Chapter 67 158 The Mawei Post Mutiny

Tongguan is the gateway to Chang'an, the capital city, where the situation is dangerous and the roads are narrow.Tang Xuanzong sent general Ge Shuhan to lead heavy troops to guard.Cui Ganyou, the rebel general, stationed troops outside Tongguan for half a year, but was unable to break in.The defenders of Tongguan lit a fire on the beacon tower every night as a signal of safety.The beacon towers in Guanli received the signal, and set off "Safe Fire" one after another, all the way to Chang'an, so that the people of Chang'an could rest assured. The rebels could not attack Tongguan, but there were conflicts within the Tang Dynasty in Guanli.Ge Shuhan advocated sticking to Tongguan and waiting for the opportunity; Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi also wrote a memorial to Tang Xuanzong from the Hebei front. They asked to lead troops northward to attack Fanyang, the old nest of Anlu Mountain; they asked the Tongguan defenders not to leave the pass.However, Prime Minister Yang Guozhong opposed this.Someone said to Yang Guozhong: "Now all the heavy troops are in the hands of Ge Shuhan. If Ge Shuhan wins and returns to Chang'an, you will lose your prime minister." Yang Guozhong himself knew that he was the most unpopular prime minister. These words made me even more afraid. He said in front of Tang Xuanzong that the rebels outside Tongguan were already vulnerable, and that Ge Shuhan would lose the opportunity to wipe out the rebels if he stayed at Tongguan and stood still.The fatuous Tang Xuanzong listened to Yang Guozhong's words, and sent envoys to Tongguan one after another, forcing Ge Shuhan to lead troops out of Tongguan.

Ge Shuhan knew that there was no benefit in leaving the customs, but he couldn't disobey the emperor's imperial decree, so he cried bitterly, so he had to lead his troops out of the customs. Cui Qianyou, the rebel general outside the pass, has already recharged his batteries and waited for the Tang army to leave the pass.Cui Qianyou sent elite soldiers to ambush in the valley west of Lingbao (in today's western Henan Province).As soon as Ge Shuhan's 200,000 troops left the customs, they were ambushed and almost wiped out by the rebels.There are only 8,000 horses left in the 200,000 horses.

Ge Shuhan still wanted to clean up the remnants, but his subordinates became chaotic first, and the rebels took advantage of the victory and entered Tongguan.Goshuhan was also taken prisoner. Once Tongguan falls, there is no danger to defend the pass.Some local officials and guards from Tongguan to Chang'an all abandoned the city and fled. At first, Ge Shuhan sent people to Chang'an for emergency.Later, the emergency documents were interrupted; at night, the "Safe Fire" on the beacon tower was also gone.At this time, Tang Xuanzong felt that the situation was critical, and became anxious, asking Yang Guozhong to find a way.

Yang Guozhong called all civil and military officials together to discuss it. Everyone was in a hurry, and no one could come up with a good idea.Knowing that there was no way out for him to stay in Chang'an, Yang Guozhong advised Xuanzong to flee to Shu. That night, Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guozhong took Concubine Yang Gui and a group of princes and grandchildren, escorted by General Chen Xuanli and the imperial guards, quietly opened the palace gate and escaped from Chang'an. They sent an eunuch to various places along the road first, and asked the officials to be ready to receive them.

Unexpectedly, when they arrived in Xianyang, all the eunuchs and county magistrates had already fled.Tang Xuanzong and his group walked for a long time, but no one brought them food.The accompanying eunuch finally found the local people and asked them for some food.Some common people sent some sorghum pastry.Those 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, and they eat up all at once. Tang Xuanzong reluctantly swallowed a few mouthfuls of pastry and burst into tears.An old man squeezed in front of the car and said to Xuanzong: "It's not a day since An Lushan wanted to rebel. Over the years, some people have reported to the court, but they were imprisoned and killed. The ministers around your majesty are only flattering and flattering. Your Majesty will not be able to hear the situation. We ordinary people have known that such a day will come, but the gates of the court are too deep, and His Majesty cannot hear the opinions of the people. If it were not for today's situation, how could we stand in front of His Majesty and speak? !"

Tang Xuanzong said dejectedly: "This is because I was too confused, and it is too late to regret it now." Stopping and stopping like this, on the third day, when they arrived at Maweiyi (now in the west of Xingping County, Shaanxi, Wei, sound wei), the accompanying soldiers were hungry and tired, and couldn't bear it.The more they thought about it, the more angry they became, and they couldn't stay in Chang'an, so they went into exile and suffered all kinds of hardships.They believed that this was all due to the traitor Yang Guozhong, and the account had to be settled with Yang Guozhong.

At this time, more than 20 Tubo envoys stopped Yang Guozhong's horse and asked Yang Guozhong for food.Before Yang Guozhong could answer, the soldiers around him shouted, "Yang Guozhong is going to rebel!" They shot arrows while shouting. Yang Guozhong wanted to run away in a panic, but several soldiers rushed up and chopped off his head. The soldiers killed Yang Guozhong, and they were so emotional that they surrounded the posthouse where Tang Xuanzong lived.Tang Xuanzong heard the commotion outside and asked what was going on. The eunuchs on the left and right told him that the soldiers had killed Yang Guozhong.Xuanzong was so taken aback that he had no choice but to walk out of the post gate with his cane to comfort the soldiers and ask them to go back to the camp to rest.

The soldiers ignored Tang Xuanzong's words and continued to make noise.Xuanzong sent Gao Lishi to find Chen Xuanli and asked why the soldiers refused to disperse.Chen Xuanli replied: "Yang Guozhong rebelled, and the noble concubine can't stay." This stumped Tang Xuanzong, how could he be willing to kill this beloved concubine?He stood with his head down for a long while before he said, "The imperial concubine lives in the inner palace, how do you know that Yang Guozhong is plotting rebellion?" Gao Lishi knew that if he did not kill Concubine Yang, he would not be able to calm the anger of the soldiers, so he said: "The concubine is not guilty, but the soldiers killed Yang Guozhong. If the concubine is kept, the soldiers will not feel at ease. I hope that your majesty will consider it carefully. The soldiers will be at ease, and your majesty will be safe." gone."

In order to save his own life, Tang Xuanzong had no choice but to be cruel, and asked Gao Lishi to take Concubine Yang to another place, and strangled her to death with a belt. When the soldiers heard that Concubine Yang Gui had been executed, they finally breathed a sigh of relief before retreating back to the camp. After this mutiny, Tang Xuanzong fled to Chengdu in a hurry like a frightened bird.Prince Li Heng was retained by the local people to preside over the government.Li Heng packed up the remnants of the team from Mawei Station all the way to the north, and ascended the throne in Lingwu (southwest of Lingwu in Ningxia today). This is Tang Suzong.