Volume II: The Battle of Hulao Pass Chapter Forty-Five: Dou Jiande Mobilizes His Forces

Thirty miles east of Hulao Pass, at the bank of the Zhi River, stood the grand encampment of Dou Jiande’s Xia army.

At this moment, Dou Jiande, crowned in his celestial headdress and dressed in a russet-yellow robe, was erupting in fury within his command tent. Inkstones, brushes, and papers lay shattered upon the floor, swept aside in the throes of his rage. “Useless fools! Every last one of you is a bunch of worthless fools!” he thundered. “Not a single one among you warned me that Li Shimin would send men to cross the Yellow River from the north and cut off our supply route! And that Zhang Qingte too—another useless wretch! Wasn’t he forever boasting of his martial prowess and invincibility? I entrusted him with the critical task of escorting the army’s provisions, yet despite having several times the number of men, he still let Wang Jun-kuo’s force of a mere thousand defeat him. Fools! All of you!”

The assembled civil and military officials stood trembling on either side, silent and cowed. Inwardly, they could only reflect that the strategy of relying on the Yellow River to transport supplies by boat—thus ensuring secure logistics—was Dou Jiande’s own design. Who could have foreseen Li Shimin’s cunning, sending men to cross north of the river and harass their rear lines? As for Zhang Qingte, he truly had proven himself a fool—unable to protect the supply train even with superior numbers, it was no wonder he had been captured alive by Wang Jun-kuo.

Dou Jiande’s fury abated somewhat after his outburst. Surveying his gathered counselors and generals, he knew that in such a critical time of war, he could not afford to alienate them further.

To steady the army’s morale, he spoke: “Though our supply line has been cut and provisions cannot presently reach us, this is no cause for despair! Our stores are still sufficient for ten days’ consumption. But this cannot last forever. Do any of you have a plan to break the enemy?”

Yet after being berated, none dared speak. Only Ling Jing, the sacrificial wine master, stepped forward and advised: “We are locked in a stalemate before Hulao Pass. My lord, why not gather all our forces and cross the Yellow River northward? Seize Li Tang’s holdings in Huai Prefecture and Heyang. Then dispatch troops to cross the Taihang Mountains into Shangdang, and take over Fen Prefecture and Jin Prefecture, advancing to Pujin. Meanwhile, seek alliance with the Turks to raid Guanzhong from the west. In this way, you achieve three aims: first, the Tang rear is thinly defended and ripe for conquest—victory is almost certain; second, by expanding our territory, we can recruit more soldiers and strengthen our position; third, with their stronghold lost, Li Tang will be thrown into turmoil, and the siege of Luoyang will be lifted. At present, nothing could be more appropriate.”

Dou Jiande pondered this advice and nodded. “This is reasonable.” He resolved to follow Ling Jing’s plan, preparing his troops to cross the northern Yellow River and launch a surprise attack on the Tang rear.

But before he could issue the order, word arrived: King Wang Shichong of Zheng had sent a secret envoy requesting an urgent audience.

Wang Shichong, besieged and desperate in Luoyang, had witnessed the Tang army surround the city without launching an assault, while their own supplies dwindled to nothing. Seeing Dou Jiande’s massive army stalled before Hulao Pass, he grew frantic and sent his trusted men Wang Wan and Changsun Anshi, accompanied by three hundred elite soldiers, to break through the siege by night and seek Dou Jiande’s aid.

The Tang army maintained their encirclement but did not press the attack, so the two envoys managed to slip through without much difficulty and hurried to Dou Jiande’s camp.

Upon seeing Dou Jiande, they fell to their knees, weeping bitterly. “My lord! Luoyang teeters on the brink of destruction—our provisions are exhausted, and we cannot hold out much longer. If our lips are lost, our teeth will be cold—should Luoyang fall, you may be next. My sovereign entreats you to send aid at once!”

Dou Jiande had never truly intended to save them, and now, with Ling Jing’s strategy in mind, he was even less inclined. Still, being a man of deep cunning, he would not refuse them to their faces. Instead, he consoled them: “You have braved great peril to reach me. Rest now, for I have my own plans and will discuss this further in due course.”

Wang Wan and Changsun Anshi, seeing Dou Jiande’s calm and unfazed demeanor, suspected he had no intention of sending troops. Disheartened, they could only retire to rest.

Once alone, Wang Wan whispered, “It seems as King Zheng feared—the King of Xia has other intentions. To have him send troops as promised will not be easy.”

Changsun Anshi nodded. “Indeed. With Luoyang’s resources spent, we must find some way to persuade the King of Xia to act.”

Wang Wan replied, “Let us follow our lord’s instructions: we’ll each approach Dou Jiande’s trusted generals, using lavish bribes to win them to our cause—convincing the King of Xia to send reinforcements is imperative.”

That very night, the two set out to secretly visit the key generals of Xia.

Having taken over the Sui capital, Wang Shichong had inherited decades of imperial treasure—a hoard beyond counting. He was not one to cling to riches; knowing that, should Luoyang fall, these treasures would be lost anyway, he now spent freely. Priceless jewels and ornaments were smuggled into the hands of Dou Jiande’s officers by Wang Wan and Changsun Anshi.

Money sways the heart; in a single night, nearly all of Dou Jiande’s top generals were bought, each vowing to persuade their lord to send aid.

The next day, Dou Jiande convened his council to discuss how to dismiss Wang Shichong’s envoys. But the generals, having accepted their bribes, naturally spoke in favor of intervention. The discussion quickly shifted, with the generals now urging Dou Jiande to march to Luoyang’s rescue.

One particularly burly, rough-looking general stepped forward and declared, “My lord, Ling Jing’s plan is just the idle theorizing of a bookish scholar! What does he know of leading armies? We’ve marched ten thousand strong from afar, consuming countless resources, and have gained nothing—are we to simply cut our losses? My lord, you are well-versed in military matters—if we retreat now, what will our brothers think? How will it affect morale? As the art of war teaches, momentum is easily rallied but hard to recover once lost!”

This was Wang Cong, Dou Jiande’s most trusted general, who had followed him since the very beginning and, after the execution of Wang Fubao, was now the foremost commander in the Xia army. His words were quickly echoed by the others:

“He’s right! General Wang speaks the truth—what does Ling Jing, that scholar, know of war?”

“Paper-pushers like him talk strategy but know nothing of battle! We have a hundred thousand men—why should we retreat without a fight? With a single order from you, my lord, we could crush Hulao Pass!”

“Back when I was a bandit king, even I knew not to embark on a venture without profit! We’ve come all this way, morale is high, everyone’s eager for glory and reward—now you say we’re not to fight? This isn’t child’s play! You can’t just change your mind with a few words!”

These arguments struck a chord with Dou Jiande. He had not come all this way to act as a mere mediator—feeding and supplying a hundred thousand men and horses consumed vast resources daily. His original intention was to wait until Tang and Zheng had worn each other out, then step in to seize the prize.

But now, egged on by his generals, Dou Jiande’s mind wavered. He overruled Ling Jing’s strategy entirely, raising his hand to silence the crowd, and declared, “Now that morale is high and everyone is eager for battle, it is the will of Heaven that we fight! Let us seize this moment and challenge Li Shimin to a decisive battle—victory will be ours! Generals, prepare yourselves!”

Ling Jing, alarmed, tried to protest, but Dou Jiande cut him off. “No need to say more, Master Ling—I have made up my mind! Wang Shichong’s plight is desperate; if I abandon him now, it would be cowardice and betrayal. Did you not follow me in rising against the Sui because you admired my honor and fidelity? A man should never forget his true heart!” With that, he ordered Ling Jing removed from the tent.

Having made his decision, Dou Jiande immediately began mustering his forces, preparing for a final confrontation with Li Shimin.

Just as the generals were dismissed, Dou Jiande’s wife, Lady Cao, hurried in. She had been his wife since their youth and shared a deep, abiding bond with him. Dou Jiande always treated her with great respect and affection.

Dou Jiande was a man of considerable self-discipline—neither greedy nor lecherous, wholly dedicated to his great enterprise. When he conquered a city or defeated an enemy, he never kept any of the spoils for himself, but distributed them all among his officers. He led a simple life, shunning meat, his meals consisting only of vegetables and hulled millet. Lady Cao wore no silk, and his household of concubines and maids numbered but a dozen.

Seeing that repeated entreaties had failed to sway Dou Jiande, Ling Jing, knowing how close the king and queen were, approached Lady Cao to ask her intervention. Upon hearing the situation, Lady Cao agreed with Ling Jing’s reasoning. Learning that her husband had just dispatched his generals, she came quickly to persuade him.

“My lord,” she began, bowing respectfully, “I heard Master Ling’s report and came in haste. Matters of state cannot be governed by personal loyalty alone. Now is the time to exploit the Tang’s weakness—advance from Foukow, seize Bing, Dai, Fen, and Jin Prefectures, and with the Turks, strike west into Guanzhong. The Tang will have to withdraw to save themselves, and the siege of Luoyang will resolve itself. But if you linger here, morale will fade and resources be squandered—success will drift further and further out of reach!”

Dou Jiande frowned; his wife seldom involved herself in affairs of state, preferring to pray and meditate. What had prompted her intervention now? His face darkened. “What do you know of military matters? Do not meddle in things you do not understand—enough!” With that, he brushed past her and left.

In truth, Dou Jiande was painfully aware of his predicament. He had marched south not out of loyalty, but to reap the spoils when Tang and Zheng had exhausted themselves. But as previously noted, if he now withdrew to seize territory in Jin and Fen, the recruits gained would be mere peasants—fit only for easy victories, but liable to scatter at the first hint of adversity. Such an army could not be relied upon, and while the commotion might distract the Tang and relieve Zheng, once the Tang returned, he might not be able to hold what he had captured. In the end, he would have spent a fortune for nothing.

Outwardly, the Xia kingdom appeared mighty with its hundreds of thousands of troops, but the realm was fractured by internal factions. Only the recent victory over Meng Haigong gave Dou Jiande the authority to command them. If their momentum was lost, discipline would collapse, and all would be lost.

Having resolved his course, Dou Jiande personally oversaw the training of his troops each day. The Xia soldiers were brimming with fighting spirit, each eager for battle and reward. Seeing this, Dou Jiande grew ever more confident—when the time came, his hundred thousand would fall upon Li Shimin like Mount Tai crushing an insect.

Suddenly, a scout arrived with news: “The Tang army has exhausted its fodder and has driven its horses out of the pass to graze north of the Yellow River.”

Dou Jiande was overjoyed, laughing aloud. He turned to his generals and exclaimed, “A heaven-sent opportunity! I was fretting that Li Shimin would not come out of his turtle shell in Hulao Pass. Sound the drums, muster the troops, and proclaim my order: at the third watch tomorrow, rouse the men; at the fifth, break camp! The entire army will advance on Hulao Pass—let us seize victory in a single attack!”