Late Tang

On the New Year's Day of the third year of the Longji, all the ministers came in and asked for the honorary title of the emperor, and the prime minister Zheng Congxuan led all the officials to enshrine the honorary title "Shengwen Longwushenhuang".

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Emperor Wu issued an imperial edict that Jin Linwei, Wang Zhong, Cui Anqian, Zhang Zimian, Zeng Yuanyu, Zhao Ji, Gao Shunli, Xin Yu and other eight generals were given the title of Marshal!

In the South Study Room, Zhang Chengye reported in front of the hall: "Your Majesty, the Eight Marshals are waiting outside the hall!"

Li Jing got up to meet him and gave him eight handsome seats.

"I invite you to come here, can you know what's going on?"

"Leave the four barbarians flat!" Lin Wei, the head of the Eight Marshals, took the initiative.

After the commander-in-chief ceremony just now, the eight generals including Lin Wei have become the top generals in the Tang Dynasty, and no one can surpass these eight generals.Originally, in theory, Yu Yan, Zheng Tian and others also commanded thousands of troops and made many meritorious deeds. However, the new system of the imperial court separates civil and military affairs. Only military generals and active military generals can be awarded military ranks. Therefore, they can finally get the top marshal There are only these eight generals.

"Qing really understands, and please tell me how to level the barbarians?"

Since the founding of the new dynasty, it took two years to completely wipe out all the vassals and unify the world.However, around Datang, it is not peaceful yet.Except for the Northeast, where they conquered various ministries in the early years and began to immigrate to farm fields, there are still many large forces in other places.

Lin Weidao: "During the Qianfu and Zhonghe years, the Central Plains were in chaos, and the desert was not peaceful. Decades ago, the Uyghur civil strife was destroyed by Xiajiasi. But Xiajiasi's power was not enough to dominate the grassland. In the end, Back to the foot of Jinshan Mountain. There is no overlord in the eastern grassland. A large number of tribes such as Shiwei, Xi, Turks, Uighurs, and Khitan moved westward, making this place a mixed population. Some tribes such as Mohe and Mohe began to flee westward on a larger scale. In the past few years, we have been using troops in the Central Plains, and we have not investigated the Hu people who fled westward. Now a few years have passed. The grassland tribes have recuperated and their lives have recovered a lot. The tribes are all on horseback, born brave and good at fighting. According to the estimates of the Supervisory Office, there are no less than a few million herdsmen of various tribes on the eastern and western grasslands. There are no fewer than hundreds of thousands of people who control strings. Although they are now scattered and not united, on the contrary, they are still There are tribes attacking each other from time to time, but the cavalry of these tribes come and go like the wind, and they are extremely fierce. If we ignore it, I am afraid that within ten years, there will be strong tribes on the grassland, and it will be a disaster for the Central Plains!"

"That's it. It's better for the imperial court to act first?" Li Jing frowned, apparently a little dissatisfied with Lin Wei's theory of grassland threat.Lin Wei is the new marshal, and what he said at this time must be the result of communication with other marshals.This shows that the generals of the imperial court.The eyes are still fixed on the north and the west, and this eye is still focused on the traditional strategic pattern.Put the court's defense focus on the west and north.This runs counter to his ideas.

Li Jing clearly remembers that in history, the Great Wall built in the past dynasties was actually built along the 400mm rainfall line.

400 mm iso-rainfall line.It is the dividing line between the dry zone and the humid zone.

In the history of China, there was a period when the farming society in the Central Plains was prosperous and strong, and the nomadic peoples in the north were subdued, such as the strong Han Dynasty and the prosperous Tang Dynasty.There were also eras when northern tribes ruled the Central Plains, such as the Five Hu and Sixteen Kingdoms.But in most cases, this only temporarily changed the boundary between farming civilization and nomadic tribes, and did not fundamentally eliminate the existence and interaction of these two societies.

In history, no matter how powerful Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was, no matter how brave Wei Qinghuo Qubing and Li Guang were, and no matter how wise Tang Taizong was, Li Jing, Li Ji and others were fierce, although they once pushed the border of the actual control area to the far north , but in the end it is difficult to implement long-term governance.For a time, the Huns and Turks in the north still fought against it.Even if the few tribes who entered the Central Plains tried their best to sinicize like the Northern Wei Xianbei, when they adapted to life in the Central Plains, the Hu people who still lived a nomadic life in the north would challenge them and try to replace them.This kind of situation has happened repeatedly in the long river of history.

Therefore, for thousands of years, dynasties have been changing and history has been advancing, but the grassland nomads and the farming civilization of the Central Plains have never really merged.

why?

Li Jing knew why all this was happening.

This is firstly due to the difference in climate and geographical environment between grasslands and agricultural areas.Historians have proposed the famous 400 mm iso-rainfall line.To the north of this line, the rainfall is less than 400 mm, which is a semi-arid area, which is not suitable for growing crops, so it becomes a nomadic area; while in the south, due to a rainfall of more than 400 mm, it is a semi-humid and humid area, which is suitable for agriculture. Therefore, it became an agricultural society.

If you compare it, you will find that this border is about the southern border of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and it is curved downward; it is also roughly consistent with the direction of the Great Wall.It bends downward because the more inland you go, the less rainfall there is at the same latitude.This is different from the imagination of many people. In the hearts of many Central Plains people and nomads, farmland and pasture land are of the same quality, and they can be used as both farmland and pasture.But in fact, the land and climate in the north and south of the 400mm isohim line are not homogeneous.

According to this difference, no matter who first occupied the land, and no matter whether the ownership of the land was changed later through war or trade, the division between farmland and pasture would still be based on this.If a farmer buys or occupies the grassland to the north, farming is not as good as grazing, he can only become a herdsman to be the most efficient; while a herdsman buys or occupies farmland to the south, grazing is not as good as farming, and he can only become a farmer is a rational choice.

Historically, many Hu people who went southward either retreated to the grasslands or were Sinicized and assimilated into the farming civilization of the Central Plains.At the same time, many Han people entered the northern grasslands, but in the end, these people basically became herdsmen.

Li Jing is deeply aware that this boundary cannot be changed by force.

If Datang puts the direction of attack in the north, then it is taking a detour.History tells Li Jing that for the civilization of the Central Plains, the real success in the present and the future will be to expand the territory to the northeast and southwest.

However, Lin Wei's words are not entirely unreasonable. The characteristics of the nomadic people make this a naturally aggressive group.Once their strength becomes stronger, they will inevitably invade the south.The civilization of the Central Plains can't really occupy and control the grassland, but they can't ignore it, otherwise, they are the biggest threat to the Central Plains.

Li Jing frowned, this is really a money-losing project.Even if they win, it is impossible to occupy the grassland.but.Even if you lose money in business, you have to do it.

"How is the Senate going to fight?"

With the establishment of the new dynasty, the General Staff Council, the highest military institution, also underwent some changes.There is a general staff envoy under the Staff Council, and there are left and right staff envoys below.Then there are the commanders of the horse army, the commanders of the infantry, the commanders of the navy, and the commanders of the marines.

The general staff officer, the left and right staff officers, and the commanders of the four arms, the core layer is these seven people.

The four commanders are also called Ma Shuai, Bu Shuai, Shui Shuai and Lu Shuai respectively.Under these four generals, each has a deputy capital commander and a capital Yuhou.Duties and Powers of the Council of Staff.It is much stronger than the original, much higher than the North and South Erya and the Ministry of War.Responsible for the military strategic deployment of the imperial court, as well as the right to deploy troops.

An Guogong, Marshal Lin Wei.Now he is the first general staff envoy of the founding of the People's Republic of China.As Chief of Staff, he was also the Emperor's Chief Military Advisor.

Lin Wei replied: "The meaning of the Staff Council is that the Great Tang has wise rulers, wise ministers, and brave generals who are united in one mind. This is my superiority over the Hu people. However, the country has just been established and the world has just been established. It is not appropriate to go to war, but to be cautious. "

Fighting is a must, but it doesn't have to be a big fight.Li Jing breathed a sigh of relief at Lin Wei's words.I'm really afraid that they will come up with a big fight and a plan to completely conquer the grassland as soon as their brains get hot.As it is now, he only played early, but played cautiously, and he was very satisfied with the result.The initial plan made by the Staff Council was very good. They proposed that to deal with the grassland, they could follow the strategies of the Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties, with military as a supplement and strategy as the mainstay.To deal with these scattered tribes that have not yet become strong, we can implement the strategy of uniting the weak and leaving the strong, making friends from a distance and attacking from a distance.Instigate these tribes to attack each other, so that the imperial court only needs to invest the smallest force to achieve the greatest effect, ensure border security, and weaken and restrain the grassland forces.

Li Jing got up, picked up a secret report, "I will show a report to the marshals!"

Lin Wei took it with both hands, and it was the memorial from Sun Lan, the Prime Minister of the Supervisory Office.It was stated above that, based on the information on the grassland obtained by the Supervision Office's spies, the most powerful force on the grassland today is still the Shygas, then the Uighurs, and then the Tatars and Khitans who moved westward.Although the Khitan tribe is not as powerful as the previous tribes at the moment, after they moved westward, they have united many tribes who moved westward and established a firm foothold on the grassland in the past few years.Even last year, the Khitan joined forces with the Tatars and Tubo to attack the Uyghurs and won a big victory. Now their power has increased greatly, and they have obtained a large area of ​​rich pastures, as well as a large number of plundered slaves and livestock.According to such forces, this tribe that was beaten by Li Jing in the Northeast and turned into a bereaved dog may turn around in a few years.

The eight marshals took turns to read the memorial.

"Your Majesty wants to use troops, please help me!"

Li Jing laughed loudly and said: "All commanders support, my heart is determined!"

In March, the Uighurs in Ganzhou, Hexi took advantage of the opportunity of the Hexi Guiyi Army Jiedu to enter the Central Plains, launched a rebellion, and attacked Gan, Su and other Hexi states.The Khitan and Tatars in the northwest responded immediately by sending troops into the Hexi area of ​​the Tang Dynasty.In May, the Uighur, Tatar, and Western Liao allied forces advanced to Su and Gan, approached Liangzhou, and were repelled by the Tang Army's border guards.

Lin Wei stood in front of the large sand table of the Staff Council, looking at the blueprints and sand tables that groups of staff were working on non-stop, "It's time to send troops!" Lin Wei said to the left and right staff envoys and the four commanders of the Staff Council.

Things are exactly as Lin Wei said.

The next day, Li Jing summoned all the generals to enter the court. Above the main hall, the Staff Council, the two Yamen, and the Ministry of War all entered to report that the army was ready to send troops, and the logistics, food, and grass were all ready.Li Jing immediately issued an order to send troops, ordering Liu Xun to be the commander of a corps, and he decided to enter the grassland in Xiangxiang.Taking Zhou Dewei as the commander of the Second Army Corps, they entered the grassland from Daxing'an Mountains in Lingbei Province.Guo Chongtao was the commander of the three armies and marched west from Lingwu.Guo Zhenshan, as the commander of the Fourth Army, went out of the cloud in northern Shanxi to advance northwestward, and Li Wei, as the commander of the Fifth Army, advanced westward across the Yanshan Mountains from Yingzhou.

The five-way army has a total of more than [-] horses.The entire offensive line stretched thousands of miles from Daxingan Mountains in the northeast to Yanshan Mountains in western Liaoning, Yinshan Mountains in Shanxi Province, and Helan Mountains in Hequ. Five armies attacked at the same time.Although the enemy soldiers on the border were in the Hexi Corridor, the momentum of the imperial court's dispatch of troops was obviously not only intended to treat headaches and feet, but to comb the entire prairie from east to west.

Although the Five Route Army did not send out any marshals, Li Jing dispatched the most powerful and brave generals in the Tang Dynasty, as well as the most elite imperial guards and military guards.

In August, the black eagle battle flag of the Qin army appeared on the prairie. The tribal herdsmen on the prairie saw the overwhelming cavalry of the Tang army, and they were all panicked. Is it?" In September, dozens of troops led the crowd to surrender.In front of the powerful Tang army, they dare not resist.

December.Several armies attacking from the east have already swept across the entire eastern prairie, and the soldiers and horses have reached the Jinshan Mountains at the junction of east and west.The five-way army joined forces smoothly.

"Report to the general, the former army has defeated the Tatar tribe soldiers and horses, and the Xiliao soldiers and horses are retreating to the west of Jinshan!"

Liu Xun pondered for a moment. Among the five armies, his first army was the main force of the Chinese army, so he was also the leader of the generals this time.He said in a deep voice: "Pursue Yelu Abaoji and never let this kid go!"

"General. The other ministries are still behind, should we wait for them to catch up?"

"The military situation is urgent, can't wait, chase!"

Yelu Abaoji as early as last year.He has succeeded to the throne as the Khan of the Western Liao Kingdom. Under his leadership, the Western Liao Kingdom gained a foothold under the Jinshan Mountain and gradually expanded.This time they contacted the Tatars who moved westward, and the Ganzhou Uyghurs, one of the three branches separated after the Uyghurs destroyed the country.Send troops together.As a result, in the blink of an eye, he was defeated by Tang Jun's fierce counterattack.Seeing that the situation was not good, Yelu Abaoji immediately abandoned the Tatar allies and fled westward quickly.

It didn't take long to cross Jinshan.The most powerful tribe at the foot of the Jinshan Mountain, the Kirghiz who once destroyed the Uyghur Empire suddenly rushed out.They had long been wary of the Khitan people, and now they had received the imperial edict from the Emperor Wu of the Tang Dynasty, inviting him to join forces with Khitan. After receiving many benefits from the Tang people, the Xiajiasi people did not miss this opportunity to beat the dog in the water.

When Liu Xun rushed all the way, the blood of the two tribes was flowing like a river.Liu Xun led the army to kill, and with the sound of horns, he swung his army straight into the formation.

The soldiers and horses of Xiliao were shocked by this, and they were defeated immediately. They fled and scattered, and they were defeated in a blink of an eye. In the end, Yelu Abaoji did not escape from the siege, and was surrounded by the Xia Jiasi cavalry. With Tang Jun.

A month later, Liu Xun and other five generals had completely defeated the coalition forces of the Ganzhou Uighurs, Xiliao Qidan, and Xiqian Tatars, and re-stabilized Hexisha, Gansu, and other states.

Li Jing's class teacher's edict arrives.

Guo Chongtao entered the account, "Has His Majesty ordered the class teacher to return to court?"

"The imperial edict is so written, what is the general's opinion?"

"It's not an opportunity to stop troops."

"Well, if Xiliao, Ganzhou Uighurs, and Tatars are destroyed, if they withdraw their troops here, I'm afraid that no one will suppress Kirgasi from now on, and soon they will dominate the grasslands!"

"Shargas has just helped us defeat the Khitan, Uighur, and Tatar coalition forces. If we use troops against them at this time, I'm afraid it will affect His Majesty's prestige."

"Your Majesty is not suitable to issue this order to dispatch troops, but we can."

"Now all the officers and men know the edict of the class teacher, how to lead the crowd?"

"The general will be outside, and the king's order will not be given. It is worth doing for once and for all."

The commanders of the five legions gathered in one tent, discussed secretly in the middle of the night, and finally agreed to continue to use troops and surrender Shrugas.

The plan was decided.

Liu Xun and others took advantage of the night to send troops to raid the camp of Xia Jiasi, but Xia Jiasi was caught off guard and had no vigilance.When the Xiajiasi people panicked and found Tang Qi appearing, Guo Chongtao, who rushed to the front, was only a few miles away from the camp.

The Kirgiz people were defeated, and all [-] light cavalry were wiped out. Liu Xun and others took advantage of the victory and marched westward, dividing up their troops and attacking the camps of various tribes of the Kirgiz people.

More than [-] heads were beheaded, more than [-] men and women were captured, and millions of miscellaneous animals were captured. The noble leaders of the Kirgiz people were all wiped out, and most of the elite soldiers were captured.After this battle, the mighty Mirgas was straightened out of his spine and fell into the dust.

In March of the fourth year of the Longji, it started from Daxing'an Mountains in the east, Yanshan Mountain and Yinshan Mountain in the south, Helan Mountain and Jinshan Mountain in the west, Dunhuang in Shazhou, and the desert in the north, all under the jurisdiction of the Tang Empire.

In June, all the chiefs of the Western Regions, Xizhou Uyghur, Jiuxing Wuhu, Geluolu, Tuqishi and other ethnic groups came to Shenjing to meet with the emperor Wenlongwu, the sage of the Tang Dynasty.

The princes of all ethnic groups said in unison: "I invite the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to be the Supreme Khan."

When Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty deterred the Turkic Empire, he was honored as the Saint Khan, and after Li Shimin defeated the Turks, he was honored as the Heavenly Khan.Now Li Jing defeated all the tribes in the grassland, especially the last one where Liu Xun and Guo Chongtao sent troops to Xiajiasi without authorization, which completely shocked the grassland and the tribes of the Western Regions.

Saint Khan, Heavenly Khan, Supreme Khan, which one is more honorable, probably these barbarians themselves don't know, but the title presented shows their completely conquered heart of submission at this time.

Li Jing couldn't help being surprised, and burst into laughter, accepting the flattery of the chiefs.

"Long live the Supreme Khan, long live, long live!" All the barbarian chiefs bowed in unison, and the sound shook the palace.

Li Jing is aloof and full of supreme authority.

For such a result, he couldn't help but be happy.Although Liu Xun and the others made their own claims and raided the Xiajiasi people, making the Hu people intimidated, they couldn't help but slander the style of the new Emperor Wuhuang.But today's results illustrate an unbreakable truth, justice and axioms are within the range of cannons.

Didn't those rebellious barbarians finally surrender after seeing the mighty strength of the new Tang Empire?

Supreme Khan is just a title, but it fully reflects the deterrent power of the Tang Empire today.

This battle was well fought, and the first battle established the stability of the northern frontier for 20 years!