History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 642 Soldiers Surrounding the River
When Guo Wei went on the expedition, Liu Chengyou issued another edict to the front line, urging Bai Wenke to attack Hezhong and Zhao Hui to attack Fengxiang.

Guo Wei convened a military meeting to discuss the strategy for suppressing the rebellion. Most of the generals suggested that he first capture Chang'an and Fengxiang, control the border, prevent interference from the forces of Hou Shu, and then close the door and fight the dog to clean up Hezhong.

He said that the three towns had rebelled successively, and Li Shouzhen in Hezhong was the leader, so we must capture the leader first and conquer Hezhong. Once Li Shouzhen died, the two men would automatically collapse. If we bypassed Hezhong and went to Guanxi area first, once Wang Jingchong and Zhao Siwan occupied the dangerous places and closed the city to hold on, blocking us in front, and Li Shouzhen relied on Hezhong to cut off our retreat, we would be caught in a dilemma, with food and grass cut off, and we would collapse without fighting!
Guo Wei agreed with Hu Cong Ke's opinion and decided on a grand strategy of "capture the thief and the king" to suppress the rebellion. He led the army from Shanzhou, ordered Bai Wenke and Liu Ci to set out from Tongzhou, and Chang Si to set out from Tongguan. The three armies approached Hezhong from three directions.

In Li Shouzhen's imagination, this Battle of Hezhong should be a replica of Li Congke's uprising in Fengxiang. They were both veterans of the previous dynasty, both had great military and public support, and both were young rulers who ascended the throne and the country was in doubt... The only difference was that Li Shouzhen was not the adopted son of the previous emperor.

In short, as long as he gave an impassioned speech in front of the battlefield, the central army led by Guo Wei would definitely turn against him and cheer for him to ascend the throne in Bianzhou.

But when he climbed up the city wall to prepare for his performance, he was surprised to find that Guo Wei's Central Army had flags flying, their military appearance was neat, and their morale was high. Everyone's face had a solemn expression of "CNM, I will kill you."

Li Shouzhen couldn't believe what he saw. He didn't understand why these old subordinates who had once received his favors, were grateful to him and swore allegiance to him would be so renounced. He didn't understand how Guo Wei brainwashed them in such a short time.

Li Shouzhen's worldview collapsed at that moment. His face turned pale and his body trembled uncontrollably. "It's not that I don't understand, the world is changing fast."

He was wrong. The world had not changed. He should have understood that. As a traitor, he should have a deeper understanding of the four words "forgetting righteousness when seeing profit".

In this chaotic and dark Five Dynasties, almost everyone put morality aside and profit in the middle. As long as we are paid, we can kneel down and shout long live to anyone, even to the barbarians. Li Shouzhen, aren't you such a person? If you can do this, why can't your subordinates do the same?

While Li Shouzhen was stunned, Guo Wei had already completed the military deployment, and the main forces of various units set up camp outside the city to listen to the next combat instructions.

The generals were full of fighting spirit and requested to attack the city immediately, capture Li Shouzhen alive, and make great achievements. However, Guo Wei remained calm and said to the generals:

"Li Shouzhen is a veteran general from the previous dynasty with rich combat experience. He treats his subordinates well and has made many contributions. He should not be underestimated! Moreover, the west and south sides of Hezhong City rely on the natural barrier of the Yellow River. The city walls are tall and solid, and the city defense system is mature and complete. If we attack the city rashly, wouldn't that be pushing our soldiers into a fire pit?"

Later, Guo Wei pointed out the correct battle plan. It was not surprising at first, but the old routine: siege. Build high walls and dig deep trenches outside the city to cut off Li Shouzhen's contact with the outside world. When the food and grass in the city are cut off and the morale collapses, use both kindness and force. On the one hand, attack the city with hundreds of attacks and press down on the top of the city, and on the other hand, distribute documents to persuade the soldiers to surrender and recruit soldiers in the city. At that time, the defenders in the city will inevitably rush to surrender.

As for Zhao Siwan in Chang'an and Wang Jingchong in Fengxiang, we only need to send a small number of troops to contain them. They are real hooligans, but they are just pretending to be righteous. They will never work for Li Shouzhen sincerely.

Capture the bandits and their leaders, defeat them one by one, and besiege the exhausted enemy. This is Guo Wei's twelve-character policy for suppressing the rebellion in the three towns.

The generals agreed. So Guo Wei mobilized 20,000 civilians from nearby counties to build walls and dig trenches. Under Guo Wei's unified command, the troops were arranged and combined to surround Hezhong City. Guo Wei analyzed for the generals: "Li Shouzhen was afraid of the previous emperor (Liu Zhiyuan), so he kept his tail between his legs and did not dare to think wildly. However, he looked down on us because we had just risen and had not made any great achievements, so he dared to rebel. We should make good use of his arrogant mentality and use calmness to control movement."

Afterwards, Guo Wei restrained his attack and ordered his troops to stop fighting. The central army outside the city suddenly became quiet, as if they were afraid of Li Shouzhen and suddenly withdrew.

Li Shouzhen in the city was even more confused. He was most afraid of the sudden silence in the air.

Although he no longer showed off his military power or created a stir, Guo Wei secretly set up beacon towers along the Yellow River, stretching for dozens of miles, with a guard post every three steps and a sentry post every five steps. The soldiers on duty took shifts, and there were countless sentries, both visible and hidden. Patrol ships were sent to both the mainstream and tributaries of the Yellow River, and patrols were coordinated on the ground and on the water. All messengers sent from the city were captured, and no one could escape.

Li Shouzhen was experienced and knew the correct way to save himself after being besieged. The first was to seek external assistance, such as external food and fodder supplies and military support. The second was to break out and lift the siege. At the very least, he had to tear open a gap and open up the supply line.

Li Shouzhen contacted all the external anti-Han forces he could think of, such as Huainan, Hou Shu, and Khitan, but Guo Wei's encirclement was so tight that all the envoys were captured alive, and Hezhong became an isolated hell on earth;

The breakout operations also suffered repeated setbacks.

The situation in Hezhong City was getting worse day by day. Food and grass were almost exhausted, and people were starving to death every day. The city was about to fall without a fight.

Li Shouzhen could not hide his sorrow, and he really had no solution, so he called his number one strategist, the dog-headed military advisor of Hezhong, and the future great magician who would protect the country, the demon monk Zonglun, and said, "Master, didn't you say that I would be the emperor? Look at the current situation, why do I feel something is not right?"

"Amitabha, haven't you heard that 'When God wants to give a man a great responsibility, he must first make his mind suffer, his muscles and bones tired, his body hungry, his body empty, and his actions confused'? Your Majesty, you will be the emperor one day. This is destined and cannot be changed by ordinary people. The current predicament is God's test and spur to you. When you are at the end of your rope, you may think there is no way out, but there is always a way out. Just wait."

"Master, how long do we have to wait?"

"Amitabha, when you are the only one left in Hezhong City, that will be the time for the dragon to soar! Good, good."

It turned out that this was a very experienced person. With just a few words, Li Shouzhen regained his spirits. "Let the storm come even harder!"

Compared with the blessing of 996, Master Zonglun is the king of chicken soup for the soul.

(End of this chapter)