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In June of the fifteenth year of Tianbao (756 AD), on the eve of the fall of Chang'an City, Tang Xuanzong's group quickly escaped from Chang'an City under the cover of night, and then passed through the Xianyang Bridge.
1. The embarrassing image of the fleeing
After all the troops of the brigade passed, Yang Guozhong wanted to set fire to the bridge again, saying that he was afraid that the rebels would cross the bridge to chase.
The soldiers put firewood and grass on the bridge and set it on fire, and for a while the smoke was billowing and the flames were shining. Emperor Xuanzong rode on his horse and walked ahead.
Looking back and seeing the thick smoke, he said to Colix: "Each of the warriors avoids the thief to survive, but there is no way to go." ”
So he instructed Colix to stay and organize the fire to be extinguished, and then chase the team after the fire was extinguished. Emperor Xuanzong himself would lead his people to continue their journey west, reaching Xianyang, and Emperor Xuanzong sent the eunuch Wang Luoqing to the front station to tell the county officials to prepare food and lodging.
Near noon, Fang arrived at Xianyang, and Emperor Xuanzong and his party entered the Wangxian Palace in the east of the county to wait for dinner. The eunuchs and county orders who came to fight had long since fled, and there was no trace, and the county officials were empty.
Emperor Xuanzong hurriedly sent people to recruit, but "the people did not respond." Witnessing the coldness of this world, the warmth of the people, Emperor Xuanzong looked depressed, and all thoughts were ashen, sitting under the tree, "If there is a desire to abandon the sea, Colix Juezhi, so he hugged his feet, whimpered and opened the edict, and stopped at the top." ”
Emperor Xuanzong saw that everyone was hungry and the imperial horse was sick again, so he asked the imperial horse to be slaughtered, and the palace wood was dismantled to cook it, and everyone could not bear to start. From early morning to noon, Xuanzong did not enter the grain of rice, and after 40 miles of rushing, at this time Xuanzong was already hungry, but it was inconvenient to say.
This Tang Tianzi, who has walked the road of 72 years of life, experienced for the first time today what hunger is.
Finally, once upon a time, Yang Guozhong, the powerful and hot prime minister, had to personally go to the street to buy buttercakes and put them in his sleeves to give to Emperor Xuanzong.
Emperor Xuanzong never thought that he would fall to such a point, it was really a mixed feeling, it was difficult to say.
At this time, the people in the vicinity heard the news and came to offer food.
Emperor Xuanzong personally asked them, "Does the Qing family have food?" Not crude, but in the future. So men, women and children ate pot pulp and competed for food. Although some coarse rice was offered, and there were a lot of wheat and beans mixed in the meal, but hunger did not choose food, these imperial grandchildren, who were usually tired of eating the mountains and delicacies of the mountains and seas in the palace, "competed for food", gobbled up, like wind and clouds, swept away in an instant, and shouted that they were not full.
Anyone who came to deliver food, Emperor Xuanzong rewarded him, and the people couldn't help but cry when they saw that the Son of Heaven of the Great Tang had fallen to such a embarrassing state, and Emperor Xuanzong was also moved to tears when he saw this.
At this time, a white-haired old man came with a cane, walked to Emperor Xuanzong, and said prostratedly:
"Caomin Guo Congjin, dare to offer words, I wonder if His Majesty is willing to accommodate it?"
Emperor Xuanzong said, "But it doesn't hurt to say!" ”
From the Sincere:
"Lushan harbors evil intentions, and it is not a day; There are also accusations against his conspirators, and His Majesty often accuses them, causing them to rebel and cause His Majesty to spread the seeds. It was the first king to extend his visit to Zhongliang to be wise and wise, and Gai was also for this. The minister remembered Song Jing as the face, and said bluntly, and the world depended on peace. Since a while, the courtiers have been secretive about their words, but their sycophancy is unknown to His Majesty outside the gate. The minister of the grass field must know that it has been around for a long time, but the nine layers are strict, and the heart of the region has no way to reach. If the matter does not come to this, why should the minister see His Majesty's face and complain! ”
Emperor Xuanzong listened to this old man's heartfelt words, and couldn't help but feel painful, and he quickly replied:
"This is unknown, and there is no regret."
Soon, the shang food official brought the imperial meal, and Emperor Xuanzong ordered that it be given to the entourage officials first, and finally eat it himself. However, the soldiers of the Sixth Army had not yet entered, so they had no choice but to let the soldiers scatter in the village and go to seek food.
When it was not until midnight (equivalent to three o'clock in the afternoon), the soldiers regrouped, and the group continued to advance. At midnight, he arrived at Jincheng (present-day Xingping County, Shaanxi).
The local county order and the people fled from abroad, leaving only one empty city, but fortunately, the eating utensils in the house were still there, so everyone was able to fill their stomachs. When it was about to rest, the inn was empty, so after more than 100 miles of rushing and consuming, everyone was exhausted, so there was no distinction between honor and inferiority, and everyone "slept with each other". Emperor Xuanzong's room was also pitch black, and Emperor Xuanzong had to sit opposite the concubine in the room, silent.
After this day's long journey of dust servants and starvation, many people who were ordinary and well-behaved were deterred in the face of a journey full of hardships, dangers, sufferings, and even uncertainty, and secretly left, and even Yuan Siyi, the head of the trusted eunuch leader around Emperor Xuanzong, did not give up, and the unnatural attrition increased.
At dawn there was another false alarm, and people were awakened in their sleep by the sound of hurried horses' hooves, thinking that the rebels were chasing them, and some people were so frightened that they cried and hid. Soon, Chen Xuanli came to report that the person who came was Wang Sili and his entourage, Wang Sili escaped from Tongguan and rushed to Chang'an to hear that the emperor was missing, and he estimated that the emperor would definitely go west, so he chased him along the way.
After Wang Sili gave a great gift to Emperor Xuanzong, he reported in detail about the fall of Tongguan. At this time, Emperor Xuanzong knew that Geshuhan had been taken prisoner, and he felt remorse and guilt for this, because he had realized that his urging Geshuhan to rush out of the customs to fight had made a big mistake that changed his own fate and the history of the Tang Dynasty.
After listening to Wang Sili's speech, he thought about it, and then appointed him as the envoy of Hexi and Longyou, asking him to rush to his post on the same day and gather his army and horses in an attempt to recover the lost territory. After Wang Sili accepted the appointment, he immediately led his entourage Pegasus to leave.
2, the unjustly killed ghost Yang Guozhong
On June 14, Emperor Xuanzong and his entourage walked non-stop for a day, and arrived at Mahengyi in the western suburbs of Xingping County in the evening.
In the past two days, the officers and men of the Sixth Army accompanied them, and along the way, they were overnight, hungry, and exhausted.
The commander of the Sixth Army, the general Chen Xuanli of Longwu, led the forbidden army to participate in Emperor Xuanzong's suppression of the Wuwei Rebellion and the coup d'état of Princess Taiping, and performed outstanding feats.
Chen Xuanli served as the commander of the forbidden army for a long time, he lived a simple and frugal life, was honest and honest, won the support of the officers and soldiers of the sixth army, and was quite trusted by Emperor Xuanzong.
He deeply abhorred Yang Guozhong's domineering and arbitrary authoritarian style since he came to power, especially causing "Lushan to rebel, Luanjian to regenerate, and the head of the sect to overturn, and there is no way to save the difficulty."
In Chen Xuanli's view, all these evil consequences and disasters today were single-handedly promoted by Yang Guozhong, and this understanding was not only the opinion of Chen Xuanli alone, but also the consensus of the entire six armies.
Therefore, when the officers and men of the Sixth Army wanted to take something at Ma Songyi because of hunger and fatigue, Chen Xuanli was afraid that the situation would expand, so he said to the soldiers because of the snobbery:
"Today, the next collapse, ten thousand times shake, won't Yang Guozhong cut off the rogues, and the government and the public will complain, so that Yay? If you don't thank the world, why plug the resentment of the world! ”
The soldiers replied:
"If you think for a long time, do what you do, and die as you wish."
As a result, Chen Xuanli took the lead and won the general support of the entire Sixth Army, and in this way, a mutiny that changed the fate of Emperor Xuanzong and the entire Tang Dynasty began.
It happened that at this time, there were more than 20 Tubo messengers, who were complaining around Yang Guozhong because they were hungry and could not eat. Before Yang Guozhong could answer, the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Army suddenly shouted in unison: "Guozhong and Hu Yu conspired against each other!" Saying that, he shot an arrow into Yang Guozhong's saddle.
Frightened, Yang Guozhong fell from his horse to the ground, got up and hurriedly fled into the west gate of Ma Songyi, and the soldiers swarmed in, killing Yang Guozhong who had caused disaster to the country and the people, and then cut his limbs, and hung his head with a gun outside the post gate for public display.
He then killed Yang Guozhong's son, Yang Xuan, the Lady of Han and Lady Qin. Seeing this, Wei Fangjin, the imperial master, wanted to block it, and shouted loudly: "How dare Ru Cao harm the prime minister!" Before the words fell, he was killed by the angry soldiers.
Zuo Xiang Wei saw that he came out chaotically, and was also beaten on the head by the soldiers, and at this critical moment of life and death, fortunately, someone shouted loudly: "Don't hurt Wei Xianggong!" This saved him from death.
3. The change of Ma Songyi
Then, the mutinous soldiers surrounded the inn where Emperor Xuanzong was located. Emperor Xuanzong heard the shouts of killing outside, and the voices were loud, and he didn't know what happened, so he asked the entourage around him. The entourage told him that Yang Guozhong had been killed by the soldiers on charges of conspiracy.
At this point, Xuanzong Fang realized the seriousness of the problem, but he was, after all, a veteran with decades of experience in political struggle. So he strolled out of the post gate on crutches, and instead of blaming the officers of the Sixth Army, he comforted them with kind words and asked them to return to the army.
However, the soldiers refused to accept the order, and Emperor Xuanzong was greatly disturbed when he saw this, so he hurriedly asked Colix to ask Chen Xuanli why he was like this, and Chen Xuanli replied:
"The country is loyal and rebelling, and the noble concubine is not suitable for worship, may His Majesty cut grace and correct the law."
After Emperor Xuanzong heard this, it was like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, and his face was as scared as earth.
For Emperor Xuanzong, it was not a pity to kill Yang Guozhong, not to mention that he had long been disgusted with Yang Guozhong. He originally thought that killing Yang Guozhong would calm the anger of the people, and who wanted the generals of the Sixth Army to kill Yang Guifei, this was a reality that he could not accept no matter what.
However, in the face of this group of murderous and fierce soldiers in front of him, Emperor Xuanzong couldn't help but be frightened and disordered.
At this point, Emperor Xuanzong vaguely felt that the situation was completely out of control, and he was powerless to return to heaven.
Then he said weakly: "Deal with yourself." After saying that, he turned to the door and leaned on his cane and bowed his head.
Seeing that Emperor Xuanzong was still hesitant, he quickly stepped forward and knelt down and prostrated:
"Today, the anger of the people is difficult to offend, and the safety is at stake, may Your Majesty make a quick decision!"
Say kowtow and even bleed.
Emperor Xuanzong still defended:
"The noble concubine often lives in the deep palace, An Zhi Guozhong conspires?"
Seeing that Emperor Xuanzong was still obsessed, Colix continued to persuade:
"The noble concubine is sincerely not guilty, but the soldier has killed the national loyalty, and the noble concubine is around His Majesty, how dare she be at ease!" May Your Majesty ponder it, and your Majesty be at peace. ”
At this point, Emperor Xuanzong knew that saying anything would be useless, so he made a final farewell to the concubine in grief.
At this time, the concubine also understood that her death was approaching, and she sobbed, sobbed, and said to Emperor Xuanzong:
"May everyone (called Emperor Xuanzong) live well, and the concubines sincerely bear the grace of the country, and die without hatred." Begging Buddha. ”
Colix then took Yang Guifei to a Buddhist hall in the inn and hanged her with a ribbon under the pear tree in front of the hall, at the age of 38.
Yang Guifei had just lost her breath, and the lychee that was paid tribute from the south was delivered by Pegasus, and Emperor Xuanzong looked at the tender lychee, and couldn't help but think of the concubine and the good time spent with the concubine for 17 years, so he cried bitterly, and returned to Gaulix to take the fresh lychee to sacrifice the concubine.
However, the soldiers of the Six Armies who besieged the inn did not disperse, and Emperor Xuanzong immediately called for someone to carry the body of the noble concubine to the court and asked Chen Xuanli and others to examine it.
Chen Xuanli raised the noble concubine's head, and seeing that she was indeed dead, he released his armor and released his arm, and pleaded to Emperor Xuanzong and said:
"The national loyalty has corrupted the national economy, created trouble, caused Li Yuan to be miserable, and took advantage of public opinion. Ministers and others for the sake of social justice, please correct the crime. ”
Emperor Xuanzong did not blame but comforted the crowd, saying:
"If you don't know it, you can lose it. Near also enlightened, judging his deception, intending to go to Shu, wanton the cities and dynasties, reconciling the aspirations, rewarding the lords, how to speak. ”
Ordered him to go to the soldiers, Chen Xuanli and the others shouted long live, and then bowed out.
In this way, the officers and men of the Six Armies broke the siege and agreed to move west, so the mutiny of the officers and men of the Six Armies was temporarily quelled.
4. The truth of the Ma Pengyi Mutiny
The Ma Weiyi Mutiny was a premeditated, planned, and commanded operation.
Crown Prince Li Heng took advantage of the anger of the generals of the Sixth Army to instigate and support Chen Xuanli and others to launch a mutiny and kill Yang Guozhong, and the hunger and fatigue of the generals of the Sixth Army was only a secondary factor in the Ma Songyi mutiny.
In this mutiny, Li Heng killed four birds with one stone: first, he killed his political enemy Yang Guozhong, second, he was recognized by the soldiers to create conditions for him to stand on his own feet in the future, third, he portrayed himself as the only person who cleaned up the "Xuanzong mess", and fourth, he successfully ascended to power through the mutiny.
The Ma Songyi mutiny was by no means the result of a momentary hot-headed and impulsive mood among the officers and men of the Sixth Army, but in fact it was carefully planned and commanded by someone, and the officers and men of the Six Armies acted as a tool for some people to realize their political ambitions in this mutiny.
The person behind the Ma Songyi Mutiny who personally designed and directed it was Li Heng, the crown prince who soon became self-reliant in Lingwu.
From July of the 26th year of the Kaiyuan Dynasty (738 AD), when Li Xiang was canonized as the crown prince, until the 14th day of July of De Yuanzai (756 AD), Yu Lingwu ascended the throne, during which he experienced 18 long years of successive disasters, dangers, and years.
Emperor Xuanzong chose Li Heng as the heir to the throne, which made Li Linfu's dream for himself be shattered at once, and if he did not support the crown prince, there were endless disasters, and if he wanted to eliminate disasters and avoid disasters, he could not remove Li Heng and make him repeat Li Ying's mistakes. In this way, Yang Guozhong, Wang Shi, Yang Shenwan and others were all used by Li Linfu to play his thugs who "cleverly sought conspiracy to favor the prince".
Yang Guozhong participated in this matter in order to seek a high position, while Li Linfu wanted to put the crown prince Li Heng to death in order to consolidate his power and maintain the throne. Although the removal of the crown prince was a great risk, Li Linfu was still determined to make a desperate bet.
Therefore, from the beginning of "the vacant position of the East Palace, Emperor Xuanzong has not yet been established", until the Ma Songyi mutiny, the crown prince Li Heng has always been the primary target of Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong joining forces to fight the frame, if Li Linfu did not die first, he would have been retaliated by Li Heng sooner or later.
History says:
Li Heng is "smart and strong, it is a dictionary beauty, what the eyes and ears hear, will not be forgotten." ”
Although there is no shortage of praise, Li Xiang will never easily forget his past grudges, and if the time is ripe, he will have every reason to ruthlessly eliminate the political enemies who hinder his claim to the emperor.
After An Lushan's rebellion, Emperor Xuanzong wanted Li Heng to oversee the country, which caused Yang Guozhong to be extremely shocked and panic, as if a catastrophe was imminent, because if Li Heng oversaw the country, it would actually mean the end of the Yang family's good fortune, and even the family's life could not be saved.
Yang Guozhong helped Li Linfu frame and fight the crown prince, and his grudge has been accumulated for a long time, so he strongly instigated Yang Guifei to "ask for orders", and successfully prevented Li Heng from overseeing the country, which will undoubtedly cause Li Heng's even more bitter hatred of the Yang family. If he wanted to ascend the throne as soon as possible, Li Heng must first eradicate Yang Guozhong, and the whole crux of Ma Songyi's mutiny was here.
In the 18 years of his tenure as a prince who walked on thin ice, approached the abyss, full of crises and dangers, Li Heng's blind and passive defensive posture against those who coveted and overturned the East Palace was by no means a long-term solution, and the only way out was to solve it by force.
The political turmoil caused by the "Anshi Rebellion" provided the possibility for the crown prince Li Heng to plan a mutiny. Emperor Xuanzong was blocked from interrupting the throne, completely shattering Li Heng's illusions of overseeing the kingdom, so he was determined to find an opportunity to eradicate Yang Guozhong and his family.
However, if he was sloppy and fought with it, it was not only difficult to gain the general support of the courtiers, but it was also difficult to win the battle in Chang'an City, the center of his rule.
In 756 AD, the internal and external situation of the Tang Dynasty underwent substantial changes, which became more and more favorable to Li Heng, the loss of Tongguan endangered the security of the capital Chang'an, the subjects were scattered, the army was unstable, and An Lushan took advantage of Yang Guozhong and rebelled, invisibly pointing people's spearheads at Yang Guozhong, even Wang Sili was about to move, Yang Guozhong had become the target of everyone, falling into a desperate situation surrounded on all sides.
Wang Sili and other generals conspired against Yang Guozhong fully reflected the widespread hatred and dissatisfaction within the Tang army, and Geshuhan's indecision, without Wang Sili's scheme, the secret was leaked and Yang Liang's opportunity was lost. When Yang Guozhong heard the news, he strengthened his precautions, stopped the defenders of Tongguan from defecting to the west, and used Tang Xuanzong's edict to force Geshuhan to go out to fight, and in the battle of Lingbao, the officials and troops were defeated, and the gateway to Chang'an was opened by the rebels, so that the military pattern changed abruptly, and the situation was even more unfavorable for the Tang court, and Chen Xuanli's attempt to eradicate Yang Guozhong was also bred at this time.
New Book of Tang, volume 121 "Wang Maozhong with Chen Xuanli Biography" Yun:
"An Lushan rebelled, plotted against Yang Guozhong, and did not restrain it. To Ma Wei, to the death. ”
The unstable mind of the army was extremely beneficial to Li Heng's bribery and win over the forbidden army. The crown prince was originally the legitimate heir to the imperial throne, and during the war, everyone expected to win people's hearts, and it was naturally the prince who won people's hearts, and Xuanli followed Emperor Xuanzong for many years and had rich experience in political struggle.
It was precisely in this way that he could spy on Li Heng's inner world of eagerness to ascend the throne to fulfill his dream of becoming an emperor, and he expected that he would definitely be able to support the mutiny, so he dared to secretly collude with Li Heng to discuss Yang Daji's plan, with the strong support of the generals of the Sixth Army and the crown prince Li Heng as a political backer, then, Yang Qingjun's side was justified, and Chen Xuanli had no scruples to speak of.
5. Why is the initiator Prince Li Heng?
At the same time, on the other hand, it can also prove that the crown prince Li Heng was the initiator of the Ma Songyi mutiny.
After the successful mutiny, Li Heng did not dare to come to see Emperor Xuanzong, and Emperor Xuanzong had no choice but to send people to "make people investigate", which was an extremely abnormal phenomenon.
What's more, after Ma Weiyi's soldiers became handsome, Li Heng was unwilling to follow Emperor Xuanzong into Sichuan, leaving aside the factor that Jiannan was the lair of national loyalty, the main reason must be to plan and command the mutiny, harboring ghosts, and determined to get rid of Emperor Xuanzong's shackles and control over him for 18 years. This also proves from the historical materials seen that Li Heng could not avoid the suspicion of encouraging support for the mutiny.
Volume 218 of the Tongjian on Governance of Information contains:
"Bingshen, to the horses, the soldiers are hungry and weary, and they are all angry. Chen Xuanli blamed Yang Guozhong for calamity, and wanted to blame him, because Li Fuguo, the eunuch of the Eastern Palace, sued the crown prince, and the prince was undecided. ”
It is not difficult to see from the above that Prince Li Heng also knew about this in advance. The so-called "pending" is only acquiescence.
The Old Book of Tang, volume 108, Wei Jiansu's Biography, also contains:
"The next day, the next horse was on the horse, and the sergeant was not allowed to eat, and the epidemic was not inferior. The Longwu general Chen Xuanli was afraid of his chaos, but he conspired with Li Huguo (later renamed Li Fuguo) of the Feilong Ma family to the crown prince, asking for Guozhong to comfort the morale. On that day, Xuanli and other forbidden troops surrounded the palace and condemned the Yang clan. ”
This shows that the Ma Pengyi mutiny was by no means planned and launched by Chen Xuanli alone, and the crown prince Li Heng not only knew about it in advance, but also directly participated in planning and directing the mutiny, and the conspirators included the eunuch Li Fuguo in addition to Chen Xuanli.
The Old Book of Tang, volume 184, "The Biography of Li Fuguo", records even more explicitly:
"To Ma Wei and Yang Guozhong, the auxiliary country to the prince, please divide the troops, go north to Shuo Fang, in order to rejuvenate, the auxiliary country from to Lingwu, persuade the prince to become the emperor, in order to care for the hearts of the people."
Through the analysis of the above materials, it can be concluded that the crown prince Li Heng not only directly planned and directed the mutiny behind the scenes, but also designed the next action plan and its specific arrangements with his co-conspirators.
In addition, from the records of the "Old Book of Tang" volume 51 "The Legend of Yang Guifei", some clues can also be seen:
"And the loss of Tong Pass, from Xing to Ma Wei, the general of the forbidden army, Chen Xuanli, the prince of Miqi, is loyal to the father and son."
All of the above shows that the real behind-the-scenes commander of the Ma Songyi Mutiny was the disguised crown prince Li Heng, and the Ma Songyi Mutiny did not break out on an accidental occasion, it was the product of the complex and sharp contradictions within the ruling class since the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty, especially the intensification of the struggle for the right to inherit the throne, which was unavoidable under the specific historical background and political atmosphere in the last years of Tianbao.
The success of the Ma Songyi mutiny not only made it possible for the crown prince Li Heng to seize power, but also laid an indispensable foundation for the crown prince Li Heng to stand on his own feet in Lingwu in the future, thus becoming a crucial turning point and opportunity in the life of the crown prince Li Heng.
Not only that, but this was also a turning point in the history of the entire Tang Dynasty, because after the Ma Songyi mutiny, the crown prince Li Heng completely gave up the idea of following Emperor Xuanzong to take refuge in Shuzhong, but resolutely decided to part ways with Emperor Xuanzong and lead his troops north to Shuofang, and finally located in Lingwu.
This was a brave and wise decision that gave great encouragement and hope to the people of the Tang Dynasty when half of the rivers and mountains were lost and in the critical autumn of life and death.
Because with the accession of Emperor Suzong Lingwu to the throne, the political center of the Tang Dynasty was maintained, and it was undoubtedly the rebuilding of the royal family, so that the organization could mobilize and lead the military and people of the country to fight the rebels, in order to recover the lost territory and restore the glory of the former Tang Dynasty, and the historical process of the later Tang Dynasty also fully proved this.
If Emperor Suzong really followed Emperor Xuanzong to the west into Shu, the Tang Dynasty would inevitably lose its center of gravity, or be peaceful, or collapse, and its future would be unimaginable.
The late Tang poet Zheng Bi's poem "Ma Weipo" deeply evaluates the role and significance of the Ma Weiyi Mutiny:
Emperor Suzong returned to Ma Yangfei to die, although Yunyu died with each passing day. After all, it is a matter of the Holy Tomorrow, who is Jingyang Gongjing.
(End of text)
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