After the rise of the Tang Empire more than 20 years ago, not only did the Ming Dynasty fall soon after, but the fate of the Tatars also changed dramatically.
More than ten years ago, the Tatars were invited to go south to help the Ming army, and fought with the Tang army in the Shandong area in the Battle of Liangshanji and the Battle of Anping. At that time, tens of thousands of Tatar cavalry were beaten by the guns of the Tang Dynasty and fled back.
Since then, Tatars have suffered from phobia and gun phobia.
Since that time, the Tatars have never tried to use cavalry to attack the Tang Dynasty's infantry phalanx. Even during the later Battle of Hetao, the only large-scale field battle between the two sides was just a battle between the cavalry of both sides.
However, the Tatars never used cavalry to attack the infantry phalanx of the Tang Dynasty. They mainly attacked grain roads.
From that time on, the Tatars were trying their best to equip guns and cannons. If they couldn't buy them, they would rob them. If they couldn't rob them, they would try to make their own. These Tatars even sent spies to sneak into the northwest region of the Tang Dynasty and steal various weapons.
books, especially mechanical books related to cannon-making, and more importantly, directly plundering craftsmen.
In the early years, the favorite thing of Tatar spies was to kidnap craftsmen from the Tang arsenal and then transport them to the grasslands. It is said that these spies would get a lot of rewards if they didn't kidnap anyone.
At the same time, after the Tatars moved westward, they successively conquered a series of Western Khanates such as the Tubo Khanate. In the process, they plundered many craftsmen and began the process of making their own guns.
After so many years, the Tatars have actually popularized the equipment of guns and artillery. Although when it comes to guns and artillery, they are still relatively backward and primitive matchlocks and small and medium-caliber artillery, but they are equipped with them anyway.
Don't think that today's Tatars are still cavalry who can only wield sabers and bows and arrows on horseback. They are a national army with cavalry, infantry, artillery and even auxiliary arms such as baggage.
The reason why the Tatars are not clamoring all over the world that they are the world's boss now is, first of all, because there is still a Tang Dynasty King in the east suppressing them.
Even though they were equipped with many guns and cannons, they were still defeated by the Tang Army in the Western Regions. Almost every year, the Tang Army's troops in the northwest would launch a training-type Western Expedition, ranging from more than 10,000 people.
, up to tens of thousands of people, and every year the Tatars find that no matter how hard they try, they cannot defeat them.
In the end, they simply gave up large-scale resistance, and instead adopted the tactic of retreating as the enemy advances, and advancing as the enemy retreats. Anyway, Datang, which went out to fight, relied very heavily on logistical supplies, and it was impossible to stay for a long time after going out.
, so the Tatars simply ran away and let them attack, and then came back when the Tang army had eaten up all the supplies and retreated.
Anyway, the Tatars are nomadic people. They can mount a horse and run very fast. Even if they can't beat them, they can still outrun them!
However, the Tatars only suffered in the east, but on other fronts, things went well for them!
Since they moved westward, they have been fighting in Central Asia, and have successively wiped out a large number of khanate tribes such as the Oara tribe, the Tubo Khanate, the Yarkand Khanate, and the Kazakh Khanate!
The word "annihilate countless countries" is not an exaggeration at all when used to describe them!
After more than ten years of expansion, the area actually controlled by the Tatars has become very large. Their controlled area includes almost the entire Western Region, and they have also seized a large amount of Central Asia from the Mughal Empire.
In the southwest, it borders the territories of the Safavid Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire respectively, while in the northeast it borders Russia, and in the west it borders the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth!
Interestingly, the Tatars are at war with almost all their neighbors!
So far, the Tatars have fought at the same time as the Tang Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Safavid Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Russia, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Of course, although the Tatars are at war with each of the above-mentioned dynasties, there are priorities!
Who were the main enemies of the Tatars?
There is no doubt that it is the Tang Empire. In recent years, even when other fronts are tight, the Tatars have never mobilized their 100,000 elite main troops deployed on the Eastern Front.
In order to resist the Tang Dynasty's Western Expedition, the Tatars deployed more than 100,000 troops in the Western Regions. These 100,000 troops were not cannon fodder, but all elite troops. Among them, several troops with the Tumut tribe as the core
The elite cavalry unit under the main force Wanhu consisted of 60,000 elite cavalry.
Then there are the infantry and artillery composed of soldiers selected from the conquered ethnic groups who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the Tatars.
If there were not these 100,000 troops stationed in the Western Region, the Tang Army would have occupied the Western Region long ago, no matter how difficult it was to supply supplies, and it could still be delayed until now!
On other fronts, the Tatars are also divided into priorities. On the battlefield in northern India, they did not invest much troops at all. At most, they only had a few thousand main troops with a large number of cannon fodder from the conquered areas.
It was just a battle between soldiers and the Mughal Empire, and the Mughal Empire almost failed to resist it. It was the Tang Empire that supported the Mughal Empire with a batch of armors, swords, and even matchlock guns and artillery, relying on the northern
The mountains blocked the Tatar invasion.
The Mughals also paid a heavy price for this. After all, the Tang Dynasty arms dealers were notorious for their black hearts. Not only did the Tang Dynasty pay a heavy price, but the Tang Dynasty also forced the Mughal Empire to promise not to provide any more supplies to the central and southern regions of India.
Expansion can only be achieved by maintaining territory in northern India.
In the Persian region and the West Asian region controlled by the Ottoman Empire, the Tatars initially invested a lot of troops in an attempt to reach the Mediterranean. However, the Tatars soon discovered that this area had one characteristic, which was desolation.
It's very beautiful. Most of the areas are nothing but sand, with abundant water and grass. There aren't many areas suitable for grazing.
So in the end, they simply stopped focusing on occupying land, and instead focused on plundering.
So what is their purpose?
There is no doubt that it is Eastern Europe, and even Europe as a whole!
The reason why the Tatars decided to march westward in the first place was to seize the Eastern European plains, and even the entire European plains. In the eyes of the Tatars, that area was the most suitable place in the world for them to live.
The water and grass are abundant, and a very important point is that it is far enough away from Datang!
The Tatars would rather run away thousands of miles away than be neighbors with the Tang Dynasty.
Being a neighbor of the Tang Dynasty is really frustrating.
Who did the Tatars offend to end up with a neighbor like the Tang Dynasty?
The fight failed, and I wanted to ask for a truce, but they refused, so we insisted on fighting!
Damn it, those crazy Tang people were so obsessed with conquering the world that they, the Tatars, couldn't even claim vassal status and pay tribute.
They all claimed to be the Tang Dynasty and the Jin Kingdom, and Anda Khan claimed to be a minister in the book, calling Li Xuan your Majesty, and then gave away countless beautiful young women of all kinds. In order to please Li Xuan, the Tatars even
They dispatched a small group of elite cavalry just to sneak into Eastern Europe and plunder those European noble girls, then cross the Eurasian continent and send them to the Tang Dynasty.
Not to mention the noble girls from other countries, even the noble girls from the Tatars themselves, those with outstanding beauty were basically sent to the Tang Dynasty.
They had always thought that the appearance of a woman could charm Li Xuan, and then persuade Li Xuan to give up the Western Expedition. Even if they wanted to go to the Western Expedition, they should not catch the Tatars and fight them. There are many tribes in the west.
The thing is, isn't there a Mughal Empire here? If not, there is a Safi Dynasty further away. You said I have become your way.
As long as there can be a complete ceasefire, the Tatars will give up the entire Western Region and retreat to Central Asia.
But it turns out that Li Xuan swallowed the tribute and the woman in one go, and then he should be beaten every year!
The Tatars are so helpless!
The people of the Tang Dynasty are wild and unreasonable. Being neighbors with such people is simply bad luck for eight lifetimes. Therefore, in recent years, the Tatars have always wanted to stay away from the people of the Tang Dynasty.
I want to go to Eastern Europe or even Western Europe!
Not only do they think that, they do it too!
In the twenty-sixth year of Xuanping, after years of preparations, the Tatars, who had been fighting with the Ottoman Empire and the Safi Dynasty in Central Asia, began to change their strategies, quietly mobilized their troops to march westward, and even took the risk of deploying troops from the Eastern Front.
part of the military force.
By the summer, the Tatar army on the western front, which had received reinforcements, officially launched an offensive!
Different from the previous small-scale westward invasion, which was mainly about plundering, this time the Tatars only dispatched more than 100,000 troops, and even brought with them more than 100,000 ordinary people and a large number of cattle, sheep, horses and other livestock.
This time I go to Eastern Europe and I have no plans to leave!
After crossing the Volga River, the Tatar troops divided into two groups and marched all the way north into Russia, heading straight for Moscow. Although the army heading north only numbered 50,000 people, they were all troops.
The remaining tens of thousands of troops, more than 100,000 ordinary people, and a large number of livestock continue to slowly advance westward. What is their purpose?
Where else could it be, naturally the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth occupying the vast Ukrainian plain to the west!
Faced with the Tatar invasion of Eastern Europe, Europe was extremely panicked because they all still remembered the scene when the Mongols invaded Europe.
In fact, before the main force of the Tatars entered the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and while they were still in the Volga River area, relevant news had already begun to spread to Europe.
Because the Tatars' actions this time were so big, the total number of soldiers and civilians was nearly 300,000!
This scale of recruitment is definitely not just a wave of plundering and then retreating like before. They are planning to occupy Eastern Europe for a long time.
Faced with the huge threat from the Tatars, even Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Federation, which had always been enemies of each other, united with each other to try to counter the Tatar invasion!
But can they stop it?
Of course, it's hard to tell now that there's no fight, but before the fight, they were already extremely panicked.
Because the reputation of the Tatars has been established, and they not only have a huge cavalry legion, but also are widely equipped with guns, and they are equipped with so many artillery that no one except the Tang Army can compare with them these days.
!
That is to say, their own population is small. Even if all the people are in the army, they don’t have many people. Otherwise, they would have conquered Europe long ago!
However, even though the headquarters has a small population, few troops, and is facing multi-front battles, the Tatars still scare the whole of Europe!