History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 266: Zhenzhou Mutiny
【Zhenzhou Mutiny】

Wang Rong sent his adopted son Zhang Wenli to carry out this purge. What kind of person was Zhang Wenli? According to historical records, he was "vicious, full of treacherous schemes, mediocre in speech, and rude in conversation. From his youth to adulthood, he was always harboring evil plots." In other words, he was born evil, had a traitorous mind, was full of bad words, and had a lot of bad intentions.

He was originally a general under Liu Rengong of Youzhou, assisting Liu Shouwen in Cangzhou. Later, when Liu Shouwen went back to Youzhou to visit his father, Zhang Wenli launched a mutiny and occupied Cangzhou. Liu Shouwen led his troops to suppress the rebellion, but Zhang Wenli was defeated and fled to Zhenzhou, where he was taken in by Wang Rong.

Zhang Wenli saw that Wang Rong was simple-minded and naive and could be easily deceived, so he bribed people around Wang Rong heavily in order to get promoted, and finally he got closer and closer to Wang Rong.

Zhang Wenli spoke eloquently in front of Wang Rong, explaining military books and strategies in an endless stream, claiming to be a famous general in the world, and shamelessly saying that Sun Wu, Wu Qi, Han Xin, Bai Qi, etc. were all not as awesome as himself (every time Wang Rong claimed that he had the talent of a general, Sun, Wu, Han, Bai, no one was better than him).

Wang Rong was young and ignorant, and knew nothing about military affairs. He was instantly impressed by General Zhang, thinking that he was Zhao Zilong reborn and that he had found a great bargain. So he adopted him as his son, changed his name to Wang Deming, and treated him as his confidant.

One dares to speak it, the other dares to believe it.

What was Zhang Wenli's actual level of strategy? Historical records show that "he knew nothing about books and had no strategies."

So how does he support his image as a "famous general of the time"? He only has one trick: being wise after the event.

Whenever a battle was over, he would comment on it, especially giving ruthless praise and criticism to the defeated generals: Zhang San, you don't know how to advance or retreat, Li Si, you don't understand military strategies, you should have fought like this and not like that... "These soldiers are regarded as good generals."

You can you up!
When Yang Shihou was in charge of Weizhou, Zhang Wenli led 30,000 troops to harass the Weizhou army. Yang Shihou led thousands of people to set up an ambush in Tangdian, and Zhang Wenli's 30,000 troops were almost wiped out. Zhang Wenli fled back alone. Afterwards, he showed no shame and continued to point fingers at others. Finally, a general couldn't help but say to him, "Everyone has seen the merits of Tangdian! Awesome, awesome!"

At the beginning of Hedong's support for Zhenzhou, Zhang Wenli was ordered to lead the army to fight. Wang Rong missed him day and night, so he sent General Fu Xi to replace him.

Zhang Wenli had been in Zhenzhou for a long time and knew the real situation of Zhenzhou. He had the intention of usurping the throne. Whenever he drank, he would reveal his inner thoughts to his confidants, saying that he wanted to usurp the Wang family's foundation. His confidants were all disappointed. They treated you with great kindness, but you wanted to repay kindness with hatred. Are you still a human being?

While the snipe and the clam quarrel, the fisherman gains. Shi Ximeng and Li Honggui both suffered losses, which made room for the rebellious villain Zhang Wenli, who wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to show his strength.

After killing Li Honggui and his followers, Wang Rong gave a big reward to the three armies, but he did not give any reward to the soldiers who participated in killing Shi Ximeng. The soldiers were terrified, fearing a counterattack, so they planned to flee overnight, but they did not know where to flee. The five hundred soldiers who were originally under Li Honggui's command gathered together and could only cry.

Zhang Wenli took the opportunity to incite the crowd, falsely claiming that he had received a secret order from Wang Rong to kill them all and their entire families!
The five hundred soldiers wailed and cried, complained about their grievances, and begged him to show mercy and give them a chance to live.

Zhang Wenli said, "The king ordered me to kill you all, but I know you are innocent. I want to obey the king's order, but I can't bear it; but if I refuse to obey, I can't explain to the king. Hey! What do you think I should do?"

Five hundred people hugged each other and cried, "Yeah, what should we do?" A few brave ones stepped forward and said, "Don't say anything, we understand!"

That night, five hundred royal soldiers climbed over the wall into the inner city under the cover of darkness and sneaked into the palace.

Wang Rong was praying devoutly in front of the altar, "Oh God, when will I be able to attain enlightenment and ascend to heaven?"

"You're going to heaven!" Two warriors rushed forward and started chopping with their knives.

Before Wang Rong could react, his head was chopped off.

The rebel army hid Wang Rong's head in their sleeves and climbed over the wall, "Done!" Then they set fire to the Wang Mansion and looted the city.

Led by officer Zhang Youshun, the rebels came to Zhang Wenli's home and supported him as the commander of the Chengde Army in Zhenzhou. Zhang Wenli accepted the support and immediately launched a bloody massacre against Wang Rong's family, killing all of them.

At this point, the longest-lasting warlord in medieval history was exterminated.

Zhang Wenli left only one person alive, Wang Zhaozuo's wife, Princess Puning (daughter of Zhu Wen).

Afterwards, Zhang Wenli sent envoys to inform Li Cunxu of the situation in Zhenzhou, asking for recognition, and took the opportunity to persuade Li Cunxu to ascend the throne and become emperor, in order to win Li Cunxu's favor and support; at the same time, Zhang Wenli contacted the Later Liang through Princess Puning, saying that "Wang was killed by the chaotic army, but Princess Puning was fine." Li Cunxu was feasting and having fun, but after hearing the report from Zhenzhou, he was filled with grief and anger, smashed his wine glass, and burst into tears. He was about to order a large-scale attack on the traitor Zhang Wenli.

The left and right aides hurriedly stopped him and analyzed the pros and cons for him, saying that although Zhang Wenli was unforgivable, our army was in a stalemate with the Later Liang Dynasty and it was not appropriate to create a strong enemy in the hinterland. As for Zhang Wenli, it was best to appease him.

Abandoning personal feelings and putting political interests above everything else is the basic awareness of every politician. Li Cunxu wiped away his tears, forced a smile, summoned the envoy from Zhenzhou, comforted him with kind words, and sent Lu Zhi to bring the imperial edict issued by Li Cunxu in the name of the Tang Dynasty emperor, formally appointing Zhang Wenli as the commander of Zhenzhou Chengde Army.

Li Cunxu was a qualified politician, and Zhang Wenli was indeed a complete traitor.

After receiving Li Cunxu's approval, Zhang Wenli did not relax his will to fight. He knew that this was a compromise that Li Cunxu had to make due to the battle along the river. Once he gained an absolute advantage on the battlefield along the river, he would definitely counterattack. Therefore, while Zhang Wenli colluded with Zhu Youzhen of the Later Liang, he also secretly contacted the Khitan through the channel of the great traitor Lu Wenjin.

Whether it was connecting with the Zhu family in the south or allying with the Khitan in the north, Zhang Wenli's messengers had to cross the area controlled by the Hedong forces, so his messengers were captured by Li Cunxu many times.

Of course, he chose to forgive him. Li Cunxu released all the messengers and sent them back to Zhenzhou with courtesy. He did not pursue the matter, did not punish them, and did not even ask them a single word. Li Cunxu tried his best to make Zhang Wenli change his mind.

Zhang Wenli was even more frightened and uneasy. What kind of person is Li Cunxu? Is his heart really as calm as still water? No, he is enduring, enduring again and again. When the war along the river is settled, he will definitely ask me to repay the principal and interest. I will never sit and wait for death!

The more tolerant and generous Li Cunxu was, the more Zhang Wenli stepped up his rebellion.

Externally, Zhang Wenli made friends with the Zhu family in the south and the Khitan in the north; internally, he carried out a bloody and terrifying political purge. His target of the purge was the respected old generals of Zhenzhou, in order to eliminate his own hidden dangers.

Fu Xi, the general of Zhenzhou, had made outstanding contributions and won the hearts of the army. He was well-known in Zhenzhou and had a high reputation, so he became Zhang Wenli's biggest worry. Previously, Wang Rong ordered Fu Xi to replace Zhang Wenli and fight with Li Cunxu's servants. Now, Fu Xi was leading 10,000 Chengde troops on the front line of Desheng Jiacheng.

Taking advantage of Li Cunxu's policy of appeasement, Zhang Wenli boldly asked Li Cunxu to replace generals, requiring Fu Xi to return to Zhenzhou and send other generals to replace him. At the same time, he promoted Fu Xi's son Fu Meng to the military district headquarters, which was a promotion in name only and a demotion in reality. In fact, he was held hostage by Zhang Wenli. He also sent people to send a large amount of gold, silver and silk to the 10,000 Chengde troops on the front line of Desheng Jiacheng in order to buy people's hearts and win the support of the grassroots soldiers.

Fu Xi came to Li Cunxu, crying bitterly, and begged Li Cunxu to keep him at the front line and never send him back to Zhenzhou.

Everyone knows the consequences of Fu Xi returning to Zhenzhou.

Li Cunxu also burst into tears and said, "I have made an alliance with the King of Zhao, and we are close relatives. I never thought that I would encounter such a disaster. I am very sad. If you have not forgotten the kindness of your former master, are you willing to avenge him? I am willing to support you with troops, horses, and food!"

Fu Xi and more than 30 of his trusted subordinates knelt down in unison, weeping and saying, "Since we heard the news of the Zhenzhou mutiny, we have wanted to commit suicide by cutting our necks, but that is meaningless. Now that you have allowed me to redress the injustice for Marshal Wang, how can I refuse? I am willing to capture the traitor alive and repay the Wang family's kindness, even if I die with no regrets!"

"Okay!" This was the attitude Li Cunxu wanted, and this was the sentence he was waiting for. Li Cunxu appointed Fu Xi as the commander of Chengde Army in Zhenzhou, and dispatched Yan Bao and Shi Jiantang to assist him, and attacked Zhenzhou with lightning speed.

Zhenzhou Chengde Army is located to the north of Weizhou Army and to the south of Dingzhou Yiwu Army. It is an important hub in the Heshuo region. Zhang Wenli's rebellion based on this is like a guillotine across the Heshuo region. If he connects with Zhu in the south, he can attack Weizhou from both sides. If he ally with Khitan in the north, he can attack Dingzhou from both sides. As long as Zhang Wenli is not removed, the Heshuo region will not be at peace.

Since Zhang Wenli doesn't respond to soft tactics, we have to resort to hard tactics.

Faced with the sudden attack of the Hedong Army, Zhang Wenli showed his heroic qualities and was frightened to death on the spot.

Zhang Wenli's son Zhang Chujin kept the death a secret, strictly blocked the news, and continued to command the response with his accomplices.

The Hedong Army was unstoppable, successively conquering Zhaozhou and Shenzhou, controlling most of the territory of Chengde Army, and approaching Zhenzhou headquarters. During this period, Shi Jiantang was unfortunately killed in battle, and both his father and son became martyrs.

When Li Cunxu was preparing to personally lead an expedition to Zhenzhou, he received reliable intelligence that the commander-in-chief of the Later Liang Dynasty, Dai Siyuan, planned to take advantage of the situation to counterattack Desheng and Jiacheng. Li Cunxu then changed his battle plan and sent Li Siyuan to lure the enemy deep into the city. He then personally led 3,000 cavalrymen to ambush and defeated Dai Siyuan's troops in one fell swoop, killing more than 20,000 people.

(End of this chapter)