In Chinese history, there were many generals with the surname Xue, such as Xue Andu during the Southern Dynasty and Xue Rengui during the Tang Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, there was also a famous general surnamed Xue, this person named Xue Lu, who went through 5 dynasties, saved Zhu Di's life twice, defended the Ming Dynasty for 8 consecutive generations, and was an admirable hero.
Xue Lu was a native of Qingdao (whose ancestral home was Shaanxi) and was born in the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, when Shandong was still under the rule of the Yuan Dynasty. One day, when it rained heavily, two Yuan Dynasty generals passed by a farmhouse and knocked on the door, intending to enter the house to avoid the rain. But there was a pregnant woman in the house who was giving birth, and the two generals were inconvenient to enter the house, so they had to do it under the eaves. As the rain grew heavier, they suddenly saw a flock of magpies flying in, covering a leaking hole in the roof with their wings. Such a situation is unheard of. After a while, the men of the Xue family returned home, and the two generals entered the house, only to learn that a newborn had just been born in the family, named Xue Lu. The two generals sighed and said, "When this child was born, there were magpies to shield him from the rain, and two generals to guard the door for him. ”
Pu Songling recorded the story of Xue Lu's birth in the "Liaozhai Zhiyi":
When the rain suddenly arrived, the second commander used his way, and in the shelter of the rain, he saw that the ya que cluster on the house was covered with wings... Because of the birth of the lawsuit. The commander said, "It's extremely expensive!" ”
Xue Lu is the sixth child of the Xue family, so he is called "Xue Liu", although he was born as a sign of "Noble Son", But Xue Lu was very sloppy from childhood, and his face was ugly. When Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, Xue Lu was only 10 years old, and when Xue Lu was 18 years old, the imperial court went to Shandong to recruit soldiers, and there were many boys in the Xue family, and they needed to contribute a recruitment quota. The boys of the Xue family were reluctant to go, but Xue Lu volunteered to join the army, and was assigned to the command of Zhu Di, the King of Yan, and followed Zhu Di, who became a general who could fight a good war.
In the first year of Jianwen, the Battle of Jingnan broke out, and Zhu Di raised an army to the south. Xue Lu followed Zhu Di, and in the Battle of Zhending, Xue Lusheng captured the enemy's left general and made his first contribution. The following year, Zhu Di was defeated in Dongchang and surrounded by enemy troops, and Xue Lu led more than 50 people to attack the enemy army overnight, regardless of his life, and gave up his warhorse to Zhu Di to rescue Zhu Di. In the same year, Zhu Di fought a decisive battle with Sheng Yong and Tie Xuan in Jinan, Tie Xuan fraudulently surrendered, and designed to use the iron gate on the city gate to smash Zhu Di to death, at the critical moment, Xue Lu stepped forward and pulled Zhu Di out of the hands of the god of death. Xue Lu saved Zhu Di's life twice, and after Zhu Di ascended the throne, he made Xue Lu the Governor of the Capital.
After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he made five northern expeditions to Mongolia, all of which were accompanied by Xue Lu. In the process of conquest of the Mongols, Xue Lu was the vanguard and made great achievements. In the eighteenth year of Yongle, after Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, he made Xue Lu the Marquis of Yangwu. Ming Shi Yun:
Yongle zhong from the army of Beiping, after accumulating merit to the general, Fenghou Bo did not "Jing Difficult" meritorious person, Xue Lu ... Where five people.
That is to say, Zhu Di's famous generals were like clouds, but only Xue Lu was not knighted by the merits of the Battle of Jingnan, he only made the "marquis" merit by following Zhu Di in the later period to conquer Mongolia. It can be seen that Xue Lu's merits are in Sheji (defending against foreign enemies), not in Jingnan (internal unrest).
After Zhu Di's death, Akihito ascended the throne, and the northern nomads were eager to move. At this time, Emperor Akihito appointed Xue Lu as the general of Zhenshuo and led troops to inspect northern Xinjiang, which was unable to cause chaos.
After Emperor Xuanzong ascended the throne, Zhu Gaoxu rebelled, Emperor Xuanzong of Ming took the throne, and the veteran general Xue Lu served as the vanguard, and the rebellion was put down. Later, Xue Lu sent troops to attack Vala and defeated the enemy army. Xue Lu died five years after Xuande at the age of 73 and was posthumously awarded the title of Duke of Yin. Xue Lu went through five dynasties and achieved outstanding military achievements, so Emperor Xuanzong of Ming gave the Xue family a title that could be hereditary. (The following figure shows the description of Xue Lu in the Siku Quanshu):
After Xue Lu's death, the title of Marquis of Yangwu was passed on for another 7 generations, and 7 generations participated in the defense of the Ming Dynasty, and the second generation of Yangwu Marquis Xue Jie participated in the "Battle of Luchuan" and died in battle. The third-generation Marquis Xue Chun of Yangwu accompanied Yu Qian in the "Defense of Beijing". In 1645, Li Zicheng attacked Beijing, the Chongzhen Emperor hanged himself, and the eighth Marquis of Yangwu, Xue Lian, was killed by Li Zicheng for defending the capital, and from then on, the Marquis of Yangwu failed to pass on.
The Ming Dynasty Xue clan Yangwu Marquis lineage originated in the eighteenth year of Yongle and finally in the last year of Chongzhen, and was passed down for a total of 8 generations. From the first generation of Yangwu Marquis Xue Lu began to bathe in the bloody battlefield for the Ming Dynasty, to the last generation of Yangwu Marquis was killed by Li Zicheng, 8 generations of people have proved to history with blood what the Zhonglie family is. Today, in Qingdao, Shandong, there are many descendants of Xue Lu, and more stories of Xue Lu are circulated in their families.