History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 173 Measurements of Taiyuan (Part )

【Take advantage of the situation】

Among the three big bosses, only Wang Jian of Xichuan and Zhu Wen did not interfere with each other, had no grudges, and no conflicts of interest, but Wang Jian was the most active in responding to the call to "serve the king."

The reason is obvious, as mentioned in the previous article, that is, in the name of serving the king, they are encroaching on the territory of the Guanxi Group - Shannan West Road.

The eunuch Han Quanhui asked Wang Jian of Xichuan to "serve the king and suppress the rebellion", and Zhu Wen also sent envoys to ask him to "serve the king and eliminate the bandits". Wang Jian of Xichuan became the target of both sides, which was very beneficial to Wang Jian.

Wang Jian supported Zhu Wen on the surface and rebuked Li Maozhen for colluding with the eunuch Han Quanhui to hijack the imperial carriage. However, he secretly encouraged Li Maozhen to resist tenaciously, told him that they were interdependent, and promised to send troops to support him.

Therefore, Wang Jian sent his adopted sons Wang Zongji and Wang Zongdi to lead an army of 50,000, claiming that they were going north to protect the emperor, but in fact they were massively invading Li Maozhen's vast land south of the Qinling Mountains.

They first attacked Lizhou, but Li Jizhong, the governor of Zhaowu Circuit appointed by Li Maozhen, abandoned the city and fled. Then they approached Xingyuan Prefecture, where they were met with stubborn resistance from Li Jimi, the governor of Shannan West Road.

The brave general Wang Zongbo launched several attacks but all failed. One of his staff warned him, "Don't forget your identity. Although you are the adopted son of the Marshal, you are a surrendered general. You can't get the Marshal's trust. Your whole family is a hostage in the rear. If you don't perform bravely on the front line, how can you survive?"

Wang Zongbo's pupils were filled with blood, and he called his soldiers together, "I will fight you again. If you win, you will gain wealth and glory. If you fail, you will die here! Brothers, grab your weapons!"

It's death anyway. If you die on the front line, you are a martyr. If you die in the rear, you are a traitor.

Wang Zongbo fought hard and broke through four enemy camps in a row. He did not stop and continued to attack Li Jimi's central camp. Li Jimi was finally defeated and retreated.

During the fierce battle, General Qin Chenghou was shot in the eye by an arrow, and the arrowhead was embedded in the bone and could not be pulled out. Wang Jian personally licked his wound, and the pus festered, and the arrowhead flowed out with the pus.

Another brave general, Wang Zongdi, also personally led his troops to climb the city wall, braving the arrows and stones, and captured Xingyuan Prefecture in one go.

Li Jimi was no longer able to resist, so he led his 30,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry to surrender to Wang Jian.

Wang Jian accepted Li Jimi's surrender, but he hated him as a person. He said to those around him, "Li Jimi is such a jerk. He is killing the people of the capital. He is so hateful! But I have already accepted his surrender. I cannot break my promise and kill him. Alas!"

Wang Jian ordered Li Jimi to change his name to Wang Wanhong, and then summoned him frequently to prevent him from doing anything. The other generals knew Wang Jian's intentions, so they always looked for opportunities to humiliate and bully Li Jimi. Even the lowest social status actors at that time publicly humiliated him.

As a surrendered general, Li Jimi dared not speak out his anger, and had no place to vent his anger, so he could only drink every day. Drinking to relieve his sorrow only made him more sorrowful. Finally one day, Li Jimi completely collapsed, and after getting drunk, he jumped into the pool and committed suicide.

Wang Zongdi was awarded the title of Jiedushi of Shannan West Road for his meritorious service. Wang Zongdi was brave and resourceful, loved his soldiers like his own sons, and had a good way of governing the people. He had a good reputation both in the army and in the local area, and was deeply loved and supported by the masses, which also caused Wang Jian to be suspicious of him.

Wang Jian renovated the headquarters building and painted the gate red, making it majestic and magnificent. Local people called it "Painted Red Building". Wang Zongdi's original name was Hua Hong, and "Painted Red Building" was a homophone with it, which made Wang Jian even more upset. He thought it was a sign that Wang Zongdi would seize power and usurp the throne in the future. Other adopted sons, such as Wang Zongji, were also jealous of Wang Zongdi's achievements and often made slanderous remarks to Wang Jian and framed Wang Zongdi.

So Wang Jian summoned Wang Zongdi back to Chengdu and questioned him in person about his ulterior motives.

Wang Zongdi was filled with grief and indignation, and replied: "When the rabbit dies, the dog is cooked; when the bird is dead, the bow is put away. Now that the king has pacified the Three Rivers (Xichuan, Dongchuan, and Hanchuan), it is time to execute the meritorious officials."

Wang Jian ordered his men to get Wang Zongdi drunk and then strangle him to death with a rope.

After hearing that Wang Zongdi was killed, the people of Chengdu spontaneously closed their businesses to express their mourning; the officers and soldiers of each camp also cried loudly, as if they had lost their parents.

Afterwards, Wang Jian appointed his adopted son Wang Zonghe as the governor of Shannan West Road.

Since then, the land south of the Qinling Mountains has been basically swallowed up by Wang Jian. [Three Circumferences of Taiyuan]

Zhaozong sent a special central mediator (Qi Bian He Xie Shi) to mediate the fight between Li Maozhen and Zhu Wen. He gave Zhu Wen the surname Li and ordered him to become brothers with Li Maozhen and make peace.

Zhu Wen flatly refused.

Li Maozhen was unable to counterattack and could only defend the city and fight with Zhu Wen. Zhu Wen also received news of Li Keyong's invasion from Hedong.

If Wang Jian's "serving the king" was out of profit, then Li Keyong's "serving the king" was to save himself.

Li Keyong sent Li Sizhao and Zhou Dewei to attack Hezhong to tie down Zhu Wen's energy to move westward. Zhu Wen had no choice but to give up Fengxiang and defend Hezhong.

Zhu Wen sent his nephew Zhu Youning and his uncle Cong to fight against the Hedong troops, and then personally led the main force to the front line to supervise the battle.

Li Sizhao conquered Jiangzhou, but it was recaptured by Bian general Kang Huaizhen;
Shi Shucong led his troops to attack Li Sizhao at night, capturing and killing more than 10,000 people. Afterwards, Zhu Youning and Shi Shucong continued to attack the camps of Li Sizhao and Zhou Dewei.

At that time, the Bian army had more than 100,000 troops, and their ranks stretched for ten miles. However, the forces of Li Sizhao and Zhou Dewei were far smaller than those of the Bian army, and they had penetrated deep into the enemy's hinterland, causing panic in their troops.

During the brief stalemate, Shi Shucong selected two warriors from the army who were "deep-eyed, curly-bearded, and looked like Shatuo" and dressed them up as frontier horse herders. The Hedong soldiers really thought they were their own people and did not suspect them. The two warriors seized the opportunity to capture the two Hedong soldiers alive and brought them back to the camp.

The loss of two soldiers was nothing, but the Bian army's elusiveness caused great psychological shock to the Hedong soldiers. They saw enemies everywhere and everyone was in danger. They did not dare to stay in enemy territory for long.

Zhou Dewei asked Li Sizhao to retreat first, and he was willing to stay behind.

At that time, Zhu Wen had sent Zhu Youning to lead tens of thousands of troops to assist Shi Shucong. Zhu Youning's reinforcements had not yet arrived, so his generals suggested that they rest first and then pursue the Hedong army after joining forces with Zhu Youning.

Shi Shucong refused, saying, "The opportunity for battle is fleeting. By the time we gather our forces, the enemy will have already fled!" So he ordered an attack overnight. Under the cover of night, Shi Shucong first went behind the enemy lines and cut off the retreat route of the Hedong soldiers. During this time, he wiped out hundreds of Hedong cavalrymen, then took advantage of the victory to attack the enemy camp, captured more than 10,000 people, seized 300 war horses, and captured Li Keyong's son Yanluan alive. The Hedong Army collapsed instantly.

Just like "Luoluo", the detailed deeds of this "Yanluan" are unknown, and only one sentence left in history: "Yanluan, the male of Keyong, was captured alive."

When Zhu Wen heard this, he laughed and said, "To kill the barbarians and conquer Taiyuan, Shi Lao must be the one!"

Zhu Youning and Shi Shucong took advantage of the great victory and the power to annihilate the enemy, and advanced triumphantly, and in one fell swoop defeated Li Cunxin who came to support Li Sizhao's defeated army.

Li Cunxin fled back to Taiyuan, and the Bian army took advantage of the situation to seize Fenzhou, and then arrived at the city of Taiyuan. They set up a large camp to the west of the city, and without taking a breath, they launched a fierce attack on the west gate, pretending to take Li Keyong back in one go.

Li Sizhao and Zhou Dewei detoured to the northwest, gathering the remnants of the defeated army along the way, and finally escaped back to Taiyuan Prefecture.

This was a result that Li Keyong had never dreamed of. He had wanted to contain Zhu Wen and slow down his westward advance, but he had unexpectedly led him right under his nose. In just a few days, he not only failed to lift the siege of Fengxiang, but also put Taiyuan Prefecture under siege.

Li Keyong of Hedong had not completed the war mobilization at all, the troops from all directions had not yet assembled, Taiyuan Prefecture was short of troops, and the situation was precarious. Li Keyong went to the city to inspect day and night, unable to sleep or eat.

Thanks to my old friend “纯正lsp” for his recommendation and support!
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(End of this chapter)