Chapter 102: Yanzhao has always been home to many generous and tragic people

[Our Tang Dynasty still has three brilliant generals, Geshu Han, Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing. ]

[None of these three people are pushovers. When they get into a fight with An Lushan, I, Yan Zhenqing, will jump out and light a fire behind the enemy lines, blocking An Lushan's retreat route and catching him in a trap. Isn't that wonderful?]

[An Lushan's army marched southwards, pressing on the eastern capital Luoyang.]

[The first famous Tang general Feng Changqing appeared. 】

[Feng Changqing was the governor of Anxi. On the seventh day after An Lushan started his rebellion, Feng Changqing happened to return to Beijing to report his work to Li Longji.]

[Faced with the aggressive rebels, Feng Changqing told Li Longji that An Lushan was not a concern. He said, "I will hire some soldiers and present his head to your majesty within ten days."]

……

"puff!"

Guo Ziyi, who was drinking water in the camp, was suddenly choked.

Looking at the sky speechlessly.

Don't be afraid of sticking your tongue out when you brag.

……

【Seeing Feng Changqing's confidence, Li Longji was very happy and immediately allocated funds from the inner treasury to Feng Changqing, ordering him to recruit soldiers to fight the bandits.】

[Feng Changqing recruited 110,000 soldiers, but most of these soldiers were unemployed vagrants and street thugs, and had little combat effectiveness.]

[Feng Changqing led this 110,000-man army to Luoyang. He first defended Hulao Pass east of Luoyang.]

[Historical records show that the bandits used their cavalry to trample on the government troops, and the government troops were badly defeated.]

[Translated, Feng Changqing's army was overwhelmed by An Lushan's cavalry, and Feng Changqing was badly defeated. ]

[After this great defeat, Feng Changqing finally realized the reality. He had no choice but to gather the defeated troops and retreat to Kuiyuan, where he was defeated again. He retreated to the east gate of Luoyang, but was defeated again.]

[Feng Changqing fought a street battle with An Lushan in Luoyang, but was defeated again.]

[Feng Changqing was trapped in the city, and finally had no choice but to smash the west wall and escape. ]

……

"Tsk... He's still a famous general..."

Zhang Fei sneered. Suffering defeats all the way, can he be considered a famous general?

Liu Bei glanced at him speechlessly. Ever since the military advisor arrived, the army had won several battles in a row, and his third brother was becoming very proud of himself.

Liu Bei suspected that this guy had almost forgotten the days before the military advisor came, when they were defeated in battles over and over again and were chased by Cao Cao.

Besides, how can a bunch of ruffians fight against 150,000 elite soldiers?
The number of soldiers is not large but fine.

Both sides are not in the same weight class, so it would be impossible for them to win.

If he can really win, it is not an exaggeration to call Feng Changqing a military god!
……

【From this, we can see how tragic the battle was. 】

[After the defeat, Feng Changqing fled westward. ]

[While running, he met another famous general of the Tang Dynasty, Feng Changqing's old leader Gao Xianzhi. ]

[After a long discussion, the two old partners quickly reached a consensus that An Lushan was too strong, so it would be better to give up Luoyang and retreat to Tongguan. ]

【Tongguan is the last line of defense of Chang'an City. I heard that the Eastern Capital Luoyang was lost, and Li Longji was furious. From Fanyang to Luoyang, more than 1600 miles, with more than people, it would take at least half a month just to walk there without fighting, right?】

[What was the result? Only ten days passed from the time An Lushan started his rebellion to the fall of Luoyang.]

[Li Longji didn't understand. Are you sure you really fought the rebels? ]

[Are you trying to deceive me? ]

[In this way, under the instigation of treacherous ministers, Li Longji issued an imperial edict that Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing surrendered without a fight and were beheaded on the spot.]

……

"Stupid! Stupid!" Li Shimin was so angry that he almost died.

Based on one-sided testimony alone, he sent eunuchs to kill the leading general. Not only did this shake the morale of the army, but without the general, who would resist the rebels?

At the very least, we need to find out whether the situation is true. Even if it did happen, Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing should be allowed to make amends for their crimes. This is the correct way to deal with it.

This bastard believed one-sided words and killed two people directly. Without the general, who will resist the rebels? Is this guy a pig!
So stupid!

……

"Xuanzong is getting more and more confused as he gets older."

Zhu Di felt very regretful when he saw the two famous generals Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing being executed.

Xuanzong was really too foolish. He killed generals on the battlefield and had no suitable candidates to replace them. Wasn't this digging his own grave?
How stupid!
"Fortunately, I am not as foolish as him, otherwise my father would scold me to death when I get to the underworld."

Zhu Di rejoiced.

At the same time, there is also some disdain.

It was because Xuanzong had been enjoying peace for too long that he had no idea about military affairs and made every move stupidly.

If it were Zhu Di, would An Lushan dare to rebel?

Within half a month, he could easily suppress the rebellion.

He doesn't even have to do anything himself. He can just let the second and third brothers, or Zhanji, go out and they will probably be able to subdue the rebels.

"Tang Zong was able to kill horses and enemies, and he was also able to manage the country. But when it came to Xuanzong, the emperor didn't know how to fight. What a pity."

……

[Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi, two famous generals, gave up Luoyang, but two civil officials chose to stand in Luoyang. ]

[One of them was Li Jian, who was the governor of Henan at the time. He gathered 400 people, but they started fighting and all 400 people ran away. Li Jian, the governor, chose to stay and live and die with Luoyang City.]

[The other is Lu Yi, the Chief Censor. He sent his wife and children away, then put on his court robes and sat in the Censorate, quietly waiting for the arrival of the rebels and death.]

[After An Lushan entered the city, he ordered his men to chop off the heads of Li Jian and Lu Yi, and asked his subordinate Duan Ziguang to take their heads to various counties in Hebei to circulate them as a warning to others.]

[What a hellish scene it was in Luoyang at this time. ]

[Use the description from the poem of the great poet Li Bai: I went with him in a trance, riding a wild goose soaring into the purple sky. Looking down at the Luoyang River, the Hu soldiers marched in the vastness. The blood smeared the weeds, and the jackals were all crowned with tassels.]

[Li Bai, in a trance, was invited to heaven by an immortal. From the sky, Luoyang City was full of Hu soldiers, and the grass was dyed red with blood.]

【And each of An Lushan's bandits wore luxurious official hats.】

[That’s right, after Luoyang was captured, An Lushan happily ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. The rebels were given official titles and promoted to higher positions, and of course, they wore official hats.]

[At this time, Yan Zhenqing was rowing a boat in Pingyuan County, looking forward to it, but he did not wait for the news of the fierce battle between the Tang Dynasty and the rebels, but waited for the heads of two loyal ministers and the news of the fall of Luoyang, the eastern capital. ]

[The rebel general Duan Ziguang held up the bloody heads of Li Wei and Lu Yi, and shouted that whoever disobeyed would suffer the same fate as these two.]

[Yan Zhenqing could no longer hold back in this situation. His grief and indignation completely overcame his reason. In a rage, he ordered his soldiers to capture Duan Ziguang alive, cut him in half, and then licked the blood off the heads of the two loyal ministers, made the shape of their bodies out of straw, attached the heads of the two loyal ministers, and buried them with honor.]

[Then he wrote a letter of appeal to the rebels and sent it to all the counties in Hebei, formally announcing the uprising of the rebels.]

【Since ancient times, there have been many generous and tragic people in the land of Yan and Zhao. Seeing Yan Zhenqing taking the lead, more than 20 people soon voluntarily joined Yan Zhenqing's team. The counties of Hebei also responded and announced that they would join the ranks of fighting against the bandits. They jointly elected Yan Zhenqing as the leader and the general manager of troops in Hebei.】

……

The scene before our eyes has moved countless people throughout the dynasties.

"He is truly a righteous man."

Cao Cao looked at the sky with emotion.

At this moment, Cao Cao seemed to see his own image in Yan Zhenqing.

Yan Zhenqing's deeds made him think back to the time when the eighteen princes fought against Dong Zhuo.

In the past, he was full of passion and tried to serve the country...

(End of this chapter)