Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 2 Wedges
In the south of the sentence, in the north of the Hushui River, between the undulating mountains and the criss-crossing rivers, there is a majestic pass.This Guan is adjacent to Longling in the east and Longshan in the west. It is ingeniously crafted between the two mountains and looks like a gate of heaven.Wild geese that come and go from south to north shuttle between Tianmen every year, so it is called Yanmen Pass.Yanmen Pass is built on the edge of the mountains, high on the top of Gouzhu Mountain, and on the undulating ridges of its east and west wings is the Qinzhao Great Wall, which is winding like a horned dragon.To the east: Pingxing Pass, Zijing Pass, Daoma Pass, and Youyan Pass, connecting to the vast sea.To the west: Xuangangkou, Ningwuguan, Piantouguan, and directly to the Yellow River, connecting the endlessly rushing Yellow River.

"Nine frontiers in the world, Yanmen is the head".Among the hundreds of miles of closed gates on the Qinzhao Great Wall, Yanmen is second to none, and has always been a battleground for military strategists. The statement "Jianping Yiju Zhu, solid base supporting Yanmen" is agreed by all military strategists.Yanmen Pass, like a natural barrier, keeps out the cold wind and cold soil from the north, and also cools down the blood of the Turks living in the cold desert from the south.However, today is not the case!

After leaving Yanmen Pass, a long and dangerous canyon stretches quietly to the north among the ridges and peaks.It is the season of "the bleak grass and trees shake down and decline". Mangu was already lonely and depressed, but when the westerly wind blows, the sound of killing soaring into the sky rolls in the valley.At this moment, on the dangerous road less than one mile away from the pass, thousands of guards, one in a hundred, are hugging Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty and his accompanying personnel, including Fendai, various kings, and honored ministers, as they walk through the dangerous road volleyed by strange rocks. They came rushing to Yanmen Pass, about two li away from them, nearly [-] elite escort soldiers were desperately blocking the fierce pursuit of Shibi Khan's force.

so horrible!It's so intimidating!Emperor Yang, who was patrolling north outside the pass with great interest, just received a secret report of the Turkic attack today, and immediately ordered a quick retreat. As a result, the Turks overtook him before entering Yanmen Pass.What is even more frightening is that the selected 2 elite guard soldiers were killed by Shibi Khan's machete as soon as the battle started.Watching his heroic and brave soldiers lying down in a pool of blood under the scimitar of Shibi Khan's powerful army, Emperor Sui Yang retracted his strict order to "repel the incoming enemy" and burst out from between his teeth. five words:

"Withdraw from Yanmen Pass!"

This is the winter month of the 11th year of Daye, that is, the winter month of 615 AD.Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty was the second son of the founding emperor Yang Jian of the Sui Dynasty. Because of his outstanding military exploits, arrogance and self-preference in human nature, he became desperately interested in imperial power.For this reason, Yang Guang finally successfully completed the plot of killing his brother and father, and ascended the throne of emperor in 605 AD.Like all newly enthroned emperors, it was impossible for Yang Guang to use the reign title of his father, Yang Jian, so he changed Yang Jian's founding emperor to Daye, and took 605 AD as the first year of Daye.

Turning over a steep mountain ridge, Emperor Sui Yang raised his noble head, looked at a stone plaque inlaid on the forehead of Yanmen Gate, and focused on the three characters "Yanmen Pass" written by him on the stone plaque. "Three passes are unparalleled, and Jiuzhai respects the first pass." I remember what the prime minister said when writing the inscription for Yanmen Pass. "Okay, after I enter the Yanmen Pass, I will mobilize troops and destroy the traitor Shibi Khan!" Thinking of this, Emperor Sui Yang turned his head slowly.

Because the emperor stopped, the entire rushing team seemed to have been cast by magic. Just now they were panicking and running for their lives, but now they all stood still in place as if nailed.Emperor Sui Yang's hawk-like eyes skipped over them like thunder, and moved heavily into the distance.There, there are elite soldiers escorting him, fighting with Shibi Khan's powerful army.The shadows of swords and swords flicker in the setting sun of autumn, and the thick black is forcing the light colors to retreat step by step, like dark clouds swallowing white clouds.Emperor Sui Yang understood that his elite soldiers had light-colored military uniforms, while the Turkic uniforms were black; Emperor Sui Yang understood even more that every step his elite soldiers retreated would cost hundreds of lives.

Emperor Yangdi's eagle eyes widened bit by bit, those lacquered eyeballs seemed to pop out, and his usually fair and slender face became a bit ferocious at this moment, revealing a murderous look.Fen Dai, the kings and ministers around him all looked at him anxiously, but none of them dared to say anything.At this moment, a Turkic goose antelope long arrow shot in front of Emperor Sui Yang with a bang.When the long arrow was about to hit the ground, Wu Benlang leaped quickly and stretched out his arms in front of Emperor Sui Yang.The long arrow was inserted deep into the ground close to Sima Dekan's military shoes, he was about to bend down to pull out the arrow, but felt that Emperor Sui Yang was pushing him gently, so he stepped aside.

Emperor Sui Yang stepped forward, bent down and pulled out the long arrow, held it tightly in his hand, raised his head and glared at the gray sky, and uttered four words bitterly:

"Sibi Khan!"

After retreating into the pass, everyone wanted to embrace Emperor Sui Yang to rest in the county, but he refused.Emperor Sui Yang was an overly courageous emperor, and naturally he was also an emperor who dared to take risks with his own life.He has already experienced the current risk many times.

Three years ago, he personally led an army to the desert border in Longxi, Gansu.In the canyon at an altitude of more than 3000 meters and with temperatures below freezing all year round, countless soldiers and officials froze to death, and Emperor Sui Yang himself suffered a lot.He was so embarrassed that he almost died in the canyon, but he gritted his teeth and persisted for half a year, traveling all over Qinghai and the Hexi Corridor.As a result, he newly established the four prefectures of Xihai, Heyuan, Shanshan, and Qiemo, making them more deeply integrated into the territory of the Sui Dynasty.There are many more bitter and dangerous things than this. As early as 25 years ago, at the age of 20, he was the generalissimo of the army and horses of the Sui Dynasty. The battle of "the natural moat of the Yangtze River" was even more thrilling and dangerous.As a result, he won and helped his father complete the unification of the Sui Dynasty.People think that the emperor only knows how to be majestic and enjoy pleasure, but they don't know that the emperor has to suffer more and take more risks.

The Shibi Khan who came to attack him this time was Duo Ji, the son of the Tujue Qimin Khan who had surrendered to the Sui Dynasty in his early years.In the fourth year of Daye, Qimin Khan passed away, and Emperor Yang of Sui made Tuoji as Shibi Khan.After several years of painstaking efforts, the Tujishibi Khan tribe gradually became stronger, posing a threat to the Sui Dynasty.In order to disperse Shibi's influence, Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty made Chiji, the younger brother of Pei Juli Shibi, the servant of the Huangmen, set up as Khan in the south. Shibi Khan knew about this and severed ties with the Sui Dynasty ever since.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty made this northern tour because he wanted to gain a better understanding of the north, and then decide on a strategy to surrender Shibi Khan.Unexpectedly, Shibi Khan attacked him first.

Emperor Sui Yang ordered someone to send his Fendai to the city, and walked to the closed barracks by himself.He has just turned 45 years old this year, and he is full of energy and wisdom. He has gone through risks and wants to personally command the war to defeat the Turkic attack on him.

"I don't know the elite soldiers before the pass..." After sitting down, Emperor Sui Yang gently asked Fan Zigai, Shangshu of the Ministry of War.

"The elite soldiers before the pass have all sacrificed their lives for the country, and now the Shibi rebels are calling for battle in front of the pass." Fan Zigai, who used to love killing the most, replied sadly.

As early as the ninth year of Daye, that is, in 613 AD, Fan Zigai was ordered to investigate the defeated Yang Xuangan party who had rebelled against Emperor Yang. When he killed 3 people, it was later found that more than half of them died unjustly.For this reason, Fan Zigai entered Jue Jigong.Two years later, in the 11th year of Daye, when Fan Zigai led an army to suppress the uprising army in Jiangjun, he burned a large area of ​​the village where the rebels were located, and killed tens of thousands of rebels who surrendered, but returned in vain.

"Shibi Khan!" Hearing the painful answer from the murderous general, Emperor Sui Yang spit out these four words again, turned his gaze to Fan Zigai again, and slowly ordered:

"Tell me about the specific situation."

"In this attack, Shibi Khan is fully prepared. His more than 41 cavalry have been fully prepared, and they are vicious and ferocious like never before. So far, the 39 cities in our Yanmen County have been successively occupied by the Turks. Captured [-]. Wherever the Turks went, they burned, murdered and prostituted, even their newborn children. Today, more than [-] Turkic soldiers are camping outside the Guanmen. In Yanmen County in the Sui Dynasty, only this In the two cities of Yanmen and Nao County, there are less than [-] defenders in Yanmen, and there is only enough food and grass to last for more than half a month, so the situation is extremely critical." Fan Zigai lowered his head after finishing speaking.

Emperor Sui Yang's eyes paused for a while on Fan Zigai, then quickly turned to Zuowei General Yu Wenshu.Ling Li's gaze clearly asked, "What do you think should be done now?"

Yu Wenshu's real surname is Poyetou, and he is a villain by nature.He was originally just a servant of the Xianbei tribe who came home from Tongdou, but because of his master's appreciation, he changed his surname to Yuwen with his master.Later, he served Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, and became the governor of Anzhou because of his meritorious service, and gave him three thousand pieces of gifts.In the end, he conspired with Emperor Wen's second son Yang Guang, killed the prince Yang Yong and Emperor Wen Yang Jian, and seized the throne.After Yang Guang ascended the throne and became Emperor Yangdi, Yu Wenshu worshiped him as the General of Zuowei and named Xu Guogong.Because of being deeply loved by Emperor Yangdi, Yu Wenshu became powerful in the government and the public. The gold and silver treasures in the family were piled up like mountains, and there were countless beauties and concubines in the harem. There were more than a thousand children in the family alone.He usually follows Emperor Yangdi, and always picks what Emperor Yangdi likes to say when things happen. Now he listened to Emperor Yangdi's question and thought for a while to answer:

"I think that Shibi Khan came prepared to harm the emperor. As long as the emperor can leave, the siege of Yanmen will naturally be incomprehensible. Besides, the emperor is the body of ten thousand lords. Only by leaving this dangerous place My Great Sui will last forever. Therefore, I suggest organizing a 3000-strong elite Qing cavalry to escort the emperor to break through." After Yuwen finished speaking, he looked up at Emperor Sui Yang inquiringly.

As in the past, Emperor Sui Yang was not in a hurry to express his opinion when discussing important matters with his ministers. He had to wait for a few honorable ministers to finish their opinions before speaking about his own views.Therefore, in the face of Yu Wenshu's inquiring gaze, Emperor Yang seemed to ignore it, and just waited expressionlessly for other ministers to speak.

At this time, Nayan Suwei stood up and said: "Yanmen is naturally dangerous, which is beneficial to the guards, and the so-called elite light cavalry is the leader of the Turkic people. If they break through now, it will be too dangerous. How can the emperor take such a risk? ?”

After hearing this, Fan Zigai, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, agreed with him and said, "Your Majesty is the Lord of Ten Thousand Vehicles. You must not break out of the siege by chance. If you encounter enemy troops, what regrets will be too late! Shibi Khan is really hateful! It is also too rampant! This Yanmen Pass is our Great Sui natural danger. As early as the Warring States Period, Li Mu, the great general of Zhao, was at Yanmen, and by virtue of the danger of closing the gate, he defeated the Huns by 10 horses; Here I fought fiercely with the Xiongnu and defeated the enemy army. Therefore, the minister believes that the current strategy is to first stick to the Yanmen Pass, and second, to send troops from all counties across the country to come to Qin Wang. At the same time, I implore the emperor to issue an edict against Qin Wang and those guarding the pass. Soldiers are rewarded. In this way, the counties and counties will be brave enough to serve the king, so that our reinforcements will continue to increase, and the morale of the guards will increase. Everyone will work hard, and Yanmen will be as solid as gold. At that time, our reinforcements will come one after another. The enemy's attack has been frustrated again and again, and Shibi Khan's tiger and wolf army will surely be wiped out at Yanmen Pass."

As soon as Fan Zigai's words fell, Xiao Yu, the Minister of Internal History, said: "I would like to implore the emperor to issue a decree to stop the war in Koryo, and concentrate all the troops of the country to fight against the Turks. The Turks will be destroyed."

After hearing this, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty looked at Xiao Yu and Fan Zigai, closed his eyes and meditated.Seeing this, all the honorable ministers dared not speak again. For a while, they closed the barracks, as if no one was there, quietly so that everyone could hear their own breathing.

Yu Wenshu's opinion is obviously not advisable.Emperor Sui Yang thought in his heart: I am here to solve the problem of Shibi Khan, how can I run away when he comes to attack me?Besides, with the danger of Yanmen Pass, can Shibi Khan break it?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!Emperor Sui Yang answered in his heart.In this way, Fan Zigai's opinion of sticking to the throne and issuing an edict to send troops from all counties across the country to serve the king is advisable.However, it is a bit difficult to reward King Qin and the soldiers guarding the pass.Over the years, they have spent a lot of money to fight for the unification of the whole country. At the same time, they have built the Grand Canal, which made it even more difficult to pay.But no matter what, if you want someone else to work hard, you should always be rewarded heavily. From this point of view, for the time being, the only way to do so is to promise to be rewarded again.As for Xiao Yu asking me to issue an edict to stop the Goryeo War, it is really absurd.I was born to be the king of a country, and I should be the country's queller for the country to quell the chaos in the surrounding areas, expand the territory, and carry out some major constructions to benefit the generations to come.Today, the country is unified, the Western Regions are opened, and the canal is built. It's just that the Turks in northern Serbia, who were originally vassals, dared to rebel.What's more, Goryeo in Liaodong was originally the fiefdom of the uncle of King Zhou of Shang Dynasty, and it was a state for our Great Sui Dynasty. , It's really unfavorable... Thinking of this, Emperor Sui Yang opened his eyes and raised his head.When the ministers saw it, they all stood up, focused their attention, and listened to the emperor's sage.

"I think the opinions of Su and Fanqing's family are advisable. Stand firm at the Yanmen Gate, and order all the counties to send troops to the King Qin, and reward the King Qin and the soldiers guarding the pass. It is really the best policy. However, to stop the battle of Goryeo, I will Not reconciled. Although Goryeo conquered twice, they were unable to win, but the reasons are very clear. There were many reasons for the first failure, the main reason being that I underestimated the enemy; the second time, I have won the Sui Dynasty, and Gaoyuan, the King of Goryeo, has condemned the envoy Please surrender, if Yang Xuangan did not rebel, I have no intention of fighting again, and I must have conquered Goryeo; this third time, now that the fight is fierce, but I have to stop, I am really not reconciled! If you don't follow the rites of the subjects, if things go on like this, it will definitely shake the hearts of other subjects and shake the stability of our country."

"Your majesty is wise, if you don't subdue Goryeo, how can you show the power of the Great Sui Dynasty? The battle of Goryeo must be fought." Yu Wenshu agreed first.

Xiao Yu is the younger brother of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty and empress Xiao, and his relatives are important ministers of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty. He is loyal to Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty.

"Nowadays, the war in Koryo has become the biggest burden of our dynasty. The reason why the Turkic sneak attack was able to defeat our 41 cities has a lot to do with the shortage of soldiers and generals at our border and the low morale of officers and soldiers. The reason is mainly due to the war in Koryo. Influence. Because of the Goryeo war, many elite soldiers and generals at the frontier were removed, and the treatment of soldiers on the border was reduced. This made the border less soldiers and generals, and morale was low. Please consider this matter again, Your Majesty."

"My minister also thinks that the fighting in Goryeo should be stopped." Fan Zigai said again: "Although Goryeo and our Sui Dynasty fought against each other, they didn't dare to send a single soldier to attack our Sui Dynasty, but the Turks always wanted to take advantage of the gap. They sneaked up on us in the Sui Dynasty, plundered our land, killed our people, and even dared to attack the emperor. Therefore, the Goryeo campaign can be slowed down a bit, and the Turks should be the first to be attacked." After finishing speaking, Fan Zigai turned his head and looked at the people around him. Pei Ju.

"My minister also advocates stopping the war in Goryeo, concentrating the military force, and attacking the Turks." Pei Ju said a little excitedly, clasping his hands together.

After hearing this, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty swept his eyes over his ministers one by one, and closed his eyes to meditate again.Before he came out this time, although he didn't expect that Khan Shibi would dare to attack him, he also thought that he would encounter many difficult things during this trip. Therefore, Emperor Sui Yang not only brought [-] elite guards, but also these few soldiers. He is a minister of his own Hong Kong stock market, and now they all have such opinions, and he can't ignore them and go his own way.Thinking of this, Emperor Sui Yang opened his eyes, stood up and said:

"Since all the lovers advocate stopping the war against Goryeo, then stop it. General Yu Wenshu of Zuowei and Fan Zigai, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, you two stay by my side and assist me in directing the war in front of me. Shi Shilang Xiao Yu quickly drafted the imperial edict and tried every means to send it to various places."

All the honorable ministers were ordered to disperse one by one, and Emperor Sui Yang leaned on the dragon chair, so tired that he had no strength at all.Fan Zigai was trying to persuade Emperor Yang to rest.But Yu Wenshu stepped forward and said softly to Emperor Yang:

"Your Majesty, just now when the old minister was closing the door, he saw a young country girl. She was young, small and beautiful, and she must be delicious."

When Emperor Yangdi heard the words, his tiredness disappeared, and he said with great interest: "If there is any delicious food, you will know once you try it. Aiqing will bring it."

After hearing this, Yu Wenshu smiled secretly and hurried out.Seeing this, Fan Zigai bowed his hands to Emperor Yangdi and said:
"The old minister retire."

Yangdi nodded.

(End of this chapter)