Chapter five hundred and forty-five who will take responsibility
Heaven and earth bleed every day, who will be invited to the imperial court?
Ji Shi dares to love to death? He is so lonely and frightened!
——Excerpt from "The Dusk of the Year" by Du Fu
…
The tragic defeat in Yecheng undoubtedly made Datang even worse.
The Tang Dynasty had been preparing for many years before it could muster so many soldiers, horses and food to fight the counter-insurgency war. All of this was wiped out overnight.
This unexpected defeat disgraced Suzong and disappointed the entire government and the public.
Someone has to take responsibility for this!
The civil and military generals of the Manchu Dynasty targeted the eunuch Yu Chaoen!
When Yu Chaoen learned about this, he rushed back to Chang'an without stopping, entered the palace that night, carried a thorn tree to plead guilty, and cried bitterly in front of Suzong.
Seeing that Suzong's expression softened, Yu Chaoen cried and said that when the two armies were fighting in a stalemate, he saw Guo Ziyi take the lead in escaping in front of his own eyes. This matter can be testified by other Jiedu envoys.
Guo Ziyi fled before the battle, which led to the defeat of the Tang army. If Guo Ziyi is not held accountable, the court discipline cannot be corrected.
After Yu Chaoen resigned, Suzong's face was ashen, and he thought and calculated repeatedly in his bedroom.
Suzong didn't believe what Yu Chaoen said, at least not entirely.
But appointing Yu Chaoen as the envoy to watch the army and command the nine military envoys was a decree drafted by himself against all opinions. If Yu Chaoen was severely punished, he would undoubtedly be slapped in the face in front of everyone in the world.
.
This cannot be done!
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In the early morning of the next day, Suzong Longyan was furious and ordered the Ministry of War to thoroughly investigate Guo Ziyi's escape from battle.
All the civil and military officials in the court were in an uproar, complaining about Guo Ziyi.
The decree of the Ministry of War reached the Shuofang Army camp, but Guo Ziyi suppressed the decree and kept it secret.
That night, the sky was full of stars. Guo Ziyi put on his clothes and went out of the tent. He stood in front of the Chinese army tent, looked up at the stars, and thought alone.
Guo Ziyi's eldest son, Wei Weiqing Guo Yao, came to Guo Ziyi and said: "Father, you cannot bear this blame.
The defeat of Yecheng began when Yu Chaoen ignored his father's advice and arranged his formation haphazardly. After the battle, Lu Jiong was injured and retreated first. The rebel army defeated Shuofang's army. Then, a strange phenomenon appeared in the sky, and the Tengu eclipsed the sun, causing the soldiers to die.
Terrified, the army collapsed...
In the Battle of Yecheng, the Tang army suffered heavy losses. The men, horses, weapons, food, grass and baggage that the court had accumulated over the years were completely destroyed... One thing was going down, the other was going up, and it would be even more difficult to annihilate the puppet Yan rebels in the future.
Once you plead guilty, you may lose your official position or be dismissed, or you may implicate the nine tribes! Please think twice, daddy!"
Guo Ziyi turned his head and looked at Guo Yao and said: "Yao'er, even you know that this is an unbearable burden. As the leader of the nine great Jiedushi, if I don't take the blame, who else can? And
Who is willing to carry it?"
Guo Yao said angrily: "Of course it is Yu Chaoen who will carry it. Doesn't he watch the army and command the troops? If he doesn't carry it, who will carry it?"
Guo Ziyi shook his head and said: "Yu Chaoen is a popular person in front of the emperor. He acts according to orders and represents His Majesty. Let him carry it, and let His Majesty carry it."
Guo Yao snorted coldly and said: "When the emperor uses eunuchs to control the army and allows the children of aristocratic families to pretend to be military leaders, he should have thought of the consequences."
Guo Ziyi's expression changed and she made a silent gesture.
Guo Ziyi looked around and whispered: "Walls have ears. Never say such treacherous words again in the future.
The reason why His Majesty created the post of military envoys is because he is worried that we Jiedu envoys will become the second in Anlu Mountain, arrogant soldiers and powerful generals, and will not be restrained.
Shuofang's army was one of the best in the world. He commanded tens of thousands of cavalry for his father, and his achievements shocked the master. He was always fearful and uneasy.
I was still hesitant at first, but after listening to your words today, my judgment has been strengthened.
The responsibility for Yecheng's tragic defeat must be borne by me."
Guo Yao was very anxious and said: "Even if His Majesty is angry and removes us father and son from office, the worst he can do is abandon his official position.
But how could my father take the initiative to admit his mistake, bear the unfair injustice, and be reviled by everyone in the world?!
Don't you feel aggrieved to be a scapegoat for a eunuch like Yu Chaoen?" Gu
Guo Ziyi smiled faintly and said: "Yao'er, my father usually asks you to read more of Lao and Zhuang's books, but it seems that you still haven't read them thoroughly!
If you can't bear the grievance, you can't achieve great things!
Your Majesty already knows what is right and wrong in the battle of Yecheng.
If the responsibility for the defeat is borne by Yu Chaoen, it will bring shame to the emperor. Your Majesty will not let go of his bad temper, and he will definitely make trouble on other matters in the future. By then, it will be a disaster for our Guo family.
Today, it is the best policy for us to take this responsibility on ourselves and share His Majesty's worries. Loss of office and dismissal are unavoidable, but it can save the life of the family. If we keep the green hills, we may be able to make a comeback.
Even if you become an official from now on and live in seclusion in the woods and springs, it doesn't matter, you will be happy and free.
Justice is in the heart of the people, and merits and demerits depend on the future, so why should we stick to the temporary evaluation of the world.
I have made up my mind, no need to say more."
That night, the big tent was lit with candles and I stayed up all night.
A few days later, Guo Ziyi's report was rushed ten miles to the court.
To the surprise of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, Guo Ziyi did not refute Yu Chaoen's false accusations and was willing to take responsibility for it. The court would handle it according to military law without any objection.
…
Suzong breathed a sigh of relief after reading Guo Ziyi's memorial.
Next, the imperial court made a series of dizzying personnel adjustments.
On March 28, Emperor Suzong appointed Lu Yan, the minister of the Ministry of War, as Tongping Zhangshi.
On March 29, the imperial court dismissed Miao Jinqing and Wang Yu, the ministers of Zhongshu, as ministers. Miao Jinqing was appointed as the crown prince and Taifu, and Wang Yu was appointed as the minister of the Ministry of punishment. Jingzhao Yin was appointed as the minister of the Ministry of official affairs;
Li Kui, who is a member of the Bookstore and is also the minister of the Ministry of Rites, is appointed as the minister of Zhongshu and also serves as the minister of Tongping Zhangshi. Wu Qi, the minister of the Ministry of Hubu, is also appointed as the minister of Tongping Zhangshi.
On March 30, Suzong appointed Shuofang Jiedushi Guo Ziyi as the marshal of Dongji Road (now Luoyang), Shandong Road (east of Xiaoshan Mountain), and Hedong Road (now Shanxi), and temporarily stayed in Luoyang on behalf of Tokyo.
He also appointed the Hexi Jiedushi envoy to Laigui to temporarily act as the governor of Shaanzhou, and also appointed the Shaanxi and Guohua Jiedushi envoys (headquartered in Shaanzhou) to garrison Shaanzhou and assist in the defense of Luoyang.
On April 8, the imperial court established the Chen Zhengbo War Zone (headquartered in Chenzhou, today's Huaiyang District, ZK City, Henan), and Lu Jiong, the prefect of Dengzhou, served as Chen Zhengbo's military envoy.
He ordered Shang Heng, the prefect of Xuzhou, to be the military governor of Qingmi and other seven states, with his headquarters located in Qingzhou (today's Qingzhou City, Shandong Province, seven states: Qing, Mi, Deng, Lai, Zi, Yi, and Hai).
He appointed Li Huan, the military governor of Xingping (headquartered in Shangzhou, today's Shangzhou District, SL City, Shaanxi Province), and the military governor of Yuxu and Ru three states in Yuzhou (headquartered in Yuzhou, today's Runan County, Henan Province).
Order all the military governors in the world to strengthen patrols at the borders of this war zone and put a high level of vigilance to prevent Shi Siming's rebels from going south.
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In the Battle of Yecheng, when the two armies clashed, Lu Jiong's troops fled first, and the rebel army broke through Shuofang's army formation.
When the army was defeated and retreated from the battlefield of Yecheng, Lu Jiong's troops had no military discipline and burned, killed and looted along the way, like animals.
Later, I heard that Guo Ziyi retreated to the north bank of the Yellow River, gathered the defeated Tang army, and reorganized it; Li Guangbi's Hedong army returned to Taiyuan without committing any crimes in autumn... They were both Jiedushi, but they were very different. Lu Jiong was both ashamed and afraid, and he was terrified.
disturbed.
Guo Ziyi's apology report did not mention Lu Jiong's defeat and escape in front of the battle, and took all the responsibility for Yecheng's defeat on himself, which made Lu Jiong extremely ashamed.
After this personnel adjustment, Suzong still had great trust in Lu Jiong and entrusted him with important responsibilities.
After receiving the imperial edict, Lu Jiong knelt down and worshiped the imperial envoy, bursting into tears.
After thinking about it, Lu Jiong felt ashamed and guilty. That night, he hung the tiger talisman on the beam, dressed in court clothes, bowed and kowtowed three times while looking at Chang'an, and committed suicide by taking poison. He was fifty-seven years old.
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When Suzong heard about it, he felt deeply for a long time.
On April 12, Suzong ordered Li Guangbi's general An Baoyu from Honglu to replace Lu Jiong and serve as Zheng Chen Yingbo's envoy.
In order to show that he was at odds with the rebel An Lushan, An Baoyu specially requested the surname Su Zong. Su Zong gave him the surname Li. From then on, An Baoyu changed his name to Li Baoyu.
…
Because Guo Ziyi took the initiative to plead guilty and accept responsibility, the imperial court no longer pursued accountability. The Jiedushi envoys were finally relieved and refocused on preventing Shi Siming from going south.
Since then, the clouds of the defeat of Yecheng have slowly dispersed over the Tang army.