In August 626, the Eastern Turks' Jieli Khan and Tuli Khan led a coalition of 100,000 to launch a surprise attack on the Tang Dynasty.
It should be said that the timing of the Turks was chosen quite well.
At this time, Tang Taizong Li Shimin had just become a victor in the Xuanwumen Revolution and ascended to the peak of power. The new monarch of the Tang Dynasty was just established and the regime was unstable, which was a good opportunity to fight the autumn wind.
What's more, the Loop had previously been ceded to the Turks. Therefore, there is no longer a barrier in the Guanzhong area, and it is directly exposed to the opponent's attack.
Therefore, the Turks who were rushing forward quickly hit the north bank of the Weishui River, only a stone's throw away from Chang'an.
Jieli Khan was in a good mood and sent his subordinates to zhi zhi si li as an emissary, entering Chang'an, meeting Li Shimin, and preparing to knock on the bamboo lever.
The nomadic peoples of the East Asian continent, before the Jurchens, had little interest in settling. The purpose of their military operations is often relatively simple, that is, to rob property, and the desire to attack the city and seize the land is relatively small.
When the strength is relatively weak, it will fight the autumn wind in the border area and run after the robbery; when the strength is strong, it will go deep into the hinterland of China, even threaten Gyeonggi, and then ask the Central Plains Dynasty for money.
For example, this time.
The Turks' military devastation made them quite arrogant, and as soon as they came up, they threatened the Tang dynasty monarchs and courtiers, frightening them and saying:
"The two khans of Jieli and Tuli led millions of troops, and they will arrive soon." Hurry up and surrender!" ”
The enemy soldiers approached the city, and they were unprepared, and if they were ordinary people, it was estimated that they would be instigated.
Unfortunately, it was Li Shimin, the greatest military commander of our time, whom Mao Zedong, called "the right person who has been able to fight since ancient times."
A small emissary dared to be so arrogant in front of the Tang Emperor, and it was clear that he did not take the Tang Empire in his eyes, and if he did not kill his arrogance, he was afraid that it would be more difficult to deal with the Turks in the future.
Therefore, Li Shimin decided that he must first give him a downward power and let him see the majesty of the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, before the voice of the lost mind had fallen, Li Shimin had already sunk his face and asked him loudly:
"I have promised you Khans to make peace, and the number of gold and silver satins that have been given back and forth is innumerable. But don't you Khans feel ashamed that you khans have openly broken the covenant and led troops deep into the territory of our Tang Dynasty? Although you are Hu people, you should also talk about conscience, how can you completely forget my grace of Datang and be arrogant? It seems that if I don't kill you today, it won't be enough to show the majesty of my Tang Dynasty. ”
Hearing that Tang Taizong was going to cut off his own head, he lost his mind and was frightened, originally thinking that his side would have the upper hand, come here to make a business trip, play a mighty wind, did not expect to move his head, and hurriedly prostrated his head and begged for forgiveness.
Immediately, a minister suggested to Emperor Taizong that since the other party had already succumbed, it was better to send him back, so as not to make the Turks angry.
Li Shimin's answer is very crisp - no, the reason is also very simple:
"If I let him go back today, they will think that I am afraid of them and will bully me even more brazenly in the future."
He ordered that the mindlessness be taken down and imprisoned.
Realistically speaking, at that time, the Tang Dynasty was not established for a long time, and it did not have the strength to deal with the Turks, plus, at this time, the chang'an army was only tens of thousands, and whether it could be defended was a problem.
Therefore, the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu was all bottomless in their hearts, and the opinions of the Lord and the Lord prevailed.
However, Tang Taizong was clearly opposed to peace. He said that the dignity of Datang is at stake, and we must not show weakness to Jieli.
After calmly analyzing the situation at that time, Li Shimin told the courtiers that it was possible to intimidate the Turks. Because, Jie Li came from afar, the purpose is obvious, is to use force to extort and extort, must not dare to love war.
If the Tang Dynasty is tough, the Turks who can't figure out the truth will certainly not act rashly.
Therefore, he instructed the generals to gather soldiers and horses, prepare more gongs, drums, and flags, and come as soon as possible, and he led six civilian ministers, including Gao Shilian and Fang Xuanling, to gallop on horseback to the Weishui River, opposite Jieli Khan.
Li Shimin's extraordinary boldness shown by this move was especially better than Guan Yunchang's single-handed attendance at the meeting that year. Because when Guan Yu went to Eastern Wu to attend the meeting, the two sides did not tear their faces; and Li Shimin this time, facing the Tiger and Wolf Division that had hit the doorstep of the family.
Seeing the Turkic army stretching for miles on the other side of the Wei River, Li Shimin could not help but be secretly shocked.
At this time, the Turks were at the peak of their national strength, their troops were strong, and they were afraid that they would bring all the family foundations with them, which was really difficult to deal with.
But Li Shimin still believed that he could scare off his opponents. He raised his horse whip, pointed at his jaws, and loudly rebuked the other party for treachery and violation of the covenant.
Under his stern reprimand, Jie Li even opened his mouth and was speechless.
When his subordinates saw the Tang Emperor's majesty, like a god of heaven, they were all shocked, and one by one they hurriedly dismounted and bowed to Tang Taizong.
The emperor who can make the enemy bow down to him is the only one in the ages.
At this moment, the drums shook the sky, the flags were unfurled, and the troops urgently dispatched by Tang Taizong had arrived one after another and set up a position.
Facts have proved that Li Shimin's judgment is correct. When Jieli Khan saw Li Shimin's fearless look, he beat a drum in his heart. In addition, he saw the flag on the other side of the shore at this time, and he did not know how many troops there were, and he really wanted to move his hands, and the result was unpredictable.
Therefore, Jie Li immediately started to laugh, saying that he had no intention of violating Datang, and that he had come to negotiate peace.
Tang Taizong knew that it was not yet time for a decisive battle, so he pushed the boat along the water and negotiated with him.
Two days later, on August 30, Li Shimin and Jieli Khan signed a peace agreement on the Weishui Ben Bridge on the western outskirts of Chang'an City, and the two sides beheaded the White Horse Alliance.
After that, Jieli Khan returned with gold coins donated by the Tang Dynasty and led all the Turkic cavalry back.
As a return, the Turkic Jieli Khan returned and offered 3,000 horses and 10,000 sheep to the Tang Dynasty.
This is the famous "Alliance of Weishui" in history.
After that, Li Shimin strengthened his war readiness at home, took advantage of the internal contradictions of the Turks to divide and disintegrate his opponents, and finally crushed the Eastern Turks in one fell swoop.
After crushing the Eastern Turks, Li Shimin used these people as an auxiliary army and for the next 20 years, he brought the Turks and the Indo-Europeans in the Gobi under his rule.
A powerful, epic China is rising in Asia.
They never asked the barbarians for peace, nor did they bribe them to withdraw their troops with heavy sums of money, but they defeated them and made them afraid of China.
Finally, the great Tang Taizong Li Shimin was elected as the Heavenly Khan by the steppe people.