As a powerful empire, the Tang Dynasty had an unrivaled vast territory and strong military power. However, even in its heyday, the Tang Dynasty and Tibet, a neighboring power, fell in love with each other and fought for more than 200 years.
With its system of all people being soldiers and its strong mobilization ability, Tubo once occupied important territory of the Tang Dynasty and posed a great threat to the Tang Dynasty.
Just when the Tang Dynasty was in a crisis of internal and external troubles, an astonishing strategy emerged, which not only changed the fate of the Tang Dynasty, but also affected the entire map of Asia. So, what was this astonishing strategy, and how did it finally bring the Tang Dynasty to victory over its century-old enemy, Tibet?
The rise of Tibet
The predecessor of Tibet can be traced back to the ancient Qiang people. In the inaccessible land of the Tibetan Plateau, the Qiang people have passed down their nomadic life for generations. They lived by herding, and all the men were brave and warlike cavalry.
At the beginning of the seventh century, the 32nd Tibetan Tsangpu Songtsen Gampo began a series of conquests and expansions. He led the elite cavalry, first conquered the surrounding Qiang tribes, and then pointed the spearhead directly at the Tuyuhun, Dangxiang and other powerful countries in the north. With the system of all soldiers and a brave and warlike army, Tibet has made great progress in just a few decades, and finally unified the entire Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Songtsen Gampo was ambitious, and he was determined to build a powerful empire on the plateau. To this end, he constantly strengthened the centralization of power and improved the military mobilization system. Once there is a war, the whole country will gather like a surging tide, into an invincible ironclad army. According to historical records, with just one order, Tubo could mobilize 200,000 elite divisions.
With this powerful army, the Tibetans soon expanded their territory into the heartland of the Tang Dynasty. During the Zhenguan period, Songtsen Gampo once arrogantly called for battle with Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, asking to marry the princess as his wife.
Li Shimin saw that the national strength of Tubo was getting stronger and stronger, and in order to avoid war, he decided to alleviate the contradiction in a peaceful way, so he married Princess Wencheng to Songtsen Gampo.
However, the peace that followed the peace did not last long. The successor to the throne, Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi, did not seem to have much energy to deal with the threat of Tibet. In 670 AD, Tubo took the opportunity to attack the Western Regions and captured 18 prefectures such as Qiuci and Yanqi in one go.
Although the Tang army sent the famous general Xue Rengui to conquer in person, it was finally severely damaged in the Battle of Dafeichuan, and almost all of the 100,000 horses were wiped out.
As soon as this battle was lost, Tubo became a powerful country that could compete with the Tang Dynasty.
The crisis of the Tang Dynasty
Although the Tang Dynasty was strong and had a vast territory during the prosperous period of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, with the passage of time, internal and external troubles followed one after another, and crises lurked.
During the reign of Zhen Yuan, the Tang Dynasty faced a serious threat from Tibet. Since Songtsen Gampo unified the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Tibet's national strength has become increasingly strong, which has put great pressure on the northwestern border of the Tang Dynasty.
In 670 AD, Tubo took advantage of Tang Gaozong Li Zhi's negligence to take precautions, went straight to the Western Regions, and captured 18 states such as Qiuci and Yanqi in one go.
Although the Tang army sent the famous general Xue Rengui to conquer in person, it was heavily damaged in the battle of Dafeichuan, and almost all of its 100,000 horses were wiped out.
As soon as this battle was lost, Tubo became a powerful country that could compete with the Tang Dynasty.
During the reign of Wu Zetian, in order to recover the hometown of Tuyuhun, the Tang army suffered heavy losses in the battle of Suluohan Mountain, and almost all the 100,000 tigers were wiped out, and the use of troops against Tubo became taboo.
After the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion, Tubo took advantage of the situation and invaded Chang'an City with an army of more than 200,000 people, which frightened the Tang Dynasty emperor to flee in a hurry.
If it weren't for the witty response of the famous general Guo Ziyi, the Tang Dynasty might have been ended by Tibet.
In the face of the powerful Tibetan threat, there was also a serious crisis within the Tang Dynasty. After the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion, the authority of the imperial court was greatly damaged, the centralized power ceased to exist, and the various regions were divided into one side, and the situation was precarious. In addition, the war has been chaotic for many years, the national strength is declining, the taxes are heavy, and the people are struggling to make a living. After Tang Dezong Li Shi succeeded to the throne, the country fell into an unprecedented situation of internal and external troubles.
In order to deal with the huge threat from Tibet, Tang Dezong had to take extraordinary measures. In April of the first year of Zhenyuan (785), he secretly sent the eunuch Yang Liangyao to the South China Sea, preparing to seek the possibility of an alliance with the Arab Empire.
This seemingly crazy idea turned out to be the key to turning things around.
Amazing strategy in the making
Faced with a huge threat from Tibet, Tang Dezong realized that it was difficult for the Tang Dynasty to deal with it alone. So, he secretly hatched a shocking strategy.
In April of the first year of Zhenyuan (785), Tang Dezong sent the eunuch Yang Liangyao to the South China Sea, preparing to seek the possibility of an alliance with the Arab Empire.
This seemingly crazy idea turned out to be the key to turning things around.
Yang Liangyao went all the way south, and after arriving in Guangzhou, he organized a fleet of ships to leave the mouth of Zhuhai and go west along the coast. After months of sailing, they finally reached the territory of the Arab Empire.
At that time, the Arab Empire was in its heyday, with a vast territory and strong national power. Yang Liangyao clarified the crisis of the Tang Dynasty to the Arab rulers and made a bold proposal to join forces to defeat the Tibetan Empire.
The Arabs are also interested. The Tibetan Empire not only invaded Arab vassals in Central Asia many times, but also straddled the two empires, posing a major strategic threat. Once the Tibetans were wiped out, the Arab Empire would directly border the Tang Dynasty and occupy an absolutely dominant position on the Silk Road.
After months of negotiations, the two sides finally reached an agreement. The Arab Empire will send its elite army northward, and at the same time, the Tang army will also launch a general offensive, and the two armies will meet in the heart of Tibet to flank the heart of Tibet.
In order to cover this strategic deployment, Tang Dezong also sent envoys to the capital of Tibet to continue to delay the peace talks in the name of peace talks. At the same time, the Tang army began to secretly assemble and prepare for a decisive battle.
All this was quietly going on outside the sight of Tubo Zampu. It was not until the last moment that the Tibetans realized that the Tang Dynasty had formed an alliance with the Arab Empire, but it was too late.
The decisive battle of the Union Army
In the first year of Zhenyuan (785), Tang Dezong secretly sent the eunuch Yang Liangyao to the South China Sea, and after reaching an alliance agreement with the Arab Empire, the two sides began to form a joint army to prepare for a decisive battle against Tibet.
On the Tang side, Dezong ordered the secret assembly of elite troops in Guanzhong, Shaanxi. In order to prevent the Tibetans from learning about the military situation in advance, the Tang army's marching route was to march at night and conceal during the day.
Eventually, the Tang army met in the area of present-day Wuwei, Gansu, under the command of the famous general Zhang He.
At the same time, the Arab Empire amassed a powerful army in Central Asia. This army consisted of elite cavalry from the Arab mainland and auxiliary units from all over Central Asia, numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
They traveled all the way east, crossed the Green Mountains, and entered the area of present-day Xinjiang.
In order to cover the actions of the coalition forces, Tang Dezong also sent envoys to the capital of Tibet to continue to delay the time in the name of peace talks.
The Tibetan Zampu was completely unaware that the Tang Dynasty had formed an alliance with the Arab Empire and was still dragging on pointless negotiations.
In the spring of 787, the coalition finally began. The Tang army, commanded by Zhang, marched from Wuwei to Qinghai, while the Arab army entered Xinjiang and advanced eastward along the ancient Silk Road.
The goal of the two armies was to meet in the heart of Tibet and attack the central area of Tibet from both sides.
Only then did Tubo Zampu realize that the general trend had gone, and hurriedly mobilized the whole country to resist. However, due to the short time, the assembly of the Tibetan army was quite hasty, and the rapid attack of the Tang-A coalition army was quickly defeated.
The coalition forces then launched a fierce attack on Tibet. The Tang army went straight to Luo, the capital of Tibet, while the Arab army attacked cities and seized land along the way, cutting off the logistics supply lines of Tibet.
Both sides opened fire in full force, the Tibetan army and civilians suffered heavy casualties, and various places broke down one after another.
Eventually, the coalition forces invaded the city of Luoqi, and the Tibetan Zampu was forced to abandon the city and flee.
Subsequently, the Tang-Arab coalition army swept through the territory of Tibet for several months, completely destroying the national strength of Tibet. In 790 AD, the Tibetan Zanpu was forced to submit to the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire, and the Tibetan Empire came to an end.
This decisive battle not only reversed the passive situation of the Tang Dynasty, but also reshaped the entire map of Asia. The fall of the Tibetan Empire made the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire the dominant forces in the region, and trade along the Silk Road was revitalized.
Post-war repercussions
The fall of the Tibetan Empire not only reversed the passive situation of the Tang Dynasty, but also reshaped the entire map of Asia.
In 790 AD, the Tibetan Zanpu was forced to submit to the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire, and the Tibetan Empire came to an end.
Subsequently, the Tang-Arab coalition army swept through the territory of Tibet for several months, completely destroying the national strength of Tibet.
The Tibetan Plateau is gone, and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has returned to the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Tang Dezong ordered a large number of construction projects in Qinghai, Gansu and other places, built cities, palaces, and consolidated border defense.
At the same time, a large number of Han Chinese immigrated to Tibet, and Han culture retook root in this land.
After the fall of Tibet, the Arab Empire also quickly intervened in the region. They set up subordinate prefectures in present-day Xinjiang and controlled key points along the Silk Road.
The Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire thus fought against each other on this land, becoming the two dominant powers in the central and western regions of Asia.
The confrontation between the two empires revived trade along the Silk Road. A large number of caravans from Central, West and South Asia began to shuttle back and forth on this ancient trade route, bringing exotic customs.
Along with this, there are also exchanges and collisions between Eastern and Western cultures such as Buddhism, Nestorianism, and Islam in this region.
The fall of Tibet also brought the territory of the Tang Empire to the maximum. From present-day Iran to the Korean Peninsula, from the Mongolian Plateau to the Strait of Malacca, all of them were once the territory of the Tang Dynasty.
It can be said that as soon as Tubo went, the Tang Dynasty really entered the heyday of Kaiyuan.
However, this situation did not last long. In 840 AD, an uprising broke out in An Lushan, and the Arab Empire also fell into civil strife.
end
The Tang Dynasty was in a state of turmoil, and Central Asia was reunited until the rise of the Mongol Empire.
But in any case, the battle in which the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire joined forces to defeat Tibet will forever be engraved on the monument of Asian history. It not only changed the fate of the two ancient civilizations, but also rewrote the entire map of Asia.