Zhu Chao accompanied me to watch short videos

Li Mi, a famous prime minister, once said that the so-called Han supporters in the An Lushan Rebellion were nothing more than political opportunists like Zhou Zhi and Gao Shang, as well as some low-level soldiers coerced by An Lushan. The claim that "the Hebei clans supported An Lushan" is even more nonsense.

Among them, one of the far-fetched evidences is Cui Qianyou, a Han general under An Lushan. First of all, it is true that Cui Qianyou came from the Bo Ling Cui family, one of the Five Surnames and Seven Families.

But he cannot represent the Bo Ling Cui family. During the An-Shi Rebellion, Cui clan members who supported the Tang Dynasty, such as Cui Guangyuan, also came from the Bo Ling Cui family.

Both of them were from Hebei clans, and their fathers and grandfathers’ official positions were recorded, but Cui Qianyou had no clear record. Even if Cui Qianyou belonged to Hebei clan, he was not a direct descendant, but a concubine’s son.

In addition, Lu Yi, who also came from the Fanyang Lu family, one of the Five Surnames and Seven Aristocrats, was even more determined to resist An Lushan's rebels. He even denounced the rebels after being captured and died bravely.

The reason why the Anshi Rebellion lasted for eight years was, to a certain extent, due to the foolish decisions made by Xuanzong and Suzong, which made the rebellion more and more intense and laid the hidden danger for the subsequent separatist rule of the feudal lords.

Looking at the An Lushan Rebellion as a whole, it was nothing more than a gamble by frustrated Han opportunists led by An Lushan and Shi Siming and the Hu tribes eager to plunder.

Since ancient times, people have suffered the most in times of chaos. The An Lushan Rebellion brought immeasurable disasters to the stability of the Tang Dynasty and the people. Those who glorify An Lushan in the name of the people are undoubtedly shameless.

[Read all the historical facts about the legendary Tang Dynasty general Xue Rengui in one go i The Battle of Dafeichuan]

Speaking of Xue Rengui, he may not be the most powerful general in the Tang Dynasty, but he is definitely a well-known one. Whether in folk legends or in the interpretation of film and television works, Xue Rengui is described as an inspirational and perfect character.

However, the real Xue Rengui in history was not like this. On the one hand, he was brave and good at fighting, and made many outstanding achievements; on the other hand, he also accepted bribes and was criticized.

So, what is the real Xue Rengui like under the perfect mask in his performance? In this video, let's talk about this legendary general Xue Rengui.

Xue Rengui, whose given name was Li and whose courtesy name was Rengui, was known to the world as "Xue Rengui", which was more popular than his given name. Xue Rengui was born into the Hedong Xue family, one of the six major surnames in Guanxi, and was one of the most prominent families in the Han and Tang dynasties.

However, because Xue Rengui's father Xue Gui died early, the Xue family gradually fell into decline soon after his father's death. Therefore, when Xue Rengui was a teenager, he was already a poor civilian and could only make a living by farming.

When Xue Rengui was 30 years old, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, decided to personally lead an expedition against Goguryeo, and the Tang Dynasty began to mobilize its military. At that time, Zhang Shigui, a famous general of the Tang Dynasty, happened to be recruiting soldiers in Xue Rengui's hometown, but Xue Rengui was busy preparing to move his ancestral tomb and did not think about this at all.

On the contrary, his wife Liu was farsighted and knew her husband's potential. So she said to him: "You have a lot of skills, and now is the opportunity to display them. The emperor is personally going to attack Goguryeo and is recruiting soldiers. Why don't you join the army and make achievements?

It won't be too late to move the ancestral tomb after returning home. " Xue Rengui had lived in poverty for decades and always wanted to make a name for himself, so he immediately agreed to his wife's suggestion. From then on, Xue Rengui became a soldier under the famous general Zhang Shigui.

Speaking of which, TV novels always portray Zhang Shigui as a big villain who works with Li Daozon to bully Xue Rengui, but the real history is not like this.

Zhang Shigui was a rare general in the Tang Dynasty, and Li Daozon was a famous general from the royal family of the Tang Dynasty. Both of them had made great military achievements and were wise ministers, by no means treacherous.

After Xue Rengui joined the Tang army, he was inconspicuous like all the other soldiers at first. But Xue Rengui was a descendant of a famous general family, and perhaps because of his family genes, he made a big splash in his first appearance.

When the Tang army arrived at Andi in Liaodong, a thrilling scene occurred: Tang army general Liu Junxiong was besieged by the Goryeo army and could not escape.

At the critical moment, Xue Rengui broke into the enemy camp alone. With a "click", an enemy general's head was chopped off with a knife. Xue Rengui then hung it on his horse.

The Goguryeo soldiers were frightened when they saw this, and were impressed by Xue Rengui's bravery, so they withdrew. After that, Xue Rengui's name also spread among the Tang army.

But at this time, Li Shimin, the supreme commander, did not know about Xue Rengui. However, gold always shines, and soon Xue Rengui opened Li Shimin's eyes with practical actions.

After conquering several cities of Goguryeo, the Tang army advanced to Anshi, a major military town of Goguryeo, where the Tang army and the Goguryeo army launched a major battle - the Battle of Zhubi Mountain.

After the war broke out, Li Shimin, the commander-in-chief, was standing on a high ground not far away, overlooking the battlefield.

The following scene appeared on the battlefield that day: as the Tang army launched an attack, among the surging crowd, a warrior in white clothes, holding a long spear and a large bow on his waist, was seen leading the way.

This man was Xue Rengui. He killed and hacked his way through the enemy camp, and was invincible. Under Xue Rengui's charge, the morale of the Tang army was greatly boosted, and the Goguryeo army was defeated, beheading more than 2 people.

In this battle, Xue Rengui's brave performance not only frightened the enemy, but also surprised Li Shimin. Afterwards, Li Shimin specially summoned this young soldier.

Since His Majesty the Emperor was looking for someone, he was naturally found quickly. There was no scene in novels and film and television dramas where Xue Rengui was hidden by Zhang Shigui.

When Li Shimin met Xue Rengui, seeing that he was tall and mighty, he immediately promoted him to guerrilla general and rewarded him generously.

Regarding all the performances of Xue Rengui during Li Shimin's Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo, the "Zizhi Tongjian" only recorded these two events, nothing else. Not long after, the Tang army had to announce its return to the court because it could not capture Anshi for a long time.

Xue Rengui's first campaign ended here. But it was this campaign that made Xue Rengui deeply appreciated by Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin.

On the way back to the capital, Li Shimin said to Xue Rengui: "The old generals who once followed me in the war are all old. They can no longer take on the frequent battlefield command work. I always want to promote brave and strong generals, but none can compare to you.

This time, I was not happy about getting Liaodong during the expedition to Goguryeo. What really made me happy was getting a brave general like you. "After that, Li Shimin promoted Xue Rengui to the position of General of the Right Army, responsible for guarding the Xuanwu Gate, an important place in the imperial palace.

After that, Xue Rengui remained silent at Xuanwu Gate for nearly 10 years. Although Xue Rengui was promoted from a soldier to guarding Xuanwu Gate, the ceiling of this job was actually very low and one could see the end at a glance.

To put it bluntly, the Xuanwu Gate Guard is similar to the captain of the imperial guards, patrolling and checking posts every day, and has no chance to make achievements. If nothing unexpected happens, Xue Rengui will live a dull life as the captain of the guards.

But a sudden rainstorm brought a turning point in Xue Rengui's career.

In 654, on the night of the third day of the fifth lunar month, a sudden rainstorm hit the sky. Unexpectedly, after a period of heavy rain, a flash flood was triggered, and the flood quickly rushed towards the low-lying imperial palace, with Xuanwu Gate being the first to be hit.

The soldiers guarding the palace gate panicked and ran away on the spot. Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi was sleeping in his bedroom at the time. Xue Rengui was very angry when he saw the fleeing soldiers, but he did not stop them because he had to do something more urgent - rescue the emperor.

So Xue Rengui made a prompt decision, stood on a beam, and shouted continuously in the direction of Wannian Palace. Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, who was sleeping, was awakened and hurriedly evacuated after hearing the shouts.

As soon as Li Zhi left, the flood rushed into the Wannian Palace. Fortunately, he ran fast, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous. Afterwards, Li Zhi began to pay attention to Xue Rengui. Because Xue Rengui saved Li Zhi's life, Li Zhi regarded him as a loyal minister and rewarded him with a BMW.

However, there were many generals in the Tang Dynasty at that time, and Xue Rengui did not have more opportunities to display his talents. He still worked hard as the guard of Xuanwu Gate.

Three years passed like this. In order to give himself a chance, Xue Rengui chose to take the initiative. In 657, Emperor Gaozong of Tang sent the famous Tang general Su Dingfang to attack the rebellious Western Turks.

Xue Rengui wrote to Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, and put forward his military suggestions. After reading it, Emperor Gaozong of Tang was very surprised. He never expected that a guard of Xuanwu Gate would have such good military insights.

So he agreed to Xue Rengui's suggestion. Later, Xue Rengui also contributed to Su Dingfang's victory. After this incident, Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, also began to use Xue Rengui.

Just one year later, in 658, Li Zhi sent Cheng Yaojin to lead an army to attack Goguryeo, and Xue Rengui followed the army as a deputy general. Xue Rengui lived up to expectations and defeated the Goguryeo army in Duancheng, beheading more than 3000 people.

The following year, Xue Rengui fought against the Goryeo general Wen Shamen at Hengshan. In this battle, Xue Rengui once again demonstrated his superb skills. When the two armies were fighting, Xue Rengui took the lead with a bow and arrow, rushed into the enemy camp, and the enemies fell to the ground wherever he went.

Afterwards, Xue Rengui fought another battle with the Goguryeo army in Shicheng. At this time, a general who was good at archery appeared in the enemy army and shot and killed more than a dozen Tang soldiers in succession.

Xue Rengui was so angry that he rushed into the enemy camp with his halberd and defeated the enemy general.

A few months later, the Khitans launched another rebellion. Xue Rengui defeated the Khitan army in Heishan again and captured the Khitan leader Ashina Helu and other generals. Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, was very happy when he received the victory news. He immediately promoted Xue Rengui to General of the Left Guard and made him a male of Hedong County.

After the previous training, Xue Rengui gradually grew up.

In the first year of Longshuo (661), the Nine-surname Tiele launched a rebellion. Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, appointed Zheng Rentai, the general of the Right Tunwei Army, as the chief commander and Xue Rengui as the deputy general to fight against the rebels. In fact, this expedition was the most legendary battle in Xue Rengui's military career, and it was also the battle that exposed his character flaws.

After Zheng Rentai and Xue Rengui arrived at Tianshan, they faced off against the 10-strong army of the Nine-surname Tiele tribe. When the two armies were fighting, the Nine-surname Tiele tribe had more soldiers and generals, and sent out more than a dozen brave and skilled enemy generals to challenge them.

Xue Rengui raised his bow, aimed at the leading enemy general, and shot an arrow, and the man fell to the ground and died. Before the enemy could react, Xue Rengui shot the second and third arrows, and two more Tiele warriors were shot and fell off their horses and died.

Upon seeing this, the remaining enemy troops were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they immediately dismounted and asked to surrender.

Xue Rengui took the opportunity to lead his army to attack the enemy. The enemy was defeated by the sudden attack and soon fled. Then, Xue Rengui led his army across the northwest to pursue the defeated Tiele soldiers and captured the three brothers of the Tiele Yihu leader in one fell swoop.

Afterwards, Xue Rengui's reputation not only frightened the enemy, but also became widely praised among the Tang army. The army said, "The general's three arrows conquered Tianshan, and the warriors sang long songs to enter the Han Pass." This incident was later sung as the story of "Xue Rengui's three arrows conquered Tianshan."

However, this battle was both Xue Rengui's highlight moment and also exposed the flaws in his character.

First, after Xue Rengui defeated the Tiele army, he buried all the surrendered enemy soldiers alive. This was not the Warring States period, but the Tang Dynasty, which had passed for more than 1000 years. Burying the surrendered soldiers alive not only damaged the Tang Dynasty's external image, but also violated etiquette and morality.

In addition, Xue Rengui also took a Tiele woman captured by his subordinates as a concubine. What's more serious is that he also accepted a lot of bribes. As a general of the Tang Dynasty, it was a very serious crime to arbitrarily kill surrendered soldiers, corrupt military discipline, and accept bribes.

If the relevant supervisory departments knew about this and reported it directly to Li Zhi to impeach Xue Rengui, fortunately, the Tang Dynasty was a legal era and Xue Rengui had made contributions before, so he was not held accountable. However, it can be seen from these things that Xue Rengui was not perfect.

A few years later, Goguryeo underwent a major change, and Xue Rengui was transferred to the Goguryeo battlefield again. This time, Xue Rengui was still not the commander-in-chief, because the commander-in-chief was a stronger figure than him - Li Ji.

Li Ji was indeed a famous general. He captured 16 cities of Goguryeo one after another. But when attacking the 17th city, something went wrong. As Li Ji led a large army to attack the city, only two generals, Pang Tongshan and Gao Kan, and a small number of troops were left to guard the important military town of Xincheng.

This was the Tang army's newly established base camp. If it was destroyed by Goguryeo, the Tang army would be caught in a dilemma and there was a high risk of being surrounded by the enemy. Therefore, the Tang army immediately sent Xue Rengui to help Xincheng.

Xue Rengui rushed to Xincheng without stopping and immediately joined the battle. After a fierce battle, hundreds of enemy soldiers were killed and they quickly withdrew their troops, saving Xincheng. Afterwards, Xue Rengui and Gao Kan attacked the Goguryeo army from front and back and defeated the enemy in Jinshan. In this battle, the Tang army killed more than 5 enemy soldiers in one fell swoop.

A few months later, Xue Rengui marched to Buyeo, an important city in Goguryeo. At that time, he had only 2000 soldiers and his subordinates advised him not to take the risk of attacking Buyeo. But Xue Rengui immediately responded: "Quality of soldiers is more important than quantity."