History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 260 Self-Destruction of the Great Wall
In August, Li Cunxu held a grand military parade in Weizhou, with a mighty and majestic army.

Li Cunxu flexed his muscles in Weizhou and indeed received an unexpected reward: Zhang Wanjin, the governor of Taining Army of Yanzhou in Later Liang, surrendered to Hedong and requested troop support.

Li Cunxu personally led a large army to harass Yunzhou and Puzhou, and then stationed at Majiadu to wait and see.

Later Liang sent General Liu Xun to attack Zhang Wanjin of Yanzhou, and also sent He Gui and Xie Yanzhang to station in the north of Puzhou to confront the Hedong army at Majiadu.

The suffocating tense confrontation lasted for more than a hundred days. No matter how the Hedong Army challenged, the Houliang Army always kept the gates closed.

Up to now, although the power comparison between the two sides has changed to some extent, the situation and demands of both sides remain unchanged, that is, the Hedong Army has been rushing thousands of miles, the battle line is too long, and the battle line is almost entirely dependent on the support of "external forces" (Zhenzhou and Dingzhou), and the north is facing a new, powerful, and southward barbarian tribe (Khitan), so the Hedong Army needs to fight quickly and actively seize and create opportunities for a decisive battle, and strive to achieve success in one battle. The Later Liang is just the opposite, relying on the city to hold on, fight consumption, and drag the war to the later stage.

The Hedong Army was stationed at Majiadu, which was on the south bank of the ancient Yellow River, which meant that the Hedong forces had crossed the Yellow River; He Gui and Xie Yanzhang were stationed in Xingtai Village, north of Puzhou.

Li Cunxu planned to implement the leapfrog tactic and directly attack the base in Bianzhou. However, He Gui and Xie Yanzhang were not ordinary people, so Li Cunxu was very afraid of them.

As soon as the twelfth lunar month began, Li Cunxu could no longer bear his anxiety and led his troops forward. He set up camp only 5 kilometers away from the Later Liang army camp and continued to send people to provoke the enemy and lure the Later Liang army into battle.

As the Hedong army continued to approach, serious disagreements arose within the Later Liang army. He Gui advocated going out to fight, while Xie Yanzhang advocated continuing to hold out.

He Gui and Xie Yanzhang did not have a harmonious personal relationship.

He Gui was a surrendered general. He was originally a general under Zhu Xuan of Yunzhou. When Zhu Wen conquered the two Zhus of Yanzhou and Yunzhou, he surrendered after being defeated. At that time, he was captured along with dozens of generals including He Huaibao and Liu Cun. Zhu Wen had heard of He Gui's great name, so he escorted these dozens of generals to the city of Yanzhou and beheaded them all except He Gui. After that, He Gui was grateful for Zhu Wen's kindness in not killing him, and swore to be loyal to Zhu Wen until his death.

Xie Yanzhang was born into a noble family. He served Ge Congzhou since he was young and was adopted by Ge Congzhou. Xie Yanzhang was intelligent and clever, and was highly valued and cultivated by Ge Congzhou. According to records, Ge Congzhou personally taught him the art of war, and placed thousands of copper coins in a large plate as a sand table to teach him the essence of arranging troops. It can be said that Xie Yanzhang received the true teachings of the famous general Ge Congzhou.

After he came of age, he became Zhu Wen's cavalry commander. After Zhu Youzhen ascended the throne, he promoted Xie Yanzhang to be the commander-in-chief of the cavalry.

He Gui's infantry and Xie Yanzhang's cavalry were known as the "two heroes of the age". The army and people of the Later Liang Dynasty were very proud of them, so Zhu Youzhen sent these two to the Yellow River front. Together, they would surely be able to resist Li Cunxu.

Li Cunxu did not dare to underestimate the "two heroes of the time". At the beginning of the confrontation at Majiadu, Li Cunxu risked his life and came to investigate the Later Liang army camp with only a few hundred cavalrymen, but was ambushed by Xie Yanzhang. Five thousand Later Liang cavalrymen surrounded Li Cunxu and a dozen cavalrymen. Fortunately, Li Cunshen led troops to rescue him in time, allowing Li Cunxu to escape in embarrassment.

During the more than one hundred days of confrontation, Li Cunxu was afraid to attack Bianzhou because he was afraid of the "two peerless heroes".

Xie Yanzhang was not only good at commanding cavalry, but also learned from Ge Congzhou that he was good at arranging troops. This time, Xie Yanzhang was serving as the deputy of He Gui (He Gui was the commander-in-chief of the Northern Recruiting Envoy). One day, the Hedong Army found that a certain military formation of the Later Liang was very methodical, almost impeccable, and without any loopholes. They were amazed and told each other: "It must be the Taifu of the two capitals."

The title of "Taifu of Liangjing" was given to Xie Yanzhang (the military commander of the cavalry of Liangjing, the governor of Xuzhou, and the inspector of Taifu). Even the enemies who fought against him dared not to call him by his name in private, which showed the status of Xie Yanzhang in the eyes of the officers and soldiers in Hedong.

It was precisely because Xie Yanzhang's fame overshadowed He Gui that made He Gui very unhappy, especially since they were listed together as the "two most outstanding heroes of the age", which made He Gui feel extremely unfair.

In terms of age, He Gui is the elder and Xie Yanzhang is the younger; in terms of position, He Gui is the leader and Xie Yanzhang is the subordinate; in terms of seniority, although He Gui is a surrendered general, he has worked in Bianzhou Group longer than Xie Yanzhang. The public's reputation is beyond the control of the parties involved, but the disagreement with Xie Yanzhang on the work route was regarded by He Gui as a human factor.

He Gui was not a military idiot. When the Hedong Army was still on the north bank of the Yellow River, he and Xie Yanzhang had the same opinion, both advocating to hold on and wait for the end. But now the situation has changed. Li Cunxu has crossed the Yellow River and is alone in the depths. Logistical supplies and reinforcements have to face the barrier of the Yellow River. At this time, the countermeasures of the Later Liang should also change accordingly.

Starting a war on the south bank of the Yellow River would be extremely beneficial to the Later Liang Dynasty, and there was also the possibility of capturing Li Cunxu alive.

Apart from military factors, political factors must also be considered.

The last emperor, Zhu Youzhen, was inclined to fight a quick battle. As a lesson from the past, Liu Xun was repeatedly impeached for advocating closing the city and holding on, and was eventually dismissed and demoted. He Gui had been in officialdom for a long time and was well aware of the influence of political factors in the rear on the front battlefield. Therefore, as long as there was a glimmer of hope, He Gui would take the initiative to avoid repeating Liu Xun's mistakes.

Once, He Gui led his generals to inspect the terrain. He Gui pointed to a high hill and said, "If the Hedong Army builds a camp here, it will be very disadvantageous to our army." The big leaders always want to show their outstanding talents. Coincidentally, the next day, the Hedong Army really built fortifications there, which were exactly the same as what He Gui said.

It can be said that great minds think alike, but He Gui suspected that there was a high-level spy from Hedong around him, and the most suspicious one was Xie Yanzhang.

He Gui repeatedly requested to go to war, and tried to test Xie Yanzhang indirectly, saying: "The emperor has entrusted the entire army to you and me, and now the enemy has pressed to the gate of our camp, but we are not standing still. What does this mean?"

What he meant was that if someone impeached us for secretly communicating with Hedong, or for playing with the invaders and keeping our troops to ourselves, we would have no way to defend ourselves, and would either be executed along with our entire family, or demoted and exiled.

Xie Yanzhang avoided the main issue, circumvented the political topic, and returned to the military track, saying: "The enemy is approaching the gate of the camp, and their purpose is to fight us quickly. We build high fortifications, dig deep trenches, and guard the dangerous places, so they dare not fight deep into the camp. If we delay it until the later stage, we will win. Otherwise, if we rush into the battle, if something goes wrong, it will be too late to regret it."

He Gui looked at Xie Yanzhang and thought he looked more and more like a traitor. So he turned around and secretly reported to the rear, and without any evidence, he insisted that Xie Yanzhang was colluding with the enemy and treason. Without the approval of the court, he secretly colluded with the political commissar (the military commander of the cavalry and infantry) Zhu Gui (Zhu Youzhen's confidant, who participated in the killing of Zhu Yougui), and took the opportunity of rewarding the soldiers to kill Xie Yanzhang and his confidants. He then reported to the court that Xie Yanzhang was treasonous, but was discovered in time and killed in time.

Faced with He Gui's unauthorized killing of a general, Zhu Youzhen not only did not pursue the matter, but rewarded him instead. Zhu Gui, who participated in the conspiracy, was promoted from the governor of Caozhou to the commander of the Kuangguo Army in Xuzhou (replacing Xie Yanzhang). A few days later, he was promoted to the governor of the Pinglu Army in Qingzhou, and also served as the deputy commander-in-chief.

The death of Xie Yanzhang is also a historical mystery. Who killed Xie Yanzhang, or who wanted to kill him? Some historical books, as mentioned above, said that He Gui killed him because he had conflicts with him and had serious disagreements; some historical books implicitly mentioned that Zhu Gui and Xie Yanzhang had conflicts, Zhu Gui was the mastermind, and He Gui was an accomplice.

Zhu Gui had participated in the conspiracy to kill Zhu Yougui and was Zhu Youzhen's trusted henchman. As mentioned earlier, the killing of Zhu Yougui itself was a mystery full of doubts.

Moreover, after Xie Yanzhang was killed, Zhu Youzhen issued an edict to praise Zhu Gui by name. In addition to a series of promotions, he was also conferred the title of "Founding Marquis of Peiguo County", but there was no mention of He Gui at all.

Neither the Biography of He Gui nor the Biography of Xie Yanzhang recorded this incident in a few lines. It was only recorded in Zhu Youzhen's Chronicle of the Last Emperor, where a little ink was spent on it. The only extra ink was spent on it in the imperial edict in which Zhu Youzhen specifically praised Zhu Gui.

The fewer words, the more information.

The invisible black hands behind the scenes are still hidden in the bottomless abyss of history, unknown to the public.

(End of this chapter)