Guo Ziyi was a famous military figure and politician of the Tang Dynasty. He joined the army as a teenager and became an officer, but he never had the opportunity to play a role. After the Anshi Rebellion, Guo Ziyi and the King of Guangping retake Chang'an, and for their outstanding merits, he was named the "Duke of Daiguo". Later, xiangzhou was defeated, and Guo Ziyi was relieved of his military powers by assuming management responsibilities. In 763, Chang'an was captured, and the government had to appoint Guo Ziyi to quell the war.
According to reports, Guo Ziyi has a total of eight sons and eight daughters. The eldest son, Guo Yaoguan (郭曜官), went to Kaiyang Prefecture (開阳府都尉), and after that, followed his father to quell the Anshi Rebellion, and was posthumously awarded the title of Prince Shaobao (太子少保) for his meritorious efforts in quelling the chaos; Guo Ziyi's second son Guo Yi (郭旰), who followed his father to quell the Anshi Rebellion, was unfortunately killed; Guo Ziyi's third son, Guo Xi( Guo Xi, followed his father to recover liangjing, and was posthumously awarded the title of Prince Guest and Zhao Guogong, and was posthumously awarded the title of Bingbu Shangshu (兵部尚書) after his death.
Guo Ziyi's fourth and fifth sons have not found relevant records in the historical records. His sixth son, Guo Huan, married Princess Shengping and became a royal horse, and later, when he became Tai Changqing, he was given the title of Marquis of Qingyuan County, and was posthumously awarded the title of Shangshu Zuo Servant; Guo Ziyi's seventh son Guo Shu (郭曙曙) was credited with quelling Zhu Shu's rebellion and was made a general of Jin Wu and the Duke of Qi; Guo Ziyi's eighth son, Guo Yingguan (郭英官), was crown prince Zuo Shude (左谕德).
It can be seen that several of Guo Ziyi's sons are all iron-boned men, who are brave in battle and not afraid of sacrifice, and have made great contributions to the stability of the Tang Dynasty.
However, Guo Ziyi's eight daughters are all beautiful as flowers, and they take care of self-cultivation, which is a rare strange woman in ancient and modern China and abroad. Historical records record that Guo Ziyi had seven sons-in-law, all of whom were senior members of the imperial court and were powerful and powerful.
In addition, the biography of Guo Ziyi can be found in the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang, and its content is more detailed. The Old Book of Tang has a total of two hundred volumes, which not only records the history of the Tang Dynasty for nearly three hundred years, but also preserves a large number of original materials, which is very readable; the New Book of Tang has a total of two hundred and twenty-five volumes, and although it records more content, the content of each volume is somewhat rough.
The Biography of Guo Ziyi in the Old Book of Tang not only records guo Ziyi's role in the Anshi Rebellion, but also records his reconquest of Erjing, the scare off Tubo, and the Lingwu Yongli incident. In addition, the book also introduces Guo Ziyi's eight sons, seven sons-in-law, and some grandchildren. Moreover, the biography of Guo Ziyi is very long, involving many historical figures, but it is very specific.
The Biography of Guo Ziyi in the New Book of Tang records how Guo Ziyi was loyal to the superior and generous to the inferior, especially that he rewarded and punished clearly, and the generals were willing to fight for him. In foreign wars, Guo Ziyi was sometimes vilified by eunuchs, making him have to introspect himself. Moreover, if the monarch summons him, he will leave immediately to avoid suspicion.
At that time, there was a eunuch named Yu Chao'en in the dynasty, who looked down on Guo Ziyi and sent someone to destroy Guo Ziyi's ancestral tomb.
However, after Guo Ziyi knew about this matter, she was not angry. Later, when the emperor asked about it, Guo Ziyi only said that this might be a punishment from heaven for him, and he did not resent anyone. After that, Yu Chao'en also wanted to persecute Guo Ziyi, and he directly invited Guo Ziyi over and wanted to ambush him in the temple. Someone informed him of this matter in advance and reminded him not to go, but Guo Ziyi did not agree and still went with a few retinues.
After that, Yu Chao'en saw Guo Ziyi's benevolence and had to give up his assassination. In fact, Guo Ziyi's mansion is not walled, and officials who come to visit can directly enter, and even go directly to Guo Ziyi's bedroom. Once, when an official came to visit, he saw Guo Ziyi combing his wife's hair and washing his daughter's face, which seemed to be inconsistent with the image of a great general.
Afterwards, the officials expressed their views to Guo Ziyi, but Guo Ziyi did not think so, saying: "I am used to doing these things, so there is nothing to worry about." ”
However, Guo Ziyi is not doing this to everyone, and one person makes him pay special attention to it.
This time, a man named Lu Qi came to visit, who was a famous traitor at the end of the Tang Dynasty. He likes to form gangs, especially when he is the prime minister, often excluding dissidents and framing Zhongliang. Anyone who has offended him will be liquidated afterwards, and most of them will not end well.
At that time, Guo Ziyi had resigned from the government and enjoyed his old age at home. On that day, Guo Ziyi was enjoying singing and dancing at home, and when he heard that Lu Qi was coming to visit, he immediately dismissed the dancing female relatives. Then, go back to the room to dress up, put on the costumes of the imperial court, and go to the door to wait for Lu Qi's arrival. Lu Qi was a little pleased to see that Guo Ziyi attached so much importance. The two talked for a long time before Lu Qi left the Guo Mansion.
In this regard, Guo Ziyi's family was a little puzzled and quickly asked him why he was so cautious about this person. Guo Ziyi replied: "Although Lu Qi is talented, he is narrow-minded. He is relatively poor-looking, but he does not want to hear others talk about him. If you are asked to see him, although you do not talk about it in private, the look in your eyes will make him aware of your contempt. In this way, he will definitely retaliate against Guo Fu in the future! ”
It didn't take long for Lu Qi to become the prime minister of the imperial court. Sure enough, as Guo Ziyi expected, those who had made fun of him and made him jealous all suffered revenge without exception, and only Guo Fu survived. At the same time, Lu Qi felt that Guo Ziyi was kind to him, so he often took into account the interests of Guo Fu, and if the people of Guo Mansion did something illegal, Lu Qi was also willing to come forward to save it.
From the perspective of this matter, Guo Ziyi is still relatively accurate in seeing people, and he is very far-sighted.
In addition, Guo Ziyi experienced the seven dynasties of Wu Zetian, Tang Zhongzong, Tang Ruizong, Tang Xuanzong, Tang Suzong, Tang Dynasty Zong, and Tang Dezong in his lifetime, and was a veritable elder of the Seven Dynasties, the general of the Tang Dynasty, and a rare ancient one.
It can be seen that Guo Ziyi is not a vain name.
Resources:
[New Book of Tang, Biography of Guo Ziyi, Old Book of Tang, Biography of Guo Ziyi, Zizhi Tongjian, Vol. 220, Tang Dynasty 36]