Today, the History Encyclopedia editor brings you an article by the descendants of Xue Rengui, hoping to be helpful to everyone.
Xu Maogong helped Li Shimin interpret his dream, and the wise minister who responded to his dream was Xue Rengui. This fierce general, who went through countless hardships to reach Li Shimin’s side, has achieved countless accomplishments throughout his life. He has accompanied Li Shimin and Li Zhi in inventing various feats such as “Good Strategies for Pacifying the Mountains”, “Three Arrows to Conquer the Tianshan Mountains”, “Divine Courage to Conquer Liaodong”, “Benevolent Governance in the Beautiful Country”, “Love for the People in Xiangzhou City”, and “Removing the Hat to Defeat Ten Thousand Enemies”, which can be said to be invaluable. Throughout the journey of enfeoffment and appointment as prime minister, one’s official position is undoubtedly high.
During the war between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, Xue Rengui was demoted to a commoner due to Tang Jun’s disastrous defeat. However, he was soon reinstated, and his legendary life is truly awe inspiring.
Xue Rengui had a total of five sons in his life: Xue Ne, Xue Shenhuo, Xue Chuqing, Xue Chuzhen, and Xue Chuyu. However, the most famous ones in the family were Xue Ne, Xue Chuyu, Xue Song, Xue Yang, Xue Ping, Xue Cong, and others. As the saying goes, “Dragons give birth to dragons, phoenixes give birth to phoenixes, and the sons of mice can dig holes.” As a military general, Xue Rengui naturally had several sons who also came from military backgrounds.
Family background
As Xue Rengui’s two proudest sons, Xue Ne and Xue Chuyu, although their fame still lags behind that of Fu Hydrogen, their official positions are comparable to those of their own fathers. Xue Na is actually no different from Xue Dingshan in the TV series. Although he suffered a disastrous defeat in the expedition to Tibet, he still won the victory in the end. It can be said that he avenged his father and was appointed as the Grand General of Yulin. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, he defeated the Turks and restored his clan’s title.
His younger brother Xue Chuyu gave birth to a son named Xue Song. Their family, as a family of military generals, is very different from those who study academia. During the Kaiyuan period, the aristocrats began to disdain military generals, leading to a sharp decline in their status in the court. As members of the military general family, Xue Ne and Xue Chuyu were unable to open doors in the court, resulting in their family disciples appearing tired in their careers after their deaths, unable to enter official positions for a long time, let alone restore their former titles.
Reasons for Rebellion
Due to the fact that the Xue family has been developing in Youzhou, they have been constantly expanding in Youzhou. If they participate in the reversal, it will pose a certain threat to the entire court. Moreover, due to the worship of literature and the abolition of martial arts, the inner frustration and irritability of the generals have led to their betrayal, which is not surprising. In addition, Xue Song himself did not enjoy reading, which led to his betrayal and reduced his burden of trust to a certain extent.
Xue Song was already quite old during the An Lushan Rebellion, and he did not receive good official positions in the court. He harbored deep resentment towards the court, and according to historical records, officials who were depressed and unsuccessful eventually became bandits, which gave him a strong sense of rebellion.
Rebel Results
During the An Lushan Rebellion, he joined the camp of An Lushan at a young age and fought bravely. He was appointed as the Governor of Xiangzhou by An Lushan. However, the An Lushan Rebellion was not successful, so he chose to surrender to King Li Tang in order to preserve his family. After that, the Tang Dynasty quelled the An Lushan Rebellion and conferred the title of Grand Minister. Xue Song was posthumously appointed as the Minister of Justice of the Ministry of Justice and the Governor of Xiangwei, Mingxing, and other provinces.
Not only did he not commit the crime of rebellion, but he was also a major contributor to quelling the rebellion. He was grateful for the magnanimity of the court and fulfilled his duties diligently, governing the area in an orderly manner. He was posthumously appointed as the Prince of Gaoping County and the Right Deputy of the Censorate. Xue Song’s official title far surpassed that of his ancestors.
Postscript
After Xue Song participated in the An Lushan Rebellion, the Xue clan was not annihilated by the Tang king, but instead was given a relatively high status. This is an honor and an unparalleled honor for them, but at the same time, it brings about the decline of the Tang Dynasty. After the An Lushan Rebellion, many feudal lords were formed, which became a concern for the Tang Dynasty.
After constant friction and reshuffling, all of them were intercepted by Zhu Wen during the peasant uprising at the end of the Tang Dynasty, establishing the Later Liang and entering the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Xue family also disappeared without a trace.
