History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 711: Internal strife 2
The people around him said, "The amount of alcohol you can drink has nothing to do with your body size. There are special intestines in your stomach that are designed to digest alcohol, so a short person can also have a high alcohol tolerance."

"Oh?" Wang Yanxi's curiosity was aroused, and in the spirit of exploration, he ordered: Cut open Zhou Weiyue's stomach, I want to see what the "wine intestines" look like. I want to dissect a living person on the spot.

The people around him were terrified and tried to persuade him: "Your Majesty, if you kill him, who will drink with you in the future?"

Only then did Wang Yanxi release Zhou Weiyue.

Poems as proof:

"Silver leaves pour jade wine, who will come to buy a banquet and open the cups?

Don't try to get drunk at a banquet, as this will test the king's appetite."

[Fratrices]

After Wang Yanxi ascended the throne, he was extremely licentious, suspicious of his clan, and often looked for old grudges. His younger brother, Wang Yanzheng, the governor of Jianzhou, tried to persuade him many times in letters, but Wang Yanxi became furious and wrote back to curse him. The relationship between the two brothers deteriorated rapidly.

Wang Yanxi then sent his trusted confidant Ye Qiao to be the military supervisor of Jianzhou, and Du Hanchong to be the military supervisor of Nanzhen. Nanzhen was a military fortress set up in a strategic location between Fuzhou and Jianzhou.

Ye Qiao and Du Hanchong knew their master's good intentions, so they actively collected Wang Yanzheng's faults, bound them into a book, and reported them to Wang Yanxi. The suspicion and hatred between the brothers intensified.

One day, Ye Qiao and Wang Yanzheng were discussing official affairs of Jianzhou. They had different opinions and were arguing. Suddenly, Ye Qiao shouted, "You want to rebel?"

As the conversation went on, "Let's rebel!" Wang Yanzheng took out a knife and was about to kill Ye Qiao.

Ye Qiao fled in a hurry and escaped all the way to Nanzhen; Wang Yanzheng decided to go all out and led his army to attack Nanzhen, where he defeated Ye Qiao and Du Hanchong. The two fled back to Fuzhou and reported to Wang Yanzheng of Jianzhou that he was plotting a rebellion.

Wang Yanxi hastily dispatched his troops, sending the imperial guards commanders Pan Shikui and Wu Xingzhen to lead 40,000 troops to attack Jianzhou. The two generals were stationed in the west and south of Jianzhou respectively, set up battle arrays along the river, and set fire to all the houses outside the city.

Wang Yanzheng was terrified and quickly asked for help from the Wuyue Kingdom.

Qian Yuanguan of Wuyue State sent Yang Renquan and Xue Wanzhong to lead 40,000 people to the south to provide assistance.

The Fujian Civil War officially began.

Wang Yanzheng only held Jianzhou, and his overall strength was obviously weak. Wang Yanxi's expeditionary force took the lead in attacking with its superior strength. Pan Shikui sent 3,000 people to attack, and Wang Yanzheng sent his general Lin Hanche to meet them. The two sides met in Chashan.

Lin Hanche won, killing more than a thousand people. The first victory boosted the morale of the Jianzhou army. Wang Yanzheng recruited more than a thousand death squads, waded across the river at night, and robbed the camp. Under the cover of darkness, the death squads sneaked into Pan Shikui's camp, took advantage of the wind, set fire to the camp, and the main force beat drums on the city wall to cheer. Jianzhou Navy Commander Chen Hui took advantage of the chaos to kill Pan Shikui, and Pan Shikui's troops collapsed immediately.

The threat to Jianzhou’s west was lifted.

After daybreak, Wang Yanzheng took advantage of the victory to expand the results of the battle and launched an attack on Wu Xingzhen's camp.

When Wu Xingzhen heard the news of Pan Shikui's defeat, he lost his composure and fled without fighting. Before the two armies came into contact, Wu Xingzhen abandoned his position and fled. The generals of the various armies also fled from the battlefield. The defeat was irreversible.

In the Battle of Chashan, Wang Yanzheng killed more than 10,000 people in total, and took advantage of the victory to capture the cities of Yongping (now Nanping City, Fujian Province) and Shunchang (now Shunchang County, Fujian Province), and pushed the frontier positions to Jiangle Creek, forming a situation of "dividing the river and governing". From then on, the situation of the war was reversed, the gap in strength between the two sides was narrowed, and the foundation was laid for the establishment of the "Great Yin Kingdom" in the future to compete with Wang Yanxi of Fuzhou. Historical records commented: "Since then, the Jianzhou army has begun to flourish."

Wang Yanxi not only lost nearly 30% of his troops, but also lost control of the northern part of Min. The 4 reinforcements from Wuyue will arrive at the battlefield in five seconds, so Wang Yanxi must be prepared.

Since Wang Yanzheng had obtained assistance from Wuyue, Wang Yanxi could only seek help from Huainan. The "Huainan Twins" were like the "Jin-Kaifeng hegemony" in the late Tang Dynasty, or a miniature version of the Cold War in ancient times, with two major powers leading two major camps and launching proxy wars in neighboring countries.

The territory of Min State was basically today's Fujian Province, with the Taiwan Strait in the east, Wuyue State in the northeast, and Huainan semi-encircled Min State from the northwest to the west, with only a narrow section of border with Southern Han in the south. Fuzhou was located on the central coast of Min State, at the mouth of Jiangle River, and Jianzhou was located upstream.

This river is particularly interesting. It is formed by the confluence of four rivers flowing from west to east, and then flows out to the sea from Fuzhou. The four rivers from north to south are Jianyang Creek, Shaowu Creek, Jiangle Creek, and Xishui. Shaowu Creek and Jiangle Creek now meet in Shunchang, and after merging into one, they continue to flow eastward, and after passing Shaxian, they merge with the southernmost stream, and then merge with Jianyang Creek in Yongping.

Now, Shunchang and Yongping are controlled by Wang Yanzheng. In other words, Wang Yanzheng firmly controls the upper reaches of Fuzhou and has a firm grip on Fuzhou's neck.

Wang Yanbing had come down from Jianzhou to overthrow Wang Yanhan and support Wang Yanjun. Now not only Jianzhou was controlled by Wang Yanzheng, but also Shunchang and Yongping. Wang Yanzheng was like a sword hanging over Wang Yanxi's head, which could take his life at any time.

Wang Yanxi was terrified and desperately asked Huainan for help.

It was Wang Yanzheng who was far-sighted and believed that the quarrel between brothers was, after all, a family scandal and an internal conflict among the people, and it was best not to ask outsiders to interfere. He had previously asked for help from the Wuyue Kingdom only for self-protection.

After the great victory in the Battle of Chashan, the 4 reinforcements from Wuyue finally arrived near Jianzhou. Wang Yanzheng quickly served good wine and food, took out gold and silver treasures to reward the reinforcements, and asked Wuyue to withdraw the troops, "Let the Min people handle the affairs of the Min Kingdom. Please turn around and march in step."

It is said that it is easier to invite a god than to send him away. The story of the attack on Guo by pretending to be a state of siege is well known. The reinforcements from Wu and Yue may not be able to destroy Fuzhou, but they can certainly take advantage of the situation and destroy Jianzhou. This is what Wang Yanzheng is most worried about.

Yang Renquan, the commander-in-chief of the Wuyue reinforcements, flatly refused the request to withdraw and set up camp in the northwest of Jianzhou. "Since we are here, how can we explain ourselves if we go back empty-handed? Do I need your food and wine? I will help you to attack Fuzhou, don't be afraid."

The Khitans' assistance to Shi Jingtang and Liu Chong has provided us with a clear template. They said they were helping you fight the civil war, but the reinforcements would not be stupid enough to help you be cannon fodder. They would only stand in the back to cheer and boost your momentum. The ones who really went to the front to be cannon fodder were the party being assisted. If the party being assisted won the battle and had signs of achieving final victory, the reinforcements would join the battle. Once the party being assisted lost, it was good for the reinforcements to turn around and leave, but it was bad for them to stab you in the back.

(End of this chapter)