History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 644 The dog jumps over the wall in a hurry

Meng Chang slapped his forehead and suddenly realized, "Oh - yes, yes, Qinzhou, if you hadn't mentioned it, I almost forgot it!" Then, Meng Chang ordered Qinzhou Jiedushi Han Baozhen to send troops from Qinzhou, go out of Guguan, and attack Weiyang (now Qianyang County, Shaanxi Province). Weiyang is located in the northwest of Fengxiang, Dasanguan and Baoji are located in the southwest of Fengxiang. Meng Chang used Han Baozhen to tie up Zhao Hui's energy.

In order to open up a road to welcome the reinforcements of Hou Shu and to demonstrate his strength to Hou Shu, Wang Jingchong sent his troops out of the west gate of Fengxiang to attack Zhao Hui. However, they were defeated by Zhao Hui's defensive counterattack. Not only did they fail to create a gap, but Zhao Hui took advantage of the victory to occupy the western city gate.

Wang Jingchong quickly retreated into the city, while Zhao Hui pushed the front line forward, dug trenches in Xiguan City, and continued to send troops to challenge.

"Come out if you can!"

"Come in if you can!"

Unlike Li Shouzhen's defense of the city, what supported Li Shouzhen was his faith and his firm belief that what was destined could not be changed by human power; while Wang Jingchong relied on a powerful external force - the Later Shu.

In Guo Wei's strategy to suppress the rebellion, the main force was originally going to tackle the tough bone of Hezhong first, and to contain Chang'an and Fengxiang. Zhao Hui's strength was insufficient in attack but sufficient in defense. Once Hou Shu intervened strongly, the balance of the battle in Fengxiang would be broken, which was Wang Jingchong's wishful thinking.

Zhao Hui knew Wang Jingchong's thoughts very well. You want to see the reinforcements from Hou Shu, okay, I'll create one for you.

Zhao Hui organized more than a thousand elite soldiers, wearing armor and holding weapons, and secretly detoured to the Qinling Mountains. Then, holding the flag of Hou Shu, they rushed from the direction of Dasan Pass with great fanfare, spreading the news to the outside world: The Hou Shu army has arrived!

Wang Jingchong was fooled and immediately sent thousands of troops out of the city to welcome them. However, the ambushed troops rushed out and thousands of Fengxiang soldiers were wiped out without knowing why. Wang Jingchong closed the city gates and dared not send troops out of the city again.

After the Later Shu general An Siqian really left Dasan Pass, Zhao Hui stationed his main force in Baoji, controlling Fengxiang in the north and looking at Dasan Pass in the south.

An Siqian first ambushed two thousand troops in the bamboo forest southwest of Baoji, and then used hundreds of weak soldiers to lure the enemy deep into the territory. Zhao Hui fell into the trap, and the ambush troops of Hou Shu took advantage of the victory and broke through Zhao Hui's Baoji position in one fell swoop.

However, when An Siqian sent his main force to Baoji, he received news: Zhao Hui sent another 5,000 troops!

An Siqian was horrified and said to his subordinates: "We have few soldiers and generals, and it is difficult to supply food and grass, while the enemy has many soldiers and generals and supplies quickly. We should not go deep into the enemy, it is best to make other plans."

We should plan for the future and make long-term plans, so... we should step back for now. So the army of Hou Shu staged an incredible scene. They had obviously won the battle, but they retreated from Weishui to Dasan Pass, then back to Fengzhou, and then back to Xingyuan Prefecture. Go back to where you came from.

The second time that Hou Shu interfered in the internal affairs of Later Han ended in such a whimper.

Wang Jingchong wanted to cry but had no tears. Uncle, why did you leave after being defeated and also leave after winning? For the sake of my son, please lend a hand to me! He kept writing memorials to Meng Chang of Hou Shu, requesting emergency support.

Wang Jingchong exaggerated the turmoil in the Central Plains in his letter. The gist of it was that the Central Plains had suffered natural disasters and wars for years, the people were in hardship, the country was weak, a young ruler ascended the throne, the country was in doubt, the political situation was turbulent, and the three towns in the west echoed each other from afar, and only rebelled against the king's righteous flag and restored the Central Plains...

Meng Chang of Later Shu was very tempted, so he ordered An Siqian to send troops to support Fengxiang again. An Siqian had no choice but to set out from Xingyuan and stationed in Fengzhou, looking at Dasan Pass from afar, and then asked Meng Chang to transport 400,000 hu of grain to Dasan Pass first. Without this grain supply, I dare not go out of the pass!
Meng Chang was furious when he received the report and said to his attendants, "I don't think An Siqian will expand my territory for me!"

In fact, since Meng Chang ascended the throne, the military and political power has been in the hands of the trusted ministers. Just this year, a relatively large political struggle took place in Hou Shu, and Meng Chang finally overthrew the elders of the previous dynasty and took control of the country. The story of Meng Chang's personal rule will be left in the following article.

Obviously, Meng Chang consolidated the central power, but the power dispersed in local areas had not yet been strengthened, especially the provincial governors stationed in the border areas.

This is the law of history. Different political systems and different groups of people are subject to the same law. Whose chimney doesn't emit smoke?

An Siqian's move was a typical example of using the enemy to gain power, playing with the enemy and threatening the emperor. Although Meng Chang was angry, he could do nothing about it. While cursing, he ordered nearby states and counties to provide tens of thousands of bushels of grain for emergency relief.

An Siqian's request was not excessive. Whether it was the Central Plains attacking Shu or Shu's northern expedition to the Central Plains, logistical supply was always a more important factor than weapons and equipment or the number of troops. The Art of War says that food and fodder must be sent before troops move.

After obtaining food and grass, An Siqian went north through Dasan Pass and defeated Zhao Hui's vanguard at Yunutan outside Dasan Pass, forcing Zhao Hui to retreat to Baoji. An Siqian moved forward cautiously step by step.

Han Baozhen of Qinzhou was still ordered to contain the enemy in the northwest. Han Baozhen, who was responsible for the feint attack and containment, did not dare to launch an attack rashly, and the army of the Later Han Dynasty did not dare to take the initiative to fight, so the two sides confronted each other in the Longzhou area.

Zhao Hui was overwhelmed by the situation. He had to besiege Fengxiang and deal with the invasion of Hou Shu. Zhao Hui was actually in a dangerous situation surrounded by enemies on three sides. Zhao Hui quickly asked for help from the commander-in-chief Guo Wei.

The western front was in danger, and Guo Wei personally rushed to help. Before leaving, Guo Wei warned Bai Wenke and Liu Ci that Hezhong was still the top priority of the entire war, and the outcome of the battle in Hezhong would determine the final outcome of the war. After I leave, they will definitely break out from the west city, so you must be vigilant and guard against it!
When Guo Wei advanced to Huazhou, good news came from the western front: the Hou Shu army had withdrawn to the south of Dasan Pass due to a lack of food and grass.

An Siqian’s judgment was correct. Without food, what would we do?

Guo Wei also immediately returned to the river.

As Guo Wei had expected, Li Shouzhen sent the brave general Wang Jixun to lead more than a thousand elite soldiers to cut stairs on the cliffs, and then unexpectedly appeared in front of the Later Han army in the middle of the night, setting fire to create chaos and launching an attack while shouting loudly.

The Later Han camp immediately fell into panic and was in disarray. Only Liu Ci remained calm and composed, calming the soldiers while leading his troops to organize a counterattack.

Yan Jinqing sighed, "The enemy's armor is covered with a layer of yellow paper, which makes it very easy to identify under the light of the fire. It's a pity that the soldiers have no fighting spirit and are in disarray!"

Junior officer Li Tao led the charge and shouted, "We should be loyal to the emperor. We normally receive a salary from the royal family, so why shouldn't we fight to the death now?" He waved his spear and fought hard to kill the bandits.

(End of this chapter)