Chapter 52: Conquering the Four Frontiers
Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Liu Che suddenly felt a sense of envy towards Li Shimin from the bottom of his heart: It seems that there are quite a few generals on Emperor Taizong of Tang's side who can achieve brilliant results in destroying countries!

And they are not necessarily pure military generals. For example, Wang Xuance is still classified as a civil official.

For a moment, Liu Che couldn't help feeling a little depressed - he certainly didn't think Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were not good enough. On the contrary, these two were his trusted ministers whom he valued and loved the most. However, he would sometimes wonder, apart from Wei and Huo, was there no other general in the Han Dynasty who could take on the important task?

It doesn't matter if your level is not as good as Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, as long as you can lead a group.

However, he counted all the generals who could lead troops into battle in his mind, except Wei Huo, but found that no one could meet his standards...

No, Liu Che comforted himself that Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were now in their prime and could serve the Han Dynasty for at least 30 years. By that time, a group of new generals would surely emerge!
"Your Majesty, although there is a final decision from the heavens, you cannot make absurd decisions on government affairs and ignore the overall situation." Ji An saw that Liu Che's expression was different, which was quite similar to the time when he wanted to do something regardless of the consequences, so he began to advise him.

After hearing what he said, Liu Che was so shocked that he couldn't breathe: I really didn't think about anything!
As for the "Seventh Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che", of course he heard it, but in his heart, before the miracle said this, he had already determined that he would be able to destroy the Huns and make the Han Dynasty famous.

Therefore, he was not that excited about this, but the posthumous title of "Wu" was indeed good...

Qin Dynasty.

Ying Zheng also saw the key from Li Shimin's reward to Wang Xuance.

Conquered Central India and captured the ruler of a country alive - although Alona Shun usurped the throne, he was able to command the army to fight against the Tang envoys, and was considered a true monarch. He also captured almost all of Central India. Such achievements were only worth the rank of a fifth-rank imperial doctor.

Judging from Li Shimin's image in the sky curtain, he would not be an emperor who would not reward his merits. The only thing that can be explained from this is that even such seemingly not small achievements were nothing more than that in the Tang Dynasty at that time.

"Your Majesty, Wang Xuance, a mere envoy, was able to issue a proclamation to recruit troops. It seems that the Tang Dynasty has a wide influence on the surrounding countries." Li Si advised.

The thirty cavalrymen who followed Wang Xuance had been captured. How could Wang Xuance, who had fled to Tubo, recruit local troops? It could only be because he was an envoy of the Tang Dynasty. An ordinary envoy could have such power, which shows the control and influence of the Tang Dynasty behind him.

So, the question now is, how did the Tang Dynasty, or Li Shimin, maintain its influence over the surrounding areas? Was it simply because the Tang Dynasty conquered and won every battle?

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

The profound meaning behind Wang Xuance's story was naturally understood by the emperor and his ministers during the Zhenguan period.

They were somewhat dazzled by the brilliant achievements, the confidence and the glory. What a glory it was.

[Wang Xuance recruited soldiers from Tubo on his own and eliminated Alona Shun, but this did not cause any waves in the Tang Dynasty at that time. This was not because the emperor and his ministers in the Zhenguan period were corrupt and incompetent, but because such an achievement could only be described as mediocre.

Since the Weishui Alliance in the ninth year of Wude, Li Shimin has never stopped thinking about exterminating the Turks.

On April 26, the second year of Zhenguan, Liang Luoren, a native of Shuofang, killed Liang Shidu, the leader of the separatist forces in Xiazhou, and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, which unified the country. The Turks also lost the biggest nail that had been driving the Tang Dynasty north.

While the Tang Dynasty was stepping up its preparations at home, the Turks themselves were gradually falling into danger. On the one hand, natural disasters such as frost and drought continued, resulting in the death of a large number of livestock such as sheep and horses; on the other hand, the long-term oppression of other tribes by Jie Li Khan also made them unbearable. The Xueyantuo, Huihe, and Bayegu tribes rose up in rebellion, jointly promoting the Xueyantuo leader Yinan as Zhenzhu Khan and accepting the Tang Dynasty's canonization; even Tuli Khan secretly contacted the Tang Dynasty and expressed his willingness to submit.

On November 22, the third year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin appointed Li Shiji, the governor of Bingzhou, as the marching commander-in-chief of Tonghan Road, and led the main force to directly attack the heart of DTZ from the east; Li Jing, the Minister of War, was the marching commander-in-chief of Dingxiang Road, and led the central army to advance towards Yunzhong and Mayi; Chai Shao, the son-in-law of Duke Huo, the governor of Huazhou, was the marching commander-in-chief of Jinhe Road, and advanced along the Yellow River on the west route.

In addition, Li Shimin also arranged for Li Daozon to cut off the Turks' westward escape route, Wei Xiaojie to cut off the eastward escape route, and Xue Wanche to lead troops to the rear of the Turks.

There were a total of more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, all of whom were commanded by Li Jing.

The purpose of this battle is very clear, that is to destroy DTZ! Not to weaken, not to attack, nor to force DTZ to move west, but to completely destroy it. 】

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang still remembered the names of Li Jing and Li Shiji. Li Shiji was not mentioned. However, Li Jing was known as the "God of War" in the story of the Weishui Alliance. At this time, it seemed that he was indeed a rare talent as he mobilized six armies, commanded 100,000 troops, and finally successfully eliminated DTZ.

However, the goal of completely destroying DTZ is indeed a good one, but it only mobilizes more than 100,000 soldiers and horses - are the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty so powerful?

Please forgive him for using "only" to describe 100,000 people. After all, compared with the entire Turkic army, the number of troops dispatched by the Tang Dynasty was indeed not that large. After all, the Turkic army had occupied this place for a long time. Even though there was internal turmoil at this time, their combat effectiveness was still there.

Are the combat effectiveness and average combat effectiveness of the Tang army so strong?

It was only the third year of Zhenguan at that time. In such a short period of time, how could the Tang Dynasty equip these 100,000 soldiers with complete armor and weapons, and even enough horses?

Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Years.

"The martial arts culture in the Tang Dynasty was beyond the reach of later generations." Zhu Di sighed. In the Tang Dynasty, practicing martial arts was still a superior choice. Countless people who were capable of studying literature also practiced martial arts, and they always longed to be able to "become a general or a prime minister", not only to govern the world, but also to go out to conquer and build achievements.

It is better to be a centurion than a scholar. Compared with studying all the time, more people would rather join the army when they have the opportunity. This is also a major reason why the Tang Dynasty had a prosperous military and extremely high combat effectiveness. However, after the Tang Dynasty, this situation changed.

Zhu Chong said carelessly: "That's true, but the army of our Ming Dynasty is equally capable of fighting and will certainly be able to change that bad trend." What bad trend? Of course, it's the trend of looking down on military men.

Song Dynasty, the second year of Shaosheng.

Zhao Xu was envious of the Tang Dynasty's mighty power. How great it would be if the Song Dynasty could be like that?
[In the first month of the fourth year, Li Jing led 3,000 elite cavalrymen from Mayi and attacked Xiangcheng at night. Jie Li Khan hurriedly evacuated - "Without the whole country's troops, how dare Jing lead a lone army here?"

Afterwards, Jie Li's trusted general Kang Su Mi surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, but he was intercepted by Chai Shao and Li Shiji respectively, and retreated to Tieshan, with tens of thousands of people left. Later, while Tang Jian was pacifying the Turks, Li Jing and Li Shiji discussed that Li Shiji would lead the army to follow. Li Jing personally led 10,000 elite cavalry, carrying 20 days of rations, to Yinshan in the snow, and Su Dingfang led 200 cavalry as the vanguard, using the thick fog as cover, and drove straight into Jie Li Khan's tent, then annihilated more than 10,000 Turks and captured more than 100,000.

The escaped Jie Li Khan fled westward, attached himself to Li Daozon's troops guarding the western route, and was finally captured by General Zhang Baoxiang.

At this point, all the Turks surrendered, and famous Turkic generals also joined the Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin set up Shunzhou, Yuzhou, Huazhou, Changzhou, Dingxiang, Yunzhong and other military governorships in the former Turkic areas, and the territory of the Tang Dynasty was expanded to 600 miles north of Yinshan Mountain.

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

Li Shimin laughed loudly: "Jing led 3,000 cavalrymen, trampled on the bloody enemy court, and finally took Dingxiang. There has never been such a person in ancient times. This is enough to wash away the shame of our Wei River!"

In just three years, the Tang Dynasty successfully eliminated DTZ and captured Jie Li Khan. The key troops used were only 3,000 elite cavalry plus 10,000 elite cavalry. How could this not completely wash away the shame? More importantly, the Tang Dynasty completely eliminated DTZ with only 100,000 troops, which was the best deterrent to the countries around the Tang Dynasty that were ready to make a move!

"If this is how all Tang Dynasty battles will be fought from now on, it's no wonder that Wang Xuance can only be given the rank of Imperial Doctor." Zhang Sun Wuji was very happy. This would be the best thing to happen. "I guess your Majesty will be called 'Heavenly Khan' from now on."

The Khans of the Turks were all subjects of the Tang Dynasty, and the lands of the Turks also belonged to the Tang Dynasty. So the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was naturally the Khan of all the countries in the Western Regions that used "Khan" as the highest authority!

Du Ruhui smiled and said, "I wonder where the title of 'Turkic Dance King' of Jie Li Khan came from. Could it be that after Chang'an surrendered the captives, he performed a dance for Your Majesty and the Emperor?"

Fang Xuanling focused on the new names of Tang generals in this passage: "Su Dingfang and Zhang Baoxiang, could they be the famous generals of our Tang Dynasty in the future?"

[But this was not the end of Li Shimin, nor was it the end of the Tang Dynasty.

In the eighth year of Zhenguan, Tuyuhun invaded the border. Li Shimin sent Li Jing, Hou Junji, Li Daozon and others to attack. In the ninth year, Tuyuhun Khan Fuyun fled into the desert and was later killed by his own people. Li Shimin established another king of Tuyuhun.

In the 13th year of Zhenguan, Gaochang King Qu Wentai refused to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty, so Li Shimin ordered Hou Junji, Xue Wanche and others to lead troops to attack Gaochang. The following year, Qu Wentai died of illness, and his son Qu Zhisheng succeeded him and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.

This time, the Tang Dynasty took another step. Li Shimin established the Anxi Protectorate in Jiaohe City, the capital of Gaochang, and all the countries in the Western Regions came to Chang'an to pay tribute.

In February of the 19th year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin personally led six armies from Luoyang to the north to attack Goguryeo. This time, the Tang army captured ten cities including Xuantu and Hengshan, relocated 70,000 people to the Tang Dynasty, and captured more than 40,000 heads of Goguryeo, while less than 2,000 Tang soldiers were killed in the battle.

In the 21st year of Zhenguan, Niu Jinda, Li Ji and Li Hai'an were ordered to lead the army to attack Goguryeo by land and sea. In the 22nd year of Zhenguan, Gu Shengan led the Tang army to cross the sea and attack Goguryeo.

In the 19th year of the Zhenguan reign, the Xueyantuo rebelled. In the 20th year, the Tang army counterattacked and defeated the Xueyantuo leader Bazhuo. The Xueyantuo's vassal Huihe sent troops to kill him, and the Xueyantuo was destroyed.

In the 20th year of Zhenguan, the Tang Dynasty established the Anbei Protectorate in the northern part of the desert and the Shanyu Protectorate in the southern part of the desert.

At this time, the territory of the Tang Dynasty reached its peak, extending to Luofu Prefecture in the south, Xuanque Prefecture in the north, Anxi Prefecture in the west, and Gewu Prefecture in the east.

Li Shimin also received the title of Heavenly Khan, and a large number of foreigners from the areas unified by the Tang Dynasty entered the Tang Dynasty and became part of it, bathing in the glory of the Tang Dynasty together.

Sui Dynasty, the 18th year of Kaihuang.

When Yang Jian first heard that Li Shimin was going to personally lead an expedition to Goguryeo, he was shocked, fearing that Li Shimin would also become ambitious and suffer a defeat in Goguryeo, thus casting a shadow over the Tang Dynasty.

After all, although it was just a few words, Yang Guang's repeated expeditions to conquer Goguryeo really left a deep impression on him.

"Fortunately, Li Shimin's military proficiency has not diminished, and the combat effectiveness of the Tang army is as superb as ever." Yang Jian sighed. Although this time the country was not destroyed in one fell swoop like other battles, the Tang army also won a great victory. The several expeditions in the following years continued to bleed Goguryeo.

Although Goguryeo was not a weak country, it could not compete with the Tang Dynasty in terms of consumption. After that, even if the Tang Dynasty did not launch a large-scale conquest like in the 19th year of Zhenguan, it could still bleed Goguryeo clean just by attacking in the 20th and 21st years.

However, the phrase "let's share the glory of the Tang Dynasty" made him laugh: "If those Khans knew, they might not want this glory!"

Dugu Jialuo noticed something wrong from the years: "In the eleventh year of Daye, Li Shimin was sixteen years old. According to this calculation, by the nineteenth year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin was about forty-eight years old. At this age, he still had to lead the army in person?"

Of course, this is not impossible. After all, the previous Emperor Taizong of Ming Dynasty launched five northern expeditions in a row. He was still fighting in his sixties, and eventually died on the way back to Beijing.

But the key point is that Dugu Jialuo also felt another error from the year: given the frequency of Li Shimin's foreign conquests, especially when Goguryeo had not been conquered, he would have continued to send troops. But the miracle only stopped at the 22nd year, what happened after that?

The only reason that could stop Li Shimin was something beyond human control. At that time, the Tang Dynasty did not seem to have any major problems. The only thing left was the emperor's life span!

But if the twenty-third year was really the last year, then Li Shimin could not have had no problems in the nineteenth year. Then why did he still lead the expedition in person?
Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Looking at the vast territory of the Tang Dynasty during the Zhenguan period, Liu Che was shaken and dazzled. The yearning for territory that was inherent in his blood was awakened.

"Iron tools, horses!" he murmured. Although Li Shimin had many expeditions, he did not use many troops each time, and only relied on elite soldiers to win one victory after another. In addition to the training level of the soldiers, it was closely related to the iron smelting technology and the number of war horses mastered by the Tang Dynasty.

The Han Dynasty must also pay more attention to these two aspects - moreover, the improvement of iron smelting level, even if it does not produce weapons, can be beneficial to engineering construction and will help increase grain production.

As for the various systems of the Tang Dynasty, although they do seem good, the Han Dynasty cannot try them casually and needs to consider them carefully.

"But," does the Mandate of Heaven come from the people? After seeing Li Shimin's brilliant achievements, Liu Che once again thought of the choices made by Li Shimin and his ministers when faced with the confusion of the concept of "Mandate of Heaven" - he agreed with this logic, but now thinking about it, is the Mandate of Heaven really because of the "people"?

(End of this chapter)