In the long history of the Chinese nation for thousands of years, it has experienced countless battles of all sizes. The birth and continuation of every new dynasty must be tested by war.
The existence of war is also an inevitable factor in the development of history. Some wars are born for justice, and some wars exist for evil.
The Battle of Leluos between the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire, which took place in 751 AD, is still talked about by posterity after a thousand years.
The dispute of the Kaiyuan shengshi
From 618 to 907 AD, it was the existence of the most brilliant dynasty in the history of the Chinese nation, the Tang Dynasty, and in the past two hundred years, Tang Xuanzong made great efforts to govern the country during his reign, adopted a series of positive governance strategies, and created the world-renowned "Kaiyuan Prosperous Era", which smoothly pushed the Tang Dynasty into its heyday.
At that time, the Tang Dynasty's economic and military strength was at the top level in the world. Together with the Byzantine Empire and the Arab Empire, they formed the three hegemonic empires on the Eurasian plate.
With the continuous strengthening of the Tang Dynasty's national strength, China's hegemony in the world was even more obvious.
In 751 AD, during the Tang Dynasty, although Li Longji was obsessed with female sex, it did not affect the strength of the Tang Dynasty. All countries in the world sent envoys and scholars to visit Datang to learn the most advanced science and technology in the world at that time.
Countries around the world are actively making friends with world hegemons, but nothing has ever happened in history.
Tubo, as the regime established by the ancient Tibetans on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, did not cause trouble during the existence of the Tang Dynasty.
At that time, in order to confront Datang, Tubo instigated a sesame small country named Xiao Bolu to cut the Silk Road from Datang to the four towns of Anxi.
Tubo, who dared to openly argue with the world hegemon, soon attracted the attention of some small countries in the western region, and they stood up to support Tubo and oppose the Tang.
As the world hegemon, how could the Tang Empire tolerate its trade channels being manipulated by small countries, so it sent the fierce general Gao Xianzhi to the western region to quell the chaos and annihilated Xiao Bolu in one fell swoop.
Datang's strong military strength really shocked most of the small countries in the western region, and the countries that had previously surrendered to Tubo have submitted to Datang's rule.
However, there are also a small number of small countries in the western region that still desperately resist, including the Shi kingdom. Gao Xianzhi, under the pretext that Shi Guo did not have the courtesy of a courtier, led his troops to quickly destroy Shi Guo.
When Gao Xianzhi led his subordinates to snatch the gold and silver jewelry of Shi Guo, he let go of the youngest prince of Shi Guo.
The little prince, who had managed to escape, went straight to the Arab Empire that was rising at that time and asked him to help him avenge his restoration.
As another hegemonic empire in Eurasia, Arabia has become a world empire spanning three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa, with a territory of 13 million square kilometers in its heyday. It was comparable to the strength of Datang, which was located in East Asia at that time.
At that time, the Arab Empire, which belonged to the young and vigorous period, was coveting the Silk Road that brought rapid development to the economy of the Tang Dynasty, and under the guise of helping Shi Guo restore the country, it did not stop doing two things and took the opportunity to seize the vacant four towns of Anxi for itself.
The failure of the raising of troops to quell the chaos
The arab empire's wanton behavior undoubtedly challenged the majesty of the Tang Dynasty.
Gao Xianzhi, who should have returned to the Dynasty, led the only 20,000 troops in his hand, and temporarily gathered 50,000 allies, a total of more than 70,000 people, and with a single blow, he crossed the mountains and mountains to attack the territory of the Arab Empire for nearly 800 miles.
With the help of its rich combat experience, the Tang army attacked the city all the way to the pond, directly pounded the Yellow Dragon, and attacked the city of Qiluosi.
After several days of marching and fighting, the Tang soldiers had long been sleepy and lacking, and their combat effectiveness was far inferior to that of before, coupled with the tall and strong walls of the city wall, the Tang soldiers fought hard for five days and five nights without breaking through the city gate.
As the first fierce general of the Tang Dynasty, Gao Xianzhi could not bear such humiliation, and in the face of the predicament, he did not have the slightest intention of flinching.
However, his stubborn wait did not bring about a turnaround in the battle situation, on the contrary, because he had no one in sight, he waited for the support of 100,000 enemy troops.
The two armies engaged in a five-day and six-night battle under the city of Qiluosi, and finally suddenly betrayed in front of the Gelulu army, which was jointly fighting with Gao Xianzhi, and was defeated by a counterattack.
Traveller among prisoners of war
In the process of evacuation after the defeat of the Tang army, some of the logistical reinforcements and entourage who followed the troops in the battle were left in the Arab Empire as prisoners. And the traveler Du Huan at that time was among them.
As one of the few educated Tang chinese among the remaining PRISONERs of war, Du Huan quickly stood out from the crowd of prisoners of war with his talent, was sent to Kufa, and became a guest of honor for the magnates of the Arab Empire.
Political factors aside, Datang's advanced industrial technology was indeed worth learning and emulating in all countries in the world under the social background at that time, and the Arab Empire was naturally no exception.
It is precisely because of his special status as a Tang Dynasty that Du Huan followed the Arab delegation through West Asian countries such as Egypt and Sudan and North Africa, becoming the first Chinese recorded in Chinese history to visit Africa.
In 762, after the Tang Dynasty Du Huan returned to China by merchant ship, he wrote a travelogue of what he saw and heard during his travels, called "JingxingJi".
In addition to recording the human history and customs of Asian and African countries, the book also details how the captive craftsmen who remained in Arabia after the defeat of the city of Qiluosi introduced the most advanced craftsmanship and technology of the Tang Dynasty to the countries of West Asia.
Unfortunately, the Book of Jingxing has not been preserved, but more than 1500 words of this book have been quoted in Du You's General Classics.
The luxurious life of the Qin people
Du Huan recorded in the "Book of Classics" that the Eastern Romans at that time had white skin and red skin, men wore plain clothes, and women liked jewelry brocade.
They all like to drink and eat bread. Rest every seven days, and all business, travel, and labor activities such as work and work will cease on the rest day. Drink all day long and waste time.
Ordinary men and women in the Arab Empire, such a seven-day shift and one-day work system, and the hedonism of drinking and spending time on rest days are things that the working people of data who have made their fortunes with diligence and simplicity as the standard are things that dare not be imagined.
Scenes such as the dress and appearance of Western men and women, as well as the customs of daily life described in Du Huan's "Book of Classics", have been fully confirmed in the paintings handed down from later Western countries.
The Book of The Classics also records that the Arabian land is fertile, the species are complete, and the number of goods in the bazaar is staggering.
Jewelry brocade is scattered throughout the street markets, and camels, horses, donkeys and mules fill the streets. Glassware, toys and antiques are innumerable. The quantity and quality of rice and flour grains and oils are not inferior to those of Datang.
It can be seen that at that time, as the most powerful empire in West Asia, the richness of Arab national strength, the richness of the people's lives and the absurd hedonistic life were completely beyond Du Huan's understanding of Western countries.
What Du Huan saw and heard in West Asia recorded in the Book of Classics is true and consistent with historical facts. In the historical records, it has been recorded that the envoys of the Great Food came to the Tang 36 times, but the Tang Dynasty did not send envoys to the Great Food.
Du Huan, as one of the few prisoners of war who had lost several defeats in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, witnessed the whole process of how the Tang craftsmen successfully introduced the most advanced scientific and technological technologies such as movable type printing, precious metal manufacturing, textiles, and painting into the West.
Although the Battle of Qiluosi ended in defeat, from an objective point of view, this battle successfully contributed to a major transfer of technology in the history of China and Argentina, especially the introduction of papermaking, and made indelible contributions to promoting the development of the overall civilization process in the world.