Chapter 39 Dou Jiande

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

Yuchi Jingde sneered, "That's a good plan, but it's a pity that Dou Jiande's arrival was useless. On the contrary, he was captured by Your Majesty together with Wang Shichong."

Zhang Sun Wuji smiled and said, "Dou Jiande came to help but was defeated by the Tang Dynasty. This just broke the psychological defense of Wang Shichong and the defenders and completely broke their will to persist. This is a good thing."

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang sighed: "When 30,000 families moved in, there should have been more families, but now there are less than 3,000 families left... In the lands conquered, the people always suffer, with no way to survive or to live."

From 30,000 or even more households, it was reduced to less than 3,000 households. This was in the Tang Dynasty, just in the city of Luoyang, and only half a year after the war began.

And what about the Han Dynasty? From the beginning of the war at the end of the Qin Dynasty to his conquest of the world, several years had passed. The scope of his conquests included the entire country. How many times did the 30,000 become 3,000 in the Central Plains?
[Has Dou Jiande arrived? Yes, he has.

After Dou Jiande went north to defeat Meng Haigong who occupied Cao and Dai, he left his general Fan Yuan to guard Caozhou and led all the troops of Meng Haigong and Xu Yuanlang who had defected to him to rescue Wang Shichong.

When he conquered Meng Haigong, the Tang army was just taking over Hulao Pass.

When they arrived in Huazhou, Wang Shichong's acting prime minister Han Hong opened the city gate to welcome them. Dou Jiande then captured Yuanzhou, Liangzhou, and Guanzhou, and finally stationed in Xingyang, while food and fodder were transported by boat across the Yellow River.

But Dou Jiande had few options. The most convenient water route was uphill, but Heyang and Huaizhou were already controlled by the Tang army, so this route was almost unavailable. The southern passes were too time-consuming, and it was impossible to transport food and grass by water. The closest one was Hulao Pass.

But Hulao Pass was already in the hands of the Tang army at this time, so it was not easy to take it.

Therefore, Dou Jiande temporarily stationed his troops and joined forces with Guo Heng, a general under Wang Shichong's brother Wang Shibian, to reorganize the army and prepare to wait for two days before attacking Hulao Pass.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Huo Qubing was so disappointed with you: "It's right to reorganize the army after arriving at a place, but speed is of the essence in war! When the situation is almost the same, wouldn't it be perfect to launch a surprise attack? If you wait too long, your intelligence information will be transmitted to the Tang army. How can the Tang army not react?" With Li Shimin's style, he will definitely use his imagination in war to deal you a heavy blow.

Wei Qing shook his head: "The timing is so unfortunate, but it's a coincidence for Emperor Taizong of Tang." If Dou Jiande had arrived earlier, Hulao Pass had not been occupied by the Tang army yet, and he could have gone straight through Hulao Pass and headed all the way to the east of Luoyang, which would have been much easier to fight; if he had arrived earlier, and the Tang army had not completely recovered Heyang and Huaizhou, it would have been even better.

But he missed the opportunity to attack Meng Haigong.

Liu Che said lazily: "The generals of Guanzhong will definitely suggest withdrawing the troops again, while Li Shimin and those Wagang and Yuchi Jingde who later surrendered to the Tang will probably insist on fighting."

[Faced with Dou Jiande's reinforcements of more than 100,000 men, Xiao Yu, Qu Tutong, and Feng Deyi in the Tang army all suggested that Li Shimin temporarily retreat to Guzhou to see the situation before making a decision. They believed that if Dou Jiande did so, the Tang army would easily be attacked from both sides, so it would be better to retreat from this place where they might be surrounded.

However, Li Shiji's deputy general Guo Xiaoke believed that Wang Shichong was no longer a concern, and that it was a good opportunity to "rely on the strategic location of Wulao to resist him and wait for an opportunity to act" to eliminate Dou Jiande.

Li Shimin also wanted to fight. He agreed with Guo Xiaoke's point of view and believed that Wang Shichong had been cut off from food and had become alienated from both inside and outside the country, so the Tang army could completely "take advantage of the situation"; and Dou Jiande's "generals were arrogant and his soldiers were lazy", so as long as the Tang army held Hulao Pass, they would be able to defeat the enemy army.

However, Hulao Pass must be defended! If Hulao Pass is lost, these states and counties will surely surrender one after another, and when Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong join forces, the Tang army will be truly helpless.

Seeing that Li Shimin had made up his mind, Qu Tutong had no choice but to request to stop the siege of Luoyang, lift the siege, and station nearby, waiting for Luoyang to collapse on its own.

Song Dynasty, the first year of Kaibao.

Zhao Guangmei rarely felt the same way as the Tang army generals, Xiao Yu and Qu Tutong. "In fact, when I heard that Dou Jiande was leading a 100,000-man army to aid Wang Shichong and that they had already reached Hulao Pass, and that I had been besieging Luoyang for many days without success, even though Wang Shichong was about to give up and his soldiers were exhausted, the first thing I thought of doing was to lead the troops to retreat to a safe place."

Although he could think of defending Hulao Pass after thinking about it, he couldn't help feeling anxious.

"That's why we say that Emperor Taizong of Tang was a man of great talent and strategy." Zhao Dezhao said seriously, but he didn't think that Xiao Yu and his men suggested withdrawing the troops first because they didn't think of defending Hulao Pass. "Xiao Yu and other generals may have thought of refusing to take Hulao Pass and waiting for an opportunity to act, but they were unwilling to take the risk. Besides, it's still a question of the Guanzhong faction having merit and a way out. Didn't Guo Xiaoke and Xue Shou behind him also think that Hulao Pass should be defended?"

"That's true." Zhao Guangmei agreed. Generals belonged to different factions and had different views on the same merits and adventures. There were many such things in the Song Dynasty.

"Qu Tutong and others were worried that the siege of Luoyang would fail, so they suggested lifting the siege first..." Zhao Kuangyin sighed, "They probably thought that Emperor Taizong would take away a considerable number of soldiers in order to defend Hulao Pass."

This is true. Who would have thought that Li Shimin would go to Hulao Pass with such a small number of people!
The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Recalling his time defending Chenggao City, Liu Bang believed that Li Shimin would not necessarily bring too many people to Hulao Pass. After all, the key to defending Hulao Pass was still "defending"! As long as they could defend it, there would be no problem. If they persisted until Luoyang collapsed and surrendered, the Tang army would be liberated.

Like him back then, the number of defenders in Chenggao City was actually not too large, at least not as many as Xiang Yu's, but he managed to successfully defend Chenggao City and tie down the Chu army.

Like Li Shimin this time, he didn't need to bring too many troops, but he did need to consider it.

He raised his eyebrows: "What do you think? Will Emperor Taizong of Tang launch another surprise attack this time and defend Hulao Pass to consume Dou Jiande?"

[Li Shimin certainly did not agree to this idea, so the Tang army continued to besiege Luoyang City.

Since some of the Tang army had to stay to besiege Luoyang and some had to leave to defend Hulao Pass, how should the troops be allocated? Who would be in charge of the two teams?

It is relatively easy to say who will lead the two armies. Li Shimin himself will definitely go to Hulao Pass. At this time, in addition to Li Shimin, the Tang army has another person, that is, Li Yuan's fourth son, Prince of Qi Li Yuanji. Let Li Yuanji be the leader, and Qu Tutong and others can assist him.

How should the troops be divided?
Here, Li Shimin made a decision: he personally led 3,500 cavalrymen to Hulao Pass.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Liu Che was a little confused. He looked at his two imperial generals: "Three thousand five hundred cavalry? Is that enough?"

According to the general public's simple understanding of warfare, in order to ensure the defense of the city and the pass, the number of defenders can be less than that of the attackers, but a certain number must be guaranteed. At this time, Dou Jiande was said to have more than 100,000 soldiers, and the absolute number of the original defenders of Hulao Pass was not very large. Then Li Shimin's 3,000 cavalrymen... Huo Qubing thought about it and nodded: "Yes. The 3,500 cavalrymen led by Emperor Taizong of Tang this time are probably the elite cavalrymen in the Tang army. The main role of these people is to act as a sharp knife, or to break into the enemy formation at a critical moment and look for an opportunity to kill the bandit leader."

In fact, the overall combat method is not much different from Li Shimin's previous ones, except that the details of each battle are deployed differently.

Liu Che understood this point: "It seems that Emperor Taizong of Tang still uses the same fighting style. However, I wonder how the elite cavalry of the Tang Dynasty differs from that of the Han Dynasty. After all, there should be things that the Han Dynasty can learn from for future dynasties."

Apart from anything else, their armor, weapons, horses, etc. will definitely develop.

Tang Dynasty, the eighth year of Wude.

Li Yuanji was not happy. What did this mean? Why didn't he mention me before? Now he mentioned me as a passing mention? He had obviously been in the army for a long time!

[On March 25, Li Shimin led 3,500 elite cavalrymen straight to Hulao.

When they arrived at Hulao, there was another problem: the morale of the Tang army and the rhythm of the battlefield.

There were more than a few senior generals who wanted to withdraw to Guanzhong. In fact, many Tang soldiers wanted to go back temporarily because of the long battle. At this time, Dou Jiande's attack exacerbated this retreat mentality. Similarly, the battlefield rhythm in the Hulao Pass area was not yet in the hands of the Tang army.

Li Shimin naturally had to boost the morale of the troops and control the rhythm, and there was only one way to do this: win a beautiful victory.

On March 26, the next day, Li Shimin led 500 cavalrymen to a place 20 miles east of Hulao Pass to find out the news about Dou Jiande's camp, but his goal was not just to obtain intelligence.

Along the way, he assigned 500 cavalrymen to be led by Li Shiji, Cheng Zhijie and Qin Qiong, and ambushed them on the roadside. Only four cavalrymen and Yuchi Jingde were left by his side.

Faced with this situation that seemed like they were about to rush into the enemy camp again, Yuchi Jingde naturally felt bad, but Li Shimin said: "I will hold the bow and arrow, and you will follow me with the spear. Even if there are millions of people, what can they do to me!" He repeatedly assured that if the enemy discovered him, he would return immediately and would not stay. 】

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

Yuchi Jingde looked at the emperor with a subtle expression, and that subtle expression fully demonstrated his distrust of the emperor's guarantee.

——What about the promise to return immediately upon discovery? Although I saw your Majesty arranging cavalry and Li Shiji to ambush on the roadside, I already knew that you wanted to kill us, but you didn't say you would come like this!

The other ministers watched and said nothing. But everyone knew that the emperor was not someone who could guarantee that he would not rush forward when he saw the right opportunity. Rather than believing that he would not rush forward and then being deceived and frightened, it would be better to simply not let him have any chance to go to the front line.

Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Years.

Seeing Li Shimin's move this time, Zhu Yuanzhang began to educate his grandson: "Xiongying, see, when you want to fight a war, you must consider the morale of the army and ensure that you can mobilize the soldiers' willingness to fight. Otherwise, there will be many cases of mutiny on the spot." He paused, and then said, "Of course, grandpa does not mean that you should take risks. Emperor Taizong's approach is not suitable for everyone."

Zhu Xiongying nodded obediently. Although he was still young, as the eldest son of the crown prince, he already understood some simple things.

On the other side, the princes were also discussing this issue.

Zhu Di vowed: "As long as we have firearms of sufficient power and quantity, nothing will be a problem!" He was very enthusiastic about firearms and suggested to Zhu Biao, "Brother, why don't we set up a few more firearms battalions!" Although there is a certain proportion of firearms in ordinary troops, it is of course better to set up a few more professional ones.

[Did Li Shimin fulfill his promise? Yes.

Three miles outside Dou Jiande's camp, Li Shimin and his men met the roving soldiers. Li Shimin did not stay and was ready to turn back, but before he left, he said, "I am the King of Qin," and shot an arrow, killing a general. Dou Jiande's soldiers were shocked, and perhaps with the intention of capturing the supreme commander of the Tang army alive, they quickly dispatched five or six thousand cavalry to pursue Li Shimin.

Li Shimin asked the others to go first, and he and Yuchi Jingde stayed behind.

It must be said that Li Shimin and Yuchi Jingde were extremely brave. Facing five or six thousand cavalrymen, the two of them stayed behind, holding the reins and walking slowly. Every time they were about to catch up, they would draw their bows and shoot arrows to kill the enemy, and then Dou Jiande's troops would temporarily slow down because of fear.

"He stopped and came back again and again, killing people every time he came. Shimin shot and killed several people, and Jingde killed about ten people. The pursuers dared not to pursue him anymore."

Finally, when they were almost at the place where the 500 cavalrymen had ambushed, Li Shimin began to move, pulling the enemy into the ambush circle without them noticing. Then, troops and horses rushed out from all directions, charging at the 5,000 or 6,000 people, and the sound of killing shook the sky.

The five or six thousand people who were chasing after them probably had lost a lot of their fighting spirit before, and were caught off guard at this time. In the end, more than 300 of them were beheaded by the Tang army, and the generals Yin Qiu and Shi Zan were also captured. 】

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

After hearing what the miracle said, Li Shimin also smiled, and his smile was sincere: "My lords, I have fulfilled my promise. I am definitely not a person who does not keep his word."

"..." The ministers' expressions twisted for a moment, and then quickly returned to their sincere expressions: "I know your majesty's mind, how could you have such an idea?"

What a mistake! I never expected that His Majesty could explain his words in this way. It was so strange that this could be explained away - retreat if discovered, Your Majesty did retreat; I hold the bow and arrow, you hold the spear, and there are millions of people who can do nothing, this was also fulfilled...

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

"There's no need to do this to attract the enemy," Liu Che's eyes twitched. He once again deeply realized Li Shimin's confidence and his willingness to take a gamble, although he himself was not much different.

"However, I remember that there seems to be no weapon called 'lance' in the army now?" Liu Che looked at his two generals.

Wei Qing and Huo Qubing both shook their heads. There really was no such name, but there were weapons of similar shape. Liu Che also knew this, after all, he was quite concerned about military affairs.

They saw the general appearance of the weapon in Yuchi Jingde's hand in the miracle. After careful recollection, they compared it with the various weapons of the Han Dynasty at that time and found that this "spear" was similar to the "bery" and "矟" at that time.

However, the lance of the Tang Dynasty is obviously more convenient to use than that of the Han Dynasty. It would be a good idea to make some improvements based on its external shape. There are also bows and arrows, vests, etc. of the Tang Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)