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Chapter 1366 Don’t Be Guo Ziyi

At this time, Han Xiu, who was appointed by the Queen of Luoyang, immediately prepared his army to march to Chang'an. It was obvious that he also cherished this hard-won opportunity very much. After all, all men with eggs want to prove their strength to the world.

Many people may not know this military general named Han Xiu, but Han Xiu was also a rare and powerful general in the history of the Tang Dynasty. It's a pity that Li Longji in the Yuan Dynasty and the present did not have the ability to judge people, and they only appointed flatterers like Li Linfu and An Lushan. Han Xiu, who felt that he had no future, decisively defected to the empress in Luoyang.

In fact, the powerful Tang Dynasty had no shortage of brave generals, but the most famous ones were a small group including Li Jing and Xue Rengui. As for Li Longji's reign, the most famous one was Guo Ziyi who turned the tide.

Guo Ziyi is the Tang Dynasty general that Suning admires the most. If Li Longji can continue to trust and treat him well, his ideal state may be to become a powerful man like Guo Ziyi. After all, it is also a great feat to create a truly prosperous era for the mighty Tang Dynasty. However, it is a pity that Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji is still the ambitious but incompetent man from the Yuan Dynasty.

Suddenly talking about Guo Ziyi, I have to say a few more words.

Guo Ziyi served as a general in the reigns of Xuanzong, Suzong, Daizong and Dezong, and made enormous contributions to maintaining the stability and unity of the Tang Dynasty. However, he was able to remain undeterred by setbacks, remain humble despite his achievements, and remain calm despite his success.

The history books say that he "had overwhelming power and yet the court was not afraid of him; his achievements were unparalleled and yet the ruler did not doubt him; his extravagance and indulgence in the desires of the poor were not considered a crime by the gentlemen."

Guo Ziyi had an outstanding physique. He took part in the military examination in his early years and entered the official career of the Tang Dynasty with excellent results.

At first, he served in the imperial guards of Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty. Later, he began a long career of guarding the border. He was successively promoted to the positions of General of the Left Guard, Envoy of the Tiande Army and Prefect of Jiuyuan, and Right Military Envoy of the Shuofang Jiedushi.

In November of the fourteenth year of the Tianbao era (755 AD), An Lushan launched a rebellion from Fan Yang, triggering the An-Shi Rebellion that led to the decline of the Tang Dynasty.

At that time, because the Tang Dynasty had enjoyed peace for a long time, a culture of arrogance, extravagance and debauchery had developed from top to bottom, and the military preparations of local prefectures, counties and border crossings were also slack. When fighting with foreign countries such as Tubo and Huihe, the Tang army suffered repeated defeats, especially the rebels of the Anshi Rebellion who made rapid progress.

At the critical moment, Guo Ziyi, who was in mourning for his mother, was "forced" by the court to take up a position and lead the Tang army to the east to attack An Lushan, the mastermind of the Anshi Rebellion.

After Guo Ziyi took office, he first killed the rebel general Zhou Wanqing, and then defeated the rebel general Gao Xiuyan, successfully recovering the lost territory, laying a good foundation for further eastward advancement into Hebei and cutting off An Lushan's rear supply line.

However, just as Guo Ziyi was making great strides, An Lushan had already conquered the eastern capital Luoyang, proclaimed himself the emperor of Great Yan, and sent heavy troops to besiege Tongguan, the last line of defense of the capital Chang'an.

Therefore, Guo Ziyi was ordered to withdraw to Shuofang and prepare to go south to join forces with other Tang troops to attack Luoyang. He also recommended Li Guangbi as the governor of Hedong, who would send troops to march into Hebei to contain the rebels' rear.

But not long after, Guo Ziyi received an emergency letter saying that Li Guangbi was surrounded.

Without hesitation, he decisively sent troops eastward to join forces with Li Guangbi.

After joining forces, Guo Ziyi won successive victories in Hebei, forcing the rebel general Shi Siming to flee barefoot for his life.

More than ten counties in central Hebei were deeply encouraged by this and they killed the rebels and surrendered to the court.

At the same time, Yan Zhenqing and others also responded to the army of Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi, which basically cut off the passage between An Lushan's troops in Luoyang and their base in Fanyang. The situation on the entire battlefield was very favorable to the Tang army.

At this time, Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi, who were actively preparing to march north to Fanyang, jointly submitted a memorial to the court: "The army at Tongguan should hold it firmly to avoid being attacked, and should not make an advance lightly."

However, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, who was eager to win, mistakenly listened to the advice of Prime Minister Yang Guozhong and forced Geshu Han to go out of the pass to recover the lost territory without sufficient preparation. As a result, the Tang army was defeated, the rebels easily took the natural barrier of Tongguan and captured Chang'an, and the situation of the rebellion took a sharp turn for the worse.

After the fall of Chang'an, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, fled to Yizhou with all the nobles in the court. Crown Prince Li Heng ascended the throne in Lingwu and became Emperor Suzong of Tang. He also respected Li Longji as the Supreme Emperor and then ordered the execution of Yang Yuhuan at Mawei Slope.

Li Heng, the newly enthroned Emperor Suzong of Tang, ordered generals from all over the country to come to Lingwu to support the emperor.

Therefore, Guo Ziyi abandoned the favorable situation formed in Shanxi and Hebei, and led 50,000 infantry and cavalry to Lingwu day and night in accordance with the imperial edict.

After arriving in Lingwu, Guo Ziyi was appointed Minister of War, Co-Prime Minister of the Secretariat, and concurrently Jiedushi of Shuofang.

At that time, Emperor Suzong no longer had a complete army around him. After Guo Ziyi led the well-disciplined and high-spirited Shuofang Army to Lingwu, he brought hope of revival to the court and the people.

After a rest, Suzong decided to send troops to the south. However, Prime Minister Fang Guan wanted to be the first to make a contribution, so he volunteered to fight against the rebels, while Guo Ziyi led the Shuofang Army to stay in Lingwu.

As a result, Fang Guan's erroneous strategy of talking about war on paper led to the complete loss of tens of thousands of troops that Suzong had painstakingly built up.

At the same time, the surrendered general Ashina Congli rebelled again after the Tang army was defeated, threatening the safety of Lingwu.

At the critical moment, it was Guo Ziyi who stepped forward and joined forces with the Uighur leader Geluozhi to fight back, thus putting down the rebellion and turning the danger into safety.

From then on, the Shuofang Army became the most important force in fighting the rebels.

In February of the second year of Zhide (757 AD), the rebels had an internal conflict.

First, An Qingxu murdered his father An Lushan and proclaimed himself emperor. Then, Shi Siming, who was stationed in Fan Yang, took control of his own troops and refused to obey An Qingxu's orders.

At the same time, Li Guangbi and others tied down and eliminated a large number of rebel forces in Hebei.

Suzong believed that this was an excellent opportunity to recover the two capitals, so he appointed his son, Prince Guangping Li Chu, as the Grand Marshal of the Army and Guo Ziyi as the Deputy Marshal, and sent troops to recover the two capitals.

In fact, Li Chu was only the nominal commander-in-chief, and the responsibility of commanding the entire army lay entirely with Guo Ziyi.

Under the command of Guo Ziyi, the Tang army was well organized, fought steadily, and defeated the rebels, successively recovering Chang'an, Luoyang, and the lost counties of Hedong, Hexi, Henan, etc.

After the recovery of the two capitals, Guo Ziyi was promoted to Si Tu and Duke of Dai for his outstanding military achievements, and was granted a fief of 1,000 households. He was also promoted to the position of Zhongshu Ling.

In September of the first year of Qianyuan (758 AD), Emperor Suzong mobilized the troops of nine military governors including Guo Ziyi to form a coalition force of to attack An Qingxu.

However, the coalition forces did not have a marshal, but were coordinated by the eunuch Yu Chaoen, who had no knowledge of military affairs. As a result, the military governors in various places were not under the command of each other and fought independently, and the war was therefore delayed for a long time.

As Shi Siming surrendered and then rebelled again, he sent troops to rescue An Qingxu. The Tang army was forced to withdraw under attack from both sides.

Yu Chaoen had always been jealous of Guo Ziyi's many achievements, so he found an excuse to slander him to Suzong, putting all the blame for the failure on Guo Ziyi, causing him to be stripped of his military power and return to Beijing to be unemployed.

Without Guo Ziyi, the Tang army suffered a series of defeats, and the eastern capital Luoyang fell into the hands of the rebels again.

The court and the public all agreed that the rebellion had not yet been pacified and that Guo Ziyi's military power should not be stripped away at this time when more people were needed.

Suzong also realized this and prepared to re-employ him.

However, Yu Chaoen interfered again, and Guo Ziyi ultimately failed to regain command.

Soon after the rebels occupied Luoyang, the capital Chang'an was once again in danger. The garrisons in the Hedong area (now Taiyuan, Shanxi) were successively involved in civil strife, and many military governors were killed. The court was very worried that they would form an alliance with the rebels.

In desperation, Suzong had to re-employ Guo Ziyi to quell the rebellion and promoted him to Prince of Fenyang.

At this time, Emperor Suzong was critically ill. On his sickbed, he entrusted Guo Ziyi with the following: "I entrust all the affairs of Hedong to you."

After Guo Ziyi took office, the generals of various towns in Hedong all obeyed the orders of the court and dared not to rebel again.

Soon, Xuanzong and Suzong died one after another, and Daizong ascended the throne.

The eunuch Cheng Yuanzhen was proud of his contribution in supporting the enthronement of Emperor Daizong and was jealous of Guo Ziyi. He kept slandering and sowing discord between them, and Guo Ziyi was once again stripped of his military power.

In the winter of the first year of Guangde (763 AD), a Tibetan army of took advantage of the weak border defenses to invade Guanzhong and harass the capital area. The entire capital was shocked and helpless.

In the critical moment, Daizong urgently ordered Guo Ziyi to be the deputy marshal of Guannei to guard Xianyang against the enemy.

Because Guo Ziyi had been unemployed at home for a long time, his former subordinates had dispersed, and when he went to war, he had only more than 20 generals at his disposal.

At the same time, the Tubo army bypassed Xianyang and headed straight for Chang'an.

After Guo Ziyi hurriedly marched to Chang'an, Daizong had already fled eastward in panic, and Chang'an was also captured and looted by Tubo.

Guo Ziyi set about incorporating the Tang army that had been dispersed by the Tubo army and formed an army of more than 4,000 people.

Although troops from all over the country arrived one after another to support Guo Ziyi, we were still weak and outnumbered.

So he used the strategy of feigning an attack and bluffing the Tibetan army, and the Tibetan army was indeed confused and fled Chang'an in a hurry.

This was his second time to recapture the capital.

Daizong returned to the capital with deep regret and said to him, "I did not employ you sooner, so this is what happened."

Daizong subsequently granted him an iron certificate of privilege and ordered his portrait to be erected in the Lingyan Pavilion as a token of his praise. In September of the first year of the Yongtai reign (765 AD), Pugu Huai'en, a former subordinate of Guo Ziyi, was framed by eunuchs and then rebelled. He lured the Tibetan and Uighur armies to invade Guanzhong and approach the capital, shocking the entire court.

Daizong urgently summoned Guo Ziyi to lead an army of 10,000 to garrison Jingyang.

When Guo Ziyi arrived in Jingyang, the Tang army was surrounded by an enemy ten times stronger than itself.

Soon, the enemy leader Pugu Huai'en died suddenly.

There had always been a rift between Tubo and Uighurs, and Guo Ziyi had fought side by side with the Uighurs and enjoyed a high prestige among the Uighur soldiers. Therefore, Guo Ziyi decided to contact the Uighurs privately.

He first sent his generals out of the city to test the waters and persuade the Uighur leader, Yao Geluo, not to join forces with the Tubo army. It turned out that Yao Geluo had heard from Pugu Huai'en that Guo Ziyi had died, and that was why he joined forces with the Tubo army.

When he heard that Guo Ziyi was still alive, he was shocked and asked Guo Ziyi to come in person to negotiate.

Upon learning the news, Guo Ziyi immediately decided to go to the meeting alone.

The generals were worried and advised: "The hearts of the Rong and Di people cannot be trusted. Please do not go."

Guo Ziyi said: "Sincerity can move the gods, let alone the captives!"

So Guo Ziyi led only dozens of cavalrymen to the Uighur camp. After meeting Yao Geluo, he condemned the Tubo's tyranny, renewed the old friendship with the Uighurs, and poured wine to swear an oath.

When the Tubo army saw that Guo Ziyi was interacting with the Uighurs, they became suspicious and retreated overnight.

Guo Ziyi led his troops in pursuit and defeated the Tubo, once again resolving the crisis in Chang'an.

For many years thereafter, Guo Ziyi, who was over 70 years old, was stationed abroad for a long time and went to the front line to suppress the rebellion in person.

In the 779th year of Dali ( AD), after Emperor Dezong ascended the throne, Guo Ziyi was transferred back to the court and honored as Shangfu.

In June of the second year of Jianzhong of Emperor Dezong (781 AD), Guo Ziyi died of illness. He was posthumously awarded the title of Grand Tutor and the posthumous name of Zhongwu. He was enshrined in the temple of Emperor Daizong and buried in the Jianling Mausoleum of Emperor Suzong, with the utmost honor.

In the political arena of the mid-Tang Dynasty, Guo Ziyi not only had outstanding military achievements, but also had "a perfect reputation, high moral integrity, and a unique talent."

The Old Book of Tang praised him as "a gentleman of great elegance and a loyal minister to the country."

It is not difficult to see that the reason why Guo Ziyi was highly regarded among the famous generals in the middle Tang Dynasty was closely related to his utter loyalty, adherence to his duties as a minister, sincerity in dealing with others, and generosity and benevolence.

In November of the second year of Guangde (764 AD), in order to reward Guo Ziyi for his contribution in repelling the invasion of Tubo, Daizong appointed him as Shangshu Ling.

Upon hearing this, Guo Ziyi quickly submitted a letter to earnestly decline the position.

Daizong also ordered him to go to the Secretariat to handle government affairs as soon as possible, and to escort him with 500 cavalrymen holding spears.

Guo Ziyi still refused to accept the appointment and submitted another petition, saying earnestly: "Emperor Taizong once held the position of Shangshu Ling, so it has not been established in subsequent dynasties.

The Crown Prince was appointed Prince of Yong and pacified Guandong before being granted this position. How could he have violated state law to favor an old minister? Moreover, since the rebellion was launched, many people have been rewarded for no merit or even for more than their merits. Some even hold multiple positions, seeking only advancement without any sense of shame.

Now that the rebellion has been largely pacified, it is time for Your Majesty to rectify the law and discipline and review the officials, starting with the veteran ministers."

Daizong agreed with Guo Ziyi's request and asked the historian to record his resignation in the history books for future generations.

Due to his outstanding military achievements, Guo Ziyi was often envied by some villains, but he could endure what ordinary people could not endure and tolerate what ordinary people could not tolerate, and dealt with it properly with generosity and benevolence.

In December of the second year of the Dali period (767 AD), when Guo Ziyi was fighting bravely on the front line, his deceased father's tomb was looted.

After the incident, local authorities sent people to capture the thieves, but they failed to catch them.

People in the court and the country were discussing this matter, believing that Yu Chaoen had always been jealous and slandered Guo Ziyi, and suspected that he was secretly instructing others to do it. Guo Ziyi also heard these discussions.

Soon, he entered the court from the Jingyang front line. The ministers and officials guessed that he would take the opportunity to cause trouble.

Unexpectedly, when Emperor Daizong mentioned this incident, Guo Ziyi blamed himself and said, "I have been leading troops abroad for a long time and have failed to stop my subordinates from committing atrocities. Some of my soldiers often robbed the graves of ordinary people. Now someone has dug up my father's grave. This is a punishment from heaven, not a man-made disaster."

Because Guo Ziyi endured humiliation and blamed himself, the concerns of the court were calmed, and all the civil and military officials in the court admired his tolerance and humility.

Later, Yu Chaoen hosted a banquet and invited Guo Ziyi.

Many people believed that Yu Chaoen had bad intentions and was hosting a Hongmen Banquet, and advised him not to pay attention, but he insisted on going.

Seeing that they couldn't persuade him, many of his subordinates decided to bring weapons with them for protection, but he disagreed and only brought a few servants to the banquet.

Yu Chaoen asked, "Why are there so few followers?" Guo Ziyi told him the rumors he had heard.

Yu Chaoen was deeply moved and cried, beating his chest and stamping his feet, saying: "If you are not a kind-hearted elder, how could you not doubt me!" After that, Yu Chaoen gradually changed his attitude towards Guo Ziyi and no longer became his enemy.

As a famous general who restored the Tang Dynasty, Guo Ziyi's loyalty and righteousness are admirable and his outstanding achievements are admired.

In the Tang Dynasty where eunuchs were in power and fighting among each other, he experienced ups and downs several times, and finally had a good ending, putting a perfect end to his military career.

However, in order to make a career, he is always thinking about defacing himself. It can be said that he is always showing his and his family's desire to survive. It feels really bad that the glory and life and death of the nine clans are dependent on others.

……

However, Suning, who learned from history, believed that being Guo Ziyi had no future. Even if he had to be loyal, he would choose a king who was worthy of his efforts. Unfortunately, this human emperor Li Longji was not the one worthy of his efforts.

That is why Suning allowed the "Anshi Rebellion" to break out more than 40 years earlier, and this new "Anshi Rebellion" far exceeded the Yuan Dynasty. The empress of Luoyang was much more appealing than An Lushan and Shi Siming, so it was destined that Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji of Tang would soon perish.

When Han Xiu led 200,000 Great Zhou troops to the outskirts of Chang'an City, Liao Kai, who had received the news from Luoyang in advance, did not resist at all. Instead, he cooperated very well and handed over the 20,000 troops to his successor Han Xiu.

Liao Kai, now alone, immediately returned to Luoyang and went straight to the Empress Kaiyuan to report, "Your Majesty, I, Liao Kai, pay my respects to you."

"My dear minister, I know that you have resentment in your heart, but the court of my Great Zhou Dynasty needs stability now, and the opinions of the aristocratic families still need to be considered." Looking at this loyal minister and good general kneeling not far from her, Empress Kaiyuan felt a little ashamed for a moment.

"Your Majesty, I have no complaints in my heart. You should know that the Empress of Heaven has already instructed me that thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the Emperor."

"Well, Lord Liao, I was right about you."

Then Liao Kai suddenly looked at the Kaiyuan Empress in front of him and reminded her, "Your Majesty, there are now more than 200,000 troops besieging Chang'an. I believe our army will soon break through Chang'an City, but we have overlooked the most important false emperor."

"Oh? My dear, what do you mean?" As expected, Liao Kai's reminder successfully aroused the interest of Empress Kaiyuan.

"Your Majesty, we should immediately pursue the false emperor in the direction of Yizhou. It would be best if we could capture this frightened and panic-stricken false emperor. Then the entire world will naturally fall into your hands."

"This……"

"Your Majesty, your servant Liao Kai is willing to lead the Jinyiwei in pursuit of the false emperor. I will definitely ensure that he is captured or beheaded."

At this moment, Empress Kaiyuan stared at Liao Kai with extreme caution and warned him, "Liao Kai, do you know what it means to capture or kill the false emperor? You will be ostracized by the court officials for the rest of your life, and I have never considered taking the false emperor's life."

"Your Majesty, the Empress created the Imperial Guards specifically to do dirty work. I and two hundred thousand of them are willing to give up everything for Your Majesty, even if it means destroying ourselves and losing our reputation."

"Lord Liao, I am truly moved by you."

"Your Majesty, this is what I and the entire Jinyiwei should do."

"Well, then, Lord Liao, just go ahead and do it!"

"Yes! Your Majesty."

……

(End of this chapter)