History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 247 Zhuangzong Enters Wei
[Zhuangzong enters Wei]

Li Cunxu was skeptical about the pie in the sky for Wei Bo, thinking it was a trap set by He Delun. So he first sent Li Cunshen, who was stationed in Zhaozhou, southward to the northern part of Wei Bo to wait and see, and then he personally led the army to join forces with Li Cunshen, but still stayed there to wait and see what would happen.

He Delun sent his trusted confidant Sikong Yan to the Hedong military camp to reward the Hedong officers and soldiers. During this period, Sikong Yan secretly reported to Li Cunxu the ins and outs of the Wei Bo mutiny, and reported in detail Zhang Yan's actions. He suggested that Li Cunxu kill Zhang Yan. He Delun was willing to help Li Cunxu deal with other matters.

Li Cunxu remained silent, because until now, he was skeptical about Wei Bo's surrender.

Under the leadership of Li Cunxu, the Hedong Army slowly marched southwards and stationed in Yongji from Linqing. Zhang Yan selected 500 elite soldiers from the "Silver Spear Xiejiedu", armed them fully, and then went to Yongji to meet Li Cunxu.

He thought that Li Cunxu would personally come to meet Gao Ying, give him the highest level of courtesy, and praise him as a "meritorious minister of the Wei Dynasty", so he came with great joy.

Li Cunxu stood on a high building, leaning on the railing and scolding Zhang Yan for his brutality. "You bullied and coerced the commander-in-chief, and cruelly abused the people. In the past few days, more than a hundred people stopped their horses to complain! I led the army here today only to save the people from danger, not to greedily plunder the land of Wei Bo! Although you have made a contribution by donating the land, I have to kill you to avenge the people of Wei Bo and bring happiness and well-being to the people of Wei Bo!"

Afterwards, Li Cunxu ordered that Zhang Yan and his seven followers be beheaded on the spot. The rest of the troops were all trembling in fear, not daring to breathe.

Li Cunxu adhered to the basic policy of "punishing only the main culprit and not asking the rest", and accepted and appeased "Silver Spear Loyal Capital". Everyone prostrated themselves on the ground excitedly, shouting "Long live the emperor", and swore allegiance to Li Cunxu.

The next day, Li Cunxu wore civilian clothes and no armor, and asked the newly recruited soldiers of the "Silver Spear Xiejie Du" to serve as left and right guards, ordering them to wear armor and hold sharp blades. Li Cunxu used this method to express his trust in the surrendered soldiers and generals. Li Cunxu changed the name of "Silver Spear Xiejie Du" to "Silver Spear Du in Front of the Tent". This elite armed force that Yang Shihou had devoted a lot of effort to cultivate was digested and absorbed by Li Cunxu.

Later Liang Liu Xun selected 10,000 elite soldiers and attacked Wei County. Wei County was adjacent to Weizhou and was the southern gate of Weizhou, so its geographical location was particularly important.

Li Cunxu left Li Cunshen in Linqing and sent his vanguard Shi Jiantang to Weixian to assist in the defense. Li Cunxu led his army to support Weixian. Li Cunxu and Liu Xun faced each other across the river, and a battle was imminent.

When Zhu Youzhen heard the news that Wei Bo had rebelled against Liang, he regretted and was terrified, so he hurriedly sent General Niu Cunjie to support Liu Xun. However, Niu Cunjie died before he could accomplish his mission. Just as Zhu Youzhen was mobilizing his troops, he received the sad news that Niu Cunjie had passed away. So, Zhu Youzhen transferred Wang Tan to replace Niu Cunjie.

He Delun led the civil and military officials to welcome Li Cunxu into Weizhou City, and presented the official seal and imperial seal of the governor, respectfully welcoming Li Cunxu to serve as the governor of Weizhou Army.

Li Cunxu resolutely declined and emphasized again: I led the army and acted bravely only because I heard that the Zhu bandits were bullying your land. I also heard that the city had just experienced a turmoil, so I entered the city to appease it. Marshal He gave me the seal and token. This is really a huge misunderstanding. I am not here to plunder territory.

He Delun knelt down and kowtowed again, saying that the enemy was now at hand and great changes had taken place in the city. My trusted generals and personal guards had been slaughtered by Zhang Yan, and I really had no ability to command Wei Bo. If the king did not accept it, I was afraid that there would be more trouble at night and I would fail the king's kindness!

Therefore, Li Cunxu accepted the official seal and seal of the Wei Bo army, appointed He Delun as the governor of Datong, and sent him to the town. But when He Delun arrived in Taiyuan, he was detained by Zhang Chengye.

After Li Cunxu officially took over Wei Bo, he first had to rectify military discipline, especially the "Silver Spears and Efficient Military Governors". For a long time, they had been bullying others and being arrogant and difficult to control. Li Cunxu ordered that anyone who dared to spread rumors, incite trouble, and rob the people would be killed!

The law was extremely strict, and anyone who stole a penny would be sentenced to death. The execution process was also extremely brutal, first beheading, then cutting the body into pieces.

Within ten days, people in Weizhou City left their doors unlocked at night, no one picked up things on the road, and everything was in order. Traitors never have a good end.

The historical records clearly state that He Delun was forced to betray Liang and join Jin under the coercion of Zhang Yan. However, no matter how "forced" he was, he still "followed" in the end and still bore the stigma of a traitor.

Because he had no choice but to flee Liang and enter Jin, he never gained the trust of the Hedong Group. The military supervisor eunuch Zhang Chengye detained him in Taiyuan. Later, when Wang Tan of the Later Liang attacked Taiyuan, Zhang Chengye directly killed He Delun to prevent him from colluding with the outside world.

Sikong Yan, who stayed in Weizhou, once became the agent of Hedong forces in Weizhou and the number one "Wei traitor". Li Cunxu handed over all the military and political power of Weizhou to him.

After gaining supreme power and the trust of Li Cunxu, Sikong Yan became corrupt and degenerate. He began to exclude dissidents and gang up on those who were not. He was narrow-minded and vindictive.

These are all things that Li Cunxu can tolerate. When using people's strengths, one must tolerate their weaknesses. However, Sikong Yan did something next, which touched Li Cunxu's bottom line.

Sikong Yan had a nephew who lived south of the Yellow River (in the territory of the Later Liang Dynasty). After gaining power, Sikong Yan sent someone to summon him to Wei Bo to enjoy his life. The plot was uncovered.

The two armies were facing each other, and a high-ranking official secretly delivered a private letter to the enemy country. This was a very serious political incident.

Li Cunxu severely reprimanded Sikong Yan, "Why didn't you ask for my permission in advance?" Then he executed Sikong Yan's entire family.

When Zhang Yan forced He Delun to submit to Hedong, Beizhou in the northern part of Weizhou, led by the governor Zhang Yuande, disobeyed orders, allied with Cangzhou and Dezhou in the north and Liu Xun's army in the south, and vowed to defend the territorial integrity of Later Liang to the death.

This resistance force in Beizhou repeatedly cut off the food supply routes to Zhenzhou and Dingzhou, posing a serious threat to the logistics supply line of the Hedong Army. So someone suggested to Li Cunxu that he should first take Beizhou and then seize Cangzhou and Jingzhou to the east, so that the Hedong influence would extend to the coast of the East China Sea.

Li Cunxu shook his head and said that although Beizhou was small, its defenses were strong and it was not suitable for a quick attack. Dezhou, on the other hand, had weak defenses and blocked the supply lines between Cangzhou and Beizhou. If we controlled Dezhou first, then Beizhou and Cangzhou would both become isolated cities and be at our mercy.

Therefore, Li Cunxu selected 500 elite cavalrymen, marched day and night, and attacked Dezhou. The defenders of Dezhou were unprepared, and the governor escaped by climbing over the wall. Dezhou declared surrender, and the generals of Hedong entered the city to take over.

After controlling Dezhou, Li Cunxu sent 5,000 men to launch a tentative attack on Beizhou, but encountered stubborn resistance from Zhang Yuande. Li Cunxu had no choice but to order the digging of trenches around Beizhou City, adopting the clumsy method of long-term siege to fight with the isolated city of Beizhou.

Although Beizhou was not captured, the grain routes of Zhen and Ding were temporarily safe. Therefore, the Hedong Army on the Wei County front line raided Chanzhou at night and captured this strategic location in the south of Weizhou in one fell swoop.

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(End of this chapter)