History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 440 Operation "Right Hook"

Operation Right Hook

In this melee between bronze and king, only Li Siyuan could rival Meng Zhixiang.

Kuizhou was under an increasingly serious threat from Xichuan. These 1,500 "hostages" had become Kuizhou's internal traitors. It would be better to release them to gain Xichuan's favor and delay their offensive.

Meng Zhixiang was the first to submit a letter of thanks to express his gratitude for the court's tolerance and magnanimity.

Everyone was happy. The brilliance of human nature was reflected in the cruel war, and there seemed to be hope for peace talks.

So how did Meng Zhixiang express his gratitude to the court through practical actions?

Answer: Capture Suizhou and defend Jianmen Pass.

Suizhou was out of ammunition and food, and there was no outside reinforcements, so the situation was critical. Under the fierce attack of Xichuan General Li Renhan, Suizhou was finally conquered, and Xia Luqi committed suicide for his country.

Meng Zhixiang ordered his men to cut off Xia Luqi's head, take it to Jianmen Pass, and show it to Shi Jingtang.

Xia Luqi, originally a member of Xuanwu Army in Bianzhou, worked for Zhu Wen. Later, due to a conflict with his superior, he jumped to Hedong Group in a fit of anger and defected to Li Cunxu. During the crusade against Liu Shouguang of Youzhou, he fought against Yandi's fierce generals Shan Yangui and Yuan Xingqin. The excitement was almost as good as "Three Heroes Fighting Lu Bu". The soldiers on both sides unconsciously put down their weapons, watched blankly, and applauded together. The atmosphere suddenly became harmonious.

During the bloody battle between Liang and Jin along the river, Xia Luqi saved Li Cunxu from danger many times. In one of the battles, Xia Luqi killed more than a hundred Liang soldiers with his own hands and was covered with wounds. Li Cunxu gave him the name "Li Shaoqi" to show his favor.

During the "Left Hook" operation, Xia Luqi captured "Wang Tieqiang" Wang Yanzhang alive.

When the "three armies attacked Jingnan", Xia Luqi served as the deputy commander-in-chief and fought under the commander-in-chief Liu Xun.

When the imperial court was planning its strategy for the two Sichuan provinces, Xia Luqi was appointed as the military governor of Wuxin Army of Suizhou, stationed in the southeastern part of the two Sichuan provinces, forming a pincer attack with the central army in northern Shaanxi, and serving as a forward position and foothold on the Yangtze River waterway.

It's a pity that Meng Zhixiang had long seen through the court's tricks and predicted the court's predictions. He carried out military infiltration into Suizhou Wuxin Army in advance. At the beginning of the war, he directly besieged Suizhou and cut off Suizhou's contact with the outside world, making Xia Luqi unable to use his strength. The brave general could only be trapped in the isolated city very unhappily, like a beast in a cage.

With food supplies cut off and no reinforcements from outside, Xia Luqi still put up a stubborn resistance. When the city fell, he chose to commit suicide and sacrifice his life for his country.

Xia Luqi was also included in Ouyang Xiu's "Biography of Death".

Meng Zhixiang took Xia Luqi's head from Suizhou in the southern battlefield to Jianmen Pass in the northern battlefield and showed it to Shi Jingtang. This move severely damaged the morale of the central army and seriously undermined the fighting spirit of the main force of the central army. Because its significance is far more than the fall of a brave general, it also represents the destruction of the imperial division in the southern battlefield. The soldiers of the two Sichuans have the ability to control the Ningjiang army and push the front line to Kuizhou, like a right hook, drilling into the heart of the court. After the two Sichuans took Kuizhou, the battle of Jianmen Pass would be meaningless.

Xia Luqi's two sons were fighting at Jianmen Pass with Shi Jingtang. When they saw their father's head from afar, they burst into tears and begged Shi Jingtang to allow them to go to the enemy camp to get their father's head back and bury it in their hometown.

Shi Jingtang said to the two children with tears in his eyes: "Meng Zhixiang is a loyal elder. He will definitely bury your father's body properly. If you take back his head, your father's head will be separated from his body."

Sure enough, after using Xia Luqi's head to destroy the central army's fighting spirit, Meng Zhixiang put Xia Luqi's body together and buried it properly. Shi Jingtang believed that Langzhou and Suizhou had been lost, the strategic position of Jianmen Pass had plummeted, and the serious problems in logistics supply did not support him to do anything. The main force of the central army at Jianmen Pass should return home quickly, otherwise, Li Siyuan would repeat the mistakes of Li Cunxu.

When a general is away from home, he may not obey the orders of his sovereign. Shi Jingtang acted decisively and, without receiving orders from Li Siyuan, burned down the camp, abandoned the garrison, and returned to Luoyang.

When the news of Shi Jingtang's retreat reached Meng Zhixiang, he put the report aside, deliberately looked worried, and asked Zhao Jiliang: "The Central Army at Jianmen Pass is advancing at full speed. What should we do?"

Zhao Jiliang, wearing a feather fan and a long scarf, smiled slightly and said, "Then he will at most advance to Mianzhou, and then he will definitely retreat."

Meng Zhixiang asked him the reason, and Zhao Jiliang explained: "We are waiting for the enemy to tire out. Shi Jingtang is alone and deep in the enemy's territory. His food and grass are cut off. Why not retreat?"

Meng Zhixiang laughed and showed him the report. "Sir, you are indeed a genius!"

With the retreat of the central main force, Li Yanqi, the governor of Zhaowu Army in the northeast of Jianmen Pass, also took the initiative to give up Lizhou. Both Sichuan and Lizhou took over Lizhou at random, and Meng Zhixiang appointed Zhao Tingyin as the commander of Zhaowu Army in Lizhou.

Zhao Ting secretly reported to Meng Zhixiang that Dong Zhang was cunning by nature and could share adversity with him but not wealth. Moreover, there would be a war between the two Sichuans sooner or later. It would be better for me to kill him directly when he came to Lizhou to visit the troops! In this way, the two Sichuans would be unified. This opportunity cannot be missed.

Meng Zhixiang firmly refused.

Zhao Tingyin sighed helplessly and said that the lord was kind-hearted, but too soft-hearted. If he rejected my suggestion, he would suffer great trouble in the future!
Meng Zhixiang was not a soft-hearted person, but was more far-sighted. Shu had no two masters, so there would be a war between the two Sichuan provinces. But now was not the right time to kill Dong Zhang, and the "Hongmen Banquet" was not a means to kill Dong Zhang.

We have already appreciated Meng Zhixiang's literary skills and political wisdom. War must be justified, with a legitimate reason, and must occupy the moral high ground to defeat the unjust with justice.

Now, the two Sichuans are cooperating and facing foreign enemies in unison. Although victory in the war is in sight, the situation is still not mature enough. If Meng Zhixiang betrays his allies and suddenly turns against them, stabbing them in the back, he will lose moral support and become a rat crossing the street that everyone will shout and beat.

Later, when the two Sichuan provinces really fall out, we will see how Meng Zhixiang’s team “raises the righteous army”.

Now is not the time for a civil war between Sichuan and Sichuan, nor is it the time to sell stocks and take profits. The strategic master and political old fox Meng Zhixiang wants to win greater political benefits for Sichuan and Sichuan. And the "right hook" operation is what makes this feat possible.

Meng Zhixiang ordered Li Renhan to take charge of the "Giant Road Camp Recruiting and Suppressing Envoy" and continue to lead the navy eastward along the Yangtze River to push the battle line eastward.

Li Renhan was unstoppable, and successively captured Zhongzhou and Wanzhou, approaching Kuizhou. An Chongruan, the governor of Ningjiang Army of Kuizhou, and Yang Hanbin, the governor of Wutai Army of Qianzhou, who had escaped earlier, abandoned the city and fled again.

At this point, the Xichuan Army had taken over the entire territory of Kuizhou and Ningjiang Army.

Great minds think alike. As Shi Jingtang had expected, after the fall of Suizhou, the Ningjiang Army of Kuizhou was just a decoration. With the fall of the Wuxin Army of Suizhou, the Wutai Army of Qianzhou, and the Ningjiang Army of Kuizhou, the forces of the two Sichuan provinces completely controlled the Yangtze River waterway and pushed the front line to the southern part of Jingzhou.

(End of this chapter)