History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 161 Saving the country through curves
【Save the country through a roundabout way】

Zhu Wen made full deployment and careful planning for the Northern Expedition against Liu Rengong, instead of trying to take advantage of others and vent his anger at the defeat.

First, turn the tables and lure the snake out of its hole.

Although Zhu Wen already had the strength to fight Li Keyong head-on, it was obviously not the best choice to push forward from the west Zhaoyi to the north. Zhaoyi was Li Keyong's home battlefield. Zhu Wen had to fight a long battle line and had to overcome the two major natural barriers of the Yellow River and Taihang Mountains. The mobilization of troops and logistical supplies would cost more.

If Zhu Wen chose to march north to attack Liu Rengong, Li Keyong might have to travel across mountains and rivers to rescue Youzhou, because once Youzhou was annexed by Zhu Wen, the entire Heshuo region would be directly or indirectly owned by Zhu Wen, which would be more dangerous than losing Xizhaoyi.

Zhu Wen's logic for attacking Youzhou was to attack the enemy where they must rescue, to besiege the point and attack the reinforcements, turning the away game into the home game, forcing Li Keyong to move the Zhaoyi battlefield to Hebei. Even if he could not move it to Hebei, he could move it to Dongzhaoyi. In short, he left Xizhaoyi's home game in Hedong and became the host.

Secondly, it creates something out of nothing and creates a huge political bargaining chip out of thin air.

Once Youzhou was threatened, not only would Li Keyong be anxious, but Wang Rong, the commander of Chengde Army in Zhenzhou, who was responsible for the regional balance of power, would also be unable to stay out of the matter. Wang Rong did not want to see Youzhou annexed by Zhu Wen, so he would definitely mediate, thus asking Zhu Wen for help and owing him a big favor.

What made Wang Rong of Zhenzhou even more difficult was Li Keyong's request to "borrow the road". If Li Keyong wanted to reach the battlefield in Hebei, he had to bypass the northernmost part of Taihang Mountain and then go south through Chengde. Because Dongzhaoyi was currently controlled by Zhu Wen, and Wei Bo would not open its border to him, borrowing the road through Chengde was the only way for Li Keyong to reach the battlefield in Hebei.

If Wang Rong refused, Zhu Wen might annex Youzhou, which Wang Rong did not want to see, and it would also offend Li Keyong. Wang Rong would not refuse Li Keyong's request to borrow the passageway because he was in a dilemma.

Once the Chengde Army provided transit services to Li Keyong, it would certainly offend Zhu Wen, and Wang Rong would owe Zhu Wen another favor. This would allow Zhu Wen to occupy an absolute dominant position in future Heshuo affairs, especially for Wang Rong of Zhenzhou, who would have both political bargaining chips for negotiation and sufficient reasons for military strikes.

Third, there were sufficient and legitimate reasons for the Northern Expedition to Youzhou, and the cause was justified.

This is the reason why Liu Rengong of Youzhou did not obey the imperial edict, raised troops without authorization, invaded Weizhou, and created the "Beizhou Massacre". As a friendly neighbor of Weizhou, Zhu Wen, who has always been peace-loving, has the obligation to enforce justice, act as a regional policeman, and maintain regional stability.

Moreover, Liu Shouwen, the son of Liu Rengong, occupied Cangzhou Yichang Army privately without the formal appointment of the court, and his rule over Cangzhou was illegal. As a loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty, Zhu Wen also had the obligation to eradicate the traitors and restore the country.

Fourth, after Liu Rengong suffered a crushing defeat in Wei Bo, he was seriously injured, his strength was drastically reduced, he was left with little health, and all his skills were on cooldown. If he didn’t make a finishing move now, when would he?

Zhu Wen was a strategic master with a global awareness. He would make full use of geopolitics to create something out of nothing and turn losses into profits, instead of blindly believing in violence. When he was weak, he would develop and grow through alliances and use the opponent's strength to fight against the opponent; when he was strong, he would provoke external wars to make his opponents run for their lives.

A single move can affect the entire body. This is not only a warning, but also a revelation. Zhu Wen, just played this to perfection.

When everyone's attention was focused on the Xizhaoyi area, Zhu Wen suddenly waved his flag, and the troops from the four towns (Taining in Yanzhou, Tianping in Yunzhou, Xuanyi in Huazhou, and Weizhou in Weizhou), totaling more than 100,000 people, under the leadership of Ge Congzhou, launched an attack on Liu Rengong in Youzhou.

Ge Congzhou was unstoppable and first captured Dezhou, which was under the jurisdiction of the Yichang Army, and then surrounded Cangzhou, the headquarters of the Yichang Army.

As Zhu Wen expected, Liu Rengong shamelessly apologized to Li Keyong and begged for help. Li Keyong also sent Zhou Dewei to lead 5,000 cavalry to attack Xingzhou and Mingzhou east of Taihang Mountain to contain Zhu Wen's forces.

Liu Rengong assembled an army of 50,000 and marched south from Youzhou to reinforce Cangzhou.

After receiving the news of reinforcements from Youzhou, the siege troops in Cangzhou launched a heated discussion. Jiang Xuanhui, director of the Political Department and chief political commissar of the Northern Expedition Army (supervisor), advocated conservatively letting the enemy in and letting Liu Rengong into the city as well, and then besieging them together. When the food and grass in the city were cut off, our army could capture them all in one fell swoop.

Jiang Xuanhui was also a trusted henchman of Zhu Wen. As the chief political commissar, Jiang Xuanhui's motto was not to seek merit but to avoid mistakes. Therefore, he acted cautiously and did not dare to take risks. Ge Congzhou responded to him, saying, "Marching and fighting is about seizing opportunities, and seizing opportunities depends on the general, that is, me. The battlefield situation changes rapidly, how can you follow the rules? You don't understand."

Afterwards, Ge Congzhou ordered Zhang Cunjing and Shi Shucong to lead the main force to stay behind, while he personally led a detachment north to meet Liu Rengong.

The two sides met at Laoya Dike, northwest of Cangzhou. Liu Rengong never expected that he would be ambushed and could only fight back hastily.

Ge Congzhou's surprise attack was a great victory, killing more than 30,000 enemy soldiers, capturing more than 100 enemy generals, and seizing 3,000 war horses.

Liu Rengong retreated in a panic and retreated to Waqiao. Still in shock, Liu Rengong continued to send emergency letters to Li Keyong, "Cangzhou is in danger! Youzhou is in danger! Hebei is in danger!"

Li Keyong then sent a second wave of offensive forces to the Dongzhaoyi battlefield, this time led by Li Sizhao with 50,000 men;
Wang Rong of Zhenzhou sent an envoy to mediate the conflict between Zhu Wen and Liu Rengong;
Coincidentally, heavy rains fell on the Cangzhou battlefield, making the advance unfavorable.

Although Li Keyong did not go through Chengde to rescue Youzhou, but chose to besiege Wei to save Zhao and attacked Dongzhaoyi fiercely, the mediation commissioner Wang Rong of Zhenzhou had already appeared. Zhu Wen had basically achieved the strategic goal of the Northern Expedition. Moreover, the weather was not good. Since this was God's will, he would withdraw his troops, do a favor to Wang Rong of Zhenzhou, and accept this political bargaining chip.

Zhu Wen was good at calculating, and Li Keyong was no ordinary person. The two had equally good strategic minds. Zhu Wen wanted to trick Li Keyong to Hebei, while Li Keyong wanted to pull Zhu Wen back to Taihang Mountain. I expected that you, Zhu Wen, would surround the enemy and attack the reinforcements, but I would surround Wei to save Zhao.

Although Zhu Wen held the initiative, from another perspective, the Northern Expedition to Youzhou could also be seen as Zhu Wen being distracted by Hebei affairs. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Keyong not only did not withdraw his troops from the Zhaoyi battlefield, but instead increased his military input.

When Li Keyong helped Liu Rengong, Liu Rengong was objectively helping Li Keyong.

Li Sizhao advanced rapidly, defeated Dong Zhaoyi's Bian army in succession, and surrounded Mingzhou.

Zhu Wen personally led the main force to aid Mingzhou, but before he arrived, he received news that Mingzhou had fallen. Zhu Wen ordered Ge to return to the north of Mingzhou, while he led the main force to push forward in the south.

Li Sizhao was shocked when he heard the news. In order to avoid being surrounded, he actually abandoned the city and fled.

Ge Congzhou predicted that Li Sizhao would escape westward through the Taihang Mountains from Qingshankou, so he rushed to Qingshankou in advance to set up an ambush.

Due to the natural barrier of Taihang Mountain, Li Sizhao had only two ways to retreat. One was Qingshankou; the other was to continue north, pass through Chengde, and go back to Hedong from the northernmost end of Taihang Mountain. Otherwise, he could only force his way through the territory of the Bian Army. Obviously, Qingshankou was the fastest and safest route.

The safest and also the most dangerous.

As soon as Li Sizhao retreated to Qingshankou, he was ambushed by Ge Congzhou. He suffered heavy losses and fled back to Hedong in a panic.

Zhu Wen preserved the Dongzhaoyi area, but preservation was not Zhu Wen's goal.

After driving the Hedong troops back to the west of Taihang Mountain, Zhu Wen ordered Ge Congzhou to continue northward to seize the victory. His target: Chengde Army in Zhenzhou!
Thanks to my old friend “最爱一笑” for his recommendation and support!


(End of this chapter)