During the Sui and Tang dynasties, famous generals emerged, and there was a figure who was often overlooked, although he did not have the military achievements of Han Huhu and Yang Su, but he also had a good performance, and with this person's strategy, the Sui Dynasty brought down the powerful Turkic Khaganate. After his death, his sons and daughters also soared, his son became the founding hero of the Tang Dynasty, and his daughter became the empress of the Tang Dynasty, so who was this neglected Sui Dynasty famous general?
This person's name was Changsun Sheng, the character Ji Sheng, and he was a native of Luoyang, Henan. Changsun Sheng's family originated from the Tuoba clan of the Northern Wei royal family, and was a famous and prestigious clan in the north during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, such as his great-grandfather Changsun Zhi was the Taishi and Shangdang King of Northern Wei, and his father Changsun Yi served as the Kaifu Yi Tongsan Division in Northern Zhou. At that time, the Northern Zhou Dynasty was relatively martial, and those noble children often went out together on horseback to shoot arrows, but none of them could surpass Changsun Sheng's ability.
According to the historical records, Changsun Sheng can be said to be both literate and martial, "sexually sensitive, slightly involved in secretaries, good at bullet work and shooting, and good at zhaojie", which attracted the attention of Yang Jian, the Duke of Sui, who took Changsun Sheng's hand and said to others: "Changsun Lang's martial arts are yiqun, suitable for his words, and more than a little strange." After the name will, is not this sub-evil? In 580, Northern Zhou made peace with the Turkic Khaganate, and Changsun Sheng went to the northern steppes as a deputy envoy, and his bravery and riding and shooting aroused the appreciation of the Turkic Tutu Khan.
Once, Changsun Sheng went out hunting with The Tu Khan and saw two eagles fighting in the air, and the Shotu Khan gave Changsun Sheng two arrows and asked him to shoot the two large eagles. Changsun Sheng "bent his bow and galloped towards it, encountered eagles grabbing each other, so he fired a shot and doubled it", and shot two large eagles with only one arrow, leaving a good story of "one arrow and two eagles". The Khan was so pleased that he asked the sons of the Turkic nobles to learn archery from Changsun Sheng.
Changsun Sheng stayed in the Turks for more than a year, and he did not idle, taking advantage of the opportunity to hunt to learn more about the internal situation of the Turks, and at the same time, "because of the situation in the mountains and rivers, the strength and weakness of the people are well known." After returning to China, Yang Jian was about to become emperor, and Changsun Sheng told Yang Jian all this information, so he was reused. In 581, Yang Jian usurped the throne of Northern Zhou, and Regent Khan was furious and planned to mobilize soldiers and horses to invade the Sui Dynasty.
At this time, the role of Changsun Sheng was revealed, and he was well aware that the Turkic leaders "had strong troops in their own unity, were called khans, lived on all sides, harbored suspicion inside, and showed peace with the same", so he offered advice to Emperor Wen of Sui and adopted the divisive strategy: "Now it is advisable to attack from afar and close, from the strong and the weak, through the envoys, said Apo, then take pictures to return to the army, defend themselves on the right." And lead to Luo, dispatch Lian Xi and Xia, then the picture is divided, and the left side is also prepared. After more than ten years, if you accept the provocation and revenge, you will be able to empty your country in one fell swoop. ”
Changsun Sheng "mouthed the situation, painted mountains and rivers by hand, and wrote about their virtual reality", which explained the situation in turkistan for Emperor Wen of Sui in detail. Emperor Wen of Sui was very pleased and immediately adopted Changsun Sheng's strategy. Changsun Sheng served as a che cavalry general, and with a lot of money, he went to marry the Khitan and Xi tribes, and spread out his confidants at the place of Chuluohou to lure them inside. In 583, thanks to the efforts of Changsun Sheng, the Turkic Khaganate was finally divided, divided into eastern and western parts, and submitted to the Sui Dynasty.
In 601, Changsun Sheng was delighted to have a daughter, who was the eldest grandson empress of the Tang Dynasty, that is, the wife of Emperor Taizong of Tang. Changsun Sheng also had many sons, one of whom was named Changsun Wuji, who was the first of the LingYange heroes. Just as the so-called "upper soldiers cut down plots, second cuts down diplomatic relations, second cuts down soldiers, and attacks the city under him", although Changsun Sheng did not have the experience of large-scale conquest, he plotted to bring down the Turkic Khaganate, is this not the highest realm pursued by war?
References: 1. Book of Sui; 2. Zizhi Tongjian