One step: Li Guangbi was ordered to leave Jingcheng (xíng, northwest of present-day Jingcheng, Hebei) from Taiyuan (present-day Taiyuan, Shanxi), and Guo Ziyi to enter Hedong (present-day Yongjixi, Shanxi) from Feng Yi (present-day Dali, Shaanxi).

This directly threatens Fan Yang, the rebel's lair, and Chang'an, which they occupy.

Then, Shi Siming and Zhang Zhongzhi did not dare to leave Fanyang and Changshan (now Zhengding, Hebei), let alone take the next step south; An Shouzhong and Tian Qianzhen did not dare to leave Chang'an.

In this way, as long as we need two generals and two people, we can trap the traitor's 4 fierce generals.

And these 4 fighters will be separated from each other, and the only general around An Lushan will be Ashina Chengqing.

Step 2: The newly recruited army and the divisions of the Qin Kings assembled in Fufeng (now Fufeng, Shaanxi), echoing the two armies of Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi.

If we take turns attacking the rebels, they will be exhausted and exhausted.

Then secretly ordered Guo Ziyi not to attack Huayin easily, so that the rebels could pass through Guanzhong, and the rebels could further disperse the rebels' forces (if the rebels' road was rashly cut off, the rebels would retreat when they saw that the situation was unfavorable, and their forces would inevitably be concentrated together.

In this way, on the contrary, it was not conducive to the offensive of the Tang army.

If the Tang army did not attack the cities they held and cut off their lines of communication, the rebels would be reluctant to abandon the areas they occupied. They must be able to divide the guards, and of course disperse the rebels).

And we can concentrate the superior forces and slowly consume and eat the rebels.

They come, we hide; They go, we pursue.

In this way, avoid its edge and wait for work. It is bound to make them defend Fanyang in the north and Chang'an in the west, and they will be exhausted on the road of thousands of miles.

Their elite cavalry will be exhausted in less than 1 year. It's hard to form a fighting force.

Three steps: next spring, when our army is strong and strong. The third son of the emperor, Jianning Wang Li Qi, was appointed as the military and political governor of the Pham Duong region (Pham Yang Jiedu Ambassador).

Let him advance north along the side plug, and form a horn with Li Guangbi to take Fan Yang.

After the army of King Jianning cooperated with Li Guangbi's army, he could flank the rebels from the north and south, capture Fanyang, and subvert their lair in one fell swoop. In this way, the rebels have no way to retreat, and it is not safe to stay where they are, and they are bound to be defeated.

Step 4: The army of King Qin of the imperial court is besieging from all directions, and the traitors will definitely be wiped out!

This is an important "strategic dialogue". It is the famous "Pengyuan countermeasure".

This is the real "mountain people have their own clever plan", and it is also a good strategy to fundamentally solve the Anshi Rebellion.

Mr. Bai Yang believes that it can be compared to Zhuge Liang's "Longzhong pair". His strategy is very clever and maneuverable, and finally Li Heng finally regained his self-confidence.

Lee Hyung was overjoyed, and the scene of victory seemed to have appeared in front of his eyes. But at the same time, Li Mi also repeatedly warned Li Heng: "Now the rebels are gradually in trouble!" But don't rush it. ”

He also suggested that for the soldiers and men like Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan, deputy commanders of the Henan Theater (deputy envoys of Henan Jiedu), who used a small number of men and horses to drag down tens of thousands of rebels, they should immediately order the world to commend them. It is used to stimulate the fighting spirit of the military and civilians. Demoralize traitors.

At first, this plan was fully approved by Li Heng and his eldest son, Li Yu, the king of Guangping. But Li Heng, who is eager for quick success,

Later, it was not fully adopted, resulting in the strategic vision of this "super strategist". It didn't happen. Li Heng insisted on recovering Chang'an first and achieving phased results.

to establish prestige and strengthen one's position. Outcome. Drive the rebels back to Hebei, thus forming a situation of separation. There is going to be hell to pay. When Hu Sanxing of the Yuan Dynasty annotated the "Zizhi Tongjian",

He said, "Suppose Li Heng used Li Yu's strategy. How could Shi Siming harm Guanzhong and Luoyang again" (later Shi Siming descended to the Tang Dynasty and rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, and the chaos lasted for several years)!

At the same time, Li Mi was also a politician with a broad mind. During this period, he formulated a strategy of "not seeking quick victory, but eradicating future troubles"; In the imperial court, he helped Li Heng properly handle the relationship between his eldest son Li Yu and his third son Li Yu (which led to Li Yu serving as the "Marshal of the World's Soldiers and Horses").

He also resolved the thorny relationship between Li Heng and his father (he advocated taking the initiative to welcome him back, striving for his father's approval of his regime and the attachment of his former ministers), so that the internal stability of the court in the turmoil was achieved.

In particular, Li Mi emphasized that "we will not investigate the original mistakes" ("do not repair the old evils", do not break Li Linfu's bones and scatter ashes, and do not chill those who want to surrender.

I hope that Li Heng will appear in front of his subjects as an open-minded emperor), which united the forces of counterinsurgency to the greatest extent and stabilized the situation.

But, after all, Li Heng did not fully listen to his strategic advice at a critical moment. In September 757, the Tang army regained Chang'an. Li Heng wanted to reuse Li Mi, but he said that "it is enough to repay virtue" and asked to continue to live in seclusion.

Li Heng was puzzled, and Li Mi replied that he had 5 reasons ("Fifth Wife") not to stay: "I met you too early, you gave me too much power, you favored me too deeply, my merits were too high, and my deeds were too bizarre." ”

At that time, Liu Yu said: "In the recovery of Chang'an and Luoyang, Li Yu had the most strategies, and his credit surpassed Lu Zhonglian (during the Warring States Period, helping countries to solve crises) and Fan Li (during the Spring and Autumn Period, helping King Goujian of Yue to restore the country and destroy Wu). Li Mi has made up his mind, and probably Li Heng also thinks that the world has been decided, so he approves his retirement. In October, he was rewarded with the clothes and dwelling of a hermit, and he was given the title of a third-rank official.

However, Li Heng may never know the real reason for Li Mi's departure. In fact, it was precisely because Li Mi had an extremely close relationship with the emperor that he attracted the suspicion of the traitorous ministers Cui Yuan and Li Fuguo.

In order to avoid disasters that may occur at any time, and because the overall situation of counterinsurgency has been decided, Li Micai took the initiative to ask to leave the center of power and enter Hengshan to cultivate.

Although Li's strategic intentions have not been fully realized, positive results have been achieved. Wenchen's strategy is in place, and the battle has to be fought by military generals.

In many dynasties, famous generals like Feng Changqing, Gao Xianzhi, and Ge Shuhan were either killed or captured, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to find commander-level commanders for a while. Fortunately, Datang was like a cloud at this time, and he got the opportunity to come back to life.

A few generals may not change history. But without the resourcefulness and hard work of these good generals, the fate of the Tang Dynasty would have been unimaginable.

Good general

The Tang Dynasty was already in turmoil. Under the leadership of a few mainstay generals, the army and the people fought together, and the war was gradually quelled. Struggles to level off. These shining stars are:

One of the good generals: "Prime Minister of the Martial Champion", "Veteran of the Four Dynasties" and "God of War" - Guo Ziyi

The first to enter our field of vision is Guo Ziyi, who is the most important general in the entire Tang Dynasty, and also a god of war who brought prosperity to the Tang Dynasty. Talented, virtuous, knowledgeable and quantitative".

Among all the military strategists and strategists in Chinese history, his status is like Jiang Ziya, his loyalty is like Guan Yu, and his courage is like Zhao Yun. Resourceful like Li Jing, but not as ambitious as Cao Cao, not as dedicated as Zhuge Liang and the end of Shu Han, and not like Zeng Guofan, who was criticized behind him.

His performance in the history of the Tang Dynasty was almost perfect, he was a rare strange man, and he was also the first "consummation general" in history.

Guo Ziyi, a native of Zheng County, Huazhou (now Huaxian County, Shaanxi), was originally from Fenyang (now Fenyang, Shanxi). He came from a family of middle-ranking officials and entered the political arena through martial arts.

He is excellent in martial arts and rarely meets opponents. Therefore, at that time, there was a popular saying among the people that "if you fight all over the world, you will not meet Guo Ziyi in Fenyang".

He is not only burly (more than six feet, more than 1.8 meters in total), brave and extraordinary, familiar with military books, and skilled in formation. And he is impartial and unafraid of the powerful.

He successively served as the chief of staff (Zuo Wei Nagashi) in the Forbidden Army Shogunate and the person in charge of rewards and punishments (military envoys) for the garrisons in Hengsai and Tiande.

A year before the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion (754), he had concurrently served as the magistrate of Jiuyuan County (Taishou, the seat of governance in the west of the former banner of present-day Inner Mongolia Wulate) and the deputy commander of the Shuofang Military Region (Shuofang Jiedu Right Soldier and Horse Envoy).

After the rebellion. With a national crisis and a critical situation, Guo Ziyi's opportunity to show his military skills has finally come.

He was soon promoted to the rank of military and political governor of the Shuofang region (Shuofang Jiedu Envoy). He was ordered to lead his troops to the east against the rebels.

When the rebels approached Tongguan and threatened the Beijing Division, Guo Ziyi won the first battle. The Jingbian Army (now Youyu, Shanxi) fought a battle and wiped out 7,000 rebels.

In April 756, his subordinates recaptured the important town of Yunzhong (now Datong, Shanxi) in one fell swoop, defeated the rebel Xue Zhongyi, and killed 2,000 enemy troops.

Then, he sent his general Gongsun Qiongyan with 2,000 cavalry to recover Mayi (now northeast of Shuo County, Shanxi), so that Dongcheng Pass (now east of Dai County, Shanxi) could be reopened.

As a result, the connection between Shuofang and the Tang Army in Taiyuan was opened, so that An Lushan went down to Taiyuan, entered Yongji, and the military plan in the siege could not be realized for a while.

In this way, the strategic initiative was won and the road was opened for continued eastward expansion. The good news reached Chang'an, and the people's hearts were a little calmer, and Guo Ziyi was awarded the title of Procurator General of the Supreme Procuratorate (Yu Shi Dafu) for his merits.

In April and May, Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi successively led troops eastward, and defeated the rebel Shi Siming in Shahe (now Shahe, Hebei), Jiumen (now Zhengdingdong, Hebei), Jiashan (in present-day Dingxian, Hebei) and other places.

On 17 April, Guo Ziyi released all 4,000 captured defenders of Zhao County (now Zhao County, Hebei).

This greatly eased the hostility between the rebels and the Don army and seriously weakened their morale. In particular, in the Battle of Jiashan on 29 May, under the correct command of Guo Ziyi, the Tang Army was brave and fearless.

The rebels were killed more than 40,000 people, captured more than 1,000 alive, and lost more than 5,000 horses. Shi Siming fled in the wilderness, panicked, and fell off his horse.

The helmet and boots were gone, and the cape was scattered, the feet were barefoot, and he fled back to Boling (now Dingxian County, Hebei) with a broken gun. Guo Ziyi led the army to pursue the victory, and his prestige was greatly boosted, which also greatly boosted the confidence of the vast number of soldiers and people.

His brilliant achievements in Hebei reversed the passive situation of the Tang Army's hasty response to the battle in the early days and changed the situation of the war. More than 10 counties in Hebei spontaneously gathered their arms to respond to the government army, kill the rebels, and join the Tang Dynasty.

Shi Siming's defeat and the loss of Hebei cut off the rebels' rear lines of communication, and their soldiers and soldiers in Fanyang were panicked and worried that there was no way back.

When An Lushan learned the news, he also panicked. He scolded the noble and solemn military advisor: "You call me anti-Tang, saying that it is foolproof.

It has been several months since the army was raised, and the back road has been cut off by Guo Ziyi, and we are only left with Bian, Zheng and other states, and we are in a dilemma. Where's the foolproof?

Don't come to me again. After complaining, he and his advisers had no choice but to abandon Luoyang and withdraw to Fanyang.

On the occasion of this good opportunity, Li Longji ordered Guo Ziyi to withdraw his troops to replenish his troops and attack the rebels from the front, in order to recover Luoyang. And Guo Ziyi, who was full of foresight, put forward a strategy of sticking to Tongguan, waving his army to the north, and attacking Fanyang.

If Li Longji can adopt this aggressive strategy, it is likely that there will be a turning point in quelling the rebellion. But Li Longji, who was panicked, didn't believe anyone's words except Yang Guozhong.

As a result, Guo Ziyi's correct opinion After the mud cow entered the sea, Geshuhan was defeated in June and Tongguan was lost. The rebels were able to extricate themselves from their predicament, causing the situation to deteriorate dramatically.

In July, when Li Heng ascended the throne, he was weak and precarious, so he ordered Guo Ziyi, who had just defeated the rebels.

In August, Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi led 50,000 infantry and cavalry from Hebei to Lingwu. At this time, the new imperial court had just been established, and the army was small and weak, and it was not until the troops of Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi arrived that they had some momentum.

After Li Heng's entire army was wiped out, he was already "unlicensed", and he only relied on Guo Ziyi's Shuofang army as the foundation of the country.

Soon, Guo Ziyi was appointed as the prime minister and minister of national defense (Tongzhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi and the secretary of the Ministry of War), and his original positions as chief of staff of the Lingzhou Military Region and military and political chief of the Shuofang region (Lingzhou Metropolitan Governor's Mansion Shi, Shuofang Jiedu Envoy) and other positions were still retained.

Guo Ziyi believed that the strategic position of Hedong (now Yongji, Shanxi) was very important, and it could enter Luoyang in the east and Chang'an in the west. So, he sent people to secretly infiltrate Hedong and prepare to meet the Tang army.

Li Heng's luck was indeed good, soon after he came to power, the rebels broke out infighting, and the counterinsurgency seemed to have taken a turn again. An Lushan's close eunuch, Khitan Li Zhu'er, served him in his early years and has always been trusted.

However, after An Lushan became emperor, he became blind not long after he was in a hurry (most likely a serious complication of diabetes, and some sources say that it was damaged by smoke), and soon he suffered from a poisonous sore (jū) disease, and his temper became more impatient and eccentric. The people who served him left and right would be whipped if they were not satisfied, and Li Zhu'er was beaten more often.

Yan Zhuang, another important confidant of An Lushan and the "prime minister" of the puppet court, was also often beaten and ridiculed, so they all resented An Lushan. After An Lushan's eldest son, An Qingzong, was executed by Li Longji in 756, the struggle for his successor became increasingly intense.

The second son, An Qingxu (?) -759), an incoherent and cowardly man, but brave in battle. The third son, An Qingen, has mediocre qualifications, but his mother, Mrs. Duan, is deeply favored by An Lushan.

So, An Lushan has always wanted to make An Qingen the crown prince. When An Qingxu heard such news, he always had a feeling of precariousness. Yan Zhuang, who was born as a strategist, was deeply afraid that An Qingen would be unfavorable to him after he ascended the throne, so he launched a secret series and plot. Yan Zhuang said to An Qingxu: "Did you say that you killed relatives in righteousness? (To be continued......)