Prosperous Tang Dynasty

Chapter 137 The confrontation between the Arab Empire and the Tang Dynasty

Backed by a strong national power, a steady stream of supplies arrived in the Western Regions to consolidate Datang's rule over the four towns of Anxi in the Western Regions.

Gao Xianzhi, the envoy of the Four Towns of Anxi, wanted to gain military exploits and strive for the prestige of the No.1 general of the Tang Dynasty today.

Although Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was tired of his administration, he was still an emperor with great ambitions. He paid attention to border wars and punished those who disrespected the Tang Dynasty.After entering the Tianbao Year, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty had almost no objection to border military envoys using troops abroad.Attack Tubo in the west.Attack Nanzhao from the southwest.Gao Xianzhi in the Western Regions destroyed many countries in a row, and after defeating the provocation of Tubo, because he also destroyed the small Bolu Kingdom and the Tocharo Kingdom (Afghanistan) all along, he had always surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. Kashgar Lake, reaching the Aral Sea.

The Stone Kingdom is located between the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea, north of Persia. Its national power is stronger than that of the Tocharian Kingdom (Afghanistan), and it is a vassal state of the Abbasid Dynasty of the Arab Empire.

As mentioned earlier, Gao Xianzhi led the Tang army from the four towns of Anxi to attack Shi Guo on the pretext that Shi Guo disrespected the Tang Dynasty, and killed the king of Shi Guo.

The king of Shi Kingdom was killed, and the prince of Shi Kingdom hated Gao Xianzhi and Datang, and asked the Arab Empire for help.This is undoubtedly to lure the wolf into the house. With the appetite of the Arab Empire, even if the Tang army is defeated, it is impossible to restore the Shi Kingdom.

However, the prince of Shi Wang was bent on revenge. Instead of allowing Shi Guo to be captured by the Tang Dynasty, it would be better to benefit the Arab Empire. At least he asked for help, and the Arab Empire would treat him kindly.

The only buffer against the power of the Tang Dynasty in the Arab Empire is Shi Guo, and the Arab Empire has the heart to annex Shi Guo.

This is not the first time that the Arab Empire has clashed with Datang.

In the third year of Kaiyuan, after the Arab Empire perished in Persia, there was a conflict with the Tang Dynasty for the first time. In that year, the Arab Empire and the Tubo Kingdom jointly appointed a man named Ah Lida as the king of Bahana, and the coalition forces attacked the Tang Dynasty. Hana Kingdom (formerly known as Dawan Kingdom), but was defeated by Lu Xiu, the governor of Anxi at that time.

Of course, the Arab Empire and Tubo were not reconciled. In the fifth year of Kaiyuan, they joined forces with Tuqishi, and the Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms attacked the four towns of Anxi. They were defeated by Lu Xiu again, and Tuqishi himself was almost destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, so he had to surrender from then on. Datang.

In the sixth year of Kaiyuan, the Arab Empire sent troops to the north alone, planning to attack Datang from the north and break into the four towns of Anxi. Before Zheng entered the border of the Tang Dynasty, it was over.

In the tenth year of Kaiyuan, the then emperor of the Arab Empire, Merrick, coveted the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, and arrogantly agreed to his two generals Muhammad and Gu Taibai, promising that whoever invaded the Tang Dynasty first would be appointed as the highest official of the Tang Dynasty. It is a pity Yes, his two generals failed to invade Datang until their death, let alone destroy Datang and become the highest officials of Datang.

In the 11th and 12th years of Kaiyuan, the Arab Empire had fierce conflicts with Datang, but they all suffered disastrous defeats.

This is why since the 12th year of Kaiyuan, the Arab Empire has not dared to attack Datang again for nearly 30 years.

Not only did he not attack Datang again, the emperor of the Arab Empire also sent envoys from time to time to inquire about the reality of Datang in the name of tribute.The first year of Kaiyuan was the most powerful period of the Tang Dynasty, and all the "truths and falsehoods" that could be heard were all about the strength of the Tang Dynasty, so that the Arab Empire did not dare to raise troops against the Tang Dynasty again in the past 30 years.

In the past, the Arab Empire was afraid of the strength of the Tang Dynasty, plus North Africa, and the war with the Byzantine Empire in the west, and never dared to plan a war against the Tang Dynasty again.

However, now that the war with the Byzantine Empire has come to an end, the two sides have signed a truce.At the same time, the newly succeeded Arabian Abbas is an ambitious emperor who also wants to compete with the Tang Dynasty for hegemony in Central Asia and seize control of Central Asia.

In addition, the Tang Dynasty has already hit the Stone Kingdom, and the Arab Empire cannot continue to tolerate it.

The Arabian Emperor Abbas sent [-] troops into the Stone Kingdom, and the remnants of the Stone Kingdom resisted the attack of Gao Xianzhi's Tang army.

Shiguo is more than 1000 miles away from the four towns of Anxi, let alone the Central Plains. No matter how powerful the Tang Dynasty is, Gao Xianzhi can bring Gao Xianzhi to Shiguo. Remnant coalition forces.

After more than a month of fighting, Gao Xianzhi suffered a small defeat under the exhaustion of horses and horses, and lost nearly [-] soldiers. Finally, he was forced to withdraw from Shi Kingdom and return to the four towns of Anxi to recuperate.

After repelling Gao Xianzhi's Tang army, the Arabian Empire did not restore the country of Shi, as Prince Shi had worried at the beginning, but directly annexed the country of Shi, leaving only a title of nobility for Prince Shi.

After occupying Shi Kingdom, Emperor Abbas was not satisfied, and wanted to further expand eastward, capture Tocharo, a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, and take the entire Central Asia from the Tang Dynasty.

"The Tang Dynasty is fighting on all sides, with the Tubo Empire holding back, and another defeat in Shiguo. This is an opportunity given to us by the true god. We must completely capture the entire Central Asia, and even the four towns of Anxi in the Tang Dynasty." Emperor Abbas said to him like this General Abdah, Moos said.

For this battle for hegemony, the Arab Empire mobilized all the forces it could use, and a total of 20 troops from various ministries entered the Tocharian Kingdom.

The national power of Tocharo is smaller than that of Shi. How could it resist the 20 army of the Arab Empire? It surrendered in just a dozen days, and the country of Tocharo was annexed by the Arab Empire.

After annexing the kingdom of Tocharo, the army of the Arab Empire continued northward to the kingdom of Kang and Talas.

The Kingdom of Kang was also unable to withstand the attack of the Arab army, and soon surrendered. The Arab army pointed directly at Talas, and after preparing to capture Talas, they directly crossed the Congling Mountains and entered the Fourth Town of Anxi, the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

In the four towns of Anxi, Gao Xianzhi had basically finished his rest, and when he heard that the Arab army had broken through Tocharo and Kang, and their troops were pointing directly at Hengluosi, and they were about to invade the territory of Tang Dynasty, he was furious immediately.

Tucharuo and Kang Guo have been subject to Datang for decades, and they are the Kingdom of Shu in the Tang Dynasty. Now they are destroyed, and the power of Datang in Central Asia has been severely hit at once.The most important thing is that the defeat of the Stone Kingdom was a trivial matter with little loss. If the Arab army was allowed to directly enter the four towns of Anxi, he, the military envoy, would be in trouble.

Gao Xianzhi couldn't sit still, and once again sent troops from the four towns of Anxi, crossed Congling and entered Central Asia, and ordered the surrounding area to submit to the Tang Dynasty. , Pullhana, more than 8000 troops of Geluolufan, about 2 troops, marched to Talas.

As for the Arab Empire, because some of the soldiers left behind were stationed in the newly conquered Tocharo and Kang, the number of the Arab army that went to Heng Ross was about 16, of which [-] were the most elite religious fighters, which was the core of the Arab Empire. Power, known for being brave and fearless, even such a force was dispatched, which shows how much the emperor of the Arab Empire attached importance to this war.
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(End of this chapter)