Chapter 16 Starfall: The Stone Castle Incident

Wang Zhongsi, originally named Wang Xun, was born in a military family in Taiyuan. His father, Wang Haibin, was a heroic general who fought against Tubo during the Kaiyuan period.In July of the second year of Kaiyuan, the Tang army and the Tubo army fought a large-scale battle near Weizhou (now Pingliang City, Gansu). The forward of the Tu army killed many people. The Tubo army quickly counterattacked and dispatched the main force to surround Wang Haibin's troops who were alone.When the situation was critical, all the generals of the Tang army in the rear stood still because they were jealous of Wang Haibin's military achievements.Wang Haibin fought for a long time, but finally died for his country because he was outnumbered.Afterwards, the main force of the Tang army took advantage of the momentum to launch a counterattack, smashing the Tubo army, beheading 17,000 ranks, and capturing 75,000 horses and 140,000 cattle and sheep.

After the war, Xuanzong was grateful for Wang Haibin's loyalty and bravery, and posthumously presented him as General Zuo Jinwu. In the year when Wang Haibin died for the country, Wang Xun was only nine years old. Xuanzong took him to the palace to be raised, and awarded him the post of Doctor of Chaosan, Shangnian and Emperor, and named him a loyal heir.As the saying goes, the son of a tiger, after Wang Zhongsi grew up, he was heroic and resolute, steady and reticent, and he was familiar with military books and had excellent strategies.Xuanzong often summoned him to talk about the art of war with him. Wang Zhongsi "responses to the vertical and horizontal, all unexpected." Xuanzong couldn't help but admire: "You will be a good general!"

In the middle of the Kaiyuan Period, Wang Zhongsi entered the military circle and successively served under the command of Hexi Jiedu Envoy Xiao Song and Shuofang Jiedu Envoy Li Yi. Because of his bravery and skill in fighting, he made many military exploits. For the same rank, he will be given the title of a male in Qingyuan County, and a purple gold fish bag.At the end of Kaiyuan, he was promoted to the Jiedu envoy of Hedong and Shuofang because of his outstanding military achievements.In the first year of Tianbao, he also served as the governor of Lingzhou (now southwest of Lingwu, Ningxia). Later, he led his troops to conquer the Turks in the north and won several battles.Later, he was awarded General Zuo Wuwei for his meritorious service.

In the fourth year of Tianbao's reign, he also served as a doctor of imperial history, and became the Duke of Qingyuan County. When Wang Zhongsi was young, he was quite conceited of being brave and good at fighting, but as he grew older and experienced, especially after serving as Jiedushi, the calm and steady side of his character was revealed.He often said: "When the country is in peace, it is just the general who caresses the people. I don't want to exhaust China's power and make a name for myself." ("Old Tang Book·Wang Zhongsi Biography") Obviously, Wang Zhongsi is not a brave and simple-minded warrior, but a military strategist with political vision.He knows very well that war is only a means to maintain national security, not the only purpose for soldiers to join the army, let alone a tool for individuals to gain fame and fortune.In other words, as a general who leads troops to fight, he does not lack a brave style, but as a feudal official with multiple positions, he must comprehensively and rationally consider the political, economic, national defense, and people's livelihood. Look at war.

Wang Zhongsi had a lacquer bow weighing 150 jin, but he never used it and kept it in his bag all the time. The purpose was to show that he would never use force lightly.However, Wang Zhongsi also knows that many officers and soldiers under him are eager to build military exploits, and there is a general belligerent mood, so they may not understand his thinking. Therefore, Wang Zhongsi did not blindly adopt a passive defense strategy, but often Take the initiative to attack. However, Wang Zhongsi never fought an uncertain battle.Before each battle, he would send a large number of spies deep into the enemy's territory to grasp all kinds of intelligence about the enemy in detail, then formulate a highly targeted combat plan, and finally launch a surprise attack.In this way, not only can one's own casualties be minimized, but almost every battle can be won.Of course, the officers and soldiers are very happy to fight under such a brave and resourceful officer.

However, although Wang Zhongsi's military thinking is beneficial to the soldiers, the people, and the country, it conflicts with another person's military thinking. This person is Xuanzong Li Longji. However, from the middle and late period of Kaiyuan, Li Longji gradually abandoned Yao Chong's "unfortunate frontier meritorious service" ruling strategy, and became very happy with his achievements.It stands to reason that, as a talented and general emperor, it is not wrong to have such thoughts and mentality, but the problem is that "what is good at the top, it must be bad at the bottom." Once the emperor is very happy, the army will inevitably breed warlike sentiments in order to invite credit.Under such circumstances, war is no longer a continuation of politics, but may become a wild horse that has run wild, losing its rational control, and finally bringing unnecessary war disasters to the people and the country.In the history of ancient and modern China and foreign countries, such examples are too numerous to enumerate.Leaving aside, let’s just say that Yang Guang, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, was driven by his overjoyed mentality to turn the Sui Empire into a crazy chariot, which eventually led to the downfall of the dynasty.

Perhaps, it is precisely in view of such historical lessons that Wang Zhongsi will gradually form a sound strategic thinking that focuses on defense.It is a pity that such stability will inevitably be regarded as conservative and negative by Xuanzong in the end, and will inevitably conflict with Xuanzong's radical thinking. In the fifth year of Tianbao, Huangfu Weiming was relegated due to the Wei Jian case, and Wang Zhongsi concurrently assumed the post of Jiedu envoy in Hexi and Longyou.For a time, Wang Zhongsi "wears the seals of four generals, controls thousands of miles, and has powerful troops and important towns, all of which are under his control. Since the beginning of the country, there has never been such a thing." ("Old Tang Book Biography of Wang Zhongsi")

In the early years of Tianbao, the Tang Empire set up a total of nine Jiedushi, but now Wang Zhongsi alone occupies four, which is really impressive.Facing such a cool Wang Zhongsi, someone would naturally feel strongly threatened. This person is Li Linfu. From the mid-Kaiyuan period to Tianbao, many people became prime ministers and became prime ministers because of their establishment of border skills and the appreciation of Xuanzong, such as Zhang Jiazhen, Wang Jun, Zhang Shuo, Du Xian, Xiao Song, Niu Xianke , and An Lushan, who almost became a prime minister later.Today, Wang Zhongsi is one of the four festivals, and his momentum and prestige are at the height of the sky. Looking around the world, there is no one more qualified to be a minister of worship than him.

Li Linfu knew very well that Wang Zhongsi was not as easy to deal with as Niu Xianke, and once he became a prime minister, his life would definitely not be easy.Therefore, he must plan ahead and settle Wang Zhongsi as soon as possible. However, Wang Zhongsi has made outstanding military exploits, managed the army in a strict manner, neither took bribes nor withheld military pay, almost had no problems at all, and was highly valued by Xuanzong—how can such a strong man be settled? In the beginning, Li Linfu really racked his brains but couldn't do anything. It wasn't until the occurrence of the "Stone Fort City Incident" in the sixth year of Tianbao that Li Linfu finally grasped Wang Zhongsi's weakness.

Shibao City, located in the southwest of Huangyuan County, Qinghai Province, is an important frontier town standing on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.This city is the throat fortress of the Tang army guarding the Hexi Corridor, and it is also the only gateway for Tubo to enter Helong.From the time of Emperor Gaozong to the years of Kaiyuan and Tianbao, it was a battleground between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo.The two sides fought over and over here and changed hands several times, using the blood and corpses of countless soldiers to prove to the world its strategic importance. The most recent round of changing hands was: in the spring of the 17th year of Kaiyuan, Shuofang Jiedu envoy Li Yi took Shibao City with a surprise attack. Since then, the flag of the Tang Army has been flying here for nearly 13 years, until the end of the 29th year of Kaiyuan, Re-occupied by Tubo.

In the past few years, Xuanzong has been thinking about taking back Shibao City all the time, and thinking about how to avenge his shame and show his national prestige.In October of the sixth year of Tianbao, Xuanzong finally issued an edict to Wang Zhongsi, ordering him to formulate a battle plan for capturing Shibao City. In Wang Zhongsi's view, Stone Fort City is certainly important, but the city's terrain is extremely steep, with cliffs on three sides, and there is only one winding stone path to go up.Over the past few years, Tubo has not only stationed heavy troops here, but also built extremely strong fortifications. If they want to attack by force, at least tens of thousands of Tang soldiers will have to be sacrificed, which is really not worth the candle.Therefore, Wang Zhongsi Shangshu expressed his opinion, suggesting to build a defensive depth on the Jishi Mountain line behind Shibao City to prevent the Tubo army from advancing eastward, and then prepare their troops vigorously and wait for the opportunity to counterattack. Xuanzong was very unhappy when the memorial was presented. Wang Zhongsi, Wang Zhongsi, I didn't expect you to be passive and timid at times.Did I spoil you by giving you too much glory, wealth and fame?Has it made you lose your spirit and be greedy for life?Okay, if you don't fight, I will naturally ask others to fight. In a word-Shibao City must be fought! At that time, a general named Dong Yanguang was greedy for merit, so he volunteered to fight.Xuanzong was overjoyed, and immediately handed over the task to him, and ordered Wang Zhongsi to allocate tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to him, and at the same time fully cooperate with his combat operations.As a last resort, Wang Zhongsi had no choice but to take a passive and sabotage attitude, and repeatedly perfunctory Dong Yanguang's falsehood and obedience.General Li Guangbi advised him not to offend Dong Yanguang, but Wang Zhongsi said angrily, "How can you change an official with the lives of tens of thousands of people?" ("Old Tang Book·Biography of Wang Zhongsi") Later, Dong Yanguang failed to conquer Shibao City as scheduled, so he shifted the responsibility to Wang Zhongsi and sued Xuanzong, saying that Wang Zhongsi obstructed his military operations, which led to the failure of the mission. Xuanzong was furious. At this moment, Li Linfu made a move without losing the opportunity. Since Wang Zhongsi grew up in the palace, he grew up with the prince Li Heng and had a close relationship, so Li Linfu instructed his subordinates to accuse Wang Zhongsi, saying that the reason why he disobeyed the holy order and passively avoided the war was to preserve his strength, and then Support the soldiers and respect the prince. What do you do to worship the prince? Of course it was usurping the throne. When Xuanzong heard about it, he was so angry that he immediately issued an imperial edict to remove Wang Zhongsi's military power, and ordered him to return to the court immediately to accept the three joint trials of Yushitai, the Ministry of punishment and Dali Temple. Obviously, Li Linfu's tactics in this case are exactly the same as those in Wei Jian's case last year. They both eliminated the political opponents who threatened his status, and at the same time directed the fire to the East Palace, intending to take the opportunity to bring down the prince. Last time it was an attempt to kill three birds with one stone, this time it was to kill two birds with one stone. However, Li Linfu's wishful thinking failed again. As soon as the trial of the Sanfa Division started, Xuanzong set the tone for the case.He said: "My son lives in a deep palace, and he conspired with outsiders? This must be false! But impeaching the loyal heir hinders military achievements." (Vol. culpability for military action. Although Xuanzong has always adopted a tacit and conniving attitude towards Li Linfu's attack on dissidents over the years, he has always maintained a firm stand and a rare sobriety on the issue of deposing the prince, and has never been bewitched by Li Linfu's slander.The reason for this is, first of all, of course, because the prince has always been a man with his tail between his legs, and there is no real handle in Li Linfu's hands; The important reason, of course, lies in Xuanzong's own attitude. For Xuanzong, the discord between the prime minister and the East Palace is not a bad thing for him, because only when these two political forces check each other can he secure his throne; Let yourself always be in the position of arbitrator, and let your imperial power always maintain a decisive force, so as to form certain constraints and deterrents on both sides, and then maintain political balance and stability. This is Xuanzong's imperial technique. If Li Linfu and Prince Li Heng were not in the current state of hostility, but became political allies, then Xuanzong would definitely fall into a dangerous situation.Because the prince is nearly forty years old, it is conceivable that he is eager to join the great unification.If there is a prime minister as a backer, it is entirely possible for him to use force to force Xuanzong to step down.As an emperor who came to power through a coup, Xuanzong was particularly sensitive in this regard, so he would never let the prime minister and the East Palace become one. For the same reason, Xuanzong would not let Li Linfu really bring down the prince.Because Li Linfu is already very powerful. Since Xuanzong came to the throne, no prime minister has had such power as him. If he is allowed to overthrow Li Heng and support another prince, wouldn't his power be too great?In the future, you can't play with the imperial power in your hands?So Xuanzong would never allow such a situation to happen. To sum up, unless Prince Li Heng himself had a problem, no matter how hard Li Linfu struggled, the result would be a blind man lighting a lamp in vain. Prince Li Heng finally escaped another catastrophe, but Wang Zhongsi was doomed this time. The officials in charge of interrogating Wang Zhongsi knew that the emperor was very angry and the consequences would be serious.So, they all know what to do. Soon, the Sanfa Division came to a conclusion——Wang Zhongsi's "frustration of the military" is true, and he should be punished for the crime!When life was at stake, someone stood up and spoke for Wang Zhongsi.This person was the rising star in the military circle of the Tang Dynasty at that time - Ge Shuhan who was then the Jiedu envoy of Longyou. Ge Shuhan, a Tuqi Shiren from the Western Regions, after the general, his father, Ge Shu Daoyuan, served as the deputy governor of Anxi in the Tang Dynasty.Because of his father's high official position and wealthy family, Ge Shuhan became a typical "rich second generation", idle around every day, leading a group of dudes to fool around, except for drinking and gambling, he hardly did anything serious. However, Ge Shuhan is not completely without advantages.He has a bold personality, donates money with righteousness, respects promises, is a good man, and is born to be a big brother. In this way, Ge Shuhan lived happily until he was forty years old.It wasn't until one day that his father died that he suddenly woke up from his muddled life.Ge Shuhan knew that if he kept on messing around like this, sooner or later he would be sitting on nothing.In desperation, he had no choice but to go to the capital to find a job to support himself.Unexpectedly, after living in Chang'an for three years, his savings were almost exhausted, but he couldn't even find a job to support his family.Once, I didn't know why I offended the Chang'an county captain, and was severely humiliated by the other party. At this point, Ge Shuhan, who has lived for most of his life, truly realized the difficulty of survival, and began to think vaguely about the meaning of being a human being.In the end, Ge Shuhan learned from the painful experience and resolutely decided to join the army in the frontier. ("Old Tang Book·Geshuhan Biography": "Hexi is full of indignation, holding a sword.") At this time, Ge Shuhan probably wouldn't even think that he, who was only in the army in his forties, would become a famous general in the court and the public in just a few years. After Ge Shuhan joined the army in Hexi, he became famous in the battle of conquering Xincheng (now Menyuan County, Qinghai).Once, the Tubo army invaded the bandits in a large scale, and Ge Shuhan was ordered to stop it in the Kubahai area.When the two armies met, the Tubo people divided into three columns and charged down from the mountain.Ge Shuhan took the lead and started a fierce battle with the enemy.During the battle, Ge Shuhan's long spear was broken into two pieces, but he had no fear, and resolutely fought bravely with the broken spear.The Tubo soldiers were picked off one by one by him, "all three lines were defeated, and all were destroyed."After this battle, Ge Shuhan became even more famous. In the sixth year of Tianbao, Ge Shuhan was promoted to the deputy envoy of Longyou Jiedu because of his repeated military exploits, and he was also the military envoy of Kansai and Heyuan. It was in this year that Ge Shuhan won the famous battle of Jishishan. Jishi Mountain is located in the southwest of Gansu Province, at the junction of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Loess Plateau. It is located on the bank of the Yellow River. .At that time, whenever the wheat of the Jishi Army was ripe, Tubo would definitely send troops to attack and loot all the grain.This is the case year after year, and the local garrison is beyond control, so the arrogant Tubo people call this place "Tubo Maizhuang". In October of the sixth year of Tianbao, Ge Shuhan decided to fight an ambush here.He personally led his troops to station in Jishi Mountain, and at the same time ordered his deputy general Yang Jinghui and others to lead troops to ambush outside the mountain.This time, Tubo dispatched 5,000 cavalry, still swaggering to grab food as in previous years, Ge Shuhan attacked suddenly, and immediately killed the Tubo army who was caught off guard.The remnants of Tubo fled in a hurry, and were cut off by Yang Jinghui, who had already ambushed outside the mountain.Ge Shuhan took the lead, holding a long spear and chasing after him. Every time he caught up with an enemy soldier, he patted the opponent's shoulder with the gun end. Three to five feet in the air, and then throw it down heavily. Ge Shuhan has a little servant named Zuo Che, who is only fifteen or sixteen years old, but his arms are amazing. Every time he goes into battle, he will carry a big knife and follow Ge Shuhan. Cut off people's heads.Ge Shuhan picks one, and he cuts one, every battle is the same, and the cooperation is tacit.For the Tibetans, the two masters and servants are a vicious couple! In the battle of Jishishan, the entire Tubo army was wiped out, and none of the 5,000 cavalry survived. From then on, Tibetans never dared to patronize this "wheat village" again. After several years of bloody fighting, Ge Shuhan quickly became the most eye-catching rising star in the Tang military circle. Of course Xuanzong also noticed him. At the end of October in the sixth year of Tianbao, Xuanzong summoned Ge Shuhan in person at Huaqing Palace in Lishan. After a conversation, he admired him very much, and immediately promoted him to be the envoy of Longyou Jiedu, concurrently Hongluqing, and Sheyushi Zhongcheng.At this time, Wang Zhongsi was being imprisoned in the Imperial Prison and was being interrogated by the Sanfa Division. Just before Ge Shuhan was summoned to the court, many generals under Wang Zhongsi's command suggested that he bring more money so that he could enter the court and find a way to rescue Wang Zhongsi.But Ge Shuhan knew very well that what Wang Zhongsi committed this time could not be settled by mere bribes.Because what he offended was not others, but the emperor.So, Ge Shuhan set out on the road empty-handed.He knew what method he should use to rescue Wang Zhongsi. After being appointed by Longyou Jiedushi, Ge Shuhan had to enter the palace to pay his respects as usual.He took this opportunity to try his best to express Wang Zhongsi's grievances to Xuanzong.Impatient, Xuanzong got up and left. Ge Shuhan followed closely behind, and kowtowed step by step, begging tearfully—willing to use his official title to atone for Wang Zhongsi.In the end, Xuanzong was finally moved, so he had no choice but to forgive Wang Zhongsi and demote Wang Zhongsi as the prefect of Hanyang (now Wuhan City, Hubei Province). Although Wang Zhongsi escaped the emperor's capricious hands, he failed to escape the claws of death.In the eighth year of Tianbao (749 A.D.), Wang Zhongsi died suddenly at the age of forty-five when he was serving as the local prefect.The most dazzling star in Tianbao's early years fell away. In June of the eighth year of Tianbao, shortly after Wang Zhongsi's death, Xuanzong ordered Ge Shuhan to assemble an army of 60,000 to storm Shibao City.Ge Shuhan fought hard for many days, and finally captured the fortified city with mountains of corpses and rivers of blood at the expense of tens of thousands of soldiers. When Ge Shuhan stepped on the blood and corpses all over the ground and boarded the Stone Fort City, I don't know if there will be a trace of doubt in his heart - is it worth doing this? In fact, if Xuanzong was willing to adopt Wang Zhongsi's suggestion and build a defensive depth on the Jishi Mountain line behind Shibao City, it could effectively prevent Tubo from expanding eastward, then the strategic position of Shibao City would not be so important.It's a pity that in Xuanzong's eyes, Shibao City has long been more than just a border fortress, but an object for him to show off his national prestige and show off his force, and it is also an indispensable piece on his prosperity chessboard, so he will spare no expense own it. Ironically, according to historical records, there were only a few hundred soldiers guarding Shibao City in Tubo, and four hundred were captured by the Tang army after the war.What is this indicating?This shows that in the Battle of Shibao City, the casualty ratio between Tang Jun and Tubo was 100:1. Everything is just as Wang Zhongsi predicted at the beginning: "If the city is under the fortification of troops, tens of thousands of people will die, and then things can be planned. I am afraid that the gains are not as good as the losses..." ("Old Tang Book·Wang Zhongsi Biography") Of course, Wang Zhongsi could no longer see this scene. If Wang Zhongsi knew about it, I don't know how he would feel.Should he shake his head and smile bitterly because of his misfortune, or should he feel sad because his words have come true? Nobody knows. Perhaps, only the ghosts of tens of thousands of soldiers of the Tang army floating in the sky above Shibao City can truly understand Wang Zhongsi.As for the living, what else do they have in their hearts besides fame and fortune, high officials and honors, the thrill of fighting and the joy of victory?Even if Ge Shuhan once had a little confusion, but in the pride of making contributions and in the face of the interests of being promoted, such confusion can only be a firefly trying to compare the sun, it can only be a drop of water flowing into the ocean, following the everlasting Nothing like it ever existed. In the mid-Tianbao period, when Hu general Ge Shuhan was leaping horses and slashing swords in the northwest of the empire, and repeatedly made military exploits, in the northeast of the empire, there was also a Hu man who was gradually appreciated and favored by Xuanzong because of his increasingly prominent border skills. From the early years of Tianbao, this barbarian was summoned by Xuanzong to come to Chang'an again and again, where the prosperity and prosperity, singing and dancing were peaceful, entered the Jiuzhong Palace, boarded the Jinluan Palace, and walked to the side of Tang Xuanzong and Concubine Yang. He brought them endless joy and laughter, and soon became their favorite godson. In the imagination of the world, this brave barbarian is likely to be the same as other barbarian generals, with a thick face and beard, a thunderous voice when he speaks, and a fierce look in his eyes when he looks around. But this is not the case. This barbarian is white and fat, with a big belly and a humorous nature. No matter what the occasion, his face is always filled with a sincere and honest smile. Because this guy was so ridiculously fat, Xuanzong couldn't help but make fun of him once, saying: "What is in your stomach, a barbarian, and why is it so big?" (Volume 215: " What's in this bull's belly, his big neer?") He immediately replied with a serious face: "There is nothing, only a red loyalty!" (Volume 215: "There is nothing left, there is a heart!") As we all know, this big fat man who swears that he has nothing but loyalty in his huge belly is An Lushan, the creator of the Anshi Rebellion and the gravedigger of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.