Chapter 10 10. Go Forward: Courage Makes Success

While the Sui army was vigorously suppressing rebels everywhere, some rebels were also flourishing.After Gao Shida's army was destroyed by Sui general Yang Yichen, Dou Jiande led some remnants to flee.In historical records, the only enemy Dou Jiande praised was Yang Yichen. He believed that "the only ones who are good at using soldiers in the history of the Sui Dynasty are the ears of righteous ministers."But Yang Yichen didn't care about Dou Jiande, who was weak at the time, and led the army back after killing Gao Shida.Dou Jiande took this opportunity to occupy Raoyang and was able to take a breather. After re-recruiting and incorporating the old troops, the troops began to rebuild. Three thousand people gradually developed to more than one hundred thousand people.

After regaining strength, Dou Jiande was looking for new opportunities, and it was the battle between him and Xue Shixiong that made him famous again. In the thirteenth year of Daye (617), Dou Jiande became king in Leshou, Hejian County.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty sent general Xue Shixiong to lead 30,000 elite soldiers to the south to rescue Luoyang.Xue Shixiong came all the way, and all the rebels along the way were suppressed by him. He marched to Qilijing, south of Hejian, and camped there, preparing to attack Dou Jiande there. At that time, it was the harvest season, and Dou Jiande was collecting grain everywhere. He brought his generals to the fields and worked with the people.When the news came, the soldiers were very frightened and came forward to remonstrate: "The Great Xia Kingdom has just been established, and its national strength is not yet strong. Now that Xue Shixiong has arrived in Hejian, and all the rebels along the way have been cut off, his strength should not be underestimated. Your lord should make plans early."

Dou Jiande said: "Xue Shixiong has no good intentions here, what can he do?" Pei Ju, a former minister of the Sui Dynasty, said: "I used to work with Xue Shixiong. This man was very talented and his military strategy was top-notch in the Sui army, but he was arrogant, so he was not welcomed by his peers. He subdued many rebels along the way. It can be seen that he is really extraordinary!" Song Zhengben stepped forward and said: "Why don't we avoid it first and let Xue Shixiong pass by here. Anyway, his goal is Luoyang, not us." Dou Jiande laughed, and said: "Everyone, my Great Xia Kingdom has just been established, and I have to give way to others. If this is written in the history books, it will become a joke."

Seeing Dou Jiande like this, everyone didn't know what to do, so they had to keep silent. The next day, in Xue Shixiong's tent stationed in Qilijing, someone presented a letter from Dou Jiande.Xue Shixiong opened it and couldn't help laughing.He passed it on to his two sons, Xue Wanjun and Xue Wanche. After watching it, they congratulated each other and said: "Father killed all the way, and the rebels were frightened. It seems that this Dou Jiande is also the same!" It turned out that Dou Jiande wrote to Xue Shixiong, offering to give Xue Shixiong the military rations he collected to comfort the Sui army for their hard work.Xue Shixiong said: "It seems that this Dou Jiande is not a hero, so there is no need to worry. In a few days, after collecting his rations and taking his army, we can drive straight to Luoyang."

The two brothers Xue Wanjun and Xue Wanche couldn't help being overjoyed. After a while, an army delivering food arrived outside the camp gate.Xue Shixiong ordered his two sons to receive them, and Dou Jiande also sent people to bring wine and meat to reward the Sui army. Cart after cart of grain was pulled out of the city and sent to the camp of the Sui army.Song Zheng thought that Dou Jiande had listened to his suggestion and wanted to show his favor to Xue Shixiong and seek peace.But Dou Jiande suddenly asked him: "What is the situation of the Sui army at this time?" Song Zhengben said: "Xue Shixiong has accepted all the food sent by the lord. The spies came to report today, and the Sui army is still fortified and the battle flags are flying."

Dou Jiande frowned first, thought for a while, then smiled slightly and said: "Since this is the case, then order people to choose Kabuki and send them to Xue Shixiong's tent to reward the army." The servant Kong Deshao said: "My lord has already sent enough food, and there is still a lot of wine and meat. The Sui army is eating, drinking and having fun there. It is estimated that they will leave camp and go to Luoyang in a short time. Why do you want to send more?" Dou Jiande said: "According to Xue Shixiong's temperament, he will not let Hejian go easily. If he passes by here, but still keeps the Daxia banner from falling, that's impossible."

Song Zhengben said: "Since this is the case, why don't you avoid it temporarily, but just send food, wine and meat?" Dou Jiande said: "Since he won't kill me, I have no choice but to fight back. Now you just follow my orders." In the Sui army camp, Xue Shixiong and his son discussed how to win Dou Jiande while enjoying wine and meat. Xue Wanjun said: "This rebel claims to be the King of Xia, and he is trying to claim the same title as the Three Emperors and Five Emperors. It is really arrogant. We came here according to the order, and we must wipe him out."

Xue Wanche said: "You don't have to worry about that, father naturally has plans." Xue Shixiong laughed and said: "Since he is so afraid of me, I don't have to rush to send troops. Just wait for him to sacrifice enough, and then take advantage of the situation when he breaks out of the camp and goes south. Otherwise, it is easy to kill Dou Jiande. If you want to easily It is really not an easy task to win so much food and grass." Xue Wanche said: "In the past two days, several carts of grain, grass, wine and meat have been delivered every day. The messenger said: How many carts do they still have to deliver!"

Xue Shixiong said: "It seems that the kindness is hard to turn down, so we have to accept it one by one." Several people were laughing wildly, and a report came from outside the door: Dou Jiande sent a group of kabuki to entertain the general again.Xue Shixiong was even more proud when he heard it, and ordered his subordinates to hold a big banquet, and he would not return if he was not drunk. Dou Jiande lingered in front of Hejian's map for a long time, observing his territory carefully.Every inch is hard-won, and the blood of soldiers is sprinkled, how could he have the heart to give it up to others!Just as he was thinking, Song Zhengben came in and reported: "My lord, looking at the Sui camp now, the flags are in disarray, and the guards are scattered here and there. I guess they went to drink and watch dances."

Dou Jiande turned around and said with a smile, "I wonder if the weather will change recently?" Song Zhengben couldn't figure out what he said. The next morning, just after dawn, a misty white mist really fell, covering the sky and the earth, and it was impossible to see the face of the person coming from a dozen steps away.On the road in front of the Sui camp, the sound of "squeaking" wheels came from afar, and the soldiers guarding the camp knew that this was another grain delivery vehicle.In the past few days, almost every day at this time, there will be a car bringing food, grass, wine and meat, so they don't care, they just shouted: "Who is here?" pay attention to.

The sound of the car got a little closer, and suddenly someone yelled loudly: "Soldiers, come for me!" A group of men and horses brandishing knives and guns rushed out of the thick fog and went straight to the gate of the camp.Before the Sui army had time to stop them, those people had already rushed towards the general's tent. Dou Jiande led the horse riding, waving a long spear in his hand, behind him were 280 brave and sturdy soldiers, and the sound of horseshoes awakened the sleeping Sui army.These 200 people rushed back and forth, and in a short while they rushed the Sui army to pieces, and the thick fog made them confused and didn't know where to gather. Xue Shixiong got up and saw that there were soldiers shouting and fleeing and trampling on each other everywhere. He was startled. The relaxation of vigilance over the past few days made it difficult for the soldiers to gather for a while.The death squad led by Dou Jiande rampaged in the camp, and the sound of a large number of troops shouting to kill came from outside the camp, which made people even more flustered. Xue Shixiong grabbed the staff around him and hurriedly asked: "What's going on? How many enemy troops have come?" The staff member, who was already trembling with fright, said: "There is a thick fog, and I can't see how many enemy troops are there. I heard... I heard that the food delivery people suddenly defected." Xue Shixiong said angrily: "What defection? This Dou Jiande has never surrendered at all, so he just surrendered!" While protecting the old father, Xue Wanjun and Xue Wanche asked, "Father, what should we do?" Xue Shixiong looked around. Although he had 30,000 soldiers and horses, it was already a mess.In the dense fog, Dou Jiande seemed to have galloped towards him brandishing a spear, and there was the sound of reinforcements in the distance. It seemed that he was powerless.He hastily picked up his weapon, jumped on his mount, and fled with his two sons in a panic. After a fierce battle, after the thick fog cleared, Dou Jiande assembled the army. Most of the 30,000 Sui troops were captured, and the rest fled to nowhere.Xue Shixiong and his two sons also fled, and soldiers came to report seeing them heading for Zhuojun.Dou Jiande said: "Don't chase after poor bandits. Even if Xue Shixiong escaped in this battle, he won't have much ability to come back." Sure enough, as Dou Jiande expected, after Xue Shixiong fled to Zhuojun, he was full of anger and hatred. He hated that he should not be deceived by Dou Jiande's superficial obedience.I have experienced hundreds of battles and have won hundreds of battles, but I was defeated here because of a moment of relaxation. It is really a shame in life.Thinking of this, Xue Shixiong was worried and angry. Although his two sons tried to persuade him to make a comeback, he was old and fell ill, and eventually died in Zhuojun. Li Mi, who was far away in Luoyang, couldn't help being overjoyed when he heard the news. Xue Shixiong's original goal was Luoyang, but he was defeated before he even arrived in Luoyang.Dou Jiande once again won the support of many rebels with his unexpected magical soldiers. The scattered rebels around him came to join him one after another.Since then, most of the area north of the Yellow River has become his ruling area, so Dou Jiande once despised the Li Tang Dynasty, because he had hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, and he was fully capable of confronting Li Yuan.The Daxia established by Dou Jiande also competed with the Tang established by Li Yuan and the Zhengcheng established by Wang Shichong for a certain period of time, becoming one of the biggest enemies in the early Tang Dynasty.