After experiencing many dangers and breaking through layers of obstacles, in May of the first year of Wude (618), Li Yuan proclaimed himself emperor in Chang'an and officially established the Tang Dynasty. The birth of the Li Tang Dynasty was the result of the unremitting efforts of the Li family and his son. At the same time, the founding of Li Tang also symbolizes that Chinese history has entered a new stage.

However, at this time, the nascent Tang Dynasty was facing an extremely severe test. Due to the chaos in the world at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the land of China was divided again. The Tang Dynasty was under the watchful eye of the four directions, so the Li Tang Dynasty shouldered the historical responsibility of pacifying the four seas and dominating the world.

In order to realize the long-cherished wish of the Tang Dynasty to unify the world, the strategic plan of first consolidating Guanzhong, conquering the Central Plains in the east, and then leveling the south of the Yangtze River was determined, which officially opened the prelude to the unification war in the early Tang Dynasty! Therefore, Li Yuan believes that the first step to unifying the world is to first solve the threat to the separatist regime in Guanzhong. However, before Li Yuan could begin the first step of the unification war, he received an "unexpected joy".

As the leader of the anti-Sui Alliance, Li Mi, the leader of the Wagang Army, led his troops to defect to the Li Tang Dynasty. In the troubled times at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Li Mi was undoubtedly a man of the hour. He once led the Wagang Army to fight in the south and the north, shocked the Central Plains, and even once captured Luoyang, the eastern capital of the Great Sui Dynasty.

is such a generation of heroes who call for wind and rain and respond to every call, why did he suddenly come to Li Tang? The reason is very simple, Li Mi's troops were defeated under the city of Luoyang. So, why did the powerful Li Mi fail in Luoyang City? Under the city of Luoyang, what kind of thrilling battle took place? In the face of Li Mi's vote, how will Li Yuan, who has become the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, treat this leader of the Wagang Army who once helped him?

The ins and outs of the matter have to be told from Li Mi's siege of Luoyang, the eastern capital.

In February of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Li Mi, who was growing in strength, sat on the top spot of the Wagang Army under the unanimous recommendation of the generals of the Wagang Army. In the same month, Li Mi called himself the Duke of Wei, and set up an altar in the southern suburbs of Gong County, Henan, to worship the heavens and ascend the throne, with the year name Yongping. Moreover, the documents issued by Li Mi are all signed at the end of the "Marshal of the Marching Wei Mansion".

Li Mi called himself Duke of Wei, and after becoming the leader of the Wagang Army, he began to divide a large number of civil and military officers of the Wagang Army. First of all, for the division of the ministers, Li Mi appointed Fang Yanzao as the marshal Zuo Changshi, Bing Yuanzhen as the marshal right Changshi, Yang Defang as the left Sima, Zheng Detao as the right Sima, and Zu Junyan as the secretary.

Let's look at the division of generals. Li Mi has the grace of knowing Li Mi for the former leader of the Wagang Army, and this time Zhai Rang took the initiative to let Xian and gave up the position of the leader of the Wagang Army to Li Mi. Therefore, after Li Mi called himself the Duke of Wei, he was also very grateful to Zhai Rang, and granted Zhai Rang the title of Shangzhu State, Situ, and Dongjun Gong, and allowed Zhai Rang to set up official subordinates below the long history by himself, reducing half of the Marshal's Mansion.

At the same time, Li Mi divided the two famous generals of the Wagang Army: Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shixian. With Shan Xiongxin as the general of the left military hou, Xu Shichang as the general of the right military hou, and the soldiers and horses of each consulate. Shan Xiongxin was one of the best generals at that time, good at using horse lances, known as "flying generals", "Old Tang Dynasty Book Shan Xiongxin Biography" recorded that "less Xiaojian, especially able to use guns immediately, the secret army is called 'flying general'." Later, Shan Xiongxin became a famous hero in the storytelling.

As for Xu Shiyun, he later became one of the "Twenty-four Heroes of Lingyan Pavilion" in the early Tang Dynasty, and went through the three dynasties of Tang Gaozu, Tang Taizong, and Tang Gaozong, and made great achievements for the Tang Dynasty. After Xu Shichang returned to Li Tang, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan specially gave him the surname "Li", and since then he has been renamed "Li Shiyun".

Later, in order to avoid the name of Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, he changed his name to "Li Tao", and successively served as the secretary of the military department, the three products under the door of the Tongzhong book, Sikong, the prince and the prince, and was named the British duke. It's just that at this time, his name is Xu Shiyun, an important general in the Wagang Army, and a young hero who is happy to take revenge.

Li Mi proclaimed himself the Duke of Wei, became the leader of the Wagang Army, and established the Wagang Wei regime at the end of the Sui Dynasty, marking that he had initially possessed the rudiments of a change of dynasty. Obviously, Li Mi's ultimate goal is to seize the world. Moreover, through Li Mi's efforts, the strength of the Wagang Army has become stronger and stronger, and it has become the first rebel army in the Central Plains. Especially after Li Mi established the Wei regime, the strength of the Wagang army was further strengthened:

So south of Zhao and Wei, north of Jiang and Huai, the group of thieves did not respond. …… The number of people descending on the road is endless, reaching hundreds of thousands. (Information Governance Guide)

In the twelfth year of the Great Cause (616), after Emperor Yang of Sui went to Jiangdu three times, the entire northern region of the Central Plains really fell into a situation of competing with each other. Among the large and small peasant rebel armies, three of the most important rebel forces were formed, they were the Wagang Rebel Army led by Li Mi and Zhai Rang, the Hebei Rebel Army led by Dou Jiande, and the Jianghuai Rebel Army led by Du Fuwei and Fu Gongqi. And Li Mi and Zhai Rang's Wagang Army is the best of the many rebel armies.

After proclaiming himself Duke of Wei and establishing a separatist regime, what should Li Mi do next? Since Li Mi already had the ambition to pacify the world, he must take big action. If you want to take over the world, you must have a foothold. Just like Li Yuan later occupied Chang'an, founded the Tang Dynasty, and finally achieved the imperial industry. Therefore, Li Mi is also looking for his own foothold. Finally, Li Mi locked this place in Luoyang.

Luoyang has been the center of gravity of the Central Plains since ancient times, and the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Wei, Western Jin Dynasty, and Northern Wei Dynasty have all successively settled in Luoyang. Therefore, in March of the first year of the Great Cause (605), the year when Emperor Yang of Sui ascended the throne, he ordered the construction of Luoyang, the eastern capital. The reason why Luoyang, the eastern capital, was built, and Emperor Yang of Sui mainly looked at the geographical location of Luoyang.

Because, as the hinterland of the Central Plains, Luoyang can control the Turks in the west, Shandong in the east, Liaodong in the north, and Huaiyang in the south, demonstrating the exclusive status of the Great Sui Dynasty in the world. According to the "Book of Sui", it is "to control the three rivers, to consolidate the four stops, to communicate by water and land, and to pay tribute". Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty himself once said the importance of Luoyang:

I have the beginning of Sui, and I want to create Zihuai and Luo, day after day, and the more I today. The thought is here, and the words are choked!

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty built Luoyang, the eastern capital, which was equivalent to establishing a strong political core in the eastern region, which became the base camp of the Great Sui Dynasty to manage the eastern region, making it easier for the Sui Dynasty to give orders to the eastern region and make it easier to govern and manage the eastern region. It was an important symbol of the Sui Dynasty's rule over the east.

Of course, Li Mi understands the importance of Luoyang, so as long as he takes Luoyang, he can command the world. Therefore, Li Mi took Luokou as the capital and ordered the protector Tian Mao to build Luokou and strengthen the city defense. Then, in an area of forty miles around Luokou, they were stationed.

Immediately afterwards, Li Mi sent Zuo Changshi Fang Yanzao to lead the army to the east, and most of the counties in Henan fell into Li Mi's hands one after another. It can be said that Li Mi now occupies almost half of the Henan region. Next, the front of the Wagang army pointed directly at Luoyang, the eastern capital.

The problem is that attacking Luoyang, the eastern capital, was not Li Mi's original intention, as early as a few years ago, he had no hope of attacking Luoyang.

In April of the ninth year of the Great Cause (613), when Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty made his second eastward expedition to Goguryeo, Yang Xuangan, the secretary of the Sui Dynasty's Ministry of Rites, who was responsible for escorting grain and grass, suddenly raised an army against the Sui in Liyang. In the end, because Yang Xuangan raised troops, Emperor Yang of Sui's second eastward expedition to Goguryeo was also a failure.

At the beginning of Yang Xuangan's army, Li Mi, as Yang Xuangan's strategist, specially offered Yang Xuangan three strategies: upper, middle and lower. First of all, Li Mi's best strategy is:

The Son of Heaven set out on an expedition, far away from Liao, and went to Youzhou thousands of miles away. There is a huge sea in the south, a strong hu in the north, and a middle one, which is extremely difficult. The public support soldiers were taken by surprise, and drove into the thistle, according to the danger of Linyu, choked its throat. The way back is extinct, and when Goryeo hears it, it will follow. However, in the tenth month, all the resources and food are exhausted, and the people do not surrender and collapse, but they can be captured without a fight, and this plan is also. (Information Governance Guide)

Secondly, Li Mi's middle strategy is:

Guanzhong Sisai, the country of abundance, although there is Wei Wensheng, it is not enough. Today, the commanders marched westward, passed through the city and did not attack, and took Chang'an. Collect its heroes, care for its people, and guard it according to the danger. Although the Son of Heaven is still there, he has lost his roots, but Xu Tu is also.

Finally, Li Mi's proposed next policy is:

Jian Jingjian, day and night, attacked the eastern capital, and commanded the Quartet. But I am afraid that Tang Yi will tell him to stick to it first. If you lead troops to attack it, you will not be able to overcome it for a hundred days, and the soldiers of the world will come from all sides, and no servant will know it.

To sum up, Li Mi's upper, middle, and lower three strategies, his upper policy, mainly suggested that Yang Xuangan lead troops north, occupy Zhuojun, block Linyu Pass, and attack Goguryeo back and forth, so that Emperor Yang of Sui will suffer the enemy on his back; In the middle strategy, it was suggested that Yang Xuangan go all the way west and occupy the capital Chang'an, making it difficult for Emperor Yang of Sui to return home; The next strategy is to attack the eastern capital Luoyang nearby.

If Yang Xuangan chooses either the upper strategy and the middle strategy, I am afraid that the Sui Dynasty will perish ahead of schedule at that time. However, Yang Xuan thought about it again and again, and did not choose the upper or middle policy, but chose the next strategy proposed by Li Mi to attack Luoyang. The final result can be imagined, Yang Xuan was defeated and died.

Therefore, attacking Luoyang was not Li Mi's original intention. But now, Li Mi has become the supreme leader of the Wagang Army, but he led the army to attack Henan and pressed Luoyang step by step, isn't this contrary to his original intention? At the beginning, Li Mi was just a strategist of Yang Xuangan, and he stood in the perspective of a strategist to analyze the general trend of the world. Now, he is the supreme leader of the Wagang Army, and he must start from the actual situation of the Wagang Army.

The reason why Li Mi decided to attack Luoyang was mainly based on the following three considerations.

First, the foundation of the Wagang Army is in Henan.

Zhai Rang, the first leader of the Wagang Army, was a native of Weicheng County, Dongjun County (now Huaxian County, Henan), and was originally just an ordinary Facao. In the seventh year of the Great Cause (611), he was imprisoned for committing a crime. However, the jailer Huang Junhan appreciated Zhai Rang's bravery, so he let Zhai Rang go privately.

After Zhai Rang escaped, he went to Wagangzhai in the southeast of Huaxian County, Henan, gathered people to revolt, and raised the banner of rebellion. Soon, Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shichang of the same county also participated in the uprising. So, Zhai asked them to rob ships along the Yongji Canal of the Grand Canal. After a long time, the "Zizhi Tongjian" recorded that "the abundant use of resources is given, and the attached ones benefit the people", and the ranks of the uprising gradually expanded, gathering more than 10,000 people.

Therefore, the birthplace of the Wagang Army is in Henan, rising in the Central Plains, basically most of the Wagang Army officers and soldiers are natives of Henan. Therefore, they have a strong local affection for the Central Plains. Li Mi's choice now is the same as Yang Xuangan's concerns back then. Whether it is attacking Chang'an or occupying Zhuojun, it is a long-distance attack from home. The officers and men of the Wagang Army did not go to Luoyang, which was close in front of them, but had to run long distances, far away from their homeland to attack Guanzhong, which was difficult to accept.

Second, Luoyang's grain output is sufficient.

Since ancient times, the Central Plains has been the center of the world, with a developed economy and abundant products. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty built Luoyang, the eastern capital, and built Luoyang into a rich grain base, and established several large granaries and granaries in Luoyang and around Luoyang, which stored a large amount of grain.

There is a granary in Luoyang, the eastern capital: Hanjiacang. After archaeological excavations in recent years, as well as the relevant records of the Tang Dynasty, there are more than 5.83 million stone grains stored in Hanjiacang, and 1 stone is equivalent to about 81 catties. In this calculation, the grain including Jiacang should be 236,000 tons. The abundant grain storage of Jiacang is only the tip of the iceberg of the "granary of the world" in Luoyang, the eastern capital. Luoyang's abundant grain storage is not a mere Hanjiacang, which can be summed up in a word.

In addition to Hanjiacang, which was rich in grain, Emperor Yang of Sui set up two other granaries in Luoyang, the eastern capital: Luokou Cang and Huiluocang. Taking Luokou Cang as an example, there are 3,000 grain cellars in Luokou Cang alone, and each grain cellar can hold 8,000 stone of grain, which is estimated to be about 1 million tons. The other Huiluocang has a total of 300 grain cellars, and its hoarding of grain is also about 100,000 tons. In this way, the total grain storage of the three granaries of Jiacang, Luokoucang and Huiluocang is 1.336 million tons.

Li Mi understands that in troubled times, whoever controls the grain will have the initiative, and if there is food, there will be soldiers. In fact, long before Li Mi decided to attack Luoyang, he had already set his sights on a granary in Luoyang: Luokoucang. Therefore, Li Mi suggested to Zhai Rang, who was still the leader of the Wagang Army at that time, to seize Luokoucang:

Now the people are hungry, Luokou Cang has a lot of corn, and there are more than 100 miles to go to the capital, if the general personally commands the public, and covers the attack lightly, he is far from being able to save it, and he has no precautions, and he takes it like picking up the ears. than he has heard, I have obtained it, and I will send millet to relieve the needy, and no one near or far will be attached! Millions of people, once can be gathered, pillow prestige, to wait for work. Even if he can come, I am prepared. Then call the Quartet, attract the virtuous and strategic, select the fierce and give the military handle, except for the death of the Sui Society, the decree of the general, isn't it grand! (Information Governance Guide)

So, Li Mi and Zhai Rang led 7,000 elite soldiers, set off from Yangcheng to the north, crossed Fangshan, raided Xingluocang from Luokou, and captured Xingluocang in one fell swoop. After conquering the Xingluo Cang, Li Mi ordered the Xingluo Cang to be opened and let the people take the grain from the grain depot. In this way, it really brought a good effect, "the old and the weak are negative, and the road belongs to each other." ”

Li Mi attaches great importance to Luoyang's grain advantage, and in his opinion, as long as Luoyang is taken, he can get a steady stream of grain. With food in hand, there will be an army of millions. With an army, sweeping the world and achieving the great cause of the emperor will be just around the corner.

Third, Li Mi's personal ambitions.

Li Mi is not an ordinary grassroots background, like Li Yuan, he is also from the Guanlong aristocratic group. Li Yuan's grandfather, Li Hu, was one of the "Eight Pillar Kingdoms" of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasty; And Li Mi's great-grandfather Li Bi is also one of the "Eight Pillar Kingdoms". Moreover, Li Mi was born in the Li family in Liaodong, the fourth generation and third prince of the Li family in Liaodong, and is a typical Gaomen family. Therefore, Li Mi has had an aristocratic temperament since he was a child, with lofty ambitions and a vision of the world.

There is a story that can illustrate Li Mi's lofty ambition when he was young, which is recorded in the "Old Tang Book: The Biography of Li Mi".

When Li Mi was young, he studied under the famous Confucian Bao Kai. Once, Li Mi went to worship Bao Kai as a teacher, rode a ox, spread a layer of cattail cushion on the back of the ox, and hung a whole set of "Han Shu" on the horns of the ox. Then, Li Mi held the ox rope in one hand and the scroll in the other.

Coincidentally, at this time, Yang Su, the Duke of Yueguo, passed by opposite Li Mi. When Yang Su saw Li Mi, who was studying seriously, he couldn't help but be curious, and stepped forward and asked, "Where is the scholar, if you are studying like this?" Li Mi looked up and saw that it was the famous Yang Su, the Duke of Yueguo. So, Li Mi immediately got down from the scalper, saluted Yang Su respectfully, and informed him of his name. Yang Su asked him what book he was reading, and Li Mi replied: "The Biography of Xiang Yu". A person who can worship a hero like Xiang Yu will definitely be an extraordinary person in the future. Therefore, Yang Su once commented on Li Mi to his son Yang Xuangan and others: "I look at Li Mi's knowledge, you can't wait." ”

Born in the Guanlong aristocratic group, Li Mi has been pretentious since he was a child, and he has always had a heroic dream in his heart. When Yang Xuangan raised troops against Sui, Li Mi became Yang Xuangan's advisor. Later, Yang Xuangan was defeated and died, and Li Mi was arrested. However, Li Mi used a little trick to escape from the cage, and since then he has become a wanted criminal, living in exile and wandering the rivers and lakes.

After going around for a few years, Li Mi, who has great ambitions, finally found the starting point of his life dream, that is, Zhai Rang's Wagangzhai. After coming to Wagangzhai, Li Mi can be said to be like a fish in water, leading the Wagang Army to develop and grow step by step, and threaten the Central Plains. For example, when Li Mi first came to Wagangzhai and saw what Zhai Rang said, it was enough to see Li Mi's ambition to plot the world, and what he said:

Liu and Xiang both became emperors. Now the lord is faint on the top, the people are resentful on the bottom, the sharp soldiers are all in Liaodong, and the relatives are cut off from the Turks, Fang is to tour Yang, Yue, and abandon the eastern capital, which is also Liu, Xiang Rising will also. With the courage and talent of the foot, the elite of the horses swept through Erjing, exterminated the tyranny, and the Sui family was not enough to die!

Comparing himself to heroes like Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, and Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, it can be seen that Li Mi is also a person who cares about the world, and he also intends to replace the Sui Dynasty and achieve the imperial cause. Therefore, in Li Mi's view, only by capturing Luoyang can he command the world and realize his ambitions.

Combining the above three factors, after the establishment of the Duke of Wei, Li Mi set the next military action of the Wagang Army as an attack on Luoyang. Moreover, the situation at that time was also conducive to Li Mi's attack on Luoyang. Through Li Mi's efforts, the strength of the Wagang Army has increased day by day. Before Emperor Yang of Sui went to Jiangdu three times, he let his other grandson, Yang Tong, the king of Yue, stay in Luoyang, the eastern capital. And Yang Tong, the king of Yue, is just a teenager, so the people of Luoyang, the eastern capital, are panicked. At this time, it was a good time for Li Mi to lead the Wagang Army and use troops against Luoyang on a large scale.

Not long after Li Mi decided to attack Luoyang, Li Mi took Meng Rang (the leader of the rebel army in Changbai Mountain, Shandong) as the governor and the prince of Dongjun. On April 9 of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Meng Rang led two thousand foot cavalry to attack the outer city of Luoyang, the eastern capital, at night. In this way, the eastern capital of Luoyang is even more panicked. As a result, many residents of the outer city of Luoyang have moved to the palace city. In Luoyang City, all the government offices are full of people. Moreover, after that, many officials and generals of the Sui Dynasty near Luoyang also surrendered to Li Mi one after another.

Shi Chai Xiaohe, the magistrate of Gong County, and Zheng Yi, the superintendent of the imperial history, sacrificed the county seat and surrendered to Li Mi; Pei Renji, the general of the Sui Dynasty, and his son Pei Xingyan, killed Xiao Huaijing, the imperial historian of the prison army, led his troops, raised the tiger to imprison the whole city, and surrendered to Li Mi. After so many officials and generals of the Sui Dynasty surrendered to Li Mi. Li Mi awarded Pei Renji the Shangzhu State and the Duke of Hedong; His son Pei Xingyan was brave and good at fighting, and was also awarded the Shangzhu Kingdom and the Jiangjun Duke; Chai Xiaohe was appointed as the protector, and Zheng Yi was appointed as the right long history.

Soon, Li Mi subdued two more fierce generals: Qin Qiong and Cheng Yanjin. These two people later became the founding generals of the Tang Dynasty, and they were also the objects of storytelling and romance. Qin Qiong was originally a subordinate of the famous general Zhang Xutuo of the Sui Dynasty, and later, in the battle of Dahai Temple, Li Mi designed to break Zhang Xutuo, and Zhang Xutuo died in battle. After that, Qin Qiong has been following Pei Renji, and at this time, he also defected to the Wagang Army.

Li Mi was also very happy about Qin Qiong and Cheng Biting Jin's defection. Therefore, Li Mi appointed Qin Qiong and Cheng Yanjin as hussar generals, ranking as one of the "four hussars". At the same time, Li Mi also distributed the 8,000 elites in the Wagang Army to the "Four Hussars" as their pro-army, known as the "Inner Army":

In the selection of the army, there are 8,000 brave people, who are divided into four hussars for self-defense, called the internal army, and often say: "These 8,000 people are enough to be a million." (Zizhi Tongjian)

It can be said that the current military situation on the periphery of Luoyang is very favorable to Li Mi and the Wagang army. Therefore, Li Mi finally decided to officially launch an attack on the eastern capital Luoyang. In this way, Li Mi's Wagang army, and the defenders of Luoyang of the Sui Dynasty, officially began a fierce battle under the city of Luoyang.

On April 13 of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Li Mi sent Pei Renji and Meng Rang to lead 20,000 Wagang troops to attack Huiluocang and conquer Huiluocang in one fell swoop. After conquering Luocang, the Wagang army took advantage of the victory to enter Luoyang, plundered the residents of the city, and also set fire to the Tianjin Bridge, and the eastern capital Luoyang fell into chaos for a while.

However, the situation has been reversed. The defenders of the Sui Dynasty in Luoyang City, taking advantage of the fact that the Wagang army was plundered and the military discipline was chaotic, took the opportunity to launch a counteroffensive, and the Wagang army was defeated, and Pei Renji and others were defeated in Luoyang. Therefore, the first attack of the Wagang army on Luoyang, first won and then lost, and ended in failure.

Pei Renji was defeated in Luoyang, and Li Mi decided to go out himself. Just when the Wagang army was defeated and took Luoyang, it didn't take long for Li Mi to lead his troops and stationed in Huiluocang, forming a coercive trend against Luoyang. At that time, the defenders of the Sui Dynasty stationed in Luoyang totaled more than 200,000, and the strength was also strong. In the face of Li Mi's pressing step by step, the defenders of the eastern capital naturally guarded to the death, "taking the city to attack the city, and not disarming the armor day and night". Therefore, Li Mi led his army to attack Yanshi and Kim Yong, but failed to overcome them and was forced to return to Luokou.

Although, the defenders of the Eastern Capital temporarily stifled Li Mi's attack. However, the situation in Luoyang City is not optimistic. At present, Luoyang's biggest problem is the food problem. After several battles, Li Mi captured several granaries outside Luoyang City, making the grain situation in Luoyang City stretched. So to what extent? The cloth in the city is piled up like a mountain, "to trickle as a stalk, and then cloth".

Yang Tong, the king of Yue, who was responsible for staying in the eastern capital of Luoyang, in order to alleviate the food crisis in Luoyang, but also to prevent the Wagang army from attacking again. Therefore, Yang Tong, the king of Yue, ordered that part of the grain returned to Luocang be transported into the city first to suspend the food shortage. At the same time, Yang Tong, the king of Yue, ordered that 5,000 soldiers and horses be stationed in Fengdu, 5,000 soldiers and horses will be stationed in Shangchunmen, and 5,000 soldiers and horses will be stationed in Beibi Mountain, which will be divided into nine battalions, with corresponding heads and tails. 15,000 soldiers and horses of the Sui army were horns of each other to prevent Li Mi's sneak attack.

On April 19, Li Miqin led 30,000 Wagang troops to attack Luoyang, the eastern capital. Yang Tong, the king of Yue, sent the generals Duan Da, Hu Benlang and Gao Bi, Liu Changlin and others, leading 70,000 troops to meet Li Mi. As a result, the Sui army was defeated. Immediately afterwards, Li Mi occupied Huiluocang and built a barrier and trench outside Luoyang City, forming an encirclement posture against the eastern capital Luoyang.

At the same time, Li Mi ordered Zu Junyan, a famous genius under his command, to write an essay against Sui, enumerating the ten sins of Emperor Yang of Sui, and scolding Emperor Yang of Sui. Then, the counties were preached. This is a famous essay in Chinese history,—— "For Li Mi Luozhou Wen". Among them, there are a few famous sayings for the ages:

The bamboo of the South Mountain, the book is endless; The waves of the East China Sea are broken, and the evil is inexhaustible.

Li Mi besieged the eastern capital of Luoyang, and the situation in Luoyang was precarious. There was no way, Yang Tong, the king of Yue, could only send Taichang Cheng Yuan Shanda to pass through the defense area of the Wagang army and go to Jiangdu, asking Emperor Yang of Sui to return to Luoyang, the eastern capital, to suppress the situation:

Li Mi has millions of people, besieging the eastern capital, according to Luokoucang, there is no food in the city. If Your Majesty returns quickly, the rabble will be dispersed; Otherwise, the Eastern Capital will never be there. (Information Governance Guide)

After speaking, Yuan Shanda whimpered in public. As soon as he heard that he was allowed to return to the Eastern Capital, Emperor Yang of Sui's face immediately changed. Without waiting for Emperor Yang of Sui to speak, Yu Shiji, the servant of the internal history, fanned the flames on the side: "King Yue is young, and this generation is sorry." If it is as it is said, what is the fate of goodness! After hearing this, Emperor Yang of Sui was furious and ordered Yuan Shanda to be sent to Dongyang, where the rebel army was rampant, to escort the grain. Soon after, Yuan Shanda was killed by the rebels.

It can be seen that Emperor Yang of Sui was completely desperate for the crisis in the eastern capital Luoyang at this time. Therefore, there is almost no foreign aid in Luoyang. Under such a favorable situation, will Li Mi's siege of Luoyang be smooth sailing? Apparently not. Li Mi's siege of Luoyang, this war was extremely difficult.

The biggest military problem facing Li Mi in besieging Luoyang was not the gain or loss of one city or one place, but the development of the overall strategy. As far as the specific battle is concerned, Li Mi has not encountered any problems, and has always won more and lost less. However, Li Mi's idea was to quickly capture Luoyang City.

The current situation has become that no matter how many battles Li Mi wins, he just can't break through Luoyang. In this way, the confrontation between Li Mi and the Luoyang Sui army entered the stage of stalemate. The Battle of Luoyang changed from the original battle to a protracted battle, which was the most distressing to Li Mi.

Why couldn't Li Mi attack Luoyang for a long time? There are only two reasons for this.

First, Luoyang City is well defended. Luoyang was the eastern capital of the Sui Dynasty, and in the heart of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, Luoyang's status was much heavier than that of Chang'an. Therefore, it is natural to strengthen Luoyang's city defense. Moreover, there were still more than 200,000 defenders of the Sui Dynasty in Luoyang City, and Li Mi would not be able to capture them for a while and a half.

Second, reinforcements from the Sui Dynasty have arrived. Not only that, but Li Mi also met a very strong opponent.

In such a state of stalemate, Li Mi soon suffered a thrilling military setback. Regarding the military predicament faced by Li Mi, some people within the Wagang Army also put forward other opinions. Chai Xiaohe, Li Mi's important advisor, suggested to Li Mi to change direction:

Qin blocked the mountains and rivers, the West Chu died on its back, and the Han Gao capital was hegemonic. If you are stupid, let Renji guard Luo, Zhai let guard Luokou, Ming Gong is Jian Jing, and attack Chang'an in the west. Both Kejingyi, the industry is strong and the army is strong, the party is longer to drive the Kuihan, sweep Dongluo, spread the fingers, and the world can be determined. But now the heroes are competing, I am afraid that others will go first, and once they lose, how can they eat the umbilicus! (The Old Tang Book: The Biography of Li Mi)

Chai Xiaohe's opinion is that at present, Luoyang has been unconquerable for a long time, and instead of fighting with the Sui army under Luoyang City, it is better to find another way, abandon Luoyang, and go west directly to Chang'an.

In Chai Xiaohe's view, Guanzhong is the place where the emperor's cause is achieved. If, when the time comes, someone else will take the lead, it will be too late to regret it! Chai Xiaohe's proposal to abandon Luoyang and go west to Chang'an was not unconsidered by Li Mi. However, Li Mi also has concerns, as mentioned above, the foundation of the Wagang Army is in Henan. Therefore, he said to Chai Xiaohe:

What you want, what you think, what you think about for a long time, honesty is the best policy. But the faint lord still exists, from the soldiers, my department, and is a native of Shandong, since I have not seen Luoyang, how can I follow the west? The generals are out of a group of thieves, and they are left to compete for male and female. If so, you will be defeated!

Seeing that Li Mi had concerns, Chai Xiaohe put forward a compromise suggestion: "However, the army can not go west, and the servants are invited to visit the side." The soldiers were divided into two routes, and Li Mi continued to lead the main force of the Wagang Army to besiege Luoyang; He led a partial division to the west of Chang'an to explore the reality in the pass. Li Mi agreed to Chai Xiaohe's suggestion, and he had to give it a try to know that maybe the westward march to Chang'an could be successful!

With Li Mi's consent, Chai Xiaohe immediately took dozens of cavalry and marched all the way west. Because of the prestige of the Wagang Army. It was too big, and when Chai Xiaohe and his entourage arrived in Shaanxi County, they had already gathered more than 10,000 troops. It seems that Chai Xiaohe's progress here is not bad. However, something happened to Li Mi's side.

It turned out that Li Mi led the Wagang army to besiege Luoyang, often taking the lead, often entering the eastern capital of Xiyuan and fighting against the Sui army. However, during the battle, Li Mi was accidentally shot by a stray arrow and had to recuperate in the camp tent. Li Mi was injured, which caused fluctuations within the Wagang army, and the morale of the army gradually became unstable.

Yang Tong, the king of Yue, saw the fluctuation in the hearts of the Wagang army, and thought that this was a godsend, so he hurriedly ordered the general Duan Da and the general Pang Yu of the prison gate to lead the army to counterattack Li Mi at night. The Sui army set up a formation in the northwest direction of Huiluocang, preparing to launch an attack on Li Mi. Li Mi saw the Sui army coming to attack, and immediately led the army with Pei Renji. However, due to the haste of the battle, the Wagang army was defeated, and most of the troops were killed and wounded. Li Mi could only be forced to retreat, and the original occupied Huiluocang fell back into the hands of the Sui army, and Li Mi had to lead his troops to deploy defenses in Luokoucang.

The news of Li Mi's defeat reached Guanzhong. As a result, Chai Xiaohe gathered more than 10,000 people scattered in an instant, scattering in all directions. In this way, Chai Xiaohe's plan to go west to Chang'an, in the end, the bamboo basket was empty, and Chai Xiaohe had to return to Luoyang.

It had just experienced a major defeat, but soon, the Wagang army was back on its feet. Soon after, Li Mi regrouped and attacked Luoyang again, and the two sides fought in Pingyuan; Li Mi ordered the cavalry to be placed on the left flank, the infantry on the right flank, the Chinese army set up strong bows and crossbows, and then ordered the army to beat the drum and charge, the Sui army was defeated, and the Wagang army recaptured Huiluocang:

Li Mifu commanded the people to the eastern capital, Bingshen, and fought in Pingyuan. Mi left horse, right step, the middle power crossbow, a thousand drums to rush it, the eastern capital army was defeated, Mi Fu recaptured Luocang. (Information Governance Guide)

History is often full of uncertainties, and the situation of Li Mi's siege of Luoyang has just improved. Soon, he met a very difficult old enemy,—— Wang Shichong.

Wang Shichong, that was a powerful man in the troubled times at the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. Who is Wang Shichong? In fact, Wang Shichong's ancestors were not Han Chinese, but Hu people from the Western Regions, and his surname was branch. Later, in Wang Shichong's father's generation, he moved to the Central Plains and changed his surname to Wang. So, what is so special about Wang Shichong? According to the record of "Old Tang Book: The Biography of Wang Shichong":

Shichong is quite involved in history, especially the art of war, turtle strategy, and push the technique. …… Good at playing, learning the law, and then dancing grammar, high heart.

In the middle of the Great Cause, Wang Shichong served as the commander of Jiangdu County and the palace supervisor of Jiangdu. Wang Shichong was very good at observing words and emotions when he was the palace supervisor of Jiangdu, building pavilions and pavilions for Emperor Yang of Sui, and actively suppressing peasant uprisings. Therefore, Wang Shichong won the trust and reliance of Emperor Yang of Sui.

However, don't think that Wang Shichong is a sycophant who can only flatter, and this person also has a set of soldiers. "Old Tang Book: The Biography of Wang Shichong" records:

Every time there is a Kejie, it will be attributed to the below, and the military achievements obtained are all pushed to the soldiers, so that people compete for use, and the merit is the most.

Moreover, Wang Shichong is a ruthless person, in terms of his suppression of peasant uprisings. In June of the ninth year of the Great Cause (613), Yang Xuangan raised an army against the Sui. At that time, many people responded to Yang Xuangan's uprising, and near Jiangdu, a rebel army emerged, that is, Liu Yuanjin's rebel army in Yuhang.

The Sui Dynasty constantly dispatched troops to suppress Liu Yuanjin, and Wang Shichong was also involved. Later, Wang Shichong defeated the rebel army with tens of thousands of Huainan main forces, and Liu Yuanjin was killed. Although Liu Yuanjin is dead, many of his remnants are still king in Zhanshan. How to exterminate these remnants, Wang Shichong thought of a trick.

Wang Shichong found an auspicious day for the zodiac and gathered all the remnants of the rebel army together. In front of the Buddha statue in Tongxuan Temple, he burned incense and swore an oath, promising that as long as they could surrender, he would not pursue it.

After hearing this, the rebels surrendered one after another. Unexpectedly, after the rest of the rebel army surrendered, Wang Shichong immediately turned his face and did not recognize anyone, and ordered Liu Yuanjin to surrender to the rest of the more than 30,000 people, all of whom were killed in Huangtingjian.

This time, Li Mi met Wang Shichong, a fierce rival. Although Emperor Yang of Sui had completely given up on the eastern capital of Luoyang at this time, Emperor Yang of Sui still wanted to do a dying struggle. Therefore, Emperor Yang of Sui sent his confidant Wang Shichong to rescue the eastern capital Luoyang.

In July of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), that is, in the same year and month of the year when Li Yuan and Jinyang raised his army, Emperor Yang of Sui sent Wang Shichong, the capital of Jiang, to lead 50,000 Jianghuai soldiers to aid the eastern capital Luoyang. Not only that, Emperor Yang of Sui sent several additional reinforcements to the eastern capital and marched to Luoyang to jointly crusade against Li Mi.

Li Mi had just reversed the situation on the battlefield, and Wang Shichong's 50,000 Jianghuai soldiers and horses immediately arrived, and the Sui Dynasty also came with reinforcements from multiple routes. Therefore, Li Mi is now really caught in a military dilemma. He not only had to face the defenders of the Sui Dynasty in Luoyang City, but also the army of Wang Shichong from Jiangdu.

Sure enough, as soon as Wang Shichong arrived in Luoyang, he gave Li Mi a dismissal. Wang Shichong led an army of 50,000 to Luoyang, crossed Luoshui at night, set up camp in Heishi, and immediately launched a fierce attack on Li Mi's Wagang army. Li Mi was defeated in the battle, and the Wagang army was defeated. In the melee, Chai Xiaohe, Li Mi's most relied on strategist, drowned.

Li Mi deserves to be Li Mi, and he was not intimidated by the temporary defeat. So, Li Mi led the elite cavalry and crossed Luoshui to the south, while the rest of the troops headed east to Yuecheng. Wang Shichong thought that the Wagang army had been defeated, and led his troops to pursue the Wagang army in Yuecheng. Unexpectedly, Li Mi suddenly led the army from the south bank of Luoshui into Wang Shichong's Blackstone camp. Wang Shichong learned that the main camp was besieged and hurriedly retreated. Li Mi led the army to confront it, beheading more than 3,000 ranks, and Wang Shichong was defeated.

Since the defeat of Luoshui, Wang Shichong has become cautious in his use of troops. He camped in Xi'an at Luokoucang, held the fortress, and held on to Li Mi's Wagang army for more than 100 days, and the two sides fought more than 60 battles of various sizes, winning and losing each other. During this period, many leaders of the peasant rebel army joined Li Mi one after another. Li Mi's strength has been further strengthened. Similarly, Wang Shichong is also waiting for the opportunity to fight another big battle with Li Mi.

In the first month of the second year of Yining (618), Wang Shichong sent troops to attack Cangcheng, but was counterattacked by Li Mi, and Wang Shichong was defeated. There was no way, Wang Shichong decided to make a desperate bet and moved the base camp to the north of Luokoucang. He built a pontoon bridge on Luoshui, sent all elite soldiers and horses, crossed Luoshui, and attacked the Wagang army.

As soon as Wang Shichong's army crossed the river, they fought with the Wagang army. Li Mi led more than 1,000 soldiers and horses to resist Wang Shichong's attack. At the beginning, Li Mi was defeated by Wang Shichong's fierce offensive and ordered his troops to retreat. Seeing Li Mi retreating, Wang Shichong took advantage of the victory and ran to Luokou City.

Originally, Wang Shichong was already winning. However, there are more strong players in the strong, but Li Mi is a step ahead of Wang Shichong. What's going on? Just as Wang Shichong's army was approaching Luokou, Li Mi suddenly dispatched a team of hundreds of elite soldiers to intercept Wang Shichong with all his might. The elite of these hundreds of Wagang troops actually beat Wang Shichong's main force, and he was embarrassed and had no power to fight back. Wang Shichong's main force collapsed in an instant.

Wang Shichong's army was defeated on all fronts, and his subordinates rushed to cross the pontoon bridge, and fell into Luoshui and drowned, amounting to tens of thousands of people, countless.

Moreover, the main generals under Wang Shichong all died in this battle. Wang Shichong himself, only spared. What's even worse is that that night, it snowed heavily, and almost all the soldiers around Wang Shichong were frozen to death, and the scene was unbearable. According to the record of "Old Tang Book: Li Mi Biography":

The world was full of routs, competing for pontoon bridges, and tens of thousands of people were drowned. …… That night, heavy rain and snow, the soldiers froze to death.

In the battle of Luokou, Li Mi won a complete victory, and Wang Shichong's main force was completely lost, and his vitality was greatly damaged. In the short term, Wang Shichong will not set off a big storm. After the Battle of Luokou, Li Mi successfully seized the initiative on the battlefield and provided a good military environment for the next military action.

In the Battle of Luokou, after defeating Wang Shichong's main force, Li Mi led the Wagang army to conquer Yanshi in one fell swoop, and built Jin Yong City here and set up camp. At this time, Li Mi already had more than 300,000 elite soldiers in his hands. At the same time, the forces under Li Mi's command are unmatched by the world's heroes, "as far as Hai and Dai in the east, and Jiang and Huai counties in the south, all of them will send envoys to return to secrets." Li Mi's influence is all over the world.

What is even more difficult is that at that time, separatist heroes like Dou Jiande, Meng Haigong, and Xu Yuanlang persuaded Li Mi one after another. Li Mi's civil and military officers at all levels also submitted their orders one after another, asking Li Mi to claim the emperor and establish the country.

It's not that Li Mi doesn't want to be the emperor, but he thinks that the eastern capital Luoyang has not yet been conquered, and it is not the best time to become the emperor: "The eastern capital is not peaceful, so it is impossible to discuss this." It can be seen that Li Mi has become the leader of the anti-Sui alliance recognized by the world.

Although Li Mi's current power has encompassed the entire Central Plains; Although Li Mi is now the leader of the anti-Sui alliance promoted by the world's heroes. However, Li Mi still has a knot, that is, Luoyang has not yet been captured. Although Li Mi won the victory in Luokou, it did not change the military confrontation with the defenders of Luoyang. What's more, Wang Shichong is not an ordinary person, and when he recovers, he will make a comeback.

Just when Li Mi was fighting hard with the Luoyang defenders and Wang Shichong, a major event happened within the Wagang army. The occurrence of this incident directly led to the division of the Wagang Army later, and also indirectly led to the tragic ending of the later Wagang Army overthrowing the division under Luoyang City. What is this?

This incident is that Li Mi, the current supreme leader of the Wagang Army, killed his benefactor, the former leader of the Wagang Army, and the current No. 2 person, Zhai Rang. Li Mi killed Engong Zhai Rang, which caused an uproar within the Wagang army, no less than a major earthquake.

Why did Li Mi kill Zhai Rang? It can be said that Zhai Rang is a rare noble person in Li Mi's life. At the beginning, Li Mi was in trouble and went to Wagangzhai and was taken in by Zhai Rang. Moreover, after Li Mi joined Wagangzhai, Zhai Rang has always obeyed Li Mi's strategy. Even later, Li Mi gradually grew up, and Zhai Rang directly gave up the position of the leader of the Wagang Army to Li Mi. It can be said that Zhai Rang really showed the word "let" in his name to the fullest.

For Zhai Rang's kindness, Li Mi is also grateful for his kindness. Therefore, after Li Mi established the title of Duke of Wei, he granted Zhai Rang Shangzhuguo, Situ, and Dongjun Gong, and allowed him to set up his own official subordinates, and his status was second only to Li Mi, which was equivalent to the second person in the Wagang Army.

Li Mi and Zhai Rang, one is affectionate and the other is righteous. According to common sense, the relationship between these two people should be very close. However, why did Li Mi finally kill Zhai Rang?

In fact, Li Mi's killing of Zhai Rang was not a simple revenge, but a game between the two major groups within the Wagang Army.

Li Mi and Zhai Rang respectively represent two different groups of the Wagang Army. Zhai Rang represents the veteran group of the Wagang Army, and his subordinates are all veteran generals of the Wagang Army such as Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shichang; And Li Mi represents the upstart group of the Wagang Army, and his subordinates are all Sui Dynasty generals like Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin, and Pei Renji.

Since Li Mi joined the Wagang Army, the Wagang Army has invisibly divided into two groups: the veteran and the upstart. There are deep contradictions between these two groups, the old faction is constantly crowding out the upstart faction, and the new upstart faction is fighting against the old faction everywhere, and Li Mi sees these in his eyes.

Moreover, Li Mi and Zhai Rang are obviously people from two worlds. Zhai Rang was born as a farmer before, and he rose up purely because the officials forced the people to rebel. Therefore, Zhai Rang himself is a person with no ambitions and short-sightedness. What he pursued was the kind of bandit life of drinking wine in a big bowl, eating meat, and occupying the mountains as kings, and he had no ambition to plot the world and win the emperor of the Central Plains.

However, Li Mi is different from Zhai Rang. Li Mi was born in the Guanlong aristocratic group, and his great-grandfather Li Bi was one of the "Eight Pillar Kingdoms" of the Western Wei Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Therefore, Li Mi has a noble temperament in his bones since he was a child, ambitious, and martial. Li Mi's ideal in life is to seize the world and achieve an imperial cause. In this regard, Li Mi and Zhai Rang are not all the way. There is a contradiction between them, it is inevitable.

Especially after Li Mijian became Wei Gong, he gradually found that Zhai Rang and his veteran group began to invisibly threaten his leadership of the Wagang Army. In addition, Zhai Rang's personality was rude, and he deeply offended Li Mi in several things. In the end, Li Micai made up his mind to kill Zhai Rang.

First of all, let's take a look at the threat of the veteran group to Li Mi.

If Wagangjun is compared to a company, Zhai Rang's veteran faction is the "partner" of the company's original venture, while Li Mi's upstart faction is a later shareholder. Unexpectedly, Li Mi later turned against the guest and became the supreme leader of the Wagang Army. These generals of the veteran faction are naturally not angry that Li Mi has become the leader of the Wagang Army, and they think that our buddies have beaten down the country, why should you let you pick up ready-made?

Therefore, driven by this kind of thinking, many people in the patriarchal group are constantly looking for trouble with Li Mi. For example, one of Zhai Rang's subordinates, Sima Wang Ruxin, once advised Zhai Rang to establish himself as the ruler of Otsuka and regain the power of the Wagang Army from Li Mi. However, Zhai Rang was a person with no ambitions and did not follow Wang Ruxin's advice.

Not only Zhai Rang's subordinates persuaded him like this, but even Zhai Rang's brother Zhai Hong also persuaded him like this. Once, Zhai Hong was open-mouthed, and casually threw out a sentence to Zhai Rang: "The Son of Heaven should be yourself, but with others!" If you don't do it, I should do it! After listening to his brother's words, Zhai Rang laughed and didn't care at all. However, after Li Mi heard this, he didn't feel good in his heart, thinking that these patriarchs didn't take themselves too seriously.

Li Mi began to be dissatisfied with the veteran faction of the Wagang Army. What's even more serious is that Li Mi later transferred this dissatisfaction to Zhai Rang. Zhai Rang didn't realize Li Mi's dissatisfaction, and still went his own way, and finally brought death to himself.

Zhai Rang is Li Mi's benefactor, without Zhai Rang's initiative to make Xian, Li Mi would not have become the number one person in the Wagang Army. The problem is that Zhai Rang is essentially a rough person, with a reckless and rude personality, and he doesn't go through his brain when he speaks and does things. Zhai Rang did several stupid things, which made Li Mi very unhappy. Just take two things.

During Li Mi's siege of Luoyang, Feng Ciming, the commander of Jiangdu County, was appointed by Emperor Yang of Sui to send an envoy to Luoyang, the eastern capital, but as soon as he arrived in Luoyang, he was captured by the Wagang army. Li Mi had always heard of Feng Ciming's virtuous name, and treated him with great courtesy, and hoped that Feng Ciming could help him achieve his great cause: "Sui Zuo has exhausted, and the public can make great contributions with orphans?" As soon as the words fell, I only heard Feng Ciming reprimand Li Mi sternly:

The public calendar has been in the past, and it has both glory and glory. can't be good at guarding the gate, but raising troops with Xuangan, occasionally getting rid of Luo, and having today, only trying to fight back, and not telling the high order. Mang, Zhuo, Dun, and Xuanfei are not strong, and once they are wiped out, they sin and their ancestors. After the servant died, he didn't dare to listen to his fate! (Information Governance Guide)

Hearing Feng Ciming's righteous and stern accusation, Li Mi did not get angry, nor did he embarrass the Sui court envoy, but let him leave the camp. To say that Feng Ciming is also unlucky enough, as soon as he left the camp, he met Zhai Rang. Zhai Rang is a big old man, where is Li Mi's mind and patience, when he saw Feng Ciming, without saying a word, he stepped forward with a knife and directly slashed Feng Ciming on the spot.

Zhai Rang's unauthorized killing of Feng Ciming made Li Mi very embarrassed. Originally, Li Mi had already agreed to release Feng Ciming, in order to show his Corporal Lixian. However, Zhai Rang killed Feng Ciming, which will make the world think that Li Miren is a hypocrite in front of him and behind him. Therefore, when Feng Ciming was killed, Li Mi was dissatisfied with Zhai Rang.

Another time, Zhai Rang said something like this to an important strategist under Li Mi, Zuo Changshi Fang Yanzao:

Jun Qian broke Runan, got a lot of treasures, and was alone with Wei Gong, not with me! What Wei Gong and I set up is unknown.

Originally, Zhai Rang was a martial artist, and he didn't think about it without thinking. Maybe he just said it, but it was very explicit.

Zhai Rang said that he had no intention, but Fang Yanzao listened to it intentionally, and immediately became alert to Zhai Rang's words. After going back, Fang Yanzao said to Li Mi: "Let the greedy and unkind, if you have the heart of a king, you should try it as soon as possible." Zhai Rang was rigid and proud of his achievements, and Fang Yanzao hoped that Li Mi would make a decision as soon as possible.

However, Li Mi also has concerns, Zhai Rang is kind to himself after all, and if he kills him rashly, it will inevitably lead to everyone's criticism. So, Li Mi said to Fang Yanzao: "Today's peace is undecided, why should you show your distance!" This sentence has a lot of meaning. Li Mi didn't have murderous intent towards Zhai Rang, he already had murderous intent. It's just that Li Mi still wants to leave Zhai Rang with the last leeway. However, Fang Yanzao's next words immediately made Li Mi firm in his determination to get rid of Zhai Rang:

The poisonous snake stings the hand, the strong man unravels the wrist, and all the people are great. He got his will first, and he regretted everything. (Information Governance Guide)

Fang Yanzao's meaning is to let Li Mi have the decisiveness of a strong man to break his wrist. After all, Li Mi is a generation of heroes, and when Zhai Rang's kindness clashed with his own ambition and hegemony, Li Mi chose the latter. Under the prodding of Fang Yanzao and his strategists, Li Mi made up his mind to cut through the chaos and kill Zhai Rang.

On November 11, the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Li Mi set up a banquet and invited Zhai Rang to drink. In fact, this is a "Hongmen Banquet" designed by Li Mi. At that time, when Zhai Rang went to the banquet, he was followed by his brother Zhai Hong, nephew Zhai Mohou, and two generals of the Wagang Army: Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shixian.

Although, Li Mi had already ambushed the sword and axe hand during the banquet. However, Li Mi also knows that Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shiyun are both fierce generals with the courage of ten thousand people, as long as these two people are present, they may not be able to kill Zhai Rang. Therefore, Li Mi had to transfer these two people and said:

Today, there is no need for many people to drink with the dignitaries, and the left and right are just left to the envoys.

As soon as these words came out, a lot of people around Li Mi left, but Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shiyun did not move. At this moment, Li Mi suddenly felt extremely embarrassed. I didn't go when I should go, but I walked a lot when I shouldn't.

At this moment, Li Mi's strategist Fang Yanzao, who was in a hurry, helped Li Mi at a critical moment, and said to Li Mi: "Today is fun, the weather is very cold, Situ is around, please give me wine and food." ”

Li Mi was so smart, he immediately followed Fang Yanzao's words and said to Zhai Rang: "Listen to Situ Jinzhi." "Where is Zhai Rang so many flowery intestines, he agreed without thinking about it.

In this way, Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shiyun left Zhai Rang's side and went to drink in the next room. And Li Mi only had a strong man Cai Jiande beside him, standing with a knife. Everyone present understood that Li Mi was going to make a move on Zhai Rang.

Before the banquet began, Li Mi said to Zhai Rang, Brother Zhai, I have recently obtained a good bow, and only a person with infinite strength can pull it. It's better to take advantage of the fact that the banquet has not yet started, and you will take the palm of your hand for me.

Zhai Rang was born as a martial artist, and as soon as he heard that there was a good bow, he immediately became interested. Zhai Rang picked up the bow, and with a full swing of his arms, he pulled a full bow. Just as Zhai Rang proudly exerted his arm strength, death befell him.

The strong man Cai Jiande quietly walked behind Zhai Rang, suddenly pulled out his knife, and slashed Zhai Rang to the ground with a knife. "Zizhi Tongjian" records that Zhai Rang "roared like a cow", let out a roar like a cow, and fell in a pool of blood. A generation of Wagang hero Zhai Rang, just like this, died at the hands of Li Mi, who he supported with great support.

After killing Zhai Rang, Zhai Rang's brother Zhai Hong, nephew Zhai Mohou, and Sima Wang Ruxin were also killed. Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shixian, who were in the next room, were stunned when they saw this scene.

Xu Shiyun's eyes were quick, and he rushed out to the door, and the guards outside the door waved their knives and slashed at Xu Shiyun's neck, and blood immediately flowed. Shan Xiongxin's legs immediately weakened, and with a "plop", he knelt on the ground, kowtowed to Li Mi and begged for mercy. In the face of Shan Xiongxin's plea for mercy, Li Mi of course was kind words and comfort. However, how to deal with the injured Xu Shiyun?

Fortunately, Wang Bodang, another general of the Wagang Army, immediately stopped the guards at the door and carried Xu Shichang back to the house. Then, Li Mi personally bandaged Xu Shixian's wounds. After settling down Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shixian, Li Mi walked out of the room again and said to the others under Zhai Rang:

He is the same as the rebel soldiers, and he will eliminate the riots. Situ was tyrannical, humiliated the masses, and did not recover; Now the family is punished, and the kings have no precautions.

Immediately afterwards, Li Mi rode alone to inspect Zhai Rang's military camp, pacify Zhai Rang's subordinates, and order Xu Shichang, Shan Xiongxin, and Wang Bodang to lead Zhai Rang's subordinates. Zhai Rang is a rough man, and he usually treats soldiers very harshly. Therefore, when he learned that Zhai Rang was killed, he was not excited. As a result, the situation quickly stabilized.

Zhai Rang's killing was indeed a serious internal strife within the Wagang Army. However, because Li Mi was properly pacified afterwards, it did not cause much commotion. Originally, Wang Shichong, who had just experienced the defeat of Luokou, wanted to take advantage of the internal strife of the Wagang army and take advantage of the fire to rob. Unexpectedly, Li Mi stabilized the situation so quickly, leaving him with no chance. Therefore, Wang Shichong couldn't help but praise Li Mi's wisdom:

Li Mi is talented and decisive, for the dragon and the snake, it is unfathomable!

Although Li Mi was properly appeased, we can't help but ask, did Zhai Rang's death really have no impact on the Wagang Army at all? Of course not. As we all know, Zhai Rang is Li Mi's benefactor, and he has the grace of knowing Li Mi. Now, Li Mi even dares to kill Zhai Rang, who can't kill him in the future? Therefore, there began to be signs of division within the Wagang Army, and everyone was in danger, and from the original hatred of the enemy, the army gradually began to feel uneasy, and "the secret general Zuo began to have self-doubt."

Since the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Li Mi led the Wagang army to besiege the eastern capital Luoyang. During this period, Li Mi achieved a series of military victories, and he became the leader of the anti-Sui alliance recognized by the heroes of the world, and the Wagang army expanded to more than 300,000 people, with strong soldiers and strong strength.

However, after besieging the eastern capital of Luoyang for a year, Li Mi also faced a difficult military dilemma. Li Mi has been in the Henan region, fighting in the south and in the north. Therefore, he could not leave the Central Plains, and Luoyang could not be attacked for a long time. Besides, his rival Wang Shichong is not a good stubble. Therefore, Li Mi not only had to fight with the defenders of Luoyang in the Sui Dynasty, but at the same time, he had to be entangled with Wang Shichong, and fell into the military pressure of fighting on two fronts.

Coupled with the killing of Zhai Rang, the powerful Wagang army began to split. Now Li Mi is under the city of Luoyang, and he can't advance or retreat. It is not shy to say that it is not so much that Li Mi is besieging Luoyang, but that Li Mi is fighting hard under Luoyang City.

In the year of Li Mi's battle in Luoyang, in November of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Li Yuan and his son conquered Chang'an and entered Guanzhong, laying the foundation for Li Tang's founding of the country.

For Li Mi, Guanzhong has now been occupied by Li Yuan. It is impossible for Li Mi to go west to Chang'an again. The only option at the moment is to keep fighting. Only by taking Luoyang as soon as possible can we gain a firm foothold in the troubled times, and Li Mi can have the capital to compete with Li Yuan and the world's heroes.

Ideas are beautiful, but they often backfire. Originally, Li Mi's battle in Luoyang has gradually shown a trend of being difficult to support alone. At this moment, he made a halfway trip to bite the gold. A military force from Jiangdu suddenly intervened in the battle between Li Mi and Wang Shichong in Luoyang.

Due to the obstruction of this military force, all Li Mi's deployments were disrupted. Li Mi had to postpone the attack on Luoyang, turn his gun, and go all out to attack this military force that was stirring up the situation.

So, what kind of military force is this? In the process of fighting this army, how was Li Mi's own strength affected?