History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 175 Jianghuai War
【Jianghuai Beacon Fire】

In the Jianghuai region, the struggle between Yang Xingmi and Qian Liu never stopped. Just before the eunuch Han Quanhui kidnapped Emperor Zhaozong, Yang Xingmi got a tip that Qian Liu had been assassinated.

God-given opportunity! Yang Xingmi immediately ordered General Li Shenfu to lead his troops to attack Qian Liu's headquarters in Hangzhou.

Qian Liu's favorite general Gu Quanwu set up eight camps and put up a strong resistance. The two sides entered a stalemate.

Gu Quanwu's reputation spread far and wide, and his name was known throughout Jianghuai. If one wanted to defeat Gu Quanwu, one had to resort to an extraordinary strategy. Li Shenfu came up with the idea of ​​a "counter-espionage plan".

Li Shenfu deliberately selected several people from the captives in Hangzhou and arranged them to serve him, giving them the opportunity to enter and leave his tent.

One day, Li Shenfu held a meeting with his generals. At the meeting, Li Shenfu could not hide his disappointment and sighed to tell everyone that Hangzhou was militarily strong and it would be more troublesome to hold on, so he ordered a retreat tonight!

After the meeting, the generals went to their respective camps to pack up their belongings and frantically prepare for withdrawal, causing chaos.

The prisoners took advantage of the chaos to escape and reported this important information to Gu Quanwu.

In the evening, Li Shenfu counted his attendants and found that the captured soldiers were missing. He was overjoyed and immediately ordered the old, weak, sick and disabled to be the vanguard and retreat, while he personally led the main force to cover the rear. He also ordered his subordinates to set up an ambush in Qingshan (now Qingshan Town, Lin'an City, Zhejiang Province) and wait for the big fish to take the bait.

Li Shenfu was one of the oldest of Yang Xingmi's "founding heroes". At that time, Luzhou was attacked by bandits. The governor of Luzhou asked Yang Xingmi for help, but Yang Xingmi was short of troops. Li Shenfu led a few people, set up false flags, and sneaked into Luzhou through a small path. Standing on a high place, he pointed and shouted as if he was commanding thousands of troops. Finally, he scared away the bandits and saved Luzhou, so that Yang Xingmi occupied Luzhou and had a place to stand.
Later, when fighting a decisive battle with Sun Ru, Li Shenfu reminded Yang Xingmi not to fall into Sun Ru's trap of a quick victory, but to fortify the city and clear the countryside, drag the war into a protracted war of attrition, and defeat Sun Ru by feigning defeat.

However, these glorious achievements cannot be compared with those of Gu Quanwu under Qian Liu. The mere fact of defeating Dong Chang was enough to overwhelm all the other heroes.

Gu Quanwu looked down upon Li Shenfu and thought that his so-called brilliant achievements were nothing but low-level conspiracies and tricks relying on deception.

Arrogant soldiers will always be defeated. Gu Quanwu never expected that he would also fall into Li Shenfu's tricks.

Gu Quanwu detected the signs that Li Shenfu was withdrawing his troops and immediately ordered the entire army to attack. When they chased to Qingshan, they were suddenly ambushed and lost thousands of people. Gu Quanwu himself was also captured alive.

Li Shenfu took advantage of the victory to attack Lin'an.

When Qian Liu heard the news, he was horrified and burst into tears, saying, "I have lost a good general!"

At the gate of Lin'an, Li Shenfu got accurate information - Qian Liu was not dead. Lin'an was a strong city with strict defenses, so Li Shenfu could not conquer it for a long time.

This time, Li Shenfu really wanted to withdraw his troops. However, withdrawal would inevitably lead to a counterattack, so he made preparations in two aspects.

The first is to win people’s hearts and show kindness to others.

Li Shenfu sent troops to protect Qian Liu's ancestral tomb to prevent it from being stolen or destroyed by lawless soldiers. He also prohibited the cutting of surrounding trees. At the same time, he allowed Gu Quanwu to write letters to his family to let them know that he was safe.

Wars are always bloody and cruel. Compared with the Shandong battlefield, which was full of intrigues, the Jianghuai battlefield was more like a war between gentlemen. Behind the cruelty, there was a touch of warmth, and touching scenes of heroes cherishing heroes were often staged, such as pleading for the enemy general (Gu Quanwu protected Qin Pei), protecting the enemy general's ancestral tomb, and providing relief to the enemy's victims...

War is cruel, but those who manipulate war are flesh and blood.

The second is to show off military force and cleverly create false troops.

Li Shenfu erected many flags on the main traffic routes, which looked like continuous camps from a distance, making Qian Liu think that a large number of reinforcements from Huainan had arrived and were ready to provide support. Moreover, Gu Quanwu was captured because of his blind pursuit, and the Hangzhou soldiers did not dare to stumble over the same stone twice.

Finally, Li Shenfu generously informed Qian Liu of the withdrawal plan and they agreed to stop fighting.

Qian Liu sent people to express his gratitude to Li Shenfu and sent a large number of gifts to reward the troops.

Li Shenfu accepted Qian Liu's kindness, then broke camp and led his troops back safely.

At this time, the eunuch Han Quanhui had forced the emperor to move west, and Zhu Wen was in power in Guanzhong. Fengxiang sent Li Yan, the special mediator of Jianghuai (Jianghuai envoy), to read the imperial edict to Yang Xingmi.

Li Yan's father, Mr. Zhang, was a great man. He was the former prime minister, Zhang Jun. Emperor Zhaozong gave him the surname of the country, so his surname was Li, which had nothing to do with ethics. Since the eunuch Liu Jishu launched the "Shaoyangyuan Coup", Zhang Jun has been inclined to the eunuch group, so it is not surprising that his son is willing to be a lobbyist for the eunuch party.

The imperial edict appointed Yang Xingmi as the commander-in-chief of the Zhengdong Front Army (commander-in-chief of the eastern camp), and gave him the title of Prime Minister, conferred him the title of King of Wu, and ordered him to attack Zhu Wen; Zhu Jin was appointed as the governor of Qingzhou and Pinglu; Feng Hongduo was appointed as the governor of Xuzhou and Wuning; Zhu Yanshou was appointed as the governor of Caizhou and Fengguo Army; Ma Yin, the governor of Tanzhou and Wuan, was given the title of Prime Minister (co-prime minister).

It was then announced that Yang Xingmi, as the commander-in-chief, had the right to appoint and dismiss meritorious soldiers on behalf of the emperor, as long as he reported to the court afterwards.

At first glance, it seems lavish; upon closer inspection, it seems cost-effective.

What was given to Yang Xingmi was all empty titles, with no real benefits. Looking at the rest, they were even more generous to others, and it was hard to bear to look at them carefully: Wang Shifan was the Jiedushi of Qingzhou Pinglu, and Xuzhou Wuning Army and Caizhou Fengguo Army were also under Zhu Wen's control, so Zhu Jin, Feng Hongduo, and Zhu Yanshou were all given empty promises. Wouldn't it be better if you directly appointed them as Jiedushi of Bianzhou Xuanwu Army?
As for allowing Yang Xingmi to exercise the power of the emperor to appoint and dismiss people, this was already a fait accompli. Not to mention Yang Xingmi, who else in the world did not do this? A certain warlord "recommended" someone to be a certain governor or governor, and then the emperor issued an imperial decree to go through the motions.

Even so, Yang Xingmi was still happy. After all, his actions of expanding territory to the north were supported by the court and were legitimate.

Therefore, Yang Xingmi took the initiative to release Gu Quanwu, to show goodwill to Qian Liu and ease the conflict.

Qian Liu was overjoyed, and in response, he released the Huainan hero Qin Pei. The two heroes of Jianghuai once again made peace. Before Yang Xingmi went north, he had to resolve an internal conflict that was not really an internal conflict - Feng Hongduo of Shengzhou.

Feng Hongduo first worked for Shi Pu in Xuzhou. Later, he was suspected and fled to the Jianghuai area. After years of hard work, he finally gained a foothold in Shengzhou and was appointed as the governor of Shengzhou.

Although he was only a minor governor, Feng Hongduo was good at naval battles and had a large surface force with more than a thousand ships under his command, which should not be underestimated.

Shengzhou (now Nanjing, Jiangsu Province) is located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, sandwiched between Yangzhou and Xuanzhou, and embedded in the heartland of Yang Xingmi's power. Feng Hongduo relied on his invincible fleet and was unwilling to submit to Yang Xingmi.

Yang Xingmi really wanted to remove this thorn in his flesh.

Yang Xingmi's favorite general Tian Yu hired a craftsman who built ships for Feng Hongduo at a high price to build ordinary warships for him. The craftsman shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Marshal Feng sent people to faraway places and spent a lot of money to buy the strongest wood, so his ships are strong and durable, but you don't have this kind of wood here."

Tian Yu smiled slightly, "Just once is enough."

Tian Yu's surface arms race aroused Feng Hongduo's vigilance. He predicted that Tian Yu's move must be aimed at him. His subordinates suggested taking the initiative. Feng Hongduo also had the same intention, so he led the Invincible Fleet up the Yangtze River and announced to the outside world that he was attacking Hongzhou (now Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province). The actual target was Xuanzhou where Tian Yu was located.

Yang Xingmi sent envoys to dissuade Feng Hongduo from mediating, but Feng Hongduo ignored them.

The two sides met near Geshan, southwest of Xuanzhou. There is very little historical information about this battle, and it is only briefly mentioned that Tian Yu defeated Feng Hongduo's invincible fleet.

These few words leave us with a lot of room for imagination. Apparently, Tian Yu should have launched a "suicide attack", most likely by fire attack. Because Tian Yu did not have strict quality requirements for the newly built ships, he clearly told the craftsmen to make them disposable and not to require them to be durable.

The intended battlefield for the war was not the main stream of the Yangtze River, but a tributary near Geshan. It was surrounded by mountains and rivers, so it was conceivable that the river channel here was complicated and it would not be conducive for large ships to maneuver. Sending small boats filled with fuel to approach, ram the tower ship fleet, and then set it on fire should have achieved miraculous results.

Novelists can make in-depth artistic processing, add some plots such as "bitter flesh", "borrowing the east wind", "borrowing arrows with straw boats", "Jiang Gan stealing books", etc., which should be very interesting. This book is a serious official history, so I will not expand on it.

Feng Hongduo gathered the remnants of his army and commanded the remaining ships, sailing eastward along the Yangtze River, intending to enter the East China Sea.

Once Feng Hongduo escaped to the sea, he would become a feared pirate group in the Jianghuai area, capable of robbing trade and transport fleets, and taking the opportunity to invade coastal counties. This would cause endless troubles for Yang Xingmi.

Yang Xingmi sent an envoy with gifts to comfort the army and told them: "Your people are still strong, why do you want to exile yourself to the sea? Although my territory is small, it is enough to accommodate your people. You and your people can do whatever you want. Why not?"

Feng Hongduo's generals on both sides cried with joy as if they had been pardoned, and expressed their willingness to accept the pardon. Then Feng Hongduo led his troops to Dongtang (east of Yangzhou).

Yang Xingmi, dressed in casual clothes, without armor or weapons, took a small boat and went on board to greet them in person, bringing only a dozen guards with him.

The two sides had an in-depth conversation in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Yang Xingmi appointed Feng Hongduo as deputy envoy of Huainan Jiedushi and rewarded him with a mansion and countless gold, silver and treasures.

Previously, Feng Hongduo's general Shang Gongnai was ordered to meet with Yang Xingmi and ask for the cession of Runzhou, but Yang Xingmi refused. Shang Gongnai threatened: "Our invincible fleet will help you change your attitude!" Now, Yang Xingmi asked Shang Gongnai with a smile, "Do you still remember the request for Runzhou back then?"

Shang Gong showed no fear and said, "Each of us serves his master, but we only regret that we did not succeed at that time."

Yang Xingmi smiled knowingly and said, "It would be great if you could be as loyal to me, Old Man Yang, as you are to Marshal Feng!"

Regarding the record of Yang Xingmi's words, the original text of "Zizhi Tongjian" is "If you serve Yang Sou like you serve Mr. Feng, you will have no worries." Many scholars, including authoritative and famous scholars, when translating it, habitually believe that the subject of "no worries" is still "you", and the general meaning of the translation is that Yang Xingmi said to Mr. Shang, as long as you are loyal to me, you will have no worries.

This translation is somewhat sloppy and inaccurate, seriously inaccurate, very irresponsible, and has misled many readers.

I personally think that the subject of "无忧矣" should be the omitted "I". It should be literally translated as: If you can serve me like you served Mr. Feng, then I will have nothing to worry about.

What Yang Xingmi said was equivalent to praising Shang Gongnai to a very high status, just like Liu Bei praising Zhuge Liang and Cao Cao praising Guo Jia, "If I get so-and-so, the world will be mine."

If it is translated according to the past, it becomes a naked threat and intimidation, "If you are loyal to me, you will have nothing to worry about. Otherwise... you should think carefully about it."

According to Yang Xingmi's usual style, he would certainly not embarrass or scare Shang Gongnai at this moment, but should express his admiration and appreciation for Shang Gongnai, even if it was just a show.

The Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms provides documentary support for my analysis. "If you can serve Mr. Yang like Mr. Feng, I will have nothing to worry about."

As the saying goes, it is better to have no books than to believe in them completely. Even an "authority" like "Zizhi Tongjian" has its moments of disdain and laxity, especially when it comes to minor characters and minor events. This book does not dare to say that it has unearthed all the details that have been overlooked in the past. With limited ability, I will do my best, because this is the selling point of this book.

Of course, speaking objectively, the omission of "吾" here in "Zizhi Tongjian" is not a typo, nor a mistake, but a habitual grammar.

Yang Xingmi appointed Li Shenfu as the governor of Shengzhou, and finally used both kindness and force to remove the thorn in Feng Hongduo's side.

(End of this chapter)