The death of a famous general is divided into three parts, respectively telling the three most dazzling generals in the Tang Dynasty at that time - Gao Xianzhi, Feng Changqing, and Ge Shuhan, whose lives opened and closed, and had several ups and downs, but in the end they all ended in tragedy, which often made people sigh, and their life and death, honor and disgrace were directly related to the sharp decline of the Tang Dynasty caused by the Anshi Rebellion. Just to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty loyalists who shed their blood in order to extinguish the terrible catastrophe of the Anshi Rebellion.

Nearly half a century after the end of the Anshi Rebellion, the famous poet Bai Juyi wrote a long poem - "Song of Long Hatred", which is the most famous among the poems about the love between Tang Xuanzong and Yang Yuhuan. When this poem was written, Bai Juyi was thirty-five years old, that is, he had not personally experienced the Anshi Rebellion. When he was born, Li Yu, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty who finally quelled the Anshi Rebellion, had been the emperor for ten years, and the world was initially decided, but the division of the feudal towns was still continuing, and the frontier was constantly smoking, and people seemed to know that the Tang Dynasty would never return to its heyday.

The Anshi Rebellion divided the Tang Dynasty into two, "one hundred and forty years, the country's appearance is impressive", and now the former country's appearance has become a remnant of bricks and tiles and mourning all over the wilderness, and the "Wuling Light and Thin Child" (from Wang Anshi's "Phoenix Mountain":

Joy and youth, life is often bitter for a hundred years. What is the use of white-headed wealth, but strength is sorrowful and diligent.

I am willing to be a light child of Wuling, born in Zhenguan Kaiyuan. Cockfighting dogs live a lifetime, and the safety of heaven and earth is unknown.

I just want to be a rogue boy on the streets of Chang'an, growing up in the peaceful era of Kaiyuan Tianbao. Idle and play cockfighting, riding horses, just like this for a lifetime, the rise and fall of the outside world and the country has nothing to do with me. Describes the desire to live a life of debauchery and ease, and does not want to be involved in mundane affairs. It was also plundered by foreign tribes. The emperor was exiled in the mountains, the concubine died, and the two capitals all fell. Now, the dream is gone, the nightmare is gone, but people have never forgotten, at least for that magnificent dream, they are still struggling to find it...

When An Lushan just rebelled, although the government and the opposition were shocked, no one expected that the situation would deteriorate to the point that it would be, and no one expected that the official army would be so vulnerable and crushed in front of the rebels, let alone that the three leaders of the Tang Dynasty military circles at that time took turns to fight-Gao Xianzhi, Feng Changqing, and Ge Shuhan, and none of them could stop the rebels!

What especially makes the subjects loyal to the Tang Dynasty resentful is that these three famous generals who once dominated the world and shocked the government and the opposition did not die on the battlefield of the enemy, but died under the slander of their own people......

Gao Xianzhi, a native of Korea, followed his father to Anxi since he was a child, and was awarded a guerrilla general because of his father's shadow. The history books describe Gao Xianzhi as "beautiful, good at riding and shooting, and brave and resolute", and was promoted to general in his early twenties because of his military exploits, "in the same class as his father" ("Old Tang Book: The Biography of Gao Xianzhi"), which was passed down as a good story in the army.

Gao Xianzhi had served under the military governors of Anxi, Tian Renwan and Gai Jiayun, but he was never reused, and it was not until Fumeng Lingjing was appointed as the envoy of the Anxi Festival that he appreciated Gao Xianzhi's talent and repeatedly promoted him. By the end of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, Gao Xianzhi had already lived in Anxi, the deputy capital of Anxi, the envoy of soldiers and horses of the four towns, and the deputy envoy of Jiedu.

At this time, although Gao Xianzhi was already the second-in-command of the Anxi Tang Army, he was not a famous general. What really made him famous in the Western Regions and famous the government and the opposition was the battle of running thousands of miles to attack Xiao Bolu.

The small Bolu Kingdom is located in the northwest of Tibet, about the north of present-day Pakistan and Kashmir, between the four towns of Tibet, Central Asia and Anxi, the strategic position is very prominent, since the Wu Zhou era, it is the focus of repeated contention between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet. Xiao Bolu was originally attached to the Tang Dynasty, so he was repeatedly attacked by the Tibetans. In the twenty-fifth year of the Kaiyuan Dynasty (737 AD), the Tibetans again sent troops to Xiaobolu, forced it to surrender, and married a Tibetan princess to the king of Xiaobolu, thus firmly controlling this strategic location, and at the same time cutting off the connection between more than two dozen small countries in Central Asia and the Tang Dynasty, and had the potential to dominate Central Asia.

There is no doubt that if the Tang Empire wants to regain control of Central Asia, it must first recapture Xiao Bolu.

However, from Tian Renwan to Gai Jiayun to Fumeng Lingjing, three consecutive military governors of Anxi have sent troops to recruit Xiao Bolu, but each time they have returned in vain, and Xuanzong is very dissatisfied with this. In the sixth year of Tianbao (747 AD), Fumeng Lingjing recommended Gao Xianzhi to Xuanzong. Xuanzong immediately issued an edict and appointed Gao Xianzhi as the envoy of the camp and led 10,000 cavalry to expedition to Xiaobolu.

In April of the sixth year of Tianbao, Gao Xianzhi led his troops from Anxi Duhufu (located in Qiuzi Town, now Kuqa County, Xinjiang), marched southwest along the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, passed through Bahuan City, Shused, Shule, crossed the Green Ridge (Pamir Plateau), Bomi River, and finally arrived at Telmanchuan, and entered Lianyunbao (northwest of Kashmir), a military fortress controlled by the Tibetans, and the whole march took more than three months.

Lianyunbao is the only place to pass through to Xiaobolu, there are more than 1,000 Tubo garrisons, and there is also a Tubo military camp built on the mountain fifteen miles south of the castle, with eight or nine thousand troops stationed. In other words, the total number of defenders in the area of Lianyunbao in Tubo was about 10,000, which was roughly the same as Gao Xianzhi's strength. The Tibetan army defended the danger and waited for work, while the Tang army had just gone through a long journey of more than 100 days, and the situation was obviously extremely unfavorable to the Tang army. However, the Tang army also has an advantage, that is, the Tubo army would never have thought that the Tang army would rush thousands of miles and fall from the sky, so the Tang army could seize the opportunity and take Tubo by surprise.

Gao Xianzhi's troops divided into three routes and joined outside Lianyunbao at dawn on July 13. There is a local river called Bole River, which coincided with the rising water, and it was difficult for the Tang army to wade. While Gao Xianzhi sent people to find the shallow part of the river, he ordered all the soldiers to carry three days' rations each, travel lightly, and prepare to forcibly cross the river. The soldiers looked at the rushing river and said that Gao Xianzhi was crazy.

Not to mention how to cross the river without boats, even if you can barely cross it, if the enemy army in Lianyunbao finds out and fights the Tang army for one and a half crossings, wouldn't these 10,000 horses all have to be thrown into the river to feed the fish?!

But the military order was like a mountain, and the soldiers had no choice but to go with Gao Xianzhi.

To the delight of the soldiers, they walked a short distance along the river bank, and sure enough, they found a place where the water was shallow and crossable, and as a result, the people did not wet the flag, the horses did not wet the saddle, and all 10,000 horses crossed the Bole River safely. Gao Xianzhi laughed and said, "If the enemy attacks while we are halfway through, our army will definitely be defeated. But now that our army has safely crossed the river and assembled into a battle formation, Lianyunbao is a gift from God!"

Subsequently, Gao Xianzhi ordered the whole army to launch a strong attack on Lianyunbao and the southern military camp at the same time. In the face of the sudden attack of the Tang army, the Tibetan defenders were greatly frightened, but they still stubbornly resisted with the dangerous terrain and strong fortifications, such as locust arrows and boulders and trees, causing certain casualties to the Tang army attacking on the back.

The frontal attack was blocked, Gao Xianzhi immediately summoned Li Siye, a powerful general in the army, and ordered him to lead a Modao death squad to bypass the frontal enemy, climb up from the cliff in the back mountain, and take it by surprise and attack it unprepared. Before Li Siye left, Gao Xianzhi gave him a death order, telling him that he must settle the battle before noon.

The so-called Mo knife is a long-handled broadsword with two blades, which is an important weapon of the field infantry of the Tang Army, which can cut people and horses, and "advance like a wall" when arraying, and has extremely terrible attack power in hand-to-hand combat. The Modao team under Gao Xianzhi was the most elite unit in the Anxi Tang Army, all of them were well-trained and brave, especially this Li Siye, who was a famous general in the Anxi Tang Army.

It was precisely because of the super combat power of the Mo Dao Team that Gao Xianzhi would put it into battle at this critical moment.

After Li Siye was ordered, he held the battle flag in his hand and led the Mo knife team to climb the mountain from the steep place, and suddenly appeared on the back side of the Tubo defenders. At the same time, Gao Xianzhi personally led the army to carry out a frontal assault again. The Tubo people suffered from the enemy on their backs, and Li Siye's Modao team killed them from behind, they had no danger to defend, and the morale of the army was suddenly weakened. The Tang army became more and more courageous, from Chen Shi (7 o'clock in the morning) to about 11 o'clock in the morning, a total of more than 5,000 Tibetan defenders were annihilated, more than 1,000 enemies were captured, and the remnants of Tubo fled one after another.

In this battle, the Tang army won a complete victory, not only successfully conquered Lianyunbao, but also captured more than 1,000 war horses and countless military equipment.

Although Gao Xianzhi's expeditionary force won the first battle, it was tantamount to revealing his whereabouts and combat intentions to the Tubo people. If the established strategic goal of conquering Xiaobolu was to be accomplished, this Tang army would have to penetrate alone in the Tubo sphere of influence without the enemy already aware of it, and the danger it faced was self-evident.

Officers and men in the army began to feel fearful. Especially Bian Lingcheng, the eunuch sent by Xuanzong, the more he thought about it, the more afraid he became, and he didn't dare to take another half a step forward if he said anything. But Gao Xianzhi will not back down. If he doesn't conquer Little Bolu, he will never withdraw his troops.

This is the difference between an ordinary general and a famous general. The reason why a person can become a famous general is not only that he can defeat strong enemies, but also that he can overcome his inner fear. As a philosopher once said, "Courage is not not to be afraid, but to do it even when you are afraid." ”

It's not that Gao Xianzhi doesn't know the danger of being alone, and it's not that he doesn't feel afraid, but he knows that success is when others choose to give up, you choose to persevere!

Gao Xianzhi did not force Bian Lingcheng, but let him and 3,000 wounded and sick soldiers stay in Lianyunbao, while he personally led more than 6,000 people to continue to advance towards Xiao Bolu. Three days later, the Tang army reached Tanju Ridge (northwest of the city of Gilgit in Kashmir) on the Pamirs. The mountains are high, rugged and precipitous, and the natural conditions are extremely harsh, and the soldiers constantly complain during the difficult march. Moreover, just forty miles in front of Tanju Ridge, there is also a Huren castle called Ah Xuyue, which is also attached to Tibet. Under the influence of fatigue and fear of difficulties, the dissatisfaction in the hearts of the soldiers finally reached its peak, so they stopped one by one and asked Gao Xianzhi one after another: "Where is this going to take us?

Facing the angry soldiers, Gao Xianzhi said calmly: "In front of me is Ah Xuan Yue City, I estimate that when they hear the news of the arrival of our army, they will definitely open the door and surrender, you don't have to worry." ”

As soon as Gao Xianzhi's words fell, a sentry came to report, saying that more than 20 riders dressed in Hu clothes had come from the direction of Ah Xuan Yue City. After a while, Hu Qi was brought to Gao Xianzhi and said to Gao Xianzhi and the soldiers present: "I heard that the Tang army is coming, and the city lord of Aguyue specially sent me and others to meet the general, and cut the rattan bridge over the Poyi River (a tributary of the upper Indus River) to prepare to break off diplomatic relations with the Tubo. ”

When the soldiers heard this, they immediately turned their worries into joy, and all the complaints they had just had just now were swept away. Gao Xianzhi smiled and ordered the whole army to immediately cross the Tanju Ridge and march towards Ah Kuai Yue City.

Actually, this is a play played by Gao Xianzhi.

The so-called city lord of Aguyue welcomed the Tang army and broke off diplomatic relations with Tubo, which was purely imaginary. These more than 20 Hu Qi were not from A Xuanyue, but pretended to be someone ordered by Gao Xianzhi. He expected that all the way here, the endurance of the soldiers would definitely reach the limit, and Xiao Bolu was already close at hand, Gao Xianzhi would never allow himself to fall short, so he secretly arranged this scene in order to give everyone a shot of strengthening.

This white lie certainly worked very well.

But the question is, will the Ah Xuan Yue people really surrender? If they refuse to defend behind closed doors and Gao Xianzhi's lies are exposed, won't his prestige in the army be completely wiped out? This possibility is very high, but Gao Xianzhi has no choice.

He could only bet - bet that the Arcuayue people would really surrender.

The god of fate finally stood on Gao Xianzhi's side. Three days later, when the Tang army crossed the Tanju Ridge with great difficulty, and finally appeared under the city of Aguyue, they saw the Aguyue people lined up to greet them, and there was a city gate that was completely open to them.

Gao Xianzhi asked the soldiers to rest in Aguyue City for a day, and the next day he ordered Xi Yuanqing to be the vanguard, led a thousand men to advance quickly to Xiao Bolu, and conveyed this message to the king of Xiao Bolu: "We will not occupy your city, nor will we destroy your bridges, but we will just borrow a way, and the goal is the Great Bolu Kingdom." ”

Of course, King Xiao Bolu would not be easily fooled by Gao Xianzhi, but he did not have the strength to stop the Tang army, so in desperation, he had to flee the royal city with the queen (Princess Tubo) and his subjects, and hid in the mountains, preparing to wait for Tubo reinforcements here.

Xiao Boluren's reaction was not what Gao Xianzhi expected. Before Xi Yuanqing left, Gao Xianzhi had given him a face-to-face lecture: "Xiao Bolu heard that the Tang Dynasty soldiers are coming, and its monarchs and ministers will definitely hide in the valley, you have to launch a propaganda offensive, calling on Xiao Bolu's subjects to go out of the valley, as long as they surrender, they will be rewarded with silk, and explain that this is the edict of the Tang Emperor, as for those ministers who are close to Tibet, you must arrest and detain them and wait for my disposal." ”

Xi Yuanqing did according to the plan. Most of the subjects of Bolu the Younger surrendered to the Tang army, and the king and queen fled into caves deep in the mountains. After Gao Xianzhi arrived, he beheaded several ministers who were close to Tibet, and then sent troops to blockade the mountainous area. At the same time, Gao Xianzhi also sent people to destroy the only passage between Xiaobolu and Tubo, a rattan bridge on the Poyi River.

A few days later, when a Tibetan reinforcement arrived on the banks of the Poyi River, the vine bridge was long gone, and the Tibetans could only stare at the turbulent river. The width of the river was about the same as the range of an arrow, and the Tibetans rushed to repair the bridge, but a whole year had passed since the bridge was completed.

Since the Tubo people were beyond their reach, Xiao Bolu completely fell into Gao Xianzhi's palm.

After more than ten days of carpet searching, the Tang army finally captured the king and queen of Bolu Jr. in a hidden cave. At this point, the little Bolu regime that was close to Tibet finally fell. Gao Xianzhi supported a new pro-Tang government, completely controlled Xiao Bolu, achieved the strategic goal of this campaign, and fulfilled the mission entrusted to him by Xuanzong.

Although the scale of the battle was not large, this long-distance attack on Xiao Bolu was of great strategic significance. Because this battle reopened the communication channel between the Tang Dynasty and the Central Asian countries, the Tang Empire regained control of Central Asia, and also greatly dealt a blow to the expansion ambitions of Tibet.

The victory in this battle established Gao Xianzhi's status as a famous general of the Tang Dynasty.

In August of the sixth year of Tianbao, Gao Xianzhi escorted King Xiao Bolu and the queen to return to the court. Gao Xianzhi, who returned victoriously, couldn't hold back the joy in his heart, and when he arrived at the Bomi River, he sent a fast horse to enter the court first, and directly presented the good news to Tang Xuanzong.

If Gao Xianzhi was the leader of the Anxi Tang Army, of course there was nothing wrong with doing so. But the problem is that he also has a top boss, the husband Meng Lingjing. Gao Xianzhi crossed his boss and went directly to the emperor, obviously not taking Fu Meng's Lingjing seriously.

Fu Meng's spirit was furious because of this.

After Gao Xianzhi returned, Fu Meng Lingjing not only did not say a word of praise, but pointed to his nose and scolded: "Eat dog dung Gao Linu! You officials are all because of whom, and you don't want to be punished by me, and you are good at playing the Jieshu?

Who gave you your official position, and you didn't wait for me to deal with it?! Damn Goryeo slave, you should be beheaded for your crimes, but for the sake of your new great achievements, I can't bear to kill you! In the face of this top boss who was full of foul language and almost lost his mind, Gao Xianzhi was speechless, so he had no choice but to bow to the ground and apologize incessantly.

However, Gao Xianzhi at this time is no longer the Gao Xianzhi of the past. No matter how angry and jealous Fu Meng Lingjing was, he couldn't contain Gao Xianzhi's emerging edge after all. In other words, at this moment, Gao Xianzhi had already obtained a higher status than Fumeng Lingjing in Xuanzong's mind. In addition to Xuanzong's appreciation of Gao Xianzhi, there was another person who also helped Gao Xianzhi at a critical moment. He is Bian Lingcheng, the eunuch of the prison army of this expedition to Xiao Bolu. Although Bian Lingcheng flinched when he arrived at Lianyunbao and played almost no role in this rushing battle, in his own opinion, he also had a part in the victory of this battle. Now that Fumeng Lingjing suppressed Gao Xianzhi, it was equivalent to suppressing him, so Bian Lingcheng immediately presented a secret recital to Xuanzong, claiming that Gao Xianzhi had penetrated thousands of miles into the enemy country and established miraculous feats for the country, but now he was squeezed out by Fumeng Lingjing, and he was panicked all day long, which was really wronged.

As we all know, since the middle and late Kaiyuan Dynasty, Xuanzong has become increasingly happy, and for those generals who can promote foreign lands and establish border skills, Xuanzong has always favored and cared for them. Now that Gao Xianzhi has gnawed off the hard bones that the previous three Jiedu envoys had not gnawed, Xuanzong naturally looked at him differently. After receiving Gao Xianzhi's good news, Xuanzong was thinking about how to reward him, and now he suddenly received Bian Lingcheng's call to complain for Gao Xianzhi, Xuanzong was of course very dissatisfied with Fu Meng Lingjing.

Subsequently, Xuanzong immediately issued an edict to recruit Fumeng Lingjing to return to the dynasty, and at the same time promoted Gao Xianzhi to be the envoy of the four towns of Anxi, and concurrently took Hongluqing and Yushi Zhongcheng, completely replacing Fumeng Lingjing.

After Gao Xianzhi conquered Xiao Bolu, the Tibetans were extremely unwilling, so they instructed the Shu Shi Kingdom in northern India to attack Xiao Bolu and cut off Xiao Bolu's transportation channel. Xuanzong got the battle report and immediately handed over the task of pacifying the Shu Shiguo to Gao Xianzhi.

In February of the ninth year of Tianbao (750 AD), Gao Xianzhi sent troops and successfully defeated the Shushi Kingdom, captured its king Bert Wu, and appointed his brother Sujia as the new king, placing the Shushi Guoshi under the control of the Tang Dynasty.

At this point, Gao Xianzhi's reputation has shocked Central Asia.

At the same time, his inherent shortcomings began to be revealed. As his fame became more and more prominent, Gao Xianzhi's desire to kill and possess also swelled. Shiguo, located in the Syr Darya Valley in Central Asia, unfortunately fell victim to Gao Xianzhi's desires at this time. Due to the growing power of the Tang Empire in Central Asia, Shi Guo was deliberately attached to it and requested to sign a peace treaty with the Tang Dynasty. At the signing ceremony, both the guests and the host were very happy. But the envoys of Shi Guo would never have thought that Shi Guo had become a lamb to be slaughtered in Gao Xianzhi's eyes; And this so-called peace treaty is tantamount to a warm death notice.

In December of the ninth year of Tianbao (750 AD), Gao Xianzhi brazenly tore up the peace treaty and personally led troops to invade Shiguo. At this time, the monarchs and ministers of the Shi Kingdom were still immersed in the illusion of peace, and they were defenseless at all, and their military strength was already weak, so they were broken by Gao Xianzhi in just a few days.

After Gao Xianzhi occupied Shiguo, he not only captured the king, ministers, soldiers, and all young and middle-aged people, but also did two very criticized things: one was to slaughter the city, and the other was to plunder.

After the fall of the Shi Kingdom, a prince escaped and then traveled to various countries in Central Asia, accusing Gao Xianzhi of his atrocities, saying that he was "deceitful and corrupt". The Central Asian countries quickly formed an anti-Tang united front and sent envoys to the Black Clothes Food (Arab) for help, preparing to use the power of the Black Clothes Food to attack the four towns of Anxi in the Tang Dynasty.

Gao Xianzhi soon learned of the anti-Tang plans of the Central Asian countries, and he decided to strike first and take the initiative to attack the black-clothed food. In April of the tenth year of Tianbao, Gao Xianzhi gathered 20,000 elites from the four towns of Anxi, and at the same time recruited the vassal soldiers of the Bahanna Kingdom and the Qarlu tribe in the Western Regions, and formed a mixed Hu-Han corps, totaling 60,000 people. In the same month, Gao Xianzhi and his generals Li Siye, Duan Xiushi and others led their troops from Anxi, crossed the Green Mountains and the Great Desert, and after a long journey of more than three months, arrived at the ancient city of Talas in Central Asia in July of the same year.

As Gao Xianzhi's expeditionary force approached Talas, the Arabs received information. Abu ***, the governor of the East in Basra, immediately ordered Saeed to be stationed in Talas with thousands of men to strengthen the defenses. By the time the Tang army approached the city of Talas, the opportunity had been lost, and the initiative in the battle had fallen into the hands of the Arabs.

The two most powerful empires of East and West Asia collided here with the strongest intensity. However, at the moment when the battle was at its most intense, the Tang army's position was suddenly in chaos, and the Qarlu tribe defected. This also decided the outcome of the battle in an instant. In the end, almost all of the 20,000 Han soldiers were wiped out, and only a few main generals such as Gao Xianzhi and Li Siye fled from the battlefield.

Two years later, the Anshi Rebellion broke out. Gao Xianzhi, who grew into a generation of famous generals through foreign wars, not only ruined his reputation in this civil strife, but also died in vain under the beheading order of Li Longji, the son of the Tang Dynasty.

On November 21, the 14th year of Tianbao, that is, the 12th day of An Lushan's army in Fanyang, Tang Xuanzong hurriedly returned to Chang'an and completed the strategic deployment in about ten days: on the Hedong side, the Shuofang right wing soldiers and horses, Jiuyuan Taishou Guo Ziyi was the Shuofang Jiedu envoy, the right Yulin general Wang Chengye was Taiyuan Yin, and Cheng Qianli was the governor of Luzhou. In Henan, a total of three lines of defense were set up, with Wei Weiqing Zhang Jieran as the envoy of Henan Jiedu, and 13 counties such as Chenliu to form the first line of defense; Feng Changqing recruited 60,000 troops on the spot in Luoyang to form the second line of defense; With Gao Xianzhi, the general of the right Jinwu, as the deputy marshal (the marshal was named by Li Wan, the son of Xuanzong's son, Rongwang), he led 50,000 people to guard Shaanxi County as the third line of defense.

In Xuanzong's view, even if this defense plan could not destroy the rebels in a short period of time, it was enough to frustrate its edge and ensure that the two capitals were safe. However, Xuanzong was wrong. This seemingly tight defense plan will soon be completely crushed by the invincible An Lushan.

On December 2, An Lushan's army crossed the Lingchang Ferry and went south and captured Lingchang County on the same day. A few days after the new Henan Jiedu envoy Zhang Jieran arrived in Chenliu, the rebels had already overwhelmed the border. On the 5th, Chen Liutai guarded Guo Na to open the door and surrender, and the first line of defense collapsed.

On the 8th, An Lushan marched westward, quickly captured Xingyang, and the troops pointed directly at the eastern capital. Feng Changqing led his troops to enter the Tiger Prison Pass, preparing to defend the danger. But his 60,000 men were all untrained recruits, and fighting the battle-hardened rebel cavalry was tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg. The officers and troops were defeated in the first battle, and the Tiger Prison Pass was immediately lost. The second line of defense collapsed.

On the 12th, the rebels entered Luoyang and wantonly burned and looted. Feng Changqing retreated to Shaanxi County and reported to Gao Xianzhi: "After days of bloody battles, thieves can't be used. And there are no soldiers in Tongguan, if the madness rushes, the Beijing division is in danger. It is advisable to abandon this guard and urgently protect Tongguan. ”

According to the established battle plan of the imperial court, Gao Xianzhi should march east from Shaanxi County and take the initiative to meet the rebels. However, in the face of Feng Changqing's report, Gao Xianzhi realized that if he continued to advance eastward as originally planned, the only result would be to enter the tiger's mouth and seek a dead end in vain! Therefore, Feng Changqing's suggestion was correct, and only by temporarily avoiding the enemy's edge and retreating to Tongguan could he fight a protracted battle with the rebels while ensuring that the Beijing division was safe.

Due to the critical military situation, Gao Xianzhi did not have time to report to the imperial court, and immediately led his troops to retreat in the direction of Tongguan. As soon as they left the west gate of Shaanxi County with their front feet, the rebels killed them with their back feet. The officers and soldiers were caught off guard and were beaten by the rebels, and everyone scrambled for their lives.

Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing retreated into Tongguan in a hurry with the remnants, and immediately ordered people to repair the fortifications. When the rebel advance arrived at Tongguan, they found that the officers and troops were already in battle, and then retreated.

However, at the moment when Gao Xianzhi entered Tongguan, Bian Lingcheng, the eunuch of the prison army, had quietly left Tongguan and rushed towards Chang'an. After seeing Xuanzong, he tried his best to exaggerate the responsibility for the defeat of Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi, saying: "Changqing shook the crowd with thieves, Xianzhi abandoned Shaanxi for hundreds of miles, and stole and reduced the food of the soldiers. ”

Feng Changqing did say that "thieves should not be treated", but that was a correct judgment based on the "bloody battle for many days", not to fear the enemy and shake the morale of the army, and at that time Shaanxi County was indeed no danger to defend, and the defense of Tongguan was weak and empty, so Gao and Feng took the initiative to give up Shaanxi County and surrender Tongguan.

From a purely military point of view, there is nothing wrong with what they have done, but politically speaking, they have undoubtedly committed three capital crimes. The first case: flee without a fight, abandon the city and abandon the land; The second case: acting without authorization, without the court; The third case: Violating the will of the Xuan Dynasty and sabotaging the Eastern Crusade plan. All in all, in Xuanzong's view, Gao and Feng were really unforgivable, and ordered Bian Lingcheng to go to Tongguan immediately and behead Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing on the spot!

In fact, from the moment An Lushan brazenly launched a rebellion, Gao Xianzhi's tragedy was already doomed. Because, the monarchs and ministers of Xuanzong and the imperial soldiers and civilians who have been immersed in the dream of the prosperous era for a long time do not have the slightest ability to resist risks and setbacks. Therefore, when the veil of beauty of the prosperous era was peeled off by An Lushan, and the true face of pale, fat, languished and weak was suddenly revealed, and when the peaceful picture of singing and dancing and prosperity was completely replaced by the tragic image of living beings and broken mountains and rivers, the shocked and angry Tang Xuanzong was bound to arrest a few people to carry this embarrassing and heavy historical black cauldron.

In other words, there will always be people who will have to pay for this, and there will always be people who will have to pay for the misfortune of the empire! One day in December of the 14th year of Tianbao, dark clouds rolled over Tongguan, and the wind roared. Tens of thousands of Tang soldiers were summoned around the execution ground and ordered to watch the execution.

At this time, it had only been more than a month since An Lushan raised his army, and a large area of land east of Ketongguan, including the eastern capital Luoyang, had all fallen into the hands of the rebels. 150,000 Fan Yang iron cavalry invincible, like a bamboo, its vanguard has been in the city of Tongguan, leading the troops to garrison Tongguan is the Tang Empire's famous general Gao Xianzhi.

At this time, the cries of tens of thousands of Tang Army soldiers shouting grievances had already rushed straight to Xiaohan. The warden angrily shouted at the executioner: "Cut me down!" Where the knife landed in his hand, was Gao Xianzhi's handsome and desperate face.