Li Cunxiao, this name may not be familiar to many people, but he is the first fierce general of the Sui and Tang dynasties who bravely crowned the three armies and had martial arts. Legend has it that when he was a teenager, he killed a tiger with his bare hands, which amazed Li Keyong, the king of Jin at the time, and accepted him as his adopted son. Li Cunxiao followed Li Ke to fight in the south and the north, conquering everything and being invincible, and some people even said that his bravery surpassed Xiang Yu. However, such a rare military general was finally killed by a car. Who caused his death?
First, the young man is brave and has begun to show his edge
Li Cunxiao, formerly known as An Jingsi, was born in the turbulent and turbulent times of the late Tang Dynasty. At that time, the world was in turmoil, and the wars were raging. In such an era, only those who are strong in martial arts can gain a foothold.
Li Cunxiao has been strong and strong since he was a child. One day, while he was playing at the bottom of the mountain, he saw a fierce tiger pounce on the sheep. The sheep scattered in terror and were about to be torn apart by the tiger. Seeing this, Li Cunxiao, who was only a teenager, rushed forward without hesitation and fought with the tiger with his bare hands.
Although Li Cunxiao is still young, he has extraordinary courage and amazing strength. I saw him leap onto the tiger's back and wrap his hands around the tiger's neck. The tiger struggled fiercely, but Li Cunxiao was like nailing to the tiger's back, no matter how the tiger jumped and rolled, he couldn't move at all.
The fight lasted for a long time, until the tiger was exhausted and was finally strangled to death by Li Cunxiao. This scene happened to be seen by Li Keyong, the king of Jin who was passing by. Li Keyong was the ruler of the Hedong region at that time, and he was recruiting talents all over the country, preparing to crusade against the imperial court and dominate the world.
Li Keyong was very surprised to see Li Cunxiao kill the tiger empty-handed, and immediately decided to accept Li Cunxiao as his son. Li Keyong gave Li Cunxiao the surname Li and named him Cunxiao, giving him a new identity.
Under Li Keyong's training, Li Cunxiao's martial arts have reached a higher level. He is a skilled archer, extremely powerful, and especially good at white-knuckle combat. It is said that he alone is invincible to a hundred.
Soon, Li Cunxiao followed Li Keyong to fight everywhere and began his lifelong military career. Every time he went out on an expedition, Li Cunxiao charged ahead, captured the flag, and made great achievements. His reputation for bravery and good fighting spread far and wide, and gradually spread throughout the Hedong region.
In this way, a young man from the people, with his bravery, grew step by step into a commanding general. His heroic appearance has been admired by countless people. However, no one thought that this promising young general would end up in a tragic end.
Li Cunxiao's story has just begun. His experience in the army, the country he followed Li Keyong to conquer, and the many crises he faced are still waiting for us to explore. The legendary life of the first fierce general of the Sui and Tang dynasties is destined to leave a strong mark in the long river of history.
2. Quell the rebellion and make a name for yourself
Li Cunxiao, under Li Keyong, soon ushered in the first major challenge of his military career. That was to put down the Huangchao Uprising.
The Huangchao Rebellion was the largest peasant uprising in the late Tang Dynasty, and its power spread across half of China. The imperial army was defeated repeatedly and lost large tracts of land. Li Keyong decided to personally lead the army to defeat Huangchao, and Li Cunxiao, as Li Keyong's favorite general, was naturally among the expeditions.
The two armies met north of the Yellow River in the area of Luzhou (present-day Changzhi, Shanxi). The Huang Chao Army was numerous and powerful. Li Cunxiao led the vanguard troops and bore the brunt.
The battle was extremely fierce, and Li Cunxiao took the lead and was invincible. He took the lead, with a spear in hand, and everywhere he went, the Huang Chao army was invincible. It is said that he alone killed dozens of enemy generals, and the enemy army was terrified when they saw his banner.
In this battle, Li Cunxiao made the first contribution and became famous in the first battle. The Huang Chao army was defeated, and Li Keyong successfully recovered Luzhou. However, the rest of the Huangchao Army still resisted stubbornly and was entrenched in Shanxi and Henan.
In order to completely eradicate the remnants of the Huangchao Army, Li Keyong led his army to attack Youzhou (now Beijing). Youzhou has a dangerous terrain and fierce defenders, and it is a difficult task to attack Youzhou.
Li Cunxiao asked for help again and led the vanguard troops to open the way. He took the lead, charged into battle, attacked the city and plundered the land, and the momentum was like a bamboo. The defenders of Youzhou were defeated and retreated, and soon lost and surrendered.
In this way, under the leadership of Li Cunxiao, Li Keyong's army was invincible and recovered a large area of land entrenched by the Huangchao army. The Yellow Nest Rebellion was finally put down once and for all.
But bigger challenges lie ahead. Zhu Wen was another ambitious warlord of the time, and he and Li Ke used their power to fight to the death in the Hedong region.
In an encounter with Zhu Wen, Li Cunxiao was seriously injured, and blood stained his robe red. But he still insisted on fighting, and stabbed Zhu Wen's first fierce general to death with a single shot. This scene made Zhu Wen also look sideways.
Since then, Zhu Wen has become even more jealous of Li Cunxiao. He knew that if he wanted to defeat Li Keyong, he had to get rid of Li Cunxiao, who was the champion of the three armies.
And Li Cunxiao will also face the biggest test in his military career. Not only does he have to fight against external enemies, but he also has to guard against internal calculations and frame-mes. A thrilling power struggle is brewing in the dark.
Although Li Cunxiao is strong in martial arts, it is still unknown whether he can retreat in the treacherous struggle of power and cunning. His saga continues.
3. Capture Chang'an and lay the foundation
After Li Cunxiao quelled the Huangchao Uprising and recovered Youzhou, he became famous. But Li Keyong's ambition does not stop there, his goal is to dominate the world, and to achieve this goal, it is necessary to capture Chang'an, the ancient capital of the world.
Chang'an City is impregnable and heavily guarded. A large number of Tang Dynasty troops were stationed in the city, and the commander was the famous general Sun Kui. Sun Kuo has been on the battlefield for a long time, and he is a rival to be reckoned with.
Li Ke ordered Li Cunxiao to lead an elite army, divided into two routes, and attacked Chang'an. This is an extremely difficult task, and the slightest mistake could lead to total annihilation.
Li Cunxiao was well aware of the importance of the task, and he planned carefully and prepared for it. One of his troops attacked from the mountain road, while the other made a feint attack on the city gates to attract the attention of the defenders.
The mountain road was rugged and difficult, and Li Cunxiao personally led eighteen cavalry to open the way at the front. They traveled day and night, and finally succeeded in ambushing Sun Kuo's army on the mountain road around the eldest son.
It was a thrilling ambush battle. Li Cunxiao took the lead and took the lead in rushing into the enemy formation. He took the lead, with a spear in hand, and was invincible. Sun's army was caught off guard and soon collapsed. Sun Kuo himself was also captured by Li Cunxiao.
After capturing Sun Kuo, Li Cunxiao did not stop there. He immediately led 5,000 cavalry and rushed to Zezhou for reinforcements. In Zezhou, Li Cunxiao captured Deng Jiyun, the commander of the Bianjun army. Another Tang general, Li Yan, was also defeated in this battle.
Li Keyong saw that the general trend had gone, and pursued him all the way to Ma Prison Pass. A tragic battle unfolded here, and Li Cunxiao led the army to kill the enemy bravely and won countless victories.
After conquering two cities in a row, Li Cunxiao immediately led his army back to attack Luzhou. Luzhou was the last stronghold of the Tang Dynasty in the Hedong region, and the capture of Luzhou was equivalent to the capture of the entire Hedong.
In this battle, Li Cunxiao made another great contribution. Under his leadership, Li Keyong's army was overwhelmed and soon conquered Luzhou. At this point, Li Keyong already has a solid base, and his sphere of influence has expanded to half of China.
And all this is inseparable from Li Cunxiao's brave and good fighting. From ambushing Sun Kuo, to capturing Deng Jiyun, and then to conquering Luzhou, Li Cunxiao can be said to have made great contributions and laid a solid foundation for Li Keyong's foundation.
However, just when Li Cunxiao became famous, a conspiracy and treacherous power struggle was brewing in secret. Although Li Cunxiao's martial arts are world-famous, it is still unknown whether he can retreat in this struggle.
The legendary story of a generation of fierce generals is about to usher in a climax, and it is also about to usher in the biggest crisis in his life.
Fourth, suspicion and framing, the car was broken
In the process of capturing Chang'an and laying the foundation of Li Keyong, Li Cunxiao made great achievements. However, his high merit shocked the master, but it attracted Li Keyong's suspicion.
To add insult to injury, there was also a rift between Li Cunxiao and another fierce general, Li Cunxin. Li Cunxin is also Li Keyong's confidant general, he fought on the battlefield with Li Cunxiao, and also made great contributions.
However, the two have very different personalities, and they are both princes of one side, so it is inevitable that there will be contradictions. With the continuous expansion of Li Keyong's power, the contradiction between the two has deepened.
Once, Wang Rong and Li Congwei joined forces and led an army of more than 100,000 to attack Luzhou, Li Keyong's base camp. The situation was extremely critical, and Li Ke ordered Li Cunxiao and Li Cunxin to lead the army to meet the enemy.
However, because of the struggle for power and profit, the two were suspicious of each other in front of the enemy, and they were reluctant to fight. This greatly annoyed Li Keyong, and he eventually had to send Li Sixun to meet the enemy.
Li Sixun was another confidant of Li Keyong, who lived up to his trust, fought bravely to kill the enemy, and finally defeated the combined forces of Wang Rong and Li Congwei. This further stimulated Li Keyong's dissatisfaction with Li Cunxiao and Li Cunxin.
Just when Li Keyong was about to hold the two accountable, Li Cunxin slandered Li Keyong, saying that Li Cunxiao had two hearts and often avoided war. Li Keyong listened to slander and became suspicious of Li Cunxiao.
The news soon reached Li Cunxiao's ears. Li Cunxiao was panicked, for fear that Li Keyong would be unfavorable to him. He privately sent someone to contact Li Keyong's nemesis, Zhu Wen, to find a way out.
However, the matter was soon known to Li Keyong. Li Keyong was furious and led a heavy army to crusade against Li Cunxiao. Li Cunxiao saw that the general trend had gone, so he had to lead his army to meet the battle.
The battle was extremely fierce, and although Li Cunxiao fought bravely to kill the enemy, he was outnumbered and finally defeated. After he was captured, he begged Li Keyong for mercy, saying that he was framed by Li Cunxin.
However, Li Keyong has completely lost trust in Li Cunxiao. At the instigation of the generals, he ordered the torture of the car splitting and the execution of Li Cunxiao. Li Cunxiao died tragically at the hands of his former lord.
It is a pity that when Li Cunxiao was executed, there was not a single general who interceded for him. These generals were jealous of Li Cunxiao's talent, and they wanted to get rid of him, so naturally they would not say a good word for him.
In this way, Li Cunxiao, a fierce general of a generation, did not die in the hands of the enemy, but died in the calculation and framing of his own people. His story is a tragedy and a bloody lesson.
In that troubled era full of intrigue and calculation, the loyalty and courage of the generals were no longer enough to protect themselves. Scheming and wisdom are the keys to life and death. And Li Cunxiao, although brave and fierce, lacked power and strategy, and finally could not escape the tragic fate of being framed.
The legend of a generation of fierce generals has come to an end. However, his story has remained in the history books forever and has become a topic of conversation for future generations.