Do something, don't do something
In the first year of Daning (561 AD), the throne of Northern Qi fell into the hands of Gao Changgong's uncle Gao Zhan after three rounds of changes, and was known as "Emperor Wucheng of Qi" in history.
Brothers and clans killing each other seem to have become the atmosphere of the Northern Qi royal family, but Gao Changgong went higher and higher in this bloody rain, and was not only named the king of the county, but also awarded the title of leading general.
He was able to rise to prominence in the royal crisis, not because of how good he was at winning the trust of the monarch, but because he was not taken seriously.
Gao Changgong's father was the founder of the Northern Qi Dynasty, and he was also a powerful minister of the Eastern Wei Dynasty - Gao Cheng.
Gao Cheng had six sons, five of whom had clearly recorded maternal families, but Gao Changgong's biological mother was unknown.
The Book of Northern Qi contains:
"Empress Jingyuan gave birth to Wang Xiaowan in Hejian, Wang Xiaoyu in Henan in Song, Wang Xiaoheng in Guangning, Wang Changgong in Lanling, Wang Changgong in his mother's surname, Chen in Ande Wang Yanzong, and Yan's in Yuyang Wang Shaoxin."
The noble family attaches the most importance to bloodline, and a concubine who doesn't even know whose biological mother it is will naturally not be valued.
To make matters worse, when Gao Changgong was eight years old, his father was killed by a domestic slave the night before he was enthroned by Chan.
In this way, the hard-won imperial power became the bag of his uncle Gao Yang.
The reality of the loss made Gao Changgong's situation more and more embarrassing, and he could only live cautiously, and he would take whatever idle public title he had, and he would not dare to make a mistake.
In those years when no one cared about him, he was not allowed to do much, and he could only devote his heart and soul to martial arts.
Wielding knives and guns, sweating profusely, he redoubled his efforts in martial arts.
In the eyes of others, he is just a royal nobleman with a low status and is not taken seriously, and Gao Changgong himself is "indisputable with the world" on weekdays, so he feels that he can't make any waves.
Such "contempt" has also become a favorable condition for Gao Changgong Taoguang to cultivate obscurity.
Although he couldn't go to the central area for the time being, he also "rubbed" the dividends of the royal bloodline and began to serve as a magistrate, and the military power in his hands became bigger and bigger.
But in fact, being free from the world does not mean not fighting for nothing.
There is a saying that "do something, don't do something", and Gao Changgong wisely made a balance between doing and not doing.
Although he has the ambition to serve the country, he is not in a hurry to be seen, but chooses to focus on improving his strength without taking the lead, and only waits for the moment when the time is ripe to prove it with results.
The general's wind shows its sharp corners
In the first year of Daning (561), Emperor Wucheng Gao Zhan ascended the throne.
At that time, there were not many credible and available people among the clan relatives and courtiers, and Gao Changgong, who had always been indisputable or robbed, immediately entered the consideration of Emperor Wucheng and became the assassin in charge of the military affairs of a state.
However, before he can officially lead the army, he must break through one of his "obstacles" - beauty.
"Zizhi Tongjian" praised him for being "beautiful and brave";
In the Book of Northern Qi, he was called "soft and strong-hearted, with a beautiful voice and appearance";
"Old Tang Book" said that he was "talented and beautiful";
"Jiaofang Ji" even bluntly said that he was "a woman".
If it were now, good looks would definitely be a weapon for a person to get out of the circle, but in the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, where martial arts were frequent, it became an obstacle to Gao Changgong's expectation of being reused.
After all, everyone is worried about whether a "little white face" like him can get on the horse with a gun?
However, it is gold that always shines.
After years of martial arts training, Gao Changgong's martial arts have become very accessible.
Although there is no clear record of his martial arts in the historical materials circulating now, if it were not for his real talent, presumably Emperor Wucheng would not have assured that he would hand over the border states to him for supervision.
In the third year of Heqing (564 AD), Gao Changgong ushered in his famous battle - the Battle of Bishan.
At that time, the Northern Zhou Dynasty united with the Turks to raise 200,000 troops and attacked the Northern Qi in three ways, of which there were 100,000 elite soldiers in the middle of the attack on Luoyang.
There were three generals responsible for relieving Luoyang City: Duan Shao, the Grand Commander, Hu Luguang, the Great General, and Gao Changgong, the King of Lanling.
The strategy they agreed on was to start with Kim Yong Cheng, where the situation was most critical, and the three of them would each lead a cavalry and line up in formation.
The left and right armies led by Duan Shao and Hu Luguang concentrated and dispersed the enemy's infantry forces, while the Chinese army led by Gao Changgong was responsible for breaking through the encirclement.
For Gao Changgong to arrange troops in this way, the pressure is not small, and if there is a slight difference, not only will the efforts of the left and right armies disperse the enemy's forces will be in vain, but even his Chinese army will be completely killed.
He knew that this battle could only be won, and there was no room for retreat.
Before the battle, he took out a wooden mask with red eyes and fangs as usual.
This mask was specially made by him in order to prevent outsiders from "judging people by their appearance" and thinking that he was soft and deceitful.
The time has come, and the three cavalry set off at the same time.
Gao Changgong's martial arts that he had practiced for many years exerted his amazing strength at this moment.
His 500 cavalry rushed into the enemy encirclement twice, galloped south, and came to the city of Kim Yong as planned, but the enemy army behind him also clung to it.
He had to enter the city immediately, but the soldiers of Kim Yong City did not recognize him, thinking that it was an enemy army and were about to attack.
At the last moment, Gao Changgong suddenly lifted the mask, took off the protective armor, and shouted towards the city tower:
"I'm Gao Changgong, the king of Lanling!
Soldiers, follow me to meet the enemy! ”
When the soldiers of the garrison saw his face, they remembered the name of the "beautiful" king of Lanling, so they must wear masks in battle, so they gathered into a team and obeyed Gao Changgong's order to go out of the city to fight.
In an instant, the tide turned.
Under the cover of the rain of arrows, Gao Changgong rode his treasure horse and galloped between the arrays of the enemy infantry, like a thunderbolt falling on the battlefield in the clear sky, clearing a combat channel for the cavalry under his command.
With the advantage of horses, he danced with a spear, and almost in a breath he cut off the head of a line of enemy troops, and the mighty momentum of "one man is the pass, ten thousand people are invincible" greatly encouraged the morale of the army.
The soldiers of the Northern Qi Dynasty became more and more ferocious, while the enemy army gradually showed a trend of decline, and they were killed and fled in all directions.
Half a day is coming, and more than 30 miles of land are nearby, and everywhere you can see is the weapons and baggage that the enemy has not had time to take away.
At the same time, Duan Shao and Hu Luguang also successfully counterattacked, so that the enemy army was crushed, and most of the soldiers fell into the valley and died.
The defeat of Luoyang quickly shook the morale of the allied forces of the Northern Zhou and Turks, and then several other fronts were also defeated and retreated, even the captured city of Yuzhou was abandoned, and all the troops and horses retreated one after another.
As a result, the crisis has been resolved, and Gao Changgong became famous in a battle and was awarded the Shangshu order.
The soldiers and civilians of the Northern Qi Dynasty who witnessed his heroic appearance even composed music to praise his achievements.
This is "Lanling King's Entrance Song".
The king wants his ministers to die, and the ministers have to die
After the Battle of Bishan, Gao Changgong was further reused, but the more rewards he received, the more uneasy his heart became, and this uneasiness came from the new emperor Gao Wei.
Gao Wei is the son of Emperor Wucheng, known as the "Queen of Northern Qi" in history, and is Gao Changgong's cousin.
At the instigation of traitorous ministers, he was unscrupulous at a young age, killing loyal ministers, although he respected Gao Changgong's cousin on the surface, but behind his back he was jealous because of a sentence.
In the second year of Wuping (571 AD), Gao Wei once greeted with "concern" about the war:
"The battle is too deep, and there is no regret for defeat."
Gao Changgong's answer was:
"Family affairs are cordial, and I don't feel it."
A sentence of "family cordiality" made Gao Wei think that Gao Changgong was suspected of usurping the throne, after all, Gao Changgong had a heavy army, and their Gao family had its own "usurpation gene", and clan infighting has become a tradition.
Gao Changgong also realized afterwards that he had said the wrong thing, but it was too late.
In the following two years, a game began between the monarch and the minister.
The so-called meritorious master, only the merit of the courtiers is high enough, and the monarch can justifiably kill.
In order to weaken his own merits, Gao Changgong first deliberately accepted bribes, and then said that he was ill, but he couldn't let the people of his family and country ignore it, and finally went out on the expedition, and he was in the limelight for a while.
In order to show that he does not treat meritorious officials harshly, Gao Wei not only promoted Gao Changgong all the way from Taiwei to Taibao on the grounds of military merits, but also successively added the titles of Julu, Changle, Leping, Gaoyang and other counties.
In the fourth year of Wuping (573 AD), Gao Wei felt that the long-awaited "opportunity to justify the name" had arrived, so he ordered the messenger to send a cup of poisoned wine to the Lanling Palace.
Although Gao Changgong had been prepared, he was still full of sadness:
"I am loyal to the matter, why not live up to the sky, and suffer also!"
In his life, he has never been able to help himself.
The royal slaughter forced him to learn to hide himself, and even if it was difficult, he had to try to survive;
During the war years, he was rampant, which forced him to abandon himself step by step in the way of serving the country and the people, and walked towards a predestined end.
His tragic end was partly due to the failure to meet a Ming Jun, and partly because he was "carried away" by the victory on the battlefield and forgot that the king's heart was unpredictable.
If Gao Wei is a Ming monarch, he will not suspect the hero because of a sentence, and he will be pleased that his subordinates care about his family and country;
If Gao Changgong always keeps a clear head, he will not miss the game of chess that he has been carefully practicing for 30 years because of his words.
He thought that his country was his home, but after all, he just thought.
In a chaotic situation, people can never forget what kind of general trend they are in because of temporary achievements, and a moment of taking it lightly may turn a good chess game that has been painstakingly managed into a wrong move.
When there is no name and no power, the emphasis is on the accumulation of strength and the sharpening of the heart.
And when you become famous, you are prepared for danger in times of peace, be cautious in words and deeds, and never forget your original intention.
His thoughts had drifted away, his blood was no longer boiling, and Gao Chang looked at the last look in the world.
Since he was born because of his family and country, then this life can also be given up for the stability of his family and country, and finally he no longer hesitated and drank all the poisonous wine.
When he was dying, there seemed to be a familiar song in his ears, and the drum beat gradually rose, one after another, resounding through the sky of Northern Qi and the sky of history.