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preface
Just as the so-called times create heroes, there are famous generals worth passing down through the ages, but in the Han Dynasty, there is a super general with unknown origin and achievements comparable to Wei Qing and Huo Qubing.
He fought only one battle in his life, but he made foreign races dare not come for three hundred years, one sentence: "Those who violate strong men will be condemned from afar!" "It's even more exciting to listen to and has been passed down to this day."
He is the famous general of the Western Han Dynasty, Chen Tang!
Insignificant but standing out
Chen Tang's origin is not too big, and it can even be said that it is very small, so small that he is a nameless person in the people.
He grew up in poverty, but fortunately he was smart and thinking jumpy, not only liked to read, but also wrote well.
What's more valuable is that Chen Tang has never been a person who plays cards according to the routine, always likes the sword to go sideways, and is not trapped by the world.
At that time, the literati of that era had a kind of ambition, called "not lower than three or four to accept the charity of others", but Chen Tang felt: People are starving to death, what kind of integrity do you pay attention to?
So, among the many talented people, only he lived by begging for loans.
Undoubtedly, this has led to local disgust for his lack of discipline, and have become so disgusted that they are reluctant to mention his name.
The most important thing is that even if Chen Tang is still knowledgeable, every time the county wants to recommend virtuous people to the imperial court, it will always habitually exclude him.
And seeing that he not only could not make a name for himself in the local area, but also did not pay foreign debts, he could only go all the way west and wander to Chang'an.
When he arrived in the prosperous imperial capital, he soon relied on his profound knowledge to seek an errand in the local area - eunuch offering food beggars, simply put, the assistant of eunuch Ling.
The eunuch order belongs to the subordinate officials of the young government, and his main responsibility is to manage the palace food, so his position is not too big.
Although his position is not large, he has the advantage that he can contact many dignitaries and princes.
Sure enough, it didn't take long for him to meet many dignitaries, plus he was smart and eclectic, and soon met Zhang Bo, the Marquis of Fuping, who also liked to meet talents.
At that time, it coincided with the Han Yuan Emperor Guangxian Nashi, and he also got the opportunity to rise to the top under the strong recommendation of this person.
But just as he was about to show his strength, he suddenly learned the news of his father's death.
For a while, he was struck by lightning, you know, at this moment his career is just on track, if he chooses to return home at this moment, then all his previous efforts will be in vain,
But if he does not return home, he will be labeled as unfilial. You know, in this era, when your parents die, you must observe filial piety for three years.
So, he kept thinking, should he go home at this critical time to handle his father's funeral? Or risk the world to do nothing, hide the truth and not practice filial piety?
After careful consideration, Chen Tang, who has not been constrained by the world since he was a child, chose to hide it despite his sadness.
And he thinks that according to his reputation in his hometown since he was a child, no one will pay special attention to him.
But what Chen Tang didn't expect was that this matter was soon learned by his jealous colleagues, and he also reported himself, and then everyone who made trouble was known.
In the end, he was dismissed from office, and even Zhang Bo, who recommended him, was blamed for sitting in office, and even after his death, he was given the nickname "Miao Marquis", which means wrongly.
But Chen Tang did not give up, and after he was released on bail, he became a lang official again.
As for whether the person who bailed him out was Zhang Bo or his former boss, it is unknown. But at least one thing can be explained: Chen Tang's excellence is appreciated by others.
Chen Tang, who was resurrected with blood, was not willing to settle for the status quo, so he repeatedly asked the imperial court to send an envoy to the Western Regions.
If you want to dominate the Western Regions, it will almost lead to a catastrophe
You know, after Emperor Wudi of Han subdued the Xiongnu, decades have passed, and this alien race is still very tough.
In other words, the errand of going to the Western Regions is very difficult to do, not only is the road arduous, but also the safety of life cannot be guaranteed, and ordinary people will not go at all.
In fact, Chen Tang also had his own plans for doing this, and if this mission to the Western Regions could go smoothly, it would definitely be beneficial to his future career.
At this time, everyone did not want to take this drudgery, since Chen Tang had asked for it many times, the imperial court also happened to push the boat along the water. It's just that what no one expected was that he also opened his peak moment.
During the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han, the five major Xiongnu fought for the throne, and either you beat me or I beat you all day.
If he wins the battle, he occupies the capital as king, and if he loses and does not want to submit, he runs to the Han Dynasty to seek refuge, and in the late stage of the melee, the Xiongnu's Huhan Xidan rebels sprang up under the tent, and the separated team went to the eastern region, and divided itself as Zhizhi Dan Yu.
After the defeat of Hu Han Xiedan, who fought almost from beginning to end, he sent his son to serve in the Han Dynasty.
At this time, Zhi Zhidan Yu was worried that Hu Han Xie Shan Yu would gain the support of the Han Dynasty, and he also pretended to send his son over.
Originally, he thought that if they also sent their sons to serve in the dynasty, the Great Han should not intervene in the civil war between them. But Hu Han Xie Shan Yu also understood that it was impossible to win by fighting alone.
Therefore, he personally went to Emperor Han Xuan's Ganquan Palace to ask for help.
Obviously, Hu Han Xiedan was very effective in this trick of "breaking the cauldron and sinking the boat", on the one hand, he confused Zhi Zhi Shan Yu, making him think that his opponent had defected to the Han Dynasty and would not return, so he began to sweep westward unscrupulously.
On the other hand, Huhan Xie Shan Yu's sincerity also moved the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, the imperial court not only sent nearly 20,000 troops to garrison Guanglusai, but also distributed a lot of grain for the Xiongnu to eat, and the combination of the two forces also became a strong barrier for the northern territory of the Han Dynasty to defend against the Xiongnu.
And here Zhi Zhi Shan Yu's road to the west has been a great victory, and it can be regarded as "covering the sky with one hand" on the territory of the Xiongnu.
But he also understood that he still had no strength in the face of the Han army, so in order to avoid the front, he pressed the army into the Western Regions.
Then, after defeating the states of Wujie, Jiankun, and Ding Ling, it was finally determined that Yu Jiankun dominated the region.
During the reign of Emperor Yuan of Han, Zhi Zhidan Yu suddenly sent an envoy to pay tribute to the Han Dynasty and expressed his willingness to submit, but only if he took away his son, who had previously served as an attendant in the Great Han Dynasty.
Therefore, Dahan sent Gu Ji to Jiankun to return it, but he was killed by the other party.
False propagation of the divine decree, led troops to fight the Xiongnu
Knowing that he had suffered a catastrophe, Zhi Zhidan first fled west to Kangju, and then annexed the surrounding small countries with the help of King Kangju's power, and when his power expanded, he forced the Su and Dawan kingdoms to pay tribute to him.
During this period, the Great Han sent three waves of messengers to ask him for the bodies of Gu Ji and others, but the other party not only refused, but also embarrassed the envoy.
At the same time, he also wrote to the big han that he was willing to submit, but the premise was that he needed the big man to also send a son over.
In the face of Zhi Zhidanyu's people who do not play cards according to the routine, everyone just wants to send troops to subdue him.
However, considering that the Han Dynasty is no longer as glorious as it used to be, Emperor Yuan of Han was no longer willing to confront the Xiongnu, so he took the attitude of turning big things into small things and sent the Western Regions capital Gan Yanshou and deputy captain Chen Tang to negotiate peace.
But when the two arrived in the Western Regions, they found that the situation here was far more complicated than what they had heard above the court.
In other words, it is impractical to rely on reason to persuade people to communicate with this group of people, and only force can force them to submit once and for all.
Immediately, Chen Tang said to Gan Yanshou:
"The Xiongnu are fierce and warlike by nature, and if they swallow Wusun and Dawan, then the entire Western Regions will be difficult to control. And now is a good opportunity to eliminate him, because he does not have a strong enough city and a weapon to defend it.
If troops are sent to the city at this time, he will be in a situation where he cannot fight or defend, and he cannot run or run, but if it drags on for a long time, the problems will become more and more. ”
After hearing this, Gan Yanshou also thought that this method was feasible, and immediately prepared to report the local situation and the ideas of the two to the imperial court.
But after seeing his behavior, Chen Tang said: "If you write a letter now, wait for the approval of the imperial court, the country will definitely drag on, and then all the fighters will be lost." ”
But as the main person in charge, Gan Yanshou dared to make a decision privately. If he wins this battle, it is better to say, once he loses, what should he do?
However, Chen Tang, who had always played cards against common sense, could not take care of so much, and he took advantage of Gan Yanshou's illness to falsely spread the divine decree to the countries of the Western Regions, and then stationed more than 40,000 troops in the name of the Great Han, preparing to launch an attack on Zhi Zhidanyu.
And when Gan Yanshou knew about this, he quickly wanted to stop the other party, but he didn't expect that Chen Tang, who had always been good at talking, actually pressed the hilt of his sword and pulled out his sword at this time: "The army has been assembled, and the arrows are also about to be fired, whoever wants to block it will be dealt with according to the shaking army's heart!" ”
Seeing this, Gan Yanshou knew that it was too late to change the situation of the war, so he had to go with him.
The original envoy to the Western Regions also turned into a campaign against the Xiongnu in an instant, and a big war would soon break out.
Thousands of miles to attack, straight to the first level of the enemy general
However, the crime of falsely preaching the divine will was very serious, so Gan Yanshou and Chen Tang divided the army of more than 40,000 people into six squads while preparing to play self-impeachment during this period.
Chen Tang led three teams to cross the southern road and cross the green ridge south through Dawan, and the other route to pass through Wusun through the northern road to the border of the Kangju Kingdom.
During this period, the two groups not only repelled the enemy army that was snatching supplies, but also calmed the uneasy mood of passing small countries by the way, won the support and reputation of many countries, and then joined forces in the eastern area of Kangju, where Zhizhidan was located.
After gaining the trust of the local people of Kangju, Chen Tang successfully obtained the specific deployment location of the Xiongnu in the city.
It turned out that the locals had long hated this group of murderous "invaders", and when they saw Chen Tang's disciplined troops, they were naturally willing to help this "righteous division".
Sure enough, the already tenacious army, with the help of the locals, passed all the way and killed the generals 30 miles away from Shan Yu City.
And when Zhi Zhishan saw the army that suddenly killed in front of him, he was extremely frightened for a while, and instantly lost his arrogance in the past.
However, he was still unwilling to compromise on this, so he sent an envoy to Chen Tang's camp and asked: "Why did the Han army suddenly press the border?" ”
At this time, Chen Tang looked at the other party's face and thought: Will this know to ask politely? It's late!
So he returned to the visiting messenger: "Go back and tell you that Shan Yu has written to him and said that he will return to the great Han." And I, the Son of Chaotian, am also very sympathetic to your suffering, how can a big country stoop to such a small place as Kangju, so I specially ordered the general to come here to take orders from entering the dynasty. ”
But seeing that the other party still had to bargain, Chen Tang said even more impatiently: "We have traveled thousands of miles here to pick up your family Shan Yu, the people and horses are already hungry and sleepy, hurry back and let your family Shan Yu and the ministers have an idea." ”
However, Zhi Zhidan would obediently leave the city and submit to it, so by the next day, the army advanced again, and built a position only three miles from Shan Yu City, preparing for the final battle.
And here, seeing that there was no way to retreat, Zhi Zhishan Yu also raised the battle banner and shouted to the army outside the city: "Let the horses come!" ”
After speaking, he took the lead in sending more than 100 Xiongnu cavalry to rush out of the city and rush to the alliance army.
Then, the Han camp soldiers unhurriedly opened the position, and the strong bow troops fired 10,000 arrows at the same time, and the Xiongnu cavalry and infantry who fought lost their armor and armor.
In the end, the army advanced step by step under the leadership of the commander, you know, Yucheng alone is just a soil city, even if the Xiongnu soldiers fiercely resisted, Kang Juguo also sent 10,000 cavalry to help, but they were suppressed by the coalition forces and it was difficult to escape.
After nearly a day and a night of fighting, Zhi Zhishan died of serious wounds, and the battle for the city was over.
After the victory in the battle, the Xiongnu's vitality was greatly damaged, and the Han Dynasty ushered in three hundred years of peace.
Subsequently, Chen Tang sent another letter to Emperor Yuan of Han: let all foreign races see the fate of the invasion of the Han Empire. At the same time, it also makes them understand that whoever dares to make a mistake, no matter how far we run, we will solve them all.
Therefore, Chen Tang also left an ancient saying: Those who violate strong men will be condemned from afar.
epilogue
Although this battle was a war against the Xiongnu launched by Chen Tang under false divine decrees, he only launched the war after he really understood the situation in the Western Regions.
At the same time, he can also seize the enemy's weak points and seize the fighter planes on the spot, and take effective diplomatic measures with the Kangju people.
It laid a solid foundation for finally defeating the Xiongnu and stabilizing the Western Regions, so that foreign races did not dare to come for three hundred years.
Although Chen Tang is not as brilliant as the two generals Wei Huo, his spirit of daring to show his sword in the face of foreign enemies is worthy of learning and worship by future generations.