Speaking of the Tang Dynasty, everyone will first think of the strong national strength and rich economy at that time. The Tang Dynasty can be said to be one of the heydays in Chinese history, and that era was simply fascinating. However, the Tang Dynasty was not completely peaceful and prosperous, without any worries, and this worry also made almost every emperor of the Tang Dynasty suffer.
The problem that worries the emperors is the border problem. The Tang Dynasty had a vast territory and a large land area. However, it is precisely because of the large land area that the central government is somewhat unable to do so. The distance from the capital to the border was too far, and the traffic at that time was not developed, so the border became a piece of fat meat in the eyes of external minorities.
Ethnic minorities are very tough, good at riding and shooting, and in the face of their surprise attacks, the imperial army is sometimes somewhat unable to resist. Among them was a Tubo general, who swept through the famous generals of the Tang Dynasty, leaving the Four Dynasties Heavenly Sons helpless, and when his name was mentioned, the entire imperial court had to sigh. However, in the end, he was defeated at the feet of the empress, and his name was called On Qinling.
First, there are many border wars
The Tang Dynasty was strong and strong, and it was long unwilling to spend too much manpower and money on the military, so the Tang Dynasty almost did not take the initiative to launch wars abroad. However, the ethnic minorities on the border are different, their environment and climatic conditions are much worse than those in the Central Plains, and the barren desert and the intrusion of sand and dust make them yearn for the fertile land and pleasant climate of the Central Plains.
At the same time, ethnic minorities mostly live on animal husbandry, which determines that they do not have a fixed residence, where there is water, where there is green grass, where there is their horseback migration. However, it takes time for the grass to grow, and the places where ethnic minorities live will not always have suitable pastures, so they set their sights on the Tang Dynasty land on the other side of the border.
Among the ethnic minorities who coveted the land of the Tang Dynasty, there was one ethnic group that was very representative, and that was the Tubo. The Tubo king and his subordinates agreed that the Emperor of Tiangao was far away and that the central government did not have the ability to manage it, so they sent troops to repeatedly invade the border areas. At first, they were still small-scale robberies of the peasants' land, but after a long time, they were not satisfied with this.
As a result, The Tubo vassal Qinling began to launch an army to invade the border, attacking the city and plundering the land at the border, and appropriating a large area of land for himself. After a long time, the emperor who was far away in Chang'an could not sit still. Even if it is far away, it is also the land of the Tang Dynasty, how can it be trampled by foreign races? In this way, the then emperor Emperor Gaozong of Tang announced that he would gather troops to the border and drive the Tibetan army out of the country.
The general chosen by Emperor Gaozong of Tang at that time to fight against Qinling was a well-known general in the middle of the dynasty, Xue Rengui. Xue Rengui led his troops to fight for many years and made outstanding military achievements, which can be said to be invincible in the DPRK. Emperor Gaozong of Tang asked Xue Rengui whether he was confident about the battle, and Xue Rengui was full of confidence and told Tang Gaozong that he did not have to worry, he would definitely retake the frontier, which made Tang Gaozong's heart settle down a lot.
Second, the great defeat of the Tang army
Emperor Gaozong of Song knew that it would be difficult to deal with on Qinling, and he deliberately practiced it before Xue Rengui's troops went out on the expedition, but what he did not expect was that this elite army would make the imperial court lose face and lose completely. At the beginning of the war, Xue Rengui won a small victory by virtue of his rich combat experience, and Xue Rengui was also complacent, thinking that the war would definitely be completely won soon.
On Qinling soon found the reason for this mistake and reorganized his troops. At this time, Xue Rengui was already a little fluttery, and he was even a little light enemy. In the subsequent battles, he did not take Tubo's invasion seriously many times, thinking that the other side was nothing more than a paper tiger, and it would definitely be broken in one blow. But what he didn't expect was that the next thing he would greet was a fiasco.
Taking advantage of the lack of preparation of the imperial army, Qin Ling launched a surprise attack, and Xue Rengui was not fully prepared to deal with it due to his previous carelessness. At this moment, his troops can be said to have been directly beaten and collapsed. On Qinling in this battle against Xue Rengui can be said to be a great victory. Xue Rengui had to return to the imperial court to accept punishment.
On Qinling returned to Tubo and stepped up planning for the next attack. He hit the iron while it was hot and defeated the Tang army in the next few battles. For a long time after that, under the leadership of Theon Qinling, Tubo gradually expanded its territorial area, which also made the Tang court exhausted. Before Wu Zetian took office, all four emperors fought against Qinling, but all ended in failure.
Third, the end of the owl
On Qinling, he is not only good at fighting wars, but also has a set of rules in governing the country. After Songtsen Gampo's death, Tubo fell into chaos for a time. The successor Tubo king did not know the art of governing the country, and the ambitious minister Tan Qinling seized the opportunity to seize real power and took tough measures both internally and externally. In this way, the whole of Tubo almost became the world of Qinling, and the emperor was almost emptied.
The Victory over the Tang Army's QinLing was even more like a day in the sky, with great power in his hands. However, Qinling not only has ambitions, he is also very brainy, he knows that although Tubo currently has advantages in the battle with the Tang, the Tang army has sufficient materials and troops than Tubo, and continuing to invade the Central Plains is certainly not a long-term solution. At this time, the Tang Dynasty also changed its surname, empress Wu Zetian, and took the throne.
Wu Zetian's achievements needless to say, as a generation of empresses, Wu Zetian's contribution to the Tang Dynasty can be said to be ranked among the Emperors of the Tang Dynasty. As soon as Wu Zetian took office, he was keenly aware of the border problem and this theory qinling that caused the first four emperors a headache. At this time, the Tang Dynasty's treasury was sufficient and its troops were strong, and some people advised Wu Zetian to take advantage of this time to attack Tubo and make them retreat in spite of difficulties.
However, as witty as Wu Zetian, he had already seen Tubo's weakness. At that time, although Tubo looked powerful, it was chaotic inside. The Tubo King, who had previously been stripped of power, had gradually grown into an adult, and he looked at this heavy minister who had taken away his power and was dissatisfied. Therefore, the King of Tubo had a plan, and he began to bribe his cronies to take back his own power.
Wu Zetian did not intervene in this matter, she knew that she only had to wait and see what happened. The tubo king's road to power was very smooth, and The Qinling had already let down his guard against the young and incompetent Tubo king, so the Tubo king easily knocked him down and regained power. In this way, after Tubo did not have the iron-blooded Qinling, its strength was greatly reduced, and it had no energy to invade the border anymore.
4. Summary
In this life, Qin Ling has assisted the emperor, governed the country, and seized the territory, which can be said to be an arrogant wizard with unlimited scenery, and even the emperor of the Tang Dynasty shook his head when he mentioned him. In the face of such a person, Wu Zetian actually won the victory without spending a single soldier, which shows how clever Wu Zetian's means are as an empress of a generation.