The stain on Xue Rengui s life The army was defeated in Dafeichuan, and the 100,000 Tang Tigers were

Xue Rengui was a loyal and benevolent general of the Tang Dynasty, who had made great achievements for the imperial court, but in 670 AD, he was defeated in a war with Tibet.

In this war, the 100,000 Tang Tiger Ben led by him were all wiped out, and he himself was captured, losing the trust of the emperor and the respect of the people.

This was the most painful war defeat in the history of the Tang Dynasty, and it was also the biggest stain on Xue Rengui's life. Why did Xue Rengui lose in the Battle of Dafeichuan?

The Battle of Dafeichuan took place in 670 AD and was a major battle between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet. The Tibetans are an ethnic group located on the Tibetan Plateau who practice Tibetan Buddhism and have great military strength and ambitions. Their ruler was known as Zampu and was the supreme leader of Tibet.

During his reign, he vigorously expanded the territory of Tubo, and successively destroyed Tuyuhun, Puzi, Xixia and other countries, making Tubo the overlord of the Western Regions.

The Tang Dynasty was an empire located in the Central Plains, and they embraced Confucianism and had a brilliant culture and politics. Their ruler was known as the Emperor and was the supreme power of the Tang Dynasty.

The emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Gaozong, was a wise and martial monarch, and during his reign, he inherited the foundation of Tang Taizong and maintained the prosperity and stability of the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty has always had a strong interest in the Western Regions, and has sent many envoys and troops to establish friendly relations with the countries of the Western Regions, making the Tang Dynasty have great influence in the Western Regions.

The contradiction between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo was mainly due to the problem of Tuyuhun. Tuyuhun is a country located in the Qinghai region, and they believe in shamanism and have a long history and tradition.

They were once vassal states of the Tang Dynasty and were protected and supported by the Tang Dynasty. But in 663 AD, they were destroyed by the Tibetans, who occupied their territory, leaving the Tang and Tibetan borders directly adjacent to each other. In order to regain control of the Western Regions, the Tang Dynasty tried to support the restoration of the Tuyuhun king.

The Tang Dynasty decided to send troops to escort the Tuyuhun King back to Qinghai and re-establish the Tuyuhun regime as a base for the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions. This move of the Tang Dynasty undoubtedly angered the Tibetans, who decided to send troops to stop the Tang army's movements, so the two sides launched a fierce battle in the area of Dafeichuan to the south of Qinghai Lake.

In order to carry out this task, the Tang Dynasty mobilized 50,000 elite tiger army, with the famous general Xue Rengui as the general of the march, and Ashina Daozhen and Guo Zhifeng as the deputy commanders, leading the army to start from Longyou and march westward.

Xue Rengui was a loyal minister and good general of the Tang Dynasty, who once followed Tang Taizong to conquer Goguryeo, followed Tang Gaozong to conquer the Western Turks, repeatedly made military exploits, and was given the title of Pingyang County Duke, and also inspected the school Anton Dutai, and was the god of war in the Tang Dynasty.

Ashina Daozhen is a Turkic nobleman, who was once captured by the Tang Dynasty, and later surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and was named the general of Zuo Wuwei, and was an important foreign minister of the Tang Dynasty. Guo Beifeng is the son of the famous general Guo Xiaoke, who once guarded Shancheng and was a famous frontier general of the Tang Dynasty.

Such three generals, leading the elite soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, should have been an invincible army, but they suffered a crushing defeat in Dafeichuan, and the main reasons are as follows:

Guo Beifeng's disobedience to orders and unauthorized actions.

Guo Beifeng was Xue Rengui's deputy general and should have obeyed Xue Rengui's command, but because of his conceit and jealousy, he was unwilling to submit to Xue Rengui, and often disobeyed Xue Rengui's moderation and acted without authorization, bringing disaster to the army.

When the Tang army arrived at Dafeichuan in the south of Qinghai Lake, Xue Rengui meant to let Guo Zhifeng lead 20,000 people to guard the grain and grass baggage, not to attack easily, wait for the arrival of backups, and then attack Wuhai together.

Xue Rengui's arrangement was reasonable, because Wuhai was an important stronghold in Tibet, and if the Tang army captured Wuhai in one go, it would open the passage to Qinghai, and it could avoid the drag of baggage and improve the mobility of the army.

However, Guo Zhifeng did not obey Xue Rengui's orders, he thought that Xue Rengui was deliberately suppressing him and not allowing him to make meritorious contributions.

As a result, he was attacked halfway, the whole army was annihilated, and the heavy grain and grass were robbed by the Tibetan army. As a result, the Tang army not only lost its support, but also lost its grain and grass, and fell into a great predicament.

Difficulties on the march and altitude sickness

The Tang army set out from Longyou and marched westward, passing through deserts, Gobi, mountains, rivers and other terrains, and the march was difficult and demoralized.

Moreover, the Tang army did not adapt to the climate and environment of the plateau, and many soldiers suffered from altitude sickness, such as headache, vomiting, asthma, palpitations and other symptoms, which affected the combat effectiveness of the army.

The Tubo army, on the other hand, was an ethnic group living on the plateau, with strong adaptability to the climate and environment of the plateau, and was familiar with the terrain and good at guerrillas, which caused great trouble to the Tang army.

During the march, the Tang army was constantly harassed and obstructed by the Tubo army, lost a lot of troops and materials, and when it arrived at Dafeichuan, it was already exhausted and difficult to confront the Tubo army head-on.

Xue Rengui's handling was ineffective and reluctantly decisive

Although Xue Rengui was a loyal, brave and benevolent general, in the Battle of Dafeichuan, his command also had mistakes and deficiencies. First of all, he did not stop Guo Beifeng's unauthorized actions in time, nor did he discover the disappearance of Guo Beifeng's troops in time, resulting in the loss of backup and food and grass for the Tang army.

Secondly, he did not adjust his strategy in time, but insisted on attacking Wuhai in an attempt to break the enemy in one fell swoop, but was ambushed and surrounded by the Tubo army, and fell into a situation of isolation and helplessness.

In the end, instead of retreating in time, he reluctantly fought a decisive battle, hoping to break through. However, the Tubo army occupied a favorable geographical position, fought more and fought less, attacked the weak with the strong, the Tang army could not resist, the soldiers suffered heavy casualties, Xue Rengui was also hit by several arrows, and was finally captured, and the 100,000 Tang Tiger Ben army was annihilated, which was the most painful war defeat in the history of the Tang Dynasty.

The defeat in the Battle of Dafeichuan had a profound impact on both the Tang Dynasty and Tibet. For the Tang Dynasty, the defeat of this war not only lost 100,000 elite soldiers, but also lost a famous general, and more importantly, lost control of the Western Regions, which made the border security of the Tang Dynasty seriously threatened.

From then on, the power of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions gradually declined, while the power of Tubo continued to expand, becoming a powerful opponent of the Tang Dynasty, invading the borders of the Tang Dynasty many times, and even once attacking Chang'an, bringing great disasters to the Tang Dynasty.

For Tibet, the victory of this war not only eliminated a main force of the Tang Dynasty, but also captured a famous general, and more importantly, consolidated the control of Qinghai, which greatly enhanced the national strength of Tibet.

Since then, the power of Tibet in the Western Regions has gradually grown, while the power of the Tang Dynasty has been weakening, becoming a weak opponent of Tibet, defeated by the army of Tibet many times, and even falling into crisis for a time, bringing great glory to Tibet.

The victory of this war also made the Tibetan Zanpu Songtsen Gampo famous, he married Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty, and had more exchanges with Chinese culture and politics, and he also promoted Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet, which made the culture and religion of Tibet have developed greatly. The Battle of Dafeichuan can be said to be the most glorious war in the history of Tubo and the most tragic war in the history of the Tang Dynasty.

After Xue Rengui was captured by the Tubo army, he was not killed, but was respected by the Tubo Zampu Songtsen Gampo, was named King Zuoxian, married the sister of the Tubo Zampu, and enjoyed noble treatment.

Although Xue Rengui was captured, his loyalty did not change, he did not surrender to Tibet, nor did he divulge the secrets of the Tang Dynasty, he always missed the Tang Dynasty and hoped to return to his homeland. He once wrote a poem expressing his homesickness:

I was a loyal and righteous minister of the Tang Dynasty, but I unexpectedly became a Tubo person.

Thinking about the Tang royal family at dusk, I dreamed back to Chang'an City every night.

The battle of Wuhai was famous, and the blood on the Dafei River was red.

When will I return to my hometown and see the official seal of Pingyang County again.

After Xue Rengui returned to the Tang Dynasty, he remained loyal and served the country until his death in 683 AD, at the age of sixty-four.

Tang Gaozong held a grand funeral for him, gave him honors such as Taiwei and Wei Guogong, posthumously awarded him the title of King of Zhongwu, and praised him as "a loyal and brave minister, a general with high merits that cannot be forgotten".

The Battle of Dafeichuan was a painful war, and it left us with a lot of inspiration. First of all, it tells us that the unity and cooperation of the army is the key to war, and if there is a phenomenon of disobedience to orders, unauthorized action, and mutual jealousy within the army, it will bring disaster to the army, just like Guo Beifeng's unauthorized action, which caused irreparable losses to the Tang army.

Second, it tells us that the army's strategy and tactics must change according to the actual situation, and we must not stick to one percent, and if the army encounters difficulties and accidents, it must adjust its policy in a timely manner, and we must not blindly advance, just like Xue Rengui's insistence on attacking Wuhai, which led to the Tang army falling into a crisis.

Finally, it tells us that the loyalty and honor of the army is the spirit of war, and if the army has loyalty and honor, it will be able to maintain confidence and dignity in war, just like Xue Rengui's loyalty did not change, even if he was captured, he did not give in to the enemy, but insisted on his beliefs, and finally won the respect of the emperor and the people.