One Piece of Song Dynasty

A student named Ouyang Rui asked: "Teacher, since special forces often operate in enemy territory, does it mean that the treatment of special forces is much better than that of ordinary soldiers?"

Li Xin nodded and said: "That's for sure. The amount of training the special forces usually receive is much higher than that of ordinary soldiers. They perform many of the most dangerous tasks, so the pay must be higher."

A student named Gao Ling asked: "Since the navy has a water ghost team, does it mean that the special forces that will be formally established in the future will also be able to operate boats and swim?"

Li Xin replied: "Yes, at this stage, if special forces want to sneak into enemy territory, it is more concealed by water than by land. Therefore, all soldiers of the special forces must learn to swim and operate boats. Of course, they do not need to operate big boats, but they must be skilled in using small boats. .”

Li Xin talked for dozens of minutes, and his mouth was dry. He told everything he knew about special forces, such as tracking and anti-tracking, how to establish intelligence strongholds behind enemy lines, special sign language for special forces, etc. wait.

After finishing speaking, Li Xin asked: "Is there anything else you don't understand?"

The students replied: "No more."

Li Xin said: "Okay, let's take a break for a quarter of an hour. In the next class, I will tell you about the Battle of Talos in the Tang Dynasty."

Why talk about the Battle of Talas? The main reason why the Tang Dynasty failed in the Battle of Talas was that the feudal officials of the Tang Dynasty were blinded by wealth and military exploits and provoked disputes without authorization. As a result, more than elite soldiers of the Anxi Protectorate were killed. The total loss also reduced the prestige of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions. Some of Li Xin's students here may become the border guards of the huge empire that Li Xin will establish in the future. How to deal with relations with neighboring countries is What they must learn is that even small countries cannot be suppressed by force alone. What is more important is to convince others with virtue.

Taking advantage of the break between classes, Li Xin found Gao Shuo. Because Gao Shuo was also among today's students, talking about the Battle of Talas must involve Gao Shuo's ancestor Gao Xianzhi, so Li Xin had to talk to Gao Shuo in advance. Be angry, lest he have a grudge in his heart.

Li Xin said to Gao Shuo: "I wonder if your grandfather and father told you about the Battle of Talos commanded by your ancestors?"

Gao Shuo replied: "My lord, my father once told me about this battle."

Li Xin nodded and said: "Just tell me, I am a person who pays the most attention to fairness and justice, merit is merit, fault is fault. Your ancestors did have great achievements in the Tang Dynasty, but the reason why the Tang Dynasty failed in the Talas War was indeed your fault. The ancestor's responsibility. If he hadn't been greedy for the wealth of the Stone Kingdom, this war might not have happened. Of course, it was true that Datang and Dashi had conflicts in the Western Regions at that time, so there would definitely be a battle between Datang and Dashi. If you If your ancestors could be kind to the countries in the Western Region, maybe the Battle of Talas would not be a defeat. The reason why I told you this in advance is that I don’t want you to have a grudge, because I will definitely talk about your ancestors’ mistakes in the lecture later. place."

Gao Shuo cupped his fists and said, "My lord, there is no need to say anything. All my subordinates understand. If something is wrong, it is wrong. My lord, just speak."

A quarter of an hour passed quickly. After the students had done their job again, Li Xin said: "Now let me tell you about the Battle of Talas in the Tang Dynasty. Why should I talk about the Battle of Talas? Because we will build a huge empire in the future. Although I dare not say it will be as big as the Tang Dynasty, it will not be much smaller. In that case, there will be many countries on the border of the empire. Some of you here may become generals stationed on the border of the empire in the future. How to deal with relations with foreign countries? This is what you must learn, and the reason why the Battle of Talas in the Tang Dynasty failed is that the guards of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty did not handle the relationship with the countries in the Western Regions well. Relying on force alone will not work against foreign countries. Not only will it not increase the prestige of the empire, , will also make more countries hostile to the empire. When dealing with relations between foreign countries, we must convince people with virtue and try to be fair and just. This is the right approach. To put it simply, we must act kingly and not be overbearing.

Let me first talk about the background of the Battle of Talos. Let’s take a look at this big map. More than three hundred years ago, there were two great empires on this land. One was the Tang Dynasty as we know it, and the other was the Tang Dynasty. The Dashi Empire was farther west in the Western Regions. During the periods of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, the Turkic Khanate, Xueyantuo Khanate, the Western Regions, and the Western Turkic Khanate were successively destroyed by the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty expanded and began to rule Hetao, Monan, Xiyu, Mobei, Annan and other places. Small countries in the Western Regions such as Yiwuhami, Shanshan, Gaochang, Yanqi, Qiuci, Shule, and Khotan were either forced to surrender to the Tang Dynasty or were destroyed by force. From then on, the Tang Dynasty established the ruling system of the Western Regions with the Anxi Protectorate and the Beiting Protectorate as the core.

Almost at the same time, the Dashi Empire in the west also rose rapidly. After the war, it quickly expanded into a large empire. As a result, the Dashi Empire became another force influencing the Western Regions besides the Tang Dynasty.

Everyone knows that the Tang Dynasty is very rich, and so does the Dashi Empire. They also covet the wealth of the Tang Dynasty. The highest official of the Dashi Empire in the East, Hajjaji Ben Yusuf, once promised his two generals Muhammad and Gutaibai. Ben, whoever first sets foot on the territory of the Tang Dynasty will be appointed as the governor of the Tang Dynasty. These two men later conquered many countries in the east, but they never reached the border of Datang until their death.

In the third year of Kaiyuan, Dashi and Tubo attacked Bakhna, a country on the Syr Darya River, but were defeated by the Tang army. At this time, due to the huge geographical advantages of the Dashi Empire, the influence of the Western Regions was slowly reflected. Most of the countries in the Western Regions originally believed in Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, etc. or their own traditional religions, and were uneasy about the eastward expansion of camel culture, so many countries Asked the Tang Dynasty for help.

Tu Qishi changed from pro-Tang to anti-Tang. In the twenty-fourth year of Kaiyuan, Gai Jiayun commanded the Tang army to defeat Tu Qishi. In the twenty-seventh year of Kaiyuan, Gai Jiayun commanded the Tang army to defeat Tuqi Shi. Tuqi Shi Khan Sulu was killed. Tuqi Shi Xin Khan Tuhuoxian and Hei Khan Erwei were both captured by the Tang army.

I want to say something special here. We must be particularly vigilant about the Camel Cult. This religion is a dangerous religion. When we build a huge empire in the future, the Camel Cult will definitely be restricted.

In the early years of Tianbao, Tubo used force to force Xiao Bolu to marry a Tubo princess. Xiaobolu Kingdom is located on the main road from Tubo to the four towns of Anxi. In the sixth year of Tianbao, Gao Xianzhi led a Tang army with infantry and cavalry on a long-distance expedition to Xiaobolu Kingdom. After capturing Xiaobolu Kingdom, Gao Xianzhi sent part of the Tang army to garrison Xiaobolu Kingdom. He himself took the captured Xiaobolu King and The Tubo princess returns. After this battle, the Tang army became more famous in the Western Regions, and Gao Xianzhi was promoted to the Jiedushi of the Four Towns of Anxi.