Chapter 40 10. Siege of Mingshui: Skillfully use the power of nature

When he went all the way from Taiyuan to Chang'an, Li Yuan probably never thought that he could pacify the whole country in such a short period of time.The downfall of various anti-kings gave the newborn Datang the most relaxed and comfortable growth environment. For all these achievements, Li Yuan should not only thank the counselors around him who gave advice, but also the brave generals who charged on the battlefield.But in his heart, he is most grateful to God for giving him a good son - Li Shimin, whose decisiveness and wisdom played a vital role in the development of the early Tang Dynasty.Every time the Tang Dynasty progresses, every critical moment that determines Tang's life and death, there will be Li Shimin.

Li Shimin himself was not without pride for such achievements. After Liu Heita rose rapidly in Hebei, he believed that a new hostile force emerged from the lands he had conquered, which was a challenge to him.Being young and energetic may not be a bad thing, Li Shimin rode his horse to Hebei, and in one go, he beat Liu Heikai, who was originally full of morale, and fled around.After several battles over two months, the two sides faced off in Mingshui.Facing the high-spirited King Qin, Liu Heitai seemed to feel that his last moment was approaching. After arranging the camp, Li Shimin went to visit his cousin Li Daozong. Although this man was young, he was extremely brave and never flinched on the battlefield.In an attack, he was shot dozens of times by archers, and he still persisted until the last moment.Li Shimin seems to see his own shadow in him, but now he is more mature and stable, and he hopes to win through wisdom instead of relying on brute force.

When Li Daozong saw Li Shimin coming in, he sat up with difficulty and saluted: "Please come to visit me, I am much better." Li Shimin patted him on the shoulder with a smile, and said: "This time when I go back, I will definitely ask for credit for you in front of the emperor." Li Daozong said: "I don't seek meritorious service, but I only seek to put down the rebellion as soon as possible and return the people to peace." Hearing what he said, Li Shimin couldn't help but scrutinized Li Daozong again. Inadvertently, he had grown up slowly and knew how to care about the world. "Don't worry!" Li Shimin said as he stood up, "I will definitely make your wish come true sooner!" After speaking, he quickly returned to the barracks, summoned Qin Shubao, Qu Tutong and other soldiers to discuss the imperial The enemy's plan.

Qin Shubao and others first presented the intelligence sent by the spies: Liu Heita's current military strength is about 20,000, mainly infantry.Li Shimin looked at this number and asked: "With his current grain and grass reserves, how long can he last for 20,000 horses?" Qin Shubao said: "At present, Liu Heita has cut off the supply of food and grass, so he can only use the food and grass stored in the barracks. It is estimated that it should not exceed two or three days." Li Shimin nodded and said, "Since this is the case, I think Liu Heita himself should be very anxious."

Veteran Qu Tutong said: "According to my experience, the army's food and grass reserves are only enough for two or three days, so we must fight quickly. Otherwise, when the food and grass are insufficient, we will have to lose without fighting." Li Shimin said: "That's right, so in the next few days, no matter whether we send troops or not, Liu Heita will definitely take action. We must be ready to fight." Qin Shubao and Liu Hongji said confidently: "The subordinates have already deployed, just wait for Liu Heita to come!" Li Shimin did not appreciate their confident attitude. He said solemnly: "We have fought for so many years, and we all know that the most terrible enemy is the one who is dying. Because at the last moment, they will He doesn't care about anything, he just wants to kill more people to be buried with him. At present, Liu Heita belongs to this situation."

Liu Hongji said: "We are prepared. After all, Liu Heitai is at the end of his battle. No matter how fierce his counterattack is, it is the last struggle. He must not be our opponent!" Li Shimin looked at the soldiers in the camp, either feeding their horses or polishing their weapons, all excitedly waiting for the final moment of victory.He said: "Soldiers follow us through life and death. Who doesn't have parents and wives? Therefore, we must find the best way to reduce casualties. Fighting with desperadoes, if you kill one thousand enemies and lose eight hundred, then it is ours. lost."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Li Shimin spread out the map and said to Qu Tutong: "With our current terrain, does Old General Qu think there is any advantage that can be used?" Qu Tutong looked at it carefully for a while, and said: "The two armies use water as their formation, and they usually fight across the river, so we should make good use of this muddy water and make it our barrier." Liu Hongji said: "Since this is the case, we will find an opportunity to cross the river quietly, so that Liu Heitai will be caught off guard, and the surprise attack will be successful."

Li Shimin shook his head, disapproving of this suggestion: "If he finds us in the middle of crossing the river, the soldiers will probably fall into the water. And most people in the north are not familiar with water. !" Qu Tutong said: "Yes, but the army led by Liu Heita is also from the north, and they are not good at swimming! Can the general find a way?" Li Shimin nodded: "Yes, we should let them into the water, so they have nowhere to escape!" After pondering for a while, Li Shimin suddenly said excitedly: "I have a solution!" Everyone hurriedly asked: "What good plan does the general have?" Liu Heitai should be attracted to cross the river first. In this way, we can take the initiative. But Liu Heitai must also want us to go into the water first, so he will not take the initiative. This would lead to a deadlock, but Liu Heitai has not enough food and grass recently , I guess if there is a chance these days, he will be eager to fight us. Therefore, we should create a chance for him!"

Liu Hongji hurriedly asked: "Create opportunities for him? How to create them?" Li Shimin said: "You give him this opportunity!" When Li Shimin said this, Liu Hongji didn't understand even more.Li Shimin went on to say: "Tonight, you lead your people to the upper reaches of the Ming River, and use the fastest speed to build a dam to cut off the water flow. When Liu Heita sees that the water has stopped flowing the next day, he will definitely think this is a good opportunity." .In his current situation, he will definitely send troops to attack our army as soon as possible. At that time, I will lead people to fight and lead him into the river. If you dig a dam upstream, you will surely be able to flood his entire army!"

As soon as the trick was finished, everyone applauded and applauded.Qu Tutong said: "This river water is a natural thing. Whoever can make good use of it can become someone's weapon! In this way, even Mingshui is helping us calm down Liu Heita!" After finishing speaking, everyone Everyone laughed. According to Li Shimin's deployment, Liu Hongji led his men to the upper reaches to build the dam overnight.At dawn the next day, although the Mingshui hadn't stopped flowing, the river had become clear and shallow.When Liu Heitai went out of the camp to see it, he couldn't help being overjoyed, so he ordered the three armies to prepare to go out to fight.But his lieutenant Wang Xiaohu disagreed, and said to Liu Heita: "The river was full yesterday, but it almost dried up overnight. This seems strange. The general should not act rashly."

However, seeing the lack of food and grass reserves in the army, and the Tang army staring at it again, Liu Heitai had no patience at this time. He said impatiently: "Maybe the water source in the upper stream has dried up, so it is normal that there is no water in the lower stream. Now we can no longer Wait any longer, the river becomes shallow at this time, it is God who is helping us! Do you want me to miss this opportunity?" It can't be explained that Liu Heita has mounted his horse and led Cao Zhan and other soldiers out of the gate of the camp.Seeing that he could not persuade Wang Xiaohu, he had no choice but to ride his horse and follow. Because the water was shallow and easy to cross, Liu Heitai had already approached the Tang army's camp in a short time.When the two armies clashed, each had the determination to win, so the fight was extremely fierce.Li Shimin personally led the elite cavalry to meet the enemy. From morning to dusk, Liu Jun retreated many times and had already reached the bank of Mingshui. Wang Xiaohu saw that Tang Jun was getting stronger and stronger after fighting for a day, so he persuaded Liu Heitai: "The current situation is very bad, we have exhausted our energy, and there are very few chances to turn defeat into victory, so we should run away quickly." !" Liu Heikai yelled as he killed the enemy: "As soon as I retreat now, the Tang army will definitely be chasing after me. How can I escape! Besides, how can I leave the soldiers alone!" The two are arguing, and Li Shimin has sent a herald to send the signal.Liu Hongji burst the embankment immediately, and the flood flooded in from the upper reaches of the battlefield. The water depth suddenly reached more than one foot deep, and Liu Jun fell into chaos. Wang Xiaohu said: "If you keep the green hills, you will have a chance to fight Li Shimin in the future. Let's run away quietly and let the soldiers resist first!" Although this was an unethical proposal, Liu Heitai at this time He couldn't care about so much anymore, he and Wang Xiaohu, Fan Yuan, Cao Zhan and other close generals escaped quietly, leaving only the soldiers who didn't know the situation still fighting.In the end, Liu Hongji burst the embankment and drowned thousands of people, and the rest were all wiped out by the Tang army. This battle made Liu Heitai really have nothing. He, Wang Xiaohu and others had nowhere to escape with two hundred riders, so they could only go to the Turks.Although he did not die under Li Shimin's sword in this battle, his vitality was seriously injured.After a few months of rest, he once again raised troops against Tang, but he no longer had the momentum to raise troops for the first time.In order to balance his military achievements and to give Prince Jiancheng a chance, Li Yuan sent Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji to send troops. Liu Heitai was finally killed by Li Jiancheng, which brought an end to his vigorous life. The Battle of Mingshui was not the last battle in the unification process of the Tang Dynasty, and Liu Heita lost his fighting power after experiencing the flood of Mingshui, and no longer threatened the Tang Dynasty, but only constantly harassed the border of the Tang Dynasty Safety.Li Shimin once again demonstrated his extraordinary military talent in this battle, adding a strong touch to his already brilliant and magnificent military exploits, becoming the God of War in the Tang Dynasty that no one can ignore, and also becoming the aspiration of the people. The heir to the throne with the highest voice has prepared sufficient conditions for him to go to the throne in the future.