China has a long history, more than 5,000 years ago. In these thousands of years of history, there have been dozens of dynasties, large and small, and each dynasty change was accompanied by countless wars, large and small. So what were the ten largest wars in ancient Chinese history?
No. 10: Battle of Dafeichuan (Tang Dynasty)
Datang Troops: 400,000
Tubo Troops: 100,000
Total troops: 500,000
In 670 AD, the Tang Empire sent General Xue Rengui to lead the troops. One hundred thousand troops conquered Tibet, and fought fierce battles with Tibet's 400,000-strong army in Dafei Sichuan . They were outnumbered and the entire army was destroyed. It became the most tragic defeat in the early stage of the Tang Empire. Tuyuhun was occupied by Tubo.
No. 9: Battle of Shouchun (Three Kingdoms)
Wei State: 260,000
Wu State: 80,000
Zhuge Dan: 150,000
Shu State: 100,000
Total troops: 600,000
In 257 AD, Cao Wei general Zhuge Dan raised an army to rebel against Sima Zhao, with 150,000 troops to defend Shouchun (today's Shouxian County, Anhui Province), and reached an alliance with Soochow. Soochow sent generals Quanyi, Quan Duan and other generals to send eight troops successively. Wan reinforced Shouchun, Sima Zhao led 260,000 troops eastward to besiege Zhuge Dan, while General Shu general Jiang Wei also led tens of thousands of troops out of Qinchuan to assist Zhuge Dan. Sima fought one against three, and finally spent nine In one month, they broke through Shouchun, which Zhuge Dan and the Wu army held jointly, and annihilated the anti-Sima forces in Cao Wei. In the Battle of Shouchun, a total of 600,000 troops were invested by all four parties.
No. 8: Han Xin Conquered the princes (late Qin)
Liu Bang: 60,000
Other princes: about 650,000
Total troops: 700,000
At the end of Qin, the Chu-Han war entered a stalemate, King of Han Liu Bang Appointed Han Xin as the general and led an army of 30,000 (later increased to 60,000) to open the northern battlefield. Han Xin defeated the Wei Dynasty, Zhao and Qi in less than three months, and defeated more than 600,000 enemies. With the autumn wind, The sweeping force pacified the separatist forces in the north, pushed Liu Bang's forces eastward for more than 2,000 miles, completed the strategic encirclement of Xiang Yu, and became a key turning point in the Chu-Han War. With 60,000 against 600,000, Han Xin completed a god-like performance in the north.
No. 7: Battle of Gaixia ( Western Han )
Liu Bang: 600,000
Xiang Yu: 100,000
Total troops: 700,000
In the fifth year of Emperor Gaodi of the Han Dynasty (202 BC), after four years of tug-of-war in the Chu-Han War , Liu Bang gradually gained the upper hand. In December, Liu Bang led 600,000 Han troops (most of whom were defeated by Han Xin in the northern battlefield) and launched a major counterattack against the Chu army, surrounding Xiang Yu's 100,000 Chu troops in Gaixia. The Chu army was besieged on all sides, Xiang Yu was defeated and committed suicide on the edge of Wujiang River. Liu Bang finally unified the Central Plains and established the Han Dynasty.
No. 6: Battle of Jiankang (Early Sui Dynasty)
Sui Dynasty : 510,000
Chen Dynasty : 200,000
Total troops: more than 700,000
Yang Jian After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, the gap in national power between the two major regimes in the north and the south increased day by day. The destruction of the Chen Dynasty became the most important political goal of the Sui Dynasty. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty After Yang Jian pacified the Turks and eliminated the Hou Liang, he launched an army of 518,000 in October of the eighth year of the Sui Dynasty (588 AD). With the later prodigal classmate Yang Guang as the coach, the troops were divided into eight groups to destroy Chen. In the first month of the ninth year of Kaihuang (AD 559), they crossed the river and invaded Jiankang City. Empress Chen's Shubao was captured and surrendered. Chen died.
No. 5: The Battle of Poyang Lake (late Yuan Dynasty)
Zhu Yuanzhang : 200,000
Chen Youliang : 600,000
Total troops: 800,000
In July 1363 AD, the largest water war in Chinese history was staged at Poyang Lake. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the two major peasant rebel armies Zhu Yuanzhang led a 200,000-strong navy army and Chen Youliang's 600,000 naval army forces started a duel. Zhu Yuanzhang defeated the strong with the weak and completely annihilated Chen Youliang's main force, which became the most important key battle on the road to the establishment of the Ming Dynasty.
No. 4: Battle of Chanyuan (Northern Song Dynasty)
Northern Song Dynasty: 600,000
Liao Kingdom: 300,000
Total troops: 900,000
Song Zhenzong The first year of Jingde (the 22nd year of Liao Tonghe, 1004 AD) . Empress Dowager Xiao of Liao ( Xiao Chu) personally led an army of 300,000 to launch a large-scale attack on the Northern Song Dynasty. The main force approached Chanzhou City on the Yellow River , directly threatening the security of the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Song Zhenzong had to go to Chanzhou City to supervise the battle in person at the initiative of Kou Zhun, the prime minister of the main war faction. The Liao side invested 300,000 troops in this battle, while the Northern Song Dynasty adopted a passive defense strategy and invested more troops in the Liao. The first line of defense consisted of the Luwei Army, Beiping Village, and Baozhou , with about 150,000 troops. The second line of defense consisted of about 150,000 troops. The Dingzhou formation on the defense line had 300,000 troops, and the third line of defense, Tianxiong Army, had 100,000 troops. Finally, Emperor Zhenzong of the final Chanzhou city conquered the city personally, with no less than 200,000 troops. The passive troops used in this battle in the Northern Song Dynasty were around 600,000. , but even with the advantage in terms of military strength and war situation, Xiao Chuo was still forced to sign the famous "Chanyuan Alliance" under Chanzhou City. The Song Dynasty exchanged money for peace. From then on, the Liao and Song Dynasties lasted for more than a hundred years. There were no large-scale wars.
No. 3: Battle of Feishui (Five Hus and Sixteen Kingdoms)
Former Qin : 870,000
Eastern Jin : 180,000
Total troops: 1.05 million
In 383 AD, the former Qin Emperor Fu Jian unified the north. He raised an army of 870,000 people and marched southward to the Eastern Jin Dynasty in an attempt to unify China. The two sides launched a decisive showdown at Feishui. In Feishui, the multi-ethnic former Qin army collapsed without a fight. The Jin army took advantage of the momentum to pursue and defeated the former Qin. Fu Jian fled back to the north in embarrassment, and the former Qin empire collapsed and dispersed. Before this battle, Emperor Qin Fu Jian personally led an army of 870,000 people, while the Eastern Jin Dynasty was led by Xie Xuan's 180,000 Beifu soldiers. As a result, the army of the former Qin Dynasty suffered an incredible rout in Feishui. The defeat of the former Qin Dynasty was real. An incredible defeat.
No. 2: The Battle of Changping ( Warring States )
Qin State : 600,000
Zhao State : 450,000
Total troops: 1.05 million
The Battle of Changping was the largest battle of during the Warring States Period. In this battle, Zhao State used 450,000 troops, while Qin State was the attacker, with more troops than Zhao State, about 600,000. Both sides invested more than one million troops. In the end, the entire Zhao army was destroyed in this battle. , Qin ended with nearly half of its casualties.
No. 1: Sui Dynasty conquered Goguryeo (Sui)
Sui Dynasty: 1.13 million
Goguryeo: about 150,000
Total military strength: 1.3 million
In 612 AD, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty Yang Guang was divided between the Korean Peninsula and Liaodong. The Goguryeo Kingdom in the peninsula launched its first expedition. His expeditionary army was claimed to be two million. However, someone later counted it for Yang Guang, and it was actually 1.13 million. A total of 24 armies. The troops invested by Goguryeo were less than one-tenth of the Sui army. Under such a disparity in strength, due to the bad weather in Liaodong and Yang Guang's chaotic command, the Sui's million-strong army lost thirty percent on the Liaodong battlefield. Thousands of people left their helmets and armor and returned home.
