The duty of a military general is to conquer the battlefield, open up territory for the country, and put life and death aside. But there were many good generals in history, but they failed to die under the dark sword.
The camps of soldiers in the two armies are different, and the generals are their own masters, which is a normal thing, and usually does not have deep hatred. However, due to the contradictions and opposites, it is also very likely that the hatred will escalate on the battlefield.
The taboo of "assassinating the main general" has always been despised, and it is really a dog's move to jump off the wall. However, whether in a military or political struggle, as long as the opponent's general dies, it will inevitably lead to great confusion in the enemy's army, and the balance of victory will inevitably tilt, and it is even possible to win without a fight. However, if the final victory of the war is achieved, it is good, but once the army is defeated, it will definitely not be able to eat and go.
Liu Xiu's confidant loves the general
In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Gongsun Shu was a prince on the dominant side, but he was at a disadvantage in the frontier. However, instead of looking for a turning point in the open, he chose to send two assassins to assassinate two of Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu's confidants, Cen Peng and Lai Xu.
Originally, it was not an easy task to assassinate a general in the barracks, but Gongsun Shu succeeded at the same time, which is rare in history. I don't know if it was Gongsun Shu's brilliant assassin technique, or Liu Xiu's army was really not well guarded.
In the ninth year of Jianwu, Emperor Guangwu successfully suppressed the forces in the northwest. In such a good situation, he decided to take advantage of the victory and pursue, wanting to take down the separatist forces of the Western Shu Gongsun Shu in one fell swoop.
Finally, in the eleventh year of Jianwu, Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu sent the general Cen Peng to launch a general attack on Gongsun Shu, and Cen Peng immediately led the generals to Jingmen and infiltrated from Hubei. In June, Emperor Guangwu threw more troops into the army, and generals such as Lai Xiao and Gai Yan also came to support. The two armies fought bravely, and the momentum was like a broken bamboo.
Cen Peng's army successfully took Jiangzhou, Wuyang and Guangdu, and his vision was only tens of miles away from Chengdu, and the speed of progress was amazing. The troops who came to fight were also in Hechi, Xiajian and other places. Let many of Gongsun Shu's generals fall into a bitter battle.
Dark arrows are hard to guard
Gongsun Shu sat in Chengdu, facing such a critical situation, and it was difficult to sleep. In the end, it was decided to send two assassins. Assassination of Cen Peng and Lai Xuan.
The assassin chose a dark and windy night to infiltrate the Han army camp, and happened to be asleep. Only an exclamation was heard outside the camp, and he immediately rushed in. Seeing Lai Xiao lying in a pool of blood, everyone shouted: "Catch the assassin!" Unexpectedly, this assassin had a strong martial art, and after overturning several people, he disappeared into the night.
Although Lai Xiao was stabbed to the point, the assassin forgot to draw his sword in a hurry, so there was still a trace of breath. Gai Yan cried when he saw such a tragic situation, and the two fought together on the battlefield for many years and had a deep relationship.
Lai Xiao stopped on the spot: "Boy's big husband!" What is crying? Although I will die, I will not be able to serve the country. Wait for this to cry like a woman, how can you kill the enemy? ”
Although his life is coming to an end, he is still heroic, and everyone present is ashamed! After Gai Yan listened, he immediately stopped his tears and listened to the final command.
Later, Lai Xiao wrote a letter to Liu Xiu, which was to the effect of: "I was wounded by the assassins and died not long ago, and the minister failed to complete the task entrusted by the emperor, which was a dishonor of the mission." The letter also recommended some wise ministers for great use, and Liu Xiu cried bitterly after reading it.
Lai Xiao is Liu Xiu's cousin, and the two have been brothers and sisters since childhood, and this letter also represents the farewell of the elder brother. More than 10 days later, Liu Xiu personally came to mourn Lai Xiao. Filled with grief and indignation, Liu Xiu decided to control his personal campaign until the end of the Battle of Shu to avenge his cousin.
The situation at that time was very unfavorable to Liu Xiu, who was stabbed, and Gai Yan could not afford to fall ill due to grief. Liu Xiu had to send Yang Wu's general Ma Cheng and the mighty general Liu Shang to fight in their place.
For Gongsun Shu, Liu Shang was not afraid, but Cen Peng was his henchman. Cen Peng passed all the way through the pass, bypassed the defense line, and went straight to Chengdu, and Cen Peng's army was relatively far ahead, which posed the greatest threat to Liu Xiu. Gongsun Shu's subordinates persuaded him to surrender, and Gongsun Shu said angrily: "Prosperity and destruction are fate, how can there be a son of heaven who surrenders?" , vows to resist to the end.
Play the same old trick
Seeing that the overall situation had been decided, Liu Xiu relaxed his mind and prepared to return to Luoyang, leaving full power to Cen Peng to attack and wait for the fruits of victory. However, the tragedy repeats itself again. Only two months after returning to Luoyang with bloodshed, he received news that Gongsun had repeated his old tricks and assassinated Cen Peng by the same despicable means.
And Gongsun Shu's assassin was also very cunning, he dressed up as a fugitive slave and begged Cen Peng bitterly. Cen Peng has always been kind and generous, so he took him in and eventually buried his life.
According to historical records at that time, the place where Cen Peng's troops were located at that time was called "Peng Death". All his subordinates felt that this place was unlucky, and advised Cen Peng to change places and station. However, Cen Peng was well aware of the righteousness, considering that it was late at that time, and his soldiers were physically and mentally exhausted, and insisted on ordering to stay here, but he did not expect that on the same day, Cen Peng was assassinated by assassins.
Although Cen Peng was brave and good at fighting on weekdays, he treated the people very well, and when he went straight to Jingmen and deep into Wuyang, he did not commit any crime with the people, and the local people were all grateful to him.
Liu Xiu was furious when she heard such bad news. Although he regarded Cen Peng as a ruler, he particularly appreciated Cen Peng's behavior and had a deep friendship with him. On the spot, he vowed to ask Gongsun to pay for his blood debt.
In the 11th year of Jianwu, the death of Lai Xiao and Cen Peng was equivalent to cutting off Liu Xiu's left and right hands, and Liu Xiu's hole card was only left with the great Sima Wu Han, and he appointed Wu Han to lead the mighty general Liu Shang and the Fuwei general Zanggong to continue to fight against Gongsun Shu, and this time was different from the past, Liu Xiu issued a poisonous order: "Step on Chengdu and capture Gongsun Shu alive." Finally, in November of the 12th year of Jianwu, the Han army broke through the gate of Chengdu.
If the benevolent Cen Peng had taken Chengdu, Chengdu would have been spared the tragedy of ruining lives, but Wu Han had a tyrannical personality, liked to kill, and actually obeyed the order to wash Chengdu in blood, and killed Gongsun Shu's entire clan.
It was really Providence that Gongsun Shu assassinated the Rende general Cen Peng, but in exchange for the extremely vicious Wu Han, implicating the innocent people of his own people in Chengdu.
Brief summary:
As the saying goes, "Drive away the jackal, and meet the tiger." When Gongsun Shu was facing a desperate situation, the act of assassinating the enemy's chief general in a dangerous way, although it was a temporary survival, it still would not change the inevitable trend of the war. Although there is a saying that "the thief captures the king first", the dark sword wounding people must not be the right way, and it must inevitably end tragically.
And his refusal to surrender when he was besieged was not so much ambitious as too stubborn. It is precisely because of his obsession that he not only harmed himself, but also implicated the ordinary people of Lebanon.