In 618, the Sui Dynasty, which unified the whole country for the second time, collapsed, and Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, was not happy. Because the world at this time is like the world of the Three Kingdoms period. The three kingdoms of tang, Zheng and Xia stood tall and maintained a fragile balance. When the people under the day thought that the second Three Kingdoms period was coming, Li Shimin quickly withdrew from the stage of history through the Battle of Tiger Prison Pass, which can be described as a great achievement.
I. Background: The Three Kingdoms were at the beginning of their momentum, and the Tang Dynasty began to unify the world
At that time, the world had just formed the momentum of the Three Kingdoms, Tang, Xia, and Zheng occupied a part of the world, before the Battle of Hu prison pass, let's look at the background of these three countries.
1. The Tang Dynasty, which was born of nobility
Li Shimin was born into the family of the Northern Zhou Guanlong nobility, And Li Shimin was a descendant of Li Huan, the founding monarch of Western Liang during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, and had been a prominent nobleman for generations. Great-grandfather Li Hu (李虎), was an official in the Western Wei Dynasty. His father Li Yuan held the highest official position before the fall of the Sui Dynasty was Taiyuan Liushou and Jinyang Palace Supervisor, which was the highest military and political governor in this region, and Li Yuan was also the hereditary Duke of Tang in addition to Taiyuan, so it can be said that Li Yuan was a powerful prince on the dominant side at that time.
Although Li Yuan is in a high position, his education of children has to be praised. Whether it is Li Shimin, who later ascended the throne through the "Xuanwu Gate", or Li Jiancheng, the crown prince, or Li Yuanji, the future king of Qi, they are all very good and can be independent. Especially Li Shimin, who has loved the military since he was a child, is good at riding and shooting, and has personally rescued the Sui Emperor at Yanmen Pass, which can be described as courageous and insightful.
At the time of the Taiyuan uprising, it was Li Shimin who united with Li Yuan's generals to force Li Yuan to raise an army, which led to the subsequent Tang Dynasty. It can be said that Li Shimin played an extremely important role in the entire process of the founding of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Shimin was not only heroic, but also attached great importance to reform and had the courage to learn advanced technology. Before the army, Li Yuan's troops often had to deal with the Turks, and Li Shimin fully combined the strengths of the Turkic troops and combined his own advantages to train a heavy cavalry, which was the famous Xuanjia Army. This Xuanjia army also played an extremely important role in Li Shimin's conquest. Especially in the Battle of Tiger Prison Pass, this role was brought to the extreme.
2. Wang Shichong in a corner of peace
Wang Shichong, whose original surname was Zhi, was a Hu native of the Western Regions and lived in Xinfeng (present-day Lintong District, Xi'an). His grandfather died prematurely. So his father followed his grandmother and remarried to the Bacheng Wang clan, so he changed his surname to Wang. Wang Shichong was extensively involved in the history of scriptures, especially in the art of war, as well as the study of fortune telling and astronomical calendar calculation.
Wang Shichong himself was also an old vassal of the Sui Dynasty, and he once held the position of a foreign minister in the Sui Dynasty. During the counter-rebellion of the Wagang Army, Wang Shichong gathered a lot of capable people and strangers. After defeating the Wagang army, Wang Shi was overwhelmed with everything and swelled to the extreme, even his master, the Sui Emperor, did not pay attention to it. He found that luoyang was a place with narrow terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack, so he simply established himself as emperor, changed the name of the country to Zheng, and became the emperor of a remote corner.
3. Dou Jiande, leader of the peasant uprising
Compared with the above two countries, Dou Jiande, the leader of the Xia Kingdom, is a complete "mud leg". He was born in the Fufeng Dou clan, and his family had been farming for generations, and he was very affectionate and righteous, and served as the governor. Advocating heroes and being respected by the townspeople, at this point, this old brother is much more generous than liu bangting at that time, and Liu Bang was half a hooligan in the local area.
Dou Jiande's rise to the army was also attributed to the Sui Emperor. In that year, the Sui Dynasty Emperor went to Goryeo and returned with a great defeat. The Sui Emperor was still not dead-hearted, and he still had to go on a campaign. At this time, people complained, and Dou Jiande took the opportunity to pull up a team of two hundred people to rebel against the tyranny of the Sui Dynasty. At the same time, because Dou Jiande was benevolent and kind, he was recognized by many rebel soldiers, so his power grew larger and larger, and he gradually occupied the surrounding areas based in Hebei, and established himself as emperor and the country name was Xia.
Through the above introduction of strength, it is not difficult for us to see that the comprehensive national strength of the Tang Dynasty is the strongest. This also gave Li Shimin strong confidence. Therefore, a few years after the founding of the country, Li Shimin decided to send troops and started a war to unify the whole country.
Second, the cause: The Tang Dynasty wanted to break the momentum of the Three Kingdoms and send troops to fight Zheng
Three years after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, after consolidating the Taiyuan and Longyou regions, the Tang Dynasty decided to unify the country. The first to bear the brunt of this is Wang Shichong of Luoyang, who is entrenched in the hub of the world. So Li Yuan sent his most powerful crown prince, Li Shimin the Prince of Qin, to gather an army of 50,000 to attack Wang Shichong. Wang Shichong also mobilized 50,000 soldiers and horses to resist Li Shimin's attack.
Although Wang Shichong's army at that time was also baptized by battle, after defeating Li Mi, most of his outstanding generals were recruited under his command, including qin shubao, Cheng Zhijie, Luo Shixin, Pei Renji, Shan Xiongxin and other famous generals. However, in terms of its comprehensive combat effectiveness, it is still in the ascendant. Especially in the cavalry area, Li Shimin's Xuanjia army was invincible to the world, and Wang Shichong did not have a very good way to face the Xuanjia army, and in field battles, it was naturally inferior.
But Wang Shichong also had his own advantages, that is, the natural geographical formation, and the Tiger Prison Pass became the first level in the world at that time. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Luoyang can become a horn and watch over each other. As long as the people in the Tiger Prison Pass are stubbornly guarded, then Luoyang can sit back and relax, which is also the advantage that Luoyang has not been breached in the eighty years since the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and it is also Wang Shichong's confidence.
And according to Li Shimin's previous combat style, it is not difficult to see that his combat concept is very calm, first sticking to it, consuming the enemy army, and looking for fighters; then fighting a decisive battle, first letting the frontal troops first duel with the enemy, and when the enemy's sharp spirit is frustrated, the elite cavalry will attack back and forth; and finally take advantage of the victory to pursue, beat the falling water dog with a drum, and do not give the enemy any chance to breathe, and completely destroy it. Among them, the Xuanjia Army played the heavy responsibility of charging from the flanks, and tried and failed repeatedly.
In the fourth year of WuDe, when Li Shimin's general Qu Tutong and others were training camped, they suddenly encountered Wang Shichong's army. Just as the two sides were entangled, Li Shimin led the Xuanjia army to arrive, and under the charge of the Xuanjia army, Wang Shichong collapsed and was annihilated by more than 6,000 people.
A few days later, Li Shimin's camp moved forward, but the fortifications were not yet repaired. Wang Shichong saw the opportunity and felt that Li Shimin's foothold was unstable and he would definitely be caught off guard, so he led all the main forces to battle.
At that time, the Tang army saw that Wang Shichong was in such a position, and they advised Li Shimin to temporarily avoid the front. However, Li Shimin said that Wang Shichong's attack was a good time to annihilate him, so he asked Qu Tutong to face the enemy head-on and lead the Xuanjia army to charge from the flank. This battle was fought in the dark, Li Shimin was deeply trapped in the ground formation several times, if it were not for Qiu Xinggong's desperate protection, Li Shimin would have been in a different place.
In the end, under the strong charge of the Xuanjia army, Wang Shichong really could not withstand Li Shimin's powerful attack, and fled back to Luoyang in a hurry. Li Shimin took the opportunity to invade the Tiger Prison Pass and occupied this dangerous place. Then he continued to pursue, all the way to luoyang city.
After this battle, Wang Shichong no longer had the strength to fight with Li Shimin in the field, and could only rely on the thickness of the city walls of Luoyang to hold on. However, the number of garrisons in the city soared, and the previous strategic food reserve was immediately stretched. Li Shimin also implemented the moral government, and the counties around Luoyang defected and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, which further aggravated Luoyang's predicament. The original 30,000 households in the city were reduced to only 3,000 during the siege. Even Wang Shichong's court officials and nobles starved to death. There was even a tragedy of "changing children and eating" in the city. Wang Shichong had no choice but to ask Dou Jiande for help.
Third, after: Cold lips and teeth, Dou Jiande heavily assisted Wang Shichong
When Wang Shichong's emissaries came to Dou Jiande's place and asked Dou Jiande for help. Dou Jiandequn held a "military analysis meeting to rescue Wang Shichong". Among them, Liu Bin, a member of the Zhongshu She, stated a powerful relationship. He believes that Li Shimin has been fighting with Wang Shichong for two years, and Luoyang City has been besieged like an iron barrel, which can be said to be precarious.
If the Tang Army destroyed Zheng Guo, then according to the law of "cold lips and dead teeth", it is our turn to suffer. Therefore, Wang Shichong must be saved. Save the situation that can keep the Three Kingdoms standing. If Li Shimin is successfully defeated and Wang Shichong's power is weak, we can pick him up by the way, and then point directly to Tongguan, kill Guanzhong, and destroy Li Tangke to set the world in one fell swoop! Liu Bin's analysis made Dou Jiande very happy to hear it, and decided to implement this plan.
If the plan is set, then say do it. Dou Jiande immediately sent troops to Guanzhou, and then attacked Xingyang, Yangzhai and other counties, advancing by land and water, boating to transport grain, and going west of the river. Wang Shichong's younger brother Wang Shiquan also led more than 10,000 soldiers to join forces with Dou Jiande, claiming to be 300,000 male soldiers. Pointing directly at Li Shimin.
In the face of the menacing Xia army, Li Shimin's men were a little panicked, if they were trapped outside Luoyang City, it would be a good idea to suffer from the enemy on their backs. Li Shimin smiled slightly and said, "Since he came, don't think about going back." Li Shimin then divided his troops into two places. First, he left a large army in Luoyang and continued to besiege Wang Shichong. Then, taking advantage of the terrain of Tiger Prison Pass, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, he personally led his troops into Tiger Prison Pass and waited for Dou Jiande.
Dou Jiande's side had just set up camp under the Tiger Prison, and Li Shimin personally led his troops to investigate the military situation. As a result, he was bumping into Xia Jun. Facing an enemy army dozens of times larger than himself, Li Shimin did not panic. While shouting that he was Li Shimin, the King of Qin, he fought and retreated.
As soon as Dou Jiande saw that Li Shimin was so arrogant, he immediately sent troops to pursue him. Li Shimin slowly led the enemy to his encirclement, and then suddenly led his troops back to kill. The Xia army was suddenly in chaos and rushed back to the camp. Although this battle is a small encounter, it can also be seen that Li Shimin's composure and calmness are indeed superior.
Tiger Prison Is Easy to Defend and Difficult to Attack, but it is not a joke. Especially when Li Shimin came to the head, it was even more watertight. No matter how you Dou Jiande fights and scolds, I just don't get out. Not only that, Li Shimin also sent a squad of more than a thousand people to sneak up on Dou Jiande's grain road behind his back, which made Dou Jiande even more angry.
In fact, Dou Jiande did not have the opportunity to solve this dilemma, the Guozi sacrifice wine Ling Jing had offered a plan to Dou Jiande, we can come to a "siege Wei to save Zhao", not to entangle here, but to do the opposite, over the Taihang Mountains straight to Taiyuan. When Li Shimin saw that the old nest was beaten, he would inevitably withdraw his troops to come back to reinforcements, and we could set up an ambush halfway through the road and seriously damage Li Shimin.
If Dou Jiande really did this, perhaps the one who unified the whole country would be the Xia Dynasty. Unfortunately, Dou Jiande was so predicaed in the face of his allies, worried that before he reached the Taihang Mountains, Luoyang would not be able to hold. Coupled with Dou Jiande's strength, he had to have a hard encounter with Li Shimin at Tiger Prison Pass, and as a result, he gave up such a good opportunity. This is also Dou Jiande's life.
In the face of this situation, this is not the way to go. So Dou Jiande asked Li Shimin to negotiate in Luoshui. During this period, Li Shimin secretly released more than a thousand war horses along the Luoshui coast, seemingly idle and resting on the horses. Dou Jiande thought that Li Shimin had no desire to attack, so the soldiers began to relax, drinking water and eating. Some even lay down in place to sleep, where there was a look of fighting before the battle.
When Li Shimin saw that the time was ripe, he immediately attacked Dou Jiande at least. With the intention to kill without heart, Dou Jiande's former army had not yet reacted, and he was killed by Li Shimin through the formation. The front army collapsed and immediately retreated to the Chinese army. At this time, it was too late for Dou Jiande to reorganize the whole army, so he retreated to the slopes to the east.
While the two sides were engaged in a scuffle, Li Shimin sent Qin Shubao and others to bypass the enemy position and come to the rear of Dou Jiande, and unfurled a large banner, waving the flag and shouting. Dou Jiande suddenly saw the Tang army coming out from behind the line, thinking that he was surrounded by the Tang army and suddenly collapsed into an army. He was chased and killed by Li Shimin's troops, and in the confusion, Dou Jiande was shot in the knee and fell off his horse. Eventually, he was captured alive at Ushiguchi Nagisa.
This fierce battle directly broke up Dou Jiande's army, and even the emperor was captured. The Tang army finally captured 50,000 people, and Li Shimin was kind and kind, and did not embarrass them, but directly let them be dismissed in situ and went home.
IV. Ending: Dou Jiande loses, and Wang Shichong surrenders helplessly
After dou jiande was captured, Li Shimin escorted Dou Jiande, Wang Wan, changsun Anshi, Guo Shiheng and others to Luoyang to demonstrate, Wang Shichong was so frightened that his legs were paralyzed, the last straw to save his life was gone, and Wang Shichong also knew that the general trend had gone. After a fierce ideological struggle between the breakthrough and the surrender, he believed that the breakthrough would undoubtedly die, so he raised the white flag out of the city and surrendered to Li Shimin.
The endings of Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande are actually about the same. Dou Jiande was escorted back to Chang'an, where he was stabbed by Li Yuan. Although Wang Shichong was not killed in Chang'an, he was sent to Shudi. As a result, before the people reached Shudi, they were cut off by the Dugu Xiude brothers on the road. At this point, the Battle of Tiger Prison Pass was over.
Write at the end:
Li Shimin was canonized in the first battle, and this battle not only fought less and more, but also destroyed the two heroes in one battle, thus laying the overall situation for the unification of the Tang Dynasty in one fell swoop. Although Dou Jiande's subordinate Liu Heimin was still resisting, he could not resist the general trend of the Tang army unifying the world.
After this battle, the prestige of Li Shimin, the King of Qin, also reached a fixed point. Because the merits were too great and there was no reward to be given, Li Shimin was allowed to form the Tiance Mansion and cultivate his own forces. This also laid the groundwork for the brothers to compete for the throne in the future, and then the "Xuanwumen Change".