History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 155 Qingkou Battle 2
A scout anxiously reported urgent military intelligence, saying that he had discovered Huainan soldiers secretly breaking through the dike upstream and a flood was about to come!
Pang Shigu rebuked him for shaking the morale of the army and "executed him immediately".

In order to stabilize the morale of the army, Pang Shigu, wearing a feather fan and a long scarf, set up a chessboard in the military camp and played chess leisurely, showing the demeanor of a Confucian general.

Soon, the flood really came, and the low-lying Bian Army camp immediately became a water town. The Bian Army fell into chaos. At this moment, the cry of killing rang out, and a Huainan suicide squad consisting of thousands of people rushed over.

Arrogant soldiers will surely be defeated, while pitiful soldiers will surely win.

It was the middle of winter, and the Huaihe River region was damp and cold. Yang Xingmi of Huainan was in a hurry to fight, and the logistics support was quite inadequate. This death squad that took risks, secretly broke the dike, and robbed the camp was thinly dressed and had no logistics and food supply. When they were thirsty, they licked a mouthful of snow, and when they were hungry, they chewed a few mouthfuls of ice (the soldiers all drank ice and ate snow while walking). When they approached Bianying, their feet were severely frostbitten and they could not stand.

Even so, this Huainan suicide squad still maintained high morale, using their weapons as crutches (standing spears and planting feet), supporting their bodies, facing death with indifference, and with the determination to die, they resolutely launched a charge against the Bian army that was dozens of times larger than their own.

The one who led this death squad was Zhu Jin who fled back to Huainan.

Zhu Jin and the Bian army were enemies as fierce as fire and water, and they were sworn enemies. Zhu Jin was a skilled warrior, especially at using a spear, and his spear skills were considered the best in the Jianghuai region.

With deep hatred towards the Bian army, Zhu Jin was the first to break into the camp from the north, "galloping with spear in hand and shouting like thunder". His Yanzhou cavalry also felt the pain of losing their country and their families, and charged left and right in the Bian camp like a tiger among a pack of wolves.

The Bian army was in chaos and unable to take care of itself.

Yang Xingmi led the main force to cooperate and attack, and soon surrounded the Bian army.

Pang Shigu's army of 70,000 was almost wiped out, and Pang Shigu himself died in the chaos.

At the same time, Ge Congzhou was attacking Shouzhou in the west and was met with stubborn resistance from Zhu Yanshou of Shouzhou.

This was almost a head-on confrontation between the two camps' strongest generals. Fortunately, historical records are vague and full of contradictions.

Some authoritative historical materials say that Zhu Yanshou defeated Ge Congzhou, while others say that the two did not have a formal contact, and that Ge Congzhou took the initiative to withdraw his troops after hearing the news of Pang Shigu's defeat. No matter what is said, it is only mentioned in one sentence without elaboration.

This leaves novelists room for free imagination, because the duel between these two people should be similar to Guan Yu's fight against Huang Zhong under Changsha City, Zhang Fei's fight against Ma Chao outside Jiameng Pass, or Xu Chu's fight with Ma Chao naked, Sun Ce's fight with Taishi Ci... and so on.

In short, Ge Congzhou failed to complete the task of capturing Shouzhou. After hearing the news of Pang Shigu's defeat, he knew that the expedition to Huai was hopeless, so he withdrew his troops in order to preserve the strength of the Bian army.

When crossing the Pishui River, they were intercepted by Yang Xingmi's main force that came to support them. They were attacked halfway across the river, and the Bian army suffered heavy losses, with many soldiers drowning. After crossing the river, heavy snow fell, and the fleeing Bian army had no food for four days. Most of the surviving officers and soldiers died of hunger and cold. In the end, only less than a thousand people followed Ge Congzhou back.

Zhu Wen, who was stationed in Suzhou, received battle reports from the front line. The two armies were almost wiped out. He also received a letter from Yang Xingmi: "Pang Shigu and Ge Congzhou are both overrated. Old Zhu, you should come to the Huaihe River in person and play with me." Zhu Wen put down the letter and sighed to the sky.

This is the famous "Battle of Qingkou" in history. Although "famous", it is little known due to the overall downturn of this historical period (Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms).

In fact, the historical status of the "Battle of Qingkou" is comparable to the "Battle of Chibi" during the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period.

The Battle of Red Cliffs is well-known because of the classic short stories, such as Pang Tong's chain of tricks, Zhou Yu's self-torture trick against Huang Gai, Zhuge Liang's borrowing of the east wind, and Jiang Gan's theft of the book...

The "Battle of Qingkou" also has this potential: Zhu Jin, who slept on straw and tasted gall, Pang Shigu, who followed the rules and was stubborn, Ge Congzhou and Zhu Yanshou...

This book is faithful to objective historical facts, focuses on political games, and explores the inevitable logic behind seemingly chaotic geopolitical conflicts, discovering the inevitability of historical "accidents". Therefore, "Ge Congzhou VS Zhu Yanshou" is not included in our interpretation, and the entire "Battle of Qingkou" is also not expanded due to the serious lack of historical materials.

But this does not hinder its profound historical significance.

First, Zhu Wen suffered the worst defeat since his debut. "There has never been such a heavy loss of troops in history."

Secondly, it established Yang Xingmi's position as the regional overlord, "as a result, Xingmi occupied the area between the Yangtze River and the Huai River."

The Battle of Chibi established a three-way balance of power, and the Battle of Qingkou also established the division of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. From the first Liang Dynasty to the last Zhou Dynasty, the central government was almost unable to penetrate the Jianghuai region, and the Jianghuai region therefore gave rise to two relatively powerful states: Southern Wu (Southern Tang) and Wuyue.

The defeated Bian army fled northward through Yingzhou. Yingzhou governor Wang Jingrao supplied food to the defeated army and gathered firewood on the road and burned it to block the pursuing troops from Huainan. He preserved a lot of manpower for Bianzhou and made a great contribution.

Wang Jingrao was not a former subordinate of Zhu Wen, but a marginal figure of the Bianzhou forces. He was a native of Yingzhou. During the Huang Chao Rebellion, he was an officer of Yingzhou and led his troops to resist the invasion of bandits. From Huang Chao to Qin Zongquan, Wang Jingrao was mighty and unyielding, and always refused to bow to the bandits. According to records, Wang Jingrao was burly and brave, and the spears and arrows he used were all forged from pure iron, weighing more than 30 kilograms. He was able to break through the enemy's front and no one dared to stop him. During the Huang Chao and Qin Zongquan periods, Yingzhou was preserved under the protection of Wang Jingrao and became a well-known safe haven.

Whenever Zhu Wen passed through the border, Wang Jingrao always tried his best to provide supplies, especially in the "Battle of Qingkou", Wang Jingrao made great contributions again, so Zhu Wen recommended him to be the governor of Xuzhou Wuning Army, and later he was transferred to the central government, successively serving as the commander of the Right Dragon Army and the general of the Left Guard. In the end, he died a good death.

It was Li Chengsi, a general from Hedong, who gave Yang Xingmi advice and formulated water attack tactics in the "Battle of Qingkou", but it was Zhu Jin who contributed the most on the battlefield.

Shi Yan and Li Chengsi, the generals from Hedong who followed Zhu Jin to escape, were treated well by Yang Xingmi. They were given villas, beauties, gold, silver and jewelry, which were generous rewards regardless of the cost. They were willing to work hard for Yang Xingmi. Although Li Keyong wrote to Yang Xingmi to ask him to send them back, and Yang Xingmi agreed, they never returned to Hedong and served in Huainan. They eventually died on the land of Huainan.

Thanks to old friends "Bedroom King" and "Favorite Smile" for their recommendation votes and support!
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(End of this chapter)