In 732, one day, Zhang Shoujue, the envoy of Youzhou Jiedu, suddenly heard a report from his subordinates that a Hu man had stolen the sheep from his house and asked him how to deal with it.
Zhang Shoujue was one of the most capable generals of the Tang Dynasty at that time, and had been stationed in the western front of the Tang Dynasty for many years, defeating the main force of Tubo many times and achieving great success. Later, because of the northeast direction of the Tang Dynasty and the loose armament, Zhang Shoujue was transferred to Youzhou, the premier of Youzhou Military Affairs.
However, shortly after being transferred to Youzhou, such a theft occurred. At this point, Zhang Shoujue couldn't bear it. This group of Hu people, even he, the Youzhou Festival Envoy, dared to steal, and the courage was really too great! Therefore, Zhang Shoujue immediately ordered that this hateful sheep thief be beaten to death.
After that, under the supervision of Zhang Shoujue, the Hu man who stole the sheep was brought to him. The sergeant who had already been prepared, as soon as he rushed up, he was going to beat him to death the next moment. But at this crucial moment, the sheep thief shouted loudly: General, don't you want to destroy the two clans? If you want to, why kill me?
After Zhang Shoujue heard this, he was a little interested and directly asked his soldiers to stop. For Zhang Shoujue, a sheep is nothing at all. On the contrary, this Hu person, before dying, still had such courage, and said such a bold word, but it can also be regarded as a good man.
Next, Zhang Shoujue talked more with this sheep thief and found that this person was indeed very knowledgeable, and he could speak several languages, but he was also a talent. Therefore, Zhang Shoujue was in a good mood and simply let this sheep thief directly make a contribution to his crime under his command.
This matter, for the Tangtang Youzhou Jiedushi envoy, is obviously a small and small matter that cannot be smaller.
But Zhang Shoujue couldn't have imagined that his unintentional move, after a few years, would ruin the entire Tang Dynasty!
Because the sheep thief he let go was named An Lushan.
This famous Tang Dynasty general who had a bad idea and led to the rise of An Lushan was actually a fierce general who was very capable of fighting. It can even be said that throughout the kaiyuan years, a large part of the Tang Dynasty's border security was credited to this person.
Zhang Shoujue (张守珪), courtesy name Yuanbao, is a native of Pinglu County, Shanxi Province. Zhang Shoujue was born in an ordinary family, and in the Tang Dynasty, although there was a system of examinations, it was still difficult for ordinary people to climb up. Especially those ordinary people who come from poor families and have no way to study, the road is even narrower.
In addition to the imperial examination, ordinary people want to climb up, there is only one way left. This path is called joining the army.
Tang Dynasty Shangwu, even if ordinary people joined the army, as long as the military merit is enough, they can also occupy a high position. Therefore, after Zhang Shoujue became an adult, he went directly to the frontier, joined the army, and began his military career.
When Zhang Shoujue joined the army, it was at the end of the Wu Zetian era, or during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang. At that time, the Tang Dynasty, because the territory was too large, coupled with the perennial infighting at the top level, neglected the management of the frontier, resulting in more and more border wars. However, it is precisely because there are more wars that Zhang Shoujue has the opportunity to be promoted. In the years that followed, Zhang Shoujue relied on military merit and gradually rose from a nameless pawn to the position of another general. Analogous to the present, it is roughly equivalent to the level of deputy regimental commander.
In 713, Zhang Shoujue, who had just turned thirty years old, followed another famous Tang Dynasty general, Guo Zhan, as a general of Pingle Province, to guard the Northern Garden.
Guo Zhan was a veteran of the Tang Dynasty, and he came from a family of warlords, and his ancestors had eaten this bowl of rice for generations. Guo Zhan joined the army during the Tang Gaozu period and spent nearly fifty years in the army before he reached the position of beiting capital protector, which can be said to be the old man who holds the weight. In terms of martial arts and strategies, he is extremely good at it. The young Zhang Shoujue, who was transferred to his command, naturally benefited a lot and learned a lot of knowledge about leading soldiers to fight.
In addition, at the same time that Zhang Shoujue was transferred to the Beiting Capital Protectorate, the Tang Dynasty also entered the era of Tang Xuanzong. After Tang Xuanzong ascended the throne, he vigorously eliminated accumulated shortcomings, straightened out border military affairs, and vigorously promoted those generals who had real talent and practical learning. In this way, Zhang Shoujue has more opportunities. In the following years, Zhang Shoujue bravely killed the enemy in the Northern Garden, personally led troops many times, and defeated the Attacks of the Later Turks.
A few years later, Zhang Shoujue was made a guerrilla general by virtue of his military merits, and at the same time transferred to the post of Guoyi Du of Liangshe Prefecture in Youzhou. During his tenure in Youzhou, Zhang Shoujue ruled the army strictly, and not only quickly received the support of his army, but also made the local assassins look at him differently, and even entrusted his descendants to him.
During his garrison in Youzhou, Zhang Shoujue also made many military achievements, and was gradually promoted to general of Zuo Jinwuwei. In the fifteenth year of the new century, Tubo invaded Hexi, and Hexi Jiedu was defeated and killed, and Zhang Shoujue was subsequently transferred to the Jiuquan area of Gansu and began to fight tubo.
Before Zhang Shoujue arrived in office, the local government was demoralized and crippled because of the defeat of Tubo. However, after Zhang Shoujue arrived, he began to quickly restore local defenses. In a very short time, the local defense system was restored. For the next four years, Zhang Shoujue led his army and firmly held the Hexi Corridor, which greatly weakened Tubo.
Four years later, for various reasons, Tubo could no longer fight and had to ask the Tang Dynasty for peace. On the Tang Dynasty side, after several years of continuous operation, it has also completed the encirclement of Tibet, and border security has been greatly guaranteed. In this process, Zhang Shoujue's contribution is undoubtedly enormous.
In 733 AD, as the western front gradually stabilized, the northeast direction of the Tang Dynasty resumed war. The Khitan and Xi tribes in the northeast began to rebel again. At this time, Tang Xuanzong once again remembered Zhang Shoujue. Compared with other generals, Zhang Shoujue was undoubtedly more suitable to be transferred to Youzhou. First, Zhang Shoujue had been stationed in the Youzhou area for many years and had a deep understanding of the war in Youzhou. Second, Zhang Shoujue was very good at fighting this kind of defensive counterattack, and although the Khitan and Tubo were in two places, the Tang Dynasty's tactics against them were very similar.
Therefore, after this, Zhang Shoujue was transferred back to Youzhou again, serving as Lu Longjiedu's deputy envoy, responsible for the defense work in Youzhou.
It was in this context that soon after Zhang Shoujue returned to Youzhou again, the sheep theft case occurred.
For Zhang Shoujue at that time, a sheep was naturally nothing, and what he had more headaches was actually how to deal with the Khitan and Xi tribes. When changing guards before, according to the system at that time, Zhang Shoujue only brought a very small number of guards and went to Youzhou to take up his post. Therefore, Zhang Shoujue's manpower on the western side of the western front was basically not used at this time. This led to Zhang Shoujue at that time, although the officials were not small, but in the entire Youzhou area, there were not many available henchmen.
It is precisely for this reason that when An Lushan shows extraordinary courage, Zhang Shoujue will have a heart of compassion and want to take it under his command and fold his merits.
This kind of means is actually more common in the military. At that time, An Lushan was nearly thirty years old, but he still achieved nothing. An Lushan was just a Hu man, who had previously made ends meet by doing translations for merchants in the border market. This kind of work has no future, and even eating enough is a problem, so An Lushan will steal sheep. For such a person, Zhang Shoujue pardoned him for his capital crimes and was even willing to give him a future. Then, under normal circumstances, this person naturally has to be grateful to Zhang Shoujue and desperately work for Zhang Shoujue.
In addition, the courage shown by An Lushan, as well as his proficiency in many languages and familiarity with the situation of those border nomads, are also Zhang Shoujue's favorite. At this time, Zhang Shoujue just happened to be in urgent need of such talents. Therefore, zhang Shoujue, at the thought of it, pardoned An Lushan's capital crime and let An Lushan enter the army.
This difference in thought led to the catastrophe decades later. Of course, at this time, Zhang Shoujue and An Lushan did not think about those things that followed.
After An Lushan entered the army, he contacted a compatriot named Shi Siming, and the two began to act together. The two main culprits of the Anshi Rebellion came together in this way. However, in the beginning, they were able to come together, in fact, they were desperate for the Tang Dynasty. In the days that followed, An Lushan relied on his knowledge of nomads and was often able to capture prisoners. In addition, An Lushan himself is extremely sleek and especially flatters his superiors. So later Zhang Shoujue was in a good mood and simply accepted An Lushan as a righteous son.
After An Lushan became Zhang Shoujue's righteous son, his career began to rise, and he gradually became a high position.
Of course, this is a later story.
When An Lushan was recaptured, Zhang Shoujue actually not only accepted such a person, but also a large number of Hu people. Zhang Shoujue knew very well that just as the so-called knowing oneself and knowing the other side had won hundreds of battles, if he wanted to defeat the Khitan and the Xi clan, in addition to the Tang Dynasty army itself being stronger, it also needed many people who knew enough about the Khitan to know more. In the following years, Zhang Shoujue rectified military affairs while greatly improving the combat effectiveness of the Tang army. At the same time, according to accurate intelligence, he often led the army and took the initiative to attack the Khitan and Xi tribes, accumulating small victories into big victories.
In addition, Zhang Shoujue did not forget to go to the opposite side to bury the nails. Zhang Shoujue took advantage of the contradictions within the Khitan to pull one faction to fight one faction and divide and suppress the Khitan internally. After more than a year of raiding, the Khitan finally could no longer resist Zhang Shoujue's attack and was completely defeated. Eventually, the Khitan chieftain was killed, and the rest surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.
At this time, Zhang Shoujue was completely developed.
You know, even in the Tang Dynasty, where cattle people were born, there were only a few fierce people who could directly destroy a frontier regime. Zhang Shoujue's record, although slightly suspected of being clever, this record is real. During the first year of the Tang Dynasty, very few were able to complete the record of destroying the country.
According to the practice of the Tang Dynasty, it has always been important to pay attention to the entry and exit of the phase. The fierce man who has completed the record of destroying the country, the next step, most of them are to be transferred back to the center and directly serve as the prime minister.
In 735, shortly after Zhang Shoujue surrendered to the Khitans, Zhang Shoujue was ordered to go to Luoyang to take prisoners. After returning to Luoyang, Zhang Shoujue received a very high honor, not only was he able to drink and celebrate in the Taimiao Temple. Tang Xuanzong himself personally wrote poems for him and made him a great general of the auxiliary state.
For a general, this is already the supreme glory.
But then, when Zhang Shoujue walked to the step of entering and exiting, a huge roadblock appeared in front of him. This roadblock stone is the last famous figure of Tang Xuanzong's era, Zhang Jiuling.
When Tang Xuanzong showed that he wanted zhang Shoujue to enter the court and ask zhang Jiuling's opinion, the famous minister of the Kaiyuan period resolutely opposed it. The reason given by Zhang Jiuling was simple: Zhang Shoujue had only pacified the Khitan now, so he made him prime minister. So if In the future, if Zhang Shoujue pacified the Turks and xi tribes, what should Tang Xuanzong reward him?
Of course, in addition to this reason on the surface, Zhang Jiuling actually has a reason that cannot be explained. Going in and out of the phase has always been a common practice of the Tang Dynasty. Especially in the early Tang Dynasty, many fierce people could not only go to the front line to lead the army to destroy the country, but also occupy a position in the center and govern the country well. However, by the time of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, this convention was a bit unworkable.
Because in the previous few eras, many of the fierce people who completed the record of destroying the country were from high-level nobles and had seen how to govern the country since childhood. Therefore, when such a person, giving up his military power and returning to the central office, is just as familiar with the operation mode of the national center, he can do a good job as the prime minister. But in the era of Tang Xuanzong, it was completely different.
Before Tang Xuanzong, successive generations of emperors spared no effort to attack the Guanlong nobles. Therefore, in the era of Tang Xuanzong, many fierce people who fought particularly fiercely were born at the bottom. For example, Zhang Shoujue, although the battle was well fought, his bottom origin could not be changed. This also means that Zhang Shoujue is impossible to be familiar with the operation of the imperial court center no matter what, let alone how to do a good job as the prime minister!
People like Zhang Shoujue, let him lead the troops at the border, defend the family and defend the country, there is no problem at all. But if he were to enter the dynasty and maintain the operation of the entire Tang Empire, it would definitely be chaotic.
Zhang Jiuling has been in the center for many years, and naturally understands this truth, so he cannot support Zhang Shoujue as the prime minister. As for Li Longji, who is the emperor, he actually understands this truth. Therefore, after Zhang Jiuling opened his mouth, Li Longji did not say anything more and directly agreed. After Luoyang was captured, Tang Xuanzong directly sent Zhang Shoujue back to Youzhou and continued to guard the frontier.
But in this way, Zhang Shoujue's heart was unbalanced.
Originally, according to his idea, after returning to Beijing this time, he would definitely be the prime minister. But the problem was that Tang Xuanzong did not do this, but encouraged him to continue to kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions.
No one thought that this incident would completely destroy Zhang Shoujue and make this famous general in the kaiyuan year not safe in the late festival.
Zhang Shoujue, who had returned to Youzhou, was naturally dissatisfied in his heart. But the boss did not want to promote him, and he did not have a rut. Therefore, the next thing Zhang Shoujue could do was to continue to kill the enemy and speak with military merit. In Zhang Shoujue's view, since it was not enough to destroy the Khitan himself, if he could wipe out the Xi clan as well, the emperor would not have any other excuses, right?
Therefore, in the next two years, Zhang Shoujue continued to exert efforts to rule and actively attack the Xi clan. Under Zhang Shoujue's continuous attack, the Xi clan was gradually overwhelmed.
But just at this time, an accident happened.
In 738, two years after Zhang Shoujue's return to Youzhou, his generals sent an army under the guise of Zhang Shoujue in order to intercept the rebellious Xi clan. Unfortunately, this Xi army was quite strong, and the Tang army won first and then lost, and rarely lost a battle.
Strictly speaking, this is not a big deal. After all, victory or defeat is a common affair of soldiers, and this defeat is also a problem for Zhang Shoujue's generals, not Zhang Shoujue's responsibility. Even if he reported it, Zhang Shoujue would be reprimanded at most, and he would not be punished at all.
But the problem is that at this time, Zhang Shoujue is trying to sprint towards the position of prime minister, and he simply cannot accept his failure. Zhang Shoujue felt that if the news of his defeat were to spread back to the capital, he would probably never have the opportunity to be the prime minister again!
So, next, Zhang Shoujue began to do his best to cover up this failure.
In order to cover up the failure, Zhang Shoujue first bribed Nei Chang to serve the cow fairy boy with heavy money. Niu Xiantong was the most trusted eunuch around Li Longji at that time, and after the war, he was sent to the border by the Tang Xuan Sect to investigate the actual situation. Under Zhang Shoujue's bribe, Niu Xiantong quickly agreed to help Zhang Shoujue lie.
At the same time, Zhang Shoujue and Niu Xiantong also forced the defeated general to commit suicide, and cleaned up all those in the know, as seamless as possible. After doing all this, Niu Xiantong returned to the capital and lied to Tang Xuanzong about his achievements.
But the question is, where is there an impermeable wall under the sky?
Niu Xiantong held a high position in the palace, and there were not a few eunuchs who were jealous of him. Therefore, when this news came out, someone soon came to Tang Xuanzong and exposed Niu Xiantong's bribery.
At this point, the problem is completely big.
You know, Zhang Shoujue's mistake before was only the improper use of personnel, which led to the defeat of his subordinates. According to the original guilt, at most it is to be reprimanded twice. But after Zhang Shoujue's operation, the situation has become completely different. False reporting of military merits, collusion between the generals of the border army with eunuchs, control of the army... These mistakes are real red lines that no emperor can tolerate.
After this matter was verified, Tang Xuanzong directly ordered that niu Xiantong be cut off from all fours, his heart dug out, and he was sentenced to capital punishment! In the era of Tang Xuanzong, this kind of capital punishment can almost be said to be unprecedented. In fact, it is no wonder that Tang Xuanzong, any emperor, could never allow his cronies to lie to him and collude with the generals of the border army.
As for Zhang Shoujue, because the previous merits were too great, Tang Xuanzong was not good enough to kill him directly. However, after this incident, Tang Xuanzong still relegated it to the history of the Kuozhou Assassins, completely depriving him of his military powers.
More than a year later, Zhang Shoujue became depressed and died in Kuozhou at the age of fifty-seven.
Looking back at Zhang Shoujue's story, it is not difficult for us to find that Zhang Shoujue's biggest mistake was actually not to let Go an Lushan go, but to use a bigger lie to cover up his failure.
History proves that using lies to cover up lies will only make mistakes bigger and bigger in the end, but will not solve the problem fundamentally. If Zhang Shoujue hadn't bribed Niu Xiantong, he would have been reprimanded at most, and he wouldn't have been in so much trouble at all.
As for An Lushan, it was even more of a mistake that no one could have imagined. Who would have thought about what would happen decades from now? Moreover, during Zhang Shoujue's lifetime, although An Lushan had made many military achievements, he always had a low official position and was simply unable to cause any trouble to the Tang Dynasty. However, shortly after Zhang Shoujue's death, An Lushan began to exert his long-sleeved and good-dancing communication skills, making good friends with many high-ranking officials in the capital, and was soon promoted to Pinglu Soldier and Horse Envoy.
If Zhang Shoujue was still alive, An Lushan might not be able to occupy a high position. Whether the anshi rebellion will happen in the future may be a big problem.
Zhang Shoujue's story also brings us an inspiration: using lies to make up for lies is actually the most stupid choice. A lie, if covered up with other, bigger lies, often leads to worse outcomes.