page_title: Geshu Han
section_title: Military service
hierarchical_section_title: Geshu Han / Military service
caption_attribution_description: English: Map showing the An Lushan Rebellion 中文（中国大陆）‎: 唐朝安史之乱示意图
context_page_description: Geshu Han, formally Prince Wumin of Xiping, was a general of Tang China who was of Turgesh extraction. He became a powerful general late in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and in 756 became responsible for defending Tong Pass against the rebel forces of An Lushan.
  After being forced by the Chancellor Yang Guozhong to engage An Lushan's forces, he was defeated and subsequently kidnapped by his own subordinate, Huoba Guiren, to An Lushan's camp. An Lushan tried to use him to get his subordinate generals Li Guangbi, Lai Tian, and Lu Gui to surrender as well, but when those generals refused to do so, put him under house arrest in Luoyang, the capital of An's newly established state of Great Yan.
  In 757, after An Lushan's son and successor An Qingxu was defeated by Tang forces and forced to abandon Luoyang, An Qingxu executed Geshu and some thirty other captive Tang generals.
context_section_description: Geshu Han first served under Wang Chui (王倕), the military governor (jiedushi) of Hexi Circuit (河西, headquartered in modern Wuwei, Gansu).  He later served under Wang Chui's successor Wang Zhongsi, and, on one expedition that he commanded, an officer of the same rank was his deputy, but, because they were of the same rank, refused to follow Geshu's orders.  Geshu had him executed by hammering, and this shocked the other officers into submission.  He later distinguished himself in defending against multiple Tufan attacks.
  In 747, Geshu was promoted to be a general, as well as deputy military governor of Longyou Circuit (隴右, headquartered in modern Haidong Prefecture, Qinghai), which Wang Zhongsi governed at the time as well.  At that time, Tufan forces were accustomed to pillage the Tang farms around Jishi Base (積石軍, in modern Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai) every year at harvest time, to seize the wheat grown in the area—so much so that the people of the region jokingly referred to their region as "Tufan Farms."  Geshu, after he took office, had his subordinates Wang Nande (王難得) and Yang Jinghui (楊景暉) hide with their troops, and then confronted the Tufan troops on their next raid.  After he engaged them, Wang and Yang cut off the escape, and the Tufan forces were wiped out; this ended the periodic raids on the region.
  Later that year, Wang Zhongsi was accused of hindering an attack against Tufan by the general Dong Yanguang (董延光), summoned to Chang'an, and put under interrogation.  Geshu, who was then made the acting military governor of Longyou and acting governor of Xiping Commandery (西平, roughly modern Haidong Prefecture), was also summoned to Chang'an to meet Emperor Xuanzong, who was impressed by his achievements.  Geshu's subordinates suggested that he bring much treasure to bribe the central government officials to try to save Wang.  Geshu responded:
  If there is still justice in the world, Lord Wang will not die.  If there is no justice, what can money get us?
  Geshu subsequently met with Emperor Xuanzong and begged for forgiveness for Wang, offering to give up his own offices and titles to save Wang from death.  Emperor Xuanzong initially became irritated and refused to talk with him further, but Geshu kneeled, hit the ground with his head, and cried bitterly.  Emperor Xuanzong relented and spared Wang, but demoted him to be the governor of Hanyang Commandery (漢陽, in modern Wuhan, Hubei).  Geshu's intercession for Wang, at much risk to himself, was praised by others of righteousness.
  In 748, Geshu built Shenwei Base (神威軍) upon Qinghai Lake, and Yinglong Castle (應龍城) on an island in the lake itself, as defensive posts against Tufan.  When Tufan attacked those outposts, he defeated them, and it was said that thereafter Tufan forces did not dare to come close to Qinghai Lake.  In 749, he also recaptured Shibao Castle (石堡城, in modern Xining, Qinghai), which Wang had refused to attack earlier, leading to Dong's campaign.  However, Yinglong Castle fell to Tufan after the Qinghai Lake froze, allowing Tufan forces to attack it over the ice.
  In 752, Geshu began to become part of the central government intrigue, in the power struggle between the chancellor Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong, the second cousin of Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine Consort Yang Yuhuan, as both he and the chancellor Chen Xilie corroborated accusations that Li Linfu had friendly relations with Li Xianzhong (李獻忠), an ethnically Tujue general who was forced into rebellion earlier that year.  This facilitated Yang Guozhong's aggrandizement of power and the reduction of Li Linfu's influence.
  Later that year, when Emperor Xuanzong, seeing that Geshu had poor relations with An Lushan, then the military governor of Fanyang Circuit (范陽, headquartered in modern Beijing) and An Sishun (whose uncle was An Lushan's stepfather), then the military governor of Shuofang Circuit (朔方, headquartered in modern Yinchuan, Ningxia), and wanted to improve relations between these three key border troop commanders, he summoned all three to the capital and had t
caption: Geshu Han's campaign at Tongguan Pass during the An Lushan Rebellion
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