Chapter 5: The Tang Army's Nightmare

  Du He's words moved Li Shimin.

  Du He's analysis of Qin Guo is quite thorough, and he also thinks so in his heart.

  During the Warring States period, the siege engines of that time were not yet perfect, so the natural barriers of Qin had never been breached, even when faced with the allied forces of six states.

  The State of Qin took advantage of its geographical advantages to develop its national strength, and from time to time sent troops to take some advantage, just as Du He said, only having the qualification to beat others, without the possibility of being beaten.

  The six eastern states, however, were connected by territory and had no natural barriers, so they fought each other, plotting and scheming. As one side weakened and the other grew stronger, through generations of rulers, by the time of Qin Shi Huang, the power of Qin surpassed that of the combined strength of the six states. Therefore, when Duhe said that Qin's unification of the world was a trend of the times, he did not express any opposition.

  If Tibet were like the Qin state, then the problem would be equally serious.

  The Tubo will be like Qin State, continuously gathering strength, getting stronger and stronger, and it is not impossible to catch up with the Tang Dynasty.

  Li Shimin did not understand that Qin Guo's natural barrier was Hangu Pass, and Bashu's dangerous path, what natural barrier could Tubo have to defend?

  Li Shimin asked the question that had been on his mind: "I am not familiar with Tubo, but I also know that Tubo does not have such a natural barrier as Hangu Pass. How can it be compared to Qin during the Warring States period?"

  "Indeed... the Tibetans don't have any treacherous terrain, but their climate is a chasm that's even more difficult for us people from the Central Plains to cross! I've given this climate a name - high-altitude reaction." Du He's face was stern, no one knew better than him how enormous the impact of high-altitude reaction was on ancient people. Even in modern times, it still can't be effectively overcome. Not even military units as strong as the PLA can do so.

  He knew that this plateau reaction was knowledge beyond the times, and Li Shimin, no matter how clever he was, might not be able to understand it for a while, so he explained it in great detail.

  "This plateau reaction is a natural physiological response produced by the human body when it reaches a certain height, due to the changes in air pressure difference, lack of oxygen and dry air caused by the altitude."

  He explained this highland reaction to Li Shimin based on his own limited knowledge.

  Du He secretly congratulated himself at this moment. He had traveled to Tibet in the future and when he entered Tibet, the tour guide had introduced him to the knowledge of high-altitude reaction in detail.

  Otherwise, he would not be able to explain it to Li Shimin at this moment either.

  Li Shimin was confused by Du He's words and felt a bit dizzy, but he roughly understood what Du He meant.

  "Don't make things so complicated, I really can't understand it very well. Simply put, it's like the water and soil don't match, just like people from the south are not used to the cold in the north, and people from the north are not used to the heat in the south? When we people from the Central Plains go to Tibet, we will experience pain, palpitations, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, fatigue, weakness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, bloating, diarrhea, chest tightness, insomnia, blurred vision, drowsiness, vertigo, numbness in hands and feet, convulsions and other symptoms of not adapting to the local environment. To the point where morale collapses and we are unable to fight?"

  "Uncle Li is wise!" Du He nodded and emphasized again: "The terrain in Tubo is different from ours, they live on plateaus that are over 2,000 to 3,000 zhang high. So, this water and soil incompatibility is much more severe than when people from the south go to the north or vice versa!"

  He said three "de"s in one breath to express the severity of the situation.

  Because he knew that the Tang Dynasty's estimate of the plateau climate was seriously insufficient, in the many years of war between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, there were four major defeats, namely the Battle of Dahechuan, the Battle of Qinghai, the Battle of Suolahan Mountain, and the Battle of Yinzhi River.

  The Battle of Talas: The Tang army of several hundred thousand was completely defeated;

  The Battle of Qinghai: The 180,000-strong Tang army nearly suffered a complete defeat;

  The Battle of Suluk Mountain: Over 100,000 Tang soldiers were completely routed;

  The Battle of Irtysh River: The 200,000-strong Tang army was completely defeated.

  It is worth mentioning that these places are all located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Although the strength of Tubo was also one of the reasons for the defeat of the Tang army, the existence of the plateau climate was indeed a nightmare for the Tang army.

  In general, the Tang Dynasty and Tubo's war, the Tang Dynasty won more and lost less, but due to the plateau climate, they found it difficult to achieve excellent results.

  So, since Du He has traveled through time to this era, he must prevent such things from happening.

  Li Shimin looked at Du He deeply and said, "Since you say that high altitude reaction is very harmful to us people from the Central Plains, what about Tubo? When they come down from the plateau, won't they feel uncomfortable due to the change in water and soil?"

  "There is! But the harm is not great! This is why I said that Tibet is like Qin Guo, we find it difficult to attack, but they can easily kill us. Without natural barriers, it's even better than natural barriers. To put it simply, if a Tang army of 10,000 men arrives in Tibet, at least 3,000 will fall ill without even fighting, and the remaining 7,000 will have only 5,000 or 6,000 combatants left. But if a Tibetan army of 10,000 men comes to our Great Tang, no more than 500 or 600 will fall ill, yet they can still maintain 70% to 80% of their combat strength."

  Li Shimin lowered his head and fell into deep thought. If what Du He said was true, then Tubo would inevitably become a powerful enemy of the Tang Dynasty in the future, only...

  Li Shimin's suspicious gaze swept over Du He, "Where did you learn of these things? I believe that in the entire Tang Dynasty, there are only a few people who know about these matters."

  In response to Li Shimin's question, Du He had already prepared an answer. He was only fifteen years old and lacked experience, so without a reasonable explanation, it would be difficult for Li Shimin to believe him.

  Du He didn't hesitate at all and said calmly: "This is what my master told me!"

  "Your master?" Li Shimin stared straight at Du He with a questioning tone, he had never heard that Du He had a master.

  "I'm not hiding anything from you either! Actually, I met a strange person when I was young. His name is Chu Liuxiang, and he's a wandering knight. His martial arts skills are considered the best in the world. One day, we met by chance, and he saw that I had a natural talent for martial arts and was a rare genius. So, he took me as his apprentice, but also told me that his martial arts were the most supreme and unparalleled. If I could practice to the highest level, I would be unmatched in the world. However, before I reached that level, I couldn't reveal even half of it, lest evil people discover my abilities and harm me. He had traveled all over the world and told me about the customs and cultures of various countries! Of course, Tibet was no exception. If Uncle Li doesn't believe me, he can arrange for a hundred people to go to Tibet to test the truth." Du He said calmly without changing his expression or tone.

  Li Shimin couldn't tell whether Du He was telling the truth or lying, but he also knew that in this vast world there were countless strange people, so it wasn't unusual for a Chu Liuxiang to exist.

  Du He looked at Li Shimin and shouted: "Heaven is my witness, if I, Du He, have a single false word regarding the matter of Tubo, I am willing to accept the punishment of being cut into pieces by a thousand knives and ten thousand arrows piercing my heart."

  Li Shimin shook his head and said, "Such a virtuous nephew is not necessary! I'm not that I don't believe you, it's just that this matter is of great importance, and what Wuji said is not unreasonable. I must consider it carefully!"

  Upon hearing the two words "Wu Jin", Du He's eyes revealed a hint of surprise, and also a faint cold smile. He thought to himself: "Old fox Zhangsun, this isn't over between us!"

  When Li Shimin was deep in thought, Du He took out the clothes stripped from Lu Dongzan and said: "Uncle Li, I have something else to show you."

  The battles between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty were intertwined throughout the entire Tang Dynasty, and it is also popular to face the fact that the Tang Dynasty was defeated by Tubo in many battles, but this should be a rumor.

  In the Tang Dynasty, a historian extracted from "Zizhi Tongjian" 88 major victories of the Tang Dynasty over Tubo, while records of Tubo's victory over the Tang did not exceed 40 battles, with both sides having great victories and defeats.

  But almost all of the Tang Dynasty's major defeats took place on the plateau. To say that the plateau climate was a nightmare for the Tang Dynasty is not an exaggeration at all.

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