History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 56
[Broken Bridge]

The "Eight Capitals of Zhongwu" recaptured the strategic Dengzhou and opened the southern gate of the Huang Chao gang in Chang'an. Zhu Wen fled all the way north, and Yang Fuguang chased him from Henan to Shaanxi.

At this time, Yang Fuguang's mother died. Yang Fuguang was in mourning for his mother, so the "Eight Commanders of Zhongwu" stopped chasing and returned to Dengzhou. This is clearly recorded in history books.

However, Yang Fuguang stated that it was righteous. Since ancient times, it was difficult to be both loyal and filial. At the critical moment of annihilating the thieves, how could he sacrifice public interests for personal gain and abandon all previous efforts?
Another record in the history book is more logical: In the fierce battle with Zhu Wen, the "Eight Capitals of Zhongwu" also suffered heavy losses. The long-distance pursuit made the army exhausted and exhausted. When they reached Lanqiao, they were already exhausted. If they continued to pursue northward, they would enter the heart of the enemy. It is a taboo for military strategists to force their way into the enemy's heartland when the army is old and the soldiers are tired. Therefore, they returned to rest.

The "Eight Zhongwu Commanders" had only 8,000 people in total, but they defeated the rebel general Zhu Wen and captured a city. The strategic goal had been achieved, and there was no need to advance alone.

There is another more important and more obscure reason, that is, Yang Fuguang’s enemies are not only Zhu Wen and Huang Chao in front of him, but also potential dangers around him, such as Zhou Ji and Qin Zongquan.

These people are unfaithful to their principles and are always ready to change sides. If they are not deterred by sufficient military force, they may rebel again at any time.

Zhou Ji did not hold the Hongmen Banquet. On the one hand, he might really want to return to the Tang Dynasty, and on the other hand, he was not completely sure that he could kill Yang Fuguang.

Zhou Ji was born into a commoner family. After joining the army, he was promoted to a mid-level officer through his meritorious service. When the Zhongwu Army and the Ganhua Army had an internal conflict, he launched a mutiny, killed the Jiedushi, and then became the Jiedushi of the Zhongwu Army. It was less than half a year ago.

In other words, his mass base was very weak. He had the title of Jiedushi, but not the real Jiedushi. The fact that Qin Zongquan of Caizhou did not obey his orders was the best proof. Qin Zongquan was a younger brother promoted by Zhou Ji. If he dared not obey Zhou Ji's orders, let alone the loyal and martial generals who were equal to him in the past.

Let's look at Yang Fuguang. He has always been the military supervisor of various vassal states, and he has also served as the military supervisor eunuch in the Zhongwu Army. He has a long history, high prestige, and a strong mass base. He was once Zhou Ji's superior, and now he is the chief military eunuch of the Southwest Front Army of the Tang regime (the chief supervisor of the Southwest Front Camp). He is superior to Zhou Ji in all aspects, which is the important reason why Zhou Ji did not dare to hold the Hongmen Banquet. It is also the confidence that Yang Fuguang dared to attend the banquet alone.

Justice is only within the range of the cannon, and the caliber is the truth.

Yang Fuguang was well aware of this, and his "Eight Zhongwu Commanders" had to preserve their strength to deter these potential traitors who had other ideas.

Zhu Wen, the defender of Dengzhou, led the remaining troops northward to Bashang, where he was personally received by Huang Chao, the "emperor" of the Huang Qi regime.

According to historical records, Huang Chao personally went to Bashang to comfort the troops and boost morale.

The Bashang Troops also has multiple meanings. On the surface, it is of course a leader's care for his subordinates, and a way of comforting them, "Comrades, you have worked hard!"

The deeper meaning is that Huang Chao distrusted Zhu Wen.

Zhu Wen was a brave general under Huang Chao, he was resourceful, witty and courageous, and he had made great achievements in battle since he became a bandit. So...how could he be easily defeated by a ragtag army of 8,700 led by a eunuch?
What if Zhu Wen has already defected to the enemy, pretended to be defeated and entered Chang'an, and then joined forces with the pursuing troops to seize my Chang'an? Didn't Pang Xun lose Xuzhou in this way? Zhang Xuanren's previous experience is a lesson that we must guard against.

If Zhu Wen was indeed defeated after a fierce battle, we would still have to use the excuse of rewarding the troops to take stock of his strength and see how much wealth he had left.

Therefore, although Huang Chao acted as if he was respectful and caring for his subordinates, he did not allow Zhu Wen and his troops to enter Chang'an. Instead, he incorporated Zhu Wen into other troops and let him follow Shang Rang, Meng Kai and other generals to go to war.

In other words, Zhu Wen had been demoted and put under investigation, and Huang Chao's confidants were responsible for supervising the inspection.

Fortunately, Huang Chao was eager to recruit people and did not execute the defeated general according to military law.

Zheng Ting of Fengxiang, Zhuge Shuang of Heyang, Chongrong of Hezhong, Zhou Ji of Zhongwu... the vassal states around Chang'an surrendered and rebelled again one after another, and Huang Chao was surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Li Xiaochang, the governor of Fuyan, and Tuoba Sigong, the governor of Xiasui, who had been repelled before, returned and stationed at Dongwei Bridge, directly threatening the northeast of Chang'an City. Huang Chao sent Shang Rang to lead Zhu Wen to resist the coalition forces of the vassal states at Dongwei Bridge.

The glory lost on the battlefield must be regained on the battlefield; the shame left on the battlefield can only be washed away on the battlefield.

Zhu Wen was determined to win the battle by fighting in desperation, and he won battle after battle, defeating the coalition forces of Fuyan and Xia Sui.

Li Xiaochang and Tuoba Sigong were both Tanguts, who originally lived in the northwest of the empire and were the beneficiaries of the Tang Empire's "control and appeasement" policy. Like other ethnic minorities such as the Shatuo, their leaders were best at political speculation. Whenever the empire was in trouble, such as the An-Shi Rebellion, the Pang Xun Rebellion, and the Huang Chao Rebellion, they would rise up to defend the country, make contributions to the country, and then be promoted to higher positions.

However, once they encounter stubborn resistance and face a tough battle, these speculators will stay away.

When Zhu Wen's troops marched to the north bank in full force, Li Xiaochang and Tuoba Sigong sent requests for help to the neighboring vassal states.

The looseness of the "Anti-pornography Alliance" was once again exposed. When faced with the Fuyan and Xiasui coalition forces' request for help, not a single vassal town responded, let alone a single soldier, a single penny, or a single grain of support.

The various vassal states joined forces to crack down on prostitution, but there was no real unified command. No one really listened to the dispatch of the "chief commander" Zheng Ting, and no one even reported battlefield intelligence to him. Basically, everyone fought on their own. Everyone had their own trumpet and played their own tune. When the war started, it was like a wolf against a dog.

Fuyan and Xiasui were among the first five towns to come to the capital to help. But what happened? After Bining and Jingyuan occupied Chang'an, they did not inform the other three towns, but took the spoils for themselves and were busy looting Chang'an.

When you have something to gain, you don't think about them. When it's time to fight, you let them fight the bandits alone? You let them fight the bandits until both sides are hurt, and then you attack them? Humph, damn it - grandma!
Li Xiaochang and Tuoba Sigong were filled with grief and indignation. They withdrew their troops angrily, evacuated the battlefield and retreated to Fuping.

Zhu Wen seized control of Dongwei Bridge and took advantage of the victory to capture Gaoling and Liyang, tearing open a gap in the north of Chang'an, pressing Jingyang in the west and looking into Hezhong in the east, washing away the shame of the defeat in Dengzhou in one fell swoop.

Shang Rang was very satisfied with this and said, "Zhu Wen is a good comrade." So he returned to Chang'an and replaced Meng Kai to supervise the battle.

Due to the long time and lack of historical data, we cannot accurately rank the Huang Chao group. In addition to Huang Chao and Shang Rang, we can only list a few core figures, such as Meng Kai and Lin Yan. They are the core power circle, the direct line of the direct line, the "follow the dragon faction" of the "follow the dragon faction". Even someone like Zhu Wen, who followed Huang Chao for many years and made many military achievements, could not be among them.

Zhu Wen has always been outside the core power circle of Huang Chao's group and has always been on the periphery.

Huang Chao's group was short-sighted and narrow-minded, which led to their preference for exclusion. In addition to the exclusion and suppression of those who were not "followers of the dragon faction", there was also intrigue within the "followers of the dragon faction", and the more peripheral the group was, the more it was excluded by the core circle.

During the "Battle of Dongwei Bridge", Huang Chao was worried about Zhu Wen and sent his No. 2 leader Shang Rang to supervise the battle. After a great victory, he also sent his confidant Meng Kai to supervise the battle.

The Huang Chao group did not have enough time to recruit enough eunuchs to serve as military supervisors. In fact, Shang Rang and Meng Kai were playing the role of eunuchs who served as military supervisors.

Zhu Wen did not feel awkward facing the personal supervision of the group's top management. On the contrary, he was a little excited because this was his chance to perform well in front of the leaders, just like he did in Guangzhou. What Shang Rang, Meng Kai... it would be better to let Huang Chao come to supervise the battle in person!

Thanks to the book friend "77 Hongzi Queen" for the generous 4 recommendation votes! In addition: I will continue to update times today.

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(End of this chapter)