History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 9: Xuzhou Military Rebellion
In the middle of the Tang Dynasty, a rebellion broke out in the Xuzhou area. Wang Zhixing was rewarded for his meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion and later gradually occupied Xuzhou.

When Wang Zhixing was stationed in Xuzhou, he recruited 2,000 warriors from the local area and organized them into seven armies, named "Silver Knife Army", "Diaoqi Army", "Gate Spear Army", etc., as his own private troops. Afterwards, the Silver Knife Army and others became the legacy of Xuzhou and a hot potato for subsequent town commanders.

The Xuzhou Silver Blade Army (referring to the seven armies including the Silver Blade Army) was notoriously arrogant and difficult to control. Because they were "yabing" (or "yabing"), they did not belong to the regular army of the state, but were private armed forces. They were privately recruited by generals such as the Jiedushi, and their equipment and military pay were also paid by the Jiedushi himself. Therefore, they were only responsible to the Jiedushi himself and did not obey the orders of the court.

Most of the Jiedushi after Wang Zhixing were civil officials, and they were completely powerless against the Silver Sword Army. The Silver Sword Army ignored them and often drew their swords to threaten and intimidate them, so that the subsequent Jiedushi had back doors in their government offices as emergency escape routes.

The former Jiedushi Tian Mou was even more friendly with them, calling them brothers, and even personally beat the board and sang to entertain them. Beating the board was the most despicable thing. Tian Mou had stooped to the point of disregarding his integrity.

At the same time, Tian Mou gave the Silver Sword Army tens of thousands of rewards every day. Even so, it was not enough to satisfy the greedy Silver Sword Army. They often gathered together to make noise and force each other to demand more rewards.

After Tian Mou died, Wen Zhang was stationed in Xuzhou.

Wen Zhang also adopted a gentle and conciliatory attitude towards the Silver Blade Army, and tried to appease them with kind words. However, the Silver Blade Army was very afraid of Wen Zhang, who was known for his strict law enforcement and impartiality. When Wen Zhang gave them wine and food, they never ate a single bite or a drop of it, and their suspicion reached such an extent.

In July of the third year of Xiantong (862), the Silver Knife Army finally launched a mutiny and expelled the governor Wen Zhang.

The actions of the Xuzhou Silver Knife Army had crossed the red line of the imperial court and could no longer be tolerated. The current situation in Xuzhou needed to be changed urgently. This historical mission was handed over to Wang Shi.

At that time, Wang Shi had just put down Qiu Fu's rebellion in the eastern Zhejiang Province, restored regional stability and economic development, and cleared the tribute route for the imperial court, thus safeguarding the central government's finances. His achievements in civil and military affairs were obvious to all.

The court then appointed Wang Shi as the governor of Xuzhou, the military governor of Wuning Army, the inspector of Xu, Si and Hao, etc., to replace Wen Zhang, the former military governor of Xuzhou and Wuning Army, and he immediately went to the town.

Wang Shi followed the order and led the 3,000 elite troops from Zhongwu and Yicheng towns who had followed him to pacify Qiu Fu, and crossed the Huai River to the north.

When the news of the personnel transfer reached Xuzhou, the Silver Knife Army was terrified.

The Silver Sword Army had little time left. Wang Shi led the two powerful armies to the outskirts of Xuzhou and stationed at Dapeng Pavilion.

The Silver Knife Army then came to greet them very reluctantly and fearfully, shouting "Welcome, welcome, warm welcome" but in their hearts they were thinking about finding out Wang Shi's attitude towards the Silver Knife Army.

Wang Shi's words of consolation were not much different from those of the previous military governors.

The Silver Blade Army tentatively said, "The armies of Zhongwu and Yicheng have returned from suppressing the rebellion and have made great military achievements. Of course, they are also tired. Although we are not as brave as the armies of the two towns, we can barely maintain local public security. We dare not say that there will be no looting on the road. After all, the people can still live and work in peace and contentment. There is no need to trouble the armies of the two towns... Otherwise, my lord, you can dismiss the soldiers of the two towns... It will also save a lot of military expenses for the court!"

Wang Shi nodded frequently, first saying to the Silver Knife Army, "Comrades, you have worked hard," and then said that he had originally planned this. The mission of the Second Town Division was only to escort him to his post. Since they had already been sent to Xuzhou, there was no reason for them to stay there for long. After rewarding them, he would send them back home.

The Silver Sword Army was jubilant and their spirits relaxed a little.

Wang Shi gave a generous reward to the three armies at his garrison.

Three days later, as agreed, Wang Shi assembled the armies of the two towns, put on their armor and took up their weapons, and then surrounded the Silver Knife Army's base at lightning speed.

The Silver Knife Army was confused. Aren't you going back to your hometown in Henan? Don't you know the way?
Wang Shi did not give them time to react. The military order was very simple, just one word: Kill them!

"More than 3,000 soldiers of Xu were killed on that day, and all the evildoers were wiped out." - "Old Book of Tang"

You are a social brother, ruthless and quiet.

It must be said that Wang Shi was a rather different person among the Confucian scholars. He never believed in any moral teachings. When it came to the rebels, he acted more like a military officer who had come from the ranks of the army, and directly eliminated them physically. Isn't it said that the soldiers of Xuzhou were arrogant and difficult to control? If they were difficult to control, then they would not be controlled. If there was one, they would be killed one by one, and they would be killed cleanly. It was simple and crude, and it worked.

His ferocity and decisiveness were fully demonstrated when he put down the rebellion of Qiu Fu. Qiu Fu and his core members came to him desperately, but he showed no mercy and even disregarded battlefield discipline and ordered the execution of more than 20 key members.

Treat your enemies as cruelly and mercilessly as winter.

When it comes to treating the people, he is as warm as spring.

At the beginning of the suppression of the rebellion, he issued clear regulations more than once to enforce strict military discipline. All prisoners who were coerced, threatened, or unable to make a living and surrendered to the rebels were released on the spot and their past crimes were not allowed to be investigated. Wherever the army passed, they did not harm the people and did not take a single needle or thread from the people.

It took Wang Shi only three days to quell the military rebellion in Xuzhou. Conquering Annan, pacifying Qiu Fu, and defeating the Silver Knife Army became the three most brilliant achievements in Wang Shi's life, which will be recorded in history forever.

At the same time, the Tang Dynasty suffered repeated defeats in the "Annan War" with Nanzhao and was forced to change its generals many times. Cai Xi, Cai Jing, Kang Chengxun, Zhang Yin... still could not withstand the powerful offensive of Nanzhao.

In May of the fifth year of Xiantong (864), the imperial court came up with a clever plan that killed three birds with one stone: it ordered the Xu Si militia commander to select soldiers from Xuzhou and send them to Yongzhou (now Nanning, Guangxi) to guard the border.

After the Silver Blade Army was massacred by Wang Shi, the escaped fish fled and scattered all over the country, becoming bandits. The court issued edicts many times, saying that they were allowed to return home to farm and that their past was forgiven. However, they were always afraid and did not dare to surrender. They kept gathering in the mountains and forests, doing robbery for a living.

Xuzhou was famous for its strong local customs and elite soldiers. The remnants of the Silver Knife Army and bandits in the Xuzhou area were even more of a headache for the imperial court.

Since the Xuzhou soldiers are extremely powerful, instead of wasting manpower and material resources to suppress them, it is better to turn the enemy into your own use and let them fight against Nanzhao.

At that time, soldiers stationed at the frontiers were replaced every three years. But this time it was different. The imperial decree clearly stated: "After the situation outside the Ling Mountains is settled, they will be replaced and returned." No specific replacement period was given.

This planted a huge time bomb for the future.

In July of the same year, Xiahou Zi, who had a keen eye for talent, recommended another talent to Emperor Yizong of Tang who could defeat Nanzhao - Gao Pian.

Gao Pian was born in Bohai Gao family. His grandfather was the famous Tang Dynasty general and Nanping County Prince Gao Chongwen. Gao Pian had performed well in the war against the Dangxiang Qiang people and had made great military achievements in the western frontier of the motherland.

However, what Emperor Yizong of Tang did not expect was that after Gao Pian took command of the expedition, he did not receive any news from the front for a long time. In such an important war, the commander-in-chief was out of touch, and the court was out of control of the war.

Emperor Yizong of Tang then went to the front-line military supervisor Li Weizhou to inquire about the situation, but received shocking news: Gao Pian was holding his troops back from advancing, playing tricks on the enemy, and plotting something evil!
Emperor Yizong of Tang was furious and immediately dispatched General Wang Yanquan to the front line to replace Gao Pian. He also urgently summoned Gao Pian back to the court, intending to severely demote him.

Emperor Yizong of Tang was still furious when he received another completely contradictory report from the front line: a great victory in Jiaozhi!
The person who reported the victory was Gao Pian's confidant, and along with the report came the head of Nanzhao Marshal Duan Zongbang.

It turned out that Li Weizhou, the military supervisor, was jealous of Gao Pian, who was so famous. As early as when Gao Pian first arrived at the front, Li Weizhou had the idea of ​​killing Gao Pian with a borrowed knife. He repeatedly urged Gao Pian to send troops to attack, and agreed with Gao Pian that Gao Pian would lead 5,000 soldiers as the vanguard, and Li Weizhou would follow up with the main force. But when Gao Pian led 5,000 soldiers to the battle, Li Weizhou did not send a single soldier, hoping to kill Gao Pian with the help of Nanzhao.

Unexpectedly, the brave Gao Pian used these 5,000 men to launch a surprise attack on the 50,000 men of Nanzhao, and seized a large amount of rice as military rations.

If one plan fails, try another.

After that, Gao Pian won victory after victory, but the document reporting the victory was intercepted by Li Weizhou. This is why Gao Pian lost contact.

When the court questioned him, Li Weizhou slandered Gao Pian for being passive and unwilling to fight, and hinted that Gao Pian was planning a rebellion.

In fact, Gao Pian had already compressed all the remaining forces of Nanzhao into Jiaozhi City and besieged them for more than ten days. "The barbarians were in great distress." It was at this time that Duan Zongbang, the commander-in-chief of the Nanzhao invading army and the Grand Marshal, was killed.

Just when they were about to annihilate the Nanzhao invading army and achieve brilliant results, an imperial order was sent to the front line, stripping Gao Pian of his military power and ordering him to return to the capital immediately to accept an organizational investigation.

Gao Pian sighed to the sky, and returned north with only a hundred or so followers as ordered.

Wang Yanquan and Li Weizhou's military skills were not comparable to Gao Pian's. The siege on the Jiaozhi front was lifted, and most of the Nanzhao troops, who were originally desperate, took the opportunity to escape.

Fortunately, Gao Pian's trusted confidants who were sent to report the victory were smart and agile. They saw a fleet with flags flying high in the distance on the sea, so they asked local fishermen and learned that it was the fleet of Wang Yanquan and Li Weizhou. They hurriedly hid among the islands and were not discovered by Li Weizhou and others. Afterwards, they rushed to the capital and reported the victory to the emperor.

Only then did Emperor Yizong of Tang understand the truth of the matter. He cursed Li Weizhou for harming the country and himself, and quickly revoked the order, allowing Gao Pian to continue leading the army to attack.

After being reappointed, Gao Pian returned to the front line of Jiaozhi, and conquered Jiaozhi City in one fell swoop, killing more than 30,000 invading Nanzhao troops, killing the Tuman chieftain who served as a guide for Nanzhao, and capturing and surrendering tens of thousands of Tuman people... Annan returned to the embrace of the motherland.

The report of the recovery of Annan arrived in the capital, and all officials came to the court to congratulate. Emperor Yizong of Tang was very pleased and issued a general amnesty, and the whole country celebrated. Chang'an was crowded with people, gongs and drums were beating, and firecrackers were blasting...

The death knell of the Tang Empire quietly sounded at this moment.

(End of this chapter)