Original: Lao Xiao (One Sword's Rivers and Lakes)
Tang Dynasty, Anshi Rebellion.
Wars are raging, beacons are raging, the earth is shaking, and lives are ruined. The war brought heavy disasters to the people, but it created some "great heroes".
Zhang Xun is one of them. Zhang Xun was born in the second year of Jinglong (708) of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang. According to history, his people "read books only three times, never forget them for life, and do not write articles for the sake of articles", and "have high ambition, slight details, and the adults and elders they hand over must not be in harmony with vulgarity."
To put it simply, Zhang Xun is a capable, ambitious, informal, likes to mingle with elders, and does not want to be with vulgar people.
At the age of 33, Zhang Xunzhong became a jinshi and later served as the commander of Qinghe County (Qinghe County, Hebei Province) as the prince.
When he governed the Qing River, the history records that Zhang Xun "has a good name, values righteousness and integrity, and those who tell people in danger will pour out their wealth and compassion." He not only has a reputation for politics, attaches importance to morality and integrity, but also is very generous to the people in need, pouring money into helping each other without stinginess.
Zhang Xun is a man of integrity. At that time, Yang Guozhong was in charge of the imperial government and was hot. Some people persuaded Zhang Xun to visit him, maybe he could soar. Zhang Xun said: "It is Fang Weiguo who is strange, and the imperial court cannot do it." ”
To meet the powerful minister for a smooth journey? In Zhang Xun's view, this is a strange thing for the country and cannot be done.
It can be said that Zhang Xun's personal character is really barbaric, there is no flaw at all, close to perfection.
When the Anshi Rebellion broke out, the 48-year-old Zhang Xun was serving as the commander of Zhenyuan County (谯郡, in present-day Luyi County, Henan Province). At the beginning of the following year, An Lushan proclaimed himself emperor in Luoyang, and soon after, the rebels invading the east captured Song, Cao and other prefectures, and advanced to Gu Commandery. Taishou surrendered and forced Zhang Xun to meet the rebels.
Zhang Xun, however, took this opportunity to "lead the officials to cry at the Xuanyuan Emperor's Shrine, and then raised troops to beg thieves": pulling a team of thousands of people and rushing to "suppress the rebellion" against the rebels several times his own.
As the team marched west to Yongqiu (雍qiu, in present-day Qi County, Henan Province), Zhang encountered another rebel army, Jia Bian. The two then joined forces, adding up to 2,000 men, however, at this time, the Yongqiu County Decree [líng] Fox Chao had already "raised the county to possess thieves".
So Zhang Xun and Jia Ben captured Yongqiu and killed Ling Huchao's wife and children. Ling Huchao was angry and led more than 10,000 rebels to attack Yongqiu. Jia Ben died in battle, and everyone pushed Zhang Xun to lead and continue to fight Ling Huchao.
More than 2,000 people against more than 10,000 people, and as a result, Zhang Xun won! Can such an exaggerated ratio of forces be won? Don't worry, this is just the beginning.
The defeated Ling Hu Chao naturally would not be willing.
In March 756, Ling Huchao led more than 40,000 rebels back to Yongqiu City, and the people in the city were panicked.
Zhang Xun said to the generals: "The thief knows the truth in the city, and he has a light heart. If you are unexpected today, you can be shocked and collapsed, and you are bound to fold when you take advantage of it. "We are a little bit of people, and the enemy knows our falsehood and despises us. If you sneak up on it by surprise, you will be able to break its spirit.
So, Zhang Xun led his army to attack. The rebels thought that the people in the city would shrink to the defense, but when they encountered a surprise attack, they were in chaos and had to retreat.
In the following half a year, Ling Huchao and other rebel generals led troops to attack several times, but they were all defeated by Zhang Xun, the so-called "siege of April, thieves often tens of thousands, and (Zhang) patrol only more than a thousand, every battle is overcome."
In this way, the Battle of Yongqiu was fought from the first moon to the lunar month, and Zhang Xun guarded Yongqiu for a year with thousands of soldiers and horses.
Although Zhang Xun was happy to defend Yongqiu, the battle situation of the Tang army around him was not optimistic. As the situation changed, Zhang Xun decided to abandon Yongqiu and retreat to Suiyang (present-day Shangqiu, Henan), joining forces with Suiyang Taishou Xu Yuan to resist the rebels.
The battle of Yongqiu made Zhang Xun famous, but the battle of Suiyang made him a "god".
In 757, on the fifth day of the first lunar month, An Lushan, who had just been emperor for a year, was assassinated by his son An Qingxu.
Because An Qingxu's prestige in the army was far less than An Lushan's, when he killed his father and took the throne, he was eager to win victories on the battlefield and establish his prestige, just as Emperor Suzong of Tang, who was self-reliant on his father's behalf, was determined to recover the two capitals to consolidate his legitimacy.
Persimmons are naturally picky and soft pinches. Jianghuai, whose military strength was weak, became An Qingxu's target. Objectively, laying down Suiyang, entering Jianghuai and Jiangdong, and consolidating the foundation was also a strategy that An Qingxu had to adopt at that time.
An Qingxu sent his subordinate Yin Ziqi to lead a strong army composed of Turks and others to join Yang Chaozong, and more than 100,000 people attacked Suiyang. In comparison, Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan's subordinates added up to only 6,000 soldiers.
The Battle of Suiyang began.
"Blood Battle Suiyang" comic strip, many people should have seen it when they were children.
According to historical records, the two armies engaged in battle, and "(Zhang) patrolmen held firm, and the spirit did not weaken in the 20 battles between Japan and China." With such a small family base fighting for several days, the rebels were never able to capture Suiyang.
Moreover, as when the town was defending Yongqiu, although there were not many soldiers, Zhang Xun was not only able to defend, but also took advantage of the rebels' unpreparedness to engage in surprise attacks and earn extra money.
Because Xia Mai was robbed by the rebels, half of the grain storage was transferred by the higher authorities before the war, so that Suiyang City's food supply was in trouble. The soldiers in the city could only eat one spoonful of rice a day. If you can't eat enough, you can only take veneers and paper and cook them.
After the rebels learned of the lack of food in the city and the hunger of the soldiers, they set up ladders and attacked the city with hooked carts and wooden horses. But even so, it still can't be attacked. Yin Ziqi had no choice, "do not attack again, pierce the trenches and erect fences to defend." If I can't beat you, then trap you.
The days of siege passed day by day. Some of Zhang's soldiers gradually starved to death, while those who were alive were "exhausted and lacked."
Some people proposed to break through the siege and run east. However, Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan discussed that Suiyang was the guarantee of Jiang and Huai, and if Suiyang was abandoned and the rebels marched by victory, "Jianghuai would die." Moreover, now "handsome and hungry, they will not reach", even if they break through, there is not necessarily a way to live.
As a last resort, Zhang Xun made a shocking move.
Zhang Xun brought out his beloved concubine and said to the soldiers: "All the kings have been deprived of food for many years, and their loyalty and righteousness have declined, and I hate not cutting my muscles to eat the people, but I would rather sit and watch the soldiers starve for a concubine?" ”
Kill your own concubines to fill the army with food! "The soldiers wept and could not bear to eat, and (Zhang) Patrol forcibly ordered them to eat." Subsequently, Xu Yuan also killed his child servants to feed the soldiers.
The entire Suiyang City, in order to cope with the siege of the rebels, "Luo Que dug rats, boiled crossbows for food", "the first killing of horses and food, exhausted, and women old and weak 30,000 mouthfuls".
By October, the rebels had again attacked the city. At this time, Suiyang City had no soldiers to fight with, and no soldiers outside to help. The city was destroyed, and history records that "the remnants stopped at four hundred."
In ancient wars, it was not uncommon to slaughter the city after the city was built, but like the Battle of Suiyang, it was very rare to use the residents of the city as military food in order to defend the city. The miserable nature of the war is evident.
The city fell, and Zhang Xun, Xu Yuan, and others were captured. Yin Ziqi forced Zhang Xun to surrender, but Zhang Xun was unyielding and was finally killed. Thirty-six people including Xu Yuan died with him, and they all died succumbent.
The following things will not be repeated, in short, the Tang Dynasty finally calmed the Anshi Rebellion.
Although Suiyang was lost, the old, weak, sick and disabled were eaten. But later generations did not hesitate to praise Zhang Xun. Tang people such as Han Yu, Li Han and others said: "(Zhang) patrolled and covered Jianghuai, frustrated the thief situation, the world does not die, and his merits are also." ”
Five hundred years later, Wen Tianxiang wrote this sentence in "Songs of Righteous Qi": "For Zhang Suiyang, for Yan Changshan Tongue." "Regard Zhang Xun as a role model and motivate himself not to give in to the enemy.
After the Ming and Qing dynasties, under the impetus of the official government, Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan were both consecrated gods, known as "Shuangzhonggong", and were sacrificed and worshiped by later generations. The Shuangzhonggong belief, which originated in the Central Plains, is still popular in the Chaoshan region of Guangdong.
A tragic siege battle was remembered by generations in this way.
Zhang Xun became a famous hero throughout the ages, the ideal of serving the country with loyalty and loyalty pursued by him was realized, his great loyalty and righteousness were recorded in the history books, and Zhang Xun got the ending he wanted the most.
However, throughout the historical narrative of the Battle of Suiyang, the women, children, and old people who were eaten, including Zhang Xun's own concubines, were flutteringly ignored. Someone has asked them if they are happy to be eaten "for the sake of the world and for the sake of Tang Tianzi"? Aren't they the same people as the emperor and Zhang Xun? Are they all livestock, grass and trees? What power does Zhang Xun have to decide their life and death?
Zhang Xun's move is no different from the rebels, the concubine was taken out by his own officials and then killed and eaten, no one recorded the woman's mood and performance at that time, and future generations can make up for it.
Traditional historians believe that Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan took the initiative to eat people in order to protect the whole world, and ordered the soldiers defending the city to feed on people, "with all kinds of eases." This means that the "price" of sacrificing 30,000 old and weak people who were eaten and protecting millions of lives in Jianghuai from the massacre of the rebels is worth it.
It was not until the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, when the value of human beings was rediscovered, that we heard different voices on this matter. Among them, it is necessary to mention the views of the great thinker Wang Fuzhi.
In the "Theory of Reading the General Guide", Wang Fuzhi said that Zhang Xun "guarded the lonely city, refused foreign aid, ran out of food, and the gentleman was here, the only death and the end of his deeds", "those who pass this are only the palace of worry, and it is only suitable for the thief's benevolence and righteousness." As a loyal and righteous person, you Zhang patrol and the lonely city coexist and die, can defend it, if you can't keep it, you will die in battle, this is the degree of defending the city, beyond this degree, it is the thief benevolence and righteousness, to the opposite of benevolence and righteousness.
Wang Fuzhi went on to say: "Whether the city survives or dies, whether the body lives or dies, what must be done is indispensable, and people cannibalize each other." "No matter what extreme situation you are in, you must keep a bottom line, and this bottom line is what makes people human without any reason to explain."
That is, people cannot eat people. You can't say that in order to save the whole world, I ordered to eat a city of people. No innocent human life is the price to be eaten in order to save others or more.
Gu Yanwu, another great thinker of Wang Fuzhi's time, also expressed the same view, when explaining the difference between "dying the country" and "dying the world" in the "Records of Daily Knowledge": "Yi's surname is changed to the name, which means the death of the country; Benevolence and righteousness are filled with beasts and cannibalism, and people will cannibalize each other, which is called the death of the world. ”
Not to mention whether you can really achieve the goal of "one hundred and wide". Taking the lead in cannibalism, which is what animals do, cannot change the barbarity of this practice, no matter what noble purpose. Although in the era of Zhang Xun, and even in the era of Wang Fuzhi and Gu Yanwu, cannibalism in order to defend the city still happened occasionally.
Some would say that it is precisely because of the cannibalism of people who have to do it that the continuation of civilization is preserved. If so, what is this civilization called? This can only be called "cannibalistic civilization"!
No wonder Lu Xun wrote in "Diary of a Madman": "I opened the history and checked, this history has no age, and the four words 'benevolence and righteousness' are written on every page of the crooked page." I couldn't sleep horizontally, and I looked carefully in the middle of the night before I could see the words in the cracks, and there were two words written all over the book that were 'cannibalism'! ”
Those so-called heroes, when they pursue great righteousness, are righteous and decisive, and their lives, relatives, and feelings are not worth mentioning in the face of their great ideals, and they do not have half a nostalgia. They don't even want their own lives, and they care about the lives of others?
Not only do they feel that "heaven has sent a great task", but they are accomplishing a feat with a "sense of historical mission" and immersed in the pursuit of greatness. And the world does not hesitate to praise, shaping them into "heroes" and "saviors". This is a distorted view of heroes and historical values.
The great righteousness of heroes often brings disasters to the people. No matter how noble and selfless a hero's ideals may seem, no matter how perfect his personal virtues are, for the sake of personal ideals, subjectively or objectively disregarding the rights of others, and using others, especially the people of the world, as a price, is reactionary, anti-human, and a public enemy of human society.
In China's history, there are too many such idealistic and ambitious heroes, and each one often brings people not happiness but suffering. I hope that there are fewer such heroes, less, and if you have extra energy, you may wish to study science and technology, study medicine, most of the people do not have any great ideals, so stop tossing the people, let the people live a small life in peace.