During the founding war of the Li Tang Dynasty, the interior of the Central Plains was occupied by various separatist forces. At the same time, the Turkic forces, which dominate the steppes of Saibei, are also taking advantage of the opportunity to gain momentum. In order to thwart the unification of the Tang Dynasty, the Turks supported several anti-Tang regimes and suppressed the nascent Li Tang Dynasty.

However, with the unification war of the Tang Dynasty, which gradually achieved victory, the Xue father and son (Xue Ju, Xue Rengao), Li Liang, Liu Wuzhou, Dou Jiande, Liu Heimin and other forces were destroyed one after another. The Tang Dynasty, which had always tolerated the Turks many times, had to face the reality that it was time to solve the Turkic problem and compete with this steppe overlord. In the end, the Tang Dynasty eliminated the Turkic-supported Liang Shidu, drawing a successful end to the ten-year unification war.

The Liang division was attached to the Turks for a long time and was a nail in the coffin that threatened the rear of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, if you want to defeat the Turks, you must first eliminate Liang Shidu and pull out this nail. Therefore, the battle to destroy Liang Shidu became the last battle of the Tang Dynasty's unification war, and it was also the final battle.

So, who is Liang Shidu? In order to eliminate Liang Shidu and win the final battle of the unification war, what careful planning did the Tang Dynasty make? After the destruction of Liang Shidu, how did the Tang Dynasty strike while the iron was hot and wipe out the Turks in one fell swoop, so as to truly realize the grand wish of dominating the world?

During the ten-year unification war of the Li Tang Dynasty, there was always a problem, which ran through the entire unification war in the early Tang Dynasty, which made the two generations of emperors, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan and Tang Taizong Li Shimin, feel that their heads were hanging with swords. What's the problem? That is the Turkic forces in the way. Therefore, on the one hand, the Tang Dynasty wanted to attack from all sides to sweep away the separatist regimes in the interior of the Central Plains; On the other hand, Li Tang had to fight hard to deal with provocations from the Turks.

From the late Northern and Southern Dynasties to the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the Turks have always been the overlords of the steppe, with strong soldiers and strong horses. After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Wen of Sui adopted strong military measures and launched an attack on the Turks. In the end, under the blow of the superior forces of the Sui Dynasty, the Turks were greatly damaged, and they were divided into two parts, the east and the west, and declared themselves vassals to the Sui Dynasty. For a time, the Central Plains Dynasty achieved an unprecedented victory over the steppe nomads.

However, the good times were short-lived. In the last years of the Sui Dynasty, the world was in turmoil, and the Central Plains fell into a scuffle, and they were too busy to take care of themselves. At this time, the Turks saw the chaos in the Central Plains and felt that the opportunity had come, so they regained strength and openly broke with the Sui Dynasty. During that period, the power of the Turks almost reached its peak, even stronger than the Xiongnu and Rouran at the beginning. According to historical records, the power of the Turks was very strong:

In the rebellion of the great cause of the Sui Dynasty, the Khan was established at the beginning, and the Chinese relied on it, the Khitan, Murowei, Tuyuhun, and Gaochang were all subordinates, and Dou Jiande, Xue Ju, Liu Wuzhou, Liang Shidu, Li Rail, Wang Shichong, etc. were stubborn and respectful. Control the strings and millions, Rong Di is blazing strong, and there is no ancient one. (The New Tang Dynasty Book: The Turkic Biography)

When the Turkic Turks were strong, not only the surrounding minority tribes were its vassals; Even some secessionist regimes in the interior of the Central Plains, such as Dou Jiande, Xue Ju, Liu Wuzhou, Li Liang, Wang Shichong and others, were inextricably linked with the Turks, and some were even dependent on the Turks.

However, with the continuous victory of the Tang Dynasty's unification war, Li Tang swept away the heroes one by one and entered the Central Plains, and the Turks began to become more and more uneasy. The reason is simple, the Turks did not want to see a unified Tang dynasty. In this way, the Turkic infiltration into the interior of the Central Plains will be greatly hindered.

In order to safeguard their vested interests in the Central Plains, the relationship between the Turks and the Tang Dynasty began to undergo subtle changes. On the one hand, the Turks continued to send troops south, invaded the borders of the Tang Dynasty, burned, killed and plundered; On the other hand, the Turks fostered a number of anti-Tang forces to compete with the Tang Dynasty, and Liang Shidu was one of them. Therefore, Liang Shidu became a pawn of the Turks to contain and oppress the Tang Dynasty, and also became the last enemy in the founding war of the Tang Dynasty.

Compared with other separatist forces, Liang Shidu had the closest relationship with the Turks. Although, the northern heroes of the late Sui and early Tang dynasties were all more or less connected with the Turks; However, their relationship with the Turks was far inferior to that between Liang Shidu and the Turks. Regarding this issue, it is first necessary to introduce Liang Shidu and his person.

Liang Shidu, Xiazhou Shuofang (now west of Hengshan County, Shaanxi, northeast of Jingbian County) people. The Liang family has been a local wealthy family in Shuofang County for generations. Liang Shidu lost his father when he was a child, and he was raised by his uncle Liang Bi. After becoming an adult, Liang Shidu began to enter the official career and served as the general of the Yingyang Mansion of the Sui Dynasty.

However, in the last years of the Sui Dynasty, the world was in turmoil, and peasant uprisings broke out one after another. In such a troubled world, it is impossible for Liang Shi to be an ordinary military general in peace. Sure enough, in the later period of the Great Cause, Liang Shi was dismissed from his official position and returned to his hometown Shuofang County. After returning to his hometown, Liang Shidu made friends with party members everywhere and gathered as thieves. Obviously, although Liang Shidu did not openly raise troops against Sui, he was also preparing for future moves.

Finally, the opportunity that Liang Shi had been waiting for came. On the first day of February in the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), Liang Shidu launched a mutiny, killed Tang Shizong, the Shuofang County of the Sui Dynasty, took the opportunity to occupy Shuofang County, and officially raised troops against the Sui. After taking Shuofang, Liang Shidu proclaimed himself the prime minister and took the initiative to join forces with the Turks. Soon, the Sui general Zhang Shilong led his army to come, and the Liang division led troops to engage him, defeating Zhang Shilong's Sui army in one fell swoop.

A month later, in March of the thirteenth year of the Great Cause (617), the Liang division took advantage of the victory and sent troops to successively capture Diaoyin, Honghua, Yan'an and other counties, and initially laid some of their own territory. As a result, Liang Shidu felt that he had the strength to fight against the Sui Dynasty. In the same month, Liang Shidu was officially proclaimed emperor, the country name was "Liang", and a ceremony was held in the south of the city to worship the sky.

Why is it said that Liang Shidu has the closest relationship with the Turks? There are two main reasons for this. First, the territory occupied by the Liang division was roughly located in the area from today's northern Shaanxi to Ningxia, directly bordering the Turks, and had geographical advantages. Second, the size of Liang Shidu's territory is not big or small, but it is vast and sparsely populated, far inferior to other northern separatist forces. Therefore, if Liang Shidu wants to gain a firm foothold, he can only hold on to the Turkic tree.

For the Turks, the territory occupied by the Liang division is simply a treasure land. In the eyes of the Turks, at that time, the center of the world was far away in Chang'an. As long as Chang'an is captured, you can command the world. Today, Liang Shidu sits on the plateau of northern Shaanxi and takes the initiative to contact the Turks. In this way, from now on, when the Turks send troops south, they can directly pass through the northern Shaanxi Plateau and coerce Chang'an.

It can be said that the significance of Liang Shidu to the Turks is equivalent to the "Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun" in the future, and the importance of the Liao State has a strategic place. Therefore, the Turks attached great importance to Liang Shidu and tried their best to win him over, giving him the same treatment as Liu Wuzhou. For example, Shibi Khan gave Liang Shidu the wolf's head and gave him the titles of "Dadu Viga Khan" and "Son of Heaven". At the same time, Liu Wuzhou was also given the title of "Dingyang Khan" by the Turks. Therefore, Liu Wuzhou and Liang Shidu, one east and one west, became the two scimitars of the Turks to contain the Tang Dynasty.

With the strong support of the Turks, Liang Shidu's confidence suddenly skyrocketed. Soon, the Liang division led the Turkic soldiers and horses to attack the land south of the Hetao and break through Yanchuan County. As far as the Tang Dynasty is concerned, Liang Shidu's strength is not too strong, and the Tang Dynasty is not afraid of dealing with him. However, Liang Shidu had Turkic support behind him, which made the Tang Dynasty inevitably have some concerns. Therefore, the Tang Dynasty's attack on Liang Shidu seemed to be only dealing with Liang Shidu alone, but in fact it was dealing with Liang Shidu and the Turkic forces, and it was necessary to be cautious.

At the same time, since the support of the Turks, Liang Shi felt that his waist was stiff, and he couldn't help but feel a little unaware of the height of the sky. In his opinion, his strength is not as good as Li Tang, but he is covered by a Turkic boss, and Tang Dynasty does not dare to do anything to himself. Therefore, the Liang division relied on the support of the Turks and made a small calculation, preparing to take the opportunity to make a big profit, launch an attack on the Tang Dynasty, and lay down some more territory.

In this way, the Tang Dynasty wanted to destroy Liang Shidu, and Liang Shidu wanted to take the opportunity to knock on the "bamboo pole" of the Tang Dynasty. The two sides had calculations and tensions, and a years-long tug-of-war began. In the long-term tug-of-war, the Liang division was repeatedly defeated, consuming a large number of troops, leading to future destruction and defeat.

The first confrontation between the Tang Dynasty and Liang Shidu occurred shortly after the founding of the Li Tang Dynasty. This time, it was Liang Shidu who took the initiative to launch a provocation. On the fourth day of the seventh month of the first year of Wude (618), Liang Shidu led his army to invade Lingzhou. As a result, Lin Xingcan, a hussar general of the Tang Dynasty stationed in Lingzhou, commanded the defenders of Lingzhou in the Tang Dynasty, held the city, counterattacked, defeated the attack of Liang Shidu, and won a complete victory. Liang Shidu provoked the Tang Dynasty for the first time and ended in failure.

The attack on Lingzhou failed, and many soldiers and horses were lost, which was undoubtedly a big blow to Liang Shidu. Since the beginning of the army, the Liang division has not suffered such a defeat. He couldn't even take a Lingzhou city, and Liang Shi still had the face to command the troops, so he was naturally unwilling.

Subsequently, on the first day of the third month of the second year of Wude (619), after half a year of rest, the Liang division made a comeback and led the army to attack Lingzhou for the second time. During this period, the war between Li Tang and Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang in Hedong was also in full swing. Just before Liang Shidu attacked Lingzhou for the second time, he had taken the initiative to send troops together with the Turks to respond to Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang's attack on Hedong.

At the end of February of the second year of Wude (619), Shibi Khan personally led the main Turkic force to cross the Yellow River and reach Xiazhou. Xiazhou is the territory of Liang Shidu, and its strategic location is extremely important. The governance of Xiazhou is the famous "Tongwan City". Tongwan City is located in the area of Jingbian County, Yulin, Shaanxi Province today, which was once the capital of Hu Xia during the Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The person who created the unification of ten thousand cities was the founding emperor of Hu Xia, a generation of troubled heroes - Helian Bobo.

In the ninth year of Yixi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (413), Helian Bobo ordered to levy 100,000 Hu and Han people in Lingbei to build the Huxia capital in the north of Shuofang Water and the south of Heishui, and named it "Tongwan City". The reason why it was named "Tongwan City" is because Helian Bobo once said: "We unify the world and reign over all nations, and we can unify all the names of all countries." ”

In order to ensure the quality of the project in Tongwancheng, the cold-blooded Helian Bobo used a very cruel method. The general who was responsible for the construction of the Ten Thousand Cities was a master craftsman, who was very smart, but also extremely brutal. In order to test the fortification of the city of Tongwan, he ordered people to build the walls out of dust, and then pierced the walls with an awl. If the awl can be inserted into the wall by an inch, immediately kill the craftsman who built the wall, and build his body into the city:

Ali is particularly ingenious, but cruel and violent, but steamed earth to build a city, cone into an inch, that is, kill the author and build it. Bo Bo thought he was loyal, so he was entrusted with the task of repairing. (The Book of Jin: The Chronicles of Helian Bobo)

It can be seen from this how strong the city of Tongwan is! During the Sui Dynasty, Tongwancheng was under the jurisdiction of Shuofang County. The Liang division occupied Shuofang and established himself as the emperor, that is, he used the city of Tongwan as the base camp. Therefore, Shibi Khan led his army to Xiazhou this time, just to meet with the Liang division.

Seeing that the Turkic boss took the initiative to come, Liang Shi certainly did not dare to slack off, and took the initiative to send troops to meet the Turkic army. Subsequently, Shibi Khan sent 500 cavalry to help Liu Wuzhou, preparing to instigate Liu Wuzhou to send troops from the sentence note and invade Taiyuan. In this process, Liang Shidu waved his flag and shouted, acting as a loyal horse boy of the Turks.

But soon, great changes took place in the Turkic country. What's going on? Shibi Khan died, and his younger brother Philip ascended the throne as the "Chuluo Khan". Due to the change of ownership of the Turks, they naturally had no time to take care of Liu Wuzhou and Liang Shidu, so they led their troops back to the grassland. Liu Wuzhou and Liang Shi's plans to attack the Tang Dynasty also came to naught.

Soon after the Turkic withdrawal, the Liang division launched a second war against Lingzhou. This time, Liang Shi was full of energy, and he also wanted to capture Lingzhou and save the face of the failure of the last attack on Lingzhou. Unexpectedly, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. The Liang division made a comeback, attacked Lingzhou for the second time, and was repelled by Shi Yangze, the Tang Dynasty governor who guarded Lingzhou, with his troops. In the second attack on Lingzhou, the Liang division suffered defeat again.

The two attacks on Lingzhou ended in failure, and Liang Shi was full of frustration in his heart. As a result, the Liang division decided to change the direction of the attack, not to attack Lingzhou, but to attack another important military town - Yanzhou. However, during this invasion of Yanzhou, Liang Shidu encountered a difficult nemesis - Duan Decao, the governor of Yanzhou.

At the end of August of the second year of Wude (619), the Liang division gathered thousands of Turkic cavalry, invaded Yanzhou on a large scale, and camped in the Wild Boar Ridge. At that time, the general of the Tang Army, who was responsible for guarding Yanzhou, was Duan Decao, the head of the march. Duan Decao is a person, born in Jiangmen, the son of Duan Shao, a famous general in the Northern Qi Dynasty, who has gone through several dynasties and is very good at using soldiers. After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Duan Decao was ordered to guard the northwest and became a banner in the northwest border army of the Tang Dynasty.

It can be said that Liang Shidu invaded Yanzhou this time, and when he met Duan Decao, he hit the muzzle of the gun, which was an unfortunate beginning. In the face of Liang Shidu's large-scale invasion, Duan Decao did not panic, but was very calm and calmly analyzed the battle situation. Duan Decao believes that the troops in his hands are not as good as Liang Shidu, and he must not fight with him. For the sake of today's plan, if you want to defeat Liang Shidu, you can only consume his vital strength and defeat him in one fell swoop.

Therefore, Duan Decao issued a military order, strictly ordering the soldiers under his command to stay still, stick to the barracks, and not to fight without authorization. Duan Decao's purpose in doing this is very obvious, that is, to slowly consume the combat power and patience of the Liang Shidu army. When the Liang division is sleepy and tired, and then launch a counterattack, it will definitely be a complete victory.

Sure enough, Duan Decao's tactics of strengthening the wall and clearing the wilderness had the desired effect. In September of the second year of Wude (619), among the army of Liang Shidu, the hearts of the people gradually fluctuated and there was a commotion. Duan Decao secretly rejoiced in his heart, the time was ripe to counterattack the enemy.

So, taking advantage of the gap that the Liang division was defenseless, Duan Decao sent Liang Li, the deputy commander, to lead the main force of the Tang army to attack the soldiers and horses of the Liang division from the front. As a result, the two armies fell into a fierce battle, and there was no winner or loser. At this time, Duan Decao personally led a light cavalry, took it by surprise, quietly went around behind the enemy, and waited for the opportunity to move. Regarding Tang Jun's move, Liang Shi was still unaware.

Successfully detouring behind Liang Shidu, Duan Decao ordered his subordinates to ride lightly and spread their flags, causing a surprise attack by the army. Then, Duan Decao personally led a light horse, instantly covered the past, and directly attacked the enemy's battle formation. It is conceivable that in the final result of this battle, the Liang division was defeated, and most of his troops scattered and fled. Immediately afterwards, Duan Decao took advantage of the victory to pursue, chased more than 200 miles to the north, attacked Weizhou, obtained more than 2,000 men and women, and returned with a great victory:

Virtue is outnumbered, and the armor is used to frustrate its sharpness. After the waiter was a little sluggish, he sent the deputy chief Liang Li to lead the crowd to attack him, and De Cao surprised him with a light horse. The division and the ceremony fought for a long time, and there were many banners of virtue, and after dying, the division was defeated, chasing more than 200 miles to the north, and capturing more than 200 men and women. ("Old Tang Book: The Biography of Liang Shidu")

In this invasion of Yanzhou, Liang Shi stole chickens and rice, and lifted stones to shoot himself in the foot. Originally, Liang Shi thought that his strength was far superior to that of the Tang army, and it seemed that he was in control. As a result, Tang took Duan Decao by surprise and skillfully counterattacked, and finally turned the tide and defeated Liang Shidu. It can be said that the defeat of Yanzhou was the most tragic defeat suffered by the Liang division after the defeat of the two attacks on Lingzhou.

However, Liang Shidu's character seems to have a stubborn component, belonging to Xiaoqiang who can't be killed. In Liang Shidu's opinion, the first time he failed, it was because he was not prepared, maybe he could succeed next time. If you fail again next time, you may succeed next time. Therefore, the more he encounters failure, the more Liang Shi feels unwilling, and the more he wants to regain face. In this way, Liang Shidu has gone to an extreme.

Not long after the defeat of Yanzhou, the Liang division once again gathered 5,000 cavalry and invaded Yanzhou for the second time. Unexpectedly, he met his nemesis Duan Decao again this time. Duan Decao led the Tang army to once again break the Liang division, beheading more than 2,000 ranks, and beheading all the prisoners of the Liang division. This time the battle of Yanzhou was even worse than the last time, the Liang division was almost wiped out, and finally had to lead more than 100 cavalry to flee the battlefield in a hurry.

Because Duan Decao defeated the enemy army several times, after the war, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan was rewarded for meritorious deeds, and Duan Decao worshiped the pillar country for his merits, and gave him the title of Pingyuan County. However, during the battle, Duan Decao's right-hand men, the Assassin of Dunzhou and Liang Li, the Zhuanggong of Jucheng, unfortunately died in battle, and they were also posthumously gifted and bereaved by the imperial court.

Whether it was the previous two attacks on Lingzhou or the recent two attacks on Yanzhou, after several battles, Liang Shi was defeated miserably in every battle. Through these several battles, Liang Shi also really understood the strength of the Tang Dynasty, and he was indeed not the opponent of the Tang Dynasty.

The so-called disaster is not a one-way street, just when the Liang division lost all his troops and was extremely depressed, there was another bad news. What's the bad news? Li Shimin personally led the soldiers of the Tang Army, and after a bloody battle, finally defeated the main forces of Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang, recovered Taiyuan, eliminated Liu Wuzhou's regime in one fell swoop, and achieved the "Great Victory in Hedong".

The fall of Liu Wuzhou's regime suddenly made Liang Shidu uneasy. At the beginning, the Turks supported Liu Wuzhou and Liang Shidu in order to make the two of them, one east and one west, become two separatist forces that contained the Tang Dynasty. Now, the fall of Liu Wuzhou has undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to the Turkic plan.

You must know that Liu Wuzhou's territory and strength are many times stronger than that of Liang Shi. Moreover, Liu Wuzhou once ravaged Hedong and occupied Taiyuan, which almost shook the foundation of Longxing of the Li Tang Dynasty. Now, even Liu Wuzhou has been wiped out by the Tang Dynasty, and Liang Shi is one acre and three points of land, if the Tang Dynasty wants to take it, it is not a matter of minutes.

At this time, after hearing the news of Liu Wuzhou's defeat, many generals within Liang Shidu also began to feel uneasy and began to prepare for their own back. For example, some generals under Liang Shidu betrayed Liang Shidu and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. The two generals of Liang Shidu, Zhang Ju and Liu Min, surrendered to the Tang Dynasty one after another. For the surrender of these two generals, Liang Shi was extremely frightened in his heart, and he didn't know what to do.

After thinking about it, Liang Shi felt that after several defeats, he also came to a conclusion that the Tang Dynasty was not easy to mess with. Therefore, for the time being, it is better not to provoke the Tang Dynasty. If you want to divide the territory for a long time, in Liang Shidu's opinion, there is only one way, and that is to continue to hold on to the Turkic tree.

In fact, Liang Shidu's idea is very simple, continue to rely on the Turks, on the one hand, he can instigate the Turks, send iron cavalry south, invade the hinterland of the Tang Dynasty, and give himself a bad breath; On the other hand, Liang Shidu was able to take the opportunity to recover and regroup his forces. As a result, the Liang division appointed Shangshu Lu Jilan to send an envoy to the Turks and lobbied Luo Khan, hoping that the Turks could send troops to attack the Tang Dynasty border. Lu Ji saw the Turks, and with an incorruptible tongue, he stated the situation to Chu Luo Khan:

Compared with the Central Plains, it was divided into several countries, and the power was weak, so the north was attached to the Turks. Now that Wu Zhou is destroyed, the Tang State is great, and the division is willing to be destroyed, and he is also afraid of the second and the khan. May the Khan do what Wei Xiaowen did, send troops to invade the south, and please be the township guide for the division. ("Old Tang Book: The Biography of Liang Shidu")

Originally, at this time, the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks was gradually deteriorating. Turkic forces infiltrated the Central Plains, supported many separatist forces, and obstructed the advance of the Tang Dynasty's unification war. In the face of the Turks' obstruction, the Tang Dynasty was not to be outdone, and successively eliminated the Xue father and son, Li Rail, Liu Wuzhou and other secession regimes, and smashed the Turkic attempts. For a time, there was tension between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks.

At this time, the Liang division sent people to the Turks, lobbied Luo Khan, and urged the Turks to send troops to invade the south and attack the Tang Dynasty. Not to mention, Liang Shidu's pinch really worked, Chu Luo Khan was hot-headed, and actually agreed to Liang Shidu's request to send troops, and began to actively deploy soldiers and horses. At that time, Chuluo Khan was deployed in this way, arranging a three-way army, forming a huge military threat to the Tang Dynasty:

On the first road, the two Turkic generals Mo Helu and Ni Bushe led the army all the way south from the northern Shaanxi Plateau; Mo Helu led his army to invade Wuyuan, and Nibu went to Yanzhou to join the Liang division.

On the second road, Chuluo Khan personally led the main Turkic force to attack Taiyuan, threatening the land of Longxing of the Li Tang Dynasty, and then swept the Hedong region.

On the third road, the Tuli Khan united with the Khitan and the Yan soldiers and horses, marched into Youzhou, and cooperated with Dou Jiande's Xia army.

If these three-way armies really invade southward. Then, for the Li Tang Dynasty, it will be a huge military threat. At that time, the Tang Dynasty will be in a fierce battle with the three forces of Turkic, Liang Shidu, and Dou Jiande, and it will definitely be exhausted. However, the heavens will always favor the Li Tang Dynasty. Seeing that the war was about to break out, at the critical moment, a dramatic change took place.

It turned out that on the eve of the departure of the Turkic army, Chuluo Khan suddenly died violently, and the cause of death is unknown. Because of the sudden death of Chuluo Khan, the Turkic country once again faced the transition of the change of khan. Therefore, the planned three-way march, the Turks failed to meet the Liang division as promised.

Because the Turks failed to send troops on time, this three-way parallel attack became a one-man battle of Liang Shidu. Soon, Duan Decao, a Tang general stationed in Yanzhou, took the opportunity to launch a counterattack and broke the Liang division. Not surprisingly, when Duan Decao met, Liang Shidu was defeated again.

In the following years, Liang Shi was a little more honest. Perhaps, after a few battles, Master Liang was beaten up. However, the Liang divisions all stopped, and the Tang Dynasty began to take the initiative to attack. In the fifth year of Wude (622), the Tang Dynasty began to use troops on a large scale to the Liang division, trying to destroy the Liang division in one fell swoop.

In February of the fifth year of Wude (622), Duan Decao, who was then the head of the march of Yanzhou Road in the Tang Dynasty, exhausted the Yanzhou border army and entered the Liang division. In fact, Duan Decao led the army to crusade against Liang Shidu, and it was by no means his own unauthorized action. Perhaps, Tang Gaozu felt that as long as Liang Shi existed for a day, the north of Chang'an would be like a wooden thorn, and it would be painful. Therefore, Li Yuan thought that it was necessary to cut through the mess quickly, pull out the wooden thorn of Liang Shidu, and order Duan Decao to take the initiative.

Duan Decao led the elite of the border army and launched a large-scale crusade against Liang Shidu. First of all, wherever Duan Decao's troops went, they pointed directly at an important military stronghold under the jurisdiction of the Liang Division, Shibao City. Duan Decao commanded the border army and launched a fierce offensive against Shibao City, putting on a position at all costs.

The stone fort city was impregnable, and if it was forcibly attacked, the Tang army would inevitably suffer heavy losses. Duan Decao's veteran on the battlefield, doesn't he understand this truth? Of course he does. In fact, Duan Decao's forcible attack on Shibao City was just a false shot from him. His real purpose, four words: besiege the city and send reinforcements.

Storming Stone Castle City was certainly not Duan Decao's main purpose. Duan Decao knew very well that the importance of Stone Fort City would never be given up easily. Therefore, Duan Decao pretended to feint to attack Shibao City and make a big noise, so as to confuse Liang Shidu and induce Liang Shidu to lead troops to rescue Shibao City. Then, Duan Decao set up an ambush in advance, and when all the main forces of the Liang division came to Shibao City, the Tang army suddenly attacked and intercepted and surrounded all the Liang divisions.

Anyone who knows a little about military affairs can see that this is Duan Decao's plan to besiege the city and send reinforcements. However, Liang Shi couldn't take care of it so much. In his opinion, Stone Castle City must not be lost. As a result, Liang Shidu really led the army and came to the aid of Shibao City.

Liang Shidu came to the rescue in person, and he was in the middle of the exercise. As a result, the soldiers and horses of the Liang division, as soon as they arrived at Shibao City, the Tang Dynasty border army, which had been ambushed in advance, rushed out from all directions and stormed the capital of the Liang division. After a bloody battle, the Tang army won a complete victory, and the Liang division was defeated. In the end, Liang Shidu had to lead only sixteen cavalrymen and fled in disarray. Then, the Tang army took advantage of the situation to conquer Shibao City.

Under the command of Duan Decao, the Tang army broke through the capital of the Liang division and conquered the stone fort city, and the morale of the army was greatly boosted. At this time, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan sent reinforcements from Chang'an to help Duan Decao. Originally, the Tang Army's new Liang Division, coupled with the reinforcements sent by Chang'an, Duan Decao was full of confidence for a while. Therefore, Duan Decao planned to take advantage of the victory to attack and completely destroy Liang Shidu. So, Duan Decao gathered the soldiers of the border army, and the soldiers pointed directly at the base camp of the Liang division - Xiazhou.

As mentioned above, Xiazhou ruled Wancheng and was an impregnable and impregnable military town. Therefore, if Duan Decao wants to take Xiazhou, he must break through Tongwan City. At that time, Tongwancheng was divided into two parts: east and west. Most of the elites of the Liang division were concentrated in Dongcheng.

Therefore, Duan Decao commanded the Tang army and attacked Dongcheng with all his might. The soldiers of the Tang Army fought hard to attack the city, forgetting their lives and death, and finally captured Dongcheng. The eastern city was conquered by the Tang army, and the Liang division led hundreds of remnants and was forced to retreat to the western city. After taking Dongcheng, Duan Decao turned to attack Xicheng. Until this time, Liang Shi was still stubborn, trapped and stubbornly resisted. Therefore, the Tang army's attack was temporarily blocked, and it was unable to quickly take Tongwan City.

At this time, Liang Shidu repeated his old tricks and asked the big brother Turks for help. Soon, the Turkic Jieli Khan personally led 10,000 elite horsemen to aid Xiazhou and Tongwancheng. The Turks reinforced Liang Shidu, and the situation was extremely unfavorable for the Tang army in an instant. Xiazhou could not be conquered for a while, and Turkic reinforcements arrived. If the war cannot be ended quickly, the Tang army is likely to fall into the two-sided attack of the Turks and Liang Shidu, and cannot withdraw.

In the end, after careful consideration, Li Yuan, the ancestor of the Tang Dynasty, who was far away in Chang'an, made a decision to withdraw his troops. Tang Gaozu issued an edict to Duan Decao, ordering him to lead the army to withdraw from Xiazhou in time. In Tang Gaozu's view, this military campaign against Liang Shidu achieved the desired effect, annihilating most of the main forces of Liang Shidu. Now, Xiazhou has been unable to conquer for a long time, and has encountered the Turkic army again. At this moment, the Tang army must not be entangled with the Turks, and withdrawing troops is the wisest choice:

Gengchen, Duan De, the head of the march of Yanzhou Road, attacked the Liang division and Shibao City, and the division saved it; Virtue and battle, the big break, the division fled with sixteen horses. Shangyi his troops, so that the victory to attack Xiazhou, Keqi East City, the division with hundreds of people to protect the West City. Will be rescued by the Turks, and Zhao Decao will be returned. (Information Governance Guide)

Liang Shidu relied on the Turkic forces and once again survived without danger. The Tang Dynasty conquered Liang Shidu this time, although the battle was fruitful, but due to the intervention of the Turks, it still failed to conquer Xiazhou and eliminate Liang Shidu. However, on the other hand, in this conquest of Liang Shidu, the Tang army inflicted heavy losses on its main force and made its wings broken.

After passing the level safely, Liang Shidu began to get carried away and dig a pit for himself. After that, Liang Shidu's stupid behavior caused his internal military strength to plummet rapidly, and his subordinates defected one after another, laying a hidden danger for his demise.

At first, Liu Yancheng, the commander of Jihu, was an enemy of the Tang Dynasty and often harassed the hinterland of the Tang Dynasty. Later, the crown prince Li Jiancheng led the army to conquer and defeat the Jihu tribes. There was no way, Liu Yancheng, the thief of Jihu, led his troops and came to join Liang Shidu. In fact, it is to find a backer.

However, as soon as Liu Yancheng came, Liang Shidu saw that there were a large number of Jihu, and he was very uneasy. He was worried that if one day, Liu Yancheng led the crowd to oppose the water, which would pose a threat to himself. In the end, Liang Shidu listened to the slander, found a random excuse, and killed Liu Yancheng.

Liu Yancheng led the crowd to vote, but as a result, he was unreasonably suspected by Liang Shidu and was murdered. Liang Shidu's move was extremely stupid. Not only was the Jihu Department excited, but even some of Liang Shidu's subordinates couldn't stand it anymore, and everyone was in danger. Therefore, many of Liang's subordinates defected one after another and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. For example, in March of the sixth year of Wude (623), the Liang division's generals He Sui and Suo Erren led the land of the twelve states under their command to surrender to the Tang Dynasty.

Liang Shidu unjustly killed Liu Yancheng, which aroused internal public indignation, and many people were so disappointed in him that they defected to the Tang Dynasty. It should be said that Liang Shidu's move was a cocoon, and he weakened his military strength, making him gradually fall into the predicament of being embattled and alone.

It is estimated that after killing Liu Yancheng, Liang Shidu regretted it, and he also realized the weakness of his army. It's not too late to make amends, and it's still too late to remedy. How can it be remedied? Liang Shidu is also Jiang Lang's talent, and he can't come up with any new tricks, and he is still an old-fashioned trick and is attached to the Turks.

After several fiascos in confrontation with Li Tang and the negative impact of killing Liu Yancheng, Liang Shi clearly realized that his strength was not as good as before, and it was impossible to take the initiative to fight against Tang Dynasty again, which would only lead to worse defeat. Therefore, it is imperative to closely follow the steps of the boss Turk, hug the thighs of the Turks, and suppress the Tang Dynasty, in the eyes of Liang Shidu, is the most correct and invincible.

Under the unfavorable circumstances, Liang Shidu frequently turned to the Turks for help, fanning the yin wind, lighting ghost fires, and instigating the Turks to invade the interior of the Tang Dynasty. After being provoked and provoked by Liang Shidu, in the following years, the Turks often moved south from the Hetao region and invaded the hinterland of the Tang Dynasty, which caused the Tang Dynasty a headache:

The division is in a hurry, but it is to go to the court, for Chen Chengkou's plan. Since then, the Turkic invaders have been frequent, and the border states have been a little restless. Jieli Khan's Kouwei Bridge is also a teacher. ("Old Tang Book: The Biography of Liang Shidu")

In fact, Liang Shidu instigated the Turks to invade the hinterland of the Tang Dynasty, and there was another layer of deep meaning, that is, to let the Tang Dynasty divert its goals, let Li Tang divert his attention, and focus all on resisting the Turkic war, so as to lighten the importance of Liang Shidu. Taking advantage of this time, Liang Shidu was also able to survive in the cracks.

Under the instigation, instigation, and even leading the way of Liang Shidu, in the following years, the Turks invaded the Tang Dynasty many times, and even once invaded the city of Chang'an, posing a serious threat to the Tang Dynasty. Among them, there is also a "credit" of Liang Shidu. Regarding the Turkic invasion of the Tang Dynasty, I will write about it immediately later, so I will not repeat it here.

Completely dependent on the Turks, the Turks let him do whatever he wanted, and never go against the will of the Turks, is a rule of survival that Liang Shidu has summed up over the years. Liang Shidu narrowly believed that as long as he hugged the thighs of the Turks and was willing to be a vassal of the Turks, he could survive in the troubled times.

This practice, in a short period of time, may be a survival strategy; However, history has proven that this is by no means a long-term solution. To put it mildly, Liang Shidu is a Turkic dog. Once it loses its usefulness, the Turks will instantly abandon him as if he were a shoehorn. At the beginning, Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang were so powerful. As a result, the Turks turned their faces and killed when they said they would kill, and the lessons from the past were not far away.

What's more, Liang Shi thought that if he was attached to the Turks, he could keep peace forever, but in fact, he was not. If one day, the Turkic umbrella collapses, how long can it be supported by the meager territory occupied by the Liang Division? Sooner or later, someone will swing an axe and cut down the Turkic tree, which is the Li Tang Dynasty.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks is unavoidable and will eventually break out. After basically sweeping away the domestic separatist forces, solving the Turkic problem became the top priority of the Tang Dynasty's border defense. At this time, the Tang Dynasty no longer forbears the Turks everywhere and gradually hardens.

Since the seventh year of Wude (624), the Tang Dynasty basically realized the unification of the southern and northern regions, and successively eliminated the domestic separatist forces, and the unification war was coming to an end. Therefore, resisting the Turkic invasion became the main national defense issue in the later period of Wude. Due to the continuous invasion of the Turks, a large number of troops of the Tang Dynasty were all used to resist the Turkic attack, and the two sides have been in a state of mutual inconciliation.

It was not until Tang Taizong Li Shimin ascended the throne that the Turks intensified. For example, in the year when Li Shimin ascended the throne, the Turks, under the leadership of Liang Shidu, marched south, penetrated deep into the hinterland of the Tang Dynasty, and approached Chang'an, which was regarded as a "great gift" to Tang Taizong to ascend the throne. Therefore, Tang Taizong's patience with the Turks reached the limit, and he decided to solve the Turkic problem by force and conquer this steppe overlord by military means.

Since it was decided to officially start a decisive battle with the Turks, the first thing Tang Taizong had to do was to pull out the separatist forces attached to the Turks one by one and remove the obstacles to sending troops to the Turks. For example, in the first year of Zhenguan (627), after repeated persuasion and struggle, the warlord Yuan Junzhang, who was attached to the Turks and seized Heng'an Town (now the ancient city in the northeast of Datong, Shanxi), took the initiative to surrender to the Tang Dynasty. In the second year of Zhenguan (628), Tang Taizong officially decided to eliminate Liang Shidu, who had been entrenched in Shuofang for a long time.

Tang Taizong's decision to eliminate Liang Shidu was a deliberate and strategic consideration. The Liang division occupied the northern Shaanxi Plateau and the Hetao region, and colluded with the Turks, posing a serious military threat to the Tang Dynasty. In addition, Liang Shidu often served as a guide, leading the Turkic army south from the Hetao to invade the interior of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, in the eyes of the Tang Dynasty, Liang Shidu has been included in the blacklist of "number one war criminals" and must be resolutely eradicated.

On the other hand, if Tang Taizong decided to show his sword to the Turks, he had to destroy Liang Shidu first. If you want to fight a decisive battle with the Turks, you must first send troops to destroy the Liang division. The elimination of Liang Shidu had two main benefits for the Tang Dynasty and the Turks, which could achieve twice the result with half the effort.

First, the elimination of Liang Shidu would be able to firmly control the Northern Shaanxi Plateau and the Hetao Plain in the hands of the Tang Dynasty, and with these two important places, the Tang Dynasty could effectively organize its forces to intercept the southward movement of the Turkic army, so as not to be as passive as before, allowing the Turkic army to penetrate deep into the hinterland.

Second, if you can defeat the Liang division in one fell swoop, take the northern Shaanxi Plateau and the Hetao Plain. At that time, the Tang Dynasty will be able to use these two places as a fulcrum to build a bridgehead for sending troops to counterattack the Turks. In that way, it will be much easier for the Tang army to send troops to attack the Turks in the future.

In any case, Tang Taizong was determined, gathered a large army, and was ready to attack at any time to destroy Liang Shidu, the last enemy in the unification war. In order to be able to complete his work in one battle and eliminate Liang Shidu cleanly and thoroughly, Tang Taizong took a two-pronged approach from the inside and outside of Liang Shidu.

First of all, Tang Taizong adopted the practice of saluting first and then soldiering, and recruited Liang Shidu. Since the unjust murder of Liu Yancheng, the morale of the Liang Shidu regime has fluctuated, and the army has become weaker and weaker. In fact, for Liang Shidu's weakness, Tang Taizong Li Shimin was very clear. Therefore, Tang Taizong still hoped to solve Liang Shidu in a peaceful way, without spending a single soldier. So, Tang Taizong sent a message to Xiazhou, hoping that Liang Shidu would recognize the situation and take the initiative to surrender to Tang.

However, Liang Shidu was simply stubborn to the extreme. In his opinion, he had fought with the Tang Dynasty for so many years, and had colluded with the Turks many times to invade the interior of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, Liang Shidu believed that once he descended to the Tang Dynasty, he would definitely have no good fruit to eat, and he would definitely die. Therefore, Liang Shidu made up his mind, rejected Tang Taizong's surrender, resolutely refused to surrender to Tang, and was ready to resist to the end, anyway, there were Turks to support him.

Obviously, Liang Shidu has already expressed his attitude: refusing to surrender to Tang. Tang Taizong felt that he had also achieved benevolence and righteousness, but Liang Shidu did not cherish it himself. It is obviously impossible to peacefully recruit Liang Shidu. Next, Tang Taizong intended to use military means.

In April of the second year of Zhenguan (628), Tang Taizong ordered Shi Liu Min and Sima Liu Lancheng, the governors of Xiazhou, to lead the army to attack and harass Xiazhou, which was regarded as the front station for the main force of the Tang army to attack Xiazhou. Liu Min and Liu Lancheng, after arriving in Xiazhou, adopted a strategy of grasping both military and political affairs.

On the one hand, Liu Min and Liu Lancheng sent a small force to attack from all sides and harass the soldiers and horses of the Liang Division. For example, when the crops in Xiazhou were ripe, the Tang army rode out lightly, trampled on the grain fields, and ravaged the crops, resulting in a shortage of food in the city of Xiazhou, the soldiers and civilians were hungry, hungry, and people's hearts became more and more fluctuating.

On the other hand, Tang generals Liu Min and Liu Lancheng skillfully used a divisive strategy, which caused the monarchs and ministers within Liang Shidu to be suspicious of each other and centrifuge up and down. How to use the discord plan? Liu Min and Liu Lancheng ordered that all the captured Liang generals and subordinates be released. Their purpose in doing this was to drive a wedge between the internal relations of the Liang Shidu and make its monarchs and ministers suspicious of each other. Sure enough, for these generals who came back safely, Liang Shi became suspicious, thinking that they had become the meticulous work of the Tang army.

It was at this time that there was another abnormal celestial phenomenon of "Tengu falling into its city". Therefore, many people under Liang Shidu thought that this was a warning from heaven, and Liang Shidu was already in danger and could not last long. Therefore, Liang Shidu's generals Xin Fang'er, Li Zhengbao, Feng Duan and others secretly conspired to prepare to seize Liang Shidu and take the opportunity to surrender to the Tang army. Unexpectedly, the news leaked, and Li Zhengbao and others saw that something was wrong, and they surrendered to the Tang army one after another:

Jieli political turmoil, Taizong Zhishi is in danger of helping lonely, and he is told by a book, but he does not obey. Governor Shi Liu Min and Sima Liu Lan were sent to Xia. Those who have won their mouths will be ordered to be reversed, and they will be separated from the plans of their monarchs and ministers. Frequently choose light horses to trample their crops, the city gradually weakened, and those who returned to their lives one after another, all of them were kind to them. It is a suspicion of benefit. There are Li Zhengbao and Xin Fang'er, all of whom are famous generals, and they are all masters, but the matter is unsuccessful, and Zhengbao actually comes to surrender. ("Old Tang Book: The Biography of Liang Shidu")

It can be said that Liang Shidu at this time was embattled and crumbling. Seeing that Liang Shidu is in danger, at the critical moment, someone came to "make up for the knife", who is it? It is the big brother that Liang Shidu has always relied on - Turkic. The so-called falling into the well, the Turks also abandoned Liang Shidu at this time.

Previously, Liang Shidu had always pursued a strategy of attaching himself to the Turks, and as long as something happened to him, the Turks would definitely help for their own interests. However, this is not the case. Today's Turks are no longer the Turks of the past. The Liang divisions were embattled, and the Turks were the same, facing a great crisis.

Since the early years of the Zhenguan reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, the internal political situation in the Turkic has been turbulent, and there have been continuous tribal rebellions, and some minority tribes that were originally attached to the Turks have turned away from the Turks and defected to the Tang Dynasty. For example, before the Tang army attacked Xiazhou, the Khitan, which was originally a Turkic vassal, broke away from Turkic rule under the leadership of the Khitan chieftain, surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and sought refuge from the Tang Dynasty. Of course, the Khitan was only one of many tribes.

In this case, the Turks were too busy suppressing internal tribal rebellions to have no skills, so they naturally had no time to take care of the Liang division. Even, the Turkic Jieli Khan felt that Liang Shi had become a heavy burden for the Turks. Therefore, the top priority, as far as the Turks are concerned, is the only way for the strong man to break his wrist, abandon Liang Shidu, and go all out to suppress the tribal rebellion.

Soon after, Jieli Khan sent an envoy to Chang'an to meet with Tang Taizong Li Shimin and proposed an exchange of conditions to Tang Taizong. The terms of exchange of the Turks were actually very simple, exchanging the Khitan tribes with the Liang divisions. This means that as long as the Tang Dynasty surrenders the annexed Khitan tribes, the Turks will no longer interfere with the Tang army's use of troops against the Liang division. In fact, the Turks were exchanging money with the Tang Dynasty. Unexpectedly, Tang Taizong sternly refused and refuted the Turkic envoy in public:

The Khitan and the Turkic are aliens, and now they are attached, why do they ask for it! The people of the capital of China, stealing my land, tyrannizing my people, the Turks are sheltered, I raise troops to beg for it, and come to save it, they are like fish swimming in a kettle, why not have it for me! It is not possible to borrow it, and it will not be exchanged for the people who are subjugated. (Information Governance Guide)

Tang Taizong was domineering, and he told the Turkic envoys that the Khitan and your Turks are not of the same clan and clan. Now that they have joined the clan, how can Datang abandon them, what qualifications do you have to come and ask Datang for it! What's more, Liang Shidu was originally from the Central Plains, but he had been stealing land for a long time and was sheltered by your Turks. Eliminating Liang Shidu is an internal matter of our Tang Dynasty, why do you Turks need to agree!

This sentence was quite tough, and Tang Taizong clearly told the Turks that if the Tang Dynasty wanted to level the Liang Division, it could succeed in a battle at any time. In fact, Tang Taizong's words are warning the Turks, you had better not interfere, if you interfere, then even you will clean up together. At the same time, Tang Taizong is also giving Liang Shidu an ultimatum, this is the last chance given to you by the Tang Dynasty, you can do it yourself.

Through this incident, Tang Taizong also saw that the Turks had completely abandoned Liang Shidu. Therefore, until this time, the time is ripe to completely eliminate Liang Shidu. Everything is ready, only the east wind is owed. Now, as long as Tang Taizong gives an order, the Tang army will be able to strike a thunderous blow at Liang Shidu's forces.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Tang general Liu Min to go to the court and state the military situation in Xiazhou to Tang Taizong. In the recital, Liu Minchen said that Liang Shidu was greatly injured and vulnerable, and the imperial court could send troops on a large scale at this time to destroy Liang Shidu and capture Xiazhou. After receiving Liu Min's performance, Tang Taizong decided to officially send troops to attack the Liang division.

In April of the second year of Zhenguan (628), Tang Taizong appointed Chai Shao, the general of the right guard, and Xue Wanjun, the young eunuch of the palace, to lead the main force of the Tang army to attack the city of Tongwancheng in Xiazhou and directly take the power of Liang Shidu. In addition, Tang Taizong ordered Shi Liu Min, the governor of Xia, to lead a team of elites, Chen soldiers in Shuofang Dongcheng, coerced Liang Shidu, and responded to the main force of the Tang army.

This time, Tang Taizong appointed the two main generals to attack Liang Shidu, both of whom were famous generals with outstanding military achievements. Among them, Chai Shao is the brother-in-law of Tang Taizong Li Shimin, the husband of the late Princess Pingyang Zhao, who has followed Tang Taizong all year round to fight everywhere, with outstanding achievements, ranking one of the "Twenty-four Heroes of Lingyan Pavilion", and is an authentic founding father of the Tang Dynasty.

Another main general, Xue Wanjun, is the elder brother of the fierce general Xue Wanche, the two brothers are known for their bravery and good fighting, and they once served under Luo Yi and repelled Dou Jiande's attack. Later, Luo Yi descended to the Tang Dynasty, and the two brothers Xue Wanjun and Xue Wanche also descended to the Tang Dynasty together and served under the crown prince Li Jiancheng. Now, Xue Wanjun is a general entrusted by Tang Taizong, and this time he and Chai Shao jointly led the troops to enter the Liang division.

The two-way Tang army pressed on Xiazhou step by step. Chai Shao and Xue Wanjun led the main force and approached Xiazhou, while Liu Min commanded the partial division and built a camp in the east city of Shuofang to threaten the Liang division, and the situation was very unfavorable to the Liang division. In the end, after a short period of thought, Liang Shidu decided to first break through Liu Min's partial division, and then face the main force of the Tang army.

Therefore, Liang Shidu led the Turkic tribes, went out to the city, and directly attacked the camp of Liu Min's department. In the face of Liang Shidu's active attack, Liu Min's general, Sima Liu Lancheng of Xiazhou, was calm, not impatient, and ordered the soldiers to stop fighting, stick to the camp, and not confront the enemy head-on.

Liang Shidu led his troops to challenge outside the camp, no matter how he shouted and challenged, the Tang army did not move at all and refused to fight. Soon, Liang Shidu's department was deflated. In the evening, the Liang division led the troops to retreat. Seeing the enemy retreating, Liu Lancheng felt that the time had come, and the fighter plane was fleeting. So, Liu Lancheng led the army out of the nest and pursued the Liang Division's headquarters behind. As a result, the Liang division was defeated and lost countless soldiers and horses.

Originally, Liang Shidu's plan was to take advantage of the arrival of the main force of the Tang army to defeat the Tang army's partial division stationed in the east of Shuofang, remove the threat of Xiazhou City, and then go all out to fight a decisive battle with the main force of the Tang army. Unexpectedly, it backfired, and the Liang division was defeated by the Tang army, losing troops and losing generals, so they could only retreat into the city, completely in a state of passive beating. In this way, the Liang division was no longer able to return to the sky, and the Tang army surrounded Xiazhou.

Although, the Turks were too busy to take care of themselves at this time, as if they had given up on Liang Shidu. However, the two sides are still nominal allies. The Tang army besieged Xiazhou on a large scale, and as the master of Liang Shidu, the Turks naturally could not stand idly by, even if they were pretending.

Therefore, the Turkic Jieli Khan sent a detachment of troops and horses to support Liang Shidu. In fact, the Turks sent troops to rescue, just to put on a posture for Liang Shidu to see. At that time, it coincided with the heavy snowfall, and countless sheep and horses froze to death. Therefore, in this way, the combat effectiveness of the Turkic army was greatly reduced.

When Chai Shao and Xue Wanjun led the main force of the Tang army to a place dozens of miles away from Tongwan City, they met the Turkic army who came to the rescue. After encountering the Turkic army, Chai Shao and Xue Wanjun quickly commanded the Tang army, fought hard, and launched a fierce attack on the Turkic army. In the end, under the fierce charge of the Tang army, the Turkic army was defeated, scattered and fled, and was forced to retreat. Subsequently, the Tang army took advantage of the situation to surround Shuofang and launched a fierce offensive.

After the defeat of the rescue of Liang Shidu, the Turks suffered heavy losses, and they also clearly realized that the Tang army was determined to win the Liang division, so they no longer dared to go to the rescue. Without the rescue of the Turks, Liang Shidu has completely become an outcast, no one cares, and it is only a matter of time before the city collapses.

However, at this point, Liang Shidu still refused to admit defeat and led his troops to resist stubbornly. Soon, the city ran out of food and became precarious. In panic, Liang Luoren, Liang Shidu's cousin, launched a mutiny, beheaded Liang Shidu, and then surrendered the city. Then, the Tang army captured Shuofang. The imperial court promoted Liang Luoren to the general of the right Xiaowei, sealed the prince of Fang County, and took the place occupied by Liang Shidu as "Xiazhou":

The division led the Turkic soldiers to the city, and Liu Lancheng could not come out. The division escaped, Lan Cheng pursued, and broke it. The Turks sent troops to rescue the division, Chai Shao and others did not go to Shuofang for dozens of miles, met with the Turks, fought hard, broke it, and then surrounded Shuofang. The Turks did not dare to save it, and the city was exhausted. Ren Yin, the division capital from his father and brother Luo Ren killed the division, surrendered to the city, and took its land as Xiazhou. (Information Governance Guide)

At this point, the Liang Shidu regime was officially declared extinct, and the Tang Dynasty won a large territory on the Northern Shaanxi Plateau and the Hetao Plain in one fell swoop, pulled out the last nail of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, and won the final victory in the Unification War.

Liang Shidu from the beginning of the army to the final extinction, before and after the last 12 years, throughout the beginning and end of the unification war in the early Tang Dynasty, it is considered to be the longest existence of the Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty of a group of separatists, but in the end it was difficult to escape the fate of extinction, in the official history books, the destruction of Liang Shidu and others is commented on as follows:

Shen Faxing is a thief, and Liang Shi is a murderer, and they all perished, but they have no repentance. Since the Sui Dynasty, Yuxian has been divided, and the small ones are rats and dogs stealing, and the big ones are swallowing tigers. The Tang Dynasty raised righteousness, Zhaoshu returned to the people, Gaozu Yun Ying Yaotu, Taizong was gifted and martial, the group of murderers swept away, Huanhai Jingqing, Zuo enjoyed the eternal year, Gongxuan descendants, said Shenyao, civil and military, wouldn't it be amazing! ("Old Tang Book: The Biography of Liang Shidu")

After ten years of hard work, as of the second year of Zhenguan (628), the Li Tang Dynasty finally swept away the heroes, unified the world, realized the unification of the whole country, and officially moved towards a strong and prosperous unified dynasty. Facts have proved that history has chosen the Li family and the Tang Dynasty.

But, then again. Conquering the Liang Shidu regime was not the ultimate goal of the Tang Dynasty. The ultimate goal of the Tang Dynasty was to use the elimination of the Liang division as a springboard to clear the military obstacles to the Turks and carry out large-scale military conquest against the Turks. So, during this period, what kind of military game took place between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks? How did the Tang Dynasty finally defeat its old rival Turks and plant the Tang Dynasty banner on the Saibei grassland?