Qu Tutong was from Xianbei. In fact, his ancestors were from Zahu, a small tribe in Beihu. Later, they attached themselves to the Murong clan and gradually integrated into the Xianbei tribe.
It can be said that Qu Tutong has no family background. His father, Qu Tutong, was a minister in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. He was not a high-ranking official and did not have any named ancestors.
Because Xianbei became powerful during the war at the end of the Jin Dynasty, their family gradually became a common people. They were close to being a member of the family, but they were far away from entering the palace.
But Qu Tutong himself was very extraordinary. He could be said to be a rare strategic master among the generals in the late Sui Dynasty. His previous performance was not outstanding. It can only be said that the stars of the Sui Dynasty were shining, and he could not be distinguished.
Moreover, Qu Tutong served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard in the last years of Emperor Kaihuang's reign. He patrolled the world on behalf of the emperor and dealt with many guilty officials. This left a too deep impression on people, and his talent in leading troops could not be fully demonstrated.
What's even more interesting is that his younger brother Qu Tugai was serving as the Chang'an Order at the time, and he was also cruel and ruthless, making people fear him very much.
So people at that time had a rumor, "It is better to eat three measures of mugwort than to see Qu Tu Gai; it is better to eat three measures of green onions than to see Qu Tu Tong."
It can be seen that the two brothers have offended many people.
Qu Tu Gai died early, and Qu Tu Tong was nearly sixty years old at this time. He led the northwest army with the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and was under the control of Qi King Li Yuanji. His position was very similar to that of Yu Wenxin.
At this time, Qu Tugai had been struggling in the wars of the late Sui Dynasty for a long time. He had led troops to quell Yang Xuangan's rebellion, served as the ambassador to Guanzhong for arrests, suppressed peasant uprisings, and led troops to fight Li Yuan...
His characteristics of leading troops have gradually become clearer. His strategic layout is almost impeccable. Although he has no great achievements, he can make his opponents very uncomfortable.
Like when I tried to dissuade Li Yuanji, my meaning was very clear.
Even if Liang Shidu is defeated, it will not be able to completely eliminate Liang Shidu's troubles with Li Gui watching, and an easy advance will most likely give enemies on all sides an opportunity to take advantage of them.
In fact, by this time, Qu Tutong was already very dissatisfied with Qi Wang Li Yuanji. In his opinion, the prince who once easily lost Jinyang Jiancheng was too reckless.
After taking office, he first began to clean up the old troops of the King of Qin. For example, Chu Liang, who was very familiar with the terrain and people's conditions in the northwest, was driven away by him. The reason given was also very ridiculous, because Chu Liang was a descendant of Xue Ju and was related to the tribes in the northwest.
The collusion is deep and their intentions are unpredictable, and if they remain, there will be future troubles.
Damn it, if you put it this way, can you deal with so many surrendered people in the Tang Army in the northwest?
If Qu Tutong hadn't wiped Li Yuanji's butt so quickly, Li Yuanji might have been able to cleanse all the people. At this moment, he would have to personally lead the troops to aid Lingzhou.
Qu Tutong gave some advice, but seeing that Li Yuanji didn't take it seriously, he strictly ordered all the troops not to leave the defense line without permission. What he did was much more ruthless than Yu Wenxin. He was senior and served as the Minister of the Ministry of War. He used the army without much effort.
The lieutenant general was dissatisfied with Li Yuanji and held Li Yuanji in the air.
Immediately, Qu Tutong ordered his confidants to rush back to Chang'an and sue Li Yuanji severely in front of Li Yuan.
When Li Yuan heard about this, he was naturally furious. What Li Yuanji caused was a replica of the Jinyang Incident. Li Yuan imagined the scene of corruption in the northwest. He was so frightened that he did not hesitate at all, and immediately ordered someone to recruit Li Yuanji.
Return to Beijing.
Li Yuan was restless here for a long time. Before Li Yuanji could return to Chang'an, something happened again in Shu.
Yin Kaishan, the Minister of War, was lying in ambush and was hit by a stray arrow. He almost lost his life. Liu Hongji and others could not fight for a long time. Now Yin Kaishan was seriously injured and his anger gradually became stronger.
They sent letters to Chang'an one after another, attacking Li Xiaogong for leading the army. Their intention was very clear, and they wanted to replace Qin King Li Shimin to lead the army in Shu.
In fact, General Zuo Yiwei and Prince Consort Chai Shao did not play any good role here.
He had previously conquered Xue Ju from King Qin Li Shimin and had made many military exploits. He had a good relationship with the old troops of King Qin. At the same time, his reputation for being brave and good at fighting spread among the northwest army.
It can be said that this guy really lives up to his name. He is strong, tenacious and indomitable. Among the Northwest Army, apart from Li Shimin's Xuanjia Army, he is the most brave and daring to fight.
But after Chai Shao led his army into Shu to reinforce Li Xiaogong, he felt that his hands were tied and he became increasingly dissatisfied with Li Xiaogong, the king of Zhao County. When Yin Kaishan, whom Li Xiaogong relied on as his arm, was seriously injured in bed, Chai Shao felt that an opportunity had come, so he petitioned the old men of the King of Qin to submit a letter
Speech.
He felt that his brother-in-law Li Shimin was currently in a stalemate with the traitor Li Ding'an and would definitely not be able to come to Shuzhong. So if Li Xiaogong was really moved down, wouldn't he, as the consort, be able to aspire to the throne?
Obviously, the prince-in-law has noticed his father-in-law's management skills.
Chai Shao had a good idea, but because Xiao Xian divided his troops, his offensive in Shuzhong also weakened, which indeed gave the Tang army an opportunity for internal strife, but Li Yuan trusted Li Xiaogong very much.
He also agreed very much with Li Xiaogong's strategy of appeasing various southern barbarians, gradually weakening Xiao Xian in Xinzhou, that is, Kuizhou, and waiting to leave Sichuan. This was also the focus of Liu Hongji and others' attack on Li Xiaogong.
Li Yuan was naturally very angry. At the same time, he was aware of the danger and gradually lost patience with the Qin King's old troops uniting into a party and repeatedly stirring up trouble everywhere.
Therefore, the choice of Chai Shao, who was good friends with King Li Shimin of Qin, to lead the army instead of Li Xiaogong was not in Li Yuan's consideration at all. Then Li Yuan ordered the emperor's fifth son, Li Zhiyun, king of Chu, to be the minister of the Ministry of War in the middle of Shu, and to go to Shu together with the prince Zhongyun Wang Gui to help
Li Xiaogong attacked Kuizhou.
Li Zhiyun wanted to be close to Prince Li Jiancheng, not to mention Wang Gui, who was a confidant of Prince Li Jiancheng. It can be seen from these two appointments that Li Yuan was extremely dissatisfied with Liu Hongji and others, just because of Shu
The various ministries of the Central Committee were still fighting against Xiao Mian and could not punish these arrogant and capable generals, so they resorted to some political tactics.
Of course, Li Yuan still left some room for Liu Hongji and others. Although Li Zhiyun was very close to Li Jiancheng, the person he was most grateful and respected for was Princess Li Xiuning of Pingyang.
Li Zhiyun was born to Concubine Wan Guifei, and he had a deep relationship with his mother. When he was young, the concubine was ill in bed, so he did not eat for three days to pray for his mother.
Li Yuan heard this and praised: "Of all the sons in my family, the most filial one is none other than Zhiyun."
What he was most grateful to his sister Li Xiuning for was that at that time in Chang'an City, the Li family members were in critical condition, and Concubine Wan Gui's family background was mediocre. If it had been captured by Yin Shishi and others at that time, it was unclear what would happen to her.
Thanks to Princess Li Xiuning of Pingyang, these Li women and children were able to escape from Chang'an. If this incident made Li Zhiyun very grateful to Li Xiuning, then when the dispute between Prince Li Jiancheng and King Qin Li Shimin became more and more intense, he, the King of Chu, could still sit still
Being in the mansion and staying away from the whirlpool is all thanks to Li Xiuning's care and support.
In other words, if Li Jiancheng and Li Xiuning are put together, in Li Zhiyun's case, Li Jiancheng's speechless words are not as effective as Li Xiuning's one sentence.
Actually, the person he should be most grateful to is Li Po.
First, Li Po rose up to represent the border counties of the state and fought with the Turks. This gave Li Yuan, who was serving in Taiyuan at the time, a lot of free time and could do other things with ease.
Therefore, Li Zhiyun, who was supposed to be captured and sent to Chang'an, but was finally killed by Yin Shishi, was not left behind by Li Jiancheng who fled quickly, but arrived in Jinyang safely.
Secondly, Li Po sent many soldiers to Chang'an to pick up the Li family and Concubine Wan Gui was naturally among them.
Who do you think this grateful person should be?
Of course, even if Li Zhiyun knew this, he would not be grateful to Li Tang's enemies. It would be more appropriate to replace him with Li Xiuning.
And this was the room that Li Yuan left for Liu Hongji and others. He didn't think that Li Zhiyun would not go to Princess Pingyang's mansion to say goodbye before leaving Beijing, and what his daughter, who was gradually becoming more and more deserted, would say to her brother.
He can also guess pretty well.
Even if his daughter doesn't want to pay attention to foreign affairs, huh, that talkative Li Jingding will continue to talk too much.
Sure enough, Li Zhiyun went to Princess Pingyang's Mansion as expected. In addition to bidding farewell to Li Xiuning, he also wanted to ask his sister for advice on how to behave in Shuzhong.
Li Xiuning was in good spirits. After some previous incidents, she finally lived a calm and orderly life, and she really didn't want to care about these messy things mixed with the battle for the reserve.
But she does treat Li Zhiyun differently. Her brothers are now like enemies, and there is no kinship at all. But her half-brother was not very eye-catching before, but now he seems to be different from her relatives.
The brother is the complete opposite, a person who values family ties very much.
So after a few years, it seems to her that Li Zhiyun is her biological brother, and Li Yuanji is her daughter-in-law.
At such a moment, she naturally did not want to ignore this younger brother.
Her words were concise and to the point, "My brother, please don't worry. As the king of Chu, I am sitting in Shuzhong. Even if I don't say a word, no one will dare to say anything else in front of you. If there are still people who talk nonsense, I might as well kill you."
This is to warn everyone."
"My brother, it's a long way to go. You must not take any personal risks and show off your courage. When the time comes, you must think more about your concubine... Do you understand?"
Li Zhiyun bowed to listen to the instructions, as if he were addressing his father and brother, and then he said calmly: "General Liu is the leader of all the generals in Shu. If he..."
Li Xiuning snorted coldly and said: "Brother, I should take Yuan Ji's incident as a lesson. Just take Prince Zhao as the leader. Others don't need to be polite... There is something... You can go to Li Changshi for advice later.
."
At this point, Li Xiuning paused, probably because he thought that Li Jing was successful in leading the troops in the war, but when it came to other things, it was a bit unreliable, so Li Xiuning had to endure his temper and give Li Zhiyun a good analysis.
Li Zhiyun left with a sense of relief, while Li Xiuning rubbed his forehead and muttered to himself, how many more days can he live in peace and quiet? Look at this situation, with the Li family's children going out to lead troops in battles, who knows when, she, a female prostitute, will have to fight again.