The Zizhi Tongjian and the New Book of Tang record that in his later years, Li Shimin once said: "The only famous generals today are Li Ji, King Daozong of Jiangxia, and Wanche. Although the Daozong could not win a great victory, they did not taste a great defeat; in the end of Wanche, a great defeat was either a great victory or a great defeat. ”
Li Daozong was Li Shimin's cousin and a rare tiger general in the early Tang Dynasty. Li Daozong opened up the territory for the Tang Dynasty, and he "repelled more than a thousand miles of land", but he was blackened by Sui and Tang Dynasty novels.
Li Daozong, who is in the history of zhengyi, together with Li Xiaogong, the second meritorious servant of Lingyange, is called "The Second Sage of the Early Tang Dynasty". Li Daozong has hardly lost a battle in the history of zhengyi, and he is a well-deserved famous general. There are many heroic deeds of Li Daozong, and since the protagonist of today's story is not Li Daozong, I will not continue to talk about him.
Li Daozong stills, pictures from the network, thanks to the original author.
The protagonists of today's story are Li Ji and Xue Wanche. Li Ji, formerly known as Xu Shijie, is the military master Xu Maogong in Sui and Tang Dynasty novels. Li Yuan gave him the surname of Li Shiji, so he changed his name to Li Shiji. Later, to avoid Li Shimin's secrets, he changed his name to Li Ji. Ji and Ji are universal, so he is also called Li Ji.
Xue Wanche was originally a henchman of Li Jiancheng. At the time of the XuanwuMen Revolution, Xue Wanche led an army to attack Li Shimin and almost killed Li Shimin. Regardless of his previous suspicions, Li Shimin reused Xue Wanche and married his sister Princess Danyang to Xue Wanche, making Xue Wanche a Tang Dynasty horse.
Li Ji in the history is not a military master, but a tiger general who killed people in his teens. Li Ji is not only strong in martial arts, but also good at commanding in front of the battlefield, and is a handsome talent with both wisdom and courage. New Book of Tang. Li Jibiao's "biography" commented: "His use of troops and calculations, the anticipation of the enemy's response, are all opportunities." ”
Li Yuan stills, picture from the network, thanks to the original author.
Xue Wanche is a professional death captain in history, and every time this jun fights, he launches a charge with a death squad. For example, the New Book of Tang records that when the Tang army attacked Xue Yantuo, Xue Wanche "fought with the enemy in the south of the moraine, led hundreds of horses as the vanguard, and circled the rear of the line." When he saw this, he collapsed, beheaded three thousand people, and obtained fifteen thousand horses. ”
Every time Xue Wanche fought, he charged forward with his brothers. Such a talent, although it can boost morale, is extremely risky. Once the Lord is killed or captured, the troops are left unattended. If the troops are leaderless, there is a risk of defeat.
Li Jiyong is brave, but he is by no means reckless. Li Ji, a kind of command-type marshal, will never take the lead in charging when fighting. The work of the charge, naturally there are subordinate soldiers who will do it. Li Ji and others often "look at the rear, which is said to be heavy.". The commander is in the rear, and even if the front troops fail, they can organize the remaining troops to retreat in an orderly manner without encountering major defeats.
Li Jiancheng stills, picture from the network, thanks to the original author.
In the four years of Wu De, Li Ji and Xue Wanche both suffered a big defeat. Liu Heimin raised an army against the Tang and captured a large area of land in Hebei. Both Li Ji and Xue Wanche, as generals of the Tang Dynasty, participated in the war to pacify Liu Heimin. Li Ji was responsible for guarding Li Prefecture, and Xue Wanche followed Li Yi, the king of Yan County, and cooperated with Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, to fight a decisive battle with Liu Heimin's main force.
Zizhi Tongjian. Volume 190 records that Li Shentong led an army of 50,000 people and opened a long snake array to fight a decisive battle with Liu Heimin. Liu Heimin defeated the main force of the Tang army with few victories and eliminated two-thirds of the Tang army's men and horses.
Li Yi and Xue Wanche had originally won the victory, but seeing that the main force of the Tang army had been defeated, they could only retreat to Gaocheng. Liu Heimin chased after Gaocheng, and Li Yi could only fight with Liu Heimin. At the beginning of the battle, Xue Wanche and Xue Wanjun, giving full play to the characteristics of the professional household of the death captain, led the death squad to launch a charge against Liu Heimin's troops.
Li Ji stills, picture from the network, thanks to the original author.
Liu Heimin was a famous general in the Wagang Army, he could establish himself as the king of Handong, and his combat effectiveness was also very strong. The brothers Xue Wanche and Xue Wanjun's undead playing style made them famous in the world. Unfortunately, the Xue Wanche brothers encountered the strong Liu Heimin this time, and the death squad did not play well.
Xue Wanche and Xue Wan both charged forward, but this time they did not return, and were captured alive by Liu Heimin. After the Lord was captured alive, the Tang army was defeated and suffered a great defeat. Li Yi, who was in the rear, saw that the situation was not right, and could only throw his hands and fled.
Liu Heimin captured the famous generals Xue Wanche and Xue Wanjun alive, which can be described as a satisfied spirit. In order to humiliate Xue Wanche and Xue Wanjun, Liu Heiyan shaved their hair and used them as slaves in the army. After all, the Xue family brothers were tiger generals, and their martial arts were very good, so they found the opportunity to seize the Han army's war horses and escape to heaven.
The fact that Xue Wanche was shaved off his head is not a novel passage, but from the Zizhi Tongjian. The original text of the 189th volume is: "The black min attacked it, the art was also defeated, and Xue Wanjun and Wanche were all captured, and the hair was cut off and expelled." The Wan Jun brothers returned from their deaths, and the Yi leading soldiers returned to Youzhou. ”
Xue Wanche stills, picture from the network, thanks to the original author.
After Liu Heimin captured Xue Wanche alive, he launched a fierce attack on Li Ji's troops. Li Ji sent five thousand soldiers and horses to meet Liu Heimin, and he took the position in the rear. Tang Jun could not defeat Liu Heimin, and as soon as Li Ji saw that the situation was not right, he ran away.
This matter canonically published in the Zizhi Tongjian. The original text of the book 189 reads: "The armor, the black min chased after the world, etc., broke it, killed 5,000 pawns, and the worldly achievement was only spared." ”
Although the five thousand soldiers and horses sent out by Li Shiji were completely destroyed, he escaped. After Li Shiji escaped back, he organized the remaining men and horses to move closer to Li Shimin's troops. After Li Shiji and Li Shimin joined forces, they immediately organized a counterattack and killed Gao Gaoxian, the prime minister appointed by Liu Heimin.
This matter canonically published in the Zizhi Tongjian. The original text of the book 190 reads: "壬辰, Hei Min took Gao Xian as the left servant and shot at the military. Li Shijie led the troops to force his battalion, Yaxian rode drunk, single-horse chased after him, and the Shijie Department dropped Pan Burr's horse, followed by left and right, and supported him, but did not arrive at the camp and died. ”
Li Ji held a heavy weight, and he had a back hand in the war, even if he lost the battle, he could stabilize the situation. Xue Wanche is in the front of the charge, and when he wins, he wins a big victory, and when he loses, he loses a big defeat. When Li Shimin beat Xue Yantuo, he let the two learn from each other's strengths. Li Shimin made Li Ji the commander and Xue Wanche the deputy commander.
Li Ji commanded in the rear, and Xue Wanche led the death squad to charge in the front. The two famous generals complemented each other and achieved a great victory in pacifying Xue Yantuo. Li Shimin knows people well and is good at their duties, gives full play to the strengths of his subordinates, avoids the shortcomings of his subordinates, and lets his subordinates exert their greatest power.
Since ancient times, those who know the soldiers have not come out of Li Shimin's right ear! Li Shimin is not only good at using soldiers, but also good at using generals, and it is no wonder that the history books give Li Shimin such a high evaluation.
This article was originally written by Wang Fuxing. Code words are not easy, please respect the original, unauthorized, reproduction is strictly prohibited. I have signed a contract with a rights protection company to entrust a rights protection company to protect my rights. Unauthorized reprinters, the rights protection company will defend the rights on behalf of the person.