Yang Guozhong bought temporarily.The accompanying eunuch finally found the local people and explained the situation to them.The people sent some coarse rice mixed with wheat beans.The princes and grandchildren are usually pampered and pampered. Where have they eaten such a meal, but they are so hungry that they don’t care about their dignity. They don’t have bowls and chopsticks, so they eat with their hands. In the middle of the night, the fleeing party arrived in Jincheng (now Xingping, Shaanxi), and the county magistrate and the county people also fled early, but the food and utensils were all there, so the soldiers could eat.At that time, among the officials who followed Xuanzong, many took the opportunity to escape, and Yuan Siyi, the eunuch's internal servant, escaped in the dark.There were no lights in the Jincheng station, and people slept on each other's pillows, regardless of their status, and they slept together, and the prestige of the royal family and nobles was wiped out. When Xuanzong and his party fled to Maweiyi (now northwest of Xingping, Shaanxi), the soldiers of the Tang Imperial Army were very angry because of hunger and fatigue, and believed that Yang Guozhong was the culprit.Chen Xuanli, the general of the imperial army, wanted to kill Yang Guozhong to anger the common people, and asked Li Fuguo, the eunuch of the East Palace, to tell the prince Li Heng, hoping to get the prince's support.The prince hesitated and did not make a clear statement. Just at this time, more than 20 Tubo envoys stopped Yang Guozhong's horse and said that there was nothing to eat.Before Yang Guozhong could answer, the soldiers shouted: "Guozhong conspired against the Hulu!" Yang Guozhong fought to leave and was captured and killed by the soldiers.The soldiers also killed Yang Guozhong's son Yang Xuan, the servant of the household department, Mrs. Han and Mrs. Qin. After Xuanzong learned that Yang Guozhong had been killed, he had no choice but to go out of the post gate in person to comfort the sergeants and order them to withdraw, but the sergeants refused.Xuanzong asked Gao Lishi to ask why.Chen Xuanli came forward and replied: "Yang Guozhong was punished for treason, Yang Guifei should no longer serve your majesty, I hope your majesty can cut off love and put Yang Guifei to death." Xuanzong didn't agree at first, but the sergeants kept clamoring.Xuanzong knew that the general situation was over, and Yang Guifei's life could not be saved no matter what, so he shed tears and gave Yang Guifei to commit suicide.This is the famous "Mawei Post Incident" in history.As Bai Juyi said in his book: