Around the new year 756, while Gao and fellow general Feng Changqing were defending Tong Pass against forces of An Lushan, who had rebelled against Tang rule in 755, both Gao and Feng offended the powerful eunuch Bian Lingcheng . Bian then accused Feng of cowardice and Gao of corruption, and both were executed.
Early life
Gao Xianzhi was the son of Go Sagye, a general from Goguryeo, which was conquered by Tang in 668. Go Sagye was captured by Tang forces and later surrendered, and there, he was given a post in their army. Gao Xianzhi was born during his duty in Tang's western regions. Unlike most soldiers of his day, historical records say Gao Xianzhi was not muscular or extraordinarily strong like other army officers; Go Sagye always worried about his son's poor health. However, he demonstrated great courage from an early age; he possessed skills in cavalry and archery.
Although Gao Xianzhi was an ethnic minority, his loyalty and bravery, as well as his father's accomplishments, allowed him to be promoted to the position of general in the Tang army in his 20s, serving in Central Asia near Kashgar, in the Taklamakan Desert along with his father, under the Tang military command for Anxi Circuit . He successively served under the military governors Tian Renwan and Gai Jiayun , but was not promoted by them. However, Gai's successor Fumeng Lingcha was impressed by him, and so repeatedly recommended him for promotions. By the end of 's ''Kaiyuan'' era , he was serving as Fumeng's deputy.
First western campaign
At that time, Lesser Bolü was allied with Tufan, leading to some 20 city states around it to also become Tufan vassals. A Tufan princess became the wife and queen of Lesser Bolü's king. Tian Renwan, Gai Jiayun, and Fumeng Lingcha all had tried to attack Lesser Bolü before, but was unable to defeat it. In 747, Gao Xianzhi led a three-pronged attack of 10,000 cavalry soldiers, surprising both Lesser Bolü and Tufan forces stationed in Lesser Bolü. He captured Lesser Bolü's king and queen and returned to Tang territory with them.
However, Fumeng was angry that Gao directly reported the news of the victory to without first reporting to him, cursing him with obscenities and threatening to kill him. The eunuch Bian Lingcheng, whom Emperor Xuanzong had sent to monitor Gao's forces, interceded on Gao's behalf and reported Fumeng's threats to Emperor Xuanzong. Emperor Xuanzong, in response, around the new year 748, summoned Fumeng back to the capital Chang'an and promoted Gao to take over his position. Despite this, Gao never lost his respect for Fumeng, although he arrested several of Fumeng's subordinates who attacked him -- fellow deputy military governor Cheng Qianli , and the army officers Bi Sichen and Wang Tao , but then released him, stating that he was venting his anger, and that now that he had, he believed that they could still serve under him. He entrusted Feng Changqing as his assistant, often having Feng lead troops or, when he himself led troops in campaigns, had Feng be in charge of the headquarters. In 755, Gao was created the Duke of Miyun.
Meanwhile, Feng Changqing was sent to the eastern capital Luoyang to defend against An's attack on Luoyang, but once Feng got to Luoyang, he was given inadequate weapon supplies, and An's forces defeated his. Feng retreated to Shan, and suggested to Gao that Shan was not easily defendable and that they should retreat to Tong Pass, which was a much better defensive position. Gao agreed, and the two of them took up position at Tong Pass.
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