In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, which external force was the most threatening to the newly established Tang Empire?
It is estimated that Li Shimin will bite his teeth and say two words: Turkic. Because he's so bullying.
On July 2, 626, on the fourth day of The Ninth Year of the Reign of Emperor Wude of the Tang Dynasty, the Xuanwumen Rebellion broke out, and Li Shimin killed the crown prince Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji the Prince of Qi, and was made crown prince.
On the ninth day of August, Li Yuan abdicated the throne, and Li Shimin took the throne as emperor with the era name Zhenguan.
The era of the Heavenly Khan of the Tang Empire is coming.
As the saying goes, entrepreneurship is difficult and there are many battles, Li Shimin has not been able to ascend to the throne, and he has to face more difficult foreign enemies, this Turk, not only strong in force, but also aggressive, bullying to your head.
Turkic origin
Speaking of turks, it arose in the north of the desert in the 5th and 6th centuries AD.
In Book 84 of the Book of Sui, it is recorded that:
"The first turkic, Pingliang Zahuye, surnamed Ashina. Emperor Taiwu of Wei destroyed the Qu clan, and Ashina ran with five hundred families. Living in the sun of the Golden Mountain, he is a creeping iron worker. Jinshan is shaped like a hood, and the common name is Turkic, because it is a trumpet."
And the person who founded the Turkic Khanate was the AshinaTumen who destroyed the Ruoran Khanate.
After the Sui Emperor Yang Jian established the Sui Dynasty, he adopted the divisive strategy of Changsun Sheng to the Turkic Khaganate, splitting the Turkic Khanate into east and west, and then counterattacking the Turks, and the Turks turned from prosperity to decline.
However, in the last years of the Sui Dynasty, the Central Plains was in civil strife, and the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates took this opportunity to become strong again. Warlords such as Xue Ju, Liu Wuzhou, Liang Shidu, Li Rail, Gao Kaidao, Wang Shichong, and even Li Yuan, the ancestor of Tang Gaozu, had successively submitted to the Turkic Shibi Khan, and it can be said that the Turks were more ferocious and powerful nomadic people than the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Ruoran.
Li Shimin's evaluation of this nation is:
See the benefits before, and go if you know the difficulties. Victory is for wealth, and defeat is not ashamed.
The change of Xuanwu Gate was like a thunderclap rising from the flat ground that resounded through the land of Shenzhou, and the aftermath caused by the coup had reached the land of barbarians.
Think about it, the crown prince and the king of Qi of the Tang Dynasty were killed, the old emperor was imprisoned in the Taiji Palace, the top level of the Tang Dynasty must be a mess, the big men of all sides did not take this opportunity to make trouble, is not sorry for Li Shimin's actions? The Eastern Turk Jieli Khan said he had sniffed the central plains fighters.
On the first day of August in the ninth year of Wu De in 626, he submitted his state letter to Li Tang, and behind the hypocritical diplomatic rhetoric was a bloodthirsty and greedy face, because Jieli Khan sent 200,000 troops south to take advantage of the civil unrest in Chang'an to fish in muddy waters and make huge profits.
The Turks went south this time, almost penetrating the entire defense line of the Tang Dynasty, Yanmen, Taiyuan, Hedong, and even Chang'an, basically did not encounter decent resistance, according to the history books, either the governors of the major defense areas turned a blind eye to the Turks, or they lost the battle, and the history books were reluctant to write.
On August 24, 1999, the Turkic army directly attacked Gaoling County (Gaoling District, Xi'an), only about 50 miles from Chang'an City.
Once upon a time, the Turks were so strong and the Tang army was so decadent.
On August 26 of the ninth year of Wude, Li Shimin sent The Lieutenant Chi Jingde to meet the battle and fight the Turks at Jingyang.
Judging from the results, Wei Chi Jingde did cut off more than a thousand heads, and also captured the Turkic Qijin Ashidu, which was a small victory, but unfortunately, Wei Chi Jingde's partial victory could not stop the Turkic troops, and Jieli Khan led the Turkic cavalry directly to the edge of the Weishui River.
On August 28, 1999, the Turkic cavalry was stationed north of the Weishui Bridge. Jieli Khan said: "If you want to lose your mind, you should visit Li Shimin, express warm greetings to him, and by the way, find out the reality of Chang'an City, we are here to fight the autumn wind."
In his eyes, Li Shimin was only ascended to the throne through rebellion, and the minister of the DPRK and the Central Committee would certainly not have a heart with him, so he said with extreme arrogance: Your Majesty the Tang Dynasty, Jieli Khan and Tuli Khan commanded millions of troops, and now, they are waiting in the north of Weishui, do you have to express it?
For Li Shimin, this is the biggest problem he faced after he took power, if it is handled properly, the ministers of the DPRK and the Central Committee will naturally not say anything more, if it is not handled well, I am afraid that the aftermath of the Xuanwumen coup will continue, so how will Li Shimin deal with the first provocation of foreign enemies?
The Alliance of Weishui
On August 28, 626, the Tang Dynasty ushered in the biggest crisis since the founding of the country, when the Eastern Turks approached Chang'an City, and the envoys were arrogant and arrogant, ready to scare the young emperor who had just succeeded to the throne.
At this moment, Li Shimin stood up and said word by word: Where is the guard in front of the palace? Pulled this maniac out of me and cut it.
He did his homework before coming to Chang'an, knowing that the Central Plains were a state of etiquette, and he also knew the unspoken rules of diplomacy between the two countries, so he dared to speak wildly, but he did not think of a point, Li Shimin even dared to kill his brothers, even the position of his father dared to rob, not to mention your small foreign envoy.
He looked at Li Shimin and saw that the new emperor's face was full of fortitude and determination, and there was a tendency to tear him to pieces.
The good man did not eat the loss in front of him, and he fell to his knees on the ground with a loud thud, and his anger suddenly disappeared, pleading: Your Majesty, why did you kill me?
Li Shimin said: Shuohe Jieli Khan said to his face that he was good at peace, and he gave you countless gold and silver before and after, but Jieli Khan betrayed the covenant and raised troops to attack, this is your sorry for Yuan, although you are Yidi people, you also have a human heart, why do you know so much and do not want to repay? He also boasted of his strength in front of him.
The loss of thought is speechless.
Li Shimin said again: Turkic emissary, you have nothing to say, right? Come on, pull him in and cut him.
In the face of Li Shimin's majesty, his mindlessness has become incoherent, and he is full of thoughts about how to save his own small life.
Feng Deyi and other ministers saw that the fire was almost over, so they went out to play: Your Majesty, the two armies do not fight and do not cut off, this is the old rule, I hope That Your Majesty can put the Turkic envoys back, so as not to be criticized.
Li Shimin was very angry, and now that he had put this person back, Jieli Khan must have thought that the soldiers of Yuanhe and the Tang Dynasty were afraid of him, and they were afraid that they would become unscrupulous and temporarily imprison this person in Menxia Province.
Feng Deyi said: Your Majesty, how should we deal with the Turkic army on the Weishui River?
Since Li Shimin's debut, God blocked the killing of God, and Buddha blocked the killing of Buddha, who did he fear? The Turks count as birds.
"Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Xiao Yu, a few of you are ready to go with Shuo to meet this Jieli Khan."
At this time, Chang'an City, the military strength is empty, if the Turks choose to attack strongly, the probability is to be able to take Chang'an, and at this time the Tang Dynasty high-level is almost all in Chang'an City, once the city is broken, most of the Tang Dynasty high-level will definitely become a prisoner of the Turks, coupled with a change in Xuanwumen just a short time ago, resulting in the Tang Dynasty's local people's hearts floating, once Chang'an is breached, the Tang Dynasty is likely to fall apart in an instant, but at this time, Li Shimin showed amazing courage and wisdom.
North of Chang'an City, Li Shimin took Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian and six other powerful ministers, and rushed out of xuanwu gate, facing Jieli Khan across the Weishui River.
According to historical records, although the Turkic cavalry was huge, after all, they were in the home field of others, and when they saw Li Shimin and others rushing forward, they still seemed a little disturbed, and Jieli Khan said: It is really gratifying to hear that His Majesty launched a coup d'état and killed the crown prince Li Jiancheng, and became the master of Chang'an City.
Li Shimin said: Jieli Khan, on the same day, made a covenant with you, agreed not to attack each other again, and sent you a lot of gold and silver jewelry, now that you have betrayed the covenant, are you not afraid of the shame of the people of the world?
To talk about this, Jieli Khan did a little unauthentic, so in the face of Li Shimin's rebuke, he did not want to continue the war of words.
Jieli Khan cast his eyes behind Li Shimin, and was trying to find his beloved general who had lost his mind, and there was no figure of this boy for half a day.
The Khan of Jieli said, "Your Majesty, as an envoy of the Turks, we have come to visit you on our behalf, but why don't we see anyone else now?"
Li Shimin said: Clinging to the loss of thinking is not inferior, and he is reflecting on his life under the door of decay.
At this moment, the Tang army poured out from Xuanwu Gate one after another and began to line up troops with Li Shimin as the center, and the position was very large.
Jieli Khan could not sit still, and Li Shimin imprisoned the envoys of the Eastern Turks and brought his army to make trouble, which was obviously arranged earlier.
Li Shimin waved a big hand and said: "You all retreat, and You and Jieli Khan will talk."
As Li Shimin spoke, he continued to ride forward to chat with Jieli Khan one-on-one. Shang ShuZuo's servant Xiao Yu hurriedly jumped off his horse and took Li Shimin's reins and advised bitterly: Your Majesty, today, the world has just been stabilized, you must not be alone in danger? Faced with a 100,000 Turkic army on the other side of the Weishui River, did Li Shimin dare to take risks alone?
As the saying goes, if you punch a punch, you won't have to throw a hundred punches.
The external situation in the early years of the Tang Dynasty was still relatively grim, the Eastern Turks, the Western Turks, the Tuguhuns, goguryeo and the newly rising Tubo, that is all staring at it, is this Tang Dynasty a dragon or a snake?
Li Shimin himself is a person with great ambitions, will he get used to your problem? If you let the Eastern Turks take it today, no one will dare to come and bully you in the future.
In the face of the obstruction of the courtiers, Li Shimin smiled slightly, everyone assured, the most elite of the Turks is the cavalry, not good at fighting tough battles, they came to the Central Plains is nothing more than to get some money and women, this time, they must mistakenly think that the Tang Dynasty has undergone great changes, the situation is not stable, so they brought the army to take advantage of the fire and loot. If the Fallen took the lead in timidity, it confirmed the Turkic judgment of the form. Although the Turks will not attack the city, they will definitely rob the city near Chang'an, if the attitude of the Turks is strong, the Turks will definitely retreat, they went deep into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, which would have violated the taboo of the art of war, and it would be good to stay here for a few days.
Li Shimin is not arrogant, he has long followed his father Li Yuan, he knows the nature of the Turks, he is sure that the Turkic cavalry will not forcibly attack the city, self-inflicted, not to mention, Li Shimin's back is the most elite Janissaries of the Tang Dynasty, even if the fight starts, the Tang army will not suffer losses.
So what did Jieli Khan think?
On the banks of the Weishui River, Jieli Khan saw that Datang had made preparations, so he ordered the withdrawal of his troops back to the camp. On the same day, Jieli Khan sat in the west of Chang'an City, and then sent a large number of important ministers to Chang'an, saying that he would re-establish an alliance with the Li Tang regime.
On August 30, 1999, Li Shimin personally went to XibianQiao to sign a new round of friendship with Jieli Khan.
The Turks withdrew according to the covenant, but the Tang Dynasty had to pay the Turks a large sum of money. There is no record in the history books about how much property the Tang Dynasty lost, but according to some wild histories, the gold and silver cloth in Chang'an City at that time were almost all emptied.
There is no record of the details of the Weishui Alliance in the history books. But obviously, just being forced to sign a contract by the Turkic soldiers in the city and being forced to give a large amount of goods was enough to make Li Shimin feel humiliated, plus Li Tang relied on Turkic assistance in his early years, which made Li Shimin ashamed.
After the Turks retreated, Li Shimin began to exert great efforts to rectify the Tang Dynasty and clean up Li Jiancheng's old subordinates, while training his army to prepare for a retaliatory attack on the Turks.
On the other hand, after the Turks withdrew, there was chaos inside again, and the steppe suffered natural disasters and greatly damaged its strength.
Speaking of which, the Turkic khaganates and the Central Plains regime are not the same, their people are in a nomadic state, everyone is gathered together in the form of tribes, there is no centralized power, there is no perfect management organization, just rely on blood and force to maintain relations, to put it bluntly, if you want the leaders of the tribes to recognize your authority, you have to lead everyone to get rich and well-off, otherwise you will get out of power yourself.
Look at this Jieli Khan, you said that every time he went south, he was a laborer, but when he went back, he was empty-handed, not to mention taking his subordinates to fight the autumn wind to earn living expenses, the big guys were completely out of their own pockets on business, and they were all losing money.
When I went to Chang'an, the Turks obviously had an absolute advantage, even if they couldn't enter Chang'an City, they could also engage in robbery in the surrounding areas, but Jieli Khan's head was clipped by the door, and what agreement was signed with Li Shimin, making everyone embarrassed to rob, what do you say is this?
Jieli Khan's nesting behavior caused strong dissatisfaction among the domestic tribal chiefs, xueyantuo, Huilu, Bayegu and other tribes rebelled one after another, and the people of the country began to deviate from Jieli Khan.
Objectively speaking: his subordinates oppose Jieli Khan ostensibly because of money, but in fact because of political interests, to put it bluntly, there are not so many monarchs and courtiers on the steppe, whoever has the power is strong, who can be the leader, since you Jieli Khan is not powerful, then why not blow you down?
Interestingly, the strategy of Jieli Khan was not to appease these powerful tribes, but to use the Han to suppress them and support the inconspicuous tribes to contain them, and the fact is that the Han people's methods were not satisfied with the grasslands.
Xue Yantuo, Hui Qi and other tribes should be reversed or opposed, and they did not buy it.
In April of the second year of Zhenguan in 628, bad news came from the Eastern Turks, and the Tuli Khan and the Jieli Khan broke up.
Turkic civil unrest
If there is a rift in the relationship between people and people because of interests, it is difficult to repair. The Jieli Khan and the Tuli Khan of the Eastern Turks were uncles and nephews, and the relationship was very iron, and the Jieli Khan trusted the eldest nephew and made him the second in command of the Eastern Turks, and later they joined forces to invade the Tang Dynasty, and the robbery cause was full of wind and fire.
A few years ago, when Li Shimin was defending against the Turks, he inadvertently dug a big pit for their uncles and nephews, and Li Shimin first intimidated Jieli Khan, then co-opted Tuli Khan and worshipped his brothers with him.
Jieli Khan's heart began to panic a little, can the relatives in the Turkic country who have turned against each other because of the divisive plan count with one hand? In the Turkic country, Jieli Khan can be emperor, then Tuli Khan can also be emperor, if Jieli Khan attacked the Tang Dynasty, the eldest nephew stabbed him in the back, then what to do?
At that time, Tuli Khan was stationed north of Youzhou, presiding over all the affairs of the eastern Turks, and ruling over more than ten tribes, including Xi and Murong Wei.
When the Eastern Turks went downhill, these tribes betrayed one after another and defected to the Tang Dynasty. The Khan of Jieli was very angry and humiliated the Khan of Tuli fiercely.
In the eyes of Jieli Khan, the eldest nephew is a pro-Tang faction, and his tribe belongs to the Tang Dynasty, and he must have played a disgraceful role in it.
That's all, when Xue Yantuo and Hui rebelled, Tuli Khan led his troops to help quell the rebellion but returned with a fiasco. After the return of the Turk Khan, the Jieli Khan imprisoned him for more than ten days, and also whipped and humiliated him many times, and the Jieli Khan was furious in his heart, can there be today in the Turkic country, all thanks to this great nephew, what is your intention?
Interestingly, Tuli Khan was also not happy, obviously his uncle was not good at governance, which caused the betrayal of the tribal leader, and the uncle pushed the fault to the end.
After that, Tuli Khan returned to his garrison to recuperate, and Kejieli Khan still wanted to continue to quell the chaos, so as the Great Khan, he asked Tuli Khan to quickly recruit soldiers for him and raise a batch of grain and grass by the way.
Turki Khan said: This game cannot be played at all, the landlord's family originally did not have much surplus grain, if they were given to you Jieli Khan, wouldn't they let their people drink the northwest wind? Besides, even if you fight another battle, you still can't beat people, and when you come back, you will be whipped again? Isn't this an active search for a draw?
Turki Khan was furious, "I read the same lineage, this is how I have repeatedly given in, can you be a great khan, can I not do it?" In that case, rebel and kill you."
For the Li-Tang regime, this was a turning point in the history of the elimination of the Turks.
In April of the second year of Zhenguan in 628, the Eastern Turks' Jieli Khan and Tuli Khan completely broke up.
The Tuli Khan sent emissaries to Chang'an, saying that he would surrender the entire tribe to the Tang Dynasty. The relationship between datang and the Eastern Turks ushered in a new turning point.
That Li Shimin was a man of temperament, and in the face of the Tuli Khan's request to surrender, he had a lot of feelings: Dear Secretary of State, I think that in those years, there were more than a million people in turkic countries who controlled strings, how powerful they were, and now they have fallen to the point of surrendering to us, if it were not for domestic chaos, how could they have reached such a point? When he heard this news, he was both happy and worried that the Turks would decline and the Tang Dynasty would usher in peace again, but if he made the mistakes made by the Jieli Khan, it was difficult to guarantee that he would not repeat the same mistakes, and you people should always advise the Turks and remind them not to embark on such a path.
The courtiers were sweating profusely, and the emperor's mind was really unpredictable. The words were divided into two ends, and after the Jieli Khan and the Tuli Khan broke up, they began to work on the steppe.
After all, Tuli Khan was weak, and after a few days of holding out, he wrote a letter to his brother Li Shimin to rescue him. Li Shimin consulted with the ministers that shuo and Tuli khan had a covenant, and he had difficulties, and he could not help but save it. But The Khan and we also have a covenant, how can this be good?
Notice that this is the time for leaders to test their emotional intelligence.
Bingbu Shangshu Du Ru obscurely spoke: Your Majesty, it is common for the Turks to betray their faith, even if they ally with us, they will betray us, and now if we let go of the opportunity to attack, I am afraid that we will regret it in the future.
Li Shimin's attitude was very cold, which showed that Du Ruyi did not touch the emperor's pulse, and at this time, it was the consciousness of a wise politician to let the Eastern Turks fight among themselves.
In the following days, the Khitan tribes defected to the Tang Dynasty, and Liang Shidu, who was attached to the Turks, (Li Shimin sent the right general Chai Shao and the young overseer Xue Wanjun of the temple) was also killed by his cousin Liang Luoren. Jieli Khan was furious and began to march his troops to flaunt his might in Shuozhou and other places in the Tang Dynasty.
But in Li Shimin's eyes, Jieli Khan has become a beam-jumping clown, and it is only a matter of time before he is destroyed.
Just as Li Shimin was looking for a fighter, in December of the second year of Zhenguan, the Western Turks had another accident.
Xue Yantuo rises
In 628, a good year for Li Shimin, the Eastern Turks were in constant civil strife, and the Western Turks also did not stop, Tongyehu Khan was killed, and the internal chaos became a civil war.
The turmoil in the Western and Eastern Turks blinded the small tribes, who were looking for the next true steppe overlord.
At this moment, Xue Yantuo entered everyone's field of vision.
Xue Yantuo was actually a branch of the Tiele tribe, which was actually a merger of the Xue and Yantuo tribes, with few clans and few livestock, and belonged to the unremarkable tribe on the steppe, living a very low-key life.
Facts have proved that the more low-key people are, the longer they can live, and the more they know how to preserve their strength, the stronger they will become.
At first, they attached themselves to the Western Turkic ruler Yehu Khan, but later they were brutally oppressed, and later defected to the jieli khan, and as a result, the jieli khan was even more cruel to them, and the small life was completely impossible to live, and Xueyantuobu and several other tribes decided to rebel after consultation with several other tribes.
Interestingly, everyone originally only wanted to find a way to live for themselves, but what they did not expect was that the powerful Eastern Turk cavalry was so vulnerable. The combined forces of Xue Yantuo and Hui Hui actually won the battle.
The war changed many facts, the Eastern Turks were no longer the only choice for the bosses, and the Xueyantuo tribe harvested countless horses and cattle and sheep and livestock, as well as large areas of habitat and small tribes attached to them.
In this way, Xue Yantuo's life began to become prosperous.
In December of the second year of Zhenguan in 628, the chiefs of the various tribes together found The leader of Xueyantuo's tribe, Yinan, and wanted to invite him to become a great khan and lead everyone to make a fortune together.
Yi Nan panicked, and his first reaction was to refuse, because this position was not easy to do.
When Li Shimin received the news, he realized that this was an opportunity, so he sent emissaries to the steppe and brought the imperial court edict.
With the support of Li Shimin, Yinan's waist pole finally stood up, isn't it just to be a big khan? What's there to be afraid of? Come, accept your worship.
Xue Yantuo's headquarters is located on Yudujun Mountain, which is also the Hangai Mountain in the northwest of the Mongolian Plateau. About 1800 kilometers away from Yanmen Pass, it is the limit where chinese armies can go deep into the desert north to pursue nomads.
Xue Yantuo's army rose strongly in the northern part of the Eastern Turks, and Li Shimin won the heartfelt support of Xue Yantuo with only one canonical edict. This is a time bomb behind the Turks.
In 629, on the eighth day of the eighth month of the third year of Zhenguan, the Great Khan of Yinan sent his younger brother Tong Terre to Chang'an to pay tribute, and Li Shimin gave him a sword, an iron whip, and a sentence: If anyone in Xue Yantuo's territory committed a serious crime, he would kill him with this sword; If a minor sin is committed, he will be whipped with this.
Jieli Khan could not sit still, Xue Yantuo and the Tang Dynasty were like glue, if Li Shimin really wanted to deal with the Eastern Turks, the two sides came to attack from north to south, Jieli Khan was afraid that there was no place to die.
Jieli Khan finally lowered his noble head, and he sent emissaries to Chang'an to express his intention of submission, hoping that Li Shimin would give him a princess, and then he planned to welcome him back to be the ancestor to offer, unfortunately, everything was over.
History to 629 AD, desert north, severe cold, heavy snow, horses, cattle and sheep frozen to death countless, think about it, replaced by any emperor, in the face of this kind of heavenly opportunity, will let the Eastern Turks safely survive the cold winter of history, and then in good spirits, continue to bully the Central Plains? What's more, how many years has the Li family been threatened by Jieli Khan, how much humiliation has the people of the Central Plains suffered, and can Li Shimin not repay this feud?
Li Shimin has painstakingly operated for so many years, not to make the northern border peaceful, but to completely eradicate the Turkic threat to the Central Plains and wash away the shame suffered by the people of the Central Plains for hundreds of years.
In August of the third year of Zhenguan in 629, Li Shimin, who had just reigned for three years, accepted the rationalization suggestion of Zhang Gongjin, a hardcore fan of daizhou governor, and took advantage of the Turkic disease to ask for Turkic life.
On August 19, Li Shimin formally issued an edict that the Eastern Turk Jieli Khan had reneged on his promise and sent troops to aid the rebel Liang Shidu without authorization under the condition of allying with the Tang Dynasty, and the special edict made Li Jing the military commander Li Jing the grand marshal of the march, and Zhang Gongjin, the acting governor of the prefecture, as the deputy marshal, and sent troops to attack the Jieli Khan.
Li Shimin's holy will had just been passed down, and Bayegu, Servant Bone, Tongluo, and Xi clans sent emissaries to surrender.
Li Shimin immediately organized a large army and prepared for training.
Datang Double Star
In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the stars will shine in the sky, the two brightest stars of the Tang Dynasty Two Lee Gemini Constellation are about to debut, and next, the entire land of Northeast Asia will be the stage for the two military gods to perform to the fullest.
In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the stars were like clouds, basically similar to the current Chinese table tennis team, just like Li Shixun, the civil war did not see that it could be played, but it went out to practice internationally, properly, sweeping everything.
Not to mention Li Jing, a proper professional, born in a science class. When he was young, he talked with his uncle Han Huhu about the art of war, that was the head of the Tao, and Yang Su, the Duke of Yueguo, also gave a very high evaluation, especially the story of the red breeze running at night, the legend of the three heroes of wind and dust, and added to Li Jing's mysterious color. Not only that, but he is also the historical prototype of Li Jing, the king of Tota.
On November 23, the Tang Expeditionary Force was assembled, totaling more than 100,000 people, divided into the Six-Way Army, and the generals who participated in the battle this time were luxurious.
Shangshu Li Jing of the First Road Military Department was the commander-in-chief of the Dingxiang Road March, and Zhang Gongjin was the deputy commander-in-chief; The second road Li Shixun was the commander-in-chief of the Tonghan Road March, and Qiu Xinggong was the deputy general; The third road Chai Shao was the commander-in-chief of the Jinhe Road March; Li Daozong of the Fourth Route was the commander-in-chief of the Datong Road March; Fifth Road Wei Xiaojie was the commander of the Heng'an Road March; The sixth road Xue Wanche was the commander-in-chief of the Changwu Road March.
The Six Roads Army was commanded by Li Jing, and the main forces attacking were Li Jing's corps and Li Shiji's corps, which had the strongest combat effectiveness.
On November 29, Li Daozong's troops from Lingzhou arrived at the border, and the Turks launched an attack on him, Li Daozong was calm and self-assured, commanding his troops to fight back heroically, and the Turks could not resist and fled into the wilderness.
This was the first victory of the Tang Army's Northern Expedition, and the Tang Empire dispatched more than 100,000 cavalry to the Northern Expedition to the Turks, causing great shock to the Turks and their surrounding tribes.
On December 2, the Little Khan of Tuli went to Chang'an City and surrendered to the Tang Empire. Tang Taizong had always been grumpy about his father Li Yuan's claim to the Turks, and now, although Jieli Khan had not yet been captured, the second most important person of the Turks, the Little Turkic Khan, came to see him, and he happily told the left and right about this matter.
Shu a few can be shamed before the snow.
After the surrender of the Little Khan of Tuli, the Eastern Turkic tribes also submitted to the Tang Dynasty. Tang Taizong Li Shimin said triumphantly: The ancients thought that there was no good strategy to resist Rong Di, but I don't think so, as long as China is strong and stable, and the four Yi are self-obedient, this is not the best policy.
Jieli Khan's tooth tent was set up in Dingxiang, where the Turkic elite soldiers were located, and how to capture Dingxiang became the first question for the commander-in-chief Li Jing.
Simply advancing all the way and fighting hard with the Turkic cavalry is not a clever strategy, Li Jing analyzed: Jie Li is an ambitious, courageous, far-sighted person, lack of adventurous spirit, especially no tenacity.
Jieli inherited the position of Khan from his brother, at that time he had millions of troops, and had great ambitions to pacify the Central Plains in one fell swoop, but after the Central Plains forces he supported were broken by the Li Tang regime one by one, the war launched by the Turks against the Tang Dynasty was only of a predatory nature, and the Turks did not have a stronghold in the Central Plains, indecisive, and suspicious, that was the character weakness of Jieli Khan, and in view of Jieli's weakness, Li Jing set up a bold battle plan and launched a surprise attack on Dingxiang with three thousand cavalry.
After making up his mind, Li Jing personally selected three thousand of the strongest cavalrymen and set off from Mayi to the Evil Yang Ridge south of Dingxiang.
Li Jing's requirements for cavalry were very strict, first of all, to be able to fight normally while wearing heavy armor. Heavy armor can minimize casualties in battle, but it cannot weaken the offensive ability due to the increase of defense ability; Second, whether using a knife or a gun as a weapon, its strength must be able to pierce thick armor; Third, in the case of heavy equipment, it must be able to maintain the level of riding skills, and cannot affect the stability of getting on, dismounting and fighting on horseback.
The three thousand Xiao Yong knights selected by Li Jing were the best of the cavalry, and the assault cavalry composed of three thousand people quickly advanced northward for two hundred miles at the speed of a rapid march, and captured the Qiyang Ridge located south of Dingxiang in one fell swoop with lightning speed, and completely annihilated the Turkic defenders.
At this time, the weather in the north was very cold, and the land was covered with ice and snow. The wind chill at night is through the bone marrow, it can be said that I have seen a blizzard, but I have never seen such a big one. Three thousand people and horses may freeze at any time, what to do? It was getting closer and closer to Dingxiang, but the opportunity and risk coexisted, whether to retreat or attack forward, the eyes of the three thousand soldiers looked at the old marshal Li Jing.
Raid Dingxiang
How was the iron-blooded spirit of Datang soldiers built?
It can be said that since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, under the leadership of Li Shimin, Li Jing, Li Ji and others, the song of ice and fire has created the military soul of the Tang soldiers who will never say defeat.
In the first month of the fourth year of Zhenguan in 630, Li Jing, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Turk army of the Tang Dynasty Expedition, Dingxiang Dao, faced with a once-in-a-century superstorm, laid down a heart and prepared to raid the city of Dingxiang, where Jieli Khan was stationed, with 3,000 cavalry.
Historically, the famous Dingxiang Night Raid was about to begin.
That night, the snow was so heavy that the Turks did not expect the Tang army to go straight to their base camp, so in the Turkic camp of Dingxiang, the Turks were hiding in tents drinking wine and roasting fires to dispel the chill on their bodies.
Jieli Khan was not worried about the war at all, he believed that although the Tang army launched the so-called six-way attack plan, but more than two months later, the progress of the Tang army was very slow.
For the performance of the Tang army, Jieli Khan felt very funny, to know that in the past few years, the Turks' attack on the Tang Empire chose the time basically from April to October, of which the offensive from August to October was the most fierce, because this was the season of autumn and high horse fat, and the time of Li Jing's Northern Expedition was chosen in November in the winter, and it was to attack north, the winter was already very cold, the more north the more severe the cold, at this time to launch a war, in Jieli's view is to die.
On the other hand, Li Jing, as a famous general in Chinese history, knew this very well, and launched an attack in the cold winter, which was very unfavorable to the attacking side, but this was just his suspicious strategy, displaying the large army on the border, so that the Turks did not know when the Tang army would launch a surprise attack.
After more than two months of wear and tear, the Turks obviously lost their defensive heart, and Jieli Khan judged that the Tang army would march after the spring blossoms, but Li Jing's combat thinking was unconventional, just like the Chinese table tennis team, the level was different, you couldn't touch his ball path at all, so he didn't know how to pick up the move, and often came from your unexpected position.
At nightfall, Li Jing's three thousand cavalry, under the cover of night, suddenly launched an attack on the Turkic camp. When Jieli Khan heard the hissing of the warhorse, he never expected that the Tang army had already unknowingly launched an attack on the tooth tent.
At this time there was chaos outside the camp, the Turks were caught off guard, rushed to battle, and in a panic, they could not organize a strong resistance, there was no battle formation, just a scuffle, the night was dark, it was not clear, and in the tense atmosphere it was grass and trees.
The greatness of a general is whether he can make an accurate judgment in the shortest possible time, but Jieli Khan is obviously not such a great general, and he has made a wrong judgment: if the Tang army does not come to the country, how dare it go alone.
Unexpectedly, Li Jingzhen went deep alone.
In the midst of the panic, Jieli Khan only listened to the killing sound outside the tent, and secretly cried bitterness in his heart. If the Tang army really came and did not take advantage of the cover of night to escape, it was bound to be completely destroyed at dawn the next day.
Jieli Khan did not dare to gamble, under the cover of his own soldiers, fled in the direction of the Iron Mountain, the Khan fled, it was a fatal blow to the morale of the army, the rest of the Turkic soldiers also fled in a hurry, and those who escaped slowly became the ghosts under the Tang army's sword.
By dawn, Dingxiang had fallen into Li Jing's hands.
In this battle, Li Jing also had a windfall, and Kang Sumi, a close confidant of Jieli Khan, surrendered to the Tang army under the persuasion of Li Jing, along with Kang Sumi, the wife of the Sui Emperor, Empress Xiao, and her grandson Yang Zhengdao.
When Emperor Taizong Of Tang Li Shimin, who was far away in Beijing, learned of the news of Dingxiang's great victory, he could not help but applaud the knot, and later he praised Li Jing in person and said:
"Xi Liling raised five thousand infantry, and he could not avoid surrendering to the Xiongnu, and he still had the title of bamboo. Qing went deep into yuting with three thousand light horses, Kefu Dingxiang, Wei Zhen Beidi, unprecedented in ancient and modern times, enough to report on the Battle of Weishui in previous years. ”
Old Book of Tang, Vol. 67, Liechuan XVII
At the same time that Li Jing launched a surprise attack on Dingxiang, according to the strategy he formulated, various large armies were dispatched one after another to form a siege against Jieli Khan.
Jieli Khan led his men to the vicinity of the Hun River, feeling that this time they were getting farther and farther away from the main force of the Tang Army, and just wanted to catch their breath, but they were blocked by the Jinhe Army of Chai Shao, who had been waiting here for a long time.
Chai Shaole, don't go to my side, according to Teacher Li Jing's plan, you should run in the direction of Yin Mountain, and then gather and annihilate you there. I'll help you straighten it out.
So he went up and pressed the troops of Jieli Khan and beat them up. Jieli Khan couldn't do anything, so let's run, the target crossed the Yin Mountains, all the way north.
White Road Victory
In the first month of 630, the Tang army, led by Li Jing and Li Ji, launched a war of annihilation against the Eastern Turks.
According to the strategy previously formulated, once Li Jing's Battle of Dingxiang was launched, Li Ji immediately led his army to send troops from Yunzhong (northwest of the mountain), implemented a strategic detour, and went straight to the south of the Yin Mountains, waiting for Li Jing's three thousand iron horses.
Just after Li Jing succeeded in Dingxiang, Li Ji had already successfully reached his predetermined position, Baidao (northwest of Hohhot).
Surrounded and blocked by various large armies, Jieli Khan did indeed rush in the direction of the white road where Li Ji was ambushed according to the escape route predicted by the Tang army.
Why is the calculation so accurate?
Because once Jieli Khan escaped, he had only one direction to escape, that is, to flee north.
In the north of Dingxiang is the Yinshan Mountains that run from east to west, and the most convenient way to cross the Yin Mountains from Dingxiang is through the White Road.
After a rapid march day and night, Jieli Khan finally arrived at Baidao, at this time Jieli Khan judged that the main force of the Tang army should still be in the Dingxiang area, when he found that Li Ji was already waiting for work, Jieli Khan was even more panicked, and the two armies launched a fierce battle on the south side of Yin Mountain.
On the one hand, the morale of the Tang army, on the other hand, the discouraged Turkic troops after losing Dingxiang, Jieli Khan still does not know how the Tang army is deployed? How can there be the main force of the Tang Army everywhere?
Li Ji's heroic cavalry bravely threw themselves into the battle, and the Turks suffered heavy losses, barely escaping the pursuit of Li Ji's army and entering the Yinshan Mountains.
At this time, Li Jing's three thousand iron horses and troops stationed in Mayi also arrived at Baidao to meet Li Ji.
After two defeats, Jieli Khan fled to the north of the Yin Mountains, where he only had tens of thousands of troops in his hands, and had no choice but to send his stubborn si li as a peace negotiator to Chang'an to ask for surrender.
During the period of caution, Emperor Taizong of Tang decided to send Tang Jian and the general An Xiuren to the Turks to meet with Jieli Khan to find out.
At this time, Jieli Khan retreated from Dingxiang via Yin Mountain to Tieshan (Baishan Obo) and set up his tooth tent here.
Tang Taizong's envoys Tang Jian and An Xiuren arrived at Tieshan with him, but Jieli Khan did not really want to surrender, it was nothing more than a delay, he planned to withdraw the army to the north of the desert, away from the Tang border, so that the supply line of the Tang army would be greatly lengthened and the difficulty would be greatly increased.
However, it was the first month of the month, and in this cold weather, it was impossible to cross the Mongolian desert, and only after the next year's warmer weather, melting ice and snow, and the grass and horses were fat, the army could be pulled out, so Jieli Khan planned to delay time by surrendering.
However, Jieli Khan miscalculated again, and you say how can you judge Li Jing with the thinking of a normal person? In the previous Battle of Dingxiang, Li Jing led his army to work overtime overnight and carried out a snowy night raid.
However, this matter is not to blame Jieli Khan, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty has agreed to peace talks, and sent the heavy minister Tang Jian to negotiate, the rank is high enough, full of sincerity, do you dare not listen to the emperor's orders or dare to disregard the life of tang jian, the heavy minister of the Tang Dynasty?
At this moment, the Tang army camp was in a tense and enthusiastic meeting and discussion, Li Jing and Li Ji believed that although Jieli Khan was defeated, there were still many soldiers and horses under his command, and then they must retreat to the desert, meet with the Tiele nine surname forces in the north of the desert, the momentum was revived, the Tang army attacked the road north was dangerous and distant, and if it waited until that time to pursue the Turks, it would be very difficult. Now that the imperial court sent envoys to the Turks, the Turkic army must have slackened, thinking that the Tang army would not continue to attack, and if 10,000 elite soldiers were selected at this time, carrying grain and grass for 20 days, the Turkic Khan could be captured without a battle.
The two people hit it off and praised each other, saying that the plan was perfect enough, sudden enough, sinister enough, vicious enough.
Zhang Gongjin listened to the whole person stupid, how can he fight a war and still do this? You two are still not human? Can there be a little bit of humanity?
Zhang Gongjin made it clear that the two eldest brothers, the emperor's edict had already agreed to the surrender of the Turks, and the emissary Tang Jian was still on the Turkic side, how could they send troops to attack at this time?
Li Jing hurriedly replied: Gong Zhen, this is actually Han Xinxin's plan to defeat Qi Guo. Li Ji hurriedly said: Yes, we are serious about the mainstream play, there is nothing wrong with it.
However, Li Jing's next sentence, even Li Ji almost spewed out a mouthful of old blood.
"The Eastern Turks are alive and dead, just tonight in a battle, sacrificing only one Tang Jian, then what is the pity?" Su Dingfang, you lead two hundred cavalry as the forward, I lead the army, and set off after dark."
Battle of Yin Mountain
On the night of March 27, 630, the Battle of Yinshan, the Battle of Yinshan, was quietly launched under the command of Li Jing and Li Ji.
Li Jing's style of warfare has always been known for the speed of attack, and that night, Li Jing personally led 10,000 cavalry to the Yin Mountains, and the rest of the army was commanded by Li Ji and followed.
The Turks had a scout detachment stationed in the Yinshan area, and the barracks had more than a thousand tents, and the number of people should be several thousand, and the task of this army was to closely monitor the every move of the Tang army on the south side of the Yinshan.
But since the arrival of the Tang Dynasty, the Turks felt that peace was in sight and had lost the necessary vigilance.
In the darkness of the night, Li Jing's 10,000 cavalry had penetrated deep into the Yin Mountains, surrounded this Turkic reconnaissance cavalry, and then launched a fierce attack, Li Jing ordered the Turkic captives to serve as guides for the Tang army, and learned about the distribution of the Turkic army and the situation in the army.
Due to the captives leading the way, Li Jing's army was extremely secretive and was not discovered by the Turks.
Li Jing ordered Su Dingfang to lead two hundred cavalry to reconnoiter the forward. At this time, the fog was thick and the visibility was very low, providing the best cover for the secret march of the Tang army.
Su Dingfang led two hundred people and quietly approached the Turkic camp, until seven miles away from the camp, the fog cleared, the Turks found that the Tang army had been killed at the gate, and the Turkic cavalry rushed to battle.
Su Dingfang did not care about the three seven twenty-one shouts to charge, and in the blink of an eye, the Turkic cavalry was killed by Su Dingfang's forward troops and more than a hundred people. Li Jing's main force also arrived later, launching a powerful offensive against the Turks.
At this time, there were still more than 100,000 Turks in the moraine area, about half of the armed personnel, and the strength of the troops was still far more than Li Jing's, but Li Jing's fall from the sky made the Turks unable to organize effective resistance at all, and they fought for each other, and there was chaos.
Jieli Khan did not know exactly how many men and horses the Tang army really had, nor did he intend to organize manpower resistance, nor did he want to find the diplomat Tang Jian to protest his dissatisfaction, and instinctively told him to run fast, and the faster he ran, the better.
He ran quite fast, then Tang Jian still didn't run slowly, what was the situation? Fighting? No one cares, right? I also run. This brother's fate was really good, and he went back to the Tang camp with a cigarette.
At the foot of the Yin Mountains, the Tang army slaughtered more than 10,000 Turkic soldiers, captured more than 100,000 Turkic civilians, and a considerable number of cattle, sheep and horses, which was the last capital of the Turkic nobility.
Why didn't Li Jing chase after Li Khan? Li Jing said that Li Ji had already ambushed the entrance of the Desert North Grassland one step ahead of Jieli Khan.
Jieli Khan led the crowd to run wildly, just when he thought he had survived the crisis, he was surprised to find that the moraine mouth of the Mobei was already full of flags of the Tang army. Jieli Khan could only flee westward, and Li Ji took the opportunity to sweep away the rest of the Turkic tribes, the Turkic tribes in the south of the desert, totaling more than 50,000 people, and surrendered to Li Ji.
At this point, the vast land from the Yin Mountains in the north to the desert in the south was under the control of the Tang Dynasty.
After the great defeat, Jieli Khan first fled to the lost place of his uncle Suni, but the army of Li Daozong, the commander of the Datong Province, had begun to push into the territory of Suni.
Li Daozong wrote to Suni, urging him to surrender and hand over Jieli Khan. After hearing this news, Jieli Khan did not quit all night, fled all the way to the west, hid in the barren mountains and valleys, and was captured by Zhang Baoxiang, the deputy commander of the march, and then twisted to Chang'an City and became a prisoner of Li Shimin.
In addition, Princess Yicheng, the wife of Jieli Khan, was a Sui Dynasty princess, and because Tang replaced Sui, she vowed not to surrender and was beheaded on the spot by Li Jing. She was the cousin of the Sui Emperor and married four khans in her lifetime. Marry Qimin Khan first, after the death of Qimin Khan, marry his stepson Shibi Khan, After the death of Shibi Khan, he married the younger brother of Shibi Khan, Chuluo Khan, after the death of Chuluo Khan, it is said that the son will succeed to the throne, but this son is too ugly, Princess Yicheng also knows that she has to marry another Khan, Princess Yicheng resolutely disagrees with his succession, and later finds Shibi Khan and The younger brother of Chuluo Khan, Jieli Khan, to succeed to the throne, and Jieli Khan also became the fourth husband of Princess Yicheng.
Li Shimin did not kill Jieli Khan, but made him the King of Guiyi, the Great General of the Right Guard, and let him spend the rest of his life in Chang'an; After the surrender of Tuli Khan, he was given the title of King of Peiping Commandery; The Turkic generals Zhizhi Sili, Ashina Dul, Ashina Sima and Qifu Heli all surrendered, all of which were heavily used by the Tang Dynasty; Zhenzhu Khan Yinan, also on the table indicates submission.
Historical significance
The Battle of the Eastern Turks was the greatest victory of the Zhenguan period, and also one of the greatest victories in Chinese history to counter the invasion, the Tang Dynasty's attack on the Eastern Turks, killing tens of thousands of Turkic cavalrymen, 150,000 troops, after more than three years of lying down and tasting courage, the Tang Empire finally defeated the Eastern Turks in one fell swoop.
The humiliation of Tang Gaozu's claim to his subjects and the shame of Tang Taizong's Weishui were finally swept away by the glorious victory of this battle.
After this, the Tang Dynasty indisputably replaced the Turks and became the hegemon of the four directions, this great empire, the vitality radiated like a magnet, with a strong suction, this suction power not only from the military strength, but also from the power of civilization, the small tribes that originally belonged to the Turks, have been attached to the Tang Empire, the tribal leaders jointly wrote a letter, asking Tang Taizong Li Shimin to be honored as the "Heavenly Khan".
The light of the Tang Empire is about to rise in the east of the world.