Chapter 860: Uprising in Jinyang!
On the straight road south of Chang'an, the carriage was galloping along the road. It was the middle of winter, and thousands of miles away from Guanzhong and north of the Qinling Mountains, the leaves on the mountains had fallen, the trees and grass had withered, the birds had all disappeared, and snowflakes were fluttering.
In the heavy snow, the carriage was covered with thick brocade fur and stuffed with thick things on all sides to prevent the cold wind from invading. Li Xiuning was holding a baby in the carriage, her face slightly anxious.
Luo Xuanye, several spiritual soldiers, and Li's clan soldiers, a total of dozens of people, were riding horses in the wind and snow.
The whistling cold wind picked up the crystal white snow and fell on people's necks. It was so cold that it seemed to freeze people into ice crystals.
If you don’t wear gloves, you will find it difficult to bend and stretch your fingers in a moment, and you will get frostbite, which will cause unbearable pain and itching.
Li Xiuning occasionally lifted the side curtain and looked outside, and saw Luo Xuanye and others trudging in the snow. Even though they were wearing leather coats and brocade fur coats, their faces and eyelashes were covered with snow and frost.
Luo Xuanye gently asked her to lower the curtain. She opened her mouth but said nothing. The cold wind seemed to blow on the baby. She quickly hid back in the car and sighed slightly.
The reason why the two of them were in such a hurry to leave this time was because the news that Luo Xuanxing was gathering a large army to march to Jiangdu had reached Chang'an.
Due to the obstruction of Luoyang, Chang'an was not well informed of the news. When this news reached Chang'an, it meant that Yang Guang was already dead.
As soon as Yang Guang died.
The whole world is in rebellion. The rebels here do not refer to the rebel army, but the nobles within the Sui Empire.
For example, Li Yuan.
Li Xiuning and Luo Xuanye had to make plans early. After a brief discussion, they decided to raise an army in Guanzhong to respond to the future Li Yuan.
Guanzhong was Li’s future strategy decided two years ago.
In Huxian County, where the couple went, there was Li's industry that could serve as a foundation. Among the current forces in Guanzhong, there was one led by Li Yuan's cousin Li Shentong, which was another support for the two.
Luo Xuanye and Li Xiuning's plan went smoothly. Before the news of Yang Guang's death came, the two had already gathered a group of heroes. Among them was a scholar named Fang Xuanling, who was highly valued by Li Xiuning.
This Fang Xuanling was different from others. He even looked down on Yang Jian. During Yang Jian's period, he criticized Yang Jian many times, believing that the Sui Dynasty would not last long. Regardless of whether there was some exaggeration in his words, the foresight he showed was enough to make Li Xiuning value him.
Li Xiuning and Luo Xuanye are a couple. Luo Xuanye is a powerful enemy who is in charge of the troops, while Li Xiuning has a long-term vision and is in charge of logistics and power.
Everything was ready, except for Yang Guang's death, which caused complete chaos in Guanzhong.
…
In March, Yang Guang had died, but Guanzhong had not yet received the news.
Li Xiuning and Luo Xuanye received a letter from Li Yuan in Taiyuan, asking them to return to Jinyang, Taiyuan as soon as possible. For safety reasons, the letter did not contain any other news.
But the two of them immediately understood that Yang Guang was dead. Li Yuan asked them to go back and rebel. The reason why he was so obscure was because he was worried that they might encounter unexpected events.
Even though Luo personally killed Yang Guang in the name of King Su, there were still many people willing to be loyal to the Sui Dynasty. This was the self-persistence of the scholars.
Holding the letter in his hand, Luo Xuanye said in a deep voice: "Madam, it seems that the letter I sent to father last time did not reach him. He doesn't know that we are developing in Guanzhong. This time I will let Luo's servants deliver it, so you don't need to worry."
The servants that Luo Xuanye was referring to were naturally spiritual soldiers, but in fact this was not a good idea. It was inappropriate for a spiritual soldier to travel alone.
Li Xiuning pondered, many possibilities flashed through her mind, and finally she said firmly in a deep voice: "Husband, you return to Jinyang to help father.
From Jinyang to Guanzhong, we have to capture Xihe County along the way, as well as the heavily guarded Huoyi, Jiang County and Hedong County, and we also have to guard Mayi to the north of Jinyang. Father needs you, a fierce general who can defeat ten thousand enemies."
Luo Xuanye was shocked when he heard this: "How can this be possible?
It's been less than a year since you gave birth to the child. How can I leave you alone in Chang'an to face the current chaotic situation?
Absolutely not, I can't leave you here alone."
Hearing this, Li Xiuning held Luo Xuanye with her slender white hands and said in a strong voice: "Husband, please listen to me.
There are no extremely powerful forces like Dou Jiande, Wang Shichong and Li Mi in Guanzhong. With the forces of my cousin and us now developing, it is not dangerous here.
Huxian was developed by you and me together. Don't you know that? There is absolutely no problem in protecting yourself!
Don’t you believe in my military talent, or don’t you believe in Fang Xuanling’s ability to govern?
It is much more difficult to start an uprising from Jinyang. There are many passes and important towns to conquer along the way, and the battles to go through are extremely difficult. I have made a great determination to let you go back.
Don’t blame me for putting you in danger, I’ve already…”
Li Xiuning spoke sincerely, and Luo Xuanye was somewhat convinced. However, it was Li Xiuning's last sentence that really made him make up his mind.
This extremely smart and wise woman stared at Luo Xuanye and said, "For a family to conquer the world, it not only needs strength, but also luck. My Li family has such an opportunity now.
Husband, protect Erlang!"
She only mentioned Li Shimin, but not Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng, which clearly showed that she felt something.
Luo Xuanye was stunned, looking into Li Xiuning's eyes, which were full of determination and courage.
He held Li Xiuning's hand and said in silence for a long time, "Madam, wait for me to come back."
Li Xiuning felt relieved. With joy on her face, she buried herself in Luo Xuanye's arms and said, "The child and I will wait for you."
…
Luo Xuanye did not delay at all. He led a group of people to Jinyang the next day. As for the spiritual soldiers, they stayed in Chang'an to protect Li Xiuning and her daughter.
Today, Guanzhong is still under the control of the Sui Dynasty, and it took Luo Xuanye and others a lot of effort to escape.
On the way to Jinyang, Luo Xuanye kept thinking about the last sentence Li Xiuning said -
Protect Jiro.
Luo Xuanye had a good relationship with Li Yuan's sons, except for the hated Li Yuanji, but there was still a distinction between close and distant relatives.
He had a better relationship with Li Shimin, but this relationship had nothing to do with the length of time they had spent together, it only had to do with the people.
Although Luo Xuanye is not very talented in politics, his intuition is very sharp.
Li Shimin was truly magnanimous, and most importantly, when people criticized him for his shortcomings, he truly changed for the better, instead of just making excuses or obeying on the surface while doing the same thing secretly. To put it in more official terms, Li Shimin had the bearing of a king and was able to impress others.
So gradually Luo Xuanye began to get close to Li Shimin. Even though Li Shimin was the second son, he still did not hesitate. Even if Li Shimin could not become the emperor in the future, he would not regret it.
He returned to Jinyang at an extremely fast speed. Li Jiancheng, who was in Hedong, was only half a day faster than him. The two of them entered Jinyang almost at the same time.
After Luo Xuanye hurriedly dismounted from his horse, he went straight to the mansion. He was Li Yuan's son-in-law, so naturally no one would stop him. When he walked into the yard, he happened to meet Li Yuan who was pacing.
He was delighted to see Luo Xuanye, but then he noticed that Li Xiuning hadn't come, so he asked anxiously, "My dear son-in-law, where is Xiuning?"
Luo Xuanye quickly told Li Yuan about what happened between the two. Li Yuan was shocked and then sighed. He brought Luo Xuanye into the hall. Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin hurried out when they learned that Luo Xuanye had returned.
Li Shimin came to Luo Xuanye and said happily: "Brother-in-law, this time father has finally made up his mind."
Luo Xuanye had no idea what happened during the time in Jinyang, but he knew it must have been a thrilling game of human hearts.
But now, it is no longer important, the only thing left is to rise up in rebellion.
Luo Xuanye looked around and didn't see Li Zhiyun. When he asked, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became a little strange. Li Jiancheng had a trace of shame on his face, and Li Yuan and Li Shimin looked a little ugly.
Luo was Li Xuanba's savior, so he had always been close to Luo. He moved to Luo Xuanye's side and whispered a few words.
Only then did Luo Xuanye learn that when Li Jiancheng fled from Hedong, he only took Li Yuanji with him, but not Li Zhiyun, which led to Li Zhiyun's death.
Luo Xuanye glanced at Li Jiancheng twice without saying a word, but he involuntarily moved one or two steps towards Li Shimin.
He was very suspicious whether Li Jiancheng did it on purpose and left a bait for the court officials.
Li Zhiyun and Li Yuanji are basically the same age, not children, and live together. He doesn't quite believe that he can take Li Yuanji away but not Li Zhiyun.
Li Yuan quickly recovered from his sadness.
Fortunately, it was a bastard's son who died. If it was a legitimate son, he would never have been able to recover so quickly.
"Now that Yang Guang is dead, many forces in Guandong are entangled. If we start an army now, we will not become the target of public criticism, nor will we enter the battlefield too late and have our forces divided.
Now Guanzhong is empty, and Xiuning has already gained considerable power in Guanzhong. This is our best opportunity. If we succeed, we may be able to fight for the world, and if we fail, we will still be the master of one side."
Li Yuan spoke to the group in a deep voice. He looked around at them. Luo Xuanye replied, "Father, we must succeed!"
His words were extremely firm, and the tone that could not be questioned was like cold iron. Even Li Yuan was startled. Luo Xuanye stared at the few people closely, scanning each of their faces, and reiterated: "Father, brothers.
If we fail to gain the world this time, we will lose too much.
Now that our ancestor doesn’t come to help us, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care. Rather, it means that he cares the most. He is looking at who is the real dragon.
If Li is a real dragon, Li will achieve unprecedented glory. I can't say more about the benefits, but we must hold on.
No matter what difficulties you encounter in the process of conquering the world, you must persevere.
If we take a step back, there will be no chance. The world will definitely be unified.
Then this world can only belong to the Li family!
Don't even think about retreating and establishing your own territory. You must be the Son of Heaven, accept the mandate of heaven, and become the common ruler of all the peoples of China. There is no other choice!"
Luo Xuanye was giving Li Yuan and the others a shot of cardiac stimulant to eliminate the last bit of hesitation in their hearts. There was nothing to think about, just want to be the emperor!
The vast amount of information in Luo Xuan's night talk surprised Li Yuan and others. They didn't know what Luo Su wanted to do, but there was no doubt that only the emperor of Zhuxia was qualified.
Everyone has his own selfish desires. Rather than letting those strangers take over the world, Luo Xuanye naturally hopes that the Li family can take over the world.
Li Yuan said with emotion: "As the saying goes, brothers fight together in battle, and fathers and sons fight together in war. We are a family and we will surely succeed.
Now that I have raised my army in Jinyang, I must capture Xihe County when I enter Guanzhong. This is the first enemy I will face. I have decided to send Dalang and Erlang to attack Xihe. If we can't even capture Xihe, then there will be nothing we can do with our troops later.
What I am really worried about is Liu Wuzhou of Mayi and the Turks. Qingyang, what does your clan think about the Turks? "
Because of Yang Guang's fault, the Dong Turks became powerful again, which made all the forces in the north of the Central Plains very uncomfortable.
Liu Wuzhou of Mayi and the Turks exchanged glances, and although they each had their own ulterior motives, they were generally cooperative. What Li Yuan was most worried about was that once he led his army away from Jinyang, Liu Wuzhou would seize his foundation.
Luo Xuanye thought for a moment and said, "The Turks are indeed very powerful now. If it were before, the family would have naturally wanted to fight to the end.
But our ancestors thought differently.
My father could pretend to be friendly with the Turks.
The Turkic people's war horse resources can still be used as an aid. The family's bottom line is not to let its people be harmed. As for trading with the Turks, it is acceptable.
During these years in Winter City, the Luo family often traded with the Hu people.
When the Central Plains is unified, the Turks will naturally surrender. Now should be the last time the Turks will be rampant.
Let them jump more, there will be no chance later.
In the future, the Turkic cavalry may still be a help to our Central Plains."
Li Yuan felt relieved when he heard this. He was a very flexible person in diplomacy. After the uprising in Jinyang, he was able to write a letter to Li Mi, keeping a low profile; he was able to write a letter to Wang Shichong, praising him as a hero of the world; and he was able to write a letter to Liu Wuzhou, praising him as the number one hero in Bingzhou.
As long as he could maintain good external relationships, he didn't care much about these false reputations. But when facing the Turks, he was a little hesitant, mainly because of their identity as Turks. Now with Luo Xuanye's guarantee, he had nothing to worry about.
Li Yuan laughed out loud and said, "The Turks are not smart enough, far inferior to us Central Plains people. Look how I manipulated the Turks into giving them war horses, but in the end, they got nothing."
After the father-in-law and son-in-law finished speaking, Li Jiancheng asked, "Father, please give the order. My son and my second brother will go and capture Xihe County."
Li Yuan said solemnly: "The only important town in Xihe County is Xihe City. Excluding the time for travel, I will only give you a few days of military rations. Do you have confidence?"
How many days?
The two brothers looked at each other and said in unison: "We will never fail in our mission!"
…
Xihe County is a very critical place. By taking it, Li Yuan will have a relatively large granary, a large amount of armor, and circulating currency and cloth.
Is it hard to get here?
That depends on who it is. Why did Li Yuan wait until now to start the uprising, but Luo Su praised him for being wise?
Because Li Yuan and Dou Jiande are different. People like Dou Jiande come from the lower class and need a process of primitive accumulation.
Therefore, one must start the uprising early, begin to accumulate reputation early, and then swallow up the surrounding forces, gradually strengthening oneself. It will take many years of development before one will have enough power to compete for the world.
But Li Yuan was different. As he often said, "My family has been related to the imperial family for generations." He was born into a true aristocratic family, was born at the top of the empire, had great prestige, and was able to defeat the enemy without fighting.
Just like the Luo family who had not appeared for hundreds of years, raising the Phoenix King flag in Jicheng would be able to attract many people to come.
Li Yuan's identity had the same effect. To put it in very simple terms, for many old officials, old aristocrats and common people of the Sui Dynasty, submitting to Li Yuan was a matter of conviction.
Because Li Yuan's status was much nobler than theirs.
It was obviously not feasible to attack city after city in just a few days. After a brief discussion, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin decided that it was totally unnecessary. Xihe and Taiyuan were adjacent to each other, and the Li family had great influence here, so they could take it down without bloodshed.
The fact was just as the two had expected, Yang Guang was dead and the rule of the Sui Dynasty was in chaos.
Luo Su chose to let the Luo family kill Yang Guang first, which saved the heroes of the world a lot of effort. The resistance of almost all the territories still controlled by the Sui Dynasty was weakened a lot.
Not to mention Xihe.
In less than five days, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin arrived at the gates of the city, and then they did not encounter any effective resistance at all. The entire Xihe surrendered without a fight. Luo Xuanye was still preparing to charge into the battle, but he was not given the opportunity at all.
After taking over Xihe County, Li Yuan, who owned two counties and had a strong army, knew that the time was ripe.
He raised the flag in Jinyang!
…
"The Supreme Su King has sent down a divine decree, and the Sui Dynasty has lost its Mandate of Heaven.
The tyrant Yang Guang was executed in Jiangdu, which was a divine punishment from the King Su.
There are still heroes in the world who maintain the rule of the Sui Dynasty. How foolish they are to fail to see the general trend?
If there are heroes in the world who want to overthrow the rule of the Sui Dynasty, I am willing to work with you to abolish the Mandate of Heaven of the Sui Dynasty.
I raised an army in Jinyang in order to destroy the brutal Sui Dynasty. I will never hesitate or go back on my word. I am saying this right here, to the people of the world.
Destroy the Sui Dynasty and use this as your ambition.
As for what the world will be like in the future, I don’t care.
The supreme Suwang Emperor will choose a saint who can rule the world.
I just obey respectfully!
Like a son!"
This extremely respectful article, yet as sharp as a sword, quickly spread throughout Taiyuan and Xihe County, shocking everyone. Duke Tang really did not leave any way out. Now all the ministers in the world who were still loyal to the Sui Dynasty would fight him to the death, but at the same time, those who wanted the Sui Dynasty to die would form an offensive and defensive alliance with him or even submit to him.
Of course, there are still many ministers in this world who are loyal to the Sui Dynasty. Although Yang Guang is dead, loyalty to the monarch and loyalty to the dynasty are different.
Just as there were so many tyrants in the Zhou Dynasty, such as Zhou Li, Zhou Huang, and Zhou Jie, the Zhou Dynasty still lasted for a thousand years.
The Han Dynasty also had two dictators, but it did not perish after Emperor Ling of Han and lasted for several decades.
Although Yang Guang was a dictator and deserved to die, it did not mean that the Sui Dynasty would perish.
Li Yuan did not think so much. He was originally a duke of the first rank in the Sui Dynasty, and now he could not directly call himself the King of Tang, otherwise he would not be able to confuse Wang Shichong and Li Mi.
So he used his previous official position, called himself the shogun, established a government, and placed all his ministers in the shogunate.
This was his team, and then he let Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin lead their respective armies, and Luo Xuanye followed in Li Shimin's army.
Originally, Luo Xuanye’s best choice was to lead the army himself, as there was no problem with his identity and status.
But Li Shimin loved to charge into battle. His archery skills were indeed strong, but his level in fighting with generals was much lower. Luo Xuanye thought it would be better for him to follow him and watch him.
As for whether he leads the army or not, it is not important with such a small number of people. If Li can really establish a country in the future, with his status and position, he will definitely become a duke of the first rank.
He is not an ordinary minister, but a relative by marriage. And because of the special nature of the Luo family, he belongs to the Li family.
When getting ready to go, Li Yuan used his wisdom and got a lot of war horses from the Turks almost for nothing. Now he could be said to have a strong army and a powerful cavalry.
War horses are a very precious resource, especially nowadays, when many forces cannot even get thousands of war horses.
A force with tens of thousands of cavalrymen is basically enough to dominate the world. In modern times, the importance of elite troops has become increasingly stronger.
The biggest obstacle Li faced on his way to Guanzhong was Song Laosheng, who was stationed in Huoyi. He and Qu Tutong, who was stationed in Hedong County, took care of each other. Once they attacked Huoyi and encountered setbacks, Qu Tutong would come up like a vulture, making Li Yuan and his men very uncomfortable.
What made Li Yuan and others even more uncomfortable was that the weather seemed to be very bad. It rained heavily and continuously, making it difficult for the army to attack. They could only fight with Song Laosheng in vain.
But this stalemate was extremely dangerous for Li Yuan, because behind him were two very restless forces, Liu Wuzhou and the Turks. If Liu Wuzhou directly led his troops south and captured Taiyuan, Li Yuan's hometown would be raided and he would most likely be defeated.
In this continuous rain, the morale of the soldiers was constantly being eroded. This was the situation that the attacking side naturally had to face. In this era, once something went wrong, countless rumors would appear.
Almost every outstanding general is fighting against countless rumors and spreading more rumors at the same time.
During this period, many people began to persuade Li Yuan to return to Jinyang and not take the risk. It would be fine to reorganize the army and prepare for war in the future.
But Li Yuan was a great man after all, and he completely rejected this idea.
…
In private, Li Shimin and Luo Xuanye were also discussing this matter, and Li Shimin did not agree to withdraw troops.
On military matters, he basically discussed everything with Luo Xuanye, so he asked Luo Xuanye for his opinion.
Luo Xuanye said in a deep voice: "Erlang, what do you think?"
Li Shimin said with emotion: "Of course we will not withdraw our troops. It is impossible for Liu Wuzhou and the Turks to unite. They both have their own ulterior motives. Liu Wuzhou attacks Taiyuan? Doesn't he worry that his Mayi will be attacked by the Turks?
There are countless difficulties in the process of conquering the world. Now we are just encountering some heavy rain. If we withdraw our troops just like this, how can we talk about conquering the world in the future?
Seizing Guanzhong and besieging Chang'an will be a tough battle.
In the future, after capturing Chang'an, marching eastward to Luoyang, and fighting a bloody battle with the forces in the Central Plains, I'm afraid none of it would be easy.
If we retreat now, we will have to retreat every step of the way in the future."
Luo Xuanye nodded and said, "That's right, we have discussed it, and my eldest brother also agrees that Mr. Song is not a very difficult opponent to deal with.
I climbed to the top of the mountain yesterday and observed that the rain should stop soon. As soon as the rain stops, we will attack immediately and defeat Song Laosheng in one battle, opening a road to Guanzhong."
"Is the rain going to stop?"
Li Shimin was shocked and asked in disbelief.
Luo Xuanye said: "We in the Luo family have a high level of attainment in astronomy. Although it is not absolutely accurate, we can still roughly judge that the clouds and wind in the sky can no longer support long-term rain. The rain should stop in the next few days."
Li Shimin stood up and said excitedly: "Brother-in-law, let's go tell father about this and stabilize the morale of the army."
The two men hurriedly found Li Yuan and told him about this. Li Yuan now made up his mind to wait here and delay them.
Since ancient times, no one has been able to gain the world with certainty. There is always an element of gambling. Liu Wuzhou and the Turks could not go south. This is what Li Yuan was gambling on. He was gambling on whether he or Liu Wuzhou would be faster.
In this torment, a few days later, the sky really cleared up. Li Yuan looked at the azure sky and couldn't help laughing loudly while patting Luo Xuanye and said, "My dear son-in-law, if we take down Huoyi, the credit will go to you!
There is no time to lose, attack Huoyi now."
Li Yuan arranged his troops into battle arrays and then provoked Song Laosheng. From Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng, to Li Shimin and Luo Xuanye, no one could look down upon Song Laosheng.
This provocation to Mr. Song was very sincere.
Song Laosheng fell into the trap and attacked. Luo Xuanye followed Li Shimin and said loudly: "Erlang, father said to pretend to retreat and lure Song Laosheng to chase us. The two of us will attack the enemy camp. I will protect you and you shoot Song Laosheng."
Li Shimin loved to charge into battle, and upon hearing this, he was delighted and said, "With my brother-in-law by my side, I have nothing to worry about."
After saying that, he slapped his mount and rushed forward, Luo Xuanye followed beside him, and dozens of armored cavalry followed the two of them. Although there were only dozens of people, the combat effectiveness of the armored cavalry was really too strong.
Song Laosheng's army has tens of thousands of people, but they are only good at defending cities and are almost useless in field battles.
Song Laosheng's army was immediately chopped to pieces. As Luo Xuanye swung his lance, dozens or even hundreds of people were killed.
If the brave warriors were allowed to charge, as long as there were infantry to hold them back in the front, more than a thousand brave warriors could directly defeat the so-called 30,000-strong army.
"Mr. Song is dead!"
The classic battle cry may seem trifling, but the fact is, it works every time you use it.
Especially when dealing with these not-so-elite troops, there is no better tactic than this.
Sure enough, the Sui army immediately became scattered and collapsed almost instantly.
Seeing this, Song Laosheng wanted to escape, but Li Shimin, who was quick-eyed and quick-handed, shot him with an arrow and he fell off his horse instantly.
Li Shimin laughed out loud, he was still in a happy mood.
Luo Xuanye looked at Li Shimin's back and said secretly: "Erlang, do more meritorious deeds so that the ancestors can choose you."
(End of this chapter)
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