History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 261 Hu Liupi Meat Grinder
【Huliupi meat grinder】

During the reign of Zhu Wen, Zhu Zhen killed Li Tangbin without authorization; during the reign of Zhu Youzhen, He Gui killed Xie Yanzhang without authorization.

When Zhu Zhen killed Li Tangbin, the power of Bianzhou was in a stage of rapid expansion. Although the high momentum suffered a severe blow, it did not hurt its vitality. He Gui's killing happened at a time when the power of Bianzhou was in a stage of decline, and the blow was even heavier.

When Li Cunxu heard the news that He Gui had killed Xie Yanzhang, he was so excited that he almost awarded He Gui the "Hedong People's Hero" medal. Li Cunxu said to the generals: "The generals and commanders are not in harmony, killing each other, and their destruction is imminent. If we rush to Bianzhou now, they will definitely not sit still and will definitely send out rescue. In this way, we can fight a decisive battle with them."

Zhou Dewei expressed his opposition, saying that although Xie Yanzhang was dead, the army's organization had not been broken and it had not suffered any substantial losses. Moreover, He Gui was still alive. If we underestimate the enemy and advance rashly, we will probably be defeated!

When a young ruler ascends the throne, he hates the old rulers' comments. As mentioned in the previous article, Li Cunxu always harbored grudges against the old rulers represented by Zhou Dewei and did not trust them very much. Especially when there were disagreements, it was easy to escalate into a political issue. It was no longer a question of who was right or wrong, or which way to go, but a challenge to the young ruler's dignity and prestige.

Zhou Dewei: "Young people should not be too aggressive."

Li Cunxu: "Isn't it too irritating to call someone a young man?"

Li Cunxu ordered: All the old, weak, sick and disabled should return to their hometown in Taiyuan. All the remaining elite troops, follow me!

After sending away the old, weak, sick and disabled people with low fighting effectiveness, and conscripting 30,000 farmers in Weizhou to serve as coolies, Li Cunxu destroyed the camp, burned his boats, and set out towards Bianzhou.

"Hou Liang, I'm going to fight you!"

As Li Cunxu had imagined, when He Gui learned that the Hedong Army was heading west, he also abandoned his camp and followed. However, Li Cunxu overlooked one point: it was Xie Yanzhang who supported closing the city and holding on, and He Gui was originally a war advocate. Li Cunxu's strategy of "encircling a point and attacking the reinforcements" was not superior, but more like a tacit understanding with He Gui. Strictly speaking, Li Cunxu was slightly inferior.

Li Cunxu ordered 30,000 civilians to serve as coolies and be responsible for building camps. Once the army stopped, they would build military fortifications on the spot to guard against a surprise attack from the Later Liang Dynasty.

On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the Hedong Army was stationed at Huliupi. At midnight that day, they received a report from a scout: He Gui of the Later Liang Dynasty was about to arrive.

Zhou Dewei proposed that we have already built a solid camp and the soldiers have had enough rest, while He Gui has come from a long distance and is hungry and exhausted. Please allow me to lead a small group of cavalry to harass them so that they cannot rest. When daybreak comes, we will launch a large-scale attack and take advantage of their rest to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Li Cunxu was furious and said that we only regretted not being able to fight a decisive battle with them before. Today the enemy appears before our eyes. If we don’t attack immediately, what are we waiting for?
Zhou Dewei tried to persuade him patiently, but Li Cunxu flew into a rage. He pointed at Zhou Dewei's nose and yelled, "Why are you becoming more useless as you get older? What are you afraid of? Look at how cowardly you look!" Then he turned around and issued an order to Li Cunshen: One word - do it!

The generals received the order, assembled their troops and prepared to go.

Zhou Dewei was forced to obey the order, looked up to the sky and sighed, and said to his son: "The commander is so reckless, I really don't know where I will die."

He Gui's army set up camps for several miles and assembled into a tight battle formation; the Hedong army sent an elite force - the Silver Spear Xiejiedu, to take the lead in attacking the Later Liang army formation. After several rounds of charges, they actually broke up the Later Liang army formation. "Wang Tieqiang" Wang Yanzhang was unable to resist and could only flee first.

As luck would have it, Wang Yanzhang's defeated army accidentally ran into the Hedong grain transport team while fleeing.

When the Hedong grain transport team saw the Later Liang army rushing towards them desperately, they had no idea that they were a defeated army trying to escape. They mistakenly thought that they had encountered an ambush by the Later Liang army and were terrified. So they scattered in a hurry, abandoning their food and supplies and trying to escape.

The grain transport team from Hedong rushed into Zhou Dewei's position in a panic, causing Zhou Dewei's position to be in disarray. He Gui seized this opportunity and attacked Zhou Dewei's Youzhou Lulong Army position fiercely. The Lulong Army was so frightened that it could not stop, and Zhou Dewei and his son died in the chaos.

A clay pot will break if it is not kept away from the well mouth, and a great general will inevitably die on the battlefield. Zhou Dewei's death was a great pity, and even very pathetic. Whether it is official history, unofficial history, or folk literature and art works, Zhou Dewei has a very positive evaluation.

In Luo Guanzhong's "Romance of the Late Tang and Five Dynasties", Zhou Dewei is known as the "Red Robe General" and "Divine Military Strategist". He is both civil and military, and is simply a combination of Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang.

In traditional Peking Opera, "Zhu Lian Zhai", "Flying Tiger Mountain" and "Luochao Mountain" all tell the stories of Zhou Dewei's great achievements.

During the reign of Emperor Zhuangzong, he was posthumously awarded the title of Grand Tutor; during the reign of Emperor Mingzong, he was offered sacrifices to Emperor Zhuangzong together with Li Sizhao and Li Cunshen; Emperor Gaozu of the Later Jin Dynasty posthumously awarded him the title of Prince of Yan.

There are also negative records about Zhou Dewei in historical records, which probably say that he discriminated against and exploited the soldiers and civilians in Youzhou, which made the soldiers guarding the border feel dissatisfied, resulting in serious loopholes in the border defense force, and eventually induced the Khitan to invade Youzhou from the south.

In fact, the discrimination and exploitation of Youzhou came from the top of the Hedong Group, and Zhou Dewei at best played a transmitting role; as for inducing the Khitan to move south, Zhou Dewei did not need to take the blame for it.

It was the grain transport team of the friendly Weizhou Army that disrupted Zhou Dewei's Lulong Army. The person in charge of escorting the grain and supplies was Wang Yan, the deputy envoy of Weizhou Jiedushi, who also died in the chaos.

He Gui, by sheer luck, defeated the Hedong Army and killed the "Hedong War God" Zhou Dewei.

Seeing that the whole line was about to collapse, Li Cunxu found a hill in the swamp that had been occupied by He Gui. Li Cunxu said: "If we can seize that commanding height, we can turn the defeat into victory!" Then he personally led the cavalry to attack from above.

Li Siyuan's adopted son Li Congke and Li Jianji, a loyal general, led the infantry to follow up and finally captured the commanding heights. The Hedong Army had a chance to catch its breath.

At this time, it was already dark, and He Gui was arrayed at the foot of the mountain. The army was numerous and well-organized, and the military might was overwhelming. The Hedong soldiers were terrified, and the generals advocated waiting for the remnants of the defeated troops to gather and fight again after daybreak.

Yan Bao, a surrendered general of the Later Liang Dynasty, advocated fighting, saying that Wang Yanzhang's cavalry had already fled, and He Gui at the foot of the mountain only had infantry. We are in a dominant position, so it is just right for us to charge with cavalry. Moreover, the king has penetrated deep into the enemy's hinterland, and if he retreats, he will inevitably suffer a counterattack. The soldiers who were scattered before will not come to join us after hearing the news. We will collapse on our own without fighting!
Li Sizhao and Li Jianji also agreed very much.

Li Cunxu was very happy. "Young people should act like young people. Do it!"

Li Sizhao and Li Jianji led the cavalry down the hillside and attacked He Gui's infantry corps; the 10,000 civilians who came with the Hedong Army ran at the foot of the mountain pulling tree branches, raising dust and beating drums, as a tactic to confuse the enemy behind the mountain.

The Later Liang army was indeed defeated, their weapons and armor were abandoned, and more than 30,000 people were killed.

This is the famous "Battle of Huliupi" in history. According to records, the casualties of both sides on that day were as high as an astonishing two-thirds! Both sides lost the ability to fight again (on that day, the two armies lost two-thirds of their soldiers and neither could recover).

If it were today, this battle should be called the "Huliubi Meat Grinder".

(End of this chapter)