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Chapter 287 Goose, Goose, Goose, Genius of the Early Tang Dynasty

People only remember that Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi put down the An-Shi Rebellion, and Li Sheng recovered Chang'an, but few people remember that Li Mi was half responsible for these achievements. It can be said that Li Mi, with his own strength, extended the life of the Tang Dynasty for more than a hundred years.

However, Li Mi, who had a heart for his country and the world and a noble character, did not receive due recognition because of his nonchalant and carefree way of dealing with the world. Li Mi loved to seek immortality and asked for the way of Taoism throughout his life, and he was tossed between leaving the world and retiring.

However, since ancient times, Confucius has had the idea of ​​"respecting ghosts and gods but keeping away from them". Li Mi's behavior of seeking immortality does not seem to be in line with the image that a wise man should have, and naturally it greatly reduced people's impression of him.

"Zizhi Tongjian" also mentioned: "Mi has strategy, and likes to talk about matters of gods and ghosts, so he is favored by people of his time." From this we can see that the Confucian historians at the time were prejudiced against people of Taoist origin, and naturally would not praise such people.

Li Mi was in and out of officialdom four times in his life, and he was not part of the officialdom. He did not live in the social circle of court officials, and therefore had no followers to sing his praises. Therefore, the achievements recorded by the historians were relatively few.

Looking back on Li Mi's life, he successively assisted Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Emperor Suzong of Tang, Emperor Daizong of Tang and Emperor Dezong of Tang. It can be said that he devoted his life to the cause and served until his death.

He always appeared out of nowhere when the Tang Dynasty was in crisis, and saved the court from danger many times. After his success, he retired to the mountains and forests without seeking fame, which was very much like Zhang Liang.

Even though he was rejected and attacked several times, he still maintained his noble character and never succumbed to the government or the public. It was this detached, elegant and wise demeanor that made Li Mi an immortal legend.

As Zhuangzi said, "The most perfect man has no self, the divine man has no merit, and the sage has no name." Li Mi's life is just as praised in the poem: "A white mountain man in the court, planning for his family and country to establish himself.

"When success is achieved, all corruption is gone, and Gao Jie wears a white robe." He is the last great man of the Tang Dynasty, and also the last sage who possesses both ideals and practical wisdom.

[Read the life of Luo Binwang, a genius poet in the early Tang Dynasty, and historical knowledge of the Tang Dynasty in one breath]

He was a child prodigy, a talented scholar, a knight-errant, and a rebel. His "Exhortation to Punish Wu Zhao" angrily criticized Wu Zetian, but she praised him; his "Ode to the Goose" has been passed down for thousands of years and has remained popular. He was full of passion and talent throughout his life. He was one of the Four Great Talents of the Early Tang Dynasty - Luo Binwang.

Speaking of Luo Binwang, some people may feel unfamiliar, but when we were young, we must have learned his Tang Dynasty poem "Ode to the Goose". Luo Binwang is as famous as Wang Bo, Yang Jiong, and Lu Zhaolin in literary works, and they are known as the "Four Talents of the Early Tang Dynasty" in Chinese history.

Luo Binwang was from Yiwu, Wuzhou. Although he was born in a poor family, his father attached great importance to his son's education. He took the meaning of "Guan Guo Zhi Guang, Yong Bin Yu Wang" from the Book of Changes and named his son "Bin Wang" with the courtesy name "Guangguang".

Luo Binwang's father hoped that he would achieve something great and bring honor to the family when he grew up.

Luo Binwang was very smart since childhood. He could write poems at the age of 7 and was known as a "child prodigy". "Ode to the Goose" was his work when he was 7 years old. The phrase "singing with a curved neck to the sky" calls out Luo Binwang's talent and genius, and also means the emergence of a genius.

However, since ancient times, many geniuses have often suffered hardships. Han Yu said, "If things are not in balance, they will make noises." Li Bai also said, "Since ancient times, all saints and wise men have been lonely, only drinkers have left their names." Luo Binwang is no exception.

Although Luo Binwang was known as a "child prodigy", his family lived a hard life. His father was the magistrate of Bochang County in Qingzhou and later died in office.

After his father passed away, Luo Binwang spent his early years in poverty. However, despite his poor life, he never forgot to study.

In order to make a living, Luo Binwang was recruited as a staff member by Prince Dao Li Yuanqing for his talent. At that time, there were many officials in Li Yuanqing's palace, and Luo Binwang was not taken seriously here, wasting three years in vain.

Later, the imperial court issued an edict to all places to recommend talents, and Li Yuanqing asked Luo Binwang to describe his talents. This was an excellent opportunity for him to advance. However, Li Yuanqing obviously did not know how to judge people.

Luo Binwang had lofty ambitions and disdained to brag about himself, so he wrote a farewell letter to Li Yuanqing, saying that he was not talented or well-educated and not worth bragging about, and then left Li Yuanqing.

In the second year of Linde (665), Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, was preparing to go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to the gods. Local celebrities recommended Luo Binwang to write a "Please Accompany Me to Offer Sacrifice to the Gods". This article was written with great skill and flattery, and Emperor Gaozong of Tang was very pleased after reading it.

After learning that Luo Binwang was still a non-staff member, he immediately issued an imperial decree to appoint him as a ninth-rank Fenglilang. Although Fenglilang was a small and sinecure position, he still could not hold the position for long.

Soon, he was demoted for some reason and served in the army in the Western Regions. After two or three years, he returned from the frontier. After that, his career was bumpy and he always served as a ninth-rank official in charge of clerical work.

In the first year of Qianfeng (666), Luo Binwang was finally promoted to the seventh-rank imperial censor based on his seniority. He was nearly 40 years old at that time.

The good times did not last long. Luo Binwang, who was born with a chivalrous spirit, was dissatisfied with Wu Zetian's meddling in politics and abuse of power, and kept writing letters to advise her, which led to her dismissal from office and imprisonment.

In his grief and indignation, Luo Binwang wrote the famous "Ode to the Cicada in Prison", in which there is a line "The cicadas sing in the west, and the guest in the south is deeply homesick", which is high-pitched and passionate but not lasting, and implies his subsequent tragic fate.

In the autumn of 679 AD, Luo Binwang was pardoned and released from prison. This time, he shouted out his pride, indignation, helplessness and other injustices. From then on, he spent most of his time wandering around the country, mixing with the people, and gradually staying away from officialdom.

He went to Youzhou and wrote "Sending Off at Yishui" in Yi County, Hebei: "I bid farewell to Yan Dan here, and the brave man is furious. The man is gone, but the water is still cold today." In just 20 words, his lofty ambitions and passions are stirring up the atmosphere, which can show the poet's personality and style, which is rare in the quatrains of the early Tang Dynasty.

He also resigned from his official position and traveled to Guangling, where he wrote a poem to express his ambition: "The precious sword wants to save Chu, and the golden hammer promises to avenge Han." Luo Binwang's life was just like what Cui Jue wrote in his poem: "A vain talent that soars to the sky, but a lifetime of gold and treasure that has never been opened."

In 684 AD, Wu Zetian deposed Emperor Zhongzong. In September, Xu Jingye called himself "General of the Restoration Palace" and raised an army in Yangzhou. Luo Binwang, who was dissatisfied with Wu Zetian, threw himself into this short-lived rebellion with great enthusiasm and drafted a rare article "An Edict to Punish Wu Zhao" for Xu Jingye.

The article was passionate and full of emotion, and the line "Look at the world today, whose world is ruled by whom" was particularly praised by later generations. Wu Zetian was also very impressed after reading it, and the prime minister sighed: "Such a talented person was not used by the court. This is the prime minister's fault."

Later, after reading this article, Zeng Guofan also praised it: "It is better than thousands of troops." However, the massive anti-Wu army lasted only four months. Xu Jingye was defeated, and Luo Binwang was forced to flee and his whereabouts are unknown. This has become a famous unsolved case since the Tang Dynasty.

Looking back on Luo Binwang's life, he had his glorious moments as a young prodigy, his absurd time of being unrestrained and winning the hearts of the people, his proud and easy-going life of being among the Four Great Talents of the Early Tang Dynasty, his gloomy life of being depressed and frustrated, and his rising attack with Changhong Soaring into the Sky and the "Exhortation to Punish Wu Zhao".

And “his body and name shall be destroyed, but the rivers and mountains will flow forever” is a very fitting evaluation of him.

[The strongest scholar in history books, is Zhang Xun a cannibalistic butcher or a famous general? Historical trivia: An-Shi Rebellion]

He ate people during his lifetime, but was deified after his death. The national hero Wen Tianxiang even regarded him as an idol. He died to save the Tang Dynasty and was a role model of a loyal minister throughout the ages.

However, he was out of ammunition and food, but he used civilians as military rations, and was scolded as a "cannibal butcher". He was the lone brave man and famous general Zhang Xun during the An-Shi Rebellion.

Speaking of Wen Tianxiang, he is an idol of many people. The sentence "Since ancient times, everyone has to die, but I will leave my loyalty to shine in history" fully describes his rough life and his grief and hatred for his country, and is also a true portrayal of his national integrity and spirit of sacrificing his life for justice.

However, few people know that Wen Tianxiang, who is regarded as an idol by many later generations, admired Zhang Xun the most. In Qinyuanchun, Wen Tianxiang used the phrase "Wei Zixiao is a loyal minister and scolds the thief Sun Yang.

"Love the army and make a wish, leaving a name that will last forever" is used to praise Zhang Xun. The name Zhang Xun is not well known to the public, but he is closely related to the famous Anshi Rebellion. Among the heroes who quelled the Anshi Rebellion, Zhang Xun was undoubtedly the most tragic one.

Han Yu once commented on him: "He defended one city and protected the whole world. Whose credit is it for the fact that the whole world did not perish?" He regarded Zhang Xun as the greatest contributor to saving the Tang Dynasty. During the An-Shi Rebellion, he fought against many enemies with a small force, pinned down a large number of rebels, and used his passion to stabilize the southeastern half of the Tang Dynasty.

His integrity is no less than that of Yu Qian, Yue Fei, Wen Tianxiang and others. With such a martyr, the Tang Dynasty should not have died. However, this also made Zhang Xun one of the most controversial figures in history.

In history, Zhang Xun had read many books of sages since he was a child, and he looked like a scholar. In the general impression, scholars are weak, and people who hold books all day seem to lack courage.

But Zhang Xun was not an ordinary person. Although he was born into a scholar family, he was quite dignified and courageous, and was known as "the strongest scholar in history". Like Yu Jie in later generations, he was born into a scholar family, but he turned the tide with his own abilities and showed extraordinary magnanimity.

In his early years, Zhang Xun participated in the imperial examination and passed the examination. According to the development of official career in ancient times, Zhang Xun could have made great plans and realized his ambitions on the road of civil servants. However, because of his upright character, his official career was not smooth and he had been hovering in the position of county magistrate. At that time, Prime Minister Yang Guozhong was powerful in the court and many officials flattered and bribed Yang Guozhong for personal development. So, someone advised Zhang Xun to take Yang Guozhong's way and flatter him, maybe his position could go up. But Zhang Xun hated Yang Guozhong's abuse of power and disorderly politics, and refused to go along with him. Even so, he still worked diligently at the grassroots level, punished local tyrants, refused corruption, and benefited the people.

Everyone, including Zhang Xun himself, probably thought that he would spend the rest of his life like this. But the development of history is always unpredictable. It was Zhang Xun's integrity that determined the direction of his life.

In 755 AD, the An Lushan Rebellion broke out. An Lushan led the rebels with great momentum, and the Tang Dynasty was no longer prosperous. Faced with the attack of the rebels, some Tang troops surrendered.

At that time, Zhang Xun's immediate superiors, Hu Chao and Yang Wandan, were no exception and forced Zhang Xun to surrender with them. However, this made Zhang Xun, who was loyal to the Tang Dynasty, extremely angry.

Therefore, he gathered thousands of troops and started an army to resist the An-Shi rebels. From then on, Zhang Xun began his vigorous military career, which can be divided into two stages.

Phase 1: Defending Yongqiu

The Battle of Yongqiu was a battle that made Zhang Xun famous, but it was also full of hardships. At that time, Zhang Xun had only about 1000 men, while the rebels had elite cavalry and a large number of people.

Therefore, Zhang Xun integrated various forces and relied on Yongqiu City to resist the rebels. However, the Tang army in Yongqiu City had only more than 3000 people, while the rebels had more than people.

Under the command of Zhang Xun, the Tang army killed and wounded nearly 1000 enemies at the cost of casualties, which was a brilliant achievement. The rebels had to retreat briefly.

Soon after, the rebels returned. At this time, there were only 2000 defenders left in the north of Yongqiu City, while the enemy had 4. Faced with such a huge gap in strength, Zhang Xun was not afraid.

He led the way and attacked the rebels unexpectedly in the dead of night. Although the enemy had more people, the incident happened suddenly, and Zhang Xun's desperate fighting style caused the rebels to be in chaos, forcing them to retreat.

The two sides faced off for more than 60 days, and fought more than 300 battles. Zhang Xun, like his fellow soldiers, never slacked off, whether eating or sleeping. When he was wounded, he simply bandaged himself and went back into battle.

His tenacious fighting spirit frightened the rebels. The rebels were extremely depressed that they could not conquer Yongqiu, a small place.

Chang'an had just fallen, and the rebels wrote to Zhang Xun, asking him to surrender. Six of the defending generals also believed that the odds were too great, and that the emperor might have already died, so they all advised Zhang Xun to surrender.

Zhang Xun pretended to agree on the surface, but the next day he beheaded the six men in public to show his determination to die rather than surrender. This move also made the group more united.

As the rebels continued to attack the city, the arrows in the city were used up. Zhang Xun came up with a clever plan and ordered his soldiers to tie up more than a thousand straw men, dress them in black, and lower them into the city at night. When the rebels found out, they rushed to shoot arrows. By the time the rebels realized that they were straw men, the Tang army had already obtained hundreds of thousands of arrows.

Zhang Xun used his military strategy to stage a "straw man borrowing arrows". In the end, facing the attack of tens of thousands of rebels, Zhang Xun finally repelled them with only a few thousand people and saved Yongqiu.

The Battle of Yongqiu is a classic example of defeating the larger force and the weak over the strong in ancient city defense battles, and it also made Zhang Xun famous.

Phase 2: Battle of Suiyang

Initially, Zhang Xun resisted in Yongqiu City. However, there were too few defenders like Zhang Xun who were brave, resourceful and determined. The surrounding cities could no longer withstand the enemy's attack and fell one after another.

Yongqiu was about to become an isolated island. Later, after receiving a request for help from Xu Yuan, the governor of Suiyang, and after analyzing the terrain, Zhang Xun chose to go to Suiyang City and defend the city together with Xu Yuan. Thus, the most tragic and outstanding Suiyang defense battle in the cold weapon era began.