In July of the fourth year of Wude, Li Yuan issued an order to recruit Fan Yuan, Dong Kangmai, Cao Zhan, Gao Yaxian, Wang Xiaohu and other Dou Jiande henchmen to Chang'an.

Fan Yuan and the others discussed privately, and they all felt that they couldn't go to Chang'an, and if they went, they would die a life.

Dou Jiande died in prison inexplicably, and he didn't know where he would die if he went.

Moreover, after Wang Shichong surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin unceremoniously dismantled his troops, and although the original generals did not die, they had no soldiers and no power, and they waited for their retirement, and such days were more uncomfortable than death for them.

Fan Yuan said: "For today's plan, we can only oppose Li Tang and pull out a team."

The rest of the crowd all agreed, but they couldn't make up their minds about who would be the leader for a while.

After arguing for a long time, everyone decided to ask the gods for guidance.

According to the divination, it is said that following a general surnamed Liu can be successful.

Fan Yuan and others first found Dou Jiande's old general Liu Ya and persuaded him to raise troops against the Tang Dynasty. Fan Yuan and the others never dreamed that Liu Ya would not agree.

Liu Ya said: "Now that the land of Hebei has been stabilized, and the Tang Dynasty has many generals, whether we succeed in raising troops or not, it is inevitable that there will be another loss of life, which is really impossible."

Wang Xiaohu said: "You are basically greedy for life and afraid of death, do you want to be what King Xia did to you back then?" It's annoying that you're saying such things now to save your life. ”

Liu Ya said: "Of course I miss King Xia's great kindness, but the peace of the people of Hebei is more important."

Fan Yuan on the side was stunned for a moment, and then drew a knife and hacked Liu Ya to death.

Gao Yaxian said depressedly: "Liu Ya was hacked to death by you, who else can we find?"

Fan Yuan said: "Without Liu Ya, isn't there still Liu Heimin." I think Liu Heimin is the general surnamed Liu mentioned in the servant hexagram, Liu Ya is a cowardly and incompetent person. ”

So, Fan Yuan and others found Liu Heimin again and expressed their intentions.

As expected, Liu Heimin readily agreed and raised troops against the Tang Dynasty.

I don't know what's wrong, whether Liu Heimin and the others are too fierce, or the Tang army is too incompetent, in less than half a month, Liu Heimin has been entangled with 10,000 people to capture the land of Erzhou.

Aozhou.

Li Ming, the king of Lujiang, frowned, there was no way, Liu Heimin's army was really not too far from Yuzhou. In case Liu Heimin raised troops to come, Li Ying didn't have the ability to stop them.

Li Chengzong was also afraid, after all, he had never fought any battles, let alone commanded thousands of troops when he met the enemy.

That's it, Li Chengzong still pretended to be casual and said: "Uncle Don't worry, there are a lot of soldiers and horses in Zhaozhou, plus my 20,000 troops are stationed here, I expect that Liu Heimin will not dare to come for a while." Moreover, I heard that the emperor's grandfather has ordered the deployment of troops and horses to Hebei, as long as we hold on for a while, Liu Heimin will be defeated. ”

Li Ying slowed down and said, "What Chengzong said is reasonable, although we have no natural danger to defend, but this city of Zhaozhou is not easy to be breached. You and my uncle and nephew are here, and I don't think Liu Heimin dares to come. ”

Li Chengzong and Li Ying guessed here, and they really guessed correctly, Liu Heimin really didn't regard them as the first target.

First, there are indeed more soldiers and horses in Zhaozhou than in other places, after all, there are still 20,000 people in Li Chengzong. Second, Li Chengzong, the king of Taiyuan County, buried Dou Jiande, which was a pressure on Liu Heimin and others to hold the slogan of revenge for Dou Jiande, the king of Xia. Dou Jiande was not killed by Li Chengzong, but Li Chengzong still dragged Dou Jiande's body to Zhaozhou for burial, and now you are beating Li Chengzong in the name of revenge, which is obviously a manifestation of injustice.

Although Liu Heimin will not be able to come to Zhaozhou for a while, the rest of Hebei will suffer.

On July 19, the fourth year of Wude, Liu Heimin set up an altar in Zhangnan, Beizhou, to pay tribute to Dou Jiande, proclaimed himself a general, and officially raised troops.

On August 22, Liu Heimin captured Liting, and Wang Xingmin, the general of the Tun Guard, was killed in battle.

With Liu Heimin's series of victories, the Tang army has a series of major defeats, and there is even a faint phenomenon of trees falling and scattering. Not only that, Dou Jiande killed the old officials of the Tang Dynasty one after another in response to the uprising. Even the Tang Dynasty was not stable, and some opportunists actually raised troops against the Tang Dynasty.

Cui Yuanxun, a native of Shenzhou, killed him and assassinated Shi Peixi and rebelled against Liu Heimin. Xu Yuanlang, the governor of Tang Yanzhou, also responded with troops.

All of a sudden, the whole of Hebei was full of enemy troops and dangers.

The situation in Hebei was getting worse and worse, Li Yuan was furious, and the court reprimanded the generals of Hebei.

Li Shimin said: "Liu Heimin's power is getting bigger and bigger, and I suggest that Luo Yi, the governor of Youzhou, and Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, crusade together."

Pei Ju said: "What King Qin said is very good. Luo Yi of Youzhou and Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, are all brave and good at fighting, and if they join forces with Liu Heimin's army, it will be difficult to stop. ”

Li Jiancheng said: "Li Chengzong, the king of Taiyuan County, is still in Hebei, and I want him to also participate in the battle against Liu Heimin's army."

As soon as Li Jiancheng's voice fell, Li Shimin said: "Li Chengzong, the king of Taiyuan County, is too young and has no experience in commanding troops, so it is really unwise for him to crusade against Liu Heimin, and I hope the prince will consider it."

Li Yuanji stood up and said: "King Qin, don't forget, Luoyang is Wang Shichong, who was surrendered by the king of Taiyuan County. I think that Li Chengzong, the king of Taiyuan County, although he is young, is brave and resourceful, and can participate in the battle against Liu Heimin. ”

Li Shimin said: "How can it be a child's joke to fight a war, Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, and Luo Yi, the governor of Youzhou, must be enough, so don't let the king of Taiyuan County take risks."

Psychologically, of course, Li Shimin didn't think that Li Chengzong would have any effect, after all, he was an inexperienced little hairy child. It's just that. Thinking of Shan Xiongxin and Xue Wanche, Li Shimin was worried that if he really let him win, it would be even more difficult to solve this trouble in the future.

At the beginning, Li Shimin felt that if he forced Dou Jiande to oppose the rest of the party, he could borrow a knife to kill people. Now, according to the news sent back by Li Shiji, he has to reassess Li Chengzong's combat effectiveness. So he had to change his mind, and if he didn't succeed in killing with a knife and instead sent the handle to the enemy, it wouldn't be fun.

Of course, Li Jiancheng is not convinced, and his father is always full of hope for his son.

Li Jiancheng said: "Although the king of Taiyuan County is first involved in military affairs, with the assistance of Xue Wanche and Shan Xiongxin and even Li Shiji, who was once under the king of Qin, he will be able to succeed."

"That's right, that's right, I think that Li Shiji's ability, the second brother of King Qin will never doubt it." Li Yuanji said with a smile.

Li Shimin was dumbfounded for a while.

Pei Ju stood up again and said: "The battlefield is dangerous, and the king of Taiyuan is still too young. It is not too late to make meritorious contributions in a few years. ”

Pei Ju's words are really matter-of-fact, he doesn't want a good war of annihilation, because Li Chengzong's participation has become a big melee.

Li Yuan nodded and said, "Let's let Chengzong be stationed in Zhaozhou, after all, Zhaozhou is also an important place."

In this way, Li Chengzong was suppressed again.

In other words, Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, and Luo Yi, the governor of Youzhou, have been entangled with Liu Heimin for many days.

In the end, the brave and combative Li Shentong and Luo Yi were defeated by Liu Heimin for various reasons.

In Hebei, Liu Heimin's statement was even more victorious, and the morale of the Tang army was greatly reduced.

It was another morning, and Li Yuan's face was dark.

Li Shimin and Pei Ju were cautious, and they didn't dare to breathe.

Although Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were not very happy, their hearts were happy.

Li Yuan said: "A bunch of waste, look at the people you recommended to me, ah! It was defeated by Liu Heimin's army in less than half a month, and now that most of Hebei has fallen, what else do you have to say?"

Li Yuanji said: "I should have let the king of Taiyuan County participate, but now it's okay to let Liu Heimin win."

"Don't talk nonsense." Li Yuan said angrily. After all, Li Yuan agreed not to let Li Chengzong participate, and now Li Yuanji is undoubtedly scolded by Li Yuan.

Li Shimin said: "Erchen is willing to lead the troops for his father, capture Liu Heimin alive, and recover the lost land in Hebei."

Li Jiancheng didn't have time to speak.

Li Yuan had already said: "Then the King of Qin will lead the troops and quickly quell the rebellion against Liu Heimin."

"Command" Li Shimin said.

Aozhou.

Li Chengzong and Li Ying have had a hard time these days, I thought that Li Shentong and Luo Yi could clean up Liu Heimin, but I didn't expect to be defeated.

Li Chengzong said: "Liu Heimin's soldiers are unstoppable, what should we do?"

Shan Xiongxin said: "A few days ago, the spies came to report that Liu Heimin was already attacking Yingzhou, and Yingzhou Assassin Shi Lu Shirui must not be able to resist, Yingzhou was lost, and Guanzhou could not be saved." We can't sit back and wait, we need to be proactive. ”

Xue Wanche said: "Now Liu Heimin has tens of thousands of elite soldiers in his hands, and he may not win by fighting hard!"

Luo Yi and Li Shentong both lost, so you can imagine how fierce Liu Heimin is.

Li Chengzong asked, "I don't know if General Xu has a clever plan?"

Xu Shiji hurriedly stood up and said, "We might as well cooperate with Li Xuantong, the governor of Dingzhou, to drag Liu Heimin and hit the morale of Liu Heimin's army."

"Li Xuantong? Who is this?" Li Chengzong said.

Wei Zheng said: "Li Xuantong is the governor of Dingzhou, quite capable, and all-round talent in civil and military affairs."

Shan Xiongxin said: "We have been training for several months, the soldiers and horses are strong, and the food, grass and weapons are sufficient. Coupled with Li Xuantong in Dingzhou, I think as long as it is steady and steady, it is not a problem to drag down Liu Heimin. After all, although Liu Heimin seems to be strong, his food and grass logistics are not abundant, and he cannot sustain continuous combat. ”

When Li Chengzong heard this, he still recognized Shan Xiongxin's words, after all, he was once the head of Erxianzhuang.

"That's it, order the soldiers, horses, food and grass, and set off for Dingzhou." Li Chengzong said.

Liu Heimin's follow-up development is as Shan Xiongxin said.

Yingzhou and Guanzhou were lost one after another, and Lu Shirui, the assassin of Yingzhou, was also slaughtered by Liu Heimin.

Liu Heimin is like a chicken blood, and he has laid down most of Hebei in a few months.