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Chapter 298: Rebel General

Gao Xianzhi's greed for money happened to meet Shi Guo's wealth, like a fateful encounter.

He asked the king of Shiguo to come to Chang'an to pay homage to the emperor, but secretly mobilized a large army to raid Shiguo and plundered countless treasures. On the way back, he slandered Shiguo for rebellion, and once again led his troops south to carry out a brutal plunder.

These two unjust acts aroused great anger among the local people, and the flames of resistance burned fiercely, but were extinguished under Gao Xianzhi's iron-fisted suppression.

However, these two wrong decisions shook the foundation of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions and laid the groundwork for future crises. In anger and fear, the Western Regions decided to unite with the Arab Empire and launch an attack on the Four Anxi Towns of the Tang Dynasty.

However, Gao Xianzhi learned of the conspiracy in advance. He made a prompt decision and decided to strike first. Thus, a clash between the two great empires of the East and the West, the Battle of Dalos, quietly kicked off in 751 AD.

Gao Xianzhi led a 2-strong Tang-Korean coalition army across the Pamir Plateau and descended upon the city of Daros like a divine army. The two sides fought fiercely for five days, but it was difficult to determine the winner. The smoke of gunpowder on the battlefield covered the sky and seemed to engulf the land.

However, when the battle was most intense, the Qarlug tribe in the Tang army suddenly rebelled and joined forces with the Arab army to attack the Tang army, resulting in a disastrous defeat for Gao Xianzhi's army.

Although the Arab army won the battle, their casualties far exceeded those of the defeated Tang army, so they dared not continue to pursue. Although the Tang Dynasty was defeated, its control over its territory and the Western Regions was almost unaffected.

This battle seemed to be just a brief confrontation and failed to change the situation between the two empires.

After the Battle of Daros, Gao Xianzhi was transferred to the capital and was appointed General of the Right Winged Guards, and his position was later taken over by Feng Changqing. Not long after Feng Changqing took office, a rebellion broke out in the Kingdom of Daqin in the west.

He led a large army to fight, and the enemy was defeated. The Arab Empire finally had no choice but to surrender, and Feng Changqing was therefore appointed as the Protector General of Beiting and became the new governor of the Western Regions.

His policy towards the Western Regions was completely different from Gao Xianzhi's. He was neither high-handed nor permissive, but rather had a clear distinction between rewards and punishments. He established close diplomatic relations with obedient countries, and conquered disobedient countries by force.

Thanks to Feng Changqing's careful management, the Tang Dynasty's position in the Western Regions became increasingly stable, and it also laid a solid foundation for the later minority ethnic troops to enter the Tang Dynasty to quell the An-Shi Rebellion.

However, just as Feng Changqing was making great strides in the Western Regions, a sudden rebellion broke the peace and prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. In 755 AD, An Lushan launched a rebellion that swept across the empire like a storm.

The court did not pay enough attention to this, which led to the rebels marching southward and taking Hebei with great momentum. Faced with such a serious situation, the court hastily appointed Feng Changqing to guard Luoyang, and appointed Li Wan and Gao Xianzhi as the chief and deputy marshals to march east to quell the rebellion.

At that time, the city of Luoyang was already filled with refugees. Although the conscription work went smoothly, the quality of the soldiers was uneven, and most of them were farmers and ruffians.

In contrast, An Lushan's soldiers had been guarding the border all year round, and their combat effectiveness and combat experience far surpassed the Tang army. In addition, they were joined by nomadic tribes such as the Khitan and Xi.

As a result, Feng Changqing was defeated repeatedly on the battlefield, and eventually Luoyang was not spared and fell into the hands of the rebels. The fall of Luoyang made Emperor Xuanzong furious. He dismissed Feng Changqing from all his posts and sent him to serve as an ordinary soldier in Gao Xianzhi's army.

However, the appearance of a man also made this pair die with hatred, and the curtain came to an end. The eunuch Bian Lingcheng had helped Gao Xianzhi get promoted, and this time he came to the front line of Tongguan to supervise the army, and naturally put on a high-handed attitude.

He repeatedly asked Gao Xianzhi for bribes and asked him to interfere in military affairs, but was rejected. As a result, the relationship between the two became increasingly tense.

Finally, Bian Lingcheng felt unprecedented humiliation and anger. He decided to slander Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing to Xuanzong, and even fabricated a series of charges with exaggerations.

Xuanzong was already old and weak at this time, and Chang'an was in danger. He had long lost his former wisdom and decisiveness. At the critical moment when the enemy was at the gates of the city, Xuanzong issued a killing order without hesitation, ordering Bian Lingcheng to kill Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing in Tongguan.

After Bian Lingcheng returned to Tongguan, he first found Feng Changqing to read the imperial edict. After Feng Changqing wrote a will, he chose to commit suicide helplessly. Then, he brought the executioner to Gao Xianzhi and read out his crimes.

Although Gao Xianzhi knew that this was a false accusation, he eventually fell to the sword helplessly.

The deaths of Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing also sounded the death knell for the Tang Dynasty. The successive executions of Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi marked the beginning of the Tang Dynasty's self-destruction.

Later, Geshu Han faced the same dilemma. They were devoted to the country, but could not win the trust of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. They were defeated by the attack from the capital and the eunuchs, which also led to the Anshi rebels' march into Guanzhong.

Eventually, Chang'an fell, Xuanzong fled in panic, and was forced to abdicate. Although the An-Shi Rebellion was quelled eight years later, the brilliant glory of the heyday of the Tang Dynasty also disappeared, which was full of regrets.

[Read all the historical knowledge about the An Lushan Rebellion that turned the tide in one go]

The An Lushan Rebellion in history is known as the strongest rebel army in history because of its talented and famous generals. Today we are going to talk about a top general of the rebel army. He defeated the Tang Dynasty's god of war Geshu Han in one battle, dragged the Tang Dynasty into the abyss, and shocked the world.

However, because he is a villain, his deeds are not widely known. So who is this person? In this video, let's talk about Cui Qianyou, the rebel general of An Lushan.

Cui Qianyou was a top general in the An Lushan Rebellion, but due to political correctness, his deeds were not recorded in detail in history books. His deeds in his youth are unknown, and his origins have always been a mystery.

Although there is no clear record in history books, he is likely to be from the Bo Ling Cui family, the first of the five surnames and seven families at that time. However, he should be just a poor branch of a noble family, just like Jia Yun in "Dream of Red Mansions".

Although he and Jia Baoyu are both children of the Jia family, their identities are different and they obviously cannot represent the entire family. According to historical records, Cui Qianyou was a brave warrior in the late Sui Dynasty and followed An Lushan before the An-Shi Rebellion, so he could be considered a direct descendant of An Lushan.

With the outbreak of the An-Shi Rebellion, Cui Qianyou also followed An Lushan in his rebellion. In the war when the rebels captured Luoyang, Cui Qianyou defeated the famous Tang Dynasty general Feng Changqing.

However, Feng Changqing's 50,000 to 60,000 troops were recruited temporarily and their combat effectiveness was not strong, so it was not surprising that Feng Changqing was defeated.

However, Cui Qianyou then defeated Geshu Han's 2 elite Tang troops with only 20 rebels, and he is definitely worthy of the title of "a famous general of the generation". I even think he is worthy of entering the Temple of Martial Arts. The Battle of Lingbao not only directly reversed the unfavorable situation of the rebels, but also went down in the history of Chinese wars.

The Battle of Lingbao was the first real decisive battle between the rebels and the Tang army. It can be said that it was Cui Qianyou who dragged the Tang Dynasty into the endless abyss of the Anshi Rebellion through the Battle of Lingbao.

After Feng Changqing lost Luoyang, he joined Gao Xianzhi and retreated to Tongguan to defend. At this time, the Tang Dynasty had not lost the initiative, but soon, the decision of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang would directly change the situation.

On December 755, 12 AD, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang believed the rumors spread by the eunuchs supervising the army, destroyed the Great Wall, executed Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi, and appointed Geshu Han, who was recuperating at home, as the commander-in-chief.

Geshu Han had been in a coma due to a stroke and had been recuperating in bed. This time he went to the expedition on a stretcher. At that time, Geshu Han led an army of 20 to station in Tongguan as the Grand Marshal of the Army.

One point to note here is that compared to the Tang army in the later Battle of Xiangji Temple, the Tang army led by Geshu Han at this time was the real elite of the Tang Dynasty.

On December 755, 12 AD, 7 days before Emperor Xuanzong of Tang executed Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing, he issued an edict to attack An Lushan.

According to the requirements of the imperial edict, except for some old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers who were left behind to defend the castle, the rest of the troops from Hexi, Longyou and Shuofang were required to arrive at Tongguan to assemble on December 12.

Therefore, the army commanded by Geshu Han at that time included not only the original troops of Gao Xianzhi who were already in Tongguan, but also the elite troops of the Tang army from Hexi, Longyou and Shuofang.

As a veteran general who had fought many battles, Geshu Han naturally knew that Tongguan was strategically located and easy to defend but difficult to attack. After he entered Tongguan, he strategically held Tongguan, waiting for An Lushan's army to tire out, and blocked An Lushan's army outside Tongguan for half a year.

With Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi defeating Shi Siming in the Battle of Jiashan, An Lushan's retreat was cut off. At this time, An Lushan was in a dilemma and was very panicked.

At one point, he summoned his advisers Gao Xianzhi and Yan Zhuang and scolded them, blaming them for advising him to rebel and telling them not to come to see him again. This frightened the two men so much that they did not dare to see An Lushan for many days.

Originally, the Tang army only needed to gather and annihilate the rebels, and the defeat of the rebels was only a matter of time. However, facing the dilemma, An Lushan urged Cui Qianyou to find a way to lure Geshu Han into battle, so Cui Qianyou began his god-level operation.

He deployed the old, weak, sick and disabled members of the rebel army in Shan County, and hid the elite troops to lure Geshu Han into battle. He sent people to spread rumors that An Lushan's army in Shan County had only 4000 soldiers, who were poorly trained and mostly old, weak and sick.

Although these lies had no effect on the battle-hardened Geshu Han, they did have an impact on Emperor Xuanzong, who did not understand military affairs. In May 756, after receiving intelligence that Cui Qianyou had less than 5 soldiers in Shan County, Emperor Xuanzong ordered Geshu Han to send troops.

Geshu Han immediately wrote to the emperor, saying that this was a trap set by An Lushan to lure the Tang army into attacking. Guo Ziyi and others who were far away in Shuofang also wrote to the court, advocating to hold on to Tongguan.

However, Prime Minister Yang Guozhong was worried that Geshu Han would become powerful and kept encouraging Emperor Xuanzong to let Geshu Han send troops.

On the fourth day of June, Geshu Han led his troops out of the pass, and on the seventh day, he met Cui Qianyou's troops in Xiyuan, Lingbao, Henan. However, Cui Qianyou had already set a trap for him.

Lingbao West Garden is bordered by high mountains in the south and the Yellow River in the north, with a narrow road in between. Cui Qianyou had previously hidden his elite troops in the mountains and sent only 1 soldiers to lure the enemy. Moreover, these soldiers were in disarray and deliberately created chaos, causing the Tang army to lose their vigilance.

Seeing that the rebels had few soldiers, Geshu Han ordered the entire army to attack. Wang Sili led 5 cavalry in the front, Pang Zhong led 10 infantry behind, and Geshu Han led 3 soldiers to beat drums and supervise the battle at Gaoqiu.

As soon as the two sides engaged in battle, the rebels were defeated and fled. The Tang army chased them fiercely, but was led into a narrow passage by the rebels.

Then the rebels set up ambushes everywhere and threw rolling logs and rocks at the Tang army from the mountains, causing chaos. Cui Qianyou also set fire to dozens of straw carts to block the road and ordered the soldiers to shout loudly.

Thick smoke billowed over the narrow road, and the Tang army soldiers were blinded by the smoke, and could only hear the sound of killing all around them. They thought there were enemies behind the smoke, so they aimed at the smoke and fired thousands of arrows. It was not until dark that they realized that there were no enemies at all, and they had killed their own people.

At this time, Cui Qianyou sent another cavalry to attack the Tang army from behind. The Tang army was attacked from both sides and was completely defeated. The soldiers fled for their lives and many of them drowned in the Yellow River.

The rebels pursued the Tang army and the Tang army fled to Tongguan. There were three deep trenches outside Tongguan, which were originally intended to stop the rebels. However, they became a death trap for the Tang army. The defeated soldiers fell into the trenches and filled up the trenches, which were ten feet deep. Countless people were killed and wounded.

In the end, only 20 of Geshu Han's 8000 troops escaped into Guanzhong. On the ninth day of June, Cui Qianyou easily captured Tongguan, and Geshu Han was defeated and surrendered to An Lushan.

In this battle, Cui Qianyou defeated Geshu Han's 20 elite troops in just three days, which can be called a miracle of war. After the Battle of Lingbao, Cui Qianyou also became famous in one battle, and this battle alone was enough to make him a famous general.

As Cui Qianyou broke through Tongguan, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang fled in a hurry, and Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi in Hebei were also forced to retreat.

The situation that was originally unfavorable to the rebels was finally reversed due to Cui Qianyou's victory in the Battle of Lingbao, which directly dragged the Tang Dynasty into the abyss of the Anshi Rebellion. It lost the opportunity for a quick victory and fell into an eight-year-long war.

In terms of war, Cui Qianyou can even become the rebels' first general.

It must be said here that although Tang Xuanzong's decision should bear the main responsibility for the eventual fall of Tongguan, Geshu Han's defeat of 20 elite Tang troops at the hands of Cui Qianyou, who had less than 2 troops, naturally requires Geshu Han's poor command to bear the blame.

As a great contributor to An Lushan, Cui Qianyou was later entrusted with an important task by An Lushan, leading his army northward to attack Hedong County in southern Shanxi. Hedong is located between Chang'an and Luoyang, and is also the key point from Shanxi to Guanzhong, with a very important strategic position.

Cui Qianyou's ability to command troops was indeed unquestionable. With his unstoppable momentum, he quickly captured the counties of Hedong, and the rebels were in a very good situation. If this continued, after taking over the entire Shanxi Province, the rebels would be able to attack and defend and remain invincible.

However, at this time, an unexpected event occurred within the rebels. In the first month of 757 AD, An Lushan was killed by his son An Qingxu, and the leader of the rebels was beheaded. At the same time, another leader of the rebels, Shi Siming, was defeated by Li Guangbi in Taiyuan, and the initiative of the war began to shift to the Tang army.