The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 334 Just because he is afraid of death
Li Gui, the king of Xiliang, started the incident in the 13th year of Daye. He saw that Xue Ju had rebelled, and conspired with Cao Zhen, Guan Jin and others from the same county to start an army. Said: "I heard the prophecy say that the Li family is the king, and now you plan to raise troops against the Sui Dynasty. Isn't this just fulfilling the destiny?" Everyone thought it was reasonable, and Li Gui was elected as the leader.After Li Gui's uprising, he proclaimed himself the Great Liang King of Hexi, set up officials, led the army to conquer Dunhuang, Zhangye and other counties, and took all the five counties in Hexi.

When Li Gui's military strength was at its peak, he had [-] men. During the severe drought, Li Yuan offered to exchange [-] shi of rice for [-] war horses. Unexpectedly, he agreed, which shows that he lacks strategic vision.Then Li Yuan replaced many of his war horses and provided him with some scarce strategic materials, which made him let down his vigilance.Immediately afterwards, under Li Yuan's instigation, he suddenly stabbed Xue Ju's ass while Xue Ju was conquering Guanzhong.In that battle, Li Gui personally led an army of [-] troops to station in Jincheng County, threatening Xue Ju from Zhengdong and Northeast, and Li Gui sent his younger brother to lead an army of [-] troops into Xiping County from Dadouba Valley. Directly threaten Xue Ju's rear.

The two Li joined forces and defeated Xue Ju, but when he thought he could enjoy the four counties of Xiping, Jincheng, and Fanghan, the Sui Dynasty suddenly killed him by surprise. The county also fell to the hands of the Sui Dynasty.

After this campaign, Li Gui had less than [-] troops, lost most of his supplies, food and grass, and never recovered his strength. Although he occupied Zhangye, Dunhuang, Yiwu, Shanshan, and Qiemo, the territory was very vast, but the population was very sparse. Insufficient money and food, replenishing troops became the biggest problem he faced.

After finally recovering a little bit, I heard that Ye Hu, the leader of the Western Turks, had hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the north of Dunhuang, so he gave birth to the heart of hugging his thighs. He hugged his thighs, but he was also poured out by the enthusiastic Western Turkic warriors. After drinking blood, when he went south happily, he realized that Zhangye had been captured by the Sui army. His confidants Cao Zhen, An Xiuren and others were all killed in battle. When he retreated to Dunhuang, the Sui army had already left Jiayu Mountain. Killed towards Dunhuang.

After Li Gui received the news, he immediately appointed his younger brother Li Mao as the general of Yumen, and led the last [-] troops to station in Yumen to prevent the Sui army from attacking. Khan asked for help, and he believed that as long as he persisted for ten days, those heroic friends from Western Turks would come to rescue him.

On this day, in the official residence of Jinchang City in Dunhuang, Li Gui, who had lost a lot of weight, looked at the letter in his hand and said happily: "Khan Tong Yehu is righteous, and he came so quickly."

The letter was just sent by his younger brother Li Mao, saying that Tong Yehu Khan defeated the Sui army led by Yang Tong's cronies, and then led 15 elite cavalry to Zhangye along the drowning river. At the front of the Western Turkic soldiers, they retreated to Wuwei County in a panic, asking him to advance quickly.

"Haha!" Li Gui swept away his sorrow, and his whole body was in high spirits.

"Congratulations, father, God bless Great Liang!" Crown Prince Li Boyu heard that the Western Turkic army had come to give the award, forcing the Sui army to retreat to Wuwei County, and immediately congratulated loudly. After speaking, he gave his second brother Li Zhongyan a triumphant look.

Li Gui's two sons have been fighting openly and secretly for military power. They have plundered the population and food all these years, and the internal fighting has been very fierce, which has greatly weakened Xiliang's strength.

Li Gui turned a blind eye to the internal chaos in Xiliang Kingdom. His confidant, Liang Shuo, was strategic and upright, and he ignored Li Zhongyan's advice to take back Li Zhongyan's military power and stop his brothers from fighting each other.Li Zhongyan held a grudge because of this, and soon Liang Shuo saw that the Hu people who moved from the Western Regions were prosperous and gradually overwhelmed the Han people. Li Gui murdered Liang Shuo in his family with poison. As a result, the old man gradually became suspicious and fearful, and was no longer used by Li Gui.

"Brother Wang's words are wrong. This is the blessing of the jade girl of the Nine Heavens! It is because of the sincerity of the father, what has it to do with the sky?" The second son Jin Wang Li Zhongyan said unwillingly to show weakness.

"Haha! What Zhong Yan said is very true." Li Gui laughed heartily and praised his second son.

Li Gui's beliefs are very strange. He doesn't believe in Buddhism or faith, but believes in jade girls.As early as two years ago, Wu Wu once said to him that "the emperor of heaven will send a jade girl to descend from the sky".So he recruited soldiers to build towers to wait for the arrival of the jade girl. He spent a lot of money, so that when the year of famine came, people could eat people. Hearing the words of the second son now, it was as if he had taken a panacea, and his spirits glowed.

"Father, although Yang Tong was defeated, the Sui army retreated into Wuwei County with the majesty of Ye Huda Khan. But our Great Liang was weak after all. If the Sui army invaded again, our Great Liang would still face many difficulties. Great Liang needs to rely heavily on the Western Turks, and I think that it is reasonable to send someone with a high position to reward the friendly army, to win the goodwill of Tongye Huda Khan and his generals, and to gain their long-term support. I believe that as long as we Overcoming the present difficulties and sticking to the faith of revival, you will definitely regain your spirits." Li Boyu bowed to Li Gui, and then said: "My son is the Prince of Great Liang, his status is only under the father, and his son will come forward. If you do so, you can show your sincerity without falling into my majesty."

When Li Gui heard this, he was immediately moved.

Showing off is the characteristic of the superior.When they face difficulties, they can ask their grandparents for help like grandchildren, but once the difficulties are over, this kind of superior temperament will emerge unconsciously. It is especially strong on those in high positions.In fact, hidden behind the lofty arrogance is a lack of confidence in one's own origin, and perhaps a trace of inferiority complex.

Li Zhongyan knew that the big brother's real intention was not to cool the majesty, but to win the opportunity to contact the Western Turkic Khan. When he saw that his father was very tempted, he secretly called 'no', and quickly said: "Brother, this is not right. .”

"What's wrong?" Li Boyu said with deep disdain.

"The Turkic people have always raised their troops by plundering. They have traveled thousands of miles across the wilderness. They are best at cavalry battles across thousands of miles, but they are not good at fortified battles. Once the Sui army gathers heavy troops to guard the Yanzhi Pass, the Turkic people will not be able to fight no matter how many troops they have. Go in, and as time goes on, the Turkic people will inevitably retreat to the grassland. If the Turkic people return without success, Great Liang will face a powerful Sui Dynasty independently. Our Great Liang is now weak and unable to withstand the strong conquest of the Sui army. The army of the Sui Dynasty left and returned at this time, and there is no way for me to survive in Great Liang." Li Zhongyan took a breath, looked at Li Gui in front of him, and said solemnly: "Father, the only thing we can do is to keep the Turkic people and let them help Daliang survive. In the most difficult period, the foundation of Great Liang can be preserved. Although the eldest brother is the prince of Great Liang, his status is not equal to that of Tong Yehu Khan. The father personally went out to show the courage and sincerity of our Great Liang, so that we can ensure that the Turks will do their best to fight and help our Great Liang to tide over the difficulties."

"Subsidiary"

"Subsidiary"

Hearing this, Li Zhongyan also supported him one after another.

"Great Liang needs Turkic people so much at this time, stupid arrogance will only harm Great Liang." Li Zhongyan finally said loudly.

Li Boyu was about to speak, but Li Gui stopped him with a wave. After a long silence, Li Gui said in a deep voice, "The king of Jin said that this is not the time to be arrogant. In order to show sincerity, my father and son should go to Zhangye together to reward the friendly army. "

"Father is wise!" Li Zhongyan praised loudly.

. . . .

At this time, to the west of Yumen City, on the east bank of the Shule Shuidu Bridge, there is a hill. This hill named Shule Mountain is not steep at all. It is Jinchang City, and Shule Mountain is on the only way to Jinchang City. For Dunhuang County, the geographical location of this hill is extremely important.

At this time, Yumen City had been defrauded by the army of the Sui Dynasty. Li Mao and other guards were all slaughtered. The ordinary soldiers gave up their power and surrendered without much resistance. There was almost no fierce battle broke out during the whole process.

The reason for such victory is that ordinary soldiers were not only disloyal to Li Gui, but also had deep hatred. The reason for this was that Li Gui took serious precautions against the Sui army in Wuwei County, forced the people to build fortifications, and because of the lack of food, The second aspect of excessive expropriation is due to the intrusion of Wuwei's espionage, a large amount of publicity, "Open the door to welcome the King of Sui and Qin. When the King of Qin comes, he will not rob the grain, beat the local tyrants and divide the land equally, and the serfs stand up and sing." For a long time, the soldiers had a deep yearning for the Sui Dynasty.

After taking down Yumen City almost without a fight, Wei Yunqi asked Du Ruhui to send a letter to Li Gui by imitating Li Mao's handwriting.

Then Wang Fubao, Su Dingfang, Niu Jinda, and Xue Wanjun were sent to lurk in the jungle of Shule Mountain with [-] each.

Regarding Wei Yunqi's act of killing a chicken with a butcher's knife, the four generals were a little bit dumbfounded, so the order had been issued, and the four generals would naturally go all out to carry it out. Besides, this battle not only related to the overall situation, but also related to Yang Yu and Xi Jinping. The battle for the main force of the Turks cannot allow the four generals to be careless.

"Deputy Marshal, do you think this Li Gui will come?" Niu Jinda looked at Wang Fubao, who was carefully watching the map, and asked with cupped fists.

Wang Fubao said: "Didn't General Su already say so? If he doesn't come, he will attack."

Niu Jinda choked hard, but he couldn't say anything.Officially, the other party is the deputy commander-in-chief; privately, the other party is Dou Xianniang's uncle, and now Dou Xianniang is married to his good brother Luo Shixin, so Wang Fubao is his elder.

"Does General Wang understand Li Gui?" Su Dingfang asked with a smile.

Wang Fubao smiled and said: "When I was still the county guard in Lingwu, I sent someone to know about Li Gui's old background, so I knew him better. It was less than three years since he started the army, and he was taken away by us in the Sui Dynasty. After that, the situation in the counties took a turn for the worse, and they never returned to the pre-war level. Apart from the bitter cold in Liangzhou, they did not have the conditions to become kings and hegemony. Lost due vigilance, firstly unable to judge the situation and deal with internal and external relations, secondly unable to distinguish right from wrong and kill Zhongliang in vain. He even lacked the courage and courage, because Cao Zhen and others forced him to take over the position even when he started an incident. How can a person be able to accomplish great things?"

"At the time of its heyday, he didn't want to join forces with Xue Ju to deal with the mighty Li Yuan. Instead, he entrapped Xue Ju from behind for a momentary advantage. He would not hesitate to go all the way to see Tong Yehu as a 'king', when he thought that Tong Yehu was really coming, he would definitely be grateful for Dade's visit." Xue Wanjun on the side concluded.

"He still has [-] elite troops composed of Hu people, Tuyuhun people, and Qiang people from the Western Regions in his hands. The combat power is quite good. Be careful everyone." Wang Fubao reminded.

"Does General Wang think these 5000 people will come?" Niu Jinda asked.

"He will come, because he is afraid of death!"

(End of this chapter)