History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 103 New Opportunities 1
[New Opportunities: Hebei Weibo]

Time was of the essence, and with the assistance of Jing Xiang, Zhu Wen immediately adjusted the military deployment, changing the southward march to the northward march.

The "harvest of vegetables" war has entered its second phase. Qin Zongquan, the thief of Cai, had suffered enough from Zhu Wen in the first phase and realized the strong threat from Zhu Wen, so he also made corresponding strategic changes, shrinking the defense line, concentrating troops, and preparing to get rid of Zhu Wen in Bianzhou. Among them, ordering the "Huainan Expeditionary Force" led by his younger brother Qin Zongheng to abandon Huainan and return to Caizhou for defense was one of the landmark events of the strategic focus shift.

God bless Zhu Wen, Cai thief's "Huainan Expeditionary Army" mutinied, and his general Sun Ru killed Qin Zongheng, and then led his troops to continue to advance to Huainan to compete with Yang Xingmi for Yangzhou. To a certain extent, it weakened Cai thief Qin Zongquan.

This also provided objective conditions for Zhu Wen to shift his strategic goals northward.

Zhu Wen ordered his favorite general Li Tangbin to lead 30,000 troops to attack Caizhou as originally planned to contain Qin Zongquan; he sent the fierce general Zhu Zhen to lead 10,000 elite troops to cross the Yellow River to the north to support Le Congxun.

Le Congxun's 30,000 men were slaughtered by the Wei Bo rebels and fled in panic. Zhu Zhen only led 10,000 men, so what would have happened?
Zhu Zhen led 10,000 men across the river from Baimazin in Huazhou, and successively conquered the three cities of Liyang, Ligu and Linhe from south to north, defeating more than 10,000 Wei Bo rebels. He gained a lot, but still not satisfied, so he sent people to plunder Chanzhou. He encountered the elite force of the Wei Bo army, the "Leopard Regiment", and wiped out the "Leopard Regiment" in one go... He was so powerful in Heshuo that the words "Zhu Zhen" stopped children from crying.

It's like cheating.

Le Congxun was encouraged, so he planned to lead his army to break out, and cooperate with Zhu Zhen to attack from both inside and outside. However, Le Congxun was a bronze that even a king could not lead, and he was defeated at a speed that Zhu Zhen could not catch up with. He thought he was a bronze, but in fact he was a slag.

The Wei Bo rebels beheaded Le Congxun and also killed Le Yanzhen, who was under house arrest.

Le Congxun paid the price of his recklessness with his life, and the death of his father and son also deprived Zhu Wen of the legitimate reason to interfere in Wei Bo's internal affairs.

Luo Hongxin, the leader of the Wei Bo rebels, was very worldly-wise. He immediately presented a large amount of gold, silver and treasures to Zhu Wen of Bianzhou, asking him to clear up the misunderstanding and restore the old relationship.

The "misunderstanding" refers to the killing of Lei Ye, the grain-seeking official in Bianzhou, by the Wei Bo army.

When Zhu Wen attacked Huang Chao, the imperial court ordered the Wei Bo army to provide 30,000 hu of military rations and 200 horses. Now Zhu Wen was ordered to attack Qin Zongquan, and the imperial court ordered the Wei Bo army to provide 20,000 hu of military rations. As a result, the Wei Bo army refused to provide it for various reasons, so Zhu Wen sent Lei Ye to urge them to do so.

Coincidentally, Lei Ye had just arrived in Weizhou when the Wei Bo mutiny broke out and Lei Ye was killed by the rebels. This was another excuse for Zhu Wen to launch an expedition to punish him.

Now, Zhu Wen had two options: First, refuse the peace talks and order Zhu Zhen to attack Weizhou until the entire Weizhou Army was annexed; second, accept the peace talks, accept Luo Hongxin's sincerity, and withdraw from Hebei.

Zhu Wen chose B.

The reasons are as follows:

It is not advisable to tangle with the powerful vassal states in Hebei while the problems of Qin Zongquan, Zhu Xuan, Zhu Jin and Shi Pu have not been completely resolved;

Le Congxun and his son were already dead, and Luo Hongxin had apologized for the murder of the grain collector and made up for the loss. If we impose additional taxes, it would be unjust and unjustifiable, and would lose its moral foundation.

Zhu Wen's strategic goal has been achieved. He has gained practical benefits, intervened in the political arena of Hebei with a strong attitude, and formed an alliance with Wei Bo Luo Hongxin, gaining both fame and fortune. It is always better to have one more friend than one more enemy.

When it is time to advance, advance; when it is time to stop, stop. Great wisdom knows when to stop.

There was another reason that made Zhu Wen make this wise choice: an envoy from Heyang also came to ask for help.

【New Opportunities in Heyang】

The tree wants to be calm and the wind does not stop.

While Zhu Zhen was dominating Heshuo, Zhang Quanyi of Heyang also sent a letter to Zhu Wen asking for help.

Zhuge Shuang, the former governor of Heyang, attacked Han Jian of Wei Bo, causing Han Jian's defeat and death. The following year, Zhuge Shuang also died of illness. Generals Liu Jing and Zhang Quanyi supported their son Zhuge Zhongfang as the governor of Heyang. The new commander Zhuge Zhongfang was still young, and the ruler was young and the country was in doubt. The general who supported him, Liu Jing, became the "regent". All military and political affairs were handled by Liu Jing, which caused dissatisfaction among another "old minister", who was Zhuge Shuang's confidant and beloved general - Li Hanzhi, the deputy governor of Heyang.

Li Hanzhi is so interesting. The original text is quite funny, and it is one of the few biographies that can make readers laugh out loud. It is hard to believe that it comes from the serious and authoritative "Twenty-Four Histories":
"When he was young, he studied to become a Confucian scholar, but failed. He then became a monk. However, because he was a scoundrel, no one would tolerate him. He once begged for food in Suanzao County. From dawn to dusk, no one gave him food. So he threw his bowl on the ground, tore his monk's robe, and became a fugitive." - Biography of Li Hanzhi in "Old History of the Five Dynasties"

Basically no translation is needed.

Li Hanzhi was born strong, sturdy, and shameless. He was born to be a thief. After many setbacks, he finally found a suitable career: robber.

When Huang Chao rebelled, Li Hanzhi gladly joined the rebels and really showed his strengths and "gradually became the leader". Later, Huang Chao was repeatedly defeated by Gao Pian, so Li Hanzhi surrendered to Gao Pian with Qin Yan, Bi Shiduo and others, and Gao Pian recommended him as the governor of Guangzhou.

Within a year, the Cai thief Qin Zongquan was wreaking havoc. Li Hanzhi abandoned the city and fled, attaching himself to Zhuge Shuang, the governor of Heyang. Because of his similar early experiences to Zhuge Shuang and his bravery and good fighting skills, he was highly regarded by Zhuge Shuang and was appointed as the Yin of Henan and the governor of Dongdu.

Zhuge Shuang's first half of life is also a joke. Like Li Hanzhi, the original historical text is very funny. Here is a brief translation. It was mentioned in the previous article and is compared with Li Hanzhi:

In his early years, he was a temporary worker in the county police station. Because he was flogged by the county magistrate, he resigned in anger and became a folk artist, singing on the roadside. His singing was too bad and no one gave him money. It happened that Pang Xun was in rebellion, so he happily joined the rebellion. Later, Pang Xun lost power and surrendered to the court. He was promoted for his merits. He was also fickle during the Huang Chao Rebellion, engaged in political speculation, and gradually became the governor of Heyang.

Zhuge Shuang's inner monologue to Li Hanzhi was: "Your shamelessness is very similar to my charm when I was young."

When Li Keyong suffered the "Shangyuanyi Incident", he passed through Luoyang and was warmly received by Li Hanzhi, who comforted Li Keyong's injured heart in time, and the two formed a deep friendship. This is very important. To some extent, this care laid the foundation for Li Hanzhi's lifelong glory.

The Cai thief Qin Zongquan sent Sun Ru to plunder the Eastern Capital. Li Hanzhi was defeated and fled. Sun Ru looted the Eastern Capital Luoyang and set fire to the palace and houses before leaving. Li Hanzhi led his troops back to the Eastern Capital Luoyang to pick up the ruins.

When Zhuge Shuang died, Li Hanzhi was stationed in Mianchi. He lost the "merit of supporting the emperor". Also, because he was the "favored minister of the former lord", he was naturally ostracized and suppressed by the "Regent" Liu Jing.

Liu Jing claimed that he would personally guard Luoyang, led a large army to Luoyang, and then suddenly attacked Li Hanzhi who was stationed in Mianchi, but was defeated by Li Hanzhi. Liu Jing abandoned the city and fled, and Li Hanzhi pursued him relentlessly.

Liu Jing hurriedly dispatched Zhang Quanyi to lead troops to support and block Li Han's pursuit.

Zhang Quanyi was also dissatisfied with Liu Jing, so he turned against him in the battle and joined forces with Li Hanzhi to attack Liu Jing together. They were defeated, so the two retreated to Huaizhou.

Not long after, the haunting Sun Ru returned. Liu Jing, who was the "regent", had no time to care about Li Hanzhi and Zhang Quanyi, and concentrated all his efforts on fighting Sun Ru. As a result, he was defeated by Sun Ru. Liu Jing protected the young lord Zhuge Zhongfang and fled to Bianzhou in a small boat.

Sun Ru then proclaimed himself the governor of Heyang.

It happened that Qin Zongquan failed to "kill the pig", and the morale of the Cai bandit forces was low. The bandit soldiers and generals were frightened and scattered. Sun Ru had to withdraw from Luoyang again. Before leaving, he carried out systematic destruction of the local area as usual, taking away what he could take away and burning what he could not take away (driving all the people in Heyang to kill them, throwing their bodies into the river, and burning the wells before leaving).

Luoyang, the eastern capital, had been repeatedly invaded by wars since the Huang Chao Rebellion. After Huang Chao, it was ravaged by Qin Zongquan and Sun Ru in turn. According to historical records, there were almost no intact buildings in Luoyang city at that time. At a glance, there were only broken walls and ruins, "white bones covered the ground, thorns were everywhere, and there were less than a hundred households" and "there were no farmers in the fields."

If you want to know about the rise and fall of ancient and modern times, please just look at the city of Luoyang.

Qin Zongquan and Sun Ru were primarily responsible for the desolation of the Heyang region. It is not an exaggeration to say that they were extremely evil and had committed many crimes. However, some places in southern China built ancestral halls for the great bandit Sun Ru and worshipped him for generations. The reasons for this will be presented one by one in the following text.

After Sun Ru left, Li Hanzhi and Zhang Quanyi entered Heyang to clean up the mess.

Thanks to old friends "Pure Lsp", "feitian", "Feitian Shenlongzhan", and "Book Friend 151023051918540" for their recommendation votes and support!
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(End of this chapter)