In the novel "Sui and Tang Dynasty", the fate of Shan Xiongxin, the fifth brother of the Wagang Army, is undoubtedly the most lamentable. In Wagang village, Shan Xiongxin is undoubtedly the most moralistic good man. However, the world was uncertain, wagangzhai fell apart because of Li Mi, and Shan Xiongxin was forced to turn against his former good brothers- Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Xu Maogong and others. In the end, Shan Xiongxin died at the hands of Li Shimin.
For the tragic fate of Shan Xiongxin, the people have always been very sympathetic. Therefore, they described Wu Zetian, who usurped Tang Jianzhou, as the reincarnation of Shan Xiongxin, in order to vent their resentment against Li Shimin and Xu Maogong and others.
In history, Shan Xiongxin is indeed a good man who is difficult to defeat. He came from a reckless background and was good at using horse mallets. In 613, due to the lack of taoism of the Sui Emperor, Shan Xiongxin, together with Xu Maogong (also known as Xu Maogong in the novel, in order to facilitate the convenience of Xu Maogong) and others defected to Zhai Rang, who gathered a crowd to rebel, and raised the banner of righteousness at Wagang Mountain.
In battle, Shan Xiongxin is very brave and brave, and is known as a "flying general". In the thirteenth year of Daye (617), Zhai Rang ceded the position of Lord of Wagang to Li Mi at the suggestion of Wang Bodang and Xu Maogong, who called himself the Duke of Wei, Feng Zhai Rang as Situ, Shan Xiongxin as the General of Zuo Wuhou, and Xu Maogong as the Great General of Right Wuhou.
However, as the war progressed, the contradiction between Li Mi and Zhai Rang became more and more acute. At a banquet, Li Mi suddenly attacked and sent his cronies to kill Zhai Rang. In the chaos, Xu Maogong was severely injured. And Shan Xiongxin? In the face of the butcher's knife, he actually prostrated his head like a pounding onion and begged Li Mi for forgiveness. Fang Yanzao easily succumbed to Shan Xiongxin and persuaded Li Mi to kill him, but Li Mi cherished Shan Xiongxin's talent and refused this suggestion.
Under the management of Li Mi, wagangzhai will be like a cloud, and Shan Xiongxin, Pei Xingyu, Luo Shixin, Qin Qiong, and Cheng Yaojin are among the best. However, Li Mi was more than smart, but lacked courage, and eventually lost to Wang Shichong because of the light enemy. Shan Xiongxin, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Niu Jinda and other fierce generals were forced to surrender to Wang Shichong, while Li Mi, Xu Maogong, Wang Bodang, and others defected to the Tang Dynasty.
In 620, Shan Xiongxin and his former comrades in Wagangzhai were once again at odds. Under the influence of the old lord Li Mi, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin and others abandoned Wang Shichong before the battle and defected to the Tang Dynasty. Because shan Xiongxin was heavily used by Wang Shichong, he refused to join his former comrades-in-arms to join the Tang. And this decision doomed shan Xiongxin's tragedy.
In 620, Li Shimin, the King of Qin, led an army to attack Luoyang, and Shan Xiongxin took the lead and took Li Shimin directly with a gun. According to historical records, Shan Xiongxin was invincible and almost as much as Emperor Taizong. Just as Qianjun was about to strike, Xu Maogong suddenly shouted angrily, "This King of Qin is also." Shan Xiongxin saw that his old friend had come out for Li Shimin, and he also sold his face, and even let Li Shimin go.
Although Shan Xiongxin let Li Shimin go, the cool and thin Li Shimin would never let Shan Xiongxin go on a horse because of this. In the fourth year of Wude (621), the combined forces of Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande were defeated by Li Shimin at Tiger Prison Pass and forced to surrender. Out of resentment towards Shan Xiongxin, Li Shimin decided to put him to death.
Xu Maogong and Shan Xiongxin were originally friends who swore to live and die together, so he urged Li Shimin, saying that Shan Xiongxin was "extremely skilled in martial arts, and if he receives it in the midst of death, he will be grateful and worthy of the country's life." That is to say, with the ability of Shan Xiongxin, he was enough to become a general of the Tang Dynasty. In addition, Xu Maogong also stated that he was willing to use the official knight to bear shan Xiongxin's life. If Shan Xiongxin is killed, the Tang Dynasty will inevitably regret it in the future.
However, even though Xu Maogong did this, Li Shimin still insisted on not pardoning Shan Xiongxin. Seeing this, some readers may ask, Li Shimin has always been thirsty for merit, why did he refuse to spare the life of the brave general Shan Xiongxin?
In the author's opinion, there are three reasons: first, compared with Qin Qiong, Xu Maogong and others, Shan Xiongxin did not take the initiative to defect to Tang, and his loyalty was very suspicious; second, Shan Xiongxin had almost killed himself, and Li Shimin may have a lingering feeling; third, Li Shimin did not have absolute trust in Xu Maogong. Xu Maogong was cunning and rode a wall between Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng, and neither side could be guilty, so it was difficult for Li Shimin to regard him as his own. Even if Li Shimin was proclaimed empress, he also pulled and beat Xu Maogong. If Shan Xiongxin surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, he would form a sworn enemy with Xu Maogong. At that time, Xu Maogong will be difficult to restrain.
Therefore, the more Xu Maogong interceded, the more Li Shimin wanted to kill Shan Xiongxin. In this way, Shan Xiongxin was taken to the execution ground. Before his execution, Xu Maogong cried and said to Shan Xiongxin, "I wanted to die with you, but I have already promised the country with my body, and there are still many important things waiting for me to do." But rest assured, your wife and children will be raised by me from now on!" ”
After speaking, Xu Maogong cut a piece of meat on his thigh and let Shan Xiongxin eat it into his stomach. Subsequently, a generation of brave generals Shan Xiongxin died on the execution ground.
After Shan Xiongxin's death, Xu Maogong fulfilled his promise and regarded Shan Xiongxin's orphans as his family. Under his recommendation, Shan Xiongxin's descendants all served as officials in the Tang Dynasty, and they also had no worries about food and clothing. However, after 250 years, Shan Xiongxin's descendants unexpectedly joined the anti-Tang army. After the outbreak of the Huangchao Rebellion, Shan Xiongxin's 11th generation grandsons— Shan Xing, Shan Wang, Shan Mao, and Shan Sheng, all joined the ranks of the rogue huang chao. In the military, the four brothers are invincible and are known as the "Four Masters of the Yellow Army".
In the end, the four brothers of the Shan family followed Huang Chao into Chang'an, and the Tang Dynasty survived in name only. The descendants of the Shan family finally avenged Shan Xiongxin, and at the same time confirmed Xu Maogong's prophecy.