Chapter 43 The North and South of the Great River Resurrected

Rebellion is also sometimes an epidemic. Although the Sui Dynasty has long been wiped out, and although the popular Li Tang Dynasty has been established for four years, this epidemic will still recur in some people and is difficult to cure. This is a grim reality that Li Yuan had to face in the autumn of the fourth year of Wude.He had to believe that some people were born rebellious, and there was no cure for it! Originally, the appearance of Liu Heita in Hebei already made Li Yuan a little uneasy. Unexpectedly, a month later, another Xu Yuanlang appeared in Henan. Among the heroes in the troubled times at the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Xu Yuanlang can be regarded as a typical weed, or a senior professional rebel.He was a native of Lu County (Yanzhou in the Tang Dynasty, now Yanzhou City, Shandong). Xu Yuanlang descended to the Tang Dynasty in July of the second year of Wude with several states, and was appointed as the governor of Yanzhou and made Lu Guogong; when Dou Jiande went south to rescue Luoyang, Xu Yuanlang rebelled against Tang and joined Dou Jiande, and sent troops to participate in the attack on Hulao; After Dou Jiande's defeat, Xu Yuanlang descended to the Tang Dynasty again. Li Tang's court let the past go, and made him the Duke of Lu County, and still appointed him as the governor of Yanzhou.

Ordinarily by this time, the general situation of the world has basically become clear, so Xu Yuanlang should stop, right? No, he doesn't stop.Because he didn't think that a little Yanzhou governor was his destination in life.When Liu Heita in Hebei raised his troops again, Xu Yuanlang was ready to move again.Soon, Liu Heita sent someone to contact him, urging him to raise troops to respond, Xu Yuanlang was sympathetic and readily agreed. On August 26 of this year, Tang general Sheng Yan was ordered by Li Yuan to appease Henan. When he arrived in Rencheng (now Jining City, Shandong), Xu Yuanlang suddenly sent troops to arrest him and rebelled against Tang again.

Repeated rebellion and repeated surrender, repeated surrender and repeated rebellion!What are these people trying to do? Li Yuan really doesn't understand how many people like Liu Heita and Xu Yuanlang who "live and rebel" still exist in this world. Soon Li Yuan had the answer - there are many such people. After Xu Yuanlang rebelled, almost overnight, Yanzhou, Yunzhou (now Yuncheng County, Shandong), Chenzhou (now Huaiyang County, Henan), Qizhou (now Qixian, Henan), Yizhou (now Henan, Henan) Ruzhou), Luozhou (now northeast of Luoyang City, Henan), Caozhou (now Dingtao County, Shandong), Daizhou (now Jinxiang County, Shandong) and other eight prefectures responded with troops.Xu Yuanlang proclaimed himself King of Lu, and was appointed Marshal of Daxingtai by Liu Heitai.

All of a sudden, the flames of the rebellion began to blaze again, and the north and south of the river that had just been pacified rose again.If these rebel forces are not wiped out in time, the fruits of Li Shimin's victory in the decisive battle in the Central Plains will be in vain, and the days when the Li and Tang dynasties will unify the world will be in the foreseeable future. At the beginning of September in the fourth year of Wude, Huaian Wang Li Shentong led the elites from Guanzhong to Jizhou (now Jixian County, Hebei Province) and joined Yan Wang Luoyi. In Raoyang (now Raoyang County, Hebei Province), he fought with Liu Heita.

In this battle, the Tang army had an absolute advantage in terms of strength, and its formation stretched for more than ten miles.Li Shentong, who was once defeated by Xia Jun, stood in front of the battle confidently this time, believing that he would be able to defeat Liu Heita in a single battle, and completely regain the face he had lost at the beginning. Li Shentong certainly has reason to think so. Compared with the Tang army with a large number of people and excellent weapons, the situation of Liu Heita's troops can only be described as "terrible".Not only were they ragged and poorly equipped, but their number was far smaller than that of the Tang army, so they could only form a one-line formation with their backs against the embankment of the Rao River.

Seeing this pitiful one-character formation, Li Shentong suddenly burst out laughing. This is just a group of farmers fighting in groups! Just at the moment when the battle was about to start, the weather on the battlefield where the two armies were facing each other suddenly changed suddenly. A gust of wind and snow all over the sky suddenly blew from the side of the Tang army to the opponent's position. Liu Heita's troops couldn't open their eyes for a while. . It's time for revenge!Li Shentong seized the opportunity and with a wave of his long sword, tens of thousands of Tang troops took advantage of the wind to attack Liu Heitai across the board.

If this sudden snowstorm keeps blowing in this direction, then Liu Heita will be wiped out. It's a pity that God bless Li Shentong. Just when Tang Jun rushed to the front of the enemy's formation, the wind direction suddenly reversed 180 degrees. This time it was Tang Jun's turn to lose his eyes.Liu Heita immediately led his troops to counterattack, and the Tang army was defeated, losing two-thirds of its troops and equipment. Li Shentong, who had already had the chance to win, was once again defeated by Dou Jiande's former subordinates. At the same time, Luo Yi, the general manager of Youzhou, also attacked Gao Yaxian's troops on the west side of the main battlefield, and defeated them in one fell swoop. After chasing for a few miles, he heard the news that the main force of the army had been defeated, and led his troops to retreat to Gao ( Gao) City (now Gaocheng City, Hebei).Taking advantage of the high morale of his troops, Liu Heita attacked Gaocheng in one go.Luo Yi was defeated, and his generals Xue Wanjun and Xue Wanche were captured by Liu Heita, and their hair was cut off, and they were used as slaves.Soon after the Xue brothers fled back, Luo Yi led his troops back to Youzhou.

After this battle, Liu Heita's army was greatly strengthened. On the sixth day of October, Liu Heikai took advantage of the victory to capture Yingzhou (now Hejian City, Hebei) and beheaded Governor Lu Shirui. Liu Heita; on the 19th, Maozhou (now Guantao County, Hebei) rebel Dong Dengming and others gathered a crowd to kill Zhao Yuankai, the assassin, and raised troops to respond to Liu Heita. On November 19th, Liu Heita captured Dingzhou again, and captured the general manager Li Xuantong alive.Liu Heitai appreciated his talent and planned to make him a general, but Li Xuantong refused and was imprisoned by Liu Heitai.Someone from Li Xuantong's former department took refuge in Liu Heitao, so under his instruction, he brought wine and meat to visit Li Xuantong in prison.On the surface, it is reminiscing about the past, but in fact it is nothing more than persuading surrender.Li Xuantong knew it well, so he pretended to smile and said to the old department: "You gentlemen pity me for the humiliation of being imprisoned, and I am fortunate to comfort you with wine and meat. I should be drunk for you!" After speaking, he drank happily with everyone.

When the wine was hot, Li Xuantong said to the guard: "I can dance with swords, please lend me the knife." The guard had no doubts and handed him the knife.After Li Xuantong danced, he suddenly looked up to the sky and sighed: "The big man has received the country's kindness and guarded one side, but now he can't keep it safe. What kind of face is he living in the world!" Before everyone could react, Li Xuantong had already stabbed himself in the abdomen with a knife. , died of abdominal collapse on the spot. On November 27, Zhou Wenju, a rebel from Qizhou, gathered a crowd to rise up, killed Wang Wenju, the governor of the Tang Dynasty, and surrendered the city to Xu Yuanlang.

Li Shentong was defeated and Li Xuantong died.Liu Heitai attacked the city in Hebei, and Xu Yuanlang echoed him in Henan.Dou Jiande's old ministries scattered all over the country are ready to move, and the generals of the Tang Dynasty in the north and south of the river are all in danger. The situation is getting worse. At this critical juncture, another person followed Liu Heitai and Xu Yuanlang to rebel against the Tang Dynasty, which made the situation in Hebei even worse. This person is Gao Kaidao, who was then the general manager of Tang Weizhou (now Huailai County, Hebei). Speaking of Gao Kaidao, it is obviously not a fuel-efficient lamp.He is a native of Yangxin, Cangzhou (now in the south of Yangxin County, Shandong). He was born in Yanhu. .In the first year of Wude, Gao Kaidao captured Beiping County (now Lulong County, Hebei Province) and Yuyang County (now Jixian County, Tianjin), proclaimed himself King Yan, and made Yuyang his capital.In the same year, Huairong (now Zhuolu County, Hebei) Salmon Gao Tansheng (sheng) attacked and killed the local county magistrate, proclaimed himself the Mahayana emperor, and then recruited Gao Kaidao.Gao Kaidao then led 5,000 troops to feign surrender. After several months of gaining Gao Tancheng's trust, he suddenly sent troops to kill Gao Tancheng and annexed his troops.In the third year of Wude, Dou Jiande led an army to encircle Youzhou. Luo Yi, the general manager of Youzhou in Tang Dynasty, asked Gao Kaidao for help. return.Gao Kaidao then surrendered to the Tang Dynasty through Luo Yi, and because of his contribution to saving Youzhou, he was named King of Beiping County, given the surname Li, and served as the governor of Weizhou.

It should be said that from a humble origin in Yanhu to this stage, Gao Kaidao can be regarded as successful and famous, enough to honor his ancestors.Yet he was not satisfied.In addition to still having a strong desire for higher status and power, Gao Kaidao seems to be similar to Liu Heitai, Xu Yuanlang and others. That is—the restlessness in the depths of the soul. This restlessness may not be entirely a utilitarian desire to get ahead, or it may not be entirely a "rational calculation."If it is said that for Liu Heitai, raising troops again is more to get rid of the shackles of one-acre-three-point land and regain a broader living space, then for Gao Kaidao and Xu Yuanlang, this kind of soul Restlessness is more typical.Because with the improvement of their status and status in the Li Tang regime, the cost of rebelling again has also increased, and it is no longer like the first rebellion-the only cost is a life; in other words, they need There are many more things to worry about than before. Therefore, if it is purely based on rational calculations, they may not follow in Liu Heita's footsteps.It can be seen that, in addition to the calculation of actual interests, the reason that prompted them to raise troops again may also be a "life impulse" that constantly breaks the status quo and strives for change.In our today's terms, it is a sense of self-realization.Of course, this so-called self-realization may be vague and unconscious to them, and it is more of a restless life energy.But this is a powerful energy that pushes them forward.Whether it is unwillingness to be a farmer or a manager, this restlessness deep in the soul is a common symbol of this group of people, and it is also their most fundamental life force. In other words, they are unwilling to let their life value freeze at a certain point, and they are more willing to let their lives burn continuously in the process of constantly breaking through the status quo. It's a state of being always "on the go". For them, the process itself may be far more meaningful than the result.They were “always burning, burning, burning, like those fabled Roman candles with blue gleams” (Jack Kerouac). Therefore, when Liu Heita and Xu Yuanlang rebelled, the restless flame in the depths of Gao Kaidao's soul was immediately ignited. At the end of November of this year, there was a great famine in Youzhou, and Luo Yi immediately asked Gao Kaidao of Weizhou for help.Gao Kaidao promised to help the victims.Luo Yi was overjoyed, and immediately transferred the elderly, weak, women and children among the victims to Yuzhou for resettlement. Gao Kaidao was very enthusiastic, not only refused all visitors, but also provided these victims with good food and accommodation conditions.Luo Yi was greatly moved, and then sent 3,000 young and middle-aged men, hundreds of vehicles, and more than 1,000 donkeys and horses to Weizhou to carry disaster relief food. It was at this time that Gao Kaidao suddenly turned his back.He seized the troops and supplies of the grain transport team, announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Luo Yi, and connected with the East Turks in the north and Liu Heita in the south with the fastest speed, and then sent troops to attack Yizhou (now Yixian County, Hebei). Luo Yi was shocked and puzzled by Gao Kaidao's sudden rebellion.A few days later, Gao Kaidao's general Xie Leng secretly sent envoys to surrender to Luo Yi and asked for troops to respond.Luo Yi felt slightly relieved, feeling that not everyone was as crazy as Gao Kaidao after all.With Xie Len as internal support, he might nip this sudden rebellion in the bud. But Luo Yi was wrong. Because this is a trap carefully designed by Gao Kaidao - let Xie Leng surrender. Luo Yi had already been stabbed by Gao Kaidao, but Xie Len's false surrender was like adding salt to his wound.When Xie Leng's troops that Luo Yi took over had just entered the territory of Weizhou, Xie Leng suddenly attacked them, beating the Youzhou army to the ground and fleeing in defeat. After Gao Kaidao's design severely damaged Luo Yi, he immediately led the Turkic army to the south, repeatedly invading the borders of the Tang Dynasty, and sweeping up Hengzhou, Dingzhou, Youzhou, Yizhou and other places. At the same time, Liu Heitai is also sweeping Hebei with a terrifying force and potential. On December 3rd of the fourth year of Wude, Liu Heita captured Jizhou (now Jixian County, Hebei Province), beheaded the governor Qu (qu) Leng, and then issued a proclamation to the Zhaowei area (now central, southern, and northern Henan). Dou Jiande's old troops killed local officials of the Tang Dynasty one after another, and raised troops to respond to Liu Heita.On the 8th, Liu Heita led an army of tens of thousands to attack Zongcheng (now east of Wei County, Hebei).At that time, Li Shiji, the general manager of Tangli Prefecture and Qin Wu, the general of Youwuwei, who were stationed in Zongcheng, could not support them together, so they abandoned the city and prepared to concentrate their forces to stick to Mingzhou (southeast of Yongnian County, Hebei today).But on the way they retreated, Liu Heitai quickly marched to catch up with them.On the 12th, Liu Heita launched a fierce attack on Li Shiji's army from behind, smashing the Tang army and beheading more than 5,000 people. Li Shiji and Qin Wutong only escaped with their bodies.On the 14th, Mingzhou Haoqiang and Liu Heita cooperated with each other and went down to Mingzhou City without a fight.Liu Heikai set up an altar in the southeast of the old capital of the Xia Dynasty to worship God and the King of Xia, and then led a mighty army into Mingzhou.At the same time, Liu Heita sent envoys to contact the Eastern Turks, and Jieli Khan immediately sent General Song Xiena to lead the Turkic cavalry to join him southward, and Liu Heita's troops became more powerful. A few days later, Liu Heikai marched southward and successively conquered Xiangzhou (now Anyang City, Henan), Lizhou (now Junxian County, Henan), Weizhou (now Weihui City, Henan), Xingzhou (now Xingtai City, Hebei), Zhaozhou ( In present-day Zhaoxian County, Hebei Province) and Shenzhou (present-day Shenxian County, Shandong Province), no one of the generals of the Tang army in various places could stop them.General Qin Wutong of Youwuwei, Governor of Mingzhou Chen Junbin, Magistrate of Yongning County Cheng Mingzhen and others gave up resistance and fled back to Chang'an. In just half a year, Liu Heitai swept across Hebei with an invincible and unstoppable momentum. He must win every battle and capture every attack. He has completely recovered the old territory of the Xia Dynasty and created an almost unbelievable war myth. Has anyone been able to dispel this myth? When Li Shentong, Luo Yi, Li Xuantong, Li Shiji, Qin Wutong and others have all become defeated under Liu Heitai, who else can compete with him in the huge Li Tang world? There is only one answer - Qin Wang Li Shimin.Whenever the empire is in its most critical moment, he is always the last trump card in the hands of the emperor Li Yuan.