bookrebus Chapter 48 The Fall of Tongguan
Chapter 48 The Fall of Tongguan
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty
Li Longji abruptly pushed away the imperial physicians surrounding him, his eyes bloodshot and his hands trembling slightly. He never imagined that An Lushan would rebel.
He was not without people around him who advised him to deal with An Lushan. Even Gao Lishi said that the border governors had too much power, but I did not take it seriously.
Every time this child came to the capital, he would make me and Yu Huan happy. He even painstakingly practiced the Hu Xuan dance, and he recognized me as his godfather and Yu Huan as his godmother. How could such a filial child suddenly rebel?
Li Longji closed his eyes. It was now the sixth year of Tianbao (747 AD). Li Linfu had not yet died, Yang Guozhong had not yet taken power, and An Lushan was in charge of the two military governorships and concurrently served as the Grand Secretary. The Tang Dynasty could still be saved.
Li Longji stared at Lin Ke on the screen and asked a rare, genuine question: Could what Miss Lin said be known to An Lushan and cause him to rebel in advance?
After seeing Li Longji's comment, Lin Ke pondered for a moment before replying (actually, she asked the system): "An Lushan and the others do not have small light screens."
Reassured after hearing this, Li Longji said in a deep voice, "Issue my decree to mobilize the central imperial guards to arrest An Lushan. Anyone who resists and refuses to surrender shall be executed on the spot."
Gao Lishi, standing beside him, lowered his eyes and agreed before running off to mobilize troops. In fact, he had long advised His Majesty to be wary of An Lushan's growing military power and treacherous intentions, but His Majesty still believed in his sincerity.
..........
The voices explaining history on the screen continue.
"On the other side, after Feng Changqing fled, he encountered another general, Gao Xianzhi. The two generals reached a consensus that since they could not defeat An Lushan at the moment, they should retreat to Tongguan. Tongguan was the last line of defense for Chang'an City, and I believe you can all understand what that means."
"Although the two generals, Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi, abandoned Luoyang, two civil officials chose to try to stop them."
"One of them was Li Xin, who was then the governor of Henan, and the other was Lu Yi, the vice censor-in-chief."
"Li Xin gathered four hundred men to continue the resistance, but they all ran away before he could break through. Even so, Li Xin chose to stay in Luoyang and live or die with the city."
"Lu Yi saw off his wife and children, put on his court robes, and quietly waited for the arrival of the rebels at his residence."
"These two were not so much waiting for the rebels as they were waiting for their own deaths. They knew that An Lushan would not spare their lives, yet they were still willing to stay and defend Luoyang."
"Upon arriving, An Lushan, as expected, ordered his men to behead the two men and commanded his subordinate Duan Ziguang to carry their heads around to various prefectures in Hebei to serve as a warning to others."
"Shortly afterward, An Lushan ascended the throne in Luoyang and became emperor. The rebels who followed him were all given official titles and ranks. At first glance, the city was full of barbarian soldiers, wearing magnificent hats, while the most common sight was wild grass stained with blood."
Lin Ke let out a sorrowful sigh, and it seemed that everyone in the court could see the devastated city of Luoyang.
"On the other side, Li Longji was furious when he received the news of the fall of Luoyang. He thought that the troops led by An Lushan were nothing but a bunch of useless soldiers, how could they pose any threat to the Tang Dynasty? But when the battle report came, he had no choice but to believe that the Tang Dynasty had actually been defeated by the mixed barbarian An Lushan."
"He was completely baffled and, believing the words of treacherous officials, concluded that it was all the fault of Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi. So he executed the generals on the battlefield and issued an edict: Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing surrendered without a fight and were beheaded on the spot."
"As mentioned earlier, Yan Zhenqing was fighting against An Lushan's rebellion. He patiently waited for news of the two armies going to war, but unfortunately, he did not receive news of the battle. Instead, he received news of the heads of two civil officials and the fall of Luoyang, the eastern capital."
Duan Ziguang, holding the two severed heads, shouted: "Anyone who dares to disobey will suffer the same fate as these two!"
"At this moment, Yan Zhenqing could no longer hold back. His grief and indignation overwhelmed his reason. He ordered his men to capture Duan Ziguang alive, cut him in half at the waist, and then use straw to make a body shape to attach his head and give these two loyal ministers a proper burial."
"Yan Zhenqing wrote a proclamation to denounce the traitor, which was sent to various counties in Hebei, and officially declared war on An Lushan. Yan and Zhao have never lacked righteous people. As soon as Yan Zhenqing made the declaration, people followed him one after another. Before long, more than 10,000 people joined his ranks."
"Even the seventeen prefectures of Hebei responded one after another, announcing their joining the anti-rebel forces and jointly electing Yan Zhenqing as the leader of the alliance, in charge of 200,000 troops in Hebei. Immediately afterwards, Yan Zhenqing sent a portion of his troops straight to Wei County, where he defeated the rebels with half the enemy's strength and recovered Wei County in one fell swoop."
"Before the operation, Yan Zhenqing had envisioned An Lushan's marching route. The first route would be to advance north and attack Hebei. However, Yan Zhenqing received news that the court had already dispatched Cheng Qianli with an army of 100,000 to Hebei. As long as he captured Wei County, he could meet the 100,000 Tang troops who were being held back by the enemy."
“On the other front, Henan was guarded by 100,000 troops under Wu King Li Zhi, and on the west front was the natural barrier of Tongguan. Looking at it this way, Yan Zhenqing felt that An Lushan was not a threat.”
"The difference between the information given to Yan Zhenqing and that of the information given to Yan Zhenqing is that the imperial court dispatched Guo Ziyi, while Zhang Xun was left to guard Henan on the eastern front."
"As it turned out, Yan Zhenqing's idea was correct. An Lushan was unable to break through after a long siege and began to complain to his confidants: You told me to rebel, but now we are surrounded, what should we do!"
"To everyone's surprise, Tongguan fell, and our micro-management master Li Longji made his move."
"After Li Longji executed Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi, he appointed Geshu Han as the Grand Marshal of the Crown Prince's Vanguard Army, leading 200,000 troops to guard Tongguan."
"Poor General Geshu Han was nearly sixty years old and was unable to move due to a stroke. He also frankly stated that he was ill and unable to lead the army into battle, but Li Longji still insisted on going his own way."
"In the end, because of his discord with Yang Guozhong, Geshu Han was forced by him to go out and fight. As a result, his 200,000-strong army was completely wiped out, and Geshu Han surrendered. An Lushan probably never dreamed that his mortal enemy Yang Guozhong would deliver his head to him."
During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty
Li Shimin drank a large bowl of medicine, having just recovered from the previous bad news, and now he was almost driven to death by Li Longji's outrageous actions.
What the hell!
Slaying generals on the battlefield! Forcing veteran officials to submit!
Why doesn't God strike him dead?!
.........
"When Tongguan, the barrier of Chang'an, fell, our 72-year-old Emperor Li Longji felt that the situation was hopeless. On the advice of Yang Guozhong, he fled to Shu under the pretext of personally leading an expedition."
Everyone in Wanchao: ...
That night, he fled Chang'an with his most favored concubine, princes, and ministers under cover of darkness. The remaining princes and princesses, whom he didn't value much, could only wait there to die. Before leaving, Yang Guozhong even suggested burning down the national treasury, so that An Lushan wouldn't gain any advantage, even if it meant death.
"Li Longji said that if the rebels couldn't find money, they would take it from the people. Those are all my subjects! Bah! If he really treated the people as his subjects, he wouldn't have secretly run away!"
"After escaping the city, Yang Guozhong suggested burning the makeshift bridge to cut off the enemy's pursuit. Li Longji refused, saying that doing so would completely cut off the escape route for the people inside the city. This shows that Li Longji had a conscience, but not much of it."
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: ...
All the emperors of the Tang Dynasty: ...
Everyone in Wanchao: ...
They're more than just heartless!