As Chen Sangliang expected, Dou's army's attack on the city was not as violent as the last time. Knowing that the main force of the Sui army in the Eastern Expedition had withdrawn to Hulao Pass, Dou's soldiers intentionally or unintentionally left a certain amount of leeway during the charge, and moved forward indomitably. The momentum was not as good as the previous battle, and Dou Jiande did not dare to invest 50,000 troops into the battle like last time. He also exercised some restraint in investing troops. Therefore, Li Keshi also successfully completed the tasks assigned by Chen Sangliang before the war. From beginning to end, there was no request for a main field force of the Sui army to go to the city to join the battle. The last time the city defenders alone blocked the Dou army's attack again. But even so, the battle was still quite brutal. It lasted for four hours from morning to night. Excluding shieldmen, archers, and infantrymen operating long-range weapons such as trebuchets, Dou's army still invested more than 20,000 troops. The troops launched an attack on the city and attacked the city many times. At one time, more than 30 people gathered on the city wall to occupy a position, forcing Li Keshi to personally lead his own soldiers to join the battle. It was not easy to close this loophole again, and the two men The total number of casualties among the soldiers was close to 5,000, which was far more tragic than an ordinary city offensive and defensive battle. In the end, because Dou Jiande was repeatedly dissuaded by his subordinates and voluntarily withdrew his troops, Chen Sangliang also realized that there was really no profit to be squeezed out. The Sui soldiers then hung a human head outside the city, claiming that it was Shi Wanbao's. At the first level, Shi Wanbao's plot to dedicate the city had also been foiled by the Sui army. Dou Jiande had no choice but to order the withdrawal of troops and returned to his army camp dejectedly. Dou's army, whose hard work was in vain and died in vain, was short of men and horses, the soldiers complained, and their morale dropped seriously. After returning to the camp, the face-saving Dou Jiande felt ashamed to see others. He hurriedly arranged the night watch affairs and ordered the accounts to be cleared. He hurriedly returned to his sleeping tent to regret his troubles. Unfortunately, even if he escaped back to his dormitory, he could not escape his wife Cao, who had previously firmly opposed the storming of the fortified city. Although the virtuous Cao did not scold and ridicule Dou Jiande for his unfaithful advice, she also took the opportunity to persuade Dou Jiande to give up his plan to take Luoyang directly. , suggested that Dou Jiande reconsider the previous suggestions of Song Zhengben and Ling Jing, go straight to Shangdang via Fukou, attack Chen Sangliang's grain-producing land in Hedong, which is currently very empty, and surround Wei and rescue Zhao to force Chen Sangliang to retreat. Hearing this, Dou Jiande was obviously a little moved, but he still hesitated to say nothing. Ms. Cao saw her husband's thoughts and knew that Dou Jiande had killed Song Zhengben for this matter. If he turned around and adopted this tactic again, he would lose face even more, so Cao then tactfully advised: "If Your Majesty is unwilling to take the Dangshan Road, then Your Majesty may wish to discuss with the ministers to go west via Hanoi and see what the civil and military officials mean. If they think that Hanoi can be advanced, then Your Majesty can adopt it." , If they still feel that they should actively join the party, Your Majesty might as well consider it again" After being silent for a long time, Dou Jiande finally nodded and agreed to discuss the plan to divert the army with the officials the next day. Cao quietly relaxed. He quickly waited on Dou Jiande to go to bed, and then quietly sent people to contact several closely related civil and military officials and asked them to make more steps for Dou Jiande the next morning, trying to get Dou Jiande back on the right path. In the morning of the next day, using his wife's prompting, Dou Jiande falsely announced that he had discussed with the ministers to divert the route to Hanoi to rescue Luoyang. As a result, he was immediately opposed by everyone, because the Sui army had already deployed tight defenses in the Linqingguan area, and the Sui Dynasty was marching eastward. The main force of the army can also cross the river immediately to help guard Linqing Pass. If it is diverted to Hanoi, it will only be like a bird like Hulao Pass. Then, Qi Shanxing, who had secretly communicated with the Cao family, took the opportunity to speak out and persuaded Dou Jiande to falsely return to Linming, and then marched to Hedong via Shangdangdong, encircling Wei to rescue Zhao and forcing Chen Sangliang to give up the attack on Luoyang. With Song Zhengben making the same mistake before him, many Dou soldiers and soldiers were frightened by Qi Shanxing. Dou Jiande also pretended to be angry and asked: "I said before that this plan is not feasible, and I killed Song Zhengben for this." , you Qi Shanxing came to persuade me to send troops to join the party, do you want to be the second Song Zhengben? " "Your Majesty has misunderstood, of course I dare not imitate Song Zhengben" Qi Shanxing, who was confident in his heart, was not afraid and spoke plausibly. Said: "When he was still in Linming, Song Zhengben suggested that His Majesty directly march into Shangdang. It was really not feasible, because at that time Chen's army was still on the Xin'an line in the west of Luoyang, and could cross the Yellow River north to back to the east of Hedong at any time, so we sent troops directly Hedong was too risky. But now it is different. Our army has successfully lured Chen Thief to the front line of Hulao Pass and away from Hedong. Chen Thief's army has been exhausted from successive battles and it is difficult to fight again. Even if it is immediately transferred back to Hedong to join the battle, it will be the end of the war. It is difficult to penetrate the silk, so Wei Chen believes that sending troops to Shangdang Hedong now is far more beneficial to our army than Song Zhengben did. " Pretending to listen carefully to Qi Shanxing's nonsense, he also pretended to think about it for a long time, and he had long regretted not adopting Song Zhengben's advice. The loyal Dou Jiande took the opportunity and nodded, saying: "What you say makes sense. It is more beneficial to our army to send troops to Danghedong now." After listening to the double act jointly performed by Dou Jiande and Qi Shanxing, Dou Junwen and Wu's heart also They all had the answer, and they quickly stood up to agree with Qi Shanxing's shameless sophistry, urging Dou Jiande to withdraw his main force to Linming first, and then advance into the army.?The Party and Hedong. Those Dou Jun generals who accepted Zheng Jun's benefits did not support him for the sake of money, but they did not stand up to oppose them. They were all frightened by the strong and difficult nature of Hulao Pass. When Dou Jiande saw that the heat had arrived, he also took the opportunity to go down the steps, nodded and said: "Okay, since all the dear friends think" "Report!" A guard suddenly rushed in and interrupted Dou Jiande's final decision. , reported to Dou Jiande: "Your Majesty, Hulao Pass sent a man claiming to be the deputy governor Zhang Yongtong, carrying the credentials of Chen Zei, requesting to see your Majesty and hand over the credentials." "Credits?" Dou Jiande frowned Dou Jiande, a country bumpkin with a frown, had actually heard of this term before and knew that this thing was very serious and could never be played for fun. Therefore, although Dou Jun Wenwu suggested Dou Jiande to drive away the Sui army envoys and refuse to accept Chen Sangliang's Yining credentials, Dou Jiande still ordered: "Bring him in. I want to see what else Chen Sangliang can do." "So, soon, Zhang Yongtong, the most fearless envoy under Chen Sangliang, was led to Dou Jiande's imperial tent. With Chen Sangliang's instructions in advance, Zhang Yongtong followed the etiquette of visiting the king of a foreign vassal. After the ceremony, he held up the letter on the silk plate with both hands and said loudly: "Your Majesty the Emperor of Xia, this is the letter of credence submitted to you by our Highness the Emperor of the Sui and Tang Dynasties on behalf of the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty. Please accept it." Zhang Yongtong. The standard etiquette and respectful address greatly satisfied the arrogance of Dou Jiande, an upstart country bumpkin. Therefore, Dou Jiande did not make things difficult for Zhang Yongtong. He asked the guard to forward the letter to Dou Jiande with a pouted mouth. The exquisite Shengxin silk plate and the same The exquisite envelope also made Dou Jiande feel that he was respected enough. When he took out the letter and looked at it carefully, Dou Jiande suddenly became a little happy because Chen Sangliang was here to fulfill his promise in the letter of credence. He made an appointment with Dou Jiande in three days. A decisive battle in the eastern suburbs of Hulao Pass, regardless of the winner or loser, we will never withdraw our troops! Observing his words, he found that Dou Jiande was happy. Zhang Yongtong took the opportunity and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Emperor Xia, before you sent an envoy to send a letter to our army for a decisive battle. His Royal Highness the Tang Dynasty of our country was appointed as regent. He promised to fight with you ten days later on behalf of the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty. , today is the seventh day, and the decisive battle will be in three days. His Royal Highness the King of Tang is true to his word, so he sent an envoy here to confirm this matter to your majesty in person. May I ask, your majesty, after three days, I Can the decisive battle between the army and the Gui army begin as scheduled? " After hearing Zhang Yongtong's words, some Dou Jun civil and military officials immediately changed their expressions and quickly begged Dou Jiande to consider the matter carefully with their eyes. Unfortunately, Dou Jiande did not even blink an eyelid. He shouted: "Decisive battle! Of course it will be a decisive battle as scheduled! Go back and tell Thief Chen that in three days, outside the east gate of Hulao Pass, your and our armies will fight to the death, regardless of the outcome, and we will never withdraw our troops!" Zhang Yongtong, who had successfully completed the task, heard this Overjoyed, he quickly thanked Dou Jiande and then said goodbye. Dou Jiande, who was in urgent need of showing off his authority, shouted to stop Zhang Yongtong, and ordered Liu Bin to write a letter of credence for him to Chen Sangliang, reaffirming the date of the war, and personally Sign and use the seal personally, then give it to Zhang Yongtong to take back to Chen Sangliang. Many Dou Jun civil and military officials complained in their hearts, but there was nothing they could do. Afraid of exposing the situation of his own army, when Zhang Yongtong was there, Dou Jun's civil and military officials did not dare to openly obstruct the opposition. However, after Zhang Yongtong was sent away by the guards, several civil servants such as Qi Shanxing and Feng Shixian immediately came out and complained: "Your Majesty, what are you doing? Is it too impulsive to just agree to a decisive battle with Chen Yingliang without any discussion?" "What kind of negotiation is needed?" Dou Jiande shouted: "Before, the traitor Chen Yingliang was locked up in the city, and there was nothing I could do about him, but Since this traitor dares to go out for a decisive battle, why should I fear him? "But Your Majesty, our situation is not very good now," Qi Shanxing complained, "Two attacks on the city." In the great battle, our army suffered more than 10,000 casualties. Although we still had nearly 100,000 troops, nearly half of the elite troops in the main force were injured. The soldiers were tired and their morale was not very high. Would it be disadvantageous for our army to launch a decisive battle at this time? " " In the two siege battles, my army suffered some damage, but the situation is better than that of Chen Thief's army!" Dou Jiande sneered loudly: "Chen Thief's main soldiers have been defeated one after another in less than two months. After five battles, the soldiers suffered far more injuries and fatigue than our army. Our army has an absolute advantage in terms of number of troops and horses. How could I miss such a good opportunity for a decisive battle? " Qi Shanxing and others still wanted to dissuade him, but Dou Jiande waved his big hand and shouted: "No need to say more, I have made up my mind. In three days, I will fight to the death with Chen's army! Anyone who dissuades me will be killed immediately!" Qi Shanxing and others Feng Shixian and others had no choice but to shut up. Dou Jiande loudly issued an order to inform the entire army of the date of the decisive battle, so that all soldiers in the army should step up preparations and send troops to fight Chen Sangliang in a decisive battle three days later. At the same time, Dou Jiande couldn't wait to announce a huge reward and shouted loudly: "More, tellSoldiers and officers of the army, whoever can obtain the head of Chen Thief on the day of the decisive battle will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold, three hundred pearls, and a title of king! ¡± ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ After Zhang Yongtong returned to Hulao Pass, he learned Dou Jiande¡¯s reply and read the Xia Kingdom¡¯s credentials brought back by Zhang Yongtong. Of course, Chen Sangliang smiled as happily as he could and said repeatedly: "Okay, okay, just Dou Jiande. After the decisive battle is over in three days, we no longer have to worry about his threat to us. " "Your Highness, please forgive me for reminding you, it is best to be careful and guard against the sinners who commit fraud. "Zhang Yongtong said cautiously: "Today in Dou's tent, I noticed that several officials in Dou's tent looked nervous, as if they wanted to persuade Dou not to accept the battle. Although Dou Jiande promised to fight in three days, these officials Officials may persuade Dou Jiande to give up the decisive battle within these three days, and then our army's previous efforts will be in vain. " "It's okay, don't be afraid. Chen Sangliang waved his hand grandly and said with a smile: "There are three reasons. First, Dou Jiande is a straight man. He values ??reputation and saves face. He will not break his promise to me and make the world laugh at him." Second, if Dou Jiande wants to escape early, he must first cross the natural danger of the Yellow River. There is no way that he can lead his army to cross the river without hiding it from our army. Third, I have said before that Niuzhukou is Dou Jiande¡¯s desperate position. The terrain is too narrow for a large army and it is very inconvenient to operate. Even if he hides in the camp and does not come out after three days, he will not be able to get rid of our army¡¯s entanglement. As soon as there is any movement, we can immediately seize the opportunity to attack and force him to fight! " Zhang Yongtong nodded and agreed: "What His Highness said is very true. In fact, when I contacted Dou Jiande, I also found that this person is a straight man. He is far less thoughtful than Wang Shichong and Li Mi. Dealing with him is far better than dealing with Li Mi and Wang Shichong. Easy and easy. This time the mission to his camp was not expected to go so smoothly. " "normal. "Chen Sangliang sneered and said in a very sarcastic tone: "I have carefully studied Dou Jiande's start-up story, and found that the reason why this common man is able to get to where he is today is entirely because of his good luck. He has never met a decent opponent. There are no tigers in the mountains of Hebei, so this monkey became the overlord. If he had gone south to fight for hegemony in the Central Plains a year or two earlier and met Li Mi and Wang Shichong in their heyday, he would have been pinched to death by Li Mi and Wang Shichong many times. This king uses tactics and tactics to defeat such an opponent, and he is truly invincible! " Zhang Yongtong, who also likes to flatter, quickly echoed, saying that if Dou Jiande had met His Highness the King of Tang a year or two earlier, there would have been no bones and dregs left. The fact that Dou Jiande is so arrogant today is simply because Dou Jiande was lucky and did not meet someone like Chen Sangliang. A shameless opponent who is usually as fierce as a tiger or a leopard but as cunning as a wolf, Feng Deyi, who is always known for his flattery, once again straightened up and admonished Chen Sangliang: "Your Highness, it is better to be careful. After all, the strength of Dou Jiande's bandit army is huge. It is more than three times that of ours, and his cavalry and elite central army have not suffered any damage, and they still maintain their strongest combat power. " "Of course. Chen Sangliang smiled and said: "I just despise Dou Jiande, but I don't look down on him. In the decisive battle in three days, I will be very energetic and careful to fight with this common man." " After that, Chen Sangliang ordered to summon the generals to the commander's hall for discussion. After all the generals of the Sui army arrived, Chen Sangliang first announced that he had agreed with Dou Jiande to fight to the death outside the east gate of Hulao Pass in three days, and then ordered The generals of the Sui army seized the time to prepare for this decisive battle with fewer enemies and more enemies, so that the soldiers could prepare their weapons and build up their physical strength in order to be in the best condition for the decisive battle. As for the issue of city defense in these three days, Chen Sangliang still handed it over. It was given to Li Keshi and others who did not need to send troops to participate in the decisive battle in three days. The Sui army generals promised to accept the order. Then Yuchi Jingde, who had been completely led by Chen Sangliang, offered a rare strategy to Chen Sangliang. Liang suggested: "Your Highness, since our army has agreed on a war period with the enemy, the bandit army will definitely prepare for the war with all its strength within these three days. The general thinks that our army might as well send a small number of troops every night during these three days." Troops harassed outside the thief camp and made loud noises, making it impossible for the thief soldiers to rest peacefully. They had to engage in a decisive battle with our army despite insufficient physical strength to gain more chances for our army to win. " "Jingde, when did you become so full of bad water?" " Chen Sangliang asked with a surprised look on his face. The Sui army generals burst into laughter. Yuchi Jingde scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "It's not that the general has bad water in his stomach. It's because he has been with you for a long time, Your Highness. It was somewhat damaged. " The generals of the Sui army laughed again, and Chen Sangliang also laughed loudly and said: "Yes, those who are close to Mo are black. You became like this because I led you astray. Well, although your idea is not bad, if you harass them every night, the enemy will inevitably be prepared and will form a habit. Therefore, if you want to harass the enemy, you can only create things for the enemy on the eve of the decisive battle and the night before the decisive battle. Chaos, so that you can kill the enemy by surprise, making them defenseless. " "It's still the bad water in Your Highness's belly. " Yuchi Jingde's heartfelt truth made the Sui army civil and military laugh for the third time. Chen Sangliang smiled modestly and said that he was far behind compared with Li Mi, Wang Shichong and others, while he couldn't wait to fight in the army. I thought to myself, "Is there any other way to influence the morale of the Dou bandits, dampen their morale, and give our army a better chance of winning? " On the first night of the day, in the evening, the Sui Army's Yellow River Navy, which was transformed from more than 80 civilian ships, led by Sui Army General He Yanyu and the Yellow River Navy Chief He Er, went down the Yellow River to Hulao Guanxi Bank Wharf added more than 2,000 troops to the Sui Army in the Eastern Expedition, and also provided water combat power for the Sui Army in the Eastern Expedition to block the main force of the Dou Army from crossing the Yellow River. In addition, the four generals Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin, Mulan and He Yanyu finally arrived. Reunited for the first time after the Battle of Dahaisi. On the second night, General Zhang Qingte of Dou Army escorted supplies southward from Linming, but was unexpectedly betrayed by Cheng Mingzhen, magistrate of Yecheng County of Dou Army. Cheng Mingzhen, who looked down on Dou Jiande's country bumpkin's virtue, secretly sent Linqing Pass to Sui Dynasty. The army reported that Fan Wenchao, the general of the Sui Army who was guarding Linqing Pass, attacked Dou's army's baggage train. With the help of Cheng Mingzhen, he defeated Zhang Qingte and burned a large amount of Dou's army's baggage and military supplies. On the third night, the last night before the decisive battle, at the second watch. Several soldiers of the Sui Army lit a gunpowder box near the Dou Army's camp. When the wooden box containing a hundred kilograms of gunpowder exploded, the loud noise resounded throughout the world, awakening the entire Dou Army camp. After Dou Jun's civil and military forces finally calmed down the riot, after half of the third watch, He Er, a small water thief in Tongji Canal, led the Sui Army's Yellow River Navy to sneak attack Dou Jun's Niukou Pier and burned a large number of Dou Jun's unprotected ferries. , beating gongs, drums and blowing horns, once again disturbed Dou Jiande's entire army. This was done twice in succession by the Sui army. Of course, no one in Dou's army could sleep well on the eve of the decisive battle. Dou Jiande himself did not close his eyes all night long, watching the gradual battle. The white eastern sky gritted its teeth, "It's finally dawn! The decisive battle is finally here! Thief Chen, wait, I¡¯m coming! "