History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 92 The Three Zhu War
Zhu Wen wrote to his sworn brothers Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin, saying that it was wrong for them to lure my subordinates with a large sum of money on the border. Don't take advantage of me. Can you spare me and exchange another sheep? Also, can you please send back the defected Bian army?
Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin refused to admit it and wrote a very harsh reply, accusing Zhu Wen of making up stories, being ungrateful and making trouble unreasonably.

Just right!

If you two brothers give in and apologize to me, this matter will be really difficult to handle. This kind of suicidal attitude of yours is what I want.

So, Zhu Wen submitted a memorial to the court, accusing the two Zhu brothers of recruiting rebels and disintegrating the Bian Army. At the same time, he issued a letter to neighboring vassal states: I want to capture the traitors in our army, so don't panic.

Then, he called on generals Zhu Zhen and Ge Congzhou to attack Caozhou and Puzhou. The "Three Zhu War" officially began.

Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin never dreamed that Zhu Wen would turn against his sworn brother and close comrade before completely destroying Qin Zongquan, just as Stalin did not believe that Hitler would fight against the Soviet Union before completely conquering Britain.

If you compare yourself to others, you will die; if you compare goods to others, you will throw them away. The strategic minds of the two Zhus of Yan and Yun are incomparable to Zhu Wen.

At the beginning of the battle, the Bian army was invincible, and tens of thousands of Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin's troops were killed, and the two men left the battlefield alone.

Zhu Xuan's younger brother Zhu Han led an army of 10,000 to reinforce, but was annihilated. Zhu Han was captured and beheaded.

Bian general Zhu Zhen conquered Puzhou, and Puzhou governor Zhu Yu fled to Yunzhou. Zhu Zhen followed and launched an offensive against Yunzhou.

The Bian army took advantage of the victory and fought back the remaining forces of the two states with a fierce offensive. Yunzhou closed the city and held on, resisting stubbornly.

This was a "blitzkrieg". Of the three states under the jurisdiction of the Tianping Army, Cao, Pu, and Yun, only Yunzhou headquarters remained. Zhu Wen did not linger on the battlefield in Yunzhou. After leaving Zhu Zhen to maintain the offensive, he led his army back to Bianzhou.

Knowing when to advance and when to retreat is what makes Zhu Wen superior to Huang Chao and Qin Zongquan.

Although the piece of fat meat of Yunzhou was tempting, Zhu Wen had already lost the advantage of "blitzkrieg". The primary goal at this time was to prevent Qin Zongquan from making a comeback and avoid being caught in the dilemma of fighting on two fronts and being attacked from both sides.

Great wisdom knows when to stop.

Zhu Zhen spared no effort to attack Yunzhou in order to help Zhu Wen swallow up the entire Tianping Army.

The governor of Caozhou was captured alive by the Bian army, while the governor of Puzhou, Zhu Yu, fled to Yunzhou. The brothers Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin of Yunzhou suddenly had an idea and staged a "torture trick" to severely punish the defeated general Zhu Yu.

Zhu Yu then wrote a secret letter to Zhu Zhen outside the city, claiming that he was willing to be a traitor and join forces with the enemy to surrender Yunzhou.

Zhu Zhen also received intelligence and knew that Zhu Yu had been punished, so he had no doubts about Zhu Yu's surrender.

As agreed, Zhu Zhen led his troops quietly to the city wall under the cover of night and sent a secret signal to the top of the city wall.

"Squeaky--" the city gate slowly opened. "Come in quickly!" The defenders on the top of the city lowered their voices and called out to Zhu Zhen outside the city.

Zhu Zhen was overjoyed and quickly ordered his troops to enter the city to take over.

After the army entered the city, the city gates were suddenly closed. Fires blazed in the city, ambushes sprang up everywhere, arrows and stones flew across the city walls, and the Bian army that entered the city was tragically annihilated.

Zhu Zhen then realized that he had been deceived and hurriedly led his troops to retreat all the way back to Puzhou.

Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin led their troops to pursue and kill, and took the opportunity to retake Caozhou.

Zhu Zhen, who retreated to Puzhou, was very disappointed. He originally wanted to help the commander-in-chief to swallow Yunzhou, but he not only failed to swallow Yunzhou, but also spit out Caozhou.

Perhaps because he was worried that Zhu Wen would hold him accountable for the defeat and loss of the city, Zhu Zhen secretly sent people to pick up his wife and children in Bianzhou City.

Since ancient times, it has been customary for generals to leave their entire families behind as hostages to prevent them from mutinying on the battlefield. Taking the family out secretly is a big taboo, which basically declares the intention of rebellion.

When Zhu Wen heard about it, he was furious. He sent fast horses to chase Zhu Zhen's family and killed the city gate officer. He also sent his confidant Jiang Xuanhui to Puzhou to transfer Zhu Zhen back to Bianzhou and ordered his deputy general Li Tangbin to take over Zhu Zhen's position.

The counselor Jing Xiang tried to dissuade him, saying that Zhu Zhen would not easily surrender his military power and surrender. If Jiang Xuanhui went to Puzhou, Zhu Zhen would certainly become suspicious and might even be forced to rebel.

Zhu Wen was also confused for a moment. As soon as Jiang Xuanhui left, he came to his senses. After hearing what Jing Xiang said, he quickly gave another order and sent an expedited horse to chase Jiang Xuanhui and call him back.

After secretly taking in Zhu Zhen's family, Zhu Wen became suspicious of Zhu Zhen and secretly ordered his deputy general Li Tangbin to monitor Zhu Zhen's every move.

Li Tangbin, who was born in the Cao army, was originally a subordinate of Shang Rang. He surrendered to Zhu Wen in the "Battle of Wangmandu" and was arranged under Zhu Zhen. From then on, Zhu Zhen and Li Tangbin became a good pair of partners, and "Sliding Down Xiazhou on a Snowy Night" was their masterpiece.

Zhu Zhen and Li Tangbin were "slightly equal in reputation". In terms of bravery, Li Tangbin was slightly better than Zhu Zhen. However, Li Tangbin could only be Zhu Zhen's deputy, and he was unwilling to do so. The reason was simple: seniority.

Zhu Zhen was a direct descendant of Zhu Wen, and when he was in the Cao Army camp, Zhu Zhen was Zhu Wen's subordinate. Although Li Tangbin was also a member of the Cao Army, he was a newcomer who had just joined the group during the "Wangmandu Battle", not to mention that he was a surrendered general.

Because Li Tangbin was dissatisfied, he became Zhu Wen's natural spy for Zhu Zhen. Zhu Wen let Li Tangbin be Zhu Zhen's deputy. This is Zhu Wen's leadership art.
Now, Li Tangbin kept a closer eye on Zhu Zhen.

On this day, Zhu Zhen invited several of his trusted generals to a banquet to drink and relieve his depression. Li Tangbin suspected that he was plotting something bad, so he immediately took a dozen of his trusted followers and broke through the city to go to Bianzhou to report Zhu Zhen.

It was late at night and without the commander's badge, the soldiers guarding the pass refused to allow Li Tangbin and his companions to pass.

Li Tangbin was furious, "You only know Zhu Zhen, but don't you know me, Li Tangbin?"

The soldiers guarding the pass acted according to the rules and were impartial. "No one is allowed to pass without a badge."

Li Tangbin was impatient. "If there is any delay in the urgent military information, can you afford it?"

"No one is allowed to pass without a badge."

Li Tangbin reached into his arms and said, "You are blind. Look, the badge is here."

The soldiers guarding the pass came closer, holding torches high, and conducted a routine inspection.

Li Tangbin killed him with a backhanded strike of the knife, then waved his hand, forced his way through the checkpoint and headed straight for Bianzhou.

The other soldiers guarding the pass hurriedly reported to Zhu Zhen.

Zhu Zhen was horrified and kept shouting "Oh no!" Without even having time to change clothes or take his followers with him, he jumped on his horse and rode alone, galloping towards Bianzhou.

The two of them arrived in front of Zhu Wen almost at the same time.

Li Tangbin accused Zhu Zhen of having a private banquet with his subordinates and plotting something bad; Zhu Zhen scolded Li Tangbin for making up stories and framing loyal officials. The two accused and cursed each other, and the scene was chaotic and out of control.

Zhu Zhen's ability to abandon his troops and ride back to Bianzhou alone was enough to prove that he had no intention of rebellion. Zhu Wen consoled him with kind words and let him return to Puzhou to continue commanding troops. He also praised Li Tangbin. Although he made a presumptuous assumption without any solid evidence, it showed that Comrade Li Tangbin was very vigilant.

Zhu Wen did not blame anyone and allowed the two to put aside their past grudges and return to Puzhou.

Zhu Wen was very pleased. Firstly, Zhu Zhen had no intention of rebelling, and secondly, Li Tangbin's supervision was very effective. From then on, Puzhou could rest easy.

Of course, this was just Zhu Wen's wishful thinking.

After this incident, the personal grudge between Zhu Zhen and Li Tangbin rose to an unprecedented level, laying the groundwork for a catastrophe in the future.

Zhu Wen's decision to lead the main force back to Bianzhou was very wise. That month, Qin Zongquan captured Zhengzhou.

Everything is the same as Jingxiang's deduction.

"Look East" was the "Longzhong Strategy" made by the great strategist Jing Xiang, which pointed out that if they wanted to grow and become stronger, they must seize land to the east and attack Zhu Xuan, Zhu Jin and Shi Pu. He also pointed out that the essence of this action lies in the word "fast", and the expansion must be completed before Qin Zongquan is resolved and the court gets out of the predicament, otherwise the opportunity to grow and become stronger will be lost forever.

How to turn against Shi Pu of Xuzhou?

Jing Xiang couldn't think of a reasonable excuse for a while. At this time, the court issued an edict, allowing Zhu Wen to concurrently serve as the governor of Huainan.

Where did Gao Pian, the former governor of Huainan, go?

he died.

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(End of this chapter)