Xue Rengui was a famous general in the early Tang Dynasty, who made countless military achievements throughout his life. Friends who enjoy watching historical dramas will definitely not be unfamiliar with Xue Rengui. Xue Rengui had many victories and few defeats throughout his life, and his only defeat was in the Battle of Dafeichuan, where he lost to Tubo. At that time, the Tang army and the Tubo army were competing for the western part of Qinghai, with Tubo having an advantage in military strength. However, they did not choose to confront the Tang army directly, but instead cut off their food and supplies. Finally, Vice General Guo Daifeng violated military orders and launched an attack without authorization, resulting in the complete annihilation of the army. However, fortunately, Xue Rengui survived. Now let’s talk about Xue Rengui’s life achievements. Interested friends, come and take a look.
1. Heavenly Subduing Generals
Xue Li, whose courtesy name is Rengui, was born in Xiucun Village, Longmen, Jiangzhou, Shanxi. It is said that Xue Rengui was inspired by heaven to assist Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, in his eastern expedition. There is a poem that goes, “My home is a little red far away, and my shadow is nowhere to be seen. A three-year-old child worth a thousand taels of silver crossed the sea to conquer the east
This is the revelation that Li Shimin received in his dream. Li Shimin summoned Xu Maogong, who knew the Book of Changes and also knew astronomy and mathematics, to interpret his dream. Xu Maogong said, “Your Majesty, he said, ‘Living in a distant place is a little red.’ When the sun sets in the west, it only counts as a little red, so he must live in Shanxi. He went down to Longkou and went to Longmen County. There is a Longmen County in Jiangzhou Prefecture, Shanxi. If you go to find him, you must live in Longmen County, Jiangzhou Prefecture, Shanxi. ‘Drifting everywhere without a trace,’ it means snowfall on a cold day, and there is no trace of him drifting everywhere. His surname is Xue. ‘A three-year-old child costs a thousand taels of silver.’ A child is worth a thousand taels of gold, isn’t this person expensive? The two characters Rengui are his name. His name must be Xue Rengui, to protect His Majesty’s cross sea expedition to the east. The east is mostly a sea, and if you go to conquer the east, you must cross the sea. So this should be the dream of a wise minister. To ensure that His Majesty crosses the sea to pacify Liaodong, we must ask Xue Rengui to come from the east. ”
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin immediately sent someone to Longmen Village in Jiangzhou, Shanxi to recruit talented individuals. Who went there? It’s Zhang Shigui, the general manager of Route 36 and the vanguard of Route 72.
In fact, Xue Rengui’s ancestors had all served as officials in the court, but they did not make any achievements or leave behind a solid family legacy. By the time of Xue Li’s ancestors, the family had already declined. However, Xue Rengui never stopped learning, which was due to his talent and hard work. He was skilled in both writing and martial arts, and was very proficient in every step he took. He struggled to make ends meet despite having lofty aspirations, and could only rely on farming to make ends meet and barely make ends meet.
In such a difficult living environment, Liu Shi, the eldest daughter of Liu Yuan’s family who works for Xue Rengui, has a keen eye for Xue Rengui and has a special fondness for his character and literary talent. Under the magnanimity and foresight of the Liu family, when Zhang Shigui came to recruit soldiers, Xue Rengui directly joined the army and left all the hardships of life to himself to bear alone. The great achievements of Xue Rengui’s life are inseparable from the strong support of the Liu family.
2. White robe and white horse enter your eyes
In the 19th year of the Zhenguan reign, Li Shimin personally launched an expedition to Goguryeo. However, during the 17th year of Emperor Taizong’s reign, he launched three expeditions to Goguryeo but failed to achieve his ultimate goal. It only greatly depleted Goguryeo’s national strength and military combat effectiveness. Time has worn down history, and with the addition of Xue Rengui, Tang Taizong’s journey is destined not to be lightly overturned.
In March of the same year, on the battlefield of Andi, Tang Dynasty general Liu Junqiong was surrounded by the Goryeo Legion and was unable to escape the predicament.
In a critical moment, Xue Rengui single handedly attacked the enemy’s camp, capturing the head of the enemy’s highest ranking general, hanging on horseback, making the enemy tremble with fear. After this battle, Xue Rengui gained great fame in the army, and because he fought in a white robe, he was immediately noticed and remembered by Emperor Taizong of Tang. Emperor Taizong lacked such a brave and courageous person.
In April, the vanguard of the Tang army arrived in Goguryeo and continuously defeated the defending forces of Goguryeo. In June, the Tang army arrived at Anshi City (now southeast of Haicheng, Liaoning), and Goguryeo’s Mo Li Zhi Yuan Gai Su Wen sent generals Gao Yanshou and Gao Huizhen to station a large army of 250000 on the mountain to resist the Tang army. After inspecting the terrain, Li Shimin ordered the generals to lead their troops in a split attack. In this battle, Xue Rengui was dressed in white, holding a spear and spear, and carrying a double bow at his waist. He shouted loudly and charged forward, invincible, and the Goguryeo army looked invincible.
The Tang army followed suit in large numbers, and the Goguryeo army suffered a major defeat, with over 20000 beheadings. After the Battle of Anshi Castle, the whole country of Goguryeo was shocked. Subsequently, the military and civilians in cities such as Huangcheng and Yincheng abandoned the city and fled, cutting off the population within hundreds of miles. After the war, Li Shimin specially summoned Xue Rengui, who was only an ordinary soldier at that time, and gave him two horses, forty pieces of silk, and ten prisoners as slaves. He also promoted Xue Rengui to guerrilla general and Guoyi of Yunquan Prefecture.
3. The Battle of Jinshan
As spring fades and autumn arrives, history is a manifestation of the rise and fall of kings, and warfare is the wheel of dynastic change. In the second year of the Qianfeng reign of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong appointed Li Ji as the commander-in-chief of the army, commanding the three armies, and Xue Li as the general. They parted ways and launched a joint attack on Goguryeo.
Li Ji was the first to attack and pull out the “key point in the west of Goguryeo” Xincheng, but was attacked by Quan Nanjian’s troops in the middle of the night. Xue Rengui promptly led troops to support him.
Tang Jun’s generals Pang Tongshan and Gao Kan led their troops to directly attack Jinshan, but were intercepted by Goguryeo’s 100000 strong army and completely collapsed.
After hearing the news, Xue Rengui directly changed his plan to directly attack Fuyu City, bypassed Fuyu City and rushed to support the Tang army on the north road, directly attacked Jinshan, and cut the Goguryeo army into two sections, greatly defeating the Goguryeo army, beheading more than 50000 soldiers, and taking advantage of the victory to capture the three cities of Nansu, Mudi, and Cangyan.
The Battle of Jinshan was a complete victory. This battle cut off the connection between the north and south lines of Goguryeo, while the Tang army smoothly converged on the north and south lines. This battle eliminated most of Goguryeo’s main forces and laid a solid foundation for pacifying Goguryeo.
Upon hearing the news of his victory, Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, personally issued a letter of commendation to Xue Rengui, saying, “In the grand battle of Jinshan, there are numerous fierce factions, and I lead by example, risking my own safety and achieving invincibility. All the armies are brave and have achieved great success. It is appropriate to be good at building achievements, all of which are named after me.” Although Emperor Gaozong’s commendation was brief, it had rich connotations, which was enlightening for Xue Rengui.
With the encouragement of Emperor Gaozong, Xue Rengui led 2000 thousand people to attack Fuyu City after the great victory in Jinshan. Despite everyone’s disapproval of Xue Rengui, he adhered to the principle of “not having many soldiers, how can we use them properly” and quickly attacked Fuyu City.
In the middle of winter, heavy snow falls and embraces the world in our arms. Two thousand soldiers followed Xue Rengui in white robes and white horses, quietly arriving all the way. The unprepared remaining army of Goguryeo panicked in the face of the prepared Tang army. Xue Rengui took the lead and charged forward, killing the remaining Goguryeo soldiers. Seeing Xue Rengui’s decisive and fierce attack, the Goryeo soldiers abandoned the city in despair and fled in panic. More than forty cities in Fuyu River have all surrendered upon hearing the wind.
In this battle, the Tang Dynasty obtained a total of five tribes, 176 cities, and 697000 households. They divided it into nine commander-in-chief offices, 42 prefectures, and 100 counties, and established the Andong Protectorate to oversee the entire old territory of Goguryeo. Xue Rengui was awarded the title of Right Guard General and Inspector of Andong Protectorate for his meritorious service, and was granted the title of Duke of Pingyang County. He led 20000 troops to stay in Pyongyang.
After Xue Rengui became the Protector of Andong, he did not use strong power to suppress, but instead implemented benevolent governance, raised orphans, supported the elderly, dealt with thieves, and promoted and employed talents from Goguryeo, commending and rewarding people with noble character and excellent behavior. For a moment, Lady Gao was very happy, even forgetting the pain of losing her country.
History will not stop because of war, soothing sadness or watching joy. In the blink of an eye for hundreds or thousands of years, time has no lovers but emotions. Nowadays, on this fertile land of Kaiyuan, there are many stories of Xue Rengui that have been passed down, adding weight to this ancient city.
