Chapter 52 Chapter Fifty-Second: Li Xuantong Leads the Sword to Success

In August (the fourth year of Wude, 621 AD), Li Jiancheng was still ordered to guard the northern border and resist the Turks.As a long-term plan, Li Jiancheng plays the role of gatekeeper, and it is indeed very difficult to make any great achievements.This time, he has no chance to make meritorious deeds.Because he can't walk, he is the nemesis of the Turks. At this time, Liu Heita's rebellion had reached a fever pitch.Li Yuan was unwilling to use Li Shimin to fight the rebels under such a rebel's hands. At first, he only sent a few generals to fight against them.These dear friends were once the pride of Datang, but now, Li Yuan was dumbfounded.This group of generals can't even take down Dou Jiande's remnants and defeated generals, it's too embarrassing for Datang!If you really don't understand why Li Yuan was dumbfounded, you can take a closer look at the list of generals in Dongchao Liu Heita.Just how embarrassing it is is fully reflected in this list:

Li Shentong, Li Yi (Luo Yi), Li Xuantong, Li Shiji, Xue Wanjun (Xue Shixiongzi)... All of the above were beaten into chaos by Liu Heitai, and now Li Yuan realized how fierce Liu Heitai was.The world is invincible, the real world is invincible.So, why did farmers in Hebei and Shandong revolt after being so instigated by Liu Heita?Couldn't they just calm down a bit?The answer is: no.If you want to blame, you can only blame Li Yuan, it is Liu Heitai who was created by his own carelessness.The Shandong Dao consolation ambassador sent by Li Yuan is a person with a happy face, but a very sinister person behind his back.On the surface, he listened to Li Yuan's words very much, but when he was far away from Emperor Shan Gao, he changed his face again.

In fact, Li Yuan also thought about being bad to the people of Shandong, but was stopped by the admonisher.However, the contempt for outsiders in his bones led to the consolation ambassador's face. Just think about it, why do people let go of their good days and throw away their homes and careers to raise troops?Are they free? Of course, Li Yuan cannot completely escape responsibility.In terms of his attitude towards Dou Jiande, he let everyone see a Tang Lord who is different from his broad-mindedness.He wanted to wipe out all the forces of the Xia Dynasty, so he kept suppressing Dou Jiande's remaining party. This is also the reason why Liu Heita raised his troops and cannot be ignored.Li Yuan got revenge, severe revenge...

Even Li Yi and Li Shiji, who can't be more fierce, are not Liu Heita's opponents. Who can beat them?While Li Yuan was worrying, an even more troublesome thing happened - Xu Yuanlang from Shandong also turned his back.In one wave, Li Yuan was photographed on the beach; in another wave, Li Yuan was photographed. Xu Yuanlang, a native of Yanzhou, Shandong, was the leader of the peasant uprising army at the end of the Sui Dynasty, with 20,000 people.Submitted to Li Mi, Li Mi defeated, returned to Wang Shichong, Wang Shichong was defeated, returned to Tang; Dou Jiande died, rebelled, and claimed to be King Lu.This is Xu Yuanlang's entire experience, it can't be said to be without twists and turns, and it can't be said to be without bitterness.Xu Yuanlang and Liu Heita are not quite the same, but they are somewhat similar.The difference is that he is also a person who has twists and turns and should understand the strength of the Tang Dynasty; some similarities are that both of them are a bit simple and honest.

Liu Heitai and Xu Yuanlang had originally formed a secret alliance, but after the window paper was pierced, they suddenly broke out and joined forces to deal with Tang Jun.At this time, Li Yuan, although he was a little concussed, he would not become stupid. He still knew very well what he should do.The uprising army was the most fierce in Shandong, and the generals of the Tang Dynasty were also the most numerous in Shandong. People said that when fellow villagers saw fellow villagers, their eyes were full of tears.This is easy to handle... aren't they all from Shandong?Let Wang Bo, who has been in the sea, go to persuade the counties and states in Shandong, and that's it!

So Wang Bo set off with a difficult mission. Facts have proved that everyone wants to live a peaceful life. Wang Bo took over Qingzhou, Laizhou, and Mizhou without hesitation. As for Liu Heita and Xu Yuanlang's territory, he thought about it, touched his neck, and let it go.At this time, Liu Heita, who was in full swing, quickly captured many cities, and finally, Dingzhou also fell.There was a man in Dingzhou named Li Xuantong.Liu Heita liked Li Xuantong's talent and hoped that Li Xuantong could follow him, but Li Xuantong refused.Liu Heita said: "Okay, if you don't agree, then I will wait until you agree."

Liu Heitai will never wait for the day when Li Xuantong becomes his general. Li Xuantong was supervised by Liu Heita, he refused to accept, he could not let the thieves look down on him.That night, someone brought him wine and meat.Li Xuantong is a nice person, and the person who delivered the wine and meat was an old official of Li Xuantong.Holding the wine bowl, Li Xuantong said to his subordinates: "I'm under confinement here. Fortunately, I have wine and meat to send. Let's have a good drink together!"Next, Li Xuantong suddenly said to the guard: "I can wield a knife, let me borrow your knife to use it."

The guards were given to Li Xuantong, Li Xuantong danced, the strong man wept, and sighed: "The man is deeply favored by the country, and he can't keep the guard. How can he see the people in the world!" So he stabbed the abdomen with a knife, split the abdomen and died. Li Shiji was also almost killed by Liu Heita. The Tang army led by Li Shiji fought with Liu Heitai, and these elites were beaten by Liu Heitai to crawl all over the ground.Even Li Shiji himself was almost caught, and Tang Jun was defeated.The war situation became more and more urgent day by day, and Li Yuan fell into deep thinking.Li Yuan was not good at handling things by himself, and he paid a heavy price at this time, so he deserved it.However, Li Yuan didn't understand why the peasants in the east raised their troops again and again. He didn't understand why this group of people insisted on revolting despite their good days.Is it unconvinced, or is it natural?

It seems to be nature, then kill! Li Shiji, Li Yi and others are not their opponents, who can defeat them?Is it Li Shimin who is squatting and still not hot?Or is it Li Jiancheng who is making trouble with the Turks in northern Xinjiang?Is it Li Jing who is still visiting Lingnan?Or... all the officials were talking about it.In the end, under the discussion of all the officials, Li Yuan looked at a magical figure——Li Yuanji with affirmative, approving, and encouraging eyes. Yes, our Li Yuanji is here again. Li Yuanji was a little inflated about his ability to lead the army from the very beginning. Although his bravery and skill in fighting could only appear in his dreams, from his conversation with himself, it can be ascertained that he does have a passion for making contributions.Of course, Li Yuanji is not stupid, so he just told his father that.Li Yuan took it seriously, not only believed it, but believed it very much.He didn't want Li Shimin to go out anymore, Liu Heita was going to follow his second son Shimin, the consequences... Thinking of this, Li Yuan nodded, Yuan Ji, you go, you go, don't let your second brother bother.

Li Yuanji thought to himself, I will go, he will go, everyone will go, why teach me to go alone.Li Yuan's sudden decision naturally aroused the opposition of 99% of the people, and the only one who did not object was Li Shimin himself (he is not easy to speak).Since many of the ministers were outspoken and not for themselves, everyone unanimously recommended Li Shimin to go.Li Yuan also knew that the Turks had to be controlled by Li Jiancheng, and that Li Yuanji was going to beat Liu Heitai himself.Li Yuan was silent again, and finally, he smiled, "Then, let Shimin and Yuanji go together!"

Voiceover: Wait until Liu Heitai is almost finished, then let Jiancheng go. In November, Li Shimin and Li Yuanji set off to attack Liu Heita, and Li Yi, the governor of Youzhou, was in charge of supporting them.But Li Yi is also a very humorous person. When Li Shimin and Li Yuanji embarked on the journey, Comrade Li Yi staged a very spoof tragedy here.I don’t know if you still remember, but Li Yi’s original surname was Luo, the Luo of Apollo.Li Yi now only has grief and anger, and the specific reason must start from this story. There was a famine in Youzhou, and Li Yi had nothing to do. At this time, Gao Kaidao wrote to Li Yi and said: "Dear Yi, I have food and rice here, and I will take care of how many people in Youzhou come to eat." Signed: Love you Kaidao.Li Yi received the letter, read it, was overjoyed, and sent people to fetch food. The people who came back said that Gao opened the way to eat delicious food, and also sent many good things.Li Yi was ecstatic, and sent three thousand people, hundreds of carts, and more than a thousand horses, donkeys and mules to transport grain.Gao Kaidao detained all the people and horses, and wrote a touching letter, which said: "Dear Yi, I have food and rice here, and I will not return as long as the people of Youzhou come. "Signature: Gao Kaidao who still loves you.In this way, Li Yi was seriously spoofed by Gao Kaidao and severed the relationship. Therefore, Gao Kaidao joined forces with Turks in the north and Liu Heita in the south, and raised the banner of anti-Tang. Li Yi was furious. In the twelfth month, Liu Heita captured Jizhou and killed Qu Leng, the governor of Jizhou.After that, he conquered the city and plundered the land and became stronger and stronger.In the first month of the fifth year of Wude (AD 622), Liu Heita claimed to be the King of Handong, changed Yuan Tianzao, and established Mingzhou as his capital. Dou Jiande's original civil and military officials were almost all restored.This is all right, once King Xia dies, the mourners will surely win. Li Shimin came, just right.His army moved forward to Huojia, which was very close to Xiangzhou where Liu Heita was located. Liu Heita retreated to Mingzhou to avoid conflict.Li Shimin didn't talk too much, seeing Liu Heitai retreating, he was in a hurry to push forward, and he wanted to knock the enemy into a daze before they stabilized.Participating in the attack was Comrade Li Yi who had just been mercilessly attacked.This comrade was greedy for petty gains and suffered big losses. This time, he led an army of tens of thousands to participate in the battle between Li Shimin and Liu Heitai. Two teams of tens of thousands of troops stationed in two places, Li Shimin was by the Shahe River, and Li Yi divided his troops elsewhere.Liu Heitai got the battle report and asked Fan Yuan to defend the city, and he took tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to detour to Li Yi's buttocks and started fighting with him.Whether Li Yi's dream can be realized depends on how this battle is fought.Facts have proved that the battle report Liu Heita got was not comprehensive. He only knew that Li Yi was coming, but he didn't know where Li Shimin was. That night, Li Shimin asked Cheng Mingzhen to pull sixty big drums in a cart, ran to the west of the city two miles away, and sent hundreds of soldiers to beat on the big drums.The sound of drums was rumbling, like Prince Ning's mansion marrying a daughter-in-law, making the ground tremble with joy.This blow broke the heart of Comrade Fan Yuan who was guarding the city: Your Majesty, didn't you say that no one would attack if I were to defend the city?How could there be so many people and such a loud voice all of a sudden? So Comrade Fan sent someone to ask Liu Heita for advice.How could Liu Heitai know that Li Shimin would come up with such a plan, after listening to the report, he became impatient and hurriedly asked his younger brother Liu Shishan to lead 10,000 troops back to aid.After such a toss, things will be easy to handle.Li Yi took the opportunity to snatch Liu Heitai's territory, and Li Shimin took the opportunity to beat Liu Shishan to death.According to historical records, Liu Shishan returned to aid a total of 10,000 troops. After Li Shimin attacked, 8,000 people were beheaded, and the rest all fled. Li Yi is back, he swallowed several states of Liu Heita, a very good record. A few days later, Li Yi and Li Shimin joined the army again, the location: Mingzhou. Li Shimin and Li Yi surrounded Liu Heita for half a moon outside the city of Mingzhou.They would not have expected that Liu Heita, who was passive, would take the initiative to attack—but not to fight Li Shimin, but to attack Mingshui City, which Wang Junkuo was defending firmly.Liu Heitai is a very smart person. He knew that Li Shimin and Li Yi were not easy to mess with, so he focused on attacking weak and important areas in the Tang Dynasty.This caught Li Shimin by surprise, and King Dong's army quickly surrounded Mingshui City. Inside the city were about a hundred Tang soldiers.However, what made Li Shimin calm down was that Mingshui City is a very interesting city. The city of Mingshui is surrounded by water, the width of the water surface is sixty to seventy meters, and the depth of the water is two feet.The moat is quite effective in preventing the northern army.Liu Heita's army came from the north. Although it was said to come suddenly, because they could not cross the water for the time being, they surrounded Mingshui City with three layers inside and three layers outside.Mingshui City must be taken. Its significance is like that of Tianjin to Beijing. When Tianjin falls, Beijing is at your fingertips. No matter what, this city cannot fall into the hands of Tang Jun. There is water all around, how to attack it? This is a topic worth studying, and a large number of excellent papers can be produced from professional disciplines such as physics, chemistry, biology, geography, and mathematics.For example, bridge-building experiments, ice-forming experiments, research on soil quality in caverns, and design of filling cubes.However, the actual operation can only use the fastest.Some students actually thought of swimming, boating, and bridge building very cleverly... In fact, they are all good, but they are not practical.Liu Heita made up his mind, don't talk nonsense with him, just fill in the soil, if there is no land, you have to go to build a land! With an order, Liu Heita's tens of thousands of soldiers picked up the iron guy and stuffed it fiercely.Location, in the northeast corner of Mingshui City, two dirt roads go side by side.At their pace, it will be finished soon.When Li Shimin heard about it, he became anxious, and personally led the elite to run out of the city, trying to stop Liu Heita's 10,000-person construction team. Three times, all ended in failure. The progress of Liu Heita's project has not been interrupted at all. On the contrary, they are getting closer and closer to the city.It was rare for Li Shimin to be forced back to the camp. He summoned all the generals to discuss what the Tang army should do about the enemy's method of filling the river to cross the river and attack Mingshui.Li Shiji expressed his attitude and said: "If Liu Heita leads the road to the city, the city will definitely be breached." Well, this is nonsense. As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a fierce general beside Li Shimin pleading for orders: "The last general is willing to defend the city on behalf of the general!" This person is not Li Shiji, but Luo Shixin.Luo Shixin is a very smart person. He accepted the task and understood Li Shimin's concerns.So, Li Shimin stepped onto the high platform and told the city guard Wang Junkuo to lead his troops to break through with flag language, and asked Luo Shixin to lead his elite soldiers to kill in.Wang Junkuo rushed out with a group of people and successfully broke through.Taking advantage of the opening of the enemy army, Luo Shixin immediately led two hundred people (note the number) into the city.Liu Heita's soldiers failed to catch up with this and were all blocked outside the city. They could only attack Luo Shixin outside the city regardless of day or night. They fought for eight days in a row. Luo Shixin was isolated and hard to escape. Many people will have this question: Why do you want to change? Reasons: First, Wang Junkuo is powerful, but not as powerful as Luo Shixin; second, Wang Junkuo is a capricious villain.Wang Junkuo's character will not be recorded in history until a few years later. Now, he has been replaced by Luo Shixin.Surrounded by tens of thousands of people for more than ten days, Luo Shixin refused to give up his resistance.Relying on the few people under his command to defend to the death, he managed to survive for ten days.These ten days were the most difficult ten days for Luo Shixin. Waiting for supplies, no; waiting for reinforcements, not coming. Wu Yaya's enemy army finally climbed up a few days later, and finally the city was broken, and Luo Shixin was captured alive by Liu Heita.Liu Heitai was overjoyed, Luo Shixin was great, he wanted Luo Shixin.Luo Shi refused to accept it, Liu Heitai used both soft and hard methods, and in the end, he pointed his nose and cursed angrily.Luo Shixin's words were unyielding, and he also scolded Liu Heita.In the end, Liu Heita was furious and beheaded Luo Shixin.This year, Luo Shixin was just twenty-eight years old, the best moment in his life. Someone asked: It's normal that the supply is not enough, but why did Li Shimin watch so many Tianxi beside him and watch Mingshui City fall? weather reason. I have checked that February 25th in the fifth year of Wude, April 11th in the Gregorian calendar, is the last day of Luo Shixin.Although this day is spring, the blizzard has been falling for a long time.The winter in the Wude period of the Tang Dynasty was abnormal. A few days ago, it was warm as spring and it was difficult to cross the water, but now it was snowing heavily.It doesn't matter if it snows heavily, it will melt after it falls, and it won't affect travel, but God wants to be a master.The goose feather snow covered the sky and the sun, and soon reached the waist.Liu Heitai was overjoyed, his army was right in front of the city gate, if Li Shimin's army wanted to ride horses to help, it would be easier said than done. What was even more difficult was that this damn spring snow fell for eight consecutive days. When Luo Shixin died, he was at the prime of his life.He was a rare general and genius in the Tang Dynasty, and he was also the only Tang general who died young and made me feel very sorry.Without Luo Shixin, the Tang army's future siege would lack a strong general who could lead one or two hundred people into the city, and one less hero who was unconventional and liked to put the enemy's nose in a bag.The little general who walks like flying, pulls out the bones of a cow, fights a tiger with his hands, outwits a castle, and has great military exploits... Remember, his name is Luo Shixin. When Luo Shixin died, Li Shimin became angry!