HLnovel Chapter 52 Guo Ziyi and Li Bi
Chapter 52 Guo Ziyi and Li Bi
Lin Ke sighed when she saw the emperors of the Tang Dynasty so angry they were almost fainting.
"As we mentioned before, most military governors were of non-Han ethnicity. After the outbreak of the An Lushan Rebellion, it became impossible for An Lushan's cousin, An Sishun, to continue as the military governor of Shuofang."
"So who should take the position? The imperial court quickly identified its target—Guo Ziyi, who was still in mourning for his father."
"Guo Ziyi was a subordinate of An Sishun, the military governor of Shuofang. Although many famous generals of the Tang Dynasty achieved great success before the age of forty, Guo Ziyi was not among them; his official career was not smooth."
"One year, Guo Ziyi committed a crime in Bingzhou and was rescued by Li Bai, the top literary figure of the Tang Dynasty. Even Li Bai probably didn't expect that his rescue would save the Tang Dynasty for 150 years."
Top fan Wang Lun: As expected of my brother Bai!
Li Bai, the pinnacle of Tang Dynasty poetry: Keep a low profile! Keep a low profile!
"Although Guo Ziyi was spared criminal charges, his promotions over the next 20 years were exceptionally slow, until the outbreak of the An Lushan Rebellion, when he finally began to rise in prominence."
"The 59-year-old Guo Ziyi, along with generals Li Guangbi and Pugu Huai'en from Shuofang, achieved successive victories in the Hedong region."
"Only then did people realize how capable Guo Ziyi was; it was a waste of his talent not to give him a proper position all these years!"
"Although the Hedong region has achieved successive victories, the situation in Hebei is far from optimistic. An Lushan's rebel army first captured Changshan County, followed by the fall of Ye County, Guangping County, and other counties."
"Emperor Xuanzong was deeply distressed upon seeing these fallen counties, so he asked Guo Ziyi to recommend Li Guangbi, who then took the stage."
"Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi had always been at odds, but at this time, Guo Ziyi still recommended him to quell the rebellion in Hebei."
"After arriving in Hebei, Li Guangbi quickly recaptured Changshan County and also inflicted a major defeat on Shi Siming's army on the banks of the Hutuo River."
"Shi Siming was the same Shi who fought during the An Lushan Rebellion. Unwilling to accept defeat, he ordered the grain transport route to Changshan County to be cut off."
"Changshan County was facing a food shortage, and Li Guangbi was going hungry. Guo Ziyi, upon hearing this, acted righteously and quickly led a large army with provisions to provide relief."
"Former mortal enemies have become good friends. Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi have combined their forces, first attacking the Nine Gates and then Zhao County."
"However, the Tang army that captured Zhao County looted extensively within the city, which greatly displeased Li Guangbi. He said, 'How are you any different from the rebels?' He immediately sent men to collect the looted property and return it to the people."
"Li Guangbi cared for the people and was strict in disciplining his army, and Guo Ziyi was the same."
"Guo Ziyi, knowing that many of the captured rebels had been forced into battle, ordered that only the rebel commanders be punished, and all other prisoners be released."
"Then Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi inflicted a major defeat on Shi Siming at Hengyang, killing 40,000 enemies. Shi Siming was forced to flee from his horse."
"The actions of these two men prompted many counties in Hebei to begin their own resistance against the rebels, and also led to the return of more than ten counties in Hebei to the embrace of the Tang Dynasty."
"This severed the connection between An Lushan and his hometown of Fanyang, trapping An Lushan's rebel army in Luoyang."
"Guo Ziyi was becoming increasingly courageous and excited in battle. He wanted to continue attacking An Lushan's hometown of Fanyang and made a request to Li Longji, but he received no response from the court for a long time."
"That's normal, actually. The emperor's already fled; who's going to reply to you then!"
Guo Ziyi, a famous general of the Tang Dynasty: ...
Li Guangbi, a famous general of the Tang Dynasty: ...
During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty
Li Shimin was so angry he was numb. What a load of rubbish!
Just as they were about to counterattack, and they were about to do a good job!
You, Li Longji! You actually ran away!
I want to see what other mess he can get up to!
……
"Guo Ziyi then heard that Chang'an had fallen and the new emperor had ascended the throne in Lingwu. He decisively abandoned the advantages he had gained in Hebei and personally led an army of 50,000 to withdraw from Hebei and rush to Lingwu to protect the new emperor."
He knew that only a stable imperial power could stabilize the morale of the army, thus creating an opportunity to fight the rebels to the death.
"After Guo Ziyi left, Shi Siming seized the opportunity to recapture Changshan County and reopened the rebel army's main route."
"When the new emperor Li Heng saw Guo Ziyi rushing over, he was so happy he almost jumped for joy!"
"The reason is that Li Heng spent the first half of his life in the shadow of his father, not to mention that this father was Li Longji, who dared to kill his own son."
"Therefore, after parting ways with Li Longji, he became extremely cautious and anxious. In this chaotic period of war, his two thousand soldiers were utterly insignificant."
"Guo Ziyi's arrival brought him a great sense of security, and Li Heng subsequently appointed Guo Ziyi to take charge of all military and political affairs in the country."
"Only at this point did Guo Ziyi, the brilliant general who quelled the An Lushan Rebellion, truly take his place."
"At this time, another person also arrived in Lingwu with his strategy."
"This person is Li Bi. He was known as a child prodigy from a young age, and as he grew older, he became even more learned, excelling in the Book of Changes, strategy, and so on."
"At that time, Li Bi's talent became known to Li Longji, who summoned him to the palace. They rode together when going out and slept in the same bed, becoming childhood friends."
"Even as a child, Li Bi could converse with Zhang Jiuling and others, and Zhang Jiuling called him 'little friend.' However, his ambition was not for an official career but for the beauty of nature, so he traveled around after growing up."
"As soon as Li Heng ascended the throne, he remembered his old friend and quickly sent a message to him asking him to come here to help him. Li Bi devised two super strategies for Li Heng, which could quell the An Lushan Rebellion within two years."
He said to Li Heng: "Your Majesty, while you go to Fengxiang to hold the line and threaten Chang'an, let Guo Ziyi first take Hedong County to threaten Luoyang, the eastern capital, and send Li Guangbi from Hebei to threaten the rebels' hometown of Fanyang."
"Under no circumstances should we capture Huayin, which lies between the two capitals, so as to keep the rebels' supply lines open."
"Then His Majesty, Guo Ziyi, and Li Guangbi will lead their armies in alternating attacks. Faced with our assault, the enemy will certainly provide support from both sides. We will retreat when the enemy advances, harass when the enemy camps, attack when the enemy is exhausted, and pursue when the enemy retreats."
"In short, if the rebels come to their aid, we attack their tail; if they come to their aid, we attack their head. Like toying with a monkey, the rebels will be exhausted from their long journey. We'll ignore Chang'an and Luoyang for now and directly attack their hometown, Fanyang."
"When the rebels have no way to retreat, we'll annihilate all the rebel forces in the two capitals."
"After listening, Li Heng exclaimed, 'Excellent! We'll do as you say,' and things progressed smoothly. Guo Ziyi quickly captured Hedong County. Just as they were preparing to proceed with the second part of the plan, an unexpected event occurred: Emperor Li Heng changed his mind."
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: What kind of deadly scheme are you up to now!
"When Guo Ziyi captured Hedong County, thanks to Zhang Xun's previous efforts, the Jianghuai region had not fallen. Therefore, troops from Longyou, Hexi, and Anxi all arrived in Fengxiang, and even supplies and provisions fell into Li Heng's hands."
"Furthermore, Li Heng had just learned of the internal strife within the rebel army, which led to An Qingxu's rise to power."
"So Li Heng is extremely happy and self-satisfied now. He has money and manpower, so why would he need to attack the enemy's home base!"
"To this, I say that like father, like son; Li Heng has gotten arrogant!"
"Li Bi was furious when he found out! Wasn't it already agreed that if we didn't attack our hometown of Fanyang, the rebels would just escape back and come back again? What's the use of you recovering the two capitals now!"
"But the new big boss, Li Heng, doesn't believe it. Why can't we recover the two capitals now?!"
Li Bi explained once again, "Most of our soldiers come from the Northwest. They are not afraid of the cold but are afraid of the heat. If we attack the two capitals first, it will be hotter when we attack Fanyang, which will be disadvantageous for our army!"
"Li Heng refused repeatedly; he insisted on recovering the two capitals so his father could return sooner."
Li Mi of the Tang Dynasty: ……