The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 551 Chuzhou Victory
The morning light breaks, and a ray of light shines on Qingliuguan City.

A dozen Tang soldiers were sleeping soundly against the inside of the wall, when they suddenly heard bursts of "hey, hey, hey" coming from the pass.

A Tang soldier yawned, rubbed his eyes, slowly got up, leaned out and looked outside Guancheng.

Before he could see clearly what was going on, there was a roar in the wind, and a sharp arrow shot from a distance, accurately piercing his throat.

Tang Bing's eyes were filled with horror. He covered his throat and wanted to scream, but no sound came out from his throat. Only large mouthfuls of blood poured out of his throat.

Tang Bing tilted his head and fell from the top of Guancheng with a muffled thud.

Another Tang soldier heard the noise, stretched himself out and straightened the leather military cap on his head. As soon as he stuck his head out, he heard a "crack" sound and felt that there was more weight on his head.

He took off the leather hat and saw that an arrow was stuck directly above him. The sharp arrow grazed his scalp and penetrated deeply into the leather hat, narrowly missing his forehead.

Tang Bing's eyes widened and he was stunned. He cautiously stuck his head out and looked down at Guan Xia, his eyes widened suddenly.

Only ten feet away, densely packed Zhou soldiers were seen rushing towards Guancheng.

There were no sounds of war drums or horns, and no shouts of charging to kill. Only the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard, getting closer and closer.

The Zhou soldiers who rushed forward held a shield in one hand and a ladder in the other.

Following closely behind was a group of crossbowmen, who were on the lookout for any movement at the top of the city, and would kill anyone who came forward.

At the front, more than two dozen Zhou soldiers were holding a thick battering ram. The leader was as big as a tower, wearing an eye-catching gold-lacquered iron leaf heavy armor, wearing a phoenix-winged pouch, and carrying a heavy iron stick on his shoulder.

The obstacles such as traps, horse tripping ropes, horse blocking, ground thorns, etc. set up by the Tang soldiers in front of Qingliu Pass were all cleared by the Zhou army at some point.

"The Zhou army attacks the key point! The Zhou army attacks the key point!"

The Tang soldier who was lucky enough to survive yelled in panic and woke up his companions.

Several soldiers from the Tang Dynasty yawned and turned around. One boy nodded impatiently and said: "The Zhou army is here to cause trouble again. They are pretending to be pretentious. Just organize people to shoot a few arrows at him and drive him away. I will sleep a little longer."

Xiaodu pulled down his leather hat to cover his face, hugged him with both hands, curled up behind the wall and continued to sleep.

A heavy, muffled sound of "bang" came from the pass, shaking the entire city.

Sand fell from the cracks in the blue bricks and stones. Xiaodu's head was startled, and he could only feel the bottom of his buttocks trembling.

"Mom, what's going on?" Xiaodu's eyes widened with confusion on his face.

"Zhou's soldiers are attacking the key! They are blasting the door!" Tang Bing lay on the back of the wall and looked down, yelling in horror.

There was another "boom", and Tang Bing, who was standing on Guancheng, could feel the vibration under his feet.

Only then did Xiao Dutou realize that Zhou soldiers were bombarding the city gate with a battering ram.

"Zhou Jun's attack! Zhou's army's attack!" Xiaodu got up in a jerk and yelled at the top of his voice.

"Bang bang bang~" A rapid and harsh sound of gongs sounded, warning the people inside the pass.

Fifty steps away from Qingliu Pass, Zhu Xiu was wearing a white cloak and riding on horseback. Behind him was a group of soldiers. Several war drums were beating at the same time. The drumsticks hit the drum heads rapidly, making a short, dull thumping sound.

"Kill!~" Mi Xin led the ladder team to climb up the city gate, and led the Zhou soldiers to climb up the ladder with their shields.

Under the pass, there was a storming team led by Shi Xiangwen. They held the city ram and kept bombarding the gate.

Zhu Xiu looked at a critical battle unfolding not far away with a calm expression.

Looking up at the sky and counting the time silently, Tian Zhongjin and his party should soon arrive at Qingliu Pass.

Inside the pass, in a temporarily requisitioned private house, Huangfu Hui woke up from his deep sleep, jumped out of bed with bare feet and rushed out of the house to rush towards the city.

Several personal guards quickly carried the shoes, socks and armor and put them on for him as they walked.

Listening to the commotion, Zhou Bing's attack this time doesn't look like a small matter.

From the bottom of his heart, Huangfu Hui looked down on Zhu Xiu and his Zhou soldiers. What could a group of rabble do?

However, when the enemy launched an offensive, he had to personally take command at the critical moment.

After running out of the house, Huangfu Hui was about to mount his horse when Yao Feng hurried over.

"General Huangfu is in trouble. A large group of Zhou soldiers suddenly came from behind the pass. They have reached a critical point and are currently attacking it!"

Huangfu Hui stepped on the stirrup with one foot. When he heard this, his foot slipped and he almost fell under the horse's belly.

"How did the Zhou army get to the back of the pass?" Huangfu Hui was shocked and angry.

Yao Feng said nervously: "I'm afraid that the trail at the northern foot of Changkong Mountain was discovered by the Zhou army. But I have clearly sent people to guard it, so why didn't there be any movement after a whole night?"

Huangfuhui's old, muddy eyes widened and he was speechless.

He never imagined that the Zhou army would detour to the northern foot of Changkong Mountain, and the divine soldiers descended from the sky and suddenly came from behind the pass.

Could it be that Zhu Xiu, who was like a clown in his eyes, was acting with him these days?

In the direction of Guancheng, the shouts of killing became more and more intense, and there was even a faint golden sound of weapons clashing.

"General Huangfu! The door is broken and will be destroyed by the enemy!" A Tang soldier rushed to report in a hurry.

Huangfu Hui immediately shouted: "After Brother Yao went to guard the pass, I will go to guard the front!"

Yao Feng said: "If it is really impossible, there is no need to fight to the death with the Zhou army in the pass. It is better to break out and retreat to Chuzhou City."

"Okay!" Huangfuhui got on his horse and led his soldiers to Guancheng.

Yao Feng looked at him with worry, sighed and left.

Who would have thought that if the Zhou army did not move, it would be nothing, but if it moved, it would be like a mountain collapsing.

I thought they had been playing tricks on Zhou Jun for many days, but unexpectedly, they were actually being played by Zhou Jun for many days.

With a "boom", the Qingliu Gate shattered and collapsed under the violent impact of the city ram. The golden-armored Shi Xiangwen was like a giant spirit descending from the sky, charging forward with a heavy iron stick. A man blocked the corridor of the city gate, swinging the heavy stick left and right. Smash it, killing a large number of Tang soldiers and howling in agony.

Shi Xiangwen killed the Tang soldiers by himself, and his tall body seemed to be able to fill the corridor, blocking the light, and wielded the heavy stick in his hand to harvest the lives of the Tang soldiers.

The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty had never seen such fierce men before, and they were all frightened. They crowded together and gradually retreated.

Under the leadership of Shi Xiangwen, the morale of the Zhou soldiers was high, and they rushed into the corridor swarmly and started a hand-to-hand fight with the Tang soldiers.

Inside Guancheng, Zhou soldiers could be seen chasing down Tang soldiers everywhere. Shi Xiangwen was covered in blood. Every step he took, his feet were stained with bloody footprints.

On Guancheng, Mi Xin also led his army to occupy the city head and started fighting with the reinforcing Tang soldiers.

This black guy removed a section of his long-handled sword and was left with only a short-handled broadsword. He swung it like the wind and reaped the lives of Tang soldiers with unparalleled bravery.

In less than half an hour, the main gate of Qingliu Pass has been firmly occupied by the Zhou army, suppressing the Tang army in the lane inside the pass.Zhu Xiu rode a horse and slowly entered the gate. The ground was strewn with corpses, most of which were Tang soldiers.

Huangfu Hui evacuated after going down to Qingliu Pass surrounded by his own soldiers. He had already received the news that Yao Feng was one step ahead of him and led the remaining Tang soldiers of his headquarters to withdraw from Qingliu Pass and fled to Chuzhou City.

After Yao Feng left like this, the remaining Tang army had no intention of fighting. They stayed in Qingliu Pass and fought to the death against the fierce Zhou army, with most likely no way to survive.

The door behind Qingliu Pass is wide open, and it seems that no one is guarding it.

Huangfuhui knew that the enemy was using the strategy of encircling three and missing one to break down the will of the Tang soldiers to resist desperately and force the Tang troops to break out of the encirclement.

Huangfu Hui looked at the Tang soldiers fleeing in all directions in the alleys and civilian rooms in the pass. Knowing that the situation was over, he looked up to the sky and sighed, got on his horse and roared: "Follow me and break through!"

With a shout, Huangfu Hui rushed out of Qingliu Pass and led the remaining soldiers to flee back to Chuzhou City.

Mi Xin led his army in symbolic pursuit for a while before stopping and spitting fiercely in the direction Huangfu Hui was escaping: "Tian Hanzi, I'm taking advantage of you!"

The Zhou army occupied Qingliu Pass, changed the banner at the top of the city, and began to clean the battlefield, counting prisoners and seizing supplies.

~~~
From Qingliu Pass back to Chuzhou City, there are two ways to go.

The first is to go to Datang Town in the north, bypassing a large lake, and it takes two or three days to travel.

The second is to go south to the lower col, which is a col at the southern foot of Motuoling. The road is flat and wide, but in the rainy season, the col often accumulates water and turns into a swamp.

Normally, when you are on your way back to Chuzhou City, you will walk down the col.

What Huangfuhui and Yao Feng didn't know was that Tian Zhongjin had already led [-] ambush soldiers to ambush Xia'aokou in advance.

After the surprise attack on Qingliu Pass, it was just a feint attack. The real ambush was located at Xia'aokou. Zhu Xiu told him that this was the only way for Tang soldiers to retreat back to Chuzhou City.

Sure enough, not long after Tian Chongjin laid in ambush, he saw Yao Feng leading an army to evacuate from here under the dense forest on the hillside.

Tian Chongjin did not alert the enemy and let them pass.

His target was Huangfu Hui who came next.

Half an hour later, Huangfu Hui led thousands of remnant soldiers to escape from the foot of the mountain in a panic, Tian Zhongjin gave an order, and Zhou's soldiers rushed down the mountain forest like fierce tigers.

Tian Zhongjin leapt on his horse with his sword across the sword, leading the way and heading straight for Huangfu Hui.

The Tang army had just withdrawn from Qingliu Pass and was still in shock when they encountered the Zhou soldiers who had rushed out halfway.

There were shouts of killing in the mountains and forests, and there was no telling how many enemy troops were ambushing them. The Tang soldiers were even more timid and found it difficult to organize an effective resistance. They only made sporadic counterattacks, and most of the Tang soldiers fled in all directions.

Huangfu Hui was still somewhat courageous. Seeing that there was no hope of withdrawing his troops, he plucked up his energy and entered the horse battle again in Hetian.

But after all, he was getting older and his physical strength was weak. After more than ten rounds, Tian Zhongjin stabbed his shoulder armor with his horse. He screamed and fell off his horse, and was tied up by the Zhou soldiers who came forward.

Tian Chongjin captured Huangfu Hui, ordered the pursuit to stop, hastily cleared the mountain pass, and then retreated to Qingliu Pass.

In the evening of the same day, two generals, Tian Chongjin and Mi Xin, led hundreds of people and put on Tang army uniforms. Tian Chongjin put on Huangfu Hui's armor, disguised himself as Huangfu Hui and led the remaining soldiers to escape back to Chuzhou City.

The sky was dark, and Yao Feng climbed to the top of the city to look around, but it was difficult to tell whether it was Huangfu Hui himself.

The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were wearing the same flags and uniforms, their faces were full of panic and exhaustion, and Huangfu Hui's shouting voice sounded somewhat similar. After asking a few words, he ordered the suspension bridge to be lowered and the city gate opened to let the Tang soldiers enter the city.

Although Yao Feng despised Huangfu Hui as a person, he was still a little wary of this scoundrel and mischievous guy. If Huangfu Hui really escaped the pursuit of the Zhou army and returned and he did not open the city gate, Huangfu Hui would definitely be furious and cause trouble for him.

After all, Huangfuhui was the general of Chuzhou, and he often boasted in front of Li Jing, and he was more favored than Yao Feng who was dull and didn't know how to please the king.

Huangfu Hui called the door at the bottom of the city. Even if Yao Feng was wary, he did not dare not open the door when there was no obvious flaw.

The suspension bridge fell, the city gate opened, and the "Tang Army" rushed in from below the city, destroying the suspension bridge and breaking the city gate's latch.

Mixin turned his head and shot a rocket into the sky, which fell to the northwest.

Under the dark night, rockets streaked across like meteors.

Soon, the rumble of war drums sounded in the distant wilderness, and the Zhou army surged towards Chuzhou City like a tide.

Yao Feng turned pale with shock, knowing that he had been tricked, he hurriedly ordered the city gate to be closed, but it was too late.

Tian Chongjin and Mi Xin led their troops to guard the city gate to buy time for the Zhou army to enter the city.

Shi Xiangwen walked vigorously, carrying a heavy iron stick on his shoulders and took the lead in rushing into Chuzhou City.

The dark Zhou army behind them followed closely, poured into the city, and started fighting with the Tang army.

The Zhou army was fighting and shouting that Huangfu Hui, the chief general of Chuzhou, was dead. One hundred thousand Zhou army soldiers were at the gate of Chuzhou city. Those who surrendered would be spared death, and those who resisted would not be killed.

Thousands of Zhou troops with Huaibei accents shouted in unison, shaking the entire Chuzhou city.

The Tang soldiers experienced a whole day's defeat, and the general Huangfu Hui was also killed in the battle. Unknown how many Zhou troops came to attack the city, and the morale of the army was in chaos for a while.

Yao Feng also wanted to lead his army to break out, but Mi Xin accurately shot him dozens of steps away, with an arrow piercing his forehead.

The Tang army circulated the heads of the two major generals in Chuzhou throughout the city. The remaining Tang army fled and surrendered. By daybreak, the city had been basically cleared, and the Zhou flag was flying high at the top of Chuzhou city.

After Zhu Xiu obtained the seal letter of the Tang army's soldiers, he immediately sent people pretending to be Huangfu Hui's cronies to Tianchang County to ask for help. At the same time, he sent an order to Han Lingkun to prepare for an ambush halfway.

A few days later, Han Lingkun successfully ambushed the Tianchang Tang army in Dushan, east of Chuzhou City, beheading more than a thousand people and capturing more than a thousand prisoners. He then marched into Tianchang County and captured the northern gateway to Yangzhou.

After a series of battles in Chuzhou, Zhu Xiu relied on [-] Huai troops to defeat Qingliu Pass and Xia Chuzhou City. He killed more than [-] Tang troops and captured [-]. The nearly [-] heavy troops deployed by the Southern Tang Dynasty in Chuzhou were all defeated.

Coupled with Han Lingkun's capture of Tianchang County, the Zhou army on the eastern front achieved its greatest victory since the Battle of Huainan.

At the same time, Zhao Kuangyin marched into Tushan, and first crossed the river with a small group of troops to provoke the Tang army's camp in Tushan. Tang army general He Yanxi, who did not know Zhao Kuangyin's name, led his army to attack and crossed the Huaihe River northward to pursue the Zhou army.

Zhao Kuangyin set up an ambush at the intersection of the Wuhe River and the Huaihe River - Wukou. With [-] Zhou troops, he defeated more than [-] Tang troops. He beheaded the Tang army's leader, He Yanxi, and took advantage of the situation to seize the Tushan camp and capture more than [-] warships.

Si Chao, the commander of the Pioneer Capital, led an attack on Shengtang County with twice as many troops, annihilated the stubborn resistance of the Tang army in Shouzhou, and captured more than [-] warships.

Throughout March, the Zhou army made great progress in Huainan, blossoming on the east and west fronts, and basically annihilated the main force of the Tang army in Huainan.

Wuping Jiedushi Wang Kui learned that the Zhou army had won a great victory in Huainan, so he obeyed Chai Rong's order and led Hunan soldiers and horses to attack Ezhou.

Qian Hongchu, the king of Wuyue, also followed the order of the Emperor of Zhou and personally stationed troops north of Suzhou, always preparing to attack Changzhou.

For a time, the Zhou army's offensive in Huainan was like a wave, and Southern Tang San faced the enemy, showing a precarious situation.

At the same time, a series of death news also came from Kaifeng.

Former prime minister Jing Fan, former Xijing left-behind Wang Shou'en, Hanlin scholar Xu Taifu, old prime minister Zheng Renjie, Xingzhou Jiedushi Liu Ci and many other veteran officials died of illness one after another.

On the Great Week, a new generation rises and an old generation falls.

(End of this chapter)