Chapter 24 The twenty-fourth round of Wanbao was ordered to investigate the Luoyang Shixin who died at the festival and lost his consciousness

Three days later, Li Shimin called on the generals, and together with Li Yuanji led 300 cavalry, they rushed to Luoyang on horseback.Li Shimin believed that there was no need to go to war to deal with Liu Heitai, and it would be enough to allocate 30,000 troops in Luoyang, so there was no need to mobilize soldiers from other state capitals. For this expedition, Li Shimin changed to another horse named "Fist Hair".The horse "Shivachi" was brought back to Longxi by Zhang Wansui for breeding. The "fist hair" was presented by Xu Luoren, the governor of Daizhou, when he was in Hulao Pass. This horse is a great horse with power in the country. It has yellow curly hair all over its body, but its mouth is black. Although it has a strong temper, it is quite satisfactory. .

When the group arrived in Luoyang, it was already dusk.When Li Shimin returned to Chang'an, he asked Wen Daya to be the comfort ambassador of Henan Province and Zhang Liang to be the governor of Luoyang.At that time, Wen Daya had been ordered to return to Beijing.Zhang Liang was the chariot and cavalry general of the Qin Palace in the past. When he heard that his master was coming, he led a group of Luoyang officials out of the city gate five miles away to meet him early.After entering the city, Zhang Liang has prepared residences for everyone.They left after the dust-cleaning banquet, Li Shimin still lived in Luoyuan, and he was very satisfied to hear that Zhang Liang had prepared 30,000 horses for the expedition.

After two days of exhaustion from the journey, Li Shimin wanted to take an early rest, but Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui suddenly pushed the door open and crashed in with panicked expressions on their faces. These two people are usually cautious and upright, calm and magnanimous, which is rarely the case. Li Shimin asked puzzledly: "What makes you so flustered?" Du Ruhui wiped the fine sweat from his head, and said: "Brother Xuanling and I arrived in Xin'an today, and wanted to stop by to see Chu Ke, so we got off the road. We met Chu Ke, and saw him frowning there Worried. After careful inquiry, it turned out that a group of people came to Xin'an recently, and they scattered around the manor to spy secretly, which is obviously not good for the villa."

"Do you know the origin of this group of people?" Li Shimin became nervous when he heard it. "Chu Ke discovered this group of people, and sent Zhuang Ding to inquire and talk to him. The other party was evasive, and occasionally revealed a sentence or a half, with a capital accent." "When Ruhui and I heard this, we felt that this group of people was not a good person, so we hurried over here. We discussed on the way that these people must not be ordinary thieves, and they must have a background behind them. They obviously came for that batch of treasures. Come on. King Qin, it is not too late, we must transfer the treasures as soon as possible, so as not to have long nights and dreams." Fang Xuanling interjected anxiously in a hurried voice.

Li Shimin lowered his head and fell into deep thought. That day Wei Ting and Shi Wanbao took off their official uniforms and put on regular ones, went to the market to buy two horses, left Chang'an and walked slowly towards Luoyang.When they arrived in Luoyang, instead of visiting Wen Daya and the others, they quietly found a secluded guesthouse to stay.In the evening, Shi Wanbao changed into night clothes, climbed up the roof tiles with lightness skills, and searched for news. Two months passed by unknowingly, and seeing that the year was approaching, the two of them still hadn't received any valuable news.Wei Ting was extremely discouraged, and clamored several times to return to Chang'an, but was persuaded by Shi Wanbao.

That night Shi Wanbao dressed up and went out again.These days, he has focused his reconnaissance on several former officials from the Yellow Gate of the Zheng Dynasty.Since Tang Jun entered Luoyang, these people lost their jobs.When the Tang army brigade left, relying on some savings, they idled around all day long and did not do their jobs.Shi Wanbao found out that they were going to meet at Chen Baoli's home tonight, so he climbed to the roof of his living room, took off a tile, and listened intently to what they said. Chen Baoli was originally Wang Shichong's servant of Huangmen, but now he seems to be the leader of several people.After drinking for three rounds, someone in the seat said to Chen Baoli: "Now you can deal with it. The scallops in this meal are old-fashioned goods." I'm afraid it's hard to eat even this."

Someone in the seat laughed and said: "You were the servant of the Huangmen, and you know where the treasures in the palace are best. If you can just take out one or two and fly away, how can you be in trouble today?" Chen Baoli said: "It's easy to say. After the Tang army entered the city, they were like wolves and tigers. Sometimes they fought for a treasure, not to mention the heavy treasures in the palace? Alas, seeing the boxes and boxes of treasures being moved out by the Tang army, want It’s a lie to say you’re not jealous.” During the banquet, you talk to each other, talk while drinking, and make a fuss until midnight.When the crowd dispersed and Chen Baoli was drunk and blindfolded and turned around to go to bed, Shi Wanbao descended from the sky, held a sharp knife to Chen Baoli's throat, and pressed him about the whereabouts of the treasures.

Chen Baoli was frightened out of his wits, half sobered up, and said in a trembling voice: "Hero, please forgive me. At that time, this batch of treasures was sealed up by the Tang army, and all of us were expelled from the palace. I really don't know where they are." Shi Wanbao sneered and said, "I don't know? You have been operating in Luoyang for many years, and I don't believe you don't know anything. Think about it!" "This... this... let me think about it. By the way, I heard that this batch of goods was shipped out of Luoyang and went straight to Chang'an."

"Where is it going?" "Hero, I really don't know. Oh, I remembered. I heard that Tang Jun asked Chen Laowan, the shopkeeper of the oil wall truck, to help in order to ensure safe delivery. You might as well ask him. " Shi Wanbao asked Chen Laoguan's address, and with a flash of a sharp knife, Chen Baoli's life was instantly killed. Shi Wanbao found Old Man Chen, threatened and lured him, exhausted all means, and finally asked the whereabouts of the treasures.It turned out that Tang Jun paid a deposit to hire the oil wall truck owned by Old Man Chen, and asked him to pick up the car in Xin'an City two days later.Old Man Chen didn't know the truth, so he said this in a daze. Shi Wanbao was finally satisfied and didn't kill him.

Shi Wanbao and Wei Ting jumped for joy when they got this clue.At the end of the day, the two wanted to go to Xin'an to find out what happened, but at this time Li Jiancheng sent a message to let them return to Chang'an first.It turned out that Li Shentong was very busy in Hebei at that time, and asked for reinforcements. The court appointed Shi Wanbao as a doctor of Shandong Daoxingtai, and ordered him to take up the post immediately. Wang Junkuo and others also went with him.As a result, the matter of visiting Baohuo fell on Wei Ting.Just after the New Year's Eve, Wei Ting selected 20 people in the East Palace, and quietly sneaked into Xin'an for a secret investigation.One day, Wei Ting learned that there was a new owner in the Mountain Resort, and he only came to stay in July last year.Wei Ting was full of doubts, while trying to find out the origin of this person, he sent people to watch secretly in the four corners of the manor.

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were talking about Wei Ting and his group. Li Shimin raised his head and said: "No matter where they are from, we'd better be careful. If it's dark, you go and call Wuji here. It's not too late. We will transfer this batch of goods tonight." Du Ruhui turned and went out, Li Shimin looked at Fang Xuanling and asked, "Where is the best place to put this batch of goods?" Fang Xuanling meditated for a moment, and said decisively: "Where did you come from, where did you go! At the beginning, I put this product in Xin'an, but in fact, it was sparsely populated, there were few people and the roads were quiet, and there were traces to be found if there was any movement. Luoyang City University has a lot of people coming and going, we can ship the goods back and let Zhang Liang find a safe place to store them." At this time, Du Ruhui and Changsun Wuji walked into the room. In a short while, Li Shimin had already thought up a countermeasure, and said to the three of them: "Choose some suitable people and divide them into two teams. The first team, led by Xuanling and Ruhui, found a batch of oil wall trucks and filled them up in Shanzhou. Rice, all the way to Xin'an Manor with big torches. After a short stay, they went to Chang'an overnight. After entering Chang'an, they sent the rice to the palace, saying that it was the rice that I gave to the father. The other team was led by Wuji Leader, when you see the car leaving the manor, move the treasures out from the back wall and put them on the Jianshui boat one by one, then let the boat go down, and I will let Zhang Liang go to the ferry to meet him." The three of them knew that this was Li Shimin's trick, so they hurriedly bowed and went out to make arrangements. Early the next morning, Li Shentong came to see Li Shimin with a face full of panic.At that time, Li Shimin had just had breakfast, and when he saw his uncle coming, he was angry and funny.Thinking that he was his uncle after all, the words he said were very decent, ironing Li Shentong's heart very properly.Li Shentong vowed to insist on going out together, and he will avenge himself with one arrow. At that time, the army of the Northern Expedition was in order, and Zhang Liang prepared the weapons, food and grass one by one.At Li Shimin's order, the 30,000 troops rushed along Beiman Mountain to Huiluo City, crossed the river from here, and gathered in Heyang that day. Hearing that Li Shimin led the army, many Tang officials who had been scattered by Liu Heita came to gather, including the defeated Wang Junkuo, Shi Wanbao and others.In a few days, the army of the Northern Expedition grew from 30,000 when it left Luoyang to 50,000.In the evening of this day, the army entered Huojia County.Li Shimin plans to take a short rest here, and then attack Xiangzhou City, where Liu Heita is guarding, in one go. Perhaps Li Shimin's reputation was too great, and Liu Heita was terrified when he heard that Li Shimin had entered the army to win the prize.Seeing that the city of Xiangzhou is small, and his battle line is too long, he may not be able to block Li Shimin's blow.After discussing with the generals, he left Xiangzhou and went straight to Mingzhou to defend it.In this way, Li Shimin won Xiangzhou without any effort. Cheng Yaojin couldn't hide his ecstasy, and showed off loudly to the generals: "The King of Qin today is a gold-lettered signboard, and the thieves trembled with fright when they heard it. How rampant Liu Heitai was a few days ago. When the King of Qin arrives, he immediately slips away." Everyone agreed with what they said, but Li Yuanji, Wang Junkuo and Shi Wanbao among them didn't like it. The next day, Li Shimin marched northward with his army. It was freezing cold and the road was difficult for a while.Li Shimin ordered that the soldiers should be swift, and the whole army marched against the wind and snow, and marched very fast.On this day when the army marched to Feixiang, Liu Heita's army defending the city was vulnerable and was forced to surrender soon.As soon as Feixiang was lost, the surrounding Liu Jun was terrified when they heard the news, and they came to surrender one after another.For a few days, Zhang Shan'an, the guard general of Yuzhang, brought Qian, Ji and other five prefectures to surrender. Yang Xiaocheng, Feng Borang and others also came back from the city. He said that he wanted to dedicate Mingshui City to surrender. Mingshui City is located at the confluence of Zhangshui and Mingshui, only more than 20 miles away from Mingzhou, the capital of Liu Heita.The city's terrain is critical, and it is the first main road between Mingzhou and Shandong. It has always been close friends with Mingzhou.Li Shimin was overjoyed when he heard the words, knowing that if Mingshui City was captured, it would be able to directly threaten Mingzhou in the near distance, and cut off Liu Heita's connection with the eastern states and counties in the far distance.So he rewarded the envoys heavily, and sent Wang Junkuo to lead 1,500 horsemen to enter Mingshui City to defend. Li Yi received Li Yuan's will and ordered 30,000 troops to leave Youzhou to attack the south.At that time, Liu Heita was still in Xiangzhou, and most of the main force went south with him, and his defense in the north was very empty.Li Yi commanded his troops to quickly capture Ding, Luan, Lian, and Zhao four prefectures. According to the soldiers, they approached Xingzhou, the last barrier north of Mingzhou, the capital of Liu Heita.Li Yi's advancing speed was very fast, even faster than the army led by Li Shimin.Feeling the crisis, Liu Heitai ordered Fan Yuan to lead 30,000 people to guard Mingzhou, and personally lead the main force to Xingzhou, planning to defeat Li Yi first, and then turn around to deal with Li Shimin. Liu Heitai didn't expect that Li Quhuo would dedicate Mingshui City to Li Shimin early on before he fought Li Yi.Wang Junkuo entered Mingshui, and at night he sent his general, Cheng Mingzhen, to bring sixty big drums, and came to the Erli embankment in the west of Mingzhou City in the dark to beat them suddenly.The sound of the drums was very urgent, and the sound of the drums seemed to shake the ground in Mingzhou City.Fan Yuan couldn't figure it out, thinking that the Tang army had started to attack the city, and while dispatching manpower to strengthen defenses, he sent someone to inform Liu Heita of the news.When Liu Heita heard that the old nest was unstable, he left 10,000 people in Xingzhou to defend against Li Yi, and returned to Mingzhou with other people, Ma Xingye. It wasn't until dawn that Liu Heitai realized that he had suffered a false alarm. At this moment, someone came to report that Mingshui City had been covered with Tang army flags. He thought that now there is Li Yi in the north and Li Shimin in the south. Tang Jun had no choice but to make dumplings, and Liu Heita broke out in a cold sweat, so he ordered Gao Yaxian to command 10,000 troops to capture Mingshui City. Gao Yaxian's army had just crossed Zhangshui when he saw thousands of cavalry rushing out of the valley, led by Qin Shubao.Gao Yaxian was caught off guard, he was killed and defeated, and the defeated soldiers retreated across Zhangshui.Qin Shubao didn't dare to pursue deeply because of the small number of people on his side, Gao Yaxian was able to return to Mingzhou calmly.Liu Heita was furious, and gathered a heavy army to cross the Zhangshui River, besieging Mingshui City tightly. Li Shimin judged the situation and felt that while Liu Heita was besieging Mingshui City, he quickly divided his troops and joined hands with Li Yi to take Xingzhou first, and then advance to Mingzhou.Gradually closing the siege in this way, as long as Mingshui City is not lost, like a nail stuck there, Liu Heita can be captured with one blow. Li Shimin agreed, so he wrote a letter and sent Hou Junji to contact Li Yi's camp.Unexpectedly, when Hou Jun gathered here, something happened. Hou Junji was born in Sanshui, Binzhou. He played with bows and arrows since he was a child, and was famous in the village for his martial arts.After he entered the palace of Prince Qin, he was gradually appreciated by Li Shimin because of his bravery and skill in fighting.When he was still in Longxi, Li Shimin asked Hou Junji to learn the art of war with Li Jing, and he had high expectations for him. He is now the Zuo Yuhou of Tiance Mansion.One of Hou Junji's faults was that he was so pretentious and boastful. Now that King Qin's reputation was rising day by day, even he was becoming more and more proud, often supercilious. On this day, Hou Junji went to Li Yi's camp, but he refused to dismount after entering the gate, and was pulled off by Li Yi's general.When Li Yi first descended to Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan was in a difficult situation, so he naturally showed great favor to Li Yi.Li Yi was given the surname Li, and Li Yuan personally allowed his army Xu Xuan not to be transferred.Li Yi was originally arrogant, he held the power of life and death in Youzhou, and thought that there was only one Li Yuan in the world who could save face.Now when he heard that Hou Junji entered the gate and refused to dismount from his horse, he immediately became furious and ordered Hou Junji to be beaten to pieces.Hou Junji cried out in pain, remembering his mission, he had no choice but to get someone to support him and come to see Li Yi. Seeing Hou Junji's entry into the account, Li Yi annoyed him even more, and said in a deep voice, "You are the envoy of the King of Qin? I think you don't know the old man's rules, if you don't look at the King of Qin today On the spot, I have already beheaded you on the spot." Hou Junji took out Li Shimin's letter and said in a trembling voice: "The villain offended Lord Yan Huwei, he should be beaten. This is the letter from King Qin, please read it." Li Yi did not accept the letter, and asked indifferently: "You are here as an envoy, you should know the content of the letter and tell me." "How the King of Qin wrote it, I haven't read it, so I don't quite understand it. The main idea is that the King of Qin has now occupied Mingshui City, and wants to invite Duke Yan of Qi to attack Xingzhou and Mingzhou together." Li Yi picked up the letter and slowly tore it into pieces, with his expression still indifferent, he said coldly: "I originally thought you were a servant who didn't know the rules, and there is a way to forgive me. Now it seems that Li Shimin doesn't understand." The rules dictate this. In the whole world, this old man only obeys the imperial edict. As a vassal, can Li Shimin come to order this old man? You can save your life and go back and tell Li Shimin, let him think about everything in the future, and don’t act like It's so rough today." After speaking, Li Yi waved his hand, causing Hou Junji to be kicked out of the tent. Hou Junji went all the way back to Fei Township in pain and pain. Seeing Li Shimin bursting into tears, he recounted what Li Yi had done.Li Shimin's face was livid after hearing this, and he said angrily: "This king is now the marshal of the Eastern Expedition. The Prime Minister is doing military affairs in this battle. You, Li Yi, are just a Duke of Yan. Why do you have any reason to resist my order and beat up my family?" Junji retreated to rest, and asked the doctor accompanying the army to do a good job of diagnosis and treatment. Li Shentong saw that Li Shimin was indignant, so he persuaded him: "Forget it, Erlang, don't be angry again. I have also learned Li Yi's temper, and he ignored me when I wrote to him. Speaking of which, we were at that time How could Liu Heitai be fierce if the combined army did not act independently?" Seeing Hou Junji being beaten, Li Yuanji felt like a flower blossoming in his heart. At that moment, he had already regarded Li Yi as a confidant, thinking that someone would finally dare to confront Erlang head-on.He thought so in his heart, but he didn't express anything on his face. Instead, he fanned the flames and said, "That's right, what Uncle Shentong said is very reasonable. Second brother, Li Yi is so domineering. Why don't you practice Taoism and show it to your father? Let the emperor reprimand him." Li Shimin was furious, and said, "Li Yi is unwilling to cooperate, let him go. Liu Heita, a petty thief, what's the point? Uncle Shentong, Shiro, we can still deal with Liu Heita without Li Yi!" After all, he immediately ordered Duan Zhixuan, Shi Danai, and Zhang Gongjin to lead 10,000 horses out of Feixiang, pass Handan, and go northward to Xingzhou.Before leaving, Li Shimin said to the three of them solemnly: "Liu Heita left more than 10,000 men to defend the city in Xingzhou. You lead the army, and you do not have an advantage in numbers. You must use clever tactics to take down the city as soon as possible." Xingzhou. I have soldiers and horses here to defend Mingshui and attack Mingzhou, and I can no longer support you with troops." Duan Zhixuan said: "King Qin, don't worry, if the three of us can't win Xingzhou, I would like to come and see you." Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "That's good, you guys go." Liu Heikai reorganized his army and then attacked Mingshui. He first sent Gao Yaxian to lead 5,000 soldiers to withstand Qin Shubao's harassment, and he personally led heavy troops to surround Mingshui City tightly, and attacked continuously day and night. Mingshui City was surrounded by water on all sides. Seeing that the strong attack was futile, Liu Heita made a plan and ordered people to dig tunnels in the north and east of the city in an attempt to enter through the city.Seeing this, Wang Junkuo was terrified and sent people to Li Shimin for help.Li Shimin led the army to come, but Liu Heitai had been on guard for a long time. Relying on the favorable terrain, his army fired arrows again and again, or dropped wooden ash bottles from high places, and the Tang army could not advance to rescue. Li Shimin called everyone to discuss the matter before the battle, he said: "The position of Mingshui is extremely important, Liu Thief is bound to win, it would be a pity if we give up at this point." Li Shi said worriedly: "At present, there are 1,500 people from Wang Junkuo in the city, plus Li Quhuo's army defending the city, there are less than 3,000 people. Now Liu Heita is sending troops to resist me, while digging tunnels to break the city. If this stalemate continues, Mingshui City will be lost in less than ten days." Shi Wanbao interjected: "Yes, if the Mingshui is lost, Wang Junkuo will be taken prisoner." Li Shimin was very dissatisfied: "To be a commander in chief, one must be strong and hard to lose his ambition. This king is guarding the city, and he doesn't think of a way to crack it. Instead, he writes a letter saying that he will retreat. Brother, you said that you can last for ten days. It's still too optimistic, I don't think Wang Junkuo can hold on for five days." Li Shidao: "Now the situation is critical, please make a decision as soon as possible." Li Shimin said: "Now that Duan Zhixuan and the three are leading the army, I think they have reached the outskirts of Xingzhou. I think if they win, they can send their troops south to attack Mingzhou, then Liu Heita will definitely return to rescue, and we can gather the Mingshui army. Flank the past. If we give up Mingshui now, it will be another way of playing." The generals nodded silently. At this time, Luo Shixin stood up and said: "King Qin's idea is brilliant, and Liu Heita's crowd of mobs should be struck by such a thunderbolt to achieve miraculous results." Li Yuanji is very resentful towards Luo Shixin now.When he was in Luoyang, Luo Shixin didn't take Li Shimin seriously, and Li Yuanji even regarded him as a confidant in his heart. How could he know that with the passage of time, Li Shimin did not know how to deal with Luo Shixin in a submissive manner.This made Li Yuanji very puzzled.In fact, Luo Shixin is very brave and straightforward, and he can't keep anything in his heart. At first, when he heard that Li Shimin was capable, he had the idea of ​​comparing himself with others.After he witnessed Li Shimin capturing Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande with his own eyes, he knew that Li Shimin had both courage and strategy, and his mind gradually changed. Li Yuanji asked with a smile: "Director Luo has experienced many battles, and now Mingshui City is about to fall, you must have a way to tide over the difficulties." Although Luo Shixin is a warrior, he also heard Li Yuanji's implication, but he ignored it, and said to Li Shimin, "King Qin, I'm not good at trust, I'd like to succeed Wang Junkuo and enter the city." As soon as this remark came out, everyone was shocked.Wang Junkuo thought himself precarious in Mingshui City and demanded to break out of the encirclement.Who would have thought that Luo Shixin dared to ask for his order to enter the city at this moment, this kind of courage is very unique to everyone. Li Shimin was greatly moved, got up and came to Luo Shixin, held his hand and said, "Brother Shixin, your courage is as bright as the sun and the moon, I am deeply impressed. But marching and fighting is not feasible, I have made up my mind to let Wang Junkuo break through and return , we will give Liu Heitai a strong wall, and he will definitely be awarded the head within two months." "King Qin can't, our army is now carrying the momentum of repeated victories, and it is time to break it with a drum. If we withdraw from Mingshui now, we will undoubtedly give up halfway. The reputation of scholars is not good. If they enter the city to guard it for Wang Junkuo, the Liu thief will be jealous. In this way I will stand firm in the city for ten days, and the King of Qin will step up the attack, and the bandits Liu will withdraw from the siege, and the big thing will be accomplished." Li Shimin looked at Li Shi and asked, "Brother Shi, Shi Xin insists on this, what do you think?" Li Shi pondered: "It's freezing cold today, and the weather is unpredictable. I'm not sure if our army will break through and clear the siege within ten days. Shi Xin, it's really risky to do so." Luo Shixin said proudly: "A man should do things rashly. If I go to defend the city, I put my own life on the line. If the city breaks down, I believe I can kill a bloody road. King Qin, it's not too late, you can't If you hesitate any longer, please order." Seeing that Luo Shixin was so determined, Li Shimin couldn't bear it. He remembered that Luo Shixin had always been brave and invincible. Withdraw from the city. Wang Junkuo was overjoyed to see Li Shimin calling him to break out of the siege, so he selected 300 strong soldiers from the army to accompany him, then opened the south gate, and rushed out of the siege.When Liu Heikai saw someone breaking into the camp, he hurriedly ordered his soldiers to stop him.That Wang Junkuo was eager to run for his life. As a forward, he fought to the death, and the three hundred strong men moved eastward little by little.At this time, Luo Shixin, who was standing on the high platform, saw that the enemy formation was in disarray, looked back at the two hundred riders to the left and right, and shouted: "Go, follow me." They rushed down the high platform like a whirlwind, and rushed towards the enemy formation quickly.Liu Heikai couldn't understand the purpose of the Tang army for a moment, he thought they were abandoning the city and fleeing, but seeing that the opponent's numbers were not large, it seemed unlikely, so he hesitated there.In an instant, Wang Junkuo rushed out of the siege under the support of Luo Shixin, and Luo Shixin took advantage of the enemy's chaos to rush in.At that time, Liu Heita put all his attention on intercepting Tang Jun's escape to the south, but Luo Shixin and the two hundred men rushed in the opposite direction, and intercepted very little along the way. In this way, Luo Shixin quickly entered Mingshui City. Seeing that the Tang army was under heavy siege, Liu Heikai dared to change generals easily and regarded himself as nothing, and was immediately annoyed.He ordered Fan Yuan to lead the troops to block Li Shimin's northward attack, and he went to Mingshui City himself, commanding the soldiers to dig tunnels and storm the city day and night. On the second day after Luo Shixin entered the city, it snowed heavily again, and the snow kept falling. After noon, the nearby Zhangshui and Mingshui stopped flowing.It turns out that these days the temperature is extremely low, and the surface of the river is covered with ice. When it is not snowing, there is only a narrow stream in the middle, and the water flows. Moved, and the water covered it.The water surface around Mingshui City is also a layer of white, from a distance, it feels like a stretch of flat land.Such weather made it more difficult for both sides to attack. Seeing that the road was slippery, the city wall had no place to climb, and the wind and snow were strong, it was not suitable for a large group to attack, so he ordered the ground troops to stop attacking the city and repeatedly urged to speed up the excavation of tunnels. Here Liu Heikai ordered to stop the siege, while Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin, Changsun Wuji and others looked at the weather and had no choice but to stop.Not to mention the slippery roads, the weather has been extremely cold these past few days. The soldiers were out attacking, and the clothes they wore seemed to be unable to keep out the cold. Frostbite. The two armies were in a stalemate here for two days. Fan Yuan asked people to prepare more wooden objects. Seeing the Tang army coming, he pushed the wooden tree down, and immediately crushed the Tang soldiers on their backs. No other weapons were needed.Qin Shubao and others had nothing to do, and it was difficult for Tang Jun to move forward for a while. Li Shimin heard that the attack was blocked, so he paced back and forth in the tent of the Chinese army, feeling very restless.After receiving the report in the morning, Duan Zhixuan and the others broke through the city with their troops last night, and they finally made progress. They didn't want Xingzhou to defend the enemy very tenaciously, and started a street-by-street battle with the Tang army.At dawn, Duan Zhixuan and the others only had a small half of the whole city, and if they wanted to wipe out the remnants of the enemy, it would take at least a day and a night.In this way, the Tang army had no time to rush out of Xingzhou and push towards Mingzhou, and it was difficult to break the siege of Mingshui City.Fan Yuan in front of him easily blocked Tang Jun's pace by virtue of the terrain and the wind and snow.If this continues, Luo Shixin's situation in Mingshui City will become more and more dangerous.Thinking of this, Li Shimin got out of the tent and rode on "Fist Hair", leading Yuchi Jingde and others, galloping to the front line against the wind and snow. Seeing Li Shimin coming, Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin and Changsun Wuji rushed out to welcome him.Li Shimin saw that they looked tired, and knew that they also suffered a lot in the past few days.Thinking about how many vicious battles he has gone through, and a little Fan Yuan in front of him actually blocked him here, he couldn't help feeling a little restless in his heart.He didn't enter the tent, got off his horse and said: "Brother Wang, Wuji, you have suffered a lot these past few days, let's go, you can lead me to the front line to have a look." They walked forward with their horses and came to a high hill to look out. They saw the snowstorm flying everywhere, and the front was blurred, and they couldn't see anything clearly.Qin Shubao made a gesture and said: "King Qin, you know the terrain here. It's really difficult for Liu thief and his men to attack each other with trees on high places." Li Shimin said: "Brother Shubao, I think Shixin is in a much more difficult situation than us in the city. Although Liu Heitai stopped attacking the city, he did not stop digging tunnels for a moment. If this delay continues, Shixin Brother Xin is in danger." Everyone is silent. Li Shimin looked to the left, where the Zhangshui flowed according to the terrain, and said helplessly: "Brother Wang, Wuji, you still have to think of some ideas to open the way. If you advance a little here, brother Shixin will relieve you a little." Divide the pressure. I heard that the Zhangshui over there is frozen at this time, and I will let Jingde lead the troops to charge forward along the Zhangshui. You communicate with each other and work together to see if you can get results." After Yuchi Jingde returned to camp, he assembled two thousand infantry and left Feixiang to walk downstream along the Zhangshui River.Unexpectedly, on the way, Liu Heita had expected this move, and the ambush came out, defeating the Tang army, and Yuchi Jingde gathered the remnants and returned. Hearing this news, Li Shimin was furious immediately, and sent Qin Shubao more troops, ordering them to step up the attack regardless of casualties, so as to open the way as soon as possible. Luo Shixin's life in the city was indeed difficult, with continuous heavy snow, he had already been in the city for six days.Although the enemy army in front of them stopped attacking the city, they didn't stop digging tunnels for a moment.In order to prevent the opponent from digging tunnels to enter the city, Luo Shixin thought of a plan and asked people to find multiple large tanks and install them on the four walls of the city, so as to monitor the speed of the opponent's digging.Last night, a tunnel of the enemy army had been dug under the city wall, and the voice of the other party could even be heard through the vat.Luo Shixin personally surveyed the location and ordered people to dig a straight well head-on. As soon as the enemy showed up, boulders and gray bottles smashed head-on, immediately blocking the tunnel's way out. Although Luo Shixin temporarily blocked Liu Heita's tunnel attack, the city had run out of food at this time.He knew in his heart that although he found a way to deal with the enemy by digging tunnels, he could breathe for a while, but if his own reinforcements did not arrive, he would not be able to defend for more than ten days under Liu Heita's fierce attack.In those days, he often stood on the city wall and looked south, imagining countless times that there was a sudden shout of killing in the wind and snow, and two familiar faces appeared in front of him, the fierce and steady Qin Shubao and the funny and funny Cheng Yaojin.But the silence in the snow was just his own beautiful fantasy.One thing is for sure, Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin will definitely attack fiercely there, trying to find ways to rescue themselves.Helplessly, the weather was not easy for people, and the wind and snow blocked their progress. Luo Shixin persisted in the city until the eighth day. The enemy outside attacked very urgently, and the sound of them digging holes could be heard all around the city wall.He stayed up all night, commanding back and forth in the city, his eyes were red from the heat.In the morning, there was only a loud noise, followed by shouts of killing.Luo Shixin heard the movement in the south of the city, and hurriedly drove his horse to check.He galloped closer, and saw the south wall collapsed in a row, and Liu Heita's men and horses rushed over the broken wall like a tide and rushed into the city. It turned out that Liu Heita changed his plan again after seeing that he had dug tunnels to enter the city many times and returned without success.He made people hollow out the soil under the south wall, and when the soil under the wall was emptied, the city wall would collapse.All of a sudden, several tunnels went in parallel, and they also dug soil around them in order to set up a suspicious formation.On this day, the south wall finally collapsed. Seeing that the method worked, Liu Heita hurriedly ordered the army to break through the city. The defenders in the city stood there for many days, they were exhausted, and they had no food. When they saw the city wall crashing down, everyone was in a daze.Luo Shixin shouted hoarsely there to order to resist, and all the talents fought forward, but the enemy Liu Heita had so many people, they were soon forced to the east corner of the city.After Luo Shixin made a decision, he killed and retreated. A Zhangba Rolling Cloud Spear made ghosts and ghosts disappear. When he reached the east gate, Luo Shixin ordered the gate to be opened to break through.At this time, there were only more than 700 Tang troops left. They rushed out of the gate, quickly rushed across the moat, and then galloped eastward. The men and horses beside Luo Shixin were all brought by Wang Junkuo, and the general Li Quhuo and others had died in the rebellion.Luo Shixin led the group of people galloping eastward, none of them understood the surrounding terrain.But it is said that the east of Mingshui City is not far from the confluence of Zhangshui and Mingshui. When the water rises in summer and autumn, it becomes a vast ocean. When the water recedes in winter and spring, it becomes a swamp with deep mud.The heavy snow for several days has covered this swamp into a flat snow field.Luo Shixin and the others didn't know the depth, so they rushed in. Because the ice layer was thicker at the edge, it was not easy to sink in. When they reached the center of the swamp, the weight of one man and one horse broke through the ice layer under the snowfield, and hundreds of people fell into the mud one after another.They are in a hurry here, the pursuers behind have reached the edge of the swamp, and there are figures in front of them, obviously they are also enemy troops.Seeing this situation, Luo Shixin knew that he couldn't let it go, he still struggled hard to escape from the mud pit. Liu Heitai also came to the edge of the swamp at this time, he waved his hand, and all his men pointed their bows and arrows at Tang Jun.Liu Heita dismounted and walked a few steps forward, shouting loudly: "Hey, Luo Shixin, are you still alive? This king wants to talk to you." Luo Shixin responded: "Liu Thief is not dead, how can I die? If you have something to say, hurry up and fart." Liu Heita laughed loudly: "It is said that Luo Shixin is brave and invincible, and it is true. You are so proud even in such a predicament. This king has heard of your name for a long time, and I admire you very much. It is fate that we can fight. Now you have been besieged heavily. , It is difficult to fly with wings. I advise you not to surrender me, this king is willing to become brothers with you, how about it?" Luo Shixin yelled: "Liu thief, dream of your blue sky! What kind of person am I, Luo Shixin, how can I call you a brother and brother. Yes, you are under siege now, but you ask yourself, how many days can you play around with the army of King Qin under pressure? I, Luo Shixin, live as a man of the Tang Dynasty, and die as a ghost of the Tang Dynasty. Today’s situation is nothing more than death! Isn’t your arrow ready? Shoot it, if I frown, I’m not a good man.” After finishing speaking, Luo Shixin looked at the soldiers around him, and said: "Everyone, Shixin is determined to serve the country loyally today. You can't follow me. Go and surrender to Liu Heita now. Shixin doesn't blame you." At this moment, the soldiers around were full of enthusiasm, and said in unison: "I would like to serve the country loyally with Chief Luo." Luo Shixin laughed loudly: "Okay, we entered the underworld together, we are still good brothers, and we also assembled an army to kill Liu thief. Liu thief, did you hear that?" Liu Heitai's face was livid, knowing that it was difficult to persuade Luo Shixin to surrender, so he stepped back a few steps and slashed down with his hand.Immediately, thousands of arrows were fired from the bank, and they shot straight at Tang Jun in the mud.Strange to say, three arrows were fired one after another from the bank, and Tang Jun in the mud remained silent, not even a single cry of pain was heard.Liu Heita sent people into the swamp to investigate, and saw that all Tang soldiers died.Liu Heita sighed and said, "A true hero." Two days later, Shi Danai, Duan Zhixuan, and Zhang Gongjin attacked and defeated the remnant enemies in Xingzhou, and forced their camp to Mingzhou.Seeing that Li Shimin was ignoring him, Li Yi in the north wanted to return to Youzhou, fearing that Li Yuan would blame him, so he ordered his generals Xue Wanche and Xue Wanjun to lead 10,000 soldiers and march from Zhaozhou to Mingzhou.In this way, the Tang army formed a situation of encircling Mingzhou from the west and north.Hearing the news, Liu Heita hurriedly led his troops back to Mingzhou for rescue.At this time, the sky had cleared, Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin, Changsun Wuji, and Yuchi Jingde had heard the sad news of Luo Shixin's death in battle. They were full of grief and indignation, and they attacked harder. Fan Yuan couldn't resist the enemy, so he had to follow Liu Hei He returned to Mingzhou.In this way, Mingshui City fell into the hands of the Tang army again. Li Shimin entered Mingshui City, without taking a rest, he led the people out of the city gate to the swamp.At this time, Changsun Wuji sent people to move out the dead people one by one in the lake, and saw that they were covered in mud, and each of them had dozens of arrow feathers stuck on their bodies. Luo Shixin's body had just been found. His body was full of arrow feathers, and his blood had already coagulated all over his body.His face was serene, as if he was alive.Li Shimin was very sad when he saw it, and stepped forward to pull out the arrow feathers for him one by one, and everyone also surrounded him, weeping.While drawing the arrow, Li Shimin said: "Brother Shixin, I did harm to you. I shouldn't have let you come here to take risks. Now, how can I explain to my father?" Li Shi persuaded Li Shimin and said: "King Qin, don't be too sad. Thinking of our duty as warriors, whether we die in battle or triumphantly, it is the same glory. Life is too short. Brother Luo doesn't want to die. Subduing the thief, this feeling is as clear as the sun and the moon, even though he died, he is honored." Shi Wanbao behind him trembled when he heard the words, and turned to look at Wang Junkuo in the distance.I saw him lowering his head, not knowing what he was thinking. 李世民止住悲痛，吩咐道：“无忌，你去找一重棺将士信兄盛殓，然后你亲自扶棺送入长安。我再写一专表奏与父皇，要让我朝发扬光大士信兄这种忠义。还有，这些战死的将士也要一一装入棺材，送给他们的家人，另要给他们的家人以优厚的抚恤。” 长孙无忌专程将罗士信的尸体送入长安，李渊果然下诏，赠罗士信谥号为勇，令百官亲送厚葬之。当初罗士信居洛阳时，裴仁基待之甚礼，及王世充杀了裴仁基，罗士信出家财将之葬于北邙山，并说道：“我死后，当葬其墓侧。”家人从其意，将之尸首运到洛阳北邙山，葬于裴仁基之墓左首。 李世民见刘黑闼缩入洺州，已被唐军合围，又伤罗士信死节之事，不愿强攻。他算计洺州存粮肯定无多，刘黑闼的数万兵马难支一月。遂令众将坚壁不出，设法断其粮道，使其自乱。 刘黑闼在城中忍了数日，终于按捺不住，引兵前来挑战。唐军任他在那里跳脚大骂，擂鼓挑衅，给他个不理不睬。不觉日子就过去十余日，刘黑闼闻报粮草紧张，急忙派人出外调粮。 此时，冀、贝、沧、瀛诸州依旧归刘黑闼节制，见刘黑闼前来调粮，急忙安排车子船儿，水陆俱进，向洺州送粮。哪儿知道，中途唐军已在那里枕戈以待，陆路上，由秦叔宝、程咬金、尉迟敬德分遣队伍截住厮杀，待他们驱散了运粮之人，一把火将粮草点燃；水路上，程名振素习水战，先是以舟阻塞河道，然后派水鬼凿透对方粮船，将粮草沉入河中。 李世民坐镇洺水城，不理睬刘黑闼前来索战，专攻其运粮队。日子就这样一天天过去了。 这天，房玄龄和杜如晦从长安来到阵前，他们已将那批宝货安置妥当，此刻向李世民回复。 李世民问道：“那批车儿送入宫中了吗？”杜如晦答道：“那日我和玄龄护着车儿到了长安，此时天已黑透，我们正要入城，就见一彪人马举着火把拦住去路。” "who?" “灯火下，我们见为首之人正是东宫府属韦挺。他见了我们，脸色古怪，笑问车里装的是什么。我说是陕州稻米，是秦王贡给皇上的。” “他信吗？” “当然不信，他说奉太子之令，专程来接这批车。我和玄龄故作为难，显得十分不愿，没奈何才将车子交给了他，并让他打了一张收条。”杜如晦说完，就和房玄龄轻笑起来。 房玄龄道：“想韦挺小心翼翼将这些车送入东宫，他和太子满心想有什么发现，不料，一车车翻开，除了米，什么也没有。哈哈。” 李世民没有笑，神色凝重：“这么说，在新安窥探之人是韦挺安插的。如晦、玄龄，看样子有人早就打我们的主意了，不可太大意呀。”两人点头称是。