History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 115 Breaking the situation
Zhu Wen's general Li Dan and others surrounded Zezhou and called on the governor Li Hanzhi to surrender, "You have always relied on Li Keyong, the Shatuo. Now, Prime Minister Zhang has surrounded Taiyuan, and General Ge Congzhou has also entered Luzhou. In less than ten days or half a month, the Shatuo will not even be able to find their hiding caves. Where can you survive? Surrender quickly."

After Li Cunxiao captured Sun Kui alive, he immediately led reinforcements to Zezhou. Upon hearing this, he was furious. He immediately assembled 500 elite cavalrymen and rushed to the outside of the Bian army camp. He circled the camp and challenged the enemy, cursing, "I am the Shatuo who is looking for a cave. I want to use your meat to feed my men so that you can be fat for battle!"

There is no good hand for hitting someone, and no good mouth for scolding someone. Li Cunxiao blocked the door and cursed in the street, and the more he cursed, the more vulgar he became.

Bian general Deng Jiyun was also a fierce general. He could not bear the humiliation and went out to challenge Li Cunxiao. He was captured alive by Li Cunxiao in one blow. The Bian army was terrified and their morale collapsed. That night, Li Dan led his army to escape.

Li Cunxiao and Li Hanzhi pursued the Bian army relentlessly, chasing them to Ma Lao Mountain, where they defeated the Bian army and captured and killed tens of thousands of them. Still not satisfied, they continued their pursuit from Shanxi all the way to Henan, and only returned after they reached Huaizhou (now Qinyang City, Henan Province).

Li Cunxiao's soldiers did not disarm and continued to rescue Luzhou.

Seeing that the Bian army in Zezhou had collapsed, Ge Congzhou of Luzhou had to abandon the city and flee before the Hedong army completed the strategic encirclement, thus retaining some fresh troops for the Bian army.

At this point, the military operations of the Zhengnan Front Army were declared a failure.

Zhu Wen failed to gain any benefit from it, but instead lost many soldiers and horses. He was furious and severely reprimanded the defeated generals. He also beheaded Li Dan, who suffered a defeat in Zezhou, and displayed his head to the public.

Li Dan was born in Huang Chao's grass army, but he was not Zhu Wen's direct descendant. He joined the grass army after Huang Chao entered Chang'an, and was not under Zhu Wen. During the "Wangmandu Battle", he surrendered to Zhu Wen together with Ge Congzhou and others. The commander-in-chief of the Bian army in this expedition to Zezhou was Zhu Wen's eldest son Zhu Youyu. It is impossible to kill your own son when holding the defeated army accountable, so you can only put the blame on Li Dan, on the grounds that he "violated the Jiedu", meaning that the commander-in-chief Zhu Youyu made proper arrangements and did not make any mistakes, but you were disobedient, which led to the failure, and you should be killed.

After eliminating the threat from the south, Li Keyong appointed Kang Junli as the commander of Zhaoyi Army and ordered Li Cunxiao to be the governor of Fenzhou, which greatly disappointed Li Cunxiao.

Li Cunxiao thought that he had captured Sun Kui alive, saved Zezhou, and recovered Luzhou, and that he deserved to be in charge of Luzhou. But his godfather gave the position of Lushuai to Kang Junli, which was simply unreasonable. He was so angry that he couldn't eat for several days and killed people at the slightest provocation.

Now, only the Central Army Group in the west, led by Prime Minister Zhang Jun himself, remained.

A wonderful drama has just begun.

【Wonderful Central Army】

Before the army set out, Emperor Zhaozong personally went up to the Anxi Tower to see Zhang Jun off. Zhang Jun asked Emperor Zhaozong to dismiss his attendants, saying that he had a confidential report.

After removing all the idlers, Zhang Jun said confidently: "Your Majesty, please allow me to eliminate the external threats first, and then I will eliminate the internal worries for Your Majesty!" In the informal spoken language of the central court, "external" refers to the local vassal states, and "internal" refers to the eunuchs.

Zhang Jun spoke wildly again, but what he didn't know was that the eunuch Yang Fugong was eavesdropping in secret.

Hearing this, Yang Fugong broke out in a cold sweat.

Afterwards, Yang Fugong led the imperial guards to see Zhang Jun off. Yang Fugong offered a toast to Zhang Jun, but Zhang Jun declined to drink. Yang Fugong sarcastically said, "Prime Minister, you hold the imperial sword and command the imperial army, why are you so unhappy?"

Zhang Jun glanced at him, snorted coldly, and said, "When I defeat Li Keyong and return victoriously, I will let you see how straightforward I am!"

This sentence made Yang Fugong sweat profusely again.

Yang Fugong and Li Keyong had a long history of relationship, and they could be considered as old friends, with mutual interests and shared honor and disgrace. Yang Fugong had originally opposed the court's use of force against Li Keyong, and Zhang Jun had repeatedly hinted at eliminating Yang Fugong. How could he just sit there and wait for death?
Like most court officials, Niu Hui was bearish on this military operation, while Yang Fugong was "short selling", secretly sabotaging and obstructing it, acting as a traitor to Li Keyong of Hedong, and laying the groundwork for the disastrous defeat of the central army.

Zhang Jun led his army out of Yindi Pass, heading for Taiyuan Prefecture.

Li Keyong sent veteran generals Xue Zhiqin and Li Chengsi to lead 3,000 men to build the first line of defense in Hongdong County, and sent Li Cunxiao to lead 5,000 men to build the second line of defense to deal with the invasion of the army.

Han Jian, the governor of the state, led a team of 300 death squads to raid the camp at night and attack Li Cunxiao. However, the news leaked out, and Li Cunxiao set up an ambush and defeated Han Jian. The Central Army suffered a setback at the beginning.

In fact, it was only a small defeat with the loss of 300 people. As a result, the Guanxi Army led by Jingnan and Fengxiang fled upon hearing the news, and the Central Army collapsed in an instant. The Hedong Army chased and killed the Central Army all the way, forcing it back to Jinzhou, south of Hongdong County.

It's really vulnerable.

In order to boost morale, Zhang Jun personally went to the battlefield to command the battle, and more than 3,000 people were killed. So the soldiers of Jingnan, Fengxiang, Baoda, and Dingnan rushed across the Yellow River and returned to their respective towns. Only the imperial guards brought by Zhang Jun and the Xuanwu Army sent by Zhu Wen were left, a total of about 10,000 people.

Zhang Jun finally understood what war was. It was far from what he had imagined, with feather fans and blue scarves, and masts and oars being destroyed in the midst of laughter and chat. From then on, Zhang Jun stayed at home and never dared to go to war again. Li Cunxiao discussed with his generals and believed that although Zhang Jun was a sinister, stupid, evil and cowardly person, he was still the prime minister of the dynasty, a close minister of the emperor, and the troops he led were also the emperor's imperial guards. The Hedong army was cautious and had to give the court a little face, and also leave a way out for themselves.

So Li Cunxiao turned to attack Jiangzhou, south of Jinzhou. The governor of Jiangzhou abandoned the city and fled; then, the Hedong army that was besieging Jinzhou retreated 50 miles and set up camp, leaving a gap for Zhang Jun to escape.

Zhang Jun and Han Jian were obviously unaware of Li Cunxiao's behavior of letting the enemy go. As his retreat route to Jiangzhou was cut off, Zhang Jun could only go east first, cross Wangwu Mountain, and flee to Mengzhou. He temporarily demolished several houses, used wooden planks to piece together a simple raft, crossed the Yellow River in a panic, and then turned west to escape to Luoyang, the eastern capital.

After letting Zhang Jun go, Li Cunxiao dared to take Jinzhou, and then he frantically plundered Cizhou, Xizhou and other areas east of the Yellow River.

Prime Minister Zhang is like a man pushing a millstone with his bare buttocks - going around in circles in disgrace.

Emperor Zhaozong received news of the complete defeat of the expeditionary army and was at a loss as to what to do. He then received a memorial from Li Keyong, which clearly showed his arrogance:

"Our three generations have been blessed by four previous emperors. We defeated Pang Xun, eliminated Huang Chao, deposed Li Yan, and protected Yiwu. We have made outstanding contributions. Your Majesty can sit on the throne today, which is the result of the blood and sweat of us Shatuo people!
If my crime was to attack Yunzhou, then why didn't Your Majesty send troops to attack Tuoba Sigong who seized Fuzhou and Yanzhou, and Zhu Wen who attacked Yunzhou and Xuzhou? You rewarded them, but killed me. Are you using double standards?
When the imperial court was in trouble, they praised me as Han Xin, Peng Yue, Yi Yin, and Jiang Ziya. When the situation stabilized, they scolded me as Rong, Jie, Hu, and Yi. The feudal lords who hold heavy troops in the world, don’t they worry that one day they will suffer the injustice I am now? The lives of the Hu people are also lives!
Even if I was guilty and the central government wanted to punish me, it should be done according to the national law and step by step. How could they take advantage of others' misfortune (Luzhou crisis) and add insult to injury? How could the great, glorious and correct Emperor of the Tang Dynasty be so despicable and shameless?
I have gathered 500,000 Han and Tibetan soldiers and have won a victory over Zhang Jun. I will lead my light cavalry to knock on the palace gates and kowtow before the throne. I will tell your majesty in person how the wicked villain murdered the loyal and good. I will also send the imperial edicts praising me from previous emperors back to the royal ancestral temple. I will then wait for my fate and am willing to die."

Flowery insults and verbal abuse, naked military threats.

Zhaozong and the entire court were shocked and frightened, and were forced to make overtures to Li Keyong and ask for peace:

The imperial edict demoted Prime Minister Zhang Jun to the position of Surveillance Commissioner of Eyue Road, and demoted Prime Minister Kong Wei to the position of Jiedushi of Jingnan.

Despite being demoted many times, the two war culprits are still deputy provincial-level cadres.

Li Keyong certainly disagreed with this price, so he submitted another memorial:
"Zhang Jun deceived and exploited your majesty's trust, and used your majesty's eternal foundation as a bet for his own temporary fame. He knew that there was a grudge between me and Zhu Wen, so he made friends with him privately. Isn't it a taboo for court officials to have private relations with local governors? Now, I have been stripped of all my official positions and titles, and I can't return to my original governorship. The world is so big, but there is no place for me to stay. I have no choice but to take my army to Chang'an. Please, Your Majesty, show me a way forward."

Follow the same prescription and lead the troops to the palace.

Emperor Zhaozong had no choice but to issue another decree, demoting Zhang Jun to the governor of Lianzhou (now Lianzhou, Guangdong Province) and Kong Wei to the governor of Junzhou. At the same time, he restored all the official titles of Li Keyong and ordered him to return to Taiyuan Prefecture. Soon after, he gave Li Keyong the title of envoy, restored the official title of Li Hanzhi, the governor of Zezhou, and demoted Zhang Jun to the post of the secretary of Xiuzhou (Guiping County, Guangxi Province).

One cannot push the emperor too far, so Li Keyong stopped at the right time, gained enough face, and returned to Taiyuan Prefecture.

Yang Fugong also waited for the opportunity to take revenge, and sent people to ambush Kong Wei in the east of Chang'an City, looting all his property and supplies. Kong Wei barely escaped with his life.

How could Zhang Jun dare to go to the distant Guangdong and Guangxi regions alone? He realized Yang Fugong's insidiousness and knew that there was no way he could reach Guangxi alive, so he fled halfway and defected to Han Jian in Huazhou, and secretly asked Zhu Wen for help together with Kong Wei.

"Please lend a hand to my brother for the sake of the Party and the country!"

This is the pitiful part of Zhang Jun and Kong Wei. They were never the protagonists who controlled the game, let alone the designers of the chess game. They were always chess pieces that were used and manipulated by others. Their rapid rise to fame and status was not due to their quick thinking and beautiful writing. Their leading the army was not due to their military and literary skills. Their honor and disgrace in life were all at the mercy of others.

Unfortunately, none of them understood it. Especially Zhang Jun, who always believed that he was the top designer.

Now, even their stay or departure, life and death are not in their own hands, nor in the hands of so-called morality and law. Instead, they have become tools of the game between the two powerful vassals - Li Keyong and Zhu Wen, and bargaining chips in negotiations between the central and local governments.

Zhu Wen submitted a petition to the court to redress the grievances of Zhang Jun and Kong Wei. If Li Keyong could lead troops to force the emperor to abdicate, why can't I, Zhu Wen? Your Majesty, how about I come to you in person to have a talk?
Emperor Zhaozong was walking on thin ice, with thorns on both sides of his hands. He dared not offend anyone, so he could only try to smooth things over and issue another edict to revoke the previous order of exile.

What about the golden words and the law of nature? Haha, the emperor also has the physiological need to fart.

As for Zhang Jun and Kong Wei, the emperor has said: "Go wherever you want." Never mind, you can go wherever you want, it doesn't matter.

It really doesn't matter.

The two finally chose to stay in Huazhou and hide under the protection of Han Jian, the governor of the Zhenguo Army.

Li Keyong single-handedly thwarted the joint military action of the central court and local vassal states, which dealt a heavy blow to Emperor Zhaozong's confidence in reducing the power of the vassal states and destroyed the remaining dignity of the central court, eliminating the last bit of awe that the vassal states had for the empire.

(End of this chapter)