In the early stages of the An Lushan Rebellion, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, did not believe that his beloved fat man An Lushan would rise up against Tang. It was not until An Lushan led several cities that he accepted this cruel fact and hastily dispatched Tang troops to resist, but did not stop them. He saw that the rebels were about to attack the capital.
So Li Longji fled to Shu with his beloved Yang Guifei, princes, grandsons, concubines, royal families, and trusted aides. Unexpectedly, when they arrived at Mawei Slope, the escorts of the imperial guards stopped and launched a military campaign under the leadership of General Chen Xuanli of Longwu. They killed Yang Guozhong, the brother of Yang Guifei, and forced Li Longji to strangle Yang Guifei with the phrase ‘six armies not deployed’. Next, the editor of the History Encyclopedia will bring you the truth about history. Let’s take a look together!
Why does the Forbidden Army insist on Yang Guifei’s life? There are two reasons.
To vent one’s anger.
The imperial guards believed that the An Lushan Rebellion was caused by the Yang family. Since Concubine Yang was favored, the Yang family has become a top family. Her brothers and sisters have all received special favors from the emperor. Everyone lives a dissolute life and consumes countless people’s wealth.
Especially Yang Guozhong, the cousin of Yang Guifei, who became the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty after Li Linfu, was a person who “disregarded the success or failure of the world and only focused on personal interests, causing harm to the country”. During his tenure, he was jealous of the wise and incompetent, arrogant and domineering, deepening the contradictions between the central and local military governors of the Tang Dynasty, as well as between civil officials and military commanders.
Therefore, the imperial guards regarded Yang Guozhong as a traitor, and he was the first one to be killed. But killing him alone is not enough. The imperial guards claimed that “the thief is still there” and believed that Yang Guifei was the source of the Yang dynasty’s turmoil and chaos, and they must kill her before they can act quickly.
Two political struggles.
On the surface, the Ma Wei Incident appears to have occurred naturally, but in reality it is not. In fact, it’s not just the Ma Wei Incident. Almost all military coups and coups that start from lower levels are actually manipulated by higher-level individuals.
The mastermind behind the Ma Wei Incident was Crown Prince Li Heng. When Li Longji was young, he was a wise ruler. As he grew older, he became increasingly foolish. Being his son was a risky thing. He once killed three sons in one day, including Li Ying who was crowned as the crown prince.
Therefore, Li Heng, who was later appointed as the crown prince, lived in fear and was a political enemy of Yang Guozhong’s party. He almost lost the position of crown prince several times and had strong opinions towards the Yang family and his father Li Longji. It was he who instigated Chen Xuanli to launch a mutiny and insisted on getting rid of Yang Guifei, fearing that she would retaliate afterwards.
If Li Longji really wanted to save Yang Guifei, it would be very simple. As long as he passed on the message to Li Heng, Yang Guifei would not pose any threat to Li Heng and Chen Xuanli, and they would not insist on Yang Guifei’s death. Leaving a flower of wisdom for his father is also considered Li Heng’s filial piety.
But Li Longji was even more ruthless than Li Heng thought, and no matter how much he liked Yang Guifei, he couldn’t compare to imperial power. At the moment when the imperial guards forced him to kill Yang Guifei, he understood that this was for the throne, quickly made a choice, and once again won the loyalty of Chen Xuanli.
Li Heng is like a failure, he dare not go to Sichuan with his father again for fear of being killed. The father and son parted ways, and Yang Longji continued his journey westward. Li Heng went to the Shuofang Army’s headquarters in Lingwu, where he proclaimed himself emperor and honored Li Longji as the Supreme Emperor.
So, the death of Yang Guifei was not only due to the anger of the imperial guards, but also because of the power struggle between Li Longji and Li Heng father and son.
