History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 927 Battle of Guangzhou
60,000 Southern Han troops set up defenses at Majing, ready to block the Song army, while Guo Chongyue, the commander-in-chief, used his only trick - praying to the gods.

Pan Mei went south from Shaozhou, captured Yingzhou and Xiongzhou, and approached Majing. However, Pan Mei was not in a hurry to start a decisive battle with Southern Han, but instead detoured west and took a detour through Shuangnu Mountain.

Shuangnu Mountain is west of Majing and east of Hejiangkou. Pan Mei's move seemed irrational, because Pan Chongche's army was stationed at Hejiangkou, and Pan Mei was tantamount to walking into a trap, putting himself in a dangerous position where he would be attacked from both sides.

In fact, we have every reason to believe that Pan Chongche had long been secretly communicating with the Song army and had probably reached some kind of agreement, similar to the tacit understanding between Du Chongwei and the Khitan; another possibility is that Pan Chongche was keeping the enemy at bay.

Historical records say that Pan Chongche "had troops but did not fight, and was determined to fight against the emperor, a double-hearted minister", which recognized his second motive. Because he had previously expanded the territory for the Southern Han, but was framed by treacherous officials and dismissed from his military power, he held a grudge. When Liu Cong was forced to re-employ him due to the tight war situation, he gave up the job and refused due to eye disease, forcing Liu Cong to promote him to a higher position, so he led his troops to station at Hejiangkou. Therefore, he fully had this motive, deliberately letting the Song army expand its victory, in order to force Liu Cong to continue to promote him to a higher position.

Shuangnu Mountain was Pan Chongche's retreat. When Pan Mei himself jumped into the dangerous place where he was "attacked from both sides", Pan Chongche at Hejiangkou was cut off from his retreat by the Song army. Pan Chongche was left with only two choices. One was to break out in the direction of Shuangnu Mountain and escape back to Guangzhou to accept Liu Xiong's accountability and vent his anger, with a high probability of being baptized by "living hell"; the other was to surrender and save himself.

Even if there was no secret agreement between Pan Chongche and the Song army, he would choose to surrender in order to protect himself.

Switching back to Pan Mei's perspective, if he chooses to fight in Ma Jing instead of going around Shuangnu Mountain, then Pan Chongche may support Ma Jing, and the Song army will face twice as many enemies.

Pan Mei went around Shuangnu Mountain. If the army and civilians of Southern Han were united and shared the same hatred of the enemy, then Pan Mei would be walking into a trap; but if the army and civilians of Southern Han were not united, then Pan Mei would be like a tiger among the flock of sheep.

Pan Mei is a master of games. He knows how to look at the chessboard from the opponent's perspective. "I predicted your prediction." He firmly placed the chess piece on Shuangnv Mountain and captured Pan Chongche of Hejiangkou without bloodshed.

In the first month of 971, Pan Mei led the main force of the Song army to Longtou (now Yingde City, Guangdong Province). Liu Cong sent envoys to seek peace, expressing his willingness to sit down and have a good talk to resolve the dispute through dialogue.

The Longtou area has steep terrain and fast-flowing water, making it a perfect place for an ambush. Pan Mei suspected that this was a delaying tactic of the Southern Han, so he took advantage of it and pretended to bargain with the envoys of the Southern Han while marching urgently. After passing through the dangerous places without any danger, he rejected the peace request of the Southern Han and announced the breakdown of the negotiations.

At this time, Pan Mei's army was already approaching the Ma Jing camp, and the armies of both sides were in close proximity. Pan Mei's main force was stationed at Shuangnu Mountain, and he had a full view of Guo Chongyue's camp in Ma Jing.

At this time, the Southern Han general Zhi Tingxiao persuaded Guo Chongyue to take the initiative, saying that the Song army was approaching our camp in an overwhelming force. Although our army was large in number, most of them were frightened birds and their morale was low. Our army should play to its strengths and avoid its weaknesses and launch an attack as soon as possible to have a chance of winning. Otherwise, once a stalemate occurred, our soldiers would collapse out of fear without fighting.

Guo Chongyue knelt in front of the statue, asking the Lord, God, and Jesus, begging the gods to appear and give him guidance, and he turned a deaf ear to Zhi Tingxiao's advice.

Upon seeing this, Zhi Tingxiao volunteered to lead his troops as the vanguard and take the initiative to attack and harass the Song army, and let Guo Chongyue lead the main force to strengthen the momentum and support the vanguard.

The Majing front line was only ten miles away from Guangzhou City. If the soldiers on the front line farted collectively, Liu Xiong's curtains would shake three times.

Liu Xiong stayed in Bengbu, and overnight mobilized more than a dozen large ships loaded with gold, silver, treasures and his concubines, and then closely monitored the movements of the Majing front. If there was a failure, Liu Xiong would go to Southeast Asia immediately. However, the eunuch Le Fan, with more than a thousand guards, stole more than a dozen large ships loaded with gold, silver and jewelry overnight, and wandered around the world from then on...

Liu Xiong was heartbroken. As things had come to this point, he had no choice but to surrender. So he led all the civil and military officials to welcome Pan Mei and announced his surrender.

Guo Chongyue quickly expressed his loyalty to Liu Xiong, saying that he would guarantee to complete the task assigned by the organization, and asked His Majesty not to have any wild thoughts and wait steadily for the news of his triumphant return. He would then transfer the pressure to Zhi Tingxiao, saying that you are quite good at fighting, and the emperor is planning to surrender, so think of a way to kill him, and do it quickly!
Faced with heavy pressure, Zhi Tingxiao, who was alone, could only die to show his determination. As expected, Zhi Tingxiao sacrificed his life for his country and died on the battlefield. When the historians of the Song Dynasty evaluated the monarchs and ministers of the Southern Han Dynasty, Zhi Tingxiao was one of the few people who received positive comments. The historians praised him as "a man of integrity". Pan Mei took advantage of the victory and approached the Majing camp. Guo Chongyue closed the gate of the camp and did not dare to fight, and became a turtle.

Liu Xiong's fragile nerves could not stand the provocation, so he sent Prime Minister Xiao Yi and Zhongshu Sheren Zhuo Weixiu to Pan Mei's camp with a letter of surrender and a petition to request reconciliation.

Pan Mei escorted the two men to Bianzhou.

Seeing that the two did not return and there was no news about the peace talks, Liu Cong really stayed in Bengbu and asked Guo Chongyue to defend Majing at all costs, and sent his younger brother Liu Baoxing to lead troops to help. There are also records that Liu Cong sent Liu Baoxing to find Pan Mei to surrender, but was detained by Guo Chongyue.

If the Southern Han could keep Ma Jing, there would be a chance to turn the tide. In fact, when the Song army marched south, there were radical war advocates in the Southern Tang who shouted the slogan "lips and teeth are cold" and advocated a surprise attack on the rear of the Song army, but the last ruler of the Southern Tang, Li Yu, did not have the courage to do so; the Northern Han and Khitan in the north were also a major uncertainty factor.

The betrayal of the eunuch Le Fan prevented Liu Xiong from fleeing overseas. Xiao Yi's departure and Guo Chongyue's refusal to surrender also cut off Liu Xiong's path to surrender. Liu Xiong could only pin his hopes on Ma Jing, hoping that Guo Chongyue could create a miracle to exchange space for time and influence international perception.

Without further ado, Pan Mei consulted with his advisor Wang Ming for countermeasures. After discussion, Pan Mei worked out a plan for a fire attack.

Pan Mei sent his men to encircle Majing Village, each holding two torches, and set fire from all directions at the same time when night fell. At this time, God helped the Song army. A strong wind suddenly blew, and the fire took advantage of the wind and the wind helped the fire. Majing Village was engulfed in a sea of ​​fire, as bright as day, with smoke and dust everywhere, like a purgatory on earth. The Song army beat drums and shouted, and a night battle began.

The result was no surprise, the Song army won. The Southern Han commander Guo Chongyue was killed by the Song army, and the emperor's brother Liu Baoxing fled back to Guangzhou. Majing was occupied by the Song army.

Liu Xiong from Guangzhou was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot. "What should I do? What should I do? Tell me what should I do!"

It was a rare opportunity for the Southern Han to gather the two great men at the same time - the eunuchs Gong Chengshu and Li Tuo. The two brothers suddenly had an idea and offered a plan: "The Northern Army came here just to covet our country's wealth and treasures. As long as we burn them, what reason do they have for not withdrawing?"

High, it is high!

Liu Xiong, desperate to find a cure, really did what he was told. One dared to say it, and the other dared to believe it.

Then, under the illumination of Ma Jing's fire, a fire also broke out in Guangzhou City. The palaces that had been built at great expense by three generations of incompetent emperors since Liu Yan, as well as the jewels accumulated over decades, were reduced to ashes overnight.

I guess Pan Mei must be feeling both amused and helpless at this moment, and would praise him, saying, "You are such a talented person."

After daybreak, Pan Mei organized his army and marched to Baitian. Liu Cong, riding a white horse and wearing plain clothes, led hundreds of civil and military officials out of the city to surrender.

According to the "Southern Travels", there is a flower field 17 miles west of Guangzhou City, where many jasmine flowers are planted. It is said that there was a favored palace maid named Su Xin, who loved a white flower the most. This white flower was called "jasmine". Many eunuchs and palace maids of the Southern Han Dynasty were buried here after their death. There are also records that there is a mountain here, named Shuangnu Mountain. So Baitian should be in the plain area at the foot of Shuangnu Mountain.

(End of this chapter)