Chapter 31 Resigned in danger: Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi

On the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar in 756 AD, An Lushan held a grand enthronement ceremony in Luoyang, Tokyo. He proclaimed himself Emperor Dayan and Jianyuan Shengwu. At the same time, hundreds of civil and military officials were appointed, and they formally fought against the Li Tang Dynasty. At this time when An Lushan was wearing a yellow robe, Shi Siming and Cai Xide had also completed the encirclement of Changshan. Can the little Changshan stop the attack of 20,000 Yan army cavalry? At this time, it was only eight days since Yan Gaoqing lured and killed Yan general Li Qinguo and raised troops against Anlu Mountain. In such a short period of time, Yan Gaoqing had no time to strengthen Changshan's fortifications.In other words, under the onslaught of the Yan army day and night, Changshan City is in danger and may be captured at any time.

Yan Gaoqing led the crowd to the city to resist the war, and at the same time sent people to break out from Jingxingkou to Taiyuan, and sent an urgent letter of distress to Yin Wang Chengye of Taiyuan, who had enough troops and provisions. It is only about 400 miles from Taiyuan to Changshan. If a light cavalry force is sent to rush forward day and night, they will reach Changshan within three days. Arrival wins time. However, what Yan Gaoqing never expected was that Wang Chengye actually stood still and didn't send a single soldier from the beginning to the end! Of course Yan Gaoqing would not have thought that Wang Chengye was eagerly looking forward to his early death...

Long before Changshan was besieged, Yan Gaoqing sent his son Yan Quanming and his subordinate Zhang Tongyou and others, together with Li Qinjue (who also escorted He Qiannian and Gao Miao) into the court to perform meritorious service. When passing through Taiyuan, Zhang Tongyou planned to Taking refuge in Wang Chengye, a high-ranking and powerful man, he suggested to him that he temporarily detain Yan Quanming, and then wrote a memorandum, taking the credit for trapping and killing Li Qin and capturing He Qiannian and Gao Miao as his own, and then sent another envoy to the court. Invite the emperor to reward.

Wang Chengye took it for granted, and immediately acted according to the plan.After Xuanzong got the captives, he was overjoyed, and immediately "worshiped General Chengye Habayashi, and there were hundreds of officials under his command". (Volume 217) Wang Chengye stole the credit of Yan Gaoqing, so he was inevitably guilty of being a thief.Therefore, when he heard the news that Changshan was besieged, not only was it impossible to rescue him, but he could only hope that Yan Gaoqing would rush to the city and die.The reason is simple, if Yan Gaoqing does not die, sooner or later Wang Chengye's crime of "stealing merit" will be exposed, and now Yan Jun happens to come to help him kill people, Wang Chengye is of course happy to stand on the sidelines, how can he save Yan Gaoqing Woolen cloth?

Chang Shan's fate was thus doomed. With no food and grass inside and no reinforcements outside, Yan Gaoqing still led the crowd to fight bloody battles until the eighth day of the first lunar month, when the city was finally broken and captured.After Shi Siming and Cai Xide entered the city, they massacred Changshan soldiers and civilians, killing more than 10,000 people before and after, and then escorted Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian to Luoyang. Just a few days before the fall of Changshan, Xuanzong accidentally learned the truth about "offering captives" (Wang Chengye, who stole meritorious deeds and invited rewards, was killed by Xuanzong's people half a year later), and quickly promoted Yan Gaoqing as a Wei Weiqing, who is also a doctor of imperial history, promoted Yuan Luqian to be the prefect of Changshan.However, before the edict was issued, Changshan had already fallen into the hands of the Yan army.

After Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian were taken to Luoyang, An Lushan pointed at Yan Gaoqing's nose and scolded severely, saying: "You were just a little Fanyanghu Cao, but I recommended you as a judge. , let you be promoted to the position of prefect again, how can I feel sorry for you, you want to rebel against me?" Yan Gaoqing's eyes widened angrily, and she cursed: "You were just a Jie slave who shepherds sheep in Yingzhou, but the emperor kept mentioning you to the Jiedu envoy of the three towns, it's very kind, how can I be sorry for you, you want to rebel against him? My Yan family has been Tang officials for generations, and my salary and position are all owned by the court. Although I was recommended by you, how can I rebel with you? I am begging for thieves for the country, and I wish I could kill you with my own hands. How can it be called "rebellion"?! Dog, stop talking nonsense and kill me quickly!"

An Lushan was so angry that his seven orifices were filled with smoke, and immediately ordered Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian to be punished by Ling Chi. Ling Chi, also known as cutting punishment, commonly known as "a thousand cuts to pieces", is one of the cruelest punishments in ancient China.The flesh of the victim is cut off one by one, but he will not die immediately, but can clearly feel every bit of pain during the torture process, which can be described as extremely tragic, and it is definitely beyond the reach of ordinary people. However, Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian were worthy of being tough men, and they kept scolding throughout the execution process.It wasn't until the moment of dying that their scolding stopped abruptly.Those who were killed on the same day as Yan Gaoqing were many sons and nephews who were held hostage by An Lushan, as well as many family members and clansmen who were captured in Changshan.It is said that more than 30 members of the Yan family died under the sword and ax of the Yan army.

With the fall of Changshan and the heroic martyrdom of Yan Gaoqing, the vigorous Hebei resistance movement quickly fell into a low ebb.Shi Siming and Cai Xide relied on the power of the new victory, "Lead troops to attack those who do not follow the counties, and they will be wiped out; so Ye, Guangping, Julu, Zhao, Shanggu, Boling, Wen'an, Wei, Xindu and other counties Be guarded by thieves again" (Volume 217).Only a few counties such as Raoyang, Hejian, Jingcheng, Pingyuan, and Qinghe still insisted on resisting. Later, Shi Siming and others led a fierce attack on Raoyang. The Tang troops in Hejian and Jingcheng successively sent troops to rescue them, but they were defeated one by one by Shi Siming.

In the face of Yan Junxiao's frantic sweep of Shi Siming, the Hebei government army has no defense, and it is entirely possible that they will be defeated one by one. The whole front of Hebei was in a hurry, and Xuanzong was very anxious. At the time of crisis, Xuanzong naturally turned his attention to the north of Chang'an - Shuofang and Hedong. In addition to the first battlefields in Hebei and Henan, there is the second battlefield where the official army and the rebels confront each other.At this moment, there is a heroic and vigorous figure active on this battlefield. He was Guo Ziyi who was Shuofang Jiedushi at that time.

Xuanzong knew that besides the ailing Ge Shuhan who was stationed in Tongguan, the only person who could take orders in the face of danger and turn the tide was Guo Ziyi. Guo Ziyi, born in Huazhou (now Huaxian County, Shaanxi Province), was born in the first year of Wuzhou Shengong (697 A.D.).It is said in history that Guo Ziyi was "more than six feet long and handsome in appearance" ("Old Tang Book·Guo Ziyi Biography"), that is to say, he was tall and mighty, with a dignified appearance, and he was almost born as a soldier.Therefore, when Guo Ziyi was young, he went to Beijing to take part in the martial arts examination, and he came out on top with an "advanced" result. He was immediately awarded the post of Chief History of the Left Guard, and entered the imperial military circle from then on.

After Guo Ziyi became an official, he served as a frontier general in various border towns. After long-term training, he accumulated extremely rich military experience.In the eighth year of Tianbao (749 A.D.), Guo Ziyi was promoted to the general of Zuowei and served as the envoy of the Hengsai Army.In the thirteenth year of Tianbao (754 A.D.), the Hengsai Army was renamed Tiande Army. Guo Ziyi still served as the military envoy, and concurrently served as the Jiuyuan prefect and Shuofang Jiedu Youbing envoy.It is not difficult to see from Guo Ziyi's resume that he is actually a late bloomer. The year before the Anshi Rebellion broke out, he was already fifty-eight years old, nearly sixty years old. In terms of age and seniority, he can definitely be called a veteran, but his position is just a mere envoy of the Shuofang Jiedu right soldier.In other words, when Gao Xianzhi, Feng Changqing, Ge Shuhan and others had long been famous in the government and the public, and each of them became a feudal official with a heavy army, Guo Ziyi was still a low-ranking figure in the imperial military circle. If there were no Anshi Rebellion, whether Guo Ziyi would be eligible to be biographyed separately in the history books would be a problem, let alone go down in the annals of history forever as a generation of famous generals who "turned the tide from the collapse and helped the building to collapse". The Anshi Rebellion rewritten the fate of many people, such as Gao Xianzhi, Feng Changqing, and later Ge Shuhan, Yang Guozhong, Yang Guifei, and Xuanzong Li Longji, etc... However, they all have one feature in common, that is, they have been changed into a mess , appalling; Guo Ziyi is probably the one who changed from being an obscure and ordinary person to being famous and brilliant all over the world.Perhaps, this is the so-called hero made by the times. Of course, the premise is that you must have the potential to become a hero, otherwise, when the tide of the times rushes over, instead of creating you, it may swallow you in one bite. In fact, whenever the era of great changes comes, thousands of people will be devoured, and only one or two heroes will be created.A person who can become a hero depends first on whether God has selected you, and secondly depends on whether you are fully prepared.There is a classic lyric in a Hokkien song called "Three points are destined, seven points depend on hard work". In fact, in my opinion, "God's decision" and "hard work" should be divided equally. May lead to the death of a hero. For Guo Ziyi, luck and ability seem to be distributed in an extremely balanced and just right way, so he can stand out in the crisis of life and death, grow into a hero with a long history, and be able to avoid being killed by those in power in the future. He has maintained his enviable power, status, fame, and wealth throughout his life, and even benefited his descendants and grandchildren. Looking at ancient and modern times, such success is unique. Therefore, some people in later generations called Guo Ziyi "Fu Lu Shou Kao, one person through the ages", which is not an exaggerated word. In November of the fourteenth year of Tianbao, when the Anshi Rebellion kicked off, Guo Ziyi's brilliant life also began simultaneously.Since An Sishun, Shuofang Jiedu envoy at that time, was An Lushan's cousin, Xuanzong was naturally very worried, so he immediately recalled An Sishun to the imperial court and transferred him to be Minister of the Household Department, and at the same time promoted Guo Ziyi, the envoy of the right army As Shuofang Jiedushi, Wei Weiqing and Lingwu (now Lingwu City, Ningxia) prefect, he ordered him to lead his troops into the Hedong battlefield. This year, Guo Ziyi was fifty-nine years old. When An Lushan personally led the army to the south, he ordered Gao Xiuyan, his henchman and Datong army envoy, to send troops from the garrison (now east of Shuozhou City, Shanxi) to attack Zhenwu Army (now Helinger County, Inner Mongolia), in order to open up a second. On the battlefield, on the one hand, it contained the Tang army in Shuofang and Hedong, and on the other hand, it threatened Guanzhong from north to south.However, as soon as Gao Xiuyan dispatched troops, he was hit head-on by Guo Ziyi, and had to retreat to his old nest, and another general Xue Zhongyi was sent to attack Jingbian Army (now Youyu County, Shanxi).When Guo Ziyi heard the news, he immediately ordered Li Guangbi, the envoy of the left army, and Pugu Huai'en, the general of the Ministry, to intercept Xue Zhongyi's army and kill 7,000 rebel cavalry.Later, the Shuofang army took advantage of the victory to enter Weiyunzhong (now Datong City, Shanxi), overcome Mayi (now Shuozhou City, Shanxi), and opened up Dongxingguan (now Dongxingguan, Daixian County, Shanxi), a strategic point once controlled by the rebels. ). Shuofang's army fought successively in Hedong, severely defeating the rebel front, making Guo Ziyi the most attention-grabbing general in the ruling and opposition circles.Xuanzong immediately rewarded Guo Ziyi for his meritorious service, and named Guo Ziyi the imperial historian. When news of the success of the Hedong battlefield was frequent, Changshan was captured by Shi Siming, and Hebei was in a hurry. Xuanzong had to order Guo Ziyi to lift the siege of Yunzhong. The main force temporarily returned to Shuofang to rest and replenish troops. , And allocated a part of the troops, ordered them to advance from the Jingxing Pass to the east, rush to rescue Raoyang, and restore the situation in Hebei. The candidate recommended by Guo Ziyi to Xuanzong was Li Guangbi, the number two hero who quelled the Anshi Rebellion in the future. Li Guangbi, a native of Khitan, was born in the second year of Emperor Zhongzong's Jinglong (708 A.D.). His ancestors were Khitan chiefs, and his ancestral home was Liucheng, Yingzhou (now Chaoyang City, Liaoning).Li Guangbi's father was Li Kailuo, the deputy envoy of Shuofang Jiedu, the Duke of Ji, who was famous in the army for his bravery. It is said that a tiger father has no dogs. Under his father's precepts and deeds, Li Guangbi was "good at riding and shooting, and able to read Banshi's "Hanshu"" since he was a child. He entered the military at a young age, and his starting point was quite high. Yan Yi has a general plan, and he started from Zuo Weilang." ("Old Tang Book Biography of Li Guangbi") In the early years of Tianbao, Li Guangbi, who was in his early thirties, was already an official in Yuhou, the capital of Shuofang.In the fifth year of Tianbao (746 A.D.), Wang Zhongsi, the Jiedu envoy of Hexi, admired Li Guangbi very much, so he brought him under his command and promoted him to the military envoy of Hexi.At that time, Wang Zhongsi said to everyone: "Li Guangbi, a young man, will definitely be able to take my position in the future." Because of Wang Zhongsi's favor and Li Guangbi's talent, he quickly gained fame in the Hexi Army , "The side is called a famous general". In the eighth year of Tianbao (749 A.D.), Li Guangbi was promoted to the deputy envoy of Hexi Jiedu and granted the title of Duke of Jijun.In the year when he became the second in command of Hexi, Li Guangbi was just in his early forties, and Guo Ziyi, who was more than ten years older than him, was still just an unknown envoy to the Western Cyprus.In other words, by the mid-term of Tianbao, Li Guangbi's official position, title, and reputation were actually far above Guo Ziyi.If Guo Ziyi is a typical late bloomer, then Li Guangbi is undoubtedly a representative of wunderkind. However, no one expected that this rising star, whom everyone was very optimistic about, suddenly resigned from office a few years later and disappeared from people's sight all of a sudden. What exactly happened, so that Li Guangbi personally ruined his bright future? The reason is simple, yet puzzling. It was the thirteenth year of Tianbao (754 A.D.), Shuofang Jiedu envoy An Sishun loved Li Guangbi's talent, so he asked the court to appoint him as Shuofang Jiedu's deputy envoy and Zhiliu's funeral.By doing this, An Sishun obviously regarded Li Guangbi as his successor.If there are no accidents, Li Guangbi will be able to succeed the Jiedushi logically in a few years and become the great official of the empire. But the accident still appeared.Because An Sishun admired Li Guangbi so much, he also attached a condition when promoting him, that is, he wanted to recruit him as his son-in-law.Logically speaking, this was a good thing. At that time, An Lushan was still Xuanzong's number one favorite, and An Sishun naturally followed suit. Therefore, being able to become An Sishun's son-in-law will definitely benefit Li Guangbi's career development in the future. . However, Li Guangbi refused. Not only did he flatly refuse, but he also resigned all the officials that An Sishun had given him. History books did not explain why Li Guangbi made such an abnormal behavior, but we might as well make some speculations.At that time, Li Guangbi must have had a wife long ago, and An Sishun definitely did not want his daughter to marry and become a child. Therefore, he probably hoped that Li Guangbi would divorce his original wife and let his daughter marry and become the wife. If our speculation is true, then this marriage is not a pleasant thing for Li Guangbi.That is to say, he has to make a choice—either give up his wife and embrace a bright future; or give up the temptation of high officials and generous salaries and stick to his moral bottom line. Li Guangbi finally chose the latter. This seems to show that in Li Guangbi's mind, morality and ethics are much more important than fame and fortune. There is a detail that is easily overlooked in "Old Book of the Tang Dynasty: The Biography of Li Guangbi", which may serve as a circumstantial evidence for our above speculation.There is a saying in the biography: "(Guangbi) Ding's father is worried, and he will not enter his wife's family at the end of the funeral." That is to say, during the mourning period for his father, Li Guangbi strictly abided by the ritual constraints and moral norms at that time, and never had a relationship with his own. wife in the same room. In the eyes of today's people, this seems to be worthless; but to ancient people, it is a sign of a person's noble integrity.From this incident, it is not difficult for us to draw a conclusion - Li Guangbi has a strong moral concept, and in order to maintain this most fundamental thing, he can give up many other things. Perhaps, this is the underlying reason why Li Guangbi refused to marry and resigned angrily. However, truly talented people will not be buried for a long time.Even if Li Guangbi resigns from An Sishun's position, there will still be many talent-loving people rushing to get him. Therefore, as soon as the Anshi Rebellion broke out, Guo Ziyi immediately recruited Li Guangbi under his command.Now, Xuanzong asked Guo Ziyi to recommend an excellent general to pacify Hebei, and Guo Ziyi recommended Li Guangbi without hesitation. On the ninth day of the first lunar month in the fifteenth year of Tianbao (756 A.D.), Xuanzong officially appointed Li Guangbi as the Jiedu envoy of Hedong and the doctor of the royal history, and later added the interview envoy of Hebei Dao. He was ordered to go to the Hebei battlefield immediately. At the same time that Li Guangbi led his troops to Hebei, Shi Siming's Yan army was attacking Raoyang City day and night. Although the resistance of this city was far beyond Shi Siming's expectations, and there was also intelligence that the reinforcements from the east of the river were advancing rapidly towards Hebei, Shi Siming didn't seem worried. Since the start of the war, he has never paid any attention to any Tang army.He does not believe that there is a Tang army who can win the battle, let alone a Tang army who can defeat him, Shi Siming.Therefore, even though they have been fighting around Raoyang for several days, and the soldiers of the Yan Army have suffered considerable casualties, Shi Siming still looks determined and confident in his command. At this time, Shi Siming didn't know that the man named Li Guangbi who was about to enter Hebei would be different from any Tang army general he had ever seen. To be precise, this is a Tang general who can win battles, and a Tang general who can beat Shi Siming all over the place! All things in the world are always interdependent, and human beings are no exception. From this perspective, Li Guangbi is Shi Siming's destined natural enemy and the biggest nightmare in his life.