History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 130 Li Cunxiao's Rebellion

In the invasion of Chengde Army, Li Cunxin was ordered to cooperate with Li Cunxiao in the battle.

However, Li Cunxin secretly sabotaged Li Cunxiao's battle plan, which was the direct reason why Li Keyong retreated to Luancheng as mentioned above.

It’s not that the enemy is too strong, but that there is a traitor within our army who lets us go.

Li Keyong was known for his bad temper, especially after a defeat, he would even scold his younger brother to death. How could he let it go when he was defeated by a teenager?

Therefore, Li Cunxin, the villain, filed a complaint first, confusing right and wrong, and put the blame for the defeat on Li Cunxiao, saying that "Cunxiao had two minds and always avoided attacking Zhao", slandering Li Cunxiao for collaborating with the enemy and treason.

Although Li Keyong had a fiery temper, he just laughed at this, because this was exactly how he used people. He knew very well that Li Cunxiao was a simple boy. The reason why he transferred Li Cunxiao from Fenzhou to Xingzhou east of Taihang Mountain was to take advantage of his simplicity and his eagerness to make achievements, and to make him the vanguard of the invasion of Hebei.

If Li Cunxiao really turned his back on Jin and joined Zhao, how could he have tried so hard to instigate Li Keyong to attack Chengde? Don't forget that it was Li Cunxiao who instigated this war of aggression.

So when faced with Li Cunxin's "reporting and exposing", Li Keyong just smiled knowingly and didn't take it to heart at all.

Li Keyong didn't take it to heart, but Li Cunxiao did.

After much thought, Li Cunxiao felt that he was not as trusted as Li Cunxin this time. This time, Li Cunxin falsely accused him of treason, and he was afraid that his godfather would listen to him and believe him. He would never be able to clear himself even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

You accused me of treason, fine, then I will really rebel.

At this point, we can understand why Zhu Wen insisted on killing Zhu Zhen, and why he insisted on killing him even though he knew that Zhu Zhen had no intention of rebelling.

"I believe you don't object, but I don't believe you believe I believe you don't object..."

Li Cunxiao rode alone to Zhenzhou, the headquarters of the Chengde Army, and met with Wang Rong in person. He formed an alliance with him, vowed to fight against Li Keyong together, and sent people to contact Zhu Wen to discuss major issues.

At that time, Li Cunxiao occupied Dongzhaoyi (Xing, Ming and Ci states), controlled the fortress strongholds in and out of Taihang Mountains in the west, Chengde Army in the north, Wei Bo Army, Zhu Wen's indirect force in the southeast, and Zhu Wen's direct sphere of influence in the south. The geographical location was very important. If Zhu Wen controlled this place, it would be equivalent to strangling Li Keyong's neck, and Zhu Wen's strategic posture against Li Keyong would also change from defense to offense.

Unfortunately, Zhu Wen was caught in a tug-of-war with Shi Pu of Xuzhou and the two Zhus of Yanyun at that time, and was unable to spare any time.

Li Cunxiao was very clear-headed. If he did not get Zhu Wen's military support, Wang Rong alone would not be able to resist Li Keyong. So Li Cunxiao directly submitted a petition to the court, asking to return the three states to the court, requesting the court to issue official flags and allow him to unite with the various vassal states to attack Li Keyong.

Zhaozong's policy on vassal states was to instigate fighting among the vassal states and reap the benefits. Now, this policy has borne fruit, and the three states have voluntarily returned to the central government.

Zhaozong immediately appointed Li Cunxiao as the governor of the Eastern Zhaoyi Army, but rejected his request to join forces to attack Hedong.

This is the brilliance of Zhaozong.

Because even if they did not get the approval of the court, Wang Rong and Zhu Wen would help Li Cunxiao for their own interests. Regardless of whether there was an imperial decree, a war was always inevitable. If Zhaozong approved Li Cunxiao's request, then Li Keyong would have another reason to lead his troops to the imperial court. When Li Keyong recovered the three states, it was the day when Zhaozong "hunted west" again.

The court gained the land without any effort, making a huge profit without any investment. Zhaozong was more knowledgeable about political games. Unfortunately, history is the biggest manipulator.

Upon hearing that Li Cunxiao had taken control of Dongzhao and was affiliated with Bianzhou and Zhao, Li Keyong became furious and marched rapidly overnight to besiege Xingzhou.

Chengde Wang Rong sent his general Wang Canghai to deliver a letter to Li Keyong to persuade them to make peace. "You must be magnanimous and choose to forgive him."

The unfortunate Wang Canghai must have never heard this sentence: Stay away from those who advise you to be magnanimous without understanding the situation, because when they are struck by lightning, you will be implicated as well.

Lei didn't strike him, but Li Keyong did, using a knife.

Li Keyong not only killed Wang Canghai, but also wanted to kill Wang Rong. He immediately led his troops northward to attack Wang Rong and defeated Chengde's army. Because Li Keyong went to the battle in a hurry, there were serious problems with logistics and supplies, and the army was short of food. So the Hedong Corps pickled the enemy's corpses into bacon and used it as military food. This also had a strong psychological deterrent effect on the enemy.

Wang Rong complained bitterly, "Cunxiao, buddy, I'm here to protect you, and you have the heart to be a coward?"

Li Cunxiao led his troops to Zhenzhou and discussed with Wang Rong how to repel the enemy.

Great minds think alike. On the key issue, the two reached a unanimous consensus: with the two of us, we will be finished sooner or later unless we get Zhu Wen's help.

Zhu Wen was stuck in Xuzhou and was unable to do anything. He could only write a letter to Li Keyong, which said: I have 100,000 elite troops stationed in Wei Bo. Upon hearing that there was a change in Shandong (east of Taihang Mountain), the soldiers were eager to make a move and wanted to make achievements. Fortunately, I, your brother, remained calm and restrained, so as not to escalate the conflict...

Li Keyong didn't buy his tricks and immediately replied: If you really have 100,000 troops here, please ask them to join the battle as soon as possible. I'm worried that there won't be enough corpses to eat. Stop talking nonsense and come to Hebei, let's fight.

At the critical moment, Li Kuangwei from Lulong arrived in time and helped Wang Rong to repel Li Keyong. Li Keyong retreated south from Zhenzhou and continued to besiege Xingzhou.

If there is a map, it will be clear at a glance. The Hedong Army crossed the Taihang Mountains from west to east, and the first stop was Xingzhou. From Xingzhou, turning north, it was the territory of the Chengde Army. Before the nail of Xingzhou was pulled out, the battle line deep into Chengde from the north was very fragile.

Because of his swiftness, Li Cunxiao and Wang Rong were caught off guard. Once the war entered a stalemate, Li Keyong in Zhenzhou would be in danger of being surrounded. Therefore, before taking Xingzhou and controlling Dongzhaoyi, he could not linger in Zhenzhou. Seeing Li Kuangwei of Lulong joining the battle, Li Keyong decisively ordered to shrink the front line and concentrate his forces to attack Xingzhou.

Moreover, Zhenzhou has never been the core demand of the Hedong Group, but Dongzhaoyi is. The top priority of the Hedong Group at this stage is to stabilize the Dongzhaoyi area.

Facing the traitorous son Li Cunxiao who betrayed his master and ancestors, Li Keyong did not simply expel him from his school and take back the word "Cun". Li Keyong whipped his whip and the army marched to the gates of the city.

After the Hedong Army retreated south, Wang Rong breathed a sigh of relief and was very grateful to Li Kuangwei of Lulong for his timely help. He generously rewarded the Lulong reinforcements and presented them with a large amount of gold, silver and silk as a reward.

Wang Rong and Li Kuangwei drank and chatted happily, celebrating the friendship between Zhenyou (Zhenzhou Chengde Army and Youzhou Lulong Army) that was forged with blood in the battle.

Thanks to old friends “feiitan” and “book friend 20180121110920727” for their recommendation votes and support!
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(End of this chapter)