The Great Tang General

The Roman Empire felt like the sky was falling. All its efforts were in vain, and it only got a dozen dispensable fortresses.

And the house was robbed by Bulgarian barbarians.

If the Tang Dynasty wishes, it can build more castles in the north of Aleppo at any time.

After all, Constantine V built more than 600 castles along the border in one go to resist the Bulgarian Khanate. Even some of the "castles" were just sentries that could accommodate two or three people, pitifully small.

The northern part of Syria is now called the Truk Military District by Rome. After the Roman commander of the southern route learned of the messenger's news, he immediately sent someone to report the matter to Constantine V.

At the same time, he ordered the entire army to hold the fortress and not to provoke the Tang army in order to avoid being attacked by the Tang army.

They were well aware of the combat effectiveness of the Arab army.

Such a powerful country, which had been fighting against the Roman Empire for more than a hundred years, suddenly collapsed.

And the speed of collapse is unimaginable.

Constantine V was a powerful ruler. His father, Leo III, was a general of the Heraclian dynasty.

Leo III seized the opportunity, launched a coup, changed the dynasty, established the Isaurian Dynasty, seized the sacred artifacts, and became the orthodox of the Roman Empire.

At the beginning of Constantine V's reign, the Roman Empire had to pay tribute to the Bulgarian Khanate every year.

Especially after the Bulgarian Khan Vinech ascended the throne, he demanded that the Roman Empire double the tribute.

This made Constantine V intolerable, and he began to decide to resist the Bulgarian Khanate.

The westward expansion of the Tang Dynasty led Constantine V to want to use the Tang Dynasty to destroy his greatest enemy, the Arab Empire, so that he could reap the benefits and extend the influence of the Roman Empire to North Africa.

As early as the end of the Heraclius dynasty, all of North Africa fell into the hands of the Arabs. The dream of the Roman Empire was shattered, and it could only sigh across the Mediterranean.

Now, Constantine V had won a decisive victory in his battle against the Bulgarian Khanate.

He repeatedly recovered lost territories and prepared for the next offensive in the Macedonian military district.

Heraclius I reformed the military system in the Roman Empire.

This was the "military fiefdom system", which meant that land was granted to soldiers of peasant origin. In exchange, these people had to perform their military duties, accept the emperor's orders at any time, and fight for the country.

This practice strengthened the Roman Empire's national defense and military strength.

At the same time, the military district system was implemented in Greece, Thrace, Macedonia and other regions.

This system is also called the Saima State System.

In general, a series of administrative units led by military generals were established, and the heads of the states were appointed directly by the emperor.

The military commander had great power, no less than the Jiedushi of the Tang Dynasty. However, there were dozens of military commanders in the Roman Empire, and the power was dispersed.

Macedonian Military District, Adrianople.

Constantine V was furious when he received the news from northern Syria.

He called the deacon Abogas to the temple for questioning.

Abogas had once served as an envoy to the Tang Dynasty and was a trusted confidant of Constantine V.

"Deacon, this is a letter from the Truk Military District. Take a look!"

Constantine V ordered his attendant to give the letter to Abogas and asked him.

Constantine V was about fifty years old, with white skin and golden curly hair. He wore a crown and a purple robe inlaid with jewels.

However, Constantine V suffered from leprosy, and his face was haggard and his body was thin.

But his eyes were very firm, and there was anger hidden in his firmness, as if he had been betrayed.

"This is incredible..."

After reading the letter, Abogas was in disbelief.

The Bulgarian barbarians had already made them very exhausted by attacking them from both land and sea.

Unexpectedly, in just a nap, the Arab Empire was destroyed and the difficult Caliph Abu Jalfar Abbas was also killed.

They couldn't figure it out even if they tried hard.

Abogas knew that Chang'an was extremely far away from Baghdad.

They originally thought that this was a battle that had been going on for many years, so they had to conserve their strength, but they did not expect that the man known as Tian Khan was so fierce.

"Steward, what should we do now? General Tang said he would send troops to help us. Is this a threat?"

Constantine V let out a sigh and asked Abogas.

At this critical moment, he must be rational.

Although he won a great victory over the Bulgarian barbarians in Macedonia, his marshal defeated the Bulgarian navy on the coast of the Thracian military district, thwarting the Bulgarian barbarians' conspiracy to take Constantinople directly.

But the Bulgarian Khanate still possessed considerable power.

If the Arabs were wolves, then the Tang Dynasty was tigers.

Just looking at this letter, Constantine V seemed to have smelled blood.

He had already imagined what the Khan would look like in his mind.

Abogas said that Tian Khan was a handsome and graceful young man with unparalleled majesty and unique charm.

Tian Khan has too many halos, but in terms of literary talent, even the greatest writers of the Roman Empire cannot compare with him.

But at this moment, Constantine V felt that the Sky Khan was like Hades in mythology, despicable and evil.

"This must be a threat. The Tang army is warning us, otherwise they will attack the Truk military zone. We are short of troops in the south, and it is difficult to resist the Tang army."

Abogas replied sternly.

He was also hit very hard.

When he was in Chang'an, he realized that Tian Khan was extraordinary.

Abogas studied Tian Khan in particular. His life was legendary.

But Constantine V was arrogant and never acknowledged the greatness of the Khan.

Since Tian Khan usurped the throne, but he was a member of the royal family and still used the name of the country Tang, Constantine V believed that Tian Khan was the same person as his father Leo III.

In fact, learn about the life of Tian Khan.

It is clear that Leo III is not even worthy of carrying shoes for the Heavenly Khan.

All the glorious military feats were fought by Tian Khan himself.

Abogas is also learning about the governance of the country.

However, the aristocratic power of the Roman Empire was too strong, and it was impossible for it to be as "drastic" as the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty was a time of great cultural prosperity and a colorful lifestyle. Chang'an was far more prosperous than Constantinople.

What made Abogas even more frightened was that Tian Khan knew a lot about the West.

But the Romans, from the emperor to the princes and nobles, knew nothing about the East.

The reason for the alliance with the Tang Dynasty was that Abogas believed that the Tang people, led by the Heavenly Khan, could not take root in the Mesopotamian region.

Because the Tang Dynasty’s foundation was in the so-called “Central Plains”.

Even if they occupy it, they will lose it soon if the situation changes suddenly.

Also, Constantine V and Apogaeus thought they would soon be able to recapture Syria, Damascus, Jerusalem, Egypt, Libya, Carthage and other places.

Unexpectedly, the Bulgarian barbarians interfered at the most critical moment.

They overestimated themselves and underestimated Tian Khan.

"Damn it! What a faithless country, what a despicable and shameless fellow! How glorious was the Roman Empire in the past? Yet it has to suffer such humiliation!"

Constantine V slammed the table and cursed.

In fact, he was very rational at this time.

Of course, he wanted to capture the treacherous Khan and execute him in the Hippodrome of Constantinople.

But he didn't even threaten to fight a decisive battle with the Tang Dynasty.

Because he knows what he should and should not do.

Moreover, the Roman Empire was not a monolithic entity and there were domestic concerns as well.

Since Constantine V ascended the throne, a large number of idols have been destroyed, a large number of monks and nuns have been persecuted, and the worship of idols has once again been declared heresy.

Countless Catholics dared not speak out because they regarded Constantine V as a tyrant and rebelled to overthrow his tyranny.

In addition, there were Slavs and Bulgars in the Roman Empire, who could betray the Roman Empire at any time.

Constantine V also had to prevent some disloyal elements in the country from seizing his power.

Moreover, the northern part of Italy had recently completely broken away from the control of the Roman Empire.

This had a huge impact on the Roman Empire, both in terms of religious and political significance.

"Deacon, didn't you say that the Tang Dynasty was a civilized country? Why did this happen?"

Constantine V suddenly questioned Abogas.

"My Lord, the great emperors of ancient times all expanded their influence and often betrayed their faith. Civilization and aggression are not in conflict. Of course, I failed to help the country. This is my responsibility. Please punish me, my Lord."

Abogas apologized frankly, but also emphasized the "interest" relationship.

Everyone is jealous of the wealth of other countries.

To use the most basic example, if a person possesses supernatural powers, would they still obey worldly laws?
Can a wealthy country keep its wealth if it has no strength?
For example, the Roman Empire should not have owned North Africa, but they kept coveting it.

The bad thing was that they failed to occupy Syria and Jerusalem in advance, giving the Tang Dynasty the opportunity to take the lead.

With the Tang Dynasty's powerful fighting power that could sweep across thousands of miles, even if it did not ally with the Roman Empire, it would be able to easily defeat the Arab Empire.

"It's not your fault! It's just that we will never see Egypt again. If we can't establish a country around the Mediterranean, we can't restore the glory of the ancient Roman Empire."

Constantine V knew what was going on, so he did not blame Abogas too much.

He wanted to become the "Great Emperor", but he saw that the road to becoming the Great Emperor was getting further and further away from him.

He wanted to bring Roman civilization to the world, but never thought of bringing Chinese civilization to the Mediterranean.

The Chinese Empire is said to have a history of more than 3,000 years. It has gone through so many dynasties and has never perished.

However, the Tang Dynasty lasted for more than a hundred years, while his Isaurian Dynasty lasted only fifty years.

"My Lord, for now, we need to keep a low profile and not have any conflict with the Tang Dynasty. We must hurry up and defeat the Bulgarian Khanate, which will threaten us and quickly annex the Bulgarian Khanate. Then wait for the right opportunity. Sooner or later, the Khan will leave the Mesopotamian region, and the Tang Dynasty's rule there will not be smooth..."

Abogas was also thankful that his master was wise.

Now I can only suffer in silence.

It was obviously impossible for the Tang Dynasty to give up the occupied land.

They had to endure humiliation and celebrate the Tang Dynasty's conquest of the Arab Empire with a smile.

We cannot mention the previous covenant.

"I will kill Terez and turn Bulgaria into a military zone."

Constantine V agreed with Abogas's suggestion and prepared to vent his anger on the Bulgarian Khanate.

Terets is the current Khan of Bulgaria, and he is even more jumpy than the previous Khan, Vinech.

Every year they would plunder the villages on the Roman border, and now the Bulgarian barbarians no longer lived by following water and grass, but had learned to farm.

"My Lord, you can do it!"

Apogasius encouraged Constantine V.

"Officer, take the treasure with you to the Mesopotamian region to congratulate the Heavenly Khan. At the same time, investigate the situation in the Mesopotamian region."

Constantine V handed the matter over to Abogas, who had met with the Heavenly Khan.

"According to the order!"

Abogas took the order.

At this point, Constantine V became more resolute.

He changed his strategy and turned his attention to Bulgaria.

This famous "Bulgarian Butcher" in history has arrived late.

But how many years would Constantine V, who was suffering from a chronic illness, have left?

……

Jerusalem.

After Li Yi occupied Jerusalem, Li Xuan left Baghdad and arrived in Jerusalem, the famous "holy city" in later generations.

The city of Jerusalem is magnificent, with tall and thick walls built of huge stones, and equipped with many watchtowers and fortifications, which can not only resist foreign invasion but also demonstrate the majesty of the city.

However, this city is close to the Mediterranean Sea and is the rear base of the Arab Empire, so it was easily conquered by the Tang Dynasty.

When Li Xuan arrived in Jerusalem, there were many local indigenous people living on both sides of the main road.

They knew that the legendary Sky Khan was coming, and they "welcomed" him with different thoughts.

The city was heavily guarded, and at almost every step on the road, there was an armed imperial guard guarding the city.

Under the watchful eyes of the imperial guards, common people of all appearances dared not make any loud noises.

Except for the young children, everyone had a complicated expression.

Li Xuan, dressed in golden armor, and Li Yi, dressed in red armor, were sitting in a carriage, driving slowly along the main road.

"Look at their eyes. Some want to worship me, and some want to kill me..."

Li Xuan said to Li Yi with a smile.

In the city of Jerusalem, the expressions of the indigenous people were clearly differentiated.

"My father ordered the destruction of all temples, which aroused the hostility of many devout believers. They attacked soldiers, attacked civilians, and set fires everywhere. I have already executed a group of them. This may be one of the reasons for their hostility towards us."

Li Yi replied to Li Xuan.

Many indigenous people did not break the law, so it was difficult for Li Yi to arrest them.

"Then why do you worship me?"

Li Xuan asked Li Yi again.

"My father announced that some of the nobles' farmland would be permanently distributed to the indigenous people. These people once prayed in the temple but could not get it. You let them get it. You are the faith in their hearts."

Li Yi replied.

Having arable land can provide security for the whole family.

But there will always be some indigenous people who are brainwashed by faith and refuse to change.

"After implementing benevolent policies, those who refuse to repent will change sooner or later. Let the natives who are friendly to the Tang Dynasty assist us in managing this place. Let us use Chinese culture to gradually influence them. If ten years don't work, then twenty years. If twenty years don't work, then thirty years..."

Li Xuan said to Li Yi that what he could not accomplish, Li Yi would complete it.

"I will keep my father's words in mind..."

Li Yi bowed to Li Xuan in the car.

"We have brought a lot of sweets with us. Give some to the people of Jerusalem."

Li Xuan gave instructions to Li Yi.

"Father, do you also want to divide those who are hostile to you?"

Li Yi asked.

"point!"

Li Xuan nodded.

Every few months, a batch of candy would be sent to the front line to comfort the soldiers.

Although each soldier could get less than ten per month, the spiritual comfort was something the enemy did not have.

On that day, more than 10,000 old people, women and children in Jerusalem were given two candies.

They all said that what Tian Khan brought was "sweet".

It also makes some indigenous people full of yearning for the future.

Those who worship the Khan are more pious to him...

(End of this chapter)