History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 140 Dong Chang Becomes Emperor 3
[Sorry, I'm a policeman]

Zhaozong certainly did not want to pardon Dong Chang. If even blatant treason could be brushed off with a simple "Sorry, I'll change", who knows how many people in the Tang Dynasty would claim to be alone and how many would be lonely.

The traitor must be eliminated!

Qian Liu, you are such a cunning person, and you still want to show off to me. You are so ungrateful after getting the upper hand? Damn it! Since you are begging for him, I will give you a favor. Let's see if you, Qian Liu, want to be a hypocrite or a real villain.

Qian Liu was amazed at the Emperor Zhaozong's cunningness and had no choice but to reveal his true colors: I want to be a real villain.

Therefore, Emperor Zhaozong issued another edict, stripping Dong Chang of all his official titles and ordering Qian Liu to lead an expedition.

This edict was written brilliantly, with brilliant writing and quotations from classics. It first said that Dong Chang was "a vessel full of talent that will overturn itself, a tripod that will break and eventually fall", insulting people without using any dirty words;

Pointing out that Dong Chang's rebellious behavior was like a moth flying into a flame, "a fish playing with a cauldron is pitiful, but a mantis blocking a rut is ultimately unruly";
Of course, the same old things were said: only the main culprit would be executed, and the rest would be ignored. Anyone who captured or killed Dong Chang alive would be given an official position of the third rank or above, and a reward of 10,000 strings of cash. Those who had previously joined the bandits and rebelled, if they could come to their senses and capture and kill Dong Chang, would be forgiven for their past mistakes and would receive the same reward.

The most interesting part is this sentence in the imperial edict, "Thanks to the loyalty and enthusiasm of Zhejiang West Jiedushi Qian Liu and other officials..."

Pay attention to the blackboard and emphasize the key points. "Lai——Qian Liu——"

Qian Liu, don't think you can get away with it. I am praising you openly but criticizing you secretly, and I am specifically pointing out that it was you, Qian Liu, who insisted on the court sending troops, so that the whole world can see your hypocritical face.

Zhaozong, you are so cruel.

Qian Liu sent troops for the second time to attack Dong Chang in accordance with the imperial edict. Dong Chang asked Yang Xingmi for help.

This was the result Yang Xingmi least wanted to see. If Dong Chang was not rescued, Qian Liu would dominate the Liangzhe region, seriously threatening Yang Xingmi's southern territory. If Qian Liu joined forces with Zhu Wen, they would attack Huainan from both north and south.

If you hit someone with a punch, you need to guard against his kick. From Hebei to Shandong, from Huainan to Liangzhe, all forces have this concern, and also have this opportunity.

Therefore, Yang Xingmi dispatched his main general Tai Meng to march south along the canal to attack Suzhou in the north of Zhenhai Army to contain Qian Liu's forces from marching south to attack Yuezhou. He also sent generals An Renyi and Tian Yu to penetrate the hinterland of Zhenhai Army to threaten Hangzhou and further obstruct Qian Liu's march south.

Dong Chang also sent troops north to join forces with the reinforcements from Huainan to jointly encircle Jiaxing and cut off the communication lines between Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Qian Liu sent his general Gu Quanwu and others to deal with it. They advanced in pain, faced difficulties head-on, and would never miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Dong Chang plotted rebellion and proclaimed himself emperor, but his name was not right and his words were not reasonable. The army was demoralized and morale was low, and many surrendered. Qian Liu followed the emperor's order to suppress the rebellion, and he cut through all the obstacles along the way and besieged Yuezhou.

Qian Liu surrounded Yuezhou, and Yang Xingmi engaged in a tug-of-war with Qian Liu in the Liangzhe area, with both sides winning and losing. This did play a restraining role, preventing Qian Liu from swallowing up Dong Chang in one fell swoop; and Yang Xingmi was also unable to continue the Northern Expedition because he was restrained by the battlefield in Liangzhe.

In the power ranking of the Jianghuai region, Yang Xingmi was undoubtedly the top spot. After intervening in the affairs of Liangzhe, Qian Liu gradually felt overwhelmed, so he contacted Hongzhou Zhong Chuan and Ezhou Du Hong, two small vassal states that were also threatened by Yang Xingmi, and together they formed an alliance with Zhu Wen for help, forming an "Anti-Huai United Front" to jointly resist Yang Xingmi.

This was also what Zhu Wen urgently hoped for. The two sides hit it off immediately. Zhu Wen immediately sent his adopted son Zhu Yougong to lead a special division of 10,000 people to cross the Huai River to fight. Zhu Yougong enjoyed a great degree of freedom. Without any specific military tasks, all actions could be decided freely according to the specific circumstances.

A 10,000-man army could not play a decisive role in the battle situation, nor could it bring about any direct changes. The political significance of 10,000 men crossing the Huai River to fight far outweighed the military significance. Just like Li Keyong of Hedong sending 500 cavalrymen to the eastern battlefield, it was more of a signal and a gesture to the warring parties.

Zhu Yougong's special task force was a wake-up call to Yang Xingmi and a reassurance to Qian Liu, Zhong Chuan, Du Hong and others.

As a result, Yang Xingmi's action to rescue Dong Chang became hesitant and slow.

In crisis, Dong Chang again allied with another person for help, Li Shiyue, the governor of Huzhou. Li Shiyue sent more than 4,000 people to harass Qian Liu.

Dong Chang constantly sent patrols to monitor Qian Liu's movements.

"Report - Qian Liu has many soldiers and generals, and his military discipline is strict..."

He is spreading rumors and confusing the people, disrupting the morale of our army. Come, drag him away - and chop him off!
"Report - Qian Liu is leading a motley crowd, and with no food or grass, the army is demoralized and will collapse on its own."

Thank you for your hard work. I will reward you with lamb and wine. Come back and visit us later.

Even the intelligence department was forced to turn a blind eye and deceive itself, and Dong Chang's doomsday officially entered the countdown.

Dong Chang's generals also surrendered one after another, and Qian Liu arrived at the city of Yuezhou. Dong Chang wanted to use sugar-coated bullets to corrupt Qian Liu's troops, and took out a large amount of gold, jade, silk and silk to bribe the soldiers attacking the city. Unexpectedly, it backfired, and Qian Liu's troops fought bravely and took the lead, and "Chang's army was defeated."

So Dong Chang announced that he would remove his title of emperor and resume his post as Jiedushi. I don't know whether to regard this as his naivety or his shamelessness.

The current situation (Yang Xingmi's intervention) does not allow Yuezhou to fall into a protracted war, otherwise the huge war consumption and the political cost (Zhaozong's pardon) paid for it are beyond Qian Liu's ability to bear, and the time cost full of variables will infinitely magnify the risk index. The battle of Yuezhou must be fought quickly and decisively.

The commander-in-chief of the front line, Gu Quanwu, knew this very well. He had no plan for a long-term siege from the beginning. After arriving in Yuezhou, he organized a comprehensive general attack: Gu Quanwu and others attacked Wuyun Gate; Wang Qiu attacked Shenguang Gate; Chen Zhang attacked Guanzi Gate; Xu Zaisi attacked Chang'an Gate; Luo Tuan attacked Ying'en Gate.

There are no feints or assists, all directions are main attack directions.

Just when the battle to capture Yuezhou entered a white-hot stage, bad news came from the rear: Suzhou was lost!

Faced with Yang Xingmi's aggressive stance, a general in Suzhou betrayed his master for personal gain, captured Cheng Ji, the governor of Suzhou who was loyal to Qian Liu, alive, and surrendered the city to Yang Xingmi.

Suzhou's strategic position is quite important and poses a huge threat to Hangzhou. Qian Liu urgently dispatched Gu Quanwu from the Yuezhou front and ordered him to return to Hangzhou to deploy defenses and guard against Yang Xingmi's heart-wrenching tactics.

You will be outside, and your orders will not be accepted.

Gu Quanwu did not carry out the order, but wrote back to inform Qian Liu of the situation on the front line and analyzed the pros and cons for him, pointing out that it would only take a day to conquer Yuezhou, and withdrawing troops at this time would be a waste of all previous efforts. Finally, Gu Quanwu gave a suggestion to race against time, first take Yuezhou, and then recover Suzhou.

All the previous efforts were wasted, which was a loss that Qian Liu could not afford. He could only take a gamble. Qian Liu approved Gu Quanwu's plan.

Gu Quanwu increased the intensity of his attack.

In the fight of a trapped beast, Dong Chang made one stupid move after another.

Dong Chang had a nephew named Dong Zhen, who was kind and generous, popular among the people, and good at commanding the army. When Qian Liu's general Gu Quanwu fought against him, they were evenly matched. A junior general named La Yu under Dong Zhen's command did not get along with him, so he slandered Dong Zhen to Dong Chang, saying that Dong Zhen was plotting to seize power and rebel. So Dong Chang killed Dong Zhen without questioning him.

Dong Zhen's unjust death chilled the hearts of the generals and destroyed everyone's hopes. As a result, Dong Chang's subordinates became even more disloyal and no longer worked for him.

In addition, Dong Chang continued to plunder the people's wealth and established a "head tax". Everyone had to pay the tax, and women's hairpins and jewelry had to be handed over. It was blatant robbery, and he used every possible means.

The last straw that broke the camel's back was that Dong Chang cut the army's rations and used them to bribe Gu Quanwu's troops (and reduced the war rations to reward the foreign troops). As a result, the troops mutinied, surrendered the outer city, and attacked Dong Chang. Dong Chang was forced to retreat into the inner city.

Gu Quanwu sent Luo Tuan into the city to persuade Dong Chang to surrender, and lied to Dong Chang that he had received an imperial edict approving Dong Chang to retire and return home to spend his old age in peace.

At this point, Dong Chang had few options left, so he surrendered.

On the way back to Hangzhou, Gu Quan beheaded General Dong Chang, threw his body into the Xijiang River, and sent his head to the capital to report his achievement; Dong Chang's entire family was killed, and more than a hundred of his fake ministers were also executed; Dong Chang's ancestral tomb was dug up, and the remains of his ancestors were crushed and scattered.

Three million hu of grain and more than 500 gold coins were seized in Yuezhou City.

After Dong Chang was pacified, Li Shiyue, the governor of Huzhou, also came to the end of his life. He had previously requested the position of Jiedushi from the court, and the court granted him the title of "Zhongguo Army Jiedushi". When the envoys who were delivering the seal were halfway on the way, Li Shiyue suddenly fell ill and was about to die, but he still insisted on struggling and refused to die. His family sent a fast horse to inquire about the news, and reported that the envoys had already arrived in Wuhu. Li Shiyue nodded with relief, smiled, and closed his eyes (he was happy to hear the news, but died before he could accept the order).

After Li Shiyue died, his son Li Jihui succeeded to the throne. However, Li Shiyue helped Zhou to commit atrocities, so Li Jihui was worried and uneasy, so he planned to surrender the city to Yang Xingmi in Huainan, but his general Shen You opposed it. The two gathered their soldiers and said that those who were willing to follow Li Jihui to surrender to Huainan should stand on the west side, and those who were willing to follow Shen You to surrender to Qian Liu should stand on the east side. The voting result was "nine out of ten people in the east won."

Li Jihui became even more frightened, so he fled overnight, and Shen You and his people surrendered to Qian Liu. Qian Liu personally led a large army to take over Huzhou, captured more than 200 members of Li Jihui's family, and appointed General Gao Yan as the governor of Huzhou.

Li Shiyue was originally a general of the Xuzhou Ganhua Army. He presented the head of Huang Chao at the end of the Huang Chao Rebellion and was rewarded as the governor of Huzhou. Later in the story, there will be another Li Jihui, who is the son of Li Maozhen. The two have the same name.

Qian Liu officially annexed Dongchang, took possession of two towns and thirteen states, and became the new overlord of the Liangzhe region.

However, the struggle between Yang Xingmi and Qian Liu did not end with the demise of Dong Chang. The "Wu-Yue rivalry" in the Jianghuai region would continue for a long time, just like the "Jin-Bian rivalry", but this is a story for later.

The "Wu-Yue rivalry" can be put on hold for a while to allow the conflict between Yang Xingmi and Qian Liu to slowly ferment.

What we need to remember at the moment is that Dong Chang’s rebellion unexpectedly helped Zhu Wen resolve the southern crisis and aborted Yang Xingmi’s “joint pig killing” plan.

(End of this chapter)