Chapter 20 Section 2 Unprecedented Exploitation: The Territory of the Early Tang Dynasty

At the climax of the peasant uprising at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Li Yuan, who stayed behind in Taiyuan in the Sui Dynasty, rebelled into Chang'an in the thirteenth year of Daye (617 A.D.) and established the acting king Yang You (you right) as emperor. In 618, Li Yuan forced Yang You to abdicate and established the Tang Dynasty.By the second year of Emperor Taizong Zhenguan (AD 628), all the separatist forces since the end of the Sui Dynasty had been wiped out, and the Tang Dynasty had completed its unification. With the collapse of the Sui Dynasty, not only was all the expanded territory lost except for Hainan Island, but also the Eastern Turks invaded southward, and even the capital of the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an, was threatened.But soon after, the Tang Dynasty turned to the offensive, recovered and expanded its territory.

In the fourth year of Zhenguan (AD 630), General Li Jing destroyed the Eastern Turks. The actual control area of ​​the Tang Dynasty reached the north of Lake Baikal, and the scope of setting up administrative districts was also expanded to 600 miles north of Yinshan Mountain, beyond the current national border.In the 14th year of Zhenguan, the Tang army destroyed Gaochang, and established three official administrative regions in today's Xinjiang, Yizhou (present-day Hami area), Xizhou (present-day Turpan area) and Tingzhou (present-day Urumqi area). Anxi Duhufu was set up in the northwest of Turpan City, Xinjiang today.In the 20th year of Zhenguan, the Tang army defeated Xue Yantuo and entered Yudujun Mountain (the eastern branch of the Hangai Mountains in Mongolia today), and the Khan (leader) Dumozhi surrendered.In the first year of Emperor Gaozong Yonghui (AD 650), the Turkic Chebi Khan was captured, and in the second year of Xianqing (AD 657), the Western Turks were defeated and surrendered.In the fifth year of Xianqing, the Tang army crossed the sea from the eastern end of the Shandong Peninsula to attack Baekje in the middle of the Korean Peninsula, and Baekje surrendered.In the second year of Longshuo (662 A.D.), the Tang army defeated Tie Le in Tianshan.In the first year of Zongzhang (686 A.D.), Goguryeo was destroyed, and the Andong Protectorate was set up in Pyongyang.

In addition, the Tang Dynasty once acquired the Hequ land in the upper reaches of the Yellow River and the upper reaches of the Dadu River, and set up prefectures and counties; in the southwest, the northeast of Guizhou, a part of Yunnan, and Guangxi established official administrative regions. The territory of the Tang Dynasty was not limited to its formal administrative districts.With the success of military operations and the obedience of the local ethnic minorities, the Tang Dynasty successively set up six governors' mansions and several frontier governor's mansions in the border areas to exercise jurisdiction over these areas.

The six protectorates are: At first it was called Yunzhong Duhu Mansion, it was established in the third year of Longshuo (AD 663), and it was relocated in the first year of Linde (AD 664).The government is located in Yunzhong City (now Tuchengzi in the northwest of Helinger County, Inner Mongolia).The territory under its jurisdiction is equivalent to the Yinshan and Hetao areas of Inner Mongolia today.In the first year of the holy calendar (AD 698), it was merged into Anbei Duhufu. It was initially called Hanhai Duhufu. In the third year of Longshuo (663 A.D.), Yanran Duhufu was moved to Huihe Headquarters (now the eastern end of Hangai Mountain in Mongolia), and it was renamed in the second year of Zongzhang (669 A.D.).The territory under its jurisdiction is about the same as that of Mongolia and the southern part of Siberia, Russia.In the second year of Chuigong (686 AD), it was moved to present-day Inner Mongolia.

It was established in the 14th year of Zhenguan (640 A.D.).The government is located in Xizhou (now the old city of Donggaochang, Turpan City, Xinjiang), and it governs the four towns of Anxi (Kuicha, Shule, Khotan, and Suiye).Xianqing and Longshuozhong (AD 656-663) moved to govern Qiuci (now Kuqa County, Xinjiang), and their jurisdiction expanded to include all nomadic tribes from the west of the Altai Mountains to the Aral Sea, and the east and west of Congling to the city walls on both sides of the Amu Darya River. countries.After that, it gradually shrank, and the Anshi Rebellion retreated to the east of Congling.

In the second year of Chang'an (702 A.D.), it was divided into Anxi Duhufu.Tingzhou where the government was located (now Beipochengzi, Jimsar County, Xinjiang).It governs the various tribes of the Western Turks from the Tianshan North Road in the east to the present-day Altai Mountains and Balikun Lake, and to the Aral Sea in the west.After the Anshi Rebellion, the jurisdiction was lost. The general chapter was established at the end of Yuan Dynasty (669 AD).The government is located in Pyongyang (now Pyongyang, North Korea).The territory under its jurisdiction starts from the Liaohe River in the west, extends to the north of Korea in the south, and extends to the sea in the east and north, including the east of the Ussuri River and the lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River to Haikou.In the first year of Xianheng (670 A.D.), the government moved to Liaodong, and then moved to Liaoxi.

In the first year of Diaolu (679 A.D.), it was transferred to the prefectural governor's office.The government is located in Songping (now Hanoi, Vietnam).The territory under its jurisdiction covers the two autonomous prefectures of Honghe and Wenshan in Yunnan in the north, the provincial borders of Ha Tinh and Guangping in Vietnam in the south, and the edge of Guangxi in the east.After the Anshi Rebellion, the northwest of what is now Yunnan was gradually owned by Nanzhao. In addition, the Tang Dynasty set up border prefectures in the tribal areas outside the official administrative area, such as the Shiwei Governor's Mansion in the Shiwei tribe in the northeast, and the Heishui Governor's Mansion in the Heishui Mohe [mo he Mohe] tribe in the northeast. As well as Boli Prefecture, the Governor's Mansion of Huhan Prefecture (Bohai) located at the end of Mohe Millet, although it did not actually rule these areas, the established vassal relationship lasted for a long time.

Therefore, the territory owned by the Tang Dynasty reached the Aral Sea in the west, Siberia in the north, Sakhalin Island (Sakhalin) in the east, and 18° north latitude in the south, which is unprecedented in Chinese history. But this does not mean that the territory of the Tang Dynasty was so large, because it never reached such a range at the same time, and the time to reach the farthest point was very short.For example, the Tang Dynasty controlled the east of the Aral Sea after the first year of Longshuo (AD 661), but withdrew to Congling in the second year of Linde (AD 665), which actually lasted only three years.At that time, Koguryo had not yet been destroyed, and the eastern border was still on the Liaohe River.In the third year of Kaiyuan (715 A.D.), the Tang Dynasty expanded to the west of Congling, but the Andong Duhu Mansion in the east had retreated to the west of Liaoning.In the tenth year of Tianbao (751 A.D.), Talas (now Zhambyl, Kazakhstan) was defeated by Dashi (Arab Empire), and the territory of the Tang Dynasty retreated to the front line of Congling.Since Xue Yantuo was destroyed in the 20th year of Zhenguan (AD 646), the territory of the Tang Dynasty reached the north of Lake Baikal. In the fourth year of Yifeng (AD 679), the Turks resurged and retreated to the south of Yinshan Mountain. It lasted only 32 years. .Therefore, although the Kaiyuan and Tianbao years were the golden age of the Tang Dynasty, the heyday of its territory has passed, and the control of the Liudu Protectorate has been greatly weakened, and the scope has also been greatly reduced, and some have reached the point where they exist in name only.