History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 202 Zhu Wen's Southern Expedition
[Pacifying Jingxiang]

After stabilizing the situation in the rear, Zhu Wen launched an attack on Zhao Kuangning in Xiangzhou, sending Yang Shihou as the vanguard and personally leading the main force to follow closely behind.

Yang Shihou was unstoppable, and he conquered Tang, Deng, Fu, Ying, Sui, Jun, and Fang, sweeping across the entire territory of the loyal army in Xiangzhou. Zhu Wen led the main force to station on the north bank of the Han River, facing Xiangzhou across the Han River. Zhao Kuangning was beaten without any chance to fight back.

Zhu Wen did not give him time to breathe and ordered Yang Shihou to build a floating bridge. In less than two days, the floating bridge was completed, and then Zhu Wen personally led the main force to cross the Han River and head south.

Zhao Kuangning led an army of 20,000 to line up on the south bank to block the enemy, but was defeated by Yang Shihou in one fell swoop. The Bian army took advantage of the situation and advanced to the city of Xiangzhou.

That night, Zhao Kuangning set fire to the headquarters in Xiangzhou, led his entire family and personal guards, fled eastward along the river to Yangzhou, and took refuge with Yang Xingmi.

The next morning, Yang Shihou entered Xiangzhou.

Zhao Kuangning's younger brother, Zhao Kuangming, the governor of Jingnan, did not even have the courage to resist. He simply abandoned the city and led his 20,000 troops to flee westward to Chengdu and surrendered to Wang Jian.

Zhu Wen disbanded the "Loyal and Righteous Army" and restored its previous name "Shannan East Road". He ordered Yang Shihou to serve as the governor of Shannan East Road, and soon after, he was officially appointed as the Jiedushi of Shannan East Road; he ordered the general He Gui to be the governor of Jingnan.

At this point, Zhu Wen took only one month to annex two major cities in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, once again demonstrating to the world the Bian Army's terrifying combat effectiveness.

Let’s talk about the exiled Zhao brothers.

When Zhao Kuangning arrived in Yangzhou, Yang Xingmi joked with him in a slightly sarcastic tone, saying that when you were in charge of Xiangzhou, you aided the enemy and assisted the bandits for many years. Now that you have been defeated by the bandits, you come to me for refuge?

Zhao Kuangning said sternly: "It is the duty of the princes to pay tribute to the court. How can it be said that they are aiding the enemy and the bandits? It is precisely because we are irreconcilable with the bandits that we have come to submit."

Yang Xingmi was really impressed by his ability to speak of straddling two boats and being fickle in such a fresh and refined way.

At that time, the Tang Dynasty was in decline, and the various vassal states often did not pay tribute, but "the brothers Kuang Ning... paid tribute without interruption." It is an indisputable fact that the Zhao brothers actively paid tribute to the court. It is also a fact that Zhu Wen completely controlled the court, and all the so-called court tribute fell into Zhu Wen's pocket without a cent missing.

Based on this, Yang Xingmi accused him of "aiding the enemy and aiding the thieves", while Zhao Kuangning adopted the strategy of avoiding the important issues and exaggerating the issue, emphasizing that he was a law-abiding citizen.

The fact is, Zhao Kuangning was playing both Zhu Wen and Yang Xingmi. On the one hand, he paid "protection fees" to Zhu Wen in the name of fulfilling the obligation of paying tribute to the vassal state. Zhu Wen praised Zhao Kuangning's loyalty in the court and presented a memorial to the court to promote Zhao Kuangning as a reward. This was the tacit understanding between him and Zhu Wen. On the other hand, Zhao Kuangning made an alliance with Huainan in the east and had an exchange of glances with Yang Xingmi.

The Xiangzhou Loyal Army where Zhao Kuangning was located was an important strategic location, so he became the object of Zhu Wen and Yang Xingmi's competition to win over, and was able to play both sides between the two big guys.

The only good impression I have of him is his identity as a "book collector". Zhao Kuangyin liked collecting books (I don't know if he also liked reading). He collected thousands of volumes. When he evacuated Xiangzhou, he set a fire to burn the military and political headquarters, but did not burn the books. After Yang Shihou entered the city, he transferred thousands of volumes of books to Bianzhou.

In any case, Yang Xingmi showed due tolerance and magnanimity towards Zhao Kuangning. After all, the talented and ambitious Yang Xingmi also wanted to set an example for the world, so he treated Zhao Kuangning well.

His younger brother Zhao Kuangming also planned to flee east to Yang Xingmi. His son Zhao Chenggui advised him against it by citing the story of Zhuge Liang's brothers, saying that Zhuge Liang and his brother Zhuge Jin divided the affairs of two countries, which has been passed down through the ages. If we all flee to Huainan now, Huainan may become suspicious.

Zhao Kuangming suddenly realized the truth, so he changed his route and headed west, and finally joined Wang Jian of Xichuan.

The Zhao brothers did not pay tribute to the Zhuge brothers out of compulsion, but out of realistic considerations. Because the strength of Zhu Wen and Zhao Kuangning was very different, Zhao Kuangning was defeated cleanly and quickly, and his strength was still there, and he did not lose the support of the army and the people; while Zhao Kuangming fled without fighting, and although his strength was weak, he was able to preserve everything.

Let’s look at the situation within the Huainan Group: Yang Xingmi’s strength was originally inferior to Zhu Wen’s, and had recently been weakened (Tian Yu, An Renyi, and Zhu Yanshou rebelled; Li Shenfu and Tai Meng died of illness); Yang Xingmi had fallen ill and was in poor health (he died of illness only two months later); none of Yang Xingmi’s sons were capable, and there was no one to succeed him.

Under such circumstances, the Zhao brothers flocked to Huainan in an organized manner, claiming to be seeking refuge, just in case... Chao Gai and others used the excuse of avoiding the disaster of "robbing the birthday gift" to fight with Wang Lun and rob Liangshan.

Zhao Chenggui certainly did not have the opportunity to read "Water Margin", but since he knew the Zhuge brothers, he should also know the story of Yuan Shao's two sons: Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi, who went to Liaodong to join Gongsun Kang.

A large-scale influx will only arouse suspicion in the host countries, and the result will be either the cuckoo taking over the magpie's nest or the sheep falling into the tiger's mouth.

Later, Yang Xingmi's successor killed Zhao Kuangning, while Zhao Kuangming died a peaceful death in Shu.

History always repeats itself in a surprising way. Historical stories will not repeat themselves, but historical laws will repeat themselves again and again.

The great leader's comments on Zhu Wen were sharp and profound, "similar to Cao Cao", Zhu Wen paid tribute to Cao Cao in all aspects. After Cao Cao destroyed Liu Biao of Jingzhou and pacified Jingxiang, he immediately went eastward and attacked Sun Quan, launching the famous "Battle of Chibi", but was defeated miserably, and never dared to plan for Jiangnan since then;
After Zhu Wen annexed the Jingxiang area, he also coveted the Jianghuai area to the east. He ignored the opposition and marched east to Huainan, but ultimately returned in failure.

【Three Expeditions to Huainan】

Zhu Wen assembled his army in Xiangzhou. His original plan was to hold a military parade and then return to Bianzhou.

Zhu Wen, wearing gorgeous military uniforms and riding on a tall horse, inspected his victorious army. The flags were fluttering, covering the sky and the sun; the helmets and armor were shining, dazzling and brilliant, as if they were full of heroic spirit; the morale was high, and they were as fierce as a tiger.

This scene made Zhu Wen intoxicated. His youthful hormones were infinitely stimulated. The grand ambition in his heart seemed to be right in front of him. Zhu Wen couldn't help shouting and going crazy.

"Eastern Expedition to Huainan!"

Think tank Jing Xiang was one of the few people who was not carried away by the victory. He quickly dissuaded them, saying that it took us less than a month to flatten two large towns, expand the territory by thousands of miles, and make our reputation known to the world. We should cherish and use this prestige to win without fighting at the negotiation table, so as to gain greater political benefits, instead of being brave and aggressive.

Jing Xiang's words reflected his high political wisdom and were in line with Zhu Wen's consistent proposition. It was in this way that Zhu Wen's group gradually grew larger.

But although Jing Xiang is still the same Jing Xiang, Zhu Wen is no longer the same Zhu Wen. It is said that a great country does not value political schemes. In the past, political maneuvers were a helpless move for the weak, but now, who can stop me, Zhu Wen? What political schemes, conspiracies and intrigues... just do it!
As soon as the army set out from Xiangzhou, it encountered heavy rain. It was already winter, the roads were muddy, and the wind was biting. Because this expedition was a temporary plan, they did not change into winter clothes in time, and the logistics supply was seriously insufficient. The army marched in the rain and suffered terribly. Before entering the Huainan territory, a large number of soldiers in the Bian army deserted.

When they arrived at Guangzhou, the westernmost part of the Huainan influence, Zhu Wen sent someone to tell Guangzhou Governor Chai Zaiyong that as long as he opened the city and surrendered, he would be appointed as Caizhou Governor, otherwise, he would massacre the city!

Caizhou was a wealthy and large province, and had also served as the military headquarters of the Fengguo Army. At that time, Guangzhou was still a subordinate province of Caizhou, so the governor of Caizhou was a promotion compared to the governor of Guangzhou.

On the one hand, Chai Zaiyong strengthened vigilance, increased guards and made preparations for battle. On the other hand, he personally climbed up the city wall and used sweet words to delay the attack.

He knelt down and kowtowed to Zhu Wen, begging him respectfully, "Our Guangzhou city is small, with few soldiers and generals. It is really insignificant and not worth your trouble. If you take Shouzhou first, how dare I not open the city and surrender?"

Shouzhou is located east of Guangzhou, in the middle section of the Huai River. It is indeed a very important strategic location and one of the breakthrough points for the north to move south into the Huai River. Zhu Wen had previously attacked Shouzhou with a large army, but was defeated by Zhu Yanshou with a smaller force.

Guangzhou is still a long way from Shouzhou, almost crossing half of the Huainan war zone, so Zhu Wen would not fall into Chai's trap. You don't want to surrender, right? Wait for the city to be massacred!
Chai Zaiyong closed the city gates and held the city firmly. Zhu Wen was helpless and could only resort to the most traditional method: siege.

In a war of attrition, those with fewer people will consume less.

Zhu Wen led a large army deep into enemy territory, and encountered continuous winter rains. Naturally, he did not want to be hindered by a small Guangzhou, picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons, which would not be worth the loss. So after half a month of siege and intimidation, seeing that Guangzhou still had no intention of surrendering, he lifted the siege and headed eastward, and really marched towards Shouzhou.

Just like the endless winter rain, Zhu Wen's misfortunes happened one after another.

Not far from Guangzhou, Zhu Wen's army lost its way and "lost its way for more than a hundred miles." It was not known whether it deviated from the route for more than a hundred miles or traveled on the wrong road for more than a hundred miles. In short, the magic of love circled around in the land of Huainan, and finally arrived at the city of Shouzhou.

Soldiers are valuable and quick.

Getting lost and rainy seriously slowed down Zhu Wen's march, and Guangzhou wasted more than half a month of precious time. When Zhu Wen finally found Shouzhou, the Huainan army had already made sufficient preparations for the battle, and was well-rested to face Zhu Wen's tired and exhausted army. The result can be imagined.

Zhu Wen planned to build a camp around Shouzhou City, but found that there was no tree within a few miles. The Huainan Army had already used this time to cut down all the trees. Not only trees, but also houses, food and water... the so-called fortification and clearing the fields, never leaving any materials that can be used by the enemy. Yang Xingmi defeated Sun Ru with this trick and captured Huainan. This was Yang Xingmi's specialty, specifically for dealing with foreign invaders.

A good cook cannot cook without rice. Zhu Wen was at a loss and had to retreat westward temporarily.

After calming down, Zhu Wen also felt that this eastern expedition was too reckless, so he planned to cross the Huai River and return.

But just when the army was crossing the Huai River, the insignificant Chai Zaiyong of Guangzhou actually sent a death squad to "strike the enemy halfway across the river", killing 3,000 Bian soldiers and capturing military supplies in the tens of thousands. This made Zhu Wen furious and irritable.

Zhu Wen left Huainan in disgrace, announcing the failure of the third expedition to Huainan.

(End of this chapter)