1. Yang Guozhong was dissolute and dissolute, and was despised for his addiction to alcohol and gambling.
Yang Guozhong was dissolute when he was young, addicted to alcohol and gambling, and was despised by his relatives. At the age of thirty, he went to Xichuan to join the army. He was engaged in farming work and achieved outstanding results, and was awarded the title of Xindu County Lieutenant. After his term of office expired, Yang Guozhong became even poorer and had to rely on Xianyu Zhongtong, a powerful man in Shu, and later served as a lieutenant in Fufeng County. In the fourth year of Tianbao (745), Yang Guozhong's sister Yang Yuhuan was registered as a noble concubine. She and her three sisters became increasingly favored. Jiannan Jiedushi envoy Zhangqiu Jianqiong was at odds with Prime Minister Li Linfu, so he sent Xianyu Zhongtong to Chang'an to seek help from the Yang family.
2. Yang Guozhong introduced Xuanzong. Xuanzong appointed Jinwu as a guard
Xianyu Zhongtong, but recommended Yang Guozhong to Zhangchou Jianqiong. Zhangchou Jianqiong saw that Yang Guozhong was tall, so he recruited him as a military official, asked him to pay tribute to Chang'an, and gave away millions of Shu goods. After arriving in Chang'an, Yang Guozhong distributed the local specialties to the Yang sisters one by one and said that they were gifts from Zhangchou Jianqiong. Therefore, the Yang sisters often spoke kindly for Yang Guozhong and Zhangchou Jianqiong in front of Xuanzong, and introduced Yang Guozhong to Xuanzong, who appointed him as Cao Shenjun, the guard of Youjinwu. From then on, Yang Guozhong could go in and out of the forbidden area at will with the enshrining officials.
3. Yang Guozhong was deeply favored by the emperor and curried favor with the powerful minister Li Linfu
Yang Guozhong relied on Yang Guifei and the Yang sisters to be favored, and carefully served Xuanzong. In the imperial court, he curried favor with the powerful official Li Linfu. In June of the seventh year of the Tianbao reign (748), Yang Guozhong was promoted to the position of Wailang, a member of the imperial branch, and also served as the censor. In less than a year, he served as fifteen envoys and became an important minister of the imperial court. In February of the eighth year of Tianbao (749), Yang Guozhong, who was then a member of the Duzhi Committee and a special judge of Duzhi, asked various localities to turn the accumulated grain into light goods and send it to the capital to replenish the treasury. All were replaced with and to enrich the emperor's inventory.
4. Yang Guozhong requested to change his name, and Xuanzong gave him the name Guozhong
. In the second year, Xuanzong summoned hundreds of officials to view Zuozangtang. The goods and coins were piled up like mountains. In the tenth month of Tianbao's ninth year, Yang Guozhong requested to change his name to show his loyalty, and Xuanzong gave him the name "Guozhong". With his promotion in status, Yang Guozhong's life has become luxurious and corrupt. Whenever they accompany Xuanzong and Concubine Yang to the Huaqing Palace, the Yang sisters always gather at Yang Guozhong's house to compete in decorating carriages and horses. They decorated it with gold and jade, as well as pearls and jade. When traveling, Yang Guozhong also held the banner of the Jiannan Jiedushi in front to show off his power.
5. Yang Guozhong brought trouble to the government and forged military exploits to report to the court. In April of Tianbao's tenth year, Yang Guozhong recommended Xian Yu Zhongtong as the general and led the army to attack Nanzhao. but failed, so he forged military exploits and reported to the imperial court. The historians hated Yang Guozhong extremely and exaggerated the losses in the Tang Dynasty. Xianyu Zhongtong's army was less than 30,000, and the losses were less than 30,000, which was exaggerated to the loss of 60,000. Xian Yu Zhongtong failed, Yang Guozhong ordered to recruit troops from , Beijing, and northern Henan to conquer Nanzhao. People heard that Nanzhao was plagued by miasma, and that eight or nine out of ten soldiers would die from miasma before a battle, so no one was willing to apply. Yang Guozhong sent the censor to capture the people and force them to the military base.
6. Xuanzong alienated Li Linfu, and Li Linfu became an enemy of the country.
Long before the conquest of Nanzhao, the elite troops and generals of the Tang Dynasty had long been concentrated in Anxi, Beiting, Hexi, Longyou, In places like Shuofang and Jiannan, there are no elite troops of the Tang Dynasty. The two capitals and the north of Henan are unarmed and have almost no troops. After the failure of , Yang Guozhong recruited civilians from the two capitals and northern Henan to form an army to fight against Nanzhao. In May of the 11th year of Tianbao's reign, Wang He was framed to death by Yang Guozhong, and Wang's power returned to Yang Guozhong. He used the Xingyi case to implicate Li Linfu, and asked his brother Shu Han to testify. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty alienated Li Linfu, and Yang Guozhong Zhong and Li Linfu are enemies.
7. Yang Guozhong was promoted to prime minister and served as forty envoys.
In November of the eleventh year of Tianbao (752), Li Linfu died. Xuanzong appointed Yang Guozhong as the right prime minister and the minister of the Ministry of Education. The envoys remained as usual. Yang Guozhong waited for the imperial censor to be promoted to the prime minister, and served as more than forty envoys. In the twelfth year of Tianbao (753 years), Yang Guozhong's cronies Jing Zhaoyin Xian Yu Zhongtong, Zhongshu Sheren Dou Hua, Shi Yushi Zheng Ang and others selected people and asked Xuanzong to erect a monument for Yang Guozhong at the provincial gate to praise him. There is "merit" in selecting officials. Xuanzong asked Xianyu Zhongtong to draft the inscription and personally modified a few words. In order to flatter Yang Guozhong, Xianyu Zhongtong filled in these words with gold.
8. Unaccepted by the miasma, the entire army of the Tang Dynasty was annihilated
In the twelfth year of Tianbao (753 years), Guanzhong suffered from floods and severe famine. Xuanzong was worried that it would damage the crops, so Yang Guozhong asked someone to show the good crops to Xuanzong, and Xuanzong believed it. There was a flood in Fufeng, but no one dared to report the truth. In June of the thirteenth year of Tianbao, Yang Guozhong adopted the strategy of flanking Nanzhao on both sides. He sent Li Mi to attack Nanzhao, and sent troops from Annan Protectorate to attack Nanzhao from the southeast. Due to the strategy adopted by Nanzhao to lure the enemy deep into the city, the Tang army was led to Nanzhao's capital city of Yamato and stayed behind closed doors without fighting. In addition, the Tang army traveled a long distance, lacked food and grass, suffered from miasma and epidemics, and was not acclimated to the soil and water. As a result, the Tang army was completely destroyed.
9. Yang Guozhong covered up his defeat again and still forged a good report to the court.
Yang Guozhong covered up his defeat again and still forged a good report to the court. Historians exaggerated the losses of the Tang Dynasty, writing that Li Mi died in Nanzhao, and exaggerated the number of losses to 70,000, 100,000, and other various theories. The actual number of losses in the Tang Dynasty was much less than this number, and Gao Shi's " Li Yunnan's Conquest of the Barbarians " records that Li Mi returned to Chang'an after conquering Nanzhao, "returned to Chang'an Road and summoned Ganquan Palace." In the end, the two Tianbao wars ended with the victory of Nanzhao. Nanzhao not only betrayed the Tang Dynasty and took refuge in Tubo, but also surrendered the surrounding Xunchuan barbarians and Piao state , and took the opportunity to advance northward and occupy Jiannan's Yizhou and Lizhou .
10. An Lushan cannot be subdued, saying that An Lushan is ambitious
Yang Guozhong and An Lushan were both upstarts in during the Tianbao period, and were also favored by Xuanzong. An Lushan was afraid of Li Linfu and looked down upon Yang Guozhong. Yang Guozhong could not subdue An Lushan, so he often told Xuanzong that Anlushan had rebellion ambitions, but Xuanzong thought it was a disagreement between the general and the prime minister. Yang Guozhong asked the governor of Longyou, Ge Shuhan, to serve as the governor of Hexi in order to exclude and contain An Lushan. In the thirteenth year of Tianbao (754 years), Xuanzong summoned An Lushan to the court to test whether he had any intention of rebellion. Concubine Yang had tipped off the news, so she took advantage of the situation and pretended to tell Xuanzong her "sincere heart" to win Xuanzong's trust even more.
11. After Yang Guozhong became prime minister, officials became corrupt
and made An Lushan the prime minister (plus (Tong Pingzhangshi), Yang Guozhong knew this and immediately dissuaded him: "Although An Lushan has military merits, he is illiterate, how can he be the prime minister. If he is issued a book, I am afraid that all barbarians will despise the imperial court." Xuanzong had to give up, An Lushan was appointed as Zuopushe. At this point, the conflicts between An Lushan, Yang Guozhong and the Tang Dynasty became more acute and intense, so much so that rebellion was about to break out. In addition, after Yang Guozhong became prime minister, official corruption, political corruption, and public resentment boiled over. Finally, in November of the 14th year of Tianbao, An Lushan launched a rebellion in the name of crusade against Yang Guozhong, in order to seize the throne.
12. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty went on a personal expedition, and Yang Guozhong was very panic
In November of the 14th year of Tianbao (755), after An Lushan rebelled, Xuanzong summoned the prime ministers to discuss countermeasures. Yang Guozhong said that An Lushan was the only one who rebelled, and the generals and The soldiers did not want to rebel, so they must send An Lushan's head to Chang'an. Xuanzong believed it, and the ministers looked at each other in shock. As Anlushan's rebellion became increasingly serious, Xuanzong planned to go on a personal expedition and ordered the prince to stay behind and take charge of state affairs. He also announced the matter in the court. Yang Guozhong was very panicked and called Han Guo, Guo , and Qin . The wife persuaded Concubine Yang to ask the emperor to stop her, and the matter was dropped.
13. Yang Guozhong fanned the flames and asked the Tang army to leave Tongguan
Brother Shuhan led his troops to guard Tongguan, and the rebels were not allowed to enter for a long time. At that time, the situation was also developing in a direction that was conducive to the victory of the Tang army. Good news came from various places frequently, which made Tang Xuanzong full of confidence in victory. Yang Guozhong kept fanning the flames and asked the Tang army to go out of Tongguan to fight the rebels. Tang Xuanzong listened to Yang Guozhong's slander, and Tongguan fell, Ge Shuhan was captured, and the defense envoys from Hedong, Huayin, Feng Yi, and Shangluo all abandoned their counties and fled. The defenders in each county were scattered, and the battlefield situation changed drastically. And down.
14. The rebellion was caused by national loyalty. Killing can stop the rebellion
In June of Tianbao's fifteenth year (756), the rebels captured Tongguan and Chang'an was in danger. Xuanzong decided to flee to Sichuan for refuge. When they reached Maweiyi (today's Xingping County, Shaanxi Province), the soldiers were tired and hungry, and the weather was hot, so they refused to move forward. At this time, Yang Guozhong's political opponents Prince Li Heng, eunuch Li Fuguo and Chen Xuanli agreed that the time was ripe to remove Yang Guozhong. Then Chen Xuanli came forward to incite the soldiers, saying that the rebellion was all caused by Yang Guozhong, and that killing Yang Guozhong would end the rebellion.
15. Yang Guozhong fled into the west gate and was hacked to death by the sergeants.
At this time, more than 20 Tibetan envoys blocked Yang Guozhong's horse's head outside the west gate of the post station and begged him for food. The enraged soldiers immediately stepped forward and surrounded them, shouting: "Yang Guozhong is rebelling with Tubo!" Yang Guozhong cursed everyone for wanting to imitate An Lushan in rebellion. The soldiers replied: "You are the national traitor, who else can you say?" ?" At this time, the Forbidden Army cavalry Zhang Xiaojing stepped forward and shot his saddle with an arrow. Yang Guozhong fled into the west gate, and the sergeants swarmed in and hacked him to death (one theory is that Zhang Xiaojing shot Yang Guozhong to death on the spot, beheaded and quartered his body).
16. The chief culprit of Anlushan was Yang Guozhong, who was not a good person.
The ministers in the court knew that Anlushan would rebel, but Tang Xuanzong did not believe it. There were three people who were most favored at that time, namely Yang Guifei in the harem, Yang Guozhong in the court, and An Lushan, the military governor of the three towns outside. An Lushan was the chief culprit of the Anshi Rebellion, but Yang Guozhong was not a good person either. The key was that these two people were not very good at dealing with each other. Yang Guozhong was also one of the first people to discover that Anlushan had objections, so he kept telling Xuanzong that Anlushan would have dinner, but Xuanzong still didn't believe it.
17. Without Tang Xuanzong’s order, nothing could be done to An Lushan.
Yang Guozhong simply forced An Lushan to rebel. Unfortunately, Yang Guozhong got away with it and cost himself and Yang Guifei their lives. Yang Guozhong wanted to overthrow Anlushan, but Anlushan was not in the court. Without orders from Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, he could not do anything to Anlushan. Yang Guozhong said that if His Majesty An Lushan summons him, he will definitely not dare to come. Xuanzong issued an edict and An Lushan came to Chang'an. As soon as he saw Xuanzong, An Lushan burst into tears and told him that he was just a humble barbarian. Thanks to his majesty's favor, he had his noble status today. He treated his majesty as his reborn parent. How could he rebel? It's all because of Yang Guozhong's jealousy that there are such rumors. I don't know when I will die in his hands.
18. An Lushan became prime minister, and the Anshi Rebellion would not have broken out.
Xuanzong saw that An Lushan not only came, but also made such a gesture, and felt sorry for him, so he rewarded An Lushan with a lot of property, and also wanted to Promote him to prime minister. When Yang Guozhong heard this, he thought this was not possible. In fact, if An Lushan had become prime minister, the Anshi Rebellion would not have broken out. Yang Guozhong ruined this matter and made An Lushan understand that as long as Yang Guozhong remained favored by Xuanzong, he might one day die under his slander. An Lushan asked Xuanzong for some blank letters of appointment to promote his subordinates. This is completely using the court's kindness to win over people's hearts.
19. Fan generals replaced the Han generals and agreed without thinking
An Lushan left to prepare for his rebellion. Yang Guozhong continued to eradicate dissidents in the court and monopolize the court. And Xuanzong is also old. Maybe he also realizes that An Lushan and Yang Guozhong are not as good as he thought, but he doesn't want to do anything. He just wants to live in dreams and die in these last days, living in the dream of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Afterwards, An Lushan suggested to Xuanzong that thirty-two generals should be used to replace the Han generals. Xuanzong agreed without thinking. Yang Guozhong strongly opposed it and said that An Lushan's rebellion had been exposed. He suggested that Xuanzong promote him openly and secretly and let him become the prime minister in order to relieve his military power.
20. Just force An Lushan to rebel. Xuanzong knew he was right.
But at this time, Xuanzong didn’t believe that An Lushan would rebel. It was you who refused to make An Lushan the prime minister, and you are the one who did now. , the emperor might as well let you do it. In the fourteenth year of Tianbao, An Lushan could no longer sit still and no longer respected the imperial court as before. He did not even want to see the imperial ministers sent by the imperial court. After the imperial envoy Pei Shiyan returned to Chang'an, he immediately reported the strange situation in Anlu Mountain to Xuanzong. However, Yang Guozhong thought that the time had come, so he simply forced An Lushan to rebel, so that Xuanzong would know that what he said was right.
21. Surrounding the residence of the capital, all the guests were executed in secret
Yang Guozhong surrounded the residence of the capital Anlushan, and all the guests were executed in secret. Anqingzong reported the matter secretly to Anlushan, and Anlushan made up his mind to raise troops. When the news of An Lushan's revolt reached the capital, Xuanzong was visiting Lishan Mountain. He did not believe the news at all and thought it was a frame-up by others. But Yang Guozhong was very proud, what he said was right! He also believed that An Lushan's rebellion would soon be extinguished, and An Lushan's head would be sent to the capital. But he thought wrongly. An Lushan's revolt was not the starting point for him to reach the peak of power, but the beginning of the end of his life.
22. When Li Linfu was in power, Anlushan was as fearful as a tiger
The Anlushan Meeting was only a matter of time, but it was most likely after Xuanzong's death. An Lushan was still grateful for Xuanzong's kindness. He was already the military governor of the three towns and had offended many people in the court, including the prince. As long as Xuanzong dies, his end will come, but as long as Xuanzong still favors him, he will not risk his life to rebel. However, due to Yang Guozhong's coquettish operation, An Lushan was directly forced to rebel. Compared with Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong is still too young. When Li Linfu was in power, An Lushan was as fearful as a tiger and did not dare to have any objections.
23. Yang Guozhong’s ability was too low, and An Lushan was forced to rebel.
The treacherous prime minister Yang Guozhong, how did he drive An Lushan into a panic? It can only be said that Yang Guozhong's political ability was too low, which eventually forced An Lushan to rebel. Although Li Linfu was also a traitor before Yang Guozhong, he was able to suppress An Lushan. When Yang Guozhong took over, An Lushan was forced to rebel in advance. Yang Guozhong’s path to success Yang Guozhong is Yang Guifei’s brother. His early career path was not closely related to Yang Guifei. However, in the later period of Yang Guozhong's career, the role of Concubine Yang cannot be underestimated.
24. Rely on Yang Guifei to make a fortune, and then fight against Li Linfu
Before Yang Guozhong became famous, he was a rogue. Qiu Jianqiong, the envoy of Jiannan Festival, gave Yang Guozhong a large sum of money and sent him to Chang'an to become an official. Because Qiu Jianqiong and Li Linfu didn't get along, he thought that Yang Guozhong could rely on Yang Guifei to make a fortune and then fight against Li Linfu. After that, Yang Guozhong began to gradually move closer to the center of power.Although Yang Guozhong was a jerk when he was young, he also had real abilities. He himself was good at financial management, and this ability won the appreciation of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. Coupled with his relationship with Concubine Yang, he naturally received special care.
25. Guozhong went to Li Linfu to deal with the prince Li Heng.
Guozhong came to worship a little bit, and often came out later. He specialized in Bo Bo, calculated hook paintings, and divided the baht accurately. The emperor (Tang Xuanzong) said with joy: "Du Zhi Langcaiye. "Leiqian supervises the censor. At this time, the treacherous prime minister Li Linfu was in power, so Yang Guozhong took refuge with him and together they dealt with the prince Li Heng, even jeopardizing the prince's position for a time. Yang Guozhong was very good at observing words and emotions, and he won the favor of Li Linfu and Tang Xuanzong in the early stage. Only later, due to the struggle for power, Yang Guozhong began to have conflicts with Li Linfu.
26. Yang Guozhong fanned the flames, and An Lushan was wily and calculating.
Yang Guozhong and Yang Guifei could not defeat Li Linfu. Later, Li Linfu died of illness and Yang Guozhong became prime minister. Concubine Yang played a great role. In order to show his intelligence and ability, Yang Guozhong began to vigorously expose An Lushan's rebellion. An Lushan was favored by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty at this time, and no one dared to expose his rebellion. Yang Guozhong was not promoted by Yang Guozhong because An Lushan was not of his own faction. Moreover, in order to show his ability in front of Tang Xuanzong and relying on Tang Xuanzong's favor for Yang Guifei, Yang Guozhong began to spare no effort to expose An Lushan.
Twenty-seven, caught off guard and raised the flag to rebel, nominally killing the traitor
Lushan returned to Youzhou , realizing that the country was loyal to oneself, the rebellion was carried out. Yang Guozhong's next actions further stimulated An Lushan. Yang Guozhong sent people to hunt down Li Chao, An Dai and others, and An Lushan wrote a letter to Tang Xuanzong to defend himself. Tang Xuanzong listened to An Lushan's words and did not arouse alarm. The country is loyal, resourceful and impetuous, and it is not enough to say that Lushan is domineering, so if it angers the envoys, they will rebel in order to gain the emperor's trust. Yang Guozhong thought that he had not angered An Lushan, so he worked harder to mention An Lushan's rebellion in front of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. In the end, An Lushan was afraid of being caught off guard, so he raised a flag to rebel, nominally to kill the traitor Yang Guozhong.
28. Sergeant Maweipo mutinied, and Yang Guozhong's head was missing.
Yang Guozhong was complacent to show that his previous remarks were correct. But he did not take measures to quell the rebellion, nor did he take any precautions in advance. Therefore, he could only follow Tang Xuanzong and flee to Sichuan in a hurry. Finally, in front of Mawei Slope, the sergeants mutinied, and Yang Guifei, Yang Guozhong and their families were all killed. It turned out that there were rumors that although An Lushan had been rebellious for a long time, because Tang Xuanzong treated him favorably, An Lushan originally wanted to wait until Tang Xuanzong died before rebelling. But he couldn't help but Yang Guozhong repeatedly said bad things about him, and was forced to launch a rebellion in advance.
29. Doing nothing to eliminate dissenters, knowing full well that there is no preparation for rebellion
I think that the reason why the history books record it this way is just to excuse Tang Xuanzong. An Lushan would naturally rebel when he was well prepared, and Yang Guozhong only accelerated the pace of An Lushan's rebellion. An Lushan claimed to kill Yang Guozhong, and the sergeants mutinied and killed Yang Guozhong, but they were actually looking for a scapegoat. However, Yang Guozhong did nothing during his reign, excluding dissidents and appointing private individuals. He knew that An Lushan was going to rebel but was not prepared at all. The final blame will naturally fall on him.
