Chinese has never believed in the "theory of descent", and is a society in which the princes will be kind. Since ancient times, examples of slaves to generals have been common. During the Han Dynasty, there was Wei Qing, the riding slave of princess Pingyang, who went out of the desert six times, swept through the Xiongnu, and established the immortal merits. Hundreds of years later, another slave completed the feat from slave to general, and coincidentally, his mistress was also crowned Princess Pingyang.
Princess Pingyang of the Tang Dynasty was the daughter of Li Yuan, the emperor of Tang Gaozu, and the sister of Li Shimin. When Princess Pingyang grew up, Li Yuan took the initiative and married her to the young officer Chai Shao.
During the great cause years, the world was in chaos. In 617, Li Yuan raised an army in Taiyuan, aiming to determine the world, and in the eyes of the Sui Emperor who was far away in Jiangdu, his cousin's behavior was betrayal.
At that time, Chai Shao and Princess Pingyang were living in Chang'an, and when they heard that Li Yuan had raised an army, Chai Shao said to his wife:
"My father-in-law is going to raise an army to sweep away the chaotic world, I plan to go to meet his righteous banner, I am afraid it will be difficult to leave together, and after I leave alone, I am afraid that you are in danger, what should I do?"
Princess Pingyang, who was the tiger girl of the gate, replied firmly:
"Husband, go alone!" I am a woman, easy to hide, I have a way. ”
Knowing his wife Mo Rufu, the ability of Princess Pingyang, how could Chai Shao not know? So he packed lightly and took a small road to Taiyuan. Princess Pingyang, escorted by her close maid Ma Sanbao, hid in the Li manor in Yan County (present-day Hu County, Shaanxi).
At that time, Sui Dynasty officials were hunting down the Li clan in Guanzhong. Princess Pingyang's uncle Li Shentong rose up against Sui, but was defeated by the Sui army and could only lead the remnants to hide in the mountains. Obviously, Li Shentong could not count on it. Therefore, Princess Binh Duong decided to rely on herself and lay a foundation for her father.
Therefore, Princess Binh Duong sold her family property, recruited hundreds of outlaws, and initially established her own warband. At that time, there was a Western Hu merchant named He Panren in Guan. During the great chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, he gathered a group of men and horses, and made a living in Guanzhong to fight and rob houses, and the number of troops reached tens of thousands. In the eyes of Princess Binh Duong, this is a force to recruit.
So Princess Pingyang sent Ma Sanbao to He Panren to surrender. You must know that He Panren's subordinates are a hundred times greater than those of Princess Pingyang, and why should they obey a woman. But what is surprising is that Ma Sanbao actually said that He Panren had surrendered with three inches of uncorrupted tongue, and Princess Pingyang's men quickly expanded to tens of thousands.
Based on He Panrenbu, Ma Sanbao persuaded Li Zhongwen, Xiang Shanzhi, Qiu Shili and other thieves one after another, and for a time the Princess of Pingyang's army was greatly strengthened, and the people of Guanzhong also called her army the Lady Scout Army. Subsequently, Princess Pingyang successively conquered Wugong and Behepin, repeatedly breaking the Sui army, and even the later Twenty-four Heroes of Lingyange and the Sui general Qu Tutong were defeated by her many times. Along the way, the Niangzi Army did not commit any crimes, prohibited captivity, and won the sincere support of the people.
Eventually, Princess Pingyang and her uncle Li Shentong met in YanXian and gained a firm foothold in Guanzhong. Subsequently, Princess Pingyang sent envoys to secretly contact her father Li Yuan to inform her about her experience during this time. Hearing that his daughter was not only safe and sound, but also conquered a large base area for Datang, Li Yuan almost cried with joy. So he immediately sent Shao with hundreds of cavalry to meet the Princess of Pingyang. Next, Princess Pingyang selected more than 10,000 elite soldiers to join Li Shimin on the north bank of the Wei River to jointly attack Chang'an.
In the Battle of Chang'an, Princess Pingyang set up her own shogunate and became the same level as her husband Chai Shao. In the Battle of Chang'an, Ma Sanbao, who had made outstanding achievements, met Li Shimin at the military gate and was under his direct command. After the capture of Chang'an, Ma Sanbao was appointed as the head of the crown prince. Princess Binh Duong, on the other hand, ranked above the other princesses for her military merits.
In the sixth year of Wude, Princess Pingyang unfortunately died prematurely. Li Yuan held a grand funeral for his daughter Cao with the gift of a marshal, "the front and rear yu bao advocated, the big reed, the luddy, the forty people of the ban sword, and the tiger benjia pawn." In this regard, the ceremonial officials raised objections, arguing that women's funerals should not be advocated again. But Li Yuan said:
"Advocating is military music, in the past, princess Pingyang always came to the battlefield in person, leading the soldiers, beating drums and sounding gold, staff officers and military affairs, from ancient times to the present, how has there ever been such a woman?" Bury the princess with a military salute, what's not to like! ”
Not only that, Li Yuan also gave the princess the nickname "Zhao", and the Princess of Pingyang was also known as Princess Pingyang Zhao by later generations.
After the death of Princess Pingyang, her former slave Ma Sanbao was still serving in the army, and he accompanied the army to defeat Xue Rengao, and then with Chai Shao defeated Tuguhun, beheaded the famous king, captured thousands of people, and was named Xinxing County Man for his merits.
After that, Li Yuan inspected Si ZhuYuan and praised Ma Sanbao for saying:
"Is this where you started your army?" I see that you are stronger than Wei Qing!" ”
It can be said that the Tang Dynasty was able to capture Guanzhong and use it as a base for attacking the whole country, and Princess Pingyang and Ma Sanbao were indispensable. Among them, Ma Sanbao's merit may even be even greater, if there is no such thing as his clever tongue, how can he empty gloves and white wolves and obtain tens of thousands of troops. From slave to general, Ma Sanbao deserved it.
During the Zhenguan period, Ma Sanbao was promoted to the rank of Grand General of Zuo Xiaowei and jin was made a county duke. In the third year of Zhenguan, Ma Sanbao died, and Li Shimin was so sad that he even abolished the dynasty.