A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 910: The Tang Dynasty Uighurs decide on their ruler and ministers, and the border generals suffer from old problems when judging their merits

March 23, the second year of Huichang
Zhang Zhongwu did not wait for the court's reply, and prepared to eliminate two important forces of the Uighurs first so that his subsequent plans would go smoothly.

He then sent his general Shi Gongxu to lead 3,000 cavalrymen to join Zhuye Chixin's 10,000 cavalrymen to attack the Khitan and Xi tribes, which were vassal states of the Uighurs to the east.

After more than ten days of surprise attacks, the Tang army defeated the two allied forces of tens of thousands and killed more than 800 Uighur supervisors.

He also requested the imperial court's approval to establish a Chanyu Protectorate, thus restoring the Tang Dynasty's jurisdiction over the two tribal nations.

Upon learning that the rear was attacked, the Uighur army did not care about the life and death of the Hebei cavalry and hurriedly retreated northward.

With the return of the Uighur army, the news that tens of thousands of Uighur soldiers had died in Hebei spread across the grassland, shocking the Uighur Khanate.

The large number of people who had lost their labor force took this opportunity to question Ujie Khan, who had withdrawn his troops, and requested the Khan's court to provide disaster relief.

Ujie Khan refused and killed the general Najiechuo who fled back to the country.

After receiving the inside information, Jiechuo led more than 7,000 defeated troops to flee eastward, but was captured and killed by the pursuing troops sent by Ujie Khan.

June
Ujie Khan's brother, Jumes, launched a palace coup, but Ujie Khan discovered its failure and led more than 2,000 people including Teler and prime minister to surrender to the Tang court.

Li Yan was overjoyed and issued an imperial decree appointing him as General of the Left Jinwu Army and Prince of Huaihua.

After learning the inside story of Ju Mo Si, Li Yan, on the advice of Li Deyu, ordered Liu Mian, Zhang Zhongwu and others to launch the Northern Expedition ahead of schedule.

August
The imperial court ordered the mobilization of troops from Chenzhou, Xuzhou, Xuzhou, Ruzhou, Xiangyang and other places to garrison in Taiyuan and Zhenwu Army, Tiande Army and other defense areas, waiting to send troops to the Uighurs next spring.

Zhang Zhongwu was promoted to the position of Acting Minister of War and appointed as the envoy to pacify the Eastern Uighurs, commanding the Lulong camp troops as well as the armies of the Xi, Khitan, and Shiwei tribes.

Liu Mian was promoted to the rank of Inspector of the Left Prime Minister and appointed as the Envoy for Recruiting and Appeasing the Uighurs, commanding the Hedong camp army and the Shatuo troops.

Li Zhongshun, the Supreme General of the Imperial Guard, was appointed as the Jiedushi of Zhenwu, and served as the envoy to recruit and pacify the Western Uighurs, commanding the Zhenwu and Tiande armies.

The first month of the third year of Huichang
Upon learning that the Tang people were preparing to invade the grassland next year, Ujie Khan decided to take the initiative and sent his troops to Zhenwu.

Upon hearing the news, Liu Mian immediately dispatched Linzhou Governor Shi Xiong, Military Commander Wang Feng, and Military General Bai Jinping to lead three thousand elite cavalrymen from the Shatuo, Zhuye, and Chixin tribes as well as the Qibi and Tuoba tribes to attack the Uighur headquarters, while Liu Mian himself led a large army to follow.

On the tenth day of the first lunar month, after Shi Xiong arrived at Zhenwu City, he sent people to dig more than ten tunnels from the city to the outside of the city. In the middle of the night, he led his troops out of the tunnels and attacked the Khan's tent directly.

The Uighur soldiers only discovered it when the Tang troops approached their tent. Wujie panicked, abandoned his baggage and fled.

Shi Xiong led his troops in pursuit, leaving the Uighurs no chance to regroup.

Upon seeing this, Zhenwu Jiedushi Li Zhongshun led his troops out of the city and followed closely.

On the 11th, thousands of cavalrymen under Shi Xiong and Zhu Ya Chixin stopped the main force of the Uighur army of tens of thousands fleeing north at Shahu Mountain.

The two sides fought fiercely and blood flowed like a river.

At three quarters after noon, the Zhenwu Army arrived, and soon the Lulong Army, which had come out of Youzhou, also arrived. The Tang army won a great victory, beheading tens of thousands of people and gaining the surrender of nearly 20,000.

Wujie Khan was stabbed by the commander Bai Shiqi and fled on horseback, taking only a few hundred cavalrymen to the northeast and joining the Heichezi tribe.

Most of his scattered troops surrendered to the Tang army in Hedong and Youzhou, and escorted Ju Mosi back to his country to inherit the throne and pay tribute to the Tang court.

At this point, the Uighurs, who had become increasingly arrogant after Xuanzong, were severely suppressed, and the northern border of the Tang Dynasty became slightly more stable.

February
Li Yan ordered Li Deyu to personally write the "Inscription on the Sacred Merits" in Jibei to show off his military achievements to future generations.

Based on his merits, Li Yan promoted Zhang Zhongwu to the title of Censor-in-Chief of the Shangshu You Pushe.

Li Zhongshun was promoted to the position of Acting Minister of War and stationed in Fengzhou, commanding the Tiande and Zhenwu armies.

Liu Mian was granted the title of Jianxiu Sikong and Jinzi Guanglu Dafu, and was appointed Jiedushi of Huazhou, Heyang and other towns. Shi Xiong was promoted to the Defense Commissioner of Fengzhou.

Zhu Ya Chixin was appointed as the governor of Weizhou and the governor of Yunzhou.

Bai Shiqi was promoted to the commander of the Qingsai Army.

April
Just when Li Yan ended the war in the northern border, Liu Congjian, the governor of Zhaoyi, died of illness. His nephew Liu Zhen intended to establish his own regime and refused to obey the imperial order.

When the news reached Chang'an, Li Yan and Li Deyu ignored the opposition and sent troops to fight.

The imperial edict ordered Zhuye Chixin, who had made great contributions in the war between Tang and Uighur, to lead 3,000 Shatuo cavalry to help in the battle.

He also ordered Wang Zai, the governor of Zhongwu, and Li Yanzuo, the governor of Xuzhou, to serve as envoys to recruit and pacify the people in the southwest of Lu Prefecture.

He also appointed Liu Mian as the governor of Taiyuan and the commander of the northern expeditionary force of Lu Prefecture to urge Wang and Li to advance.

It was because Liu Mian had just broken the Uighurs' reputation, and the Shatuo cavalry only obeyed Liu Mian's orders and were strong in both men and horses.

Wang and Li therefore did not dare to play any tricks, and the military situation became more urgent. In just over a month, they defeated Liu Zhen.

After defeating Ze Lu, Liu Mian was promoted to the position of Jianxiu Si Tu and later transferred to the post of Zhongwu Jiedushi.

Wang Zai was changed to be the governor of Hedong.

Because of Zhuya's loyalty, he was promoted to the position of Governor of Shuozhou and Envoy of the Northern Army.

May
Seeing that Li Yan's imperial power was growing, Li Deyu was assisting him.

For the sake of his own life and property, Qiu Shiliang finally resigned on the grounds of old age and illness and asked to enjoy his old age.

Li Yan was very happy to see Qiu Shiliang's sense of current affairs. After agreeing to the request, he also removed his military power, thereby temporarily eliminating the eunuchs' influence in the palace and strengthening his imperial power.

Externally, he suppressed the rebellions in Lulong and Zhaoyi towns, and repelled the Uighurs in the north. With the help of Li Deyu and other Neo-Confucian scholars, he eliminated political malpractices.

In addition, the eunuchs' power was temporarily suppressed, the central power of the Tang court was greatly strengthened, the vassal states were submissive, and there was a hint of the Huichang Restoration.

However, whenever the situation improved, the old illnesses of the Li Tang royal family reappeared.

Li Yan began to emulate the emperors of previous generations, intending to pursue immortality, and began to secretly take elixirs of immortality.

Huichang Sixth Year
Because of long-term use of the elixir of immortality, Li Yan's personality became more and more impatient and his moods became erratic. Even Li Deyu was puzzled and advised:

"Your Majesty's harsh decision makes people unpredictable, and people outside the court are terrified. In the past, the bandits were rebellious and tyrannical, and of course they should be subdued with severe punishments."

"But now that the world has been pacified, I hope you can govern with tolerance. If you can make criminals confess their crimes without complaint and people who do good do not feel frightened, then you can be called tolerant."

What was more serious was that Li Yan's health began to deteriorate. He was even deceived by a Taoist priest and believed that this was a "bone change" before becoming an immortal, so he did not summon the imperial physician for treatment.

In order to prevent outside officials from knowing, Li Yan had to stop attending court and go out hunting. Even the prime minister's request to see him was not allowed.

People inside and outside the court were deeply worried about this.

March 23
Li Yan's condition deteriorated rapidly and he died in the Daming Palace at the age of 33.

On the same day, Ma Yuanzhi, lieutenant of the Left Shence Army, and others supported Li Yan's uncle, Prince Guang Li Chen, who was prudent, taciturn and easy to control, to ascend the throne.

As a result, the eunuch power that had been suppressed by Li Yan for several years returned to the court.

The ministers gave Li Yan the posthumous title of "Emperor Zhidao Zhaosu Xiao" and the temple name "Wu Zong", and he was buried in Duanling.

(End of this chapter)