History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 110 Yang Xingmi Occupies Xuanzhou
To realize this bold statement, slogans alone are useless. Yang Xingmi knew that relying solely on Luzhou was not enough to compete with Sun Ru.

Yang Xingmi's plan was to first annex Hongzhou (now Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province), in order to develop and grow stronger, and secondly to avoid the edge of Sun Ru.

Think tank Yuan Xi quickly stopped him and patiently analyzed the pros and cons for him:

Hongzhou has been ruled by Zhong Chuan for seven years. Today, Hongzhou has a large number of elite soldiers and generals, sufficient food and grass, and a united front. Although it is located in a remote area, it is difficult to deal with and it is best not to provoke it.

At the same time, Yuan Xi gave a reasonable suggestion: attack Xuanzhou.

Xuanzhou is the capital of Xuanshe Road. Qin Yan, the former governor of Xuanshe Road, was seduced by Bi Shiduo to settle in Yangzhou, claiming to be the acting governor (acting governor of Huainan), and then promoted his subordinate, Zhao Xun, the governor of Chizhou, to be the governor of Xuanshe Road. It was only a year ago.

Now, Qin Yan was killed by Sun Ru, Zhao Xun lost his backer, and his foothold in Xuanzhou was not stable, and his foundation was still shallow. Moreover, he himself had bad behavior, and the army and the people hated him. Xuanzhou was really a lord given by God, and it would be uncomfortable if he didn't take it.

Yang Xingmi nodded frequently.

Yuan Xi then proposed a plan to capture Xuanzhou:

First, he bribed Sun Duan of Hezhou and Zhang Xiong of Shangyuan with a large sum of money to let them act as bait to plunder the territory of Xuanshe Road and lure Zhao Xun to send troops. Then Yang Xingmi sent troops to intercept them halfway, replacing the siege with a field battle.

To sum up: let your teammates lure the opponent out of the tower while you hide in the bushes.

Sun Duan of Hezhou and Zhang Xiong of Shangyuan had no reason to refuse this temptation. They benefited from it on both sides, so they happily sent troops to the Xuanshe Road to smash, loot and burn.

Zhao Xun sent troops to resist, and Sun Duan and Zhang Xiong completed their mission as actors and returned home with the spoils. Yang Xingmi successfully ambushed Zhao Xun's troops, surrounded Xuanzhou, and repelled Zhao Qian (Zhao Xun's brother), the governor of Chizhou, who came to rescue.

After besieging Xuanzhou for nearly a year, a mutiny broke out in the city, and Zhao Xun was expelled by his general Zhou Jinsi. While fleeing, he was captured alive by Yang Xingmi's favorite general Tian Yu. Soon, the Xuanzhou garrison launched another mutiny, captured Zhou Jinsi alive, and then opened the city to surrender.

Yang Xingmi moved into Xuanzhou.

After entering the city, most of the generals were busy dealing with the Japanese invaders who entered the village and robbed gold, silver and silk. Only one general was free from such vulgarity. He first took control of the granary and cooked porridge to feed the hungry people in the city.

Generally speaking, those who are not tempted by the petty gains in front of them have lofty ambitions in their hearts; those who are not bound by low-level interests are because their realm and pattern have already broken through the ninth level.

For example, after Emperor Liu Bang of the Han Dynasty captured Xianyang, all the generals scrambled for money, food and women, but Xiao He was the only one who rushed to rescue the laws and books of the Qin Dynasty.

The man who helped Yang Xingmi control the granary was named Xu Wen.

Obviously, Xu Wen is also a rare talent.

When it comes to Xu Wen, many people may say they are unfamiliar with him, but when it comes to his great-grandson, I am afraid everyone knows him. He is Li Yu, the last emperor of Southern Tang, who wrote "How much sorrow can you have, just like a river of spring water flowing eastward."

Mr. Li's father, Mr. Xu, is also not an ethical joke, but a popular product of the late Tang and Five Dynasties that we have mentioned countless times - the tradition of godsons (adopted sons, fake sons, adopted sons, and adopted sons).

The story of Yang Xingmi establishing the country, Xu Wen usurping power, and the tragic poet Li Yu will be described in detail later. Xu Wen, a key figure who connects the past and the future, emerged in the battle of Xuanzhou, entered Yang Xingmi's vision, and stepped onto the stage of history, so I will mention him here.

Yang Xingmi's handling of the defeated army in Xuanzhou also reflected his broad-mindedness and confidence as a victor.

For example, Zhou Ben, a general under Zhao Xun, was extremely brave and brave, causing Yang Xingmi to suffer a lot. After being captured, Yang Xingmi appreciated his bravery and invited him to join his team, allowing him to continue to lead troops and serve as a general. Zhou Ben also became an important general in Yang Xingmi's group.
Zhao Xun's civil servants fled, but only Li Decheng remained loyal and never abandoned him. He risked his life to follow Zhao Xun, and was unwilling to live alone even though Zhao Xun was captured alive. Yang Xingmi highly praised Li Decheng's spirit of loyalty and married him a woman from his own clan named Yang. Afterwards, Yang Xingmi reported to the court and informed him of the current situation in Xuanzhou. The court issued an edict, appointing Yang Xingmi as the governor of Xuanshe Road.

As expected, Sun Ru did not leave Yang Xingmi too many opportunities and sent troops to attack Yang Xingmi's old nest, Luzhou.

Cai Chou, the defender of Luzhou, surrendered the city.

Yang Xingmi took a deep breath. If he had not listened to the advice of his think tank Yuan Xi and seized Xuanzhou, but instead stayed in Luzhou or sent troops to Hongzhou, he would inevitably be a prisoner of the traitor Sun Ru today.

"If I have Yuan Xi, why should I worry about not ruling the country?"

Yang Xingmi regarded Xuanshe Road as a new revolutionary base and managed it with great care.

At this time, Bianzhou sent an envoy to convey Zhu Wen's intention:
"Zhao Xun is my old friend. I will not comment on the feud between you and him (Yang Xingmi annexed Xuanshe Road), let alone interfere. I only hope that you can consider my little bit of face (Zhu Wen recommended Yang Xingmi as the governor of Huainan) and allow me to bring my old friend Zhao Xun to Bianzhou to retire."

Zhu Wen wanted to take in Zhao Xun, obviously not out of friendship, but for political purposes. Providing shelter to officials who lost their land, and then escorting them to a certain place at the right time, taking the opportunity to extend their sphere of influence, or using it to fish, such as escorting Liu Zan, the governor of Chuzhou, to take office, thereby fishing out Shi Pu of Xuzhou, etc., are all common tactics of politicians.

Zhu Wen took in Zhao Xun of Xuanzhou, which was obviously a prelude to his later intervention in Xuanshe Road. This was Zhu Wen's "friendship".

Facing Zhu Wen's request, Yang Xingmi was in a dilemma. If he released Zhao Xun, it would be like laying a mine for himself; if he did not release him, it would also offend Zhu Wen's face.

If you have any questions, ask Yuan Xi.

"Yuan Xi, what do you think?"

Yuan Xi said, "Isn't this simple?" Any seemingly difficult problem always has a solution that satisfies both sides. Yuan Xi's strategy is to receive the order at the front door and kill people in the backyard.

So Yang Xingmi killed Zhao Xun and gave Zhao Xun's head and a letter to Zhu Wen's envoy, saying, "I'm very sorry, comrade Zhao Xun has unfortunately died in the chaos of the army. I'm offering his head to you. I hope Mr. Zhu will show his condolences."

Not long after Zhao Xun was killed, his think tank Yuan Xi suddenly died of illness.

Upon learning of Yuan Xi's death, Yang Xingmi looked up to the sky and cried, "Oh God, don't you want me to achieve something? Why did you cut off my limbs?"

After crying for a long time, Yang Xingmi shook his head and sighed, sobbing to himself, "I am kind and generous, but Yuan Xi always gives me strategies to kill people. Maybe this is the reason why he lost his life." He did this to ease his mind.

Ghosts and gods may not exist in this world, but cause and effect do exist.

Yuan Xi's intelligence and wisdom are obvious to all. It was with his assistance that Yang Xingmi finally gained control of Xuanshe Road. However, Yuan Xi's insidiousness is also unpretentious. His strategies always revolve around the theme of "killing people". He previously killed angel investors and business partners Zhang Shenjian, Gao Ba and others, and now he has killed Zhao Xun. He is vicious and lacks humanity.

The death of Yuan Xi caused great losses to Yang Xingmi, but it could not shake Yang Xingmi's determination to dominate the world.

After just a few months of reorganization, Yang Xingmi sent his favorite general Tian Yu to attack Changzhou to compete with Qian Liu of Hangzhou for territory.

(End of this chapter)