In the 10th to 13th year of Tianbao (75 1-754), the army of the Tang Dynasty attacked Nanzhao twice, and both were defeated because of the prevalence of miasma in Yunnan and the negative mood of the soldiers. During this period, more than 200,000 soldiers died of war and disease. At that time, in order to avoid conscription, some ordinary people even deliberately disabled themselves. Decades later, the poet Bai Juyi met an old man who broke his arm in order to escape joining the army. The old man's accusation of blood and tears exposed the darkness of feudal society and the disaster brought to the people by the unjust war launched by the court.

On this day, the poet Bai Juyi came to Xinfeng County (now Lintong County, Shaanxi Province), an old man from Lu Yu, whose hair, eyebrows and beard were as white as snow. He walked slowly, supported by his great-grandson, and supported his shoulders with his left arm, because his right arm was disabled.

Bai Juyi was surprised and went over and asked, "How many years has the old man's arm been broken?"

The old man looked at the stranger and was very unhappy. He didn't answer his question. Bai Juyi thinks this question is too abrupt. The broken arm of a white-haired old man may have a very sad experience. Thinking of this, Bai Juyi went over and asked, "How old is the old man this year?"

The old man looked up at the Confucian scholar carefully, and then replied: "Not a long life, this year is 88 years old!" " "

Bai Juyi asked again, "How did you break your right arm at your age?"

Bai Juyi sat down beside the old man and listened to his story about that bumpy experience.

The sad experience of the old man's life deeply touched the poet Bai Juyi's heart through his crying. When he was about to finish writing this narrative poem "Xinfeng Brokeback Weng", he wrote a few words of advice to Tang Xuanzong with great sadness and sincerity. These last poems mean: "enlightened monarch! Listen to the story of the old man! You haven't heard of Song Jing, Prime Minister of Justice. He didn't reward the soldiers who made meritorious military service at the border to prevent them from making trouble at the border. However, in order to get a gift from the emperor, Yang, the prime minister of Tianbao period, deliberately recruited soldiers to wage war on the border. As a result, he failed, but it harmed the poor in the world. If you want to know all this, ask these poor people who have experienced disasters, and ask this old man who cut off his arm to avoid war! "