Gao Shi is not a nobody, and Geshu's surrender to An Lushan is a hard wound
Author of this article: Li Xiaotian
"Chang'an 30,000 Li" is not bad overall, but many historical mistakes have been made, and this site has pointed out some one after another to set the record straight.
This time, let's talk about how Gao Shi rose, and what kind of person is Geshuhan?
Gao Shi (704–765), courtesy name Dafu, was a native of Bohaibei (present-day Jingxian County, Hebei), and later moved to Songcheng, Song Prefecture (present-day Suiyang, Shangqiu, Henan).
Gao Shi is not a "cold counterattack", but a proper official and eunuch disciple. His grandfather, Gao Wei (kǎn), had distinguished himself in battle, and once captured the Turkic Che-nose Khan during his crusade against the Turks. Later, he followed the Tang Dynasty general Qibi He Li to conquer Goguryeo, defeated the remnants of Goguryeo at Baishuishan, and defeated the reinforced Silla soldiers. Gao Wei made outstanding contributions to stabilizing the northern and northeastern frontiers of the Tang Dynasty, and after his death, he was called "Wei" and was buried in the Qianling Tomb, where he was greatly mourned.
Gao Wei gave birth to three sons, all of whom were officials, the eldest son Gao Chongde Guan Baiqin would extend the history of the three prefectures, the second son Gao Chongli Guan to Yunli General Xingzuo Wei led the Fuzhong Lang General, and the third son Gao Chongwen Guan to Shao Governor Shi.
Gao Shi is Gao Chongwen's son. Gao Shi finally paid homage to Nishikawa Jiedu Envoy and rode Changshi, and he was called "Gao Changshi" by later generations because of his final official rank.
In addition, Gao Wei's father, Gao Shi's Taizu Gao You, also served as a constant attendant in the Sui Dynasty. In such a family, who has been an official for several generations, who dares to say that he is a disciple of a cold family, who dares to say that he comes from a humble background?
To Lai also depends on Gao Chongwen, who died when Gao Shi was a teenager, leaving no rich family foundation for Gao Shi, resulting in the fall of the Gao family. Gao Shi did not enjoy too much of his father's dividends when he grew up.
In short, Gao Shi is not a giant son like Wang Wei, who can walk across Chang'an City, but he is not a poor people, but a general who has fallen in the family. Moreover, although his family's situation is not as good as it was at the beginning, he has several industries such as Song Cheng and Qishang outside the Bohai Sea, and he is still a landlord class.
The Tang Dynasty system stipulated that the descendants of officials above the fifth rank could enter the ranks through the door. According to his grandfather Gao Wei's official position, Gao Shi had the privilege of door shade, but Gao Shi was determined not to take the door shade road. At the age of twenty, he went to Chang'an to seek fame, but was unsuccessful. He could only live in the Liang and Song regions (present-day Shangqiu City, Henan Province), and made a living by farming and fishing.
However, it is not a matter to always be at home, and this is not the result that Gao Shi wants.
Around the eighteenth and nineteenth years of the Kaiyuan Dynasty (730-731), Gao Shi decided to write from Rong and go north to the frontier. During his travels around Yan and Zhao, Gao Shi wanted to go to Shuofang Jiedu's deputy envoy Li Yuan the Prince of Xin'an, and Youzhou Jiedu to get an official and a half-post in the curtain, but he never got his wish. In the face of concealment of defeat and dark corruption in the army, Gao Shi had no way to intervene, let alone change, and finally could only return angry. Re-settled between the Liang and Song dynasties.
However, this military trip still allowed Gao Shi to write masterpieces such as "Stuffed Up", "Yan Ge Xing", "Five Songs of Thistle Gate" and "Sending Troops to Thistle North", and has begun to have poetry titles.
Although it has not yet been called a big bull, it has finally been hung up on the poetry rivers and lakes. It is also because of this that he is qualified to travel with Li Bai and Du Fu in Liang and Song and form a good story in the poetry world. And this trip together became the starting point of their friendship and the source of the creation of "Chang'an 30,000 Li".
But!
As mentioned earlier, Li Bai, Du Fu, and Gao Shi traveled together, which looks very good, but in fact, the relationship between the three is not exactly the same.
For Li Bai, he has become famous all over the world and has become a well-deserved leader in the poetry circle. Du Fu and Gao Shi are just juniors in his eyes and are his fans. Traveling with them is just a good swim with you, and you bring two fans with you. For Du Fu and Gao Shi, Li Bai is condescending and looking down.
Du Fu regarded this trip as the glory of his life, and missed Li Bai until his death.
As for Gao Shi, at that time, he not only needed to admire Li Bai, but even Du Fu, who was younger than himself, had to look up. Between the three, he is just an inconspicuous small class heel.
Moreover, this tour did not bring fundamental changes to Gao Shi's career and writing.
Therefore, in Gao Shi's poems, there are not many nostalgia for the works of this trip, for Li Bai and Du Fu, almost nothing.
In terms of talent, between the three, it must be Li Bai> Du Fu > Gao Shi. But when it comes to emotional intelligence, the poetry talent between the three is exactly the opposite, Gao Shi> Du Fu > Li Bai.
Gao Shi eventually became the largest official among the poets of the Tang Dynasty. And Du Fu was once also a red man in the eyes of the emperor, holding the right to speak, but saying the wrong thing was degraded. In the eyes of the imperial court, Li Bai was just a vase, without any power, and was even almost killed because he stood on the wrong team.
Therefore, when Gao Shi found that he had no prospect under Li Yuan and Zhang Shoujue, he decisively withdrew, preferring to go home to farm.
As long as the emotional intelligence is high enough, the opportunity will always come. It's just that for Gao Shi, the time is a little late. But what should come will come.
In 752, Gao Shi, who was 49 years old, finally met his lucky star, that is, Hexi Jiedu Envoy Geshuhan. For people like Gao Shi, talented and emotionally intelligent, once they seize the opportunity, they will definitely break out. Now, he's about to explode.
Goshuhan, he is an ethnic minority and belongs to the Western Turkic Turks. Just like the above-mentioned Tiele clan general Qibi He Li, Qibi is a compound surname, and He Li is a first name. Geshuhan, compound surname Geshu, named Han. There is also An Lushan, also a minority, a Sogdian people. However, the name An Lushan looks like a Han name, not a compound surname, in fact, his original name is Jingxuanshan, which is a minority ethnic group at a glance. The Great Tang used so many ethnic minority generals to lead the army, and it was still very big-country atmosphere.
When the Great Tang arrived at Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the whole had entered the Chengping era, and the number of famous military generals was becoming rarer. And Geshuhan was the most famous representative of the Great Tang martial generals in that period.
The Big Dipper is tall, and Geshu carries a knife at night.
So far, I have seen horses and dare not cross the border.
This "Goshu Song" is a poem that praises his great achievements. Geshuhan's greatest achievement was to resist Tubo's first invasion of the Tang Dynasty, and defeated the Tubo army at the Qinghai Stone Fort, which made Tubo dare not invade the Tang for many years.
When Tubo invaded the Tang Dynasty for the second time, the army divided into two roads, one was the southern road, and invaded the Tang region from the Sichuan line. The general in charge of defending all the way to Xichuan was Gao Shi, and as a result, Gao Shi passively resisted and lost a large part of his territory. Emperor Daizong of Tang had no choice but to send Yan Wu into Shu to replace Gao Shi. The Tang army also won a victory over Tubo under Yan Wu's purge.
The other way to Tubo is from the west road around Qinghai and Gansu to Chang'an. As a result, Cheng Yuanzhen, who served as the general of the Great Tang Hussars, that is, the Cheng superintendent Cheng Gonggong in "Chang'an 30,000 Li", received a war report like a snowflake on the front line, but he did not send it and did not show it to the emperor. When the Tubo army was about to arrive in the city, the emperor suddenly realized. Finally, it was discovered that Cheng Yuanzhen had mistaken the country, and then cut him off.
Look, Cheng Yuanzhen didn't go to Gao Shi to be a supervisor, and they were both sinners who misled the country for the Tubo army.
Of course, this is an afterword. By the time Tubo entered the Tang Dynasty for the second time, Gao Shi had already risen.
The rise of Gao Shi was when An Lushan raised his army.
An Lushan brought disaster to Fan Yang, sent troops to Chang'an, and the famous generals of the Great Tang Dynasty had no one available in view of the successive defeats of Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi.
Geshuhan was ill at the time and was forced to lead troops against the army of An Lushan. Geshuhan's strategy was to hold Tongguan and prevent An Lushan's army from invading Chang'an. Moreover, relying on this strategy, Geshuhan defeated the army led by An Qingxu, the son of An Lushan, at Tongguan. It seriously shook An Lushan's military heart, and even made An Lushan regret raising troops and wanted to return to Youzhou to hold on.
Moreover, Goshuhan is not passive resistance, he is actively defending, because he is sick and cannot attack it, which is really inconvenient. Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi, who cooperated with him, and Guo Li commanded another army and were responsible for attacking, and their strength needless to say, attacked the city and made An Lushan scream.
If, to say if, if Geshuhan and Guo Ziyi cooperate to fight like this, the Anshi Rebellion should be suppressed soon.
But!
But woe to the wall. The great traitor Yang Guozhong began to act as a demon.
Originally, An Lushan's reason for raising troops was to Qing Jun's side, and he said that his target was only Yang Guozhong. And Tongguan is on the edge of Chang'an, where Geshuhantun's army is. Yang Guozhong felt scared.
What's more, Geshuhan's generals also persuaded Geshu, saying that he simply entered Beijing and killed Yang Guozhong, so that An Lushan would have no reason to raise troops, and the turmoil might be able to be pacified without a fight. Goshuhan thought about it, but in the end he didn't execute it. However, this plan was leaked out and was known by Yang Guozhong. It scared him half to death.
Therefore, Yang Guozhong began to rumor to Tang Xuanzong, saying that since An Lushan would rebel, who could guarantee that Geshuhan would not rebel? Moreover, Geshuhan brought such a large army, just on the edge of Chang'an, if he reversed, then Chang'an City would definitely not be guaranteed. Now, Geshuhan only sticks to it, does not advance or retreat, which is a huge hidden danger.
When Tang Xuanzong, who was shocked by the bird, heard it, he felt that what Yang Guozhong said made sense. Therefore, he ordered Geshuhan to take the initiative to attack, send troops out of Tongguan, and take the initiative to attack An Lushan's army.
As a result, under the repeated urging of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Geshuhan did not dare to resist and disrespect, and was forced to cry out with illness and pain, directly attacking the An Lushan army.
As a result, the 200,000 Tang troops were ambushed by everyone in An Lushan and collapsed in a battle, and in the end, only 8,000 remnants of the 200,000 soldiers were left, and the army was almost completely destroyed. Then, betrayed by the traitors, Geshuhan was tied up by his subordinates and sent to An Lushan.
What is unacceptable is that in An Lushan's cynicism, Geshuhan actually chose to surrender and expressed his willingness to persuade Li Guangbi to surrender as well, and his integrity was defeated.
The surrender of Goshuhan, who was not guaranteed in the late season, did not change his fate. The following year, he was killed by An Qingxu.
Let's talk about Gao Shi.
After Gao Shi was recognized by Geshuhan, he was collected by Geshu in the army and served as the left Xiao guard Cao joined the army and was in charge of the secretary.
In "Chang'an 30,000 Li", it is said that Gao Shi is only an eight-rank petty official under Geshuhan's account, and he is small in words and cannot change Geshu's military situation. In fact, the words are only half right, the secretary of the palm is indeed only eight grades in grade, and the level is very small. But in fact, the role played is not small, almost similar to the confidential secretary, and the voice in the army is extremely large.
In Tongguan, Geshuhan was captured, but Gao Shi accidentally escaped.
After the loss of Tongguan, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was so frightened that he quickly ran out of Chang'an and fled west into Shu. Gao Shi chased after him all the way, caught up with Tang Xuanzong, and reported to him the details of the defeat and fall of the Tongguan soldiers. As a result, Tang Xuanzong not only did not punish him, but felt that he could chase him all the way and was a great loyalist, so he became a counselor.
This is where the highlight of Gao Shi's life begins.
The clever Gao Shi, when he discovered that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had a disagreement with the crown prince Li Heng, decisively defected to Li Heng and was reused again. When Li Heng ascended the throne and became Emperor Suzong, Gao Shi continued to rise to the top of the ranks, paying official homage to the envoys all the way and becoming a member of the Zhengyipin, which is not to mention.
The above history is partly talked about in "Chang'an 30,000 Li", but it is not right. So much more for this.