History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 15: Lone Hero Xin Dan
The rebel general Wu Jiong was unwilling to be the second Li Yuan, and his attack was almost crazy. He organized a death squad, piled up firewood, prepared to burn the water gate, and stormed into the city. The defenders in the city gradually lost their strength, and the city fell in a matter of days.

Xin Dan volunteered again to go to Hongze to ask for help.

"We've been rejected once. Will it work this time?" Du Min felt worried.

Xin Dan looked at him with a firm determination, "If I don't succeed, I'll die. If I can't borrow soldiers this time, I'll die right there!"

Although the odds were slim, there was no other way, and everyone knew it. They could only try their best. The two old friends held hands tightly and said goodbye in tears.

Xin Dan carried a door panel on his back to block arrows and stones, and drove a small boat alone. He risked his life to break through the siege and came to Hongze, where he met the eunuch Guo Houben.

The eunuch Guo Houben was deeply shocked by Xin Dan's second visit. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, who could believe that an old man over fifty years old could break out of the siege alone, shuttle among the bandits and soldiers, and go back and forth several times?
Xin Dan used sharp words, reason and emotion to finally make Guo Houben realize the importance of Sizhou to Huainan and the entire war to suppress the rebellion. So Guo Houben decided to send troops to provide assistance.

But at this critical moment, a discordant voice suddenly sounded, "The disparity in numbers is too great. We are all like clay Buddhas crossing the river - we can't even protect ourselves, so how can we help you?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice. The one who said this was a Huainan general named Yuan Gongbian.

"Du Jun" is above all the generals. "Du" means "total", for example, above "Jian Jun" there is "Du Jian", and above "Zhihui Shi" there is "Du Zhihui Shi".

Therefore, in this support army, Yuan Gongbian is considered to be in a high position of power and his words carry considerable weight.

Before he finished speaking, Xin Dan was furious and drew his sword with a clang. He pointed his finger at his nose and said, "The bandits are attacking the city from all directions. Sizhou is in danger. You are following the emperor's order to fight the bandits, but you are lingering. You are not only betraying the country's grace? If Sizhou is lost, Huainan will be devastated. When the time comes, the bandits will swarm and trample on the land of Huainan. Where can you escape to and stand by and watch? I will kill you first, and then I will kill myself!"

After saying this, Xin Dan swung his sword.

Eunuch Guo Houben quickly hugged Xin Dan and said, "Calm down."

Yuan Gongbian took the opportunity to flee in a panic. All the generals also urged Xin Dan to calm down.

"You see... they will not agree to send troops, so we... or... next time! We will definitely help you next time, okay?"

For several days, he was busy with battles and travels, with not enough food or sleep, and no time to wash. He was covered in mud and dust from head to toe, with his gray hair falling out of his bun, making him look even more haggard... Xin Dan stood dejectedly outside the military tent, looking back in the direction of Sizhou, and burst into tears.

He cried because Sizhou City was about to fall, he cried because the people of Sizhou were about to be massacred to vent their anger, he cried because his old friend Du Yan was about to die for his country, he cried because he was weak and could not prevent the tragedy from happening, and he cried even more because the Huainan soldiers did not help him...

The man did not shed tears, but he did not go to the sad place.

Xin Dan cried all day long, and the soldiers and generals of Huainan were also moved by him and shed tears of regret and helplessness.

The eunuch Guo Houben was finally moved, and he took a compromise approach and agreed to allocate him 500 soldiers. Before leaving, Guo Houben asked the 500 people, "Are you really willing to go?"

Five hundred soldiers said in unison, "I do!"

Xin Dan was deeply moved, and he "threw himself up and kowtowed to thank the soldiers." The word "throw" is particularly vivid in one's imagination.

Xin Dan led 500 men to rush to Sizhou for assistance.

When they reached the south bank of the Huai River, they saw the enemy army rushing to attack Sizhou, and the city walls were crowded with people.

A young general beside him sighed and said casually: "It seems that we are still late. Sizhou City has been captured. Let's go back."

Xin Dan grabbed the man's hair, drew his sword, and was about to behead him.

The soldiers around him pleaded for him, saying that this man was the judge of our 1,500-man army and an important officer and should not be killed.

"If you spread rumors and mislead the people in battle, you should be executed according to the law!"

The crowd pleaded in vain, so they rushed forward to snatch Xin Dan's sword. Don't underestimate this old man in his fifties. After all, he has been a chivalrous man since he was young. He is strong and has excellent martial arts. Otherwise, he would not have been able to go in and out of the enemy army seven times alone. The soldiers worked together to snatch the sword from his hand, but they failed.

So Xin Dan said, "As long as you all get on board, I will spare him."

Five hundred soldiers immediately rushed to board the boat and rowed towards the north shore.

On the boat, Xin Dan announced the wartime discipline, "Anyone who looks back will be killed!" Don't even think about retreating, anyone who dares to look back will be killed.

The five hundred men had already experienced what kind of person Mr. Xindang was. After landing, the five hundred warriors rushed directly to the city without hesitation.

"Reinforcements are coming!"

The morale of the defenders in the city was greatly boosted and their fighting spirit was high.

Du Min quickly ordered the soldiers to stand in a row on the city wall, waving flags and shouting, responding to the reinforcements outside the city.

The reinforcements must let the defenders know that they have joined, and the defenders must also let the reinforcements know that the city has not fallen. Only by calling and responding can the morale of each other be boosted.

The rebels were not aware of the details of the reinforcements. How could they believe that only 500 people dared to charge at more than 10,000 people? So they quickly withdrew their troops.

What the bandits could not have imagined was that these five hundred people actually dared to chase...

Xin Dan led 500 men in a noisy pursuit. After chasing for most of the day, he reluctantly withdrew his troops into the city, feeling still unsatisfied.

Xin Dan explained to the soldiers and civilians of Sizhou that "your uncle is still your uncle" and led the troops to quell the rebellion. If you don't accept it, just fight!
Pang Xun was furious and dispatched thousands of elite soldiers to support Wu Jiong; the bandit general in Haozhou also sent elite soldiers to reinforce Wu Jiong.

The crisis in Sizhou City has not been resolved and is only getting worse.

Following the recent Huainan Task Force, the Zhenhai Army also sent a 4,000-man task force to rush to Sizhou.

Four thousand men in total! This gave the Sizhou defenders a boost.

However, these 4,000 men did not even see the shadow of Sizhou before they were hit head-on by the enemy army and were completely wiped out.

The military quality of Pang Xun's bandit army should not be underestimated. This time, the battlefield was carefully planned. It was on the south bank of the Huai River, not the north bank. In this way, the defenders of Sizhou City could not leave the city to provide support.

The 4,000 naval forces never expected that Pang Xun's bandits would dare to cross the tower and kill them. They were too arrogant.

On the south bank of the Huai River, there is a city called Duliang, which faces Sizhou City on the north bank across the river. Huainan reinforcements have been moved here from Hongze.

The rebel army took advantage of the victory to surround Duliang City and conquered it in one fell swoop. Li Xiang, Guo Houben, Yuan Gongbian and other Huainan generals were captured alive and sent to Xuzhou to ask for a reward.

The Huainan soldiers who were watching the fire from the other side of the river were finally burned first.

The rebel army then occupied the Huaikou and controlled the waterway from the Si River into the Huai River, paralyzing the waterway transport from the southeast to Chang'an.

The imperial court ordered three armies to enter Xu to fight:

Kang Chengxun, the commander-in-chief of the anti-bandit campaign, personally led the Central Route Army;
Dai Keshi, commander of the Zhengnan Front Army;
Wang Yanquan, commander of the Northern Front Army.

Among them, Kang Chengxun once led the army to Annan and fought against Nanzhao, making considerable military achievements; and Wang Yanquan was even more interesting, as he was Wang Zhixing's godson.

Pang Xun finally got the chance to engage in a head-on battle with the imperial court.

(End of this chapter)