From November of the second year of Wude (619) to the first month of the third year of Wude (620), a short period of three months, it was an important period of turning point in the battle of Hedong in the Tang Dynasty. During this period, the Tang Dynasty had gains and losses. However, on the whole, it still allowed the Tang Dynasty to see the dawn of victory.

The so-called "De", in November of the second year of Wude (619), Li Shimin led the main force of the Tang Army in Guanzhong, quickly rushed to the Hedong battlefield, stationed troops in Baibi, and disrupted Liu Wuzhou's plan to attack Haozhou. At the same time, Li Shimin adopted the tactics of clearing the wilderness with strong walls and harassing the enemy behind the enemy, and constantly sent troops to attack the grain routes of Liu Wuzhou's army, gradually depleting the morale of the enemy. Sure enough, due to Li Shimin's tired enemy tactics, Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang's troops were fluctuating in morale and their soldiers were exhausted.

Moreover, Li Shimin stationed troops in Baibi during the confrontation with Song Jingang. In order to boost the morale of the front-line soldiers, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan personally visited the front line and inspected the banks of the Yellow River. Unexpectedly, there was a rebellion by Dugu Huaien. Fortunately, Tang Gaozu Jiren Tianxiang really took measures to kill the rebel general Dugu Huaien and his henchmen, quelled the attempted mutiny, and removed a major threat from within the Tang army.

The so-called "loss" is the "Battle of Xia County" in December of the second year of Wude (619). The reason for this defeat is that Dugu Huai'en was anti-willful, and deliberately delayed the deployment of the Tang army's attack on Xia County; At the same time, coupled with the decision-making mistakes of Yongan King Li Xiaoji, he missed the best opportunity to attack Xia County. In the end, the Tang army suffered heavy casualties in the first battle of Xia County, and the whole army was annihilated, suffering the largest military defeat since the fall of Taiyuan.

The impact of the defeat of Xia County was not only a military setback for the Tang Dynasty, but also brought about a serious consequence. In the first battle of Xia County, the Tang Army, which was responsible for responding to Li Shimin's forces, was completely annihilated. In this way, Li Shimin is equivalent to not having any foreign aid, and he is alone in the face of three strong enemies. If there is another mistake, the main force of the Tang army led by Li Shimin will repeat the defeat of Xia County.

Therefore, the three-month battle was both a turning point and a challenge for the Li Tang Dynasty. It should be said that the decisive battle between the Tang Dynasty and Liu Wuzhou has reached the most critical decisive stage. If properly commanded, the Tang army could take advantage of the situation to counterattack, reverse the situation on the battlefield, and completely eliminate the regime of Liu Wuzhou. If this battle fails, the Tang Dynasty's last hope in Hedong will no longer exist, and the unification of the world is even more distant.

In the face of the precarious war situation in Hedong, if you replace it with an ordinary military general, you may have no choice but to watch the defense line collapse and watch the Tang Dynasty lose the land of Hedong. However, the commander of the Tang army this time is Li Shimin, the king of Qin, who has been on the battlefield for a long time and uses soldiers like a god.

Soon, in just a few months, the defeat of Hedong, which was a pool of stagnant water, miraculously turned against the wind. Under the command of Li Shimin, the Tang army won a decisive victory in the Battle of Hedong, which instantly wiped out the main army of Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang, which directly led to their demise.

In the second half of the first month of the third year of Wude (620), that is, not long after the suppression of the Dugu Huaien rebellion, Tang Gaozu set off to return to Chang'an, ending his trip to inspect the banks of the Yellow River. So far, in the Tang Dynasty in the Hedong battlefield, only Li Shimin is left to support the overall situation. In other words, the only hope and last hope of the Tang Dynasty in Hedong was Li Shimin, the king of Qin, and the main force of the Tang army under his command.

With Li Shimin's military command ability, it was not difficult to reverse the trend of the war and defeat Liu Wuzhou's main force. In fact, as early as December of the second year of Wude (619), not long after the Tang army defeated Xia County, Li Shimin deployed the Tang army and won a long-lost victory for the Tang Dynasty, which was the "Battle of Miragawa".

Although this battle was a partial victory, its greatest significance was that it broke the myth of Liu Wuzhou's invincibility and defeated Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang's number one fierce general, Wei Chi Jingde. In the "Shiji Tongkan", it is recorded before and after the "Battle of the Miragawa" as follows:

Wei Chi Jingde and Xun Xiang will return to Huzhou, and Qin Wang Shimin sent troops to Shangshu Yin Kaishan, and the general manager Qin Shubao invited him to Meiliangchuan, broke it, and beheaded more than 2,000 people. In the end, Jingde, looking for the appearance of the subtle cavalry to aid the king of the line in Pusaka, the people of the world will ride three thousand, from the middle of the road to the night to Anyi, invite the attack, the big break, Jingde, the phase only to spare, all the prisoners, return to the Baibi.

As mentioned earlier, in the process of quelling the Dugu Huaien Rebellion, Wei Chi Jingde helped the Tang Dynasty. However, on the question of whether to descend the Tang Dynasty, Wei Chi Jingde was still hesitant and took a wait-and-see attitude. Therefore, Wei Chi Jingde chose to bet on both ends, ostensibly serving Liu Wuzhou, and secretly partnering with Tang Jun. Therefore, in terms of the situation of friend and foe, Wei Chi Jingde is still the enemy of the Tang Army. Moreover, Li Shimin did not know about his "secret agreement" with Tang Jun.

What's more, in December of the second year of Wude (619), Wei Chi Jingde had not taken the initiative to contact the Tang army. In addition, the Tang army sent troops to attack Xia County, and Wei Chi Jingde was ordered by Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang to lead the army to rescue Xia County with Xunxiang; As a result, in the first battle of Xia County, the Tang army was defeated and several generals of the Tang army were captured. From this point alone, Li Shimin could not easily let go of Wei Chi Jingde, and the duel between the two sides could not be avoided.

At this time, Li Shimin was planning the next military operation. Although Li Shimin has always pursued the strategy of clearing the wilderness and harassing the enemy behind the enemy, the defeat in the battle of Xia County made the situation of the Tang army in the Hedong battlefield more and more dangerous. In light of the actual situation on the battlefield, Li Shimin decided to readjust his tactics, not blindly defending passively, but when necessary, taking the initiative to attack and defend with offense as defense.

At this time, the Tang Dynasty court urgently needed a victory to invigorate people. Therefore, Li Shimin planned to take advantage of the slack of the enemy army to launch a surprise attack and catch him by surprise. So, he targeted most of the men and horses led by the enemy generals Chi Jingde and Xunxiang.

At that time, after the battle of Xia County, Wei Chi Jingde and Xunxiang led their troops and horses to prepare to withdraw to Huzhou. In Li Shimin's view, the best fighter he had been looking forward to had finally arrived. Because Wei Chi Jingde and Xunxiang had just defeated the Tang Army and won a battle, they must be complacent. Therefore, on the way to withdraw troops, the defensive vigilance of the troops will definitely be relaxed. Therefore, launching a surprise attack at this time can definitely play a surprising role.

Without further ado, Li Shimin immediately dispatched two generals under his command: Yin Kaishan, the head of the military department, and Qin Qiong, the commander of the Ma Army, to lead an elite Tang army, marching rapidly, rushing ahead of the enemy, and intercepting the army of Wei Chi Jingde and Xunxiang from halfway. Li Shimin's goal is very clear, that is, to take him by surprise and attack him unprepared.

As mentioned above, after the Battle of Beibi Mountain in Luoyang, many generals of the Wagang Army either surrendered to Wang Shichong or surrendered to Li Tang. In particular, after Li Mi died in Bear's Ear Mountain, the old Wagang Army east of Kuoshan Mountain basically all returned to the Tang Dynasty. After the defeat of the Battle of Beibi Mountain, Qin Qiong was forced to surrender to Wang Shichong with Wagang generals such as Cheng Yanjin, Pei Renji, Pei Xingyan and his son. Later, Qin Qiong returned to the Tang Dynasty. Regarding Qin Qiong's return to Tang, I will talk about it in the next chapter.

After Qin Qiong returned to Tang, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan assigned him to the Qin Wangfu and served under the account of Li Shimin, the king of Qin. Li Shimin has heard that Qin Qiong is strong in martial arts, brave and good at fighting, and is a famous general in the Wagang Army. Therefore, Li Shimin valued Qin Qiong very much, ordered him to sit in Changchun Palace with him, and awarded the post of head of the Ma Army.

This time to attack the headquarters of Wei Chi Jingde, Li Shimin assigned Qin Qiong to fight, and together with Yin Kaishan, he led the troops to intercept the enemy. When Yin Kaishan raised troops from Taiyuan, he always followed Li Shimin, and followed Li Shimin all the way from Taiyuan to Guanzhong and conquered Chang'an. Later, in the first battle of the Kaitang Dynasty in the first year of Wude (618), Yin Kaishan twice followed Li Shimin to fight on the Western Front. In the end, the Battle of Shallow Water Plains wiped out Western Qin in one fell swoop. It can be seen that Yin Kaishan is a veteran of the Tang Army who has made great achievements.

Moreover, this interception of enemy soldiers is also the first time that Qin Qiong has gone into battle since he returned to Li Tang, and it is also the first battlefield duel between Qin Qiong and Wei Chi Jingde. So, will this raid on the enemy be successful? Facts have proved that Li Shimin's decision this time is correct.

After receiving Li Shimin's order, the two generals Yin Kaishan and Qin Qiong did not dare to delay, and immediately ordered troops and horses to attack quickly. Finally, under the rapid advance of the two Tang generals, the Tang army intercepted the enemy troops of Wei Chi Jingde and Xunxiang who were withdrawing in the area of Miragawa.

After intercepting this enemy army, Yin Kaishan and Qin Qiong did not pause at all, and immediately led the Tang army to launch a surprise attack on the enemy soldiers. Due to the previous defeat of the Tang army in the battle of Xia County, Wei Chi Jingde and Xunxiang got carried away at this time, and led a large team of men and horses to swagger through the city. The entire army, almost undefended. Therefore, they would not have expected that the Tang Army would dare to run thousands of miles; I would never have thought that there would be a group of Tang troops, like divine soldiers, descending from the sky and intercepting from halfway.

Therefore, it is conceivable what the final outcome of this battle will be. In the first battle of Miragawa, the Tang army won a complete victory, breaking the enemy army of Wei Chi Jingde and Xunxiang in one fell swoop, and beheading more than 2,000 ranks. Wei Chi Jingde and Xun Xiang originally planned to return to Huzhou from Xia County. Unexpectedly, passing through the Meiliang River, he was raided and killed by the Tang army, losing thousands of soldiers and horses. Moreover, in the battle of Miragawa, the Tang army completely cut off the main road for Wei Chi Jingde and Xun Xiang to retreat to Huzhou.

Obviously, Huzhou can't go back. Since they could not withdraw to Huzhou, Wei Chi Jingde and Xunxiang had to find another way out. At that time, Wang Xingben occupied Pusaka, and the Tang army had not yet recovered Pusaka. For the two of them, Kamakuma was the only place to go. So, on the grounds of rescuing Wang Xingben, Wei Chi Jingde and Xun Xiang led the remaining elite cavalry to Pusaka. Their purpose was to join forces with Wang Xingben to resist the Tang army.

The battle of Miragawa was a "good start" for the Tang Dynasty to counterattack Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang. He knows well about Wei Chi Jingde, Xunxiang's attempt to unite with Wang Xingben and occupy Pu Han. Li Shimin captured this rare fighter plane and decided to strike while the iron was hot and attack again. If Wei Chi Jingde and Xun Xiang really join forces with Wang Xingben, the situation of the Tang Army will be very bad. In this regard, Li Shimin plans to fight another battle.

This time, Li Shimin personally went out and commanded 3,000 cavalry, marched overnight, and outflanked from the small road to the vicinity of Anyi. After arriving in Anyi, Li Shimin commanded the Tang army and quickly launched an attack, attacking Wei Chi Jingde and Xunxiang's troops. As a result, Li Shimin defeated the enemy again, and Wei Chi Jingde and Xunxiang were only spared and fled alone, and most of the soldiers under his command were all captured by the Tang army.

Under Li Shimin's brilliant deployment, the Tang army won two successive victories in the battles of Miragawa and Anyi, and defeated most of the enemy general Chi Jingde in one fell swoop. These two victories, although they failed to inflict heavy damage on the main forces of the enemy. However, since Liu Wu and Zhou Xingbing's invasion of the Tang Dynasty, especially after the occupation of Taiyuan, he has basically not encountered any effective resistance. However, the two battles of Miragawa and Anyi made Liu Wuzhou plant a big heel and suffered two defeats successively.

Moreover, at the beginning, Song Jingang sent Wei Chi Jingde and Xunxiang to lead troops to support Xia County. Originally, the battle of Xia County had already defeated the Tang army. Unexpectedly, on the way to withdraw the army, the strange soldiers arranged by Li Shimin intercepted them halfway. The team led by the two was almost completely wiped out. In other words, although Wei Chi Jingde won a temporary victory, he eventually lost all his money and lost all his troops. The victory in the battle of Xia County is not worth mentioning.

You must know that the most powerful generals under Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang are none other than Wei Chi Jingde. Now, Wei Chi Jingde has been defeated in Miragawa and Anyi one after another. This is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the military strength of Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang. At the same time, it is still a blow to Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang's arrogance of winning all the way. The great victories in the two battles of Miragawa and Anyi opened the prelude to the Tang army's Hedong counteroffensive.

After winning the battles of Miragawa and Anyi, Li Shimin led his army back to Baibi and continued to confront the main force of Song Jingang. The great victories in the two battles greatly boosted the morale of the officers and men of the Tang Army and changed the disadvantage of the Tang Army being passively beaten in Hedong. Therefore, the Tang army was full of emotion. Many generals asked the King of Qin for battle, suggesting that Li Shimin, taking advantage of the new defeat of the enemy's elite troops, fought a decisive battle with the main force of Song Jingang, and strived to recover Taiyuan in one fell swoop and pacify Hedong.

The two partial victories did not let Li Shimin get carried away by the victory. At this time, Li Shimin still maintained the calm thinking of an outstanding military strategist. In his opinion, this time is not the best time to fight a decisive battle with Song Jingang. Therefore, Li Shimin rationally analyzed the situation to the public:

King Kong hangs thousands of miles, deep into our land, and the elite soldiers are all here. Wu Zhou is based on Taiyuan and relies on King Kong to defend. Although there are many soldiers, the inner reality is empty, and the intention is to fight quickly. I have held strong camps to defeat their edges, and when I have exhausted my food, I should have fled. ("Old Tang Dynasty Book: Taizong Benji")

Li Shimin knew very well the reality of the enemy, although Song Jingang had a large number of troops, but because of the thousands of miles of march, the soldiers were tired, and there was not enough food and grass. Therefore, Song Jingang was anxious to fight a quick battle with the Tang army. In view of Song Jingang's current situation, the Tang army's best strategy at present is to continue to clear the wilderness, thwart its troops, and further deplete the enemy's vital forces. When Song Jingang runs out of grain and grass, he will take the initiative to withdraw his troops. When the time comes, the Tang army will launch a large-scale counterattack and will definitely be able to break the enemy in one battle.

Moreover, Li Shimin also saw a deeper layer. The reason why Liu Wuzhou is so open and dancing his claws is that the military force he relies on is nothing more than the elite soldiers and strong generals under the command of Song Jingang. If the main force of Song King Kong is completely annihilated, Liu Wuzhou will completely lose the only capital to show off his martial arts, and then disintegrate his psychological defense. After eliminating Song Jingang, Li Shi's militia went straight to Liu Wuzhou's headquarters. At that time, the Tang army may be able to make a forced landing on Liu Wuzhou without spending a single soldier.

Through both offensive and defensive tactics, Li Shimin gradually changed the unfavorable situation of the Tang Dynasty on the Hedong front. On the other hand, Song Jingang's troops not only made no progress, but lost their troops and generals, and suffered a major defeat in the two battles of Miragawa and Anyi, greatly damaged their morale, and gradually fell into the quagmire of war.

Just when Song Jingang was riding a tiger, Liu Wuzhou's situation was not optimistic. Compared with Song Jingang, Liu Wuzhou entered a bottleneck period of stagnation in the military. Since the occupation of Taiyuan, Liu Wuzhou's good luck seems to have come to an end.

In February of the third year of Wude (620), Liu Wuzhou sent a large army to invade Luzhou, and even broke the eldest son, Huguan and other places. At that time, Guo Ziwu, the Tang Dynasty guard general stationed in Luzhou, was the assassin of Luzhou. With Guo Ziwuyu under the command, he couldn't resist Liu Wuzhou's large-scale attack, and he saw that Luzhou was about to fall.

In order to defend Luzhou, Tang Gaozu appointed the general Wang Xingmin, as a "central commissioner", to go to Luzhou to supervise the battle and assist Guo Ziwu in defending the city together. However, as soon as Wang Xingmin arrived in Luzhou, he had a serious disagreement with Guo Ziwu because of the strategy of defending the city, and the two had a quarrel.

At this time, someone reported to Wang Xingmin that Guo Ziwu intended to betray Tang and was ready to surrender to Liu Wuzhou. Out of consideration for stabilizing the situation in Luzhou, Wang Xingmin broke his wrist and ordered Guo Ziwu to be killed without asking for instructions, and took out the head to show the public. Immediately afterwards, Wang Xingmin took over the military and political power in Luzhou and stabilized the situation in the city. Soon, Liu Wuzhou sent troops to attack Luzhou again. In the face of the enemy's second attack, Wang Xingmin commanded the army, deployed to defend the city, and repelled Liu Wuzhou's army in one fell swoop.

Originally, Liu Wuzhou wanted to take advantage of the disharmony of the Tang army generals in Luzhou and the unstable morale of the army to attack on a large scale in an attempt to quickly occupy Luzhou. Unexpectedly, it backfired, and Liu Wuzhou was defeated by the Tang Dynasty defenders under the city of Luzhou. The attack on Luzhou was frustrated, and Liu Wuzhou had to change the direction of the attack.

In March of that year, Liu Wuzhou sent his general Zhang Wansui to lead his army to invade Haozhou. This was Liu Wuzhou's third attack on Haozhou, and the first two attacks on Haozhou ended in failure. So this time, Liu Wuzhou made a bloody investment, and no matter what, he also wanted to take Haozhou. The enemy general Zhang Wansui led his army to invade Haozhou, but he never thought that it would be another big defeat. Tang general Li Zhongwen led his troops and horses to break the enemy army and capture thousands of people.

Soon after, on March 21, Zhang Lun, the deputy commander of the Tang Dynasty's march, once again led the Tang army to defeat Liu Wuzhou's army in Haozhou, capturing and beheading more than 1,000 men. In the two wars of Haozhou, Liu Wuzhou not only failed to conquer Haozhou, but lost nearly 10,000 soldiers and horses, and his vitality was greatly damaged. After that, Liu Wuzhou attacked Haozhou several times, but was defeated by Li Zhongwen, and Haozhou was still unable to attack for a long time. It can be seen that Liu Wuzhou at this time is like Jiang Lang's talent, and he has reached the end of the crossbow.

Liu Wuzhou attacked Luzhou and Haozhou, and lost successively, suffering heavy losses. From this time on, the Tang army gradually turned the situation around and occupied the initiative on the battlefield. Only a month later, Song Jingang, who was relied on by Liu Wu as a pillar on Monday, also ushered in his end. After a fierce battle, the Tang Dynasty won a decisive victory in the Hedong War.

As mentioned above, in December of the second year of Wude (619), Li Shimin launched two battles of Miliangchuan and Anyi, took the initiative to attack, and defeated Chi Jingde and Xunxiang's subordinates under the command of Song Jingang in one fell swoop, initially changing the battlefield situation. These two partial victories dealt a heavy blow to the arrogance of Song Jingang's army.

After severely injuring Wei Chi Jingde and looking for his appearance, Li Shimin returned to Baibi and continued to hold and confront the main force of Song Jingang. It stands to reason that the enemy army has been newly defeated, and if the Tang army wants to fight a quick battle, it should counterattack on all fronts. However, Li Shimin judged the situation, calmly judged the situation, and did not rush to a decisive battle with Song Jingang.

Li Shimin seized the shortcomings of Song Jingang's lack of food and grass, stuck to the camp, and fought a protracted battle with Song Jingang. His aim was to gradually consume the enemy's food and grass. When Song Jingang runs out of grain and grass, he will definitely take the initiative to withdraw his troops. As long as Song Jingang withdraws, Li Shimin's opportunity will come. Taking advantage of the enemy's retreat, the Tang army pursued on all fronts and annihilated the main force of Song Jingang. That way, the odds will be greater.

Song Jingang is not Li Shimin's opponent after all, and he is not as treacherous as Li Shimin. The food and grass in the army are becoming more and more urgent, so Song Jin was in a hurry to eliminate the Tang army just now. However, Li Shimin had already guessed his thoughts, and he refused to confront the enemy. In this way, Song Jingang had nothing to do but watch the grain and grass consume clean. The enemy's soldiers ran out of food and grass, and this was exactly what Li Shimin wanted to see.

Finally, Li Shimin's strategy of war of attrition had the desired effect. In April of the third year of Wude (620), Song Jingang's army ran out of food. At this time, there was only one way in front of Song Jingang: retreat. If the troops are not withdrawn, even if they are not wiped out by the Tang army, they will be starved to death, and there will even be a mutiny. In desperation, Song Jingang was ruthless and ordered the army to retreat north. Immediately afterwards, a fierce battle was inevitable:

King Shimin of Qin pursued and sought the phase in Luzhou, broke it, took advantage of the victory to chase the north, traveled more than 200 miles in a day and night, and fought dozens of battles. (Information Governance Guide)

Song Jingang led the army to retreat north, which was in the arms of Li Shimin. Li Shimin understood that once the army slowly retreated, it would definitely lose its proper order. When the time comes, the retreat will turn into a rout. Therefore, when the enemy army retreats, it is the best time to pursue it in a big way. Therefore, Li Shimin immediately ordered all the main forces of the Tang army to pull out the camp and set up the village, and set out to pursue Song Jingang's army and launch a counterattack against the enemy.

Li Shimin personally led the main force of the Tang army, racing all the way, pursuing the retreating Song Jingang army. Sure enough, under Li Shimin's close pursuit, the Tang army chased to Luzhou and collided head-on with the enemy's Xiangxiang Division. After encountering the Department of Seeking Photographs, Li Shimin didn't say a word, and immediately started fighting, and the two sides started a bloody battle. After a battle, the troops who were looking for the appearance were killed and crushed, and the Tang army won a complete victory and successfully broke the enemy army along the way.

After the Great Break and the search for the prime minister in Luzhou, Song Jingang's army was basically defeated. Li Shimin naturally will not stop there, and is ready to expand the results of the battle. Therefore, Li Shimin led a large brigade of the Tang Army to continue to take advantage of the victory to attack, chasing the dead and chasing the north, running for more than 200 miles in a day and night, and fighting dozens of major battles along the way. It is not difficult to imagine that Song Jingang, who had become a frightened bird, was defeated one after another in the face of the overwhelming Tang army soldiers.

When the Tang army rushed to Gaobiling, Li Shimin still had to pursue the enemy. At this time, Liu Hongji, the chief manager, an important general under Li Shimin, stepped forward to hold the reins of the war horse under Li Shimin's crotch, insisted on admonishment, and put forward his opinions to Li Shimin, the king of Qin:

The king broke the thief, chased the north to this point, and the merit was enough. Deep, don't love the body! And the soldiers are hungry and tired, it is better to stay and avoid here, until the soldiers and food are gathered, and then re-enter, it is not too late. (Information Governance Guide)

Liu Hongji suggested to Li Shimin, the king, you have achieved great results, and after a long run and pursuit, the soldiers must be very tired. It is better to set up camp here, rest for a while, and wait for the grain and grass to arrive in the rear, and then pursue the remnants of Song Jingang, which is also a clever plan for soldiers.

Unexpectedly, Li Shimin categorically rejected Liu Hongji's prudent policy. This Tang Dynasty military god, who has been engaged in military activities since he was sixteen years old, conquered the south and the north, and shocked the world, at this moment, shows an unusually determined side. I saw that Li Shimin was categorical and said something like this:

King Kong planned to go away poorly, and everyone was depressed; It is difficult to succeed and easy to fail, and the opportunity is rare and easy to lose, so we must take advantage of this situation. If it is drowned, it will be ready to be prepared, and it will not be attacked again. I am loyal to the country, and I don't care about my body! (Information Governance Guide)

In Li Shimin's view, Song Jingang is now struggling to catch his breath and be vulnerable. In "The Art of War", it is said, "Therefore, those who make good use of soldiers, avoid their sharp spirit, and attack their laziness, and those who control their qi are also." "The more this time, the more we must go all out and completely annihilate it. If you let Song Jingang go, when he recovers, and then wants to destroy him, it will be troublesome. Therefore, Li Shimin, who is familiar with the way of using soldiers, will never give Song Jingang a chance to resurrect.

After speaking, Li Shimin rode his horse and whipped, rode into the dust, and continued to advance to pursue the enemy. All the soldiers of the Tang army know what kind of person Li Shimin, the king of Qin, is. Their commander-in-chief has always been true to his word, and the things he decides will never be easily changed. Now that King Qin has taken the lead, these generals naturally don't dare to say anything more. As a result, the Tang army troops went up to the generals and colonels and down to the soldiers, and they followed Li Shimin one after another, striving to hunt down and kill Song Jingang.

The emperor lives up to his wishes. Li Shimin led the main force of the Tang army, and when the soldiers reached the Valley of the Bird and Rat, they finally caught up with Song Jingang's army. Immediately afterwards, the two armies fought another unprecedented fierce battle in the Valley of the Sparrows. Li Shimin commanded the officers and men of the Tang Army to storm Song Jingang, and within one day, carried out eight large-scale battles in a row, broke the enemy army, and pursued and killed tens of thousands of enemy troops. The main force of Song Jingang, destroyed by World War I:

Then he rode his horse forward, and the soldiers did not dare to say that they were hungry. Chased King Kong in the Valley of the Bird and Rat, eight battles a day, all broken, and tens of thousands of people were captured. (Information Governance Guide)

In addition, what is particularly necessary is that in the "Battle of the Bird and Mouse Valley", Li Shimin's good horse at that time also made great achievements. This BMW horse is one of the famous "Zhaoling Six Horses" - "Teller". It can be said that this "Teller Horse" has witnessed Li Shimin's invincibility across thousands of troops.

As mentioned above, in November of the first year of Wude (618), the battle of Shallow Water Plains made Li Shimin's "White Hoof Wu" mount famous in a battle. Similarly, in the "Battle of the Bird and Mouse Valley", in the battle with Song Jingang, Li Shimin rode another good horse of the "Zhaoling Six Horses": Teller.

Regarding the "Tele Horse", Li Shimin gave a detailed introduction to the appearance, coat color, and combat experience of this war horse in his "Six Horses Tuzan":

Yellowish-white, the beak is slightly black, and it was taken by King Kong in the Ping Song Dynasty.

The reason why it is called "Terler Biao" is because the color of this horse's hair is yellow and white, and the white beak is slightly black, so it is called "Horse". The so-called "Teler" is actually the title of a high-ranking Turkic official. It can be seen that the breed of "Telle Bi" belongs to the Turkic good horse, which is a typical Dawan horse in the Syr Darya Valley, that is, the famous "sweat and blood horse" in the Han Dynasty.

Today, the Zhaoling of Tang Taizong in Xianyang, Shaanxi, the stone carving of "Telle Biu", is located in the first place on the east side of the Zhaoling altar. Judging from the appearance of the stone carvings, the "Telle Biao" has a strong physique and a long belly and calves. At the beginning, Li Shimin rode it, galloped in the land of Sanjin, fought eight battles in one day in the Bird Mouse Valley, and defeated the enemy general Song Jingang. Therefore, Tang Taizong Li Shimin attached great importance to his war horse and gave a high evaluation:

should be vacated in the air, and the voice is half a man; Destroy the enemy in danger and take advantage of the danger to help the enemy. ("Six Horses Tuzan")

In the battle of the Bird Mouse Valley, Li Shimin personally braved the arrows and stones, took the lead, and the soldiers of the Tang Army also fought bravely to kill the enemy, and finally won a complete victory, defeating the main force of Song Jingang and capturing tens of thousands of enemy troops. After a whole day of bloody fighting, the Tang army was exhausted at this time and urgently needed to rest.

Considering the strength of the officers and men of the whole army, Li Shimin temporarily stopped the pursuit. That night, Li Shimin ordered the army to be stationed in the western plains of the Bird Mouse Valley and rest for one night. As the commander of the Tang Army, Li Shimin was seriously overdrawn and exhausted because of his continuous marching and fighting. According to historical records, after several days of rushing and pursuing, from Baibi to the Valley of Birds, Li Shimin has not entered the water and rice for two days, has not unarmoured for three days, and the horse has not unsaddled.

Similarly, at this moment, the Tang Army began to suffer from an extreme shortage of food. The only ration in the whole army was only one sheep. When the battle came to this, all the soldiers were tired and hungry. Simply, Li Shimin broke the kettle and ordered the only remaining sheep among the generals to be slaughtered. Then, Li Shimin and the soldiers of the whole army shared a sheep.

To be precise, the war has reached its final stage. If this battle is not ended as soon as possible, and if it drags on like this, the Tang army will also face the danger of running out of ammunition and food, and will be defeated without a fight. Therefore, in front of Li Shimin, there are no more than two choices, either victory or defeat. However, as far as the current situation is concerned, Li Shimin and the officers and men of the Tang Army are getting closer and closer to victory, and they are even just around the corner.

After resting for a few days, Li Shimin embarked on the journey again, led the army all the way forward, and rushed to the vicinity of Jiexiu. Coincidentally, Song Jingang led the remnants and also retreated to Jiexiu. Therefore, the final decisive battle between Li Shimin and Song Jingang has arrived. The battle of Jiexiu is directly related to the final success or failure of the Hedong war.

At that time, there were still 20,000 remnants of Song Jingang's defeated soldiers, and their strength was not as good as before. However, Song Jingang did not want to be caught. In the face of the Li Tang army, which was like a rainbow and was desperate, Song Jingang chose to resist stubbornly and make the last struggle, but it was a big deal to break the net with the Tang army.

Soon, Song Jingang gathered 20,000 remnants of soldiers, went out of Xiu Ximen, lined up behind the city, and stretched for seven miles from north to south, and the momentum was extremely huge. Song Jingang made a desperate bet and planned to fight to the death with the Tang army. The result of this battle is either your death or my death. The final decisive battle of the Hedong battlefield unfolded under Jiexiu City:

King Kong arrayed, seven miles from north to south, to resist the officers and troops. Taizong sent the chief Li Shixian, Cheng Yanjin, and Qin Shubao to the north, and Zhai Changsun and Qin Wutong to the south. The armies fought small, but they were taken advantage of by thieves. Taizong led the elite cavalry to attack it, and after rushing into its formation, the thieves were defeated and chased for dozens of miles. ("Old Tang Dynasty Book: Taizong Benji")

At first, Li Shimin could also see that Song Jingang had no intention of surrendering. It seems that only he will be completely eliminated. As a result, Li Shimin immediately met the battle and sent several capable generals under his account to destroy the enemy. The commanders Li Shiyun (Xu Shixian), Cheng Yanjin, and Qin Qiong led the army to set up a formation in the north; Zhai Changsun and Qin Wutong, two generals, led troops to line up in the south. The purpose of such an arrangement of troops is to form an encirclement of Song Jingang, flank the north and south, and annihilate them in one fell swoop.

At the beginning of the war, Li Shiqian led his army to engage the enemy. Maybe Li Shimin deliberately let him deceive and lure the enemy deeper. Therefore, after a few rounds, Li Shichang feigned defeat and retreated slightly. Seeing the retreat of the Tang army, Song Jingang was overjoyed, not knowing that it was Li Shimin's plan to lure the enemy, and took advantage of the situation to cover up and kill. Song Jingang's move like this was actually digging his own grave and creating a rare fighter for Li Shimin.

What kind of fighters? It turned out that Song Jingang waved his army forward, causing a large gap between his battle line and the city wall. Once the Tang army seized this gap, interspersed with it. At that time, Song Jingang's army would be cut into two sections, and they would not be able to take care of each other.

Li Shimin has experienced a hundred battles, so he naturally understands this truth. It was too late, but it was fast, and when there was a gap in the enemy's battle line, Li Shimin personally led a group of elite cavalry to enter the enemy formation and attack his rear line. Sure enough, Song Jingang's army was split in two, cut off at the waist, and collapsed at the first touch. The Tang army attacked from three sides, broke the remnants of Song Jingang, and beheaded 3,000 people. And Song Jingang himself, taking advantage of the melee between the two armies, fled in a hurry with a small number of light cavalry retinues.

In the decisive battle of Jiexiu, Li Shimin completely defeated the remnants of Song Jingang, and basically laid the pattern of the destruction of Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang. After Song Jingang fled, Li Shimin was non-stop, chasing for dozens of miles, until he reached the military fortress - Zhang Nanbao.

Zhang Nanbao was not occupied by Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang, and it was still a military jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang generals stationed in the fortress of Zhangnanbao were Fan Botong and Zhang Dezheng, the commanders of the Haozhou march. Since Liu Wuzhou's southern invasion, the Tang army here, under the leadership of Fan Botong and Zhang Dezheng, has held the castle and desperately resisted the enemy. Because of this, Liu Wuzhou and Song Jin did not capture Zhang Nanbao just now.

Originally, Fan Botong and Zhang Dezheng were trapped in the lonely city, and they no longer had any hope for reinforcements. However, at this time, a large number of the main forces of the Tang army appeared under the city, and it was Li Shimin, the king of Qin, who led the troops. The defenders of Fort Zhang were a little skeptical, and they were somewhat unconvinced, worried that it was the enemy who was cheating.

In order to dispel the doubts of the defenders in the city, Li Shimin urged him to step forward and take off his helmet. The defenders of the city took a closer look, and sure enough, it was the King of Qin, and they immediately cried with joy, and immediately opened the city gate to welcome the main force of the Tang army into the city. After entering Zhangnanbao, the people around Li Shimin told the defenders in the city that the king of Qin had not eaten for many days. Therefore, the defenders in the city immediately offered turbid wine and demillet rice, so that the king of Qin could have a full meal.

Let's take a look at Song Jingang's situation. In the battle of Jiexiu, Song Jingang was defeated, the army was lost, and finally took advantage of the chaos to escape. It can be said that at this time, Song Jingang's army was defeated like a mountain, from Baibi all the way to Jiexiu, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses were almost wiped out, and there was no chance to turn over.

However, after reaching this step, Song Jingang was still unwilling to fail. He couldn't accept it, and he just lost. Therefore, Song Jingang collected the remnants and wanted to fight another battle with the Tang army. But the tree fell and scattered. At this time, no one under his command listened to orders. Song Jingang understood that he was gone. In desperation, Song Jingang had to gather more than 100 cavalry and go to the Turks.

The so-called "people go tea cool". In the past, Song Jingang's soldiers were strong and strong, and the Turks still regarded him as a dish. But now, Song Jingang is the commander of the light pole, and the attitude of the Turks towards him is extremely disdainful. The current Song King Kong is a useless waste for the Turks.

At first, Song Jingang originally planned to flee back to the old nest of the previous army: Shanggu. Unexpectedly, on the way to escape, Song Jingang was captured by the Turks. After capturing Song Jingang, the Turks immediately revealed their ferocious nature and directly ordered Song Jingang to be beheaded. A generation of heroes died in a foreign land like this, and died tragically under the Turkic knife.

Song Jingang was defeated and killed, and the curtain came to a desolate end. So, what is the final outcome of Liu Wuzhou? In fact, long before the Battle of Baibi began, Li Shimin had already decided to fight Song Jingang first, and then destroy Liu Wuzhou. This is because Li Shimin clearly realized that eliminating Song Jingang was equivalent to defeating Liu Wuzhou.

Isn't the military strength that Liu Wuzhou relied on the main force of the elite soldiers in Song Jingang's hands? Now, Song Jingang has been defeated, and the capital that Liu Wuzhou relied on no longer exists. His psychological defense line is also crumbling step by step. Therefore, Li Shimin's move is not only a military thunderbolt method, but also a psychological warfare.

As Li Shimin expected, Song Jingang was defeated in the three battles of Baibi, Bird Mouse Valley, and Jiexiu, and the news of the annihilation of the whole army came, and Liu Wuzhou was in chaos in an instant. Without Song Jingang's tens of thousands of troops, even if he occupied Taiyuan, as well as a large area of cities and land in Hedong, it was meaningless. Now, Liu Wuzhou has a meager number of troops, and Li Shimin wants to clean him up, but it's just a gesture.

Liu Wuzhou, who was terrified, was desperate and had to give up Taiyuan and go to the Turks. In other words, Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang are really a pair of difficult brothers, and they are both loyal lackeys of the Turks. Once a catastrophe comes, their first reaction is to defect to the Turks and seek refuge from their big brother, the Turks. Liu Wuzhou's exodus from the Turks, in a sense, was to completely abandon Taiyuan and all the territory he occupied in Hedong.

Knowing that Liu Wuzhou had fled from Taiyuan to the Turks, Li Shimin was extremely excited. Now it seems that Liu Wuzhou is no longer worried, and this is a good time to recover Taiyuan and counterattack the lost territory in Hedong. The good opportunity was fleeting, Li Shimin quickly reorganized his troops and horses, marched to Taiyuan in a big way, and surrounded Taiyuan.

Before Liu Wuzhou escaped, he appointed one of his subordinate generals: Yang Funian, who was left behind in Taiyuan. Facing the Tang Dynasty army under the city, Yang Funian understood that Liu Wuzhou was finished, and there was no need for him to give his life in vain. Therefore, without waiting for the Tang army to attack the city, Yang Funian took the initiative to open the city gate and surrender to the Tang army. In this way, Li Shimin recovered Li Tang's Longxing land - Taiyuan in a bloodless way.

Li Shimin recovered Taiyuan and led his army into the city. Previously, Tang Jian, the waiter of the inner history who was captured by Song Jingang and made great contributions to the pacification of the Dugu Huaien Rebellion, also regained his freedom at this time. Therefore, Tang Jian immediately sealed the treasury for Li Shimin's inspection. After the recovery of Taiyuan, the situation in Hedong immediately ushered in the final victory. Those Hedong counties occupied by Liu Wuzhou lost land, and at this time, they returned to the hands of the Tang Dynasty one after another.

At the beginning, when Liu Wuzhou went south to invade Taiyuan, his subordinate Yuan Junzhang tried his best to dissuade Liu Wuzhou and oppose the war with Li Tang. Yuan Junzhang believes that the Li family father and son are by no means idle people, and there is no need for us to start this war. Rather than openly provoking the Tang Dynasty, it would be wise to pursue a foreign policy of friendship with the Turks and the Tang Dynasty at the same time. Only in this way can we have a foothold:

The Tang lord lifted the people of a state and took Chang'an directly, and he was invincible, which was a gift from God, not manpower. South of Jinyang, the road is dangerous, the county army is deep, there is no follow-up, the king is not good in the battle, how can he return himself! It is better to connect the Turks in the north, the Tang Dynasty in the south, and the lonely in the south, which is enough for the long term. (Information Governance Guide)

It's a pity that Liu Wuzhou was too inflated at that time, and did not listen to Yuan Junzhang's advice, insisting on attacking Taiyuan and leaving Yuan Junzhang to garrison Shuozhou. Later, Song Jingang's entire army was annihilated, and Liu Wuzhou abandoned Taiyuan and fled in a hurry. At this time, Liu Wuzhou realized that he regretted not following Yuan Junzhang's advice. Therefore, in front of Yuan Junzhang, he wept bitterly and said sadly: "You don't need to say anything, that's it." ”

After Liu Wuzhou fled to the Turks, the Turks treated him and did not cross the river and tear down the bridge as they did with Song Jingang. After all, Liu Wuzhou was once a Turkic force in Shanxi. Therefore, Liu Wuzhou fell into trouble and went to the Turks, but it was still a period of peace.

However, later, due to Liu Wu's natural death, his life was directly cut off. Liu Wuzhou felt that he used to be a hegemon, but now he was unwilling to send people under the fence like a lost dog. Driven by this psychology, Liu Wuzhou began to move.

As a result, Liu Wuzhou began to plot to escape from the Turks, intending to flee back to Mayi. Mayi was the place where Liu Wuzhou first raised an army against the Sui, and Liu Wuzhou wanted to return there, regroup, and make a comeback. However, the matter was leaked, and the Turks were furious and went on a killing spree, and Liu Wuzhou died. may be due to the same end, Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang's final ending is that they are both in different places, dying in a foreign land, and dying at the hands of the Turks.

In the process of Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang's defeat and death, Li Shimin also received a special "gift" outside the battlefield. That is, he subdued the fierce general Wei Chi Jingde. As mentioned above, in the two battles of Meiliangchuan and Anyi, Li Shimin won a surprising victory, defeating Wei Chi Jingde and Xunxiang's department, and almost wiped out the two of them, only to be spared. The most powerful brigade under Song Jingang was wiped out by the Tang army.

Later, in the battle of Jiexiu, Song Jingang's troops were defeated and fled in chaos. At that time, Wei Chi Jingde did not flee with Song Jingang, but gathered his troops and horses and retreated to the city. Wei Chi Jingde planned to defend Jiexiu as a barrier against the attack of the main force of the Tang army.

Li Shimin knew that Wei Chi Jingde was a fierce general, and he really wanted to take him under his command. Therefore, after the battle of Jiexiu, Li Shimin did not wave his army to attack Jiexiu, but sent Li Daozong, the king of Rencheng, and the minister Yu Wenshi and (Yu Wenhua's younger brother) to persuade Chi Jingde, the commander.

Previously, in the pacification of the Dugu Huaien Rebellion, Wei Chi Jingde had established contact with the Tang Army. It's just that he hasn't made up his mind about whether to descend to Tang. Now, it's a different story. Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang have gone, and the Tang army's recovery of Hedong is a foregone conclusion. After judging the situation and sizing up the situation, Wei Chi Jingde finally decided to submit to the Tang Army. So, Wei Chi Jingde and Xun Xiang dedicated the two cities of Jiexiu and Yong'an to the Tang Dynasty and officially descended to the Tang Dynasty.

After Wei Chi Jingde surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin was very happy and finally subdued this tiger general, and the Tang army was like a tiger with wings from then on. Since Wei Chi Jingde returned to obedience, Li Shimin has trusted him very much, and he has not treated him as a general at all. Li Shimin appointed Wei Chi Jingde as the commander of the right government and continued to command his 8,000 old troops. At the same time, Li Shimin also specially allowed Wei Chi Jingde's camp tent to be lined up with his own camp tent.

The high level of trust in Li Shimin caused some veterans in the Tang camp to be very worried. For example, Li Shimin's adjutant general: Marshal of the March, Shi Qu Tutong, was afraid that Wei Chi Jingde would be capricious, and reminded Li Shimin many times to beware of Wei Chi Jingde's backlash. However, Li Shimin didn't think so at all, thinking that Qu Tutong was too worried. Even, Li Shimin compared himself to Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, and exchanged sincerity for Wei Chi Jingde's sincerity:

King Xi Xiao pushed his heart in the belly of others, and was able to die for his life, and now he appoints Jingde, so there is no doubt. ("Old Tang Dynasty Book: Taizong Benji")

In July of the third year of Wude (620), Li Shimin, the king of Qin, was ordered to march eastward, personally led 100,000 Tang troops, attacked the regime of Wang Shichong of Luoyang, and began the Tang Dynasty's march into the Central Plains. In the Eastern Expedition of the Li Tang Dynasty, Wei Chi Jingde, who had just returned to the Tang Dynasty, also followed Li Shimin on the expedition. What Ling Wei Chi Jingde didn't expect was that it was in this Eastern Crusade Army that his life almost hung by a thread and almost lost his life.

What's going on? In September of this year, the general Xun Xiang, who returned to the Tang Army with Wei Chi Jingde, and some other old troops of Liu Wuzhou, suddenly fled and defected. A large number of soldiers fled, causing great unease within the Tang army. What's more, it is still a critical moment to attack Luoyang. If the morale of the army is not calmed in time, it is very likely that the military operation to attack Luoyang will be wasted and die halfway.

At that time, many generals in the Tang Army were suspicious of Wei Chi Jingde, believing that Wei Chi Jingde planned the collective defection of these old units. Therefore, these Tang generals would rather believe what they have, not believe what they don't, and did not ask the King of Qin for instructions, and privately imprisoned Wei Chi Jingde in the army. Then, the left servant of Xingtai shot Qu Tutong and Shang Shuyin opened the mountain, and suggested that Li Shimin cut through the chaos with a quick knife, kill Wei Chi Jingde, and never suffer in the future:

Jingde returned to the country for the first time, and his feelings were not attached. This person is very brave and strong, and he has been doing it for a long time, and he has been guessed and resentful. If you are afraid of laughing and regretting it, please kill it immediately. ("Old Tang Book: The Biography of Wei Chi Jingde")

At this time, we can see that Li Shimin has a personality charm that is not suspicious and suspicious. Everyone suggested that Li Shimin kill Yu Chi Jingde. However, Li Shimin had no one to follow, so he really killed Wei Chi Jingde. On the contrary, he tried his best to oppose public opinion, feeling that if Wei Chi Jingde wanted to rebel, he would have rebelled a long time ago, so why wait until now:

What the widow sees, is different from this. If Jingde has a plan to turn his back, will he be after looking for his appearance?

So, Li Shimin immediately ordered the release of Wei Chi Jingde. Moreover, Li Shimin respectfully invited Wei Chi Jingde into his big tent and solemnly apologized to him. At the same time, Li Shimin took out a sum of gold, silver and jewelry, gave it to Wei Chi Jingde, and said, If the general wants to leave the Tang Army, I will not stop it; This money should be used as your travel expenses, and it can also be regarded as a work together, so that you can get together and disperse:

The husband is in a mood, don't mind with suspicion. The widow will not listen to slander to harm the loyal and good, and the public should be considerate. Bing wants to go, and now it is a matter of mutual investment, showing the feeling of working together for a while.

In the end, Li Shimin's broad-mindedness and personality charm convinced Wei Chi Jingde. Since then, Wei Chi Jingde has been loyal and desperate, following Li Shimin's left and right, fighting in the south and the north, and galloping on the battlefield. In the war of breaking Zheng and destroying Xia and breaking the Turks, Wei Chi Jingde made outstanding achievements.

Later, after Tang Taizong ascended the throne, Wei Chi Jingde was promoted to the right military general, and was named the Duke of Eguo, one of the "Twenty-four Meritorious Heroes of Lingyan Pavilion", and became the founding father of the famous generation in the early years of the Tang Dynasty. Not only that, but Wei Chi Jingde and Qin Qiong and Qin Shubao have become well-known "door gods".

At this point, with the defeat and death of Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang, the fierce general Chi Jingde led his troops to return to the Tang Dynasty, and the "Hedong War", which lasted for a year, finally ended successfully with the great victory of the Tang Dynasty. The great victory in Hedong, the Tang army not only annihilated the main force of the enemy, recovered Taiyuan, and pacified the military disaster in Hedong; At the same time, the regime of Liu Wuzhou, which had been entrenched in Shanxi for many years, was uprooted and completely eliminated, eliminating this henchman who threatened Taiyuan.

The news of the great victory in Hedong and the elimination of Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang reached Chang'an, and Li Yuan, the ancestor of the Tang Dynasty, was overjoyed. From April of the second year of Wude (619), Liu Wuzhou invaded Taiyuan in a big way; By April of the third year of Wude (620), the Tang army had achieved a complete victory in Hedong. This war lasted a whole year, which was longer than the war to unify the northwest. On the other hand, it can also be proven that this victory was not easy to come by.

Therefore, in order to commemorate this hard-won victory, the whole country needs to celebrate together. So, Tang Gaozu feasted the ministers and rewarded hundreds of officials. This time, Emperor Gaozu was very generous and ordered to open the treasury and let the civil and military officials pick which one they liked, and take as much as they wanted.

At the same time, Tang Jian made great contributions in smashing Dugu Huaien's conspiracy. After the Hedong War, Tang Gaozu restored Tang Jian's official title and appointed him as the ambassador of the pacification of the state and the state. Tang general Li Zhongwen, in the battle of Hedong, led the army to defeat Liu Wuzhou's invasion many times, and even took more than 100 castles, and made meritorious contributions to the enemy. Therefore, the imperial court appointed Li Zhongwen as the governor of the inspection school and the state. After Dugu Huaien was killed, all his family property was confiscated. Now, all these confiscated family property are rewarded to meritorious soldiers.

Throughout the great victory in Hedong, Li Shimin, the king of Qin, made great contributions. As the supreme military commander of the Tang Army, Li Shimin was like a god, adopted correct strategies, tactics, combined offense and defense, and attacked decisively. Until the decisive stage of the Battle of Hedong, Li Shimin led the Tang Army, swept thousands of troops all the way, and successively fought three battles and three victories in Baibi, Bird Mouse Valley, and Jiexiu, and annihilated tens of thousands of enemy troops; In the end, the forces of Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang in Shanxi were completely eliminated.

In fact, as early as the decisive battle between Li Shimin and Song Jingang's main force, Tang Gaozu's reward for Li Shimin came down in advance, affirming Li Shimin's achievements on the Hedong front. In the first year of Wude (618), because of the merits of pacifying the Western Qin, Li Shimin was awarded the titles of Tai Lieutenant, Shaanxi East Dao Xingtai Shangshu Ling, Zuo Wuhou General, Liangzhou Governor, etc., guarding the Huayin Changchun Palace, and the Kwantung soldiers and horses were controlled by it, and the military power was in hand.

So, this time, what kind of important military and political positions did Li Yuan appoint to his own Erlang? At that time, the land of Bashu was also included in the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, the Tang Dynasty was bound to manage the land of Shu. In April of the third year of Wude (620), the Tang Dynasty set up the Yizhou Daoxingtai as an institution to govern Shu. At the same time, the six prefectures of Yi, Li, Hui, Yan, Jing and Sui were unified under the rule of Yizhou Daoxingtai.

Soon, on April 21, that is, on the eve of Li Shimin's army pursuing Song Jingang's main force. Tang Gaozu sent a decree to the front, and among the three armies, he crowned Li Shimin as the secretary of Yizhou Daoxingtai. Li Shimin added a visit to Yizhou Road and led the Yizhou Road, which is of great significance. Since then, the country of Bashu Tianfu has become the sphere of influence of Li Shimin, the king of Qin. Li Shimin can accumulate strength here and clean up people's hearts.

Because of the Tang Dynasty's southern and northern wars, Li Shimin was in charge of the two major platforms in eastern Shaanxi and Yizhou, and the two strategic places of Kwantung and Bashu were also firmly in the hands of Li Shimin. From this moment on, Li Shimin's forces began to have the potential to spark the prairie fire.

For Li Shimin, this is an extremely strong political capital, which has laid a solid political and military foundation for him to compete for the crown prince in the future. At this time, Li Shimin was rising day by day and gradually became the soul of the Tang Dynasty, no longer limited to the military field, but was stepping towards the core of power.

A month later, Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang were defeated one after another, and the situation in Hedong tended to stabilize. In May of the third year of Wude (620), Li Shimin appointed the general Li Zhongwen to guard Taiyuan. The foreign enemy was cleared, and the east of the river was settled. Li Shimin led the army, with this victorious army of a hundred battles and blood, full of great military exploits, and returned to the dynasty.

On the way to the class, Li Shimin personally led the troops, drove straight from the governor of Jin, attacked Poxia County in one fell swoop, and wiped out the remnants of Lu Chongmao's rebels. The suppression of Lü Chongmao's rebels, the last threat of the Tang Dynasty in Shanxi, was completely eliminated. The Battle of Hedong was a complete victory. On 29 May, Li Shimin returned to Chang'an. Until this time, Li Shimin returned triumphantly, the class returned to Beijing, and the Hedong War, which lasted for a year, officially ended.

So, what important strategic significance did this "Hedong Victory", which lasted for a whole year and took a lot of hard work to achieve victory, play an important strategic significance for the reunification of the Li Tang Dynasty? The significance of Hedong's victory is mainly reflected in the following three aspects.

First, the military environment in the Guanzhong region has been thoroughly consolidated.

At the beginning of the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, it was surrounded by strong enemies and surrounded by the world's heroes, and almost simultaneously fought with the separatist forces in various places. If the Tang Dynasty wants to unify the world and flatten the secession, the process has a long way to go. Therefore, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan formulated the strategy of first consolidating Guanzhong, conquering the Central Plains in the east, and then leveling the south of the Yangtze River. The first step in realizing this grand plan is to clear away the several major separatist regimes around Guanzhong and consolidate the military security of Guanzhong.

At that time, the Tang Dynasty mainly faced three strong enemies around Guanzhong and Chang'an: Longxi Xue's father and son, Hexi Li Rail, and Shanxi Liu Wuzhou. Therefore, from the first year of Wude (618) to the third year of Wude (620), the Li Tang Dynasty eliminated these three separatist forces one by one after three years of campaigning.

In particular, in April of the third year of Wude (620), Li Shimin led the Tang army to defeat the main force of Song Jingang, completely eliminated Liu Wuzhou's regime, recovered the lost land of Merge and Fen, and consolidated the situation in Taiyuan. Since then, the Tang Dynasty's ruling range has reached Longyou and Hexi in the west, Bashu in the south, and Hedong in the north, sitting in Guanzhong. It can be said that the Tang Dynasty at this time included the vast areas of northern China and the southwest, and basically realized the unification of the northern region.

It can also be said that the great victory in the Battle of Hedong and the fall of Liu Wuzhou's regime drew a successful end to the first step of the Tang Dynasty's strategy of unifying the world, "consolidating Guanzhong". From this moment on, the Tang Dynasty's dominance in the Guanzhong region was truly stabilized and would never be threatened again.

Second, it smashed the Turkic conspiracy to stifle the great cause of the unification of the Tang Dynasty.

As mentioned above, after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks underwent subtle changes, and gradually evolved from an ally to a hostile relationship. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the world was in turmoil, and the Turks grew stronger and stronger, and their forces penetrated into the interior of the Central Plains, as if they had become the manipulators of the Central Plains pattern.

The Tang Dynasty unified the northwest and eliminated the two major separatist regimes of the Xue clan in Longxi and Li Liang in Hexi, which touched the interests of the Turks in the interior. Therefore, the Turks adopted a policy of suppressing Li Tang and installed a number of puppet regimes around Guanzhong to confront the Tang Dynasty. Among them, the most powerful are the two major regimes: Liu Wuzhou in Shanxi and Liang Shidu in Shuofang. The purpose of the Turks was to nip in the bud the great cause of the Tang Dynasty's unification of the world.

However, Li Shimin had a brilliant army, and in just a few months, he eliminated Liu Wuzhou's regime in one fell swoop. The fall of Liu Wuzhou was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the expansion of Turkic power. Through the Battle of Hedong, the Tang Dynasty completely expelled the Turkic forces from Shanxi, eliminating the threat of the Turks' gradual encroachment on the foundation of Li and Tang, and making the Turkic conspiracy to strangle the great cause of Li Tang's unification for the first time.

Third, it cleared the way for the Tang Dynasty to march into the Central Plains.

Originally, after unifying the northwest and quelling Li Mi's rebellion against the Tang Dynasty, the next move of the Tang Dynasty was to go east and compete with Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande for hegemony in the Central Plains. However, plans have not kept up with the changes. Without waiting for the Tang Dynasty to begin planning the Eastern Crusade, Liu Wuzhou launched a provocation against the Tang Dynasty and captured Taiyuan and a large number of cities and counties in Shanxi, and the war in Hedong was urgent. As a last resort, Li Tang had to temporarily shelve the Eastern Expedition plan and make every effort to deal with the Battle of Hedong.

After a year of hard fighting, the Tang Dynasty finally won a complete victory in the Battle of Hedong, consolidating the military situation in the Guanzhong region. In this way, the Li Tang Dynasty can be regarded as clearing the obstacles for the Eastern Expedition, relieving the worries of the future, and can free up their hands to implement the plan of marching into the Central Plains.

It can be seen that the Tang Dynasty's eastward expedition to Luoyang and its march into the Central Plains were gradually put on the agenda, and they were ready to be sent like an arrow. So, what was the situation in the Central Plains at that time? Before officially entering the Central Plains, what kind of friction and collision will the increasingly powerful and rising Li Tang Dynasty have with the Central Plains? Under what kind of background did the Tang Dynasty, which was ready to go, point its sword at the Central Plains and start the mighty Eastern Crusade?