Tour the world of martial arts

Chapter 427: The Ming and Tang Dynasties start a war on the Hangu natural barrier

Although they were preparing for the war, the Ming Dynasty now had abundant supplies and strong troops, so it did not take too much time.

After just over a month, preparations were complete. Li Jing had already led his army northward.

This expedition of 100,000 elite troops to the west was the most important battle since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, before setting off, a grand military parade was held.

He also read out a petition against Li Yuan in public, announcing Li Yuan's several major crimes, and also expressed the Ming Dynasty's determination to unify the world.

According to the advice of the ministers, a proclamation was issued to list Li Yuan's sins to show the justice of this war.

Among them, Li Yuan's crimes included a series of crimes such as "defeating the emperor with his ministers", "colluding with the barbarians", "supporting the false emperor", "deceiving the emperor with his ministers", and "fornicating the harem".

"Using his ministers to attack the emperor" naturally refers to Li Yuan, who was a minister of the Sui Dynasty and held a high position, but acted against the Sui Dynasty.

"Colluding with the barbarians" refers to Li Tang's collusion with the Turks, which is also known to the world.

"Supporting the false emperor" certainly means that Li Tang had previously supported Yang You, the grandson of Emperor Yang of Sui, as emperor.

Although everyone knows that Yang You, Emperor Gong of the Sui Dynasty, was a puppet emperor, he soon became emperor of Li Yuan.

But in the eyes of those who maintain orthodoxy, this is naturally even more of a sin. It is the crime of "already deceiving the emperor".

However, after Li Yuan accepted the "concession", he gave preferential treatment to the descendants of the previous dynasty.

He issued an edict to confer the title of Duke Sui to Emperor Gong of the Sui Dynasty, and the title of king to the descendants of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, further emphasizing the legitimacy of Li Tang's acquisition of power.

However, these legalities were useless in the face of Ming's powerful troops.

As for the "promiscuous harem", this certainly does not mean that Li Yuan had a lot of fun in his harem, but that he had defiled Yang Guang's concubines in his palace in Jinyang.

Of course, in fact, they are just maids in the palace.

However, even if she is just a palace maid, in theory she is still Yang Guang's harem.

There are many anecdotes about Li Yuan's crime. It is said that Li Shimin did it to force Li Yuan to rebel against the Sui Dynasty. It is even recorded in history books.

According to legend, Li Shimin knew that the Sui Dynasty would fall, so he secretly made friends with heroes, recruited fugitives, and recruited all kinds of talents.

After the strategy of raising troops to rebel was decided, Li Yuan still didn't know about it.

Li Shimin wanted to tell the truth, but was worried that Li Yuan wouldn't listen, so he went to Pei Ji privately to discuss it.

Pei Ji and Li Shimin plotted and devised a plan.

One day, Pei Ji invited Li Yuan to drink in Jinyang Palace, got him drunk, and asked two palace ladies to spend the night with him.

After Li Yuan woke up, he was frightened to death.

The palace maids are the emperor's people, and raping the palace maids is a heinous crime.

Then, Pei Ji told Li Yuan Li Shimin's plan, and Li Yuan was shocked.

Pei Ji took the opportunity to persuade: "Now that the world is in turmoil and troops are rising from all directions, the Sui Dynasty will be over.

Your second son Shimin wants to raise the flag of righteousness and create a great cause.

You have committed a serious crime and there is no way to survive. It is better to work together. "

Li Shimin took the opportunity to report the entire plan to Li Yuan.

Li Yuan firmly disagreed at first and said that he would send Li Shimin to report to the official.

After a while, Li Yuan sighed and said helplessly: "Since my son has already had this intention, I have no choice but to follow it."

Li Yuan also angrily said to Li Shimin: "What happened today is up to you to destroy your clan and people, and it's up to you to transform your family into a country. Just take care of it yourself."

This story is recorded as true and has even spread among the people.

But Zhao Mingyuan naturally understood that this was not the case. This was just Li Shimin whitewashing his father.

How can a person like Li Yuan, who can thrive under Yang Guang, be a timid and incompetent person?

However, the several crimes in this statement are not false. Every one of them is substantiated and there is no exaggeration.

In fact, it turned out that the crimes planned by the ministers were more than just these.

According to the memorandum they drafted, there were hundreds of crimes committed by Li Yuan.

However, it was just like the 27 ridiculous things Haihun Hou did in 1127 days. It was too ridiculous.

The sows from Lao Wang's house next door screamed in the middle of the night and were blamed on him, which a wise man would not do.

In Zhao Mingyuan's view, what does this count?

What is the use of making this kind of thing public to the world?

What's more, the Sui Dynasty only ruled the world for a few decades, and Yang Guang even ruined the reputation of the Sui Dynasty. How many people still miss the Sui Dynasty now?

Isn’t it the right thing to rebel against the Sui Dynasty?

Don’t you do something like this yourself?

It might be okay to deceive ordinary people about this kind of thing. But none of the knowledgeable people in the world know what it is like, so writing like that will only make people in the world laugh at it.

Those powerful people in Guanzhong won’t laugh out loud if they find out?

However, Shen Luoyan advised: "This time the Ming sent troops to destroy the Tang Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty only targeted the Li clan, not the Guanzhong family clan.

Therefore, Ming Dynasty should try its best to win over the people and get the support of the Guanzhong clan.

The king should give top priority to unifying the world.

As for what policy to implement after the world is unified, it will naturally be decided by the king at that time. "

When Zhao Mingyuan heard this, it made sense!

Put aside the controversy first to gain the support of the Guanzhong clan. At least let them wait and see and not end up supporting the Li clan. Once Li Tang is defeated and the power is in hand, he can slowly deal with them.

Therefore, Zhao Mingyuan immediately accepted the advice humbly.

Of course, some things that were too egregious were deleted, and only some serious crimes that were true were retained and written down, which became today's proclamation.

As long as the people think that the war in the Ming Dynasty was just, and that the purpose of going here was to punish the people and punish crimes, it would be enough.

In fact, it doesn't matter whether the people believe it or not. They don't even care about who becomes the emperor.

For ordinary people, as long as they can eat well and live well, nothing else matters.

On the contrary, seeing the might of the Ming army, the people were relieved and full of confidence in this battle.

Such public news naturally reached Li Tang's ears and eyes immediately. At the court of the Tang Dynasty, when they learned that the Ming Dynasty had really launched an army to attack, Li Yuan was shocked and angry.

Fortunately, I felt relieved when I thought about the natural danger of Hangu Pass that stood in front of me.

Li Yuan even said in front of the ministers: "With the natural danger of Hangu alone, the Qin Dynasty became hegemonic, which is enough to withstand the next year."

The Ming Dynasty led an army of 100,000 to attack, and people ate horse chews, which consumed countless people every day.

If we are trapped in front of Hangu Pass without being able to advance even an inch, as time goes by, our troops and horses will be exhausted and internal troubles will arise.

When the time comes, if the Tang Dynasty and Dou Jiande send troops to attack the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty will surely fall! "

All the ministers agreed.

Even though Li Shimin felt that Ming Dynasty was not so easy to deal with, he felt relieved when he thought of Hangu Pass, which he had witnessed with his own eyes.

The march of an army is naturally different from ordinary people's walking. In order to maintain combat power at all times, they must move cautiously and slowly.

Although Hangu Pass is only three hundred miles away from Luoyang, the army walked for more than ten days before reaching Hangu Pass.

Hangu Pass is located in the section from Xiaoshan to Tongguan in the middle of the old road from Luoyang to Chang'an. It is mostly in the valley and is as deep and dangerous as Han, so it is called Hangu Pass.

Hangu Pass is located on the plateau to the west, Juejian to the east, Qinling Mountains to the south, and the Yellow River to the north. It is the earliest Xiongguan fortress built in my country.

Founded in the Western Zhou Dynasty, it is the throat of Luoyang in the east and Chang'an in the west. It is known as "the sky opens in the Hangu Pass, and thousands of valleys are shocked to the north." "The twin peaks are towering beside the river, and Hangu has been a battlefield since ancient times." , has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.

This pass is 15 miles long from east to west and is only wide enough for one vehicle to pass. It is known as "one man can guard the pass, but ten thousand men cannot open it".

There are winding roads connected to the bottom of the valley, which are rugged and narrow, and the hollow valley is deep. When walking in it, it is like walking into a letter. On both sides of the pass, there are steep cliffs, numerous peaks and rocks, the terrain is dangerous, and the landscape is dense.

Ancient books say that "cars do not separate tracks and horses do not bridle together" on the Hangu Pass Road, and "a mud pill seals Hangu to the east."

Standing in front of Hangu Pass, looking at the towering pass and the steep cliffs on both sides, Zhao Mingyuan understood that the reputation of Hangu Pass as a natural danger is indeed well-deserved.

The white bones faintly visible in the soil in front of Hangu Pass seem to tell the story of its indestructibility.

However, even so, Hangu Pass has naturally not never been captured in history.

However, most of them were caused by the enemy taking advantage of the emptiness inside the pass, and the army used human lives to accumulate, almost killing all the soldiers guarding the pass, or exhausting their food, grass and equipment before breaking through the pass.

But now, Li Tang was well prepared.

There are sufficient provisions and equipment in Hangu Pass. Thousands of elite soldiers are already ready, and the guard has been replaced by Li Shentong.

Obviously, Hangu Pass was such an important place, and Li Tang's clan had to guard it, so that Li Yuan could not rest assured.

Li Shentong was Li Yuan's cousin and a famous general in Li Tang's clan. He guarded this small Hangu Pass, but he was overqualified and underused.

But Li Shentong knew the importance of this battle, so he had no sense of grievance and kept Hangu Pass in order.

Rolling stones and wood have long been piled up on the wall, and the city gate has long been blocked.

This is a decision that no matter what tactics the Ming army uses, they will never get out of the seclusion, but just stick to it, train their soldiers every day, and wait for the Ming army to attack.

"It's really flawless!"

After exploring the area, Zhao Mingyuan finally sighed.

Seeing this situation, the generals around him couldn't help but frown.

Although everyone knows that Hangu Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but now that troops are actually being introduced to attack, and the defender is a cautious and experienced man like Li Shentong, they feel that there is no way to start.

In ancient times, most of the people's lives were used to attack Hangu Pass. When attacking a fortified city, it was common to be besieged for months or even years.

But let alone a few years, even if the Ming army is blocked here for several months, I am afraid that the direction of the world will change again.

Maybe when the soldiers are exhausted after being unable to attack for a long time, Dou Jiande will really lead his troops south, and several southern provinces may be shaken and start fighting again.

By then, the Ming Dynasty will be in danger!

Of course, in such a martial arts world, there is another way besides using human lives to fill the gap.

That is to form a commando team composed of masters, wearing heavy armor, and taking the lead to attack the city.

This is also a unique siege method in the martial arts world.

However, the city defenders naturally have ways to deal with such masters.

Not to mention conventional methods such as boulders, wood, hot oil and gold juice, there are also strong bows, powerful crossbows, sharpshooters and masters to deal with it.

Among the armies, even the masters are still in danger of their lives.

Perhaps only the Grand Master can truly guarantee his own safety.

It just so happened that they had a great master here.

However, no one said anything to say that Zhao Mingyuan came forward to attack the city.

Lord humiliate to death!

If Zhao Mingyuan, the king, is allowed to step forward every time there is a war, what are the generals doing?

However, for a while, there really was no good strategy to capture Hangu Pass.

Perhaps, we can only attack first and see.

After a long time, Cheng Yaojin asked for battle: "Your Majesty, I, Old Cheng, would like to attack Hangu Pass with three thousand elite troops."

This is a test to see.

But in fact, this is also a matter of taking human lives.

Zhao Mingyuan naturally did not agree.

That's all, I was originally planning to save it.

In this case, let them open their eyes and see the crushing power of technology!

(End of this chapter)