PFC Chapter 337 The God of War Tricked by His Grandson
Chapter 337 The God of War Tricked by His Grandson
He first volunteered to transport food and grass, and then deliberately slowed down the process for various reasons, in order to make the Sui army starve on the Liaodong battlefield. Then, he tricked the soldiers who transported food and grass into rebelling against the Sui Dynasty. During this period, Li Mi became his military advisor and formulated three strategies: upper, middle, and lower:
The best strategy: occupy Youzhou in the north and cut off Emperor Yang of Sui's way home, and then control him when he runs out of food and grass and passes by to withdraw his troops.
Middle strategy: Go west to Chang'an and directly take Guanzhong. Because Guanzhong is easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is also the base camp of the Guanlong Group. Occupying this place can also show down the Emperor Yang of Sui.
The worst strategy: attack Luoyang, the eastern capital, nearby. But you must fight quickly and take it before the reinforcements arrive, otherwise you will be surrounded.
At that time, all the civil and military officials followed the emperor on the expedition. Yang Xuangan believed that the families of all the civil and military officials were in Luoyang. Controlling Luoyang meant controlling all the civil and military officials, and then he could sideline Emperor Yang of Sui.
So he chose the worst strategy and led 5000 soldiers to Luoyang. At that time, the people were already dissatisfied with the Sui Dynasty. Yang Xuangan received strong support from the people during the march, and many people volunteered to join. In just a few days, there were 10 people.
Fan Zigai, the Minister of Punishments who was in Guanzhong, did not dare to be negligent, so he led tens of thousands of soldiers to intercept Yang Su. On the way, he also dug up Yang Su's grave and burned his bones to ashes in order to strike a blow to Yang Xuangan.
Yang Xuangan was furious and personally went to fight Fan Zigai, then pretended to flee. Fan Zigai believed it and pursued him, but was ambushed by Yang Xuangan and his vanguard troops were wiped out. A few days later, the two armies fought again.
Yang Xuangan used another trick this time. He sent people to shout "Yang Xuangan has been captured" in the chaos. After hearing this, Fan Zigai was confused and relaxed his fighting.
Yang Xuangan then led several thousand cavalry to attack and killed indiscriminately. Fan Zigai's army was defeated again and he escaped with only 8000 troops.
Yang Xuangan was praised as "the living overlord" for his bravery in this battle. After learning that Yang Xuangan had rebelled, Emperor Yang of Sui was ready to take advantage of the situation to launch a general attack on Liaodong City, but then he received news of a great defeat. Emperor Yang of Sui then ordered to abandon all supplies and equipment and return to Luoyang as quickly as possible.
Yang Xuangan's fame grew, and he not only learned the bravery of the Overlord, but also followed the old path of Xiang Yu. At that time, a Sui Dynasty general named Li Zixiong went to Yang Xuangan and suggested that he establish himself as emperor.
Li Mi immediately objected after hearing this, because the previous battles had delayed the construction progress and reinforcements were now on their way from all over the country.
The most urgent thing now was to avoid being besieged, and not to consider becoming emperor. However, Yang Xuangan was very dissatisfied with this, so Li Zixiong became the new military advisor.
As Li Mi expected, reinforcements from all sides were approaching the city, and Yang Xuangan was afraid. Li Zixiong proposed to go to Guanzhong.
This strategy was actually the middle strategy given by Li Mi before, but Yang Xuangan deviated from the focus of direct attack and actually attacked other areas on the way. Li Mi advised him to seize the natural barrier as soon as possible to avoid being chased by the pursuing troops and having nowhere to hide, but Yang Xuangan did not listen.
As a result, he was defeated by the governor of Hongnong, and he did not realize his mistake until his pursuers came. Yang Xuangan fought and retreated, but in the end, his entire army was annihilated.
In order to avoid being insulted by the enemy, he asked his brother to kill him. Throughout his life, Yang Xuangan howled to the sky, which scared off several pursuers, and then he died under his brother's knife. This heroic and tragic death is exactly the same as Xiang Yu's.
His head was sent to the palace of Emperor Yang of Sui, and his body was exposed to the sun for three days, then cut into pieces and finally thrown into a raging fire and turned into ashes.
According to the records of "Book of Sui" and "Six Codes of Tang", Yang Xuangan was executed along with his entire clan, becoming the only person who was clearly recorded as being executed along with his entire clan.
Emperor Yang of Sui also killed more than 3 members of the rebel army. Anyone who had any connection with him would eventually face exile to the frontier.
The people who had once received his relief were even more miserable, because they had eaten the grain that Yang Xuangan had released from the granaries, and were all killed.
However, it was Emperor Yang of Sui's massacre that led to more and more anti-Sui forces in the world. Therefore, Yang Xuangan's rebellion indirectly contributed to the demise of the Sui Dynasty.
Many years later, on the hilltop of Wagangzhai, there was an important figure, Li Mi, who unexpectedly survived among Yang Xuangan's many followers. So what happened to Li Mi?
[Why was the military god's tomb still dug up fifteen years after his death? His fame was ruined by his own grandson. Historical trivia and historical figures]
In the first year of Guangzhai (684), Wu Zetian dug up the tomb of Li Ji, the military god who had died 15 years earlier, and left his body exposed. This famous general who had made countless military achievements for the Tang Dynasty would never have thought that his fame would be ruined by his grandson.
His grandson Li Jingye attempted a rebellion in the name of "restoring the Tang Dynasty" and ended up with his head and body separated. In this video, we will learn about Li Jingye, the largest rebel in the early Tang Dynasty.
Li Jingye was born in 636 in HZ city, SD province today. After his grandfather Li Ji died, he inherited the post of governor of Meizhou, a public official of the Ying Dynasty.
In fact, he almost died at the hands of Li Ji when he was in his teens, because Li Ji thought that his face was not good and was afraid that he would bring disaster to the whole family in the future.
Li Jingye had been keen on archery since he was a child, so Li Ji took advantage of the opportunity to lure him into the woods while hunting, and then prepared to set fire to him in the wind. Li Jingye tried to escape several times but failed, and finally killed his horse and hid in the horse's carcass.
After the fire was extinguished, he returned to the mansion covered in blood. Li Ji was very surprised that he had such wit at the age of a teenager.
During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, the imperial court sent troops to attack Yizhou bandits many times, but each action failed. Later, Li Jingye was appointed governor of the state. When the bandits heard that a new official had taken office, they were ready to fight.
However, after many days, they did not see any soldiers. Later, they finally heard that the government had taken action, but they found that there were only Li Jingye and two officials.
Li Jingye arrived at the camp gate and pushed it open, not taking the bandits seriously at all. The bandits were frightened by his momentum and dared not act rashly. In the end, they dispersed on the spot after Li Jingye's words.
After hearing about his grandson's abilities, Li Ji thought that he had served in the army for many years but never dared to take such a risk. He felt that his family would definitely be destroyed by Li Jingye in the future.
In 683, Wu Zetian deposed Li Dan and made him emperor, taking control of all the power in the court. In the same year, Li Jingye, Luo Binwang, Wei Siwen and others were demoted for committing crimes. They gathered in Yangzhou out of dissatisfaction and plotted a rebellion in the name of restoring the orthodoxy of the Li Tang Dynasty.
In 684, Li Jingye called himself the General of Restoration and developed his power in Yangzhou under the banner of attacking Wu Zetian and supporting the Tang Dynasty. In just half a month, he gathered more than 10 people. Li Jingye also found a person who looked like Li Xian (the son of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, who was deposed as a commoner for treason) to command the world.
At the same time, Luo Binwang's "On Behalf of Li Jingye to Punish Wu Zetian" had spread to all prefectures and counties. This article was magnificent and sharp, and it was listed as the two masterpieces of Tang literature together with "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng". Although Wu Zetian was scolded by Luo Binwang, she admired the author's literary talent very much after reading the article, and sighed that Luo Binwang was a talent for prime minister.
At that time, Yangzhou was an important financial and taxation center after the Tang Dynasty. In addition, Li Jingye's rebellion was the largest rebellion in the early Tang Dynasty, so Wu Zetian would certainly not take it lightly.
Since Li Jingye rebelled under the banner of supporting the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian deliberately arranged for Li Xiaoyi, a prince of the Tang royal family, to lead troops to quell the rebellion, so that everyone in the world would know that the Tang Dynasty recognized his power, thus making Li Jingye's rebellion lose its legitimacy. So on October 684, 30, Wu Zetian appointed General Li Xiaoyi to lead an army of to quell the rebellion.
At the same time, Wu Zetian also appointed the resourceful Wei Yuanzhong as military supervisor. On the one hand, he was to provide assistance to Li Xiaoyi in strategy and tactics. On the other hand, she was concerned about Li Xiaoyi's loyalty in order to prevent him from turning against her in the battle.
However, Wei Yuanzhong alone was not enough of a guarantee. After Li Xiaoyi set out, Wu Zetian ordered Su Xiaoxiang, the powerful General of the Zuo Yuqin Guard, to lead the second echelon to lurk in the battlefield to ensure that the rebellion could be suppressed without any failure.
Although Li Jingye was a descendant of a general, his military ability was not at the same level as Su Xiaoxiang. Therefore, it can be considered that Li Xiaoyi was a political card played by Wu Zetian, and Su Xiaoxiang was the real military trump card. Even if Li Xiaoyi was defeated in the end, Su Xiaoxiang could still put down the rebellion.
As the imperial army was setting out, Li Jingye was faced with two choices. Military advisor Wei Siwen believed that since they were under the banner of the King of Qin, they should go straight to Luoyang to let the world know that they were sincerely maintaining the orthodoxy of the Tang Dynasty and thus gain support from all sides.
However, Xu Chongsi who was beside him said that Nanjing had the aura of an emperor, and that he should not go south to capture Nanjing. Instead, he should consolidate his strength in Nanjing, lay the foundation for hegemony, and then go north to the Central Plains. This was a good strategy of advance and retreat.
Li Jingye was attracted by the imperial atmosphere of Nanjing, and turned a deaf ear to Wei Siwen's repeated dissuasion. He immediately adopted Xu Chongsi's plan to go south, ordered a team of soldiers to stay in Yangzhou, and personally led the army to Runzhou. This decision laid the groundwork for his failure.
After Li Jingye captured Runzhou, he captured the governor of Runzhou alive. Five days after the battle, Wu Zetian stripped him of his hereditary title and his status as a royal relative of the Li family, restored his original surname to Xu, and abandoned the tomb of his grandfather Li Ji.
This confirmed Li Ji's opinion of Li Jingye. Soon, Li Xiaoyi's army approached Runzhou. Xu Jingye divided his troops into three groups to fight. He lost the first battle, and he became timid because of this defeat and never moved forward.
Wei Yuanzhong then played a role, suggesting that if Li Xiaoyi kept shrinking back, someone would definitely suspect that he was secretly colluding with Xu Jingye. Li Xiaoyi was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and immediately attacked, defeating several of Xu Jingye's troops within a few days.
In mid-November, the main force led by Xu Jingye fought a decisive battle with the government troops at Shiliang River in the southeast of Gaoyou. The imperial army suffered repeated setbacks and suffered heavy casualties. Although Li Xiaoyi was timid, he was very good at accepting correct suggestions from others.
So, under Wei Yuanzhong's suggestion, they adopted the strategy of fire attack. Several ignited warships rushed towards the rebels on the other side of the river with the strong wind. The rebel camp was instantly engulfed by the fire, and Xu Jingye's dream of rebellion was burned out at this moment.
After the defeat, Xu Jingye and Luo Binwang and a few other remnants fled in panic, preparing to flee to Goguryeo with their families. However, when they were about to cross the river, they encountered strong winds again, so they had no choice but to stay for a while and leave again on another day.
As a result, Xu Jingye and Luo Binwang were killed by their subordinates while they were sleeping at night, and Wei Siwen was arrested and beheaded shortly afterwards. The rebellion was completely quelled.
In fact, Xu Jingye's greatest asset in his rebellion was neither his reputation as a descendant of a wealthy family nor the 10 mobs he hastily assembled, but his political slogan of "Supporting Li Tang."
If he could make full use of people's dissatisfaction with Wu Zetian's abuse of power and dictatorship, he would certainly be able to win the hearts of the people and command the world, and the outcome might have been different.
Unfortunately, Xu Jingye refused to go north and insisted on going south. This behavior exposed his hypocritical face. Therefore, his rebellion could not gain the support of the people in the world, and he ended up with his head and body separated.