Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Li Shimin—Emperor on Horseback with "Realm"

Speaking of Li Shimin, he is famous, and the praise of historians is like a ray of light, the eternal sage! Picking up the dragon's scales, I found that this gentleman's "propaganda work" is also doing very well. Zhenguan is prosperous, and the GDP is not the highest; he is diligent in government affairs. Are you good at accepting advice? Many emperors in the Song and Ming Dynasties are more magnanimous than him; Li Yuan has become an old fool who doesn't know right from wrong.Good things are magnified into big good things, and bad things are also smeared into good things, which makes people sigh: History is really a little girl who can be dressed up by others.

Li Shimin, who created the rule of Zhenguan, his martial arts and martial arts are commendable, he can be called a generation of sages, but... it seems to be exaggerated too much. But there is one thing, which is not exaggerated at all-war. Li Shimin is not only a good emperor, but also an outstanding military strategist.This point, two thousand years of history, whether praised or criticized, is undeniable. Speaking of military affairs, the father of the Li family in Shanxi, Li Yuan, was a famous general of the Sui Dynasty before the rebellion. He chased the Turks to nowhere on the grassland. A son of a nobleman, Li Shimin has been influenced by his ears and eyes since he was a child. It is difficult for Li Shimin not to know how to fight.

Even so, Li Shimin is the most remarkable.In terms of martial arts, he may not be the best at fighting, and in terms of military exploits, his elder brother and younger brother are not idiots.It is said that he is the best, but only because of two words - realm! What is the boundary?What others cannot see, he can see, and what others can see, he can see deeper and farther than others, this is the realm. Let me talk about Li Yuan's rebellion first. After Taiyuan raised troops, what should we do next?Li Yuan's subordinates were in endless disputes. Some said they would go south to take the eastern capital, while others said they would go east.

This seems crazy to many people. Those anti-military forces from all over the country are about to become emperors, and they are vying for territory. Instead of fighting in the rich and prosperous areas of the Central Plains, they ran to Guanzhong. Why? why?Just because of one sentence: Whoever sits in Qinchuan for eight hundred miles wins the world. Facts have proved that Li Shimin is right. Li Yuan's army marched towards Guanzhong, and the start was very smooth. First, they wiped out the elite Song Laosheng of the Sui Dynasty, but they ran into a wall under the city of Hedong.Sui general Qu Tutong guarded the city like a seal, and reinforcements from the Sui Dynasty were also rushing in, trying to eat up the Tang army, trapped inside and outside. His face was flushed red, and even Li Yuan himself had no idea.When it was Li Shimin's turn to speak, he came up with another unexpected opinion.

What's the noise?What's so difficult about this, let's bypass him and not attack, and it will be over if we don't go the other way. According to the words of today's pedagogy: This is called jumping thinking. Hedong, this problem that made Tang Jun quarrel, was solved by Li Shimin in a leap. Tens of thousands of Tang troops entered the Guanzhong Plain from Liangshan and Longmen, leaving only a small number of troops to contain the east defenders.The Tang army passed through the gaps of several Sui armies, and stepped into the Guanzhong Plain without bloodshed.The undefensible Guanzhong area soon fell, entered Chang'an, Li Yuan proclaimed himself emperor, the country was named Datang, and the reign was named Wude.The Guanzhong Plain, which is rich and easy to defend but difficult to attack, has completely become the base of the Li family, and has also become Li Yuan's biggest capital in fighting for the world.At that time, Li Tang had hundreds of thousands of troops, and Qinchuan, which was 800 miles away, had become the most powerful force in the world.

After the base area was defeated, it was time to fight for the world. First, Xue Ju and his son in Longyou, Li Shimin suffered a loss as soon as he came up, and was defeated by Xue Ju.Soon after, Xue Ju died of illness, and his opponent was replaced by his son Xue Rengao. After recovering from his illness, Li Shimin led a heavy attack again. The two sides faced each other in Qianshuiyuan.How to deal with such a powerful enemy? Tang Jun had a lot of opinions from top to bottom, all kinds of offensive strategies, talking about everything, and chattering for a long time, Li Shimin only said two words - don't fight!

The generals were stunned, don't fight?What are we doing here? If you don't fight, don't fight, no matter how provocative Xue Jun is, we just can't hold on. After two months, everyone suddenly realized that Li Shimin had already found the best way to deal with him - food. Aren't you strong?I'll hold you back first, and then send a small army to cut off your transportation line. I'm not as good as you in fighting strength, and you're not as good as me in fighting consumption. I'll drag you down until you're exhausted, and then... Then came the decisive battle, first dispatched small troops to lead Xue Jun's elite to Qianshuiyuan, and then sent heavy troops to encircle them.Xue Jun was really fierce, even though he was hungry and dragged on for another two months, he still refused to retreat. The planned encirclement and annihilation battle ended in a stalemate. After a day of fierce fighting, both sides suffered heavy casualties.

It's about to be a tie, but don't worry, Li Shimin still has another move.In a surprise attack, Li Shimin personally led 2,000 fine cavalry, and suddenly attacked Xue Jun's flanks. Xue Jun, who was struggling to support, finally collapsed.Great victory, complete annihilation, Xue Rengao sighed: Surrender.The land of Qinghai, Gansu fell into the hands of Li Tang. Xue Rengao was convinced. In the battle of Qianshuiyuan, it was not a soldier who was disadvantaged, but he was not good at fighting. It was really a difference in the level of the commander. And those who refuse to accept it will be destroyed.The Battle of Luoyang, which determined the unification of Li and Tang, started. Li Shimin defeated Wang Shichong first, and besieged Wang Shichong in Luoyang City. It seemed that the Central Plains was in his hands, but an accident happened. Arrived behind Tang Jun.At that time in the Central Plains, only Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande could really compete with the Li family. They wanted to destroy one and then the other, but this is a good move. The two families were recruited, trapped in the strong city, and faced enemies from both sides. How to fight this battle ?

Some said they would withdraw their troops, while others said they would continue to attack Luoyang.Is it possible to return?In the matter of fighting for the world, one step back is a hundred steps back. If the Dou and Wang families are to form a partnership, is there still a way for Li Tang to survive?But if we continue to attack Luoyang, it's one thing to be unable to take it down. If Dou Jiande kills him, why don't we all make dumplings? Li Shimin made a third decision, which is also a decision that determines the overall situation: to stay around Luoyang, and the main force returns to Hulao Pass to eliminate Dou Jiande.

Hulaoguan is the only way for Dou Jiande to rescue Wang Shichong. The Tang Army's troops guarded against death and finally blocked the fierce attack of Dou Jiande's department. Then the two sides turned into a stalemate. The old way, low morale, and eagerness to fight quickly, the following things will become a repeat of the old tricks, lure the enemy, encircle, and wipe out. After all, the combat effectiveness of Dou Jiande's army is inferior to that of Xue Rengao, and there is no need for cavalry raids. captured.Dou Jiande himself was seriously injured and captured alive. Afterwards, Wang Shichong surrendered. The two most powerful opponents were all defeated in this battle. The battle of Hulao Pass killed two birds with one stone.

In a word, his realm is still high. It is worth mentioning that Li Shimin's original tactics in the Battle of Hulaoguan were imitated by countless famous generals for thousands of years, and they were still tried and tested in the modern liberation war. Of course, it has a more academic name. —— Surround the spot to fight for aid. If Song Taizong of the later generations had this wisdom, Youyun Sixteen Prefectures would have been taken down long ago. The country is unified and the country is stable. According to the words of philosophy, the secondary contradiction has been transformed into the main contradiction. What is the main contradiction? Although countless historians and storytellers ridiculed Li Shimin's brothers to the utmost, the two brothers who competed with Li Shimin for the crown prince were indeed not easy-going lamps.The elder brother Jiancheng and the third younger brother Yuanji are both heroes of the times with great military exploits, but Jiancheng and Yuanji don't agree with each other. Let's take the Xuanwumen Incident as an example. The tactics you two compete for are nothing more than spreading rumors and assassinating, or digging into the wall. He can't escape the routine of political struggle, but Li Shimin sees farther, why bother?Ambush, kill both of you, and force the palace again, that's enough. Solving the most complicated things with the simplest method that you can't think of, this is ability. He was able to win not because he was upright, but also because of his high level of military use, so he couldn't accept it. The eldest brother and the third brother are finished, and Li Shimin is in power. The following things will naturally make the Chinese proud. The Turks are expelled from the outside, and the moral government is cultivated at home. China is prosperous and strong in his hands. This is universally recognized. The most important thing is his military vision and strategy as a monarch. To deal with nomads, since ancient times, they have either fought or made peace. Li Shimin was invincible, divided and disintegrated, and defeated them one by one.Fighting the enemy while building the country not only calms the border troubles, but also does not harm the national strength. If others don't say it, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty should be admired. Building the army, perfecting the military system of the government, and deploying troops in agriculture, not only consolidates the centralization of power, but also maintains the army's strong combat effectiveness and metabolism, which is the best of both worlds.Especially in the construction of cavalry, the Han Dynasty attacked the Xiongnu, accumulated by the two generations of Wen and Jing, but after several battles, the army and horse reserves were still exhausted. You can look at Li Tang. Rare in all dynasties.The commanding subordinates not only showed kindness and power, but also had an open mind. All the arrogant soldiers were loyal and loyal, and most of the heroes died well. Liu Bang should be ashamed of this kind of mind and the strategy of controlling people. Li Shimin may not be called the number one sage in the ages, but he has reason to be called a great commander, and the reason is still those two words - realm!