Li Yuan has everything in place, but there are still two hidden dangers that need to be lifted before he enters the Guanzhong in the west. One is the Turks in the north of Taiyuan, once the main force of the Tang army advances westward, Taiyuan will inevitably be empty, if the Turks take advantage of the weakness to enter, then Li Yuan will face the dilemma of being attacked by the enemy on his back, which Li Yuan does not want to see.

Another hidden danger is the rising Wagangzhai Li Mijun. Li Mi has been operating near Luoyang, and he can attack Taiyuan at any time and threaten Li Yuan.

As mentioned earlier, Li Mi was expelled from the palace because of the Li ballad incident. But this kid is not an honest man, he actively participates in various social practice activities, and participates in Yang Xuangan's rebellion, after Yang Xuangan's rebellion was quelled by Sui, Li Mi fled to Wagang and defected to Zhai Rang.

At this time, Wagangzhai was already strong and strong, with masters such as Shan Xiongxin and Li Shixian. Li Mi's joining made Zhai Rang like a tiger. Under Li Mi's planning, the Wagang Army won several battles, and Li Mi soon became the core figure of the Wagang Army and became the overlord of the powerful side. is such a powerful force that cannot be ignored, staring at Li Yuan in Taiyuan.

If these two elbow and armpit problems could not be effectively relieved, Li Yuanxi's goal of entering the customs would be impossible to talk about. Li Yuan stared at the military map hanging on the wall, thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to be a husband who could bend and stretch, and bowed his head to confess to these two forces.

For the Turks, Li Yuan personally sent a humble letter to Shibi Khan, euphemistically expressing his desire to do things, Shibi Khan replied to Li Yuan: "If you want to do it, make the movement bigger, simply you will be the emperor, I will fully support you, and ask people to give people horses to horses!" ”

Li Yuan really wanted to be the emperor, otherwise he couldn't rebel. But Li Yuan didn't want to be this rafter who came out, because he was afraid that the rafter that came out would rot first. Once he becomes emperor, he will become the target of everyone's eyes, and Yang Guang's target will turn to him, concentrating his forces to attack him in a big way. He just wants to quietly take Guanzhong, accumulate strength, and then wait for the opportunity to destroy the opponent.

Therefore, in Li Yuan's plan, the banner of the Sui Dynasty cannot fall for the time being, but who will carry it can be discussed. Li Yuan finally decided that Yang Yu, the grandson of Emperor Wen of Sui, would carry the flag, and as for Yang Guang, he would be given the title of Emperor Taishang and let him take a back seat.

According to this line of thought, Li Yuan and the Turks communicated again, and the two sides exchanged views in a warm and friendly atmosphere, and finally determined the agreement as follows: Chang'an will be laid, land and other immovable property will be returned to the Tang Dynasty, and movable property such as beautiful women's property will be returned to the Turks. Shibi Khan was very happy to see that Li Yuan was so generous, and he was very happy to give all the beauties to himself, and immediately decided to give Li Yuan a thousand war horses.

Li Yuan was very sophisticated, and this transaction was very successful, and he used a long-term blank check in exchange for his own scarce war materials to equip the army. If he wins, Li Yuan will own the land of the Great Sui, and if he has the land, he will have everything. If you lose, you will lose your capital with the Turks.

The Turks are greedy for money, and as long as they have profits, they can become mercenaries and serve anyone. But a heroic character like Li Mi is not something that money can impress. He values reputation and status more than anything else.

Li Yuan's alliance with Li Mi was much simpler than that with the Turks. Li Yuan just gave Li Mi a high hat, "You are the eldest brother, and I am the younger brother." ”

Li Yuan's prostration, so that Li Mi's vanity was greatly satisfied, and he took the letter Li Yuan gave him and said to the people on the left and right: "With the recommendation of Tang Gong, the world will soon be calm." Li Mi took it for granted that with Li Yuan's submission, it would be smooth sailing on the road to overthrow the Sui Dynasty, but he didn't know that behind Li Yuan's respectful smile at him, there was still a bloody blade.

Uniting with Li Mi, for Li Yuan, can not only remove the threat from the south, but also allow Li Mi to contain the Sui army's attack from the south. It's a plan to kill two birds with one stone.

A blank check and a high hat have solved the two major problems of Turkic and Li Mi, and I have to say that Li Yuan is really high-yin!

At this point, the era that belongs to Li Yuan has finally come!

In July 617, Li Yuan appointed Li Yuanji, the younger son, as the guard of Taiyuan, and was fully responsible for all the affairs of the rear base camp. At the same time, it spread the word to the world and honored the acting king Yang Yu as the emperor. He led an army of 30,000 from Jinyang and pointed to Chang'an.

Li Yuan raised troops from Taiyuan, and the news soon spread to Chang'an. Yang Yu, the acting king of Chang'an, sent Song Laosheng, a general of Huya, to garrison Huoyi with 20,000 elite soldiers, and Qu Tutong, the general of Zuo Wuhou, to garrison Hedong to resist Li Yuan's army.

Li Yuan's army marched to the place of Jiahubao, which was only more than fifty miles away from Huoyi, and saw that it was about to confront the Sui army, but it was raining heavily at this time, and this rain could not be stopped. This kind of rainy day is undoubtedly the most ideal weather for Song Laosheng, who is defending Huoyi. And for Li Yuan's army on an expedition to Chang'an, it was fatal.

Because it was impossible to advance on a rainy day, Li Yuan's army could only stay where it was. You must know that the 30,000-strong army is far away from the base area, and the supply of food and drink is a big problem, and this rain shows no signs of stopping. Looking at the continuous drizzle, Li Yuan was very anxious in his heart.

At this moment, another piece of news came, which made Li Yuan even more restless. It turned out that Li Yuan heard the report that Liu Wuzhou, another rebel general, had teamed up with the Turks to take advantage of the situation to invade Jinyang. Jinyang is Li Yuan's base camp, and most of the families in the army are in Jinyang City. This news is really like a bolt from the blue for everyone.

Li Yuan immediately convened the generals to discuss the next countermeasures, Pei Lin and other old comrades agreed that they should immediately return to Jinyang, and Li Yuan also had the intention of retreating. In such a difficult situation, the choice of Li Yuan, Pei Lin and others is completely understandable. The front can't enter, there is a shortage of food, Jinyang is besieged, and it seems to be the best choice to retreat immediately to rescue Jinyang.

But this is just the idea of ordinary people, and people with the talent of the world will not choose this way. Li Shimin resolutely opposed the retreat to relieve the siege of Jinyang. There are five reasons for this:

First, it is the autumn harvest season, and you can take grain on the spot to solve the problem of eating and drinking; the second is that Song Laosheng is a coward, and he can kill him in minutes; the third is that Li Mi wants to get the eastern capital Luoyang, and he has no energy to fight Taiyuan; Fourth, the Turks and we have just formed an alliance, and we may not be able to break the treaty immediately, so this news is likely to be false; Fifth, the army is forced into Chang'an, and the slightest setback will be retreated, and the people who follow the uprising are likely to disperse in a hurry.

I have to say that Li Shimin's analysis is very incisive. Li Yuan did not follow Li Shimin's advice at first, and insisted on returning to save Jinyang. couldn't resist Li Shimin's bitter admonition, Li Shimin even showed the ability to cry and make trouble, and finally made Li Yuan change his mind.

The facts have once again proved that Li Shimin's choice is correct. This is what makes Li Shimin different, he can analyze problems in depth, never follow the crowd, blindly follow the crowd, it is his characteristics that have repeatedly pulled the dynasty that is about to deviate back to the right track.

Li Shimin's firmness of belief is the basic quality necessary for all successful people in ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad.

Li Yuan sent troops to Chang'an on the fourth day of July in 617 A.D., and met with rain at Jiahubao on July 14, which lasted for half a month and did not stop until the first day of August.

As soon as the rain stopped, Li Yuan reorganized his army and marched towards Huoyi. The Sui general who defended Huoyi was Song Laosheng, and he seemed to be a veteran with rich battlefield experience. But Song Laosheng is really not old at all on the battlefield, he is almost a waste material, Yang Yu asked him to lead the team to face Li Yuan, which is simply to give Li Yuan a head and let him practice.

Let's take a look at the comparison of the forces of the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Tang army that attacked was 30,000, and the Sui army that defended was 30,000. In terms of numbers, the two sides are evenly matched. But you must know that the Tang Army is a newly formed army, and more than 20,000 of these 30,000 people are newly recruited. The army led by Song Laosheng of the Sui Army was an elite army. From this point of view, the balance of forces between the two sides should still be dominated by the Sui army.

The key point is that the Sui army is still on the defensive, and attacking and defending on the battlefield are two completely different ways of playing. The defenders are mostly condescendingly dominant, and the casualty rate of the attacking side is much higher than that of the defender. So no matter how you look at this battle, Song Laosheng should have a much bigger chance of winning.

The most important point is that Li Yuan's Tang army was an expedition to wade through mountains and rivers, while the Sui army was to wait for work. In such a situation, as long as Song Laosheng stuck to Huoyi and did not let the Tang army advance half a step, it would be a waste of the Tang army to die here. Li Yuan led his troops to the west, and what he hoped for most was a quick victory, because he couldn't afford it. If it is a protracted war, not only will the supply of the Tang army become a problem, but even Taiyuan in the rear will be shaken. If the main force of the Tang army really fell into a protracted war here in Huoyi, with the IQ of Li Mi and Liu Wuzhou, the overlords of the separatist side, they would definitely not give up the fat of Taiyuan. At that time, Li Yuan would really have no place to be buried.

So Song Laosheng's strategy is just one word - Shou. As long as he held on to the death, he could buy time for King Qin's other Sui troops, and Li Yuan, who couldn't afford it, could only retreat in defeat.

But the heavens seemed to be interested in favoring Li Yuan and asked Yang Yu to send such a stupid guy as Song Laosheng to Huoyi to defend. Before the battle, Li Shimin accurately predicted that as long as Song Laosheng was stimulated, he would definitely open the city and come out for a decisive battle. So, Li Yuan sent people to Huoyi City to scold Song Laosheng.

Sure enough, Song Laosheng was unbearable to be humiliated, and angrily rushed out of the city with 30,000 horses from the east and south gates. At this time, Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng were in the east of the city, while Li Shimin was in the south of the city. The eastern part of Li Yuan's city was violently rushed by Song Laosheng, and his feet began to be chaotic. Seeing this, Li Shimin led the cavalry team and quickly rushed to Song Laosheng's rear.

I have to say that Li Shimin is really a fierce man, not only has a strategy, but also has no fear in the battle of real swords and guns, and charges ahead. He held two knives and slashed dozens of people, both of which cut out the gaps, which shows his bravery. The enemy's blood was splashed all over his face, and looking at Li Shimin, who was covered in blood, he was like a god descending from heaven, unstoppable, and the Tang army quickly cheered up again.

In the melee between the two armies, I don't know who shouted: "Song Laosheng has been caught!" Run! ”

In this state of desperate struggle between the armies of both sides, they are persevering with one spirit. The enemy shouted that the commander had been captured, whether this was true or not, and the blow to the morale of the army was devastating. It is estimated that this spiritual victory method is likely to be arranged by Li Shimin first, with the intention of shaking the morale of the Sui army.

This trick really worked, and the Sui army soon collapsed and was defeated. Li Yuan arranged for people to attack the city gate in advance, and the defenders hurriedly closed the city gate, so that it was impossible for Song Laosheng to escape back to Huoyi City. Seeing the defeat of the Sui army, he was powerless to resist, dismounted and jumped into a ditch to escape, but was chased and killed by Liu Hongji.

The commander was killed, and the Sui army in the city had no intention of resisting, and the Tang army soon occupied Huoyi.

After Li Yuan entered Huoyi, he rewarded the officials of the Sui Dynasty there, and gave away official hats one by one. Someone advised Li Yuan not to seal so many officials, and Li Yuan said a very classic sentence, "Isn't it much better to use official positions to buy people's hearts than to use soldiers?" It was the stinginess of rewards that the Sui Dynasty lost the hearts of the people. ”

Li Yuan's approach is really amazing, the matter of sealing the official does not cost a penny, and does not waste a single soldier. What could be cheaper than making a person, a city, a state die for you with just a piece of paper?

Li Yuan's generosity soon yielded positive results. Linfen County, Jiangxian County, Longmen, and Fenyang surrendered one after another.

When Li Yuan's army arrived at Longmen, Liu Wenjing rushed to Longmen with 500 Turkic troops and 2,000 horses to join Li Yuan. This debunked the rumors that the Turks and Liu Wuzhou colluded to attack Taiyuan.

At this time, in the Guanzhong area, the resistance of the Sui army was left in Hedong, which was defended by Qu Tutong, and Chang'an, which was garrisoned by Yang Yu, the acting king, and other areas were not enough for Li Yuan to worry about.

During the siege of Qu Tutong in Hedong, different opinions appeared within Li Yuan's group, and Pei Lin and others advocated taking Qu Tutong in Hedong first, so as to relieve their worries about the next siege of Chang'an. Li Shimin believed that the Sui army in Chang'an had no courage and no strategy, and the main force of the Tang army should go straight to Huanglong, attack Chang'an, and then turn around and clean up Qu Tutong.

In fact, the opinions of these two sides have pros and cons, but Pei Lian's ideas are more conservative, while Li Shimin's ideas are radical. After comprehensive consideration, Li Yuan decided to adopt the opinions of both parties. Divide the army into two divisions, leaving one to continue to besiege the Sui army in Qututong, Hedong. The other was led by himself to cross the Yellow River from Longmen and enter Chang'an.

At the same time that Li Yuan raised an army against the Sui, some of his relatives also started things in the Chang'an area, the center of the Sui Empire. Li Yuan's daughter Li is a woman who does not like red makeup and loves arms, and this woman fully interprets the tiger father and no dog girl. Li's husband Chai Shao fled to Taiyuan with Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji when Li Yuan raised troops, but Li did not flee with Chai Shao and others.

Not only did Li not escape, but he also made a big deal. After Chai Shao left, the Li family returned to Juxian County, scattered all his family wealth, and gathered some strongmen who did not want to die. Li Yuan's cousin Li Shentong fled from Chang'an to Juxian County, and recruited Shi Wanbao, a hero from Chang'an, and others to raise troops to respond to Li Yuan. There was also a Hu man, He Panjin, who went to Sizhuyuan to be a thief, and gathered tens of thousands of people.

The Li clan organized these people and conquered Ju County, and its strength also grew rapidly, and the Sui army was defeated by the Li clan in several expeditions. The Li clan then expanded the results of the war, occupying the nearby counties of Xu, Wugong, and Shiping, with a strength of more than 70,000 troops.

Li Yuan's other son-in-law, Duan Lun, also gathered more than 10,000 people in Lantian to raise troops against the Sui and respond to Li Yuan.

Li Yuan's army attacking Chang'an was divided into two routes, of which Li Jiancheng led all the way through Chaoyi, entered Yongfengcang, and guarded Tongguan, so as to cut off the connection between Chang'an and Luoyang, and then Li Jiancheng's troops advanced to Bashang and threatened Chang'an from the east.

The other route was led by Li Shimin, from Haoyang, Chengcheng, and Qicheng to Jingyang, and from the north to Chang'an. Li Shimin sent Liu Hongji to lead the army to capture Fufeng, and then crossed Weishui south to occupy the ancient city of Chang'an. Li, Duan Lun, and Li Shentong all belonged to Li Shimin. Along the way, officials of the Sui Dynasty and local heroes and thieves took refuge in Li Shimin like a tide. By the time of the siege of Chang'an, Li Shimin's army alone had 130,000 people, and the total number of Tang troops had exceeded 200,000.

At this point, the 200,000 Tang army completed the siege of Chang'an, and the capital of the Sui Empire was now in Li Yuan's pocket.