History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 162: Sweeping Heshuo
【Sweep Heshuo】

As early as when Zhu Wen captured Dongzhaoyi, he wrote a letter to Wang Rong of Zhenzhou, asking him to draw a clear line with the Hedong forces, submit to the Bianzhou forces, and learn from Comrade Wei Bo Luo Shaowei.

Wang Rong remained hesitant and did not give a positive answer.

After Ge Congzhou defeated Li Sizhao at Qingshankou, he seized the correspondence between Li Sizhao and Wang Rong and discovered that Wang Rong was indeed more willing to serve the Hedong forces and made many slanderous and disrespectful remarks about Zhu Wen.

So, this letter became Zhu Wen's excuse to attack Zhenzhou.

Zhu Wen said to Ge Congzhou: "You will be the vanguard. After we defeat Chengde's army, I will make you the governor of Chengde!"

Ge Congzhou fought even more bravely, and in no time he reached the headquarters of Chengde Army - Zhenzhou City. During the fierce battle, Ge Congzhou was unfortunately hit by a stray bullet. Although his life was not in danger, he had to stay in bed. Zhu Wen personally led the main force and arrived shortly afterwards. Without saying a word, he set fire to the South Gate.

Wang Rong of Zhenzhou was so frightened that he lost his mind and hurriedly summoned his colleagues to ask for countermeasures.

Among Wang Rong's think tank, there was Zhou Shi, who was eloquent and said, "It seems that we can't fight with force, but can only fight it off with words." Zhou Shi had an old friendship with Zhu Wen, so he took the initiative to volunteer and was willing to go to the enemy camp in person to lobby Zhu Wen.

When old friends met, Zhu Wen was furious. He slammed the table and cursed, "I wrote to Wang Rong a long time ago and tried to persuade him, but he refused to accept my offer. Now I have brought the army here, and he sent you as a lobbyist. It's too late! Don't you know that I have a grudge against Li Keyong of Hedong? Wang Rong dared to attach himself to Hedong and harbor Li Sizhao. I know Li Sizhao is hiding in the city. Let him come out. If you don't send Li Sizhao out, I will go in and capture him!"

Negotiation expert Zhou Shi remained calm and greeted Zhu Wen's storm with a smile on his face.

Being the first to speak, shouting at the top of one's voice, or even hysterical, are all manifestations of lack of confidence. Using outward irritability to cover up inner weakness. Of course, Zhu Wen's tricks could not fool Zhou Shi, who had seen through him. Although he did not say a word, he had completely crushed Zhu Wen in terms of momentum, and his calmness made Zhu Wen even less confident.

Zhu Wen took out the letters between Li Sizhao and Wang Rong and said, "Look, this is the evidence!"

Zhou Shi took the letter without even looking at it. Instead, he asked Zhu Wen with a smile: "Do you just want a Zhenzhou and then retire, or do you want to dominate the world?" This was the beginning of a trap for Zhu Wen.

Zhu Wen knew that this was a common tactic used by lobbyists, so he was not in a hurry to jump into the trap.

"How about just taking Zhenzhou? How about wanting to dominate the world?"

Zhou Shi replied, "A hegemon blames others for public interests rather than private interests. The emperor is at the top, and the princes and vassal states guard their fiefs, which is called recuperation and protection of the territory and the people. Have you heard of the story of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao?"

Special reminder: the Three Kingdoms allusions in the dialogues of the characters in this book are not my artistic decoration from a God's perspective, but the original text in the history books! Throughout the period of the Five Dynasties, people often quoted allusions from the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period, the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms, using the past to satirize the present. The most frequently mentioned characters were Duke Huan of Qi, Duke Wen of Jin, Cao Cao and others. Therefore, not only did the great leader say that Zhu Wen was compared to Cao Cao, but many people at that time compared Cao Cao with Zhu Wen. The two really had too many similarities.

Zhu Wen: "Meng Degong is my idol."

"That's easy. In the past, Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao at Guandu and seized many letters between his subordinates and Yuan Shao. Cao Cao did not investigate, but directly gathered and burned these letters. That's why Cao Cao was able to dominate the world. Today, you are leading an unknown army and using Li Sizhao as a cover. I'm sure you know whether Li Sizhao is in the city."

Zhu Wen blushed, "Wang Rong... he is friendly with Li Keyong of Hedong. The friend of my enemy is, of course, my enemy."

Zhou Shi waved his hands, "No, no. Zhenzhou is adjacent to Hedong and has been harassed by Hedong for a long time. Marshal Wang, for the sake of the people, does not want to cause chaos or war, so he compromised and served him. If you can eliminate the thieves for the country and the harm for the people, let alone Zhenzhou, who in the world would not dare to obey your orders?"

Zhu Wen was at a loss for words, "Well... no matter what you say, it's written in black and white, and the evidence is as strong as a mountain."

Zhou Shi smiled bitterly, "The emperor issued an edict for reconciliation, how can we not give face to the court? A letter is enough to deal with the official. Besides, Hedong has always bullied Chengde, does Li Sizhao dare to come in?"

Zhu Wen racked his brains but could not find any excuse.

Zhou Shi continued, "You are to the Tang Dynasty what Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin were to the Zhou Dynasty. You should respect propriety and morality and establish hegemony. But now, you are just showing off your power and bullying the weak. How can you show virtue to the world?"

Zhu Wen: "Qi Huan and Jin Wen are my dream lovers."

Zhou Shi's expression suddenly changed, from amiable to resolute, with an inviolable righteousness gushing out, "Although our Zhenzhou is small, the city is strong and the food and grass are sufficient. What's more, the Wang family has been in Chengde for five generations, a full eighty years! They are deeply loved by the people of Zhenzhou, supported by the masses, loved by the people, and everyone is willing to work hard for them. If we really want to fight, do we still need to rely on Li Sizhao?"

Zhu Wen turned his anger into joy, clapped his hands and laughed, pulled Zhou Shi's sleeve, invited him into the inner tent, and welcomed him to the seat of honor, "I was just testing you with words just now. I was just kidding you." Afterwards, the two sides had a frank and in-depth exchange in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, and reached a unanimous consensus on many key issues.

Zhu Wen sent his confidant Liu Han to visit Wang Rong in Zhenzhou and convey his highest respect and deepest condolences to Wang Rong.

In accordance with the agreement of equality and reciprocity, Wang Rong sent a high-level "Young Master Group" (the group leader was Wang Rong's son Wang Zhaozuo, and the group members were the sons of other Zhenzhou generals) to pay a friendly visit to Bianzhou, bringing with them a considerable gift: 200,000 rolls of high-quality silk; Zhu Wen provided these second-generation Zhenzhou officials with jobs in Bianzhou, and solved a personal problem for Wang Zhaozuo, who led the group - marrying his daughter to him. At the same time, the Bian army withdrew from Zhenzhou.

This is an official report. Translated, Wang Rong paid compensation to Zhu Wen and sent his son and the son of a senior general in Zhenzhou to Zhu Wen as hostages, using political marriage as a bond to establish the Chengde-Bianzhou alliance. From then on, the Zhenzhou Chengde Army was dependent on the Bianzhou forces.

One of Wang Rong's advisers privately advised him that although Hedong Li Keyong was in decline, he should not be underestimated. Although Zhenzhou was under Zhu Wen's protection, distant water could not quench near thirst. Moreover, our neighbors - Youzhou Lulong Army, Cangzhou Yichang Army, Dingzhou Yiwu Army, were all minions of Hedong forces! Why not take this opportunity to incite Zhu Wen to wipe out Heshuo, so that we can fight against Hedong Li Keyong without any worries.

Wang Rong agreed with this, so he sent Zhou Shi to lobby Zhu Wen, saying that he was willing to do his best to help Zhu Wen unify the Heshuo Plain.

This was a goodwill that Zhu Wen could not refuse. He immediately sent Zhang Cunjing to join the Wei Bo army and go north to finish off Liu Rengong.

In just over a month, Zhang Cunjing captured 20 cities in Lulong and advanced to Waqiao. The gates of Youzhou in the north were open and there was no place to defend. But at this time, the road was slippery and muddy due to rain, which was not conducive to marching.

Speed ​​is of the essence in war. Zhang Cunjing acted decisively and turned westward to attack the Yiwu Army in Dingzhou, and then advanced directly to the city of Dingzhou.

Wang Gao, the governor of Yiwu Army in Dingzhou, hurriedly sent his uncle Wang Chuzhi to lead the army to fight the enemy.

Wang Chuzhi's idea was to build a camp close to the city wall, use the tall and solid wall as a support, take advantage of vision and range, fight under the tower to consume the enemy's energy, and then attack and reap the rewards after the Bian army was exhausted.

However, Wang Gao's adviser Liang Wen disagreed with this conservative idea. He said, "In the past, Lulong and Chengde joined forces with 300,000 people to attack Dingzhou, and our troops were less than 5,000 people, but they could still win in one battle. Now, Zhang Cunjing has only 30,000 people, and our troops have increased more than ten times than then. Why are we still as timid as mice and hiding under the city to save our lives?" Wang Gao thought it made sense. Uncle has been a soldier all his life, why is he so timid and not as courageous as a scholar? Holding a large army but not moving forward, could it be that... Wang Gao felt a chill on his back, so he ordered Wang Chuzhi: Uncle, go forward boldly, go forward, don't look back!

When facing a powerful enemy, it is usually the military commanders who are radical and the civil officials who are conservative. Occasionally, there will be a situation where the military commanders are passive in favor of peace and the civil officials are active in favor of war. Once this happens, it will often leave a glorious page in the history books, creating a miracle of civil officials leading troops and achieving a great victory, such as Yu Qian in the "Battle of Beijing" in the Ming Dynasty.

Today, in the precarious Dingzhou City, this historic moment has also occurred. So whether this brave and fearless scholar Liang Wen is a showman or a funny man, whether he will be remembered in history or become a laughing stock, will soon be revealed.

Wang Chuzhi was ordered to advance to Shahe and block Zhang Cunjing head-on.

The battle begins.

The battle is over.

More than half of the Dingzhou army was annihilated by the Bian army, "15 generals were killed and tens of thousands of soldiers died." The remnants of the defeated army protected Wang Chuzhi and fled back to Dingzhou.

After the defeated army returned to the city, they immediately launched a mutiny, expelled the governor Wang Gao, and supported Wang Chuzhi as the governor. Wang Gao fled to Taiyuan Prefecture in Hedong with his family.

Zhang Cunjing followed and surrounded Dingzhou City. Ten days later, Zhu Wen personally led the main force to arrive at the city of Dingzhou.

The commander-in-chief personally supervised the battle, and Zhang Cunjing performed even more diligently. Since the commander-in-chief promised to give Zhenzhou Chengde to Ge Congzhou, how could he not give Dingzhou Yiwu to me? Zhang Cunjing set up the ladders and prepared the battering rams, eager to launch a siege.

Wang Chuzhi personally climbed up the city gate tower and shouted: "My town has never been disloyal to the court, nor has it been rude to its neighbors. We have no grudges in the past, and no hatred in the present. I don't understand why you want to go to war with us."

This is true and not just a compliment.

Dingzhou Yiwu Army was one of the few vassal states that remained loyal to the court from beginning to end. In the third year of Jianzhong (782), the Tang Dynasty established Dingzhou Yiwu Army, and the first governor was Zhang Xiaozhong (a Khitan, as can be seen from his name, the name was given by the court). He was a subordinate of An Lushan and participated in the "Anshi Rebellion". After his defeat, he surrendered to the court, then turned over a new leaf, helped the court to quell the rebellion, served the emperor with merit, and was loyal to the court until his death. After Zhang Xiaozhong's death, his spirit of loyalty to the court influenced successive governors of the Yiwu Army. In that chaotic era of separatist states, Dingzhou Yiwu Army became a clear stream.

The former Yiwu Army Jiedushi Wang Chucun (Wang Chuzhi's brother) made great contributions to the court.

At that time, when Huang Chao invaded Chang'an, the news reached the Heshuo region. Wang Chucun was extremely sad and cried for several days. Without waiting for the order to rescue the king, he led the army to rescue Chang'an. In the battle to recapture Chang'an, Wang Chucun did not care about personal gains and losses, and at all costs, he bravely took the lead and made the most contributions. He also had strict military discipline. He would not demolish houses even if he was frozen to death, and would not plunder even if he was starved to death. The whole army wrapped their heads with white cloth and was called the "White Head Army" to distinguish them from the chaotic soldiers in other vassal states.

It was precisely because of its strict military discipline and non-harassment of civilians that it maintained its intact structure and combat effectiveness, and thus became the only unit to escape unscathed from Huang Chao's counterattack.

During the period of suppressing the enemy, whenever he talked about the national crisis and the emperor's hunting trip to the west, Wang Chucun could not help sobbing and crying, his grief and indignation were beyond words, and the princes and vassal states were all moved by his loyalty and integrity.

After pacifying Huang Chao, the then commander-in-chief and prime minister Wang Duo, based on the merits of the campaign, clearly stated in black and white: Wang Chucun ranked first in terms of serving the king and raising uprising; Li Keyong ranked first in terms of capturing the city and defeating the bandits.

After Wang Chucun passed away, his son Wang Gao succeeded him as the Jiedushi of Yiwu Army, and it has just been five years since then.

So Wang Chuzhi said in a loud voice, "We, the Yiwu Army of Dingzhou, are not disloyal to the country! Why are you attacking us?"

Zhu Wen used a cliché: You are the lackeys of Li Keyong of Hedong, relying on the Hedong forces to bully our neighbors in Heshuo.

Wang Chuzhi explained: "Dingzhou and Hedong are neighbors. My brother Wang Chucun and Li Keyong are old revolutionary comrades and in-laws. It is only natural for us to exchange gifts. If you think this is where we have offended you, then I will change it now, okay?"

Zhu Wen had nothing more to say.

Wang Chuzhi used "Funny" Liang Wen as a scapegoat, put all the blame on him, and killed his entire family as a good start for reconciliation between the two armies.

Afterwards, Wang Chuzhi sent out the "Young Master Group" and sent his nephew's grandson as a hostage to Bianzhou, and paid a huge compensation (one said 100,000 pieces of silk, another said 300,000 pieces of silk), and also provided fine wine and meat to reward the Bian army outside the city.

Zhu Wen recommended Wang Chuzhi as the Jiedushi of Yiwu Army (he was previously recommended by the three armies and had not been formally appointed by the court, so it was still an illegal mutiny).

The Dingzhou Yiwu Army surrendered to Zhu Wen following the Zhenzhou Chengde Army.

At this point, in the entire area north of the Yellow River and east of Taihang Mountains, only Liu Rengong and his son had not yet surrendered to Zhu Wen.

When Zhang Cunjing attacked Dingzhou, Liu Rengong sent his son Liu Shouguang to reinforce Dingzhou. On the banks of the Yishui River, Liu Shouguang encountered Zhang Cunjing.

The wind is whistling and the Yi River is cold; the 60,000 Yan troops never return.

Since the An-Shi Rebellion, the towns in Heshuo had become a major problem for the central government, and successive emperors could only sit back and watch them establish their own territories without doing anything about it. However, Zhu Wen took less than a year to flatten the Heshuo Plain. His speed was so fast that it was unbelievable.

Looking around the world, who dares to compete with Zhu Wen?
The next step was to take advantage of the victory to cross the Taihang Mountains and wipe out Li Keyong? Or to march south in a big way to wipe out the land of fish and rice in the Yangtze and Huaihe River regions? Zhu Wen sat in the camp outside Dingzhou City and discussed with his think tank.

I believe that people like Li Keyong and Yang Xingmi are also racking their brains to think of countermeasures.

At this time, an explosive piece of news came from the Guanzhong region, which undoubtedly made the headlines:

Title: Palace Coup!
Subtitle: The eunuchs imprisoned and deposed Emperor Zhaozong, and Crown Prince Li Yu succeeded to the throne.

Thanks to my old friend "纯正lsp" for the recommendation support, thank you!



(End of this chapter)