History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 20: The Destruction of Xu Ze
The latest battle report also came from the Huaihe battlefield. Under the leadership of Commander-in-Chief Ma Ju, the newly formed Zhengnan Front Army, with 30,000 elite troops, divided into three routes, forced their way across the Huaihe River and liberated Sizhou City in one go.

At this point, Sizhou City had been under siege for a full seven months.

Du Yan, Xin Dan and all the soldiers and civilians of Sizhou were ready to fight at all times and put up a stubborn resistance when they were almost out of ammunition and food. From beginning to end, the Xu bandits were not able to enter the city even once.

The preservation of the isolated fortress of Sizhou was of great significance. First, Sizhou undoubtedly tied down part of the Xu bandits' forces, providing objective guarantee for victory on other fronts; second, Sizhou penetrated into the bandit-occupied area, providing strategic support for the "center blossoming" phase of the counterattack; finally, Sizhou's tenacious spirit gave the Tang army and civilians a shot of stimulant.

When Ma Ju entered Sizhou City, the scene before him made this seven-foot-tall man shed tears: from Du Yan onwards, all the soldiers and civilians had spots and ulcers on their faces due to long-term fatigue and hygiene problems. They were almost unrecognizable and looked like savages.

Ma Ju choked up and held Du Min and Xin Dan's hands tightly: "We are late!"

Without time to feel sad, Ma Ju led his troops to capture the second strategic stronghold: Haozhou.

Inspired by the Sizhou spirit, Ma Ju commanded the Zhengnan Front Army, crushing the enemy with great force and recovering lost territories one after another.

What a good thing this world has to offer, no one can escape the punishment of heaven.

Wu Jiong, who had besieged Sizhou for seven months, also had the good fortune to experience the feeling of being besieged after escaping to Haozhou. However, there was no Xin Dan-like figure among the bandit troops in Haozhou.

From summer to winter, Haozhou ran out of food and people began to eat each other. Wu Jiong made a desperate move and led his troops to break out.

Sooner or later, you will pay for what you have done. The Haozhou bandit army was completely wiped out, Wu Jiong was killed, and Wang Hongli was killed at the foot of Sizhou city earlier.

Gentlemen are harmonious but different, while villains are the same but not harmonious. Gentlemen are guided by righteousness, while villains are guided by profit.

Rumors are their political foundation and the source of everything; plunder is their means of survival; bandits are their main component. They have no vision, no faith, only the immediate survival.

Even though they advertised that they had 200,000 members, Pang Xun's gang could not escape being a mob.

Under the high pressure from outside, internal hidden dangers broke out quickly.

The peasants who were coerced and deceived collapsed without a fight, and their escape and surrender were like a mountain torrent and a tsunami, which could not be stopped. The bandits from all over the country who gladly joined the gang also revealed their true colors of "real hooligans, pretending to be chivalrous", and surrendered collectively in exchange for the benefits promised by the government troops.

The bandit general Chen Quanyu led thousands of bandits to surrender, and helped the government army recruit bandit deserters; the local tyrant Li Gun of Qi County surrendered with his entire county; Zhu Mei of Pei County surrendered with his entire county...

When a wall falls, everyone pushes it; when a drum breaks, everyone beats it. The more opportunistic a villain is, the more sensitive his sense of smell is. If you surrender now, you can not only be exempted from punishment, but also become a formal civil servant of the country. He who knows the current situation is a hero.

As Kang Chengxun led the troops to surrender without bloodshed at the gates of Suzhou City, the greatest hero in Pang Xun Group also stepped onto the stage of history.

The most dangerous traitor

Kang Chengxun led a large army and approached Suzhou City.

There were tens of thousands of enemy troops in Suzhou City, which was said to be firmly defended. Suzhou became a roadblock, blocking Kang Chengxun's steps towards Xuzhou.

Zhang Shi, a rebel general in the city, sent a letter to Pang Xun overnight, suggesting a strategy of encircling and attacking the reinforcements: using Suzhou City to contain Kang Chengxun's main force, Pang Xun would unexpectedly go behind the enemy lines and harass Songzhou and Bozhou to replenish their military supplies and engage in a war of attrition; if Kang Chengxun came back to reinforce, Pang Xun would set up an ambush in a dangerous place, and the Suzhou soldiers would counterattack and pursue, and Kang Chengxun would surely be defeated under the pincer attack.

Pang Xun was already a drowning man. Whenever someone offered advice, he would accept it without hesitation. He even dared to adopt Zhou Zhong's suggestion. What else could Pang Xun not digest?
This strategy should have fully learned the lessons of Sizhou, improved it and enhanced subjective initiative.

Kang Chengxun was not a famous general. Looking at his history of commanding operations, he could be summed up as a "mediocre person". His basic idea was to gather the army and creep forward. If he won, he would stay, and if he lost, he would flee. His only advantage was that he knew he was a mediocre person, so he was good at accepting the suggestions of his subordinates.

Pang Xun's siege and attack on reinforcements can definitely pose a fatal threat to Kang Chengxun.

In order to get out of the dilemma as soon as possible, Kang Chengxun discussed with the military supervisor eunuch Yang Xuanjia and planned to open the water of the Bian River to flood Suzhou City.

Although the power of nature can be used to destroy all human works, water and fire are merciless, and the people of Suzhou will suffer from the flooding of the city.

The government troops were afraid to take the blame, and neither Kang Chengxun nor Yang Xuanjia dared to take the blame.

At the critical moment, a man who knew the times emerged in Suzhou City, Zhang Xuanren, who not only successfully solved the Suzhou problem, but also directly solved the root cause of the problem, Xuzhou. Zhang Xuanren, who was not evil by nature, was originally a meritorious soldier guarding the border, and was just waiting to return with honor, get promoted, and spend the rest of his life in glory. However, he was forced by the bandits of Xuzhou and lost his body to join the bandits, and he was always resentful in his heart. Since he took over Liang Pi, he saw that the bandits were gradually disappearing, and the sinking of the pirate ship was only a matter of time, and he was even more worried day and night.

When the battle in Suzhou was at a stalemate, Zhang Xuanren secretly summoned dozens of his confidants, explained the pros and cons, and gained unanimous support. Then, Zhang Xuanren secretly contacted Kang Chengxun and agreed to surrender the city.

On this day, Zhang Shi and his men were drinking in the city. Zhang Xuanren led his trusted generals to launch an attack, captured and killed Zhang Shi and other bandits, and then announced the imperial policy in the city that no one would be held accountable and all would be pardoned. After comforting the soldiers and civilians in the city, Zhang Xuanren opened the city to welcome the royal army.

Kang Chengxun immediately announced the imperial decree of Emperor Yizong of Tang, appointing Zhang Xuanren as the Chief Censor and giving him generous rewards.

Zhang Xuanren kowtowed to express his gratitude, and then presented Kang Chengxun with a great gift: "Now, other prefectures and counties still don't know the news of Suzhou's return to the court. Let's just play a double act. Pretend that I am still resisting stubbornly, and then pretend to be defeated and flee, tricking the gate of Xuzhou into opening, and then cooperate inside and outside to capture Xuzhou in one fell swoop!"

Kang Chengxun praised him highly and immediately allocated 30,000 surrendered soldiers from Suzhou, plus hundreds of cavalry from the court. After distributing rewards, he handed them over to Zhang Xuanren to lead.

That evening, Zhang Xuanren lit the "peace beacon fire" as usual to report safety to the rear.

That night, Zhang Xuanren was not idle. He ordered his men to collect thousands of bundles of firewood and piled them on the city wall. At dawn, they were all lit. Suddenly, black smoke billowed over Suzhou City, creating the illusion of a large-scale siege.

Afterwards, Zhang Xuanren led his soldiers to "flee in panic" and headed straight for Fuli County. The Fuli County garrison quickly opened the city gate to welcome them in. After Zhang Xuanren entered the city, he immediately killed the garrison commander and read the imperial edict to the Fuli County rebels.

Fuli County returned to the embrace of the motherland.

Zhang Xuanren brought more than 10,000 Fuli County defenders and marched non-stop towards Xuzhou to continue their "defeat".

Xuzhou received the news of Zhang Xuanren's rebellion first and strengthened its vigilance.

Zhang Xuanren rushed to the city, surrounded it but did not attack it. He personally walked to the city, demonstrated his own experience, and read the imperial edict, "Only the chief culprit will be executed, and the rest will not be questioned." "Brothers, I am already the Chief Censor, what are you still hesitating about? Do you want to be buried with that bastard Pang Xun?"

The bandits escaped from the city walls one after another and surrendered in front of the battle line.

The former officers and soldiers of Cui Yanzeng finally got the chance to avenge Cui Yanzeng and Wen Tinghao.

There was a minor official in Xuzhou named Lu Shenzhong, who was deeply indebted to Cui Yanzeng. When Cui Yanzeng died, Lu Shenzhong bribed the guards to collect Cui Yanzeng's body. Now, Lu Shenzhong led his soldiers to open the city gates to welcome the government troops, and the government troops rushed into the city in one fell swoop.

The people stationed in Xuzhou were Pang Xun's father Pang Juzhi and Xu Ji, the "dog among dogs" who was ranked first among the "Four Dogs of the First Uprising". Seeing that the situation was hopeless, they broke out at the north gate.

Zhang Xuanren pursued them relentlessly and beheaded the two men, while the rest of their gang committed suicide by jumping into the river.

Kang Chengxun's army then entered Xuzhou City and searched for the remaining leaders of Pang Xun's group and their relatives. A total of several thousand people were captured and beheaded.

Pang Xun was in Dangshan County when he heard the news that Xuzhou had fallen. He immediately led his troops westward. Wherever he passed, he burned, killed, looted, and left a scorched earth.

Kang Chengxun ordered Zhuye Chixin to lead his Shatuo cavalry to the west to hunt down Pang Xun, and 80,000 troops followed.

Now, there are reward notices posted by the government everywhere, offering high prices for Pang Xun’s head.

Pang Xun was at the end of his rope, and wherever he went, he would encounter stubborn resistance. This was the final stage of the war, and it was time to beat the fallen dog.

The Shatuo cavalry quickly caught up with them, and Kang Chengxun's 80,000 main forces also arrived at the battlefield in time and quickly completed the strategic encirclement.

The following battle was no longer a battle, but a massacre.

Except for the more than 1,000 people who surrendered in time, all the other bandits were killed, and the chief culprit Pang Xun was also killed.

In the following month, the remaining forces of Pang Xun were completely eliminated, and the "Pang Xun Rebellion" came to an end.

(End of this chapter)