History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 160 Zhaoyi Seesaw
【Zhaoyi Saw】

Li Hanzhi rebelled in Luzhou and handed Xizhaoyi over to Zhu Wen. At this time, Zhu Wen was attacked by Yang Xingmi in Huainan in the southeast and Liu Rengong attacked Weizhou in the north, so he was unable to support Xizhaoyi. Xizhaoyi was controlled by Hedong forces again under the fierce attack of Li Sizhao. This is also the reason why Li Sizhao was able to support Weizhou.

When Yang Xingmi and Zhu Jin attacked Xuzhou, Zhu Wen personally led a large army to reinforce them. After Yang Xingmi received the news, he ordered a withdrawal, not daring to confront Zhu Wen. As a result, he was counterattacked by Xuzhou during the retreat, and lost more than a thousand people, so he retreated to the south of the Huai River.

When Zhu Wen heard the news of Yang Xingmi's retreat, he also turned north to support the Hebei battlefield.

After defeating Liu Rengong, Ge Congzhou took advantage of the victory to advance westwards, launched an attack on Hedong from the northern part of Taihang Mountain, captured Niangzi Pass, and threatened the east side of Hedong headquarters Taiyuan Prefecture; while another general Shi Shucong attacked westward from the central Taihang Mountain, went out of Maliang, captured Liaozhou and Leping, and attacked Yuci directly.

Liaozhou and Leping are both on the west side of Taihang Mountain and belong to the jurisdiction of Hedong, while Yuci is just a few dozen miles southeast of Taiyuan Prefecture (today's Yuci is about 25 kilometers away from Taiyuan).

The Bian army, with the remaining power of victory, had great hope of conquering Hedong. Li Keyong's situation was not optimistic.

Li Keyong sent General Zhou Dewei to Yuci, the gateway to Taiyuan Prefecture, to fight against Shi Shucong.

Shi Shucong was also a direct general of Zhu Wen. He was originally a subordinate of Pang Shigu. He was good at cavalry combat and was promoted repeatedly for his bravery. He had a fierce general under his command named Chen Zhang, who was nicknamed "Chen Yasha", which shows how powerful he was.

A battle to capture Taiyuan Prefecture was about to begin. Chen Zhang volunteered to be the vanguard officer and said to Shi Shucong: "Hedong relies on only Zhou Yangwu (Zhou Dewei's nickname), who can be captured in one battle. When I capture Zhou Yangwu, I only ask you to reward me with a state."

Shi Shucong slapped his thigh and said, "If you can really capture Zhou Dewei alive, how can our commander-in-chief be stingy with just a state!" He immediately agreed to Chen Zhang's request.

Chen Zhang was full of confidence and made a bold statement that he would exchange Zhou Dewei for the official seal of the governor.

When Li Keyong heard the news, he quickly warned Zhou Dewei to be careful.

After hearing this, Zhou Dewei laughed three times, each with a different tone.

First, he sneered, laughing at Chen Zhang's wild words; then he laughed heartily, laughing at himself for having a plan to catch the thief; finally, he shook his head and smiled bitterly, laughing at Li Keyong for not fully realizing his own talents.

Zhou Dewei captured the Yaksha with three smiles.

The two armies met at Dongwoyi, about 5 miles east of Yuci City, and immediately engaged in battle.

Zhou Dewei changed into the clothes of an ordinary soldier, mixed in with the front row, and went to challenge him. He asked one of his generals to put on his armor and robes, rode through the streets in bright clothes and furious horses, and told him, "When you see Chen Yasha, don't hesitate, turn around and run!"

Chen Zhang was eager to make a contribution. When he saw "Zhou Dewei", he was overjoyed and chased after him on horseback, "Guan Yin, don't run!"

"Zhou Dewei" rode away, and Chen Zhang chased after him. At this time, a Hedong "little soldier" suddenly rushed out and threw a meteor hammer. Before Chen Zhang could react, he fell off his horse. Before he could catch his breath, the Hedong soldiers on both sides came forward, grabbed his shoulders, grabbed his back, and tied him up with ropes, making him look like a dumpling.

He made the "soldier" of the meteor hammer move forward, grabbed his chin, and turned his face around, "Look carefully, I am Zhou Yangwu!"

The hero and the soldier exchange skins, lure the opponent's hero over the tower to kill, and then hide in the bush.

Chen Zhang was very unconvinced. Is there such a thing?
Rule the country with justice and use surprise in the military. The so-called military is the art of deception. Being brave and fearless is important, but you must use your brain in war, otherwise it will just be a group fight.

The Bian army suffered a defeat in the first battle, and the vanguard officer was captured alive. Zhou Dewei took advantage of the situation to launch a general attack, which greatly defeated the Bian army and killed more than 3,000 people. The Bian army fled in panic, and Shi Shucong was forced to abandon his position and retreat.

Zhou Dewei pursued them bravely, and chased them to Shihui Pass, killing another 1,000 Bian troops and completely defeating Shi Shucong's forces.

Ge Congzhou of Niangzi Pass was also forced to retreat.

After the defeat in the east, Zhu Wen sent Ding Hui northward from Heyang to attack Zezhou under the control of Xi Zhaoyi to assist Li Hanzhi.

Li Keyong dispatched troops, and Zhu Wen also sent more troops. The main battlefield of the two sides shifted from Hebei to Xizhaoyi again. Ding Hui and Zhang Cunjing defeated the Hedong army and controlled Xizhaoyi. Li Keyong killed the defeated generals and sent his adopted son Li Sizhao to continue the counterattack against Xizhaoyi.

Now, the East and West Zhaoyi armies have been reunified under Zhu Wen's control. In order to deal with Li Keyong's subsequent crazy counterattack, Zhu Wen made timely personnel adjustments and appointed Ding Hui as the Jiedushi of the Zhaoyi Army. Later, he ordered Zhang Guiba to garrison Xingzhou in East Zhaoyi, and let Ge Congzhou replace Ding Hui to enter Luzhou.

As for the fickle villain Li Hanzhi, Zhu Wen was uneasy about keeping him in Xizhaoyi, so he recommended him to be the governor of Heyang.

At that time, Li Hanzhi was already seriously ill, and he had no choice but to walk and stop to Mengzhou, which was not far away. From Zezhou to Mengzhou, he only needed to cross the Yellow River. However, when Li Hanzhi reached Huaizhou on the north bank of the Yellow River, he unfortunately died of illness, and he was unable to cross the Yellow River until his death. He was 58 years old.

Although Zhu Wen occupied the Zhaoyi Army, he had to be prepared to deal with Li Keyong's frenzied counterattack; although he scared away Yang Xingmi of Huainan, he did not damage the vitality of Huainan. Yang Xingmi always threatened Zhu Wen's southeastern border, preventing him from going all out in the battle for the Zhaoyi Army in the north.

Haizhou (now Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province) under Zhu Wen surrendered to Yang Xingmi, and Huainan generals Zhang Xun and Wang Wan led 2,000 people into the city to take over.

Wang Shifan, the commander of the Qingzhou Pinglu Army on the Shandong Peninsula, also had close ties with Yang Xingmi.

Perhaps in order to deal with the threat from the southeast, Zhu Wen once again made personnel changes in the Zhaoyi Army and ordered He Delun to replace Ge Congzhou.

In just two months, Zhu Wen had changed commanders three times in Zhaoyi area, appearing to be a little flustered and acting as fiercely as a tiger.

As soon as He Delun entered Xizhaoyi, the Hedong general Li Sizhao arrived.

Li Sizhao stationed troops outside Luzhou City and dispatched part of his forces to attack Zezhou in the south. Zezhou was the gateway to the south of Taihang Mountain and the only way for Zhu Wen to reinforce and retreat.

Unexpectedly, the commander of Zezhou abandoned the city and fled, handing over such an important strategic location to the enemy. Li Sizhao then appointed Li Cunzhang as the governor of Zezhou.

When the news of Zezhou's fall came, He Delun was terrified and had no choice but to defend the city and dared not step out of the city.

Li Sizhao sent out armored cavalry to patrol the city every day, harvested all the crops within a radius of thirty miles, and sent soldiers to capture people who were cutting grass and grazing. The food supply in Luzhou City was completely cut off, and the city was facing the danger of running out of food.

After being besieged for half a month, He Delun abandoned the city and fled under the cover of night, but was intercepted and killed by Li Cunshen on the way, suffering heavy losses.

Ge Congzhou was leading reinforcements to rescue Luzhou, but when he heard that He Delun had abandoned the city and fled, he had no choice but to retreat.

At this point, Xizhaoyi was once again controlled by the Hedong Army.

The tug-of-war in Zhaoyi made Li Keyong feel an unprecedented sense of crisis, especially the battle at Dongwoyi under the nose of Taiyuan Prefecture, which greatly stimulated him. Fortunately, Zhou Dewei was both wise and brave and turned danger into safety. What about the next time? Who can guarantee that he will win every battle?

Therefore, Li Keyong mobilized Taiyuan's military and civilians on a large scale to strengthen the city walls and widen and deepen the moat. A minor official in Taiyuan hurriedly advised him to stop, saying that at the critical moment of the struggle between Jin and Bian, they should show strong military force and self-confidence, showing strength on the outside but not weakness on the inside. It would be unsightly if you repaired the city inland and prepared for the defense of Taiyuan right after the battle.

Li Keyong thought the advice made sense, so he ordered the construction to be stopped and rewarded those who had advised the emperor with a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry.

The tug-of-war in Zhaoyi almost made Li Keyong lose his composure.

When Zhu Wen had Yang Xingmi in the south and lost Xi Zhaoyi in the north, he suddenly mobilized a large army to attack Liu Rengong in Youzhou.

Could it be that Zhu Wen was also confused?
No, the Northern Expedition against Liu Rengong was precisely a manifestation of Zhu Wen's strategic expertise.

Thanks to my old friend "pure lsp" for his usual generosity and 12 recommendation votes. Thank you for your support!
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(End of this chapter)