A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Li Mi thought about it for a moment and realized that this was indeed the case.

After defeating Dou Jiande and seizing the Imperial Seal, he could then seize the opportunity to betray Wang Shichong, unify the entire Central Plains and Hebei, and with the Imperial Seal in hand, who in the vast land would dare to disobey him?!

With the Mandate of Heaven upon him, a mere Shanzhou could be conquered in the blink of an eye.

Because they were all heading north together in pursuit of the Imperial Seal of the State, Dou Jiande, Li Mi, and Wang Shichong were not far apart.

After Li Mi and Wang Shichong reached an agreement, they immediately assembled their forces and attacked Dou Jiande from both flanks.

Dou Jiande was well-prepared. After receiving the Imperial Seal, he anticipated that Li Mi and Wang Shichong would join forces.

He had set up defenses early on, waiting for Li Mi and Wang Shichong.

He harbored the same idea: with the Imperial Seal in his hand, if he could defeat the combined forces of Li Mi and Wang Shichong, he could use this prestige to take over the entire north.

Someone voluntarily offered up the Imperial Seal of the State, and after obtaining it, he defeated Li Mi and Wang Shichong. This must prove that he was destined by Heaven.

Both sides were in love and willing to fight, and a chaotic war broke out in the Central Plains.

Although Li Mi and Wang Shichong joined forces, they were also wary of each other.

They were practically fighting their own battles, and every now and then they would deliberately drag each other down.

Neither side wanted the other to be the first to defeat Dou Jiande and obtain the Imperial Seal of the State.

The world's attention was drawn to this war. Li Mi, Dou Jiande, and Wang Shichong were already popular contenders for the throne, and now they were vying for the most precious treasure in the world: the Imperial Seal.

Whoever wins this battle for supremacy and obtains the Imperial Seal will be recognized by the world as the one destined by Heaven.

Apart from Li Yuan and his group in Guanzhong and the Wagang generals in Shanzhou.

Unbeknownst to everyone, the Wagang Army in Shanzhou and Li Yuan in Guanzhong led their troops toward the Central Plains battlefield.

The commander of the Tang army in Guanzhong was Li Yuan, while the leader of the Wagang army in Shanzhou was Li Shimin. Li Jiancheng was stationed in Guanzhong to allocate grain and fodder and was in charge of logistics.

Although Dou Jiande was strong, neither Li Mi nor Wang Shichong were weak.

Although the two were not of one mind, they were both doing their best to attack Dou Jiande.

Dou Jiande, relying solely on his own strength, was ultimately no match for Li Mi and Wang Shichong.

If it weren't for Wagang and others being in Shanzhou, and Li Mi's forces not being fully utilized, Dou Jiande would probably have been defeated long ago.

After Dou Jiande showed signs of weakness, Li Mi began to consolidate his forces, slow down his attacks, and pretend that his forces had been severely damaged in order to preserve his strength.

Having lost the Wagang men, his strength was considerably weaker than Wang Shichong's. If he wanted to win the final competition against Wang Shichong, he had to preserve his strength.

Realizing that Li Mi was preserving his strength, Dou Jiande breathed a sigh of relief; his plan had succeeded.

Under his cover, everyone overlooked a certain force.

That was the Wagang Army of Shanzhou who presented him with the Imperial Seal of the State. If this fresh force joined the battlefield, it would definitely be able to relieve his current dire situation.

His target was Wang Shichong. After all, those Wagang Army soldiers had once been under Li Mi's command. It was unknown how much of their strength they could muster if they were to deal with Li Mi's Wagang Army.

But if it were to deal with his old rival Wang Shichong, he would definitely go all out and spare no effort.

Now that Li Mi is reducing his manpower, this is a good opportunity for him.

Dou Jiande immediately sent a letter to Qin Qiong, and the two agreed on a time to jointly attack Wang Shichong from both sides.

After receiving the letter, Qin Qiong readily agreed. Once the messenger left, he handed the letter to Li Shimin.

"It's finally here."

Li Shimin and his men were also waiting for this moment.

This is Dou Jiande's opportunity, and it is also his opportunity.

"Do as Prince Chang Le says, but try to stall for an hour without arousing his suspicion."

"Let them fight even more fiercely."

Li Shimin proposed.

Qin Qiong and the others nodded, but this excuse was not easy to find. You must know that there was another army belonging to Dou Jiande in this army, and this army would report their every move to Dou Jiande.

If Dou Jiande had been prepared in advance, it would have been impossible to seize this opportunity to wipe out Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong in one fell swoop.

"No problem."

Xu Maogong smiled and said, "Dou Jiande may be a hero, but he lacks the ability to recognize talent."

"The men he sent were loyal to him, but mediocre. All they needed was a good excuse to persuade him."

"At that time, we can say that Wang Shichong is on guard and we need to wait until he lowers his guard before we can achieve even greater results."

"The moment Wang Shichong's army lowers its guard will be the moment they send their thanks to Sui, and that will be the moment when we achieve our greatest victory."

"Borrow him with benefits, and we can give him this opportunity to be at the forefront. By the time this battle is over, there probably won't be many men left."

"If we fall out with Dou Jiande, they won't be a threat."

"Let's do as Master Mao says."

"After this victory, I will personally recommend you all for credit!"

Li Shimin made the final decision, placing even greater importance on these Wagang generals.

Not only did they have unparalleled warriors like Qin Qiong, but also learned men like Wei Zheng, and men of both literary and martial talents like Xu Maogong, making them worthy of Li Shimin's great investment in winning them over.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

The Wagang people quickly bowed and saluted, then hurried back to make preparations.

On the day agreed upon by Dou Jiande and Qin Qiong, Dou Jiande had been gradually withdrawing city defenses, creating the appearance of heavy losses. In reality, he was allowing his soldiers to rest and recuperate so that they could be in the best possible condition for the day.

On this day, Wang Shichong launched an attack as usual. His army had only made it halfway through the charge when they discovered that the city gates had opened on their own, and a steady stream of troops poured out, led by Dou Jiande himself.

Dou Jiande charged forward wielding the Imperial Seal of the State, greatly boosting morale. Dou's army was unstoppable and well-prepared, catching Wang Shichong completely off guard.

The roles of offense and defense shifted, and before Wang Shichong could react, the enemy had already attacked, resulting in heavy losses in a short period of time.

Wang Shichong, who was overseeing the army from the rear, was overjoyed. Dou Jiande was staying in the city, and he didn't have any good ideas, so he could only launch a direct attack.

But now that Dou Jiande has come forward, he has gladly accepted the Imperial Seal of the State.

Wang Shichong gathered his troops in the rear and began to fight Dou Jiande head-on.

Wang Shichong wasn't stupid; he naturally had doubts about Dou Jiande's unusual behavior.

Therefore, he did not relax his defenses in various places. While ensuring the defenses in various places, he spared more troops to fight against Dou Jiande.

As the fighting continued, Wang Shichong finally confirmed that the army under Dou Jiande's command was exactly the same as he had estimated.

Apart from defending against Li Mi's army, Dou Jiande mobilized all his remaining troops.

A desperate counterattack, a do-or-die battle!

These two words popped into Wang Shichong's mind, and he gave a cruel smile.