History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 38: Defense of Jiangling

[Battle of Gangneung]

Having lost his right-hand man, Wang Xianzhi was furious. His anger was filled with infinite resentment and despair. Since there was no hope of being recruited, he decided to be a bandit.

Wang Xianzhi went south to attack Jiangling Prefecture. His opponent was Yang Zhiwen, the governor of Jingnan.

Yang Zhiwen is Yang Zhizhi's elder brother.

This man is skilled in writing, poetry, and songs, and is proficient in everything; but he knows nothing about leading troops in battle (he was promoted for his literary talent but knows nothing about military affairs).

When the intelligence personnel reported to him the urgent military situation of the Cao army's invasion, he groundlessly concluded that it was nonsense and did not take any precautions at all.

I don’t know who gave him such mysterious confidence.

At that time, the water level of Han River was shallow, the river was narrow and easy to cross, and there were no soldiers or horses to block them. Wang Xianzhi led his people to cross the river calmly.

A few days later, it was the Chinese New Year of the fifth year of Qianfu (878).

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, it snowed heavily.

"Ha! Auspicious snow indicates a good harvest!" Yang Zhiwen, the governor of Jingnan, who was stationed in Jiangling Prefecture, was accepting New Year's greetings from civil and military officials when he suddenly felt like reciting a poem:

"The first day of the Lunar New Year is the third day after the second day.

The first and fifteenth day of the lunar month is half a month, and the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month is another year. "

"Report!" The lieutenant ran quickly, and a long shout disturbed Yang Zhiwen's poetic mood, "The bandit Wang Xianzhi led a large group of troops and has already arrived at the city!"

Yang Zhiwen was horrified.

"Report--" Another lieutenant came running over, "The outer city has been captured by bandits!"

"Door...close...close the door! Close the door quickly!" Yang Zhiwen stamped his feet anxiously.

The Jiedushi is a mere formality, and has no ability to command a battle. Well, doing nothing is better than acting recklessly.

Without unified command, the soldiers of Jingnan exchanged glances and quickly closed the gate of the central city (the second line of defense), which prevented the Cao army from attacking directly into the heart of the city. Relying on their excellent military qualities, the defenders barely dragged the battle into a stalemate.

The two sides fought fiercely until dusk, when the Cao army's offensive gradually weakened and they retreated slightly.

Yang Zhiwen did not appear at the front line for the whole day, hiding in the inner city to pray to the gods. The soldiers were excited and asked him to comfort the troops. Even if it was just a show, you should at least come out and pretend, right?
After his subordinates persuaded him for a long time, Yang Zhiwen reluctantly agreed to go to the front line for an inspection. He reluctantly put on his black hat and black leather robe, walked in a square step, and acted like an official. "Hello, comrades, you have worked hard!"

The generals suggested that he wear armor instead to protect himself from enemy arrows.

Yang Zhiwen considered himself to be a noble man and was unwilling to associate with the rough men in the army. However, a few arrows flew over his head, and he finally sat on the same bench with the masses.

Yang Zhiwen arrived at the front line of the city defense and inspected the loyal and brave soldiers of the Tang Empire. He was suddenly moved by the soldiers' bloody battles and their selfless sacrifices. He finally caught a fleeting inspiration, so he wrote a poem on the spot:
"What, what, what, what, what.

That what what what, that what what! "

"Come on, everyone, pass it around and read it. By the way, please forward, like, comment and double-click 666." Yang Zhiwen asked his staff to circulate his poems. He stood aside with a feather fan and a green turban, looking like a Confucian general.

The generals were anxious and angry. The sword was at their necks, the fire was burning, the city was in danger, and people like you and me were on the verge of death. How could you still have the leisure to write poems? No matter how neatly you wrote the poems, what good would it do?
Under the strong advice of civil and military officials, Yang Zhiwen finally made the right decision: to ask for help from Li Fu, the governor of Shannan East Road.

Li Fu was closer to them, and his son had just died gloriously in the battle with Cao's army, so it would be right to ask him for help.

Sure enough, Li Fu assembled all his troops and dispatched 500 Shatuo cavalry stationed in Xiangyang. Today, I will settle the national hatred and family feud with you, Wang!

When the two sides met in Jingmen, the Shatuo cavalry acted decisively and launched a charge without saying a word. The Cao army was dispersed before it could complete its deployment, and then collapsed for thousands of miles.

The Shatuo cavalry made a roundabout move and divided the enemy horizontally and vertically, and Li Fu led his troops to follow up and reap the remaining blood.

The Cao army suffered heavy casualties.

Wang Xianzhi, knowing that he was no match for his opponent, immediately looted the outer city of Jiangling that he had previously occupied, set fire to the city, and fled with his troops, breaking up into small pieces again.

The battle caused the death of 30% to 40% of the people in Jiangling Prefecture (now Jiangling County, Hubei Province). The "Zizhi Tongjian" records that "there were households in Jiangling City, but % to % died." In Jiangling alone, hundreds of thousands of people died in the disaster of Cao's army. Wang Xianzhi fled to the east of Shenzhou (now Xinyang City, Henan Province), but was defeated by Zeng Yuanyu, the deputy commander-in-chief of the anti-bandit movement. More than bandits were killed, and more than surrendered.

The imperial court issued an edict: Song Wei was too old and ill to be the commander-in-chief of the bandit suppression, so he was relieved of his post and returned to Qingzhou to serve as the governor of Pinglu Army; Zeng Yuanyu was promoted to the position of the commander-in-chief of the bandit suppression; Zhang Zimian was promoted to the position of the deputy commander-in-chief of the bandit suppression;
In addition: Li Fu was given the title of Prime Minister (Tongpingzhangshi) for his contribution in rescuing Jingnan; Yang Zhiwen was demoted to Sima of Chenzhou (now Chenzhou City, Hunan Province). Li Fu was the one who convinced people with reason and educated the "Southern Independence" elements when he was in Xichuan.

Zeng Yuanyu lived up to everyone's expectations and continued to pursue Wang Xianzhi. He finally surrounded and annihilated Wang Xianzhi in Huangmei (now Huangmei County, Hubei Province), killing more than 50,000 enemies and the bandit leader Wang Xianzhi. Along with the victory report, the head of Wang Xianzhi was also sent. After verification, it was confirmed that Wang Xianzhi was really dead this time.

Wang Xianzhi is dead, but his spirit lives on. His spirit guides his successors to move forward bravely.

[Huang Chao is the only one in power]

Wang Xianzhi died, but his spirit lived on. Among his remaining forces, some set up their own factions, such as Wang Zhongyin, who wreaked havoc in Jiangxi; Cao Shixiong, who plundered Anhui and Jiangsu; and another faction, whose leader's name is unknown, roamed around Hunan and committed crimes.

Wang Xianzhi's main force, such as Shang Junchang's younger brother Shang Rang, defected to another big banner - Huang Chao.

At that time, Huang Chao was besieging Bozhou (now Bozhou City, Anhui Province), and Shang Rang brought him the revolutionary spark and the news that Wang Xianzhi was defeated and killed.

"The morale of the troops has been dispersed, and it's hard to lead them." Shang Rang pointed at the defeated soldiers behind him, "In the battle of Shenzhou, my troops died and fled. Alas——"

The number of soldiers is not large but fine.

Although the group of people brought by Shang Rang were small in number, they were veteran soldiers who had experienced many battles. More importantly, they had a firm belief in the struggle and were all comrades who had been tested and were trustworthy.

Huang Chao also realized that it was time to strengthen ideological work, to unify thoughts and leadership.

Therefore, Shang Rang and others recommended Huang Chao as the supreme leader of the team and gave him the title of "General Chongtian" to match the heroic words in Huang Chao's failed poem: "The fragrance of incense rises to the sky and penetrates Chang'an, and the whole city is covered with golden armor."

Afterwards, Huang Chao did a very strange thing: he established a new era instead of a new country.

With the strong support of his subordinates, Huang Chao's army decided to abandon the Tang Dynasty's reign title and use their own reign title to show their break with the Tang Dynasty.

Choosing a reign title is no joke; it must not only be catchy but also have beautiful meanings.

For example, the "Qian Fu" of the current emperor Xizong: look up to Qian Fu, and follow the will of the people; the "Xian Tong" of the previous emperor Yizong: the sea and the mountains are peaceful and the Xian Tong is prosperous.

Not to mention Taizong's "Zhenguan": The way of heaven and earth is Zhenguan; Xuanzong's "Kaiyuan": According to the Kaiyuan period, the Emperor of Heaven sent down the right person without talent, and the Han Dynasty was once again given the mandate.

The most learned person among the Cao army was Huang Chao himself. Huang Chao was born into a family of private salt dealers, and was well-off. He was literate and good at writing. He also had the ambition to pass the imperial examinations and clear his name, but he also had the honor of failing the exams many times.

It is said that after he failed the imperial examination, he was inspired and wrote the famous "Fu on Chrysanthemums after Failure", using chrysanthemums to express his feelings:
"When autumn comes on September 8th, I will kill all the flowers after they have bloomed.

The incense formation soaring into the sky penetrates Chang'an, and the whole city is covered with golden armor. "

Fortunately, the word count is aligned.

As for judging and appreciating it by the standard of "poetry", it is just a joke. To this day, people can only praise it for its "momentum".

Let's take a look at other people's failed poems:

"I have worked hard with you for several years, but all the gains and losses, sorrows and joys are in vain.

I am still happy that my old friend won the prize first, but I feel sorry for myself as a wanderer.

The spring moon shines on thousands of mountains, and flowers bloom for ten days in one night.

I know there is an apricot garden but there is no way to enter, and I feel sad when I see the red branches in front of my horse." - Wen Tingyun, Tang Dynasty

After ten years of studying hard, he found himself "without any success". However, he still congratulated his friend who passed the exam, "I am glad that my old friend won first". Although he failed, he did not blame others, did not scold the authorities for burying talents, did not lament that he was not appreciated for his talent, but only said very tactfully, "I know there is an apricot garden but no way to enter, and I am sad that the branches are full of red in front of the horse".

Another example:

"The moon is setting, crows are crying, the sky is full of frost, Jiang Feng is fishing and the fire is facing melancholy.

Outside the city of Gusu, the bell of Hanshan Temple reaches the passenger ship at midnight." - Zhang Ji, Tang Dynasty
(End of this chapter)