The Tang Empire was one of the most glorious dynasties in the Central Plains. It was militarily, politically, and economically prosperous, with a vast land covering tens of millions of square kilometers. At the same time as the Tang Empire, a powerful ethnic minority regime also emerged in the "Land of Xirong". This was Tubo. It also liked to expand its territory and was brave and fierce. The coexistence of these two powerful regimes would naturally create sparks. , Tubo invaded the Tang Dynasty from the time of Songtsen Gampo, but was repulsed by Tang Taizong, and was appeased by peace and marriage, using both grace and power. After the Anshi Rebellion, Tubo saw the internal weakness of the Tang Dynasty and took advantage of the situation in the name of helping to quell the rebellion.
The ambition of Tubo was not only to plunder property and population, but also to direct its troops to the land of the Tang Dynasty, which started a war between the two dynasties that lasted for hundreds of years. During this period, the Tibetan army was the most persistent in fighting for Lingzhou, and they would never stop fighting until death. The Tang Empire regarded Lingzhou as the apple of its eye and cherished it very much. Let’s briefly review why Lingzhou’s status is so important.
For the Tang Dynasty, the history of Lingzhou was of great significance. First, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, commanded an army to defeat the Turks in Lingzhou. After the victory, he established Jisi Prefecture (equivalent to the current autonomous region) in Lingzhou, Qing, Yin, and Xia to manage the Turks, Tiele, Uighur, Dangxiang, Tuyuhun and other ethnic groups. Due to the good ethnic policies of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Emperor Taizong and other Tang Dynasty emperors were also called "Tian Khan". After the Anshi Rebellion occurred, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty entered Sichuan, and Prince Li Heng ascended the throne in Lingzhou, Ningxia, and proclaimed himself Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty. He led the suppression of the rebellion in Lingzhou, a city with strong soldiers and horses, and revived the Tang Dynasty.
Geographically speaking, Lingzhou is a geomantic treasure land in the northwest. It is located on the bank of the Yellow River, with Helan Mountain in the west and the danger of the Yellow River in the east. The land is fertile and the water and grass are abundant. As early as the Qin and Han dynasties, Shuofang had built a city, cultivated land and garrisoned the border to fight the Xiongnu. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, this fine tradition was inherited and carried forward, and they actively cultivated fields and built fortresses, built water conservancy ditches, built castles and cultivated farmland. To the east of Lingzhou is a vast livestock area, so whether it is agricultural production or animal husbandry development, Lingzhou is a dazzling pearl in the northwest.
Lingzhou Ancient City Ruins
As for Tubo, if they want to hold on to the Longxi and Hexi Corridors they occupied, they can only consolidate it by taking Lingzhou. Lingzhou's rich livestock and agricultural resources were used to increase its own strength, further cut off the Tang Dynasty's connection with the Western Regions, and threaten the Tang Dynasty's hinterland. Therefore, Tubo launched offensives to seize Lingzhou and compete with the Tang Dynasty for hegemony at all costs.
As an important town in the northwest of the Tang Dynasty and a barrier to the Central Plains, Lingzhou was the seat of the Shuofang Jiedu Envoy. Xuanzong operated vigorously here, with a large number of elite soldiers and generals and war horses. It was also the Longxing Palace of Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty. The ground is naturally heavily guarded.
In 763, the Tubo army captured Yuanzhou and Yanzhou and then targeted Lingzhou. However, it was temporarily suspended due to the famous Tang Dynasty general Pugu Huai'en who rebelled in Lingzhou and killed the guard. Pugu Huai'en made great achievements in the Anshi Rebellion and more than 40 members of his family died. But even in this way, he was still suspected and slandered by the court. Because he offended the eunuch Luo Fengxian, he was falsely accused of rebellion. He was afraid of being killed and was forced to rebel. After Pugu Huai'en rebelled, he colluded with Tubo and was put down by Guo Ziyi. Hou Pugu Huai'en died violently in Mingsha, and Lingzhou was recovered by the Tang army.
After the death of Pugu Huai'en, the Tubo army launched another attack on Lingzhou. The Tibetan army conducted dozens of large-scale military operations against Lingzhou. After many failed attacks, the Tubo army believed that it was not enough to capture Lingzhou without destroying the economy of the defenders, so they often sent troops from Mingsha to invade the surrounding areas of Lingzhou. In strategic areas, they destroyed irrigation facilities, trampled or even cut off unripe crops, robbed and robbed money, food and people, and snatched horses. They killed all resisters in an attempt to starve the Lingzhou defenders and people to death.
This move was indeed vicious enough, causing the Tang army to be beaten passively for a time. The number of Lingzhou garrison personnel dropped sharply, and the defensive force became even weaker, which shook the morale of the military and the people to a certain extent. Fortunately, Lingzhou was guarded by famous generals such as Guo Ziyi, Ma Phosphorus, and Hunji. In addition, the army was brave, and everyone in the Tang court worked together to protect it. The towns in the northwest of the Tang army supported each other well, and the defenses were tight. In the face of frequent Tibetan offensives, they struggled to defend the city. . The Tubo army had no choice but to retreat again and again, and mustered up the courage to attack the city again and again.
Because of the Anshi Rebellion, Tubo saw the weakness of the Tang Dynasty, which made Tubo expand its ambitions and have the urge to expand. In order to regain Yanzhou and relieve the siege of Lingzhou, the Tang Dynasty sought foreign aid. The Tang Dynasty formed an alliance with Huihunan and Nanzhao to fight against Tibet, forming a military strategic advantage over Tibet. At the same time, they also actively sent troops to fight back in Tubo, forcing Tubo to divide its troops and reducing the pressure on Lingzhou.
With dozens of frequent attacks, Tubo troops attacked Lingzhou from afar, with hundreds of thousands of troops at every turn, and tens of thousands of troops. It was also very difficult to provide logistical food and grass, and food and clothing were very poor. Those who occupied Yuanzhou and Yanzhou The Tibetan defenders complained endlessly and demanded to be evacuated. The Tang Dynasty was not peaceful after the Anshi Rebellion, and was exhausted by the peasant uprisings caused by the separatist feudal towns.
In order to buy time and accumulate strength before deciding the outcome, Tang and Tubo met with each other six times to suspend war, but soon returned to war until the last time. I really can't afford it. Why can't you fight? Let’s first look at the outbreak of internal conflicts in the Tang Dynasty, which was struggling to cope with the separatist rule of vassal towns and peasant uprisings and the population dropped sharply. At this time, the Tang Dynasty’s economy shrank significantly, and it was short of money and how to fight wars.
The situation of the Tubo Dynasty was not much better. Similar to the situation of the Tang Dynasty, there were internal fighting and fragmentation, slave uprisings occurred one after another, and the use of foreign troops for many years had overdrawn the national power, and war weariness was widespread. Finally in 821 AD, the Tang Dynasty and the Tubo Dynasty reached a "peace agreement" in the sixth alliance, known in history as the Changqing Alliance. Both parties agreed that from now on, they would put aside the military revolution, grudge against old evils, and trace their uncle and nephew Nangxi to marry each other. From now on, there would be no major wars between the two sides, and Lingzhou would not suffer any attack from the Tubo army. attack.
Lingzhou, the heroic city of the Tang Dynasty, has endured hundreds of years of war and still stands firm. The soldiers and civilians of the Tang Dynasty fought hard to hold on, making dozens of attacks by the Tibetan army in vain. Even the Tang Dynasty The great peasant uprising of Huangchao in the last years failed to shake the city until the fall of the Tang Dynasty. With Lingzhou as a barrier, the Central Plains will have no worries.
However, Lingzhou was lost in the Song Dynasty. In 1002, Lingzhou was captured by Li Jiqian, a party nobleman. You must know that the national power of the Song Dynasty at that time far exceeded that of Dangxiang Li Jiqian. The Tang Dynasty persisted for a hundred years, and the Song Dynasty had only been founded for 42 years. In the final analysis, the reason is that there is insufficient understanding of ideological concepts and the importance of Lingzhou's status.
The Song Dynasty’s bureaucrats were far less discerning than the Tang Dynasty when it came to dealing with Lingzhou. A group of brainless advocates among the civil servants, Yang Yi and Zhang Qixian, even demanded that Lingzhou be abandoned, believing that this ancient city had become the Song Dynasty’s treasure. Even Li Hang, who has the reputation of "holy minister", also holds this view. Li Hang is a good official, but he undoubtedly does not know enough about the Lingzhou issue, and the war faction is of course firmly opposed to it. Pei, the governor of Lingzhou Ji was a staunch fighter. Unfortunately, he was born at the wrong time and did not receive full support from the Song court. He was besieged by the party's army and fought hard for two years and died for his country.
When Lingzhou was besieged and in danger by party leader Li Jiqian, the Song Dynasty’s civil servants failed to provide adequate support, and the generals’ rescue effort was slow. The head of the Song Dynasty, Song Zhenzong ordered Wang Chao and others to lead an army of 60,000 to assist Lingzhou border general Zhang Ning as his deputy in the expedition against Dangxiang. In the first battle, Zhang Ning sent troops to quickly attack and behead more than 5,000 party members. It can be said that the first battle was successful. What follows is a little puzzling. We could have taken advantage of the victory and penetrated deeper into the enemy's territory to expand our results. However, Wang Chao's army moved slowly, seeming to be indifferent to Lingzhou City, which had been besieged for 2 years, and had no sense of responsibility. The only possibility for the Song army to be so slow was that they were afraid of fighting and did not dare to confront Li Jiqian head-on.
What a pity for the soldiers and civilians of Lingzhou. They have been holding on for two years, working hard to guard this important isolated city for the Song Dynasty. At this time, Lingzhou's grain road was cut off by Li Jiqian's army, and there was a serious shortage of military supplies. It could be said that there was no food inside and no reinforcements outside. Even if reinforcements were on the border, they could not be counted on. In order to survive for a long time, Pei Ji, the magistrate of Lingzhou, organized the soldiers and civilians to repair water conservancy and farm fields for planting. He did not dare to slack off day and night. At the critical moment of the enemy's attack on the city, he pricked his finger and wrote in blood to ask for help from Song Ting, but nothing happened and the city of Lingzhou fell. The blame lies not with Pei Ji, but with the inactivity and inaction of the ruling class in the Song Dynasty.
Wang Chao’s army was still on the road, Lingzhou had fallen, and the Song Dynasty finally felt the pain. The door to the Guanzhong region is wide open and the threat is greatly increased. Soon after acquiring Lingzhou, Xixia established its country and became unscrupulous, cutting off the Song Dynasty's connection with the Western Regions, and constantly causing trouble and harassing the Song Dynasty's borders. Moreover, Xixia still refused to reason with the Song Dynasty. If you gave him benefits and money, he would make trouble with you and beat you without any discussion, just like a capricious character. Even Genghis Khan was repeatedly teased by Xixia, and in the end he had to destroy Xixia to relieve his hatred.
These are nothing. The most terrible thing is that the Song Dynasty lost its only horse-raising land. The Song Dynasty has no stable source of war horses. The party members cut off the connection between the Song Dynasty and the Western Regions, and the Song Dynasty cannot buy war horses. The Dangxiang people also prohibited other tribes under their control from selling horses to the Song Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty could only win with infantry.
In the cold weapon era, without powerful cavalry, they lost the ability to attack and could only defend passively. Looking around the Song Dynasty, there were Xixia, Liao, Jin, and Mongolia, all of which were more powerful than Xixia, and none of them were fuel-efficient. lamp.
The lack of cavalry forced the famous Northern Song Dynasty general Zhang Kai to build Pingxia City according to the terrain, and used infantry and divine arm bows to restrain the Xixia cavalry. Finally, he defeated the 400,000 Xixia army with a precious small number of cavalry counterattacks. , so that Xixia no longer dared to invade the Song Dynasty on a large scale.
Faced with neighboring countries surrounded by strong enemies, most of which were cavalry, the Song Dynasty could only strengthen the presence of infantry, and could not organize elite cavalry to attack the enemy like the Han and Tang Dynasties. You must know that the attack is The best defense, passive defense is ultimately destruction. The Han and Tang Dynasties relied on cavalry to restrain the nomads. The fall of Lingzhou may have also doomed the fate of the Song Dynasty and became the eternal hatred of the Song Dynasty. It led to the Northern Song Dynasty being conquered by the Jin cavalry and the Southern Song Dynasty being trampled by the Mongolian cavalry, forcing Lu Xiufu to jump into the sea and die carrying Zhao Bing, the last emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty.