After several days of trekking, the army was getting closer and closer to Fufeng County. Xue Rengao was riding beside the queue. A divine horse galloped over from the front, and sitting on it was a dark-skinned general. This person was Zong Luohu.
After Zong Luohu led his men to defect to Xue Ju, he was named King Yixing by Xue Ju, and Xue Ju sent him to assist Xue Rengao. Zong Luohu came to the front on horseback, turned his horse's head, rode alongside Xue Rengao, and said: "Prince, the scouts sent by the last general came back to report that Emperor Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty sent King Li Shimin of Qin with 20,000 troops to fight us. "
"Li Shimin?"
"Yes!" Zong Luohu said, "General, I heard that Li Shimin is brave and good at fighting and has many tricks. We must be careful!"
Xue Rengao curled his lips and said disdainfully: "What's so great about Li Shimin? His father is the emperor, and my father is also the emperor. He is the king of Qin, and I am the prince! Besides, our army has more people than him, so why should we be afraid of him? Zai?"
"Having said that, it's better to be careful."
On the official road outside Fufeng County, there were more than a dozen people standing in the biting cold wind. The person at the front looked to be in his thirties and was wearing a purple python official robe. He is of medium build and has a pale face. This person is Dou Jing, the governor of Fufeng.
About a month ago, Dou Jing sent an envoy to Chang'an to propose to Li Yuan that he submit to the Tang Dynasty. Recently, he heard that Li Yuan was going to send Li Shimin to lead an army to attack Xue Ju and his son. After getting the exact news, he led his officials five miles out of the city to meet the army.
At this moment, all the officials were facing the direction of Chang'an and waiting eagerly. Suddenly, someone shouted: "Here we come!" Dou Jingdingqing took a look, and sure enough she saw dust flying at the end of the official road, flags and flags fluttering, and a large army marching towards this direction.
The army was getting closer. Dou Jing straightened his official uniform, looked up, and saw a young general in his twenties sitting on a white dragon horse in the front. He has a calm demeanor and an extraordinary bearing. His whole body is neatly dressed and his armor is bright. Dou Jing secretly wondered, could this be the King of Qin Li Shimin?
The young general drove his horse up to him and dismounted. Dou Jing hurriedly stepped forward to greet him, cupped his hands and said, "May I ask, general, if he is the King of Qin?" The other party clasped his fists and returned the salute, "It is this king. Who are you?"
"The official is Dou Jing, the governor of Fufeng."
"It turns out to be Mr. Dou, disrespect! Disrespect!"
"His Royal Highness the King of Qin led an army to come all the way. It's been a hard journey!" Dou Jing said, "According to the scouts sent by Xianguan, Xue Ju sent his son Xue Rengao to lead an army of 30,000 to attack Fufeng County. It is currently less than fifty miles away from the county seat. Please, Your Highness, lead the army into the city!"
Li Shimin shook his head with a smile and said: "Master Dou, you don't have to be polite. I have decided that in order not to disturb the people, the army will be stationed outside the city tonight. We will set off early tomorrow morning to fight Xue Rengao!" When Dou Jing heard this, He quickly said: "The enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered. Your Highness should lead the army into the city and defend it. The warehouses in the city are abundant and enough to support the army for several months. The lower official heard that Xue Rengao's army did not carry much food. If they cannot attack for a long time, they will inevitably It seems safer to retreat."
Li Shimin suppressed the smile on his face and said seriously: "Abba asked me to lead the army to attack Xue Ju and his son. How can I hide in the city? Lord Dou, please rest assured, I have my own strategy to defeat the enemy!"
Although Dou Jing tried hard to persuade him, Li Shimin was determined. Dou Jing had no choice but to say goodbye to Li Shimin and led his men back to the city. After walking for more than a mile, he glanced back and said to a subordinate walking beside him: "I have long heard that Li Shimin was a wise and powerful man and a great hero. When I saw him today, he really lived up to his reputation. He is not such a person. , how can we eliminate the chaos in the world?"
At night, inside the central military tent, two tallow candles on the candlesticks flickered with dazzling light, illuminating the tent as if it were daytime. Li Shimin called his generals together to discuss tomorrow's combat deployment.
The generals sat around a table with a military map placed on it. Li Shimin pointed to a place on the map and said: "This place is called Luqiyuan, which is where Xue Rengao's army must pass. General Qin, tomorrow you will lead 10,000 troops to station in Luqiyuan to fight against Xue Rengao. My king Lead 10,000 men and horses from the north to surround Xue Rengao's back. If we attack from the front and back, we will definitely defeat the enemy!" Upon hearing this, Qin Qiong stood up and clasped his fists and said, "General, I obey!"
Early the next morning, the army broke out of camp and set off, advancing about ten miles to Luqiyuan. This is a flat open land, high in the north and low in the south, with the official road passing through the middle.
Qin Qiong led 10,000 troops to station in Luqiyuan and cut off the official road. Li Shimin led 10,000 troops into a low hill in the northwest and disappeared into the jungle.
About two sticks of incense later, Xue Rengao led the army to Luqiyuan. As soon as he saw the Tang army arrayed in front, he quickly ordered his troops to form a formation. The two sides faced each other in this open area, with the distance between the two armies about fifty feet.
Xue Rengao had a horse on his crotch and a big sword in his hand. He looked towards the opposite side and saw that the Tang army on the opposite side had a strict formation and the soldiers had bright armor. There is a general in front of the formation, wearing a gold helmet and silver armor. He is tall and tall. I don't know if he is Li Shimin.
Xue Rengao didn't care so much and ordered the soldiers to beat drums to cheer. Then, he took the lead and led his men to rush over. The two sides engaged in hand-to-hand combat with generals and soldiers against soldiers, until the sky was dark and the ground was dark, and rivers of blood flowed.
Although Qin Qiong was brave, he had no choice but to have a large number of generals. After half an hour of fighting with Xue Rengao, he saw that he could not hold on and was about to be completely defeated. Just at this moment, Li Shimin appeared behind Xue Rengao's army. Holding two steel knives in his hand, he led dozens of cavalry to rush down from the northern hillside and attack the enemy's formation.
Li Shimin killed dozens of people with his own hands and cut them all with two knives. Splattered blood stained his sleeves, and he shook it off before fighting. The 10,000 men who followed Li Shimin also rushed over and attacked Qin Qiong's troops in front and back. The enemy's formation was shaken and they suddenly fell into chaos.
Xue Rengao took a look at the situation and immediately ordered a retreat. He led his troops away from the battlefield and fled westward. How could Li Shimin be willing to give up? He led the army to pursue the victory and pursued it all the way to Longdi.
Longdi, also known as Longban, Longshan and Longshou, is another name for the southern section of Liupan Mountain, located at the junction of Shaanxi and Gansu. Long is the abbreviation of Gansu, Di refers to high slopes, and Long Di is a dangerous strategic point in the central and western parts of the Guan Pass. In later generations, Liupan Mountain was the last mountain that the Red Army climbed in the Long March, and was known as the "Mountain of Dawn of Victory" in the Red Army's Long March.
At that time, the great man climbed up Liupan Mountain and was shocked by the majestic Liupan Mountain and the revolutionary situation. He wrote the poem "Qing Ping Le Liu Pan Mountain": "The sky is high and the clouds are pale, and you can see the geese flying south. If you don't reach the Great Wall, you are not a hero." , only 20,000 journeys. On the peak of Liupan Mountain, the red flag is swirling in the west wind. Today I have a long tassel in my hand, when will I tie the blue dragon?"
Li Shimin saw that the mountains and terrain in this area were steep and difficult, and it was not suitable for an army to go deep alone, so he ordered a halt to the pursuit. Xue Rengao then led the remaining troops to cross Longdi and fled.
In this battle, the Tang army killed thousands of enemy soldiers and seized a large amount of military supplies. The soldiers beat victory drums and victory gongs and marched in triumph happily.
In Qinzhou City, in the hall of the imperial palace, dozens of ministers stood there in groups of three and five, whispering and chattering. The news of the prince's defeat has spread back to Qinzhou, and the ministers are discussing the matter. Many people looked solemn and worried.
At this time, the eunuch standing at the door shouted in a sissy voice: "The emperor has arrived!" Upon hearing this, the ministers immediately lined up according to their civil and military ranks, standing neatly like Shinto stone statues, to welcome the emperor to court.
After a while, Xue Ju, led by the chamberlain holding a fan, walked into the hall and sat on the throne. There was silence in the hall, and all the ministers looked at the emperor with wide eyes. Xue Ju cleared his throat and said, "My lords, do you all know the battle ahead? Li Shimin is brave and invincible. If he crosses Longdi and attacks Qinzhou, what should we do?" After hearing this, the ministers whispered to each other and discussed in low voices. , but no one came out to answer the question.
Xue Ju asked again: "My lords, has the emperor surrendered since ancient times?" At this time, a civil servant in his thirties stood up. He was Chu Liang, the minister of Huangmen. Chu Liang cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Zhao Lun returned to the Han Dynasty, and Liu Chan served the Jin Dynasty. In modern times, Xiao Cong is still prominent and noble. This kind of turning disaster into blessing has been around since ancient times."
As soon as Chu Liang finished speaking, a minister in his forties came out of the queue and walked forward quickly. This person's name was Hao Ai, who turned out to be the Jincheng Order of the Sui Dynasty. When Xue raised his troops, he kidnapped him. After Xue Ju ascended the throne, he appointed him Wei Weiqing.
Hao Ai walked to the throne, cupped her hands and said: "Your Majesty should not ask such a thing! How ridiculous Chu Liang's words are! In the past, Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, experienced many escapes and failures. Liu Bei, the first lord of the Shu Han Dynasty, lost his wife and son many times, but They all completed their imperial career in the end. How could your Majesty plan to subjugate the country just because he lost the first battle?"
Xue Ju was just frightened by Li Shimin. Hao Ai's words made him sober up. He also felt regretful, so he found a way out: "I'm just trying this on you." So, Xue Zhong rewarded Hao Ai and made him his most important adviser, obeying his words.
On this day, Xue Ju invited Hao Ai to his inner room to discuss "big plans" with him. Hao Aidao said: "Chang'an is one of the two capitals of the Sui Dynasty. Occupying Chang'an is equivalent to occupying half of the Sui Dynasty. Your Majesty raised the army before Li Yuan, but Chang'an was taken away by Li Yuan. What a pity!" Xue Ju! He nodded and said, "I feel the same way, but what else can I do now?"
Hao Aidao said: "Liang Shidu occupies Shuofang, Diaoyin, Honghua and other counties, and has hundreds of thousands of troops. Your Majesty can send envoys to contact Liang Shidu and ask him to join forces to attack Chang'an. In addition, Your Majesty can also send envoys to Turkic Mo. He Du set up his troops and bribed Mo He Du She with a lot of money to ask him to send troops to help us attack Chang'an. In this way, the three of us together will greatly surpass the Tang Dynasty in military strength, and we will definitely be able to capture Chang'an!" Xue Ju heard this! , thought for a moment, nodded and said: "You have a good idea, then let's do it!"
