History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 731 Don’t Hurt My Brother 2
Ma Xi'e suffered heavy losses in the "Battle of Pushezhou", so he thought of using barbarian mercenaries to overthrow Ma Xiguang.

As mentioned above, Hunan was economically developed and prosperous during the Ma Yin period, especially the international metropolis - Tanzhou. In the word of mouth of the barbarian tribes, it was simply a paradise on earth, and they were full of yearning for Tanzhou. After receiving Ma Xi'e's letter, they were overjoyed and rushed to respond. A large number of barbarian troops met at the border, dancing excitedly, shouting the slogan "rob money, rob food, rob women", and rushed to Yiyang (now Yiyang City, Hunan Province, located between Tanzhou and Langzhou).

Ma Xiguang sent General Chen Fan to fight, and the "Battle of Yiyang" began.

The two sides met at Yanxi, northeast of Yiyang, and Chen Fan was defeated and killed.

The Lang-Man coalition won the first battle, and their morale was greatly boosted. They took advantage of the victory and marched forward to capture Ditian (now north of Xiangxiang City, Hunan Province), killing Zhang Yansi, the defender of Ditian.

Ma Xiguang sent General Huang Chuchao to provide assistance, but Huang Chuchao was also defeated and killed in battle.

Ma Xiguang was completely panicked, and hurriedly Cui Honglian led 7,000 troops to station in Yutan. Not long after, Cui Honglian in Yutan was also defeated and fled back to Tanzhou.

Yiyang, Yutan and Ditian were located from north to south in parallel to the west of Tanzhou. Now, the western gate of Tanzhou was suddenly opened, completely exposed to the enemy's guns.

Ma Xi'e gained an advantage in military affairs, so he submitted a memorial to Liu Chengyou of the Later Han Dynasty, hoping to set up another Southern Chu office in Beijing (Jinzouwu) in Bianzhou.

Liu Chengyou issued an edict saying that Southern Chu already had an office in Beijing, rejecting the request of the "two Chu states". At the same time, he issued another edict to Ma Xiguang to mediate the conflict between the brothers.

Ma Xi'e, who was repeatedly rejected, became angry and humiliated. In a fit of rage, he sent envoys to Huainan to pay tribute and request Huainan to send troops to help him attack Tanzhou.

Good things come in pairs. Huainan had just destroyed the Min Kingdom, and Nanchu offered itself to him. So he gladly accepted Ma Xi'e's surrender, appointed him as Tongpingzhangshi, and rewarded him with all the taxes of Ezhou this year. He also sent He Jingzhu to reinforce Ma Xi'e.

Ma Xi'e invited a wolf into the house, and Huainan officially intervened in the civil war in Southern Chu.

The western side of Tanzhou is exposed to the threat of the Lang-Man coalition forces. If reinforcements from its eastern neighbor Huainan appear from the east, Tanzhou will be in danger.

Ma Xiguang hastily submitted an emergency petition to the Later Han, saying that Jingnan, Lingnan (Southern Han), and Huainan had united and were planning to carve up Southern Chu, and requested military support.

Tanzhou was in danger, and Ma Xiguang was worried. Liu Yantang made a bold suggestion, saying that Langzhou had less than 10,000 soldiers and less than 1,000 horses, while we had 100,000 elite soldiers. What was there to worry about? It is said that to capture a thief, you must first capture the leader. As long as we can defeat Ma Xi'e's headquarters, the barbarians and the Huainan reinforcements will surely collapse. I am willing to lead 150 warships and 10,000 elite soldiers to attack Langzhou and capture Ma Xi'e alive!
Ma Xiguang agreed with this, so he ordered Liu Yantang to lead the army to launch a surprise attack on Langzhou.

However, such confidential military intelligence was leaked at the first opportunity, and the leaker was most likely Ma Xichong.

Liu Yantang led his army back to Langzhou. Wherever he passed, the common people welcomed the king with food and drink. The people lined the streets to welcome him, competing to offer cattle, sheep and fine wine. They said to Liu Yantang, "We don't want to fight with traitors. We have been looking forward to your sending troops to quell the rebellion. Today, we can finally see our loved ones!"

Liu Yantang was very moved and believed it to be true. He even told people around him that this is what is called "the righteous have many supporters, the unrighteous have few supporters". Ma Xi'e's rebellion was unpopular. Moved, Liu Yantang took out a large amount of gold and silver treasures and rewarded them to the welcoming crowd, asking them to wait for the news of the king's victory.

However, what Liu Yantang didn't know was that these were all extras arranged by Ma Xi'e. As soon as Liu Yantang's army passed by, these "people" immediately stuck big bamboo poles into the water, forming reefs and roadblocks, blocking the waterway and cutting off the retreat of Liu Yantang's army. Ma Xi'e sent a total of 6,000 Langman coalition forces and 100 warships to meet Liu Yantang. The two sides met in Meizhou (now west of Hanshou County, Hunan Province) south of Langzhou, and then a fierce battle broke out.

At that time, Liu Yantang was in the upper hand, so he wore a feather fan and a green scarf and ordered to set fire, intending to reduce the masts and oars of the Langman navy to ashes.

But he never thought that he was the clown. Whether it was a coincidence or there was a Zhuge Liang in the enemy camp who took advantage of the east wind, as soon as the flames started, the wind direction miraculously shifted 180 degrees, and Liu Yantang became the downwind, and the flames instantly engulfed Liu Yantang's navy.

Liu Yantang was horrified and hurriedly ordered a retreat, only to find that the retreat route had been blocked by enthusiastic citizens. Thousands of Liu Yantang's soldiers were killed in battle, burned to death, or drowned, and almost the entire army was wiped out.

Zhang Hui, the commander-in-chief of the cavalry, led his army to Langzhou by land, and Liu Yantang advanced by land and water, with the troops divided into two groups. When he advanced to Longyang (now Hanshou County, Hunan Province), he heard the news that Liu Yantang's army was annihilated, so he hurriedly retreated to Yiyang. Ma Xi'e sent Zhu Jinzhong to lead 3,000 people to attack Yiyang.

Zhang Hui said to the defenders: "I will lead my troops out of the city and go around behind the enemy, and then we will attack them from both ends!" However, after he led his troops out of the city, he went straight back to Tanzhou.

When Zhu Jinzhong learned that the commander of Yiyang had deserted the battlefield, he launched a reckless attack, and the 9,000 defenders of Yiyang were completely wiped out.

At this point, the plan to launch a surprise attack on Langzhou completely failed, and the two armies were almost wiped out.

When the news came, Ma Xiguang started crying again, and was so frightened that he didn't know what to do (crying and not knowing what to do).

Liu Hongxi of the Southern Han Dynasty commented on Ma Xiguang, saying that he was stingy and mean, which was not wrong. Ma Xiguang was cowardly and incompetent, and he was also a stingy person who never rewarded the army. Now, facing the disastrous defeats of the "Yiyang Campaign" and the "Meizhou Campaign", someone reminded Ma Xiguang that he should reward the army in exchange for the loyalty of the soldiers.

So Ma Xiguang gritted his teeth and took out a lot of gold and silver treasures to reward the army. This time, he cried even harder.

Someone reported that Ma Xicong spread rumors in the city and disrupted military morale. The evidence was conclusive and irrefutable, and they requested that he be sentenced to death.

Ma Xiguang cried again, and uttered the "Guangdong-style quotations" again:
"He is my brother. If I kill him, will I still have the face to see my father again in the afterlife?"

Ma Xiguang sent his aide Meng Pian to persuade Ma Xi'e, "Huainan and our Nanchu have had a feud for two generations, yet you are colluding with Huainan. What is the difference between your actions and Yuan Tan's collusion with Cao Cao?"

After the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao died of grief and anger, and his sons fought for power and killed each other. The eldest son Yuan Tan colluded with his former enemy Cao Cao to deal with his younger brothers Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang. In the end, the Yuan family was completely swallowed up by Cao Cao. Ma Xi'e's behavior of colluding with Huainan was indeed exactly the same as Yuan Tan's behavior.

Ma Xi'e was furious and planned to behead the sharp-tongued Meng Pian to vent his anger.

(End of this chapter)