An Lushan, a sheep thief in Yingzhou, was caught by the newly appointed Youzhou Jiedu Zhang Shouqi during the crackdown. However, Zhang Shouqi not only did not beat him to death, but also recognized him as his godson, so that An Lushan was able to pick up his life twice.
An Lushan was a Sogdian, Caucasian people, and the Tang Dynasty collectively referred to the Sogdians, a merchant people in Central Asia, as Zahu. While doing business, they also established settlements in the Tang Dynasty, with Yingzhou being the easternmost settlement. They were active on the Silk Road and made great contributions to the communication and exchange of material culture between Asia and Europe.
An Lushan is very gifted with languages and is proficient in the languages of nine ethnic minorities. So, I got my first job in the border market, as an intermediary to earn the price difference, and the Tang Dynasty called this kind of person a mutual market. However, there are many people like him in Yingzhou who know several minority languages, so the money he earns is not enough to spend on his own.
Then, An Lushan, who had evil thoughts, did an unsightly deed and became a sheep thief. While stealing sheep sneakily, he sold them, and his one-stop side business made his life quite nourishing for the time being.
At that time, the Xi and Khitan ethnic groups living outside the border of the Tang Dynasty and near the northeast border, the people of these two ethnic minorities often harassed and attacked the border of the Tang Dynasty, causing the Tang Dynasty a great headache. So he sent Zhang Shouqi as the envoy of Youzhou Jiedu, specifically to deal with the invading Xi and Khitan people.
As the saying goes: "There are three fires for a new official to take office." As soon as Zhang Shouqi took office, he immediately launched a campaign to rectify the social atmosphere and severely crack down on petty theft. Sure enough, An Lushan, a sheep thief in Yingzhou who committed many unrighteous acts, was arrested by Zhang Shouqi and entered the official mansion, and what was waiting for him was to be beaten to death with a stick!
Unexpectedly, when the officials raised the big stick high and were about to serve An Lushan together, seeing that the big stick was about to fall on him, An Lushan suddenly became wise and shouted: "Lord Zhang, don't you want to control the people of the Xi and Khitan tribes?"How can you kill a strong man like me. ”
His shout really shocked Zhang Shouqi, thinking that this sheep thief was quite open-minded. I couldn't help but take a closer look at An Lushan, and saw that he was not only white and fat, but also very imposing, which was very in line with the aesthetic standards of the Tang Dynasty at that time. So, it was decided to let him go and stay under his command as a scout.
From then on, scout An Lushan took advantage of his familiarity and quickly made great achievements. One morning, he carried out Zhang Shoujue's instructions and took 5 scouts to investigate the Khitans, but he didn't expect to come back in the afternoon. What's even more amazing is that none of the 5 scouts are missing, and there are dozens of prisoners tied up in a string behind them.
An Lushan did a very good job, this is a feat of being ten with one!His talent was appreciated by Zhang Shoujue. Soon, Zhang Shouqi promoted him to the high-ranking military attaché's Pinglu envoy and adopted him as his adopted son. At this point, An Lushan has completed the transformation from a ghost under the sword to a senior military attache with his extraordinary bravery, and has begun to rise steadily.
was favored by his boss and became the godson of his boss, and An Lushan has paved a golden avenue in front of him. However, the good times were short-lived.
In 736 AD, Zhang Shouqi sent An Lushan to lead the army of the Tang Dynasty to crusade against the invading Xi and Khitans. Unexpectedly, An Lushan, who has always been smart and capable, ventured forward bravely, but was wrapped in dumplings, not only did he not defeat others, but the army of the Tang Dynasty lost a lot of soldiers and horses.
This time, An Lushan, as the coach, committed another capital crime!However, victory or defeat on the battlefield is a common thing in soldiers, and Zhang Shouqi saw his godson, who had usually made a lot of military exploits, and couldn't bear to execute An Lushan according to military law just because of this defeat. After thinking about it, he decided to hand over the power and let the emperor and the court decide.
So, Zhang Shouqi ordered An Lushan to be escorted to Chang'an, and at the same time, attached a letter about An Lushan's defeat and his previous achievements. The chief prime minister, Zhang Jiuling, was an upright and quite stubborn person, and he had different political views with Tang Xuanzong on arranging border generals and handling border affairs, and the two often had awkward quarrels.
Moreover, Zhang Jiuling, who was born in a literati, has an instinctive aversion to the military generals' brawlerism, and now, when he saw that a military general had been kidnapped, he happened to hit the muzzle of the gun, and immediately waved his pen "Kill or kill!"."Drag An Lushan out and behead him.
However, Tang Xuanzong was attracted by An Lushan's white, fat, and handsome appearance. I thought to myself, why cut my own wings, doesn't the Northeast just need a general, just let him atone for his sins. Then he said, "Let's keep this warrior." Zhang Jiuling was reluctant, and replied: "Your Majesty, this person has the opposite, and I am afraid that letting the tiger return to the mountain will cause a big disaster in the future." ”
Tang Xuanzong laughed, and then said: "Zhang Aiqing, don't make a fuss, if you think there is danger, you can remove him from his official position and let him go to the front line as an ordinary soldier." In this way, with the protection of the emperor, An Lushan, a dead criminal, was able to return to the battlefield of Yingzhou unharmed.
Unexpectedly, An Lushan was sentenced to death by a sheep thief who was beaten to death with a stick, and after he was promoted to the festival envoy twice, he launched the "Anshi Rebellion" with great ambition for a while, and the eight-year war not only buried the prosperity of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, but also made the Tang Dynasty turn from prosperity to decline. It's a sigh!