Video Clip: Opening Inventory of the Ten Emperors

Chapter 162 Late Bloom, Li Jing's Legendary Life

Is Li Jing great?
The answer is certainly yes.

Li Jing is the complete opposite of Huo Qubing.

Huo Qubing only made his debut at the age of 17, but when Huo Qubing was 20 years old, he had already made countless contributions.

In other words, the champion Hou Huo Qubing is at his peak when he debuts.

But Li Jing is different.

At Huo Qubing's age, Li Jing could not be reused.

As the saying goes, at thirty you will be established, at forty you will be confused, and at fifty you will know your destiny. This sentence makes sense.

At the same time, the life expectancy of people in ancient China was relatively short. As the saying goes, seventy is rare since ancient times.

Passing 30 means that half of a person's life has passed. Before the age of [-] is the best time to start a career, and it is also the most exciting time in life, just like the noon of the day, it is the most enthusiastic.

As a general, he especially pays more attention to being young and promising.

This is determined by its own professional nature.

Warlords all make meritorious deeds on the battlefield. When they are seventy or eighty, they can't run or fight. How can we talk about making meritorious deeds?

But the world is so big that there are no surprises.

There are always exceptions in the world.

For example, Li Jing in the Tang Dynasty was such a special case.

Li Jing was 47 years old when he led the army for the first time.

Everyone has their first time, and Li Jing is no exception.

But Li Jing's first appearance was somewhat accidental.

Li Yuan sent Li Jing to Kuizhou to prepare for the war.

After receiving the order, Li Jing took a few entourages to take up the post, but was blocked on the way.

It turned out that this was the time when the world was in chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty had not completely unified the world.

There are military chaos everywhere in the land of China.

At this time, a minority ethnic group rebelled, and tens of thousands of people occupied the road, making it impossible to pass.

Li Yuan, the king of Lujiang, led his troops to rehabilitate him, and after one battle and one defeat, his heart suddenly became overwhelmed.

At this time Li Jing happened to pass by here, so he offered to help him with advice.

Li Yuan followed Li Jing's ingenious plan, and unexpectedly put down the rebel army in one fell swoop without any effort.

However, Li Jing commanded the battle, and Li Yuan deserved the credit—Li Jing's first military career was actually making wedding clothes for others.

After the battle was over, Li Jing continued on his way.

But Li Jing's trip was not going well.

Not long after they left, they were blocked by Xiao Xian's army again.

But Li Yuan in the base camp misunderstood him, mistakenly thinking that he was stranded and delayed the military plane, and secretly ordered Xu Shao to execute him.

At this time, Li Jing encountered the problem of life and death again.

But his luck was really good, Xu Shao felt that Li Jing was very talented, he didn't follow his will, instead he wrote a letter and begged for mercy, so Li Yuan gave up, and Li Jing saved his life.

Li Jing went through hardships and twists, and finally reached the designated position.

Hard work pays off, and here, Li Jing's talent has finally been brought into full play.

Zhaojun Wang Li Xiaogong was being beaten by the barbarian Ran Zhao at this time, looking for his teeth all over the place, he was in a panic.

Li Jing came at the right time. He led a surprise attack on the enemy camp with 800 people and defeated Ran Zhao's tens of thousands of troops in one fell swoop. Finally, he killed Ran Zhao and captured more than 5000 enemies.

Although Li Xiaogong is the listed commander, the first contribution must be his.

However, Li Jing's display of military talent has also been recognized by the leaders of all parties.

When the good news came to the capital, Li Yuan boasted happily. He boasted to the ministers: "It seems that I, Li Yuan, have a good eye. I know that it is better to use people with merit than those with faults! This Li Jing is not bad! Didn't let me look away."

Li Yuan was in a good mood, and immediately issued an imperial decree to praise Li Jing, and wrote an edict to Li Jing in his own handwriting: "Don't blame the past, I have long forgotten the past."

It means that I don't blame Li Jing anymore, let Li Jing work hard.

Xiao Xian was a powerful separatist force in the south at the end of the Sui Dynasty. He proclaimed himself emperor in Yueyang, and his country name was Liang.

If the Tang Dynasty wanted to unify the whole country, "Liang Guo" must be taken down.

Li Jing wrote to Li Yuan "Ten Strategies for Ping Xiaoxian", and Li Yuan saw that this method was not bad.

Just do as Li Jing said!

So Li Xiaogong was appointed as the chief of Kuizhou, and Li Jing was appointed as the chief of the march.

Although Li Xiaogong was still the commander-in-chief, Li Yuan knew how important he was. He was afraid that Li Xiaogong would interfere with Li Jing's use of troops, so he specially granted Li Jing the command right to lead the troops in battle.

So Li Jing became the de facto commander in chief of the armed forces.

The previous few battles were fought smoothly, which made others look at him with jealousy, and also made Li Xiaogong feel itchy.

When Li Xiaogong came to the front of the battle, it happened that Xiao Xian's hero, Wen Shihong, was stationed at the nearby Qingjiang River.

Li Xiaogong decided to attack immediately.

Li Jing advised him, "Wen Shihong is Xiao Mi's strong general, and his soldiers are elite and brave. Now that he has sent all his elite troops to fight, he may be unstoppable. We should wait until their morale has weakened before going out for a decisive battle. We will surely defeat the enemy. "

Li Xiaogong made a huge mistake in his assessment due to his victories in Lien Zhan, how could he listen to Li Jing's advice.

So he ordered Li Jing to stay in the barracks and lead his troops to fight.

He felt that the previous fight was so smooth, he didn't believe in this evil, and he couldn't win this time.

But the facts dealt a deep blow to Li Xiaogong.

Sure enough, as soon as the two sides fought, Xiao Gong's army was defeated and fled back to the south bank in a hurry. This battle suffered a lot - Li Xiao Gong's face was completely lost this time.

When Wen Shihong saw that he had won, his soldiers immediately began to snatch the spoils.

After looting things like this, the army immediately went into a mess. Li Jing, who was watching the battle, saw it, looting things?The formation is chaotic, and there is an opportunity to take advantage of it.let's hit!
He ordered the soldiers guarding the battalion to attack quickly, and sure enough, he beat Wen Shihong to pieces, killed and drowned nearly 1 people, and obtained more than [-] boats.

After this battle, Li Jing did not stop, and with [-] cavalry, he approached Jiangling, the capital of "Liang Guo".

Seeing Li Jing's army approaching the edge of the city, Emperor Xiao Xian became anxious, and immediately issued an order to order all the troops to come to escort them.

At this time, Li Jing made a decision that no one could have imagined—ordering all the hundreds of captured warships to be placed in the river and let them go down the river.

All the soldiers couldn't understand his military order.

Lost what was seized?What is this operation?
Some subordinates protested, these ships are the spoils of our hard work, and they are just wasted like this!

Li Jing explained that there are hundreds of thousands of troops outside Xiao Xian, and we are now going deep alone, surrounding their capital, and the troops from all walks of life will come to escort the king soon.

But when the rescue team saw these ships drifting randomly on the river, they would definitely think that the capital city had been breached, so they would not dare to march casually.

They must inquire about the news first, and when they find out the real news, the capital has already been captured by us.

Li Jing's strategy really worked.

The other armies who came to rescue him from all walks of life hesitated to march when they saw those ships.

Xiao Xian was besieged inside, and no one came to rescue him!
There is really no other way, surrender!

Li Jing entered Jiangling smoothly.

Sure enough, a few days later, hundreds of thousands of troops came to rescue him. It was seen that the emperor had surrendered, and he was given preferential treatment for surrendering.

There is nothing to say, let's surrender too.

If they all surrendered one by one, dozens of troops disappeared without a fight.

In less than two months since Li Jing dispatched troops, the incomparably huge Liang Kingdom with 40 soldiers completely collapsed.

Later, Li Jing appeased Lingnan and pacified Fugong Er.

In order to reward Li Jing's military achievements, Li Yuan appointed him Minister of the Xingtai Military Department.

He also praised Li Jing and said: "Li Jing is really my good general. None of the famous ancient generals Han Xin, Bai Qi, Wei Qing, and Huo Qubing can compare with him!"

Of course, such words are exaggerated, but it also highlights Li Yuan's affirmation of Li Jing's military exploits from the side.

In the struggle for imperial power, generals have always been the focus of contention among the various factions.

why?In order to win in the competition, strength is the decisive factor.

After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuanan sat on the throne of the emperor.

But the following prince Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin began a contest.

At that time, although there were many civil servants and generals in Li Shimin's group, Li Shimin knew that when it came to fighting, his subordinates were incomparable to Li Jing.

Therefore, before the Xuanwu Gate incident, I personally found Li Jing, hoping that he could help me at this critical moment.

Li Jing was naturally unwilling to get involved in this royal family battle, so he stayed out of it.

Although Li Shimin didn't say it clearly, he was definitely dissatisfied.

I thought to myself, you saved your life by pleading with me. I never thought that you, Li Jing, would not help me at such a critical moment.

In fact, Li Jing is not ungrateful.

Li Jing is a standard professional soldier. He believes that the army belongs to the court, not to someone or an interest group.

If there is a war in the country, I, Li Jing, can go to the battlefield as soon as I put on my armor, and I will never say a word that is superfluous.

However, regarding the struggle for power between the parties of the prince, I will never get involved, and must maintain a neutral position.

Moreover, Li Jing also maintained his professional ethics. Since he stayed out of the matter and had a neutral attitude, he did not betray Li Shimin to inform him.

Therefore, after the Xuanwumen Incident, Li Shimin had an opinion on Li Jing.

But Li Shimin is worthy of being a generation of heroes. Although he doesn't like Li Jing, he knows how to use Li Jing.

This is the essential difference between a brilliant statesman and a fatuous king.

Yue Fei is so powerful, will Zhao Gou use it?

Zhao Gou will not.

Because he is a weak and incompetent monarch.

Did not master Yue Fei's manual at all.

But Li Shimin is different.

In August 620, Li Shimin decided to attack the Eastern Turks. He ordered Li Jing, Minister of the Ministry of War, to be the general manager of the Dingxiang Road.

In the first month of the following year, Li Jing personally selected thousands of elite soldiers, marched secretly, and rushed thousands of miles to Dingxiang, the capital of the Turks.

This move was no ordinary adventure.

You know, Jieli Khan has an army of 10,000+ in his hands!But behind Li Jing, there was no army following him. He arranged other armies to fight the fleeing Jieli Khan on the way.

Jieli Khan never expected that the Tang army would suddenly attack his lair, so he made a wrong judgment in the panic: If the Tang army did not come here, Li Jing would never go deep alone, so he was "surprised every day".

Sure enough, Jieli Khan had no intention of fighting, and immediately retreated. This retreat hit a trap.

Li Jing led 3000 men in a bluff pursuit, but in fact he didn't want to catch up at all. Other troops had already been deployed on the way.

Sure enough, along the way, Jieli Khan was beaten by various armies, and when he retreated to Yaqikou, only tens of thousands of troops of 10,000+ were left around him.

But Li Jing was still not relieved, and led [-] elite soldiers to rush for thousands of miles, walking through the dark mountains at night, marching all the way, and was not found until he was seven miles away from Jieli Khan Yazhang.

Jieli Khan was too late to take precautions, he was killed to death, and the number of prisoners reached more than [-].

Jieli Khan had no choice but to flee alone, and was soon caught by the Tang army deployed on the way.

Li Jing was named Duke of Dai for his military achievements.

Li Shimin happily said to the minister: "In the Han Dynasty, Li Ling led [-] infantry to attack the Huns, and finally ended up surrendering to the Huns. He was still famous in history. This is a marvel that has never been seen in ancient and modern times, and it is enough to shame the alliance with the Turks in Weishui in previous years."

After exterminating the Eastern Turks, Li Jing has already achieved great success, enough to go down in history, and he is not young anymore.

Li Jing's idea is that the swords and guns should be stored in the warehouse, the horse should be released to Nanshan, and go home to support the elderly.

However, Li Shimin disagreed with Li Jing.

I thought to myself, if I don’t let the good horse I have obtained so easily, let it gallop on the wilderness, and enclose land for my Tang Empire, how can there be any reason to live in the pen for the elderly?
In the first month of the fifth year of AD 630, Li Jing had no choice but to lead his troops on an expedition to Tuyuhun.

After two months of bloody fighting, Li Jing conquered Tuyuhun and made his way to the capital.

But this time, even though he made another extraordinary achievement, what greeted him was not flowers and applause, but a burst of questioning.

It turned out that Li Jing's brilliant military exploits aroused the envy of his colleagues.

Gao Zengsheng, the general manager of Yanze Road, colluded with Shi Tang Fengyi, the governor of Guangzhou, to falsely accuse Li Jing of treason.

Li Shimin ordered an investigation into the matter, and finally found out the truth, and sentenced Gao Zengsheng to reduce his death for the crime of slander, and exile to the frontier.

But after this incident, Li Jing knew that no matter what, he had to retreat bravely, otherwise, if the merits were high, disasters would really happen.

From then on, Li Jing "closed the door and kept away guests, although relatives were not allowed to enter indiscriminately."

This closed door to thank guests is ten years.

Later, Li Jing's condition worsened, and Li Shimin, who was seriously ill, came to the sick bed to express condolences.

But Li Shimin's care could not save the life of this famous general.

Li Jing passed away suddenly at the age of 79.

Li Jing fought for decades throughout his life, and made great military exploits for the establishment and development of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Jing's experience in running the army has further enriched the ancient Chinese military thought and art of war theory.

Author of "Six Army Mirror", "Wei Gong Art of War" and many other military books, most of which have been lost.

…………

"Interesting, really funny."

"My beloved general, Huo Qubing, reached his peak in his 20s, while Li Jing was in his late stages."

"This kind of difficulty is very great."

"But Li Jing is worth it. At least he didn't die young. He lived to be 79 years old, which is pretty good."

"Li Shimin is worthy of being a legend of a generation. He has figured out how to employ people."

After watching Li Jing's inventory video, Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, couldn't help sighing.

"During the Tang and Song dynasties, famous generals really came out in large numbers. I don't know what caused it."

"The only difference is that the Great Tang was a successful dynasty, while the Great Song was not even considered a great unification."

"Some things are really interesting."

(End of this chapter)