Chapter 10 The tenth round of walking on ice and crossing the river, Tunbabi holding a blade and inviting to fight Jishui

When the river reaches the Hukou area, the current is fast and the waterfall is like a curtain.Two hundred miles down to the Yumen Gate, the river is pinched by the Longmen Mountain, and the rapids gushes out from the river channel only 30 feet wide. This is the famous "Longmen".Although the water here in Longmen is fast and fast, the river is narrow and convenient for boats, and it has always been a ferry connecting east and west.The river flows out of Longmen, and the river channel gradually widens. When it reaches Fenglingdu, the Fen River and the Wei River join in one after another, and the water volume increases so much that it is impossible to set up a ferry in the middle.

Li Shimin led 30,000 soldiers and horses out of Changchun Palace and galloped towards Longmen.It was already winter, and the river at Longmen was covered with a thick layer of ice. When the army reached the bank of the West River, Li Shimin first sent Duan Zhixuan as an outpost to contact Yin Kaishan and Chai Shao, and he commanded the soldiers to cross the river.On the 30-foot-wide ice, everyone dismounted and walked carefully holding the reins, and scenes of people turning their backs on their backs abound.After crossing the river, everyone looked at those people with bruised noses and swollen faces, and couldn't help laughing at each other.

After landing ten miles away from the river, it is the camp that Yin Kaishan and the others are guarding. Duan Zhixuan has already entered the camp to inform them, only to see Yin Kaishan, Chai Shao, and Li Wanniang leading a group of people out of the camp to welcome them. Li Shimin was not in a hurry to enter the stronghold, he rode a horse around the stronghold first.I saw that the camp was built on the mountain, standing in front of the road, and there were trees, bows and crossbows all over the mountain.If they lost the camp on the way, they retreated to the back mountain and used wood, bows and crossbows to defeat the enemy. The enemy would never be able to advance a step, and they would never even try to cross the river through the Dragon Gate.Li Shimin took a look around, got off his horse and said, "This camp is well built. Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang were unable to cross the river to threaten Chang'an in a year, thanks to you guarding here. Sister, this must be your idea, I want you to be King of the Mountain, is this camp just like Huangshi Village?"

Li Wanniang smiled and said, "Erlang, you command tens of thousands of troops, why are you so glib? Why don't you talk to Yin Gong first when you get here, and go for a drive on your own, leaving us here?" Everyone walked into the camp together, and Yin Kaishan said to Li Shimin as he walked: "King Qin, the camp here is strong, and it can't go west against Liu Wuzhou. However, Yuchi Jingde and Xun Lianri attacked south, and now they have taken Xia County. Look at them The purpose of this formation is to open up the road going south from Fenglingdu to cross the river, and threaten Tongguan. These days, princess, we are in a hurry, if the emperor doesn't want to do anything, it will be useless for us to stand here empty."

Together with Duan Zhixuan, Chai Shao made proper arrangements for the soldiers from the west, and when they were done, it was time to hold the lanterns.Everyone had a hasty meal and gathered in the tent of the Chinese army to discuss the war. Chai Shao stood in the tent, watching the front of Li Shimin's house, and the people from behind filed in.The two separated for only one year, but Li Shimin unexpectedly recruited so many civil servants and generals.Seeing other Wen Youfang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xue Shou, Chu Liang, Yao Siliang, Xu Jingzong, Xue Yuanjing, Gai Wenda, Wu Youhou Junji, Duan Zhixuan, Changsun Wuji, Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin, Chai Shao couldn't help sighing: This Erlang is indeed an outstanding man, he has made outstanding military achievements, and he has not forgotten to recruit talents.

They didn't discuss any results in the Chinese army tent. Before Song Jingang's army was fierce, Yin Kaishan and the others tried their best to protect themselves. They thought about sticking to the dragon's gate all day long, and had no intention or strength to attack. They knew the enemy's recent activities. very little.Li Shimin decided that tomorrow the army will be stationed at Longmen first, and he will personally lead the generals to go out for reconnaissance. When the crowd dispersed, Li Shimin followed Chai Shao and Li Wanniang to their residence to gossip.As soon as Li Shimin entered the room, he saw that the furnishings were very simple, and sighed: "Sister, you and Brother Sichang have suffered too much here this year. Look at your room, does it look like a princess's boudoir?"

Li Wanniang said: "That's right, you guarded the Changchun Palace a while ago, so you didn't think of giving me some belongings inside? Okay, how are Father, Dalang and Shiro?" Li Shimin said: "Everything is fine, especially our father, who knows how to take care of himself the most. The crown prince, he is diligent and conscientious. Thanks to him taking care of the affairs of the court, the father saves a lot of worry. As for Shiro, sister , when did our family raise such a young man? He spends all day playing dogs and hunting, and doesn’t care about state and family affairs. At the beginning of the year, he even snatched away Yang Qiong’s little sister. She is not yet an adult! To be honest, Now that I see him, I feel displeased. During this expedition, my father originally said that he would come with me to experience some experience, so I resigned. He was the governor of Bingzhou, and he made a fuss and lost our foundation. If you let him come again, do you think you will lose your happiness?" After Li Shimin finished speaking, he took pictures of the case and became excited, "That day he came to the Changchun Palace with his father to see off the army, and when he saw me, he said in a weird way: 'Thank you, King Qin. You resigned to the emperor for me, if you go with you, won't it delay my hunting?' Sister, you said he can't be angry!"

Li Wanniang first pursed her lips and smiled while listening to him, but in the end she slowly put away her smiling face.She knew that the two younger brothers had been at odds since they were young. Li Shimin disliked Li Yuanji's ignorance, and Li Yuanji also disliked Li Shimin.She thought to herself, how could it go on like this for so long.Thinking of this, she said: "Erlang, you and Shiro are both called kings and princes now, it's not like you can be angry when you were a child. You are an elder brother, and you have a lot of officials and generals. If you two get awkward, others will read jokes, some with ulterior motives." People may not know what to do. From now on, you have to treat Shiro from the bottom of your heart, and Sichang and I will also talk about him. You said that Shiro robbed Yang Qiong's younger sister, what about you? Didn't you snatch Joan?"

Li Shimin laughed, and he said: "Sister, you have to teach me a lesson. Did I snatch Yang Qiong? She followed me sincerely and gave birth to a nephew for you. Shiro can compare with me Is it? When I asked you to ask for Qianzi, but if you refused to give it to me, I can assure you that if you told Qianzi, she would definitely agree." Li Wanniang curled her lips and said, "You are shameless, who do you think you are?" There was anger on her face. Chai Shao has been reading a book by the side, and he usually doesn't interrupt when the siblings are talking.Seeing Li Wanniang getting excited at this moment, she hurried over to resolve it: "Miss, look at you, do you want to eat Erlang? Everyone has his own ambitions, you can't force others. Speaking of which, we should congratulate Erlang. He is already the father of three children."

Li Wanniang calmed down and thought about it for the same reason.She made a "puchi" and smiled: "Yes, yes, I forgot that Erlang is now the father. Speaking of which, my aunt hasn't given any gifts yet." Li Shimin said: "It's just a gift. When the children grow up, knowing that they have an aunt who is good at fighting is enough for them to be proud. By the way, sister, if they grow up, let the women who follow you learn some skills. how?" The atmosphere suddenly eased up again, the three talked for a while, and the couple sent Li Shimin out of the door.When going out, Li Wanniang said to Li Shimin: "Erlang, don't try to get Qianzi to think about it. I have already promised her to Ma Sanbao. When this war is over, I will let them get married."

Chai Shao returned to the room and shook his head, complaining to Li Wanniang: "Miss, you have treated Erlang too much. Erlang is no longer the former Erlang. Have you seen his subordinates? Wen Neng They are all first-class talents. I have observed that Erlang cherishes his words like gold all day long, and never speaks out if he has not thought about it. Even when he is with the emperor and the concubine, he is Zhuangsu and not chaotic. It’s only when you’re here that you show your childishness, you can say whatever you think of, and you still have a bit of a coquettish taste. If you teach him every time, within three times, I don’t think he will treat you any more Say what!" Li Wanniang shook her head and said, "You're alarmist, is it that serious?" Chai Shao sighed: "If you are ordinary people, you can speak freely. Who told us to be in the royal family?" The mornings in Sanjin are colder than those in Chang'an.At three o'clock in the morning, Li Shimin got up and went out, and danced his sword in an open space.It has been more than two years since Daye left Taiyuan in the 13th year.For more than two years, Li Shimin's morning exercises have become a habit.After several rounds of swordsmanship practiced, the whole body was sweating profusely.This set of swordsmanship he practiced was the Shaolin Dharma swordsmanship, and he saw that the sword was getting faster and faster, when he heard him shout loudly, he jumped up, and stabbed straight into the sky with his sword in the palace, his posture was like a dragon soaring into the sky. In the end, he retracted his sword and stood up, calmed down, and took a deep breath of cool air. At this time, someone shouted: "Okay." Li Shimin turned his head to look, and it turned out that Hou Junji, Duan Zhixuan, Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin, Changsun Wuji, and Ma Sanbao were standing behind him.They are all in short attire, the true colors of generals, and they have just finished their morning exercises. Ma Sanbao said: "King Qin, we are all fascinated. Every move follows the ancient idea, and many changes have been added." Li Shimin smiled and said, "Ma Sanbao, don't flatter me. My three-legged cat deserves your praise. You are a scholar who became a monk halfway through. Don't let Brother Shubao and Brother Yaojin see jokes." Everyone laughed and returned to the camp together, ready to go out to reconnaissance. Li Shimin walked out of the gate with the others. He asked Yin Kaishan to lead Hou Junji, Changsun Wuji, and Duan Zhixuan to scout north, and he went east with Cheng Yaojin, Qin Shubao, and Ma Sanbao.Li Shimin didn't let him take the horses with him, saying that reconnaissance by himself is far more accurate than sending multiple scouts, and they can find out the situation better. Moreover, everyone is skilled in martial arts, and their mounts are excellent.At the three-way intersection, the two groups of people parted ways. Li Shimin gave the "White-hoofed Crow" to Li Jing, and he rode the "Telepis" for this expedition.This horse has only been with Li Shimin for half a month, and it seems to be able to understand the owner's mind. Whether it is leaping over the ditch or running wildly, it can adjust the owner's sitting posture very well, reaching the state of "horse and man as one" . After Song Jingang's attack on Longmen was blocked, Yuchi Jingde and Xun Xiang suggested to him that Hedong is the main supply base of grain and grass in Chang'an. If they attack south, it will not only cause panic in Chang'an, but also force Fenglingdu to put pressure on Tongguan.Song Jingang obeyed the advice of the two men and turned to the south. In order to prevent the attack of the Tang army in Longmen, he set up several camps from Jinzhou to Longmen, depending on the terrain or the old city, and garrisoned troops to respond to the defense. The four of Li Shimin drove about ten li to the southeast, then left the official road and went up the mountain.The trees on the mountain are not dense, but mostly low miscellaneous trees, trembling in the cold winter.After a snowfall, there is still snow on the hillside and branches, and it is very difficult to ride a horse.Encountering a steep slope, the four dismounted and walked. Li Shimin saw that Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin had nothing to say all the way, thinking that the two of them had just come to join him, and their first mission was to come out with him as spies, so he felt very sorry, and said: "Brother Shubao, Brother Yaojin, you guys It was the general, and I was the first to be charged as a detective, don't you blame me?" The two were walking in front, and there was a lot of mud on their boots and shirts. When they heard Li Shimin's question, they replied: "What's the matter? This move by the King of Qin is refreshing us. You can still investigate, let alone us .” Li Shimin said: "But I am younger than you." Cheng Yaojin said: "Brother Shubao and I can catch tigers when we go up the mountain, and win generals when we go down the mountain. We are in great shape. What does it matter to walk such a small distance?" Ma Sanbao admired the reputation of the two of them for a long time, and said, "Director Qin, General Cheng, I have heard of your name for a long time, but today we can walk side by side, and I am deeply honored. There is something I don't understand, then Li Mi and Wang Shichong are both It was a bright moment, why did you leave?" Cheng Yaojin said: "The so-called good birds choose trees to live in, and so do people. I heard that you were a bandit back then, why did you fall in love with the princess when you saw the princess?" Ma Sanbao felt embarrassed and said, "I'm different from you. I was captured by the princess and sent back to the mountain without killing her. Speaking of which, she is my benefactor." Qin Shubao sighed and said: "There are fierce generals in troubled times. If the world is peaceful, we will mostly work in the mulberry fields and weave for a living. Where can we fight? King Qin, Brother Yaojin and I came to vote for Tang because we saw that Tang seemed like a king. Qi, the emperor and you treat your subordinates kindly and broad-mindedly, and we will have a stable shelter. The greatest wish in my heart is to quickly stabilize the world and stop living a life of wandering." Li Shimin nodded and said: "Brother Shubao's words have a lot of meaning. For a general, fighting a war is actually not fighting in the end. Only then can he be a teacher of benevolence and righteousness." While chatting, everyone climbed to the Xiaoxiao Peak of Jishan Mountain, and looked around from here, with a panoramic view of the far and near scenery.Ma Sanbao pointed out: "Song Jingang withdrew his troops to the south. In order to guard against my soldiers from Longmen, I heard that he set up a camp in Baibi. Look at the city with earthen walls, it is Baibi. In order to echo each other, they also On the west side of Baibi, there are two cottages on the left and one on the right, where the banners and banners are displayed.” Li Shimin said: "Do you know how many soldiers and horses are stationed there?" Ma Sanbao shook his head. Qin Shubao looked eastward carefully for a long time, and said: "King Qin, I think the position of this Baibi is quite important. From there to the east, there is the official road from Bingzhou to Fenglingdu. Liu Wuzhou, Song Jingang Transshipment of food and grass to the front line and communication all rely on this. If we take Bobi and occupy it, condescending and threatening their passage, they will be in a dilemma." Li Shimin had already thought of this, and said: "We are just observing a general view now, and we need to take a closer look. But after a rough look, we can know that there are no other enemy troops around except these three points. We will go to Guanzhong It would be very disappointing if the Dragon Gate stayed still. It would be a bit more comfortable for Song Jingang to cross the river calmly and threaten Guanzhong. Brother Shubao and Brother Yaojin, in order to find out their strength, we must get close for reconnaissance. You two I will be in charge of the two cottages, and Sanbao and I will go to Baibi together. Let's break up now." The four horses are separated left and right.Li Shimin led Ma Sanbao to rush to Baibi. It was easy to go up the mountain and difficult to go down. Ma Sanbao accidentally slipped down a steep slope with his horse and man. Fortunately, there were no serious problems except for a few bloodstains rubbed by the stones. . The two of them went down the mountain and galloped forward. There was a small hill about five miles away. The horses rode up quickly and climbed up. From a high place, the movement in Baibi City was clear at a glance.I saw that the city of Baibi was not too big, and the city walls were all made of adobe. It was about two miles long from east to west and about three miles wide from north to south.The two of them put their horses on and went forward to watch. The faces of the soldiers guarding the city gates at both ends were clearly discernible, and there were soldiers stationed in the houses in the city.They looked at it for a long time, but they didn't see a single citizen inside. They thought it was because of the war at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the people were displaced, and Baibi had become an empty city. The sun was hanging in the sky, and the direct sunlight warmed the earth.The soldiers in the city were all going out to bask in the sun at the moment, and they gathered together in small groups, looking lazy.Li Shimin asked Ma Sanbao to count the number of soldiers in the east of the city, and he counted the soldiers in the west of the city.The two added the number together, and there were about two thousand people. Li Shimin pointed to the city and asked, "Three Treasures, if I give you five thousand men to take this city, are you sure?" Ma Sanbao said: "Five thousand people is a little small. If you can give me 10,000 people, you can surround the city first, and then use siege tools to cooperate and climb the wall. King Qin, you see that the city wall is not high. , and built with adobe, it is very easy to climb." Li Shimin nodded, and asked again: "I will give you another 10,000 people, and you will stick to this city, are you sure?" Ma Sanbao clapped his hands and said: "Haha, this is exactly my specialty. If I want to defend this city, the first step is to strengthen the city wall, store more grain and grass in the city, and see who can spend it with me." Li Shimin asked again: "If the attacking enemy first besieged the city and then cut off the food supply, how would you deal with it?" Ma Sanbao said: "This requires the cooperation of Longmen and those two strongholds. If we take down Baibi, we will also take down those two strongholds, forming a horned situation. In this way, everything east of Baibi is ours." If the enemy attacked from the east, we would ignore him; if they crossed the cypress wall and attacked from east to west, we would order the two strongholds to come and harass them, and the defenders in the city would attack with cameras, so that they would have no place to stand." Li Shimin was overjoyed. He patted Ma Sanbao on the shoulder and said, "What a three treasure, what you just said is exactly what we will do next. I didn't expect that you, a scholar bandit, are very strategic. Weak soldiers." Ma Sanbao smiled. Li Shimin and Ma Sanbao went to the horses, Li Shimin said: "It's noon now, let's go to the top of the mountain to eat some dry food." There was a flat land on the top of the mountain, and there happened to be a pool of clear water flowing, and the two of them chewed dry food on the clear water.It's sunny here and there's no wind in the sky.After eating the dry food, Li Shimin saw a rock next to him, and said, "Sambo, we have completed our mission here, and we are full again. I feel sleepy, how about sleeping on the rock for a while?" Ma Sanbao said: "I also have the same intention." The two tied the horse aside, leaned against the rock, basked in the sun, and sat facing each other.Li Shimin closed his eyes and said: "Sanbao, I heard from my sister that she promised Qianzi to be your wife, is that right?" Ma Sanbao has been in touch with Qianzi for many days, and has been in love with her for a long time. Due to Li Wanniang's prestige, he has this idea in his heart but dare not say it out loud.This time Li Wanniang took the initiative to mention it to him, and couldn't help being overjoyed.Hearing Li Shimin mention this matter now, he felt sweet in his heart. He didn't know that Li Shimin had moved Qianzi's thoughts, so he said, "Yes, the princess is my benefactor, and she even has to worry about my family affairs. I am grateful." Li Shimin smiled slightly: "I look at Miss Qianzi, she looks like a sister. If you become a family, I will keep you obediently obeying her orders." Ma Sanbao said: "What's the matter? I can't repay the princess' kindness in my life. No matter how Qianzi treats me in the future, I think it's the princess's affection. I'll just listen to her." After hearing this, Li Shimin couldn't help laughing loudly, and said, "You really look like a slave. You raised your hands and surrendered before you got married. Alas, Sanbao, if you want to be promiscuous in this life, you probably won't have a chance. Wait until now." After the war is over, I will definitely be there to congratulate you on the day you return to Chang'an to get married." Hearing what Ma Sanbao said, he jumped up hastily, cupped his hands and said, "Sanbao would like to thank King Qin for his kindness, the gift is nothing more than a present, if King Qin comes in person, it will be a great honor for Qianzi and me." Li Shimin smiled and said nothing, beckoning Ma Sanbao to sit down.The two stopped talking, and after a while, both fell asleep. I don't know how long it has been?Sleeping Ma Sanbao felt something on his face, he opened his eyes and saw a snake tail just swam over his face and onto the rock.He was startled and stood up, only to see a big colorful snake chasing a mouse.Seeing that they were in front of Li Shimin, Ma Sanbao hurriedly took a few steps and pulled Li Shimin up. Li Shimin was still alert and woke up all of a sudden. Ma Sanbao was still staring at the snake, wondering why the hibernating snake woke up?Li Shimin opened his eyes and saw a circle of people coming up around the top of the mountain.Then he pushed the three treasures of the horse violently, and shouted: "Sambo, get on the horse and copy the guy." The people who came up from the top of the mountain were the defenders of Baibi City. They found two people in the city peeking in from the hill. They suspected they were spies of the Tang army, and they sent more than 30 people to search.When they reached the top of the mountain, they were overjoyed when they saw the two sleeping against the rock, thinking that they could catch the two dreamers without much effort.How did they know that a mouse or a snake interrupted their good business. Li Shimin and Li Shimin got on their horses quickly, pulled the reins and ran westward. After walking for more than a hundred steps, they killed several people with a knife and a gun.At this time, other people gathered around, and the leader held a machete in his hand, shouting and commanding the crowd while running.Li Shimin and Ma Sanbao both turned around, hung their spears and knives on the horses, each drew out the big hard bow of Sangzhe snake tendons, and took out the big feathered arrows to shoot at them.Li Shimin's first arrow hit the brave general's throat, and the two men's arrows were worth the effort, eight people fell to the ground in a short time, everyone saw the situation was not good, shouted, rolled and crawled back to Baibi. Seeing everyone running away, Ma Sanbao put on a smile and said, "King Qin has great strength and arrow skills." Li Shimin said: "We were too careless, instead of being chased by snakes and rats, we became captives of others." Ma Sanbao said: "Auspicious people have their own celestial features, and today I also entrusted the great blessing of the King of Qin." Li Shimin stared and said: "Go away, when is the time, you still don't forget to flatter. Do you think such good things will happen often? If you are careless again, it might not feel good to be a prisoner of others, right?" In the evening, the two reconnaissance teams gathered together, and each told about the reconnaissance situation. Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin each had 500 soldiers guarding the cottages they were investigating. Li Shimin looked at everyone and said: "Now, Song Jingang is concentrating on attacking south. Let's take this opportunity to quickly take down Baibi. I have made up my mind. Brother Sichang and the princess are still guarding Longmen here. Duke Yin will prepare wooden boards, etc. Waiting for the summons at Longmen." Seeing Ma Sanbao eager to try, Li Shimin said: "Sambao, you don't want to go to the front line, but assist the princess at Longmen. What do you think?" Chai Shao, Li Wanniang, and Ma Sanbao nodded in approval, and Yin Kaishan asked in puzzlement: "King Qin, what is the use of asking me to prepare wooden boards and other things?" Li Shimin said: "There are all earthen walls at Baibi, and they are not very high, so they are very easy to climb. After taking down Baibi this time, we must be prepared for a long-term persistence. Prepare more planks to strengthen the city wall. Speaking of it, This is still Sambo's idea." Yin Kaishan suddenly realized, and said: "Many people around have fled, and they may not be able to buy a large amount of wood planks in a hurry. King Qin, I have an idea. There are many people who build walls in the army. It is better to call them together, and prepare more wooden troughs for walls. Stone hammer, how about letting them go to Baibi to raise the city wall with soil?" Li Shimin said: "Yes, but in the middle of winter, can the clay build a wall? Can it be strong? All these must be planned in advance." Yin Kaishan nodded in agreement. Li Shimin said to the crowd again: "Generals, Song Jingang's new force is now attacking the south under the leadership of Yuchi Jingde and Xunxiang. Let's go and take Baibi and cut off their food roads. They will definitely shrink back and attack. Beat Bobi. Brother Shubao, Brother Yaojin, each of you take 2,000 people to take down those two small villages. I will lead Wuji, Hou Junji, Duan Zhixuan and others to attack Bobi. I will give everyone Make preparations in one daytime, at three o'clock tomorrow, all the troops and horses will set off overnight, and in Pingming the next day, I will take these three places." At You o'clock the next night, all the troops and horses arrived at the designated positions on time.Most of the defenders in Bobi and the two cottages were still asleep, and they were taken as prisoners in a daze.This morning, when a ray of sunlight shone on the earth, a colorful banner was flying on the east gate of Baibi, and the inscription "Da Tang Taiwei Qin Wang Li", Baibi changed Li Tang's flag from then on. Song Jingang's attack on Longmen was blocked, so he turned around and went to attack Jiangzhou again.The city of Jiangzhou was strong and difficult to attack, and Haozhou and Luzhou from the east came to support it.At this time, Lu Chongmao, a native of Xia County, gathered a crowd to call himself the king of Wei and responded to Liu Wuzhou; Wang Xingben, based on Puban, sent people to Jinzhou to contact Song Jingang.Song Jingang received these two reinforcements, and urgently ordered Yuchi Jingde and Xunxiang to leave Jiangzhou, go south from the middle road, and attack Huizhou with Lu Chongmao.After the fall of Huizhou, Yuchi Jingde arrived in Xia County. While preparing food and grass, he contacted Wang Xingben and prepared to join forces. The defeated soldiers who escaped from Bobi told Song Jingang and Yuchi Jingde the news of the Tang army's attack, and they were shocked when they heard it.Song Jingang rectified his troops in Jinzhou, while Yuchi Jingde stayed behind to guard Xia County. He led a group of soldiers and horses, and both sides attacked Baibi at the same time. When they reached the base of the city, they were shocked to find that the city wall had been raised by ten feet.It turned out that after Li Shimin captured the city, the wall-building team organized by Yin Kaishan arrived in time, and within a day and night, their city wall was completed.After the city wall was completed, Yin Kaishan organized a grain transportation team to arrive overnight, and the grain and grass brought in was enough to support the 20,000 defenders in the city for one month. Seeing the sergeant's armor on the city wall, and the spears and halberds like a forest, he looks mighty.Song Jingang became depressed all of a sudden, he discussed with Yuchi Jingde: "Jingde, I don't think Li Shimin is so powerful, we lack siege weapons, why not lead the army to the west and cut off their connection with Longmen." Yuchi Jingde said: "King Song, Li Shimin's arrival is not kind. Since he can strengthen the city wall overnight, he will definitely prevent us from cutting off their connection with Longmen. Now there is Jiangzhou in the east echoing them. We don't know the truth, so we still have to be cautious. A few would be nice." Song Jingang nodded and said, "In that case, let's let the soldiers insult Suo Zhan and see if we can lure them down to the city." Li Shimin was leading the generals to stand on the city wall at this time, after Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin took down two cottages, they handed over to the generals to guard them, and they have rushed to Baibi.On the city wall, they heard Song Jingang's sergeants insulting them below the city, and they all geared up to fight.Qin Shubao said: "King Qin, that man riding a black horse with a face like a black diamond must be Yuchi Jingde. Yao Jinxin and I have been here not long ago, and we all said how amazing this Yuchi Jingde is. Please order, we two Go down and fight him for 300 rounds first, and you will know his skills." Cheng Yaojin also tried his best to fight. Li Shimin just smiled, leaned over to observe for a while, and said: "I forgive Song Jingang for not daring to lead the army west. They are insulting here, and let them tear their throats. Brother Shubao and Brother Bite Jin, if you want to make meritorious service, you can do it." Don't be busy here for a while. Now that the enemy has broken through the city and is vigorous, we will give them a chance to hold on and frustrate their spirit. We will wait here, not in one month, and then in two months, until they vent Qi, if there is no food and grass available, I will withdraw obediently. Xuanling, you should be careful, and you and Ruhui will be responsible for dispatching scouts and collecting information." Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui nodded in agreement. Li Shimin also said: "We stand firm here, and we can't let them be free outside. Brother Shubao and Brother Yaojin, each of you can choose some capable knights, sneak out of the city overnight, and go to places like Jinzhou and Fenzhou Give them a sudden blow. Wuji and Hou Junji prepare some people to attack instead. The rest of the generals will follow me to defend the city. Let's go, it's meaningless to listen to them scolding the street here. Everyone has been busy for several days. It's time to rest." From the second day onwards, at dusk, Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin were in a group, Changsun Wuji and Hou Jun were in a group, and they changed their leaders out of the city to harass Song Jingang's entrenched place.They took advantage of the night to suddenly gallop into the enemy camp, yelling and slashing and killing everyone as they passed through the camp. By the time the campers reacted, they had already galloped several miles away. Later, they became more and more courageous, even in the daytime, they dared to rush straight into the enemy's camp, fighting in and out like a whirlwind.The reason why they succeeded again and again was that Song Jingang's troops were limited after all, all the elite divisions were led by Yuchi Jingde to attack the south, and almost all the soldiers left behind were old and weak soldiers.This kind of harassment made Song Jingang exhausted. At the beginning, he even brought people down to Baibi City to fight. Later, the rear was too busy to take care of himself, and it was not appropriate to frequently deploy troops to the front.Therefore, the camp was shrunk in the rear, and the generals and horses were concentrated in several central cities.At Yuchi Jingde's place, he was asked to specialize in running Hedong. Since then, Baibi's side has been very quiet. Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui dispatched scouts every morning, and asked them to disguise themselves as ordinary people to investigate in Jinzhou, Huizhou, and Xia counties.Fang Xuanling was the most careful. He asked in detail, and densely annotated various symbols on a map of mountains and rivers, so that the surrounding mountains, rivers and rivers were all clear by heart.In the evening, the two summarized the collected information and reported it to Li Shimin. Right now, Baibi and Longmen are integrated into one, echoing Jiangzhou in the east, Song Jingang is hard to shake.Hearing the news, the counties and prefectures in Hedong were in high spirits. They have always been stable, but this time they were invaded by Song Jingang, and they all hated it.Du Ruhui keenly noticed this trend from the scouts' words, and hurriedly offered a plan to Li Shimin.Li Shimin arranged people to go out of the city to appease him according to his plan. After a few days, people from all states and counties came to Baibi to meet Li Shimin, expressing that they needed people and food.At that time, there was not much grain in Chang'an, so Li Shimin ordered Hou Junji, Duan Zhixuan and Changsun Wuji to be responsible for receiving the grain. After the grain was loaded at Baibi, it was sent to Chang'an through Longmen. Li Shimin stood firm in Baibi, and contacted the counties and counties in Hedong to strengthen his momentum, which made Song Jingang look weak.The most uncomfortable ones were Yuchi Jingde and Xunxiang. Xunxiang stayed in Huizhou and Yuchi Jingde tried to contact Wang Xingben in Puban, but the progress was very slow.According to Yuchi Jingde's original intention, he simply abandoned the defense of Xiaxian County and Huizhou, and shrank his troops back to defend Jinzhou.Reluctantly, Song Jingang was eager to make contributions, thinking that if he retreats now, all previous efforts will be wasted, so he strictly ordered Yuchi Jingde to open the road to the south. In the blink of an eye, it was the New Year's Eve, and a heavy snowfall came suddenly, and the land in Hedong was covered with a thick layer of white snow.Even though it was a time of war, the atmosphere of the Chinese New Year still permeated the faces of the people, arousing the homesickness of all the soldiers.Yuchi Jingde saw that the morale of the army was fluctuating, so he decided to let Lu Chongmao guard Xia County, and lead most of the soldiers back to Huizhou, and first join forces with Xunxiang.Wait for a year, and then act. This news was learned by Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, and they reported it to Li Shimin at night. After hearing this, Li Shimin frowned and asked, "They are going to join forces in Huizhou. Xuanling, what is the terrain between Xia County and Huizhou?" ?” Fang Xuanling took out the map of mountains and rivers that he carried with him, opened it and pointed out: "Going north from Xia County, there is a mountain and river at first, and after thirty miles, you will arrive at a place called Meiliang River. It is surrounded by low hills, and the middle is flat and wide. , the Ji River runs through it, and then twenty miles to the north, crossing a mountain peak, you will arrive at Huizhou." "Is Meiliang River suitable for setting up an ambush?" "It's very suitable. The surrounding hills can be used to ambush soldiers in advance. Jihe River is divided into half and half of ice and water. When it is halfway across, the ambush soldiers will rush out, and they will be caught by surprise." Li Shimin knocked on the note and said: "Okay, we have been quiet for a few days, it's time to go out and do some activities. Ruhui, what do you think of Xuanling's plan?" Du Ruhui smiled and said: "Yuchi Jingde thinks that the end of the year is approaching, we will definitely not be able to hold on, such a coldness is enough for him, and winning a battle is almost guaranteed." Li Shimin looked at everyone and asked, "Generals, who is willing to go to Meiliangchuan with this king?" Qin Shubao got up from his seat and said, "King Qin, you don't need to fight for such a small battle. I will go with Yaojin and bring another 5,000 troops. I will kill him without returning." Seeing their eagerness to fight, Li Shimin was very happy. He nodded to Yin Kaishan and said, "Duke Yin, what do you think?" Yin Kaishan stood up, clasped his hands and said: "King Qin's daughter's body, it's best not to take it lightly. I want General Qin and General Cheng to fight, and I will fight for them. You just wait for the good news in the city." Li Shimin thought for a while, and then made up his mind: "If so, I will trouble the three of you. Xuanling got the exact news from here that Yuchi Jingde will leave the camp and return to the north at this time tomorrow. Before that, you will set up an ambush in Meiliangchuan. Tomorrow night, everyone and I Set up the celebration banquet first, and wait for the good news." Yuchi Jingde, with a lance in his hand and a pair of whips hanging from his waist, rode a black horse towards Weizhou.Behind them, a thousand wheelbarrows were full of food and grass, and behind them, a thousand horsemen and two thousand infantry escorted the chariots and marched in an orderly manner.The road was slippery after the rain, and the marching speed was extremely slow.Seeing this, Yuchi Jingde ordered 2,000 infantry to step forward, one on the left and one on the right to help push the wheelbarrow, and the marching speed immediately increased. The sky is full of clouds, and it looks like it will snow again in the near future.Yuchi Jingde looked around, feeling extremely depressed.Back then when Yuchi joined the army respectfully, he deeply admired Song Jingang for his bravery and fighting spirit, his boldness and loyalty, and was appreciated and reused by him.How did he know that Song Jingang became Liu Wuzhou's brother-in-law, and suddenly changed his mind, thinking about attacking south without thinking about his own strength.Yuchi Jingde is a brave person, usually he doesn't pay much attention to anything, but this incident made him feel very awkward.Now Song Jingang did not allow him to retreat to Jinzhou, and he was unable to go south for a while, and Li Shimin at Baibi was sitting still on Mount Tai, which made him feel agitated. He lowered his head and pondered on the horse, unknowingly entering the Meiliang River.The water of the Ji River was not too deep, and the Wuzhui horse jumped to the opposite bank after two ups and downs.He rode his horse and looked back, and saw that the sergeants were stopping to take off their boots one after another, preparing to wade across the river. They huddled together for a while, and the horsemen behind couldn't wait, turned their horses and passed from both sides, and crossed the river one after another. Just when the first group of vehicles had just waded out of the water, and the second group had just entered the water, there was only a sound of a trumpet and the sound of killing on the hills, and the Tang army rushed towards them all over the mountains and plains. Seeing Tang Jun rushing towards him, Yuchi Jingde was extremely calm. He ordered the horse troops to form a column along the river bank to protect the army crossing the river. Here Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin came forward to fight towards the river bank, seeing a black general rushing out of the formation like lightning, they recognized it as Yuchi Jingde.Cheng Yaojin pushed Changlong forward, and shouted: "Brother Shubao, don't rest, let me fight this sunspot for 300 rounds first." While speaking, the two horses had already rushed to the opposite side, only to hear "" With a sound of "clang", the two spears collided in the air, and a cloud of sparks appeared at the point of collision.Yuchi Jingde and Cheng Yaojin both felt each other's strength in this collision, they yelled "Good guy" in their hearts, knowing that they met their opponents.In an instant, the blue and black faces of the two matched each other, and Ma Qiang was fighting together, which made people dazzled. 两人大战了五十回合，秦叔宝在一旁观战，见这尉迟敬德槊招沉重、挑刺自如，程咬金一开始还能应付，到了后来终归力怯，眼见他的槊法渐散，秦叔宝一摆虎头蘸金枪，大喝道：“咬金，你且退后，让我来斗斗这黑贼。”边说边冲到两人面前，挺枪向尉迟敬德刺去。 尉迟敬德自随宋金刚南侵以来，沿途所遇到的唐将接不了他的三招两式就败下阵来。和程咬金对招，感到这青面将还算对手，正杀得性起渐入佳境，忽见这名黄面将杀入阵来，那杆枪比青面将的马槊还显沉重。他用马槊将叔宝的枪挡了过去，勒马退后五步，一撒手扔掉马槊，拔出双鞭道：“本将不斩无名之将，报上名来，再来受死。” 程咬金退后喘息已定，骂道：“你这黑贼，说了我们的名字会吓死你，你眼前的是秦王府马军总管秦叔宝，本爷爷名叫程咬金，想你久闻大名了。” 尉迟敬德听说过他们的名字，冷笑道：“我以为是谁呢，原来是两个背主之人。你们先随李密，再叛王世充，反复无常，还在这里大言不惭！” 秦叔宝喝道：“你随刘武周这个儿皇帝也光彩不到哪里去，废话少说，来，抄家伙吧。”秦叔宝也将长枪挂在马上，拔出那双金装锏迎上前去。 两根锏两条鞭顿时缠斗在一起，两人棋逢对手，将遇良才，杀得酣畅淋漓。程咬金在旁边看得呆了，他随秦叔宝多日，从未见他将锏法使得如此漂亮，想是今天遇到强敌将其潜能都发挥了出来。 那边殷开山看到秦叔宝绊住了尉迟敬德，急忙指挥众马军向河岸边猛冲。尉迟敬德的马军很快被唐军杀乱了阵形，将士的鲜血染红了河水。一个时辰不到，稷河两岸留下了二千余具尸体。 尉迟敬德与秦叔宝大战正酣，交战间隙中看到自己的队伍被唐军杀散，心中不由大惧。他将双鞭举过头顶猛力向秦叔宝的双锏砸去，震得秦叔宝退后几步，之后又虚晃一鞭，引得秦叔宝举锏招架。趁此间隙，尉迟敬德一拨乌骓马，向浍州方向逃去。 秦叔宝与程咬金向前追了一阵，无奈两人坐骑的脚力不行，渐渐与尉迟敬德拉开距离。他们勒住马，秦叔宝道：“这黑厮的坐骑不错，估计只有秦王的'特勒骠'才能跑过它。咬金，我们回去吧。”程咬金骂道：“他娘的，这黑贼满嘴豪言壮语，还没交手几回，就仗着自己的马快，逃命去了。” 秦叔宝用手抚去马颈上沁出的汗，整匹马浑身如同水浇过一遍，叹道：“这黑厮不好对付哇，我们今天杀了他个措手不及，若换个时间，一对一交手，谁胜谁负，还难预料啊。”程咬金暗暗点头，他虽然嘴硬，然内心里却暗自佩服尉迟敬德。 河边冒起了狼烟，原来是殷开山看到粮草无法搬运回柏壁，遂令军士将车辆集拢在一起，一把大火点烧了事。 李世民在柏壁静候佳音，一直等到半夜，方才看到一溜火把由远及近。此前，他已经得知了美良川大捷的消息，这些火把当属班师队伍所打，急忙招呼房玄龄等人大开城门迎接得胜之军。 庆功宴早已经摆好，李世民左手拉着秦叔宝，右手拉着程咬金入席，推殷开山坐了上席。酒酣宴热之际，三人谈起这次战斗的细节。殷开山成为主谈者，他将秦、程二人与尉迟敬德大战的情况说得绘声绘色，席上人都听得入了神。李世民神驰飞往，喃喃道：“这个黑子！有机会我一定要亲自会会他。”