Chapter 5 Li Mi: How do you become a big boss?

Li Mi has been on the run. For several years, Li Mi felt like a ship that had lost its direction, drifting in the raging sea at the end of the Sui Dynasty. He first defected to Hao Xiaode, but Hao Xiaode never gave him a good face when he regarded him as a guy who was just eating.Li Mi defected to Wang Bo again, and Wang Bo was polite to him, but the problem was that he was too polite, offering food and drink every day, but he was never allowed to participate in the decision-making of the cottage.Li Mi was very depressed - looking at the situation, if he wanted to become a leader in Changbai Mountain, he would have to wait at least a hundred years.

Depressed, Li Mi had no choice but to go down the mountain and continue wandering.Because he was penniless, he could only make a living by peeling tree bark and digging grass roots along the way.Later, Li Mi could no longer walk, so he settled down in a small valley in Huaiyang County (now Huaiyang County, Henan Province), changed his name to Liu Zhiyuan, and taught several rural children to read and write, making a living.Just a few months later, Li Mi, who was depressed and frustrated, wrote a five-character poem to express his pain and loss of wasted years and unfulfilled ambitions.The last few lines of the poem are: "The customs of Qin are still unresolved, what do the generals of the Han Dynasty want? When it was done, Li Mi looked up at the sky, feeling sad coming from it, and wept down his lap.

Li Mi's abnormal behavior quickly aroused the suspicion of the villagers, and someone immediately went to the Huaiyang prefect to report the secret.The government immediately sent troops to search for him, and Li Mi had no choice but to flee again. Desperate, Li Mi finally fled to Yongqiu (now Qixian County, Henan Province), and wanted to seek refuge with his brother-in-law, Qiu Junming, the magistrate of Yongqiu County.Seeing that it was Li Mi, Qiu Junming was shocked.This brother-in-law is now the most important criminal pursued by the imperial court, and he is the death star that everyone avoids and fears!Anyone who dares to harbor him will immediately finish his official career and move his head!Qiu Junming didn't want to stay, and he didn't want to stay. In the end, he had to send him to his close friend Wang Jicai.Fortunately, Wang Jicai is a heroic and courageous man who has always admired heroes, so he not only took him in happily, but also married his daughter to Li Mi.

Li Mi took his life just like that, and accidentally picked up a wife.If there were no accidents, he would most likely be an up-and-coming son-in-law in this backcountry, working at sunrise and resting at sunset, living a mediocre life until he died.If so, there will be no Wagang hero Li Mi in history. However, the reason why history is wonderful is that it does not like straightforward narratives.Especially for those who used to have great ambitions, the old man of history prefers to create disasters for them, so that they can get rid of mediocrity and accelerate their growth amidst tribulations.Therefore, before Li Mi enjoyed his honeymoon, fate immediately arranged another disaster for him.

As early as when Li Mi first came to Yongqiu, Qiu Junming's nephew Qiu Huaiyi ran to the court non-stop to inform him.Yang Guang issued an edict, ordering Qiu Huaiyi to hand over the edict to Yang Wang, the governor of Liang County, as soon as possible, ordering him to arrest Li Mi.Yang Wang received the order and immediately led his troops to surround Wang Jicai's house. This time, Li Mi seemed doomed.But to everyone's surprise - Li Mi happened to go out on business that day, and the officers and soldiers were caught in vain. Although Li Mi escaped unintentionally, he could not escape the temple if he ran away.In a fit of rage, the officers and soldiers, who had found nothing, wiped out Wang Jicai's family and the county magistrate Qiu Junming's family, killing every dog ​​and dog.

Overnight, dozens of innocent lives became Li Mi's scapegoat.Li Mi was filled with grief and indignation, and once again embarked on a long journey of exile.This wrecked ship in the raging sea once again lost its direction of life. In the time and time again of the ups and downs in his escape career, the desperate Li Mi gradually realized a truth - for a ship with no direction, the wind in any direction is a headwind. Therefore, you must find a firm direction for your life! But where is this direction? Li Mi turned his vicissitudes of view to all directions of the empire again, and began to search again in the smoke of wars and raging wars in the last years of the Sui Dynasty.Finally, his gaze finally stopped at one place.

This place is called Wagang (now south of Hua County, Henan). The leader of Wagangzhai was named Zhai Rang, who was originally a judge in Dongjun (now Huaxian County, Henan).One day in the seventh year of Daye, Judge Zhai committed a capital crime for some reason and was locked in prison waiting to be executed.A jailer named Huang Junhan had always admired him, so he secretly released him in the middle of the night. Zhai Rang, who had narrowly escaped death, immediately ran to Wagang, and gathered a crowd to raise the banner of rebellion.The nearby changed people came to attach one after another, and the tribe quickly grew to tens of thousands.After Li Mi came to Wagang, through the recommendation of his old friend Wang Bodang, he formally joined Zhai Rang's camp.

Since he joined several cottages with empty hands before, but they were not welcomed by people, so Li Mi learned his lesson this time. As soon as he joined Wagang, he volunteered to Zhai Rang and submitted a merger and acquisition plan. , On the premise of not using Wagang's soldiers and soldiers, he designed and incorporated many mutinous armed forces around Wagang, and gave the boss a generous meeting gift.Zhai Rang was overjoyed and immediately let him enter the decision-making level of the cottage. After gaining Zhai Rang's appreciation, Li Mi couldn't wait to persuade Zhai Rang to actively prepare for expansion and then seize the world.He said: "Both Liu Bang and Xiang Yu accomplished the feats of emperors with the bodies of ordinary people. Now the Lord is fatuous and innocent, and the people all over the world are full of resentment. It’s time for Liu Bang and Xiang Yu to rise up! With their great talents and general strategy, coupled with excellent soldiers and horses, they are enough to sweep the Second Capital, destroy tyranny, and establish a great cause with ease. Overthrowing Yang Sui is just around the corner!"

After Zhai Rang finished listening, he just smiled faintly, and then thanked Li Mi, saying: "We are just a group of thieves, born secretly in the grass every day and night, and what you say is beyond my reach!" Li Mi never expected that Zhai Rang was such a guy with no big ambitions.Today's heroes are rising together, and the situation is changing rapidly. If Zhai Rang is so content with the status quo and does not think about making progress, the result can only be that if he does not advance, he will retreat and fail!How could I entrust my future on this kind of grass-headed king who is rich and peaceful?

Just when Li Mi was extremely disappointed, an almost crazy idea suddenly jumped into his mind - since Zhai Rang's structure is so narrow, why not simply replace him? It may seem difficult to do this, but it is by no means impossible.Because, when it comes to leaping horses and swords, and the ability to kill the enemy in battle, Li Mi may not dare to be the roost; but when it comes to scheming and strategy, Li Mi is confident that no one in the entire Wagang Village is his opponent. Having made up his mind, Li Mi immediately formulated a bold and careful plan to seize power. The first step of the plan is to create public opinion and win people's hearts.

For this reason, Li Mi locked in one person—Zhai Rang's military adviser Jia Xiong.This person is proficient in yin and yang, and Zhai Rang has always obeyed his advice.Li Mi believes that as long as this person is dealt with, it is tantamount to controlling Zhai Rang's brain. Afterwards, Li Mi did everything possible to make friends with Jia Xiong, and soon became friends with him.Therefore, when Zhai Rang asked Jia Xiong whether he should follow Li Mi's advice and go out to fight the world, Jia Xiong immediately said without hesitation: "This plan is unspeakable!" When Zhai Rang heard this, he was a little excited, but what Jia Xiong said next gave him a slap in the face: "However... if the general becomes king himself, it may not be very auspicious. If he supports Li Mi, he will definitely be in trouble." Zhai Rang wondered: "According to what you say, Pu Shangong can stand on his own, why should he follow me?" "The general doesn't know something. The reason why he came to follow the general is because your surname is Zhai. Zhai is the righteousness of Ze, and cattail grass cannot grow without Ze, so he needs the general very much. Of course, the general also needs him." Jia Xiong's words are God's will for Zhai Rang.In the days that followed, even though he felt uncomfortable, Zhai Rang still had to look at Li Mi with admiration. At about this time, a Luoyang native named Li Xuanying also came to Wagang.It is said that this person traveled all over the villages of the heroes of the Quartet, and went through countless hardships to find Li Mi's whereabouts. Now that he finally found it, tears of excitement flashed in his eyes. The young and old in Wagang asked him curiously: Why are you looking for Li Mi all over the world? Li Xuanying replied: Because this person will win the Sui Dynasty. People asked again: Why do you say that? Li Xuanying replied: Just rely on the political ballad "Tao Li Zhang" that has been spread all over the world. People asked again: What is the relationship between "Tao Li Zhang" and Li Mi? Li Xuanying smiled, and then gave a very convincing interpretation of the ballad.He said: "The song sang: 'Tao Lizi, the queen circles around Yangzhou, like turning around in the garden, Mo Langyu, who will promise." The 'Tao Lizi' here refers to the fugitive surnamed Li; 'The queen circles around Yangzhou' , which means that the emperor fled to Yangzhou; "wanzhuan garden" means that the emperor will return to the sunless valley, and will eventually turn to the gully; Take the meaning of the world in the Sui Dynasty." "Oh...that's how it is!" People suddenly realized.Later, whenever the old and young men in Wagang saw Li Mi, they would always look up involuntarily, their eyes full of awe. Soon, another man named Fang Yanzao led hundreds of brothers to join Li Mi.It is said that this person was originally a county lieutenant of Songcheng, and he and Li Mi had followed Yang Xuangan in the army.After Yang Xuangan's defeat, Fang Yanzao was like a motherless child who had been searching for Li Mi's whereabouts. Now that he finally found it, tears filled his eyes just like Li Xuanying's... The old and young men in Wagang sighed: Li Mi is so popular! In this way, after some deliberate hype, Li Mi's popularity index soared rapidly, and he seemed to have become a star figure in Wagang Village. After the first step was successful, Li Mi began to implement the second step of the plan-to establish military exploits and establish prestige. He once again proposed to Zhai Rang to expand outward.This time, Zhai Rang accepted it without hesitation.Subsequently, under Li Mi's strategizing and command, the Wagang Army took the initiative to attack and quickly captured most counties under the jurisdiction of Xingyang County, greatly expanding the base area.In October of the twelfth year of Daye (AD 616), Li Mi set up an ambush in the north of Dahai Temple (north of today's Xingyang City, Henan Province). . In recent years, Zhai Rang and Zhang Xutuo had fought many times, but they were defeated repeatedly. Unexpectedly, Li Mi killed Zhang Xutuo with ease once he made a move.After this battle, the officers and soldiers of all counties and counties in Henan were terrified, while Wagang gained momentum, and Li Mi's personal prestige was even more prosperous. In order to express his gratitude to Li Mi, Zhai Rang asked Li Mi to set up his own designation and camp, which was called "Pushan Public Camp".Then, Zhai Rang broke up with Li Mi, and said: "Now that the food and fodder are sufficient, I plan to go back to Wagang. If the husband doesn't want to go back, let him do as he pleases, and let's leave now." Zhai Rang knew that Li Mi was definitely not a person who lived under others for a long time, and he was not willing to have him as the leader for a while, so the best way was to part ways.Afterwards, Zhai Rang led the main force, grain, grass, and supplies back to Wagang, while Li Mi led his troops to march westward with light clothes, and quickly arrived in Kangcheng (northwest of Yuzhou City, Henan Province), and then forced to surrender the nearby villages without a single soldier. Several cities have acquired a large amount of property, food and supplies.Li Mi gave all the gold and silver treasures he got to his subordinates, and he always maintained his true nature of frugality. The scholars were greatly moved and became more loyal to him. Zhai Rang regretted it after receiving the news that Li Mi's soldiers had fought for several cities without bloodshed.He had to admit—Li Mi was indeed a natural leader, and he probably really had a destiny. It seems that it is unwise to part ways with Li Mi. Thinking about this, Zhai Rang had to turn his horse's head around and ordered the army to turn around and follow Li Mi. Seeing Zhai Rang coming in front of him with an embarrassed smile on his face, Li Mi knew that his plan had basically succeeded. At this moment, Li Mi's prestige, meritorious service, military talent, and personality charm have leapt above Zhai Rang, and he seems to be the spiritual leader of Wagang Village.However, Li Mi is by no means satisfied with this.What he wants is Wagang's top spot--the top spot that is truly and well deserved! To finish this last step, Li Mi knew that he had to do another big one. In the spring of the thirteenth year of Daye (617 A.D.), Li Mi formally proposed to Zhai Rang a strategic plan of "attacking Luokou, capturing the eastern capital, destroying Sui Sheji, and ordering the Quartet".At this time, Li Mi was not so much asking Zhai Rang for instructions, but rather issuing orders.Of course, Zhai Rang could only obey. On February 9th, Li Mi and Zhai Rang led an elite team to conquer Xingluo Cang (today's east of Gongxian County, Henan Province), and then opened the warehouse to provide food for the people to take.Xingluocang was the largest grain storage base in the Central Plains during the Sui Dynasty (the other base was Huiluocang). The occupation of this place by the Wagang Army was equivalent to choking the lifeline of Luoyang, the eastern capital.In this regard, Sui Dongdu stayed behind, Yue Wang Yang Tong (tong) panicked, and urgently ordered Huben Lang's general Liu Changgong and Henan's arrest envoy Pei Renji to send troops quickly, preparing to surround the Wagang Army and retake Xingluocang. In order to annihilate the Wagang Army in the First World War, Liu Changgong made a plan to divide his troops and attack together: he personally led 25,000 people to march from the front, and asked Pei Renji to surround the Wagang Army from Sishui. The two armies agreed to meet at the south of Xingluocang , intending to encircle and annihilate the Wagang Army. Although Liu Changgong's plan is comprehensive, Li Mi will not sit still.Through the report of the scouts, he quickly figured out the Sui army's combat intention, so he divided his troops into two groups, laying an ambush in Hengling all the way, responsible for blocking Pei Renji, while he personally led the main force to meet Liu Changgong at Shizihe. In this battle, Li Mi took the lead and led his personally selected elites to cut through the middle of the Sui army's battle formation, smashed Liu Changgong's troops, and beheaded more than 10,000 people.Liu Changgong was so frightened that he took off his general's shirt, disguised himself as a soldier, and fled back to Dongdu.Hearing that Liu Changgong was defeated, Pei Renji hurriedly retreated to Baihua Valley (southeast of today's Gong County), and never dared to advance half a step. In the battle of Shizihe, the Wagang Army won a complete victory, and Li Mi's feats and prestige reached their peak at this moment. With the development of the situation to this point, Zhai Rang, who was so pale by comparison, couldn't even think about dismissing get out of class.Soon, the two veterans in Wagangzhai began to do Zhai Rang's ideological work frequently, asking him to give up his seat to Li Mi. Among the two people who persuaded Zhai Rang to abdicate, one was Li Mi's old friend Wang Bodang; Li Shiji's original surname was Xu, and his style name was Maogong. His ancestral home was Lihu (northwest of Heze, Shandong Province), and he moved to Weinan (East of Huaxian County, Henan Province). He was only 17 years old when he went to Wagang.It is said that Xu Shiji is a wealthy second generation, with a large number of servants in his family and a mountain of food, but he has no dandyism at all, but is keen on charity, "helping the poor, regardless of relatives". Obviously, such a rich second generation with a superior family background and benevolent participation in the uprising was by no means forced to make a living, but to realize his life ambitions and self-worth.Such a high starting point determines that Xu Shiji will be more far-sighted than those who only know how to rob money, food, and territory, and he can see Li Mi's leadership skills better than anyone else. On February 19th of the thirteenth year of Daye, under the persuasion of Xu Shiji, Wang Bodang and others, Zhai Rang finally made up his mind to officially elect Li Mi as the leader of the alliance, with the honorary title of "Wei Gong"; The year name was changed to the year of Wei Gong.After Li Mi came to power, he immediately set up the Marching Marshal's Mansion, set up three divisions and six guards, worshiped Zhai Rang as Shangzhu Kingdom, Situ, and Dongjun Gong, made Shan Xiongxin the general of Zuo Wuhou, and made Xu Shiji the general of You Wuhou. Other ministries have their own appointments. This is how Wagang's new boss was formed. Standing on the high altar of Wagang, Li Mi looked at Luoyang, the eastern capital, with great ambition.He believed that the majestic and magnificent capital built by Yang Guang exhausted the resources of the people would soon become his possession.