For those who are very interested in Tang Dynasty Chen Xuanli, the History Encyclopedia editor brings detailed articles for your reference.
At the end of 755 AD, An Lushan, who was also the military governor of Fanyang, Pinglu, and Hedong towns, rose up in rebellion in Fanyang and publicly announced his rebellion. Due to the long period of peace in the Tang Empire, coupled with decades of continuous border expansion by several generations of monarchs, a military layout with a heavy emphasis on the outside and a light emphasis on the inside has been formed within the empire, and the An Shi rebels have been unstoppable along the way.
Moreover, the ambitious Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, had already indulged himself in sensual pleasures and became a complete tyrant. When news of An Lushan’s rebellion came, he even thought it was a false accusation from An Lushan’s political enemies and ignored it.
It was not until An Lushan captured the entire territory of Hebei and crossed the Yellow River to approach Luoyang that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang woke up from his dream of singing and dancing in peace. At this time, Feng Changqing, the military governor of the four towns in Anxi and a famous general, was reporting his duties to the court. Upon learning of this news, Feng Changqing volunteered to go to Luoyang to recruit volunteers and defend the eastern capital to ensure the stability of Guanzhong. Unfortunately, the volunteers recruited by Feng Changqing on the spot were mostly children of the Heluo Floating Waves, who lacked training and had low combat effectiveness. How could they be opponents of the An Shi rebel army, which had been fighting against the elite of the three towns outside the Great Wall for years?
Helpless, Feng Changqing was forced to abandon his defense of Luoyang and instead chose to guard the gateway of Guanzhong – Tongguan, hoping to gain time for the court to draw elite troops from the other seven towns to suppress rebellions with the help of Tongguan’s natural dangers. At this moment, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang issued an edict to interrogate Feng Changqing and ordered him to serve in the army in white to assist the upcoming senior officer Gao Xianzhi in resisting the rebels.
Due to the betrayal of An Lushan, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang no longer trusted these generals who were originally border generals, and began to install trusted eunuchs in the army as supervisors to oversee the generals. The supervisor of Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing’s army was the famous border commander Cheng.
Bian Lingcheng is a greedy and treacherous person who has repeatedly begged for bribes from Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing, but was sternly rejected by them. Therefore, he holds a grudge against Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing and falsely accuses them of colluding with the rebels in his memorial to the court, resulting in the deaths of these two outstanding generals at the hands of his own people.
Soon after, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ordered the veteran Ge Shuhan, who was sick and disabled at home, to go to Tongguan to resist the enemy. Later, he listened to Yang Guozhong’s slanderous words and forced Ge Shuhan to lead 200000 soldiers to defend Tongguan, leading to the defeat of the Battle of Lingbao – the entire 200000 Tang army was wiped out, Ge Shuhan was captured, and the gates of Chang’an were opened.
When the news reached Chang’an City, it was already June of 756 AD.
On June 12th, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang issued an edict ordering courtiers to enter the palace to discuss matters. Later, seeing that the hearts of Chang’an were fluctuating, he issued another edict stating that he would lead the imperial army to conquer An Lushan. At first, the people of Chang’an did not believe that the elderly emperor, who had lost all ambition, still had such courage. However, later on, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ordered a series of military campaigns, which finally gave the people of Chang’an a a glimmer of confidence in their despair.
However, to the surprise of countless people, the highest ruler of the empire actually led the elite of the Forbidden Army to flee westward at night that day!
At this time, the commander of the army was Chen Xuanli, a trusted general of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.
Chen Xuanli, who joined the Forbidden Army in his early years, made great contributions during the Tang Long coup by following Li Longji to eliminate Empress Wei and Princess Anle, and later leading the Forbidden Army to intimidate the young people in Chang’an during the Xiantian coup. After Tang Xuanzong swept away the Taiping Princess faction, he was rewarded for his achievements and appointed as the Grand General of the Forbidden Army, Longwu. In the following decades, he was highly trusted by Tang Xuanzong. Therefore, when Emperor Xuanzong of Tang fled, the first thing that came to his mind was his trusted love.
During his escape to the west, Chen Xuanli saw that the people of Guanzhong were full of hope for the emperor – hoping that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang could stay and continue to organize troops to resist the rebels, and also hoping that Emperor Xuanzong could eradicate treacherous officials and recreate the Qingming politics assisted by wise ministers such as Yao Chong and Song Jing during the prosperous Kaiyuan era. However, this emperor, who was immersed in the gentle countryside, only knew how to flee westward under the temptation of treacherous ministers such as Yang Guozhong.
So, taking advantage of the hunger, exhaustion, and resentment of the soldiers in the Forbidden Army, Chen Xuanli prepared to launch a mutiny, which coincided with the ideas of the Crown Prince Li Heng’s faction.
So, on June 14th, when Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was escorted by the imperial guards and arrived at Mawei Post, Chen Xuanli led the imperial guards to launch a mutiny, first beheading Yang Guozhong, then killing Yang Xuan, the son of Yang Guozhong, and Yang’s entire family, and then surrounding the post with his army.
Upon seeing this, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was greatly alarmed. Upon the advice of his courtiers, he first promised that all the soldiers were innocent, and then asked Gao Lishi to negotiate with them, demanding that they disperse and continue to escort him westward. However, he was sternly refused by Chen Xuanli and others, who demanded that Yang Guifei be executed. Helpless, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang could only have Gao Lishi strangle Yang Guifei to death and carry her body to the courtyard for verification by Chen Xuanli and others.
After ensuring that Yang Guifei had really died, Chen Xuanli led the imperial guards all the way to escort Tang Xuanzong to escape westward into Shu, but he also lost Tang Xuanzong’s trust forever.
In 757 AD, with the recapture of Chang’an and the killing of An Lushan, the rebel forces of An Shi greatly weakened. Tang Suzong Li Heng ordered Chen Xuanli to escort Tang Xuanzong, who was then the Grand Emperor, back to the capital. After returning to the capital, he continued to serve as the commander of Tang Xuanzong’s imperial guards in Xingqing Palace. Due to the merit of Ma Weiyi, he was honored as Duke of Cai.
Around 760 AD, eunuch Li Fuguo forced Emperor Xuanzong of Tang to relocate from Xingqing Palace to the more remote Taiji Palace. During this period, he repeatedly made things difficult and intimidated Emperor Xuanzong. Fortunately, Gao Lishi and Chen Xuanli led the imperial guards who had been guarding Emperor Xuanzong’s escape to the west to step forward, which allowed Emperor Xuanzong to safely move to Taiji Palace. However, at this time, it caused dissatisfaction among Emperor Suzong of Tang. Gao Lishi was demoted, the forbidden army of Taiji Palace was disbanded and reassigned by Li Fuguo. Chen Xuanli was also forced to retire and subsequently died of illness …..
