Because the novel story " The Complete Story of Tang Dynasty " has been widely circulated among the people, Yu Chigong and Qin Qiong have become the most familiar golden partners in people's recognition. Their story of three whips for two maces in the novel has been sought after by many people, and they are also known as one of the representatives of Chinese door god culture. However, in real history, the historical status of Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong are very different. Not only are they not equally recognized by the common people, but their rankings on Tang Taizong Li Shimin's Lingyan Pavilion are also very different. Yuchi Gong ranked seventh in Lingyan Pavilion, and was the highest-ranked general above the military god Li Jing. However, Qin Qiong was ranked last in Lingyan Pavilion and was not at the same level as Yuchi Gong.
After actually reading the historical materials of the two books of the Tang Dynasty, many people find it difficult to believe that the two great gods who are juxtaposed in folklore actually have such a huge difference in historical status. Many people have asked this question, why are the two famous generals of the early Tang Dynasty so different? Why is Yuchi Gong ranked first among military generals in Lingyan Pavilion despite being far less qualified than Qin Qiong? In fact, the answers to these questions are in the history books. As long as you read the history books carefully and compare the experiences of the two people, you can see their differences. These differences also directly affected Tang Taizong Li Shimin's attitude towards them, which also affected their ranking in Lingyan Pavilion. Let's start from what happened in history and see the differences between these two famous generals in the early Tang Dynasty.
The life experiences of Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong are very familiar to history buffs. Both were famous generals who assisted Li Shimin in pacifying the troubled times in the late Sui Dynasty, and made great achievements in the process of unifying the world in the Tang Dynasty. Qin Qiong rose up under the command of Hu'er, a famous general in the Sui Dynasty. Later, he followed Zhang Xutuo to put down the chaos in Hebei, and participated in the siege of the Wagang Army. After being defeated by the Wagang Army, Qin Qiong successively sought refuge with the warlords of the separatist faction, such as Li Mi, Wang Shichong, etc. Finally, he took Cheng Yaojin and others to join Li Tang, and was appointed by Tang Gaozu Li Yuan to serve in Li Shimin's mansion. Since then, Qin Qiong has followed Li Shimin in all directions, participated in most of the wars to quell troubled times, and made great achievements. Among them, the Battle of Meiliangchuan was the battle in which Qin Qiong defeated Yuchi Gong, which was the prototype of three whips for two maces.
Yu Chigong defected to Li Tang much later than Qin Qiong. After Meiliangchuan was defeated by Qin Qiong, he followed Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang in the Battle of Baibi City. After the defeat, Wei Chigong retreated to Jiexiu and Yong'an counties. It was not until Li Shimin forced him into despair that he chose to surrender to the Tang army. Before the Battle of Meiliangchuan, Yuchi Gong had been a general in the Sui Dynasty and was once a Chaosan doctor. After Liu Wuzhou rebelled against the Sui Dynasty, Yuchi Gong joined him and actively participated in the battle against Li Tang until he surrendered after the defeat. It can be said that judging from his resume, Yuchi Gong not only defected to Li Tang later than Qin Qiong, but was also an enemy of Li Tang, so he should not receive too much attention. However, under Li Shimin, he was not squeezed out because he was a reduced general. Instead, he shined and became the number one general in Lingyan Pavilion.
Comparing the historical achievements of Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong, we can find that Yuchi Gong has a huge characteristic that other early Tang generals, including Li Jing, did not have. Based on various historical materials, Yuchi Gong was not only the most powerful general among Tang generals in single combat, but also the general who rescued Li Shimin the most times. As early as Li Shimin's war against the warlord Wang Shichong in Luoyang, Yuchi Gong had won Li Shimin's trust. During the break in the war, Li Shimin went hunting in Yuhu, but was attacked by tens of thousands of infantrymen sent by Wang Shichong. The leading general on Wang Shichong's side is the famous Shan Xiongxin, who is also known as the Flying General in the history books. As Li Shimin's bodyguard, Yu Chigong took the lead in defeating Shan Xiongxin, created a gap in the encirclement, and led Li Shimin to break out.
After Li Shimin retreated safely, Yuchi Gong led the remaining troops to fight back. Not only did he defeat Wang Shichong's army, he also captured more than 6,000 platoon soldiers, including general Chen Zhilue. This achievement of rescuing the enemy before the battle and counterattacking in danger immediately established Yuchi Gong's status in the Tang army and became one of the most relied-upon generals around Li Shimin. If single combat and charging into battle are the foundation for Yuchi Gong to gain a firm foothold, then his ranking first with Li Shimin in the Tang army established his historical status. There was a saying in the Tang Army at that time that Yuchi Gong was first in horse fighting, and Li Shimin was first in bows and arrows. This is a generally accepted evaluation. This was not only recognized by the Tang Dynasty army at that time, but also acknowledged by Li Shimin personally, and was proved by actual combat cases.
The incident occurred during Li Shimin's battle against Dou Jiande. At that time, Li Shimin planned to attack Dou Jiande's camp in Banzhu. He first arranged the troops of Li Ji, Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong and others to ambush, and then personally took Yuchi Gong to provoke. At that time, Dou Jiande sent out thousands of cavalry, Li Shimin shot arrows, and Yuchi Gong held a horse spear. The two fought and walked, guarding each other, and led the opponent into the encirclement. Li Shimin shot and killed several cavalrymen before and after, and Yuchi Gong also killed more than ten cavalrymen. This battle example profoundly shows the scene of Li Shimin and Yuchi Gong cooperating with each other to fight, which is unique in the history of the Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin was proud of his archery skills, so he naturally gave preferential treatment to Yuchi Gong, who was also famous. This also proved from the side that he did not rely on his subordinates to become emperor.
After that, Yu Chigong protected Li Shimin's safety in the battle against Liu Heita rebels and Xuanwumen Incident and protected him from being killed by the enemy. It can be said that he was Li Shimin's lifelong savior. Especially in the Xuanwumen Incident, Yuchi Gong can be said to be the first general to propose launching a mutiny, and his contribution can be tied with that of Lingyan Pavilion's No. 1 Changsun Wuji. It was Yu Chigong who first discovered that Li Yuanji wanted to take advantage of Kunming Pool 's farewell opportunity to murder Li Shimin, and informed Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji of the news. He and Changsun Wuji persuaded Li Shimin to act first. Li Shimin was hesitant and decided to launch the Xuanwumen incident after many persuasion. In the stage of preparing for the mutiny, it was Yuchi Gong who used his sword to force Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui into the Prince of Qin's Mansion, which made the rebellion successful.
During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Yuchi Gong led the cavalry to repel the troops led by Li Yuanji, and once again rescued Li Shimin when Li Shimin was chased by Li Yuanji. Then Yuchi Gong shot Li Yuanji, and used the heads of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji to disperse the reinforcements brought by their generals Xue Wanche , Xie Shufang , Feng Li . Even when facing Tang Gaozu Li Yuan, it was Yuchi Gong who came forward to explain the incident, forcing Li Yuan to issue an edict to grant the military power of the Tang Dynasty to Li Shimin. It can be said that Yuchi Gong played the most important role in the Xuanwu Gate Incident. Without his active promotion, Li Shimin would not be emperor. Therefore, after Li Shimin became the crown prince, Yuchi Gong was appointed as the crown prince's left guard leader, and was ranked as the top meritorious leader along with Changsun Wuji.
In addition to charging on the battlefield as a military general or performing meritorious service as Li Shimin's guard, Yu Chigong even assumed half of the responsibilities of a counselor. For example, when discussing how to deal with Li Jiancheng's subordinates and family property, Yuchi Gong expressed his opposition to the proposed implication policy, and advised Li Shimin to give a lighter punishment and adopt strategies to stabilize the overall political situation at the time. Later, after Li Shimin ascended the throne and became emperor, Yuchi Gong also made repeated admonitions, even at the expense of offending Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and others. It can be said that judging from historical records, Yuchi Gong was the most comprehensive general under Li Shimin. Not only was he able to assume the responsibilities of a general general in charging into battle, but he could also serve as a guard and counselor, and his achievements were far greater than Qin Qiong who simply led troops to charge.
In the early Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin had many famous generals, but not many of them could be completely trusted by him. Because Yu Chigong assumed the responsibility of guarding and was closer to Li Shimin, he had the opportunity of first-come-first-served.And he fully seized these opportunities, made great achievements in battle, and became one of Li Shimin's most trusted generals. Compared with Yuchi Gong, Qin Qiong is greatly inferior in all aspects. Although Qin Qiong's military exploits are outstanding, his combat methods are relatively simple, which cannot be compared with Yu Chigong. Not only did he not have the strategic command ability of Li Jing, he also had no ability to save the enemy, and he was not too close to Li Shimin. In the Xuanwu Gate Incident that determined the direction of history, Qin Qiong, as one of the participants, played a far greater role than Captain Bu, so his achievements naturally lagged behind.
When Li Shimin ordered Yan Liben to paint the picture of the Twenty-Four Heroes of Lingyan Pavilion, he carefully considered the ranking among them. As a relative, Changsun Wuji ranked first, and also ranked first among civil servants. This not only showed his attitude towards promoting civil servant politics, but also showed his closeness to the aristocratic family of Guanlong. In fact, in the ranking of Lingyan Pavilion, the six before Yu Chigong are not pure military generals. This is because Li Shimin values civilization more than military strategy. This can also be seen from his preference for King Wei Li Tai . The second ranked King of Hejian Li Xiaogong represents the Li Tang clan, and the third ranked Du Ruhui is the first of the eighteen bachelors of the original Qin Palace. These are the foundation of Li Shimin. Wei Zheng was fourth, Fang Xuanling was fifth, and Yuchi Gong was seventh, which shows that Li Shimin valued the rule of Zhenguan more than the military strategy of founding the country.
Li Shimin said personally that before Zhenguan, Fang Xuanling was the first in assisting, and after Zhenguan, Wei Zheng was the first, so he ranked Wei Zheng ahead of Li Shimin. Yuchi Gong's achievements are most reflected in Li Shimin's military strategy before he ascended the throne, so according to this logic, he can only be ranked behind Fang Xuanling. Li Shimin was an emperor who believed in people-centered politics. His greatest achievement in life was actually to block the pattern of clan politics since the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms, and to prevent the Tang Dynasty from falling into the historical cycle law of a short-lived dynasty. Both Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng were prime ministers who promoted people-oriented politics and restricted the nobility. Therefore, in terms of merit, both Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng were ranked above Yuchi Gong. Above Yu Chigong, there was Gao Shilian, who actually took advantage of his relatives. He was the uncle of Changsun Wuji and Queen Changsun.
Because Li Shimin placed the civil service achievements of the Zhenguan period above the military achievements before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the rankings of military generals are basically relatively low. Although Yuchi Gong was ranked seventh in Lingyan Pavilion, he was the highest ranked among the generals, surpassing the famous Duke of Wei Li Jing. Needless to say, Li Jing's military qualities and achievements are in history, but the relationship between him and Li Shimin has always been aloof. Later scholars believed that both men were the most outstanding military strategists in the early Tang Dynasty, and Li Shimin also admitted that Li Jing's military command ability was superior to his. But Li Jing was not from Li Shimin's Qin Palace, so he was ranked lower than Captain. Although Li Shimin is known as the emperor of the ages, he is still nepotistic when it comes to merit and rewards. In his heart, the savior must be more than the military god.
In summary, due to various considerations, Li Shimin placed Yuchi Gong at the seventh position in Lingyan Pavilion, surpassing Li Jing, who ranked first in military merit, and became the highest-ranked general. Compared with Yuchi Gong, Qin Qiong's achievements were not only concentrated in the war before Li Shimin ascended the throne, but also were relatively simple charges and battles, so they cannot be compared with Yuchi Gong at all.
Unlike Yu Chigong, who played a great role in guarding and saving lives and the Xuanwu Gate incident, he was not able to advise Li Shimin, so he could only be ranked last in Lingyan Pavilion. As one of the few prosperous dynasties in ancient China, being able to draw on the Lingyan Pavilion of the Tang Dynasty, whether first or last, was the dream of civil and military ministers. Although Qin Qiong is less respectful than Captain Bu in all aspects, he is still famous in history.
