Until April of the third year of Wude (620), the Li Tang Dynasty, which had only been established for three years, was like a rising sun, erupting thin. In just three years, the Tang Dynasty successively eliminated the three strong enemies of the Xue clan in Longxi, Li Liang in Hexi, and Liu Wu in Shanxi, consolidating the stability of the rear of Guanzhong in Li and Tang, and connecting Guanzhong, Hedong, Longyou, Hexi, Bashu and other places. It can be said that the entire northern and southwestern regions of China are basically under the control of the Tang Dynasty.

From the day of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan was determined to dominate the world, and the four seas were covered with the banner of the Tang Dynasty. Since the threat of the base camp in Guanzhong has been completely lifted at this moment. Then, next, the Central Plains, which is known as a battleground for soldiers, became the next military target to be captured by the Tang Dynasty. As a result, the ambitious Tang Gaozu Li Yuan began to implement the second and most important step of the strategy of unifying the world - the Eastern Expedition to the Central Plains!

However, the military situation in the Central Plains was more challenging than Li Tang's unification of the northwest and the recovery of Hedong. Drinking horses in the Central Plains and determining the world is not an overnight thing. In other words, it is even ten times more difficult than the founding of the Tang Dynasty in the first battle.

So, what is the state of the Central Plains at this time? On the road of the Tang Dynasty's march into the Central Plains, which separatists and narrow roads will it meet? In addition, before Li Tang officially went east to Tongguan and attacked the Central Plains, what kind of hero competition and dragon battle would be staged between them?

After the Li Tang Dynasty consolidated Guanzhong, it was ready to begin the implementation of the second phase of the strategic plan - the Eastern Expedition to the Central Plains. Although, after three years of southern conquest and northern war, the Tang Dynasty's ruling scope and territory area have been expanded in a "blowout". However, the forces of the Central Plains region should not be underestimated. At that time, the Tang Dynasty was vying for hegemony in the Central Plains and mainly faced two strong enemies: the Zheng regime of Wang Shichong in Henan and the Xia regime of Dou Jiande in Hebei.

Since the third year of Wude (620), the great victory in Hedong and the elimination of Liu Wuzhou's regime, the situation in the entire northern China and the Central Plains has undergone significant changes. The original situation of the heroes standing side by side has now become a three-legged pattern of Li Tang, Zheng and Xia. In other words, the next main enemy of the Tang Dynasty was the Zheng and Xia regimes established by Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande, and they wanted to compete with them for the ownership of the Central Plains.

Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande, these two people, were heroes in troubled times in the late Sui and early Tang dynasties. Moreover, their strength is no less than that of the rising Tang Dynasty, Wang Shichong occupies Henan, and Dou Jiande dominates Hebei. Therefore, the Tang Dynasty won the Central Plains and realized the unification of the world, and it was necessary to cut off these two strong enemies. Whether it is Li Yuan, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, Tang, Zheng, and Xia, there will eventually be a decisive battle, a decisive battle that will determine the direction of Chinese history.

In fact, the Tang Dynasty officially sent troops to the Central Plains in July of the third year of Wude (620) to conquer Luoyang. Prior to this, Li Tang had several battles with Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande on the battlefield. What kind of sparks will collide between the so-called strong and the three "superpowers"?

According to common sense, after the elimination of the Liu Wuzhou regime, the ruling area of the Li Tang Dynasty spanned northern China and directly bordered the Zheng regime of Wang Shichong in Henan. The two major regimes of Tang and Zheng are obviously going to clash. However, surprisingly, the first to challenge the Tang Dynasty was not Wang Shichong, who was close at hand, but Dou Jiande, who was far away in Hebei. In the face of Dou Jiande's provocation, how will the Tang Dynasty respond?

In the twelfth year of the Great Cause (616), Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty went to Jiangdu three times, and the chaotic situation in the world at the end of the Sui Dynasty became more and more out of control. Until the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), three important peasant uprising forces were mainly formed in China, they were Dou Jiande's Hebei Rebel Army, Du Fuwei, Fu Gongqi's Jianghuai Rebel Army, and Li Mi, Zhai Rang's Wagang Army. And Dou Jiande was one of the leaders of the peasant uprising at the end of the Sui Dynasty and the soul of the peasant uprising in Hebei.

So, what is Dou Jiande's superiority? How did he rise and grow step by step in the troubled times, establish the Great Xia regime in the land of Yan Zhao, and become the Xia King of Megatron? In the contest with Dou Jiande, what special experience did the Tang Dynasty have?

According to historical records, Dou Jiande has great prestige in Hebei and is deeply popular with the people, which is closely related to his early experience. Unlike Xue Ju, Li Liang, Wang Shichong, Liu Wuzhou and others, Dou Jiande was born as an out-and-out peasant and was a typical "proletariat". It was from poverty that Dou Jiande's loyalty, boldness, and promise of a thousand gold characters were cast, which laid the foundation for his future achievements in hegemony.

Dou Jiande, a native of Zhangnan, Beizhou (now Gucheng County, Hebei). It is said that he is the seventeenth grandson of Dou Rong, the great Sikong of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the great-great-grandson of Dou Tuo, the king of Xuanwang of Liaodong. The veracity of this theory of descent will not be stated for the time being. Anyway, in Dou Jiande's generation, their family has been farming for generations, and they are basically no different from ordinary people.

Although Dou Jiande was born poor, when he was young, Dou Jiande had a good reputation in the same village. The main reason is that Dou Jiande is righteous, always responds to requests and never breaks his word. For example, in the "Old Tang Book: Dou Jiande", the following events are recorded:

When I was young, I was quite a promise. Taste the villagers bereavement, the family is poor and can not be buried, Shi Jiande ploughed in the field, heard and sighed, dropped out of the cattle, to give the funeral, by the township party called. At the beginning, for the chief, if he broke the law and died, he would be pardoned. Father, more than 1,000 mourners, all gifts, let and accept.

Once, a fellow villager of Dou Jiande lost his parents. However, because the family was too poor to bury his parents. At that time, Dou Jiande was plowing the field and couldn't help but sigh when he heard the news. Immediately afterwards, Dou Jiande put down the farm work in his hand, took out some savings and property, and funded the funeral of the man. Through this incident, the villagers were impressed by Dou Jiande, and everyone praised him.

At first, Dou Jiande served as the mayor of the township, but he accidentally broke the law and fled. It was not until the imperial court issued an amnesty that Dou Jiande was able to return to his hometown. Later, Dou Jiande's father unfortunately passed away. At the time of his father's funeral, there were more than 1,000 people in the neighborhood to give a funeral for Dou Jiande's father. When the funeral was organized, the township party gave gifts to the Dou family. However, Dou Jiande would never accept it. Therefore, Dou Jiande's fame is getting bigger and bigger in the local area.

If nothing else, Dou Jiande may be an honest and ordinary farmer all his life. However, the world is impermanent. In the end, Dou Jiande embarked on a road of dominating the troubled times and becoming the hegemon of the world. The trajectory of his life changed in the seventh year of the Great Cause (611).

In the seventh year of the Great Cause (611), Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty conquered Goguryeo and carried out military service throughout the country. Dou Jiande's state and county, because of Dou Jiande's courage, he appointed him as the head of 200 people. From this moment on, Dou Jiande began to change.

This year, serious floods and famine broke out in the entire territory of Shandong, and starvation was everywhere and thousands of miles away. At that time, many people left their hometowns one after another to flee the famine. Dou Jiande has a township party in the same county named Sun Anzu. Their houses and possessions were swept away by the floods, and their wives and children all starved to death. The official in charge of conscription in the county saw that Sun Anzu was brave and extraordinary, so he forcibly dragged him into the army. However, Sun Anzu did not want to be a soldier. So, on the grounds that his family was poor, he appealed to the Zhangnan County Order in person. Unexpectedly, this county magistrate was also a faint official, and indiscriminately beat Sun Anzu directly. Sun Anzu was furious, so he simply didn't do anything and killed the Zhangnan County Commander.

committed a life lawsuit, Sun Anzu was cornered, so he had to come to Dou Jiande. Dou Jiande was loyal and did not fall into the ground, but kindly took in Sun Anzu. Dou Jiande could see that because of the tyranny of Emperor Yang of Sui, the world was in turmoil, the four seas were boiling, and the people were miserable and miserable. Therefore, at this time, Dou Jiande had the idea of overthrowing the tyranny of the Sui Dynasty. Therefore, Dou Jiande explained his thoughts to Sun Anzu and Panhe:

During the time of Emperor Wen, the world was prosperous, and millions of people were sent to defeat Goryeo, but they were still defeated. Today, the water is a disaster, the people are poor, and in the past years, the westward expedition has not returned, and the sores have not recovered; The Lord did not show mercy, but sent troops to attack Goryeo in person, and the world will be in chaos. If the husband does not die, he should make great contributions, how can he be a prisoner of evil! (Information Governance Guide)

After some conspiracy, Dou Jiande and Sun Anzu hit it off and decided to rise up and resist tyranny. Soon, Dou Jiande gathered a team of hundreds of people, led by Sun Anzu, entered Gaojibo, occupied the mountain as the king, and resisted the encirclement and suppression of the official family, Sun Anzu proclaimed himself a general; Soon, Zhang Jincheng, Gao Shida and other people from Hebei also raised their banners one after another, and gathered more than 1,000 people in the dangerous waters of the Yellow River and Qinghe County to resist the tyranny of the Sui Dynasty.

Dou Jiande rose up in Hebei and officially ignited the raging flame of the peasant uprising in Hebei. Regarding the actions of Dou Jiande and others against the Sui, the Sui Dynasty authorities naturally could not pretend to be deaf and dumb, and then they continued to send troops to recruit and suppress the Hebei Righteous Army led by Dou Jiande. However, Dou Jiande, with his extraordinary strategy and force, defeated the encirclement and suppression of the Sui army many times, and then developed and grew step by step, and gradually formed a powerful anti-Sui force in Hebei.

Of course, the reason why Dou Jiande was able to develop and grow was not only by strategy and force, but also by virtue of his personal charm, which won the support of everyone. This kind of personality charm, in the final analysis, is two words: benevolence and righteousness. It is through benevolence and righteousness that Dou Jiande was able to rise step by step in the troubled times.

Among the many heroes of the late Sui Dynasty, Dou Jiande is undoubtedly an alternative. He is not as brutal and murderous as Xue Ju and Xue Rengao's father and son, nor is he as insidious and cunning as Wang Shichong, nor is he as two-faced and three-edged as Liu Wuzhou. On the contrary, Dou Jiande is somewhat similar to Tang Gaozu Li Yuan, and the two of them embody one characteristic together: benevolence and righteousness.

For example, at the beginning of Dou Jiande's army, he was extremely approachable. As the leader of the rebel army, Dou Jiande often took out all the belongings on his body to help others. Moreover, he never put on a show, and often shared weal and woe with the soldiers. In this way, the rebels were willing to work for Dou Jiande:

Jiande can lean over and receive things, work and rest with the soldiers, and the people fight for it and die for it. (Information Governance Guide)

As mentioned earlier, Dou Jiande was born poor and has been farming for generations. It was the poor family background that made Dou Jiande develop a hard, simple, diligent and thrifty style of life. According to historical records, every time Dou Jiande conquered the city, all the spoils he captured were given to his soldiers, and he did not take a penny; Moreover, Dou Jiande's usual life is also very frugal and simple. Dou Jiande's general food is the same as that of soldiers, he never eats meat, and only eats coarse tea and light rice such as vegetables and millet rice. Moreover, Dou Jiande's wife, Cao, never wore silk and satin in Su Rili, and there were only a dozen servant girls around her:

Jiande broke the formation of every flat city, obtained the assets, and scattered the generals, and took nothing. He also does not eat meat, and often eats only vegetables and vegetables, and rice that has been removed from corn. His wife Cao is not clothed, and there are only a dozen concubines. ("Old Tang Book: The Biography of Dou Jiande")

All the above deeds are just Dou Jiande's personal behavior. What can highlight Dou Jiande's benevolent and righteous characteristics more lies in how he treats his enemies.

In the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Dou Jiande led an army to besiege Hejian. At that time, the grain and grass in the city were exhausted, and Wang Cong of Hejian County held on to Hejian City to resist Dou Jiande's attack. At this moment, the bad news came, Emperor Yang of Sui was killed in Jiangdu. After Wang Cong got the news, he led the officials in the city to mourn for Emperor Yang of Sui. Soon, Dou Jiande sent envoys into the city to mourn Emperor Yang of Sui. Wang Cong knew that the general trend had gone, so he took the officials of the whole city and surrendered to Dou Jiande.

After Wang Cong surrendered, many generals under Dou Jiande felt that Wang Cong was forced to surrender the city. Therefore, they suggested that Dou Jiande simply cook and kill Wang Cong and make an example. Regarding the unanimous opinion of the generals, Dou Jiande refused, and warned the generals with a positive color:

This righteous man also. Fang Jia is promoted, in order to encourage the monarch, Anke kills him! In the past, the CCP was a thief, and he could kill people arbitrarily, and now he wants to calm the people to fix the world, how can he harm loyalty? ("Old Tang Book: The Biography of Dou Jiande")

Then, Dou Jiande warned the officers and men in the army that no one was allowed to deliberately harm Wang Cong, otherwise the three clans would be exterminated. As for Wang Congqi, Dou Jiande did not blame him for his past, but entrusted him with an important task and awarded him the post of assassin of Yingzhou. It can be seen that Dou Jiande's benevolence and righteousness are by no means in vain.

In the past, the peasant rebel army attacked the city, and all the officials of the Sui Dynasty and the squires from all over the country were killed. Only Dou Jiande is different, every time he meets these officials and squires, he always treats each other with courtesy. Therefore, because of Corporal Dou Jiande Lixian, many counties have attached themselves to him.

After several years of unremitting efforts and battles, until the twelfth year of the Great Cause (616), Dou Jiande's power gradually grew unprecedentedly, and he had more than 100,000 elite soldiers and strong generals, strong soldiers and horses, and high morale. It can be said that at this time, Dou Jiande was no longer a small grass coward, and had truly become the most powerful anti-Sui armed force in Hebei.

After his strength became stronger, Dou Jiande's psychology also changed. At the beginning, he rose up completely because he hated the tyranny of the Sui Dynasty. Now, with the continuous expansion of his power, Dou Jiande is no longer satisfied with being a peasant leader who kills people and plunders land and occupies the mountains as kings. In the face of the chaotic situation in the world, Dou Jiande also had great ambitions to be a hero who dominates the world and finally dominates the world. Therefore, next, Dou Jiande will formally establish power and fight against the Sui Dynasty.

In the first month of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Dou Jiande built an altar and held a ceremony at the beginning of the junction of Hejian and Leshou counties, and proclaimed himself the king of Changle. Dou Jiande set the name of the year as the cadre branch of this year, named "Ding Chou", and then set up an official office. In this way, Dou Jiande can be regarded as the prototype of the initial establishment of the separatist regime.

Dou Jiande openly established power in Hebei, making it clear that he wanted to break with the Sui Dynasty. Therefore, the rulers of the Sui Dynasty could not tolerate it and would definitely send a large army to suppress it. Sure enough, in July of that year, Xue Shixiong, the general of the Sui Dynasty's Right Yiwei, led an army of 30,000 to defeat Dou Jiande. Xue Shixiong led his army to the south of Hejian City and set up camp in Qilijing.

Knowing that the Sui army was encircling and suppressing on a large scale, Dou Jiande quickly made deployments, selected thousands of elite soldiers, and ambushed them on both sides of the swamp on the southern boundary of the river. At the same time, Dou Jiande ordered all the soldiers and horses stationed in various towns to pull out camps, pretend to be defeated, and lie to the outside world that they were hiding in Douzi Lake. His purpose was to paralyze the Sui army.

Sure enough, Xue Shixiong was fooled, he thought that Dou Jiande really fled without a fight. As a result, the entire army was completely undefended. After Dou Jiande inquired about the situation of the Sui army, he thought that the opportunity had come. As a result, Dou Jiande personally led a thousand dead soldiers to launch a surprise attack on the Sui army.

The Sui army was overwhelmed by the sudden attack, and the troops fell into chaos. Unfortunately, there was a thick fog at that time, and I couldn't see anything clearly. In a panic, the Sui army scattered and fled, trampling on each other and killing more than 10,000 people. Xue Shixiong fled with hundreds of cavalry in disarray. The remaining large forces of the Sui army were all broken and wiped out by Dou Jiande. In this way, Dou Jiande's soldiers made a surprise move and wiped out the main force of the 30,000 Sui army in one fell swoop.

After defeating the Sui general Xue Shixiong, Dou Jiande's troops were forward, and he personally led the army to approach Hejian City. Soon, King Congxian of Hejian County surrendered, and Dou Jiande occupied Hejian. After capturing Hejian, Dou Jiande began to settle the capital in Leshou and named it "Jincheng Palace". Since then, Dou Jiande has captured many counties. By this time, there was no longer any force that could stop Dou Jiande's pace of dominating Hebei.

After nearly seven years of hard work, the situation in Hebei has undergone earth-shaking changes. Dou Jiande's Great Xia regime immediately came out. Now, everything is ready, only the east wind is owed. Dou Jiande only needs to wait for an opportunity to officially establish the country and stand on its own. Finally, the opportunity came.

On the winter solstice in November of the first year of Tang Wude (618), on this day, Dou Jiande held a civil and military conference in Jincheng Palace. Suddenly, I saw five big birds landing in the capital city of Leshou. Then, tens of thousands of birds and finches also flew along, and a whole day passed before they flew away. Dou Jiande believes that this is an auspicious gift from God, and immediately changed the yuan to "five phoenixes".

Following Dou Jiande's thoughts, there was a person from Zongcheng who offered a Xuangui to Dou Jiande. The civil and military officials felt that this was even more providential, and Jingcheng Cheng Kong Deshao took the opportunity to persuade him to suggest that Dou Jiande set the country name as "Xia": "This day is so given to Dayu, please change the country name to Xia." ”

So, Dou Jiande followed their advice, founded the country as "Xia", and called himself the King of Xia. At the same time, the strategist Song Zhengben was the acceptance, and Kong Deshao was the servant of the internal history. At this point, in the late Sui and early Tang dynasties, the Xia regime, which was dominant in Hebei and looked down on the Central Plains, was formally established.

Although, Dou Jiande established the Xia Kingdom and proclaimed himself the King of Xia. However, there are many places in the Hebei region that he has not yet fully mastered. Therefore, after founding the country and becoming king, Dou Jiande's next move is to conquer the entire territory of Hebei and eliminate other separatist forces entrenched in Hebei.

At that time, there was a powerful separatist force in Hebei. Its leader is named Wei Dao'er, who calls himself "Lishan Fei", entrenched in Shenze County, attacked and plundered between Hebei and Ding, with 100,000 troops, and his strength should not be underestimated. If you want to conquer the Hebei heroes, Wei Dao'er is the first object to be eliminated.

How do you gnaw this hard bone? Dou Jiande thought of a solution. He first pretended to negotiate peace with Wei Dao'er, and took advantage of Wei Dao'er's relaxation of vigilance to launch a surprise attack, breaking Wei Dao'er, capturing Shenze County, and killing Wei Dao'er. At the same time, Dou Jiande annexed all of Wei Dao'er's territory.

After eliminating Wei Dao'er, Dou Jiande swept all the way through Hebei, and the soldiers were unstoppable. Under the offensive of Dou Jiande's Xia army, the three prefectures of Yi, Ding, and Hebei were successively captured by Dou Jiande. At this moment, most of Hebei is under Dou Jiande. The Xia regime he established became the only overlord in the Heben region in a real sense. And Dou Jiande himself has also changed from an ordinary farmer to a powerful Xia King.

The establishment of the Xia Kingdom and the domination of Hebei Province is only the beginning of Dou Jiande's life and career. Dou Jiande was not satisfied, he was in Hebei, it was nothing. Dou Jiande's ultimate goal is to dominate the world and be the master of the world. External expansion has become something that Dou Jiande must do.

It didn't take long for Dou Jiande to become king, and only a year later, he ushered in an opportunity for foreign expansion. That is, Dou Jiande eliminated the remnants of Yu Wenhua. The elimination of Yu culture made Dou Jiande gain a lot, not only in military terms, but also in politics.

As introduced in the previous chapter, after the Jiangdu Mutiny, Yu Wenhua led 100,000 Xiaoguo rebels and embarked on the road back to Xigui Guanzhong. I never thought that this was a road to death. Because of Yu Wenhua's intervention, the battle situation in Luoyang changed suddenly, and Yang Tong, the emperor of Tai, formed an alliance with Li Mi to deal with Yu Wenhua.

In the first battle of Tongshan, Yu Wenhua's 100,000 Xiaoguo was severely damaged by Li Miwagang's army, and almost all the troops were wiped out. In the end, Yu Wenhua had to lead 20,000 remnants of the army and fled to Wei County. At the end of the mountain, Yu Wenhua and the broken jar were broken, planning to go crazy one last time and live an emperor addiction. So, Yu Wenhua sent people to poison the puppet emperor Yang Hao and set himself up as the emperor.

However, the good times were short-lived. In the first month of the second year of Wude (619), Tang Gaozu Li Yuan sent Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, to lead the Tang army to attack Wei County. Yu Wenhua was unable to resist the Tang army and was forced to abandon Wei County and retreat to Liaocheng.

In fact, at this time, Yu Wenhua had already entered Dou Jiande's sphere of influence. This is the fat sent to the door, of course Dou Jiande can't let it go. If you destroy Yu Wenhua, and by the way, you can also incorporate more than 10,000 Xiaoguo under his command, which will greatly enhance your military strength. Since he had this idea, Dou Jiande told his idea to his two strategists - Nayan Song Zhengben and Neishi Shilang Kong Deshao:

I have been the people of Sui for decades, and Sui is the second generation of my monarch. Today and kill it, there is no way to rebel, this is my hatred, please discuss it with the public, what is it? ("Old Tang Book: The Biography of Dou Jiande")

Song Zhengben and Kong Deshao also believed that the elimination of Yu Wenhua would be of great benefit to the newly established Xia regime. Therefore, they said to Dou Jiande:

Now there is no owner in the sea, heroes compete, the king rises from Zhangpu with cloth clothes, and the officials of Sui County do not fight for the followers, and the king moves smoothly, and the world is also in Yi'an. Yu culture and marriage with the country, father and son and brother by the Sui Dynasty, living in the place of no doubt, and the scourge of rebellion, usurping Sui from the generation, is the thief of the world. This is not punished, and the leader of the alliance is used! ("Old Tang Book: The Biography of Dou Jiande")

So, Dou Jiande personally led the Xia army and went straight to Liaocheng to attack Yu Wenhua and the remnants. In the end, the Xia army stormed Liaocheng from all sides and broke it in one fell swoop. Yu Wenhua, Yu Wenzhi and his brothers, including the rest of the minions, were defeated and captured, and Dou Jiande beheaded them all.

Killing Yu Wenhua and the remnants was not only a military victory for Dou Jiande, but also a political victory. The so-called political victory, that is, Dou Jiande has gathered a large number of talents for governing the country. As we all know, Dou Jiande is a cloth cloth and was born recklessly. From his rise to the establishment of the Xia State and the dominance of Hebei, most of the people he relied on were some reckless heroes, and his subordinates had extraordinary talents in governing the country, which were very few and rare.

Now, Yu Wenhua and from Jiangdu have taken a large number of important ministers of the Sui Dynasty hostage, and these people are undoubtedly important for governing the country. Therefore, to treat these former ministers of the Sui Dynasty, Dou Jiande entrusted them with all important tasks. For example, Pei Ju, the former Huangmen squire of the Sui Dynasty, was the left servant of the Shangshu, Cui Junsu, the squire of the military department, was the servant, and He Chou, the commander of the Shaofu Dynasty, was the secretary of the Ministry of Works. The rest of the officers, according to their respective talents, are awarded different positions. If someone is unwilling to stay and wants to go home, Dou Jiande never makes it difficult for others, and allows them to go, gives them clothes and food, and sends troops to escort them out. As for the 10,000 Xiaoguo, Dou Jiande also obeyed their wishes, and it was up to them to decide whether to go or stay.

At the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, any hero with the dream of an emperor had the ambition to conquer the world. While Dou Jiande was dominating Hebei and expanding his power, the Li Tang Dynasty in Guanzhong did not fall behind, and moved towards the lord of the world step by step.

In the three years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Tang Dynasty has been fighting in the south and the north in order to realize the great cause of unification, consolidate the stable position of Guanzhong, and sweep away the separatist forces around Guanzhong. The "Battle of Shallow Water Plain" in the first year of Wude (618), the Battle of Pingding Hexi in the second year of Wude (619), and the great victory in Hedong in the third year of Wude (620). The newly-born Tang Dynasty, with the autumn wind sweeping away the leaves, successively eliminated the Xue clan in Longxi, Li Liang in Hexi, and Liu Wu in Shanxi The three major secession regimes, became stronger and stronger, and rose in the troubled times.

In the third year of Wude (620), the Tang Dynasty won a great victory in Hedong and eliminated the regime of Liu Wuzhou. At this time, the ruling area of the Li Tang Dynasty was no longer what it used to be, occupying strategic places such as Guanzhong, Hedong, Longyou, Hexi, and Bashu, and basically realizing the unification of northern China.

With the rise of the Tang Dynasty, the originally chaotic general trend of the world has undergone obvious changes. In the Central Plains, Tang, Zheng, and Xia stood on three legs and became the three important forces that dominated the situation in the Central Plains. That is to say, from the second year of Wude (619) to the third year of Wude (620), the vast Central Plains became a stage for Li Tang to play against Zheng and Xia, and became an arena for the "three giants" of Tang Gaozu Li Yuan, Zheng Emperor Shichong, and Xia King Dou Jiande to compete for world domination.

Dou Jiande is a hero, he is not a fool. Over the years, he has been busy passing through Hebei and expanding his territory, and he has not taken care of the Tang Dynasty. However, in the second year of Wude (619), Dou Jiande suddenly discovered that the Tang Dynasty, whose territory was originally limited to Guanzhong and Hedong, had developed so rapidly in less than two years, almost controlling a large area of northern China.

The continuous prosperity of the Tang Dynasty gave Dou Jiande a huge sense of crisis and urgency. Dou Jiande is very sure that in the future battlefield of the Central Plains, the Li Tang Dynasty will be his strongest competitor. Therefore, after occupying Hebei, Dou Jiande's next move was mainly to shift to the confrontation with the Tang Dynasty. Before Li Tangdong entered the Central Plains, he made a strong move first and gave the Tang Dynasty a blow.

However, the current Tang Dynasty is no longer a simple and unstable local government, it is in the ascendant and powerful. How to deal with the threat from Li Tang? Dou Jiande thought of a way to form an alliance. With whom are you allied? Henan Wang Shichong.

Therefore, Dou Jiande took the initiative to contact Wang Shichong of Luoyang. At that time, Wang Shichong had not yet been proclaimed emperor, and still respected Yang Tong, the emperor of Tai, as the king. Therefore, Dou Jiande sent an envoy to the emperor and declared himself a vassal to the emperor. Gifts are still exchanged, since Dou Jiande took the initiative to be a minister, Luoyang always has to express something. As a result, the emperor canonized Dou Jiande as the king of Xia. Since then, Dou Jiande's Xia regime has formed an anti-Tang front with Wang Shichong of Luoyang.

Still, we are clear. Although Luoyang still respects the rule of the Sui Dynasty on the surface, the actual power controller is Wang Shichong. As mentioned above, before the decisive battle with Li Miwagang's army, Wang Shichong, as the military commander of Luoyang, brazenly launched a palace coup d'état, attacked the Luoyang Palace at night, killed the prime ministers Yuan Wendu and Lu Chu, who advocated peace with Li Mi, and controlled the military and political power of Luoyang, and the emperor Yang Tong was completely reduced to a puppet.

After defeating the Wagang army, Wang Shichong covered the sky in Luoyang, and the emperor had no imperial power at all. Therefore, Dou Jiande's alliance with Luoyang is actually an alliance with Wang Shichong. Dou Jiande is clear and believes that it will not be long before Wang Shichong will replace the emperor and establish himself as the emperor.

Soon after, Wang Shichong deposed Yang Tong, the lord of Huangtai, usurped the throne and became emperor, with the country name "Zheng". Seeing that Wang Shichong was proclaimed emperor, Dou Jiande felt that there was no need for him to look up to others. So, Dou Jiande followed the precedent of Cao Cao, Sima Zhao, Huan Xuan and others, and began to build the banner of the Son of Heaven, sent the police into the army, and issued a letter to praise the edict. It is equivalent to saying that Dou Jiande is not called the emperor, but he is an emperor who does not wear a crown, and he is a veritable monarch of the Xia Kingdom of Hebei.

In addition, Dou Jiande is still very kind to the orphans of the former Sui. For example, Dou Jiande deliberately posthumously called Emperor Yang of Sui as "Emperor Min"; Emperor Yang of Sui's second son, King Yang of Qi, died in the Jiangdu Mutiny. However, Yang Xuan, the king of Qi, left a posthumous son, Yang Zhengdao, and Dou Jiande named Yang Zhengdao as the Duke of Yun.

At the same time, in order to fight against Li Tang, Dou Jiande also leaned on the Turkic tree. With Dou Jiande's insight, he can see that since the founding of the Li and Tang dynasties, especially after the unification of the northwest and the successive elimination of the two major secession regimes of the Xue clan in Longxi and Li Liang in Hexi, the Turks have gradually become dissatisfied with the Tang Dynasty. Dou Jiande understood that if he could obtain the support and help of the Turks, it would greatly enhance the military strength of the Xia State.

At that time, Princess Yicheng, the daughter of the Sui Dynasty, was the wife of the Turkic Khan, who was equivalent to the empress of the Central Plains Dynasty. After the Jiangdu Mutiny, most of the members of the Sui Dynasty clan were slaughtered by Yu Wenhua and slaughtered. Only a few people survived, including Empress Xiao, the widow of Emperor Yang of Sui, and her daughter, Princess Nanyang.

Therefore, Princess Yicheng sent messengers to welcome Empress Xiao and Princess Nanyang to the Turks. Dou Jiande wanted to unite the Turks, so he wanted to take the shortcut of Princess Yicheng. So, Dou Jiande specially sent more than 1,000 cavalry to escort Empress Xiao and Princess Nanyang to the Turks. At the same time, Dou Jiande also dedicated the head of the traitor Yu Wenhua to Princess Yicheng. In this way, Dou Jiande can be regarded as forming an alliance with the Turkic Khanate, the overlord of the steppe.

The drunkard's intention is not to drink, all of Dou Jiande's actions are purposeful. Whether he formed an alliance with Luoyang or showed favor to the Turks, he was actively preparing to counter the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, before the Tang army in the Central Plains, between the Tang and Xia countries, the saber rattling, and the contest before the war was about to break out!

Sure enough, in February of the second year of Wude (619), that is, the month when Dou Jiande eliminated Yu Wenhua, Dou Jiande officially launched a war against the Tang Dynasty. At the beginning of the war, the menacing Dou Jiande attempted to use the east of Tongguan in the Tang Dynasty as a breakthrough to tear apart the Li Tang defense line. What's even more unexpected is that in the first encounter, Dou Jiande once had the upper hand. In the face of the unscrupulous Dou Jiande Xia army, many Tang army defenders either surrendered without a fight, or were defeated and captured, and some important states and counties east of Tongguan fell into the hands of Dou Jiande. In this first contest between Li Tang and Xia Guo, did such a wonderful duel be staged? In the end, which Tang Dynasty general blocked Dou Jiande's fierce offensive?

In February of the second year of Wude (619), Dou Jiande personally led the main force of the Xia army to attack Xingzhou (now Xingtai, Hebei). In the "Zizhi Tongjian", the specific process of the battle of Xingzhou is not recorded in detail, but the result of the war is simply stated, "Dou Jiande trapped Xingzhou, and Chen Junbin, the chief administrator." The city of Xingzhou was broken, and Chen Junbin, the governor of Xingzhou in the Tang Dynasty, was captured by the Xia army. The first strategic place east of Tongguan has become Dou Jiande's "meal on a plate". The capture of Xingzhou is tantamount to opening up the situation of war.

Then, five months later, in June of the second year of Wude (619), Dou Jiande's troops commanded Cangzhou and captured Cangzhou in one fell swoop. Only two months later, in August of the second year of Wude (619), Dou Jiande was non-stop, leading 100,000 Xia troops and rushing straight to Zhouzhou. The commander of the Tang army here is Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, a prince of the Li Tang clan.

Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, is the cousin of Li Yuan, the ancestor of the Tang Dynasty. At the beginning, when Li Yuan led the rebel army and entered Guanzhong, Li Shentong once raised troops to respond. Although Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, is a relative of Li Tang and has led troops for many years, he is a veritable "often defeated general". Although Li Shentong is a veteran general in the army, the problem is that he has led his troops to fight for many years, and he has never fought a decent victory. For example, previously, Yu Wenhua retreated to Liaocheng, and the Tang army could conquer Liaocheng in one go. As a result, because of Li Shentong's arbitrariness and selfishness, the Tang army lost its fighters and failed to attack Liaocheng. There is another thing, which further confirms Li Shentong's name as a "often defeated general".

At the beginning of the reign of Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, he was awarded the title of the founding hero of the early Tang Dynasty. As the emperor's cousin, Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, thinks that he is the Li Tang clan, why should he rank behind Wenchen Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui. Therefore, Li Shentong was very unconvinced, and protested to Taizong in person:

At the beginning of the righteous flag, the ministers led the troops first. Today, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and other officials with knives and pens are the first, and the ministers are not satisfied. ("Old Tang Dynasty Book: The Biography of Fang Xuanling")

Unexpectedly, Tang Taizong's next words made Li Shentong ashamed in public. At the same time, his repeated defeats were also made public:

At the beginning of the banner of righteousness, everyone has a heart. Although my uncle led the troops, he did not try to perform the battle. Shandong was undecided, and was commissioned to levy a special expedition, Jiande invaded the south, and the whole army was trapped. and Liu Heimin flipped over, and his uncle was broken. Today's plan is rewarded, Xuan Ling and others have the merit of planning and strategizing, and the society is fixed, so Xiao He of the Han Dynasty, although there is no sweat and horse, he has the first place in the finger and pushes the hub. Uncle is close to the country, sincere and loveless, must not be selfish, and indiscriminately appreciate the heroes. ("Old Tang Dynasty Book: The Biography of Fang Xuanling")

Therefore, this time Dou Jiande invaded Zhaozhou, Li Shentong once again carried forward his "fine tradition" of often defeating generals. Seeing Dou Jiande's 100,000 army, roaring. Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, was cowardly, and hurriedly led his troops and horses, gave up Zhaozhou, and retired to Xiangzhou.

Soon, Dou Jiande led the Xia army to the city of Zhaozhou. The city fell, and the governor Yuan Zigan surrendered. To seize Zhaozhou, Dou Jiande's next target is Xiangzhou, where Li Shentong surrendered. Either Li Shentong wasted one, he had already given up on Xiangzhou before, and this time he gave up Xiangzhou. Li Shentong gathered his troops and withdrew from Xiangzhou to Liyang, preparing to join forces with the two armies of Li Shichang, the general stationed there.

This Li Shiyun is the original famous general of the Wagang Army - Xu Shiyun. As mentioned above, Li Mi's troops were defeated and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and Tang Gaozu sent Wei Zheng, a warlord of Wagang, to persuade Xu Shichang to surrender in order to appease the old Wagang department in Shandong. Wei Zhengxiao was righteous, and Xu Shiyun finally returned to the Tang Dynasty.

After Xu Shiyun returned to the Tang Dynasty, Tang Gaozu entrusted him with important responsibilities and appointed Xu Shichang as the governor of Liyang, Shangzhu State, and the Duke of Lai. Soon, Xu Shiyun was awarded the title of General of the Right Martial Candidate and changed the title to Cao Guogong. In addition, Tang Gaozu also gave Xu Shichang the surname "Li". Since then, Xu Shiyun has changed his name to "Li Shiyun".

Since Li Shichang defected to the Tang Dynasty, he has been guarding Liyang for the Tang Dynasty. At the same time, he was in charge of a large area of military defense north of the Yellow River, and was the highest military governor in the region. Therefore, the heavy responsibility of resisting Dou Jiande naturally fell on the shoulders of the famous general Li Shixian. Li Shichang is not a defeated general like Li Shentong, this person has experienced a hundred battles and is very good at using soldiers. So, can Li Shiyun block Dou Jiande's tidal attack?

Liyang and the north of the Yellow River are all under the jurisdiction of Li Shixian, and there is the supply of grain and grass from Liyang Cang, plus Li Shixian's generation of famous generals. It stands to reason that it is not difficult to block Dou Jiande. However, the situation at that time was very serious. Dou Jiande Lianke Sanzhou, the army is prosperous, and his appetite is getting bigger and bigger. Therefore, the situation faced by Li Shichang is that Dou Jiande's troops are pressing the border, and the Tang army is losing one after another.

didn't wait for Li Shiyun to arrange how to defend the city against the enemy, and bad news came from the front one after another. What's going on? It turned out that the Tang Dynasty lost two more cities. After conquering Zhaozhou, Dou Jiande's spearhead was directed at Xiangzhou. Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, has withdrawn from Xiangzhou to Liyang, Xiangzhou is just a lonely city, where can it withstand Dou Jiande's attack. In September of the second year of Wude (619), Dou Jiande broke through Xiangzhou, assassinated Shi Lümin, and Xiangzhou was lost.

Complete one's misery. The loss of Xiangzhou is not the worst. Soon, another important military town, Zhaozhou, also faced the doom of falling. After Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, withdrew to Liyang, he could not do nothing in the face of the aggressive Dou Jiande. Therefore, Li Shentong ordered Zhang Daoyuan, the envoy, to defend Zhaozhou and block the attack of the Xia army. Obviously, Li Shentong's approach is a drop in the bucket and does not have much effect at all.

Unfortunately, in the same month that the Xia army captured Xiangzhou, Dou Jiande raised troops again and occupied Zhaozhou. After the loss of Zhaozhou, the two Tang army guards who were responsible for guarding Zhaozhou: Zhang Daoyuan, the pacification envoy, and Zhang Zhiang, the general manager, became prisoners of Dou Jiande. Following the fall of Sanzhou, the Tang Dynasty lost Xiang and Zhao Erzhou one after another.

After conquering Zhaozhou, Dou Jiande couldn't help but feel a little flustered. In his opinion, he could easily occupy these places, and it was because of the stubborn resistance of the local defenders that the Xia army paid a huge price. Therefore, Dou Jiande prepared to kill Zhang Zhiang, the commander of the Tang Army, Zhang Daoyuan, the comforting envoy, and Chen Junbin, the Tang general who was captured in Xingzhou last time, to vent his anger.

In the face of Dou Jiande's willfulness, Ling Jing immediately persuaded the prince to sacrifice wine, thinking that they were also their own masters and there was nothing at fault. Moreover, these three people are all loyal and righteous people, and when dealing with such a peerless countryman, they should not kill innocents indiscriminately, but should treat each other with courtesy, showing the benevolence of King Xia:

Each of the ministers is used for his master, and he cannot hold on, but he is also a loyal minister. Now that the king kills him, why should he inspire the crowd! (Information Governance Guide)

Unexpectedly, Dou Jiande was still angry, thinking that these three people did not surrender on their own initiative, but were captured by the city, and this kind of person was not enough to vent his anger if he did not kill. Therefore, Dou Jiande insisted on killing the three captured Tang generals, and he angrily said to Ling Jing, who was admonishing:

When I go to the city, he still doesn't surrender, and he will be captured, how can he give up!

Ling Jing was not discouraged, but continued to patiently advise Dou Jiande. Immediately afterwards, Ling Jing said something to Dou Jiande, which made Dou Jiande change his mind:

Now the king made the general Gao Shixing reject Luo Yi in Yishui, the art is coming, Shixing is about to descend, what is the king's intention? (Information Governance Guide)

After listening to Ling Jing's opinion, Dou Jiande immediately realized that his mouth was suddenly opened. He understands that he is no longer the peasant leader who was happy to take revenge and draw a sword to help each other, but the king of Hebei Xia who is dominant, and he can no longer act by his own temperament. In the end, Dou Jiande listened to Ling Jing's advice and released Zhang Zhiang, Zhang Daoyuan, and Chen Junbin.

The successive losses of Xiangzhou and Zhaozhou made the Liyang area where Li Shiqian was stationed more and more precarious. As a military stronghold to defend the Liyang barrier, they were uprooted by Dou Jiande one by one. In this way, Li Shixian, who is alone in Liyang, will face Dou Jiande's Xia army.

After attacking Zhaozhou, Dou Jiande continued to crush the Tang Dynasty Prefecture and led troops to Weizhou. At that time, Dou Jiande distributed the troops under his command in this way:

Every march in Jiande is often three, the baggage is heavy and weak in the center, and the foot and horse are clamped left and right, and they are two miles apart. (Information Governance Guide)

Every time Dou Jiande went out to fight with the army, he generally divided the army into three columns, with the baggage in the center, the infantry cavalry on the left and right, and the distance between the columns was only two or three miles apart. The reason why Dou Jiande arranged the army in this way was to let the various departments take care of each other. If any of them are attacked, the other troops can quickly rush to help.

On the way to Weizhou, Dou Jiande first sent 1,000 cavalry as the vanguard, only thirty miles away from Liyang. At this time, the Xia army was gradually approaching Liyang. In order to find out the truth of the enemy's army, Li Shichang ordered his cavalry general Qiu Xiaogang to lead 200 cavalry to reconnoitre.

Qiu Xiaogang is brave and good at fighting, good at using horse lance, and has the courage of ten thousand people. Qiu Xiaogang led two hundred Tang cavalry to reconnoiter the front and met Dou Jiande's Xia army on a narrow road. Originally, the task given to him by Li Shiyun was to reconnoiter the enemy's situation and not to engage the Xia army easily. However, Qiu Xiaogang was already good at fighting, and when he saw the enemy, he immediately became interested. As a result, Qiu Xiaogang waved his army to attack the Xia army, Dou Jiande was defeated, and was repelled and defeated by the Tang army.

Although Qiu Xiaogang defeated the Xia army for a while, the distance between the various units of the Xia army was very close. Soon, the Xia army on the right flank rushed to support. Even though Qiu Xiaogang was extremely brave, he only had two hundred cavalry in his hands after all. In the end, because they were outnumbered, the Tang army was defeated, and Qiu Xiaogang was killed.

Originally, after Dou Jiande attacked Zhaozhou, his target was directly aimed at Weizhou. Unexpectedly, he was attacked by the Tang army in Liyang, Dou Jiande couldn't help but be furious, and immediately led the main force of the Xia army to storm Liyang. Li Shiyun had too few troops in his hands to resist the Xia army and was defeated by Dou Jiande. Subsequently, Liyang fell, and the Tang Dynasty lost this strategic location. Li Shiyun led hundreds of cavalry, broke out of the encirclement, and was able to escape.

However, many Tang Dynasty clans and vassals in Liyang City all became prisoners of Dou Jiande. For example, Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, Xu Gai, the father of Li Shichang, Wei Zheng, the minister, and Princess Tong'an, the sister of Li Yuan, the ancestor of Tang Gaozu. Treating these Tang Dynasty prisoners of war, Dou Jiande was still very lenient. He specially set up an annex for Li Shentong and Princess Tong'an and treated them as guests; At the same time, Wei Zheng was appointed as the resident of the house. During this period, Wei Zheng temporarily worked for Dou Jiande.

Liyang was captured by the Xia army, and when the defenders of Weizhou learned of it, they were also forced to surrender to Dou Jiande. At this time, the defenders of Huazhou were still holding on and did not surrender to Dou Jiande. Unexpectedly, a domestic slave of Wang Rail, the assassin of Huazhou, was obsessed with ghosts, and actually murdered Wang Rail and dedicated his head to Dou Jiande.

This house slave originally thought that he had killed Wang Rail, which was a great achievement, and how could King Xia reward him as an official. Unexpectedly, Dou Jiande was very disdainful of this, and felt that it was simply ungrateful for a slave to kill his master, and it was better for a beast to be: "Slave kills the master and rebels, how can I accept it!" Therefore, Dou Jiande did not hesitate and ordered this evil slave to be beheaded for public display. At the same time, the head of Wang Rail was sent back to Huazhou for burial. In this way, the people of Huazhou were convinced and immediately asked Dou Jiande to surrender.

The surrender of Huazhou quickly had a chain reaction, and many nearby states and counties fell one after another. Dou Jiande felt that this attack on the Tang Dynasty had achieved the results he expected. Therefore, in October of the second year of Wude (619), Dou Jiande ended the war of southern invasion of the Tang Dynasty, led the army back to Zhaozhou, and built Wanchun Palace. Since then, Dou Jiande announced the relocation of the capital to Zhouzhou.

Let's go back and talk about Li Shixian's situation.

At the beginning, Liyang was broken by Dou Jiande, and Li Shichang led hundreds of cavalry to break through the encirclement of the Xia army. It can be seen that Li Shixian's reputation as a famous general is by no means wasted. Being able to lead the troops out of the encirclement in such a desperate situation, Li Shiyun does have something extraordinary.

Now that Li Shiyun has successfully broken through, he should return to the hinterland of Li Tang, integrate his forces, and then try to recapture Liyang. However, when Liyang fell, Li Shixian's father Xu Gai fell into the hands of the enemy, and his life and death were uncertain. Li Shiyun was worried about his father's safety and could not stand idly by. So, Li Shichang had an idea, pretending to surrender to Dou Jiande, go deep into the enemy camp, look for opportunities, kill Dou Jiande, and rescue his father. When the time comes, it will not be too late to return to Datang.

Seeing a famous general like Li Shichang coming to "surrender", Dou Jiande was overjoyed and appointed Li Shichang as the general of Zuo Xiaowei to continue to guard Liyang. However, Dou Jiande didn't fully believe in Li Shixian, so he kept an eye on it. On the one hand, Dou Jiande asked Li Shichang to guard Liyang; On the other hand, he took Li Shiyun's father Xu Gai as a hostage, stayed by his side, and used the relationship between father and son to blackmail Li Shiyun.

Originally, Li Shixian's "surrender" to Dou Jiande was completely an expedient measure, but he was worried about his father's safety. Therefore, Li Shiyun succumbed to Dou Jiande's camp, thinking all the time about when he would return to the Tang Dynasty. However, Li Shiyun was worried, afraid that because of himself, he would affect his father. In order to be foolproof, Li Shixun found his henchman Guo Xiaoke, and the two privately plotted how to return to the Tang Dynasty.

My new thing Dou Shi, if you move, you will be suspicious, and it is advisable to take effect first to win trust, and then you can figure it out. (Information Governance Guide)

Guo Xiaoke's suggestion is that we have just defected, and Dou Jiande must still be wary. If you act rashly, not only will it backfire, but you will also take your life. Therefore, the current strategy, with static braking, first establishes meritorious service for Dou Jiande, dispels his suspicions, and makes him relax his vigilance. Then, we will find another opportunity to escape from the enemy camp and return to Datang.

Li Shichang felt that Guo Xiaoke's suggestion was very reasonable. Thus, Li Shiqian began his "incubation period" in the enemy camp. How to lurk, and not let Dou Jiande notice? Li Shiyun is very smart, on the one hand, he served under Dou Jiande, fought for him in the south and the north, and made many military exploits, without giving him any handle; On the other hand, Li Shichang was secretly hibernating, looking for a suitable opportunity to kill Dou Jiande, take his father, and return to the Tang Dynasty.

Finally, the opportunity came. In December of the second year of Wude (619), Li Shiyun presented a "military strategy" to Dou Jiande. This military strategy, in fact, is the trap that Li Shichang invited you to enter the urn and the trap arranged for Dou Jiande. So, what kind of strategy is this? Li Shichang sent people to lobby Dou Jiande:

Cao and Dai Erzhou, the household registration is complete, Meng Hai has his own place, and he is separated from Zheng Ren; If a large army comes, it is advisable to point to the date. Having Haigong, Linxu and Yan, Henan can be decided without a fight. (Information Governance Guide)

Previously, Dou Jiande formed an alliance with Luoyang, which was out of the need to fight against Li Tang. Now, things have changed. Wang Shichong abolished and killed the emperor and usurped the throne and stood on his own. Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong are each pregnant with ghosts, and they both want to annex each other. Li Shiyun proposed this plan, and Dou Jiande was of course moved. At the suggestion of Li Shixian, Dou Jiande decided to personally conquer Henan, sent his brother-in-law to Cao Dan, and led an army of 50,000 to cross the river first, and Li Shichang led 3,000 troops to respond.

That's part of Lee's plan. When Dou Jiande arrived in Henan, Li Shichang took the opportunity to attack his military camp, killed him, and then took his father, as well as Dou Jiande's land and turf, and returned to the Tang Dynasty. Everything is ready, just wait for Dou Jiande to throw himself into the net. Unexpectedly, at the critical moment, there were branches. What's going on? It turned out that Dou Jiande's wife Cao gave birth, but Dou Jiande did not arrive as scheduled. Li Shichang's surprise attack plan unexpectedly failed.

The plan did not materialize. However, not long after, an unexpected situation occurred, which made Li Shiyun successfully get out of the cage, openly and honestly rebelled out of the enemy camp, and returned to Li Tang. All this has to start with one of Li Shixian's brothers.

Li Shichang has a sworn brother named Li Wenxiang, known as "Li Shanghu". This person gathered 5,000 soldiers and horses, and he also temporarily surrendered to Dou Jiande. Li Shanghu's mother, Huo, is not simple, this old lady is good at riding and shooting, has a strong personality, and calls herself "Mr. Huo".

This old lady Huo was very dissatisfied with Dou Jiande, and even regarded him as an enemy. The main reason is that when Dou Jiande personally conquered Henan, his brother-in-law, the forward general Cao Dan, plundered everywhere, including Li Shanghu. However, Dou Jiande did not stop this behavior. Since then, Huo's hatred for Dou Jiande has been deep.

Once, Li Shiyun came to visit Huo's family, and Huo Shi accused Dou Jiande of his unrighteousness in front of Li Shiyun: "Dou's no way, how can it be done!" Hearing Huo Shi say this, Li Shiyun felt that this was another opportunity. Therefore, Li Shiyun comforted Huo's with good words: "Mother is worry-free, but in January, you should kill her, and return to Tang Er!" The three of them then made a big plan, looking for an opportunity to kill Cao Dan and defect to the Tang Dynasty together.

However, after Li Shiyun left, Huo was worried that Li Shiyun would be shaken by the long nights and dreams. Therefore, Huo told his son Li Shanghu that he should simply strike first and cut through the chaos quickly, and we will act immediately, get rid of Cao Dan immediately, rebel directly, and then join Tang with Li Shixian:

The Duke of the East China Sea promised me to plot this thief, and it has been a long time, so why wait for him to come, it is better to solve it quickly.

The mother and son made a decision and decided to do it overnight. That night, Huo Shi and Li Shanghu pretended to give a banquet to the twenty-three generals under Cao Dan's command, and after getting them drunk, they all killed. At that time, Cao Dan's two generals, Gao Yaxian and Ruan Junming, also led their subordinates and stationed them on the north bank of the Yellow River.

Immediately afterwards, Li Shanghu falsely passed on Cao Dan's order to send four large ships carrying 300 Xia troops across the river. When the big ship sailed to the middle of the river, Li Shanghu ordered that the three hundred Xia troops be wiped out. Among the three hundred, only one veterinarian, who was better at water, jumped off the big boat, swam back to the other side, and reported the matter to Cao Dan. After Cao Dan heard this, he realized that something was wrong, and immediately ordered the whole army to be under martial law to prevent the rebels from attacking the camp.

If you are not afraid of opponents like tigers, you are afraid of teammates like pigs. When Li Shanghu's mother and son did these things, they did not inform Li Shiyun in advance. When everything was done, Li Shanghu sent someone to inform Li Shixian. At this time, Li Shiyun was in Cao Dan's army. After hearing the news, Li Shiyun was shocked into a cold sweat. In case the news leaks out, Li Shiyun may be worried about his life, and Cao Dan's move obviously puts Li Shiyun in danger.

At this point, there is no other way out. Guo Xiaoke suggested that Li Shiyun take advantage of Cao Dan's defenselessness to raid Cao Dan's camp, kill him, and then break out of the camp. However, before Li Shichang gathered his troops and raided Cao Dan, Cao Dan had already ordered martial law for the whole army at this time. Therefore, the plan of the surprise attack on Cao Dan obviously could not be implemented. In a hurry, Li Shiyun and Guo Xiaoke reacted quickly, led dozens of cavalry, rushed out of the enemy camp, and defected to the Tang Dynasty.

Although Li Shiyun successfully escaped from danger, he escaped from Dou Jiande's clutches. However, his father, Xu Gai, was still trapped in the enemy camp. For Li Shichang, since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety have been difficult to achieve, and in the face of the righteousness of his family and country, he can only give up family affection and choose loyalty. As everyone knows, Li Shixian's choice almost brought death to his father.

In response to Li Shixian's escape to the Tang Dynasty, the Manchu civil and military ministers of the Xia State were all angry, and it seemed that "if it is not my race, its heart will be different." Therefore, the ministers unanimously suggested that Dou Jiande kill Li Shixian's father Xu Gai to deter Li Shixian. However, Dou Jiande was overwhelmed. He believes that Li Shiyun's return to the Tang Dynasty shows that he has not forgotten his old master, and he is a rare loyal person, and he cannot be angry with his father because of this. Soon, Xu Gai was pardoned by Dou Jiande:

Shiyun, Tang Chen, captured by me, do not forget this dynasty, he is a loyal minister, what a crime his father is! (Information Governance Guide)

In the first month of the third year of Wude (620), Li Shiyun and Guo Xiaoke led their troops and successfully returned to Chang'an. Therefore, among the many founding fathers of the early Tang Dynasty, Li Shichang was the only legendary general who submitted to the Tang Dynasty twice. Soon after the second return to the Tang Dynasty, Li Shichang followed the Qin king Li Shimin, pacified Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang, participated in the decisive battle of Jiexiu, and defeated the remnants of Song Jingang in one fell swoop. In the unification war of the early Tang Dynasty, Li Shichang also made outstanding achievements, and successively experienced a series of major battles such as the "Battle of Tiger Prison Pass" in Luoyang and the pacification of Jianghuai Fugongyi.

Since the second return to the Tang Dynasty, Li Shiyun has been wholeheartedly and tirelessly fighting for the Li Tang Dynasty in the south and north to pacify the four seas. After Tang Taizong ascended the throne, in the foreign wars of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shichang (Li Tao) was even more contributional, breaking the Turks, striking Xue Yantuo twice, and destroying Goguryeo. In the end, a generation of famous generals Li Tao, during the reign of Tang Gaozong, died at the age of seventy-six, which can be described as life and death.

From February of the second year of Wude (619), Dou Jiande led the army to attack Xingzhou, and in October of the same year, Dou Jiande was in charge of Zhouzhou. After nearly nine months of southern invasion of Li Tang, Dou Jiande almost ran out of the limelight and captured several states east of Tongguan in the Tang Dynasty. In the face of Dou Jiande's stormy attack, the Li Tang Dynasty had no power to fight back, and lost one important state and county after another, as well as strategic locations.

In fact, it was not that the Tang Dynasty army was vulnerable, but that Li Tang did not free his hands. You must know that the first half of the second year of Wude (619) to the third year of Wude (620) was the most intense time of the Battle of Hedong, and the main energy of the Tang Dynasty was all concentrated on the Hedong battlefield, and the war between Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang. Therefore, there was no time to take care of Dou Jiande's southern invasion, which made Dou Jiande take advantage of a loophole.

However, in any case, Dou Jiande's large-scale invasion of the south caused the Tang Dynasty to suffer a big loss and suffered a lot of losses. This southern invasion also made the Li Tang Dynasty realize that in the future battlefield of the Central Plains, Dou Jiande's Xia regime will definitely be a strong opponent. In the future, when the Tang Dynasty marched into the Central Plains and set the world, there would definitely be a life-and-death competition with Dou Jiande. Therefore, from this moment on, the Tang Dynasty began to attach great importance to Dou Jiande.

At the same time that Dou Jiande attacked the Tang Dynasty, another important political and military group in the Central Plains also underwent great changes. In Luoyang City, the situation has changed abruptly. Wang Shichong, who was the actual controller of the political situation in Luoyang, defied the condemnation of the world, abolished the emperor Yang Tong, openly disobeyed the emperor, and established the Zheng regime in Henan, which stood with the Tang and Xia countries, and completely replaced the rule of the Sui Dynasty in Luoyang.

As a powerful minister of Luoyang who is under one person and above ten thousand, and has military and political power, how did Wang Shichong implement his plan to become emperor step by step and ascend to the coveted emperor throne? At the same time, what impact did Wang Shichong's proclamation of the emperor and founding of the country have on the development of the situation in the Central Plains?