【Death of Guo Chongtao 1】
The land of Shu has a curse based on its unique geographical factors. Anyone who enters Shu or conquers Shu will either achieve great success or be doomed.
Those who entered Shu and prospered, such as Liu Bang and Liu Bei, and those who died after conquering Shu, such as Deng Ai and Zhong Hui.
From the moment when the Later Tang Dynasty launched its army to conquer Shu, people have been using the past to satirize the present, comparing Li Cunxu to Sima Zhao, Wang Zongyan to Liu Chan, and Li Jiqi and Guo Chongtao to Deng Ai and Zhong Hui. "Ten Kingdoms Spring and Autumn" commented that Li Cunxu was far inferior to Sima Zhao, and Li Jiji and Guo Chongtao were also inferior to Deng Ai and Zhong Hui. However, Wang Zongyan was even inferior to Liu Chan, so the later Tang Dynasty's destruction of the former Shu was a low-end version of Sima Zhao. Destroy the Shu Han.
Although Guo Chongtao's literary, Taoist and military strategies were not as good as those of Deng Ai and Zhong Hui, he still did not escape the curse of conquering Shu. Dashan Pass, Lutou Pass, Jianmen Pass... all passes are ghost gates.
As mentioned earlier, when Li Cunxu was choosing a commander to conquer Shu, he was very conflicted in his heart. Those with poor abilities, such as Duan Ning, may not be competent; but those who are competent can only be good at both literary and military affairs. They praise Guo Chongtao in literature and Li Siyuan in military affairs. After repeated deliberation, Li Cunxu became more interested in civil servant Guo Chongtao.
At the imperial meeting, Li Cunxu first confirmed the crown prince Li Jiji as the commander-in-chief, and then appointed Guo Chongtao as his deputy to help the crown prince make achievements. This is a superficial article. On the surface, it seems that Guo Chongtao is assisting Li Jiqi. In fact, Li Cunxu's inner order of appointment is to first appoint Guo Chongtao as the commander, and then select Li Jixian as the supervisor.
According to the old system of the Tang Dynasty, the "Generalissimo of the World's Arms and Horses" was usually held by the crown prince, while the hero could only be his deputy. The order of announcing the letter of appointment was first the marshal, then the deputy; furthermore, if Guo Chongtao was confirmed to be in command first, then he was appointed. The companionship of the crown prince would make the emperor's suspicion too obvious.
After comprehensive consideration, Li Cunxu could only cleverly change the order of appointments, first Li Jiji, then Guo Chongtao, so as to dispel Guo Chongtao's concerns and build a harmonious relationship between monarch and minister.
To explain it in a few more lines, I want to emphasize that Li Cunxu's attitude towards Guo Chongtao, or his trust in Guo Chongtao, is not as solid as imagined. Li Cunxu actually didn't trust Guo Chongtao very much. The reason why he let him go to Shu was just because he didn't trust Li Siyuan too much. It was a helpless choice between "not trusting too much" and "not trusting too much".
This is also the foreshadowing of Guo Chongtao's tragic end. Whether it is to attack Shu or to quell the rebellion and defend foreign lands, anyone who leads troops abroad and is jealous of his lord will undoubtedly die.
In addition to the lord's suspicion, Guo Chongtao's tragic ending was also achieved by his own strength.
People often regard Guo Chongtao as Zhang Chengye's successor due to inertial thinking. Indeed, they have many common advantages, such as admonishing Li Cunxu and being loyal to the Hedong Group. However, Guo Chongtao also had many shortcomings, which led to him making too many enemies. Once he left the central government and went to Bashu, Li Cunxu's ears would be filled with all kinds of slander and frame-up, which further aggravated Li Cunxu's suspicion and eventually led to the tragedy.
In troubled times, if you want to settle down and make a living, there are only two ways: yes or no.
If it is present, it means actively participating in the world, pursuing power and interests, and containing huge energy, which can intimidate anyone who dares to compete with it; if it is not present, it means being passive, indifferent to fame and fortune, being prudent and self-protective, and not fighting against the world.
Two completely opposite paths, but can achieve the same effect. No one dares to touch the former, and no one wants to touch the latter.
Throughout the ages, anyone who chooses the first path will not go too far, even if he had a smooth journey before. Such as Zhu Wen. Because the power in their hands is both feared and coveted.
The latter seems weak, but it has been able to last for a long time. Regarding the debate between "being" and "nothing", Lao Tzu has used a copy of the Tao Te Ching to elaborate in detail.
Guo Chongtao's choice is not much different from that of all living beings. He also chose to take the first path.
Guo Chongtao was originally a civilian employee of Li Kexiu's account. When Li Kexiu was in charge of Luzhou, Guo Chongtao was known for his ability and integrity. After Li Kexiu's death, Li Keyong appointed him as a junior protocol officer (Dian Ye), responsible for welcoming people and sending them off. He was alert and able to deal with adversity; after Li Cunxu came to the throne, he valued him very much, promoted him repeatedly, and began to approach the core power circle.
Later, Guo Chongtao, Meng Zhixiang, and eunuch Li Shaohong entered the decision-making level (Zhongmenshi) and officially entered the core power circle of the Hedong Group. This promotion allowed Guo Chongtao to taste the sweetness of power. From then on, he gradually became addicted to power and became more and more dependent on power. It was this promotion that allowed him to meet the noble man in his life - Meng Zhixiang.
Among the "Three Giants of Zhongmen Envoys", Meng Zhixiang has the deepest background and the strongest connections. His father is Meng Dao. When it comes to Meng Dao, perhaps no one knows about it, but when it comes to Meng Dao's two brothers, their background is huge. Meng Dao was three brothers: Meng Fangli, Meng Dao, and Meng Qian.
During the "Huangchao Rebellion", Meng Fangli became the military envoy of Zhaoyi Army through military reform and occupied the Zhaoyi area for nearly 10 years. Li Keyong started the road to expansion and first targeted the Zhaoyi area. Meng Fang committed suicide in fear.
After Meng Fangli's death, the three armies recommended his third brother Meng Qian to succeed Zhaoyi Army. Meng Qian asked Zhu Wen for help and resisted Li Keyong. At that time, Zhu Wen was also expanding eastward and was fighting with Xuzhou Shipu. Moreover, Wei Boluo Hongxin refused to provide Zhu Wen with transit services, so Bianzhou only sent 300 troops led by Wang Qianyu. Meng Qian knew he was outmatched, so he arrested Wang Qianyu and paid Li Keyong as a token of surrender.
Later, Bian general Shi Shucong besieged Taiyuan. Meng Qian rebelled against the Jin and surrendered to Bian, and followed Shishu Cong's army back to Bianzhou. Zhu Wen hated his capriciousness and had Meng Qian executed.
This Meng Zhixiang is the nephew of Meng Fangli and Meng Qian.
Meng Zhixiang's sister married Li Kening, Li Keyong's younger brother, and gave birth to a son named Li Cungui; while Meng Zhixiang's wife was Li Keyong's niece (the daughter of Li Keyong), and some historical records say that She is the daughter of Li Keyong. In short...it confuses the seniority. From the perspective of the Meng family, Meng Zhixiang and Li Keyong are of the same generation (his younger sister married Kening). From the perspective of the Li family, Meng Zhixiang is one step shorter than Li Keyong. Generation's son (marry Ke Yong's daughter). Anyway, it’s kiss after kiss.
Let's look at the eunuch Li Shaohong, who is Li Cunxu's confidant. His original name was Ma Shaohong, and he was given the national surname given by Li Cunxu. Li Shaohong's name is also scattered in various conspiracies and battles. All you need to know is that he is one of Li Cunxu's most trusted eunuchs.
It can be seen that among the "Big Three", only Guo Chongtao is a three-no product with no background and no connections. Therefore, he has the lowest position and the least power among the three.
In the "Battle of Huliupi", Zhou Dewei, the governor of the Lulong Army in Youzhou, was killed. Li Cunxu sent his confidant eunuch Li Shaohong to Youzhou to take charge of the work. The work of the "Big Three" basically fell on Meng Zhixiang. Power is the original sin. Anyone who holds power will become prey in the eyes of some people. The greater the power, the greater the attraction to hunters. The previous middle sect envoys Wu Gong and Zhang Qianhou both lost their jobs due to slander. After Sui was killed and Li Shaohong was transferred, Meng Zhixiang gained greater power, but he was not happy because he was deeply afraid that he would make the same mistakes as Wu and Zhang.
Because Meng Zhixiang's sister was married to Li Kening, Meng Zhixiang became a frightened bird in the "Li Kening rebellion case". In the Hedong political arena, he could only keep a low profile and keep a low profile.
Therefore, Meng Zhixiang was upright and upright, and took the initiative to resign and be released. His wife also cried in front of Queen Mother Cao. Therefore, Li Cunxu approved Meng Zhixiang's resignation request, but there was an additional condition, which was to help recommend a suitable candidate to replace him.
Without hesitation, Meng Zhixiang recommended Comrade Guo Chongtao to the organization, opening a door for Guo Chongtao to display his talents and ambitions.
