Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 25 Destroying Wu Zhou (1)
6
Liu Wuzhou was originally from Jingcheng, Hejian. When he was young, he "associated with heroes and was brave and good at shooting." Once, to avenge a friend, he fought with someone and was covered in wounds. When he returned home, his brother Liu Shanbo saw him and scolded him, saying: " If you make friends so promiscuously, your family will definitely be hurt in the future." Liu Wuzhou went out angrily.Because of his martial arts skills, Wang Rengong, the prefect of Mayi, soon respected him and let him live in his home.As a result, Liu Wuzhou had an affair with Wang Rengong's servant, and because he was worried that the matter would be revealed, he planned to assassinate Wang Rengong and became Mayi prefect himself.

After Li Yuan raised his troops, he was busy westward in Chang'an, and could not take care of Liu Wuzhou's affairs. However, he was still worried that Liu Wuzhou would collude with the Turks to invade Taiyuan. Liu Wuzhou attacked secretly.After Liu Wuzhou raised his army in Mayi, although he didn't attack Taiyuan directly, he also went around to fight in the towns of the Sui Dynasty, and he won consecutive victories.After he captured Dingxiang County, he returned to Mayi and established himself as emperor, with his wife Ju as queen and Jianyuan as "Tianxing".At this time, Song Jingang led 4000 people to seek refuge. Liu Wuzhou was overjoyed to see him, and named Song Jingang the King of Song, entrusting him with important military tasks.

Song Jingang was originally a local armed force in Yizhou, Hebei. Because he was defeated by Dou Jiande, he had no choice but to join Liu Wuzhou.The two cherished each other, Song Jingang saw that Liu Wuzhou used him so much, and he also fell in love with him in return.First, he divorced his original wife and took Liu Wuzhou's sister as the princess, and then persuaded Liu Wuzhou to attack Taiyuan south and compete with Li Yuan for the world.Liu Wuzhou was naturally overjoyed, and immediately appointed Song Jingang as the Daxingtai of the Southwest Road, led [-] elite soldiers, and stationed in Huangsheling, intending to capture Taiyuan.

Huangsheling is the barrier to the north of Taiyuan, and it is only a short distance away from Taiyuan.Li Yuanji, who was guarding Taiyuan, saw that Song Jingang led [-] elite soldiers to Huangsheling, and hurriedly ordered General Zhang Da to defend against the enemy.The two armies met and immediately went to war.Song Jingang was extremely brave, and with the help of Turkic soldiers, Zhang Da's entire army was wiped out within a short period of time.Song Jingang took advantage of the situation and went south, captured Yuci, trapped Guzhou, captured Pingyao, and surrounded Taiyuan.Li Yuanji, who was in charge of guarding Taiyuan, escaped from Taiyuan at night, came to Chang'an, and reported the battle situation to Li Yuan.Before dawn, Li Yuan sent Zuo Wuwei General Jiang Baoyi and Taichang Shaoqing Li Zhongwen to fight, but the whole army was destroyed again.Li Yuan was in a hurry, so he had to send his right servant, Pei Ji, as the general manager of the Jinyang Road, to attack Liu Wuzhou.When Pei Ji arrived in Jiezhou, he had just set up camp when Song Jingang cut off the water source and suddenly attacked him.The Tang army was hungry and tired, and had no intention of fighting. As soon as the two armies came into contact, they were defeated and fled, and they retreated to the city of Taiyuan.Song Jingang occupied the entire area of ​​Shanxi except Taiyuan and Xihe, and soon captured Taiyuan, and then captured Yicheng and Jiangxian, and forced Pei Ji to small places like Qinzhou and Yuzhou in the southwestern part of Shanxi.

Bad news came one by one, and Li Yuan was terrified when he heard it.Liu Wuzhou's attack alone already made him very worried.At this time, news came that Xiao Xian sent troops up the river in an attempt to capture Xiazhou, Ba, Shu and other places in the Tang Dynasty, and he was even more shocked.He knew in his heart that if the matter continued to develop, it would mean that there might be problems with his throne, so he decreed:

"The thieves are so powerful, it is difficult to compete with them. It is better to abandon the east of the river and stick to the Guanxi."

Just as the handbook was about to be issued, Li Shimin defeated Xue Ju, led the victorious army, and returned triumphantly from the front line in Longyou.Hearing this, Li Shimin was shocked and hurriedly summoned his officials to discuss.Du Ruhui said: "Taiyuan is the foundation of the king and the foundation of the country; the east of the river is rich and supplies the supplies needed by the capital. If they all give up, it will be a huge loss for the Tang Dynasty. If they want to regain it in the future, Easier said than done!"

After hearing this, everyone had the same opinion.Li Shimin listened, and finally turned his gaze to Fang Xuanling.Fang Xuanling met Li Shimin's gaze calmly, and said: "For the current plan, only the king of Qin should go to the emperor and invite Liu Wuzhou to fight, that is the only sure way."

Li Shimin shook his head helplessly, and said: "All the generals and soldiers have just gone through a life-and-death decisive battle, and they haven't had a moment's rest yet, yet they are going to the battlefield again. Oh, it's really hard for you!"

"Serving the country is a matter of course for soldiers. Why did the marshal mention hard work?" Hou Junji said.

After hearing this, all the generals said unanimously: "Marshal, please go to the emperor quickly, please fight Liu Wuzhou, let us make great achievements again!" Li Shimin bowed his hands, thanked the generals, came to the main hall, and asked Li Yuan: "I heard that the father wanted to give up the river east. this area?"

Li Yuan nodded and said: "Liu Wuzhou rebelled and led his troops to the south. Li Yuanji and Pei Ji were invincible. Now, Jinzhou and other places have fallen, and Liu Wuzhou is aggressively attacking the Hedong area. What's more, Xiao Xian is also taking advantage of the situation. Going up the river, I want to take my Xiazhou, Ba, Shu and other places. Therefore, now I have to give up this small area of ​​​​Hedong, so that I can divide my troops to fight against Xiao Xian, so as to ensure the comfort of my Tang Dynasty."

Li Shimin shook his head again and again after hearing this, and said: "Hedong is a land of wealth and prosperity, and it is also an important support for the capital. It is also the place where my father and emperor raised troops. It is the foundation of my Tang Dynasty. If the east of the river is lost, people will panic, and the impact will be too great. We No matter how difficult it is for Datang to be at ease. For this reason, Hedong must not give up."

"The battle is unfavorable, and you can't give up. What can I do?" Li Yuan blurted out, worried.

"Haier is willing to lead a victorious army to fight against Liu Wuzhou again and take back the land they occupied. As for Xiao Mian, it's not worth mentioning. I can let Li Jing lead the army to fight, and ensure that Xiazhou, Ba, Shu and other places are safe."

"Li Jing?" Li Yuan asked, "Did he perform impressively in the battle to eliminate Xue Rengao?"

Li Shimin shook his head and said: "There are military talents such as Du Ruhui in front of my boy's tent, so Li Jing has no special performance. It's just based on my boy's observation of him that he is indeed a military talent. If he can make him stand alone, he will definitely be able to do it." Make a difference."

"Heroes cherish heroes. I believe in my son's eyesight." Li Yuan said, "I called Li Jing here and ordered him to go to Xiazhou to fight against Xiao Mian together with Governor Xu Shao."

"This is a very good move. My child believes that in this way, both Hedong and Xiazhou will be safe. Liu Wuzhou and Xiao Xian will not be rampant for long."

After hearing this, Li Yuan turned his worries into joy.After sending Li Jing to Xiazhou, he came to Dahuayin in person to see off Generalissimo Li Shimin in the Changchun Palace.

6
Surprised that the quilt is cold and the pillow is cold, and the window is bright again.The time is short and the knowledge is heavy, and the sound of the golden drum has been heard.Meeting briefly, and parting in a blink of an eye, Mrs. Changsun stretched out her jade arms and hugged Li Shimin tightly. A face of rain and peach blossoms was pressed against his broad chest, and she couldn't bear to let go for a long time.However, everything is expected, a woman from the Duke's family, a woman from the Emperor's family, that's all there is to it!How can we enjoy the reunion of common people's women?

"May you go in a hurry and plant flags everywhere." Changsun muttered to himself, let go of his hands, and pushed Li Shimin out.Li Shimin finally went, he seemed to see the tears in the corners of her eyes dimly, and clearly thought of her words of blessing. "Thinking of the king makes people grow old, and the days of their clothes have slowed down. I hope that when the king returns, the world will enjoy peace from now on." Li Shimin couldn't help but want to turn back, but finally held back.

He couldn't look back, and he didn't dare to look back, he was afraid that he would turn around again when he saw Changsun's dewy face.In this way, he kept walking, and he walked in front of his generals, and in front of [-] soldiers ready to go.Surrounded by Mu Liao and the generals, the young Li Shimin led them, facing the bitter cold wind, to the north.

In winter in the north, the eyes are full of yellow desert and deserted land and sky.The branches stood upright in the cold wind, and the mountain spring choked up the sound.This long team ran quickly in the cold weather until they reached the bank of the Yellow River.The formerly surging Yellow River is now lying quietly like a bright mirror, and the milky yellow smooth surface hides the blue cold sky like a dream.Li Shimin stayed on the bank of the Yellow River for a long time, raised his whip, and galloped his horse across the thick ice without any cracks.The cold air hit people, and the war horses kept pawing their hooves and neighing, but Li Shimin's heart was very warm.

"It's God helping us." Li Shimin shouted excitedly: "Cross the river on the ice and seize the opposite river wall!"

Following Li Shimin's order, thousands of troops marched across the ice, and the entire Yellow River was shaken.

Li Shimin watched the troops board the Baibi, feeling extremely proud.He believes that: Liu Wuzhou occupied Taiyuan, Song Jingang's lonely army went deep, and the army had no reserves, so it was beneficial to fight quickly; , and then attack, you will win a big victory.Thinking of this, Li Shimin ordered the troops to set up camp.At this moment, Song Jingang, Liu Wuzhou's general, led [-] elite troops to attack Baibi.It's a pity that it was a step too late, the shrewd Li Shimin had already arranged the archers properly, and the arrows like a shower blocked Song Jingang's troops who rushed like hungry wolves.These elites who had repeatedly defeated Li Yuanji and Pei Ji within a month now met the young Marshal Li Shimin.Song Jingang's wolf-like teachers fell down one by one screaming under the rain of arrows.Generals capable of fighting since ancient times cherished the lives of their soldiers, and Song Jingang was no exception.He couldn't bear the innocent sacrifice of his subordinates, so he ordered to stop the attack, and built a camp in front of Baibi.

When the two armies confronted each other, Li Shimin, regardless of the tiredness of the pommel horse along the way, immediately summoned his ministers in the big tent to discuss countermeasures.

"Right now, King Kong of the Song Dynasty is strong and strong, and his morale is high because of repeated victories. I will use the tactics of fortifying the wall to confront him. As long as we can't hold on, when the enemy's vigor is declining and the food and grass are getting worse, we will wait for the opportunity to move , will win the army of Liu Wu and Zhou in one battle."

"It's just that our army's food and grass are not abundant. How can our army support it if we continue to fight for a long time?" Yin Kaishan asked worriedly.

"The matter of food and grass can be collected and distributed locally." Du Ruhui replied.

"It's just that the grain and grass in the nearby counties have already been plundered by Liu Wuzhou's army. The people are panicking and fleeing in all directions. We fear that it will be difficult for us to get any more grain and grass."

"We can stabilize the people first, and then collect food." Du Ruhui said confidently: "As long as we issue a notice to make the people safe, the people can live in peace, and they will definitely come to join us. When the time comes, we can collect food at the market price, and we can guarantee military supplies."

"The opinion of joining the army is exactly what I want." Li Shimin said: "He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. The order continues, our army of the Tang Dynasty must not harass the people. For matters of peace, please join the army and Fang Xuanling to handle it together. Yin Yin Kaishan, Hou Junji and I are in charge of important military affairs at the same time, and the rest of the generals, each performing their duties, must not make any mistakes."

After Li Shimin finished speaking, he was about to order everyone to leave when Du Ruhui said again: "King Qin, I still have something to report."

"Sir, please."

"Now that the enemy and the enemy are facing each other, food is the key to victory or defeat. Therefore, I have another suggestion. While buying food for the people, our army should also send capable generals to go from Xizhou to Haozhou and detour behind Song Jingang's rear , Cut off his supply road. In this way, Song Jingang’s supply will be exhausted, and our army will take advantage of the situation to launch an attack, and we will definitely defeat Song Jingang under Baibi.”

Li Shimin's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he praised: "Mr.'s plan is really clever. It's just that the journey to Haozhou is difficult and dangerous..." At this point, Shimin looked around at his general, asked:
"Who wants to go?"

"The last general will go." As soon as Shimin's words fell, Liu Hongji stepped forward to answer.

Li Shimin saw him, looked at Liu Hongji, nodded happily and said, "Okay! You can go and pick two thousand elite soldiers who can make one of them ten, go to Haozhou quickly, and cut off Song Jingang's food supply."

"Obey!" Liu Hongji said loudly.

"Okay! Okay! Let's all do our own thing." After Li Shimin finished speaking, he watched everyone leave one by one, went into the inner room, and fell asleep.For a moment, fall asleep.

6
When Li Shimin woke up, it was midnight.The cold moonlight poured in from outside the tent, and the candles in the tent seemed very faint.Faintly, Li Shimin saw a person standing outside the house and asked loudly:

"who is it?"

"Me." Chang Shi Qu Tutong replied in a low voice, and Li Shimin immediately understood in his heart: it was only because he snored and fell asleep that Qu Tutong could not sleep peacefully all night. His heart moved and he looked at Qu Tutong gratefully.

Qu Tutong's ancestors were Kumo Xizhong, and his father was Qu Tu Changqing, who was the governor of Qiongzhou in the Northern Zhou Dynasty.Qu Tutong himself was "resolute in nature, loyal in aspirations, upright in his body, good at martial arts, good at riding and shooting," and was once highly appreciated by Emperor Sui Yang.Although Li Yuan is an enemy, Li Yuan respects him well.After capturing Chang'an, he sent his family boy to surrender.Qu Tutong killed the family boy and built a village to defend himself.

Li Shimin felt Qu Tutong's loyalty and sent his son Qu Tushou to persuade him.But Qu Tutong pointed at his son and cursed: "I used to be father and son with you, but now I am enemy with you."

Although Qu Tutong could kill the family boy for the Sui Emperor and break away from the relationship between father and son, but in the end he had to surrender to Li Yuan for the sake of thousands of people in the village.Before surrendering, Qu Tutong knelt down to Dongdu, where Emperor Sui Yang lived at that time, and wept and said: "The minister's strength is defeated by the army, and he will live up to your majesty. The gods of heaven and earth have observed it."

After arriving in Chang'an, Li Yuan met him politely and asked him, "Why did we meet so late! I really wanted to meet you earlier."

Qu Tutong cried: "I, Qu Tutong, can't do my best as a minister. I really have no strength to resist you, so I have to surrender. This is an insult to the Sui Dynasty. I really feel sorry for the emperor!"

After hearing this, Li Yuan not only did not blame him, but also praised him for his actions against him, calling him "a loyal minister of the Sui Dynasty".Therefore, Qu Tutong was granted the Minister of the Ministry of War, named Jiang Guogong, and was the commander-in-chief of the Qin King Li Shimin's marching army.Qu Tutong was still a man of temperament, although he surrendered to Li Yuan, he was determined to die, so in words, he was only loyal to the Sui Dynasty.Who knows that Li Yuan not only didn't blame him, but treated him so kindly. In order to repay Li Yuan's great kindness, Qu Tutong took the initiative to go to Hedong City to recruit Yao Junsu, and said to Yao Junsu:

"My army has been defeated. Wherever the Li family's army goes, the people will not fail to respond enthusiastically. The general situation is such that you should surrender earlier."

When Xue Rengao's army was defeated in Qianshuiyuan, Qu Tutong first urged Li Shimin not to take risks with Qingqi, and then followed Li Shimin into the city first.In the Qin Palace at that time, treasures were piled up like a mountain, and many generals were vying to seize them, but Qu Tu Tongqiu did not commit any crimes.Seeing this, Li Shimin trusted Qu Tutong even more.Since then, I have always kept Qu Tutong by my side, and seeing him being so responsible to me now, I like him from the bottom of my heart, and said to Qu Tutong:

"Go and rest, too."

Qu Tutong shook his head and said, "I'm not tired. I've been fighting for a lifetime. I'm used to it. It's not a problem if I don't sleep for three days."

"In this case, we might as well go out and visit the enemy's situation."

"Okay, I'm going to arrange the troops now."

"No, just call me the eighty guards in front of the tent."

Qu Tutong nodded, and after a while he called for guards, taking advantage of the beautiful moonlight, everyone got on their horses and galloped towards the enemy camp.When they arrived on a small hill, they could see three camps in front of them. Li Shimin rode his horse and was about to move forward, but Qu Tutong grabbed Ma Zang and said, "Wait for me to go, the marshal is here to watch."

Li Shimin thought for a while, and said to the guards beside him: "You guys go, come back here to meet up after you figure out the situation."

All the guards galloped forward, Li Shimin and Qu Tutong detoured to another higher hillside.As he was looking around, he suddenly saw eight hundred guards fighting fiercely with a group of Song Jingang's cavalry not far away.Li Shimin was a little surprised when he heard Qu Tutong say:

"Look, Marshal."

Following Qu Tutong's finger, he saw Song Jingang's other team of cavalry riding their horses towards them.

"There are also in the back." Qu Tutong said.

Li Shimin and Qu Tutong are both people who have experienced life and death difficulties many times. After they figured out the situation, they were not in a hurry.The two looked at each other, Li Shimin turned his head again, and there was indeed a pair of cavalry approaching from behind.

It turned out that Song Jingang was already full of spies outside Li Shimin's camp, and whenever there was a situation, Song Jingang would be reported.Li Shimin's whereabouts when he left the camp was known by a secret agent, and he sent two army leaders each with hundreds of fine horses to surround Li Shimin, trying to catch him.

Qu Tutong said to Li Shimin: "Marshal, it seems that the only way to get out of the siege is. Marshal, please follow me closely. I will protect him and kill him!"

After hearing this, Li Shimin smiled and said, "To capture the thief, we must first capture the king. We will shoot the leader first, and it will be easier to break through."

Qu Tutong nodded, calmly took down the longbow behind him, and drew out a carved arrow with long feathers from the quiver, aiming at the soldier's head in red armor, bent the bow and set the arrow, and was about to shoot.I saw that soldier suddenly dodge, and behind him, three more soldiers in red armor rushed out.

Unexpectedly, there were so many enemies who came to sneak attack this time. Qu Tutong, who had never blinked after a long bloody battle, also had a layer of cold sweat on his forehead.

6
Just when Qu Tutong was startled, he heard three swishing sounds in his ears, and the three soldiers in front fell down one by one.Excited, Qu Tutong also released an arrow, shooting down the army leader who appeared first.He stopped, praised Li Shimin and said:
"Marshal really got the true biography of the emperor, and the magic arrow."

It turns out that Li Yuan was known as the magic arrow in the Sui Dynasty.Li Shimin's mother, Dou Shi, was deeply valued by her parents Dou Yi and Princess Peiyang, and believed that "this girl is extremely talented and beautiful, so she should not be arrogant to others, but she should be a virtuous husband." As a result, she passed a very strict "martial arts competition". "Recruiting relatives" and chose Li Yuan as "Cheng Long Kuai Son-in-Law".At that time, Li Yuan was not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also far ahead of the heroes with his magic arrows.At that time, this matter was widely circulated as a good story.As a minister of the Sui Dynasty, Qu Tutong was very aware of this matter, but he never dreamed that Li Shimin's archery skills were not inferior to his father Li Yuan in the slightest, so he couldn't help but admire Li Shimin even more.

The two men shot down the four army leaders without missing a shot, and the rest of the cavalry were shocked when they saw it, and they didn't dare to take half a step forward.Li Shimin and Qu Tutong took advantage of the panic of the enemy, whipped their horses and galloped back to the camp.After this thrilling adventure, Li Shimin strengthened his determination not to fight.On the one hand, he ordered the soldiers not to fight, and on the other hand, he reported the situation to Li Yuan in detail.

Li Yuan knew that Song Jingang was powerful, and in order to assist Li Shimin in defeating Song Jingang, he sent Yongan Wang Li Xiaoji, Shanzhou Governor Yu Yun, Minister of Industry Dugu Huai'en, Internal History Minister Tang Jian, etc. to attack Xia County, in order to contain Song King Kong.Sure enough, Song Jingang learned that Tang soldiers were besieging Xia County, so he sent the most powerful cavalry general Yuchi Jingde and Xunxiang to reinforce.

Yuchi Jingde, whose real name is Yuchi Gong, style name Jingde, was born in Shanyang, Shuozhou, with a face like black charcoal.Liu Wuzhou respected his bravery and recruited Luo as a general in front of the account.After receiving Song Jingang's order, Yuchi Jingde and Xun Xiang led the troops to rush forward, and at the same time sent Kuaiqi to report to Xia County, asking them to cooperate with the Tang army.

(End of this chapter)