Chapter 27: Jinyang Uprising
After deciding to start the rebellion, Li Yuan recruited soldiers, contacted the Turks and Li Mi, and ensured that he would not be disturbed. He also set the goal of seizing Guanzhong, deposing the emperor and establishing the King of Dai (Yang You).

On June 14, Li Yuan built the General's Mansion in Jinyang, and appointed his eldest son Li Jiancheng as the Duke of Longxi and the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Army, commanding the left army; his second son Li Shimin as the Duke of Dunhuang and the Right Commander-in-Chief of the Army, commanding the right army; and his fourth son Li Yuanji as the Duke of Guzang, commanding the center army.

On the fifth day of July, Li Yuan personally led his eldest son Li Jiancheng, his second son Li Shimin and 30,000 soldiers of the volunteer army from Taiyuan and marched southward towards Guanzhong, while his fourth son Li Yuanji stayed behind in Taiyuan.

Facing Li Yuan's offensive, Yang You, who stayed in Chang'an, sent Song Laosheng and Qu Tutong to block them.

At this time, it was autumn, and the rain was continuous. The marching road was muddy, and Li Yuan's army was also somewhat short of food and grass. To make matters worse, there was news that the Turkic general and Liu Wuzhou would take advantage of the opportunity to attack Jinyang.

Liu Wenjing, who could provide accurate information, was still on a diplomatic mission to Turkestan and had not returned.

So Li Yuan discussed countermeasures with everyone. Pei Ji and others believed that the situation was not favorable at the moment and they should return to Taiyuan for the time being and plan the uprising later.

When Li Shimin learned that Li Yuan and others were discussing whether to withdraw the troops, he tried his best to dissuade them: "We should first enter Xianyang and issue orders to the world in order to save the people. But now, if we think of withdrawing the troops when we encounter a little difficulty, the people who followed us in the uprising will probably collapse directly. And if we only think of defending Taiyuan, what's the difference between us and ordinary thieves!"

Li Yuan did not accept his advice and still planned to withdraw his troops.

So Li Shimin burst into tears outside the tent, and his cries were so loud that they could be heard in Li Yuan's tent.

Li Yuan could only call Li Shimin in and ask him why he was crying. Li Shimin took the opportunity to express his opinion: "The army started an uprising with benevolence and righteousness. If they advance to fight, they will win. If they retreat, they will disperse... I am crying because death is near!"

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

Facing the image of himself crying uncontrollably on the sky curtain, Li Shimin remained calm.

Yes, I do like to cry sometimes, so what? Isn't this a fact that everyone, or more precisely, his close ministers and relatives, already knows?
Anyway, his crying was not hypocritical or artificial; his emotions were genuine.

Moreover, many times, he did achieve what he wanted, didn't he?
Empress Changsun chuckled beside her.

Nine years of Wude.

Li Shimin's crying in the sky made Li Yuan involuntarily recall scenes from the past.

Erlang does like to cry. Every time he cries, his emotions are extremely rich and very contagious. He almost wants to make people around him cry with him.

When I was hesitating whether to withdraw my troops, I was indeed shocked by his loud crying outside his tent.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Liu Che felt that he had discovered something new: "The character of Emperor Taizong of Tang is very interesting." He wanted to see the sequel.

[With Li Shimin's advice, Li Jiancheng and others disagreed with retreating, and Li Yuan finally decided to continue the march.

In August, the rain stopped and Li Yuan began to attack Huoyi. Li Shimin led his light cavalry to the city, angered Song Laosheng, and lured him to open the gate to fight.

Song Laosheng led 30,000 troops out of the city and set up their battle formation with their backs against the city.

Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng joined forces in the east of the city, while Li Shimin and Chai Shao formed a battle array in the south. During the battle, Li Yuan led his army to retreat slightly, and Song Laosheng took advantage of the situation to attack and leave the city.

At this time, Li Shimin led two thousand cavalrymen to rush down the hill from the south, broke up the formation, and attacked Song Laosheng from behind.

In the end, Li Yuan won a great victory, beheaded Song Laosheng, led his troops to the city, and conquered Huoyi. 】Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Huo Qubing had a special liking for leading cavalry in battle: "This Tang Taizong's fighting style is great! However, I wonder if he has ever tried to lead the cavalry in a long-distance raid in the future?"

When it comes to mobile warfare, cavalry is of course better, and the best thing is to lead the cavalry on a very long-distance raid - although this is indeed very brain-intensive and physically demanding.

Wei Qing was actually a little worried. He had led cavalry in raids before, so he was more aware of the damage this style of fighting would cause to the body. And now Huo Qubing had been using this style of fighting, and even though he was young and strong, the negative impact on his body could not be ignored.

However, this is indeed the most efficient way of fighting, and Huo Qubing would not want to give up. He could only hope that after defeating the Huns, his nephew would have enough time to recuperate.

[This battle initially demonstrated Li Shimin's combat capability as a general, and also initially demonstrated his fighting style.

Afterwards, Li Yuan took advantage of the opportunity when the main force of the Sui army was fighting a fierce battle with the Wagang army near Luoyang, and advanced all the way along the Fen River, conquered Linfen and Jiangjun, and finally reached Longmen.

In September, Li Yuan's siege of Hedong, where Qu Tutong was stationed, failed. Pei Ji believed that if Hedong was not conquered, they would be attacked from all sides, but Li Shimin believed that a quick victory was necessary and Chang'an should be captured as soon as possible.

Li Yuan finally left part of his troops to besiege Hedong, and led the remaining main force westward.

At this time, Li Shimin was appointed by Li Yuan to lead Liu Hongji and others from the west to bypass Chang'an along the northern bank of the Weishui River.

While Li Shimin was winning victories along the way, he continued to recruit brave heroes. By the time he arrived in Jingyang, the number of troops under his command had reached 90,000. When Li Shimin led his troops to attack Sizhuyuan, local soldiers and horses came to join him, and Li Shimin's army had grown to 130,000.

Tang Dynasty, the ninth year of Wude.

Recalling the process from Hedong to entering Chang'an and pacifying the surrounding forces, Li Yuan suddenly felt some feelings for Liu Wenjing.

At that time, Hedong, where Qu Tutong was stationed, was indeed a tough nut to crack. He had tried his best to gnaw on it but failed. If he had just left it alone and turned around to attack Chang'an, he would have been at a disadvantage of being attacked from both sides, just as Pei Ji said.

But they really didn't have much time. As Erlang suggested, they were rebelling after all, and they couldn't stay in one place for too long. You know, the main force of the Sui army was still being held back by Wagangzhai. If they waited for the main force of the Sui army to return, with the strength of the Tang Dynasty at that time, they would at least suffer a lot.

Therefore, he finally left troops to besiege Hedong, but this was not enough, and Liu Wenjing was sent by him to guard Tongguan.

It was Liu Wenjing who firmly guarded the Tongguan Pass, preventing Qu Tutong from rescuing Chang'an, thus winning precious time for the Tang Dynasty.

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang stroked his chin and said, "This Emperor Taizong of Tang is quite good at rallying people's hearts and gathering soldiers."

What he was concerned about was not the Li family's rapid progress, but Li Shimin's gathering of people's hearts, including ordinary people, vagrants, and local forces. In the previous process, Li Yuan started his army with 30,000 soldiers, and he would inevitably continue to add personnel later, but when he divided his troops with Li Shimin, it would probably not be too many.

Li Shimin was able to expand his army to 90,000 in this not-so-long distance. This was certainly due to the Li family's overall good situation and unstoppable momentum, but his control over people's hearts was also key. Of course, it could also be due to his talent.

As for the subsequent recruitment of local forces in Sizhu, of course, there was a reason that the leader wanted to quit while he was ahead and join the trend, but it was not easy to go smoothly.

Liu Bang's expression was a little subtle. Perhaps this association was not very accurate at this time, but he did think of Han Xin. Han Xin was always able to raise one army after another, and the number of troops never decreased.

(End of this chapter)