In 6 13 AD, Shi Mi and his old friend Yang Xuangan launched a rebellion. After the failure, Shimi lived on the run for several years. After a narrow escape, he joined the Wagang Army in Zhai Rang. Since then, the wagang army has undergone tremendous changes.
Under the planning of Shi Mi, the Wagang Army gradually developed into the strongest armed force in the Central Plains within one year.
During this period, Shi Biao annihilated Zhang Xutuo, the most valiant star in the Sui Dynasty, surrendered to Pei, the general of the Sui Dynasty, and got two valiant soldiers, Luo Shixin.
Moreover, under the guidance of Shi Biao, Wagangjun captured Luocang, the largest granary in the Sui Dynasty, and occupied most parts of Henan, only Luoyang was under the control of Sui Jun.
The Wagang Army has gradually grown from more than 10,000 people when Li Migang joined, to several hundred thousand people.
However, it can be said that Shi Biao was both a success and a failure. It took him a year to strengthen the Wagang Army and more than a year to destroy it.
It can be said that Shi Mi played a good hand. At that time, the hierarchy was deep. People are born with noble and low. Ordinary people are used to aristocratic rule, while the ancients were superstitious. Both the common people and the children of Guanlong nobles think that the children of Guanlong aristocratic group are destined to return.
The strong appeal of Shi Biao and Tang Gaozu is closely related to their origins. Then the problem is coming. Shi Biao has hundreds of thousands of mercenaries, such as Cheng, Luo Shixin and Dan, and has the aura of the children of Guan Jack Long. Why did he destroy the wagang army in less than two years? This must first start with how the Wagang Army grows.
Zhai Rang, make way.
Zhai Rang committed a capital crime during his tenure as Facao in Dong Jun County, and established Wagangzhai with the mountain as the king. The wagang army had tens of thousands of people from the beginning, mainly stealing for a living.
Zhai Rang's ambition is not high. Eating and drinking is enough. He became an outlaw.
However, the arrival of one person changed the pattern of Wagang Army. This man is Shi Mi, a first-class wanted criminal in the Sui Dynasty, a noble son of Guan Long with political vision.
After Shi Biao came to Wagangzhai, he made suggestions for Zhai Rang and presented him with a plan to win the world. Shi Biao thought Xingyang was a military stronghold. Liu Bang and Xiang Yu played in Xingyang for more than two years. Although Xiang Yu won more than he lost, he never went west.
Take Xingyang to raise grain and grass, and the soldiers will be strong in Ma Zhuang, and then take the world after the grain and grass are abundant.
Zhai Rang adopted Shi Biao's plan and killed several counties in Xingyang.
Zhai Rang is a kind-hearted leader. Although Shi Biao's achievements and talents have threatened his position, he has not suppressed Shi Biao. Instead, he set aside an army to lead him and named it "Pushan Gong".
Soon, Shi Biao captured the Luo Xing warehouse near Luoyang and cut off the route for providing foodstuff in Luoyang.
After Wagangjun won Xingluocang, Shimi opened the warehouse to release grain, and took the opportunity to raise the banner of recruiting, and the strength of Wagangjun increased instantly.
Later, Shi Biao also surrendered to Peiren's base area and got Luo Shixin and Qin Qiong.
Zhai Rang doesn't have much ambition and lacks confidence. He always felt that he was from humble origins and had no strategy of Shi Biao, so he was willing to give Shi Biao the position of Wagangjun leader.
In the spring of the 13th year of Daye (6 17), Shimi erected an altar, which was called "Duke Wei" when he acceded to the throne, and Zhai Rang was worshipped as a pillar country, with the title of "the first year of Yongping", imitating the Sui Dynasty, with three divisions and six guards.
After Shi Mi took over the power of Wagang Army, most counties in Henan surrendered to the disadvantage. Since then, the strength of the Wagang Army has expanded to hundreds of thousands, becoming the strongest rebel in the Central Plains.
The Wagang Army is powerful, and Shi Biao has a large number of brave men such as Cheng, Cheng, Luo Shixin and so on. Why did it end in failure?
There are three main reasons.
First, the murder of Zhai Rang split the inside of the crock.
Zhai Rang's demotion made his men quite dissatisfied, and they didn't want to be relegated to outsiders.
The old Wagang Army headed by Zhai Rang clashed with the new Wagang Army headed by Shi Biao.
Although Shi Biao mastered the real power of Wagang, he was still subject to Zhai Rang's subordinates.
Later, Zhai Rang offended Shi Biao's trusted minister at the instigation of his subordinates, and he died.
In 6 17 AD, Shi Mi hosted a banquet for Wagang soldiers and ambushed thugs. During the dinner, Shi Biao gave the order, thugs appeared, Zhai Rang and his close brothers were killed, and Xu Shiji was also injured. Dan Xiong Xin knelt down and begged for mercy before he survived.
Later, Shi Biao incorporated Zhai Rang's army.
It was thoughtless of Shi Biao to kill Zhai Rang.
At first, Emperor Hanyuan always wanted to get rid of Liu Xiu, but he couldn't find a suitable excuse. The impact of killing heroes for no reason is immeasurable.
Killing heroes will make other heroes feel scared, and some even have no choice but to resist for self-protection.
After Liu Bang killed Han Xin, it was a good example. Han Xin's death led to several years of rebellion against the Prince with a different surname. They were afraid of the dust behind Han Xin, so they got up to protect themselves.
What's more, Zhai Rang was grateful to Shi Biao. Killing Zhai Rang will only alienate the Wagons. They saw that Shi Biao was a treacherous little man who only suffered * * * but not * * * rich. Originally, Shi Biao came from afar and had no foundation in Wagang Village. He couldn't persuade the public to kill the old stockman in a big way.
From then on, the contradiction between the new Wagang people and the old Wagang people began to intensify, which also laid the groundwork for Shi Biao's later failure, so he later went east to Tongguan, and no one was willing to accept him, because he killed Zhai Rang, and everyone regarded him as an ungrateful generation.
In order to alienate General Lao Wagang, Shi Biao transferred Xu Shiqi from the power center, told him to guard Liyang, and soon transferred Dan Xiong Xin.
Shi Biao occupied the granary, and there was no source of money and silk, so the soldiers who made meritorious deeds could not get rich rewards. Over time, the soldiers in Wagang became more and more dissatisfied with Shi Biao.
Second, Shi Biao can't get the support of Guanlong aristocratic group.
In the middle and late Western Han Dynasty, the "checkpoint system" was mainly used to select talents. The Eastern Han Dynasty inherited the old system of the Western Han Dynasty, and gradually its disadvantages began to be exposed. As the name implies, the "checkpoint system" means that officials with certain status recommend talents to the court.
By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the election of officials was monopolized by local strongmen and gradually developed into a separatist force.
Gradually, people got used to this aristocratic politics. In the Western Wei Dynasty, Yu Wentai, the powerful minister, established the official army system to fight against the Eastern Wei Group, and on this basis, formed the Guanlong aristocratic group.
Guanlong aristocratic group should not be underestimated. Zhao Yi, a historian in the Qing Dynasty, once said: "Wuchuan is a tiny place, where emperors lived in the Zhou, Sui and Tang Dynasties and ruled for more than 300 years. Isn't this where Wang Qi gathers? "
The ancients were superstitious. They think Guanlong Group has the spirit of king. Both ordinary people and children of Guanlong nobles think that the future Mr Right will naturally come from Guanlong Group, which is their most trusted brand.
So this is also the reason why many peasant rebel leaders are not confident. Although both Ethan and Shimi belong to Guanlong Group, Guanlong Group only supports Ethan, not Shimi.
Although Shimi was the great-grandson of Li Bi, a country with eight pillars in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, he was the son of an authentic Guanlong aristocrat. However, after Emperor Wendi ascended the throne, the interests were redistributed and the Shimi family began to decline.
After Yang Di ascended the throne, Shi Biao served as a guard in the palace with his father's shadow. However, he didn't please Emperor Yang Di and was persuaded to leave.
Later, Shi Biao joined the Yang Xuangan rebellion as a counselor. At this time, he has nothing to do with Guanlong aristocratic group. At this time, the nobles of Guanlong supported Hongnong Yang, the eldest son of the founding hero of Sui Dynasty, Yang Xuangan.
So when Yang Xuangan raised the banner against Sui Dynasty, he got the support of more than 30 children of Guanlong nobles. But Yang Xuangan was foolhardy, and he broke a good hand.
Tang Gaozu knows this. He claimed that his ancestors were Longxi Li and he was a descendant of Laozi. In fact, according to Mr. Chen Yinque's textual research, his ancestor was Zhao Jun Li. ..
Li of Longxi is a close friend, which makes him closer to Guanlong aristocratic group.
Besides, Tang Gaozu and Yang Di are both grandchildren of Du Guxin, who is the only one of the eight pillar countries. Well, they are still cousins, and the Dugu family is an old noble of Xianbei. These auras are inseparable from Shi Biao, so the nobles in Guanlong supported Tang Gaozu instead of Shi Biao.
Therefore, Chai Xiao later took "Liu Bang got Guanzhong, Xiang Yu lost Guanzhong" as a lesson and advised Shi Mi to get Guanzhong, but Shi Mi refused. Although he gave many reasons, the main reason was that he could not get the support of Guan Long's nobles.
Shi Biao was in an embarrassing situation and could not get the support of the nobles of Guanlong and Wagangjun. In Wagangjun's view, he was born in a noble family, and his style was naturally incompatible with them, which was one of the main reasons why Shi Biao got rid of Zhai Rang.
But what he didn't expect was that Zhai Rang's murder made the internal division of the crock more serious, and even Hecheng began to find another owner.
Third, dealing with Yu Wenhuaji, strategic mistakes.
In July 6 17, the wagang army stormed Luoyang, and the defenders were unable to resist. The imperial edict arrived in Jiangdu and sent the king to suppress the wagang army.
Wang and Shi Biao fought more than a hundred times, but the two armies were at loggerheads. Emperor Yang Di was very anxious. In the army, he worshipped the king as a general and told him to defeat the wagang army quickly.
Wang led the army across the waterinfo and engaged the wagang army. As a result, he was defeated and lost tens of thousands of people. Only a thousand people returned to Luoyang.
In March of the following year, Yu Wenhuaji launched a mutiny and killed the emperor Yang Di.
There is no owner in the world, and Wang et al. made Yang Dong, the grandson of King Yue, emperor, assisted by Wang, Duan Da, Yuan et al.
At this time, Shi Biao has surrounded Luoyang City, leaving only one city in Dong Yang's hands. The situation is very critical. Soon, Yu Wenhuaji led hundreds of troops stationed in the suburbs, eyeing Luoyang.
Yuan proposed that there was Shi Biao outside Luoyang and Yu Wenhuaji outside Luoyang. If we send troops to attack Yu Wenhuaji at this time, Sui Jun will be caught between Scylla and Charybdis. It is better to have Shi Biao, give him a salary as a senior official, and use his soldiers to fight Yu Wenhuaji. When they all lose, Sui Jun will try to come out again.
Yang Dong adopted the suggestion of the Yuan Dynasty, sent someone to appoint Shi Biao as Qiu, and ordered him to make an immediate crusade.
According to Shi Biao's information, he should be able to see Sui Jun's intention, but since he accepted the reward from the imperial court, it is estimated that Shi Biao is also afraid of being attacked between Scylla and Charybdis, so he should hold the Luoyang side first, and then deal with Dong Yang after destroying Yu Wenhuaji. In fact, he was wrong.
Yu Wenhuaji and his party have no ambition to kill the emperor. Most of the guards who followed Yang Di to Jiangdu came from Guanzhong. They rebelled because Yang Di didn't want to go back to the West and planned to die of old age in Jiangdu. They were homesick before the coup.
After passing through Henan, Yu Wenhuaji and his party first attacked Liyangcang, mainly to replenish rations. Their purpose is to return to their hometown.
However, Shi Biao fought against Yu Wenhuaji, and he devoted all his elite troops to the struggle against Yu Wenhuaji.
In fact, Shi Biao can completely avoid this life-and-death duel, because Yu Wenhuaji and his party are just poor people who are passing through Henan and are in a hurry to go home, and will not threaten the interests of Wagangjun for the time being.
Shi Biao should understand the truth of "injuring one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred" at this time. However, he must fight Yu Wenhuaji as if possessed.
It can be said that both sides are high-spirited and fighting each other. Shi Zai Shi Biao was shot by an arrow and was unconscious. Qin Qiong risked his life to save him.
Yu Wenhuaji was repulsed by the fierce fighting of the generals of the Wagang Army, but the Wagang Army was also weakened, from prosperity to decline.
Shi Biao repelled and prepared to remonstrate with Yang Dong, only to find that Luoyang City had been controlled by the king, Yang Dong became a prisoner, and the king and Shi Biao began a stalemate again.
In fact, at this time, the situation is very unfavorable to Wang. Shi Biao occupies the warehouse in Luo Xing, where there is plenty of food and grass, while Luoyang is short of food. At that time, many people in the city took refuge in Shi Biao.
At this time, the cunning king offered to exchange cloth and silk for food with Shi Biao, but Shi Biao actually agreed. Luoyang people have food to eat, and fewer people take refuge in Shi Biao.
Shi Biao regretted it when he found out, but it was too late.
Wang felt that the opportunity had come and challenged Wagangjun. Shi Biao did not adopt Pei's suggestion of fighting a war of attrition, but launched a decisive battle with Wang.
The king sent an army to ambush near Shimi's camp. The next day, when the two armies were at war, Wang found a man who looked like Shimei and shouted, "Shimei was captured." People lying in ambush near Shimi camp rushed into the Wagang army camp and set fires everywhere. Wagangjun was immediately in flight, Shimi was defeated and fled to Luokou warehouse. At this time, it is the old subordinate of Zhai Rang, the old stockade owner of Wagangjun. He colluded with the king.
Since then, the most powerful rebel army in the Central Plains has collapsed.