In the tenth year of Tianbao, the Tang Empire suffered a series of setbacks in the border areas. The three fronts in the northwest, northeast, and southwest came with bad news one after another, and the Tang army was defeated in the war with foreign peoples. These battles seem to be just small frictions on the border, but they are like a hammer, hitting the body of the empire hard. Against the backdrop of these wars, the ambitions of the Youzhou warlord An Lushan were completely ignited, and he began to covet imperial power. What was the direction of this year's war, and how was An Lushan led to the path of betrayal?
1. Southwestern Front: The offensive of the Southern Zhao Kingdom
At the end of the ninth year of Tianbao, Nanzhao suddenly launched an attack on the Tang Dynasty. They first captured the city of Yaozhou, and then successively occupied more than 30 Tang prefectures and counties in Yunnan. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow, breaking the long-standing relative peace in the southwestern borderlands.
In the face of Nanzhao's fierce attack, the imperial court decided to organize a large army to conquer. Due to the importance of the war with Nanzhao, the position of commander of the army attracted the attention of the government and the opposition. In the end, Yang Guozhong strongly advocated Xian Yu Zhongtong to be the commander of the army and personally helped him.
In the spring of the tenth year of Tianbao, Xian Yu Zhongtong's 80,000-strong army set out for the southern expedition. The start was smooth, the Tang army first won victory in the Yao'an area, and the Nanzhao army retreated. However, the good times did not last long, and the situation gradually deteriorated as the front penetrated deep into the hinterland of Nanzhao. Finally, in the battle of Lunan, the Tang army suffered heavy losses, 60,000 soldiers were killed, and Zhongtong personally escaped.
The defeat of this battle was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the imperial court. But in order to maintain his reputation, Yang Guozhong actually concealed the truth and falsely reported his military exploits to the imperial court. He not only covered up the fiasco of the Tang army, but also recommended Jing Zhaoyin to a high position for Zhongtong, in an attempt to increase his weight among the government and the opposition.
The defeat in the Battle of Nanzhao and the hypocritical attitude of the top brass of the imperial court left a deep impression on the Youzhou warlord An Lushan. As a frontier minister, he began to doubt the imperial court's ability to rule, and the prospects of the empire were shaken. This was undoubtedly an important fuse that ignited his ambitions.
2. Northwest Front: Battle of Talas
In July of the tenth year of Tianbao, Anxi Du Hu Gao Xianzhi led 30,000 Tang troops and the Arab army to encounter in Talas. This is a decisive battle for control of the Western Regions.
Gao Xianzhi was originally a battle-hardened veteran of the Anxi Army, which consisted of well-trained foot soldiers and a coalition of client states from the Western Regions. Before the expedition, Gao Xianzhi was well prepared for the war, believing that as long as the coalition forces were strong enough, they could destroy the Arab power in Central Asia in one fell swoop.
At the beginning of the war, Gao Xianzhi's coalition forces had the upper hand. With the advantage of being outnumbered, they were able to crush the Arab armies for a time. But the good times did not last long, and the tide of the war soon reversed.
At the critical moment, the client state rebelled and betrayed the Tang army at the instigation of the Arabs. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow, and Gao Xianzhi's army fell into a situation of being passively beaten in an instant. The Arab cavalry pursued the victory, and the Tang army was in disarray.
Faced with the sudden change, Gao Xianzhi tried to dispatch the remaining forces, but it was too late. The Arabs' offensive became more and more violent, and the Don army's front at Talas was finally broken. In this battle, the Tang army suffered heavy casualties, and several thousand people were taken prisoner.
When the battle situation fell into a stalemate, Li Siye was ordered to break off. He led the remnants of his army in a difficult retreat, and finally retreated to the Anxi Protectorate. In the Battle of Talas, the Tang army's vitality was greatly damaged, and the defense line in the northwest frontier was precarious.
This battle was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the imperial court. The Anxi Protectorate has always been an important town in the Western Regions, and once it is lost, it will directly threaten the security of the Hexi Corridor. What was even more serious was that the defeat of Talas completely shattered the deterrent power of the Tang army in the Western Regions, and the Arabs would be able to expand their territory eastward with impunity.
The Battle of Talas was not only a military defeat, but also the beginning of the gradual decline of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions. After this battle, the Arabs' domination of Central Asia was a foregone conclusion, and the Tang Dynasty's influence in the region would gradually decline.
3. War in the Northeast: An Lushan's conquest of the Khitan
In August of the tenth year of Tianbao, An Lushan was ordered to command 60,000 troops in the three towns of Youzhou, Pinglu and Hedong, aiming directly at the Khitan base area. This was a war of extermination aimed at completely exterminating the Khitans.
As a military minister in the northeast, An Lushan has long recognized the threat of the Khitans. Ever since he took office, he had been hatching plans for the expedition. In order to create an excuse to go on the expedition, An Lushan deliberately provoked the border and booby-trapped the Khitan chieftain, which led to a rapid deterioration in relations between the two sides.
The expedition is imminent, and An Lushan is very optimistic about the outcome of the battle. He believed that as long as sufficient forces were concentrated, the Khitan would be vulnerable. In order to ensure the smooth progress of the operation, An Lushan personally deployed the battle plan and selected 2,000 Xi cavalry as guides.
In August, the army marched. The road was smooth, and the Tang army was like entering a no-man's land, and soon arrived in the heartland of the Khitan. At the beginning, the war went smoothly, and none of the Khitan tribes along the road were spared and were captured one after another. Seeing that the Tang army was so unstoppable, An Lushan was even more convinced of the final victory.
However, the good times did not last long, and as the battle line deepened, the Tang army encountered many resistances. In the event of heavy rain on the way, the bow and crossbow failed, and the long-range fire was damaged. The Khitans also burst out in a desperate situation, and the two sides fought fiercely in the area of the Xilamulun River.
At a critical moment, a small accident changed the course of the battle. A general who looked similar to An Lushan was shot by the Khitans, and the Tang army's position was a little shaken for a while. The Xi guide was even more in battle against the water and began to flank the Tang army camp.
Faced with the sudden change, An Lushan tried to mobilize the remnants, but it was too late. The Khitans took advantage of the victory to pursue, and the Tang army was in chaos. At this juncture, An Lushan was also hit by an arrow and was forced to withdraw from the battlefield.
The defeat has gone, and the Tang army is retreating. An Lushan only relied on the power of his cronies to lead the remnants to escape with difficulty. Other generals were also evacuated one after another in the melee, the Tang army's vitality was greatly damaged, and the northeast front was in danger.
This battle dealt a heavy blow to An Lushan. His original plan to exterminate the clan not only failed to materialize, but instead caused the Tang army to suffer heavy losses in the northeast. What is more serious is that this defeat will undoubtedly further exacerbate An Lushan's dissatisfaction with the imperial court and lay the foundation for future rebellions.
4. An Lushan's inner world
In the tenth year of Tianbao, An Lushan was defeated in three wars, and his confidence in the imperial court was gradually shaken. As an important minister on the frontier, he witnessed the successive defeats of the Tang army in the northwest, northeast, and southwest, and saw the signs of the decline of the empire.
What made him even more uneasy was the attitude of the top brass of the imperial court towards these wars. In the Battle of Nanzhao, in order to maintain his reputation, Yang Guozhong actually concealed the truth of the Tang army's disastrous defeat and falsely reported his military exploits to the imperial court. After the Battle of Talas, the imperial court did not reflect on this. As for the Battle of the Khitan personally commanded by An Lushan, the imperial court even beautified its defeat as a feat of "raising the prestige of our Tang Army".
In the face of these practices of covering his ears and stealing the bell, An Lushan questioned the ruling ability of the imperial court. He began to wonder if the imperial power, to which he had been loyal for many years, had weakened to the point where it could no longer maintain peace in the world. Driven by these doubts, An Lushan's rebellious heart began to grow gradually.
The successive defeats in the three wars were undoubtedly a heavy blow to the Tang Dynasty. After the news spread, the shock naturally spread to the entire government and the opposition. Some courtiers began to openly question the court's ability to employ people and command, believing that this was the root cause of the army's repeated defeats.
But there are also those who glorify military exploits in order to cover up defeat. In addition to Yang Guozhong, Prime Minister Li Linfu also cooperated with match-fixing with the acquiescence, portraying An Lushan's defeat as a feat of "going deep into the cave and raising the prestige of our Tang Army".
Against the backdrop of these hypocritical practices, An Lushan saw through the intrigue and erosive incompetence of the high-level of the imperial court. This undoubtedly exacerbated his dissatisfaction with the imperial power and further strengthened his determination to rebel in the future.
The defeat in the third war not only shook An Lushan's loyalty to the imperial court, but also caused some border troops to begin to waver. As soldiers who had personally experienced these battles, they saw the Tang army's retreat on the frontier and questioned the future of the empire.
Driven by this suspicion, some border troops began to gravitate towards An Lushan, a battle-hardened veteran. They were attracted by An Lushan's bravery on the battlefield and believed that only such a person could lead them out of the predicament in front of them.
Ten years of Tianbao, this year is destined to be an extraordinary year for the Tang Empire. The successive setbacks of the war on the northwest, northeast, and southwest fronts became the fuse that ignited the An Lushan rebellion.
In the Battle of Talas, the Don army was crushed by the Arabs. Gao Xianzhi personally led the army, but under the sudden change of the servant country's rebellion, his vitality was greatly damaged. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the Empire's influence in the Western Regions.
To the northeast, the exterminating army under the personal command of An Lushan also suffered heavy losses in the area of the Xilamulun River. The Khitans burst out with amazing combat effectiveness in a desperate situation, and the Tang army was simply unable to give full play to its advantages when the bow and crossbow failed. In the end, An Lushan barely escaped with the strength of his cronies.
As for the southwest front, the 80,000 troops under the command of Xian Yu Zhongtong suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of Lunan. In order to maintain his reputation, Yang Guozhong actually concealed the truth and falsely reported his military exploits to the imperial court. This practice of covering his ears and stealing the bell undoubtedly exacerbated An Lushan's dissatisfaction with the imperial court.
The successive defeats in the three wars shocked the entire government and the opposition. Some courtiers openly questioned the imperial court's approach to employing people, believing that this was the root cause of the army's repeated defeats. But there are also people who beautify military exploits in order to cover up the defeat and cooperate with match-fixing.
Against the backdrop of these hypocritical practices, An Lushan saw through the intrigue and erosive incompetence of the high-level of the imperial court. This undoubtedly exacerbated his dissatisfaction with the imperial power and further strengthened his determination to rebel in the future.
At the same time, the defeat in World War III also caused some border troops to begin to waver in their loyalty to the imperial court. They were attracted by An Lushan's bravery on the battlefield and believed that only such a person could lead them out of the predicament in front of them. This laid the foundation for the Anshi Rebellion in the future.
The ten years of Tianbao are destined to be an extraordinary year for the Tang Empire. Against the backdrop of this year's war, An Lushan's ambition was completely ignited, and the government and the opposition also reacted differently to this. All these laid the foundation for the Anshi Rebellion in the future.