History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 453: Battle of Chicken Bridge 2
【Battle of Chicken Trace Bridge 2】

Although the right-wing commander of the Dongchuan Army defected and sold out intelligence on the battlefield, Dongchuan still performed well at the beginning and showed a crushing advantage over Xichuan.

Mao Chongwei and Li Jian, the Xichuan generals who deployed the first line of defense at Jizong Bridge, were all killed; Zhao Tingyin launched three consecutive counterattacks, all of which failed; Deputy Commander-in-Chief Hou Hongshi was also forced to retreat step by step... The Xichuan troops were in danger of total collapse.

Meng Zhixiang climbed up a high hill and saw that Xichuan was retreating step by step. He was extremely anxious and had a look of horror on his face, but he still pretended to be calm because he still had the second echelon, while Dong Zhang was at the end of his strength. He was like Kai who had used his ultimate move. He was a real man for eight seconds.

Meng Zhixiang used his last trump card and swung the whip backwards.

Zhang Gongduo, who was holding the line, saw this and immediately led his troops to join the battle. This well-rested army was like fresh air blowing into a furnace. They were full of energy, high morale, and spirits. Their shouts shook the world. Following an order, they decisively rushed to Jizong Bridge.

A magical scene appeared. The Dongchuan soldiers, who were known as "real men for eight seconds", gave up in an instant. More than 10,000 people were killed. More than 80 senior officers including the commander-in-chief Yuan Qi and deputy commander Dong Guangyan were captured, and more than 500 war horses were captured.

Faced with the sudden and shocking reversal, Dong Zhang broke down emotionally. He stamped his feet and beat his chest and said, "All my personal soldiers are dead. What else can I rely on?" He then led several personal cavalrymen to flee in the direction of Hanzhou, abandoning the remaining troops.

There were still more than 7,000 abandoned Dongchuan remnants. When they saw Dong Zhang fleeing, more than 7,000 of them surrendered collectively; the previously captured Xichuan general Pan Rensi was also rescued.

Meng Zhixiang led his troops to pursue Dong Zhang and chased him to Wuhoujin, southwest of Hanzhou. The Dongchuan general who was responsible for the rear surrendered. Xichuan successfully entered Hanzhou.

Meng Zhixiang ordered an all-out search for Dong Zhang, but the soldiers of Xichuan were busy fighting for the armor and supplies of Dongchuan. Dong Zhang took advantage of the chaos and managed to escape.

Zhao Tingyin led his army to Chishui and accepted another 3,000 surrendered soldiers from Dongchuan.

Dong Zhang of Dongchuan demonstrated what it means to cause a huge collapse.

That night, Meng Zhixiang used his best skill again: writing articles.

He ordered Li Hao to draft an imperial edict, the gist of which was to explain to the people of Dongchuan the whole story, saying that it was all Dong Zhang's fault and there was no need for the people of Dongchuan to panic. At the same time, he also wrote a letter to Dong Zhang, expressing his condolences and saying that he planned to visit him in Zizhou in person to "inquire about the reason for breaking the promise and ask to see him for the crime of being punished." He made the destruction of the country sound so righteous.

The next day, Meng Zhixiang and Zhao Tingyin met at Chishui. Afterwards, Meng Zhixiang returned to Chengdu and ordered Zhao Tingyin to complete the final attack on Dongchuan.

Dong Zhang fled back to Zizhou and entered the city on a sedan chair. Wang Hui went out of the city to greet him. He glanced at the embarrassed and miserable Dong Zhang and asked in surprise: "The commander led all the elite troops of Dongchuan to go out, but now... how come there are less than ten people back? What happened?"

Dong Zhang was in tears and could not answer. After returning to the government office, he was about to eat (Dong Zhang was really broad-minded, he actually had the mind to eat at this time), when Wang Hui and Ya Nei Du Yu Hou Dong Yanhao (Dong Zhang's nephew) led 300 warriors, shouted and rushed in, launching a mutiny.

Dong Zhang hurriedly took his wife and children to the city wall to hide.

When Dong Zhang was defeated at Jizong Bridge, he knew that he was doomed, so he asked his son Dong Guangsi to surrender to Xichuan to leave a legacy for the Dong family. Dong Guangsi cried, "Since ancient times, has anyone ever wanted to live after his father was killed? I would rather die with my father!" So he fled back to Zizhou with Dong Zhang.

Now, there really was a traitor inside Dongchuan. In the critical moment, Dong Guangsi hanged himself. Dong Zhang ignored his grief and ran to the north gate tower, calling for the commander Pan Chou to suppress the rebellion and protect the emperor.

Pan Chou agreed, called a dozen personal warriors, ran up to the city gate tower, chopped off Dong Zhang's head with one knife, and then cut off Dong Guangsi's head, and handed them over to Wang Hui.

Wang Hui immediately surrendered the city to Xichuan.

Zhao Tingyin took over Zizhou, sealed the treasury, and waited for Meng Zhixiang; it was at this time that Li Zhao killed the messenger from Dongchuan and reported to Meng Zhixiang, expressing his determination to "fight to the end."

Wang Hui initially served Wang Jian and had many military achievements. After Wang Zongyan ascended the throne, he was promoted to the position of Governor of Jizhou.

Jizhou had no water source and relied entirely on external supplies. It happened that Li Maozhen attacked Jizhou, surrounded Jizhou, and cut off the water supply. Wang Hui was extremely anxious and could only pray to God and Buddha for a miracle. That night, Wang Hui had a dream in which an old man told him that there was a spiritual spring under the prison. Wang Hui suddenly woke up and then dug in the place indicated by the god in the dream, and indeed dug out a spring.

The next day, the Fengxiang soldiers believed that Jizhou had no water and would be waiting to be killed, so they confidently waited for Jizhou to surrender. Wang Hui ordered his men to carry fresh spring water to the city wall and then sprinkle it under the city to show the Fengxiang soldiers. The Fengxiang soldiers were shocked and their wish was thwarted, so they immediately lifted the siege and retreated.

Wang Hui was promoted to the governor of Qinzhou due to his meritorious service. After the fall of Former Shu, Wang Hui surrendered to Later Tang and was appointed governor of Lingzhou.

When Dong Zhang first proposed to attack Xichuan, all the generals agreed, except Wang Hui, who dissuaded him. Dong Zhang did not listen, which led to the defeat today.

When Wang Hui saw that Dong Zhang had lost power, he launched a mutiny, beheaded Dong Zhang, and surrendered the city to Xichuan.

At this point, Xichuan took over the entire Dongchuan in one go with the victory in the "Battle of Jizong Bridge".

At first, the two Sichuans were at odds with each other, until Dong Zhang, threatened by the imperial court, took the initiative to show goodwill to Meng Zhixiang and asked for an alliance through marriage. Meng Zhixiang did not want to agree at first, but his adviser Zhao Jiliang analyzed the pros and cons for him and persuaded him to accept. Meng Zhixiang then ordered Zhao Jiliang to visit Dongchuan as a special envoy for the alliance.

Zhao Jiliang and Dong Zhang were also old acquaintances, and they had a close relationship. The successful alliance between the two Sichuans was also thanks to Zhao Jiliang's matchmaking, so Dong Zhang was full of gratitude to his old friend Zhao Jiliang and gradually relaxed his vigilance. They talked to each other over a cup. After Zhao Jiliang deceived Dong Zhang's trust, he also pretended to be open and got a lot of Dong Zhang's inner thoughts.

According to historical records, Zhao Jiliang "deceived Chen Zhongsu", while Dong Zhang "was loyal to his heart". Dong Zhang was defeated by this scumbag.

After returning to Xichuan, Meng Zhixiang asked him whether he had discovered Dong Zhang's strategic intentions. Zhao Jiliang reported truthfully, leaving behind the most appropriate and explicit evaluation of Dong Zhang in history:
"Mr. Dong is a man with the voice of a jackal and the behavior of a dog or rat. He is a heavy-handed collector and likes to kill people. He is stubborn and does not consider human factors. He likes to win in his military operations and does not understand the weather."

Afterwards, Zhao Jiliang explained his "32-character comments" one by one:

"Wolves are always ambitious, and dogs and rats are also unpredictable. The soldiers are levying heavy taxes, and (the common people) flee when things get urgent; they love killing and hate life, and things will turn into rebellion when they reach the extreme (their subordinates will instigate mutiny and rebellion); as for the way they use the army, as the saying goes, 'the strong and good will not die a good death, and the competitive will meet their enemies', so what is there to fear from the reckless man?"

(End of this chapter)