Colorful flags covered the mountains and rivers, and brown dust and smoke filled the sky and the earth. Under the dust and smoke, Dou Jiande's army, with a total strength of more than 110,000, was divided into three teams and marched together along the post road. The cavalry on tall horses led the way, and the infantry on both sides lined up neatly. Two roads that were no less solid than post roads were dug out on the grassland in the wasteland. The heavy vehicles transporting grain, grass and ordnance were densely packed in the rear, stretching for several miles. Walking in the middle was Dou Jiande's Chinese Army with the most distinctive armor, and the one in the middle of the Chinese Army's team was There are also Dou Jiande's imperial chariot and his bodyguard team, as well as the civil and military officials of the Great Xia court. Wearing a golden helmet and armor, he sat on an exquisite chariot with eight white horses, commanding such a large army to march in person. The high-spirited Dou Jiande certainly felt that he wanted to be more glorious, more proud, and more proud. He also suddenly burst out laughing for no reason on the royal chariot. He was so happy that when people around him curiously asked about Dou Jiande's happiness, Dou Jiande replied: "I was laughing at the traitor Chen Yingliang who didn't know that his death was approaching, and I was even laughing at the traitor Chen Yingliang when he heard about it. I don't know how panicked I was when I sent an army of 300,000 people to conquer the south. " "At least he wet his pants. I heard that the traitor is not in good health, and he might even faint from fear on the spot!" Dou Jiande's subordinates are also full of sycophants, and flatterers immediately echoed loudly. Hearing this, Dou Jiande laughed loudly, and all the civil and military officials of Xia Ting also laughed loudly. Even Li Mi, who never liked participating in such things, laughed happier than anyone else. Of course, what Li Mi was laughing at was not his arch-rival Chen Sangliang, but his current master, Emperor Dou Jiande of the Xia Dynasty, who was on the golden chariot. Li Mi, who had eaten and met him, could also see at a glance the real reason why Dou Jiande was laughing for no reason - he had been farming for generations. A mud-legged person with no good education. He relied on chance and luck to become the overlord of a party in just a few years. He recently ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. If he suddenly broke out like this, anyone else would be carried away and arrogant. Dou Jiande did not imitate Emperor Yang of Sui, who used yellow sand to pave roads and wrapped trees with colorful silk when he went on tour. This was the last moment of clarity left in Dou Jiande's mind. "It's really a bit like me before." After laughing, Li Mi couldn't help but murmur softly in his heart, because Li Mi later regretted it and found that he had also made the mistake of getting carried away when he was in his prime, and refused to adopt Pei Renji and others He listened to the unfavorable advice and underestimated the enemy's carelessness, which gave Shichong the opportunity to create a miracle comeback. At the same time, Li Mi also greatly admired his rival Chen Sangliang in this regard. He was also born in poverty. No matter what time he was, Chen Sangliang always kept a cool head. He was lustful but not greedy, greedy for power but not abusing it. Even after becoming strong, he could still be able to Stay humble, be good at accepting direct advice from your subordinates, never underestimate the enemy, and never be hot-headed! Therefore, Li Mi has made up his mind more than once. If he can really make a comeback in the future and regain the glory of his heyday, then he must learn from Chen Sangliang and stop being the former self and the current Dou Jiande! Dou Jiande sent out his troops on March 28th. In order to avenge the Linfen War, and to take advantage of the opportunity to annex the desperate remnants of Wang Shichong and the territory of the Central Plains, Dou Jiande moved almost all his property. Come out, the main force of infantry and cavalry is 110,000, plus the newly attached remnants of Li Mi's army of more than 20,000, the total force of the Xia court on the Central Plains battlefield this time is almost close to 140,000. Dou Jiande, who is becoming more and more eager to achieve success, also puts his big hand in After taking command, they decided to call the size of the army 300,000, and the number of troops on the books became more than three times the Sui army's strength, which was only 80,000. Therefore, it also took some advantage in publicity. After Song Zhengben, who objected to Dou Jiande's direct troops to Luoyang, fell to the ground, there was no one in the Xia court who opposed Dou Jiande's army to go directly south via Jijun, Wei County. Wherever the army went, all the counties and cities opened their cities to welcome him, and Dou Jiande did receive some The people in Ende's place also burned incense and paid homage, and brought pots and bottles of wine to wish Dou Jiande victory and an early end to the war-torn world where human lives are as cheap as those of pigs and dogs. Therefore, Dou's army advanced very quickly. It took just over three days for the 110,000-strong army to advance to the foot of Ye County, Wei County. There were only three or four days left to the Yellow River. However, at this time, the envoy sent by Wang Xuanying to ask for help also brought news that the Sui army from the Eastern Expedition was approaching Hulao Pass. Wang Wan and Changsun Anshi, the envoys of the Zheng army who accompanied Dou's army south, did not dare to neglect, and immediately visited Dou Jiande and begged Dou Jiande to immediately Send a force to help the Hulao Pass defenders resist the Sui army's attack. Li Mi and Dou Jun generals Fan Yuan and Hu Da'en also suggested sending a cavalry group south first and rushing to Hulao Pass to join the battle, so as to boost the morale of the Hulao Pass defenders and ensure an unobstructed march. However, Dou Jiande asked the Ming Dynasty when the Sui army in the Eastern Expedition only had more than 30,000 people, but he said this: "There is no need to send a partial army south first. My army can reach the Yellow River in four days at most. It will take another day to cross the river, and then we can do it in one fell swoop." Annihilate all the Chen bandits." After hearing Dou Jiande's words, Li Mi, who had already figured out Dou Jiande's character and temper, immediately shut his mouth and stopped saying a word. Fan Yuan, Hu Da'en and others refused to give up, insisting and askingJiande quickly divided his troops. Unfortunately, Dou Jiande bulged his eyes and shouted: "What's the rush? Could it be that Hulao Pass can't hold on for five or six days? Let's immediately separate the cavalry and go south. When Chen Thief saw my army flag, he retreated early and ran away. Isn't it much more difficult to annihilate the partial divisions of Chen's army as well as the main force? Haven't you heard of the tactics used to defeat them?" Fan Yuan and the other generals had no choice but to shut up, and they all said depressedly in their hearts: "What if? It would be nice if Song Zhengben and Wang Fubao were still there. One of them dares to speak out and remonstrates to the end, and the other is good at running and attacking. They are the most suitable pioneer candidates at the moment. " Li Mi refused to say more in front of Dou Jiande. He didn't say anything, but when he returned to Wang Bodang, Wang Xuance and other confidants, Li Mi sneered again and again and said: "In the past, Xiang Yu abandoned Guanzhong and returned to Pengcheng. Han Sheng laughed at him for wearing a hat and wearing a monkey hat. This sentence is used to describe Dou Jiande today - annihilate Chen Zei's side army in one fell swoop. Dou Jiande can't say this! Since Chen Zei's side army dared to bypass Luokou Cang and go straight to Hulao Pass , indicating that this partial division must have strong generals and elite soldiers, and it is powerful and not afraid of fighting on two fronts. It is still unknown whether Dou Jiande's mob of hundreds of thousands can win, and they dare to unleash wild words to annihilate them all in one fell swoop. This Chen bandit's partial force is ridiculous!" "Master, since you know very well that this Chen bandit's partial force cannot be underestimated, why don't you urge Dou Jiande to send cavalry to reinforce Hulao Pass first?" Wang Bodang asked in confusion: "Hulao Pass? The terrain of Guan is important. Only by ensuring that Guan City is in hand can Dou Jiande's reinforcements arrive directly at the gates of Luoyang City and create the greatest trouble for our mortal enemy Chen Yingliang and the traitor. " "You want our master to be cooked alive by Dou Jiande like Han Sheng? "Death?" Li Mi asked with a wry smile, and then sighed: "Dou Jiande, a country bumpkin, can no longer listen to any unfavorable advice. Although he is a teacher, he knows very well that he can only use Dou Jiande's hand if he has to ensure that Hulao is in his hands. Weakened Chen Thief even more, but there was no way. Dou Jiande, a common man, could not listen to advice, so he could only let him go. He could only pray that Hulao Pass could hold on until Dou Jiande, a common man, arrived, and would not be defeated by Chen Thief's partial force in advance. " After saying that, Li Mi sneered: "But it doesn't matter. Anyway, Dou Jiande's ability to rescue Wang Shichong has nothing to do with us. He was unable to reach Luoyang after being blocked by Hulao Pass. I will volunteer to go to the counties of the Central Plains to organize his old troops to help him in the battle. Maybe there is a greater chance of success. " Facts have proved that if Dou Jiande immediately sends cavalry south to reinforce Hulao Pass, the Xia and Zheng coalition forces should have a good chance of retaining Hulao Pass. Dou Jiande received it on the afternoon of the second day of April. The news of the attack on Hulao Pass, and the Sui Army of the Eastern Expedition did not enter Hulao Pass until the early morning of the fourth day of the lunar month with internal help, and it was not until close to noon on the fourth day of the lunar month that they actually captured the entire city of Hulao Pass, so if Dou Jiande could send the cavalry first Going south, the Xia army's cavalry advanced rapidly. Regardless of distance and time, they had every hope of reaching Hulao Pass first and destroying Chen Sangliang's plan to seize the pass. However, it is a pity that God favors evil but not good. Dou Jiande only underestimated the enemy a little, and immediately gave Chen Sangliang an opportunity. On the fifth day of April, the news that Hulao Pass had fallen was sent again In front of Dou Jiande. Dou Jiande was dumbfounded and felt regretful. However, there are all kinds of medicines in this world, but there is no regret medicine. With no choice, Dou Jiande could only hurriedly summon all the civil and military officials to the imperial chariot with carved dragons and painted phoenixes to discuss with everyone. The next opportunity to enter the army. During the discussion, some people suggested continuing to go south, taking advantage of the Sui army's unsteady foothold to quickly recapture Hulao Pass and reopening the main road to Luoyang; others suggested changing the route to the west to attack Linqing Pass, which was far less strong than Hulao Pass, and march to Binghe Yang threatened the main force of the Sui army on the northern front, forced the main force of the Sui army to divide its forces to resist, and also waited for an opportunity to march to Hedong via Zhiguan. Everyone had their own reasons, and the dispute has not been concluded for a long time. Dou Jiande, who already regretted that he had underestimated the enemy, hesitated and wanted to attack Linqingguan, but Wang Wan, Changsun Anshi and others kowtowed in front of him and kept crying, constantly begging him to continue to enter Hulao Pass and save those who had been locked up and beaten. Wang Xuanying and Zheng Jun saved Luokou Cang, and then rescued Luoyang, and then persuaded Dou Jiande to win again. At the critical moment, Li Mi once again used facts to prove that his magnanimity and repaying evil with kindness were not inferior to the hypocritical hypocrite Chen Sangliang. He stood up and urged Dou Jiande to continue to attack Hulao Pass. He also said plausibly: "Your Majesty, our army There are three advantages to taking Hulao Pass directly. The first is to be extremely confident. At present, the more than 20,000 troops of Wang Xuanying, the crown prince of Zheng, are still holding on in Luokou warehouse. They can cooperate with our army to attack the Chen bandit army that has not yet established a stable foothold. Our army The certainty of quickly recapturing Hulao Pass is far greater than that of capturing Linqing Pass. "The second is to ensure that the army is supplied with food and grass from Luokou Granary, reduce the money and food burden of the people of Daxia, and defeat the rebel armies one by one!" I have said that if we can annihilate the partial division of Chen Zei's eastward advance, it will be very helpful for our army to defeat Chen Zei's main force. Now, although Chen Zei was lucky enough to win Hulao Pass,?But we still have hope of defeating Chen's army one by one. Moreover, the Zheng army has not confirmed whether Chen thief is in the Eastern Expedition Army. If Chen thief is really in Hulao Pass, then His Majesty will not only be able to defeat Chen thief's army one by one, but there is also a high hope of capturing the thief first and capturing the king first. Be the first to capture and kill the traitor Chen Yingliang himself! " "There is a third one! "After speaking eloquently, Li Mi paused for a moment, saluted Dou Jiande, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I will forgive you for saying an unlucky word. Even if our army cannot recapture Hulao Pass in the end, we will directly attack Hulao Pass. Guan Ye still has more advantages than disadvantages for our army. Because after your Majesty has stationed troops at Hulao Pass, you can immediately block the way out of the Guan Dynasty for Chen's army and prevent Chen's army from taking the opportunity to expand. Then your Majesty only needs to detach a few partial divisions to annex the twelve counties south of the Yellow River in one fell swoop. Wouldn't it be great if we could use the land of counties and counties to drink from the Yangtze River, take Jingchu from the west, and trap the Chen thief to death in the hinterland of the Central Plains. If we advance, we can plot in the pass, and if we retreat, we can share the world equally with the Chen thief? " Li Mi has come to this point with his sweet words. Is there any possibility that Dou Jiande will continue to hesitate? After slamming the throne, Dou Jiande shouted loudly: "Ai Qing's words are exactly what I want! Send an order to the entire army to continue marching south, cross the Yellow River and take Hulao Pass directly, without giving Chen's army a chance to breathe! " In this way, Dou Jiande's army still marched towards Hulao Pass when the Sui army had choked the way to advance. Wang Wan, Changsun Anshi and other Zheng army envoys were grateful for this, and once again carried their heavy troops with them. Li came to Li Mi to thank him for repaying kindness with evil, and begged Li Mi to continue to persuade Dou Jiande to take back Hulao Pass, rescue the endangered Luokou warehouse and reinforce Luoyang city. Li Mi agreed and accepted Dou Jiande, who was also his mortal enemy for the first time. Seeing that Li Mi finally accepted the valuable gift from the army, Wang Wan and his eldest grandson Anshi were overjoyed and said that they would be more confident if they asked Li Mi for help in the future. Puzzled, as soon as they sent Wang Wan away, they immediately asked Li Mi together: "Wei Gong, didn't you never accept gifts from Wang Shichong before? Why did this exception happen today? " "We are leaving soon. We may not be able to return to Baima to meet Yang Jishan first. We are short of travel expenses and military expenses, so we can only accept it. "Li Mi replied calmly. "Are we leaving soon? when? "Wang Bodang was shocked. Li Mi nodded and said easily: "In these two or three days, after crossing the Yellow River, I will go to see Dou Jiande and ask him to allow me to go to Liang, Chen and Qiaopeng to recruit old troops to help in the battle and take advantage of the opportunity. Get away and never return to Dou Jiande's tent. " "Mr. Wei, are you in such a hurry? Wang Xuance asked in great surprise. "It must be so urgent." Li Mi sneered and replied: "If I don't hurry up, I might be in danger." Wang Bodang and Wang Xuance were even more shocked after hearing this. When they quickly asked the reason, Li Mi smiled and said, "Today I urge Dou Jiande to continue to march into Hulao Pass. It's just nonsense. In order to gain a chance for myself, Dou Jiande at Hulao Pass If I can't get it back, and if I can't defeat Dou Jiande for a long time, he will definitely take it out on me, and he will definitely dispatch my direct lineage in Baima to join the war. Not only will I be in danger, but my last direct lineage team will also definitely suffer heavy casualties. Therefore, I can only get out as soon as possible and cannot continue to stand under the dangerous wall. "Wang Xuance, who wanted to give Li Mi's head to Chen Sangliang as a reunion gift, refused to give up and asked again: "Mr. Wei, do you think Dou Jiande can't take Hulao Pass back? " "Of course I can't get it back. "Li Mi said with a smile: "Don't you know what the terrain of Hulao Pass is? With only a small amount of strength, Chen Thief's army can easily block Dou Jiande's army and take the opportunity to free up Wang Xuanying of Luokou Cang. If Luokou Cang is breached again, Dou Jiande will have no chance to capture Hulao Pass. Furthermore, Thief Chen¡¯s other option is to just defend Hulao Pass and ignore Luokou Cang. In order to break the city, Dou Jiande will inevitably force Wang Xuanying to send troops to attack Luokou Cang. Then it will be even easier for Thief Chen to kill Wang Xuanying in the field. . " "My dear teacher, we cannot wait to die in Hulao Pass, we must escape as soon as possible. Wang Bodang nodded quickly, and then asked worriedly: "Teacher, what if Dou Jiande refuses to agree?" " "Judging from Dou Jiande's recent attitude towards me, I should have high hopes. Li Mi answered confidently, then smiled and said: "And we have another way. Wang Wan's men have gold, silver and jewels in their hands, and they are anxious to save Wang Shichong. I just need to explain to them clearly that it will be beneficial to them to recruit my old troops to join the war." Wherever possible, they will definitely spend money and effort to bribe those bumpkins under Dou Jiande to speak for me. With the help of these bumpkin, it would be difficult for Dou Jiande to agree or not with his soft ears. " When Wang Bodang heard this, he was overjoyed and quickly praised his teacher for his cleverness. Wang Xuance remained silent, not knowing what he was planning. Li Mi also said that Wang Xuance was afraid, so he patted him on the shoulder and comforted him: "Don't worry, I have this. Be sure, you are rightI am loyal and loyal. When I make a comeback, I will definitely not treat you badly. " After that, Li Mi also selected a few of the most valuable pieces of gold and silver jewelry sent by Wang Wan and others, divided them into two and rewarded them to Wang Bodang and Wang Xuance. Wang Bodang and Wang Xuance thanked them together, and then looked at With the valuable jewelry in his hand, Wang Xuance suddenly had a surprising thought in his mind, and he quickly gritted his teeth and made up his mind It was night, Dou Jiande's army was stationed in the northern suburbs of Wei County for the night, Wang Xuance found an excuse to leave Li Mi's camp, pretending After wandering around the camp and repeatedly confirming that he was not being followed, Wang Xuance quietly sneaked to the back door of Dou Jiande's imperial camp, revealed his identity and begged to see Dou Jiande. Of course, the imperial camp guards refused to report on behalf of the humble Wang Xuance, but Wang Xuance quickly took it. He took out the jewelry that Li Mi had rewarded him during the day, stuffed it into the hands of the back door officer, and said respectfully: "General, please be sure to report to Your Majesty that I have a hundred thousand urgent confidential matters to report to him. If Your Majesty does not see you, the villain will immediately turn around and leave. If Your Majesty feels that the villain has offended his divine power and wants to behead the villain in public, the villain will not blame you at all. "For the sake of precious jewelry, and hearing Wang Xuance's words so seriously and solemnly, the Houying Gate Officer still made the report with suspicion. As a result, Dou Jiande, who was about to fall asleep, started to get really angry and said, "How can I see everyone?" However, after hearing clearly that it was Wang Xuance, Li Mi's confidential secretary, who requested an audience, Dou Jiande still became suspicious, and immediately issued an order to summon him - in troubled times, if Dou Jiande didn't even have such a vigilance, he would not be alive today with the gangsters. Soon, Wang Xuance was led to Dou Jiande's sleeping tent. After meeting, Dou Jiande asked Wang Xuance what he wanted to see. Wang Xuance didn't answer and just looked around. Dou Jiande understood and said: "Tell me, everything is here. He is my trusted guard and no one will leak the information. " "Thank you, Your Majesty. Wang Xuance thanked him respectfully, and said in an extremely serious tone: "Your Majesty, before I report a confidential matter to you, please agree with me. After listening to my report, I will behead me immediately!" " "Why? "Dou Jiande was extremely confused. "Because, one has to do unjust things in a humble position! Wang Xuance kowtowed and said: "If I don't report the matter that I'm about to talk about to Your Majesty, it would be disloyal. But if I report this matter to His Majesty, it would be unjust. Loyalty and justice cannot be both!" However, a humble official is a degraded official. He has been saved by His Majesty¡¯s holy grace and enjoys His Majesty¡¯s salary, clothing and food. He should be loyal to Your Majesty. Therefore, he has nothing to do. He can only be loyal to Your Majesty first, and then ask Your Majesty to execute the humble official to punish those who are humble. A sin of righteousness! " The expression on Dou Jiande's face became serious, and he paused for a moment before saying: "Go on, say your loyal words, and let me decide whether you should be punished for your unjust crime, or whether you should be forgiven and pardoned. you. "