It is possible, but after careful consideration, it is the only possible assumption.
Dou Jiande was sweating all over.
“If Wagang Village had long surrendered to Li Shimin, or even just supported by Li Shimin, then Li Shimin would have long been willing to rebel against the Sui Dynasty…” Dou Jiande said to himself, shook his head and said, “What’s the use of me asking this now? Luoyang has been broken, Li Shimin has already obtained Bashu and Wagang Village, and is now the most powerful force in the world. Whether he is a real loyal minister of the Sui Dynasty or not, the old nobles of the Sui Dynasty will determine that he was the former loyal minister of the Sui Dynasty.”
Besides, he is just a thief general. Who would pay attention to him and denounce Li Shimin as a rebel minister of the Sui Dynasty?
“Lord, Wang Bo and Zhai Rang have a very close relationship and have always been ally. If Zhai Rang has already defected to Li Shimin, then would Wei Zheng also…”
The strategist put forward a terrible assumption to Dou Jiande.
Dou Jiande’s head no longer hurts.
His scalp was numb.
If the Qilu Rebel Army and the Wagangzhai Rebel Army were both Li Shimin’s people, wouldn’t they be trapped in the middle by Li Shimin’s forces?
Dou Jiande was even more in a dilemma.
Should he go back to Hejian County to govern, or continue to go south?
He and the soldiers’ families are still in Hejian County. It is logical that returning to their old lair is the correct way to do it. But after hesitating for a while, Dou Jiande still chose to go south.
Because he knew that there was a delay in the transmission of the message, when he got the Wagang Village and sued Li Shimin, Li Shimin probably had left Nanyang County and went to Xingyang County to take over the territory of Wagang Village.
If Wei Zheng had also surrendered to Li Shimin, he might have brought the Qilu Rebel Army to join Li Shimin and waited for the siege of the city to attack the aid on his way back.
If I return to Hejian County, I will be blocked by Li Shimin as he is waiting for it.
But Dou Jiande didn’t plan to go so far in Jiangdu.
Li Shimin had just come from Huainan, and he happened to go to Huainan and occupied Zhongli, Luyang and other counties near the Huainan River. Especially the county town of Luyang County, Hefei County, is a big city that is easy to defend but difficult to attack and has sufficient food and supplies. As long as he occupy Hefei City, he can plot against the Central Plains above and seize Jiangnan below, and there will be room for dealing with Li Shimin.
Furthermore, Li Shimin actually detoured from Bashu and Guanzhong, Longxi, as if a tiger came out of the mountain. Du Fuwei and other Jianghuai thieves must have been very nervous.
Two of the three largest thief commanders in the Central Plains, Zhai Rang, Dou Jiande and Wei Zheng, have quietly surrendered to Li Shimin. Now Dou Jiande can only hope that the thieves of the Jianghuai River will be more united.
Dou Jiande is now like he is forced into a desperate situation and can only try his best.
His choice is indeed fine.
When Dou Jiande received the news that Wagang Village had surrendered to Li Shimin, Li Shimin had already led his troops to YingYang County was changing ships and loading grain in Xingyang County, and heading along the Yellow River to the land of Qilu to meet with Wei Zheng.
When Dou Jiande left, Wei Zheng was ready to assist Li Shimin in attacking Hejian County. Dou Jiande came back at this moment and was besieged and beaten to help.
After analyzing the current situation, Li Xuanba smiled and shook his head, laughing full of pity for Dou Jiande.
Just as Xiao Xian had not yet developed when he bumped into Xiao Xian, Dou Jiande should have grown rapidly after Yang Guang was killed, but now he has no time to develop. He can only be driven away by his second brother like an ordinary thief coach.
But then again, fortunately, Dou Jiande has not completely transformed from a thief commander into a separatist force, and his soldiers are still used to being driven away by the “Sui Army”. Otherwise, now he abandons Hejian County and fles south, his soldiers will be unstable.
“Wang Shichong is unpopular. Li Jing will definitely take the opportunity to erode the Jianghuai land along the Yangtze River. He will probably run into Dou Jiande and Yu Wenhua and prevent them from leaving easily. The second brother is safe from fighting Hejian County.” Li Xuanba breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he believed in his second brother’s ability, even if he had never attacked a strong city, his second brother’s talent was there, and it would not be too dangerous to capture a Hejian County without Dou Jiande’s defense. But the siege itself is one of the most dangerous battlefields, and Li Xuanba is still a little worried that his second brother will be injured.