A few days later, Li Zhiyun received an invitation from Li Mi. When he opened it, he saw that it was Li Mi who invited him to attend the wedding banquet. It turned out that Li Zhiyun's cousin Lonely Chunyan was betrothed to Li Mi by his father. After putting down the invitation, Li Zhiyun thought to himself that his father was very kind to Li Mi, otherwise, he would not have married his uncle's daughter to him.
When the day came, Li Zhiyun took two subordinate officials and guards to Li Mi's mansion. Li Mi was greeting the guests at the gate. He was wearing the groom's attire, with a big red flower on his chest. His face was full of spring breeze and he was smiling happily. When he saw Li Zhiyun, he smiled and cupped his hands and said, "The king of Chu is here. I am very happy for you."
Li Zhiyun cupped his hands and congratulated: "Mr. Li, congratulations, congratulations." After saying that, he turned around and took the gift list from Zhang Zheng, handing it over with both hands, "It's just a small gift, not a sign of respect. I hope Mr. Li will accept it with a smile."
Li Mi took the gift list, looked at it, was surprised, and said: "The King of Chu is so generous, how dare I accept it?" Li Zhiyun smiled and said: "Mr. Li married my cousin, and he is my cousin. From now on, we will We are all a family, please don't be polite to Mr. Li." After hearing this, Li Mi nodded and said, "Then I will accept it shamelessly." He handed the gift list to the servant on the side and invited Li Zhiyun into the house. The guards also carried the congratulatory gifts into the mansion.
Although Li Mi has not been in Chang'an for a long time, he seems to be quite popular. There are quite a few guests who came to congratulate him today. As soon as Li Zhiyun and his party entered, a luxurious six-wheel-drive carriage stopped in front of the mansion, and Pei Ji got off the carriage. He came towards the gate with two servants. When Li Mi saw him, he hurriedly stepped forward to greet him and said, "The prime minister is here? I'm so polite!" Pei Ji didn't return the courtesy, but nodded slightly and held his head high. He walked in, and the servant waiting in the courtyard immediately went up and led him into the hall.
Wang Bodang, who had been standing next to Li Mi, turned to look at Pei Ji's back, took a sip, and said bitterly: "Look at his stinky behavior, arrogant and arrogant. He doesn't even bring a gift when he comes to have a drink. He wants to eat for free. ?!" Li Mi sighed and said, "It would be great if he could come. If he hadn't heard that the emperor and the prince were coming, he wouldn't have come yet."
While the two were talking, the servant who called at the door shouted loudly: "The prince has arrived!" Upon hearing this, Li Mi quickly turned around and went forward to greet him. He smiled and cupped his hands and said: "The prince has arrived, the plum blossoms are shining brightly, and I respectfully welcome the prince! "The eldest brother returned the courtesy and said: "Mr. Li, congratulations. My father wanted to come to ask for a wedding drink from you, but he suddenly encountered urgent business and couldn't get out for a while. Therefore, I specially ask this prince to apologize to you." Li Mi said quickly: " Your Majesty’s state affairs are complicated, and your subordinates can understand, please, Prince!”
After the eldest brother entered, the official in the East Palace handed over the gift list, and the Huangmen carried the gifts into the mansion. After all the guests arrived, the banquet officially began. The guests drank, drank, talked and laughed. After Li Mi had a few glasses of water and wine, he left the front hall and came to the back hall.
About an hour and a half ago, Li Mi led the wedding team to bring the bride's sedan into the mansion. The two had already gone to the wedding hall to get married, and now it was time to drink Henan wine. He walked into the new house and saw Xiniang waiting for him.
Under the guidance of Xiniang, the two newlyweds completed the final rituals. After Xiniang left, only the husband and wife were left in the house. The bride sat on the edge of the bed, silent and speechless. Li Mi felt uneasy, picked up the wedding scale on the tray on the table, walked over and slowly lifted the bride's red hijab. He took a closer look and couldn't help but feel happy: the bride had a beautiful face and was very pleasing to the eye.
Lonely Chunyan glanced at Li Mi secretly and blushed. Just when Li Mi was about to say something, she slowly stood up, bowed down to Li Mi, and said coquettishly: "My husband is on top, I am being polite this time." Li Mi quickly helped her up, Said: "Madam, please get up. As the saying goes, there is no common etiquette in the family. You and I are already husband and wife, so there is no need to be so polite!" Lonely Chunyan shook her head and said: "My husband is wrong. There is an ancient saying that the husband is the guide for his wife. From then on, From now on, my husband is my concubine's heaven, and I must treat each other with courtesy!" Upon hearing this, Li Mi burst out laughing and said, "Well, from now on, you and I, husband and wife, will respect each other as guests, raise eyebrows together, share weal and woe, and grow old together! "
Li Mi's great-grandfather Li Bi was one of the Eight Pillar States of the Western Wei Dynasty, and his father Li Kuan was the Shangzhu State and Pushan Gong of the Sui Dynasty. Li Mi inherited his father's influence and served as Qianniu Guard. Once, Emperor Sui Yang saw him in the ceremonial guard, and later asked Yuwenshu: "Who is the black-faced boy on the left just now?" Yuwenshu said: "He is the son of the late Pu Shanggong." Emperor Sui Yang said: "This boy has bad eyesight. Don't let him serve as a guard in the future." So Yu Wenshu said to Li Mi: "You are talented and smart. You should get an official position based on your talent and learning. There is no future in being a guard. It is better to go home and study." Li Mi listened. I was very happy, so I resigned from my job and went home to concentrate on studying. One day, he rode an ox to visit his teacher Bao Kai, hung the "Book of Han" on the horn of the ox, held the ox rope in one hand, and turned the pages of the book to read. At this time, Yang Su, the Duke of Yue, happened to be riding behind. Seeing Li Mi studying diligently, he caught up with him and asked, "Where are the scholars so eager to learn?" Li Mi quickly got off the cow to pay homage and informed him of his name. Yang Su asked him again what book he was reading, and Li Mi replied that it was "The Biography of Xiang Yu". Yang Su had a pleasant conversation with him, and then said to his son Yang Xuangan and others: "You can't match Li Mi's knowledge and magnanimity." Yang Xuangan then fell in love with Li Mi, and Li Mi embarked on the path of rebellion.
In the ninth year of Daye (AD 613), Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty conquered Goguryeo and sent Yang Xuangan to supervise the transportation of grain and grass in Liyang. At this time, the world was in turmoil. Yang Xuangan planned to raise troops and secretly sent someone to fetch Li Mi and let him take charge of the planning work. Li Mi presented Yang Xuangan with three strategies: the upper, middle and lower strategies: the best strategy was to attack Zhuojun and block Yuguan (today's Shanhaiguan). The Sui army outside the pass did not have much food and grass and would soon be defeated. This was similar to the idea of attacking Jinzhou by great men in later generations. wonderful. The central strategy is to capture Chang'an and occupy Guanzhong to confront Emperor Sui Yang. The next best option is to attack Luoyang. After hearing this, Yang Xuangan said: "The worst policy you mentioned is the best policy. Now the families of the ministers are in Luoyang. If we capture it, the ministers will surrender." Yang Xuangan had no talent, and he still used the kidnapping tactics of bandits.
After Yang Xuangan led his army to Luoyang, he fought several victorious battles and captured Wei Fusi, the internal historian of the Sui Dynasty. He handed over confidential affairs to him. From then on, Li Mi was not in charge of major military affairs. Wei Fusi was not an accomplice to begin with, and he always held an ambiguous attitude when discussing strategies. Yang Xuangan later asked him to draft a proclamation document, but Wei Fusi firmly refused. Li Mi then said to Yang Xuangan: "Wei Fusi is not a like-minded person. In fact, he has a wait-and-see attitude. You have just raised the flag of righteousness and let the spy stay with you. He will definitely mess up your affairs. It is better to kill him." But Yang Xuangan did not listen. Li Mi privately said to his friends: "Mr. Yang Chu loves rebellion but has no intention of succeeding. What should we do? We will be prisoners!" Later, Yang Xuangan failed to capture Luoyang and marched westward. Wei Fusi finally fled back to Luoyang.
After Yang Xuangan's army was defeated by the Sui Dynasty's pursuing army, Li Mi was captured and taken to Gaoyang where Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was stationed. Li Mi said to his companions: "Our lives are like dew in the morning. If we are taken to Gaoyang, we will be chopped into meat paste." He asked his companions to take out their money and said to the escorting officer: "We will die." Later, I will use this money as burial expenses, and the rest will be given to you." The officials were tempted by the money, and their guard gradually relaxed. Li Mi asked people to buy wine and food, and ate and drank with the officials every night, staying up all night. When they reached Handan, Li Mi and seven others dug a hole in the wall to escape.
After Li Mi fled to Huaiyang County, he became anonymous and called himself Liu Zhiyuan, recruiting apprentices and giving lectures. Someone discovered that he was behaving abnormally and reported it to Zhao Tuo, the prefect of Zhunyang. Zhao Tuo sent people to search for him. Li Mi escaped again and went to Wagang Village. People around Zhai Rang, the leader of Wagang, said that Li Mi was Yang Xuangan's fugitive general and encouraged Zhai Rang to kill him. Zhai Rang imprisoned Li Mi outside the camp. Li Mi asked Wang Bodang, who was guarding him, to say to Zhai Rang: "Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was stupid and immoral. He attacked Goguryeo and lost his troops. He left Luoyang and Chang'an to patrol the south of the Yangtze River. The people complained and broke off friendly relations with the Turks. Now it is like Liu Bang and Xiang Yu. That's a good opportunity to fight for the world. With your talents and strategies, you can seize Luoyang and Chang'an and destroy the Sui Dynasty." Zhai Rang was greatly impressed after hearing this, and immediately released him and asked him to assist him.
Under Li Mi's plan, Zhai Rang conquered towns such as Jindiguan and Xingyang. Sui general Zhang Xutuo led troops to attack Zhai Rang. Zhai Rang had been defeated by Zhang Xutuo. When he heard that he was coming, he was extremely frightened and prepared to flee. Li Mi said: "Zhang Xutuo is brave but foolhardy. His team has won several battles. He is arrogant and underestimates the enemy. We can catch him in one battle. Just set up your formation and I will defeat him for you." Zhai Rang As a last resort, Li Mi led the army to defend against the enemy, and sent more than a thousand soldiers to lie in ambush in the woods. Zhai Rang started the battle at a disadvantage and retreated while fighting. Li Mi sent an ambush to attack behind enemy lines. Zhang Xutuo's soldiers fled. Li Mi and Zhai Rang attacked from both sides and defeated the Sui army. Zhang Xutuo was also beheaded. From then on, Zhai Rang asked Li Mi to lead a team alone. Li Mi's troops were well-organized and well-disciplined. He was frugal in food and clothing, and distributed all the gold and silver treasures he received to his subordinates, so everyone was willing to work for him.
Later, Li Mi and Zhai Rang took advantage of the famine in the Central Plains and led their troops to conquer Xingluocang. They opened warehouses to provide relief to the people. The people came to collect food with their children and the elderly. The army quickly grew to 300,000 people. Zhai Rang elected Li Mi as the leader, named Wei Gong, and made Luokou his capital. The army was stationed in an area of 40 miles surrounding Luokou. Li Mi granted Zhai Rang the official title of Situ and the title of Duke of Dongjun. Shan Xiongxin was appointed as the general of Wuhou on the left, Xu Shiji was the general of Wuhou on the right, and the rest were awarded official positions according to their grades.
