An Lushan Rebellion

When he was a young man An Lushan learned 6 non-Chinese languages. His aptitude for languages soon earned him a job as an interpreter for the Chinese Tang military. Then in 732 AD, An became friends with General Zhang Shougui. After some time the two became very close and General Zhang began treating the portly An as his son. Four years later, An was serving under Zhang in the Pinglu Army when he led a failed attacked against both the Xi and Khitan armies and was defeated. According to Chinese military law the loss required that An be sentenced to death, but before he could be executed he was given a reprieve from the Tang Chinese Emperor Xuanzong. Xuanzong found that An was very capable and he soon made him the governor of what today is called Beijing. His assignment while in Beijing was to control the nomadic tribes who were invading from their base in Manchuria.