Chapter 9 The Ninth Chapter: A Good Official Was Falsely Ordered to Return to the Northwest Territory and Yiqi Lamented His Failure

When Liu Wenjing went to East Turkic as a mission, Shibi Khan was seriously ill and was dying. Liu Wenjing stayed in the tooth tent for many days and could not see each other.Reluctantly, he handed over the treasures tributed by Li Yuan to Yehu Tuyuhunxie, who was the first important minister of Shibi Khan, and his official position was Jielifa.He knew Liu Wenjing's intentions well, and promised that as long as Li Yuan continued to pay tribute, the Eastern Turks had no intention of invading Tang territory.With this promise, Liu Wenjing returned satisfied. He did not expect the East Turks to exert any influence on Liu Wuzhou.East Turkistan did not want the power of China and Earth to be strong, but hoped that they would be evenly matched, and that he could act as their master and benefit from the middle.

Liu Wenjing returned to Chang'an to report to Li Yuan, and Li Yuan praised him for fulfilling his mission.Recently, Changsun Shunde and Liu Hongji led the army to Jinzhou, and the pressure in the pass was relieved a lot, and Liu Wuzhou's southward invasion momentum was contained.Li Yuan refused to let Liu Wenjing go back to the front line, and awarded him the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. In April of the second year of Wude, Shibi Khan died, and his younger brother Qi Lifu inherited the throne of Khan as Chuluo Khan.When the news spread to Chang'an, Li Yuan sent envoys to East Turkic Yazhang with money for Shibi Khan's abolition of the dynasty for three days.

After Liu Wenjing joined the Ministry of Democratic Affairs, she felt painfully that the people were displaced.At that time, there were less than 2 million households under the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty. Compared with the 9 million households in the most prosperous period of the former Sui Dynasty, there was a huge gap.The imperial court often struggled to adjust troops and food.In the past few years, Liu Wenjing has basically traveled all over the areas under the jurisdiction of the Great Tang between battles. Seeing that the land is barren and the refugees have nowhere to settle, they urgently need to recuperate.The Land Equalization Order and Zuyong Adjustment Order formulated by the former Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty basically lost their functions after being destroyed by Emperor Yang of Sui and the war at the end of Sui Dynasty.

Liu Wenjing played Li Yuan's request to re-order the Juntian Order and Zuyong Adjustment Order.Li Yuan asked the Ministry of Civil Affairs to go to various places to investigate the situation of the fields, and finally Pei Ji, Feng Deyi, Xiao Yu, Yu Zhining and Liu Wenjing decided on the new order. In July of the second year of Wude, the Order of Juntian and Zuyong were promulgated, and Li Yuan issued an edict to try it out within the scope of Jingzhao. The main content of the Equal Field Order is to divide the land into Yongye Field, Kou Fen Field, Xun Field, and Job Fen Field, and stipulate the amount of land received by ordinary people and officials.During the war at the end of the Sui Dynasty, many landlords died and fled.Some of the fields left by them were transferred to the common people, and some became barren fields controlled by the imperial court.The first land decree issued this time not only recognized the legitimacy of the people's possession of these fields, but also enabled those people who had no land or little land to ask the court to accept wasteland for farming according to the order.This plays a positive role in the rapid recovery and development of the field economy.

According to the Zuyong Adjustment Law, every Ding should be paid to the imperial court with two stones of millet every year, which is called rent; the township government should pay two feet of silk and three liang of brocade every year. Ding served 20 days of corvee every year. If there was no corvee, he would be replaced by silk or cloth. It was equivalent to three feet of silk or three feet, seven inches and five cents of cloth every day, which was called tune.This kind of tax and labor order stipulates the maximum limit of the service period, and can be used as a substitute, ensuring the farmers' farming time.

Among the people who made laws and regulations, Pei Ji had the highest official position. He knew little about the land and laws and regulations, so he was self-righteous, and he liked to talk and went far away from the topic.Xiao Yu and Feng Deyi are veterans of the former court, shrewd in official affairs, Xiao Yu sometimes criticizes a few words, Feng Deyi often laughs it off.Yu Zhining is a real worker, going in and out all day, searching classics, and has no time to care about these other matters.Only Liu Wenjing ignored his complaints, even in the court meeting presided over by Li Yuan, as long as Pei Ji said too many mistakes, Liu Wenjing immediately refuted it with a sullen face, which made Pei Ji very embarrassed.

When Pei Jisan returned to the mansion, thinking of Liu Wenjing's proud face, ignorance suddenly surged in his heart, and he wandered back and forth in the courtyard.At this time, the servants came to report that King Qi was visiting. Before the words were finished, Li Yuanji rushed into the courtyard, and he yelled as he walked, "Pei Gong, I called you when the court was over, but you didn't turn your head back. What's the rush?" Pei Ji and Li Yuan call themselves brothers, and Li Yuanji considers himself a junior in front of Pei Ji.However, both of them have one advantage, that is, they are ignorant, have a lot of experience in having fun, and have a very close relationship.

Pei Ji shook his head and sighed, "Did you call me? Why didn't I hear you? Oh, it's Liu Wenjing who confused me." Li Yuanji said: "Liu Wenjing? Is it worth your anger? Come on, I'll take you to a good place, where there is a new joy, you must have never seen it before." Pei Ji shook his head again, and said, "Oh, I'm not in the mood. It's not like you don't know my temper. If you don't let it out, I can't sleep or eat." "This matter is easy to handle. Let's ask Father to blow the wind, and let Father reprimand him."

"What reason is there to reprimand? King Qi, you think Liu Wenjing considers himself a hero, and Erlang has a close relationship with him. If there is no strong reason, how can he persuade the emperor?" "Father trusts Pei Gong the most, so what is Liu Wenjing?" Pei Ji remained silent, thinking that King Qi was a young master after all, and there were some truths that he couldn't explain clearly. Li Yuanji slapped his head suddenly, and said: "By the way, Mr. Pei wanted to find a good reason, but now there is a good way." "What way?" "Liu Wenjing has a concubine named Mo'er, who is quite pretty. I heard that she is quite dissatisfied with Liu Wenjing."

Pei Ji's eyes lit up, and he said, "Okay, King Qi, I'll trouble you on this matter. You can send someone to contact Mo'er privately, Xu Yijinbo, isn't she still pretty? Just promise her that she can return home in the future." Enter Qi Wangfu. As long as Mo'er is determined, there is no need to worry about finding a good reason to bring down Liu Wenjing." The two hit it off, so they made a plan. That day Liu Wenjing had another big fight with Pei Ji, and she was very angry.When I got home, the sky was full of stars.Recently, strange things often appeared in his house. Wen Jing suspected that there was a demon in the house, and asked his younger brother Liu Wenqi, the regular attendant of Tongzhi Sanqi, to summon a wizard, and he was given a knife to perform deeds under the stars.Liu Wenjing called Liu Wenqi over for a drink, and the wizard showed off his skills outside.Thinking of Pei Ji's official position above her, and his disgusting appearance, Liu Wenjing became so angry that she got drunk.When he was drunk, he drew his sword and struck at Fang Zhu, cursing: "Behead Pei Ji."

Moer saw Liu Wenjing's situation clearly. Mo'er is Liu Wenjing's new concubine after entering Chang'an. This person was born as a kabuki. Although she has a charming appearance, after all, she is a bit narrow-minded. Liu Wenjing gradually dislikes her. For the past year, Liu Wenjing has basically ignored her.Mo'er was unbearably lonely, and suddenly felt resentful. In her spare time, she would often find her ex-sisters to relieve her boredom and confide in her troubles. Li Yuanji sent someone to find Mo'er, Xu Yijin and Qian Cheng.When the moth heard this, he thought it was a good deal, so he agreed to it one after another.Someone pointed out that if you want to completely bring down Liu Wenjing without leaving future troubles, you must collect evidence of Liu Wenjing's rebellion. Seeing Liu Wenjing draw her sword and hit the pillar, this stupid woman's eyes lit up, and she began to care about it. On the second day, Mo'er asked his brother to go to Dali Temple to file a first complaint, saying that Liu Wenjing had resentment and uttered disrespectful words to the court and the emperor. Dali Temple reported the complaint to Li Yuan, who believed that Liu Wenjing was an important official of the imperial court and refused to allow Dali Temple to try it, so he sent Pei Ji and Xiao Yu to put Liu Wenjing in prison for interrogation. Seeing that this enemy fell into his own hands, Pei Ji secretly rejoiced.He said to Xiao Yu: "Song Guogong, the emperor ordered me to wait for two people to ask Liu Wenjing. Then Liu Wenjing has a deep resentment towards me, so I will not come forward. You can find out the opposite and then face the king." Xiao Yu's great-grandfather was Emperor Wu of Liang, and his elder sister was the Empress Xiao of Emperor Sui Yang.Xiao Yu is upright and upright, with extraordinary insight and insight, but he was alienated because of several collisions with Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty.After Li Yuan entered Chang'an, he admired his talent and learning, made him Duke of Song, and granted him an internal history order.Xiao Yu is the son-in-law of Li Yuan's mother's Dugu family. Li Yuan called him "Xiao Lang" with all his mouth, and was very close to him.That day he went to prison to interrogate Liu Wenjing. Liu Wenjing was feeling wronged. When she saw Xiao Yu, she shed tears and said, "Mr. Helping the emperor raise troops in Taiyuan, conquering east and west all these years, Pei Ji's official position is against me. Song Gong, I hope you will state this truth to the emperor, my heart has always been loyal to the Tang Dynasty, how can you say that I want to rebel?" Xiao Yu is an upright person, and usually hates Pei Ji's face.He was very sure that it was true that Liu Wenjing had resentment towards Pei Ji, but she definitely had no objection towards Li Yuan.Now Xiao Yu can't say much in front of everyone, he just said: "Don't worry, I will play it according to the facts." However, this person who did not turn around did not find a very interesting question: this matter is related to Pei Ji, why did the emperor send Pei Ji to interrogate with him? Xiao Yu pulled Pei Ji to repeat the song to Li Yuan, but Pei Ji still hid aside and said nothing.Xiao Yu recounted the process of the trial, and then made a conclusion: "Your Majesty, Liu Wenjing has always been outspoken and has a straightforward personality. It is true that he has grievances against the ministers of the court, but he is still loyal to the court and His Majesty. I think it is okay. Punish him, think it is vigilant, and cannot be convicted of treason." Li Yuan was silent for a moment, then looked at Pei Ji and said, "Jian Pei, what do you think Xiao Lang said?" "Your Majesty, I told Duke Xiao that Liu Wenjing usually has resentment towards me. Because I asked Princess Xiao to ask, I dare not say too much, for fear of causing unfair discussions." Li Yuan shook his head and said: "This is your fault. I asked you to have a joint trial to show fairness. This matter originated from the first complaint by Liu Wenjing's family, so don't take it lightly. Well, let's continue the trial after you go down, and you can't wrong him. , but it cannot be exonerated.” Li Shimin was currently guarding the Changchun Palace north of Tongguan. Hearing that Liu Wenjing had been arrested, he galloped back to Chang'an. Li Yuan saw Li Shimin coming to see him in a hurry, and understood his reason for coming. He thought that the relationship between this son and Liu Wenjing was extraordinary, and there must be some speeches. Sure enough, Li Shimin went straight to the point: "Father, my son heard that Liu Wenjing was falsely accused and imprisoned, so he didn't have time to report to Father, and returned to Beijing without authorization, hoping that Father will forgive him." Li Yuan smiled and said: "You and Zhao Ren are always friendly, if something like this happened, it would be unreasonable for you not to pay attention. I don't blame you." "Thank you, my father. My son is willing to use his life to guarantee that Liu Wenjing will not rebel. If the father is worried, he can demote his official position to his subordinates, and his son will take care of him on his behalf." Li Yuan was silent for a moment, his expression softened, and he said softly: "Erlang, get up. Don't worry, I am very serious about this matter, and I will ask Xiao and Pei to carefully consider it, and there will definitely be a proper result. If he really Guilty, I will also remember his previous achievements and forgive him. You should rest assured and return to Changchun Palace, and pay close attention to Liu Wuzhou's movements." Li Shimin felt reassured, so he went to prison to visit Liu Wenjing.They drank each other in the prison room, and both firmly believed that this scene repeated the story of the previous Taiyuan prison, and Liu Wenjing would be released from prison soon. While drinking, Liu Wenjing didn't forget to scold Pei Ji for using power and harming the country. Li Shimin persuaded: "Brother Zhao, after you have passed this test, you will have to change your irritable temper in the future. If you persist, you will suffer losses one day." However, Liu Wenjing finally had no chance to change his temper. Li Shimin returned to Changchun Palace on the second day. On the evening of the third day, the jailer brought Liu Wenjing a rope and a glass of medicinal wine, asking him to choose between the two. Li Yuan rewarded Liu Wenjing with a whole body, which can be regarded as a partial fulfillment of his promise to Li Shimin. Ever since he had the idea of ​​getting rid of Liu Wenjing, Pei Ji knew that the only person in this world who could get rid of Liu Wenjing was not himself, but the emperor Li Yuan. In the following days, Pei Ji occasionally challenged Li Yuan with a few words against Liu Wenjing's characteristics.He mastered a fire, that is, to prevent Li Yuan from feeling that he was attacking deliberately, but revealing it unintentionally.Gradually, these words gradually formed such an image in Li Yuan's mind: Liu Wenjing is very capable, but there is a rebellion behind her head. After Liu Wenjing was imprisoned, one day Li Yuan asked Pei Ji to go boating in the palace's sea pool, and the two monarchs and ministers had such a conversation. Li Yuan said: "The case of Liu Wenjing, that's all. You can close the case quickly and just demote him. He used to be an official in Prince Qin's mansion, so let him return to Erlang." Pei Ji said: "Does Your Majesty want to raise a tiger into trouble?" "How?" "I heard that Liu Wenjing was full of resentment in prison, as if she had been greatly wronged. If His Majesty demotes her again, will Liu Wenjing still remember His Majesty in this life?" "What do you think should be done?" "Kill it!" Pei Ji made a gesture fiercely. Li Yuan shook his head and said: "Not good. After all, Liu Wenjing is the leader of the righteous hero; moreover, he did not disgrace his mission when he was sent to Turkic, and he usually made a lot of military achievements. If you kill him, what will the people of the world say?" "That's right, Liu Wenjing doesn't take others seriously just because he claims to have made great contributions. He knows that the minister is the most loyal to the emperor, but he insults me every now and then in the court, obviously wanting to ruin the emperor's face—there will always be One day, he will also look down on the emperor; he is a good envoy to Turks, but he has repeatedly publicized that His Majesty bowed his knees to Turks, and the reason why Turks are still polite to our court is entirely the result of his tactful response. Such a person is really a wolfish ambition, won't Your Majesty notice it?" Personal ability is strong and ambitious, and he also publicizes that the Tang Dynasty has become a vassal of the Turks. These are the most taboo things for Li Yuan. This Haichi dialogue finally determined Liu Wenjing's fate.After Liu Wenjing's death, Mo'er and her elder brother also died in a dark and windy night. Li Shimin heard the news of Liu Wenjing's death in the Changchun Palace, and couldn't help feeling sad from his heart, with tears streaming down his face.At that time, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were beside him, they hurriedly comforted him. Fang Xuanling persuaded: "King Qin, don't be too sad. After all, Master Liu is too stubborn, so he fell into the trick of a traitor. I heard that the reason why Master Liu's concubine turned against him is also due to King Qi. Your Highness , it is difficult for Pei Ji alone to bring down Master Liu, there must be many subtleties in it. For the current plan, the King of Qin should not wantonly complain for Master Liu, nor should he be too sad." Du Ruhui nodded and said: "Brother Xuan Ling is right. There are many subtleties in this matter, and the King of Qin should be cautious. Pei Ji and King Qi know that Lord Liu has always been on good terms with the King of Qin. They were both defeated in Bingzhou recently, so they should work together to deal with it." Master Liu must also have suspicions about King Qin." Li Shimin was clever, and immediately understood the meaning of the two people's words. At the beginning of the year, Li Shimin guarded the Changchun Palace, and the family members of Prince Qin's residence, his wife and children also came here with the army.Changchun Palace faces the river in the east and Tongguan in the south, which is the gateway of Chang'an.Li Yuan asked Li Shimin to control the soldiers and horses of Puzhou and Hebei provinces here to guard against Wang Shichong and Liu Wuzhou.Li Shimin had nothing to do in Changchun Palace for a while, talking about world events and poems with his subordinates all day long.In August, Yang Qiong gave birth to another son for him, and Li Shimin named the son Li Ke. The news of Li Shimin guarding the Changchun Palace spread to Luoyang, and Wang Shichong's generals Qin Shubao, Luo Shixin, and Cheng Yaojin led the crowd to surrender. At the beginning, Li Mi established his capital in Jinyong City, and appointed five tiger generals, they were Flying Tiger General Qin Shubao, Fierce Tiger General Xu Shi, Chihu General Cheng Yaojin, Fierce Tiger General Shan Xiongxin, and Xionghu General Luo Shixin.Li Mi was defeated and defected to the Tang Dynasty. Except for Xu Shiyuan who was guarding Liyang, the other four returned to Wang Shichong.When Shan Xiongxin arrived in Luoyang, he was spotted by Wang Shichong's sister and recruited him as a son-in-law. These five tiger generals are indeed superior, they are all skilled in bow and horse, and they have unstoppable courage.The Wagang Army is famous all over the world, and it is not unrelated to these five people.Speaking of which, they all have some extraordinary origins.Qin Shubao's name is Qiong, and Luo Shixin is from Licheng, Qizhou. Cheng Yaojin, named Zhijie, is from Dong'a, Jeju.At the end of the Sui Dynasty, there was a great chaos of rebels. Lu Mingyue gathered more than 100,000 people in Xiapi to attack the county.When the two armies confronted each other, Zhang Xutuo was defeated and had to retreat to a stalemate at the lower fence seven miles away from Lu Mingyue.After ten days of stalemate like this, Zhang Xutuo said to the generals: "Seeing our retreat, Lu Mingyue will definitely pursue the enemy lightly, and his rear camp will definitely be empty. If we organize a thousand people to sneak in and attack us, we will definitely win. All the generals, Although this plan is good, it is also very dangerous, who is willing to go through it for me?" Everyone looked at each other, too scared to make a sound.At this time, Qin Shubao, Luo Shixin, and Cheng Yaojin came out in a row and asked Yingying to kill the enemy. Qin Shubao's face is like pale gold, with five long beards fluttering behind his head, and he has a big waist and broad arms. He is used to wielding a golden gun with a tiger's head dipped in it and a pair of golden maces.Luo Shixin, on the other hand, was born with fine features, white teeth and red lips, wise and brave, capable of shooting a cloud spear.Cheng Yaojin was born with the body of a tiger and the waist of a dragon, with a face like green mud and hair like cinnabar. He has extraordinary courage and is good at using a horse spear.The three of them led thousands of troops and lay down among the reeds. When the troops led by Lu Mingyue passed by, they jumped up and rushed towards the enemy camp.Luo Shixin was the bravest. He pulled out the enemy's flag, bloodied his body, and set fire to more than 30 fences, with smoke soaring into the sky.When Lu Mingyue saw the fire, he hurriedly led the army back to the camp, Zhang Xutuo led the troops to pursue, and the three people here cut off his way back, and the poor Lu Mingyue's more than 100,000 people scattered like birds and beasts.After this battle, Qin Shubao, Luo Shixin and Cheng Yaojin became famous. Luo Shixin's reputation is even bigger than Qin and Cheng.At that time, Wang Bo rebelled, and Zhang Xutuo led troops to fight against it.Luo Shixin had just come to join the army at the age of fourteen, but Zhang Xutuo refused to accept him, saying that he looked like a child, how could he be able to fight?At that time, the two armies had already faced each other. Luo Shixin was furious when he heard the news. He mounted his horse in double armor and galloped to the front of Wang Bo's formation. The Eight Rolling Cloud Spear pierced into the air, hung its head on the blade of the spear, and raised the spear to circle the formation. The two armies were all shocked after seeing it. The three followed Wang Shichong for a long time, and gradually became discouraged.Cheng Yaojin couldn't bear it anymore, and said to the two of them: "This Wang Shichong is superficial and liar, and he swears and swears every now and then, like an old witch. Do you think such a person can become the master of ordering chaos?" Three people They all agree, they are determined to leave Wang Shichong.Seeing that Li Tang was in full swing, Li Shimin was good at recruiting talents, and also heard that Li Shimin was an official in Changchun, so he decided to go to Li Shimin.That day Wang Shichong led the three of them and Shan Xiongxin out of Luoyang to the west, observing the moats of various counties along the way.When they arrived at Cijian, the three of them suddenly led a dozen riders and rushed westward. Wang Shichong and Shan Xiongxin didn't know what they were going to do, and opened their mouths in shock.The three of them galloped for more than three hundred steps, turned back and cupped their hands and said: "We are accepted by King Zheng, we are very grateful, and have always wanted to help you. However, you are very suspicious, and there are many bewitching people around you, so we have lingering fears. After all, this is not a place for you to rely on, so I would like to bid you farewell today." Wang Shichong came back to his senses, heard that they were going to leave, and said sharply: "You go as soon as you say, don't the family members in the city want it?" Qin Shubao clasped his hands and said: "Duke Zheng, a man acts righteously and does not care about trifles. Since we have to leave, we can't take care of so much. People have their own ambitions, and we can't force them. I don't think Mr. Zheng will make it difficult for our family. Brother Xiongxin, I hope you will take care of me." After finishing speaking, the three led the horse and galloped away.Wang Shichong and Shan Xiongxin watched them go west, knowing that they could not stop them, so they sadly rode back to Luoyang. When Li Shimin saw the three people coming to vote, he hurriedly turned his back to greet them.In the Changchun Palace, Li Shimin hosted a banquet for the three of them for several days, and informed Li Yuan of the good news.Three days later, Li Yuan decreed to appoint Luo Shixin as the commander of the Shanzhou Road Marching Army, and let him choose a date to take office.In addition, Qin Shubao was appointed as the chief of the horse army of the Qin Palace, and Cheng Yaojin was appointed as the left three commanders of the Qin Palace. Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, was awarded the Shandong pacification ambassador, and led his army to join Xu Shi via Liyang.There was another person accompanying him, namely Secretary Cheng Wei Zheng.This Wei Zheng, whose style name is Xuancheng, was born in Julu Qucheng.He first followed Li Mi, but he was depressed and frustrated, and then followed Li Mi to the Tang Dynasty. No one knew about him in Chang'an for a long time.This time I went to Liyang with Li Shentong, and I came here on my own invitation. At that time, the situation in Liyang was very favorable to Li Tang, Xu Shi raised his troops and surrendered, making Luzhou and Liyang a line.From now on, Li Shentong only needs to use Liyang as his base, and work steadily from state to county, and he will create a large foundation for Li Tang.At the beginning, his progress was fairly smooth, and he went to Xiangzhou, Xingzhou, Jizhou, Weizhou and other places within a few months.At that time, Yu Wenhua, who killed Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, led the former Sui palace and guards along the canal to the north, and when they arrived in Haizhou, they used the treasures in the palace to lure Wang Bo and others, so that Wang Bo led his men to follow him to guard Liaocheng. More than ten thousand people.When Li Shentong heard the news, he sent his troops to attack Liaocheng and besieged Yuhuaji for more than ten days. When the food in the city was exhausted, Yuhuaji sent people to find Li Shentong and demanded his surrender. If we can't support it any longer, we are legitimately attacking to show our country's prestige, and their treasures can also be scattered as military rewards. If they agree to surrender, how can I do it?" Li Shentong refused Yu Wenhua and his surrender just for petty gain, and made Yu Wenhua surrender. Cultural and utter despair, Yingcheng had to defend itself.How did you know that "mantises catch cicadas, and orioles follow behind", Dou Jiande also smelled the fragrance of Liaocheng, and in the name of respecting the Sui Dynasty, he marched in a large scale, and rushed to Liaocheng all over the mountains and plains.Seeing this, Yu Wenhuaji surrendered the whole city to Dou Jiande.At this moment, Li Shentong was overwhelmed, and Tang Jun and Dou Jiande's troops were about to collapse, so they had to retreat through Xiangzhou to Liyang in panic, and came to Xu Shi to take shelter.Dou Jiande, who won Yuwenhua and soldiers and horses, became more powerful. Wherever he went, the prefectures and counties fell.He surrounded Liyang, Li Shentong and Xu Shi desperately resisted, but there were many people who lost to Dou Jiande. As a result, the city was captured, and they all became Dou Jiande's captives. Every time Dou Jiande wins, all the assets he gets are distributed to the soldiers, and he takes nothing for himself.His personal life is very simple, he does not eat meat, only vegetables and corn.His wife, Mrs. Cao, does not wear silk, but wears Jingchai all day long.The husband and wife have a very good reputation, and the subordinates are willing to do their best.Dou Jiande really wanted to gain a good reputation for recruiting talents. This time Yu Wenhua surrendered, he entrusted all the former Sui ministers with important tasks.After conquering Liyang, he still showed his benevolence, appointed Xu Shi as General Zuo Xiaowei, and let him continue to guard Liyang. Of course, he played a trick by letting Xu Shi's father Xu Gai often accompany him as a hostage.Wei Zheng was also awarded the title of Living Household. At this time, Xu Shi's heart was towards Chang'an, and he bowed under Dou Jiande's command, so he had to wait for the opportunity.During this period, Li Shanghu gathered more than 5,000 people according to Mengjin, and Xu Shi met him by chance, and the two became brothers.They all had a heart for Tang, and they made an appointment to wait until Dou Jiande left Liyang to divide his troops before revolting.Unexpectedly, Li Shanghu was too impatient, so he started without discussing with Xu Shi.Things started in a hurry, Xu Shi saw that Dou Jiande had already taken precautions, he had no time to call Li Shentong and Wei Zheng in the panic, and fled to Chang'an with a few riders. When Xu Shi arrived in Chang'an, Li Yuan, his father and son, and all the officials of the court praised his loyalty.Li Yuan named him Cao Guogong and Youwuhou General, and gave him the surname Li. From then on, Xu Shi changed his name to Li Shi. Here Li Yang fell, and the battle in the north is also very bad.Liu Hongji and Changsun Shunde marched into Jinzhou and were unable to attack forward, and they became a stalemate with Liu Wuzhou.In June, Song Jingang from Shanggu was defeated by Dou Jiande, and led more than 4,000 remnants to vote for Liu Wuzhou.Liu Wuzhou named him King of Song and entrusted him with military power.Song Jingang was grateful, and when he heard that Liu Wuzhou had a younger sister who was waiting for him, he drove away his first wife and hired Liu Wuzhou's younger sister, thus becoming Liu Wuzhou's brother-in-law again. Song Jingang was eager to repay his kindness. He saw Qianfeng and Tang Jun confront each other in Jinzhou, so he volunteered to fight in front of the battle in person, so he went south to compete with Li Yuan for the world.Liu Wuzhou gave him Daxingtai on the Southwest Road, and ordered him to lead 20,000 troops to attack the south. In October of the second year of Wude, Song Jingang ordered Yuchi Jingde and Xunxiang to be the left and right vanguards, each leading 10,000 soldiers, suddenly inserted into the city of Jinzhou, and attacked with all their strength from the east and west.Liu Hongji and Changsun Shunde were originally evenly matched with the enemy here, but with so many enemy troops suddenly appearing, they couldn't hold back anymore.It took only one day for Song Jingang to capture Jinzhou. Liu Hongji and Changsun Shunde were unable to escape and became Song Jingang's captives.Song Jingang escorted the two to Bingzhou and handed them over to Liu Wuzhou for disposal. Song Jingang took a short rest in Jinzhou, and ordered Yuchi Jingde to stay in the front, and set out for Longmen after looking for the prime minister.That Yuchi Jingde was from Shanyang, Shuozhou. He was long and broad, like a smoky Tai Sui, a burning Vajra, and he was good at using two male and female bamboo whips.Its mount is also very distinctive, nine feet long, covered in black paint, without any stray hairs, under the belly, there is a circle of white hair in the middle, like the moon. .Yuchi Jingde got the order, took the lead, picked up several Tang army camps along the way, and approached Longmen City.Fortunately, Longmen has been run by Yin Kaishan and Chai Shao for a long time. There are deep ditches and high fortifications, and there are deer villages everywhere. It is difficult for Yuchi Jingde to capture it for a while. These bad news were reported to Chang'an one after another, and Li Yuan and all the officials were shocked by the news.They discussed a lot, and Li Yuan said in his hand: "The thieves are so powerful that it is difficult to fight for the front. It is better to abandon the land east of the river and stick to the Guanxi." At that time, Li Shimin was guarding the Changchun Palace. When he saw Li Yuan's edict, he was shocked. He hurriedly sent it to Chang'an in a starry night. Abandoning it, the minister will be angry and resentful. I hope that 30,000 fake elite soldiers will be able to destroy Wu Zhou and conquer Fen and Jin." Li Shimin asked the envoy to send away his upper watch, and said to Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui beside him, "My father, I am easy to swing back and forth when there is a critical moment. I remember when I arrived in Huoyi when the army was raised, he waited in Peiji. Under the advocacy of others, I wanted to return to Taiyuan. I finally listened to my persuasion, thinking of crying in front of the tent on a rainy night, it is worth it today.” Fang Xuanling said: "Prince Qin, according to my estimation, the emperor will definitely agree to send troops to the expedition after seeing your declaration. If so, we need to make preparations earlier." Li Shimin said: "Ruhui, what do you think is the difference between our battle with Liu Wuzhou and the last Western Expedition?" Du Ruhui thought about it for a while and said, "The difference lies in the geography. The Bingzhou is mountainous, so it's better to have elite troops." Li Shimin interjected: "Yes, that's the case. Xuanling, this time we will choose more elite soldiers and brave cavalry. You send someone to Zhang Wansui and ask him to send some more horses. You must emphasize to him that these horses should be good at galloping in the mountains. People say that Yuchi Jingde is so brave, is the talent in my Qin Palace inferior to him?" Sure enough, Li Yuan agreed with Li Shimin's opinion, and ordered Li Shimin to be the minister of Daxingtai, Yizhou Road, and to command the soldiers in Guanzhong.On October 26th of the second year of Wude, Li Yuan came to Changchun Palace to see Li Shimin off in person. The battle to regain Hedong and Bingzhou was about to begin.