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Text Chapter 47 If you want to fight, I will fight!

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    If you want to fight, I will fight!

    This was Xue Rengui¡¯s final reply to the Byzantines. When he said this, Agostino was full of surprise. He really couldn¡¯t understand why Datang would give such a tough answer.

    If you want to fight, I will fight!

    Agostino's heart trembled when he heard this. Although in Agostino's view, although Leo III's request was a bit whimsical, the Tang Dynasty would never refuse so forcefully, and it would take a while.  , grinding their teeth with each other so that he can go back to work.

    Furthermore, Agostino felt that the Tang Dynasty now needed the Byzantine Empire, and that the Byzantine Empire needed to contain the Byzantine Empire in the west of the Arab Empire. For this reason, the Tang Dynasty should seriously consider Byzantine's request.

    Agostino was shocked, while Pienaar looked pale. He went to Chang'an this time and spent more than half a year wondering what the Tang Dynasty is like now.

    Before actually coming into contact with the Tang Dynasty, Pienaar always believed that the Roman Empire in his memory was the most powerful. Byzantium inherited the mantle of the Roman Empire and dominated the west of the world, which was also extremely powerful.

    But after coming into contact with the Tang Dynasty, Pienaar realized what it means to truly make a country rich and its people strong. The Silk Road, which ran from the capital Chang'an to the Mediterranean coast, spread the splendid Chinese civilization all over the world. Kings, envoys, and ministers from all over the world  Merchants, monks, students, craftsmen, doctors, and orchids came in droves. Everyone was proud to wear Tang suits and speak Chinese. Some people even fought for their entire lives for their identity as Tang people.

    When Pienaar entered the territory of the Tang Empire for the first time, he was sincerely amazed when he saw the bustling cities. At that moment, Pienaar realized how small the Byzantium he loved was.  What a ridiculous understanding of this world.

    The countries around the Tang Empire were either trying their best to flatter and make good friends, or they had already been wiped out. Pienaar could clearly feel the strong self-confidence in every Tang Dynasty.

    Walking in the streets of Chang'an, every Tang Dynasty that Pienaar saw had their heads held high and arrogant. Those outsiders, no matter their status in the country, even if they were nobles, when they faced the Tang people  Sometimes, I can't help but feel trembling.

    Not only Pienaar, but every foreigner who comes to the land of the Tang Dynasty will feel this way, because the strength of the Tang Dynasty is very obvious, while America and Africa are still basically "sleeping continents", and Europe  In the early days of the Frankish Kingdom, the trauma of the decline of the Roman Empire caused by barbarian invasions could not be repaired.  Asia has already been regarded as the rich East. Due to the rapid rise of the Arab Empire and the long-term wars against Byzantium, Persia, India and other countries, neither West Asia nor South Asia can be peaceful.  Only China completed unprecedented unification during this period and achieved unprecedented achievements in politics, economy, culture and other aspects.

    Du Fu, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty in later generations, described the prosperous times of the Tang Dynasty in his poem "Recalling the Past": Recalling the heyday of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, there were still thousands of families in the small town.  The rice is dripping with fat and the corn is white, and both the public and private warehouses are abundant.  There are no jackals and tigers on the roads of Kyushu, and the sunrise is auspicious for long journeys.  Qi Wan and Lu's carriages are moving in shifts, and the men plowing the fields and the women mulching trees keep up with each other.  From the poems, we can get a glimpse of the prosperity and prosperity of the Tang Dynasty at the height of its national power.

    Nowadays, due to the anomaly of Du Rui, the Tang Dynasty is far more powerful than history, and there has been great development in all aspects. Du Rui's "Tiangong Kaiwu" improved the structure of the plow and created the curved shaft plow.  , and created a new type of irrigation tool barrel truck.  The Tang government has spared no effort to build large-scale water conservancy projects over the years.  A series of irrigation canals were dug in the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins, and old canals and river weirs were built.  The imperial court also encouraged the people to open up a large amount of wasteland, and the people created a lot of wealth for the society. In this prosperous era, the population of the Tang Dynasty increased greatly. The population during the Yonghui period was already three times that of the previous Sui Dynasty during the Kaihuang period. Not only the Tang itself  There was a prosperous scene. Liaodong, Mobei, Indochina, Nanyang Islands, Australia Road, Tianzhu Road all had a large influx of Tang immigrants.

    The handicraft industry of the Tang Dynasty also developed greatly during this period. Among them, the silk weaving industry, Dingzhou, Yizhou, and Yangzhou were all famous for weaving damask brocade with special patterns.  There are various varieties. There is a brocade with flower and bird pattern, which is centered on a large group of colorful flowers and surrounded by flying birds and scattered flowers. It is gorgeous and moving, reflecting the superb brocade weaving technology of the Tang Dynasty.

    There is also the ceramic industry. Xingzhou white porcelain is like silver like snow, and Yuezhou celadon is like jade like ice. It also created the famous "Tang Sancai", which is to paint colorless glaze on the white pottery body, and then use yellow, green and cyan.  Decorated in three colors, the colors are bright and the shape is beautiful.

    The east and west capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang in the Tang Dynasty were not only the political center of the country, but also the center of economic and cultural exchanges among Asian countries. There were ethnic minorities from all over the world and people from all over Asia, making it an international city.city.  The Tang Dynasty was an important development period for China's multi-ethnic unified country. Through continuous conquests, various ethnic groups were further integrated, economic and cultural exchanges between ethnic groups became closer, and the territory of the Tang Dynasty was unprecedentedly vast.

    Whether it was the Turks and Uighurs who once dominated the north, the Moose in the northeast, or the Nanzhao and Tubo in the southwest, they all chose to surrender under the iron heel of the Tang Dynasty.

    It can be said that the current Tang Dynasty is in an absolutely advanced position in the world, both economically and culturally. External transportation is extremely developed, and the exchanges between the Tang Dynasty and other countries in Asia and Europe are unprecedented.

    In this era, there will no longer be the dark period of later generations, the Chinese people will no longer be weak and sick, there will no longer be the infection and corrosion of the eight-part essay, and there will no longer be warmth and numbness.

    The mainstream melodies on the land of China will no longer contain the murmurs of meaningless groans, and there will be no more sad and sad songs like the wind, flowers, snow and moon. There will only be sonorous outgoing songs and heroic and generous frontier poems.  The sound of the bamboo slipper makes a strong man miserable but not arrogant. If I ask who the general is, he is probably Huo whoring and Yao." This golden and stone sound is like the Tang Dynasty in this era.

    Since the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Emperor Taizong and the world's heroes and talents, who had seized the artifact, began the battle to expand the territory of the Tang Empire. No one could resist the powerful cavalry of the Tang Dynasty.

    Along with the conquests and killings, the power and glory of the Tang Dynasty were at its peak, constantly defeating foreigners and engaging in wars of annihilation. It can be said that this was the glorious age of the Chinese nation, with endless vitality and enterprising spirit. "The desert is dusty and the sun is dim,  The red flag was half-rolled out of the camp gate. The front army was fighting in Hebei at night and had reported that Tuyuhun had been captured alive."

    An era of great China that will last for thousands of years has begun. Historians also wrote: "The great power and virtue of the Tang Dynasty! Big countries are afraid of its power, small countries cherish their virtues, and the sky is overthrown.  And belonging to it, all the prefectures and counties inside and outside the Bohai Sea, waiting for the seal of the Tang Dynasty and the Neng State, are not guests, and they are often barred."

    The prosperous age of the Tang Dynasty lingered for thousands of years. Poetry was refreshing, Hu Feng was magnanimous, music and dance were popular, and the art of calligraphy reached its peak. The export and import of various civilizations gave birth to a dazzling prosperous age on the land of China, with eight forms and nine levels of charm.  Melodious, without a strong national power as its backing and a strong civilization as its background, the Tang Empire would never have been able to become the common master of the world and command all directions, and it would never have been possible for the Datang Empire to create such shocking feats.

    The strong Han Dynasty and the prosperous Tang Dynasty were the two most glorious eras in the history of the Han nation. The glory of these two empires has been deposited in the long history of the Han nation, but they have also become the immortal glory of this nation.

    In the era when Du Rui lived, even thousands of years of wind and sand could not erase the pride left by the Han and Tang Dynasties to the descendants of Yan and Huang.

    Through this dusty history, people can still see the feat of General Wei Qing sweeping across the royal court of the Xiongnu in Mobei, and the heroic figure of Hussar General Huo Qubing sealing Lang Juxu.  In that era when the Han people used iron and blood to expand their territories, the Han cavalry also used their strength to sweep across the Western Regions. Killing the Shanyu of the Northern Huns made it clear to the world that those who offended the powerful Han Dynasty would be punished no matter how far away they were.

    It also tells the world that only the Han Empire is the master of the world, and only the Han nation is the real ruling nation.  The conquest lasted for three hundred years. The war consumed the wealth of the nation, but tempered the will of the nation, making them more tenacious and tenacious in the years that followed.

    After this nation conquered all the surrounding nations, their wealth and energy were exhausted. The arrogant Eastern Han Dynasty began to split and decline, from the Three Kingdoms and Two Jins to the Five Husbands and then to the  In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the powerful Han nation experienced nearly four hundred years of division. It was not until the first year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign that Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian, reunified the north and the south.  This unification is of extraordinary significance. It laid a solid foundation for the future rise of this nation.

    History is always surprisingly similar. King Qin's victory ended the four-hundred-year division of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and then the powerful Han Empire emerged. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty ended the same four-hundred-year division. What followed was unparalleled in human history.  of the Tang Empire.

    Like Qin, Sui was also a short-lived empire, and the throne could not be succeeded for more than three generations.  In the first year of Wude, that is, AD 618, Li Yuan, an officer of the Sui Empire, seized power and established the Tang Dynasty. A new era began.  In the early days of the founding of the Tang Empire, they were not very strong economically, but they inherited the powerful and advanced military of the Sui Empire, which was different from the Han Dynasty.

    The Han Empire only had the power to conquer the barbarians seventy years after its founding, and this power was based on military power guaranteed by strong economic strength, while the Tang Empire had the capital to conquer the barbarians from the very beginning.  Therefore, they did not endure humiliation for more than seventy years like they did in the early Han Dynasty.  Although they were both conquests, the conquests of the Tang Empire were essentially different from those of the Han Empire.?'s.  Otherwise, it cannot be explained why the Han Empire's national power continued to weaken after conquests, while the Tang Empire reached its peak after continuous conquests.

    Why is it that in the same conquest, the strength of the Han Empire continued to be depleted in the war, while the army of the Tang Empire became stronger and stronger with each war, and its national strength became more and more prosperous with each war.

    ??In fact, the reason is very simple. To give an example, in the second year of Yuan Shou, Huo Qubing led the elite cavalry of the Han Dynasty to attack Hexi twice in one year, killing 50,000 people and surrendering 40,000 people. They swept through the Western Region and captured Hexi. The results were brilliant.

    However, just imagine, if the Huns were not nomads, but built a city wall or something, would the Han army's cavalry be able to fight so easily?

    Can the Han cavalry, which traveled through five Xiongnu kingdoms in six days, still sweep through Hexi?

    The mode of this battle is almost the basic mode of the Han army's northern battlefield, with all cavalry used and a sudden advance.  Although the use of cavalry has the advantages of strong combat effectiveness and mobility, cavalry is almost useless in the war of siege and overthrow.

    Although the Han army launched many wars against the Western Regions after defeating the Xiongnu, it still used a large number of cavalry. The Han army's combat mode in the Western Regions was only to withdraw the cavalry after defeating the opponent, and occasionally left some infantry to colonize.

    This model is actually as long as the countries in the Western Regions surrender, and the Han Empire has not destroyed them, let alone a strong military presence. The results of this conquest are to a large extent temporary.

    The internal conflicts within the Han Dynasty became more and more intensified with the victory of foreign wars.  At the same time, the Han Empire did not plunder the Western Regions, and the silk trade was limited under the conditions at that time.

    ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Since the emperor of the Han Dynasty also gave preferential treatment to the attached barbarians, the domestic conflicts will inevitably intensify, and the domestic wealth will continue to decrease.  It was during such foreign wars that the Han Empire fell apart after three hundred years of conquest.

    For the Tang Empire, its war model was different from that of the Han Empire. Although the Han Empire also used infantry on the southern front, this was only because there was no way to use cavalry on the southern battlefield.

    As for the Tang Empire, every time it went into battle, the Tang Empire first used soldiers of foreign races, and then the real regular army, the Han army, and the large number of troops from vassal states were used in the Tang Empire's battles.  The big feature is that this will directly reduce the losses of the local army, and the cost will only be some looted money, so it will not affect the fundamental stability of the entire society.

    During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the population growth had stagnated due to the heavy casualties suffered by the Han army. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty conquered Dawan westward and killed 100,000 people. This was almost unimaginable in the Tang Empire.

    The equipment and training of the Tang army were incomparable to that of the Hu soldiers. Emperor Taizong even said that to deal with 10,000 Turkic cavalry, the Tang army only needed 300 people. Although it is a bit exaggerated, it also illustrates the combat capabilities of the Tang army at that time.

    Although the Tang army also fought like the Han army commanded by Huo Qubing and advanced two thousand miles in six days, it was only at the tactical level. At the strategic level, it was for the purpose of occupying land, so there were the four towns of Anxi and the Western Regions.  Two hundred and seventeen states and counties.  The difference between obtaining land and surrendering to barbarians is that obtaining land is equal to obtaining wealth, while surrendering to barbarians only means spreading the power of God.  The Tang Empire implemented effective rule over the Western Regions, and wealth continued to flow from the Western Regions into the Central Plains. The Datang Empire also had heavy troops to guard the Western Regions. In this way, the Western Regions became the inherent territory of the Datang Empire, rather than a nominal territory.  This is also the difference from the big man.

    When talking about the foreign wars in the history of the Han nation, we have to mention Qin General Meng Tian. This general, known as Bizu, pioneered the conquest of powerful enemies in the north. After Qin Shihuang unified the six eastern countries by annexing Yunei,  , began to solve the problem of the Huns in the north. In the war of annexing the six countries, Meng Tian, ??who had made no achievements, finally made himself famous in the Hetao Grassland.

    The Qin army with a force of 300,000 tigers and wolves crisscrossed the Huns, and the fierce Qin cavalry horses were covered with Huns heads.  In just one year, the Xiongnu were defeated by the Qin army and withdrew from Hetao, where Meng Tian also completed the greatest fortification in human history - the Great Wall.

    As a nomadic people, the Huns are also very resilient. Although they were driven away, they were not completely wiped out. Under the technical conditions at the time, it was probably more difficult to completely wipe out the Huns than to make the rats become extinct now.

    So the Huns later made a comeback and took advantage of the civil strife in the Central Plains to occupy Hetao again.  In the following eight hundred years, the Han people and the northern barbarians repeatedly competed for this land with fertile water and grass.  Even the powerful Han army failed to completely solve the defense of Hetao. It was not until the emergence of the Li and Tang Empire that this problem was finally fundamentally solved.

    The war of external expansion of the Li and Tang Empire actually began with the war against the Turks.  The Turks came into being soon after the founding of the Tang Empire.It began to split, but at the same time, the Li and Tang Empire was heading towards unprecedented prosperity.

    In the first year of Zhenguan, that is, AD 627, Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, which kicked off the Tang Empire's foreign conquests.  The first people to stand in the way of conquest were the Turks, the descendants of the Huns.

    The cruelty of the Turks made all the tribes around them hate them to the core.  In the second year of Zhenguan, the allied forces of Xue Yantuo, Huihe, Tongluo, Bayegu, Hun and other countries began a war with the Turks, and the Turks were defeated.

    In the third year of Zhenguan, Tuli petitioned Emperor Taizong to join the imperial court, and the Eastern Turks split.  At the same time, Emperor Taizong canonized Yi Nan as Zhenzhu Biga Khan and ruled over the Tiele Kingdom, that is, the tribes of Uighur.  From then on, the Tiele Kingdom became a tributary state of the Tang Empire.

    One year later, in the fourth year of Zhenguan, the Tang cavalry truly began the war against the Turks. Emperor Taizong adopted Du Rui's suggestion and ordered Li Jing to lead 120,000 cavalrymen, divided into six groups, and went deep into the desert to conquer the Eastern Turks.  The talented general Li Jing defeated the Turks in Yinshan with only 3,000 elite cavalry and forced the Turks to surrender.

    In the fifth year of Zhenguan, the Tang army once again defeated the Turkic army and captured Jieli Khan. The Eastern Turks were defeated. The Turkic lands became the territory of the Tang Empire. The conquest of the Turks was of great significance to the subsequent series of wars in the entire empire. First, the conquest of the Turks  Later, they occupied the vast grassland and laid the foundation for maintaining a strong cavalry.  Secondly, after receiving the material support from the Tang Empire, the combat capabilities of the Turkic surrender troops were fully exerted, and they became the vanguard of the Tang Empire's conquest of the Western Regions.

    The conquest of the Turks meant that the Tang Empire achieved such a perfect victory in its first expedition, which also greatly encouraged the empire's determination to continue its westward expedition in the following hundred years.

    The demise of the Eastern Turks made various tribes in the west feel the power of the Tang Empire. They surrendered one after another and expressed their willingness to become part of the empire and accept the protection of the Tang Empire. The Tang Empire also began to set up administrative agencies in these areas.

    Just three years after the destruction of the Eastern Turks, Du Rui captured the three kingdoms of Gaochang, Yiwu, and Yanqi for the Tang Empire.  With this base, the Tang Empire planned to expand outward on a larger scale.

    In the ninth year of Zhenguan, the civil strife in the Western Turks further expanded. Siyehu Khan, who had just reunified the Western Turks, was attacked by his tribe. After defeating Kang Ju, he committed suicide.  The Western Turks appointed Du Lu as their khan. However, the Western Turks envoys had already supported their own troops. Du Lu wanted to protect themselves, so they sent envoys to request a letter, expressing their willingness to serve as khan. Emperor Taizong believed that the foundation of the north was not stable, and the Western Turks wanted to exclude Iraq.  Apart from a bridgehead in the prefecture, the other Western Turkic states in Lianghun and South Tianshan Road have not yet been annexed, so they have not used troops against the Western Turks for the time being.  Emperor Taizong named Dulu Lu the Khan of the Western Turks, bestowed banners and property to express support, and nominally accepted the Western Turks as a tributary of the Tang Empire.

    In the tenth year of Zhenguan, Duulu Khan died, and his younger brother Qilishu Khan succeeded to the throne.  Qianli Shi Khan divided the Western Turks into ten tribes. Each tribe had a chief, who were called Shishe. Each tribe was given an arrow, so it was also called Shishe.  The ten parts of Yili Shiba are divided into left and right compartments, with Suiye River as the boundary.  The Wu Du Lu tribe in the left wing lived east of Sui Yechuan, and their leader was called Wudachui. The Wunu Shibi tribe in the right wing lived west of Suiye River and reached the east coast of the Caspian Sea. Their leader was called Wuda Qijin.  After that, the two sides of the Western Turks established their own khans and attacked each other.

    At this time, the Tang Empire began a new conquest. In the eleventh year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong appointed Prince Li Chengqian as the general manager of the march, and destroyed Tuguhun. The king committed suicide and all his tribe surrendered.

    In the thirteenth year of Zhenguan, Wang Xuance defeated the Di Nafu Empire, captured its king, princesses, princes, etc. alive, and captured more than 20,000 cattle and horses, which were sent to Chang'an Palace. In the same year, Kunshan Road Chief Ashinadur broke through the fifty cities of Qiuci and captured the turtles alive.  Your Majesty.

    In the 14th year of Zhenguan, the Khitans had been rampant in Hebei for more than 20 years during the era when the Tang Dynasty was at its peak, and then took advantage of the death of Empress Changsun to march southward. This was something the Tang Empire could not tolerate. Du Rui led his army to march north.  Kill all the Khitans.

    In the 14th year of Zhenguan, Du Rui led his troops into the three Koreas and killed countless people. The three Koreas were frightened. The Tang Dynasty established the Andong Protectorate and established 42 states respectively.

    In the 17th year of Zhenguan, general Su Dingfang defeated the Western Turkic Shabolo Khan Helu, captured more than 400,000 people and livestock, and beheaded the Turkic leader Ashina Fuannian and 54 nobles. The Turks were forced to move westward, and the Northern Territory of the Tang Dynasty was restored.  No trouble.

    At this point, the first round of the Tang Empire's Western Expedition was completed, and the Western Regions and Central Asia were all under the control of the Tang Empire.  After the destruction of the Turks, Tubo on the southwest plateau became the biggest military threat to the Li and Tang dynasties.

    What may be puzzling to future generations is that Tubo, a nomadic country with a population of only half a million, could not compete with the incomparable Tang Empire in terms of economy and logistical supplies.  The most troublesome problem was that even a generation of geniuses and Emperor Taizong could not solve this big problem in their lifetime, and could only leave it to their descendants.

    You need to know what was happening at that time?After many years of conquests in the east and west, and in the south and north, the imperial army's combat capability is extremely strong, and it has almost created the myth of invincibility. However, it has never been able to take much advantage against the Tibetan army.

    Whether it is the quality of soldiers, combat concepts, or weapons and equipment, the army of the Tang Empire is far ahead of the Tubo.  In the end, the Zhenguan Dynasty failed to completely wipe out Tubo like other countries it had seen. The only reasonable explanation may be that because Tubo is located on a plateau, it is difficult for the Tang Dynasty cavalry and crossbowmen to use their speed and attack range.  Advantages, so that it was never able to form an overwhelming advantage in the war against Tibet, but this did not become a reason for the empire to stop its conquest.

    After the unification of Songtsen Gampo, Tubo took advantage of the plateau to extend the Western Regions of the Tang Empire. In the 23rd year of Zhenguan, Tubo took advantage of the death of Emperor Taizong and the instability in the Tang Dynasty and began to attack the Tang Empire in the Western Regions.  Territory, within a year, the war almost never stopped, and the four towns in the Western Region changed hands several times.

    At the same time, the Arab Empire also began to rise and joined the war for the Western Region.  The Tang Empire also benefited greatly from previous predatory wars. First of all, it honed its own army and gained experience in managing and coordinating cavalry. Secondly, the predatory wars also increased the wealth of the empire and gave it absolute control over the Western Regions.  Control ensured the smooth flow of the Silk Road, allowing the Tang Empire to continuously obtain gold from the Western barbarians from the silk trade. At the same time, the military power of the Tang Dynasty forced the Western barbarians to pay tribute to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. The treasures paid tribute during the Yonghui period,  It actually took two warehouses almost as much as the national treasury to fill, and in the end all this wealth became national wealth through national consumption. Therefore, the Tang Empire at that time was said to be the richest in the world, and its total economic volume exceeded half of the world's.

    After the rise of the Arab Empire, it also began to expand to the east. At the same time, the Tibetans were always at a disadvantage in the confrontation with the Tang Empire. The common enemy brought the Arabs and Tibetans together.

    In the war for the four towns of Anxi, after Xi Junmai dealt a devastating blow to Tibet, the Tibetans were busy licking their wounds, while the Arabs were still busy fighting with the Central Asians.

    At this time, the Tang Dynasty had completed the transition from Zhenguan to Yonghui. The political power was stable and the national power had reached its peak. The economic aggregate of the Tang Empire had exceeded that of all other countries in the world combined. It can be said that at the beginning of Yonghui  Years, even if the entire world unites, it will be defeated by the army of the arrogant Tang Empire.

    At that time, Li Chengqian, who had just succeeded to the throne, was also an emperor with lofty ambitions. Li Chengqian was not satisfied with maintaining his status, so the war with Tubo was imminent.

    In the first year of Yonghui, Li Chengqian worshiped Du Rui as the general manager of the march and led the army to conquer Tubo. In the battle of Hehuang, the Tibetan elites were all over the battle. In the battle of Lianyunbao, Songtsan Gampo was conferred the title. In the battle of Lhasa, Mangsong Mangtsen knelt down.  Surrendered, Tubo was completely owned by the Tang Dynasty.

    Tubo was destroyed, and Dashi lost their allies in the east, but they still refused to give up. In the third year of Yonghui and the fifth year of Yonghui, after Dashi's wars against the Tang Dynasty failed, the Dashi people still persisted in their pursuit of the Tang Dynasty.  Central Asia expands.

    Due to the huge geographical advantage, and because the Tang army was busy marching to the sea and exploring overseas at that time, and had no time to take care of Central Asia, the influence of the food gradually became apparent. The military and religious influence made the Tang Dynasty originally  The vassal states of Central Asia fell to the Arab side one after another.

    In order to counter the Arab expansion in the Western Regions, the Tang Dynasty used the Tuqi Shi to inflict a heavy blow to the Arabs.  In the sixth year of Yonghui's reign, General Gallagher led a northern expedition and won in the north of Hezhong. He was about to invade the territory of the Tang Dynasty, but was surrounded by Tuqishi people. After paying a ransom, he was finally saved.

    The defeat of Dashi caused the Kang and Shi kingdoms that had rebelled against Dashi to return to the Tang Dynasty. This setback halted Arabia's eastward expansion for a full year.

    In the seventh year of Yonghui's reign, Li Chengqian, who could no longer bear the food shortages and longed to achieve a feat far exceeding that of Emperor Taizong, launched the Western Expedition. With Su Dingfang as the commander-in-chief, he led hundreds of thousands of troops to march westward. This was a battle that would happen sooner or later.  If the Tang Dynasty wants to expand its hegemony in Central Asia, it must defeat the Arabs. If the Arabs want to completely control Central Asia, they must defeat the Tang Dynasty.

    Although the Tang Empire did not win the final victory in this westward march, the bravery shown by the Tang Empire's troops in the battle is worthy of learning and awe by future generations of Han people.

    At the beginning of the war, the invincible Tang army marched 700 miles with overwhelming force, crossed the Congling Mountains, and reached Hengluosi, where they faced off against the big cannibals.

    At this time, the Arabs' coach Ibrahi Muhammad began to mobilize his elite cavalry of 400,000 people, as well as other Central Asian affiliated ** troops with a total defeat of nearly 10,000 people. They rushed to Hengluo to try to fight against the army of the Tang Empire.  decisive battle.  Although the Tang army was only one-third of the enemy in terms of military strength, the Tang army was simply fearless at that time.

      Because before that, the Tang army was almost invincible.  Therefore, he has never been afraid of fighting, and he will not take any opponent seriously, even an enemy three times his size.

    Because in battle, officers allow soldiers to plunder.  Therefore, the Tang army's desire for war exceeded that of the Han Dynasty army.  In terms of weapons, the Tang army, equipped with powerful crossbows, hard bows and black armored heavy cavalry, was definitely the best in the world at that time.  And in terms of the quality of soldiers, it is impossible for that country's army to be able to match the powerful cavalry of the invincible Tang Dynasty.

    When the battle began, the Tang army used long-range attacks from crossbows and the impact of super armored heavy cavalry to completely suppress the Arab army.  However, this time the Tang army obviously underestimated their opponents. There were too many Arabs. The two sides fought for five days and nights on the Kazakh grassland, but there was still no winner. The Tang army killed tens of thousands of enemy troops.  Although the situation has gradually turned against the Tang Army, the Tang Army still showed no signs of retreating under the command of Su Dingfang.

    "On a dusk when the setting sun was like blood, when the Tang Army's Xuanjia cavalry began to launch a new round of attacks, the form of the war changed - the Geluolu people rebelled.

    They cut off the connection between the Tang Dynasty cavalry and infantry in the middle, and at the same time attacked the Tang Army's heavy cavalry from behind and divided the Tang Army's light cavalry.  Although the Tang army was very well-trained, facing this sudden change after five days of bloody battle, the Tang army fell into chaos.

    The Arabs took the opportunity to completely surround the Tang Army's light cavalry, and used Arab cavalry several times larger than the Tang Army's to attack the Tang Army, which had fallen into chaos.

    You can imagine the tragedy on the Kazakh grasslands at that time.  Although the armies of the Tang Empire encountered such variables in the battle, they still chose to fight bravely rather than surrender.  Su Dingfang, who was trapped in a tight siege, still led thousands of cavalry formations to kill tens of thousands of enemies before breaking out of the siege.  The brave Su Dingfang still didn't want to go back like this. If his deputy Qiu Zhilei hadn't tried his best to dissuade him, the brave Su Dingfang might have continued to lead the 4,000 multi-armored cavalry who had just broken out of the encirclement to have another showdown with the Arabs.

    Although the Tang army did not achieve the final victory in the Battle of Henglus, they were still glorious.  They killed several times their enemies in the battle, but there were too many Arab troops, so they never won the final victory in the battle. The rebellion of Ge Luolu was the reason why the Tang army failed to win in this battle.  The direct cause of the final victory over the Arabs.

    During the battle, the Tang army showed such amazing combat effectiveness and tenacious will that the Arabs did not even dare to pursue them for a period of time.

    Although the first Western Expedition failed, the Tang people were a nation that greatly advocated fighting. At the critical moment, Li Chengqian once again invited Du Rui, mobilized all the troops that could be mobilized, and launched a battle of revenge. In two battles, the people who entered the Western Regions would be  The Great Food Army was driven out, and then Du Rui led his army across the Congling Mountains. In a series of battles, he killed millions of the Great Food Army and completely included Central Asia in the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

    At this point, the territory of the Tang Empire reached the Caspian Sea in the west, Lake Baikal in the north, and the Tianzhu Road in the southwest also faced the Arabian Sea.  To the east, the entire Korean Peninsula fell into the hands of the Tang Empire, and the Japanese Empire also became the territory of the Tang Dynasty. The territory of the Tang Empire was basically formed.

    In history, the Tang Dynasty was also famous for its martial arts, but blessings and misfortunes depended on it. On the other hand, the glory and victory were so long that the border line needed to be guarded by extremely powerful legions and a huge number of border guards.  By the Kaiyuan period, the Tang Dynasty had been at peace for a long time, and the people had not known soldiers for a long time. The real dragon had regrets. By the Tianbao period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the military system inherited from the Northern Wei Dynasty that had been in operation for 80 years began to become rigid, and its shortcomings became increasingly prominent.  The army was increasingly weakened, and even the most elite Fengxiang Army and Jinwu Guards in the empire were controlled by ordinary people. The ministers who were obsessed with stability and lacked foresight proposed the implementation of a "recruitment system", which gave the Tibetan generals stationed on the border an excellent opportunity.  With the opportunity to recruit troops, An Lushan and others recruited a large number of "miscellaneous Hu" soldiers, and constantly replaced Han generals with Fan generals. In the vast border guarding area, the Jiedushi generals who came from Fan generals were completely mature.  With the destruction of the Tang Dynasty, the feudal town has since become a fatal cancer cell in the body of the Tang Dynasty.

    After the empire's majesty and glory, the crisis gradually surfaced. In 751 AD, the imperial army suffered its first major defeat in the south.  The Imperial Army was defeated, bleeding and drifting.

    Bai Juyi described the tragic situation at that time in "Xinfeng Broken Arm Man": "I heard that there is Lushui in Yunnan. When the pepper flowers fall, miasma smoke rises. The army wades through the water like soup. Less than ten people died, twenty-three died, and the village south and the north cried.  I mourn, my son bids farewell to my father, my mother, my husband and my wife, and we all say that we are marching against the Southern Barbarians before and after, and tens of millions of people have gone without a single return."

    At the same time, the empire also suffered a strong defeat on the northwest border. After Gao Xianzhi conquered the Shi Kingdom, he captured its king and prince, but the prince escaped halfway, and the Central Asian countries asked the Arab Empire for help.

    Also in 751 AD, the Arab armyThe Tang army encountered Yuanluosi and fought fiercely for many days. Gao Xianzhi was defeated and more than 20,000 soldiers were lost. The Tang Dynasty lost its hegemony in Central Asia.

    By the time of the Anshi Rebellion in 755 AD, the Jiuchong City Tower was filled with smoke and dust. Since the Anlu Mountain Rebellion in Yuyang, the golden age of the great Tang Empire had come to an end. The Tang Dynasty ushered in its greatest misfortune and was severely stabbed internally.

    There is no one to sweep away the demon¡¯s blood in Yuhuan, Yuyang¡¯s horses are tired of Chang¡¯an grass, Tongguan¡¯s battle bones are as high as mountains, and the king of thousands of miles is old in Shu.

    From then on, the glorious era of the Han nation saw its power and glory gradually decline. The Tang Empire was no longer glorious. There was no Tang Dynasty after Xuanzong. The vast territory that once reached as far as the Aral Sea shrank to the line of Tianshui in Gansu. The capital Chang'an was also exposed to the Tubo influence.  Under the iron heel, starting from Emperor Dezong and Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty, coups and mutinies were frequent in the center of the imperial court. The political situation was turbulent, eunuchs were dictatorial, party disputes were frequent, vassal towns were segregated, and misfortunes never came singly. In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, for a century and a half, the Khan of Heaven was like a candle in the wind, and the rain was beating.  Piao Ping, "Loss of Chang'an six times, the emperor fled to Bashu nine times", "After my flowers bloom, hundreds of flowers will kill me", Huang Chao caused chaos and stabbed straight into the organs. The huge body of the empire was gradually declining. After more than a century of swaying after the Anshi Rebellion,  The Tang Empire finally collapsed with a gentle push from the hand of a pariah named Zhu San. A darker Five Dynasties period came, with rebellion, killing, famine, plague, deception, betrayal, blood and tears for more than fifty years.  Historical volumes, countless pairs of greedy eyes coveted the supreme throne engraved with nine golden dragons. From the prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty to the end of the Five Dynasties, the actual ruling territory of the Chinese Empire shrank extremely, and the splendid civilization of the unified country instantly became a passing cloud.  Old dream.

    There is no invincible family or country in history, and there is no eternal empire in the world. However, the great empire disappears, and the immortal concept of a unified and powerful one has been implanted in the hearts of future generations. It is enduring, timeless, unforgettable, and empty.  Sigh.

    But now history has changed, and Du Rui is sparing no effort to carry out continuous reforms and changes to this huge empire so that it can have stronger vitality and adaptability.

    From now on, no matter whether it is the present or future generations, there is no need to recall the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty and the illustrious martial arts of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty will always follow this path and continue to show people the great achievements of the Han and Tang Dynasties.  Magnificent.

    Therefore, today Xue Rengui has the confidence to say to Agostino, "If you want to fight, I will fight." With such words, Xue Rengui has such confidence. Similarly, the Tang Empire also has this confidence.

    Datang's signal has been clearly revealed. If you want to be Datang's friend, Datang welcomes you. If you want to challenge Datang's dignity and challenge Datang's bottom line, Datang is also ready for war.  .

    If you can¡¯t get something on the battlefield, don¡¯t talk too fast. If you want it, just use real swords and guns to snatch it.

    ?The rest is useless to say!
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