History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 666 Two-Day War 1
When setting out from Huazhou, Guo Wei once again summoned his soldiers and announced the ins and outs of this military action with sincerity. It was still the same cliché: The emperor was bewitched by treacherous people and killed loyal ministers indiscriminately. I was forced to lead everyone to the capital to defend your rights and seek justice. Your wives, children and the elderly are all in the capital. In order to avoid your families being implicated, you might as well kill me and take my head to claim the reward.

The officers and soldiers once again expressed their determination to firmly support Comrade Guo Wei.

At this time, Wang Jun announced: After we pacify the capital, you will be allowed to loot for ten days!
So, "everyone was excited."

Although the process of Guo Wei raising an army was simple, it can be used as a template for team building and is textbook-level.

First of all, it must be legitimate, have a legitimate reason, conform to people's basic cognition, and be in line with secular behavioral norms. Only in this way can the combat effectiveness of the army be improved, and at least it will not carry psychological burdens or have some kind of psychological barrier that cannot be overcome.

Secondly, the team must be cleaned up. Guo Wei repeatedly expressed his unwillingness to implicate everyone, and everyone could kill him to collect the reward. After the generals repeatedly expressed their loyalty, the team's thoughts were highly unified.

Finally, we must not only speak in an open and aboveboard manner, but also be down-to-earth. With lofty ideals and firm beliefs, we must also have visible and tangible benefits. As the saying goes, big words are spoken at big meetings, and small words are spoken at small meetings. However, it should be noted that big people are responsible for high-sounding and high-sounding words, while small words that are frivolous and mean must be spoken by another person, such as Guo Wei's words about righteousness and Wang Jun's words about profit.

At the same time that Guo Wei led his army south, Murong Yanchao of Yanzhou also received an imperial edict. When he received the edict, Murong Yanchao was having a meal. He immediately realized the seriousness of the matter, threw away his chopsticks, jumped on his horse without any preparation, and rushed all the way to the capital.

Liu Chengyou was very moved and trusted his uncle very much, so he gave him full authority over the defense of the capital.

Wu Qianyu from Zhengzhou also rushed to the capital to report for duty as soon as possible. He had been demoted from the court because he supported weakening the military generals group. He was also a staunch member against the military generals group and a trustworthy comrade of Liu Chengyou.

On November 11, Liu Chengyou convened a royal meeting to discuss countermeasures.

Hou Yi said: "The Weizhou Field Army is the elite of the empire and should not be underestimated. However, their families are all in the capital, so it is best for us to close the city gates and not engage them head-on. Instead, let their parents, wives and children climb the city walls and call out to their sons, husbands and fathers. In this way, without the use of weapons, Guo Wei's rebels will automatically collapse."

"Uncle Liu" Murong Yanchao sneered at this and sneered on the spot: "Hou Yi is old, and his head is full of cowardly thoughts."

Liu Chengyou was, after all, a hot-blooded young man in his twenties, and his passion was ignited by the words of his uncle. Why not give the rebels a head-on blow and show weakness by shrinking your head? Kill him!
He then ordered Hou Yi, Yan Jinqing, Wu Qianyu and Zhang Yanchao to lead the imperial guards to Chanzhou.

Speed ​​is of the essence in war. As mentioned above, Guo Wei set out from Weizhou on the 15th and arrived in Chanzhou on the 16th.

On the 18th, the eunuch Long Tuo escaped back to Bianzhou and brought back Guo Wei's secret letter.

The young and heroic ruler Liu Chengyou was planning to lead the army in person and go to the front line of Chanzhou to supervise the battle. Suddenly, he heard that Guo Wei had occupied Chanzhou and was heading towards Huazhou. He couldn't help but take a breath and immediately canceled the plan of leading the army in person. He called the prime minister Dou Zhengu and said with great annoyance: "Well... that thing before, it might have been a bit hasty..."

Li Ye, Nie Wenjin, Guo Yunming and others on the side had expressions of fear on their faces.

Li Ye proposed to use all the money in the national treasury to reward the three armies and encourage them to resist the rebels.

Prime Minister Su Yugui objected. Li Ye knelt down to Dou Zhengu on the spot and kowtowed repeatedly, "Please, Prime Minister, for the safety of the emperor, please do not be stingy!" Su Yugui could not resist the pressure, so he allowed the imperial guards to be rewarded with 20 strings of cash each, and the local troops to be rewarded with 10 strings of cash each; the rebels serving under Guo Wei were also rewarded with a huge sum of 10 strings of cash each. Li Ye sent people to deliver the money to their families, and then supervised them to write letters to their families to express their safety and persuade them to surrender, and sent them to Guo Wei's army to undermine the rebels' fighting spirit.

On the 19th, Guo Wei's main force had arrived at Fengqiu (north of Bianzhou), close to Bianzhou. The people of the capital were in a panic, and Bianzhou was in chaos.

At this moment, Empress Dowager Li could only do two things: cry and blame herself. Empress Dowager Li cried and talked to herself, "If I hadn't followed Li Tao's advice and dismissed Yang Bin and Guo Wei, I would have ended up in trouble today. I deserve it!"

Liu Chengyou finally panicked and was so anxious that he was running around in circles and couldn't think of an idea for a long time.

The uncle Murong Yanchao was full of confidence and said to Liu Chengyou: "In my opinion, Guo Wei's gang is nothing but a bunch of chickens and dogs. Your Majesty, don't worry. I will capture Guo Wei alive right away."

After patting his chest and boasting for a while, Liu Chengyou gradually calmed down and said, "It's all thanks to my uncle!"

Murong Yanchao curled his lips and swaggered out of the hall. He happened to meet Nie Wenjin, so he asked him about the specific number of rebels in Weizhou and the generals who led the troops.

Nie Wenjin reported truthfully.

After listening to the report, Murong Yanchao became restless. He scratched his head and ears, muttering to himself: "This... I was indeed a bit careless just now... These bastards are not easy to deal with..."

Murong Yanchao led his troops to station at Qilidian, which, as the name suggests, was only about seven miles away from Bianzhou City; Hou Yi, Liu Chongjin, and Yuan Wei led their troops to station at Chigang, which was only three or four miles away from Qilidian. The two armies responded to each other from a distance.

Yuan Wei's father was Yuan Xiangxian and his grandfather was Yuan Jingchu (Zhu Wen's brother-in-law).

After the army was stationed, Murong Yanchao ordered his soldiers to plunder the fine wine and delicacies in the Bianzhou market to reward the soldiers on the front line, and at the same time dig deep trenches for self-defense.

Liu Chengyou personally went to Qilidian and Chigang to comfort the troops, "Hello, comrades, you have worked hard!" After punching in, he returned to the palace and did not dare to stay for a moment.

That night, the troops led by Hou Yi, Liu Chongjin and Yuan Wei, who were stationed in Chigang, deserted the battlefield and retreated in fear.

Early the next morning (the 20th), the two armies met at Liuzipo, northeast of Qilidian, and the two armies confronted each other.

In order to prevent Murong Yanchao of Qilidian from escaping from the battlefield again, Liu Chengyou decided to encourage the troops again.

Empress Dowager Li hastened to dissuade him, saying that Guo Wei was an old minister of our family, and would not have gone to this extent unless he was forced into a dead end. At this time, you must not make any moves to further provoke him. It is best to keep your troops in place, send an imperial edict to appease him, and observe his intentions. If his attitude softens, it means that there is still room for negotiation. Once fighting begins, there will be no way back!

(End of this chapter)