Chapter 36 6. The Battle of Hulao Pass: Capture the Double Kings in One Battle

There are many similarities between the end of the Sui Dynasty and the end of the Han Dynasty, the most prominent being the three-legged confrontation.At the end of the Han Dynasty, Wei, Shu, and Wu realized their unification after a long-term struggle.However, at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the tripartite confrontation of Tang, Zheng, and Xia lasted only a few years, and the pattern was changed.The person who caused this change in the situation was Li Shimin. Because of his outstanding military skills, the pace of unifying the world in the early Tang Dynasty was extremely fast.Among them, the most admirable one is the Battle of Hulao Pass.Not only because in this battle, Li Shimin defeated 100,000 enemy troops with more than 3,000 cavalry, but also because in this battle, Li Shimin achieved the result of capturing the two kings very efficiently in the first battle, allowing the two regimes confronting Tang to be destroyed at the same time. .

After experiencing Wang Shichong's strength, Li Shimin began his most careful and persistent thinking.He was constantly looking for Wang Shichong's flaws, hoping to break through as soon as possible, but it took several months to fail.Tang Jun has been surrounded outside Luoyang city like this, watching the stubborn Luoyang starve to death, but Wang Shichong still didn't move at all.For this opponent, Li Shimin suddenly felt a sense of heroic sympathy, and said to Liu Hongji: "Now Luoyang has run out of food, but the people and the army are still in order. There are no riots or surrenders. It can be seen that Wang Shichong ruled the army. It is a pity that such talents cannot be used by me!"

Liu Hongji said: "Marshal, don't worry. We have been besieging Luoyang for eight months now. According to reports, there are not many people left in Luoyang. I believe it will not be long before Luoyang will become an empty city. By then , Wang Shichong must be within reach." Li Shimin smiled wryly and said, "Do you think Luoyang is the only one that is uncomfortable? We have been here for so long, and the soldiers are exhausted and tired of fighting. If this continues, I'm afraid there will be problems in the barracks." Just as he was talking, Qin Shubao hurried in from outside the camp and said to Li Shimin: "Marshal, now the soldiers in the camp are clamoring for the commander to return to the court. Everyone has been away from home for too long and misses their hometown. They say they want to ask the marshal to order an attack." City, seize Luoyang as soon as possible, and classify as soon as possible!"

Li Shimin said: "In the current situation, the strength of the two armies is equal. It depends on whether Wang Shichong or I have strict discipline in the army and who can survive until the last moment. At this time, Wang Shichong will definitely find the weakness of our army. If the order continues, who dares to fight?" Besides, class teacher, I will definitely kill you!" When Li Shimin had to use power to suppress the restless military spirit of the soldiers, a piece of news that was very unfavorable to the Tang army came: After Xia Wang Dou Jiande defeated Meng Haigong, he received Wang Shichong's call for help and wanted to lead 100,000 troops to Luoyang for rescue. , Together against the Tang army.

When this news came out, Tang Ying, who was already impetuous, immediately seemed to be boiling.The generals headed by Qu Tutong rushed into Li Shimin's camp and begged: "Marshal, we are now under enemy fire, and the soldiers are exhausted, so retreat quickly!" Li Shimin glanced at Qu Tutong, but did not speak.As a famous general of the Tang Army, Qu Tutong was very prestigious in the barracks. Now he stood up and said "retreat", which shows that many generals hoped so.And those people who didn't dare to speak out all stood by Qu Tutong's side one after another, urging Li Shimin to retreat.

But all this is not the result Li Shimin wanted.He asked Qin Shubao: "what do you think we should do now?" Qin Shubao said: "Wang Shichong can't hold out in Luoyang City. We have been besieged for so long. It seems that we can't take it for a while. And Dou Jiande just won the battle with Meng Haigong, and this time he came with vigor. , our army is now besieged among them, just like what General Qu said, we are facing enemies from both sides. So..." Li Shimin said: "Do you also think we should withdraw our troops to avoid Dou Jiande's sharp edge?"

Qin Shubao said: "Yes! Heroes put knowledge of current affairs first, Marshal, please think twice!" Li Shimin asked: "Who else has a different opinion?" "I think we can't retreat now." Suddenly, the general Guo Xiaoke who was standing on the left side of the tent said in a low voice.Upon hearing this, Li Shimin smiled and asked him, "Why can't we retreat now?" Guo Xiaoke withstood the dissatisfied eyes of Qu Tutong and others, and stepped forward and said: "Now Wang Shichong's subordinates in Luoyang City are all elites who are good at fighting. Once Xia Jun joins them, they will definitely counterattack with all their strength, and by that time, if we want to fight again, I am afraid it will not be easy for us to win."

Li Shimin nodded and said affirmatively: "You are right! Once Wang Shichong stands up again, who in the camp can be sure to defeat him again? If they join forces, the great cause of reunification will be far away!" After hearing Guo Xiaoke's analysis and seeing Li Shimin's resolute attitude, the generals didn't dare to say anything.Li Shimin went on to say: "Now, Wang Shichong is about to be defeated by us, and Dou Jiande is here again at this time. I don't think it's an enemy, but I think it's God giving us a chance, so that Datang can double them down! How could I miss this great opportunity!"

Everyone was infected by Li Shimin's arrogance, and couldn't help but feel excited.Qu Tutong asked, "What good plan does the marshal have?" Li Shimin said: "The first thing we need to confirm is that Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong cannot meet. So now our army has two tasks. One is to continue to besiege Luoyang, so that Wang Shichong will not have a chance to breathe; secondly, Intercept Dou Jiande so that he cannot reach Luoyang. The focus now is not Luoyang, but Dou Jiande." Seeing that everyone seemed to have doubts about this proposal, Li Shimin went on to explain: "Although Luoyang's city defenses are strong and difficult to attack, after the siege of these months, Wang Shichong has exhausted his troops and food, and he is centrifugal. Therefore, we don't have to Hurry up and attack, just sit here and wait, and you can subdue him."

Qu Tutong said: "But now, Dou Jiande has just won the victory, and he has personally led an army of 100,000. Our army's infantry and cavalry combined are only 50,000. And because of the long-distance stationing, they are already exhausted. The marshal should not only see Wang Shichong's troops are exhausted, and our army's situation is already on the verge of this." Li Shimin said: "Although Dou Jiande has newly defeated Meng Haigong and his morale is high, he cannot ignore their pride and exhaustion. Besides, they have traveled a long way and come from afar. It is not easy to get it as soon as possible. Now, whether we want to hold on to the resistance or want to fight quickly, we have advantages. If the two parties meet, they will be stronger, and that is what we really need to worry about.”

Qu Tutong wanted to say something more, but Li Shimin said firmly: "I have made up my mind, you don't need to persuade everyone! From now on, Qu Tutong and Qin Shubao will continue to besiege Luoyang with their troops. Reject Dou Jiande!" After some deployment, Li Shimin led 3,500 light cavalry and quickly came to Hulao Pass, the place Dou Jiande must pass to Luoyang. It was a decisive battle with the most disparity in military strength that Li Shimin had experienced, but Li Shimin, who was already well prepared, was still full of confidence. Not long after Li Shimin arrived at Hulao Pass, Dou Jiande's army arrived.The two sides set up camp and stared at each other.Li Shimin saw that Dou Jiande's army was well-organized and his morale was high, so he stayed behind closed doors, no matter how they yelled and scolded him, he refused to fight.He said to Guo Xiaoke: "Now is not the best time for us. When they get tired of scolding, we will go out to fight again." Guo Xiaoke said: "There is a huge disparity in the strength of the two sides. What should we do next?" Li Shimin said: "We only have more than 3,000 people now, but there is no need to be afraid. The most important thing in a war is the morale of the army. We may not be able to kill many enemies, but as long as we disturb their morale, we can win. Just wait for me arrange it!" Xia Jun yelled and scolded all day, but Tang Jun couldn't get out. By the afternoon, Xia Jun became tired and relaxed his vigilance.Li Shimin said to Guo Xiaoke: "Our chance has come! Now, you lead three hundred troops to the front of the formation to lure the enemy. People don't need to kill the enemy, they just need to drive them away, and then keep planting the flag of Tang Dynasty along the way, approaching the camp of Dou Jiande's commander. Dou Jiande must not have expected our army to attack suddenly, and Go straight to the commander's camp. At that time, Xia's army will be in chaos, and Dou Jiande will be captured alive!" Everyone acted according to the plan, Guo Xiaoke led 300 cavalry, which attracted the generals of the Xia army to come out of the camp to pursue and kill them.Li Shimin took the opportunity to lead his troops into the enemy's camp, taking advantage of the cavalry, and pierced Dou Jiande's camp like a sharp knife.While Xia Jun was still in a daze, Li Shimin had already reached Dou Jiande's tent.In the chaos, the banner of the Tang army was unfurled, and the follow-up troops of the Xia camp entered without knowing it, thinking that the front was occupied by the Tang army, and with the retreating soldiers fleeing like a tide, the Xia army was in a state of chaos. Li Shimin's quick battle strategy cut off the Xia army's command in the shortest possible time, and used methods such as planting the Tang army's banner and dispersing the enemy army to arouse the enemy's panic, making them unable to distinguish in panic.Dou Jiande, who was discussing with the generals, found that his army was in chaos before he had time to react.In this battle, only 3,000 Xia's troops were actually beheaded by the Tang army, while more than 50,000 surrendered, and tens of thousands of others fled in panic.It can be said that Xia Jun was not defeated, but completely disrupted and defeated. After Dou Jiande's defeat, Wang Shichong lamented that the situation was over.Li Shimin not only won more with less, but also used the method of besieging Luoyang and attacking reinforcements to kill two birds with one stone, and defeated the Zheng and Xia regimes at one time.After several months of confrontation with Wang Shichong, Li Shimin's own situation was not ideal, but he was still able to turn the tide and withstood the pressure to send troops to Hulaoguan. Judging from the exhaustion and disparity of the soldiers at the time, it was wishful thinking to win.However, through ingenious arrangements, Li Shimin created this miracle, and the Battle of Hulao Pass became a legendary work in ancient Chinese wars.