In the fourth year of Wude (621), Li Shimin defeated Dou Jiande, the King of Xia, at the Battle of Hu prison pass. With no grain and grass inside and no reinforcements outside, the Luoyang warlord Wang Shichong was forced to lead his people to surrender to the Tang. After the surrender ceremony, Li Shimin spared Wang Shichong's life, but issued an unexpected order to kill Shan Xiongxin.
In order to keep Shan Xiongxin's life, Li Shiji, that is, Xu Maogong, whom we are familiar with, quickly pleaded with Li Shimin. However, what made people feel strange was that Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Niu Jinda, Luo Shixin and others who were also comrades in the Wagang Army did not say a word, and sat back and watched Shan Xiongxin's head in a different place. So, Why didn't Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, and Luo Shixin help Shan Xiongxin speak?
In the novel "Sui and Tang Dynasty", Shan Xiongxin is the leader of the green forest, who is chivalrous and righteous, helping the poor and the weak, and is the representative of righteousness. But in real history, Shan Xiongxin is not so tall and complete.
Shan Xiongxin is a native of Caozhou, Shandong Province, who has been practicing martial arts since childhood, with infinite strength and courage. According to the "Youyang Miscellaneous Tricks", Shan Xiongxin once cut down a jujube tree to make a horse mallet, and also cast a 70-kilogram gun head, which was called "cold bone white". In terms of force, Shan Xiongxin may be the strongest of the Sui generals.
Due to the chaotic government of the Sui Dynasty Emperor and the great chaos in the world, Zhai Rang raised an army in Shandong. After hearing this news, Shan Xiongxin immediately came to the rescue with his own part. Along with him, there was xu maogong (徐茂公) who was a thief from the same county. Because they were fellow villagers and worked together earliest, Shan Xiongxin and Xu Maogong formed a dead party relationship.
In battle, Shan Xiongxin was brave and fierce, and his name was crowned by the armies, and the military was called "Flying General"; and Xu Maogong was known for his wisdom and strategy. With the help of the two, Zhai Rang's Wagang Army developed rapidly. Soon after, Li Mi, who had accompanied Yang Xuangan in opposing the Sui Emperor, joined the Wagang Army and gradually replaced Zhai Rang as the new leader of the Wagang Army.
Li Mi proclaimed himself duke of Wei, Feng Zhai Rang as Situ, Shan Xiongxin as the general of Zuo Wuhou, and Xu Maogong as the general of right Wuhou. Under the command of Li Mi, the Wagang army broke the Sui army and killed the enemy general Zhang Sutuo. After Zhang Sutuo's defeat, his fierce generals Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Luo Shixin (Luo Cheng's prototype), and Pei Xingyu (Pei Yuanqing's prototype) joined the Wagang Army.
For a time, the Wagang army was like a cloud, invincible on the battlefield. They first conquered xingluocang, and opened a warehouse to release grain, to help the hungry, causing the poor people to rush to Wagang village. Soon, the number of Wagang troops exceeded one million.
As the saying goes, "its rise is also booming, and its death is also rapid." The development and growth of the Wagang Army intensified the contradiction between Li Mi and Zhai Rang. Zhai Rang's general Wang Ruxin encouraged Zhai Rang to take up the official position of Ōtsuka Zai, command the hundred officials, and seize the power of Li Mi. However, out of brotherly righteousness, Zhai Rang did not agree. But when this matter reached Li Mi's ears, Li Mi decided to get rid of Zhai Rang.
Therefore, Li Mi set up a banquet at the Hongmen Gate and hosted Zhai Rang, Shan Xiongxin, and Xu Maogong. At the banquet, only to hear Li Mi's order, the ambushed knife and axeman killed Zhai Rang and slashed Xu Maogong. Under the threat of death, Shan Xiongxin had to kowtow to Li Mi and beg for forgiveness. Li Mi's adviser Fang Yanzao believed that Shan Xiongxin easily succumbed to himself, but he was an untrustworthy person and should be killed. However, Li Mi cherished Shan Xiongxin's talents and insisted on not allowing it, still retaining his official position.
Li Mi's perfidious killing of Zhai Rang dealt a fatal blow to the cohesion of the Wagang army. Wagangzhai originally relied on brotherly righteousness to gather talents from different origins and places of origin. However, Li Mi betrayed his brotherhood and laid the groundwork for the final split of the Wagang Army. At the same time, it also sowed the seeds of betrayal in Shan Xiong's confidence.
After killing Zhai Rang, the Wagang army was still the strongest of the sui and the strongest. Therefore, they had the capital to fight on two fronts, the south and Yu Wenhua and the war, and the east and Luoyang Wang Shichong. On the battlefield, the Wagang army repeatedly destroyed Yu Wenhua and Wang Shichong, and the continuous victories also made Li Mi feel complacent.
At the Battle of Yaoshan, Li Mi led the Wagang army in a decisive battle against his former defeated general Wang Shichong. Just as the so-called arrogant army must be defeated, the powerful Wagang army was actually defeated by Wang Shichong. Just as Li Mi's Chinese army was about to collapse, he urgently asked Shan Xiongxin on the flank for help. However, Shan Xiongxin hated the shame that Li Mi had brought to him, and he actually stood still, resulting in the complete defeat of the Wagang Army.
With Li Mi's defeat, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Pei Xingyu, luo Shixin, and others were all captured by Wang Shichong. And Shan Xiongxin? Without any resistance, he triumphantly surrendered to Wang Shichong and became his general. From the very beginning, Shan Xiongxin, who was born in the green forest, and Qin Qiong, who was born as an officer of the Sui Dynasty, were not the same people. At the Battle of Yaoshan Mountain, Shan Xiongxin's immobility also deepened his contradictions with Qin Qiong and others.
After hearing that Li Mi had fled to the Tang Dynasty, Xu Maogong, who was stationed in Liyang, did not surrender to Wang Shichong like his old friends, but chose to defect to the Tang. Therefore, Xu Maogong was given the surname Li, and from then on, the name of Li Shijie became popular in the world. At the same time, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Luo Shixin, and others looked down on Wang Shichong as a person, so they defected before the battle and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. Among the generals of the old Wagang Army, only Shan Xiongxin still served Wang Shichong.
Beginning in 620 AD, the tang dynasty and Wang Shichong's war broke out. On the battlefield, Shan Xiongxin was the most dangerous enemy of the Tang Dynasty, and he often rode alone to attack the Tang army camp. Even once, he almost rushed to Li Shimin. If it weren't for Li Shiji shouting at the side, "Hugh hurt my lord." Li Shimin's head may have been removed by Shan Xiongxin.
In 621, Shan Xiongxin surrendered to Li Shimin with Wang Shichong. After the war, Li Shimin decided to put Shan Xiongxin to death. In the commentary, Shan Xiongxin and the Li family have a vendetta against killing their brothers. But in history, Shan Xiongxin and the Li family actually have nothing to do with each other, it is a simple rival relationship.
After discovering that Li Shimin wanted to kill Shan Xiongxin, Li Shiji quickly used his own life as a guarantee to save the life of his good brother. But what is lamentable is that the general of the old Wagang Army who interceded for Shan Xiongxin was only Li Shijie. Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, and others all pretended to be deaf and dumb, and Quan Dang did not see it. Obviously, Shan Xiongxin's treachery in The Mountain had broken their hearts.
In the end, Li Shimin did not heed Li Shijie's intercession and still put Shan Xiongxin to death. Before his execution, only Li Shijie sent Shan Xiongxin off. In the hearts of Qin Qiong and others, Shan Xiongxin may have died a long time ago.