As the saying goes: "Cunning rabbits die, lackeys cook, birds are exhausted, good bows are hidden", in history, because of the high merits of the lord and the suspicion of the emperor, the generals who can not end well in the end can be said to be innumerable. Many people blame it on the nature of human nature, believing that "a great husband can share the hardships, not the riches."
In fact, the real work of settling down lies in "knowing the advance and knowing the retreat, being able to bend and stretch", which emperor does not like a courtier who can stand up when he needs it, and be safe and honest when he does not need him?
Guo Ziyi, who is the most prominent Wu Zhuangyuan in folklore, he quelled the Anshi Rebellion, and also staged the "single ride back to the Qi" can be described as a battle achievement, established an immortal merit for the Tang Dynasty, and was also called "Shang father" by Tang Dezong. Sima Guang said in the Zizhi Tongjian: "He has done great deeds to cover the world, and the Lord is not in doubt, and his position is as a subject, and the people are not jealous."
In traditional Chinese culture, the "Five Blessings" refer to "longevity", "wealth", "kangning", "good morality", and "good death". There are many people who have made meritorious contributions to the Lord among the famous people in history, but there are very few who can really achieve a good beginning and a good end, and the five blessings are complete. So that later people mentioned the famous courtiers of the rich and noble shou examination, and basically all they could think of was Guo Ziyi.
The Kangxi Emperor said: "Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, Guo Ziyi is the most famous and blessed Guo Ziyi." It can be seen that whether it is folklore or Gui as an emperor, Guo Ziyi is highly respected.
"Wu Zhuangyuan" was born
Four years after Guo Ziyi was born, a great genius poet was born, and this poet who later shone brightly was called Li Bai.
Many years later, Guo Ziyi broke the law, and it was precisely because of Li Bai's intercession that Guo Ziyi was pardoned, and then later because of the Yong King's rebellion, Li Bai, who was an aide to the Yong King, should also be beheaded according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty. In order to save Li Bai, Guo Ziyi did not hesitate to give up the high-ranking official Houlu, and finally spared Li Bai from death, and he himself was exiled.
Sometimes history is so magical, many people have the impression that they are two people who have nothing to do with each other, thinking that there is no intersection, but they did not expect that Guo Ziyi and Li Bai were so sorry for each other.
In 697, Guo Ziyi was born into a family of official eunuchs, and in this year, Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history, changed the era name to "Shengong" and added "Wuju" to the imperial examination system.
The opening of the "wuju" system also paved the way for Guo Ziyi's later life process, and it was through the martial arts examination that Guo Ziyi's high school became the legendary "Wu Zhuangyuan" later.
At that time, many candidates in the martial arts examination were caught from dolls, and Guo Ziyi also practiced martial arts since childhood. At that time, there were 7 items in the examination, such as shooting an arrow target 150 meters away, riding a horse to shoot deerskin on the wall, also taking the test of standing archery and mobile archery, and lifting the door bolt more than 5 meters long 10 times, similar to today's weightlifting.
Moreover, in addition to the requirements for these force values, it is also required that the candidates be tall and burly, have a rich appearance, and even in terms of eloquence, they must also be strictly dialectical. Under such strict examination standards, Guo Ziyi, who is twenty years old, is still a martial artist in high school, and it cannot be said that he is a rare talent.
But high school martial arts is only the first step, and if you want to become a military commander, you have to stand the test of time. Since Guo Ziyi's martial arts in high school, his career has been very smooth, and he has been promoted all the way to become the commander of the side of the town, but what really makes him shine in the annals of history is his outstanding military achievements.
Quelling the "Anshi Rebellion"
In 755 AD, when Guo Ziyi was 59 years old, in the winter of that year, An Lushan, who was also an envoy of the Three Lands Festival, used the pretext of following the edict to attack Yang Guozhong and raised an army in Fanyang, which is today's Hebei, which is the famous "Anshi Rebellion" in history.
The people of the Tang Dynasty, who were accustomed to the prosperity of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, were stunned, and watched as An Lushan commanded an army of 150,000 people and controlled Hebei with the power of destruction and decay.
At the critical moment, Tang Xuanzong hurriedly recalled Guo Ziyi, who was guarding filial piety, and ordered him to lead the Shuofang army to quell the rebellion. In this way, Guo Ziyi, who was nearly a flower armour, inherited the lifeblood of the Tang clan and opened the road of honor for his loyalty to the Tang Dynasty.
As soon as Guo Ziyi got out of the horse, he killed several rebel generals, and the battles were frequently won, fully demonstrating the demeanor of the generals, and also restraining the pace of An Lushan's attack. The old emperor Tang Xuanzong was very pleased and made him the Imperial Finger Doctor.
Subsequently, Guo Ziyi did not consider the previous suspicions, and recommended Li Guangbi, who had always been at odds with him, to serve as the emissary of Hedong Jiedushi, and they joined forces to recover Hebei in one fell swoop.
Having made such a great contribution, Guo Ziyi has also received a very high reward. His family is a big business, the annual Feng Lu is as high as 240,000 good fields, the beauty and treasures are countless, his private house is also very large, and his family will even get lost when they walk inside.
His wife was given the highest title of "Lady of the Nation", and his 8 sons were also officials, and by the time of his grandsons, there were so many people that even Guo Ziyi himself could not distinguish between them, so that when the grandchildren came to ask for peace, they could only nod their heads and signal to pass the pass.
It's hard to be confused
Although Guo Ziyi was a very popular subject, he had always been cautious in his words and deeds, and when he was 75 years old, the emperor wanted to promote him and send him 500 soldiers, but he refused all of them, probably to avoid being suspected by the emperor, he also specially asked the emperor for 6 beautiful women.
In ancient times, figures with heads and faces paid attention to cleanliness and self-improvement, but ministers in high positions like Guo Ziyi did the opposite, using the "self-defilement" method to avoid the suspicion of the emperor.
According to historical records, although Guo Ziyi is 80 years old, there are many wives and concubines around him, and even when he meets guests on weekdays, he completely ignores his own image and takes them with him.
In terms of interpersonal relationships, he uses a "rare and confused" attitude. He called the people who dug his ancestors' graves brothers and brothers, and he generally turned a blind eye to the mistakes of his subordinates as long as it was not a matter of principle.
The imperial court built a huge Fenyang palace for Guo Ziyi to treat him, but he ordered that the door of the palace be opened widely on weekdays, allowing the people to come in and out, with a big grin.
And the emperor saw that he was so indulgent and greedy, and did not have any lofty ambitions, so he never had any suspicions about him.
The famous scholar Huang Pumin once said: "If he does not look like this, he will not be able to escape the fate of being exterminated like Han Xin." It can be seen that Guo Ziyi is indeed a great wisdom and foolishness.
brief summary:
When Guo Ziyi fully affirmed his merits and greatly rewarded him, he did not regard himself as a hero. He despised fame and fortune and avoided the suspicion of the emperor in a "self-turbid" way, which can be described as very clever.
"Water can carry boats, and it can also overturn boats!" When a person is highly respected, it is also a period of high danger, and at this time, the kung fu of retreating from the whole body is more important than the kung fu of pioneering and enterprising.