In 653 AD, Tang Gaozong Li Zhi's fourth year on the throne, on March 16, a fierce man showed no fear in the face of the executioner. He untied his collar and shouted to the executioner: "Behead me urgently!" The executioner He was frightened, the sword was weak, and the first cut was not accurate. He yelled again: "Why not use more force!" The executioner was trembling and cut three times in a row before decapitating his head. What a good man!
He is the famous general Xue Wanche in the early Tang Dynasty. Tang Taizong once commented "The only famous generals today are Li Ji, Jiangxia Wang Daozong and Wan Che" . He was ordered by Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty because he was implicated in Fang Yiai's rebellion put to death. A generation of famous generals died in this way. The evidence that he was implicated in rebellion was not conclusive as Hou Junji participated in the prince Li Chengqian 's rebellion. The circumstances of his case were confusing and there was no evidence, and it was most likely that he died unjustly. So he is in a high position and is the Prince Consort, so how did he get to this point?
Xue Wanche's stills
He has made great achievements in battle, but he is generous.
Xue Wanche, JingzhaoXianyang, was born as a general. His father was Sui DynastyZuo Yuwei GeneralXue Shixiong. In 617 AD, he and his brother Xue Wanjun returned to Li Yuan together with Zhuozhou defender Luo Yi of the Sui Dynasty Zhuozhou . His subsequent career in the Tang army was brilliant and he had numerous military exploits: he defeated Dou Jiande , defeated Turks , Conquered Tuyuhun , defeated Xue Yantuo , and conquered Goguryeo . Not only was he promoted to General Youwuwei and Duke Wu'an due to his meritorious service, but Emperor Taizong also betrothed his sister Princess Danyang to him.
He even made a joke about this: In 644 AD, when Xue Wanche was serving as General Zuowei, after Tang Taizong married his sister to him, the princess was unwilling to sit with him at the same table. "Old Book of Tang" said, " Wanche was so stupid. The princess was so shy that she refused to sit with her seatmate for several months.”. In the end, it was Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty who settled the family conflicts for him. He held a banquet and summoned all the princes-in-law into the palace. " He held the sword that was worn by Zhang Gambling. The sun was too strong, so he gave it to him. The princess was happy, and she was destined to return home with the same sword." , Taizong bet in a wrestling game and deliberately lost to Xue Wanche. Princess Danyang saw how powerful her husband was and happily went home with him.
From this anecdote, it can also be seen that Xue Wanche is a martial artist who does not understand the relationship between husband and wife and cannot even handle his wife. In fact, Xue Wanche's final death was also related to his warrior character. He had no political acumen and twice stood in the wrong team, but he was also careless and made trouble come out of his mouth, which ultimately led to a bad death.
has no political acumen and stood on the wrong team twice.
The first time Xue Wanche stood on the wrong team was during the Xuanwumen Incident. After the Tang Dynasty unified the world, he chose to side with the prince Li Jiancheng. Because of his bravery, he was attracted by Li Jiancheng as a confidant. In 626 AD, Li Shimin launched a coup and led Yuchi Gong and others to ambush the Xuanwu Gate and attacked and killed Prince Li Jiancheng and Qi King Li Yuanji. Hearing that the prince was attacked, Xue Wanche and Donggong Yiwei Chariot General Feng Li, Qu Shizhi Zhifu Zuo Chaqi Xie Shufang led 2,000 elite troops from the East Palace and Prince Qi's Mansion to come to the rescue. He led his troops to storm the Xuanwu Gate, but even Yuchi Gong did not dare to fight him. The soldiers guarding the gate fought tooth and nail to defend. Seeing that he could not hold off for a long time, he changed his target and attacked Li Shimin's residence, the Prince of Qin's Mansion. The officers and soldiers of the Prince of Qin's Mansion were shocked when they heard the news.
If Yuchi Gong hadn't arrived in time with the heads of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji and the edict of Tang Gaozu reproaching Jiancheng and Yuanji, the Qin Palace might have been breached. After seeing the master's head and the emperor's edict, all the soldiers in the East Palace and Prince Qi's Mansion immediately dispersed. Feng Li and Xie Shufang surrendered to Li Shimin, while Xue Wanche hid for fear of being punished. Li Shimin valued his military ability and sent people to appease him many times, saying "These are all loyal to what they do, and they are righteous men" before he came out to apologize and surrender. Li Shimin is worthy of being a sage of a generation. If he were replaced by and Zhu Yuanzhang , he would have moved his head long ago.
Xue Wanche stills
The second time he stood on the wrong team was during the succession of Tang Gaozong and Li Zhigang. At that time, 's eldest son Wuji and Chu Suiliang were becoming more and more powerful. Because Li Zhi had experienced a cruel struggle to seize the right to inherit the throne, he was worried that his throne would be unstable, and he was also wary of the Li clan. At this time, Xue Wanche had two ways to protect himself, either to move closer to Li Zhi and Changsun Wuji, or to learn from Li Jiming's wise words to protect himself. Li Ji and Changsun Wuji were both the ministers of Gu Ming left by Li Shimin to Li Zhi, but Li Ji saw the situation smartly. In the second year of Li Zhi's succession (650 AD), he petitioned to be relieved of his post as a servant and stay away from him. into the political whirlpool.
Xue Wanche did not have such political acumen. He relied on his military exploits and identity as the prince-in-law and still went his own way. So in the 23rd year of Yonghui , he was falsely accused by Fang Yiai, implicated in a rebellion case, and died in the execution ground. His brothers Xue Wanshu and Xue Wanbei were also exiled to Jiaozhou.
A fierce general who is adept at martial arts, but has no city government.
In 648 AD, when he led troops to conquer Goguryeo, someone wrote a letter against him. After the class teacher returned to Beijing, Li Shimin said to him: "The person who wrote the letter commented on your discord with the generals. I recorded my merits and neglected my faults, so I will not offend you." After Li Shimin reminded him, he burned the letter of complaint, but Xue Wanche was so reckless. The general obviously did not understand what Li Shimin meant, and still did not know how to restrain himself. Not long after, his deputy general Pei Xingfang reported that he had complaints against the court, so he was dismissed by Li Shimin and exiled to Xiangzhou. "Old Tang Book. Biography of Xue Wanche" records: Pei Xing, who was the deputy general and right-guard general, expressed his resentment in dialect, so the court examined him and Wanche resigned. The British Duke Li Jijin said: "Wan Che is a general, and he is only his master's son-in-law. If he expresses resentment, he will not be punished." Because he was removed from his post and moved to the border, he would be pardoned and returned.
This was the first severe lesson for him for being unable to keep his mouth shut. He finally came back after receiving an amnesty, but Xue Wanche still made no progress. In 652 AD, after Xue Wanche returned to Beijing, he became good friends with Fang Yiai, the son of Fang Xuanling , and it was inevitable for relatives and friends to chat among themselves. "Old Book of Tang" says "When I entered the court, I paid money to Yiai for his house. Because he said to Yiai, "Although I am suffering from leg pain and sitting in the capital, people still dare not move." Yiai said to Wanche, "Gong If the country changes, I will take the lead with Prince Jing Yuanjing. '" It was originally a gossip among relatives. Xue Wanche's original intention may be just to promote himself and take credit for himself: Although I have a foot disease and some inconveniences, I am in court. Although my dignity is still there, others are still afraid of me. (As for Fang Yiai, the author has analyzed it in the previous article "The Fog of Fang Yiai's Rebellion Case". It is most likely a fabrication, because even if they want to support a new king, Li Yuanjing is not the best candidate. If Fang Yiai continues to If you don’t know this at all, why are you rebelling?)
Changsun Wuji and Li Zhi originally planned to use the Yiai incident to attack their political opponents, but Xue Wanche’s words were naturally regarded as evidence of his participation in the rebellion, which truly confirmed it. "Misfortune comes from the mouth". Of course Xue Wanche did not admit to treason. The "Old Book of Tang" said that "Wan Che would not be able to ambush", but he could not bear to be bitten by Yiai, so he had no choice but to kill him.
Xue Wanche stills
Summary
Although Xue Wanche was brave, he was brave, but he had no power. Li Shimin once commented on him "Li Ji and Daozong cannot win a big victory, nor are they defeated; Wan Che is not a big victory, that is, "Defeat" , which means that he has no strategy in fighting and relies solely on force. If he succeeds, he will win, but if he fails, he will lose. Therefore, he basically fought as a second-in-command in the charge throughout his life, and never as a commander-in-chief. Soldiers fought in battles. He is like Liang Shanhei Li Kui , a brave and brainless person, lacking political vision and no political sense. Unfortunately, he can't control his mouth and is a straight man.Although his death left an image of a macho man in the world, his death was also due to his character! Meeting Li Shimin was his blessing, meeting Li Zhi was inevitable for him!
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