The Tang Xian Mausoleum is located in the west of Yonghe Village, Xumu Township, Sanyuan County, Shaanxi Province, and the Tang Zhao Mausoleum is located in Jiuzhi Mountain, Yanxia Town, Liquan County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. These two tombs of the Tang Dynasty are buried with two father-son emperors in Chinese history - Tang Gaozu Li Yuan and Tang Taizong Li Shimin.

These two father-son emperors have left an immortal glory in Chinese history. One of them created a Tang Empire that came from all directions, and the other created a "Zhenguan rule" that has been passed down through the ages. However, together they created a powerful empire - the Tang Empire.

It was they who overcame all the obstacles all the way, entered the main Guanzhong, and settled in Chang'an; It was they who fought all the way to the south and the north, and in only ten years, they swept away the heroes, ended the long-term war and division between the Yellow River Basin and the Yangtze River Basin since the end of the Sui Dynasty, and finally created a Tang Dynasty that has never been seen in ancient and modern times!

When it comes to the Tang Dynasty, there are usually two words that come to people's minds: prosperity. The prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty can be said to be the most beautiful scenery in Chinese history. The rich people's livelihood, the vast territory, the open country, and the gorgeous poems have almost become synonymous with the image of the Tang Dynasty.

When we came to Chang'an City, what we saw was the coming dynasty of all countries with "nine days of opening the palace and all the nations wearing crowns"; Crisscrossing the northeast border with smoke and dust, what we see is the pride of the battlefield of "the smoke and dust of the Han family is in the northeast, and the Han generals will quit their families and break the thieves"; Ascending the Jinling Phoenix Terrace, what we see is the thousand-year-old past of "Wu Palace flowers and plants buried in the path, and the Jin Dynasty dressed as an ancient mound"; Standing on the Yellow Crane Tower, what we see is the long-term homesickness of "where is the sunset township, and the Yanbo River makes people sad......

However, what we can see more is a ,—— Tang Empire that stands proudly in the east of the world, with the posture of a huge empire, overlooking the land of China!

"Han Tang" has now become the pride of all Chinese. The Han Tang people, the seeds of Chinese civilization, have long been spread to all corners of the world.

However, such a great empire that influenced the history of China and even the development of world history was faced with a chaotic era of fragmentation and division when it was finally founded. Facing the wolf-filled land of China, the newly-born Li Tang Dynasty, with its indomitable fighting spirit and the pattern of looking at the world of Kyushu, spent ten years to finally sweep away the heroes and overcome the great cause of unification.

The unification war of the Li and Tang dynasties created a stable political and military environment for the upcoming Tang Dynasty, making the Tang Dynasty a rare unified dynasty in Chinese history.

The unification war at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty was from the first year of Wude (618), when Tang Gaozu Li Yuan proclaimed himself emperor in Chang'an and established the Li Tang Dynasty, to the seventh year of Wude (624), when the Tang army pacified the forces of Jiangnan Fugongqi and basically swept away all the late Sui heroes except for Shuofang Liang Shidu. In the end, until the second year of Zhenguan (628), Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, took advantage of the decline of the Turkic national power and was too busy to take care of himself, and sent troops in one fell swoop, completely uprooting Liang Shidu, the last force of the late Sui dynasty.

It can be said that the newly-born Li Tang Dynasty swept away the heroes and dominated the world in just ten years, ending the long-term turmoil and war in the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins since the end of the Sui Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty, like a rising sun, rises in the ancient Oriental land, and since then, the development of more than 200 years of Chinese history will be closely linked with the fate of the Tang Dynasty.

At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the newly-born Li Tang Dynasty was surrounded and eyed by separatist forces in various places, and it was possible to swallow the ascendant Tang Dynasty at any time. However, Li Yuan, Li Shimin, father and son, who were born in the gate lords of the Guanlong clan, are destined to take on the heavy responsibility of unifying the world!

Summing up the ten years of the founding and unification of the Li Tang Dynasty, it is a magnificent and splendid heroic triumphant. If there were no Jin Ge Iron Horse in the past ten years, and the bloody field, there would be no later poem Saint Du Fu's pen "Recalling the heyday of the Kaiyuan Dynasty in the past, Xiaoyi still hides thousands of rooms." The rice is fat and the corn is white, and the public and private warehouses are abundant".

Shuttle back in time thousands of years ago, the turbulent times of the late Sui and early Tang Dynasties, put yourself in that period of Jin Ge Iron Horse, stirring up the majestic years, and feeling the eternal pride of the Tang Dynasty sweeping the world and standing out from the crowd! In that gathering stars and heroes drawing their swords, why can the Tang Dynasty finally be proud of the crowd, dominate the world, become the last ruler of the land of China, and become the unique lord of the world.

The story has to start from the beginning!

In July of the thirteenth year of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty (617), the cousin of Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty, as the general of the right Xiaowei of the Sui Dynasty and the Duke of Tang Guo Li Yuan, who stayed in Taiyuan, announced that he would raise an army against the Sui in Jinyang (now Taiyuan, Shanxi), and led 30,000 righteous troops to march from Jinyang Palace to Chang'an. Since then, the Li family father and son have dominated the world and created the road of the king of the Tang Dynasty.

In the last years of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang Guanghao of the Sui Dynasty rejoiced in his achievements, exhausted his troops, and conquered Goguryeo three times, which consumed a lot of manpower, material and financial resources of the Sui Dynasty, resulting in domestic contradictions that were about to erupt, peasant uprisings in various places, and the world fell into a state of fragmentation and chaos. According to the record of the "General Guide to Governance":

The people are poor and exhausted, and they are overwhelmed by the cold and hunger when they live in peace, and they are in a hurry to die, and they still have to be plundered, so they begin to gather together as a group of thieves.

In fact, as early as when Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty conquered Goguryeo, the domestic turmoil in the Sui Dynasty had already begun to show signs of radical changes, until later, this kind of signs became out of control.

In July of the seventh year of the Great Cause (611), Emperor Yang of Sui, who was still on his second southern tour, took a dragon boat from Jiangdu to the north, ended the journey of the second Jiangdu, and went to Zhuojun through the Yongji Canal that had just been completed.

On the way, the supreme ruler of the Great Sui Empire officially issued an edict to crusade against Goguryeo, and ordered Yuan Honghe, the governor of Youzhou, to go to Donglai County to supervise the construction of 300 ships. The men who rushed to work day and night stood in the water for a long time to work, so that maggots were born from the waist down, and as many as three or four out of ten died.

However, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty asked for far more than that, and he also issued an edict to transfer the soldiers of the whole country, no matter how far or near they were, all of them must gather in Zhuo County. The counties of Henan, Huainan and Jiangnan will build 50,000 vehicles to transport materials and send them to Gaoyang County on time.

In July of the same year, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty transferred the Minfu ships from Huainan and Jiangnan to transport the grain hoarded in Liyangcang and Luokoucang to Zhuo County. Therefore, throughout the territory of the Sui Dynasty, the vehicles carrying weapons and armor, the ships transporting grain and grass, and the government soldiers running back and forth were constantly crowded on the road day and night, and those who died of exhaustion on the side of the road could not be counted.

In the first month of the eighth year of the Great Cause (612), Emperor Yang of Sui gathered a large army of more than 1.13 million people in Zhuo County, known as an army of 2 million, and officially launched an offensive against Goguryeo. At this point, Emperor Yang of Sui at the strategic level of the empire, another grand plan ,—— crusade against Goguryeo kicked off!

However, behind the big scene of millions of troops and flags covering the sun, there was uninterrupted labor and casualties among the people of the Sui Dynasty from the first year of the Great Cause (605) to the eighth year of the Great Cause (612).

When the low-level peasants under the agrarian society were forced to leave the land, the cultivation missed the season, the grain was not harvested, the fields were barren, and they had to bear heavy taxes, the emperor did not give the order to rest with the people, but issued a new tax edict to raise materials for the eastern expedition to Goguryeo.

The officials of the Sui Dynasty, as soon as they received the order, bought the grain in the hands of the common people at a low price, and then issued an edict to the outside world, demanding taxes, and the people had to buy grain from the officials at a high price. A simple one-in, one-out, officials can get windfall profits from it, up to several times.

In the seventh year of the Great Cause (611), floods broke out in Shandong and Henan, and more than 30 counties were submerged; Then, in October of the same year, the pillars of the Yellow River collapsed, blocking the river with earth and rocks, causing the river to flow backwards for dozens of miles and swallow the surrounding cities. However, in the face of such a severe natural disaster, the imperial court guarded the righteous warehouses everywhere, refusing to open the warehouses to release grain and provide relief to the hungry; The reserves of Liyang and Luokou were only transported to Liaodong.

At this moment, the red line of survival hanging over the heads of the people was completely broken. Wang Bo, a native of Zouping, took the lead in unveiling the rod and called himself "Zhishilang"; Immediately afterwards, Liu Badao, a plain person, Sun Anzu, Dou Jiande of Gaojibo, Zhang Jincheng of Hequ, Gao Shida of Fuxian County and others, flocked up. A song "Song of the Death of the Waves of Liaodong Waves" sang the movement of the turmoil in the world at the end of the Sui Dynasty.

"Changbai Mountain's former Zhishilang, pure red Luo brocade crotch.

The long sword invades the sky and a half, and the wheel knife shines in the sun.

Go up the mountain to eat roe deer, and go down the mountain to eat cattle and sheep.

Suddenly, when he heard the arrival of the official army, he raised his knife and swung forward.

For example, if Liaodong died, he was injured by beheading. ”

Later, the million-strong army of the Sui Dynasty defeated Liaodong, which swept away the prestige of the Sui Dynasty. At the same time, peasant uprisings in the country rose one after another, gradually showing a trend of erosion.

In the face of the peasant uprising, "a spark can set the prairie on fire", Emperor Yang of Sui knew that the chaos in the north was irreversible, and in order to avoid the war, he toured Jiangdu for the third time in the twelfth year of the Great Cause (616) and left the Central Plains. Before Emperor Yang of Sui left, he threw Xijing Daxing City (Chang'an) and the eastern capital Luoyang to his two grandsons, and ordered Yang Yu, the king of Yue, to guard the eastern capital Luoyang.

Emperor Yang of Sui himself left, and Yang Tong, the acting king, and Yang Tong, the king of Yue, were both the two sons of Yang Zhao, the eldest son of Emperor Yang of Sui, who died early, and they were just teenagers at the time, how could they deal with such a chaos. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty handed over the chaos in the north to the two children to take care of, which was obviously to evade responsibility.

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty went to Jiangdu three times, and with this departure, the situation of chaos in the world became even more serious. By the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), the Sui Dynasty had formed three of the most important peasant rebel forces. The Hebei Rebel Army headed by Dou Jiande, the Jianghuai Rebel Army led by Du Fuwei and Fu Gongyi, and the Wagang Army led by Li Mi and Zhai Rang. At this time, Li Mizheng led the Wagang army to besiege Luoyang on a large scale, and fought to the death with Wang Shichong, the capital of the Sui Dynasty and Jiangdu stationed in Luoyang.

The world is in turmoil, and the heroes rise together. At this time, Emperor Yang of Sui, who was in Jiangdu, did not think about how to calm the domestic beacon smoke, but chose to ignore the affairs outside the window, break the jar, and implement the "ostrich policy" of self-deception. According to the records of the Book of Sui and Emperor Yang, at that time, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty's attitude towards the peasant uprising in China was as follows:

Within the district, thieves swarmed, plundered officials, slaughtered cities, and close ministers covered each other, and the number of hidden thieves was not true. Or those who have many words and thieves will be reprimanded. Each begged for relief, and the upper and lower sides were blind, and every master and apprentice were defeated one after another. The warriors will not be rewarded for their best efforts, and the people will be slaughtered innocently. Li Shu was resentful, the world collapsed, and as for being captured, he still didn't realize it.

In the face of the chaotic situation in the world, the armed forces in various places were actively resisting the tyranny of the Sui Dynasty and intending to chase the Central Plains, a new military force suddenly rose in Taiyuan, Shanxi. The emergence of this military force not only changed the chaotic situation in the late Sui and early Tang dynasties, but also changed the direction of the development of the entire Chinese history.

The military leader of this armed force that rose in Taiyuan, Shanxi, was the founder of the Tang Empire - Tang Gaozu Li Yuan.

In fact, Li Yuan is not an ordinary reckless hero, on the contrary, he is a real and genuine aristocratic background. Moreover, Li Yuan also had a very deep blood relationship with the Sui Dynasty. Why is Li Yuan a real nobleman? Because he was born in the Western Wei, Northern Zhou and Sui and Tang dynasties, a very prominent aristocratic group - "Guanlong aristocratic group".

Here I want to explain this "Guanlong aristocratic group". The so-called "Guanlong aristocratic group" is actually an aristocratic group with the twelve generals of the Eight Pillars of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties as the core during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The founder of this aristocratic group was the actual founder of the Northern Zhou regime - Yuwentai.

In the fifth year of Taiyan of the Northern Wei Dynasty (439), Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty Tuoba Tao unified the north, which was the second unification of the Yellow River Valley since the former Qin Fujian. However, the good times did not last long, less than a hundred years after the Northern Wei unified the north, and in the fifth year of Zhengguang (524), the famous "Six Towns Uprising" broke out in the Northern Wei Dynasty.

In the third year of Yongxi of the Northern Wei Dynasty (534), the Northern Wei Dynasty was divided into Eastern Wei and Western Wei, with the Eastern Wei controlled by the powerful minister Gao Huan and the Western Wei controlled by the powerful minister Yuwentai. Therefore, the perennial war between the Eastern and Western Wei was actually a contest between Gao Huan and Yuwentai. Later, the Eastern Wei Dynasty was replaced by the Northern Qi Gao regime, and the Western Wei Dynasty was replaced by the Northern Zhou Yuwen regime. Therefore, in order to fight against the Gao Huan group of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, Yuwentai specially created the "Guanlong Noble Group" based on the twelve generals of the Eight Pillars of the Northern Zhou Dynasty of the Western Wei Dynasty.

At the end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Eastern Wei Dynasty, the Western Wei Dynasty, and the Southern Liang Dynasty stood on three legs, among which, the Western Wei Dynasty divided the land of Guanlong, and the population and economy were at a disadvantage. In order to survive in the troubled times, Yu Wentai, the actual ruler of the Western Wei Dynasty, played the banner of retro Zhou rites politically and culturally, and won the recognition of the Guanlong Han people; Militarily, it is based on the primitive tribal military system of the Xianbei people, and the Han people are integrated into it in the way of giving surnames, so as to finally achieve the purpose of gathering the strength of all parties and expanding the ruling base.

Therefore, in order to fight against the Gao Huan Group of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, Yuwentai specially founded the "Guanlong Noble Group" based on the twelve generals of the Eight Pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty.

The so-called "Eight Pillar Kingdom" is the eight great generals of the Pillar Kingdom in the history of the Western Wei Dynasty, they are Yu Wentai, Yuan Xin, Li Hu, Li Bi, Zhao Gui, Yu Jin, Dugu Xin, Hou Mo Chen Chong. Among them, Yuwentai was the actual founder of the Northern Zhou regime and the head of the Eight Pillars Kingdom, while Yuanxin, the king of Guangling, was a member of the Western Wei clan. The other six pillar states are all under their own command of two great generals.

The so-called "Twelve Generals" are Yuan Zan, Yuan Yu, Yuan Kuo, Yu Wendao, Hou Mo Chen Shun, Da Xiwu, Li Yuan, Dou Luning, Yu Wengui, He Lanxiang, Yang Zhong, and Wang Xiong.

Among the twelve generals of the Eight Pillars, in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Northern Qi Dynasty, and even the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there were countless founding emperors, high-ranking officials, royal relatives and the fathers of many princes and generals. For example, Yang Zhong, one of the twelve great generals, was the grandfather of Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty. Yuwentai, the head of the Eight Pillars, was the actual founder of the Northern Zhou regime, and after the founding of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yuwentai was posthumously honored as the "Emperor Taizuwen"; Li Hu is the grandfather of Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Bi is the grandfather of Li Mi, the leader of the Wagang Army at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and Dugu Xin is the father-in-law of Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty.

Born in such a noble group of Guanlong, where aristocrats are frequent, Li Yuan can be said to be very lucky. Mr. Chen Yinke, a famous historian, once commented on the "Guanlong Aristocratic Group" in the second edition of the "Jinming Pavilion Manuscript Series":

Taking the blood of the barbarism and fierceness outside the plug and injecting it into the decadent body of the Central Plains culture, the old dyeing is removed, the new machine is restarted, and the expansion is restored, so that it can create an unprecedented world situation.

In addition to being born in an aristocratic group like Guanlongmen, in addition, Li Yuan himself, as well as the entire Li family, are all descendants of the royal family. According to the record of "Old Tang Dynasty Book: Gaozu Benji", "his ancestor Longxi Di Dao, Liangwu Zhao Wang Hui seven generations of grandsons." It means that Li Yuan is the seventh grandson of Li Hui, the king of Liangwu Zhao, the founder of Western Liang, during the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Of course, many historians later, after research, believed that Li Yuan's ancestor was very likely to be made up. It is estimated that Li Yuan later established the Tang Dynasty, in order to put gold on his face, he made up this ancestor.

However, Li Yuan's grandfather, Li Hu, is a real princely general. Li Hu is one of the eight pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty, in the Western Wei Dynasty official to the left servant shooting, Taiwei, was awarded the title of Longxi County Duke, and later with Yuwentai and other seven other people auxiliary government meritorious service, jointly crowned the title of "Pillar State", known as the Eight Great Pillar States. According to the record of "Shufu Yuan Turtle", Li Huqi person:

Young and ambitious, good at reading and not saving chapters and sentences, especially good at shooting, light on wealth and righteousness, elegant and famous, deeply valued by Taibao He Bayue.

After receiving Zen in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Li Hu was posthumously awarded the title of Duke of Tang. His son Li Xin (Li Yuan's father) successively served as the imperial historian, the governor of Anzhou, and the general of the Zhu State in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and was the hereditary Duke of Tang. In the first year of Tianbao of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (566), Li Yuan was born in Chang'an. When Li Yuan was seven years old, his father Li Xin died. As a result, Li Yuan inherited the title of Duke of Tang from his grandfather and father.

Li Yuan was not only born in such a prominent gate as the Guanlong aristocratic group, but also had a continuous blood relationship with the Sui Dynasty. Because, Li Yuan's mother Dugu and Emperor Yang of Sui's mother, "Queen of Literature" Dugu Jialuo, are sisters. Therefore, in terms of intimacy, Li Yuan is the cousin of Emperor Yang of Sui.

In addition, in terms of identity, Li Yuan was also the ambassador of Shanxi Hedong in the Sui Dynasty, the general of the Right Xiaowei, the Taiyuan guard, the town of Jinyang (Taiyuan), and the military and political power of Shanxi and Prefecture. It can be said that Li Yuan was a feudal official who guarded one side and held heavy troops in the Sui Dynasty, and he was a veritable "King of Shanxi" who dominated one side. What's more, Li Yuan himself and Emperor Yang of Sui are still cousins. With such an identity, why did he still raise troops against Sui?

According to tradition, Li Yuan raised an army against the Sui, and his second son Li Shimin can be said to have made great contributions, and it can even be said that Li Shimin promoted the entire Jinyang army.

Tang Gaozu Li Yuan had a total of 22 sons, but he and his original wife Dou had a total of four sons: Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, Li Xuanba, and Li Yuanji. Among them, the third Li Xuanba died young. Therefore, Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, and Li Yuanji became Li Yuan's three most important sons.

Similarly, the three brothers who are also compatriots of this mother are also the protagonists in the political game of the Tang Dynasty in the future. In the end, in the "Xuanwumen Change", Li Shimin killed his brother and slaughtered his brother overnight, his hands were stained with the blood of his flesh and blood brothers, and he stepped on the bones of his siblings and ascended to the throne of the emperor of the Ninety-Five.

Why did Li Shimin promote the entire process of Jinyang's army? At that time, Li Shimin was just an eighteen-year-old young hero. However, don't look at Li Shimin who was only eighteen years old at the time, he was not simple, and he had already seen the general trend of the world at this time. "Zizhi Tongjian" records that Li Shimin at this time:

The people of the world are smart and courageous, and they know people well, and they see the chaos of the Sui room, and they have the ambition to settle the world.

Although Li Shimin was only 18 years old at the time, he was very intelligent, brave and resolute, and very knowledgeable. He saw that the Sui Dynasty was about to collapse at this time, the general trend had gone, and it was a matter of time before it perished. Therefore, Li Shimin had the idea of persuading his father Li Yuan to raise an army against the Sui, and achieved a grand plan to dominate the world in the troubled times, and then pacified the four seas and cut off the separatism.

As we all know, Tang Taizong Li Shimin's later achievements are indeed unprecedented, whether it is to help his father Li Yuan Jinyang raise troops, all the way to the main pass, and create the Li Tang Dynasty; Or after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, he personally led a large army to conquer the east and west, pacifying the four seas for the Tang Dynasty and dominating the world; or in the "Xuanwumen Change", the Jedi counterattacked, killing and slaughtering the brother; Or after ascending to the throne, he created a "Zhenguan rule" that has been around for thousands of years. Tang Taizong Li Shimin is a well-deserved emperor of the ages, a model of the emperor of the thousand autumns, and an example for countless emperors in later generations. So much so that Du Fu splashed ink in the poem "Northern Expedition" and wrote such a poem - "Huanghuang Taizongye, establish a very grand foundation." ”

Moreover, Li Shimin himself is not an ordinary person. From the moment he was born, he was praised as "the posture of the dragon and phoenix", which was destined to be extraordinary in Li Shimin's life. "Old Tang Book: Taizong Benji" records various legendary experiences of Li Shimin in his childhood:

Gaozu's Qizhou, Taizong was four years old at the time. There are scholars who talk about their good looks, and they say to their ancestors: "The nobleman is a nobleman, and there is a noble son." Seeing Taizong, he said: "The posture of the dragon and phoenix, the watch of the sky, the year will be twenty, and it will be able to help the world and the people." Gaozu was afraid of his words, and he would kill him, and he lost his place suddenly, because he took the righteousness of "helping the world and the people" as the name. Taizong is young and intelligent, far-reaching, decisive and informal, and unpredictable.

This story is that when Li Shimin was four years old, he followed his father Li Yuan to Qizhou. It's just that Li Shimin didn't call it by that name at the time. One day, a scholar who claimed to meet each other came to Li Yuan's mansion and came to pay homage to Li Yuan. This scholar, after seeing Li Shimin, who was only four years old at the time, immediately felt that this Li Jiaerlang must be a person who has the ability to calm the world in the future.

So, the scholar said to Li Yuan, this son of yours will be indescribably expensive in the future, the appearance of a dragon and a phoenix, the watch of the sky, less than 20 years old, must be a heroic man who can help the world and the people. After listening to the scholar's words, Li Yuan simply took the words "Jishi Anmin", and gave his second child a name that shocked the ancient and modern - Li Shimin!

Therefore, Li Shimin has been given the great historical mission of "helping the world and the people" since he was a child. Indeed, when Li Shimin grew up, his performance was really different.

For example, when Li Shimin was eighteen years old, at that time, there was a famous leader of the peasant rebel army in Shanxi, Wei Dao'er, who called himself "Lishan Fei". Once, Wei Dao'er led troops to attack Taiyuan, and Li Yuan, who was left behind in Taiyuan, led his army to meet him, but was trapped in the enemy formation.

At the critical moment, eighteen-year-old Li Shimin, alone led the light cavalry, rushed into the enemy formation, crossed his horse and bent his bow, shot the rebels, and successfully rescued his father Li Yuan from the enemy formation. In the end, Li Yuan, Li Shimin, father and son, joined forces to break Wei Dao'er's rebels and reverse the defeat of Taiyuan in one fell swoop:

and Gaozu's Shoutaiyuan, Taizong was eighteen years old. There is a Gaoyang thief handsome Wei Dao'er, who calls himself Lishan Fei. came to attack Taiyuan, Gaozu attacked it and went deep into the thief array. Taizong broke through with light horses, shot it, and was invincible in all directions, pulling out the ancestors among the crowds. When the infantry arrived, Gaozu and Taizong fought hard again and broke it. ("Old Tang Dynasty Book: Taizong Benji")

Moreover, it is not difficult to see from Li Shimin's resume in his future life and career. In his career of being born and dying for many years, Li Shimin made countless military exploits and made great achievements, and fought bravely for the Tang Dynasty to pacify the world. At the same time, it also brought unlimited honor and power to himself.

It can be said that almost half of the Li Tang Dynasty was defeated by Li Shimin. Therefore, in the future, why can Li Shimin, as the king of Qin, openly provoke the crown prince Li Jiancheng and compete with his eldest brother Li Jiancheng for the crown prince. It is precisely because of Li Shimin's great exploits for the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin is not a mortal, for example, before Jinyang raised troops, Liu Wenjing, the first adviser under Li Shimin, once praised Li Shimin, who was only eighteen years old:

This is a very person, open-minded like Henkel, Shenwu and Wei Zu, although he is young, he is also talented in life. (Information Governance Guide)

In Liu Wenjing's view, Li Shimin, who is only eighteen years old, can be compared to heroes such as Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, and Cao Cao, the emperor of Wei. In addition to Liu Wenjing, there were many people in the world who were very optimistic about Li Shimin at that time. For example, in the first year of Tang Wude (618), Li Shimin led his army to defeat Xue Ju and Xue Rengao of Western Qin in one fell swoop, pacified Longxi, incorporated Longyou and Ganliang regions into the territory of Li Tang, and returned to the dynasty. Tang Gaozu Li Yuan specially asked Li Mi, the former leader of the Wagang Army, who had surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, to go to Fengzhou to meet Li Shimin.

Li Mi was also a heroic figure in the late Sui and early Tang dynasties, who once led the Wagang Army to fight in the south and the north, shocked the Central Plains, and even once captured the eastern capital Luoyang. Unfortunately, in the first year of Wude (618), in the contest with Wang Shichong under the city of Luoyang, he was defeated by Wang Shichong, lost a large territory in Henan, and was forced to surrender to the Tang Dynasty. Tang Gaozu Li Yuan was also very courteous to him, and appointed Li Mi as Guangluqing and Xing Guogong.

It should be said that Li Mi was once also a generation of heroes in the troubled times at the end of the Sui Dynasty, with eyes above the top and a proud personality, and ordinary people couldn't get into his eyes. Unexpectedly, Li Mi and Li Shimin had never met. However, just one side, the former leader of Wagang was impressed by this young King of Qin.

Li Mi was ordered to go to Fengzhou to meet Li Shimin, but as soon as he saw Li Shimin, he witnessed Li Shimin's vigorous and heroic posture and was full of energy. Li Mi couldn't help but admire, and he said to his subordinate Yin Kaishan to evaluate Li Shimin: "True hero! It's better to do, why is it a disaster! Li Mi firmly believes that Li Shimin will be a hero who will end the troubled times in the future.

Therefore, whether it was praised as a "dragon and phoenix" when he was a child, he was given the historical mission of "helping the world and the people", or when he grew up, he rode lightly to save his father, and was named the title of "hero" by many influential figures. It can be seen that in the chaotic era at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the young Li Shimin, in silence and dormancy, gradually showed the demeanor and potential of the future as an emperor who calmed the four seas and created a prosperous era.

Although, the Jinyang Rebellion really allowed Li Shimin to step onto the political and military stage of Chinese history and emerge. But in fact, Li Shimin's first shining appearance was not to persuade his father Li Yuan Jinyang to raise troops. He had already appeared once before Jinyang raised troops. Time has to go back to the eleventh year of the great cause, that is, in 615 AD, when Li Shimin, who was only 16 years old, made his debut for the first time.

In the eleventh year of the Great Cause (615), Emperor Yang of Sui toured the grassland for the second time, and was besieged in Yanmen County (now Dai County, Shanxi) by hundreds of thousands of Turkic iron cavalry led by the Turkic Shibi Khan. Emperor Yang of Sui was trapped in Yanmen, the situation was extremely critical, and at the last moment, Xiao Yu, the waiter of the internal history, offered a plan for Emperor Yang of Sui:

Turkic customs, but Hordon foresaw military strategy; And Princess Yicheng married the emperor to the emperor's daughter, and she will rely on the help of the great powers. If one is told to it, it is useless to borrow it, and what is the loss of mediocrity. In addition, the soldier's intentions, I am afraid that Your Majesty will not only avoid the troubles of the Turks, but also deal with Goryeo, if the edict is invented to pardon Goryeo and focus on the Turks, then everyone will be at peace, and people will fight for themselves. (Information Governance Guide)

Xiao Yu is not simple, he is a famous prime minister of the Sui and Tang dynasties, and the ninth of the "Twenty-four Heroes of Lingyan Pavilion" in the early Tang Dynasty. Xiao Yuqi is a descendant of the Xiao Liang royal family of the Southern Dynasty, his great-grandfather is Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang, his great-grandfather is Xiao Tong, the prince of Zhaoming, his father is Emperor Xiao Yue of Liang Ming, his brother is Xiao Cong, Emperor Jing of Western Liang, and his sister is the queen of Emperor Yang Guang of Sui.

Speaking realistically, Xiao Yu can be regarded as a generation of virtuous ministers in the Sui and Tang dynasties, and Tang Taizong later wrote a five-character poem "Gift to Xiao Yu", praising Xiao Yu: "The wind knows the strength of the grass, and the board knows the honest minister." The brave man knows righteousness, and the wise man must be benevolent. Moreover, in the process of Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng competing for the crown prince, Xiao Yu still helped Li Shimin to a certain extent.

In the case of the siege of the Turkic army, Emperor Yang of Sui adopted Xiao Yu's suggestion and hurriedly issued an edict to recruit all the counties in the world and raise troops to serve the king. At that time, Li Shimin, who was only 16 years old, was conscripted into the army and joined the command of Yun Dingxing, the general of the Tunwei. Yun Dingxing turned out to be the father-in-law of Emperor Yang Yong, the eldest brother of Emperor Yang of Sui, and his daughter Yun Zhaoxun was the favorite concubine of Yang Yong, the abolished prince.

However, Yun Dingxing, the general of the Tunwei, lacked strategy and could not fight at all, and he himself was dumbfounded in the face of the siege of Yanmen by the Turkic army. The young Li Shimin has emerged. How did Li Shimin rise to prominence? Li Shimin showed extraordinary military talent at this time, and he presented a suspicious plan to the commander Yun Dingxing, simply put, to put it on a "maze array" for the Turks:

If I dare to raise troops to surround the Son of Heaven, I must say that I can't go to the aid in a hurry. In the daytime, the flag is carried for dozens of miles, and at night, the cymbals and drums are corresponding, and the captives must be said to be rescuers, and they will flee from the wind. Otherwise, they will be outnumbered, and if they know that the army comes to fight, they will not be able to support it. (Information Governance Guide)

Li Shimin's suspicious plan really worked, and Shibi Khan began to mess up his position, and soon withdrew his army, and the siege of Yanmen was resolved. This was Li Shimin's first time in battle, and it was the first time that Tang Taizong unsheathed his sword, and since then Li Shimin's career of fighting and killing horses has begun.

At that time, Li Shimin was only 16 years old, and according to today's parlance, he was just a high school student. Judging from Li Shimin's achievements in the southern and northern wars in the future, he was an excellent military commander who was bold and careful, brave in taking risks, never took the usual path, and was unrestrained. This Yanmen rescue is a small test of this emperor through the ages, a sixteen-year-old boy can have such a unique strategy and courage, which is really admirable.

In the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Li Shimin saw that the world was full of wolf smoke and the troubled times were coming, so he had the ambition to plot the world. As a result, Li Shimin intended to persuade his father Li Yuan to raise an army against Sui. However, before lobbying his father, Li Shimin was actively preparing for the army, that is, accumulating strength.

How do you accumulate strength? Li Shimin began to act in private, according to the record of "Zizhi Tongjian", "leaning into the corporal, scattering wealth and making customers, and winning his favor." Li Shimin made friends with a large number of strategists and generals, such as Liu Wenjing, Changsun Shunde, Liu Hongji, Dou Cong and others, these strategists and generals have always been Li Shimin's right-hand man. Among them, the eldest grandson Shunde was the uncle of Li Shimin's wife, the eldest grandson (later the eldest grandson empress).

Among the many strategists and generals that Li Shimin befriended, there was one person who was very important, and he was Liu Wenjing. So, who is Liu Wenjing?

Liu Wenjing, whose name is Zhaoren, lived in Jingzhao Martial Arts, and was an important member of Li Shimin's Qinwang Group later. In the last years of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, Liu Wenjing served as the commander of Jinyang, but he was a person with ideals and ambitions. However, Liu Wenjing was imprisoned in Taiyuan City because he was related by marriage to Li Mi, the leader of the Wagang Army.

At this time, Li Shimin was actively planning for his father Li Yuan's Jinyang army, and made friends with strategists everywhere, Li Shimin thought that Liu Wenjing was a talent, so he befriended him and personally went to the prison to visit Liu Wenjing. Liu Wenjing was overjoyed when she saw Li Shimin coming to visit the prison, and said: "The world is in turmoil, and it cannot be determined unless there are talents such as soup, martial arts, high, and light. How smart Li Shimin was, he immediately responded frankly:

Does Qing An know? But I am afraid that ordinary people can't listen to it. Looking at each other in the forbidden place now, it is not just the love of children and daughters. Current affairs are like this, so come and make a big plan with you, please be good at it. ("Old Tang Book: The Biography of Liu Wenjing")

When Liu Wenjing saw Li Shimin so frank, she didn't hide it anymore, and began to analyze the situation in the world with Li Shimin, and explained her plans and plans:

Today, Li Mi has been besieging Luoyi for a long time, and the main upper class is sowing Huainan, and the big thieves are Lianzhou County, and the small thieves are blocking Zeshan, and there are tens of thousands,...... Sincerity can respond to the people of heaven and raise the flag and shout, then the four seas are not enough. Today, the people of Taiyuan avoid thieves, and they all enter this city. Wen Jing has been in order for several years, knowing his heroes, once he gathers a roar, he can get 100,000 people, and the soldiers led by the honorable prince are tens of thousands, and the king's words are out, who dares not to obey? Take advantage of the void to enter the customs, command the world, not half a year old, the emperor can be successful.

At the same time, Liu Wenjing had a good relationship with Li Yuan's henchman Pei Lian, the supervisor of Jinyang Palace, so he asked Pei Lian to constantly persuade Li Yuan to raise troops against Sui. Therefore, the history books evaluate Liu Wenjing's performance in the process of raising troops in Jinyang as "an extraordinary plan". Later, when Li Yuan was talking about the merits of Jinyang's army, he listed Liu Wenjing, Li Shimin, and Pei Lin as the first class of merit. It can be said that Li Yuan Jinyang raised troops, and Liu Wenjing made great contributions, and since then, Liu Wenjing has gradually become Li Shimin's number one adviser.

After the strength of the army was almost accumulated, Li Shimin was going to try to persuade Li Yuan to raise an army against the Sui. It just so happened that there was an opportunity.

After the siege of Yanmen, diplomatic relations between the Sui Dynasty and the Turks broke down completely. The Turks often sent troops to invade the northern borders of the Sui Dynasty, and the Hedong region of Shanxi Province under Li Yuan's jurisdiction was the first line against the southern invasion of the Turks. On one occasion, the Turks marched into the important Hedong town of Mayi (present-day Shuozhou, Shanxi), which happened to be under Li Yuan's jurisdiction. Therefore, Li Yuan sent Huyalang general Gao Junya and Ma Yi Taishou Wang Rengong to jointly lead the army to meet the Turks, but suffered a great defeat.

Emperor Yang of Sui has always been very strict with the means of dealing with the generals of the defeated army, Li Yuan lost the battle, there is no doubt that Emperor Yang of Sui must be held accountable. So, Li Shimin seized this opportunity and took the opportunity to make a proposal to his father Li Yuan, persuading Li Yuan to raise the banner of rebellion and raise troops against Sui:

Now there is no way in the Lord, the people are poor, and there are battlefields outside Jinyang City. If the adults keep the small sections, there will be robbers and severe punishments, and there will be no danger of death. If you don't conform to the will of the people, raise righteous soldiers, and turn disasters into blessings, this is the time of heaven. (Information Governance Guide)

In the end, under the joint persuasion of Li Shimin, Liu Wenjing, Pei Lin and others, as well as the joint promotion of many forces and factors, Li Yuan finally officially raised an army against the Sui in Jinyang in July of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), led 30,000 righteous troops, and marched to Chang'an Guanzhong.

Based on the above, some people may think that the entire Jinyang army seems to be the handiwork of Li Shimin, and Li Yuan has very few roles in it. Is this really the case? Obviously not, when we study history, we often have to look at the essence through phenomena and treat historical events with a kind of historical materialism.

Perhaps, in the impression of many people, Li Shimin is an honest man, who is not very good at fighting for power and profit, and scheming and treacherous. Therefore, after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, he was suspicious and suppressed by his father Li Yuan and his eldest brother Li Jiancheng everywhere, and finally was forced to have no choice but to launch the "Xuanwumen Change", kill his brother and slaughter his brother, and force his father Li Yuan to abdicate.

So, what kind of person is Li Yuan? According to the records of the two "Book of Tang" and "Zizhi Tongjian" and other historical documents, almost all of the Jinyang troops were written by Li Shimin alone, and Li Yuan only played a supporting role in them. Moreover, the historical materials also portrayed Li Yuan as a mediocre and incompetent, dog-and-horse straw bag, and the Jinyang army was forced to raise troops because of the "beauty plan" by mistake. Even, it is recorded in the "Zizhi Tongjian" that when Li Yuan raised troops in Jinyang, he once promised Li Shimin: "If it is successful, then the whole world is caused by you, and you should be the prince." ”

However, after Li Yuan became the emperor, he made his eldest son Li Jiancheng the crown prince, while Li Shimin, who had the greatest credit, was only named the king of Qin. Moreover, Li Yuan usually supported the crown prince Li Jiancheng in a clear manner, and blindly suppressed Li Shimin, the king of Qin. In the end, the two sons killed each other, and he also swallowed the bitter fruit of the white-haired man sending the black-haired man.

What kind of person is Li Yuan? In fact, he is not a mediocre and incompetent wretch at all, on the contrary, he is a scheming and spicy veteran. Taking the rebellion against the Sui as an example, it seems that Li Shimin actively encouraged Li Yuan to raise troops against the Sui, and even helped buy people's hearts, and finally promoted the success of the rebellion against the Sui. During this period, Li Shimin seems to have played a leading role.

However, in fact, Li Shimin just did something for Li Yuan that he wanted to do, but it was not easy to do. At that time, Li Yuan's identity was the ambassador of Shanxi Hedong in the Sui Dynasty, the Taiyuan Guard, the General of the Right Xiaowei, and the Duke of Tang Guo, and he was the highest military and political head in the Hedong region. And Li Shimin is just the second son of Tang Guogong who has no official position and is less than twenty years old. Therefore, the real driving force behind the Jinyang uprising was Li Yuan, and Li Shimin acted as the image spokesperson for his father.

Li Yuan's rebellion against the Sui can be said to have been planned for a long time, and it is definitely not a reckless move for a while. According to the records of "Old Tang Dynasty Book: Gaozu Benji", Li Yuan's personality and temperament are "long, dignified and open-minded, willful and frank, lenient and tolerant of the public, and no noble and lowly salty to win his favor." ”

Moreover, there was a notebook novel in the Tang Dynasty called "Sui and Tang Jiahua", which recorded such a story, which is enough to see that Li Yuan's anti-Sui has been planned for a long time:

Emperor Yang feasted the ministers, with Tang Gaozu's face wrinkled, called "grandma". Gao Zu returned, displeased, and said after the words: "This is an auspicious sign." The public seal is in the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty is also, and the grandmother is the hall master. "Gaozu Dayue.

Once, Emperor Yang of Sui feasted his ministers, and during the banquet, he saw that Li Yuan's face was full of wrinkles, so he made fun of Li Yuan and jokingly called him "Grandma". After Li Yuan returned home, he was very unhappy, so he complained to his wife Dou. After listening to her husband's complaints, Mrs. Dou hurriedly said hello to Li Yuan, this is a great auspicious omen, husband, your title is Tang Guogong, and "Tang" is homophonic with "Tang", and "Grandma" is the hall master (Tang master). Mrs. Dou's implication was to tell Li Yuan that in the future, you will replace the Sui Dynasty and turn your family into a country. After Li Yuan heard this, he was overjoyed and swept away the gloom on his face.

It can be seen that Li Yuan saw that the world was in turmoil, so he wanted to take advantage of the situation and plot the imperial cause, but he had already planned it and did not need Li Shimin to inspire him at all. According to the records of various historical books, Li Shimin recruited troops everywhere at that time, how did he entrap these civil and military generals? Li Shimin often gave them money. He was only eighteen years old at the time, where did he get the millions of activity funds to buy people's hearts? Li Shimin's various behaviors must have the instruction and support of his father Li Yuan behind them.

So, why did the later history books say that the Jinyang army was all the credit of Li Shimin? That's because Li Shimin became the first emperor of the ages, Tang Taizong. History is often written by the victors, and Li Shimin became the victor of history. Therefore, he wants to tamper with history and portray himself as a visionary young hero, while his father Li Yuan will be a wreckless wreck.

Under the careful planning of Li Yuan, Li Shimin's father and son, the great historical feat of Jinyang's army was in full swing. So, what preparations did the Li family father and son make for the army?

First of all, what Li Yuan and Li Shimin's father and son have to do is to get rid of the eyeliner and minions arranged by Emperor Yang of Sui in Taiyuan. Although Li Yuan and Emperor Yang of Sui were cousins, Emperor Yang of Sui was always uneasy about Li Yuan, believing that Li Yuan was deeply hidden, had different aspirations, and was in charge of the military and political power in the entire Shanxi region, which was always a big trouble.

In particular, in the eleventh year of the Great Cause (615), there was a warlock named Anjiatuo who made a statement to Emperor Yang of Sui and said a proverb that "Li should be the Son of Heaven", asking Emperor Yang of Sui to kill all the people surnamed Li in the court, and Emperor Yang of Sui was even more anxious.

For this reason, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty specially launched a killing spree, killing Li Hun, Li Min, Li Shanheng and 32 members of the Li clan, creating an unjust case that shocked at that time, resulting in a split within the Guanlong aristocratic group.

After this incident, Emperor Yang of Sui became even more suspicious of Li Yuan. In order to be able to control Li Yuan, therefore, in the twelfth year of the Great Cause (616), when Emperor Yang of Sui appointed Li Yuan to stay in Taiyuan, he specially arranged two deputies for Li Yuan: Wang Wei, the general of Hu Benlang, and Gao Junya, the general of Hu Yalang. Wang Wei and Gao Junya are actually the eyeliners that Emperor Yang of Sui placed beside Li Yuan, called deputies, but they actually monitor Li Yuan's every move.

If Li Yuan wants to raise troops against the Sui, his first task is to get rid of Wang Wei and Gao Junya. Therefore, one day, when Li Yuan was discussing with Wang Wei and Gao Junya, Li Shimin led an ambush outside Jinyang Palace, and by surprise, he captured Wang and Gao in one fell swoop. Immediately afterwards, Li Yuan ordered to kill the two people.

Li Yuan planned to kill Wang Wei and Gao Junya, completely eradicating the eyeliner that Emperor Yang of Sui had planted around him, and also cut off the "intelligence network" arranged by the Sui Dynasty in Taiyuan. In this way, Emperor Yang of Sui, who was far away in Jiangdu, completely lost contact with Taiyuan and became deaf and blind.

After pulling out the eyeliner, Li Yuan's second step was to recruit troops and recall his children at the same time. The task of recruiting troops naturally fell on Li Shimin's shoulders. Li Shimin, Liu Wenjing, Changsun Shunde, Liu Hongji and others recruited a large number of troops in Hedong, and in less than a month, they recruited nearly 10,000 troops.

At the same time, Li Yuan hurriedly gathered all his children. At that time, among Li Yuan's many children, only the second eldest Li Shimin remained by his side, and the rest of the children were scattered all over the place. Since he decided to raise troops, Li Yuan of course wanted to gather the children together, fight the tiger brothers, and go into battle as father and son. So, Li Yuan hurriedly urged his eldest son Li Jiancheng, his fourth son Li Yuanji, and his son-in-law Chai Shao to rush back to Taiyuan.

Among Li Yuan's many sons-in-law, Chai Shao's wife was Li Yuan's third daughter, who later became famous as "Princess Pingyang Zhao" and the founder of the famous "Women's Army". This princess is also the only princess in Chinese history who has an independent title after her death, and she has also made great contributions to the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

Chai Shao received an order from his father-in-law Li Yuan at that time, asking him to rush back to Taiyuan as soon as possible. As a last resort, Chai Shao could only say goodbye to his wife. Before leaving, Chai Shao said to his wife:

The honorable prince will clear up many difficulties and want to welcome the banner of righteousness; If you go together, you can't, and if you go alone, you're afraid of future troubles, so what's the plan?

Don't look at Princess Pingyang as a woman, but at this time, she took into account the overall situation and said to her husband: "You should go quickly." I'm a woman, it's easy to hide temporarily, don't do it yourself. "It means that you hurry up, I'm a woman, I can't hide anywhere, and I have other plans. After a brief farewell between the husband and wife, Chai Shao set off for Taiyuan. And Princess Pingyang returned to the Manor of Juxian alone, scattered all her family wealth, recruited outlaws in the mountains, and pulled up a team of hundreds of people to respond to her father Li Yuan.

Later, when Li Yuan led his army into Guanzhong. Princess Pingyang led the rebel army under her command, and she was also like a bamboo, even next to Zhou Zhi, martial arts, and Shiping, strict military discipline, and there was no crime in the autumn, and there were 70,000 subordinates. Until, Li Shimin led the right army to take Chang'an, Princess Pingyang led her troops to join Li Shimin in Weibei, and the two brothers and sisters were united in one place, and they would fight one family, and the two armies would take Chang'an.

Therefore, it can be seen that Li Yuan's family can really be described as a dragon and phoenix. Erlang is a young hero who helps the world and the people, and his daughter is a heroine among women who does not let her eyebrows go. With such heroic sons and daughters, it is no wonder that Li Yuan can finally advance all the way to Guanzhong, and finally settle in Chang'an and create the foundation of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, two brothers, happened to meet Chai Shao unexpectedly on the way back to Taiyuan. As a result, Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and Chai Shao all arrived in Taiyuan in June of the thirteenth year of Daye (617). In this way, the Li family's father and son were all assembled.

Judging from the current situation, Li Yuan seems to be ready for everything, and he only owes Dongfeng. So, at this time, can Li Yuan really officially raise troops? No. Because Li Yuan still had a serious worry at that time, that is, the Turkic problem. Therefore, Li Yuan had to solve the Turkic problem before he officially raised his army.

After the siege of Yanmen, relations between the Sui Dynasty and the Turks were officially broken, and the Turks often sent troops south to harass the northern borders of the Sui Dynasty. Taiyuan was the first line to face the southern invasion of the Turks, so Emperor Yang of Sui appointed Li Yuan as the guard of Taiyuan before the three Jiangdu, and sent him to Shanxi so that he could resist the Turkic attack.

Li Yuan understood that once he officially raised his troops, he would lead the main force and march to Guanzhong. Then, the base camp Taiyuan must be empty. When the time comes, the Turks will see that there is an opportunity, and if they send troops to outflank them from the rear and attack Taiyuan, Li Yuan will definitely fall into the predicament of being attacked by the enemy on his back.

Therefore, before Li Yuan officially started his army, an indispensable task was to stabilize the Turks. Overall, Li Yuan's strategy was to pacify the Turks. Li Yuan did not expect the Turks to send troops to help him, at least not to take advantage of the fire to rob and stab him in the back. Therefore, the task of pacifying the Turks was handed over to Liu Wenjing to complete.

Liu Wenjing was ordered to send an envoy to the Turks, taking Li Yuan's handwritten letter to Shibi Khan, as well as rich gifts, to the Turks. Liu Wenjing arrived in Turkic, and after meeting Shibi Khan, he presented Li Yuan's handwritten letter and gifts, and then began to use his three-inch incorruptible tongue:

The emperor abolished the mound and passed on the throne to the lord, causing chaos. The relatives of the Tang Principality could not bear to sit and watch the success or failure, so the rebel army wanted to depose those who did not stand up. He is willing to enter the Beijing division with the Khan's soldiers and horses, the land of the people into the Tang Dynasty, and the wealth and gold treasure into the Turks. ("Old Tang Book: The Biography of Liu Wenjing")

Sure enough, Liu Wenjing's words made Khan's heart flutter. Shibi Khan immediately decided to form an alliance with Li Yuan, and sent the general Kang Sheli to lead 2,000 Turkic iron cavalry to help Li Yuan attack Guanzhong. At the same time, Shibi Khan gave Li Yuan another 1,000 Turkic horses, ensuring the source of war horses for Li Yuan's army.

With the help of the Turks, for Li Yuan, it can be said that it is like a tiger with wings. Liu Wenjing brilliantly completed the task of sending an envoy to the Turks, not only solving Li Yuan's worries about raising troops against the Sui, but also winning a powerful military ally for Li Yuan's army.

Now it seems that Li Yuan is all ready, just waiting for Li Yuan's order, tens of thousands of righteous troops can immediately march into Chang'an. However, until now, there is still a key problem in front of Li Yuan. What's the problem? That is what kind of banner should be raised in the army.

There is no doubt that the purpose of Taiyuan's uprising was to oppose the Sui Dynasty and overthrow the rule of the Sui Dynasty. The problem is that even if Li Yuan understands in his heart that the purpose of this army is to oppose Sui, he cannot openly raise the banner of anti-Sui. Because Li Yuan was different from the leaders of other peasant rebels at the end of the Sui Dynasty, he was a feudal official of the Sui Dynasty, the "King of Shanxi", born in the Guanlong aristocratic group, and was a relative of the Sui Dynasty. If he openly waives the banner of opposing Sui, he will be infamous for committing rebellion.

In the end, under the advice of Pei Lin and other strategists, Li Yuan played the banner of respecting Emperor Yang of Sui, who was far away in Jiangdu, as the emperor, and supporting Yang Yu, the acting king who guarded Chang'an, as the emperor. Li Yuan's move was to tell the people of the world that although he raised an uprising, he was not anti-Sui and still supported the rule of the Sui Dynasty. Although everyone knew that Li Yuan raised troops to oppose the Sui, Li Yuan just did not raise the banner of openly opposing the Sui.

Why didn't Li Yuan openly raise the banner of anti-Sui? Quite simply, the gun shoots the first bird. What was the situation in the world at that time? At this time, in the direction of Luoyang, Li Mi and Wang Shichong are fighting fiercely, Hebei Dou Jiande is getting bigger and bigger, and Jianghuai Du Fuwei and Fu Gongqi are forcing Jiangdu.

Although the Sui Dynasty was exhausted at this time, it had not yet perished, and the Sui Dynasty was still orthodox in the world. Therefore, at this time, whoever is the first to raise the anti-Sui banner and the first to claim the emperor will surely become the public enemy of the world. Li Mi's Wagang army was so strong that he didn't dare to openly claim the emperor, and he only called himself "Duke of Wei". Li Yuan is so old and spicy, he knows that if he raises the banner of anti-Sui, not only the officials and troops of the Sui Dynasty will come to attack him, but even the heroes of the world will attack him. So, Li Yuan is not so stupid.

In June of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Li Yuan officially issued a document to all the counties under the jurisdiction of Hedong, announcing the uprising. Immediately, Li Yuan's army marched south, and a king's army embarked on the journey. The counties in Hedong that received Li Yuan's letter expressed their allegiance to Li Yuan. According to the record of "Zizhi Tongjian", "move the county and change the banner".

However, just when almost all the counties expressed their obedience to Li Yuan, only Xihe County refused to obey Li Yuan. Xihe County's Chenggao Deru Infant City defended itself, ready to resist to the end, blocking the way for Li Yuan's army to enter Guanzhong in the west. Under such circumstances, the battle of Xihe is unavoidable.

Li Yuan decided to take Xihe County, pull out the first nail on his way west to Chang'an, completely control the entire Shanxi region, and remove the obstacles to the advance of the rebel army. As a result, Li Yuan handed over the military task of attacking Xihe County to his two sons: the eldest son Li Jiancheng and the second son Li Shimin. Li Yuan ordered them to lead a detachment of divisions to attack Xihe County.

Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin were just two fledgling teenagers at that time, this year, Li Jiancheng was twenty-eight years old, Li Shimin was eighteen years old, and newborn calves were not afraid of tigers. This was the first time that the Li brothers had joined forces to command a battle. Li Yuan completely handed over the military command of the Xihe Battle to these two sons, in addition to pulling out the "nail" of Xihe County, but also to sharpen the sons of these two newborn calves.

However, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin are still too young after all, and Li Yuan is not at ease after all. So, Li Yuan asked Taiyuan to make Wen Dayou go with Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin to lead the army. Before leaving, Li Yuan specially told Wen Dayou, hoping that he could help his two sons more: "My son is young, and Yiqing serves the military; The success or failure of the matter should be determined by this. (Zizhi Tongjian)

Facts have proved that the two brothers, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, do have military command ability. They led the army to march to Xihe County, taking the lead along the way, sharing weal and woe with the soldiers, without the pampering of the children of wealthy families. In addition, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin strictly enforced military discipline, and they did not commit any crimes in the autumn, and ordered that they were not allowed to plunder the people's food and property. It also stipulates that if you eat fruits and vegetables for the people, you must pay according to the price; The food and wine you get must also be shared with your soldiers:

When the sergeant is new, he has not read it, and when it is built, the people of the world share the joys and sorrows, and when they encounter the enemy, they will take the lead. Short-cut vegetables and fruits, not to buy or eat, the sergeant has to steal, ask for the main compensation, and do not steal, the sergeant and the people are pleased. To the city of Xihe, those who want to enter the city will listen to it. (Information Governance Guide)

Soon, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin led the army, which was unstoppable all the way, and they were killed very easily under the city of Xihe County. After arriving in Xihe County, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin immediately commanded the army to attack the city on a large scale, launched a surprise attack, captured Xihe County in a battle, and captured Chenggao Deru of Xihe County. After capturing Gao Deru alive, Li Shimin also knew that this person was by no means a good person, and counted Gao Deru's various evil deeds in public:

Thou hast pointed out that the wild bird is the luan, to deceive the lord, to take the high-ranking officials, and I am raising the volunteers, and you are punishing the ears of the people! (Information Governance Guide)

After speaking, he ordered in public to kill Gao Deru. If it is replaced by other tyrannical and murderous warlord troops, once Xihe County is conquered, it will definitely carry out a bloody massacre. However, the performance of the Li brothers was unexpected. After Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin captured Xihe County, they only questioned Gao Deru for his crimes, killed only Gao Deru, and the rest were not prosecuted, and did not slaughter any innocent people.

Moreover, in a short period of time, the Li brothers let the officials and people of Xihe County return to normal life. For a time, all the people were happy, and they all thought that the righteous army of the Li family father and son was a benevolent and righteous army, and they all supported the Li family father and son's army.

The Li brothers fought together for the first time, combining their swords and becoming famous in a battle. In the First Battle of Xihe, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin not only won Xihe County, but also quickly stabilized the normal life order of Xihe County, and won both military and political victories.

From Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin's march to Xihe County, to the capture of Xihe County, and the return of troops to Taiyuan, it took a total of nine days before and after. After the Battle of Xihe, Li Yuan was very satisfied with his two sons, and once proudly said: "This is the way to march, although it is rampant in the world." "In Li Yuan's opinion, if I can have such a son who can fight well, why can't I sweep the world!

The capture of Xihe County marked that Li Yuan completely pulled out the only "nail" for the westward march to Chang'an and swept away the last obstacle on the road to the west. Therefore, after conquering Xihe County, Li Yuan immediately decided to march to Chang'an Guanzhong. As soon as the Battle of Xihe ended, Li Yuan immediately set up a "former enemy headquarters" in Taiyuan to raise troops against the Sui.

On the fifth day of the sixth month of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Li Yuan set up a righteous hall in Taiyuan and divided the army into three armies, known as the "righteous army", and Li Yuan called himself a general. Soon, Li Yuan established the General's Mansion in Taiyuan, and appointed his eldest son Li Jiancheng as the Duke of Longxi and the Governor of the Left Army, commanding the Left Route Army; The second son, Li Shimin, was the Duke of Dunhuang and the governor of the right leading army, commanding the right route army; The fourth son, Li Yuanji, was the Duke of Gu Zang and commanded the Middle Route Army.

At the same time, Li Yuan appointed Pei Lin as the head of the general's mansion, Liu Wenjing as Sima, and the eldest grandson Shunde, Liu Hongji, Dou Cong, and Wang Changhui as the commanders of the left and right armies and the deputy commanders of the army respectively. Moreover, Li Yuan allowed Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin's left and right leaders to set up their own official offices. Therefore, Li Yuan's son-in-law Chai Shao was appointed as the governor of the Right Leader Army, which was subordinate to Li Shimin's Right Route Army. In addition, Li Yuan also ordered to open a warehouse to release grain.

A month later, in July of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Li Yuan appointed his fourth son, Li Yuanji, as the general of Zhenbei and the Taishou of Taiyuan, and asked him to stay in Jinyang Palace and guard Taiyuan. Why did Li Yuan let Li Yuanji stay in Taiyuan? Obviously, Li Yuan wanted Li Yuanji to guard the base camp.

Because a few months before Li Yuan officially started his army, in March of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Liu Wuzhou, the captain of Yingyang Mansion stationed in Mayi under Li Yuan's rule, launched a mutiny, killed Wang Rengong, the Taishou of Mayi, and occupied Mayi, proclaiming himself the Son of Heaven, and the country name was Dingyang. Soon, Liu Wuzhou led his army to break through Loufu County, occupy Fenyang Palace, and colluded with the Turks, intending to go south to fight for the world.

Therefore, Li Yuan's rear was unstable at this time. Li Yuan asked Li Yuanji to stay in Taiyuan, on the one hand, to guard against Liu Wuzhou, on the other hand, once he did not go well in Guanzhong, he could return to Taiyuan, divide Shanxi, and fight against the Sui Dynasty. Of course, this is the worst-case scenario.

Soon after, Li Yuan officially swore to raise troops at the military gate in front of Qianyangmen Street in the east of Jinyang Palace, and spread the word to all counties. Li Yuan enumerated the various sins of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty in the text, claiming that "Xingjia Jinyang, respecting the Daidi, sweeping Xianluo, and Jining Yu County", and played the banner of respecting Yang Yu, the king of the dynasty, as the emperor. Then, Li Yuan led his eldest son Li Jiancheng, his second son Li Shimin, and the left and right armies, a total of 30,000 righteous soldiers, from Taiyuan to the south, directly to take Guanzhong, and march to Chang'an.

In this way, under the chaotic situation of the division of the world at the end of the Sui Dynasty, in July of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), the Li family father and son, who were located in Taiyuan, Shanxi, under the leadership of Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin and his son, suddenly emerged and turned out. From this moment on, the iron-blooded road of the Tang Dynasty kicked off. Jinyang raised troops and Taiyuan was the first uprising, marking the difficult but glorious first step of the Li Tang Dynasty towards the founding of the country.

So, will the journey of Li Yuan and his son into Chang'an really be smooth sailing? On the way to march into Chang'an and take Guanzhong, what difficult enemies did the Li family father and son encounter, and what kind of thrilling bloody battle did they experience? And how did Li Yuan's father and son overcome obstacles all the way with the weak strength of 30,000 righteous troops, and finally entered Guanzhong, Dingding Chang'an, and became the emperor of the Li Tang Dynasty?