History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 43: Guangzhou Fake Surrender
【Guangzhou false surrender】

Huang Chao's army suffered many defeats in succession and was forced to a corner of Guangzhou by Gao Pian. The situation was precarious. So Huang Chao wrote letters to the governor of Zhejiang East and the governor of Lingnan East Road, expressing his willingness to accept the amnesty.

The capital of the East Zhejiang Province was in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province today, and the headquarters of the East Lingnan Province was in Guangzhou. Huang Chao was defeated in the East Zhejiang Province and fled to the East Lingnan Province, so he wrote letters to the highest administrative officials of these two places.

Huang Chao surrendered conditionally, the condition being that he would be granted the title of "Jiedushi of Tianping Army". Tianping Army's jurisdiction included Yunzhou, Puzhou, and Caozhou, Huang Chao's hometown. He told the court that he would surrender as long as he could return home in glory.

The imperial court received the report and decisively rejected it.

Let you go back to your hometown in Shandong to be a military governor? Do you think the court is stupid? That is your revolutionary base. Huang Chao's going there to suppress the Tianping Army is like letting a tiger go back to the mountain. Sooner or later, it will become a threat. No, no. Let's discuss it again.

Huang Chao then directly petitioned the imperial court, saying, "Why don't we seek faraway places instead of nearby ones? I'm already in Lingnan East Road. Just give me the title of 'Jiedushi of Lingnan East Road' and let me settle down there."

As long as he is not given the title of "Jiedushi of Tianping Army", there will be room for negotiation.

Huang Chao bargained with the court in a serious manner and seemed very sincere.

Since the Cao army wanted to surrender, Gao Pian's military plan was a bit annoying. After all, it would cost a lot of money to mobilize thousands of troops, so it would be better not to fight. Peaceful negotiations are always the first choice for the ruling party.

Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty summoned senior officials to discuss whether to appoint Huang Chao as the governor of Lingnan East Road.

Most of the ministers were against it, especially Yu Cong, who pointed out that Guangzhou was an important international trade port and an important source of fiscal revenue for our dynasty, so how could we give it to a bandit easily?

Guangzhou was the center of southern China during the Tang Dynasty, and today it is still one of the most important cities in my country.

Finally, all the ministers reached a consensus: Huang Chao was appointed as the "Liefu Rate".

What kind of official is this? He is in charge of the military, ceremonial guards, and access control of the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace. In short, he is the captain of the security team. His rank is not low, he is a fourth-rank official, and his salary is also very generous. It is a position suitable for retirement.

Generally speaking, the person in charge of the prince's guards must be a trustworthy comrade. Why was Huang Chao chosen to take the position? Because in the Tang Dynasty, there were "Ten Rates", each with a large group of people such as deputy rate, chief historian, counselor, recorder, etc., so there was no need to worry about Huang Chao doing anything. Besides, there were many people in the palace, and if something unexpected happened one day, he would die on duty. If there was no accident, we could help him create one.

The letter of appointment was sent to the outside of Guangzhou city, to the Cao army camp.

In fact, Huang Chao's surrender was half true and half false. If the imperial court did not give him the title of Jiedushi of Tianping Army or Jiedushi of Lingnan East Road, he would "fake surrender" and refuse to accept the amnesty; if he was given the title of Jiedushi of Tianping Army, he would return to his hometown and become a local emperor; if he was given the title of Jiedushi of Lingnan East Road, he would become a local emperor in Guangzhou.

After receiving the letter of appointment, I took a closer look. Leader of the government? Hey—Captain of the Prince's Eastern Palace Security?
Huang Chao tore up the appointment letter, pointed at Guangzhou City with a whip, and said, "If you don't give it to me, can't I take it myself?"

So, Cao's army launched a surprise attack on Guangzhou.

Guangzhou, the center of southern China and the headquarters of the Lingnan East War Zone, is heavily guarded. How could it be so easy to break through?
In the cold weapon era, it was very difficult for the attackers to fortify the city with their flesh and blood. The defenders were in a commanding position and had various defensive fortifications. Not to mention rolling logs and stones, even if they spit or urinate, the people below would have to use their heads to catch it.

Not to mention the distant past, in the recent defense of Chengdu, the defenders poured molten iron down the city wall. Some even collected feces and urine in the city, boiled them, and poured them down. These were all common methods of defending the city.

Let us recall the "Pang Xun Rebellion" when Pang Xun's main elite troops besieged Sizhou City. From the beginning to the end of the war, they increased their troops and changed their commanders, but failed to capture the city for nearly a year.

The small city of Sizhou is like this, let alone the important city of Guangzhou in southern China.

Therefore, the city of Guangzhou held out for nearly a day before it was declared fallen.

Li Tiao, the governor of Lingnan East Road, was captured alive by Cao's army.

It must be said that the capture of Guangzhou within one day indirectly proved that Huang Chao's "surrender" was not so sincere. Even though he dreamed of getting the post of "Jiedushi", he never relaxed the deployment of the Guangzhou offensive.

Grasp with both hands, both hands must be hard.

In addition, there was another person who played a crucial role in the Guangzhou victory.

This person is Zhu Wen.

【Zhu Wen followed the thief】

During the years when the Cao army was rampant, a large number of "ambitious young people" came to join the rebellion and were trained in the long struggle, from bronze to king, and then to great gods. For example, Bi Shiduo, Li Hanzhi, Ge Congzhou, Zhang Guiba, Zhang Guihou... Please remember these names, because they will stir up greater waves in the future, and among them, the one who stirred up the biggest waves was Zhu Wen.

From birth to now, Zhu Wen has finally returned to our sight. Now, he is already a 26-year-old young man.

In the past 20 years, Zhu Wen did not read thousands of books, nor did he travel thousands of miles. He quietly enjoyed the immersion that poverty brought him. In this way, he was a spectator for more than 20 years.

If we review Zhu Wen's files, we will easily find that this spectator was sitting on the front row sofa.

Zhu Wen was born in Dangshan, Songzhou. When he was 15 years old, his father died. He followed his mother to live with others and moved to the neighboring Xiaoxian County, where he has lived ever since. Dangshan and Xiaoxian are located at the junction of today's Jiangsu, Shandong, Anhui and Henan provinces. Xiaoxian County in particular is known as the "Western Gate of Xuzhou". This area has suffered from the "Xu thieves". "Xu thieves" refers to a large area radiating outward with Xuzhou as the center and arrogance and difficulty to control as the judgment standard, which basically covers a large area at the junction of today's Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui. From Wang Zhixing to the "Silver Knife Soldier", to Pang Xun, and finally to Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao, this place has basically never been quiet.

This hot land of revolution nourishes countless heroes, allowing them to take root and sprout, bathing them in the revolutionary fervor, stirring their restless hearts. As long as there is a chance, they will blossom and bear fruit.

Just as Huang Chao's army was sweeping across the world with its might shaking the heavens, Zhu Wen finally could no longer bear the loneliness and could no longer suppress the restless little flame in his chest.

Those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. Zhu Wen has nothing to lose except his life. The ground under his feet is moving, the water around him is flowing, his hands are shaking, and he really has nothing.

"Brother, let's go too." Zhu Wen said what he had been holding in his heart for a long time.

Zhu Cun had already had this thought, but as an elder brother, he still had to be careful with his words and show maturity and responsibility, "Is it appropriate?"

"Suitable."

"That's fine."

Let’s go, join the army, join the grass army.

The two brothers were in agreement on the matter of rebellion.

If you want to change your poor life, the only way is to rebel. Those who are most eager to reshuffle are those who hold a bad hand; those who most want social unrest are those at the bottom of society. Those who have constant property have constant determination.

Zhu Wen, who was living under someone else's roof, urgently needed a major upheaval to achieve a redistribution of wealth. He needed a major social reshuffle to complete the class transition.

This was a gamble of fate, and the stakes were his life.

Is life expensive? Maybe. But for Zhu Wen, this chip is simply too cheap! Because this is the only capital he has.

"As the saying goes, three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang. Brothers fight together, and fathers and sons fight together. This time, the three of us will definitely..."

As soon as Zhu Cun opened his mouth, he saw Zhu Wen shaking his head repeatedly.

"Don't go, bro."

The two brothers were silent for a moment, and Zhu Wen continued to explain: "My eldest brother is not cut out for this. Besides, our mother needs someone to take care of her. There are no judges on the battlefield. What if... we have to leave someone to take care of her in her old age."

There was another silence between the two.

Life is both cheap and expensive.

The sky is high and the birds fly freely, the sea is wide and the fish jump freely. Come on, Zhu Wen, this is the stage for you to show your talents.

On a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, Zhu Cun and Zhu Wen happily became bandits.

Although I strive to be rigorous and restore the true history, I am sorry to say that there is no historical data on the exact time when Zhu Wen became a bandit.

However, one thing is certain, that is, the two brothers did not become bandits because of coercion or coercion, but did so on their own initiative.

No matter it is "Cun and Wen fled and joined the bandits" in the New History of the Five Dynasties, or "The emperor left Chong's home and joined Chao's army with his second brother Cun" in the Old History of the Five Dynasties, one can see from the lines how happy the two brothers were.

I was born to be useful.

The judgment of advantages and disadvantages reflects subjective value orientation rather than objective essence.

The so-called advantages and disadvantages all come from whether the match is appropriate or not. If you use people's shortcomings, there will be no useful people in the world; if you use people's strengths, there will be no useless people in the world.

Take the brothers' "ferocity" for example. When they are good citizens at home, their ferocious character is a disadvantage that causes trouble and brings disaster. But if it is used on the battlefield, it is a great advantage.

The hero has found his place.

Soon, the two brothers were promoted because of their bravery in combat, from ordinary soldiers to junior officers (later to captains).

The war brought them hope in life.

The two brothers were eager to win fame and fortune through a tough battle.

(End of this chapter)