History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 768 Baixiapu Landing

【Baekhapo Landing】

Baixiapu is an undeveloped pristine beach in the south of Fuzhou City. The coastline is like a swamp, muddy and impassable. The reinforcements from the Wuyue Kingdom had to lay a layer of bamboo mats before they could land.

However, the Southern Tang army concentrated its archers and crossbowmen to form a fire coverage with no blind spots. The Wuyue army could not get close at all and could only drift on the sea out of range, feeling extremely anxious.

Feng Yanlu was eager to gain merit, or to grab credit. He said that the reason why the defenders in the city resisted stubbornly and refused to surrender was because they saw the reinforcements on the sea. However, the morale of our army was gradually declining due to this stalemate. It would be better to let them land and then annihilate them in one fell swoop. In this way, the defenders in the city would surrender in despair.

Feng Yanlu has no military skills at all.

Throughout history, the attackers have gone to great lengths to land on the beach, build a beachhead, and then continue to advance and tear open a gap. In contrast, the defenders must do their utmost to eliminate the landing troops outside the beach. If you are interested, you can refer to the famous "Normandy Landing" to see the efforts made by both the attackers and defenders to achieve this goal.

Even if Feng Yanlu really wanted to "lure the enemy into a trap", he would have to attack the enemy halfway across the river and rely on powerful firepower to shoot the landing troops on the beach.

His subordinate Meng Jian strongly opposed it, but Feng Yanlu was stubborn and refused to accept his advice, insisting on allowing the reinforcements from Wu Yue to land.

After the reinforcements from Wuyue State landed, they showed amazing fighting power and were unstoppable. Feng Yanlu saw that the situation was not good, abandoned his troops, turned around and fled, and his general Meng Jian died heroically in the battle.

Feng Yanlu deserted the battlefield, causing the Southern Tang army to lose its command and collapse without a fight. They fled, abandoning their weapons and armor. The reinforcements from the Wuyue Kingdom took advantage of the situation to pursue them. Upon seeing this, the Fuzhou defenders were greatly encouraged and they went out to fight, venting their resentment that had been suppressed for several months.

The Southern Tang commander Wang Chongwen led 300 personal guards to form a battle array to resist. Afterwards, troops from various units formed a battle array behind him to meet the enemy, gradually stabilizing the situation. Only then did the Wuyue reinforcements stop pursuing and retreat back into the city.

The "Baixiapu Landing" was an important turning point in the Fuzhou battlefield. The morale of the Southern Tang suffered an unprecedented blow, and the soldiers began to doubt their lives.

The many contradictions including the "Five Demons and Four Evils"' external factionalism, internal infighting, the war-weariness and desertion of the former Fujian surrendered generals, etc. were detonated by the "Baixiapu Landing".

On that day, Wang Jianfeng's general Liu Hongjin received an important message that there were rumors that Wuyue was planning to abandon Fuzhou and protect Li Renda back to Hangzhou. Liu Hongjin suggested that Wang Jianfeng ambush his troops on their way of retreat and then take Fuzhou in one fell swoop.

However, Wang Jianfeng had always been ostracized and suppressed by the "Five Ghosts and Four Evils", and he felt resentment towards Chen Jue and others. He did not want them to achieve any more extraordinary achievements, so he concealed the news.

Liu Congxiao, who had been letting the enemy off guard, already had his own plans. In previous battles, Liu Congxiao had not put in much effort and was intent on preserving his strength. He also did not want the Southern Tang to capture Fuzhou.

Wang Jianfeng and Liu Congxiao hit it off and began to spread rumors in the army, saying that the Southern Tang had been defeated and might be unable to resist the enemy's counterattack, and the army was preparing to retreat. Then that night, the two set fire to the camp to create chaos and took advantage of the chaos to withdraw.

The rest of the troops were unaware of the truth and followed suit. For a moment, the frightened Southern Tang army collapsed without a fight. Feng Yanlu was so desperate that he wanted to kill himself, but was stopped by his trusted men and fled the battlefield.

The Fuzhou defenders and Wuyue reinforcements took the opportunity to attack and kill the Southern Tang army, more than 20,000 of them were killed, and almost all of their weapons and supplies were lost.

According to historical records, after the retreat from the Fuzhou front, the treasury of the Southern Tang was emptied.

Liu Congxiao's troops returned to Quanzhou, forced the central garrison to leave, and then officially established their own regime in Quanzhou. Li Jing was helpless and could only give Liu Congxiao the title of Jianxiu Taifu, tacitly approving his rule over Quanzhou.

The Battle of Fuzhou not only exhausted the national strength of Southern Tang, but also made Southern Tang lose the opportunity to conquer the Central Plains. Li Jing suffered a great loss. Li Jing was very angry and began to settle the responsibility for the defeat.

Li Jing issued an edict to execute Chen Jue and Feng Yanlu on the charge of falsely conveying the imperial edict, and pardoned all other generals.

Chief Censor Jiang Wenwei publicly impeached Wei Cen and Feng Yansi in the Imperial Palace, wanting to catch the "Four Evils" in one fell swoop.

He said that since Your Majesty ascended the throne, the most trusted ministers are the "Four Evils". They are insidious and cunning, playing power games, deceiving their superiors and subordinates, excluding loyal and good people, and bewitching the emperor. Now, although the party leaders Chen Jue and Feng Yanlu have been convicted, Wei Cen and Feng Yansi are still fish that have escaped the net. If we don't take this opportunity to eradicate them, they will make a comeback!

Jiang Wenwei also pointed out that the reason why they were able to forge an imperial decree and send troops without authorization was because they not only colluded with the court, but also wove a complex network of relationships in the local areas, and even the local troops could be easily mobilized...

Jiang Wenwei, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations during the reign of Emperor Mingzong of the Later Tang Dynasty, was appointed as an inspector of the post stations in Henan Prefecture. He was implicated in the "Li Congrong Rebellion Case" and dismissed from his post. He then fled to Huainan and sought refuge with Xu Zhigao, who appointed him as an inspector of the Xuanzhou Surveillance Commissioner. He was then promoted to the position of Deputy Director of the Ministry of Rites and the Director of Imperial Edicts. After Xu Zhigao proclaimed himself emperor, he was appointed as the Secretary of the Central Secretariat. Obviously, Jiang Wenwei was also a member of the "Party of the Former Emperor".

At the beginning of the Southern Tang Dynasty, the system was in its infancy, and many etiquette norms were compiled by Jiang Wenwei. After all, he was once a capital official of the Central Plains Dynasty. He had seen pigs run even if he had not eaten pork. According to historical records, the Southern Tang Dynasty's "audience, sacrifices, banquets, and etiquette became the rules of the generation."

Perhaps these things seem to us useless red tape today, but they were of great political significance at the time. They represented the legitimacy and orthodoxy of a regime and were important criteria for judging good and evil, right and wrong, loyalty and treachery. In a sense, Xu Zhigao and Jiang Wenwei jointly founded the Southern Tang regime.

After Li Jing succeeded to the throne, he appointed Jiang Wenwei as the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works and the Minister of Rites, in charge of ceremonial affairs and other matters.

The details of Xu Zhigao's funeral were planned by Jiang Wenwei, Han Xizai and Xiao Yan. The funeral was in accordance with etiquette, neither too much nor too little, neither humble nor arrogant, and was praised by people at that time as "exquisite".

After burying the late emperor, Jiang Wenwei was appointed as the Chief Censor. In his post as Censor, Jiang Wenwei was upright and fearless, and was particularly disgusted with the "Five Evils and Four Evils" who were stealing power and disrupting government affairs. While Li Jing was investigating the responsibility for the defeat in Fuzhou, Jiang Wenwei stepped forward to catch the "Four Evils" in one fell swoop.

(End of this chapter)