History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 248: Confrontation on the River
[Confrontation on the river]

The governor of Chanzhou at that time was Wang Yanzhang, also known as "Wang Tieqiang". He was leading troops outside and following the commander Liu Xun. Chanzhou was in the southern part of Weizhou, under the control of the Later Liang Dynasty, and was caught off guard by Hedong. Wang Yanzhang's wife and children who stayed in the city were all captured by Hedong.

Li Cunxu had heard of Wang Yanzhang's name, so he sent an envoy to persuade him to surrender, using his family as a bargaining chip. Wang Yanzhang killed the envoy without saying a word, making his position clear with practical actions. Li Cunxu was furious and immediately killed all of Wang Yanzhang's family members. As a result, Wang Yanzhang's fighting spirit became more tenacious, and the national hatred and family feud made Wang Yanzhang repeatedly become the vanguard of the anti-Jin war in subsequent battles.

The success of the two sneak attacks made Li Cunxu arrogant. One day, while visiting the troops in Wei County, the hot-blooded Li Cunxu suddenly became full of energy and went to investigate Liu Xun's military camp in person with more than a hundred cavalrymen.

Liu Xun prepared 5,000 ambush troops for him, lying in ambush in the reeds at the bend of the river.

On that day, the weather was gloomy. Li Cunxu took the risk and plunged into Liu Xun's ambush. With a command, 5,000 ambush soldiers rushed out and surrounded Li Cunxu, fighting for this big fish.

Li Cunxu galloped on his horse and led his cavalry to break out of the encirclement. The fierce battle lasted from noon to dusk, and finally held out until Li Cunshen's reinforcements arrived.

The fighting power of the Hedong Army was incredible. More than 7 people were surrounded by people. After fighting for an afternoon, they only lost cavalrymen. The casualties of the Later Liang Army were unknown. Among them, Xia Luqi, Li Cunxu's deputy general, killed more than people (Luqi killed more than people by himself, and was wounded all over his body). Xia Luqi was meritorious in protecting the emperor, and was given the name "Li Shaoqi" by Li Cunxu. This book uses Xia Luqi.

After breaking through the encirclement, Li Cunxu smiled bitterly and said to them, "I was almost captured by the enemy and became a laughing stock of the world." Xia Luqi and others said in unison, "It's a good opportunity to let the thieves see your bravery and might!"

Liu Xun thought that the main force of Hedong was in Heshuo, so his old nest Taiyuan would be empty. You attacked my De and Chan by surprise, and I will steal your hometown. So he secretly crossed the Taihang Mountains and headed towards Taiyuan.

The Hedong Army saw no soldiers from the Later Liang Dynasty going out to collect firewood, nor heard any movement from the Later Liang Dynasty, so they became suspicious and sent people to investigate. The result of the investigation was that there was no smoke from cooking in the city, but only flags moving back and forth on the city wall.

Li Cunxu said, "I heard that Liu Xun has a reputation of "one step and a hundred plans". We must not take it lightly. There must be something fishy going on!" So he sent another smart and capable scout to do further investigation.

After further investigation, it was discovered that the flags walking back and forth on the city wall were tied to a scarecrow riding a donkey, walking on the city wall. Only the old, weak and sick were left in the city. After catching a few tongues and asking them, they found out that Liu Xun had led the army for two days!

Liu Xun went to attack Taiyuan!

The Hedong generals were shocked, but Li Cunxu smiled contemptuously and said that although Liu Xun was good at some tricks, they were all petty cleverness, and the real decisive battle was his weakness. According to the distance he had traveled, he should have just reached the foot of the mountain by now.

After stabilizing the morale of the army, Li Cunxu sent cavalry to attack day and night in a race with Liu Xun.

Li Si'en traveled day and night and arrived in Taiyuan first. He informed the defenders of the urgent military situation. The Taiyuan defenders mobilized urgently and made preparations for defense.

It rained continuously for more than ten days in the Taihang Mountains. The roads were muddy and the mud was more than a foot deep. Liu Xun's soldiers could only move forward little by little by holding on to vines and trees.

The rainy weather not only seriously slowed down Liu Xun's march, but also caused serious non-combat casualties to his soldiers. Many people became ill as a result, with a mortality rate of up to 30% (all of them had abdominal diseases and swollen feet, and 20% to 30% died)!
Speed ​​is of the essence in war. The bad weather at the foot of Taihang Mountain made Liu Xun lose his precious mobility. Liu Xun's situation was very grim. Taiyuan in front was ready for battle, and there were pursuers from Hedong behind. The non-combat casualties were close to 30%, and the military rations were basically exhausted... The morale of the army was unstable, and the soldiers were in danger of mutiny and rout at any time.

Liu Xun said to everyone earnestly: "We are more than a thousand miles away from home, deep in the enemy's hinterland, with enemy troops in front and behind, and here are mountains and deep valleys. We are like falling into a well. What should we do? Only by risking our lives can we fight for a way out. Otherwise, we can only die to repay our king and our fellow countrymen!" The soldiers stopped crying in fear, and under the encouragement of Liu Xun, they were ready to die and retreated in an orderly manner.

When Hedong general Zhou Dewei heard the news of Liu Xun's attack, he also led a thousand cavalry to stop him. When he arrived, Liu Xun had already led his troops to evacuate.

This shows how wise it was for Liu Xun to evacuate in time after his sneak attack failed. Although he did not achieve his intended goal, victory and defeat are common in the military, and a perfect retreat can be considered a victory. In this unsuccessful sneak attack, Liu Xun lost half of his war horses.

After the defeat, Liu Xun did not give up, but continued to look for a breakthrough. He found out that the Hedong army on the front line was short of food and fodder, and that the food and fodder were all concentrated in Linqing, so he took the risk again and went deep into the hinterland controlled by Hedong, intending to launch a surprise attack on Linqing.

Zhou Dewei, who was following them, hurriedly chased after them and approached the Houliang army the next day, and captured dozens of Houliang sentries. Zhou Dewei cut off their wrists and then let them go, asking them to tell Liu Xun: "Zhou Dewei is waiting for you in Linqing."

The Later Liang army was horrified and dared not advance rashly.

Taking advantage of this gap, Zhou Dewei continued to march quickly, and only on the second day did he overtake Liu Xun's troops and enter Linqing. Liu Xun lost the opportunity to launch a surprise attack again.

Later, Zhou Dewei attacked Beizhou but failed, and then attacked Shenxian, but Liu Xun defended it with all his might. From Shenxian to the Yellow River, the battle line between the Liang and Jin armies stretched for dozens of miles, with the military camps adjacent to each other and their voices heard from each other, and many large and small conflicts broke out every day.

The Later Liang planned to use Hezhong as a base to open up a second battlefield west of Taihang Mountain. They attacked Xizhou and Cizhou under the jurisdiction of Hedong, but failed. So they sent Wang Tan and He Gui to attack Chanzhou and recaptured it.

Subsequently, the Later Liang Dynasty appointed Yang Yanzhi, an old subordinate of Yang Shihou, as the governor of Chanzhou, leading 10,000 troops to support Liu Xun, and used his old prestige in the Weizhou area to recruit the military and civilians of Weizhou to pay tribute and surrender.

At the same time, Li Cunshen led 5,000 troops to besiege Beizhou to remove this thorn in his flesh. Zhang Yuande only had 3,000 soldiers in the city, and he sent troops out to harass every day. Li Cunshen mobilized civilians to work as coolies and dig trenches in Beizhou City, completely isolating Beizhou City.

Liu Xun in Shen County was also besieged by the Hedong army, and there were serious problems with logistics and supply. The Hedong soldiers challenged the enemy outside the city every day, but Liu Xun refused to come out. The Hedong army, with its numerical advantage, cut off the supply line in the city and sent more than a thousand strong men armed with giant axes to hack at the Houliang camp. The Houliang soldiers fled in panic, and anyone who escaped from the camp was captured by the Hedong soldiers.

After that, the two armies were in a stalemate along the Yellow River. During this period, Liu Xun even thought of bribing Li Cunxu's chef to poison the food, but the plan was exposed and the assassination attempt failed.

The Liang and Jin dynasties had been at each other's throats for more than a decade, fighting over important crossings along the Yellow River. Both sides were inseparable, and each faced internal troubles. If it weren't for the bravery of Wang Yanzhang, the "iron spear", and the far-sightedness of Liu Xun, the "one step, a hundred strategies", the Later Liang Dynasty would not have lasted so long.

(End of this chapter)