History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 14 The most beautiful retrograde
As early as when Pang Xun went north from Huainan to Xuzhou, he passed through Sizhou. At that time, the two sides had a small friction due to a small misunderstanding.

The incident was not a big deal, and the impact was not bad. But this small incident was enough to show that Sizhou was not a trivial matter.

Sizhou Governor Du Yan hosted a banquet at the stadium outside the city to entertain Xu's returning troops. At that time, Pang Xun's gang was still wearing a hypocritical mask and had not openly rebelled. In theory, everyone was still a comrade in the same trench, not to mention that the court had repeatedly warned local officials along the way not to intensify the conflict.

During the banquet, Du Yan arranged for a troupe to perform for Xu Zu. Before the performance began, the troupe leader came on stage to give a speech.

Everything couldn't be more normal. To this day, before a special performance of a well-known folk art group, the owner or leader of the group will go on stage to say a few words, introduce the actors, and thank the audience.

However, Xu Zu deliberately found fault, saying that letting an actor give a speech was obviously an insult to us, and that the highest local leader should be allowed to come out and say a few words.

Before he finished speaking, Xu Zu drew his sword and strung his bow, and pinned the leader of the troupe to the stage, meaning that he would first kill the actors and cause chaos, and then take advantage of the situation to rob Sizhou City.

Unexpectedly, Du Yan had already taken precautions. When friends come, there is good wine; when jackals come, there is a hunting rifle. Sizhou City is heavily guarded, and the Sizhou garrison is ready for battle.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Xu Zu restrained himself and quickly released the troupe, saying that it was a misunderstanding and that he had lost his composure after drinking. He left Sizhou in disgrace and headed north to return home.

After leaving Sizhou, Pang Xun's followers revealed their true colors in Xuzhou.

Du Yan had seen through everything and knew that Pang Xun's gang was not a good thing. They would not miss their wives and children as they claimed. Sooner or later, these guys would start a rebellion. So after sending Pang Xun away, he still strengthened his vigilance and actively sought news from Xuzhou.

When the news of Pang Xun's rebellion came, Du Yan immediately adjusted Sizhou to the first level of combat readiness, repaired fortifications, recruited warriors, and at the same time sent a request for assistance and defense to Huainan.

If Xuzhou breaks out in chaos, Sizhou will inevitably be affected. If Sizhou is lost, Huainan will inevitably be affected.

Du Yan has a good friend whom he has never met, named Xin Dan, who is over fifty years old. He does not like being an official, but loves to be chivalrous and righteous. He is a third-generation official with a very unique personality.

At this point, I need to focus on the family background of this old naughty boy, Comrade Xin Dan. The Longxi Xin family is a family of generals. His great-grandfather Xin Silian was the general of the Left Guard; his grandfather Xin Yunjing was even more remarkable. He participated in the suppression of the "Anshi Rebellion" and was granted the title of Prince of Jincheng County and served as prime minister.

In the first year of the Baoying reign of the Tang Dynasty (762), Comrade Xin Yunjing was appointed as the prefect of Taiyuan Prefecture. Therefore (pay attention to the blackboard and highlight the key points below), in the historical records of Xin Dan, the first sentence is: "The grandson of Taiyuan Yin Yunjing." Therefore, in the entry of a well-known search engine Baidu, in the "Related People" column of "Xin Dan", "Yin Yunjing" is clearly written.

Xin Dang’s grandfather, Mr. Yin...came up with an ethical joke.

This is an obvious, low-level mistake, a common sense fallacy, but unfortunately it has been reprinted by many websites and spread as a rumor.

The correct punctuation of "Taiyuan Yin Yunjing" is "Taiyuan Yin, Yunjing", not "Taiyuan, Yin Yunjing". The omission of some official titles and surnames is a common practice in biographies. "Taiyuan Yin" is the abbreviation of "Taiyuan Fu Yin", and the omission of surnames often appears in family genealogy introductions.

For example, "Li Xi is the grandson of Xiping Wang Sheng." Mr. Li Xi is not the grandson of Xiping County Wang Sheng. The accurate translation of this sentence is "Li Xi is the grandson of Xiping County King Li Sheng."

Let me add one more thing, there are still many mistakes in Baidu, which will be mentioned slowly in the following text.

When Pang Xun launched a rebellion in Xuzhou, Xin Dan rushed to Sizhou as soon as possible.

Although the two had never met, they had known each other for a long time. Li Yanshu, one of Du Yan's staff members, mentioned the hero Xin Dan to him many times, and predicted that if the Xu bandits came south, Xin Dan would definitely come to serve.

As expected, Xin Dan came back. Du Yan was overjoyed and grabbed Xin Dan's hand, saying, "The Xu bandits are besieging the city so tightly that not even a bird can fly in, yet you dare to brave the swords and enter the dangerous city. Yan Shu really didn't make a mistake about you!"

But what Xin Dan said was like a bucket of cold water poured on Du Yan's head.

"The Xu bandits are besieging the city. Sizhou is in danger. Hurry up and take your wife and children with you, as well as your gold and silver. I will escort you out of the city. It's not too late to escape now."

Du Yan flatly refused, saying that as a state official, I was receiving a salary from the court in peacetime. How could I abandon the city and flee once the country was in danger? You are right, I have a wife and children, but who in the city doesn't have a wife and children? If I run away, what will happen to the people in the city? I, Du Yan, swear to live and die with Sizhou! Unexpectedly, Xin Dan laughed and said that I was right, and I was just testing your attitude. Good job, I, Xin Dan, am willing to die for the country with you! Let me go home and say goodbye to my family first.

So, Xin Dan returned to his temporary residence in Yangzhou, said his final goodbyes to his family, and then returned to Sizhou without hesitation.

At this time, as mentioned above, Pang Xun sent an additional 10,000 troops to besiege Sizhou, and a fierce battle was about to begin.

Sizhou residents, carrying their elderly and children, continued to form a long line of refugees, blocking the road. In this long line heading south, there was an old man in his fifties who resolutely went upstream. He was Xin Dan.

The kind-hearted refugees tried to stop him, saying that the rebels were coming and everyone was fleeing south, so why did he want to go north to die?

Xin Dan didn't have time to explain to them one by one. Yes, he was going to die, just like Wen Tinghao, who resolutely "went to die" after bidding farewell to his family.

No matter how hard I tried, I was still a step late.

When Xin Dan arrived in Sizhou, the reinforcements of the Xu bandits had already arrived and began to besiege Sizhou City. Xin Dan found an abandoned boat on the shore, and then risked his life to pass through the gap between the bandits and unexpectedly entered Sizhou City without any danger.

In Sizhou City, Du Yan held Xin Dan's hands tightly. This is a friendship of life and death, this is sharing weal and woe.

Pang Xun's gang recruited soldiers and used a very down-to-earth slogan "Rob money, rob food, rob women" to attract like-minded people. There were even fathers encouraging their sons, wives bidding farewell to their husbands, brothers holding hands... They rushed to enlist in the army. They brought their own weapons, including hoes and rakes. If they couldn't find any farm tools, they would sharpen wooden sticks.

Du Min and Xin Dan did not sit still and wait for death. They summoned all the generals to discuss the strategy of defending the city. When the enemy army completed the blockade of Sizhou City, they suddenly launched a counterattack outside the city, catching the enemy army off guard.

After achieving a small victory, the defenders did not linger in the battle, but immediately retreated into the city to preserve their strength, leaving behind more than 10,000 confused bandits outside the city.

At the beginning of the war, Du Min sent a signal for help to Huainan.

The imperial court finally saw Pang Xun's true colors and issued an edict to suppress him.

Huainan Jiedushi Linghu Tao also knew the importance of Sizhou to Huainan, so he implemented the latest spirit of the central court and sent 1,500 elite soldiers, led by Li Xiang and eunuch Guo Houben as military supervisor, to immediately support Sizhou.

Sizhou had repelled the enemy's repeated attacks, forcing Pang Xun to change his commander on the battlefield, replacing Li Yuan with Wu Jiong.

As a new official, Wu Jiong was eager to prove his strength, so he reorganized his troops and launched a more fierce attack, determined to capture Sizhou City in one fell swoop.

The Huainan reinforcements, led by Li Xiang and Guo Houben, had marched to Hongze (now northwest of Hongze County, Jiangsu Province), but were so intimidated by the enemy's strength that they stayed there and were reluctant to go to the front line.

Sizhou was in danger, and the reinforcements were close at hand but people were just watching from the other side.

Xin Dan volunteered to break out of the siege and go to Hongze to persuade the Huainan soldiers to join the battle. That night, Xin Dan rowed a small boat alone, crossed the enemy's blockade in the dark, arrived in Hongze, and met the Huainan reinforcements.

However, the eunuch Guo Houben, the military supervisor, refused to move forward. "The enemy army is more than ten times larger than mine. Are you going to let me die?"

Xin Dan is well aware of the righteousness of the matter, and there is also an imperial decree. Does Huainan intend to disobey it?

Eunuch Guo Houben was silent for a while, "Although the imperial court has issued an edict, the armies from all regions have not yet gathered. When the armies from all regions join us, we will certainly march to defeat the enemy. Sizhou... let's hold on a little longer."

The night was deep and the sky was dark. Xin Dan had to return immediately, because this was the darkness before dawn.

(End of this chapter)