"Those who commit strong men will be punished even if they are far away", behind this bold statement is Chen Tang's life. Although Chen Tang was poor when he was young, he had a sense of knowledge, and with this spirit, he became a Taiguan Offering Food, although the official position was not large, but he walked in the court and met many high-ranking officials and nobles.
Among them, Fuping Hou Zhang Bo appreciated Chen Tang very much and felt that he was talented and deserved better development. So, Zhang Bo recommended Chen Tang to Emperor Yuan, but unfortunately, Chen Tang was imprisoned before he could be promoted by the imperial court.
The reason is that his father in the family has died, and according to the rules, he should go home for mourning. However, Chen Tang decided not to go home for the funeral for the sake of his career, but was found out by the relevant departments and was directly arrested and imprisoned.
However, Chen Tang's fate did not end because of this, and after he was released from prison, he was recommended by someone and was appointed as a Lang official. After that, he took the initiative to request an envoy to the Western Regions, every time he passed through the capital town, mountains and rivers, he would record the local topography and culture, because of his excellent work, he was promoted to the deputy captain of the Western Regions, and the superior leader was Zheng Ji, the first governor of the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty.
Although Chen Tang had made mistakes, with his courage and determination, he finally earned the glory he deserved.
Chen Tang served as the deputy captain of the Western Regions, waiting for the greatest opportunity in his life. Zhi Zhishan invaded Kangju, killed hundreds of nobles, forced Kangju to become his puppet, and then sent troops to defeat the Wusun Kingdom in an attempt to challenge the Han Dynasty's power in the Western Regions.
Chen Tang analyzed that Zhi Zhishan was trying to make Wusun and Dawan submit, and as long as he conquered these two countries, the city-states of the Western Regions would be in danger. Although Zhizhishan is now far away, he does not have a strong castle and a powerful bow and crossbow, so he cannot defend himself.
If we levy Tuntian's army and lead Wusun's army, we will reach his castle, and he will have nowhere to flee and no way to defend himself. Gan Yanshou agrees to this plan, but Chen Tang thinks that immediate action should be taken, because the imperial court may oppose it because of the mediocre and timid **.
After Gan Yanshou fell ill, Chen Tang falsely preached the holy decree and requisitioned the troops of various city-states and the Tuntian troops of Captain Wuji. After Gan Yanshou heard about it, he was also cured of his illness and tried to stop it.
Chen Tang angrily rebuked him and said, "The army has been assembled, do you want to stop them?" Although Chen Tang later established immortal achievements, the false transmission of holy decrees and the hard injury of being incapable of superiors made him disliked by the leaders in the workplace, which was also the reason for the ups and downs of officialdom behind him.
Extraordinary times require extraordinary strength and extraordinary people to deal with them. Gan Yanshou was afraid of Chen Tang's might, so he obeyed. This expedition to the west has more than 40,000 people from the Han army and many countries in the Western Regions.
The main force, led by Gan Yanshou and Chen Tang personally, set out from Wensu Kingdom, passed through Chigu Castle, the capital of Wusun, passed through Wusun, and arrived at the west bank of Khotanchi, approaching Kangju.
When reading the history of the Western Regions, many people are confused about the geographical names and locations at that time. To help you understand, we consulted a number of maps and sources to draw this map.
While the Han army was marching, Kangju's vice-king Bao Khotan led thousands of cavalry to burn and loot near Chigu Castle. In the battle with the Wusun people, Khotan learned the news of the Han army's westward expedition, and with the support of Youzhi Zhishan Yu, he decided to attack the Han army's northern column from behind.
Chen Tang led the army to meet the battle, relying on strong crossbows to shoot a large number of Kangju people, and retreated in embarrassment. After repelling the Khotan, the Han army entered the eastern border of the Kangju Kingdom, and strictly enforced military discipline, not to burn, kill and loot.
They secretly summoned Tu Mo, a nobleman of the Kangju Kingdom, to show him the power and determination of the Han Dynasty, and swore an oath with him before sending him back. This information reveals Chen Tang's ability to lead troops and the advanced ** and sufficient supplies of the Han army.
The Han army began to approach Shan Yu City, and the Kangju nobleman Gu Sezi Nan Kai Mu defected to the Han army, and brought an important piece of information: Zhi Zhi Shan Yu was still in the city. Chen Tang was overjoyed and ordered his troops to attack the city immediately.
In the face of the Han army's divine soldiers, Zhi Zhishan retreated directly from the cavalry he sent. The morale of the Han army was greatly boosted, and Chen Tang ordered a general attack, with the shield in front and the halberd and crossbow in the back, and shot the defenders on the city tower.
Under the blow of the strong crossbow, along with many of the ladies of Zhizhi Danyu, he was also shot by the crossbowmen of the Han Dynasty. In the face of such a dimensionality reduction attack, the Xiongnu defenders no longer had the courage to defend the city, and people kept fleeing from the city.
As night fell, the pro-Xiongnu forces in Kangju sent more than 10,000 cavalry to reinforce and attacked the Han army camp many times in the night. Chen Tang decisively ordered, the light burned on all sides, and the Han army killed with strong crossbows and eliminated a large number of cavalry.
When the day was about to break, the Han army began to **, and the Kangju army fled in confusion. After the reinforcements withdrew, the morale of the Xiongnu who held on to the lonely city was greatly reduced, and the Han army raised their shields and rushed into the earth city from all sides at the same time.
Zhi Zhi Shan Yu led the remnants of the army to flee into the palace, the Han army rushed in, and the military Hou Cheng Du Xun cut off Zhi Zhi Shan Yu's head in the melee. After the war, Chen Tang announced that all looted property would belong to the looters, and that the thousands of Xiongnu who had been captured were all distributed among the fifteen kings of the Western Regions who followed them to besiege Shan Yu.
Zhi Zhishan Yu's head was urgently sent to Chang'an, along with Gan Yanshou and Chen Tang's songs. In the song, Yan Shou and Tang said that they pursued great righteousness and were committed to the unification of China, and now only Zhi Zhishan rebelled and should be punished.
Under the leadership of Chen Tang, with the blessing of the gods and the bravery of the Han army, they successfully defeated Zhi Zhishan Yu and his subordinates, beheading many people, including the famous king.
They suggested that the head of Zhi Zhi Danyu be hung between the houses of the Barbarian Lands as a warning. At the same time, they stressed that anyone who dared to invade the powerful Han Dynasty would be hunted down, even if they were far away.
Those who commit strong men will be punished even if they are far away! Emperor Yuan was deeply appreciative of this and wanted to reward Chen Tang again. However, the ministers of the court and China were adamantly opposed. Shi Xian and Kuang Heng, the prime minister, pointed out that Chen Tang had falsely preached the holy decree and mobilized the army without authorization, and should be sentenced to death.
In addition, he was corrupt and brought gold and silver treasures plundered abroad into the country. They ordered Captain Si Li to arrest Chen Tang's subordinates along the way and interrogate them.
Emperor Wu still gave the title of Marquis Li Guangli, and Chen Tang's merits were more than 100 times, shouldn't he be rewarded? When it comes to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, everyone naturally has nothing to say, this great feat of killing Shan Yu, the previous emperor may be difficult to encounter, the excited Yuan Emperor issued an edict to give Gan Yanshou "Yicheng Marquis", and Chen Tang "Guannei Hou", each of whom has 300 households in the mining estate, and 100 catties each.
At the same time, Gan Yanshou was appointed as the captain of Changshui and Chen Tang was appointed as the captain of the shooting sound, and Chen Tang finally realized his long-cherished wish to be a marquis. However, the upright Kuang Heng was very dissatisfied with this, he thought that Chen Tang was a big ** criminal who was greedy for money and good things, and he should not be made a marquis, let alone stay in the position of captain of the shooting sound.
Chen Tang was valued by the imperial court because of his great achievements. However, while he was enjoying life, he was dismissed from office because of a mistake. Chen Tang didn't want to end his career here, he began to think of a way to make meritorious service again, hoping to be activated again.
He came up with a shoddy excuse claiming that the hostage prince sent by King Kangju was not real. The court investigated this and found that what he said was true.
As a result, Chen Tang was found guilty of defrauding the king, and was imprisoned and in danger of execution. At this critical juncture, someone is willing to help. Guanglu Doctor Gu Yongshang exonerated him, arguing that Chen Tang's mistake was not enough for him to be executed.
Emperor Cheng also agreed with Gu Yong's opinion and issued an edict pardoning Chen Tang. Although Gu Yong didn't have a deep relationship with Chen Tang, he was willing to take risks to defend him because the people behind him needed Chen Tang's help.
After Chen Tang was released from prison, he once again gained the trust of the imperial court and was appointed as a Zhonglang. His ability and resourcefulness were once again proven, helping the imperial court to solve the crisis in the Western Regions and once again reaching the pinnacle of his life.
Wang Shang, a distant relative of Emperor Xuan, was elected prime minister because of his moral model, which was comparable to the power of Wang Feng, who held the military and the inner dynasty. Wang Shang was jealous of Chen Tang's exploits in the Western Regions, and united with Emperor Cheng to issue an edict to dismiss Chen Tang from his post and exile him to Biansai.
Geng Yu defended Chen Tang, emphasizing his heroic performance on the frontier, which enabled Chen Tang to return to Chang'an and eventually be recognized and posthumously recognized by the imperial court. Although Chen Tang's exploits are flawed, his outstanding military exploits for the Han Dynasty are unparalleled, and he was posthumously awarded the title of Marquis of Pohu Zhuang.