From ancient times to the present, "cunning rabbits die, running dogs cook; birds are exhausted, good bows are hidden", almost has become an "objective law", but all those who have done high merit and shock the lord, and those who have no rewards, most of them cannot escape the "liquidation" of the monarch, and when they encounter monarchs who are a little kinder, such as Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, they may also have a "cup of wine to release the military power", even if they take back the real power, when they encounter a monarch with a little bit of cruelty, they will inevitably end up with a "death and death", Han Xin, Bai Qi, Hu Weiyong, Lan Yu and others are typical examples!
Of course, there are exceptions to everything, there is such a hero, his merit is not enough to describe the lord, in the words of the emperor, as long as he is willing, the throne is his, it is reasonable to say that the merit has reached such a point, it is impossible to retreat in a hurry, but he has been honored all his life, he has been able to die well, at the age of eighty-five, and even after his death, he is also worthy of the royal temple court and buried in the imperial mausoleum!
He is Guo Ziyi, a famous general of the Tang Dynasty!
First, let's briefly understand Guo Ziyi and his people
According to the "Biography of Guo Ziyi", Guo Ziyi was born in 697 in Zheng County, Huazhou, his ancestral home was Taiyuan, Shanxi, he learned martial arts from an early age, and his martial arts were outstanding, and then he participated in martial arts, and made up for the left guard chief with "different grades" results, and from then on entered the career path, "martial arts" was only opened by Wu Zetian in the second year of Chang'an, although it provided the opportunity for those who learned martial arts to "carp jump the dragon gate", but the degree of attention was still not as high as that of the civil officials who entered the army with the examination.
Therefore, Guo Ziyi's career in the early years was not too smooth, successively served as the governor of Guizhou Governor Shi, Shan Yu Dufu deputy capital protector, Zhenwu military envoy, Anxi deputy capital protector, Beiting deputy capital protector and other positions, in 749 AD promoted to Zuo Wu Wei General, the rank is Zheng Sanpin, in 754 AD, Guo Ziyi served as the Taishou of Jiuyuan County, but soon his old mother died of illness, Guo Ziyi went to work and returned home to guard filial piety, at this time he was 57 years old "advanced age", according to the theory, the career should have come to an end, who ever thought, he has not yet begun to "exert force"!
In 755 AD, the An Shi Rebellion broke out, An Lushan and Shi Siming came menacingly, no one in the imperial court was available, thinking of Guo Ziyi who was guarding filial piety, he ordered the "seizure of affection" to be activated, in the same year, Guo Ziyi, who was nearly sixty years old, came out of the mountain again, served as the envoy of Shuofang Jiedushi, and led the Shuofang army to attack An Lushan, An Lushan thought that Guo Ziyi was old and weak, and did not take it to heart, but Guo Ziyi showed his might, first killed the rebel general Zhou Wanqing, and then defeated the rebel general Gao Xiuyan, and then recovered Yunzhong and Mayi, and opened DongxingGuan. It has greatly boosted the morale of the government and the public!
In 756 AD, Guo Ziyi's troops went out of Jingxingguan, pacified Gaocheng, conquered Zhao County, and then garrisoned Changyang, in August of the same year, Guo Ziyi was appointed as the Shangshu of the Bingbu and Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi, leading the army to pacify Hequ, and in August of the following year, Guo Ziyi was appointed deputy marshal of the Tianxia Terracotta Army, leading the army to restore the two capitals, because of his merits, he was also crowned as the king of Fenyang County, after the Anshi Rebellion, Guo Ziyi also planned to retire to Tubo, and then restored Chang'an; persuaded Hui Hui, and then defeated Tubo; wei served the rebel general, pacified Hedong, which can be described as a battle achievement. Shock the world! The "History of Tang" commented on him as "rebuilding the royal family, honoring the high generation", "being a person in danger of the world for twenty years"!
The credit to the point of Guo Ziyi is no longer a sentence that can be summed up by the Lord of High Merit, as long as he is willing, he can even get involved in the throne, how can this not make the emperor jealous, even if he hurts the killer, it is reasonable, but Guo Ziyi can retreat from the whole body, enjoy a lifetime, and after his death, he also has a royal temple court, why can he break the law of "rabbit dead dog cooking"?
Through a story, we may get the answer!
Guo Ziyi was crowned queen of Fenyang County in 762 AD, the emperor rewarded him with a magnificent palace, and equipped with thousands of miscellaneous servants and slaves, the emperor was generous, Guo Ziyi could not refuse, he took the family to live in the palace, but the first day he lived in the palace, he issued a strange order: open all the gates of the palace, remove the guards guarding, anyone regardless of whether they are high or low, as long as they want to come to a "day trip to the palace".
One day, Guo Ziyi's former old subordinates were ordered to leave the capital town to guard the border pass, and when they were about to leave, they went to the palace to bid farewell to Guo Ziyi, and as a result, the gate of the palace was opened, and the next person claimed to be able to enter on his own, and this old subordinate broke into the palace in a confused way, because there was no one to lead the way, he inadvertently arrived at Guo Ziyi's residence and his wife, and saw That Guo Ziyi's wife and daughter were washing and dressing, and Guo Ziyi stood by and waited, just like an old servant, and the king of Fenyang actually waited for his wife and daughter to wash, and this old subordinate was shocked and felt funny. Fearing that Guo Ziyi would be embarrassed, he secretly "escaped" from the palace.
After that, he told his colleagues around him what he saw and heard, just as the so-called "good things do not go out, bad things spread thousands of miles", Guo Ziyi's glorious deeds soon spread throughout the capital, and the streets and alleys were talking about Guo Ziyi's general being a person who was "afraid of the inside", and Guo Ziyi's sons felt that their faces were dull, and came to Guo Ziyi to cry and complain, asking him to close the gate of the palace no matter what, otherwise it would be too humiliating.
After Guo Ziyi listened to the cries of his sons, he said a sentence meaningfully: "To make Chongyuan a household, not to understand the inside and outside, a grudge will arise, and it will not be subordinate, and those who have the ability to be greedy and harmful will accomplish their deeds, then the Nine Tribes will be powdered and the navel will not be chased." Now there is no end in sight, and the four doors are open, although they are ruined and want to be happy, there is nothing to add"!
What does that mean? It means that I sit on such a big royal palace, there are thousands of people serving in the royal palace alone, how can this not make others blush, if the palace is closed, it is inevitable that people with ulterior motives will speculate, and even secretly framed, now I have opened all the doors of the palace, anyone can come to see what kind of life I live, to show that I act frankly, without the slightest disobedience, so that even if someone wants to frame me, there is no chance! Listening to Guo Ziyi's explanation, his son was impressed by his wisdom!
brief summary:
On the one hand, there are reasons for the monarch's lack of affection and widowhood, on the other hand, there are also reasons for the courtiers themselves, many ministers are proud and complacent after their meritorious service, arrogant, and even have a rebellious heart, becoming Zhu Yuanzhang's "proud soldiers and fierce generals", so how can they be tolerated by the monarch?
Like Guo Ziyi, who can always recognize his own position, always maintain a modest and prudent heart, and know how to see problems from a political perspective, coupled with an open mind, sincerity in dealing with others, and loyal and wise, why worry about not being able to retreat from the dangerous official field?
References: "Biography of Guo Ziyi", "History of Tang"
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