The Sui and Tang Dynasties were the most powerful periods in Chinese history, reaching unprecedented heights in the fields of military, culture, science and technology. But if we want to talk about who was the most fierce and powerful general in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, judging from the history books, there is no doubt that it was Li Yuanba. Li Yuanba ranked first among the "Eighteen Heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" in Rulian Jushi's "The Complete Biography of the Tang Dynasty". The title of the most heroic man in the world and invincible; but from the perspective of official history, the title of "the strongest general in the Sui and Tang Dynasties" is definitely Qin Shubao and Qin Qiong!

According to historical records, Qin Qiong was born in a family of generals, so he also acquired good skills. He successively served under Lai Huer, Zhang Xutuo, and Pei Renji, and was highly appreciated for his bravery. Lai Hu'er once said to his men: This person (referring to Qin Qiong) is fierce and determined, and he will definitely make himself rich in the future! Li Mi also said that he and Cheng Yaojin led a team of 8,000 people, which was enough to fight against an army of one million! After Li Yuan, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, got Qin Qiong, he even said

"You ignored your wife and came to me from afar. If my flesh can be used by you, I should cut it off and give it to you."

Meaning It's "You ignored your wife and children and came all the way to join me, and I can cut off my flesh for you to eat!"

The reason why Qin Qiong is so popular is naturally because of his extraordinary appearance and strong body. Everyone knew at a glance that he was a "tiger general"

It is recorded in the book "Jiahua of the Sui and Tang Dynasties": In order to show off his superb martial arts skills, Qin Qiong once planted his horse in front of the enemy's formation. On the ground. Later, the enemy sent people to pull out the horse stick, but Qin Qiong had no choice but to insert the horse stick too deep, and the horse stick itself was also very heavy. The enemy sent dozens of people in succession without making any move. After watching the enemy's performance with her arms folded, Qin Qiong immediately took the lead and pulled the horse out of the ground with only one hand. Qin Qiong's behavior also greatly boosted the morale of the entire army. This horse branch was also regarded as a "sacred object" and was enshrined in the Ancestral Temple of the Tang Dynasty.

Qin Qiong is not only extremely powerful, but also very capable of fighting. According to the "Old Book of Tang: Biography of Qin Qiong", every time Qin Qiong fought with Li Shimin, when the enemy camp showed off its powerful generals, Li Shimin asked Qin Qiong to go and destroy their prestige, and Qin Qiong often lived up to his trust, single-handedly The enemy general will be beheaded by his horse!

During the Unification War of the Tang Dynasty, Qin Qiong was still an indispensable tiger general in the Qin Palace. However, when the Tang army eliminated the forces of Fugong in the south of the Yangtze River and finally unified the world, the young and vigorous Qin Qiong was Suddenly and inexplicably "sick". According to the records of the Old and New Tang Dynasties, when his colleagues who fought side by side on the battlefield asked him what illness he had, he always said vaguely: "My young master is a soldier. I have gone through more than two hundred battles and fought repeatedly. Moderate to severe sores. Jiwu also suffered from bleeding before and after. Are you not sick?"

It means: I have experienced hundreds of battles, large and small, and suffered heavy injuries many times during my military life. I bleed dozens of kilograms, can I not get sick? But in the end, Qin Qiong himself did not tell what disease he had. Because of illness, Qin Qiong naturally stayed away from the political center. During the Xuanwumen Incident, he did not "show off" like Wei Chigong, shooting Li Yuanji and forcing Li Yuan into the palace. He just silently followed Qin Wang Li Shimin into the war and made no achievements. It is really suspicious that Qin Qiong was so brave but did nothing during the Xuanwu Gate incident.

Qin Qiong took the lead on the battlefield, but what about Cheng Yaojin, Wei Chigong, Su Dingfang and others? The difference is that the latter have all lived over 70 years old and are in good health. Why is Qin Qiong the only one who is so sick? Therefore, in the author's opinion, Qin Qiong is not really ill, but a means of self-protection that confuses Li Shimin. Just to prove that he is no longer a threat to the imperial power.

The cunning rabbit is dead and the lackey is cooked. Throughout history, the fate of strong men has not been good. Since ancient times, most strong men have low emotional intelligence and can easily offend others. In times of war, the monarch may tolerate their mistakes, but in times of peace, an unsatisfactory word may bring you death. After all, there are many examples in history of generals with great achievements who caused disaster because of a word or something.

Han Xin, Zang Tu, Zhang Ao and others all followed Liu Bang to conquer the world, but they eventually died at the hands of Liu Bang, all due to their "low emotional intelligence"

Li Shimin boasted that he would not be like Liu Bang killed meritorious officials like this, but many meritorious officials died directly or indirectly at his hands, such as Zhang Liang, Hou Junji, and Li Junxian. Among them, Li Junxian was even more famous for "colluding with monsters and plotting evil intentions." Unjustly killed on trumped-up charges. In addition, Li Shimin also showed his sword to the distinguished Wei Chigong many times.

Different from the low-key Qin Qiong, Wei Chigong initially acted in a domineering and domineering manner because of his role in protecting the Xuanwu Gate. At a banquet, Wei Chigong went crazy under the influence of alcohol and beat a colleague who had a dispute with him, and almost blinded Li Daozong who came to break up the fight. Unexpectedly, when Li Shimin found out, he immediately attacked Wei Chigong and said, "Aiqing has been very high-spirited recently, and even I don't look down on him. Does Aiqing want to become the second Yingbu?"

Li Shimin's cold eyes startled Wei Chigong into a cold sweat, so the day after returning home, news came out that Wei Chigong was devoted to Taoism. Obviously, after Li Shimin's "beating", he also chose to marry Qin Qiong The same - low-key, both Qin Qiong and Wei Chigong are trying their best to get rid of their previous "tiger general" personas.

But Li Shimin was not at ease with Wei Chigong's "concentration in cultivating Taoism". Once Li Shimin said to Wei Chigong: "I want to betroth my daughter to you, what do you think?" However, Wei Chigong kowtowed to Li Shimin's proposal and refused. Obviously, Wei Chigong knew Li Shimin's intentions very well. If he agrees, it will prove that his "concentration in cultivating Taoism" is false, and he still has an unreasonable desire for power in his heart.

Because Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong successively chose to keep a low profile, they finally avoided the ending of "the cunning rabbit dies and the lackey cooks". Wei Chigong and Qin Qiong were favored by Li Shimin both before and after their lives. But it can't help but make people feel heartbroken to see these two warriors who were once so high-spirited on the battlefield, but now shrink back and become heroes. People often say that accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger. It seems that even a wise man like Li Shimin is not immune to suspicion. It is said that autocratic systems turn people into ghosts. Judging from the fate of Qin Qiong and Yu Chigong, this is a wise saying.