What was the cause of the Tianbao War? What influence did it have on the Tang Dynasty?
When it comes to the demise of the Tang Dynasty, you will think of the Anshi Rebellion, but before the Anshi Rebellion, there was a war that led to the decline of the Tang Dynasty. It was the Tianbao War, which was triggered by a corrupt official in the Tang Dynasty asking for bribes, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths.
tianbao war?
The Tang Dynasty supported Nanzhao, which was intended to contain Tubo. After Nanzhao became powerful, the Tang Dynasty tried to control it. And the death of Piluoge, the conflict between the two sides in the succession to the throne, coupled with the arrogance and greed of the border officials, finally led to Nanzhao's rebellion against the Tang Dynasty.
After the two sides turned against each other, the Tang Dynasty launched three large-scale wars in an attempt to wipe out Nanzhao in one fell swoop. Nanzhao joined forces with the Tibetan army to resist. Tang Jun, commanded by He Luguang, returned after winning Nanzhao, and then Tang Jun, who was fresh in Zhongtong and Mina Lee, suffered a defeat in Nanzhao.
Because they all happened in the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty (742-756), the Tianbao War is also called the Tianbao War of the Tang Dynasty. After the war, Nanzhao surrendered to Tubo. ?
what happened?
In the second year of Tianbao, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty took Yang Yuhuan as his wife. Since then, he began to ignore politics, peace and enjoyment. Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong successively dominated the political affairs, which led to increasingly corrupt politics. At this time, the Nanzhao regime, which was originally a vassal of the Tang Dynasty, clashed with the local areas of the Tang Dynasty, thus opening the prelude to a bloody war!
Nanzhao regime, located in the southwest, had a very close relationship with the Tang Dynasty. Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, awarded Piluoge, the king of Nanzhao, the second-class official rank, and was named the king of Taideng County, and later the king of Yunnan.
Nanzhao, with the support of the Tang Dynasty, expelled the Tubo forces from Yunnan. After the death of Piluoge, his son, Luo Feng, succeeded his father. When he visited Zhang Qiantuo, the prefect of Yunnan in the Tang Dynasty, he was insulted by officials in the Tang Dynasty.
According to historical records, Zhang Qiantuo asked Ge Luofeng for a bribe, but after being rejected, "Qian Tuo sent someone to scold him, but he still secretly played his sins".
When Ge Luofeng heard this, he was furious. "He sent his troops to attack Qianduo and killed it, taking 32 from Yaozhou and Xiaoyi." If the Tang court could distinguish right from wrong at this time, there would not be a large-scale war, but at this time, Prime Minister Yang Guozhong "wanted to make contributions to the border" and wanted to establish prestige through war.
in the tenth year of Tianbao, Xian Yu Zhongtong, our envoy from Jiannan in Tang Dynasty, led 8, troops to conquer Nanzhao. Ge Luofeng didn't want to go to war with the Tang Dynasty. He "sent envoys to apologize, willing to return what he had captured, to turn over a new leaf, and to seize Yaozhou". However, Xianyu Zhongtong was unmoved, saying, "Prisoner emissary, enter the city of Bobai".
As a result, Tang Jun suffered a crushing defeat in the First World War of Xi 'er River, and almost 8, troops were wiped out. The head coach Xian Yu was only spared.
after the first conquest failed, Yang Guozhong was "ashamed of Yunnan's futility" and lied to the emperor about his military situation, covering up his defeat and his victory. Since then, Yang Guozhong personally served as our time. He dispatched troops, actively recruited troops, and organized an army of more than 1,.
Three years later, in the 13th year of Tianbao, Mina Lee, an imperial adviser, led an army of more than 1, troops to conquer Nanzhao again.
This time Nanzhao adopted the strategy of strengthening the wall and clearing the wild, guarding the city according to the danger and avoiding fighting.
It's June, and it's hot, and Tang Jun is mostly from the north, so it's acclimatized, and "the dead belong to the road". In addition, Tang Jun has a large population, so it is very difficult to supply. Although Mina Lee reluctantly brought the army to Yamato at the gates, Tang Jun was already a spent force.
In Xi 'er River, Nanzhao and Tang Jun fought a big war. "Mi was defeated in the north of Dahe City, and the dead were eighteen or nine." Tang Jun was almost completely annihilated, and Mina Lee committed suicide by throwing himself into the river. Therefore, it was the Tianbao period, so later generations called the war between the Tang Dynasty and Nanzhao "Tianbao War".
In the Tianbao War, the Tang Dynasty lost more than 2, troops, which was the worst defeat in the foreign war of the Tang Dynasty.
a prelude to the An Shi Rebellion?
As a result of the Tianbao War, the Tang Dynasty lost nearly 2, soldiers militarily, and all of them were "abandoned to death and never returned"; Economically, "in a few years, due to gradual consumption reduction", the national treasury was empty and the national strength was greatly damaged.
A once powerful Tang Dynasty was defeated by the frontier political power, which made the Tang Dynasty politically completely discredited.
It was in this situation that in the second year of the Second Tianbao War, that is, in the 14th year of Tianbao (755), Fanyang, Hedong and Pinglu appointed An Lushan to rebel in Fanyang (now Beijing) in the name of seeking Yang Guozhong, defeated Tang Jun, captured Luoyang, and proclaimed himself emperor and invaded Chang 'an the following year. ?
At the same time, it made its Ministry Shi Siming occupy thirteen counties in Hebei. The Anshi Rebellion brought an end to the flourishing age of the Tang Dynasty, and it went downhill from then on. Therefore, Tianbao War is the prelude to An Shi Rebellion.