Chapter 26: Siege of Yanmen
Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

Li Shimin couldn't help but reminisce. That period could be said to be the most glorious and prosperous period of the Guanlong Group. During the Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties, this group could be said to be omnipotent, but it could also be said to be able to call the wind and rain.

It goes without saying that the Northern Zhou royal family was descended from one of the pillars of the country. Even Yang Jian, who was one of the twelve generals and was already wary of the Guanlong Group, was still unable to avoid the intervention of the Guanlong forces in many cases.

Fortunately, since the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the power of the Guanlong Group has been continuously weakening and can no longer pose a huge threat to the imperial power as before.

What I hate the most now are the four so-called aristocratic families.

Ming Dynasty, Yongle period.

Zhu Di sighed to Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji: "This Guanlong aristocratic group can be said to be the most powerful aristocratic group since the Wei and Jin Dynasties' Nine-Rank System. It is the most prosperous and last glory of the aristocratic families."

After Guanlong, although the "aristocratic" class still existed in the Tang Dynasty, they were not as powerful as the Guanlong Group, especially in terms of control over the military. As for the aristocratic families in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, although their minions were everywhere, they could not really be called "military aristocrats."

As for the chaotic times after the Tang Dynasty, there were indeed powerful military groups, but these military groups were no longer "aristocratic groups."

Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Years.

Children's focus is always more unique, or they are more willing to pay attention to interesting content.

For example, what Zhu Bo saw was: "Gao Huan? Isn't this the ancestor of the Gao family of the Northern Qi?" That Northern Qi, that Gao royal family, that group of people who stir up trouble and are so corrupt...

"Ah, it's the Gao family." Zhu Di twitched his mouth.

[In 581 AD, the Sui Dynasty was established. Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, ended hundreds of years of division in the late Western Jin Dynasty and ushered in the Kaihuang Reign.

But the situation was not completely stable. The Turks continued to harass the northwest border, and Goguryeo in the east was also planning a large-scale invasion.

In the 11th year of the Sui Dynasty's Daye period, Emperor Yang of Sui visited the northern border and arrived at Yanmen County. The Turkic Shibi Khan Ashina Duoji led hundreds of thousands of cavalry to attack Yanmen County.

Emperor Yang of Sui was trapped in Yanmen Pass, and he ordered all counties to send troops to rescue him. At the same time, he secretly sent envoys to ask Princess Yicheng for help.

Li Yuan was one of the officials who received the imperial edict this time, and accompanying him was the sixteen-year-old Li Shimin.

Here, Li Shimin initially showed his natural talent in military affairs. He suggested that the Sui army adopt a bluffing approach to intimidate the Turks.

Finally, after the rescue troops from various places arrived and Princess Yicheng informed Shibi Khan that the northern border was unstable, Shibi Khan withdrew his troops and Emperor Yang Guang of Sui was rescued.

"'Yang' means he is selfish and disrespectful to others, he is against heaven and oppresses the people, he is ambitious and dangerous, he is heartless and disloyal, he is unethical and ruins the country," Yang Jian was furious. "He is really my good son!"

He shouted, "Come here, bring the Prince of Jin into the palace."

No matter what the reputation of Prince Jin is now, he will definitely not have a chance to become emperor in the future.

Empress Dugu stood aside and said nothing. She was also disappointed with her second son.

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang had already seen the end of the Sui Dynasty: "After this siege of Yanmen, the Sui Dynasty has no chance of recovery."

[Yang Guang suffered a great psychological blow during this siege, and subsequently became more and more arrogant and extravagant, no longer having his former ambitions. Of course, it may also be that he discovered that the Sui Dynasty was on its last legs and could not be saved.

Unlike Yang Guang, Li Yuan was constantly developing.

In the 12th year of Daye, Li Yuan was promoted to General of the Right Guard; in the 13th year of Daye, Li Yuan was officially appointed Ambassador of Comfort and Consolation of Hedong, Shanxi, Governor of Taiyuan, and Supervisor of Jinyang Palace.

Here, Li Yuan and other members of the Li family started to realize their ambitions, and Taiyuan became the base of the Li family. 】Tang Dynasty, the ninth year of Wude.

"Taiyuan," Li Yuan had many fond memories of Taiyuan. He recalled the joy he had when he was in office in Taiyuan. "I was granted the title of governor of Taiyuan, which is exactly commensurate with my fiefdom. This is heaven's will!" If you don't take what heaven gives you, you will suffer the consequences. How can you not be happy and make plans with all your heart after receiving the revelation from heaven?
Li Shimin also had fond memories of Taiyuan.

After Li Yuan got the position of garrison commander of Taiyuan, he was not the only one who was happy. Li Shimin and even Li Jiancheng and others were also happy. This was a good thing for them as well.

Moreover, when he was in Taiyuan, Li Shimin made friends with many heroes, which was also one of the sources of his support, such as Changsun Shunde and Liu Hongji.

[The situation in the Sui Dynasty became increasingly corrupt.

In the twelfth year of Daye, Yang Guangnan went to Jiangdu, bringing with him court officials, concubines, and 100,000 brave soldiers, intending to spend the last years of his life in Jiangdu, a city he had always loved.

At the same time, the various rebel armies in the Central Plains have already formed their own trends.

Sui Dynasty, the 18th year of Kaihuang.

Yang Jian was furious: "He just ran away like that?" Yes, he ran away. In Yang Jian's opinion, Yang Guang's behavior of leading people to Jiangdu was no different from running away. "He caused the war in my Sui Dynasty, and he didn't think about whether he could make up for it?" At the very least, he couldn't keep half of the country?

Dugu Jialuo shook her head: "It seems that Guang'er's life was too smooth, so he was unwilling to face such a situation." In other words, when he found that the facts were very different from his own cognition, he could not accept it at all and immediately chose to escape.

Yang Guang thought that his behavior was no big deal. Otherwise, why would he choose to fight continuously when he had so much experience? However, when he stepped out of his self-perception and saw the reality, he found that it was completely different from what he thought. The war was raging and could not be suppressed...

"Guang'er is not stupid." Dugu Jialuo sighed. If he was really stupid, how could he win the admiration of the couple? "But, the flaws under his disguise are too big."

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

Cheng Yaojin and other civil and military officials who came from Wagangzhai couldn't help but fall into memories.

[Faced with the Sui Dynasty looking like it was in its final years, Li Yuan and the people around him naturally became concerned.

After he took office as the governor of Taiyuan, Liu Wenjing, the then magistrate of Jinyang County, and Pei Ji, the supervisor of Jinyang Palace, often interacted with Li Yuan. Liu Wenjing was also good friends with Li Shimin, and the two sometimes exchanged their views on the Sui Dynasty.

After Li Mi of Wagangzhai became powerful, Liu Wenjing was imprisoned because of his marriage relationship with Li Mi.

Although he was imprisoned, Li Shimin still went to visit Liu Wenjing. Liu Wenjing believed that the chaos in the world was a good opportunity to follow the will of heaven and raise the banner of justice. Moreover, Li Yuan himself had tens of thousands of soldiers, and the people in the surrounding areas also came to Taiyuan City to avoid the chaos. "Take advantage of the opportunity to enter the pass and command the world. In less than half a year, the empire can be established."

Li Shimin agreed with this very much, so he deployed his guests and secretly planned an uprising. However, Li Shimin was worried that Li Yuan would not agree with his suggestion, so Liu Wenjing brought in Pei Ji, who was on good terms with Li Yuan, and the three of them planned together.

After repeated persuasion from people around him and his second son, or perhaps because he had endured enough, Li Yuan finally made up his mind to start a rebellion immediately.

Tang Dynasty, the ninth year of Wude.

Li Yuan watched the miracle and reviewed the events before and after the uprising, and thought of the recent changes. He could only sigh that his second son was indeed decisive and sharp enough.

At that time, he did have the idea. Faced with such a situation and with the power he had, how could he not be tempted? However, he had never expected his second son's determination, courage to make decisions, and grasp of the entire situation during the entire process of planning the uprising, as well as Li Shimin's ability to win people's hearts.

Song Dynasty, the first year of Kaibao.

"Jinyang started an uprising," Zhao Guangmei said. These were all the history they knew, and now it was like watching history unfold step by step. "From this time on, Emperor Taizong of Tang embarked on his path."

The previous rescue at Yanmen Pass only slightly revealed his talent and character. It was from the time he persuaded Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, to start an uprising that Li Shimin's brilliance truly began to bloom.

How old was Li Shimin at this time? No more than eighteen.

(End of this chapter)