At the peak of the Wagang Army, there were 300,000 troops, and a large number of famous tiger generals, such as Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin, Wang Bodang, Shan Xiongxin and others. After the defeat of the Wagang army, Li Yuan took various measures to recruit the old troops of the lost Wagang army and attract them to defect to the Tang Dynasty. Li Yuan wrote a letter to Li Mi, in which he promised Li Mi generous conditions for joining.
According to the Zizhi Tongjian. Volume 186. The Tang Ji II records that after receiving Li Yuan's recruitment letter, Li Mi confidently said to his generals: "As long as I go to the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan will definitely treat me kindly." Everyone goes to Datang with me, and I promise to make everyone prosperous and rich. ”
After Li Mi and his advisers and generals, he decided to defect to datang. When Li Mi defected to the Tang Dynasty, in addition to carrying 20,000 horses, there was also a loyal military general Wang Bodang. Li Yuan heard that Li Mi had led 20,000 horses to surrender and sent emissaries to greet Li Mi.
Li Mi looked at the grand scale of the honor guard sent by Li Yuan to greet him, and said triumphantly: "I have millions of people, once I am disarmed and returned to Tang, shandong is even hundreds of cities, knowing that I am here, sending envoys to recruit them, and should also be exhausted; compared to Dou Rong, the merit is not detailed, is not it as good as a si?" ”
Li Yuan stills, picture from the network, thanks to the original author.
The official positions of the early Tang Dynasty, TaiWei, Situ, and Sikong were known as the Three Dukes, and Taifu, Taishi, and Taibao were known as the Three Divisions, all of which were honorary positions of Zheng Yipin. In the early Tang Dynasty, the official position with the greatest real power was Shang Shuling and Zheng Erpin, and only Li Shimin had served. The other prime ministers are all Zheng Sanpin. Li Mi thought that Li Yuan would give himself the title of One Pin and Three Dukes, and only then would he say the words "Don't you see everything with a division?"
Li Yuan summoned Li Mi and made Li Mi Guangluqing. Guanglu Qing is one of the Nine Secretaries and is a senior official from Sanpin. Li Mi wanted to be the Right One Pin and Three Dukes, but only got the position of Nine Qing from Three Pins. Good wishes, encountered a cruel reality, let Li Mi feel very disappointed.
Zizhi Tongjian. Volume 186. The Tang Ji II records that Li Yuan only gave Li the official position of Consort Jiuqing of Sanpin, but gave Wang Bodang the official position of Grand General of Zuo Xiaowei. The largest of the military officials of the early Tang Dynasty was the Twelve Wei Generals of Zheng Sanpin. As one of the Twelve Great Generals of the Twelve Guards, Zuo Xiaowei Was a Zhengsanpin Shangguan rank and sat on an equal footing with the Zhengsanpin Shangxiang Chancellor.
Everyone should know that the famous Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin, at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, won the kindness of Li Shimin. The official positions that Li Yuan gave to Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin were nothing more than the unification of the Qin Dynasty.
According to the Old Book of Tang. According to the Records of Officials, the qin dynasty ruled the army, but it was only an official position under zhengsipin. From the unified army to the twelve wei generals, there are also four official ranks on the main four pins, from the three pins down, from the three pins, and from the three pins.
Li Shimin stills, pictures from the network, thanks to the original author.
Even if ordinary people are promoted to one rank in three years, it will take fifteen years to rise from the zhengsi pin under the unified army to the twelve wei generals on the zheng san pin. Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin were outstanding, they were not ordinary people. It took both men six years to unify the army from ZhengSipin to the twelve wei generals on Zhengsanpin.
In my early years of reading the Zizhi Tongjian, I have always been unable to understand a question: "Li Yuan gave the official position under Qin Qiongzheng Sipin, who had just arrived, but gave the official position of the Twelve Wei Generals who had also just arrived on an equal footing with the prime minister. ”
It is only today, when I revisit the "Li Mi Epitaph", that I understand this question. Li Mi's epitaph was written by Wei Zheng, an old member of the Wagang Army. There is a passage in it that describes What happened to Li Mi after returning to the Tang Dynasty: "Although the public authority has not been revived, the Lord is plotting for himself. The old part of the Gaidang dynasty was attached first, and more than the right. Later, the official, or on top of it. Huai Yuyang was indignant and ashamed to be listed after Wu Geng. ”
Li Yuan made Wang Bodang a general of the Twelve Guards, not because of how powerful Wang Bodang was, but to disgust Li Mi. Li Micai was given an official position from Sanpin, and Wang Bodang, whom he brought, received an official position in Zhengsanpin. The leading big brother of the former Wagang Army was two levels lower than the former Wagang Army General. Whoever is in Li Mi's position will feel uncomfortable in his heart.
Li Mi stills, picture from the network, thanks to the original author.
Li Yuan not only gave Wang Bodang an official position higher than Li Mi, Wang Junkuo and Xu Maogong (Li Ji), Zhang Gongyi and other former generals of the Wagang Army, and the official positions were above Li Mi. Li Mi looked at "Gai Dangshi's old ministry was attached first, more than his right, so the officials later, or on top of it", he would definitely "carry Yuyang's indignation and shame from Wu Geng's rear ranks."
Li Yuan used the method of promoting the old general of the Wagang Army to disgust Li Mi. The old department of the Wagang Army had won the high-ranking official Houlu, and many people were grateful to Li Yuan. Wang Bodang was very loyal to Li Mi, and he was very dissatisfied with Li Mi's situation. In order to provoke Li Mi, Li Yuan also did many things. For example, he connived with Tang officials and went to Li Mi's mansion to extort bamboo.
Li Mi was bullied and held his breath in his heart. At this time, Li Yuan was out of the moth again. In order to provoke Li Mi, Li Yuan asked Li Mi to pass on the dish at the banquet. The position of Guanglu Qing originally had the responsibility of arranging meals for the royal banquet. Li Yuan asked Li Mi to pass on the dish, but there was nothing wrong with it. After encountering a series of difficulties, Li Mi felt more and more that Li Yuan's letting him be Guanglu Qing was humiliating him.
After Li Mi returned to the palace, he told Wang Bodang about his grievances. Wang Bodang listened to Li Mi's grievances, and his heart was also extremely unbalanced. This matter is a classic of the "Zizhi Tongjian. Volume 186. The original text of the Tang Ji II records is: "When you encounter the Great Dynasty, you are secretly Guanglu Qing, and when you eat, you are deeply ashamed." Retreat, in order to warn the general Wang Bodang of zuo Wuwei, bo beware of pity. ”
Wang Bodang stills, picture from the network, thanks to the original author.
Wang Bodang suggested that Li Mi find an opportunity to go to Shandong to recruit the old department of the Wagang Army, in the hope of making a comeback. Li Mi had long wanted to rebel, so he applied to Li Yuan to go to Luoyang to help Datang recruit the old department. Li Yuan deliberately provoked Li Mi in order to wait for Li Mi to rebel. Li Yuan made a plan and asked Li Mi to take Wang Bodang to Shandong to recruit the old department.
Li Mi took Wang Bodang to Taolin County, killed Li Yuan's emissaries, and captured Taolin County. Li Yuan had already prepared his soldiers and horses, and Li Mi had just raised an army, and The Tang Dynasty's men and horses had intercepted Li Mi. After a brief fight, Li Mi and Wang Bodang were killed. Li Yuan issued an edict and beheaded Li Mi and Wang Bodang's first ranks in order to deter the old troops of the Wagang army that had come down.
Combining the historical materials of the Zizhi Tongjian and The Epitaph of Li Mi, we will find that "Li Yuan's appointment of Wang Bodang as a general of the Twelve Guards was a conspiracy. Li Yuan wanted to kill Li Mi, but could not find an excuse, so he used means such as sealing Li Mi's old department to force Li Mi to rebel, and Wang Bodang was only one of the pawns that Li Yuan provoked Li Mi. ”
The historical sources of this article: "Zizhi Tongjian", "Li Mi's Epitaph", "New and Old Two Tang Dynasties"
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