Preamble:
Brave and brave, brave and good at fighting, this is Qin Qiong's label. However, this famous general in the late Sui and early Tang dynasties suddenly disappeared in his later years, and he was sick for more than ten years.
Why did he do this? Was he really sick for a long time, or did he have another hidden secret? Why did the imperial doctor sent by Li Shimin order someone to pour out the medicine as soon as Qin Qiong left? What did this generation of heroes experience in his old age?
In that era of change, heroes were born in large numbers, and heroes competed with each other. Qin Qiong is one of them, his life can be described as ups and downs, and he has experienced countless wars. From a promising rookie in the army, to defecting to the peasant rebel army, and then to assisting the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Qin Qiong can be said to have experienced several ups and downs.
But no matter what the circumstances, he won countless battles with his extraordinary bravery and superb military talent. This made him finally become the founder of the country, and was respected as a "martial saint" by later generations. However, just when he should enjoy the glory and wealth, he suddenly chose to retire and closed his door for more than ten years, why is this?
The starting point of the hero: the brave warrior in the scholarly family
Qin Qiong was born in a scholarly family and has a family history. His ancestors were officials for generations, and his father Qin Huaiyu was a waiter of the Yellow Gate of the Sui Dynasty. But Qin Qiong has not been interested in Confucian classics since she was a child, and her ambition is to emulate famous generals like Huo Quzhi and Li Guang, make meritorious contributions, and defend the country.
Qin Qiong has shown extraordinary talent for martial arts since she was a child, especially good at riding and shooting, often following her father out hunting, wearing a hundred steps, and immediately engrossed in her heroic posture, which is breathtaking. His prowess soon caught the attention of the famous future Go'er at the time. Seeing that Qin Qiong was brave and good at fighting and had outstanding qualifications, he recruited him to his command and personally taught the art of war and martial arts.
Under the careful teaching of Lai Hu'er, Qin Qiong's martial arts are becoming more and more sophisticated, not only superb in riding and archery, but also proficient in the art of war, and using soldiers like a god. His ability to control and command the battlefield is simply gifted.
For a time, Qin Qiong became famous in the army and was known as "the first warrior in the world". If it weren't for the chaos in the world later, with the help of Laihu'er, Qin Qiong would definitely be able to rise to prominence and become a generation of famous generals. It's a pity that fate always plays tricks on people, and the next series of changes turned Qin Qiong's life trajectory upside down.
Heroes in troubled times: Defecting to the Wagang Army has made great contributions
Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was extravagant, and the people were not able to make a living, which led to chaos in the world and the rise of heroes. Qin Qiong followed Laihu'er and fought for the Sui Dynasty at first, but as the power of the Sui Dynasty became weaker, Laihu'er had to find another way. In 617 AD, Lai Hu'er led his troops to take refuge with Li Mi, the leader of the Wagang Army, who rebelled against the Sui, and Qin Qiong also became a member of the Wagang Army.
After arriving in the Wagang Army, Qin Qiong, with his outstanding martial arts and military talents, was quickly appreciated and reused by Li Mi, and was appointed as the governor of the Xiaocai Battalion, and together with Cheng Yanjin, became Li Mi's right-hand man. Since then, Qin Qiong has started his legendary life that emerged in the troubled times.
He led his army into battle many times, attacked cities and plundered land, and was invincible and conquered. Once, on the orders of Li Mi, he led an army to attack the fortress of the Sui Dynasty, Hujiaoguan. The Tiger Prison Pass is located at a key point, defending according to danger, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the Sui army relied on strong city walls and sufficient materials to resist stubbornly.
Seeing this, Qin Qiong ordered the soldiers to pile up a mountain of earth outside the city, and use the mountain as a cover to attack the city day and night. After more than a month of hard fighting, the Tiger Prison Pass was finally broken by Qin Qiong, and the Sui army was defeated and lost. This battle completely established Qin Qiong's status as the "first brave general" in the Wagang Army.
With the efforts of Qin Qiong and others, the power of the Wagang Army became stronger and stronger, occupying a large area of land north of the Yellow River. But Li Mi also became more and more arrogant, unstoppable, in 618 AD, he led the army to attack Luoyang, in a vain attempt to take the ancient capital of the world in one fell swoop. However, guarding Luoyang was the Sui Dynasty general Wang Shichong, a scheming military strategist.
Wang Shichong saw that the Wagang army was menacing, so he set up an ambush and waited for an opportunity to counterattack. Sure enough, as soon as the Wagang army entered Luoyang, they fell into Wang Shichong's trap, were beaten to the point of losing their armor and fleeing. Li Mi was also forced to flee to Chang'an with the remnants of his army and defected to Li Yuan, the king of Tang. And generals such as Qin Qiong and Cheng Yanjin were captured by Wang Shichong's army.
Return to Li Yuan: Assist Li Shimin to pacify the world
At Wang Shichong's place, Qin Qiong was tortured. Wang Shichong wanted to buy this world-famous fierce general and let him work for him, but Qin Qiongning was unyielding and resolutely refused to surrender. Wang Shichong was annoyed and ashamed, and ordered Qin Qiong to be thrown into prison and tortured day and night, trying to force him to comply. But Qin Qiong was iron-clad, no matter how Wang Shichong coerced and tempted, he always refused to give in.
In prison, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yanjin and other generals conspired to escape. They waited for an opportunity to kill the guards, seize their weapons, and break out of the cage. After a fierce battle, Qin Qiong and the others finally broke out of the siege and escaped from Luoyang. They traveled all the way, and finally came to Chang'an and defected to Li Yuan, the king of Tang.
Li Yuan saw that Qin Qiong and the others were all famous generals in the army, and they had a deep hatred for Wang Shichong, so he gladly accepted them. Li Yuan attached great importance to Qin Qiong, and when he saw that Qin Qiong was brave and good at fighting and was proficient in the art of war, he appointed him as the general of the Right Military Candidate, and led his troops to conquer the remnants of the Sui Dynasty in various places.
Qin Qiong was ordered to go on the expedition and was invincible. He successively conquered the Sui Dynasty armies in Shaanxi, Shanxi and other places, clearing the way for the establishment of the Tang Dynasty.
Especially in the Battle of Taiyuan, Qin Qiong defeated more with less and stronger with weak, completely defeated the 100,000 army of Shi Wansui, the general of the Sui Dynasty, and seized the strategic place of Taiyuan. This battle laid the foundation for the Tang Dynasty's rule in the north.
Li Yuan saw that Qin Qiong had repeatedly performed miraculous feats, so he trusted and valued him more and more. In 620 AD, Li Yuan was proclaimed emperor and established the Tang Dynasty. He named Qin Qiong the governor of Jingzhou and asked him to lead his troops south to conquer the peasant rebel army that had seized Jingzhou. Qin Qiong's troops came to the city, the peasant army surrendered, and Jingzhou finally returned to the territory of the Tang Dynasty.
Retired from illness: Mingzhe protected himself from the palace struggle
With the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the world gradually moved towards unification. However, in the process, Li Yuan's second son, Li Shimin, rose to prominence and gradually became the mainstay of the Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin was brave and good at fighting, and won the hearts of the people, he led the army to fight everywhere, invincible, invincible. Qin Qiong saw that Li Shimin was a rare talent, so he took the initiative to ask Ying to assist Li Shimin in the battlefield.
Li Yuan was overjoyed when he heard this, he knew that Qin Qiong was a loyal and good general, and with him to assist Li Shimin, he would definitely be able to expand the territory for the Tang Dynasty and pacify the world. So, Li Yuan ordered Qin Qiong to lead his troops to join Li Shimin and help him conquer the Quartet.
Under Li Shimin's command, Qin Qiong has established great achievements. In 621 AD, Li Shimin led an army to attack Liu Heimin, who had seized Shandong. Liu Heimin defended according to the danger and resisted stubbornly, and it was difficult for the Tang army to overcome it for a while. At the critical moment, Qin Qiong stepped forward and led the cavalry to raid Liu Heimin's camp, capturing Liu Heimin in one fell swoop, and Shandong was finally pacified.
In 622 AD, Li Shimin led an army to the south to defeat the peasant rebel army that had seized Jianghuai. Qin Qiong led the vanguard troops, overcoming obstacles all the way, attacking cities and plundering land, and defeating the main force of the peasant army. Li Shimin took advantage of the victory to pursue, and finally pacified Jianghuai and unified the south. In this way, Qin Qiong followed Li Shimin to fight in the south and the north, and made great contributions to the unification of the Tang Dynasty.
As the saying goes, "in the midst of strategizing, winning a decisive victory thousands of miles away", Qin Qiong is not only a brave and warlike general, but also a resourceful military strategist. He arranged troops for Li Shimin, gave advice, and was one of Li Shimin's most effective assistants.
It is worth mentioning that although Qin Qiong is Li Shimin's general, his relationship with Tang Gaozu Li Yuan is closer. Qin Qiong was loyal to Li Yuan, and Li Yuan also trusted Qin Qiong very much. Every time Qin Qiong went out with Li Shimin, Li Yuan would instruct him to assist Li Shimin and expand the territory for the Tang Dynasty. And Qin Qiong did not live up to Li Yuan's trust, and did her best for Li Shimin's birth and death.
However, the good times were short-lived. In 626 AD, Li Shimin launched the "Xuanwumen Rebellion", killed the crown prince Li Jiancheng and the king of Qi Li Yuanji, forced Li Yuan to abdicate and ascended the throne of the emperor himself, for Tang Taizong. When the Xuanwumen Rebellion occurred, Qin Qiong was leading his army to fight outside. By the time he returned to Chang'an, the dust had settled, and Li Shimin had become the new master of the Tang Dynasty.
Faced with this fait accompli, although Qin Qiong was not angry, she was helpless. After all, he is Li Yuan's former minister, and his relationship with Li Shimin is not close. In this case, he chose to protect himself, saying that he could not get out of his illness and avoid being involved in the whirlpool of palace struggles.
After Li Shimin ascended the throne, although he was still courteous to Qin Qiong, Qin Qiong always refused to go out of the mountain. On the one hand, he claimed that he was sick at home, and on the other hand, he was secretly recruiting the old department for Li Yuan, in case Li Shimin was unfavorable to Li Yuan. Li Shimin knew this, but because of Qin Qiong's prestige and merits, it was not easy to attack him openly.
Once, Li Shimin sent an imperial doctor to Qin Qiong's mansion to diagnose and treat his condition. After the imperial doctor diagnosed, he prescribed some prescriptions and explained how Qin Qiong's son Qin Huaidao decocted the medicine. After the imperial doctor left, Qin Qiong ordered someone to pour out the medicine and did not take it at all. Li Shimin was furious when he heard the news and sent someone to question Qin Qiong why he was like this.
Qin Qiong replied indifferently: "I have fought in the south and the north all my life, and I have experienced a hundred battles, and I have already accumulated a lot of work. Now that we are old, shouldn't we take good care of our illness? As for those medicines, they are just some things that cure the symptoms but not the root cause, and they are useless if they are taken. "
When Li Shimin heard this, he knew that Qin Qiong was rejecting his kindness in disguise. But he had no choice but to press the table for the time being. The reason why Qin Qiong is like this is indeed out of deep-seated political considerations. First of all, his relationship with Li Yuan was closer, while his relationship with Li Shimin was relatively distant, and after Li Shimin seized the throne, his position was inevitably shaken.
Second, he did not participate in the Xuanwumen Rebellion, and in this coup d'état, he neither supported nor opposed him, and this attitude inevitably made Li Shimin doubt his loyalty.
Moreover, Qin Qiong is, after all, a highly prestigious founding hero, if he is still in a high position after Li Shimin ascends the throne, it will inevitably arouse Li Shimin's jealousy. Therefore, Qin Qiong chose to retire from illness, not only to avoid disaster, but also to protect herself. He knows very well that in this palace full of intrigue, only by staying away from the center of power can he save his life.
Epilogue:
Although Qin Qiong was unsuccessful in her later years, her prestige among the people did not diminish at all. He was revered as the "Founding Martial Saint", and Guan Yu was called the "Two Saints of Civil and Martial Arts". In folklore, Qin Qiong was portrayed as the embodiment of bravery, loyalty, and courage.