At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the country's military strength was strong, and the generals were experienced in hundreds of battles. The morale of the soldiers was also boosted by the new military system. Driven by the war reward mechanism, the national war machine is invincible and invincible.
Datang is the founder of the world-class order, no matter what the consequences of the war it launched, it will not face blame, and it is even more fearless of revenge from other countries.
The attitude of the Tang elite toward the neighboring countries also encouraged li jing, Li Ji, Su Dingfang, Gao Xianzhi and others to take actions to "destroy the country" in disguise. Of course, the emergence of these actions is also related to the character of the combat general himself, as well as the general's judgment of the situation.
Li Jing's destruction of the Eastern Turks was to eliminate the military troubles for the Tang Dynasty, and at the same time to shame Li Shimin; Li Ji destroyed Goguryeo for the emperor to promote the national prestige of the Tang Dynasty; Su Dingfang destroyed Baekje because the Tang Dynasty did not take this small state of Qi'er in his eyes at all; Gao Xianzhi destroyed the Shi state mainly to win personal military merit.
First, Li Jing, who is good at speculating on the heart of the king
Li Jing was from a prominent background and was the nephew of the famous general Han Huhu.
He served as an official in the Sui Dynasty, and after the sui dynasty was destroyed, he introduced himself to Li Yuan on the execution ground. After some answers, he showed extraordinary talent and was immediately accepted as a staff member by Li Shimin.
He survived only because he was good at reading the mind of the monarch.
When the Tang Dynasty was founded, its national strength was weak, because the Sui Dynasty had once submitted to the Turks. After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, he had been harassed by the Eastern Turks, and Li Yuan's father and son had long wanted to eliminate the Eastern Turks, but they were suffering from not having a good opportunity.
A year before Li Shimin ascended the throne, the Turks invaded Taiyuan.
In the war between the two countries, the Tang army also suffered a big defeat and suffered heavy losses. In the third year of Zhenguan (629 AD), the Turkic civil unrest, Li Shimin sent Li Jing to send troops to destroy the Eastern Turks.
Legend has it that the Tang Dynasty's elimination of the Eastern Turks this time was the result of Li Jing's "self-assertion", because he only brought three thousand men and horses with him at that time, and he overthrew the country.
Li Jing knew very well that the Eastern Turks were a major problem for the imperial court, and Li Shimin suffered from it for a long time! When he discovered the civil unrest in the country, he immediately sent troops to attack. As the saying goes: Take advantage of its illness and let it die.
Although Li Shimin blamed him for being good at advocating, in the end, the credit for destroying the Turks was all on his own, and he was really happy!
Later, Li Jing wanted to resign and not do it, and Li Shimin coaxed Li Jing back, after all, it was rare for a courtier who knew him so well.
For the sake of Li Jing, Li Shimin specially created an official position called "Pingzhangshi" (平章事). Since then, the "Tongzhongshu Menxia PingzhangShi" on the stage of Chinese history has become synonymous with the prime minister.
Second, "Elder of the Three Dynasties" Li Ji
Li Ji was a patriarch of the Three Dynasties in the early Tang Dynasty, who joined Li Miwagang's army as a teenager and later defected to Li Yuan. Throughout his life, he followed the three generations of Li's father and son to expand the territory and pacify the four sides.
Emperor Gaozong of Tang
In the first year of the Qianfeng Dynasty (666 AD), the Goguryeo vassal Yuangai Suwen fell ill and died, and the three sons fought for the throne.
Yuangai Suwen's eldest son, Quan Boy, turned to the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Gao Sect sent Li Ji as the marching commander of Liaodong Province and began the Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo.
However, when it comes to the Tang Conquest of Goguryeo,
Because of the popularity of folk storytelling, generally only Xue Rengui is known, but Li Ji is not known.
In 668, Xue Rengui attacked the Goguryeo town of Buyeo, and Quan Nanjian sent troops to support Buyeo, but was blocked by Li Ji's troops on the way. Li Ji led his troops to behead 30,000 enemies and went to Daxingcheng to join Xue Rengui's two armies. Soon after, he struggled to break through the Goguryeo army at the "Yalu Gate", pursued it for two hundred miles, and conquered Tatsuyi.
Later, Li Ji led his troops to besiege Pyongyang for a month, during which time he repeatedly persuaded Quan Nanjian to surrender, but the other side was not moved. Finally, an old monk opened the door to meet the landing, and Li Ji took the opportunity to attack Pyongyang and capture QuanNanjian.
Judging from the entire campaign of Tang and Goguryeo, Li Ji's actions have always been very conservative, and the deputy general Xue Rengui's combat strength is far stronger than his.
The reason why Goguryeo was "destroyed" was entirely because of the fate of Izumi's stubborn resistance. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, the national strength far exceeded that of the early Tang Dynasty, so when Tang destroyed Goguryeo, it was also effortless.
In addition to fighting, Li Ji was also proficient in medical skills. Most of the ancient Chinese physicians were Taoist scholars, so Li Ji's personality in his later years was very peaceful. His eastern conquest of Goguryeo had nothing to do with his own personality, but was purely due to the unprecedented improvement of the Tang Dynasty's national strength and test the sword of the surrounding small countries.
Emperor Gaozong of Tang sealed Mount Taishan, and Wenzhi martial arts were all in their heyday. Goguryeo itself died, so Datang raised his hand and gave it a ride.
Third, Su Dingfang, who was smeared by the history of the wild
In the fourth year of the Tang Dynasty (659), Baekje repeatedly invaded Silla with the support of Goguryeo. The king of Silla turned to the Tang Dynasty for help, and the Tang Gao Sect sent Su Dingfang to conquer Baekje.
Su Dingfang is brave and brave, and his courage is outstanding. At the age of fifteen, he accompanied his father to fight in the four directions, and later after returning to Li Tang, he continued to lead the army to fight and kill the four sides.
When Xianqing was four years old, Su Dingfang was already a 67-year-old man, and he led the Zuo Xiao wei general Liu Boying and 100,000 other land and water troops to attack Baekje. The Tang navy sailed from Shandong and crossed the Yellow Sea to the mouth of the Jinjiang River in the south of the present-day Korean Peninsula. Lined up in the mountains, the killing sound was tremendous. Baekje was defeated and suffered thousands of casualties. Su Dingfang then rode the tide and led the Tang army to land directly at the capital of Baekje, killing more than 10,000 enemies.
The lord of Baekje fled in panic, and buyeo Tae, the son of the lord, established himself as king and wanted to defend the city again. But he was betrayed by his relatives and his people. The people in the city climbed the wall to escape, and Buyeo Tai had no choice but to put up the flag.
Su Dingfang destroyed Baekje and greatly revived the national prestige of the Tang Dynasty. Later, he led troops to cooperate with Li Ji to eliminate Goguryeo. In the end, he marched north to Tuguhun and died of illness on the front line. Suding Fangping Baekje later erected a stone stele in the local area, which has been protected by the Korean government as a cultural relic, and its name is "Tang Ping Baekje Inscription".
Now some history lovers say: Su Dingfang destroyed the Three Kingdoms in three wars, and won more with less every time, and he is clearly a god of war level figure, why doesn't everyone know? It turns out that he has been smeared as a villain in folk interpretations.
In addition, because of his achievements in Baekje and Goguryeo, the residents of the peninsula were terrified
North Korean folk make up a story that after the destruction of Baekje, Su Dingfang wanted to annex Silla, but was designed by the Silla minister to get rid of it, which is pure nonsense.
Fourth, Gao Xianzhi, who is violent by nature
Gosang-ji is the god of war among the four "gods of war", but people nowadays generally do not want to mention him because he is a Goryeo. In addition, his act of destroying the Stone Kingdom and other countries is still controversial and considered to be an "unjust war".
Shiguo is one of the Nine Frontier States in the Western Regions and a small country located on the Silk Road. The people are good at business and farming, and their lives are very rich.
Gao Xianzhi coveted the wealth of Shi Guo, falsely accused Shi Guo of "no courtesy of vassals" to the Tang Dynasty, sent troops to destroy the country, plundered the wealth for himself, and robbed the princess of Shi Guo as a concubine.
Shi Guo had always reconciled with the Tang Dynasty, and during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the king was also crowned the King of Huaihua and received the Iron Coupon Danshu. Later, Gao Xianzhi sent an army to fight Shi Guo, and the lord of the country felt that there was a misunderstanding, so he invited Gao Xianzhi to conduct peace talks, but he did not expect that Gao Xianzhi took the opportunity to kill the king of Shi Guo.
Gao Xianzhi snatched up the shi kingdom, and casually beat up many small countries such as the cavalry and Hu Shang, and every time they slandered other countries as "not subjects".
In the eleventh year of Tianbao (751), Gao Xianzhi once abducted the kings and ministers of several small countries such as Tubo, Shuoshi, and Shiguo into Beijing, and finally all of them were beheaded by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Killing innocents indiscriminately for a while, but ruining the reputation of the Tang Dynasty. This laid the groundwork for the subsequent Battle of Theros.
The reason why Gao Xianzhi was able to destroy many countries in a row, in addition to his own certain talent for military combat, was also bullying, and this was inseparable from the emperor's connivance of him.
epilogue
China during the Tang Dynasty was a well-deserved world hegemon. Attacking a few small neighboring countries and fighting them, do you still have to pick a date? Among the four famous generals mentioned in the title, three were veteran generals who began to join the army from the end of the Sui Dynasty and fought until the Tang Dynasty. It is their duty to open up the territory and expand the territory for Datang.
And the beginning of every dynasty is often such arrogance.
As for
Gao Xianzhi
He was also a great military man. But he
Such a love of "destroying the country" seems to be mainly out of "selfishness". And Tang Xuanzong was so happy that he did not obstruct his behavior.
Since he had the ability to destroy the country and had the support of the emperor, he naturally became more happy.
Strong military strength provided a material and personnel base; the general's own super high military level provided a technical and tactical foundation; and the emperor's acquiescence and connivance provided a reason for leaving the division. All three are ready, so that the famous names of the Tang Dynasty will emerge in an endless stream.
Of course, the war launched by the Tang Dynasty, whether active or passive, was not a complete victory. As long as it is a war, there is a possibility of losing.
The prosperity and prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, the civil and martial arts of the monarch, and the achievements of the famous generals in the annals of history can all be seen in the history books. To understand this history of Datang,
"Zizhi Tongjian" is a very good choice.
Zizhi Tongjian is a multi-volume chronicle edited by Sima Guang of the Northern Song Dynasty, with a total of 294 volumes and about 3 million words, which took 19 years to complete. It began in the twenty-third year of King Weilie of Zhou (403 BC) and stopped writing until the sixth year of The Sixth Year of Emperor Chai RongXiande of Zhou Shizong (959 AD) when he conquered Huainan. The history of 16 dynasties covers 1362 years.
The author Sima Guang has drawn many valuable lessons through the summary of previous dynasties and dynasties, which are worthy of reference by future generations.
Song Shenzong believed that this book "in view of the past, there are funds to govern the Tao",
That is, to take the gains and losses of history as an admonition, so the book was named "Zizhi Tongjian". As a generation of famous emperors, Song Shenzong's evaluation of this book is so high that it is enough to see the value of this book.
Therefore, from the "Zizhi Tongjian", we can not only see the whole picture of the Tang Dynasty, but also the rise and fall of other dynasties. In order to facilitate the reader's understanding, I recommend the "Zizhi Tongjian" in the link below. The book is beautifully typeset and contrasts between text and white, so readers do not have to worry about the obscure language when enjoying the pleasure of reading. Interested readers can click on the link below to purchase.
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