History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 317: The War Against Shu 3
【War of Conquering Shu 3】

On October 10, Kang Yanxiao, the vanguard of the Later Tang Dynasty, attacked Weiwu City, which was the anti-enemy front line to which Wang Zongyan had just transferred 18 armies. It was a military fortress regarded by Wang Zongyan as a symbol of the deep friendship between Tang and Shu.

Hundreds of troops under the command of the commanders of Weiwu City, Tang Jingsi, Wu Duo, and Wang Quansi, came to surrender. Seeing that the situation was not good, Tang Jingsi immediately led all his troops to surrender. The generals Zou Yanyi and Li Fan wanted to resist, but seeing that the surrendering soldiers were like a tide and unstoppable, they were forced to surrender as well.

Kang Yanxiao implemented the second military rule: those who surrendered after being surrounded would be killed. Because Zou Yanyi and Li Fan "had no intention of surrendering at first, they were both executed."

Kang Yanxiao released more than 10,000 captured Shu soldiers and asked them to bring the fear of war and the hope of surrender to their comrades in the rear. Then he led the vanguard army to continue their rapid march to Fengzhou. Li Yan took advantage of the victory to send a letter of persuasion to Fengzhou defender Wang Chengjie.

The main force of the Later Tang army marched westward from Luoyang, passing through Fengxiang, and then turned southward and entered Shu. Fengxiang, an important town in Guanxi, was not only a transit station for the army, but also shouldered the heavy responsibility of providing food and grass for the army. Fengxiang Jiedushi Li Jizun (son of Li Maozhen) did his best and donated all the food in Fengxiang, but it was not enough for the army's expedition, and Guo Chongtao was worried about this.

On the day when Kang Yanxiao led the vanguard army to take over Weiwu City, Guo Chongtao led the main force of the central army into Dasan Pass. Guo Chongtao looked worried, turned back and pointed at Qinling Mountains, and said to the people around him: "From now on, we have no way out. We can only succeed, not fail!"

After the order to attack Fengzhou quickly was issued, all the generals expressed their concerns, saying that it was a taboo for military strategists to advance alone, and that the Shu region was mountainous and the roads were dangerous, so they could not march straight in, but should advance slowly and steadily step by step.

Guo Chongtao asked Li Yu for advice. Li Yu said that the people of Shu had long been fed up with Wang Zongyan's debauchery and tyranny. We should take this opportunity to launch a lightning attack, leaving them no time to think and only asking for surrender in fear to save their lives. No one would be willing to work for the Shu lord anymore. Don't hesitate!

However, only these two civilian officials in the entire army advocated aggressive advance, while almost all military officers advocated conservative and slow advance. Guo Chongtao was facing tremendous pressure.

At this time, good news came from the front line: Weiwu City surrendered! What made Guo Chongtao even more excited was that the Later Tang army seized 200,000 hu of grain stored in Weiwu City, solving the urgent need of the Later Tang expeditionary army.

Guo Chongtao was very excited, "Don't say anything, just do it!"

The next day (October 10), Wang Chengjie, the governor of Fengzhou in Former Shu, surrendered the four states of Feng, Xing, Wen, and Fu under his jurisdiction. Later Tang accepted 19 surrendered soldiers and seized hu of grain!

Guo Chongtao couldn't hide his joy and couldn't help but sigh: "The destruction of Former Shu is just around the corner!"

Li Jiji then appointed Wang Chengjie to continue serving as the governor of Fengzhou as a positive example.

Another day passed, on October 10, Wang Zongyan arrived in Lizhou with great enthusiasm, and happened to meet the remnants of the defeated troops who had retreated from Weiwu City. It was not until then that Wang Zongyan finally believed the news of the invasion of the Later Tang Dynasty.

"What should I do?"

During Wang Zongyan's time, he consulted Song Guangsi on domestic affairs and Wang Zongbi on foreign affairs. Wang Zongyan asked the two for advice. They said that although the Later Tang won the first battle and occupied our prefectures, most of the territory such as Dongchuan and Shannan was still intact, and we still had strong strength. Your Majesty only needed to defend Lizhou, and the Later Tang would not dare to advance further.

Wang Zongyan agreed with this and sent out the "three attacking generals" Wang Zongxun, Wang Zongyan and Wang Zongyu to lead an army of 30,000 to fight against the Later Tang, in order to give the enemy a head-on blow and crush its morale.

On October 10, Cheng Fenglian, the defender of Xingzhou, surrendered to Kang Yanxiao and took the initiative to help him repair bridges and roads. From then on, the road to Shu was no longer difficult.

On October 10, Xingzhou Governor Wang Chengjian abandoned the city and fled. Guo Chongtao appointed Tang Jingsi, who surrendered first, as Xingzhou Governor.

On October 10, Wang Chengpu, the governor of Chengzhou, abandoned the city and fled...

Kang Yanxiao was almost advancing all the way with his orders. On the 26th, Kang Yanxiao encountered the "Three Treasures" at Sanquan, and the "Battle of Sanquan" broke out. The Battle of Sanquan should be the only serious battle of the Later Tang army.

Judging from the numbers alone, the Later Tang army had less than 1 soldiers, while the Former Shu army had 3 soldiers. The ratio of troops was to , and the Later Tang army was alone and fighting away from home, while the Former Shu army was defending its homeland.

However, the morale of the Later Tang was high and the fighting spirit was high, while the morale of the Former Shu was low and there was no fighting spirit at all.

The 30,000 soldiers from Former Shu followed the emperor all the way from Chengdu. They set out from Chengdu and passed through Mianzhou and Hanzhou. It was a thousand miles away and they were very tired. What made them most resentful was the unfair treatment. It is said that people are not worried about the lack of people, but the inequality of the people. Wang Chengxiu selected elite soldiers to form the Longwu Army. The salary of the Longwu Army was several times that of other troops, and the rewards were quite generous. However, once the country was in trouble and needed to go to the battlefield, they were asked to be cannon fodder first. The 30,000 people complained and were very reluctant.

The result was predictable. After leaving behind 5,000 corpses, the Former Shu troops continued to flee. Kang Yanxiao defeated the larger force with a smaller one, won a great victory, and seized 150,000 hu of grain.

Weiwucheng had 200,000 hu of grain, Fengzhou had 400,000 hu of grain, Sanquan had 150,000 hu of grain... So far, the Later Tang expeditionary army used the captured military rations to survive the food crisis. "If we don't have food or clothes, the enemy will provide them for us; if we don't have guns or cannons, the enemy will make them for us."

When the news of the defeat of the "Three Moves" came, Wang Zongyan finally realized the seriousness of the matter. This mama's boy who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth had never faced any difficulties or setbacks. He thought that the so-called war was just a few domineering poems, and he could wipe out the enemy with a feather fan and a robe and a smile.

When the news of the great defeat came, Wang Zongyan issued three orders in succession: 1. Go home, return to Chengdu; 2. Let Wang Zongbi come to Lizhou to garrison; 3. Kill the "Three Moves to Attack"!
Wang Zongyan rushed to Chengdu, and the follow-up troops destroyed bridges and plank roads along the way to slow down the advance of the Later Tang Dynasty.

Kang Yanxiao was also chasing towards Lizhou without stopping, trying to capture Wang Zongyan alive and make a great achievement that will be remembered forever.

Although the scale of the "Battle of Sanquan" was not large and the total number of troops deployed by both sides was less than 40,000, the significance of this battle was enormous.

The fact that the Later Tang Dynasty won the battle with a smaller force made the fence-sitters in the Former Shu Dynasty who were holding a wait-and-see attitude determined to surrender to the Later Tang Dynasty. From then on, generals and soldiers surrendered like clouds and tides, and there was no organized resistance in the Former Shu Dynasty.

For example, Song Guangbao, the governor of Dongchuan and a pro-war eunuch, proposed a conditional surrender to Guo Chongtao, asking him to control the vanguard troops and not harass the Dongchuan area. Otherwise, Dongchuan would open the gates to welcome the surrender, and Guo Chongtao replied with kind words to comfort him.

On October 10, Song Guangbao formally offered the entire Dongchuan territory (five prefectures: Zi, Mian, Jian, Long, and Pu) to the Later Tang army; Wang Chengzhao, the governor of Yangzhou, offered the three prefectures of Yang, Peng, and Bi under his jurisdiction; Wang Zongwei, the governor of Shannan West Road, offered the five prefectures of Xingyuan Prefecture, Kai, Tong, Qu, and Lin under his jurisdiction; Wang Chengyue, the governor of Jiezhou, offered the city in surrender... Other prefectures and counties also surrendered one after another.

Wang Chengzhao is the son of Wang Zongkan. Wang Jian's nephews and nephews are named "Zong", while his grandsons are named "Cheng". It can be seen that those who surrendered voluntarily in important towns are either "Wang ZongX" or "Wang ChengX". The son does not feel sorry for selling his father's land.

After the surrender of important cities such as Dongchuan and Shannan, the Former Shu was really doomed, and there was no point in other states and counties surrendering.

In less than a month, Former Shu lost half of its territory.

Guo Chongtao wrote to Wang Zongbi again, analyzing the pros and cons for him and persuading him to surrender. When Kang Yanxiao approached Lizhou, Wang Zongbi abandoned the city and fled. The "Three Treasures" did not know that he had been sentenced to death, and they foolishly chased Wang Zongbi. After catching up, Wang Zongbi took out the imperial edict to kill them, "Look, Song Guangsi wants me to kill you!"

"San Zhao Tao" was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and cried for mercy, begging Wang Zongbi to show mercy.

Wang Zongbi pretended to be heartbroken, "Victory and defeat are common in the military. I know you brothers have been wronged. I really can't bear to kill you, but if I don't kill you, I can't explain to the court... Why don't you show me a way out?"

The "three tactics" had already sentenced him to death by the imperial court, and he had no other choice but to surrender to the Tang Dynasty. So he readily reached an agreement with Wang Zongbi: surrender to the Later Tang Dynasty!

(End of this chapter)