A Brief History of Tang: The Defense of Chengdu in the Tang Dynasty Crisis
preface
The old history has come to people with poetry, painting, civilization and classics through thousands of years of time; new history can only be born after war, blood, and broken mountains and rivers.
cause
Nanzhao Rebellion: In 859 AD, the State of Nanzhao rebelled, resulting in the gradual loss of The Territory of the Tang Dynasty.
▲Nanzhao State
outcome
Li Guochang and Li Ke raised an army: In 878, Li Ke rebelled with his father and son, which led to the further deepening of the chaos in the Tang Dynasty.
▲ Nanzhao and Datang
disposal
1. The ambitions of the Nanzhao State
In the late Tang Dynasty, it gradually declined and its power was much lower than before, and when the Tang Dynasty declined, the Nanzhao state attached to the Tang Dynasty gradually grew. After the development of the Nanzhao state forces, their ambitions gradually increased, and they were not satisfied with the status quo, but instead set their sights on the surrounding Tang Dynasty.
The ambition to invade the Tang Dynasty was not formed in a day or two, when the lord of the Nanzhao state was replaced, and the lord of the Tang Dynasty was also replaced by Tang Yizong, and according to the custom, emissaries should be sent to tell the surrounding small countries that the lord of the Tang Dynasty had been replaced, and the small parliament mourned for the departed monarch.
However, Shilong of the Nanzhao State did not approve of it, and his father also died, but Datang did not express it, but instead expressed his condolences to Datang, so Shilong and Tang Yizong formed a grudge.
The State of Nanzhao was ambitious, and Shilong was bent on invading the Tang Dynasty and encroaching on territory and resources, but for no legitimate reason.
Soon, however, the opportunity came, and the Tang Dynasty's Dingbian Jiedu made Li Shiwang kill nanzhao's emissaries, finding an excuse for Shilong to invade the Tang Dynasty.
▲Stills of king Nanzhao
2. The Battle of Chengdu
Shi Long sent his own powerful subordinates to attack the Tang dynasty's Sichuan region, and when the Tang Dynasty heard about this, it immediately removed Li Shiwang from his official position and sent Dou Huan to fight.
The Nanzhao State had been preparing for this invasion for a long time, and with the guidance of the local indigenous people, the Nanzhao State was like a bamboo, and Sichuan quickly fell.
By the time Dou Huan arrived, many areas of Sichuan had already been occupied by the Nanzhao state, and Dou Huan could only defend the town of DaduHe to prevent the soldiers of the Nanzhao state from advancing.
Watching the Tang Dynasty bring troops to come, so the Nanzhao State prepared for Yihe, Dou Huan adhered to the idea of not fighting without fighting, and felt that righteousness and peace were not bad, but Dou Huan did not think that this was the plan of the Nanzhao State.
Taking advantage of Dou Huan's letting down his guard, they took the opportunity to sneak across the Dadu River with their soldiers and launched a random attack. Dou Huan was too prepared to escape and be beaten, and Dou Huan began to withdraw his troops.
Seeing the Tang army leaving, the Nanzhao state even more brazenly burned and looted in the Xichuan area, causing the originally beautiful rivers and mountains of Xichuan to become a mess and cry out all over the field.
▲Nishikawa
The army of the Nanzhao State kept moving forward because it was not blocked, and at this time it arrived in Chengdu. Chengdu's moderation made Lu Tan can only defend Chengdu to the death, but he is now facing many problems, first of all, the strength of the Nanzhao State is strong, and there are not many people and horses in Chengdu. Secondly, the surrounding people were afraid of the massacre of the Nanzhao State and hid them all in Chengdu, so that the defense of Chengdu increased.
However, Lu Tan was not ready to abandon Chengdu, so Lu Tan decided to ask for Yihe, he knew that the Nanzhao state would not make a peace, but he could take the opportunity to delay time and strengthen Chengdu's defense projects.
Sure enough, everything was the same as Lu Tan thought, and the Nanzhao State had different meanings, but during this time, Lu Tan had already prepared all the defense work in Chengdu.
After the peace talks failed, Nanzhao Guo came to Chengdu with a mighty army, and the defense of Chengdu began.
▲Chengdu Defense War
3. Tang Dynasty victory
Although it is said that Lu Tan did a good job of defense work in advance, he could not resist the fierce Nanzhao state, and Lu Tan pinned all his hopes on reinforcements.
At this time, Dou Huan, who had already fled, felt that if he became a deserter, he would definitely be questioned by the imperial court, and it was better to find an opportunity to fight back and make up for it.
When he learned that Nanzhao Guo was attacking Chengdu with troops, Dou Huan took his soldiers to support.
In order to increase the time to wait for rescue, Lu Tan let people pour hot oil, torches, and melted molten iron all on the soldiers of the Nanzhao State, which also eased the attack of the Nanzhao State and successfully delayed the time.
▲The ruins of the ancient Nanzhao state in Yunnan
The matter in Chengdu was soon known to the Tang Dynasty, and Tang Yan also understood Dou Huan's faults, so he immediately questioned Dou Huan and sent Yan Qingfu to support with reinforcements.
The State of Nanzhao saw that it could not attack Chengdu for a long time, so it decided to send someone to make peace with Lu Yan. However, at this time, the reinforcements of the Tang Dynasty arrived, so Lu Tan did not have a different meaning.
Yan Qingfu's arrival brought not only reinforcements, but also soldiers from all walks of life, all of whom obeyed Yan Qingfu's command and attacked the Nanzhao state.
The Nanzhao state saw the situation and also wanted to resist, but the soldiers of the Nanzhao state had been fighting in the Tang Dynasty, and now the attack was more far-reaching, so the supply was insufficient, resulting in the almost defeat of the Nanzhao state, so it specially requested the reinforcements of the Nanzhao state to help.
But even so, the Nanzhao state could not defeat the Tang Dynasty, and the defense of Chengdu was also victorious.
▲Ancient Nanzhao state mural
brief summary
The Battle of Chengdu reflected the decline of the Tang Dynasty and the instability of the border areas. Even though it eventually consolidated the southwestern region of the Tang Dynasty, the State of Nanzhao still did not give up attacking Xichuan.
【References】
1. New Book of Tang
2. Old Book of Tang
3. Zizhi Tongjian