There is an interesting story in Chinese history: after Li Yuan, the ancestor of the Tang Dynasty, raised troops in Taiyuan, he finally gathered 30,000 soldiers and led this army to advance to Chang'an, which was thousands of miles away.
However, when Li Yuan was overwhelmed and successfully crossed the Yellow River, a retainer of the Li family suddenly appeared.
The loyal retainer reported the good news to Li Yuan, saying that Li Yuan's third daughter, Princess Pingyang Zhao, had organized an army of up to 100,000 people and was waiting for Li Yuan to receive it.
At the same time, the road leading to Chang'an in front has been cleared by the princess in advance, without any obstacles. Although this story looks like a plot in the online article, it actually happened in history.
Of course, there may be some discrepancies between what the retainer and Li Yuan said, but the overall plot is true. This princess not only has excellent leadership, but also clears the way for Li Yuan's great cause.
Although her name is not recorded in the official history, in the wild history, she is called Li Xiuning.
Li Yuan's daughter-in-law, Princess Pingyang, married Chai Shao, the son of Chai Shen, a famous general of the Sui Dynasty, and the two were politically married, but they were in love after marriage. Although Chai Shao's career was blocked due to the early death of the prince, because of the power of the two families, Chai Shao has been an official in Chang'an, and the husband and wife live a happy life.
In the last years of the Sui Dynasty, Li Yuan was sent to Shanxi to take up a post. Seeing rebellions everywhere, he realized that the Sui Dynasty was about to fall, so he began to secretly prepare for a rebellion. In the thirteenth year of the Great Cause, when Li Yuan was about to launch an uprising, he began to send warnings to members of the Li clan in various places, asking them to take refuge in Taiyuan.
As Li Yuan's daughter, Princess Pingyang also received the news. As a result, Chai Shao and Princess Pingyang immediately prepared to go to Taiyuan, but found that the Guanzhong area had been completely blocked, peasant uprisings were spreading everywhere, and martial law was imposed everywhere.
It is almost impossible to go to Taiyuan by the official road, and once it is discovered by the officials of the Sui Dynasty, the consequences are unimaginable. If he took the path, Chai Shao might be able to escape, but Princess Pingyang, as a woman, could not do anything.
Eventually, they made a difficult decision.
Chai Shao decided to go to Taiyuan alone and let Princess Pingyang find a place to hide near Chang'an. This decision may seem like a "fly separately when disaster strikes", but it is actually rational and wise.
As a son-in-law, Chai Shao can provide strong support for Li Yuan in Taiyuan, and his value is immeasurable. As a woman, it is not easy for Princess Pingyang to deal with the challenges of the difficult road alone, and it is more convenient to stay here to make use of the connections accumulated by the Li family in the vicinity of Chang'an.
The husband and wife were separated, and Chai Shao met Li Jiancheng on the way to Taiyuan, and the two joined hands with Li Yuan to make great achievements for him to take charge of the soldiers and horses. And Princess Pingyang returned to Huxian County, Shaanxi, and returned to the old house of the Li family.
She didn't choose to hide, but disguised herself as a **, sold the old mansion in exchange for start-up capital, and recruited hundreds of people to form a team.
Princess Pingyang contacted peasant armies from all over the country, integrated the forces of peasant armies from all walks of life, and successfully led the peasant armies to defeat the Sui army, including the famous general Qu Tutong of the Sui Dynasty, and controlled Huxian, Zhouzhi, Wugong, and Shiping.
Through the experience of several major battles, Princess Binh Duong's army has changed from a rabble to a combat-effective army.
Detachment of Women"This name was the honorific title of the people at that time for this army, because Princess Pingyang's military orders were strict, and she did not commit any crimes wherever she went, and she soon won the trust of the people.
Two months later, the entire southwestern part of Shanxi was under the control of Princess Pingyang, whose army totaled more than 70,000 and posed a direct threat to Chang'an. It was precisely because of the existence of Princess Pingyang that the Sui Dynasty did not dare to send too many troops to the front line, which also relieved the pressure on Li Yuan.
During this period, Li Yuan's progress was also very smooth, and he was about to cross the Yellow River. When Princess Pingyang learned of the news, she immediately sent someone to answer her.
Li Yuan also sent Chai Shao to lead the troops with Princess Pingyang, and the husband and wife joined forces to fight. By the time Li Yuan crossed the Yellow River, Princess Pingyang's army had reached the size of nearly 100,000 men.
Subsequently, Princess Pingyang sent an elite force of more than 10,000 people to join forces with Li Shimin on the north bank of Weishui to jointly attack Chang'an.
Under the joint attack of Li Yuan and Princess Pingyang, Chang'an City soon became an isolated city. After entering Guanzhong, Li Yuan's total army has exceeded 100,000, plus Princess Pingyang's 100,000 army, a total of 200,000 people, far exceeding the number of defenders in Chang'an City.
Therefore, a few days later, Li Yuan successfully led his army to attack Chang'an, laying the foundation for the founding of the Tang Dynasty. If it weren't for Princess Pingyang's efforts, Li Yuan might not have been able to attack Chang'an so smoothly, and it is unknown whether he would even be able to cross the Yellow River.
After the capture of Guanzhong, Princess Pingyang was officially canonized as a princess by Li Yuan. Then, the Tang army began to sweep the world, but because Princess Pingyang was a woman, it was inconvenient to continue to lead the troops to fight.
However, Li Yuan did not waste his daughter's military talent and asked Princess Pingyang to guard the Weize Pass in Shanxi. Weize Pass is the gate of Shanxi, and if you want to enter Shanxi from the Central Plains, you must pass through Weize Pass.
Therefore, because of the guards of Princess Pingyang, Wei Ze Pass was renamed the current famous Niangzi Pass.
Although Princess Pingyang is talented, but the life span is not long, Yu Wude died of illness in the sixth year, and was canonized by Li Yuan as Princess Pingyang Zhao, the word Zhao is a nickname, indicating that she has merits.
Her military exploits were recognized, and she even enjoyed the treatment of a military funeral after her death, becoming the only princess in the Tang Dynasty to be buried with a military ceremony. Princess Binh Duong's success is due to the excellent education of her mother, Dou Clan, who made her children perform well and others mediocre.
The story of Princess Binh Duong shows us the power of women, who are able to perform as well as men, even in such a severe test as battle, proving the belief that "who says women are inferior to men".