At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the world was in turmoil, and the Central Plains were competing for deer. In such a turbulent era, Li Yuan and his son stood out, occupied Guanzhong, and finally created the Tang Empire. Why could Tang Gaozu Li Yuan finally become the victor of history and achieve a great imperial cause?

In addition to the advantages of the Li family's father and son in terms of time, location, and people, there is a more important factor, that is, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan has extraordinary courage and political vision to judge the situation. In troubled times, if there is no political vision to judge the situation and size up the situation, even if the establishment of political power is only a flash in the pan. It is precisely with such a calm and rational political vision that Li Yuan can create a unique Tang Dynasty through the ages!

Compared with Li Yuan's calmness, at that time, the separatist forces in the northwest region were obviously a little uncontrollable, and their ambitions to plot the world were prematurely exposed. Soon after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, these northwestern territories launched a stormy challenge to the emerging Li Tang Dynasty.

So, in the face of the billowing wolf smoke from the northwest, how should Tang Gaozu Li Yuan respond, and how should the Tang Dynasty respond? How did they consolidate the rear of the Li Tang Dynasty and defend the hard-won Guanzhong region? In the northwest land of the late Sui and early Tang Dynasties, what kind of Jin Ge Iron Horse was staged?

The first year of Wude (618) was an extremely unusual year for Chinese history and the Li Tang Dynasty. In May, Li Yuan was proclaimed emperor in Chang'an, and the Tang Dynasty was formally established; In October, in the battle of Beibi Mountain in Luoyang, because Li Mi lightly advanced the enemy, the main force of the 100,000 Wagang army was defeated by Wang Shichong's 20,000 soldiers and horses. In desperation, Li Mi was forced to lead 20,000 remnants of his army, enter Guanzhong in the west, and defect to the Tang Dynasty.

Li Mi led his troops to join the Tang Dynasty, directly announcing the end of the Wagang Army Group, the first military group in the Central Plains, which was once dominating and powerful in the world, completely withdrew from the historical stage of the late Sui and early Tang Dynasties. With the fall of the Wagang Army and Li Mi's surrender to the Tang Dynasty, the general trend of the world has changed dramatically. After the elimination of the Wagang army, Wang Shichong occupied the entire Henan region. Therefore, the opponents faced by the Li Tang Dynasty in the Central Plains have changed from the Wagang Army Group to the Wang Shichong Group that has just risen.

Similarly, it was also in this year that the Li Tang Dynasty, which had been founded for less than two years, encountered the most serious military crisis since the founding of the country. This military crisis even once put the Tang Dynasty in danger of losing the country, and once faced the test of ending less than a year after the founding of the country.

However, the final result was that the Tang Dynasty withstood all kinds of military pressure with its indomitable and tenacious fighting spirit. The soldiers of the Tang Army on the front line, under the leadership of Li Shimin, the "god of war" of the Tang Dynasty, finally defeated the strong enemy. The Li Tang Dynasty, which had just established the country, completely realized the unification of the northwest region, and incorporated the two major regions of Longxi and Hexi into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, which cleared the worries of the Tang army for the eastward expedition to the Central Plains and resolved the military crisis from the northwest.

So, how did this military crisis from the northwest happen? What ups and downs and setbacks did the Tang Dynasty encounter in this Northwest War? How did this nascent empire survive this crisis and successfully achieve its first strategy of pacifying the world?

The military crisis of the Tang Dynasty was, of course, a challenge to the Li Tang Dynasty from the separatist forces in the northwest region. It is mainly the two major separatist forces in the northwest region: Xue Ju father and son in Longxi and Li Liang in Hexi. These two separatist forces can be called the two overlords in the northwest region, and they are the two strongest rivals of the Tang Dynasty in the northwest. These two separatist forces, at the beginning of the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, posed a serious threat to the rule of the Tang Dynasty, especially the Western Qin regime of Xue Ju.

In terms of threat, it was Xue Ju's Western Qin regime that posed a greater threat to the Li Tang Dynasty. The war between the Tang Dynasty and the Western Qin Dynasty took place in the first year of Wude (618), and it was in this year that the Tang Dynasty eliminated the Western Qin regime and incorporated the Longxi region into the Tang Dynasty. The war between the Tang Dynasty and the Li Liang regime in Hexi took place in the second year of Wude (619), when the Li Tang Dynasty recovered the land of Hexi with abundant water and grass in one fell swoop and realized the unification of the northwest region.

Regarding the contest between Li Tang and Xi Qin, we will talk about it later, and we will not show it for the time being. First of all, let's talk about the struggle between the Tang Dynasty and the Li Rail regime in Hexi. In the face of Li Liang's regime, which occupies the Hexi Corridor, which is rich in water and grass and rich in military horses, how will Tang Gaozu Li Yuan deal with this opponent whose strength should not be underestimated?

Why did Tang Gaozu Li Yuan attach so much importance to the land west of the river? This is because the strategic location of the Hexi region is so important.

Hexi, also known as the "Hexi Corridor", is located in the northwest of today's Gansu Province and the west of Inner Mongolia, which is an important passage from the interior of the Central Plains to the Western Regions, and is also the throat of the ancient Silk Road. The Hexi area is rich in products, abundant water and grass, and is a natural "granary". In his poem, the Tang Dynasty poet Yuan Zhi once described the richness of the Hexi region as follows:

I heard that in the past, Xiliangzhou was populated with people.

The wine is ripe and happy, and the red and bright green flags are vermilion.

From ancient times to the present, the strategic location of the Hexi region has been particularly important, and it is a battleground for soldiers. Since the time of the Western Han Dynasty, the Central Plains Dynasty has attached great importance to the land of Hexi.

In the second year of Yuanzhan (121 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent the hussar general Huo Qubing to attack Hexi three times, launching the famous "Battle of Hexi". Huo Qubing made three expeditions to Hexi, eliminated and surrendered more than 100,000 people from the Hun evil king of Hexi and the Hutu king, and recovered the land of Hexi from the Xiongnu.

The victory of the three "Hexi Battles" created very good conditions for the Han army to inflict heavy losses on the main forces of the Xiongnu Shan Yu and Zuo Xian Wang in the "Battle of Mobei" in the future. After the "Battle of Hexi", Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty based on this, set up four counties of Wuwei, Jiuquan, Zhangye and Dunhuang in the local area, which is the famous "Four Counties of Hexi" in history.

For the land west of Hexi, where the strategic location is so important, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan also looks through the autumn water. If Hexi can be incorporated into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, it can not only allow the Tang Dynasty to gain the merit of expanding its territory, but also allow the Tang Dynasty to have a vast rear. In addition, Hexi is rich in military horses and good horses, and if the Tang Dynasty recovers Hexi. Then, in the future war of unification, it will inevitably be possible to provide a large number of high-quality war horses for the officers and men of the Tang Army.

Therefore, soon after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan targeted the vast and fertile land of Hexi and began to formulate a battle plan to recover Hexi. However, if the Tang Dynasty wanted to recover Hexi, it was bound to have a fierce competition with the Li Rail regime in Hexi. As a result, the contest between Li Tang and Liangguo in Hexi kicked off. So, how did the Li Tang Dynasty and the Liangguo regime established by Li Liang launch a wonderful and fierce battle for Hexi?

First of all, it is necessary to introduce who is the founder of the regime of Hexi Liangguo, Li Rail? The so-called times create heroes, and the chaotic times at the end of the Sui Dynasty have created many heroes and heroes. Li Mi, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, Xue Ju, and Xiao Mo are all heroes of troubled times created in this era. Although, some of them were short-lived, leaving only a momentary brilliance. However, they have achieved a lot of hegemony after all.

And Li Liang is also a hero of troubled times created in this era. So, as a member of the late Sui Dynasty, what is so special about Li Rail? Why can Li Liang occupy the Hexi region, where the soldiers must fight, and occupy a place in the chaotic times at the end of the Sui Dynasty?

Like Xue Ju, the overlord of the Western Qin, Li Liang was also a northwestern overlord in the troubled times of the late Sui Dynasty. Xue Ju rose in Longxi, and the Western Qin Iron Cavalry swept through Longxi; Li Liang started in Hexi, and the road is blue, and he collects all the land in Hexi. Therefore, Li Liang and Xue Ju are the two heroes who rose in the northwest at the end of the Sui Dynasty.

Similarly, Li Liang's rise to prominence was the same as that of most reckless heroes at the end of the Sui Dynasty. From the end of the micro, seize the opportunity in the troubled times, take advantage of the situation, raise your arms, and gather responders. In the end, Li Liang relied on his own strength to encompass the land of Hexi and became a veritable overlord of Hexi.

Li Rail, the word is a native of Wuwei, Hexi, and the historical records say that he is "a native of Guzang, Liangzhou". Therefore, Li Liang is a native of Hexi. Li Liang was born in a wealthy family since he was a child, and his family was relatively wealthy and wealthy. However, in Li Liang's body, there is no habit of a rich child at all. According to the record of "New Tang Dynasty Book: The Biography of Li Rail":

A little knowledge of books, there is wisdom and argument. The family is rich and strong, and it is easy to make people anxious, and the township party calls it.

The meaning of this passage is that when Li Liang was young, he read some books, and he was quite talented in intellectual argumentation and eloquence. In addition, his family is a well-known rich family in the local area, but Li Liang is not a miserly miser. He was often a philanthropist, a benevolent man, and a relief to the poor. Therefore, Li Liang's reputation among the villagers is not bad.

Speaking of which, Li Liang's original identity was quite similar to Xue Ju, both of whom were soldiers from the army. In the last years of the Great Cause, Li Liang served as the Sima of Wuwei Yingyang Mansion of the Sui Dynasty, just an ordinary middle and low-level officer. However, Li Liang was clear about the general trend of the world at that time. He understood that the Sui Dynasty was now in turmoil, the building was about to fall, and wolf smoke was everywhere. In such a troubled era, Li Liang, who has great ambitions, naturally has an ambition to seek hegemony. He wants to take advantage of the chaos in the world, wait for the opportunity, rise from the ground, and achieve a great cause.

Finally, the opportunity that Li Liang was waiting for came. In July of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Xue Ju, Xue Rengao and his son rose up in Jincheng County and seized the military and political power of Jincheng County without blood. Li Liang understood that with Xue Ju's ability, he would inevitably sweep through Longxi in a very short period of time. Once Xue Ju occupies Longxi, the target of the Western Qin overlord's next attack must be the Hexi region bordering Longxi.

In the face of the rising Xue Ju father and son, Li Liang, who has been entrenched in Hexi, also began to fight Xiao Jiujiu at this time. Xue Ju sat big, and the West Qin Iron Cavalry swept through Longxi, unstoppable. At this time, Li Liang also had to plan ahead. Not to mention plotting for hegemony, at the very least, when Xue Ju attacked Hexi, he could at least have the ability to protect himself. Not long after Xue raised Jincheng County and attacked Longxi, Li Liang wanted to set off a storm in Hexi.

So, Li Liang and Cao Zhen, Guan Jin, Liang Shuo, Li Yun, and An Xiuren from the same county, conspired and discussed together to analyze the current situation:

Xue Ju is brutal and will come to harass, and the county officials are cowardly and have no way to resist it. Today, it is advisable to work together to protect the right side of the river, and to observe the affairs of the world, how can you tie up your hands and scatter your wives! (The Book of the Old Tang Dynasty: The Biography of Li Rail)

In response to Li Liang's proposal, the five people present unanimously agreed and began to plot the matter of raising troops to revolt in Hexi. It's just that since you want to raise troops, you must have a leader. Later, during the "Jiangdu Mutiny", Xiaoguo's generals Sima Dejiao, Pei Qiantong and others were promoted to the Fool Yu Culture and as the leader, which caused the 100,000 Xiaoguo army to finally fall under the attack of Li Mi and Dou Jiande.

Therefore, it is important to choose leaders who are righteous and uplifting. However, at this time, these township parties suddenly gave in and excused each other. Either they say that they are not qualified, or they say that they are not talented enough, anyway, they are pushing around. In the end, it was Cao Zhen, one of these five people, who cited the proverb that "Li is the king" that circulated in the society at that time, and strongly recommended Li Liang to serve as the leader of the Hexi army:

It is often heard that "Li is the king". Isn't it the destiny of heaven that this track is in the scheme?

What is Latitude? In fact, it is a combination of the book of words and the book of weft. It is a hidden word made up by Confucianism in the Qin and Han dynasties to foreshadow good fortune and evil. Later, the Han folk developed into temples or Taoist temples, asking for divination, and gradually it was more simplified to asking for signs. Wei is a kind of book derived from the Confucian scriptures attached to the Han Dynasty. It can be said that the doctrine of prophecy is a kind of political prophecy that predicts the future, or it is a kind of superstition.

Many emperors in ancient Chinese history believed in the doctrine of Wei Wei. Among them, the most typical is the founding emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty - Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty. Liu Xiu himself promoted the doctrine of Wei Wei very much, and in the process of his rebellion against recklessness to dominating the world, many earth-shattering major events were completed with the help of Wei Wei.

In June of the first three years (25 years), Liu Xiu proclaimed himself emperor in Hebei, changed the yuan to "Jianwu", and established the Eastern Han Dynasty. Liu Xiu's title of emperor in Hebei is closely related to Wei Wei. At that time, many civil ministers and military generals under Liu Xiu persuaded Liu Xiu to break away from the original regime and claim the title of Emperor Hebei. However, Liu Xiu never agreed.

However, at this time, Liu Xiu's classmate and friend Jiang Hua in his early years in Taixue came all the way from Guanzhong to present a mysterious "Red Fu Fu". It was precisely because of this "Red Fu Fu" that Liu Xiu finally made up his mind to become the emperor. I saw that this "Red Fu Fu" has the following proverbs written on it:

Liu Xiu's troops couldn't catch him, and the four Yi gathered in Longdouye, and the fire was the main thing on the occasion of April and Seven.

Cao Zhen put forward the doctrine of Wei Wei at this time, which undoubtedly provided a powerful weapon of public opinion for Hexi to raise troops. If there is no justifiable reason, then raising troops is a complete rebellion. Moreover, looking at the development of ancient Chinese history, whenever there is a critical moment of regime change and dynasty change, there will always be a proverb. Therefore, Cao Zhen's words can be regarded as a great help to Li Liang.

In fact, as early as a few years ago, in the eleventh year of the Great Cause (615), there was a proverb circulating in the society at that time, "Li should be the son of heaven". For this reason, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty specially launched a killing spree, killing dozens of Li clan relatives headed by Li Hun and Li Min in a row, and concocted an unjust case that shocked the government and the opposition.

Therefore, Cao Zhen skillfully used the prophecy of "Li is the king", thinking that among the six people who plotted to raise troops, only Li Liang was surnamed Li, isn't this the will of heaven? Therefore, Cao Zhen strongly promoted Li Rail. Everyone felt that Cao Zhen was reasonable, so they immediately visited Li Rail and worshiped Li Rail. In this way, Li Liang became the supreme leader of Hexi's army.

Next, Li Liang will concretely implement his plan to raise troops. At the beginning, Xue Ju started an incident in Jincheng County, and the soldiers were bloodless, seized the military and political power of Jincheng County, and used it as a base to sweep Longxi. Li Liang also wanted to follow Xue Ju's example, surrender the army without a fight, and seize the power of Wuwei County.

Li Liang's position at that time was Sima of Wuwei Yingyang Mansion, although the grade was not high, but after all, he had some real power. So, Li Liang asked An Xiuren, one of the six, to gather the Hu people in various local tribes; Li Liang himself is responsible for gathering many heroes and heroes among the people, and everything is ready, only the east wind is owed.

After everything was ready, Li Liang decided to raise troops overnight, led by Hu soldiers in his own army. Li Liang quickly occupied the yamen of various official offices in Wuwei County, and arrested the military and political dignitaries of Wuwei County in the Sui Dynasty, such as Hu Benlang General Xie Tongshi, Wuwei County Cheng Wei Shizheng and others. After taking control of the entire Wuwei County, Li Liang proclaimed himself the King of Hexi Daliang to the outside world, set up official subordinates, and all the rules and regulations were the same as during the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui. This was the basic prototype of the regime of the Liangguo State in Hexi at the end of the Sui Dynasty.

Just like Xue raised Jincheng County, Li Lianghexi raised troops and seized the military and political power of Wuwei County, which also adopted a bloodless and bloodless method. After the occupation of Wuwei County, how to deal with the Sui Dynasty officials in the original city became a big problem. The buddies and brothers who followed Li Liang into trouble, such as Guan Jin and others, suggested that Li Liang kill all the Sui Dynasty officials in Guangcheng and divide their property.

However, Li Liang is different from ordinary reckless warlords, this person is still relatively kind-hearted. He felt that if he had just occupied Wuwei County, he would go on a killing spree and divide up his property, which would greatly lose the support of the people. Li Liang believes that the top priority at the moment is to stabilize the situation in Hexi as soon as possible:

When everyone is forced to think that the Lord is the Lord, let him give his commands. Today's volunteers save the people, but kill people to get goods, how will this group of thieves help! (Information Governance Guide)

Therefore, after Li Liang seized Wuwei County, he did not wantonly kill the officials of the Sui Dynasty, nor did he divide and plunder their property. Moreover, Li Liang also entrusted some of the original Sui Dynasty officials with important tasks. For example, Li Liang appointed the former Sui Dynasty Hu Benlang as the Taifu Qing, and the Wuwei County Cheng Wei Shizheng as the Taifu Qing.

After Li Liang raised his troops, his influence in Hexi gradually expanded. So, how big is his power? At that time, a tribal leader of the Western Turks, Que Dushe, who was the younger brother of the Western Turkic Hosa Khan, occupied the Huiningchuan River in Hexi. At this moment, there were more than 2,000 Western Turkic cavalry under the command of Que Dushe, who called themselves Que Khan, and came to join Li Rail. With the annexation of Que Dushe, Li Liang had more than 2,000 brave and warlike Western Turkic cavalry, and his military strength was further enhanced.

Soon after Li Liang raised troops in Hexi and expanded his power, in July of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Xue Ju, the overlord of Western Qin, led the Western Qin iron cavalry and occupied the entire Longxi region. After that, Xue Ju officially proclaimed himself emperor in Jincheng County (present-day Lanzhou, Gansu) and established the Western Qin regime. Soon, Xue Rengao led his army to conquer Qinzhou (now Tianshui, Gansu), and Xue Ju moved the capital from Jincheng County to Tianshui. It can be said that the Western Qin regime of the Xue family and his son has dominated Longxi and has a great tendency to compete in the world.

After Xue Ju occupied Longxi and officially became emperor, his gaze began to look outward. Soon, the eyes of the northwest hero were locked on Li Rail, who was entrenched in Hexi. Xue Ju found that while he was fighting a bloody battle with the Sui army in Longxi, Li Liang was getting bigger and bigger in Hexi, and his military strength was getting stronger and stronger.

Longxi and Hexi are both located in northwest China, and their strategic locations are very important. Now, Xue Ju occupies Longxi, and Li Liang sits in Hexi, becoming two emerging separatist forces in the northwest region. On the side of the couch, you will not allow others to snore. Xue Ju and Li Liang both understood that there would eventually be a battle between Longxi and Hexi.

Therefore, after Xue Ju swept away Longxi, the next step was to use troops against Li Liang in Hexi. However, Li Liang is not a soft persimmon, and he has already prepared for the imminent move of Western Qin Xueju. At the beginning, Li Liang raised troops in Hexi for this day. What's more, Li Liang's military strength should not be underestimated, and a large number of Hexi Hu soldiers were recruited under his command, and there were even fierce Western Turkic cavalry. In terms of combat strength, Li Liang's Hexi Army may not lose to the Western Qin Iron Cavalry of Xue's father and son. The contest between the two northwest hegemons is inevitable.

In the end, it was Xue Ju who took the initiative to attack. Soon after moving the capital to Tianshui, Xue Ju sent his young son, Xue Renyue, the king of Jin, to lead the Western Qin army of his headquarters and go straight to the mouth of the sword. However, when he marched to Hechi County, he was blocked by Xiao Yu, the Taishou stationed in Hechi County, and Xue Renyue was forced to lead his troops to retreat.

Xue Renyue marched into Hexi and ended in failure. So, Xue Ju found another way and sent another general, Chang Zhongxing, to lead a group of soldiers and horses to cross the Yellow River and attack Li Rail in Hexi. Li Rail is not a vegetarian, in the face of the Western Qin invasion, Li Rail sent one of the important members of the original uprising, now Li Yun, the main general of the Hexi Liang State, to lead a part of the Hexi army to resist the attack of the Western Qin army.

As a result, Li Yun and Chang Zhongxing fought against Yu Changsong, and the Hexi army won a great victory, beheading 2,000 people and taking many prisoners. Chang Zhongxing's army was almost completely annihilated, and the Western Qin army suffered a major defeat. After defeating the Western Qin army, Li Yun captured many Western Qin soldiers, how to deal with these prisoners of war? Li Yun suggested that Li Liang, the king of Liang, in order to destroy the combat power of the Western Qin army and play a deterrent role, should all these Western Qin prisoners of war be killed:

Now we are trying our best to overcome, capture the thieves, and indulge in them, and make the enemy richer, it is better to do everything in the pit. (The Book of the Old Tang Dynasty: The Biography of Li Rail)

Since ancient times, killing and surrendering has been an evil thing that has been pointed out by thousands of people. During the Warring States Period, the famous general of the Qin State Bai Qi, together with Lian Po, Li Mu, and Wang Jian, was called the "Four Famous Generals of the Warring States". Moreover, Bai Qi ranked first among the "Four Famous Generals of the Warring States", and at the same time ranked among the ten philosophers of Wumiao.

Bai Qi has made outstanding achievements in his life and won every battle. In the Battle of Yique, Bai Qi skillfully broke the Wei and Han coalition forces and annihilated 240,000 Wei and Han coalition troops; Attack Chu on a large scale and attack Yingdu, the capital of Chu State; The Battle of Changping severely damaged the main force of the 400,000 Zhao army.

Bai Qi served as the chief general of the Qin army, and for more than 30 years, he conquered more than 70 cities, made great achievements for the unification of the six countries of Qin, and made indelible contributions.

However, it is such a generation of famous generals whose military exploits are enough to shine in the annals of history, but he has been criticized by later historians, and even left behind the infamy of "human slaughter".

It turned out that in the "Battle of Changping", 400,000 Zhao troops surrendered to Baiqi when they ran out of food. Unexpectedly, after the surrender of the Zhao army, Bai Qi deceived and killed all the 400,000 Zhao soldiers.

In the Battle of Changping, the number of Zhao troops captured and killed by Bai Qi totaled 450,000. Since then, Zhao Guo's vitality has been greatly injured and has collapsed. Because Bai Qikeng killed Zhao for 400,000, he was infamous through the ages. Many historians in later generations criticized him, for example, the Eastern Han Dynasty historian Ban Gu criticized Bai Qi in the "Hanshu Criminal Law Chronicle":

If Qin is defeated by the fourth, according to the obstruction of the rivers and mountains, he appoints the disciples of Bai Qi and Wang Jian Jackals to fight their minions and hunt the six countries to merge the world. Extremely vicious and deceitful, the people are not attached, the soldiers are also enemies, and they are the enemy's enemies. Sun, Wu, Shang, and Bai were all killed in front, and the country perished in the back. The trend of retribution is similar to each other, and its way is clear.

Therefore, of course, Li Liang understands that killing and surrendering is a brutal act that loses his conscience. Although, in the first battle of Changsong, the Hexi army defeated the Western Qin army and won a lot. However, he also knew that the Xue father and son had been in Longxi for many years, and the Western Qin Iron Cavalry was born brave, and it was impossible for a battle of Changsong to greatly damage its vitality.

On the contrary, if the Western Qin prisoners of war were tortured and killed after the war, it might arouse the common hatred of the entire Western Qin army. The next time Xue Ju counterattacks, the Hexi Army may be difficult to parry. Therefore, Li Liang judged the situation and finally decided to release and repatriate these Western Qin prisoners of war, and he said to Li Yun like this:

Otherwise. If there is a destiny and self-capture, this generation of soldiers will eventually be owned by me. If it doesn't work out, what's the benefit? (The Book of the Old Tang Dynasty: The Biography of Li Rail)

From this passage, it can be seen that Li Liang has two personalities, the first character is generous; The second type of character is ambitious.

Let's take a look at generosity first, which is the main characteristic of Li Rail. For example, when Li Liang raised troops in Wuwei County, after the soldiers seized the power of Wuwei County without blood, someone once persuaded him to kill all the Sui Dynasty officials in the city and divide their property. However, out of the need to stabilize the situation in Hexi, Li Liang did not massacre or plunder property on a large scale. On the contrary, Li Liang also entrusted some of the original Sui Dynasty officials with important tasks.

And this time, on the issue of treating Western Qin prisoners of war, Li Liang still did not kill innocents indiscriminately. Because Li Liang understands that he is now in a critical stage of entrepreneurship, if he incurs a strong enemy for himself because of his temporary willfulness, such an approach is obviously not wise enough.

Let's take a look at the ambitions. This is the unanimous characteristic of the heroes at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and Li Liang is not alone. Li Mi is like this, Wang Shichong is like this, and Tang Gaozu Li Yuan is also like this. In the turbulent times at the end of the Sui Dynasty, all the separatists with great ambitions had the ambition to seize the highest power. Of course, Li Rail is no exception.

From Li Liang's words, "If there is a mandate of heaven, capture its master, this generation of soldiers, I will eventually have it", it is not difficult to see that he has Xue Ju's Western Qin regime as his own bag. One day, if he destroys Western Qin, the army and soldiers of Western Qin will be his own.

Defeating the Western Qin army was the peak of Li Liang's life and career. The Western Qin army has always been fierce and famous all over the world. The reason why Xue Ju and Xue Rengao's father and son were able to sweep through Longxi and establish the Western Qin regime in a very short period of time; Relying on the strong combat power of his Longxi Iron Cavalry. However, Li Liang was able to defeat the Western Qin army, which shows that his military strength should not be underestimated.

After defeating the Western Qin army in the Battle of Changsong, Li Liang's military strength began to become stronger and stronger. Next, Li Liang wanted to take advantage of the victory and sweep away Hexi in one fell swoop. Therefore, not long after defeating Xue Ju, Li Liang led the Hexi army to fight in Hexi, and successively captured the four counties of Zhangye, Dunhuang, Xiping, and Caohan, plus the Wuwei County he occupied, all of which had the land of the five counties of Hexi. In this way, the entire Hexi region fell into the hands of Li Liang.

Occupying the five counties of Hexi, Li Rail is equivalent to completely owning the land of Hexi. The current Li Rail fully possesses the specifications and capital to establish political power. In fact, after capturing the five counties of Hexi, Li Liang had a new plan, he wanted to be the emperor, and he wanted to formally establish power.

The time came to the first year of Wude (618), and in this year, the situation in the world changed abruptly. Since the "Jiangdu Mutiny" and the killing of Emperor Yang of Sui, the general situation of the world at the end of the Sui Dynasty has undergone sudden changes, and the separatist forces in various places have called the emperor one after another. In April, Xiao Mo was proclaimed emperor in Gangneung; In May, Li Yuan proclaimed himself emperor in Chang'an, established the Yuan "Wude", and the Tang Dynasty was formally established; Wang Shichong supported Yang Tong, the king of Yue, as the emperor in Luoyang, and was the "emperor of Tai".

In the face of the heroes from all over the country successively claiming to be kings and emperors, Li Liang, the king of Liang, who is in Hexi, is naturally not willing to be left behind. Today, Li Liang's power is no longer what it used to be. He is no longer the little-known Sima of Yingyang Mansion in the past, but the overlord of Hexi who splits the soil and supports the army, owns the vast fertile land of the five counties of Hexi, and has the brave and warlike Hexi army under his command, as well as the attached Western Turkic cavalry. Moreover, not long ago, in the battle of Changsong, he defeated the Western Qin army, so his prestige was greatly enhanced. Under such circumstances, Li Liang decided to officially proclaim himself emperor.

Therefore, in November of the first year of Wude (618), Li Liang established himself as the emperor, named the country "Liang", and changed the year name to "Anle", which was the Liangguo regime entrenched in the Hexi region at the end of the Sui and early Tang Dynasties. Li Liang proclaimed himself emperor in Hexi, and after establishing the Liang Kingdom, he canonized his son Li Boyu as the crown prince and appointed Changshi Cao Zhen as the left servant of Shangshu. Soon, Li Liang sent troops on a large scale and captured Hezhou, further expanding the territory of Hexi Liangguo.

The year when Li Liang became emperor was November of the first year of Wude (618). In November of this year, the military situation in the northwest region underwent tremendous changes. In November of the first year of Wude (618), the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Western Qin Dynasty ended perfectly. In November of this year, Li Shimin, the king of Qin, led the elite of the Tang army, and Chen soldiers were in the shallow water plain, completely annihilating the main force of the Western Qin army, and the Qin lord Xue Rengao surrendered. At this point, the Western Qin Dynasty was destroyed, and the Longxi region was incorporated into the territory of the Li Tang Dynasty.

With the demise of Western Qin, the two major separatist forces originally in the northwest region, Western Qin and Liangguo, were left with only the Li Liang regime of Liangguo entrenched in Hexi. Because Li Shimin, the king of Qin, successfully commanded the Battle of Qianshuiyuan, destroyed the Western Qin regime in one fell swoop, and included Longxi in the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, the Tang Dynasty's strong enemy in the northwest region was only Li Liang's Liang State. Therefore, the contest between the Tang Dynasty and the Liang Kingdom was only a matter of time.

In fact, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan has long been eyeing the "fat meat" of Hexi. Because of the special geographical location of Hexi, seizing the land of Hexi can not only provide the Tang Dynasty with a rich rear and supply materials in the Guanzhong region; Moreover, Hexi is rich in high-quality military horses, and seizing important places in Hexi can also provide a large number of military horses for the Tang army officers and soldiers, and at the same time, it can also develop the horse administration of the Tang Dynasty very well.

If you are not afraid of thieves stealing, you are afraid of thieves. Since Li Yuan is eyeing Hexi, it is imperative to use troops against Li Liang in Hexi. The problem is that the strength of the Tang Dynasty and the Liang Kingdom is comparable. Li Tang's sphere of influence includes Hedong, Guanzhong, and Longxi. Moreover, after experiencing various military operations from Jinyang, conquering Chang'an, pacifying Western Qin, and recovering Longxi, the Tang Army has become an iron-blooded army that has experienced a hundred battles. At the same time, the supreme military commander of the Tang Army, Li Shimin, the King of Qin, is the world-famous god of war and the "military soul" of the Tang Dynasty.

However, Li Liang's strength is not weak. Since Li Liang raised his troops, he fought bloody battles all the way, defeated the Western Qin army, occupied the five counties of Hexi, and finally established the Liangguo regime. In terms of military strength, Li Liang's Hexi Army was not inferior to the Tang Army in any way. If we really want to fight, the outcome is not yet known.

Li Tang and Liang Guo, the two sides are evenly matched, if they want to fight hard, they will definitely kill 1,000 enemies and lose 800 themselves. Tang Gaozu Li Yuan certainly knew Li Liang's strength, so he would not do such a loss-making transaction. Regarding the Hexi issue, Li Yuan's initial strategy was to outwit him.

At first, Li Yuan's assumption was to adopt a soft policy towards Li Liang in Hexi, and did not take direct military action. The so-called Huairou policy, Li Yuan hoped to envelop and show favor to Li Rail as much as possible, so that Li Rail finally took the initiative to join the Tang Dynasty and offer the land of Hexi.

In fact, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan's soft policy. The original intention was not to seize the land west of the river, but to fully serve the military posture of the Li Tang dynasty in order to deal with the war between the Tang dynasty and the Western Qin. According to the records of the "Zizhi Tongjian", Li Yuan's intentions were as follows:

Shang wanted to work with Li Liang to plan Qin and Long, send an envoy to Liangzhou, appease him, and write with him, saying that he was a younger brother.

Long before Li Liang became emperor, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan had already begun to implement the Huairou policy against Li Liang in Hexi. In August of the first year of Wude (618), the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Western Qin Dynasty was in full swing, and the Tang army had just experienced the defeat of the shallow water plain, and the morale was low and the army was depressed. On the other hand, on the Western Qin side, after the Xue father and son severely damaged the Tang army in the shallow water plain, they pressed forward step by step, preparing to take advantage of the victory and take Chang'an directly.

The newly-born Tang Dynasty was facing the test of life and death at this time, and encountered the biggest military crisis since the founding of the People's Republic of China. If the Western Qin army advances all the way and breaks through the Tongguan defense line. At that time, the Tang Dynasty, which was founded less than a year ago, will collapse in an instant.

The Western Qin army was aggressive, and the life of the Li Tang Dynasty hung by a thread. In the face of the severe war in the northwest, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan naturally had to make corresponding arrangements. On the one hand, all units of the Tang army were strictly ordered to make every effort to block Xue Rengao's Western Qin army. At the same time, he also let Li Shimin, the king of Qin, lead the troops for the second time, march into Gaozhun, and resist Xue Rengao; On the other hand, Li Yuan did not forget to seek foreign aid, and the two ministers jointly dragged down the Western Qin army.

Li Yuan selected this foreign aid object as Li Liang in Hexi. Why an alliance with Li Rail? Tang Gaozu Li Yuan mainly had two considerations.

First, Hexi has a special geographical location and borders Longxi. If Li Liang could send troops from Hexi and attack from behind Xue Rengao, perhaps he could relieve the military pressure of Li Shimin, the king of Qin, and the Tang army on the frontal battlefield; Second, Li Liang and Xue's father and son have always had grudges. In the battle of Changsong, the two sides were tied and their faces were torn. Once Western Qin defeated Li Tang, Xue Rengao would definitely turn around and attack Hexi.

Whether it is considering the topographical advantages of Hexi, or Li Liang's calculation of his own interests. Tang Gaozu Li Yuan believed that Li Liang might agree to an alliance with the Tang Dynasty. After making up his mind, Li Yuan sent an envoy to Liangzhou to get in touch with Li Liang. In addition, Li Tang's envoys also brought a handwritten letter from Tang Gaozu Li Yuan. In order to win over Li Rail, Li Yuan actually called Li Rail his cousin in a letter to Li Rail.

After Li Liang received Tang Gaozu's letter, he was immediately flattered when he saw Gaozu calling himself a cousin. Why? You must know that Li Yuan was born in the famous "Guanlong Aristocratic Group", and his grandfather Li Hu was one of the "Eight Pillar Kingdoms" of the Western Wei Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Not only that, Li Yuan himself was also the cousin of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty and the supreme military and political head of the Sui Dynasty in Shanxi. It can be said that Li Yuan is a member of the aristocracy of the Eight Classics.

On the other hand, Li Rail, before he raised troops in Hexi, he was just an ordinary Sima of Yingyang Mansion. Although, when Li Liang was young, his family was relatively wealthy. However, in terms of political background, Li Liang cannot be compared with Li Yuan at all. However, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan recognized Li Liang as his cousin in his letters. For Li Liang, climbing to relatives with the emperor of the Tang Dynasty who was born in the aristocracy is definitely a high climb. Therefore, after receiving Li Yuan's letter, Li Liang was overjoyed.

Li Yuan took the initiative to show favor to Hexi, and in order to show that he was still courteous, Li Liang naturally had to respond. Therefore, Li Liang sent his brother Li Mao to Chang'an to make a pilgrimage to meet Tang Gaozu Li Yuan. Li Yuan saw that Li Liang had sent his younger brother to Chang'an, and felt that there was still hope for this matter.

Therefore, Li Yuan conferred the post of General Li Mao; At the same time, he also ordered Honglu Shaoqing Zhang Qiande to go to Hexi with the imperial court book in hand, canonize Li Liang as the governor of Liangzhou and the king of Liang, and give Yu Bao a piece of advocacy, so that he could recognize the legitimate status of the Tang Dynasty. Such a practice can facilitate the Tang Dynasty to conquer Hexi.

From the above exchanges, it can be seen that the diplomatic relations between the Tang Dynasty and Li Liang are relatively harmonious. According to the current state, the Tang Dynasty's peaceful reception of Hexi should not be a problem. However, things are far from being as simple as they seem. In the end, the relationship between Li Tang and Liangguo broke down, and he even did not hesitate to fight each other. Tang Gaozu Li Yuan finally decided to abandon the peaceful Huairou policy and take tough military measures.

Why did Li Yuan have such a earth-shaking change? The reason is very simple, Li Liang doesn't know what to do. Since defeating Western Qin and occupying the five counties of Hexi, Li Liang has become invincible, arrogant, and confused in several major matters. Especially in handling diplomatic relations with Li Tang, Li Liang made a fatal diplomatic mistake, which eventually led to the rupture of diplomatic relations between Liang Guo and Li Tang, which brought disaster to himself.

It turned out that Li Liang failed to handle diplomatic relations with the Li Tang Dynasty. Not only that, but Li Liang completely angered Tang Gaozu Li Yuan because of one of his stupid actions. Because of Li Liang's unwise move, the Li Tang Dynasty finally lost patience with him, so that they met each other in battle.

In order to show his friendship with the Tang Dynasty, Li Liang took the initiative to send his younger brother Li Mao to Chang'an to worship Tang Gaozu Li Yuan. Therefore, Li Yuan tried his best to encircle Li Rail, awarded Li Mao the post of general, and canonized Li Liang as the king of Liang and the governor of Liangzhou. Li Yuan's intention in this move is very obvious. As long as Li Liang accepted the canonization of the Tang Dynasty, then Hexi naturally became a vassal of the Tang Dynasty. The problem is that Li Yuan thinks like this, and Li Liang doesn't think like this.

At the same time that Li Yuan canonized Li Liang as the king of Liang and the governor of Liangzhou, Li Liang had officially proclaimed himself emperor in Hexi. Therefore, when he received the book from the Tang Dynasty, Li Liang began to hesitate whether he should accept the canonization of the Tang Dynasty. So, Li Liang convened the ministers to discuss the matter:

Today, I have received the picture from my brother, according to Jingyi, the mandate of heaven can be known, a surname is not suitable for competition, and now I will go to the emperor to receive the book? (The Book of the Old Tang Dynasty: The Biography of Li Rail)

It can be seen that Li Liang's first idea was to go to the emperor's title, accept the canonization of the Tang Dynasty, and claim the title of vassal to Li Tang. However, as soon as Li Liang finished speaking, the strategist Cao Zhen immediately objected. Cao Zhen's opinion is that the Sui Dynasty has fallen, the world is in chaos, and everyone has the qualifications to be the emperor and build the country. Nowadays, the Tang Dynasty is the emperor in Guanzhong, and we are called the emperor in Hexi, the two are irrelevant, and the well water does not violate the river water, so why do you need to call it a vassal:

Sui lost the world, heroes competed, called the king and emperor, and divided the Dingzhi. Tang Guo is based in Guanzhong, Da Liang is on the right side of the river, and he is already the Son of Heaven, so why should he be knighted? If you want to make a big thing a small thing, you should follow the story of Xiao Cha and call yourself Emperor Liang and call yourself a minister to Zhou. (The Book of the Old Tang Dynasty: The Biography of Li Rail)

After listening to Cao Zhen's suggestion, Li Liang was quite moved, so he adopted Cao Zhen's opinion and did not accept the canonization of the Tang Dynasty. However, Li Liang's next move was a big mistake. Li Liang did not accept the canonization of the Tang Dynasty and established himself as the emperor, at least on the surface, he had to pretend, even if it was perfunctory to the Tang Dynasty for the time being. However, Li Liang didn't even want to hide it, he didn't want to pretend to it, and he behaved too explicitly, which finally completely angered Tang Gaozu Li Yuan.

Didn't Tang Gaozu Li Yuan send envoys, holding books, to Liangzhou, and canonize Li Liang as the king of Liang and the governor of Liangzhou? However, at this time, Li Liang had already been proclaimed emperor, how to respond to the Tang Dynasty? Li Liang sent Shangshu Zuocheng Deng Xiao to Chang'an to present the credentials to Tang Gaozu Li Yuan.

The key issue is that if something happens, it will happen in the wording of this letter of state, and it is precisely because of the wording on the letter that the relations between the two countries have completely broken down. In his letter to Tang Gaozu, Li Liang called himself like this, "Emperor Daliang from his younger brother". When Li Yuan saw such words, he was furious and said, "I am a brother, and I am not a subordinate." So, Li Yuan immediately ordered that Deng Xiao, Li Liang's envoy, be detained in Chang'an and not let him return to Hexi.

Why would Li Yuan be so angry with such a wording? First, Li Yuan was angry that Li Liang didn't know the depths. Originally, Li Yuan called Li Rail his cousin before, but it was just to envelop Li Rail and be polite. Unexpectedly, Li Liang really treated himself as a dish, and he didn't know how many catties and taels he had. Therefore, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan felt that this Li Liang was too ignorant of the depth and too arrogant.

Second, Li Yuan was angry that Li Liang actually claimed to be the emperor. Regarding the Hexi issue, Li Yuan had his own strategy and adopted a soft policy towards Li Liang, so that he would claim to Li Tang and become a vassal of the Tang Dynasty. At that time, it will be much easier for the Tang Dynasty to solve the problem of Hexi, and perhaps Hexi will be incorporated into the territory of the Tang Dynasty without spending a single soldier.

Because of this, Li Yuan canonized Li Liang as the king of Liang and the governor of Liangzhou. However, Li Liang actually openly proclaimed himself emperor and refused the canonization of the Tang Dynasty. In this way, Li Yuan's plan to promote Hexi to claim the vassal also came to naught. Li Liang's various unwise actions made Tang Gaozu Li Yuan very annoyed. At this point, the diplomatic relations between the Tang Dynasty and the Liang State were completely broken. At the same time, Li Yuan's strategy towards Hexi also changed.

In Li Yuan's view, it is no longer possible to use peaceful means to solve the Hexi issue; Therefore, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan decided to change course, abandon peaceful means, adopt strong military means, and recover the land west of the river by force. However, Li Liang has been operating in Hexi for many years and has strong strength. Therefore, Li Yuan intends to start from within them, and then gradually disintegrate the foundation of Li Liang's rule.

In fact, at this time, Li Rail, within his ruling group, was already facing various crises. It can even be said that at this time, Li Liang has reached the point of betraying his relatives. Li Liang made two major mistakes one after another, which made this powerful Hexi overlord gradually fall into the situation of betrayal and separation.

What are the two biggest mistakes? First, kill the heroes.

Li Rail raised troops from Hexi, and later occupied Hexi step by step and established the Liang State. It can be said that without the help of these heroes, Li Liang would not have the career he has today. However, after achieving great achievements, Li Liang, like many founding emperors, waved a butcher's knife at the heroes after winning the world.

For example, Liang Shuo, one of the heroes who followed Li Liang to raise troops, became an innocent hero. Liang Shuo was one of the five people who originally followed Li Liang to raise troops. At the beginning of Li Rail's army to conquer Hexi, Liang Shuo was Li Rail's main strategist, quite resourceful and gave advice to Li Rail. After Li Liang became emperor, Liang Shuoguan was in a high position. However, Liang Shuo, who worked hard and made great achievements, could not escape the end of the rabbit and the dog cooking.

After Li Liang became emperor and established the Liang Kingdom, Liang Shuo had serious conflicts with his colleagues in the court, which led to the death of him in the end. According to the record of "The Old Tang Book: The Biography of Li Rail":

At the beginning, the beginning of the track was also, Shuo was the mastermind, very wise, and everyone was afraid of it. Shuo saw that the Hu species were prosperous, and it was Yin who advised the track to be prevented, and there was a gap with the household department Shangshu An Xiuren.

As we all know, Li Rail rose in Hexi. When he first conquered Hexi, most of the soldiers of the Hexi Army under him were local Hu people in Hexi. In addition, Li Liang even surrendered the brave and warlike Western Turkic cavalry. In the process of Li Rail's conquest of Hexi, this group of Hu soldiers made great achievements for Li Rail. After Li Liang became emperor, these Hu people naturally became officials and became knights, and they held important positions in the Liangguo regime.

However, Liang Shuo, as an important member of Li Liang's regime, had a deep apprehension. Liang Shuo's worries stemmed from his distrust of Hu officials, who he always felt were unreliable. Liang Shuo believes that this group of Hu people "is not my race, and their hearts will be different", in case one day, they have different ambitions and regret it too late.

Therefore, Liang Shuo often persuaded Li Liang to be more wary of Hu people. However, after a long time, many Hu officials in the DPRK and China became dissatisfied with Liang Shuo. Especially one of the heroes who followed Li Liang to raise troops, Hubu Shangshu An Xiuren, he hated Liang Shuo to the core.

Unfortunately, Liang Shuo inadvertently offended Li Rail's son Li Zhongyan. It turned out that once, Li Zhongyan went to visit Liang Shuo. Unexpectedly, Liang Shuo never got up to salute Li Zhongyan in return. Liang Shuo's move made Li Zhongyan suddenly feel humiliated, he believes that Liang Shuo is relying on the old and selling the old, and does not take himself seriously. Therefore, Li Zhongyan is also dissatisfied with Liang Shuo.

An Xiuren saw that Liang Shuo had too many enemies now, and it was the best time to bring him down. As a result, An Xiuren colluded with Li Zhongyan, and the two of them colluded, often slandering Liang Shuo in front of Li Liang, framing Liang Shuo for plotting misdeeds and intending to rebel. As a result, Li Liang actually believed it to be true, and without even investigating, he directly sent someone to Liang Shuo's mansion with poisoned wine and killed Liang Shuo.

Liang Shuo's death became the dividing point between the prosperity and decline of Li Liang's regime. As everyone knows, Liang Shuo was an important adviser to Li Liang and made great contributions to the establishment of the Liang regime. Now, Li Liang listened to slander, unjustly killed Liang Shuo, and killed him when he said he would, without even blinking his eyes.

Li Liang's approach made the Pao Ze brothers, who had followed him to fight the world, chill their hearts. They felt that since Li Liang became the emperor, this big brother who had fought side by side with them began to become unkind and cold-blooded. After the death of Liang Shuo, everyone within the Li Rail regime was in danger, and gradually drifted away from morality and fell apart.

Second, it is not sympathetic to the people's strength.

If it is said that the unprovoked killing of the founding heroes only made the ruling group dissatisfied with Li Liang; Then, not caring for the people's strength and not cherishing the people made the ordinary people dissatisfied with him. The dissatisfaction of the people finally made Li Liang, the overlord of Hexi, who had been a great response, fall into the situation of being alone.

At that time, a very serious famine broke out in the Hexi region, starvation was everywhere, and there was even a tragedy of cannibalism. In the face of a serious natural disaster in the country, Li Liang immediately convened his ministers to discuss. Originally, Li Liang's plan was to prepare to scatter his family wealth and help the hungry. However, a cursory calculation shows that this is not enough. So, Li Liang wanted to open the official warehouse again, open the warehouse to release grain, and help the victims. Regarding Li Liang's suggestion, Shangshu Zuo servant shot Cao Zhen and others immediately agreed:

The country is people-oriented, it is not established, the country will be in danger, it is a pity for this cangsu, and sit back and watch the death of the people? (The Book of the Old Tang Dynasty: The Biography of Li Rail)

Everything was supposed to be in order, but someone was obstructing it. Who? Xie Tongshi, a former minister of the Sui Dynasty. At the beginning, when Li Liang raised troops in Wuwei County, he captured Wuwei County bloodlessly. After taking control of the power, Li Liang not only did not kill the former ministers of the Sui Dynasty, such as Xie Tongshi and Wei Shizheng, but entrusted them with important tasks. For example, Xie Tongshi was appointed as the Taifu Secretary and Wei Shizheng was appointed as the Taifu Secretary.

It can be said that Li Liang is benevolent and righteous to these Sui Dynasty vassals. However, these Sui Dynasty ministers were not grateful and had always been resentful of Li Liang. Therefore, after Xie Tongshi and others were entrusted with important tasks, they often formed parties and factions in the DPRK and China, formed gangs, squeezed out meritorious generals, and were bent on subverting Li Liang's Liangguo regime. Therefore, when Cao Zhen and others put forward the proposal of opening a warehouse and releasing grain, Master Xie immediately jumped out and contradicted Cao Zhen:

The hungry of the people are weak, and the brave and strong will not be sleepy, and the country must be prepared, how can it be scattered for the weak and the weak? It is not a national plan to shoot and please people.

Cao Zhen and Xie Tongshi argued, and the two of them got into a fight. However, the final decision is still with Li Rail, after all, Li Rail is the emperor and the one who has the final say. Hearing Master Xie Dao's fool like this, Li Rail's ears softened, and he actually followed Master Xie's suggestion and ordered the official warehouse to be closed. As a result, the common people complained, "Because the scholars are resentful, they want to rebel more."

Not only that, in the later period of Li Liang's reign, he also made the same mistakes as Emperor Yang of Sui, building a large number of buildings and abusing people's power. At that time, there was a witch who bewitched Li Liang and said, "God should send a jade girl down from heaven." Unexpectedly, Li Liang actually believed his nonsense, conscripted a large number of military service, and built a high platform to welcome the heavenly girl. This project consumed a lot of national, people, and financial resources, and the foundation of the rule of Hexi Liangguo was even more crumbling.

Due to Li Liang's various wrong decisions of killing heroes and not caring for the people's strength, the Liangguo of Hexi, which was established with great difficulty, fell into turmoil, and Li Liang gradually became a loner. Li Liang's wrong decision not only made Hexi fall apart, but also made the nascent Li Tang Dynasty see the hope of seizing Hexi. Tang Gaozu Li Yuan had long coveted Hexi, and now he felt that the time was ripe.

Just when Tang Gaozu Li Yuan was preparing to use troops against Hexi, someone came to Li Yuan to take the initiative to offer advice, he was An Xiuren's brother An Xinggui. At this time, An Xinggui had already entered the Tang Dynasty and was a courtier of Tang Gaozu Li Yuan. Seeing that Li Yuan had the intention of seizing Hexi, An Xinggui took the initiative to ask for help and sent an envoy to Liangzhou to appease Li Liang and recover Hexi for the Tang Dynasty. However, Li Yuan was also worried, so he asked An Xinggui:

Li Liang based on the land west of the river, even Tuyuhun, to help the Turks, raise troops to fight, is still difficult, how can it be done alone? (The Book of the Old Tang Dynasty: The Biography of Li Rail)

Regarding Li Yuan's worries, An Xinggui naturally knew it. So, he analyzed the situation to Li Yuan one by one, and explained his own strategy and discussion:

Li Liang is fierce and strong, as true as the holy decree. Now, if he is told to be obedient, and he is known to be good and evil, he will be far away from him, and he will not follow. How? Subordinate to Liangzhou, Yidai Haowang, all Turkic Shishu, not attached. The younger brother of the minister is trusted by the rails, and there are dozens of privy councillors in the office.

An Xinggui analyzed it thoroughly, and Li Yuan adopted his strategy and appointed him as a special envoy of the Tang Dynasty to send an envoy to Liangzhou to plot against the Hexi tribes. An Xinggui sent an envoy to Liangzhou, and after arriving in Hexi, Li Liang thought that Li Tang took the initiative to make friends with him and sent An Xinggui as an envoy. So, Li Liang worshiped An Xinggui as the general of the left and right guards, and also consulted him on the art of self-security. An Xinggui took the opportunity to speak to Li Rail, hoping that Li Rail could lift the land west of the river and attach himself to Li Tang:

Liangzhou is far away, the characters are withered, although there are more than 100,000 victorious soldiers, the land is not more than a thousand miles, there is no danger, and it is connected to Fanrong, Rong Di jackal, not my race, this can be long, and the practicality is doubtful. Today, the Tang Dynasty has Jingyi, and the Central Plains is slightly determined, and the attack must be taken, and the battle must be won, which is inspired by heaven and not human. Today, if the land west of the river is entrusted with the quality of the matter, that is, the Han family Dou Rong is not enough to compare. (The Book of the Old Tang Dynasty: The Biography of Li Rail)

An Xinggui's words were to the effect that although Liangzhou in Hexi has a geographical advantage, it is located in a remote area after all, and the land under its jurisdiction is only thousands of miles. Moreover, there are many ethnic minority tribes, Western Turks, and other strong enemies around Hexi, and it is not a long-term solution to divide the territory for a long time. Nowadays, Datang is becoming stronger and stronger, and it has the potential to dominate the world. For today's plan, it is better to lift the land west of the river and attach it to the Tang Dynasty, which is a foolproof strategy.

Regarding An Xinggui's suggestion to attach himself to Li Tang, Li Liang certainly understood his intentions, it turned out that An Xinggui was here to be a lobbyist for Li Tang. Li Liang was silent for a long time, and finally categorically rejected the suggestion to join Li Tang. Not only that, Li Liang even cited the old example of Liu Bi, the king of Wu, when Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty was in the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms":

In the past, Wu Bi used Jiangzuo's soldiers to call himself "the Eastern Emperor"; How can I not be the "Western Emperor" with the people on the right side of the river today? Although he is powerful, he is like an emperor? Jun and Tang are plotting, seducing me, and rewarding Bi's grace.

After listening to Li Liang's words, An Xinggui couldn't help but "chuckle" in his heart, and his face changed with fright. However, on the surface, I had to pretend to apologize to Li Liang:

Whispering about wealth in the hometown is like walking at night. Now the children of the family are trusted, Rongqing is really a door, how dare he be happy, and he has other ambitions?

Through this incident, An Xinggui completely understood that Li Liang would rather secede Hexi for a long time than belong to Li Tang. Therefore, to recover Hexi, there is only another way. At this time, An Xinggui thought of a way, that is, to take advantage of the dissatisfaction with Li Liang within Hexi, instigate against them, and take the opportunity to overthrow Li Liang's rule in Hexi. So, An Xinggui found his younger brother An Xiuren, and the two brothers began to plot privately to raise troops.

Under the instigation of An Xinggui and An Xiuren brothers, many Hu people in the Hexi region formed armed forces one after another and took refuge under the command of the An brothers. In May of the second year of Wude (619), An Xinggui and An Xiuren led the army to besiege Liangzhou, and Li Liangqin led more than 1,000 infantry cavalry out of the city to meet the battle. The two sides started a big battle under the city of Liangzhou.

At this time, the An brothers had another reinforcement, that is, the 300 Qiang army led by Xi Daoyi, a general of Xue Ju. Xi Daoyi is a person who actually has a grudge with Li Rail. At the beginning, before Xi Daoyi defected to Li Rail, Li Rail promised him the position of assassin Shi. However, after Xi Daoyi arrived, Li Liang immediately turned his face and refused to admit it, forgetting all about his original promise. Therefore, Xi Daoyi has always held a grudge against Li Rail. Now, the An brothers are besieging Liangzhou, and Xi Daoyi naturally wants to come to the well and attack Li Rail with the An brothers.

With the help of Xi Daoyi's 300 Qiang army, the An brothers were immediately full of confidence, commanded the army, and launched a fierce attack on Li Liang's 1,000-foot cavalry. As a result, Li Liang was defeated and forced to retreat to the city. Then, Li Liang climbed the city tower and held Liangzhou, waiting for reinforcements from the cities in Hexi.

Unbeknownst to him, An Xinggui had long expected that Li Liang would stick to help, so he specially guarded against him. While Li Rail was trapped in Liangzhou, An Xinggui had already sent people and told the cities of Hexi: "The Tang Dynasty sent me to kill Li Rail, and those who do not obey will be punished by the three clans!" As a result, the cities in Hexi have stood still, and some even went out of the city to join the An brothers. An Xinggui just wanted to tell Li Liang that you are now a traitor and have no way out.

Li Liang only now really understands that the general trend has gone, and he has no power to return to the sky, and he is no longer the overlord of Hexi who raises his arms and shouts and responds to the crowd, but is just a lonely man who has betrayed his relatives and left him. In a desperate situation, Li Liang let out a lament: "The hearts of the people are gone, and I don't care if the sky dies!" Then, climb the jade girl platform and say goodbye to your wife, children, and family. Later, An Xiuren broke through Liangzhou, Li Liang was captured, and escorted all the way to Chang'an.

After learning the news that Li Rail Chengpo was captured, Deng Xiao, the Shangshu Zuocheng who was ordered by Li Rail to send an envoy to Chang'an and present the national letter to the Tang Dynasty, actually danced with his hands, even happier than Tang Gaozu Li Yuan. Tang Gaozu Li Yuan saw Deng Xiao's face like this, he was very disdainful, and said to Deng Xiao with disdain:

Thou hast consigned to others, in order to come here, hear the fall of the tracks, have no face, Gou Yue, vain for the joy. If you can't pay attention to Li Rail, how can you be thrifty? (The Book of the Old Tang Dynasty: The Biography of Li Rail)

After Li Rail's army was defeated and captured, and escorted to Chang'an, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan ordered him to be beheaded for public display, and Li Rail's children and family members were also killed. Li Liang raised troops in Hexi from the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617) to the defeat and death of the army in the second year of Wude (619), a total of only three years. At this point, the Liang Kingdom was destroyed, and the Hexi region was officially incorporated into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty officially realized the unification of the Hexi region.

In the process of pacifying Hexi in the Li Tang Dynasty, the brothers An Xinggui and An Xiuren made outstanding contributions. Therefore, after pacifying Hexi, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan naturally wanted to reward the An brothers for their meritorious deeds. Therefore, after Hexi returned to the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan issued an edict and awarded An Xinggui as the general of the Right Wuhou, Shangzhu State, the Duke of Liangguo, 600 households in Shiyi, and 10,000 sections of cloth; An Xiuren was the general of Zuo Wuhou, and was given the title of Duke of Shenguo, and was given a field house and 600 households. The two An brothers served as the military and political governors of the Tang Dynasty in Hexi.

In May of the second year of Wude (619), Tang Gaozu Li Yuan skillfully adopted a divisive strategy, using the brothers An Xinggui and An Xiuren to unite with Hexi Zhuhu to eliminate the Li Liang regime in Hexi in one fell swoop, and the Tang Dynasty pacified the five counties of Hexi. It should be said that in the process of pacifying Hexi, the Tang Dynasty did not make much effort, and basically adopted the strategy of quick victory. From Li Yuan's decision to use troops against Hexi to the final defeat of Li Liangbing, it took less than a year.

The pacification of Hexi was of great significance and far-reaching influence to the nascent Li Tang Dynasty. The elimination of Li Liang's regime and the incorporation of the five counties of Hexi into the territory of the Tang Dynasty was another major military victory of the Tang Dynasty after pacifying Western Qin and recovering Longxi.

As mentioned above, the strategic location of the Hexi region is particularly important from both an economic and a military point of view. First, the Hexi region is rich in products and is a "natural granary" in northwest China, with innate food and material advantages. The Tang Dynasty's pacification of Hexi could not only provide a stable rear area for the Guanzhong region, but also provide a steady stream of food and materials for the Chang'an area of Guanzhong.

Second, Hexi is rich in high-quality and high-quality military horses. As we all know, in the ancient cold weapon war, the role of war horses in the war is extremely important. The Tang Dynasty's recovery of Hexi undoubtedly monopolized the source of military horses. In the future war of unification, a large number of high-quality war horses were provided for the Don army.

Therefore, in the later "Battle of Tiger Pass", why was Qin King Li Shimin able to break Dou Jiande's 100,000 army with 3,500 Xuanjia troops. In addition to Li Shimin's soldiers like gods and the strong combat effectiveness of the Xuanjia Army, there is another important reason, the Tang Army has a large number of high-quality war horses.

In addition, the pacification of Hexi by the Li Tang Dynasty also marked the formal unification of the Tang Dynasty with the northwest region. In November of the first year of Wude (618), in the battle of Qianshuiyuan, Li Shimin, the king of Qin, led the elite Tang army to annihilate the 100,000 main forces of Western Qin, and the Qin lord Xue Rengao surrendered, and Western Qin perished; In May of the second year of Wude (619), the Tang army defeated the Li Rail regime in Hexi and recovered the five counties of Hexi.

Within a year, the Tang Dynasty successively eliminated the two major separatist forces in the northwest region, the Western Qin and the Liang Kingdom. With the collapse of these two separatist regimes in the northwest region, Longxi and Hexi were included in the territory of the Li Tang Dynasty. At this point, the Tang Dynasty completely realized the unification of the northwest region.

At the beginning of the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the heroes stood side by side, and the Tang Dynasty fought with the heroes of all walks of life almost at the same time. In order to unify the world, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan formulated a strategic plan to consolidate Guanzhong, conquer the Central Plains in the east, and level the south of the Yangtze River. Therefore, in the year from the first year of Wude (618) to the second year of Wude (619), the Tang Dynasty successively eliminated the two major regimes of Western Qin and Liang, unified the northwest region, and completely eliminated the military crisis of the Tang Dynasty from the northwest.

The unification of the northwest region was the first step for the new empire to unify the world. The pacification of the northwestern separatist forces not only consolidated the military security of the Guanzhong region, but also provided a stable rear for Guanzhong and Chang'an; At the same time, it also swept away the worries of the Li Tang Dynasty's next large-scale eastward expansion, the eastward expedition to the Central Plains, and the attack on Wang Shichong of Henan and Dou Jiande of Hebei.

After completing the strategic plan of pacifying the northwest and consolidating the first step of Guanzhong to unify the world, the Tang Dynasty connected Hedong, Guanzhong, Bashu and Northwest into one, and the Tang Dynasty dominated the world and took shape. Therefore, the pacification of the five counties in Hexi is of great significance to the situation of the Tang Dynasty to unify the world.

Objectively speaking, in May of the second year of Wude (619), the Tang Dynasty used troops against Li Rail in Hexi, which can be said to have obtained the best result at the lowest price. However, the smooth operation of the Battle of Hexi does not mean that the process of unifying the northwest of the Li Tang Dynasty was smooth sailing.

In the process of unifying the northwest of the Li Tang Dynasty, the pacification of the five counties of Hexi was just a lucky case. In fact, in the entire war to unify the northwest, just a year before the recovery of Hexi, the Li Tang Dynasty once faced the test of life and death. It can even be said that if the Tang Dynasty did not survive this test, it was very likely that it would fall into a place of no return, and it was not impossible to overthrow the country?

So, in this life-and-death battle a year ago, what unpredictable dangers did the Li Tang Dynasty encounter? From Jinyang to conquering Chang'an, why did the Li Tang army, which had been invincible all the way, suffer its first heavy defeat since the founding of the People's Republic of China? As the invincible "God of War Spirit" of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, the king of Qin, never tasted defeat in his life, but in this war, he encountered the only defeat in his military career.

In the "Battle of Shallow Water Plain" a thousand years ago, what kind of setbacks did Li Shimin, the king of Qin, and the soldiers of the Tang Army encounter, and what kind of difficulties and obstacles? In this dangerous and unusual "Battle of Shallow Water Plain", what kind of sword and sword did the ascendant Tang Dynasty experience?