First, internal pressure external solution
The year 655 was a special year for the Tang Dynasty—Li Zhi was desperate to make Wu Zetian empress. Although for this reason he degraded Chu Suiliang, the tuoguo and important minister, but looking around at the imperial court, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian were still cold behind his back, because the eldest grandson Wuji was still there!
Everyone understands that this is the real "big guy". If you can't overthrow him, even if you seal Wu Zetian's "Queen Mother Niangniang", it will be useless! Li Zhi and Wu Zetian knew in their hearts that the root cause of all this was that the emperor's prestige was not enough, otherwise try to change Li Shimin?
So how to reverse this unfavorable situation as soon as possible? So-called: internal pressure external solution.
Military actions (achievements) become the first choice, the fastest to work, but also the most risky. But now it must be so, because once you succeed, it is not only equivalent to seizing military power, but also having great prestige, then how can your eldest grandson fight with the emperor?
Therefore, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian temporarily removed their eyes from the eldest son Wuji and once again turned to the Western Turks!
In fact, as early as four years ago, Li Zhi had sent liang Jianfang, the general of the Marquis of Zuowu, and the general of the Right Xiao Wei, QiFu HeLi, to beat the Western Turks once.
Because the Western Turks actually took advantage of the beginning of the new Tang Dynasty, they attacked several Tang cities and pools, and killed and plundered the people. At that time, Li Zhi was still "tender", and only taught a lesson to the Western Turks, let them be honest, and also achieved results, and since then the Western Turks have indeed become obedient and recognized Li Zhi as the eldest brother.
Now the situation is urgent, since the Western Turks will be destroyed sooner or later, it is better to take advantage of the present! As for what reason to find? Joke, so-called: the whole world can not be the royal land, Lao Tzu wants to recover the old soil, is the best reason!
After nearly a year of preparation, in 656 AD, Li Zhi was going to announce that he had beaten the Western Turks, so who would be the chief scoop of the Tang army? Although Li Ji was still alive, Li Zhi did not dare to let him leave. The reason is very simple, when Wu Zetian was made empress, Li Jili said: This is the emperor's eldest brother your family affair, ask outsiders what to do? Therefore, Li Ji must stay and hedge against the eldest grandson! So who else is there?
Li Zhi took a fancy to the 67-year-old Cheng Biting Jin - when I ascended the throne, it was Uncle Cheng who did not leave to protect me, and I was tired and thin. When Li Wu Zetian became empress, he did not say a word, he was loyal, he was also an understanding person, and he had the prestige of the commander--well, it was Cheng biting jin!
The general scoop has been selected, who will be the pioneer? Li Zhi did not hesitate to choose the 63-year-old Su Dingfang, who personally led 200 people as a death squad when he followed Li Jing to destroy the Eastern Turks. The most important thing is that when Li Shimin was alive, he had not entered Li Shimin's eyes, sat on the cold bench for many years, and now he will be desperate to perform!
In this way, in 656 AD, Li Zhi started the war to destroy the Western Turks, and ordered Cheng Jin to be the chief commander of the March of onion Mountain Road, Wang Wendu to be the second in command, and Su Dingfang to be the former military commander, leading the Tang Dynasty to attack the Western Turks!
Second, Cheng Yaojin made a big mistake
In December 656, the Tang Dynasty came to the Yingjiao River (present-day Xinyuannan, Xinjiang), and happened to encounter 20,000 Western Turk cavalry, and there was nothing to say, the two sides fought together. While the battle situation was stalemate, reinforcements from the Western Turks came, and for a time the situation of the Tang army became passive.
Cheng bit Jin's eyes urgently, what about the pioneer Su Dingfang? I can't see him!
Su Dingfang really didn't want to talk about it, personally led a cavalry of 500 people, and generally killed it from the sky. Cheng Biting King Kong was excited, but he was immediately angry again: Just 500 people? Your big army! Is it to tease me!
But what Cheng Yaojin did not expect was that Su Dingfang's 500 people actually followed behind the buttocks of the Western Turk army, which were all possessed by the stars, and the Western Turk army had no defense at all, and was suddenly forced to be forced, and suddenly scattered and fled, and then collapsed.
The scene of Li Jing sweeping through the Eastern Turks at that time was repeated again. How could Su Dingfang give up this opportunity? Biting the Western Turks to death, he slashed and killed with his ass, and chased for twenty miles in one breath, but the military order of Cheng Cheng to bite Jin came: give up the pursuit and return to the team.
Su Dingfang was anxious, would Cheng Bite Jin fight? The military orders were like mountains, and they had to obey their orders! After seeing Cheng biting Jin, everything was understood.
The reason why Su Dingfang only brought 500 people was because he was 10 miles away from the battlefield at that time, and he did not know about this encounter between the Tang army and the Western Turks! It wasn't until the Western Turk reinforcements arrived that Su Dingfang saw the billowing smoke and dust and realized the problem, so he hurriedly took 500 of his relatives and followed the elite soldiers and killed the Western Turks with his ass.
As for abandoning the pursuit, it was the military order of Wang Wendu, the second in command, why was this so?
There are two reasons recorded in the history books, one is that he was jealous of Su Dingfang's great merits in this battle. The second was that he held the secret edict of Emperor Li Zhi in his hand, saying that Li Zhi was very afraid of Cheng biting Jin and taking advantage of the enemy, so he asked him to restrain himself.
In any case, the Western Turks were frightened in this battle! And Su Dingfang also repeatedly demanded that Cheng bite the gold, and the soldiers were fast, taking the opportunity to pursue and kill the Western Turks in one fell swoop. However, Wang Wendu took out the "secret edict", and Cheng Biting Jin had to play a phalanx advance. That is to say, the Tang Dynasty people and horses all wore heavy armor and marched in formation, ready to guard against the cavalry raids of the Western Turks!
This pitted Tang Jun, tired to death or not to count, but also turtle speed forward, and soon the army's heart became unstable. Su Dingfang once again suggested that Cheng bite Jin: It is not okay to continue like this, the Turks have already broken their guts, and what else will they raid? Moreover, this opportunity cannot be wasted on the orders of foreign kings.
However, Cheng Yaojin was old and still listened to Wang Wendu's so-called "secret edict", so that Su Dingfang could only look up to the sky and sigh.
Su Dingfang was right to predict that the Western Turks were indeed broken, and when the Tang army came to the city of Qidu at a high speed, the Western Turks chose to surrender. At this moment, Wang Wendu once again ran to Cheng Yaojin and said: "Hu Ren Wolf Ambition, don't look at the surrender now, when we leave, we will rebel, it is better to kill them all, take their treasures and belong to themselves, not only kill two birds with one stone, but also the brothers are happy!" ”
Cheng bit Jin and patted the table: "Good, just do it!" So the Tang army washed the city in blood, and everyone made a fortune, but only Su Dingfang did not get rich, because he opposed doing so. (Old Book of Tang: Only (Su) Dingfang takes nothing.) ）
Tang Jun did this kind of thing, and it soon reached Li Zhi's ears. Li Zhi was mad: he wanted to rely on the destruction of the Western Turks, build up his prestige, and put some gold on his face. But you Uncle Cheng threw a lot of dung at me!
Cheng Yaojin and Wang Wendu were originally going to be beheaded, but in the end, Li Zhi remembered his past merits and only dismissed the officials. Cheng Yaojin also understood that the disgrace was lost, and the official did not do it and retired!
Now that the battle to destroy the Western Turks was so humiliating, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian understood that if they stopped now, everything would be finished - fortunately, there was still Su Dingfang!
In January 657, just two months after the Tang army retreated, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, like gamblers who lost the red eye, ordered Su Dingfang to be the chief of the Yili Dao march, and the soldiers were divided into two roads to win the Western Turks!
Su Dingfang, a generation of Famous Tang Dynasty generals, has finally stepped onto the stage of history! Beginning with the war with the Western Turks in October 657, in just four months, Su Dingfang pursued thousands of miles and captured the Western Turk leader: Ashina Helu, and the Western Turks were overthrown.
In October 658, Su Dingfang took Ashina Helu and returned to Chang'an!
Third, more ruthless than Xue Rengui
Li Zhile is crazy! First, we gathered hundreds of officials and envoys from various countries to gather at Li Shimin's Zhao mausoleum, and came to a grand sacrifice ceremony, followed by another assina Helu, ran to the front of the Taimiao Temple, and played an even grander sacrifice ceremony!
Sacrifice the prisoner twice, what is Li Zhi doing?
The reason is very simple, as I said earlier, this is Li Zhi's Battle of Li Wei, and now that he has the merit of destroying the Western Turks, it is equivalent to announcing the arrival of the Era of Li Zhi, and the eldest grandson is unscrupulous, can he still turn up the waves? Sure enough, in the past few years, that is, in 659 AD, the eldest grandson Wuji was cleanly removed, demoted from the capital, and exiled to Lingnan!
Why is it that in the "Sui and Tang Dynasties", a generation of famous generals Su Dingfang will be portrayed as a big bad guy? See what kind of significance he has for Li Zhi and Wu Zetian! It can be said that "without Su Dingfang, there would be no two saints, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian", not to mention that Later Wu Zetian could still be called emperor - all this began with Su Dingfang's destruction of the Western Turks!
Therefore, during the Li Zhi period, Su Dingfang became Li Zhi's Dinghai God Needle, and he was far more ruthless than Xue Rengui, because Su Dingfang destroyed the Three Kingdoms together, and they were all the kings of these three kingdoms, how could Xue Rengui be compared? Of course, in the "Sui and Tang Dynasties", it is another matter.
In short, Su Dingfang's luck lies in the fact that after he spent his armor, he met Li Zhi, and for various reasons mentioned above, Li Zhi gave him a stage to play.
Unfortunately, there are two things.
First, in the early days of the Tang Dynasty, the stars shone brightly, and he was not a concubine of Li Shimin, but was ignored by Li Shimin.
Second, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian were put in control of the government. As the old zhenguan courtiers led by the eldest son Wuji were suppressed, he also offended the most powerful elite in the early Tang Dynasty, and although he made great contributions, no one told Li Zhi when he died, which made Li Zhi furious: "If you set the party for meritorious service in the state, if you don't say anything, why evil?" ”
This means that Su Dingfang has so much merit that he should be commended, but he has died, but no one has told me, what do you want to do?
In fact, from this moment on, this famous Tang general was destined to be "blackened", and indeed eventually became the biggest villain in the "Sui and Tang Dynasties".