After nearly a year of bloody battles and various efforts, by May of the second year of Wude (619), the Tang Dynasty pacified Hexi and eliminated the Li Rail regime. So far, the trend of Datang unifying the world has gradually shown a clear trend of "another village".

During this year, the Li Tang Dynasty successively experienced major historical events such as the founding of the state, the pacification of Western Qin, the extermination of Li Mi, and the recovery of Hexi. Moreover, both political and military means, these problems have been solved very successfully. It should be said that the internal and external situations at this time were very favorable to the Tang Dynasty.

Just when the Tang Dynasty had just put down Li Mi's rebellion, he was finally relieved. Unexpectedly, the war in the northwest was initially decided, and the Hedong front line suddenly became anxious, Liu Wu and Zhou Xing's troops attacked, and Taiyuan was lost. Soon, Liu Wuzhou's troops quickly swept through Shanxi, and the Tang Dynasty's hometown of Hedong was in danger of a complete fall.

Taiyuan, as the land of Li Tang Longxing, has been heavily defended, and Li Yuanji, the king of Qi, has been in charge for a long time, why was it easily captured by Liu Wuzhou? After the fall of Taiyuan, the military situation of the Tang Dynasty in Shanxi encountered an unprecedented predicament, and almost half of the territory of Hedong fell into the hands of Liu Wuzhou.

So, in the face of such an unfavorable battle situation, how did Tang Gaozu Li Yuan arrange his troops to meet Liu Wuzhou's army? Why did Li Yuan have the idea of giving up Taiyuan at one point in the early days of the war? In the end, who will Li Yuan appoint to save the defeat in Hedong and recover Taiyuan?

Since the formal establishment of the Tang Dynasty, this great and nascent empire has faced one challenge after another. The first major challenge to the Tang dynasty was the war between July and November of the first year of Wude (618) and the Xue regime of Western Qin. At that time, the Tang Dynasty was almost in danger of collapsing its regime and the collapse of the country. However, in the end, the Tang Dynasty still survived, and the Tang army soldiers, led by Li Shimin, the king of Qin, pacified Western Qin and eliminated the Xue clan in one fell swoop.

The second challenge to the Tang Dynasty was the war that swept Shanxi. Liu Wu and Zhou Xing's troops invaded the Hedong region, and in the early days of the war, it took little effort to occupy Taiyuan, the land of Longxing in the Li Tang Dynasty. Subsequently, Liu Wuzhou took advantage of the situation to sweep the entire Hedong. In just a few months, half of the territory of the Tang Dynasty in Hedong became an enemy-occupied area. As the holy land of the rise of the Tang Dynasty, Shanxi, instantly fell into endless war.

The loss of Taiyuan was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the Tang Dynasty. This is tantamount to saying that the foundation of the Li Tang Dynasty has been shaken, and the entire Shanxi will be affected. Therefore, the loss of Taiyuan opened the prelude to the rout of the Tang army in Hedong. Therefore, as soon as the Tang Dynasty unified the northwest, it once again faced a serious national crisis.

Therefore, the Tang Dynasty had to recover Taiyuan and repel Liu Wuzhou's army anyway. Once Liu Wuzhou completely occupies Shanxi, at that time, Li Tang's foundation will no longer exist, and the morale of the people in the world will also be lost. So, how will Li Yuan meet Liu Wuzhou and recover Taiyuan?

If you want to understand the battle between the Tang Dynasty and Liu Wuzhou in Hedong, you have to start with the comparison of the strength of the two sides before the start of the war. Before Liu Wuzhou officially invaded Taiyuan, what was the situation in the Tang Dynasty? It should be said that the Tang Dynasty at this time is no longer what it used to be. Whether it is in military strength or domestic political construction, it has achieved good results, and gradually occupies a place in the turbulent times of division of the powers.

In such a troubled era of fierce competition, almost all separatist forces believe in one principle: if you have a gun, you are the king of grass. Only when we have absolutely strong strength can we have the capital to mix it all day. If you want to become the lord of the world, you rely on whose shoulders are thick and whose fists are hard.

In May of the first year of Wude (618), the Tang Dynasty had just been established. At that time, Li Tang was at the beginning of his life, and his foothold was not stable. Therefore, less than a month after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Xue Ju led the army commander to drive straight into Jingzhou and besiege Jingzhou. Due to the outbreak of the war, the Tang court was not well prepared, and there were serious strategic mistakes. Therefore, in a period of time after the start of the war, the Tang army suffered a series of military defeats, and even opened the door of Chang'an for a time.

However, this time and that time. After nearly a year of bloody battles, Datang unified the northwest and successively included the two strategic places of Longxi and Hexi, and its strength was greatly enhanced. At the same time, the Tang Dynasty actively appeased the old Wagang department, and basically took full control of the area east of the Kunshan Mountains. In particular, after Li Mi's death, this smooth balance became more and more tilted towards the Tang Dynasty.

In the previous chapter, it was written that in December of the first year of Wude (618), Li Mi rebelled against the Tang Dynasty and fled in an attempt to go to Luoyang, gather the old troops, and take the opportunity to break away from the Tang Dynasty and make a comeback. Unexpectedly, when passing through Bears Ears Mountain, he was ambushed by the Tang general Sheng Yan's division, and the whole army was annihilated. Li Mi himself also died in Bears Ears Mountain.

With the death of Li Mi, the Tang Dynasty effortlessly eradicated this potential threat from within. Moreover, after Li Mi's army was defeated and killed, the Tang Dynasty also stepped up the rhythm of stabilizing the situation in Shandong and appeasing the old Wagang department. Soon, in Shandong, there were only a few old Wagang departments left, which were successively attached to Li Tang.

For example, on the seventh day of the first month of the second year of Wude (619), under the persuasion of Wei Zheng, the former Wagang general, the governor of Weizhou, Yuan Baobao, raised the whole state to submit to the Tang Dynasty. It is worth mentioning that Yuan Baobao is Wei Zheng's old boss. Before Wei Zheng joined the Wagang Army, he served as a clerk under Yuan Baobao. Later, thanks to the introduction of Yuan Baobao, Wei Zheng was appreciated by Li Mi and gradually became the first strategist of Wagang:

At the end of the great cause, the treasure of Chengyuan in Wuyang County raised troops to respond to Li Mi and summoned the secretary of the envoy. Every time he saw the sparseness of the treasure, he did not fail to be good, and when he heard what he had done, he summoned him. (The Old Tang Book: The Biography of Wei Zheng)

Yuan treasure returned to the Tang Dynasty, and it didn't take long for another old general of Wagang to return to the Tang Dynasty. This Wagang veteran is Zhang Shanxiang, the assassin of Yizhou. On the twenty-sixth day of the first month of the second year of Wude (619), after the Yuan treasure returned to the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Shanxiang, the assassin of Yizhou, also came to offer land to the Tang Dynasty.

At the beginning, Li Mi rebelled against Tang and went east, and after leading the army to attack Taolin County, he coerced the people in the city and went straight to Nanshan. At the same time, Li Mi sent someone to inform Zhang Shanxiang, hoping that he could send troops to meet him at that time. In the history books, there is no clear record, did Zhang Shanxiang answer Li Mi? However, according to common sense, Zhang Shanxiang should not have responded. Almost everyone can see that Li Mi will definitely die on this trip, and Zhang Shanxiang is no exception.

Perhaps, when Li Mi rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Shanxiang may still be in a wait-and-see state. However, since Li Mi's death in Bears Ears Mountain, Zhang Shanxiang immediately made a choice. At this time, the general trend of the world is already very clear. The Tang Dynasty had just won a great victory on the Western Front and eliminated the Western Qin Xue clan in one fell swoop; By killing Li Mi, he eliminated the henchmen who threatened the rule of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, Datang is getting stronger and stronger, and for Zhang Shanxiang, voting in Tang is the only way out.

It is not difficult to see that at this time, especially a month after Li Mi's death, all the old Wagang departments east of the basic Kunshan Mountain were all under Li Tang's banner. It is no exaggeration to say that there was no obstacle for the Tang Dynasty to enter the Central Plains eastward. Now it is only Tang Gaozu to give an order, and a suitable opportunity.

The Tang Dynasty was in the Shandong area, appeased the old Wagang department, and gained a lot. At the same time, the domestic political construction of the Tang Dynasty was also unfolding in an orderly manner. From the day of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan has opened his mouth widely, showing the demeanor of a new dynasty and the great power bearing of all things.

On the fourth day of the second month of the second year of Wude (619), Tang Gaozu Li Yuan specially held a test to assess the superiority of the ministers, which was equivalent to the "civil service examination" of the Tang Dynasty, and the purpose was to test the administrative ability of hundreds of officials. After the assessment, only Li Gang and Sun Fujia ranked first.

Regarding Sun Fujia, it was mentioned above. During the Sui Dynasty, he was only a low-level official in Fa Cao, a county of Wannian. Later, Li Yuan became emperor and consulted extensively with his ministers. Sun Fujia was the first courtier to advise Gaozu and made three suggestions to Li Yuan. Because of this, Sun Fujia was appreciated by Tang Gaozu. As a result, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan promoted Sun Fujia exceptionally and promoted him to the rank of Zhishu and Imperial History.

Li Gang is even more incredible, this person's qualifications are very old. Li Gang went through the Northern Zhou, Sui, and Tang dynasties, and by the time he entered the Tang Dynasty, he was already a senior minister over seventy years old. Moreover, no matter which dynasty he was an official in, Li Gang has always been known for his uprightness and straightforwardness. For example, during the period of Emperor Wen of Sui, Li Gang was very ruthless and criticized Emperor Wen of Sui for abolishing the elder and establishing the young, which made Emperor Wen of Sui ashamed.

Therefore, in this assessment of the ministers, Tang Gaozu deliberately rated Li Gang and Sun Fujia as first-class. Then, Li Yuan feasted the ministers with wine. During the banquet, Tang Gaozu said such far-reaching words to Pei Lian, the prime minister who was the right servant of Shangshu at the time, using the past as a metaphor for the present:

Since I ascended the throne, every humble request for advice, but only Li Gang is loyal, and Sun Fujia can be described as honest and upright. The rest of the people are still in the wind, and they just bow their eyebrows, how can I hope for it! I regard Qing as a beloved son, and Qing should regard me as a loving father. If you have a heart, you must do it, don't hide it. (Information Governance Guide)

It can be seen that the strength of the Tang Dynasty at this time has obviously improved significantly compared with when it was first established. What's more, the Longxi region has been included in the territory of Li Tang, and the Tang Dynasty unified the northwest region in one fell swoop, and has enough capital to compete for hegemony and pacify the world.

Of course, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan knew very well that the current top priority of the Tang Dynasty should still be placed on the unification war. After the unification of the northwest, the next enemy that the Tang Dynasty would face, the next target to lock in was naturally the Liu Wuzhou regime entrenched in Shanxi.

Liu Wuzhou was entrenched in Shanxi all the year round, which seriously threatened the stability of the land of Li Tang and Longxing. Only by eliminating Liu Wuzhou in one fell swoop can we consolidate the security of the entire territory of Shanxi and ensure the smooth eastward advance of the Tang Dynasty into the Central Plains. Therefore, the Tang Dynasty began to actively prepare for war and launch a large-scale attack on Liu Wuzhou's regime at any time.

However, plans are not changing as fast as they are. Just when the Tang Dynasty was planning the Hedong War, Liu Wuzhou actually led a large army in person, roaring, and the troops pointed directly at Taiyuan. What Tang Gaozu did not expect was that Taiyuan, which was regarded as the place of Li Tang Longxing, and Li Yuanji, the king of Qi, who was responsible for defending the city, fled without a fight, resulting in the loss of Taiyuan.

After the fall of Taiyuan, Liu Wuzhou's army quickly swept through Shanxi. The Hedong defense line of the Li Tang Dynasty was in danger of collapse. Moreover, because of the rout of the Tang army in the Hedong battlefield, it also led to a bad result, Liu Wu drove straight in, and the crossing of the Yellow River was completely exposed to his iron hooves.

As a strategic location second only to the capital Chang'an, why was Taiyuan so easily occupied by Liu Wuzhou? If you want to understand the before and after the fall of Taiyuan, first of all, you must understand the enemy of Liu Wuzhou? So, who is Liu Wuzhou? Why would he pose such a threat to the Tang Dynasty?

At the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the world was in turmoil, and the land of China fell into a chaotic situation. In such a troubled era, the heroes were divided, and many heroes of the troubled times emerged who dominated the general trend of the world. Among these troubled times, Liu Wuzhou is one of them.

Moreover, at that time, each region of the divided China represented the jurisdiction of a separatist power; Each faction has its own territory. For example, in the war at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Li Yuan's father and son stood out and settled in Guanzhong; Xue Ju, Xue Rengao and his son occupied Longxi; Li Rail starts in Hexi; Wang Shichong sits in Henan; Dou Jiande dominates Hebei; Xiao milled and cut Jiangnan; As for the Liu Wuzhou regime, it rose in Shanxi.

Throughout Liu Wuzhou's life, we can find that whether it is his experience since childhood, or his rise process, it is indeed full of legends. So, what is so special about Liu Wuzhou? Why was he able to seize the opportunity in the chaotic times at the end of the Sui Dynasty and become the overlord of one side?

Liu Wuzhou's original ancestral home was Jingcheng, Yingzhou (now Hejian, Hebei). However, in the generation of Liu Kuang, the father of Liu Wuzhou, the Liu family moved to Mayi (now Shuo County, Shanxi). Since then, Liu Wuzhou has settled in Mayi. Ma Yi also became the place where Liu Wuzhou later made his fortune and rose.

In Chinese history, almost all emperors, generals, and heroes are not only full of legends in their lives, but even their births are also full of legends, accompanied by many strange "supernatural events". Liu Wuzhou is naturally no exception, according to the record of "Old Tang Book: The Biography of Liu Wuzhou":

Kuang Wei and his wife Zhao sat in the court at night, and suddenly saw a thing, like a rooster, a streamer candle, flew into Zhao's arms, Zhenyi saw nothing, so there was pregnancy, and Wu Zhou was born.

It is said that one night, Liu Kuang and his wife Zhao sat idly in the courtyard. Suddenly, I saw a dazzling, rooster-like object that threw itself into Zhao's arms. When Zhao reacted, he was unscathed, but became pregnant and gave birth to Liu Wuzhou. It is precisely because of this legend that Liu Wuzhou was also crowned with the title of "Rooster Crown" in later folk anecdotes and storytelling.

After growing up, Liu Wuzhou's performance was even more different from ordinary people, and he stood out from the crowd. According to the record of "The Old Tang Book: The Biography of Liu Wuzhou", Liu Wuzhou, who became an adult, was "brave and good at shooting, and a traffic hero". It means that Liu Wuzhou was born brave and strong, proficient in riding and archery, and practiced a superb martial arts. At the same time, Liu Wuzhou often makes friends with local heroes and heroes, and has a heroic style.

However, Liu Wuzhou's bold and heroic character is deeply disgusted by one person, who? This person is not an outsider, it is Liu Wuzhou's brother Liu Shanbo. In Liu Shanbo's view, his younger brother has a too flamboyant personality and is too sharp, and sooner or later he will cause a big disaster and bring death to the whole family: "If you don't choose to travel, you will eventually destroy our clan." Moreover, Liu Shanbo even used the meanest words to humiliate his younger brother Liu Wuzhou.

Unexpectedly, Liu Wuzhou is a competitive person, and he was born with a stubborn element in his bones. Since my brother said so, I want to mix up my personal appearance and show it to everyone. So, Liu Wu left his hometown and went to the eastern capital Luoyang alone.

Liu Wuzhou, who left his hometown, where should he go next? At first, Liu Wuzhou thought of a way: to join the army. The so-called "learn to become a literary and martial artist, and sell it to the emperor's family". Liu Wuzhou's martial arts, coupled with the late reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, were reckless in military force and launched large-scale foreign wars, which just provided Liu Wuzhou with a stage to exert his strengths, and with real military exploits, he won fame and fortune step by step.

Therefore, after Liu Wuzhou arrived in Luoyang, he joined the account of Yang Yichen, a famous general of the Sui army, and waited for dispatch. During the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, he launched the War of the Three Expeditions to Goguryeo. As a senior general of the Sui army, Yang Yichen naturally accompanied the army to the east, and Liu Wuzhou was also fortunate to follow the army and participated in the campaign of the Eastern Expedition. In the process of the Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo, Liu Wuzhou made great military exploits and was awarded the post of Captain of the Jianjie School for his merits.

Because of his military exploits in the Eastern Expedition and his military position, Liu Wuzhou was able to return to his hometown and return to his hometown of Mayi. Soon after returning to his hometown of Mayi, Liu Wuzhou was reappointed as the captain of Yingyang Mansion. However, the significance of returning to his hometown this time for Liu Wuzhou is not only to return to his hometown, but also a new starting point for his life and career. It was also in Mayi that Liu Wuzhou gradually rose and achieved a hegemony.

Regarding the rise of Liu Wuzhou, it is closely related to a person and is inseparable, who is this person? Ma Yi guards Wang Rengong. It should be said that Wang Rengong has the grace of knowing Liu Wuzhou. Liu Wuzhou returned to Mayi and served as the lieutenant of Yingyang Mansion, in fact, directly under the jurisdiction of Wang Rengong, the Taishou of Mayi.

Moreover, the two also have a special relationship. Wang Rengong was once a capable general in Yang Yichen's army, and Liu Wuzhou served under Yang Yichen's account at the beginning of his surrender. With such a relationship, coupled with Liu Wuzhou's own courage and good fighting, his martial arts are the best in Benzhou. Therefore, Wang Rengong favored him. According to historical records, Wang Rengong trusted Liu Wuzhou very much, "ordered the commander's personal soldiers to be tun", and allowed Liu Wuzhou to station his personal soldiers in the Taishou official office.

However, Wang Rengong's sincere treatment was exchanged for Liu Wuzhou's kindness and revenge. In the end, it was this Liu Wuzhou who personally ended the life of Engong Wang Rengong? It turned out that Liu Wuzhou had a personal affair with one of Wang Rengong's concubines at that time. For this reason, Liu Wuzhou was uneasy and often worried that the matter would be exposed. After thinking about it, Liu Wuzhou came up with an evil idea, that is, to strike first, kill Wang Rengong, occupy Mayi, and take advantage of the situation to raise troops against Sui.

After Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty went to Jiangdu three times, the Sui Dynasty was really gone. Internally, the rebels from all over the country swarmed, and they were out of control and gradually became a prairie fire; Externally, relations between the Turks and the Sui Dynasty broke down, and they repeatedly raised troops to the south, invaded the border of the Sui Dynasty, plundered property, and killed civilians.

In the face of such a current situation of internal and external troubles, Liu Wuzhou also understood that instead of being an unknown ordinary general, it was better to take advantage of the chaos and achieve a grand cause. As a result, Liu Wuzhou began to plot a rebellion. It just so happened that there was a suitable opportunity at this time.

At this time, a severe famine broke out in Shanxi, and there was no harvest and starvation was everywhere. And Ma Yi Taishou Wang Rengong is a greedy person, who wantonly accepts bribes, but does not take them out to help the hungry. Liu Wuzhou felt that this was a good opportunity, so he spread rumors everywhere:

Today, the people are hungry, zombies are full of roads, and the king of the palace is closed and does not give relief, how can it be the meaning of the people's parents! (Information Governance Guide)

Liu Wuzhou spread rumors, which made many people hate Wang Rengong to the core. Soon, Liu Wuzhou carried out another round of fanning the flames. This time, it strengthened their belief in rebellion. Once, Liu Wuzhou pretended to be sick at home. Many local heroes and heroes have come to visit. So, Liu Wuzhou immediately killed cattle and sheep and feasted all the heroes. During the banquet, Liu Wuzhou deliberately said to everyone:

How can a strong man sit and wait for the ravine! Who can take it with me? (Information Governance Guide)

Obviously, Liu Wuzhou is urging everyone to rebel together. He hinted that there is a mountain of grain in the warehouse, and if you want it, you can go with me to get it. As a result, Liu Wuzhou's words made everyone's blood boil, coupled with hatred for Wang Rengong. Therefore, everyone unanimously decided: rebellion!

On the eighth day of the second month of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), on this day, Wang Rengong was in his own palace to handle official business. Unexpectedly, Liu Wuzhou and his henchmen Zhang Wansui and others actually launched a mutiny, rushed into the palace, and killed Wang Rengong. After killing Wang Rengong, Liu Wuzhou ordered someone to cut off Wang Rengong's head, took the head, and came out to show the public. Seeing this sudden situation, the officials of the Sui Dynasty in the city of Mayi did not put up any resistance, and immediately expressed their attachment to Liu Wuzhou.

After killing Wang Rengong and calming the situation, Liu Wuzhou immediately opened a warehouse to release grain and provide relief to the hungry people. At the same time, Liu Wuzhou sent his subordinates to spread the horses to the various subordinate cities in the territory of Mayi. These places, forced by Liu Wuzhou's might, surrendered one after another. Immediately afterwards, Liu Wuzhou began to recruit troops and expand his strength. It didn't take long for more than 10,000 people to gather. Therefore, Liu Wuzhou proclaimed himself Taishou and sent an envoy to contact the Turks.

So, why did Liu Wuzhou attach himself to the Turks? Quite simply, he had to find a strong backer. Liu Wuzhou launched a mutiny, occupied Mayi, and gained an unstable foothold. If the Sui Dynasty sent heavy troops to encircle and suppress, with only Liu Wuzhou's more than 10,000 men and horses, where would be the opponent of the Sui army. Therefore, Liu Wuzhou must look for foreign aid and find a strong backer. And the Turks in the north are such backers.

Since the eleventh year of the Great Cause (615), after the "Siege of Yanmen", the diplomatic relations between the Sui Dynasty and the Turks were completely broken. The Turks often raised troops to the south and harassed the Sui border. Therefore, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty specially sent Li Yuan to Shanxi to take charge of important military and political affairs in Shanxi before the three Jiangdu. On the one hand, it was to let Li Yuan suppress the local peasant rebels; On the other hand, it is also to put Li Yuan in charge of resisting the Turkic invasion.

As a military town in Shanxi, Mayi was a bridgehead to resist Turkic attacks. Once Liu Wuzhou gets the support of the Turks, his strength will be greatly enhanced, and his confidence will become full. Therefore, after Liu Wuzhou occupied Mayi, he immediately set up an alliance with the Turks.

How did the Turkic side react to Liu Wuzhou's olive branch? It should be said that the Turks have always been a strong supporter of Liu Wuzhou. As for why the Turks supported Liu Wuzhou, we will talk about it in detail later. In fact, the Turks supported Liu Wuzhou not out of public intentions, but had other plans.

Through a military coup, Liu Wuzhou quickly occupied Mayi and took control of the situation. Later, he colluded with the Turks, and the two sides secretly communicated with each other, Liu Wuzhou attached himself to the Turks, and the Turks supported Liu Wuzhou. With the support of the Turks, Liu Wuzhou began to blatantly expand his strength, gradually became bigger, and became the most powerful separatist force in Shanxi.

Seeing the gradual rise of Liu Wuzhou, the Shanxi defenders of the Sui Dynasty, of course, could not sit idly by, they could not watch Liu Wuzhou sit big. Therefore, it is necessary to take advantage of the fact that Liu Wuzhou has not yet formed a climate, and send troops on a large scale to exterminate him. Therefore, not long after Liu Wuzhou established himself as the Taishou of Mayi, the army of the Sui Dynasty poured in.

In the same month of the same year that Liu Wuzhou occupied Mayi, that is, in February of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Chen Xiaoyi, the general of Yanmen County of the Sui Dynasty, and Hu Benlang Wang Zhibian, personally led a large army to crusade against Liu Wuzhou. Chen Xiaoyi and Wang Zhibi led the Sui army, covering up all the way, and surrounded Liu Wuzhou's troops in Sanggan Town (located in the south of Shanyin, Shanxi).

On February 21, the Turks sent troops in time to rescue Liu Wuzhou. With the help of the Turkic cavalry, Liu Wuzhou joined forces with the Turkic army and defeated the combined forces of Chen Xiaoyi and Wang Zhibi in one fell swoop. In the melee, Wang Zhibi was unfortunately killed, and Chen Xiaoyi was only spared and fled back to Yanmen alone.

Less than a month later, on March 17, the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Liu Wuzhou took advantage of the victory and personally led the army to enter Loufu County. Liu Wuzhou didn't spend much effort at all, and easily attacked Loufu County. In addition to capturing Loufu County, Liu Wuzhou also took the lead by the way and occupied the palace of Emperor Yang of Sui - Fenyang Palace. After conquering Fenyang Palace, the first thing Liu Wuzhou did was to curry favor with the Turks.

Fenyang Palace is the palace of Emperor Yang of Sui, and like Jinyang Palace, there are many beautiful women like flowers and jade. In order to obtain more support from the Turkic side, Liu Wuzhou borrowed flowers to offer Buddha, and sent all these palace maids to the Turks and dedicated them to Shibi Khan.

Shibi Khan received such a "generous gift", and his heart was overjoyed, and he felt that Liu Wuzhou, a horse boy, was too sensible. Since Liu Wuzhou took the initiative to show goodwill, as the master, the courtesy was still exchanged, and the Turks naturally had to show something. Therefore, Shibi Khan immediately reciprocated a generous gift with a high-quality war horse.

You must know that in such a turbulent era filled with gunpowder, war horses are undoubtedly an important military resource for a separatist force. Therefore, to obtain such a batch of Turkic horses, Liu Wuzhou spared no effort to expand his armaments, and his military strength began to grow gradually. After breaking through Loufu County, Liu Wuzhou struck while the iron was hot, and took advantage of the victory to attack and capture another important military town - Dingxiang County.

In March of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Liu Wuzhou captured Dingxiang. Until this time, Liu Wuzhou gradually became a pivotal figure in Shanxi from an ordinary captain of Yingyang Mansion in the Sui Dynasty. Through a series of military means, Liu Wuzhou occupied the three counties of Mayi, Loufu and Dingxiang, and his power continued to expand. At this time, Liu Wuzhou is no longer yesterday's Wuxia Ameng, and he can compete with the world's heroes.

Soon after, because Liu Wuzhou captured Dingxiang, he achieved military success. The Turks immediately recognized Liu Wuzhou's legal status, and named Liu Wuzhou as "Dingyang Khan" (that is, to replace Yang Sui in the world), and gave him the "wolf's head", which was the representative honor guard and banner exclusive to the Turkic Khan.

After getting the canonization of the Turks, Liu Wuzhou had no worries. Soon, Liu Wuzhou established himself as emperor, established the Yuan "Tianxing", and took Shanyang (near present-day Shuo County, Shanxi) as the capital; He appointed his wife Fu Shi as the empress, appointed the guard Yang Funian as the left servant of Shangshu, and his sister-in-law Yuan Junzhang as the internal history order, and established the initial scale of the state. Like Xue Ju, Liang Shidu and others, Liu Wuzhou was also one of the first heroes of the late Sui Dynasty to become emperor.

However, to tell the truth, although Liu Wuzhou was canonized by the Turks, he later established himself as emperor. However, he, the emperor, is purely a "soil emperor". He is not like Xue Ju, who occupies the entire Longxi region; is not like Tang Gaozu Li Yuan, who owned Guanzhong, Hedong, and Bashu, and later unified the northwest and occupied such a vast territory. On the other hand, Liu Wuzhou only occupied the three counties of Mayi, Loufu and Dingxiang, and only obtained part of the territory north of Shanxi, but did not occupy the whole of Shanxi.

Therefore, if Liu Wuzhou wants to sit back and relax and become an emperor comfortably, there is only one way, and that is to wage wars frequently and occupy more land and cities. Therefore, after Liu Wuzhou became emperor, he immediately continued to expand externally, and the troops pointed directly at Yanmen.

Yanmen County is an important military border town in the north of Shanxi. At the beginning, in the eleventh year of the Great Cause (615), Emperor Yang of Sui toured the Turks, and was besieged by the Turkic army in Yanmen. If Yanmen is captured in one go, it will be connected with Mayi, Loufu, and Dingxiang, so as to directly form military pressure on Taiyuan, like a sharp blade directly into the back of Taiyuan; When the time comes, it will be unimpeded to take Taiyuan directly.

The defenders of Yanmen in the Sui Dynasty never expected that Liu Wuzhou would collude with the Turks. Moreover, he didn't stop, so quickly, he led the army to surround Yanmen. At that time, the generals of the Sui Dynasty stationed in Yanmen County were the ones who had been defeated by Liu Wuzhou and the Turks and fled back to Yanmen alone-Chen Xiaoyi, the commander of Yanmen County.

Although Chen Xiaoyi did not fight well and was defeated repeatedly, his loyalty can be demonstrated. Faced with the siege of Liu Wuzhou's army, Chen Xiaoyi chose to resist. At this time, Yanmen County seemed to be a lonely city. However, Chen Xiaoyi still organized the army in the city, desperately defended the city, and resolutely refused to surrender Liu Wuzhou. And, taking advantage of the loopholes in the layout of Liu Wuzhou's army, Chen Xiaoyi took the initiative to attack and defeated Liu Wuzhou's army many times. Therefore, this battle was fought extremely hard:

Chen Xiaoyi tried his best to refuse, took advantage of the opportunity to attack Wuzhou, and repeatedly broke it; Since there is no rescue outside, the envoys sent to Yijiang will not report. Filial piety vows to die. At dusk, he prostrated himself to the edict and wept, moving sadly. After besieging the city for more than 100 days, the food was exhausted, and the captain Zhang Lun killed filial piety. (Information Governance Guide)

Chen Xiaoyi led the army to defend the city, on the one hand, in order to hold off Liu Wuzhou's army; On the other hand, they are waiting for reinforcements. During the defense of Yanmen, Chen Xiaoyi constantly sent messengers to Jiangdu to ask for help from Emperor Yang of Sui, hoping that the imperial court could send troops to rescue. However, one after another messengers were sent, but Jiangdu never responded. At this point, Chen Xiaoyi completely despaired of foreign aid.

There is obviously no hope for foreign aid, and Chen Xiaoyi is determined to repay the country with death and live and die with Yanmen. It is said that Chen Xiaoyi wept bitterly in front of the emperor's edicts and edicts every day, and the people on the left and right were all moved. Liu Wu attacked Yanmen around for nearly a hundred days, and the food in the city ran out. In the end, Zhang Lun, a lieutenant under Chen Xiaoyi, staged a mutiny and killed Chen Xiaoyi. Then, Zhang Lun opened the city gate and surrendered to Liu Wuzhou.

Up to now, Liu Wuzhou has waged continuous wars, successively capturing the four counties of Mayi, Loufu, Dingxiang and Yanmen, occupying a large number of territories north of Shanxi. It is not difficult to see that Liu Wuzhou gradually became a rising force and became the largest separatist force in Shanxi, and also became an important separatist force in the late Sui and early Tang dynasties.

It is worth mentioning that after Liu Wuzhou occupied Yanmen and gradually rose, he unexpectedly gained a general in his camp. In other words, a new military force has joined Liu Wuzhou's camp. The joining of this person is tantamount to a tiger with wings for Liu Wuzhou. He is the right-hand man under Liu Wuzhou in the future - Song Jingang. So, where is Song Jingang sacred?

Song Jingang, a native of Shanggu, Yizhou (now Zhangjiakou, Hebei), is also a powerful figure in the late Sui and early Tang Dynasties. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the world was in turmoil, and Song Jingang saw that the Sui Dynasty building was about to collapse, so he took advantage of the chaos and pulled up a team of people in his hometown of Yizhou. Soon, Song Jingang gathered more than 10,000 soldiers and horses.

After raising the army, Song Jingang felt that he was alone and urgently needed to find an alliance. So, Song Jingang formed an alliance with Wei Dao'er, a local armed leader. However, later, Dou Jiande, the leader of the Hebei peasant rebel army, led his army to besiege Wei Dao'er. Song Jingang sent troops to the rescue, but unfortunately was defeated, and more than 10,000 people were beaten to only 4,000 remnants. In desperation, Song Jingang had to lead 4,000 remnants of the army to defeat and defect to Liu Wuzhou.

Liu Wuzhou knew that Song Jingang was very good at using soldiers, and he was overjoyed about his defection. Therefore, Liu Wuzhou attached great importance to Song Jingang and entrusted him with important tasks, named him the king of Song, and granted military power. At the same time, Liu Wuzhou took out half of the family property and gave it to Song Jingang. Song Jingang also wanted to have a relationship with Liu Wuzhou, so he was ruthless, gave up his original wife, and took the initiative to marry Liu Wuzhou's sister. In this way, the two formed an in-law relationship.

Since then, Song Jingang has become the right-hand man of Liu Wuzhou's regime. Later, Liu Wuzhou invaded Taiyuan, and he followed Song Jingang's advice. Moreover, in the process of Liu Wuzhou's attack on Taiyuan, Song Jingang made a "great contribution". I'll talk about that later.

Switching the topic to the side of the Li Tang Dynasty, didn't Li Yuan and his son notice Liu Wuzhou's step by step growth and rise? Liu Wuzhou occupied a large territory north of Shanxi, directly threatening Li Yuan's large rear and forming a strong military pressure on Taiyuan. Taiyuan is the land of the dragon of the Li Tang Dynasty, once Taiyuan is lost, the foundation of the Tang Dynasty is bound to be shaken, and the people's will will no longer exist.

In fact, when Liu Wuzhou rose, the Tang Dynasty had not yet been established. At that time, Li Yuan was also the right Xiaowei general of the Sui Dynasty, the ambassador of Shanxi and Hedong, the Taiyuan Guard, and the Tang Guogong, responsible for the military and political affairs in the Hedong region. At first, when Li Yuan learned the news that Liu Wuzhou was proclaimed emperor, he didn't pay attention to it at all. In his opinion, Liu Wuzhou is a rabbit's tail - it can't grow, and Li Yuan also compares Liu Wuzhou to a figure like Chen Sheng, a peasant leader in the late Qin Dynasty:

A group of thieves spread all over the world, raiding counties and counties, and no one who claimed to be a prince. And Wu Zhou's erector, born in Saishang, once rose, he stole the name. It can be said that Chen Shi Fox is also the one who expelled Pei Gong. ("Datang Entrepreneurship Notes")

However, having said that, the rise of Liu Wuzhou also indirectly helped Li Yuan a lot. When Liu Wuzhou was crisscrossing Shanxi, it was a critical moment for Li Yuan and his son to secretly plan the Jinyang army. As mentioned earlier, Li Yuan was sitting in Shanxi, and Emperor Yang of Sui was not at ease with him, so he specially placed two eyeliners to monitor Li Yuan: Wang Wei and Gao Junya.

With these two eyeliners on the side, Li Yuan can't do anything too obviously. However, Liu Wuzhou's attack on the four counties provided an opportunity for Li Yuan to recruit troops and horses, and he could take the opportunity to expand his military strength. Therefore, after Liu Wuzhou occupied the Fenyang Palace, Li Yuan met with Wang Wei and Gao Junya in private, deliberately exaggerating, saying:

Although Wu Zhou was incompetent, he was called an honorific title. If you take it off and enter the Fenyuan Palace, my generation can't cut it off, and it will be wiped out. ("Datang Entrepreneurship Notes")

Wang Wei and Gao Junya are two mediocre talents themselves, and after hearing what Li Yuan said so seriously, they were terrified. So, the two hurriedly consulted Li Yuan and asked what to do next. Unexpectedly, Li Yuan actually pulled out a big push for the imperial court system, deliberately hanging the appetite of Wang and Gao:

The court uses troops, and every move is modest. Now the thief is within hundreds of miles, and the river is three thousand miles away, and the road is dangerous, and there are other thieves to rely on; With the soldiers of the rubber pillars of the infant city, when the trend of the giant cunning and the sudden, it will not be complete. Dilemma, what is the reason? (Information Governance Guide)

Li Yuan made a series of witty remarks, making it clear that he was playing tricks on Wang and Gao, with the IQ of these two people, where could he guess Li Yuan's scheming. Therefore, hearing Li Yuan say this, Wang Wei and Gao Junya became even more anxious, and hurriedly showed Li Yuan that they supported Li Yuan to recruit troops and resist Liu Wuzhou:

The commons are both pro-virtuous, and the country is in solidarity, if it is reported, it will not be an opportunity; To level the thief, it is also possible.

In this way, with the permission of Wang Wei and Gao Junya, Li Yuan's goal was achieved. Next, Li Yuan assigned Li Shimin, Liu Wenjing, eldest grandson Shunde, Liu Hongji and others to recruit troops each. Soon, nearly 10,000 horses were recruited, and they accumulated strong military capital for the later Jinyang army.

It was precisely because of Liu Wuzhou's rise in Shanxi that Li Yuan was able to take the opportunity to recruit troops, expand his military strength, and accumulate strength for the upcoming Jinyang army. However, Liu Wuzhou's growing growth also left a hidden danger for Li Yuan's father and son, as well as the Li Tang Dynasty. What are the hidden dangers? That was Liu Wuzhou's military threat to Taiyuan. The four counties occupied by Liu Wuzhou were exactly behind Taiyuan. Therefore, it is very likely that Liu Wuzhou attacked Taiyuan from behind, causing Li Yuan's backyard to catch fire.

In order to put an end to the danger of a fire in the backyard, in July of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), when Li Yuan raised troops in Taiyuan, he led the left and right armies with his eldest son Li Jiancheng and his second son Li Shimin respectively, but did not take his fourth son Li Yuanji to go out together. Li Yuan appointed Li Yuanji as the Taiyuan Taishou, responsible for staying in Taiyuan, guarding against Liu Wuzhou and the Turks, and attacking Taiyuan from behind. If it is unfavorable to enter Guanzhong, Li Yuan can also return to Taiyuan to preserve his strength and divide one side.

It should be said that from July of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Jinyang raised troops, and in May of the first year of Wude (618), the Tang Dynasty was established. During this period, Li Yuan's main energy was still focused on entering the main pass and Li Tang's founding of the country. Therefore, Li Yuan failed to take care of Liu Wuzhou's power development in Shanxi for a while.

In the early days of the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, it was even more beyond the reach of Liu Wuzhou. The reason is very simple, only one month after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Xue Ju invaded Jingzhou, and the military situation in the northwest of Li Tang was urgent. Therefore, in the next half a year, the Tang Dynasty has been busy with the war on the Western Front and the war with the Xue clan of Western Qin.

Finally, when the Li Tang Dynasty eliminated Western Qin and pacified the Longxi area. As a result, he met Li Mi and rebelled against Tang again. There was no way, so the Tang Dynasty had to mobilize troops to suppress Li Mi's rebellion. It can be found that in the year after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Li Tang had to solve the internal and external troubles one after another; Therefore, he has not had time to take care of the expansion of Liu Wuzhou's power. Because the Tang Dynasty was too busy to take care of itself, Liu Wuzhou's power in Shanxi was further strengthened.

In a blink of an eye, the time came to March of the second year of Wude (619). At this time, the situation at home and abroad in the Tang Dynasty gradually became clearer. First of all, Li Tang unified the northwest, incorporated Longxi and Hexi into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and achieved an unprecedented victory on the Western Front. Secondly, by suppressing the Li Mi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty basically took full control of the Shandong region and opened up the main passage to the Central Plains in the east.

The situation at home and abroad was very good, and the Tang Dynasty finally had enough time to free up its hands. After the unification of the northwest, the main energy of the Li Tang Dynasty began to concentrate on the north of Shanxi. It is clear that the regime of Liu Wuzhou north of Shanxi will be the next separatist force to be destroyed by the Tang Dynasty.

If the Tang Dynasty wants to enter the Central Plains eastward and compete for the world, the Liu Wuzhou regime in Shanxi is a nail that must be pulled out. Although, Liu Wuzhou's sphere of influence is far inferior to Xue Ju and Li Rail. However, Liu Wuzhou's position is very important.

If Liu Wu does not get rid of it day by day, it will not only seriously hinder the Tang Dynasty's eastward advance into the Central Plains, but also pose a great military threat to Taiyuan. The importance of Taiyuan to Li Tang goes without saying. Therefore, whether it is from a long-term strategy or in order to protect the security of Taiyuan, there is bound to be a battle between the Tang Dynasty and Liu Wuzhou. After the unification of the northwest, the next military plan of the Tang Dynasty was: to eliminate Liu Wuzhou!

However, the situation has changed. Just when the Tang Dynasty was preparing to attack Liu Wuzhou on a large scale, in March of the second year of Wude (619), Liu Wuzhou took the lead and personally led the army to enter Taiyuan. What's even more incredible is that in just six months, Taiyuan, which is regarded as the land of Li Tang Longxing, was occupied by Liu Wuzhou. Taiyuan was lost, and the Hedong defense line of the Li Tang Dynasty was quickly torn open.

So, as a core city second only to the capital Chang'an, why was Taiyuan occupied by Liu Wuzhou so quickly? In the course of the entire Battle of Taiyuan, what kind of tactical mistakes did the Tang army have? And as the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan, the ancestor of the Tang Dynasty, what kind of responsibility does he have for the loss of Taiyuan?