Gaochang is an ancient country in the Western Regions, located in the southeast of Turpan, Xinjiang, in the Hala and Zhuo places, and is the throat of the Tang Dynasty into the Western Regions.

During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian (Qian) to communicate with the Western Regions, and the countries of the Western Regions admired the civilization of the Han Dynasty and returned to submission and dependence on the Han Dynasty.

In the fifth year of Zhenguan, after Tuyuhun, a large western country in the Tang Dynasty, was defeated by Tubo, the Tang Dynasty and Tubo jointly controlled Tuyuhun. The Tang Emperor Li Shimin set his sights on the Western Regions, which bordered Tuyuhun and the western part of the Tang Dynasty, hoping that the Tang Dynasty could regain control of the Western Regions.

In the fourteenth year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, officially put forward the idea that the Tang Dynasty wanted to control and operate the Western Regions.

Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng and other civil officials stood up one after another to object:

"Your Majesty, you are reckless and indiscriminate use of force."

"If Your Majesty wants to control the Western Regions, it is bound to start a war, and the war will cause senseless deaths and injuries to the people of the Tang Dynasty. The ministers are planning for the Tang Dynasty and the livelihood of the Tang Dynasty, which is not advisable. ”

"The wild land of the Western Regions is far away from my Datang, and they don't understand each other's languages, and the countries of the Western Regions are even more in the twilight and don't understand etiquette, so why should Your Majesty waste a lot of my time, energy, and resources in Datang for a barren and barren land?"

Li Shimin sternly questioned Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng: "Han can govern the Western Regions, why can't I do it in the Tang Dynasty?" "Hell-bent on controlling the Western Regions.

At this moment, Li Xuan, the king of Yong'an, stood up and said in a loud voice: "The minister fully supports His Majesty's idea of controlling and managing the Western Regions. ”

Li Xuan's words shocked the entire Tang Dynasty.

Li Xuan slowly opened his mouth and continued: "The minister fully supports His Majesty's idea of controlling and managing the Western Regions. Although the Western Regions is far away from my Datang, the culture and customs of my Datang are very different. However, the Western Regions is a very important channel and buffer for our Tang Dynasty to communicate with Persia, Dashi, and Daqin (i.e., Rome) in the West. What's more, the Western Regions are rich in good horses, and I, Datang, want to establish a cavalry that will power the world. Shock the eight directions, then the Western Regions must be controlled by our Datang. ”

The ministers were silent, and they all thought that what Li Xuan said was very reasonable.

If the Tang Dynasty wants to enter the Western Regions, it must pass through Gaochang. Unlike other surrounding countries in the Western Regions, Gaochang was a Han Chinese regime, and everyone from the emperor to the common people were descendants of Han immigrants from the Central Plains.

Gaochang has a population of 37,700 and an army of only 7,000.

The king of Gaochang at this time was Ju Wentai. Ju Wentai's biggest characteristic is fickleness, in the words of the Tang people in the fourteenth year of Zhenguan, Ju Wentai is a capricious villain. However, in Li Xuan's opinion, this cannot be blamed on him. Countries are small and weak, and can only constantly change and rely on large countries in order to survive.

During the period of Gaozu Li Yuan, Ju Wentai took refuge in the Turkic Jieli Khan and opposed the Tang Dynasty. Because he felt that the Tang Dynasty still surrendered to the Turks (Li Yuan surrendered to the Turks for peace in order to raise troops against the Sui Dynasty), it must be that the Turks were powerful and the Tang Dynasty was weak. Dependent on the powerful. It has always been the national policy of Gaochang.

Soon, the Tang Emperor Li Shimin ascended the throne, and the weak Tang Dynasty actually destroyed the powerful Turkic Khanate in one fell swoop after just four years. captured the Turkic Jieli Khan, and the entire Turkic people, from the common people to the territory, were incorporated into the Tang Dynasty. Seeing that Datang suddenly became so powerful, Ju Wentai, the king of Gaochang, immediately took refuge in Datang.

In the year when the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Turks, that is, the fourth year of Zhenguan. Ju Wentai, the king of Gaochang, took the queen of Gaochang and the prince of Gaochang to Chang'an to meet Emperor Li Shimin. This aroused great attention from Emperor Li Shimin. Because Ju Wentai was the first among the countries of the Western Regions to come to Chang'an City, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, to worship him, which made Li Shimin very happy. Li Shimin ceremoniously received Ju Wentai and his entourage with the etiquette of a royal prince. Tang Emperor Li Shimin also canonized Queen Gaochang as the "Tang Princess" and gave the royal surname "Li". The relationship between the two sides warmed up rapidly, and Gaochang also became the spokesperson and a very important ally of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions, and it was wedged into the Western Regions by the Tang Emperor Li Shimin (xie) like a nail, becoming the bridgehead of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions and an important stronghold for influencing and controlling the Western Regions.

But later, when the Western Turks arrived in the Western Regions, Ju Wentai took the initiative to defect to the Western Turks at the first time, betrayed the Tang Dynasty, and ordered the army to attack the Tang Dynasty vassal states and the Tang caravan. In Ju Wentai's opinion, anyway, the Tang Dynasty is thousands of miles away, and the Western Turks are close at hand, even if the Tang Emperor Li Shimin is angry, he can't reach it, and there is nothing he can do about him and his Gaochang. In Ju Wentai's opinion, it was definitely a wise choice to take refuge in the Western Turks.

However, Ju Wentai ignored the importance of the Western Regions to the Tang Dynasty and the determination of the Tang Emperor Li Shimin to control and manage the Western Regions.

Emperor Li Shimin first wanted to solve the problem through peaceful means, and sent people to persuade Ju Wentai, after all, Gaochang had also worked for the Tang Dynasty for many years, but Ju Wentai looked at the envoy of the Tang Dynasty angrily and openly insulted Li Shimin. When Li Shimin learned about it, he was furious, and immediately issued the "Edict of Ju Wentai", ordering Hou Jun to lead 150,000 cavalry to pacify Gaochang. Gaochang had only 7,000 troops, but the Tang Dynasty used 150,000 cavalry. The 150,000 cavalry, in addition to pacifying Gaochang, also had the intention of deterring the Western Turks by force and preventing the Western Turks from intervening by force. If the Western Turks dared to interfere with the Tang Dynasty's crusade against Gaochang, Hou Junji could destroy Gaochang first, and then the Western Turks. Of the 150,000 cavalry, there are only tens of thousands of soldiers from the Tang Dynasty, and the remaining more than 100,000 are all Turkic, Khitan and other tribes attached to the Tang Dynasty.

When the news reached Gaochang, the prince of Gaochang and his courtiers knelt at Ju Wentai's feet, crying and begging Ju Wentai to make amends to the Tang Dynasty in exchange for the preservation of the country. Ju Wentai refused. There are two main reasons for refusal: one is the geographical advantage, Gaochang is located in the Turpan Basin, from the Tang Dynasty to Gaochang, you need to go through 7,000 miles of desert, 150,000 troops vainly try to pass through 7,000 miles of desert, which is unimaginable in Ju Wentai's mind. The second is the support of the Western Turks.

Before Hou Junji sent out his troops, he made full preparations, carrying a large amount of food, water, and equipment, and each soldier was equipped with several sets of military uniforms to defend against sudden changes in the weather. Many water wheels have been built that can store water.

Despite the full preparations, the cruel environment still brought a lot of difficulties to the Tang army, and the quicksand that appeared at any time took the lives of thousands of Tang soldiers. Later, there was also a shortage of food and water, so Hou Junji and the soldiers killed the horses, drank the blood of the horses, and the food, clothing, housing and transportation were the same as the soldiers, taking the lead everywhere, which lasted more than 7 months, and finally passed the purgatory-like death desert. (To be continued.) )

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