Pugu Huaien Why did he betray the country when all his family members sacrificed their lives

Today, the History Encyclopedia editor has prepared the story of Pugu Huaien for everyone. Interested friends, come and take a look!
Since ancient times, traitors who collude with foreign invaders have naturally been highly criticized. For example, Wu Sangui, who colluded with the Qing army to enter the border in the late Ming Dynasty, was nailed to the pillar of historical shame from then on, with a standard ugly face in both official and unofficial history. But the treatment of a traitor in the Tang Dynasty was relatively exceptional.
Compared to Wu Sangui, this traitor of the Tang Dynasty, who also wielded a heavy army and enjoyed the benefits of the country, brazenly rebelled and colluded with foreign enemies to come and kill, almost causing the Tang Dynasty to finish 142 years ahead of schedule. The destructive power can be described as’ as difficult as Mount Lu and the difficulty of enlightenment ‘. But for such a rebel who chased after the ‘An Lushan Rebellion’, historical records in later generations are full of sympathetic voices. Even Tang Dynasty Emperor Li Yu, who was almost destroyed by him, escaped with a sigh: ‘I don’t blame him.’.
The person who sought sympathy in this way was none other than the rebel general of the mid Tang Dynasty and the heroic figure who shed blood to quell the An Lushan Rebellion: Pugu Huai’en.
1： Brave to the national crisis, full of loyal martyrs
Pugu Huai’en, born into a military family of the Tiele tribe in the Tang Dynasty. His family has been fighting for the Tang Dynasty for four generations since the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang. Pu Gu Huai’en, deeply influenced by his family, may appear quiet and reserved in personality, but he has a military temperament of “just making a decision”. After the shocking “An Lushan Rebellion” broke out, Pugu Huaien generously went to the national crisis and repeatedly brutally attacked the rebel army led by Shi Siming in Shanxi and Hebei provinces. In the years when the Tang Dynasty was defeated like a mountain, together with the two superiors Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi, they supported the Tang army in the northern front with great difficulty.
When Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, hid in the Shu region, Emperor Suzong of Tang, Li Heng, ascended to the throne in a bleak state. Pu Gu Huai’en also quickly came to serve the king. However, before Emperor Suzong’s dragon throne was heated up, the local Tongluo tribe took advantage of the situation and rebelled, forming a group to attack Lingwu. Due to the overwhelming number of enemies, even the son of Pu Gu Huai En, Pu Gu Yue, trembled with fear and surrendered to the rebels. But seeing that Pugu Huai’en remained expressionless, he first bound Pugu Yue, who had defected and escaped, and killed him in front of the entire army. Then, Pugu’s family, men, women, and children, went into battle and led the charge towards the rebel army in Tongluo, which really boosted the morale of the three armies. He forcibly killed the entire Tongluo tribe and saved the Tang Dynasty from disaster.
From then on, the brave and skilled Pugu Huai’en became an iron fist that made the An Shi rebels constantly complain. First, there were several tough battles in the Battle of Tongguan. Pugu Huaien once fled by crossing the water with his warhorse neck, but he gritted his teeth and reorganized his army to fight again. He cleverly set up a ambush to save General Guo Ziyi. Finally, in the bloody battle of Sanyuan North, he killed the rebel general Li Guiren of Anshi and fled in panic, winning the crucial battle to recapture Chang’an.
In the subsequent battle to recapture Chang’an, Pugu Huai’en experienced a passionate battle in the history of Chinese cold weapon warfare: the Battle of Xiangji Temple.
At that time, the Tang army, consisting of 150000 elite soldiers, advanced to the Xiangji Temple area (now north of Chang’an County), the gateway to Chang’an, and engaged in a decisive battle with the main force of the An Shi rebel army. The soldiers of the Tang army fought with their lives. General Li Siye took off his battle robe and led his long sword squad bare chested to forcefully resist the rebel army’s elite cavalry, resulting in bloodshed. Tiger general Wang rarely suffered serious injuries to his eyebrows and bones, yet he continued to charge and kill without stopping. But at the height of the heat, it was Pu Gu Huai’en who became a key hero: with his blood stained battle robe, he personally led four thousand elite cavalry to stage a major detour, circling behind the rebel formation and charging fiercely, causing the rebels who were stubbornly resisting to collapse. The arrogant rebel army of 60000 people was beheaded, and the capital Chang’an returned to the hands of the Tang Dynasty. The great cause of suppressing the rebellion was already a transformation from offense to defense.
In this great battle that almost bet on the fate of the Tang Dynasty, the brave and resourceful Pugu Huai’en can be regarded as the greatest contributor.
It was during this bloody journey that Pugu Huaien endured the pain of separation of flesh and blood to marry his beloved daughter to Dengli, the son of the Khagan of the Khitans, in exchange for the support of the Khitans in the Tang Dynasty’s anti rebellion war. In the first year of Baoying (762), Emperor Suzong of Tang passed away due to illness. Deng Li, the son-in-law of Pu Gu Huai’en, who was already a Khagan of the Khitan people, brazenly colluded with the An Shi rebel army to invade the south, and saw that the Tang Dynasty was about to fall into a pincer attack from both sides. It was Pu Gu Huai’en who brought his mother to the Khitan camp in Shaanzhou again. Through polite and courteous negotiations, they successfully persuaded the Khan of Dengli to abandon the idea of taking advantage of the situation and instead showed loyalty to the Tang Dynasty, promising to help them fight against the rebels.
Pugu Huai’en, who once again made great contributions, continued to fight without stopping. After going through major battles such as the Battle of Boxian in Luoyang, Pugu Huai’en still made numerous military achievements. After the Battle of Boxian, Shi Chaoyi, who had lost his entire army, hanged himself. Former rebel generals such as Tian Chengsi all knelt at the feet of Pugu Huai’en and kowtowed like garlic. The An Lushan Rebellion, which devastated the Central Plains, finally came to an end. Pu Gu, who had worked hard and made great contributions, was recognized as a great hero in this war, second only to Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi.
But behind this glory lies the heavy sacrifice of the Pugu Huai’en family, not only the daughter’s divorce from the Khazars, but also the 46 family members who sacrificed their lives for the country. It can be said that the entire family is loyal and devoted. But unexpectedly, after the dust of this war settled, what awaited this loyal family was a sudden disaster.
2： There are grievances that are difficult to complain about, and one thought can lead to mistakes
In the An Lushan Rebellion, which almost claimed the life of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang royal family suffered from turmoil and upheaval, but without realizing it, they summarized an important “experience”: why did this rebellion occur? Because generals are unreliable, and heroes are also unreliable, hmm! Only eunuchs are reliable!
So, as early as the end of the An Lushan Rebellion, many famous generals who were fighting for their country were tragically shot one by one. For example, two old superiors of Pu Gu Huai En, Guo Ziyi, were framed by eunuchs Cheng Yuanzhen, Yu Chao’en, and others after the death of Tang Suzong. They were once demoted by the new emperor Tang Zongzong to visit their graves, and Li Guangbi, who was “ranked first in the revival of the country for his military achievements,” was accused of slander by Yu Chao’en. He repeatedly took the blame for the Tang army’s defeat and fell ill in bed with anger. Lai Cong, a heroic figure in suppressing rebellions with the reputation of “chewing on iron”, was also falsely accused by Cheng Yuanzhen and executed by Emperor Tang in anger – he did not fall under the swords and guns of the rebels, but fell under the black guns of the eunuchs.
What about Pu Gu Huai’en, who is currently the “Vice Marshal of the World’s War”? Although he was already at the peak of his life, the experiences of his comrades naturally made him worried and uneasy. In the first year of Guangde (763), he was ordered to escort his son-in-law, the Khagan of the Khitan Khaganate, back to the grasslands. This was supposed to be a great thing to stabilize the border defense. However, the eunuch Luo Fengxian, who supervised the army in Hebei, immediately ran to Chang’an like a cat smelling the fishy smell and colluded with the Khitan Khaganate to rebel. Eunuchs such as Yu Chao’en, who had long hated Pu Guhuai En, also followed suit. The Tang Dynasty rulers and officials quickly made up their minds: Did Pugu Huai’en hold a heavy army? Is the Khagan Khagan his son-in-law? something the matter!
Pugu Huaien, who was not good at words, became angry and immediately wrote a letter to defend himself. But in this appeal letter, which should have defended himself, the straightforward servant Gu Huai’en fiercely opened fire on Emperor Tang, first condemning his wrongful killing of Lai Cong, and then angrily rebuking Emperor Tang for “calling deer horses” and “being loyal and virtuous”. Faced with the envoy Pei Zunqing from a Tang dynasty sect, Pugu Huai’en hugged Pei Zunqing’s feet and wept bitterly, shedding all the grievances of these days. Pei Zunqing also sighed deeply: Lord Pugu, please don’t cry. Come with me to Chang’an now to appeal and ensure your safety.
At this critical moment, Fan Zhicheng, a subordinate of Pugu Huai’en, added a touch of relief: “Did you not see the matter of Li Guangbi coming here?” Pugu Huai’en became angry again and said, “Yes, why am I going to Chang’an? Being framed like them? Not going!
So, the misunderstanding caused by this series of rumors and slanders became deeper and deeper. In October of that year, Tubo invaded Chang’an, and Tang Emperor Zong, who had just repaired a group of meritorious officials, fled in embarrassment. Right Prime Minister Yan Zhenqing suggested recruiting Pu Gu Huai’en to serve the king. But this opportunity to prove the innocence of Pugu Huaien was also rejected by Emperor Tang without hesitation. Not long after, Guo Ziyi repelled Tubo, and the Tang Dynasty ordered him to continue his efforts and take over the military power of Pugu Huai’en. As a result, under the deterrence of Guo Ziyi, the subordinates of Pugu Huaien came one after another to join, and Pugu Huaien, who was once incredibly powerful, now became the Commander of the Light Pole.
Such a farce made even the mother of Pugu Huai’en very angry. This old man who had always educated Pugu Huai’en about loyalty, filial piety, and serving the country scolded Pugu Huai’en on the spot for being disloyal to the country and almost chopped off her son with a knife. The sorrowful and angry servant Gu Huai’en fled across the river with three hundred relatives, and after escaping to Lingwu, he finally made a big mistake: suspicious of me? Suspect me of rebellion? I’ll show you the opposite!
In September of the first year of Yongtai (765), Pugu Huai’en spread rumors that famous Tang Dynasty generals such as Guo Ziyi had been framed for their sons. The Tang Dynasty was at a time of national weakness, which really provoked the Tubo Khaganate army, who wanted to make a fortune, to come forward. Pu Gu Huai’en, the great hero who once quelled the An Lushan Rebellion, has now completely transformed into a leading party, leading the Tubo Khaganate Alliance to march straight in, which scared Emperor Tang almost to abandon Chang’an and flee. Fortunately, Bai Xiaode, the former subordinate of Pugu Huai’en, fought back in the Jing River, causing Pugu Huai’en to retreat in embarrassment. Soon after, Pugu Huai’en, who was worried and angry, passed away in Bronze Sand due to illness: the hero had become a traitor, and the former glory of martial arts was no longer there.
After the death of Pugu Huai’en, his former superior Guo Ziyi broke into the Khaganate camp alone, dispelling the rumor that Pugu Huai’en had “Guo Ziyi is dead” and persuading the Khaganate army to turn their guns and attack Tubo, easily resolving the great crisis in Chang’an. This big mistake, also known as Pu Gu Huai En, never turned into a national disaster.
So, Emperor Tang, who escaped a disaster, would later express his regret: He did not betray his kindness, but was misled by his right and left. Is it really just a case of being misled by the left and right? The real mistake was the Tang Dynasty, which experienced the turmoil of the An Lushan Rebellion, and its harsh and ruthless suspicion towards its meritorious officials.
A dynasty that does not respect heroes and only knows “internal taboos” will eventually taste the bitter fruit.