In the fourth year of Huichang (844 AD), he laid off more than 2,000 officials at once, greatly reducing the relevant expenditures, and Huichang Zhongxing was indeed realized, showing a prosperous scene.

At this time, the eunuch group was also greatly stifled, in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the eunuch interference in politics was almost a cancer that could not be cut off, Li Deyu fully assisted Tang Wuzong, and pressed the eunuch group step by step, in the resistance to the Uighurs,

In the battle of Ping Liu Zhi, he rebelled against the practice of eunuchs supervising the army. Tang Wuzong stripped the official title of the great eunuch Qiu Shiliang and confiscated Qiu Shiliang's family property, which greatly shocked the arrogance of the eunuch group, and the officials of the DPRK and China who were attached to the eunuch group had to be restrained

The Niu Li party dispute originated from the imperial examination, and because the imperial examination entered a white-hot state. The Jinshi examination in the first year of Changqing (821 AD) of Tang Muzong was presided over by Qian Hui and Yang Rushi, the leaders of the Niu Party, and Su Chao, the son-in-law of Li Zongmin, the leader of the Niu Party,

Yang Rushi's younger brother Yang Yinshi was able to go to high school. At that time, Duan Wenchang exposed fraud in the Jinshi examination, and Tang Muzong asked Li Deyu, who was a bachelor of Hanlin at the time, for his opinion, and Li Deyu confirmed the unfairness of the Jinshi examination.

Tang Muzong then sent another official to conduct a re-examination, and as a result, only 3 of the 14 people originally admitted passed the examination.

Tang Muzong was furious and exiled Li Zongmin, Qian Hui, and Yang Rushi of the Niu Party.

After Tang Wuzong succeeded to the throne, he attached great importance to Li Deyu, and the Li Party monopolized power, but Bai Min and others of the Niu Party were also recommended and promoted by Li Deyu, which shows that Li Deyu is still in power with public will. He acted vigorously and resolutely, achieving Tang Wuzong and himself.

Unfortunately, there are unforeseen circumstances in the sky, and in the sixth year of Huichang (846 AD), the young Tang Wuzong ate the "elixir" refined by Taoist priests. Soon he died, and then his uncle Tang Xuanzong ascended the throne.

Tang Xuanzong was Tang Xianzong's concubine, and his mother was originally a lowly maid, and he himself had never been valued by the royal family. Perhaps, this is the deep reason why he dislikes Li Deyu, who was born in a high-ranking family.

Whenever Tang Xuanzong saw Li Deyu, his hair always stood on end, and Li Deyu had always acted arbitrarily and arbitrarily, regardless of the emperor's face. As a result, Li Deyu was first demoted to the eastern capital to stay behind, then to Chaozhou (now Guangdong) Sima, and then to Yazhou (now southeast of Qiongshan, Hainan Island) Sihu, and finally, died of illness in Yazhou.

His two young sons also died in the desolate Yazhou, and only one adult son survived, and was demoted to the rank of Xiangzhou Mountain Lieutenant due to his father's involvement. Later, he became the lieutenant of Chenzhou County, and later died in Guiyang. In "Quantang Poems", there is a seven-character quatrain written by Li Deyu in Yazhou,

Deeply depressed, quite touching, "Alone on the high-rise to look at the emperor's capital, the bird flies is still half a year." Qingshan seems to want to keep people to live, and hundreds of turns are surrounded by the county town", Li Deyu has done his best for the Tang Dynasty all his life, and after his death,

"Break the captives and rebel. Destroying the withering and building the building", and finally, "the success of the north, the bones of the south". has gone through his turbulent life. The Niu Li party struggle ended, and the Tang Empire also weakened and embarked on the road of decline.

Gao Xianzhi

Gao Xianzhi (?-756 AD) was a native of Goryeo, and the date of his birth is not recorded in history, but according to the speculation of historians, he may have been the remnant of the Goryeo royal family, and his father Gao Sheji served in the army in Hexi (the west corridor of the river bottom and the Huangshui Basin), although his military achievements were prominent, and he was promoted to the rank of ten generals of the four towns and the general of Zhuwei, but he always wore socks that represented the status of slaves, until Gao Xianzhi was better than the blue.

Only then did the Gao family break away from slavery and enter the ranks of military aristocracy. According to the records of the history books, Gao Xianzhi is tall,

Handsome, proficient in riding and archery, brave and good at fighting. When he was in his twenties, he became a general like his father, and Gao Sheji saw that his son was elegant, and he was worried that he would not be able to keep his military achievements.

Gao Xianzhi lived up to his father's expectations, and turned to the north and south all his life to become the patron saint of the Tang Dynasty's Western Regions. In 1913, after the British explorer Stein re-took the route of Gao Xianzhi to capture King Bolu Jr. alive,

With great emotion, "The hardships and dangers experienced by this brave Chinese general on the march are many times more than those experienced by Hannibal and Napoleon over the Alps."

Gao Xianzhi successively served under Tian Renwan and Gai Jiayun, the envoys of the four towns of Anxi, and was not reused. When Fu Meng Lingjing became the envoy of the four towns of Anxi, Gao Xianzhi's good luck came, and he continued to be promoted until he was the deputy protector of Anxi and the envoy of the four towns.

After Gao Xianzhi became the second-in-command of Anxi's military and politics, he wanted to recruit thirty followers, but who knew that he recruited Feng Changqing, who was thin, lame, and squinted, and the two became famous partners in history. Speaking of the process of the two getting to know each other,

It's quite legendary. When Gao Xianzhi, who was in bright armor, galloped through the street on horseback, Feng Changqing saw him and immediately decided to be his attendant. Gao Xianzhi saw that Feng Changqing looked ugly,

Refused to agree. Feng Changqing angrily accused him, "I envy the general's high righteousness, so I am willing to serve you, you only know how to judge people by their appearance, and reject talents outside the door,

How can you achieve a great cause", Gao Xianzhi was still unwilling to accept him, Feng Changqing squatted at the door of Gao Xianzhi's house every day, for dozens of days, Gao Xianzhi had no choice but to let Feng Changqing become his attendant.

Gao Xianzhi discovered Feng Changqing's talent after a fierce war. In 741 AD, the Western Turkic Daxi tribe, which had originally belonged to the Tang Dynasty, rebelled and fled from the Hami area to the city of Broken Leaves (now north of Frunze, Russia), and Fumeng Lingjing assigned Gao Xianzhi to lead 2,000 cavalry to pursue the Daxi tribe and kill them.

Feng Changqing wrote a good news in the account, and stated in detail "The second house well spring, the thief form shì, and the strategy of Ke Yuan", everything Gao Xianzhi wanted to say,

Feng Changqing has already made it clear and clear for him. Gao Xianzhi was surprised, and at Fu Meng's reward banquet, he recommended Feng Changqing's merits. Later, Feng Changqing followed Gao Xianzhi to continue to be promoted, and was successively awarded the town general, Guo Yi, and Zhi Chong.

The Tian Khan system of the Tang Dynasty has always guarded the peace of the countries in the Western Regions, and the countries of the Western Regions also regularly pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty, and Tubo is one of the few enemies of the Tang Dynasty.

In order to control the kingdom of Zhì Xiao Bolu (northwest of present-day Kashmir), and then control the countries of Northwest Kashmir, Tubo Zampu married the princess to King Xiao Bolu as his wife. Little Bolu was originally a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty,

Now due to the relationship between in-laws, it has fallen to the side of Tibet, and more than 20 small countries in the northwest have surrendered to Tibet.

Stopped paying tribute to the Tang Dynasty. The Little Bolu Kingdom is located on the choke point leading to the four towns of Anxi, and the competition between the Tang Dynasty and the Tibetan Province for the Kashmir region began with the Little Bolu Kingdom.

Tian Renwan, Gai Jiayun and Fumeng Lingjing fought one after another. Failed to win, Gao Xianzhi was the fourth general sent to conquer Xiao Boluguo, and he was accompanied by Bian Lingcheng, an inner servant who was the supervisor of the army.

In April of the sixth year of Tianbao (747 AD), Gao Xianzhi led 10,000 cavalry to set off from Qiuzi, the seat of the Anxi Protectorate (at that time, the Tang army infantry had private horses. Therefore, a long-distance attack is a matter of easy control), and fifteen days later arrived at the city of Diao Chang (now Aksu, Xinjiang),

After more than ten days, he arrived at Shused (now Bachu, Xinjiang), and then arrived at Shule (now Kashgar, Xinjiang) after more than ten days.

Turn south. After more than 20 days, they arrived at the Green Ridge (now Pamir), traveled for more than 20 days to reach the Bomi River (upper reaches of the Amu Darya), and then traveled more than 20 days to reach the Telman River (Gates River).

At that time, the Tang army had approached Lianyunbao, a military fortress on the border of Tibet (now Salhad in northeastern Afghanistan).

In April of the sixth year of Tianbao (747 AD), Gao Xianzhi led 10,000 cavalry from Qiuzi, the seat of the Anxi Protectorate (at that time, the infantry of the Tang army had private horses, so a long-distance attack was a matter of ease), and fifteen days later arrived at the city of Diaochang (now Aksu, Xinjiang), and after more than ten days, he arrived at Shused (now Bachu, Xinjiang).

After more than 10 days, it arrived at Shule (now Kashgar, Xinjiang), turned south, and after more than 20 days, arrived at the Green Ridge (now Tashkurgan, Xinjiang), and traveled for more than 20 days to reach the Bomi River (near present-day Wahan, Afghanistan).

After more than 20 days, they arrived at the Telmanchuan River (now the Wahan River), which was the hidden country of Wuzhi at that time, and at this time the Tang army had approached the military fortress Lianyunbao (now Salhad in northeastern Afghanistan) on the border of Tibet.

Gao Xianzhi was proficient in the art of war, and quickly made proper arrangements, and the troops were divided into three ways. The pace of the march was accelerated.

One route was led by Zhao Chongyu, who was guarded by Shule, and 3,000 cavalry went straight to Lianyun Fort from Beigu.

One route was led by Jia Chongjun, the envoy of the guard, and went south along the Red Buddha Hall Road. One route was led by Gao Xianzhi and the Chinese envoy Bian Lingcheng, who went south from the Protector Country, and agreed to attack Lianyunbao on the 13th of July.

Lianyunbao is surrounded by mountain cliffs on three sides, only the north is flat, and the Penchi River leans on as a barrier. There were more than 1,000 defenders in the fort, and a wooden fence was built fifteen miles south of the city. The ** thousand Tibetan troops were stationed, and they became horns to defend Lianyun Castle. It was summer, and the water of the Penchi River was surging.

How to cross the river without being discovered by the enemy became a difficult problem in front of the Tang army. Gao Xianzhi ordered the soldiers to bring enough dry food for three days and cross the river early the next morning. The soldiers all thought that Gao Xianzhi was blindly commanding, but unexpectedly,

In the extremely cold weather at night on the plateau, the Tang army "did not wet the flag, and the horse did not wet the sheath", and crossed the river along the lì. Gao Xianzhi was overjoyed and said to Bian Lingcheng, "If we are crossing the river,

The Tibetan army launched an attack, and most of us had to lose the battle, and now that the Tang army has been assembled, the Tubo people are destined to become our prisoners." The attack began, and Gao Xianzhi gave a death order that Lianyun Fort must be taken before noon.

The Tang army was brave and invincible, and soon beheaded 5,000 and captured 1,000 alive, "more than a thousand horses, and countless military equipment", of course, the Tang army also paid the price, and the king of the hidden country lost Jiayan five times and died.

"The sea is dry and icy, and the clouds are bleak and bleak", the barrier of the little Bolu country was pulled out by Gao Xianzhi, and all that remained was to climb over the Tanju Ridge (now the Delgot Pass in northern Kashmir) at an altitude of more than 4,600 meters.

It's time to smash the little Bolu country. The eunuch Bian Lingcheng looked at the endless glacier and felt timid, so Gao Xianzhi asked Bian Lingcheng and 3,000 old and weak soldiers to stay in Lianyunbao.

He led the elite troops to move on. Just like Cao Cao's trick of "looking at plums to quench thirst", Gao Xianzhi knew how to relieve the soldiers' worries. He sent more than twenty men down the mountain first.

disguised as a crossbow Yuecheng man came to greet the Tang army. When the Tang army learned of this information, the people of Aguyue welcomed the Tang army, and the rattan bridge over the Suoyi River (northwest of present-day Kashmir), where the Tibetans had to reinforce the Lesser Bolu Kingdom, had been cut off. The Tang army saw that victory was in sight, and the soldiers didn't care about the dangers of the mountains and roads.

They all descended along the glacier.

After three days, the defenders of the city surrendered, and the Tang army entered the city to rest. Gao Xianzhi asked the generals Xi Yuanqing and He Lou Yurun to build bridges and roads first. The next day,

Xi Yuanqing led a thousand elite cavalry to take the lead, pretending to use the small Bolu country to attack the big Bolu country, under the trick, the ministers of the small Bolu country were captured by the Tang army, and the little Bolu king and his wife Tubo princess fled into the grotto.

Gao Xianzhi ordered to kill the diehards in the minister's center to Tubo, and hurried to a place sixty miles away from the city of Sindo, and at sunset, cut off the vine bridge leading from Tubo to the small Bolu Kingdom.

At this time, the reinforcements of the Tibetan army had arrived, only a little bit, the Tibetan army lost the opportunity, and it would take at least a year to repair the vine bridge and kill the generals. The little king Bolu learned that the rescue of the Tibetan army was hopeless,

lost the will to resist and surrendered with the Tibetan princess. The purpose of the expedition of the Tang Army was achieved,

Gao Xianzhi selected the "pro-Tang elements" in the royal family as the new king, and also recruited thousands of soldiers in the local area to defend against the attack of the Tibetans.

At this point, the Tang army regained the military hegemony west and north of Kashmir, "the seventy-two countries of Fu La, Da Shi and Zhu Hu were all shocked and surrendered", the Tang book said that the Great Food and the Eastern Roman Empire rushed to the Tang Empire to pay tribute, although there are exaggerated words,

But it also shows that the Tang Empire at this time has been in full swing and has a global reputation, and in the middle, Gao Xianzhi's contribution is self-evident. In September 747, Gao Xianzhi returned to Anxi with the little Bolu King and the Tubo princess.

But he caused his boss to be scolded by Meng Lingjing, "Gorinu who eats shit, who recommended your Khotanese envoy", and replied, "Zhongcheng", "Who recommended your Yanqi town guard",

He replied, "Zhongcheng", "Who recommended your Anxi deputy envoy", replied, "Zhongcheng", "Your Anxi capital knows who recommended the envoy", replied, "Zhongcheng",

Fu Meng Lingjing said angrily, "Since you know that I recommended it, why don't you wait for me to deal with it and report it without authorization, I should have cut off your head, see your new great achievements, and don't deal with you for the time being."

In fact, Fumeng Lingjing is also a Hu person, he is a Gao Li slave, but he doesn't want to think about his identity, and this time it was Tang Xuanzong who personally ordered Gao Xianzhi to lead the army to act as an envoy of the camp.

Gao Xianzhi himself did not violate any military orders. But how dare Gao Xianzhi have a temper with his boss, just like the report of the superintendent Bian Lingcheng to Tang Xuanzong, "Xianzhi has made miraculous achievements, and he will die of sorrow today." (To be continued.) )