Chapter 34: Battle of Xuanwu Gate
Chapter 34 Fierce Battle at Xuanwu Gate
The ninth year of Wude, the fourth day of June.
Midnight three quarters (23:45).
Li Shimin's actions went very smoothly. He, Yuchi Gong, Cheng Yaojin and others led a hundred riders to set off from Hongyi Gate, and under Chang He's support, they passed Xuanwu Gate smoothly. On the road, I met two teams of patrol soldiers from Marquis Zuo Wu who stopped and interrogated them, but they were all shouted back by Li Shimin, who was wearing a prince's robe.
Before entering the Xuanwu Gate, when they met the Forbidden Army in the camp, they turned a blind eye to them.
In the lake-facing hall inside the gate, several oil lamps were lit.
Li Shimin took off his outer robe, Yu Chigong and Cheng Yaojin put on the Mingguang armor for him.
Chang He and Jingjun Honger will enter from the outside and pay their respects.
"No need to be too polite, please hurry up, time is tight tonight, so I will make a long story short, the Xuanwu Gate will be handed over to you, as soon as the prince and King Qi enter the gate, you should immediately close the palace gate to isolate the East Palace from the guards of King Qi, what can you do?" Are you there?"
"Please rest assured, Your Highness."
"Okay, your task is to guard the Xuanwu Gate and not let anyone enter the palace. Even if the soldiers from the East Palace and Prince Qi's Mansion come, you should just keep your guard and don't go out to fight, just in case the palace gate is lost!" Li Shimin Again and again.
The two took orders and left.
Li Shimin called Hou Junji again.
"You take a hundred brothers to the Hall of Eternal Life, where Jingde, Yaojin, and I ambushed the Crown Prince and King Qi."
and others left, only ten people including Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji remained in the Linhu Hall.
Night, silent.
Li Shimin's heart became more and more tense.
Hou Junji led a hundred guards of Prince Qin's residence and headed straight for the Palace of Longevity by the Beihai Pool. He knew that the guards over there were no longer under the control of King Qin, although there would not be many guards there at this time. , but it is bound to be a fierce battle.
He pulled out his sword, turned his head to a hundred soldiers and said, "Countless blood and blood fights, we also crawled out of the sea of corpses and blood, brothers, tonight, as long as we can survive, the king will not owe us anything, let's go!" !"
Outside the Hall of Longevity.
The atmosphere is stagnant.
Yuan Cong, the Zuofu Zhonglang General Wei Zhong, who was born in the Forbidden Army, never thought that someone would dare to break into the palace in the middle of the night. Nearly a hundred guards on duty were unexpectedly caught off guard, and most of them were hacked and killed by the rebels in one sight.
Both frightened and frightened.
The visitor is not good!
Wei Zhong raised his sword and guarded in front of the temple steps, shouting and shouting again and again, but the guards under his hand were cut down and shot to death one by one before the rebels came.
A strong man covered in blood rushed forward.
"Who is here!" Wei Zhong asked sharply, with several feathered arrows stuck in his body.
"Marquis Zuo Yu of Tiance Mansion, Chariot General of King Qin Mansion, and Founding Son of Quanjiao County, Hou Junji!" The general will report his name.
Wei Zhong stared wide-eyed, in disbelief, unexpectedly, it was King Qin who conspired to break into the palace.
"So bold..."
Hou Junji's sword has pierced Wei Zhong's chest, "Noisy!"
The men and horses behind him swarmed up, chopping with knives and axes. In an instant, the remaining dozen or so guards also fell to the ground, blood dripping all over the steps in front of the hall.
Emperor Li Yuan, wearing a nightgown, stood in the center of the hall, looking coldly at Hou Junji, who was in blood-stained armor, and the group of soldiers behind him.
The emperor's eyes were cold and inviolable, and the soldiers dared not approach him for a while.
Hou Junji gritted his teeth and stepped forward with his sword in hand, "The crown prince and the king of Qi conspired to rebel, and at this time they are making trouble in Chang'an. Following the decree of the king of Qin, I came here to protect your majesty. Please move your majesty to the dragon boat in Beihaichi for a while. "
Li Yuan sneered, "Where is King Qin, why didn't you see him?"
"King Qin is guarding the Xuanwu Gate to prevent rebels from entering the palace."
Li Yuan shook his head, he didn't believe it at all, the crown prince conspired? How can this be.
"Your Majesty, please move!" Hou Junji stepped forward and urged.
Li Yuan was unmoved.
A eunuch's servant stepped forward and reprimanded, "Bold, dare to offend the holy car, and still not leave the palace!"
Hou Junji glanced at the emperor, then at the eunuch, he narrowed his eyes, and suddenly drew his sword, a burst of white light flashed, the head of the **** had already landed, hot blood spattered out, a few drops to the emperor's face.
"Your Majesty, please move!"
Hou Junji walked directly in front of Emperor Mian with a **** sword in his hand, staring down at the emperor and said.
Li Yuan trembled with anger, but the few drops of hot blood on his face woke him up. He knew that it was his second son who rebelled. If he refused to leave, he was afraid that the knife would be cut on his head.
"Your Majesty, please move!" Hou Junji asked again.
Li Yuan's face was ashamed, he tossed his clothes, and was reluctantly led away from the Palace of Longevity by these rebellious officials and thieves.
Xuanwu Gate.
The first ray of morning light in the east finally broke through, and the Xuanwu Gate, the north gate of the imperial city, slowly opened. Two teams of soldiers stood on both sides with spears in their hands, no different from usual.
Qi Wang Li Yuanji accompanied Prince Li Jiancheng on horseback.
Li Yuanji reined in his horse, "I feel something is not right today, do you think the second child will molest us? Or go back."
"Your Majesty summoned us to confront the King of Qin in court. If we dare not go, wouldn't it be impolite? Wouldn't it be even more unclear then?" Jian Jiancheng said.
"Then how about transferring Xue Wanche and Feng Li brothers over, just in case." Yuan Ji said.
"Don't worry too much. This is the Taiji Palace. The guards at the gate and the guards in the palace are all His Majesty's Yuan Cong Imperial Army. No matter how prestigious the King of Qin is, he has no ability to intervene in it. Besides, we can't startle the snake so as not to affect it." Big plans for tomorrow."
King Qi came to the door with the prince, Chang He came out to see him.
"Chang He, is everything as usual?" Jiancheng asked.
In the eyes of the crown prince, Chang He is his man. Many years ago, the crown prince brought Chang He, who was born in Wagang, to him.
"Return to Your Highness, everything will be as usual."
Yuan Ji asked, "Has King Qin entered the palace?"
"King Qin just entered the palace for a while."
Jiangcheng handed over his waist badge, but Yuan Ji didn't bother to take it at all. Chang He didn't care, just glanced at it casually and handed it back to the prince, "Your Highness, please enter the palace."
"How many guards does King Qin bring?"
"According to what His Highness King Qi said, according to the rules, passing through the Xuanwu Gate is the Great Inner Forbidden City. Even if King Qin is a strategist general, he can't bring his guards into the palace. King Qin enters the palace alone."
Jiancheng nodded to Chang He, "Thank you for your hard work."
Yuan Ji turned to Xie Shufang behind him and said, "You and the prince's people are waiting under the east palace wall."
"The general will understand!" Xie Shufang took the order.
Two people rode through the Xuanwu Gate, and soon after entering, they felt that something was wrong. It was so quiet that they couldn't even see the shadow of a palace guard.
"Brother, something is not right."
It is impossible for the guards to be so lax in the palace, especially during this special time.
Li Yuanji reined in the horse, "Brother, retreat quickly."
Although he is young, he has more experience in fighting and leading troops than Jiancheng. He guarded Taiyuan in his early years, and later attacked Luoyang with Li Shimin. In recent years, he has taken command of Li Shimin many times.
Li Jiancheng also felt that something was wrong when he was reminded of this. Usually he often goes in and out of Xuanwumen, but it is so abnormal.
The two turned their horses around.
Not far away, Li Shimin, Yu Chigong and other generals had already ambushed on the road that the prince must pass. The original plan was to ambush with bows and crossbows. Unexpectedly, the two of them turned around halfway through the walk.
Li Shimin couldn't help but chased after him on horseback, shouting from behind, "Where is the prince going?"
As soon as he appeared, Li Yuanji yelled, "Brother, there is indeed an ambush, retreat quickly!"
At this time, Li Shimin, who came out after him, was wearing armor and holding his bow and arrows. Anyone could see that something was wrong.
The two kicked their horses and ran back, Li Shimin rode his horse and chased after them fiercely.
Yuan Ji on the other side hurriedly raised his bow and arrow and shot back, but he was too impatient, and the arrow was not accurate.
At the time of the completion of the project, he didn’t realize the seriousness of the matter, so he reprimanded Yuanji while riding a horse, “Don’t use force in the forbidden place!”
Yuanji didn't care about these things, and shot another arrow, but still missed.
Li Shimin patted his horse to catch up, raised his bow and set his arrows.
He was chasing after him, and his archery posture was much better than Yuan Ji's turning his head. Moreover, Li Shimin's arrow skills were taught by his father, and he was a master archer.
Jiancheng shouted there, "Erlang, Shiro, stop messing around, this is forbidden."
But as soon as Li Shimin let go, the arrow flew out whistling.
Yuanji shouted anxiously, "Brother, he wants to kill you..."
Before the words were finished, Li Shimin's arrow had already shot from behind Jiancheng. Li Jiancheng swayed a few times and fell under the horse. He never thought that his brother would be so bold as to dare to shoot him directly in the palace.
Li Yuanji exclaimed, but didn't stop. He turned his head and watched his elder brother fall off the horse, lying there motionless. He didn't stop, and he didn't dare to stop. He patted his horse and ran out at a faster speed, only hoping to escape from this place.
Li Shimin chased after him.
Two brothers, one chased and the other fled.
After passing through a forest, Yuan Ji suddenly turned his head and shot an arrow. Li Shimin dodged it quickly, but his horse dragged him to a tree, and a branch protruded towards him. superior.
Seeing this, Yuanji gritted his teeth and rushed over, pounced off the horse, and grabbed the second brother all at once.
The two brothers got entangled together.
Li Shimin's eyes were filled with stares from being hit by the branch. At this time, he was still a little dizzy, and was thrown by Yuan Ji, even more in a trance. Yuan Ji picked up the bow and strangled Li Shimin's neck with the bowstring, trying to strangle him to death.
During the struggle, Li Shimin drew his sword, but the sword was crushed under his body.
The bowstring around his neck became tighter and tighter, Li Shimin had difficulty breathing, and his face was swollen and bruised.
Seeing that he was about to die here, suddenly there was a sound of horseshoes.
A spear pierced Yuan Ji's back and protruded from his chest.
Blood spurted out, splashing Li Shimin all over.
Yuan Ji's grip on the bowstring was slowly and weakly released, and Li Shimin was finally able to pull the bowstring free. He pushed away the body of his brother lying on his body, and crawled to the side, panting heavily.
Yu Chigong pulled out his horse and kicked Yuan Ji's body away.
"Is Your Majesty okay?"
Li Shimin said with lingering fear, "I was a little anxious just now. I haven't been on the battlefield for several years, and I almost capsized in the gutter."
"Fortunately, there is no danger. Both the crown prince and the king of Qi have been put to death. The general situation is set. Congratulations, my lord!"
"I don't know what's going on at the Hall of Eternal Life, and I don't know if Xuanling has controlled the three provinces and the Twelve Guards Yamen."
Zhang Gong would like to run to Xuanwu Gate and inform Chang He to close the gate.
The guards of Xuanwu Gate slowly pushed the city gate.
Under the palace wall not far away, Xie Shufang was shocked when he saw the Xuanwu Gate that was about to close suddenly.
"The gate of the palace cannot be opened or closed during the day for no reason. As soon as the crown prince and King Qi entered the palace, the Xuanwu gate was closed. I'm afraid there will be changes!"
The confidantes and generals of Prince Qi's Mansion all knew that the current situation was very tense, and they all shouted badly.
A group of people led their subordinates and rushed towards the city gate with a lot of noise.
Zhang Gongjin saw that the soldiers were still slowly pushing the city gate, and couldn't help feeling anxious.
"Close the door quickly, don't let them in!"
The soldiers tried their best to push the door, but still only speeded up a little.
Zhang Gongjin rushed forward and pushed the city gate violently, and the speed of closing the city gate was accelerated.
"Shoot the arrow!"
On the top of the city, Chang He saw that Uncle Xie Fang was rushing forward, and hurriedly ordered.
The captains under him who had taken the Qin King's golden knife yesterday raised their bows and shot arrows under the panicked eyes of the guards.
The arrow blocked Xie Shufang's charge and bought some time for Zhang Gongjin. He finally closed the door before the other party rushed into the city gate.
Zhang Gongjin directly picked up the city gate bolt and added it.
As soon as the door bolt fell, the Xuanwumen gate was slammed.
Xie Shufang and others were still one step too late.
"Mother, Feng Li is here too!" On the top of the city, Chang He looked worriedly at the front of the city gate.
It turned out that one of the patrolmen of Zuo Wuhou that Li Shimin met outside last night was Xie Shufang's wife-in-law. Although his official position was low, he felt that King Qin's party was a bit strange last night, so he rushed to Qi after the city gate opened in the morning. The palace reported the letter, but he went one step late and did not meet Li Yuanji. But they still informed Feng Li, Xue Wanche and others.
Feng Li and others were also alarmed immediately that there was a change, so they rushed over with their troops, but they were still a step late, and the Xuanwu Gate had already been closed.
There was chaos in front of the Xuanwu Gate.
Although Zhang Gongjin and Chang He closed the city gate in time, Feng Li, Xie Shufang and others still gathered more than 2,000 soldiers from the Eastern Palace and Qi Palace, intending to forcibly seize the gate.
The soldiers led by the Sixth Commander of the East Palace, the soldiers of Changlin, the guards of the Qi Palace, and the Forbidden Army of the Beimen Tunying were in a mess
······
"Hurry up, light up the beacon!" Zhang Gongjin went to the top of the city and shouted loudly.
As long as the beacon fires together, the 1,500 troops of Tiance Mansion lurking not far from here can come to reinforce immediately, and besides the Weishui River, Qin Shubao will also lead the 30,000 Northern Expeditionary Army to Chang'an.
Looking at the closed city gate, Xie Shufang suggested, "Immediately send someone to ask Xue Wanche's guards to gather the main force of the guards from the East Palace and Prince Qi's Mansion to return to the city, rob Chang'an city defenses and other important points, surround Taiji Palace and force King Qin to hand over the prince and Qi. King, if the prince and the king of Qi have suffered misfortune, after controlling the capital, mobilize the siege equipment, summon the soldiers and horses of King Qin to attack the Taiji Palace, and capture and kill the traitor Li Shimin to avenge the prince and the king of Qi."
Feng Li put forward another proposal. He thought that the crown prince and King Qi were in danger at this moment, and even the emperor might have died, so it is better for them to go back and protect the family members of the prince and King Qi to escape from Chang'an.
"Where to?"
"Go to Li Yi in Binzhou, or Li Yuan and Wang Junkuo in Youzhou. They are all the prince's people. Then we can embrace the prince's eldest son to succeed to the throne."
But both of their proposals were opposed by Feng Xu, "I have received His Highness's kindness, and on this occasion of serving, the only thing I can do is to serve with my life." After speaking, he rode his horse and raised his gun, and took the lead to kill captured the Beimen camp outside the Xuanwu Gate.
At the Beimen Tunying, Jing Junhong saw the opponent rushing towards him, not to be outdone at all, and immediately mobilized to fight.
Youtunying Zhonglang General Lu Shiheng advised, "The current situation is unclear, and it is not appropriate to fight with the Donggong soldiers without authorization. Why don't you lead the troops and retreat temporarily to wait and see what happens?"
Jing Junhong has long been Li Shimin's person, so of course it is impossible to just sit and watch the situation at this moment.
He drew his sword and shouted, "We are the Emperor Yuan from the Forbidden Army, and our duty is to guard the North Gate. Now that the chaos is raging, how can we sit idly by?"
He rushed out on horseback, and naturally his confidantes among the generals followed. Seeing this, Lu Shiheng and the other generals could not retreat, so they had to bite the bullet and go up.
So several armies, all under the banner of Datang, fought outside the north gate of the palace of Datang.
The prince led the army, the East Palace Changlin soldiers, and the Qi king's guard army with more than 3,000 troops fought with the 2,000 troops in the left and right camps at the north gate.
As soon as they fought, the advantage of the East Palace was revealed. These soldiers and horses were built by the prince and Jian Jian for many years. Among them, there were Youzhou iron cavalry transferred from Li Yi, the king of Yan County, and Yuan Ji got it from the Turks. The Turkic Qingqi, in terms of equipment and combat effectiveness, are not comparable to the Yuan Cong Forbidden Army who are known as soldiers.
After all, Tianzi Yuan had 30,000 people from the early days. He followed the emperor to raise troops in Taiyuan. Later, after entering Guanzhong and sitting in the world, many people had already returned to their hometowns. So he chose his children to supplement him, so he was called a soldier of children.
These junior soldiers rarely go to the battlefield, so their combat effectiveness is actually very average.
This meeting was outnumbered, coupled with lack of morale and lack of equipment, within half an hour, the two guards in the camp were killed like chopping melons and vegetables.
The two Zhonglang generals, Jing Junhong and Lu Shiheng, were beheaded by the incomparably brave brothers Feng Li and Uncle Xie in the phalanx.
At this time, the 1,500 troops from Tiance Mansion have not arrived yet, and Li Shimin in the palace has only a hundred horsemen. Xie Shufang and others killed and scattered the camp soldiers at the North Gate, and then rushed to the Xuanwu Gate, ready to storm the city gate.
On the city, both Chang He and Zhang Gongjin couldn’t help panicking. They lost the guards outside the gate, and there were only a hundred guards at Xuanwu Gate. How to deal with these thousands of troops?
"Brother Zhang, hurry up and report the situation here to King Qin. I will stand firm here, but I'm afraid I won't be able to hold on for long. I have been favored by King Qin. Even if I die, I will stand by until the last moment. But please make a plan early. In case the Xuanwu Gate cannot be guarded, please hurry up and leave from the other palace gates, Your Highness!"
Grandma Zhang gritted his teeth, "Okay, please hold on for a while longer, the beacon has already been lit, and the soldiers and horses of Tiance Mansion will arrive soon."
Chang He smiled wryly, "I hope they can arrive soon, otherwise Xue Wanche will come too. That guy is as brave as Qin Shubao. If he brings thousands of troops to kill him, he will never be able to defend here."
Zhang Gongjin looked to the west.
"There is also a soldier and horse. There is Shubao's son Qin Sanlang on the side of Fanglin Gate. When he sees the beacon smoke, he will bring people to reinforce Xuanwu Gate."
"Shubao's son? Where did he get the soldiers?"
"It's a prisoner in Chang'an. Gao Shilian said that Qin Sanlang had recruited many prisoners, rangers, and desperadoes in secret. He said that he was a strong force."
Chang He couldn't help but shook his head with a wry smile, but he didn't have any hope for it. It would be the same if Qin Shubao came. Qin Shubao's son brought a group of prisoners and rangers?
What can it do?
"Go quickly." He could only sigh helplessly.
Zhang Gongjin suddenly screamed.
"Look over there, what a fierce team, they came from the Fanglin Gate, it's Shubao's son, he's here, he really is here."
Chang He looked up to the far west, and sure enough, he saw a group of soldiers and horses suddenly rushed out from behind the soldiers and horses of the East Palace. They came like a violent storm!
The 5,000-character chapter will be posted without tearing it down!
(end of this chapter)