We all know that there are several very powerful dynasties in the history of our country, but after the Tang Dynasty, the Han people not only could not defeat other foreign races, but also were enslaved by the Mongols and the Manchu Qing for hundreds of years.
Lu Xun once said, "Tang Duo Hu Qi", which is manifested in the Tang Army, means that there are a large number of Hu officers and soldiers. The proportion of Famous Hu generals in the Tang Dynasty was much higher than that of the Han Dynasty. For example, Ashinasheer, Zhizhi sili, and Goshuhan were Turkic; Goxianzhi was a Goguryeo; Fumeng Lingcha was a Qiang; and Qifu Heli was a Qili of the Tiele tribe
Why, then, did the northern nomads suddenly become stronger in terms of military might? In fact, this is due to the development of cavalry tactics and the improvement of cavalry weapons. In ancient times, cavalry functioned like tanks on a modern battlefield. Imagine a group of tanks attacking an infantry position at the same time, and even if the infantry is several times more numerous, it is difficult to win.
Since it was impossible to predict where they would attack from, they could only maintain a large standing army stationed everywhere, and the huge expenditure of the army also aggravated the burden of the peasants, and there were often peasant uprisings. And the nomadic cavalry tended to assemble quickly, attack a place, open the gap and drive straight into the expansion of the battle results.
At the same time, the Han rulers used Confucianism to govern the country with heavy literature and light weapons, and did not allow civilians to privately build weapons and armor, etc., and in the face of the natural superiority of nomadic cavalry, they had no power to fight back.