The Tang Dynasty's road to pacifying the four seas and dominating the world has never been smooth sailing. Although, only five years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Li Tang Dynasty had already pacified the northwest, consolidated Guanzhong, and unified the Central Plains, and successively eliminated Xue Rengao, Liu Wuzhou, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande and other multi-way separatists, basically laying the pattern of the Tang Dynasty dominating the world. However, it is not so easy to completely sweep away the crowd and dominate the world.

As far as the situation at that time is concerned, after entering the Central Plains, the Tang Dynasty faced military problems on the northern and southern fronts. In the north, Liu Heimin, Xu Yuanlang, Gao Kaidao and others raised troops to cause chaos in Hebei and Shandong; In the south, Du Fuwei, Fu Gongyi, Li Zitong, Shen Faxing, Xiao Mo and other Jiangnan heroes confronted Li Tang in the north and south.

Especially Liu Heimin, this person can be said to be the most stubborn enemy encountered by the Tang Dynasty. Originally, in the battle of the water, Li Shimin used the water attack to dig the weir dam, irrigate the enemy camp with water, and defeated Liu Heimin's main force in one fell swoop. Liu Heimin was desperate, so he had to lead two hundred remnants to the north to the Turks. However, soon after, with the support of the Turks, Liu Heimin miraculously resurrected with full blood, killed again, and set off a rebellion again.

In the face of the resurgence of Liu Heimin, how will the Li Tang Dynasty respond? In the second counterinsurgency in Hebei, why did Tang Gaozu Li Yuan go against the norm and change generals on the spot, instead of letting Li Shimin, the king of Qin, continue to lead the troops, but ordered the crown prince Li Jiancheng to take command and go on the expedition? In the end, what kind of strategy did the crown prince Li Jiancheng rely on to pacify Liu Heimin and re-stabilize the situation in Hebei without spending a single soldier?

As mentioned in the previous chapter, in July of the fifth year of Wude (622), after the Battle of Lishui, Li Shimin led his division to attack Xu Yuanlang, and even more than ten cities, which shook Huai and Si, and severely damaged Xu Yuanlang's rebel forces. The war situation gradually improved, Li Shimin left some important generals to continue to conquer Xu Yuanlang, and he returned to Beijing with his own division, ending the campaign to quell the rebellion in Hebei, and adding the rank of general of the left and right twelve guards.

However, just before Li Shimin's large-scale conquest of Xu Yuanlang, in April of the fifth year of Wude (622), bad news came from Hebei again. You must know that in late March of this year, in the Battle of Lishui, Liu Heimin had just been defeated by Li Shimin, and the main force was basically lost. In just one month, Liu Heimin actually recovered and made a comeback.

Why was Liu Heimin able to quickly recover his vitality in such a short period of time and re-raise the anti-Tang banner? Actually, it's not how good Liu Heimin's ability is, but that he really hit a lot of luck. Why do you say that Liu Heimin hit the luck? In general, there were two main factors that contributed to Liu Heimin's second rebellion.

First, the Li family's father and son were negligent in their misjudgment of the situation.

Li Yuan, Li Shimin, father and son believe that Liu Heimin's rebellion was similar to the situation of Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang in the second year of Wude (619), and it was backed by the support of the Turkic forces. Once you encounter a major defeat and flee to the Turks, it is difficult to have a chance to turn over. Therefore, the Li family father and son inevitably took it lightly and did not pay enough attention to it.

Let's take a look at Li Shimin, the king of Qin.

Li Shimin thought too much about this war, believing that this was just an ordinary counterinsurgency, not a reunification war to defeat a strong enemy in the past. Therefore, Li Shimin only focused on military strikes, and did not appease the people in time, thinking that defeating the main force of the rebels would stabilize the situation in Hebei.

Since Li Shimin's expedition to Hebei, he has been busy fighting fierce battles with the rebels. For example, in late March of the fifth year of Wude (622), in the Battle of Lishui, Li Shimin had just defeated Liu Heimin, so he didn't stop and waved his army to conquer Xu Yuanlang. During this time, there is no record in the history books that Li Shimin's measures to pacify Hebei. Because Li Shimin did not appease the people's hearts after the war, Liu Heimin was given the opportunity to take advantage of the loophole.

Let's look at Tang Gaozu Li Yuan.

It should be said that Tang Gaozu Li Yuan was also a little blindly optimistic about the post-war situation in Hebei. In Tang Gaozu's view, Liu Heimin was defeated, his vitality was greatly damaged, and it was impossible to set off any more big waves. Therefore, the post-war situation in Hebei did not attract Tang Gaozu's attention.

For this reason, after the Battle of Zhushui, on April 16 of the fifth year of Wude (622), Tang Gaozu even ordered the revoked of Shandong Daoxingtai. At the beginning, when Liu Heimin raised troops to rebel, in order to command the Tang army to suppress the rebellion, Tang Gaozu set up the Shandong Daoxing Platform in Zhaozhou, and Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, served as the right servant of the Shandong Daoxingtai.

Originally, Shandong Daoxingtai was a temporary military organization. Now, Liu Heimin was defeated and fled to the Turks. Tang Gaozu believed that there was no need for this temporary military organization to continue to exist. The revocation of Shandong Road Xingtai invisibly helped Liu Heimin a lot.

Second, the support of the Turkic forces.

Since the end of the Sui Dynasty, the Central Plains has been in turmoil. A new force gradually penetrated into the interior of the Central Plains, which was the overlord from the northern steppes - the Turks. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the world was in turmoil, and the Turks took the opportunity to develop and grow. Therefore, the Turks began to be dissatisfied with being the master of the steppe, and began to covet the Han land in the Central Plains. This group of greedy steppe wolves wanted to take advantage of the war in the Central Plains, waiting for an opportunity to make a fortune, and even manipulated the situation in the Central Plains.

Especially after Jieli Khan inherited the throne, on the basis of his father and brother, his soldiers were strong and strong, and he intended to wave his troops south to spy on the Central Plains. Therefore, the Turks did not want to see a unified Central Plains dynasty to compete with. In the face of the increasingly powerful Li and Tang dynasties, the Turkic countermeasure was to support the hostile regimes of many Tang dynasties and suppress Li Tang, such as Xue and his sons, Li Liang, Liu Wuzhou, Liang Shidu, Dou Jiande, and Liu Heimin, all of whom had inextricable ties with the Turks.

The soldiers will block, and the water will cover the earth. For the provocation of the Turks, the Li Tang Dynasty was not to be outdone. On the one hand, the Tang Dynasty did not openly tear its face with the Turks and maintained the so-called "face project"; On the other hand, it resolutely resisted the infiltration of Turkic forces, eliminated the separatist forces supported by the Turks, and successively destroyed strong enemies such as Xue Rengao, Liu Wuzhou, Wang Shichong, and Dou Jiande, and severely thwarted the expansion of Turkic power:

Jieli was established at the beginning of the year, inherited the capital of his father and brother, and was strong in soldiers and horses, and had the ambition of relying on China. Gaozu was initially determined by the Central Plains, not to mention the omission, and every preferential tolerating was given to an incalculable amount. Jieli is arrogant in his words and insatiable in pleading. (Old Tang Dynasty Books: Turkic Biography)

Including the Li Tang Dynasty's rebellion in Hebei and the war against Liu Heimin, it was also a measure to resist the infiltration of Turkic forces and combat the Turkic attempts to infiltrate the Central Plains. Tang Gaozu Li Yuan understood that after dominating the world in the future, there would be a war between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks. Before that, it's better to practice with these Turkic horses. Liu Heimin's stumbling block must be removed, which can defeat the arrogance of the Turks.

It is precisely because of the support of the Turkic forces that Liu Heimin has a chance to resurrect. After the fiasco of the Battle of Lishui, Liu Heimin took 200 remnants of his army and went north to the Turks. Although, there is no specific record in the history books, after Liu Heimin fled to the Turks, the specific performance. However, it is conceivable that Liu Heimin must have spent a lot of words to persuade Jieli Khan, gain the support of the Turks, regroup, and return to Hebei.

Regarding the resurgence of Liu Heimin, there is one thing that directly led to the resurgence of the Hebei rebellion, that is, the military friction between Li Tang and the Turks.

On April 21, the fifth year of Wude (622), the Turks defeated the Tang army, and Li Daen, the king of Dingxiang, who was the general of Li Tang who was the governor of the state at the time, was killed by the Turks. Prior to this, the Turks had repeatedly raised troops south to invade the border towns of the Tang Dynasty. As a border general of the Tang Dynasty and a military and political governor stationed in Daizhou, Li Daen didn't want to be beaten passively like this all the time, and planned to take the initiative to attack and give the Turks a little color.

Therefore, Li Daen went to the imperial court, saying that there was a famine in the Turkic territory, and he was too busy to take care of himself, so he could take this opportunity to send troops on a large scale and seize Mayi. Tang Gaozu also had the intention of attacking the Turks, and after receiving Li Daen's letter, he agreed to this battle plan. Immediately afterwards, Tang Gaozu sent Dugu Sheng, the young eunuch in the palace, to lead the troops together with Li Daen to crusade against Yuan Junzhang's department. Yuan Junzhang was originally Liu Wuzhou's old department, and after Liu Wuzhou's death, he commanded Liu Wuzhou's troops and was attached to the Turks.

Before sending troops, Li Daen and Dugusheng agreed that the two armies would meet in February. Moreover, Li Daen arrived with his army in advance. However, Dugu Sheng's department was slow to move, and he was grinding on the road, delaying a lot of time. In this way, the Turks got the news and quickly surrounded the Tang army.

At this time, Liu Heimin had just fled to the Turks, and felt that this was a good opportunity to make a comeback, so he was particularly active, jumping up and down. Seeing that Liu Heimin was so active, the Turks couldn't ask for it. Jieli Khan dispatched tens of thousands of iron horsemen, armed Liu Heimin, and besieged Li Daen.

Because Dugu Sheng did not arrive in time and joined the main force, Li Daen's lone army went deeper, so he could only be stationed in the new city and wait for help. Soon, Liu Heimin and tens of thousands of Turkic iron horsemen slaughtered violently, and Li Daen fell into a heavy encirclement, struggling to support against an enemy army several times his size.

Knowing that the Tang army was surrounded, Tang Gaozu hurriedly ordered Li Gaoqian, the general of the right Xiaowei, to lead the army to help. However, before the reinforcements arrived, the Tang army ran out of food and grass, and Li Daen had to break through at night, and encountered a Turkic ambush halfway, and the Tang army was defeated, losing thousands of soldiers, and Li Daen was killed in battle. Li Daen's sacrifice made Tang Gaozu very sad. After the war, Dugu Sheng was assigned to guard the border by Tang Gaozu because of his poor rescue.

This time the Turks besieged the Tang army, Liu Heimin spared no effort and acted as an accomplice of the Turks. To a certain extent, the alliance between the two sides has been established. Liu Heimin helped the Turks and defeated the Tang army; Naturally, in return, the Turks also want to help Liu Heimin make a comeback. In this way, Liu Heimin resurrected with the help of Turkic forces.

On the first day of the sixth month of the fifth year of Wude (622), Liu Heimin gathered more than 10,000 Turkic cavalry, entered Koushan Shandong, and plundered Hebei. At the same time, Jieli Khan personally led 50,000 iron cavalry, all the way south to Fenzhou, in response to Liu Heimin's actions in Hebei. Hebei, which had just been pacified, once again fell into the abyss of war.

For Liu Heimin's second rebellion, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan was very annoyed. He felt that this Liu Heimin, why is he so "persevering" and haunting, just like a Xiaoqiang who can't be killed, defeated him once, and has to make a comeback, why do he want to be enemies of Datang. Tang Gaozu, who was angry, began to be a little irrational.

Therefore, Tang Gaozu sent an order to the crown prince Li Jiancheng, asking him to severely punish the relatives of the rebels in Shandong and Hebei, and all men over the age of fifteen were to be killed; The rest of the old and weak women and children were all driven into the prison and served as laborers. Li Yuan is ready to use this method to knock on the mountain and shock the tiger and deter Liu Heimin. Just imagine, if Tang Gaozu really did this, it would inevitably arouse the hatred of the people of Hebei against the Tang Dynasty, and they would definitely unite and share the same hatred for the enemy.

Of course, Tang Gaozu did not do this in the end. Li Yuan was hot-headed for a while, but Li Shimin, the king of Qin, was very sober and must not go on a killing spree, which would only ruin the good situation. So, Li Shimin personally came forward, patiently advised his father, and stated his interests to Tang Gaozu. Under the persuasion of his son, Li Yuan withdrew his order and gave up this practice. Soon, Tang Gaozu ordered Luo Yi, the king of Yanjun, to lead his troops to attack Liu Heimin:

The black has fallen, and it has been reversed. Gaozu was angry and ordered the prince to build a pit for more than 15 men in Shandong, and drive his weak women to the real Guanzhong. Taizong admonished, thinking that it was impossible, so it was done. ("Old Tang Dynasty Book: Taizong Benji")

Tang Gaozu understood that the main reason why Liu Heimin was able to make a big show and rebel for the second time was because of the Turkic support behind him. And, in order to cooperate with Liu Heimin's anti-Tang action, Jieli Khan personally led 50,000 iron cavalry to invade the south to contain the Tang army. Therefore, if you want to deal with Liu Heimin with all your might, you must repel the southern invasion of the Turks.

Jieli Khan led his army south, first directly to Fenzhou; Then, thousands of cavalry were dispatched to the west to raid Lingzhou, Yuanzhou and other places, and the situation was extremely grim. However, Tang Gaozu quickly made a countermeasure. Li Yuan decided to face the Turks, and ordered the crown prince Li Jiancheng to lead the army out of the Puzhou Road, and the Qin king Li Shimin to lead the army out of the Puzhou Road. The crown prince and the king of Qin jointly led the troops, and the two armies went out to fight against the main Turkic forces.

At that time, Jieli Khan was leading his army to besiege Bingzhou, and then divided his troops to invade Fenzhou and Luzhou, and plundered more than 5,000 men and women. At this time, Jieli Khan heard that Li Shimin led his troops to Puzhou and came to encircle him. Jieli Khan did not dare to entangle, so he took the initiative to lead his troops to retreat. The withdrawal of the Turks enabled the Tang Dynasty to solve Liu Heimin's flank support. From then on, the Tang army could attack the rebels without distraction.

Let's talk about Liu Heimin's situation.

Previously, at the beginning of June of the fifth year of Wude (622), Liu Heimin re-invaded Shandong and Hebei with the help of the Turkic army, and set off a rebellion again. On 17 June, Liu Heimin led his troops to attack Dingzhou. At the beginning, Liu Heimin captured Dingzhou and made contact with the Turks, and only then did he gain the support of the Turks. Later, Li Shimin took command and went to Hebei, and the Tang army recovered Dingzhou, which was equivalent to cutting off the connection between the rebels and the Turks. Now, Liu Heimin has set his sights on Dingzhou.

In July of the fifth year of Wude (622), Liu Heimin's army arrived in Dingzhou. Previously, his late generals Cao Zhan, Dong Kangmai and others died in Xianyu after Liu Heimin's failure. Hearing that Liu Heimin had called back, Cao Zhan and Dong Kangmai instantly came to their senses, regathered their subordinates, and responded to Liu Heimin.

It can be seen that although Li Shimin commanded the Tang Army in the "Battle of the Rivers", flooded the enemy camp and defeated the main force of the rebels in one fell swoop, he failed to completely stabilize the situation in Hebei. Li Shimin only believed that as long as the enemy's main force was annihilated, the situation could be stabilized, but he did not pay attention to the role of calming people's minds. Therefore, when Liu Heimin rebelled for the second time, many old Hebei troops and rebel remnants once again threw themselves into Liu Heimin's "embrace" and responded en masse.

The rebels forced Dingzhou, the old Hebei troops gathered to respond, and the Turkic army supported Liu Heimin, and the situation turned in a direction unfavorable to the Tang Dynasty. On July 15, the fifth year of Wude (621), Tang Gaozu appointed Li Daoxuan, the king of Huaiyang, as the head of the Hebei Provincial March, and led the army to defeat the rebels.

However, the situation on the front line was far beyond Tang Gaozu's imagination. Two months later, in September of the fifth year of Wude (622), Liu Heimin led his troops to capture Yingzhou and killed Yingzhou assassin Ma Kuangwu. After occupying Yingzhou, Ma Junde, a native of Yanzhou, betrayed the Tang Dynasty and moved the city to respond to Liu Heimin.

There was another rebellion in Hebei, Liu Heimin made a comeback, and Li Tang's victory in the "Battle of Zhushui" was completely disrupted. The battle ahead is not going well, and in the face of military oppression by Liu Heimin and the Turks, someone has to come out and preside over the overall situation. At this time, Li Shimin, the king of Qin, had just finished fighting the "Battle of the Water", severely injured Xu Yuanlang, and was in the capital Chang'an, unable to quickly rush to the front line, and could not quench his thirst from far water, what should he do?

There is no way, a dead horse is treated as a live horse doctor. In October of the fifth year of Wude (622), Tang Gaozu ordered Li Yuanji, the king of Qi, to temporarily lead the Tang army and march into Shandong to conquer Liu Heimin's rebels. Soon, Tang Gaozu appointed Li Yuanji, the king of Qi, as the general of the army and the governor of the state.

However, Li Yuanji is not this material at all. Previously, when Li Shimin led the troops to the battle, Li Yuanji was at best following his second brother, pretending to be and doing chores. Now, let him lead the troops alone and fight against Liu Heimin, where is he Liu Heimin's opponent. For Liu Heimin, if Li Shimin, the god of war, comes, he may have to weigh it; However, it was Li Yuanji who led the troops, and he still had nothing to fear.

Sure enough, Li Yuanji, who drove the ducks to the shelves, led the troops alone, and was soon dismounted by Liu Heimin and suffered defeat. Li Yuanji led the army to attack the rebels and decided to take the initiative to attack, and Liu Heimin was caught off guard. On the fifth day of October, Li Yuanji sent Xu Shanhu, the assassin of Beizhou, to attack the rebels, and fought with Liu Shishan, the younger brother of Liu Heimin, in Juan County. Unexpectedly, Xu Shanhu was defeated, and almost all the army was wiped out.

It didn't take long for a day later, on the sixth day of October, Sang Xianhe, the right military general of the Tang Dynasty, led his army to attack Yancheng, broke Liu Heimin's department, and won the victory, which was a temporary reversal. However, at the same time, there was still bad news that Liu Hui, the assassin of Guanzhou, would open the city gate and surrender to Liu Heimin.

These are not counted, and soon, the Tang army ushered in another major defeat on the battlefield in Hebei. On October 17, the fifth year of Wude (622), the Tang army encountered Liu Heimin's main force in Xiabo, and the elite was wiped out. Moreover, the Tang army also lost a famous general of the clan - Li Daoxuan, the king of Huaiyang.

Li Daoxuan, the king of Huaiyang, was a famous young warrior in the Li Tang clan, who was nineteen years old at the time. Don't look at Li Daoxuan's young age, but he is a clan general who has experienced a hundred battles and has outstanding military achievements. Since the age of fifteen, Li Daoxuan has followed his cousin Li Shimin, the king of Qin, from birth to death, and is a "die-hard fan" of Li Shimin, the king of Qin. Li Daoxuan followed Li Shimin all the year round, fought everywhere, and successively participated in major battles such as the Great Breaking of Song Jingang, the Eastern Expedition to Luoyang, and the Battle of Tiger Pass, and made countless military achievements.

No one thought that this brave and warlike young general in the Li Tang clan would sacrifice heroically in the second rebellion against Liu Heimin, sacrifice his life for the country, and freeze his young life forever at the age of nineteen. Speaking of which, the death of Li Daoxuan, the king of Huaiyang, is actually a pity.

Due to the deterioration of the situation in Hebei again, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan was in the battle and appointed Li Daoxuan, the king of Huaiyang, as the head of the Hebei Provincial March, and led the army to defeat Liu Heimin. So, Li Daoxuan and the deputy general Shi Wanbao, the former prince of the country, led 30,000 Tang troops to conquer the rebels and soon arrived in Xiabo.

Unexpectedly, the bad thing was bad for the deputy general Shi Wanbao. What's going on? It turned out that Li Daoxuan and Shi Wanbao had always been at odds and had a very stiff quarrel. As a result, after the Tang army arrived in Xiabo County, it met with Liu Heimin's main force by narrow road. Li Daoxuan carried forward the fine style of his cousin Li Shimin, the king of Qin, who did not want to die in battle and charged ahead, and personally led a light cavalry to take the initiative to attack the rebels; At the same time, Shi Wanbao led the army to follow.

Unexpectedly, Shi Wanbao's heart actually had a small abacus. On weekdays, he has a dislike for Li Daoxuan. Now, Li Daoxuan led a small number of light cavalry to attack the rebels, and it was clear that he was sent to death, so it was better to borrow Liu Heimin's hand to get rid of Li Daoxuan. Therefore, after Li Daoxuan attacked the enemy formation, Shi Wanbao did not lead the main force to follow closely as agreed, but instead supported the troops, sat on the mountain and watched the tiger fight, and said to the people around him:

I am under the edict, saying that although Huaiyang Xiaoer is a general, the advance and end of the army are entrusted to me. Now it is light, and the more muddy the battle, if the army moves, it will be drowned in the mud, it is better to wait for it in formation, although it is not good for the king, but good for the country. (The Old Tang Book: The Biography of Li Daoxuan)

Li Daoxuan led the light cavalry and slaughtered into the enemy formation, thinking that there was a main army behind him, so he rushed to kill. However, after a long time, Shi Wanbao still did not move, and there was no reinforcement for a long time. Soon, Li Daoxuan and his own light cavalry fell into the siege of the rebels. Although, Li Daoxuan led his troops to fight to the death, but due to the disparity in troops, in the end, outnumbered, almost all of the Tang army was killed, and Li Daoxuan, the king of Huaiyang, died heroically at the age of nineteen.

After Li Daoxuan died in battle, Liu Heimin immediately turned his gun and attacked Shi Wanbao's army. Seeing the rebels attacking in a big way, Shi Wanbao reorganized his troops and prepared to meet Liu Heimin. However, Li Daoxuan's death made the Tang army lose all morale and the army's morale was greatly disturbed. Without waiting for the rebels to reach them, the Tang army scattered and fled, and the army was crushed. Seeing this, Shi Wanbao could not prevent the rout of the Tang army, so he could only flee back to Chang'an alone. In the first battle of Xiabo, the Tang army was defeated.

In the Battle of Xiabo, Li Daoxuan, the king of Huaiyang, was martyred and was only nineteen years old when he died. During Li Daoxuan's lifetime, he followed Li Shimin, the king of Qin, for a long time, fought in the south and the north, and swept the Quartet. As we all know, since the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin led the army to conquer the south and the north, fighting dozens of battles before and after, often taking the lead, riding deep into the enemy formation, but rarely suffering serious injuries. This is inseparable from the support of Li Daoxuan and other loyal generals:

Since the beginning of the army, the people of the world have fought dozens of battles before and after, often taking the lead, riding lightly into the depths, although they have been repeatedly in danger but have not been injured by the blade. ("Information Governance Guide"

Therefore, Li Shimin is very sad about Li Daoxuan's death. Later, after Li Shimin became the emperor, he often mourned this heroic cousin, and often said to the close ministers around him:

Dao Xuan has always been from me, seeing that I have gone deep into the thief array, I will overcome what I want, and I will taste it, so I will go first in each formation, and I will learn from me. It's a pity that he is young and does not have a long plan. (The Old Tang Book: The Biography of Li Daoxuan)

In order to commend Li Daoxuan for the National Death Day, Tang Taizong posthumously presented Li Daoxuan as the general of Zuo Xiaowei, nicknamed "Zhuang", so he was called "Huaiyang Zhuang King". Because Li Daoxuan had no children, Taizong couldn't bear it, so he issued an edict to entitle Li Daoxuan's younger brother Li Daoming, the prince of Wudu County, as the king of Huaiyang, and the main Taoist Xuan.

All in all, in the Battle of Xiabo, the Tang army suffered a major defeat, Li Daoxuan, the king of Huaiyang, was killed in battle, and the deputy general Shi Wanbao fled to Chang'an. As a direct consequence of this battle, the situation in Hebei and Shandong suddenly returned to the original point. All the previous efforts were in vain, and Hebei fell into war again.

The Tang army was defeated by Bo, Li Daoxuan, the king of Huaiyang, was killed, and Hebei and Shandong were shocked. Soon, Liu Heimin approached Zhaozhou. It was the center of the Tang Dynasty's rule over Hebei, and it was also the old capital of the Xia Kingdom, and Liu Heimin also set his capital here. At that time, the governor of the Tang Dynasty, who was ordered to garrison Zhaozhou, was also a Li Tang clan ,—— the king of Lujiang. The rebels approached Zhaozhou, seeing this situation, Li Ming, the king of Lujiang, was so frightened that he was at a loss, and hurriedly abandoned the city to the west.

After the loss of Zhaozhou, the situation in Hebei took a sharp turn for the worse, and many surrounding states and counties rebelled against Liu Heimin one after another. In the middle of the day, Liu Heimin returned to his hometown. In November of the fifth year of Wude (622), Cangzhou assassin Cheng Damai abandoned the city and fled, and the rebels captured Cangzhou. At this moment, Li Yuanji, the king of Qi, who was on the front line, was also helpless, afraid of Liu Heimin's troops, and did not dare to advance rashly.

In June of the fifth year of Wude (622), Liu Heimin revived with the help of Turkic forces, and by November, he occupied Cangzhou. In just six months, Hebei, which was finally pacified, fell into the hands of Liu Heimin again. Liu Heimin, a salted fish that was already dying, actually turned over.

War broke out again in Hebei, and the situation did not allow for optimism. The top priority at the moment is to quickly select and dispatch a commander of the army to go to Hebei to quell the rebellion. Speaking of which, some people may say one name in unison: Li Shimin. Indeed, Li Shimin, the king of Qin, was the best candidate to suppress the rebellion in Hebei.

In addition to Li Shimin's proud past achievements, outstanding military talents, and high prestige in the Tang army, there is a more important reason. Previously, Liu Heimin rebelled for the first time, Li Shimin led the army to quell the rebellion, and defeated Liu Heimin's main force in one fell swoop through the "Battle of Lishui". Therefore, Li Shimin has actual combat experience in fighting in Hebei. No matter which aspect is comprehensive, Li Shimin is the right person for the coach.

However, what is intriguing is that Tang Gaozu Li Yuan's final decision was not to send Li Shimin, the king of Qin, to continue to lead the army, but to order the crown prince Li Jiancheng, who had not led the army for a long time, to take command of the rebellion in Hebei. At the critical moment of the second rebellion in Hebei, why did Tang Gaozu change generals on the spot, and why did he abandon the king of Qin and use the crown prince? There are two reasons for this.

First, Tang Gaozu believed that Li Shimin was not suitable for quelling the rebellion in Hebei.

Although, in the "Battle of Lishui", Li Shimin relied on his outstanding military command skills to severely damage the main force of Liu Heimin's rebel army and recover the lost territory in Hebei. However, in the process of counterinsurgency, Li Shimin only focused on military conquest, but neglected the role of pacifying people's hearts. It was precisely because Li Shimin did not carry out post-war pacification in time that Liu Heimin was given an opportunity to take advantage of, which led to the regeneration of rebellion in Hebei. Therefore, it is obviously inappropriate to continue to send Li Shimin to quell the rebellion.

Moreover, since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin has been non-stop, fighting in the south and the north, galloping on various battlefields. In the unification war in the early Tang Dynasty, there were seven important battles, and Li Shimin independently commanded four battles, laying down half of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, it is time for the god of war of Datang to breathe a sigh of relief and take a break.

Second, the crown prince Li Jiancheng took the initiative to fight for it.

In the eyes of later generations, Li Jiancheng, the first prince of the Tang Dynasty, has always been an extremely ugly character. According to the records of various historical materials, the two brothers, the crown prince Li Jiancheng and the king of Qi, Li Yuanji, are two playboys who only know how to hunt and play all day long and indulge in wine, and they have no ability at all:

The prince was built, with a wide and simple nature, and he liked to play wine; Qi Wang Yuanji, many negligence; None of them are favored. The people of the world are becoming more and more famous, and they often intend to build on behalf of others, and they are not at ease in the construction, but they conspire with Yuanji to pour the people of the world together, and each leads to the party friends. (Information Governance Guide)

It means that the crown prince Li Jiancheng has a lazy temperament, likes to drink, is greedy for beauty, and loves hunting; Li Yuanji, the king of Qi, often runs rampant and causes trouble everywhere. These two brothers are not loved by their father Tang Gaozu Li Yuan. In many film and television dramas, Li Jiancheng's image is also quite negative and disgraceful. He is not only insidious and cunning, but also lustful and greedy, and is completely a narrow-minded and narrow-minded kid who does not learn and has no skills. "New Tang Dynasty Book" described him extremely unbearable:

Brief and simple, no regular inspection, barren and alcoholic, excessive hunting, all from the blogger hero.

So, is the real Li Jiancheng really as unbearable as described in various historical sources, so lascivious and lustful? Of course not. In fact, Li Jiancheng was splashed with dirty water. If he was really such a mediocre and hedonistic playboy, how could he have lived in the East Palace for several years! On the contrary, he is not only not a gentleman, but also a prince of the Tang Dynasty who is quite outstanding in civil and martial arts. For example, one of the earliest historical materials is to evaluate the crown prince Li Jiancheng as follows:

The crown prince and the king are all saintly and strategic, pouring money and charity, and humbling the corporal. Caught by the scruffy apprentices, raised in prison, a skill can be called, an art is desirable, and he is not tired of fighting against it. Therefore, the heart of the scholar is all there. ("Datang Entrepreneurship Notes")

In the process of Li Yuan's army from Jinyang to Guanzhong, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, the two brothers, have always been the right-hand men of his father Li Yuan. Li Jiancheng was the governor of the Left Army, commanding the Left Route Army; Li Shimin is the governor of the right leading army, commanding the right army. On the way to the army, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin helped their father Li Yuan, conquered Xihe County, took Huoyi, defended Tongguan, conquered Chang'an, and followed their father all the way from Taiyuan to Guanzhong.

After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Li Jiancheng, as the crown prince, led his army to repel the Turkic invasions many times. Moreover, in the fourth year of Wude (621), during Li Shimin's expedition to Luoyang, Li Jiancheng personally led the troops to pacify the tens of thousands of people of Liu Yancheng, the chief commander of Jihu, beheaded hundreds of people, captured more than 1,000 people, and relieved Li Shimin's worries about attacking Luoyang. It can be said that Li Jiancheng is not like his second brother Li Shimin, who has achieved such great achievements on the battlefield in military affairs, but he is by no means a gentleman who spends all his days drinking.

Li Jiancheng is a generous and benevolent prince, and he is still a relatively qualified heir to the king. From the day he was appointed as the crown prince, Li Jiancheng, as the prince, stayed in Chang'an all the year round to assist his father in handling government affairs, and rarely led troops to battle. Therefore, in the impression of many people, compared with Li Shimin, the king of Qin, who fought in all directions and made great military achievements, Li Jiancheng, as the crown prince, does not seem to be very glorious.

In the mind of Tang Gaozu Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, the weight of the two brothers is different. Li Jiancheng is the foundation of the country and the prince of a country. Although, he is also a general who is very good at fighting. However, once he became the crown prince, Li Yuan resolutely refused to let him easily lead his troops to fight and let him sit in Chang'an.

The crown prince Li Jiancheng, who has not led troops to fight for a long time, why did he go against the norm this time and take the initiative to invite Ying to go to Hebei? The reason for this can be summed up in a word. At this time, there was an obvious crack in the brotherly relationship between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, which made Li Jiancheng uneasy.

Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the brothers Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin seem to have a clear division of labor, one inside the main division, one outside the main division, one sitting in Beijing, and the other going out to fight. On the surface, this division of labor seems to be very reasonable. However, over time, this division of labor will go wrong.

As Li Shimin established unparalleled achievements in the military, his power also expanded, which made Li Jiancheng more and more uneasy. Especially in the fourth year of Wude (621), Li Shimin conquered Luoyang, broke Zheng and destroyed Xia, and made immortal contributions to the Tang Dynasty. At that time, in the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin's status was second only to Tang Gaozu Li Yuan and Prince Li Jiancheng.

Li Shimin's achievements covered the world and shocked the world, and naturally, he coveted the position of the crown prince of his eldest brother Li Jiancheng. This Tang Dynasty military god, who dominates the world and shatters the heroes, is unwilling to be only a Qin king for the rest of his life, he has a greater goal, to rule the world and become the lord of the Tang Dynasty. In this way, it will be a deep hidden danger for the brothers of Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin to turn against each other in the future, and also for the human tragedy of the Xuanwumen Change.

At the same time, Li Jiancheng also saw Li Shimin's expanding position of power and his obvious ambition to seize the heir. The current Li Shimin is no longer the Erlang who fought side by side with him back then, but a "time bomb" that threatens his position as the crown prince. Therefore, Li Jiancheng must take action to suppress Li Shimin's momentum. It is an excellent opportunity to go to Hebei to quell the rebellion.

As everyone knows, Li Shimin, the king of Qin, used his troops like a god, annihilated the heroes, and determined the Quartet with gods, and no one in the world could match him. It can be said that Li Shimin is a universally recognized god of war. Therefore, Li Jiancheng's main purpose in inviting Ying to go to Hebei is to use real military exploits to prove to the people of the world that although he is not as invincible as Li Shimin when it comes to marching and fighting, he is not far behind.

In fact, in the "Battle of the Water", after Li Shimin severely damaged Liu Heimin's main force, Li Jiancheng once asked his number one adviser - the prince to wash the horse Wei Zheng. Wei Zheng, in the turbulent times of the late Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty, experienced vicissitudes of life and had great political vision. Therefore, Li Jiancheng regarded Wei Zheng as a "think tank", and he asked Wei Zheng whether Hebei would be pacified if the main force of the rebels was completely annihilated and Liu Heimin fled to the Turks. Unexpectedly, Wei Zheng replied to the prince like this:

Although the black man was defeated, the killing and wounding were too great, and his leader was executed in the name of the county, and his wife was captured, and he wanted to surrender without a rope, although there was an amnesty order, the winner would be killed, and he would not be, and he was afraid that the thieves would roar, and the people would not be at peace. (The New Tang Dynasty Book: The Biography of Li Jiancheng)

Sure enough, as Wei Zheng expected, not long after the "Battle of Zhushui", Liu Heimin, with the support of the Turks, made a comeback and invaded Hebei again. Liu Heimin rebelled for the second time, and the opportunity that Li Jiancheng had been thinking about finally came. The two advisors of the East Palace, the crown prince Zhongyun Wang Qi and the crown prince Xima Wei Zheng, also thought that the opportunity was rare, and suggested that the crown prince Li Jiancheng take the initiative to ask His Majesty to go to Hebei, take the opportunity to develop his own power, and confront the king of Qin:

His Royal Highness is the eldest of the land, and he has practiced Yuanliang, and his merits are not commendable, and his benevolent voice is not known. And the clone of King Qin's Xunye, powerful all over the world, and the people's hearts, how can His Royal Highness be at ease? Today, the black rate is broken, the crowd is not more than 10,000, and the grain transportation is limited, the sores are not scabooned, if the army comes, it can be captured without a fight. I am willing to ask for it, and to make meritorious contributions, deep self-enshrined, because of the handsome Shandong Province. (The Old Tang Book: The Biography of Li Jiancheng)

Wang Qi and Wei Zheng analyzed the battle situation, although Liu Heimin seemed to be menacing and held high the anti-flag, but in fact there was nothing to worry about. Although Liu Heimin has the support of the Turks, the Turks are not stupid. In the final analysis, Liu Heimin is just a lackey of the Turks, and it is impossible for the Turks to bet all their money on Liu Heimin.

What's more, in the previous "Battle of the Water", Liu Heimin suffered heavy losses, and the main force was almost lost. Now, the army in Liu Heimin's hands is all defeated by Li Shimin, and there is a shortage of food and grass. As long as the Tang Dynasty army approached Hebei, causing the situation of the king's division to suppress the territory, it would definitely cause panic within the rebels. At that time, the Tang army will be able to surrender without a fight and put down the rebellion. From this point of view, Liu Heimin does not seem to be terrible, and the Tang Dynasty has a better chance of winning.

After listening to Wang Qi and Wei Zheng's suggestions, Li Jiancheng felt that it was very reasonable. When he took command of Hebei, he could not only compete with Li Shimin militarily; You can also take this opportunity to make friends with Shandong Haojie and develop your own forces, so as to play political games with the Qinwang Group in the future.

Without further ado, Li Jiancheng immediately asked Tang Gaozu Li Yuan to lead the army to go to Hebei to quell the rebellion and crusade against Liu Heimin. At this time, Tang Gaozu was considering the choice of the commander to go to Hebei, and it happened that Li Jiancheng asked Ying, so that Gaozu immediately made up his mind and sent the prince to the expedition.

Tang Gaozu believed that compared with Li Shimin, Li Jiancheng was more suitable for quelling the rebellion in Hebei. First of all, this war is a counterinsurgency war, a war in which military and politics coexist. Li Shimin's military talent, although unmatched, was able to defeat the rebels by force. However, counterinsurgency requires not only conquest by force, but also the encirclement of people's hearts. From this point of view, Li Shimin's military conquest is obviously not feasible.

However, Li Jiancheng is different. Since being appointed as the crown prince, Li Jiancheng has stayed in Chang'an for a long time, sitting in Beijing, assisting his father in handling government affairs, and has rich experience in politics. As for how to win people's hearts and calm the situation, Li Jiancheng must be familiar with it. Therefore, sending Li Jiancheng to Hebei can not only defeat Liu Heimin, but also stabilize the situation in Hebei and solve the problem once and for all.

Secondly, Li Jiancheng's identity is the crown prince and the prince of the Tang Dynasty. The prince's personal expedition will definitely boost the morale of the Tang army on the front line and encourage all the soldiers to fight bravely to kill the enemy. One of the main reasons why the Tang army was defeated again and again in Hebei was that the dragons were leaderless. If Li Jiancheng, as the crown prince, personally conquered Hebei, it would definitely increase the confidence of the Tang army, fundamentally reverse the battlefield situation, and then win the counterinsurgency war.

Moreover, Li Yuan, the ancestor of Tang Gaozu, as a father and emperor, also hopes that the merits between his sons can be balanced. can't let Li Shimin shine all the time, but Li Jiancheng is unknown and doesn't do anything; In this way, it is not conducive to the balance of power in the court, nor is it conducive to the harmony between the princes. It's time for Li Shimin to take a break and let Li Jiancheng go to the battlefield to experience it. Therefore, for the second rebellion in Hebei, Tang Gaozu finally decided to take the crown prince Li Jiancheng as the main commander.

On the seventh day of the 11th month of the fifth year of Wude (622), Tang Gaozu Li Yuan issued an edict and ordered the crown prince Li Jiancheng to lead an army to Hebei to defeat Liu Heimin's rebels. At the same time, Tang Gaozu ordered that the Daxingtai of Eastern Shaanxi Province under the jurisdiction of Li Shimin, as well as the marshal of the marching army of Shandong Province, and the soldiers and horses of Henan and Hebei Prefectures, should be unified under the command of Li Jiancheng, so as to facilitate Li Jiancheng to dispatch the armies. As the crown prince, Li Jiancheng officially led the troops to the front line in Hebei.

With the help of the Turkic forces, Liu Heimin raised troops for the second time, and the situation in Hebei took a sharp turn for the worse again, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan finally decided after repeated thinking that the crown prince Li Jiancheng would take command of the main force of the Tang army and go to Hebei to defeat Liu Heimin's rebels.

Tang Gaozu Li Yuan hoped that Li Jiancheng could put down the rebellion and eliminate Liu Heimin's rebel forces through a combination of political pacification and military conquest, so as to stabilize the year-long chaotic situation in Hebei. So, will Prince Li Jiancheng be able to complete this difficult task?

Even though Li Jiancheng is both civil and military, he has also made great contributions to the founding of the Tang Dynasty. However, after all, Li Jiancheng has not led the troops for a long time; What's more, Li Jiancheng is not like Li Shimin, who does not follow common sense in the use of soldiers, dares to take the sword sideways and surprises, and Liu Heimin is such a difficult stubborn enemy. In the end, how did Li Jiancheng defeat Liu Heimin militarily, and how did he stabilize Hebei politically? What important impact did the pacification of the Hebei rebellion have on the great cause of the Li Tang Dynasty to unify the world?