which he
made so famous that he fully earned the designation of Taitsong the
Great. The empire was surrounded with enemies, the nomads of the north,
extending from Corea to Kokonor, and the warlike people of the south,
from Thibet to Tonquin. During the remainder of his life he was engaged
in incessant conflict with these stinging wasps, whose onslaughts left
him no peace.

Scarcely was he settled on the throne when the Tartar invasions began.
Their raids were repelled, but they instigated Taitsong to an important
measure. It had always been evident that the Chinese troops, hitherto
little more than a raw militia, were unable to cope with the sons of the
desert, and the shrewd emperor set himself to organize an army that
should be a match in discipline and effectiveness for any of its foes.
The new army embraced three ranks, each corps of the superior rank
consisting of twelve hundred, and those of the others respectively of
one thousand and eight hundred men. The total force thus organized
approached nine hundred thousand men, of whom a large portion were used
for frontier duty. These troops were carefully trained in the use of the
bow and the pike, Taitsong himself inspecting a portion of them daily.
This innovation roused bitter opposition from the literati, whose books
told them that former emperors did not engage in such work. But
Taitsong, on the theory that in time of peace we should prepare for war,
went on with his reforms regardless of their cited precedents.

Taitsong's new army was soon put to the proof. The Tartars were in arms
again, a powerful confederacy had been formed, and China was in danger.
Marching into the desert with his disciplined forces, he soon had his
enemies in flight, forced several of the leading khans to submit, and
spread the dread of his arms widely among the tribes. To his title of
Emperor of China he now added that of Khan of the Tartars, and claimed
as subjects all the nomads of the desert.

The next great war was with Thibet, whose tribes had become subdued
under one chief, called the Sanpou, or "brave lord." This potentate, who
deemed himself the peer of his powerful neighbor, demanded a Chinese
princess in marriage, and when this favor was refused he invaded a
province of the empire. Taitsong at once put his army in motion,
defeated the forces of Thibet, and made the Sanpou acknowledge himself a
vassal of China and pay a fine of five thousand ounces of gold. Then the
princess