His father-in-law’s Wang family had risen to prominence in Taiyuan. If the world fell into chaos, with the Wang family’s prestige, it should be easy to recruit soldiers. If he could gain their assistance to attack Jiangdu, there should be a chance to rescue Yunyi. However, although his father-in-law despised Yang Guang’s actions, he had never revealed any treasonous intentions. Would he agree? Moreover, Taiyuan was quite far from here, and recruitment would take time. Going back and forth would take at least a year and a half. By then, Yunyi would probably no longer be alive. What would there be left to rescue?
The more Du Ruhui thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He said hatefully, “This won’t work, that won’t work either. Must I really watch the princess die?!” As soon as the words left his mouth, he shook his head repeatedly and murmured, “When Meixue died, I couldn’t save her. This time, I absolutely cannot watch Yunyi lose her life again. There must be a way, there must be a way.”
Perhaps he could not go to Taiyuan to summon troops, but recruit locally instead. Thinking of this, Du Ruhui’s heart suddenly stirred. Taiyuan… Taiyuan… After silently repeating it several times, his eyes lit up and he exclaimed, “I know who can save the princess! Li Shimin—he can, he can definitely save the princess!”
Indeed, the person Du Ruhui thought of was Li Shimin. When he had been thinking about Taiyuan earlier, Li Shimin’s name had flashed through his mind. He had previously received news that Li Shimin was following his father Li Yuan in campaigns heading north, intending to capture Chang’an, establish Prince Dai Yang You as emperor, and replace Yang Guang. He had heard that they had been winning consecutive victories along the way, continuously expanding their forces, and now commanded over a hundred thousand troops. As long as Li Shimin brought a small contingent of soldiers to Jiangdu City, he could rescue Yunyi.
Li Yuan now had great renown. Du Ruhui believed that with just a bit of inquiry along the way, he would know where they had reached. Thinking of this, Du Ruhui immediately headed toward Chang’an. However, after walking a few steps, he stopped again.
He had promised his parents and Xianyue that as soon as he left the city, he would immediately go to Taiyuan to meet with them. If he went to find Li Shimin now, it would probably be a long time before he could go to Taiyuan. If they waited for him for a long time without his arrival, they would surely worry. What should he do?
Du Ruhui thought left and right, and finally decided to find Li Shimin first. Xianyue and the others could wait, but Yunyi could not. Each additional day brought additional danger. He must find Li Shimin as quickly as possible and seek his help.
As Du Ruhui had anticipated, he soon learned the whereabouts of Li Yuan’s army—Longmen on the Yellow River.
According to legend, every spring, carp from rivers, lakes, and seas would come to the Yellow River and then swim upstream. In a year, at most seventy-two could ascend Dragon Gate. Once they climbed Dragon Gate, clouds and rain would cover them, then heavenly fire would descend, burning away their tails, and the carp would transform into azure dragons, soaring above the nine heavens. This was the so-called “carp leaping over Dragon Gate.”
Li Yuan now stood on the bank of the Yellow River, but his brows were deeply furrowed. Despite the fierce wind buffeting his body, a cloak suddenly fell over him. “Father, be careful not to catch cold.”
Li Yuan turned back to see Li Shimin standing behind him and said calmly, “It’s just a slight wind. It cannot harm your father.”
Li Shimin walked to his side, facing the cold evening wind, and said, “Is father thinking about crossing the river?”
Li Yuan sighed and said, “That’s right. Now Qu Tutong has heavy troops guarding Hedong. We face two choices: first, not to engage him in battle but force our way across the Yellow River at Longmen and directly take Chang’an; second, to first take Hedong, defeat Qu Tutong, and then cross the Yellow River. Whichever we choose, there will be danger.”
Li Shimin nodded and said, “I have also been thinking about these two problems. If we cross the river at Longmen, should Chang’an not fall, we might very well be attacked by Qu Tutong. If we first destroy Qu Tutong, should we not achieve victory quickly and form a stalemate, we might allow Prince Dai Yang You to recover and send troops to cross the Yellow River eastward to deal with us. Then we would be attacked from both front and rear.” The matter of Yang Guang’s assassination had not yet reached this place, and everyone still believed Yang Guang was alive in Jiangdu.
“Shimin, you are skilled at assessing situations. Tell me, which step would be more advantageous for us?” Faced with Li Yuan’s inquiry, Li Shimin was silent for a moment, then said, “I believe that speed is precious in warfare. Rather than confronting Qu Tutong here and wasting time, it would be better to take advantage of our current consecutive victories and high morale to cross the Yellow River directly. I believe the Sui armies around Chang’an would not be our match and might even flee at the mere sight of us. Moreover, there are many rebel forces in Guanzhong. We could take this opportunity to bring them under our command. As long as we have sufficient strength, even if Qu Tutong causes trouble later, it would not be a concern.”
Li Yuan frowned in silence. Although Li Shimin’s words were reasonable, they still could not help him make a decision. At this moment, Li Jiancheng came out. Seeing that Li Shimin was also there, a strange look flashed in his eyes. After bowing to Li Yuan, he said to Li Shimin, “Good that Shimin is here. It saves me from having to find you.”
Li Shimin said in surprise, “Big brother was looking for me about something?”
Li Jiancheng nodded and said, “I wanted to find you to discuss with father whether we should cross the river now. From your conversation just now, I assume you were also talking about this matter.”
Li Yuan nodded and said, “Shimin wants to take advantage of our current high morale to cross the river immediately rather than confront Qu Tutong. Jiancheng, what do you think?”
Li Jiancheng thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, “I believe this method is too rash and bold, like a gamble. If we win, we would naturally have smooth sailing from then on. But if we lose, over a hundred thousand troops would have to pay the price.”
These words struck right at Li Yuan’s heart. To have him stake the lives of over a hundred thousand officers and soldiers on this gamble was truly difficult to decide. Moreover, having come this far with great difficulty, he was extremely unwilling to be beaten back to square one!
Li Shimin said, “But confronting Qu Tutong has too many disadvantages. If we let Yang You recover and send troops to encircle us, we would be in trouble.”
“But this is the safest method.” Speaking thus, Li Jiancheng said earnestly, “Shimin, this is not a gamble that can end with losing some money. The stakes on the gambling table are countless lives. We must choose the most stable and safe path to take.”
“I understand big brother’s concerns, but that path seems stable but actually harbors hidden dangers. I believe that with our army’s current morale, we can definitely capture Chang’an in the shortest time.” Before he finished speaking, Li Jiancheng had already said, “Since you believe we can even capture Chang’an, how could we not be able to defeat Qu Tutong?”
“That’s not what I mean, it’s just…” Before Li Shimin could continue, Li Yuan had already said irritably, “Enough, stop talking. Summon Master Liu and the others to discuss this matter together.”
Li Jiancheng was quite dissatisfied with Li Yuan’s words. His father trusted Liu Hongji greatly, and the latter wholeheartedly supported Li Shimin. If they gathered to discuss together, Liu Hongji would definitely agree with Li Shimin’s approach.