[Battle of Chengdu]
Although Lu Dan kept sending envoys to seek diplomatic solutions, he was not pedantic. Peace will not come by itself, it must be fought for with real swords and guns. Lu Dan was prepared for both diplomatic negotiations and military strikes.
Grasp with both hands, both hands must be hard.
In addition to actively deploying the defense fortifications of Chengdu City, Lu Dan also sent messengers to seek reinforcements from neighboring provinces.
The day before Nanzhao's army arrived in Chengdu, 6,000 Xingyuan reinforcements and 4,000 Fengxiang reinforcements had arrived in Hanzhou (Guanghan City, Sichuan Province). By coincidence, Dou Pang, who was originally scheduled to be the governor of the border army, also led a total of 4,000 defeated soldiers including the Zhongwu Army and the Yicheng Army to flee to Hanzhou.
Lu Dan sent generals to Hanzhou to welcome reinforcements.
Fourteen thousand people, if they can share the same hatred of the enemy, will still be very effective in fighting. But there was one person among them, and his idea was a little strange.
This man is none other than Dou Pang, the commander of the defeated army.
When Nanzhao entered the country, war letters flew to the court like snowflakes. The court finally understood that it had made a low-level geographical mistake before, so it made up for it, abolished the "Dingbian Army", and returned the seven states under its jurisdiction to the Xichuan War Zone.
As the commander-in-chief, Dou Pang not only lost the battle, but also escaped from the battle, and now he lost his official position... Losing his official position is still a small matter. When he returns to the court to settle accounts in the fall, his head will be at risk. How can you make yourself appear less of an asshole?
Then... let Xichuan be occupied by Nanzhao.
In this way, it can be proved that it is not that I, Dou Pang, is incompetent, but that the enemy army is simply too powerful. Even if he can't completely absolve himself of the blame, he can at least use Lu Dan as a back-up (I want Xichuan to be trapped one after another so that he can share the blame).
Therefore, whenever reinforcements from the north arrived, he would tell them in a serious manner that Nanzhao's army was dozens of times larger than ours! You traveled over mountains and ridges, worked tirelessly, and traveled thousands of miles to die. What kind of spirit is this?
The reinforcement generals who came from afar believed it and did not dare to go any further.
Dou Pang, he really should have been hanged at that time, at least he can be regarded as a martyr. Fortunately, now, he had been a deserter for a while, and then single-handedly blocked thousands of reinforcements from the Tang Dynasty, making great contributions to Nanzhao's invasion of Chengdu.
In February, Nanzhao stormed Chengdu.
Nanzhao used ladders and rushed cars;
The Tang army dragged it to the city with iron hooks and ropes and set it on fire. Lu Dan recruited a death squad to attack out of the city, killing more than 2,000 Nanzhao people and burning more than 3,000 siege equipment.
On the first day of the offensive, the Tang army won and their morale was high.
The Nanzhao army collected folk bamboo fences, soaked them with water, and then woven them into giant rush vehicles. They also learned from the lessons of their ancestors' "rattan armor soldiers" and soaked them in water instead of tung oil to prevent fire.
A siege weapon with extended length, thickening and protective wings, waterproof, fireproof and side leakage prevention. This kind of movement of rushing cars relies on laying sleepers and then pushing them under the city wall, while the barbarian soldiers hide in the cars and dig tunnels.
Nanzhao's army forgot one thing, they were attacking Chengdu. Hot pot and Malatang are not just famous.
The defenders first used a very cheap defensive weapon (dung soup) to suppress fire. The specific method was to collect the excrement in the city (there were hundreds of thousands of people, and the stock was sufficient), then boil it, and then, condescendingly, the goddess scattered the flowers, "You can't do it." place". Then, the scrap iron was melted and the iron liquid was poured down, and the giant rush car was immediately reduced to ashes. Fire overcomes wood, an eternal truth.
Nanzhao also planned to take advantage of its large number of people to launch a sneak attack at night.
The defenders also made huge torches, installed them in iron cages, and hung them high on the city wall. They illuminated the surrounding area as bright as day and became an early searchlight, preventing Nanzhao from launching sneak attacks.
After a fierce battle of wits and courage, the Chengdu defenders finally stabilized the situation and dragged the war into a stalemate.
This is enough to boost the morale of the military and strengthen everyone's belief in achieving final victory. At the same time, it can also increase bargaining chips for negotiations.
Nanzhao was not so arrogant as to think it could annex the Tang Dynasty; the Tang Dynasty also did not covet the remote land of Nanzhao Kingdom. No one on either side intends to truly destroy the other, nor is it possible to destroy the other. Negotiation is the ultimate way for both parties to reach a tacit agreement.
The current war is to gain the initiative and bargaining chips for future negotiations.
Taking advantage of the small victory, the peace envoy reported the details and quickly sent people to the Nanzhao camp, "Do you know how powerful we are? Let's talk about it?"
Nanzhao paused the attack, "The main reason is that our emperor has a good life and does not want to kill you... Let's talk about it."
On February 6, Nanzhao sent envoys to welcome Zhixiang. The two sides discussed the matter of striking off troops.
However, Yan Qingfu, the left Shenwu general of the Tang Dynasty, was unwilling to reconcile. His younger brother Yan Qingshi died for the country at the beginning of the war. Yan Qingfu was burdened with the hatred of his country and his family and could not let go.
Now, Chengdu has resisted Nanzhao's momentum, and a large number of reinforcements have gathered in Hanzhou in the rear. We can only destroy Nanzhao in a matter of seconds, so what are we talking about?
So, Zhi Zhang used bureaucracy to play Tai Chi, "The order I received from the court was to go to the 'Dingbian Army' for peace talks, not to hold peace talks in Chengdu. I have no authority here, otherwise you will be troubled and go back. We are here Let’s talk to the Dingbian Army?”
Nanzhao was furious and felt that he had been tricked by the Tang Dynasty.
On February 8, Nanzhao attacked the city again.
On February 9, Chengdu sent troops to counterattack, but Nanzhao lost and temporarily retreated.
The Chengdu Defense War achieved a staged victory. But the threat from Nanzhao has not been completely eliminated.
The imperial court demoted Dou Pang to the position of Sihu of Kangzhou (Deqing County, Guangdong Province); appointed Yan Qingfu of the main war faction as the governor of Dongchuan and the commander-in-chief of Chengdu, and all reinforcements were dispatched to him.
Yan Qingfu led his army to encounter the Nanzhao army and had a great battle. The common people in the Bashu region, armed with sickles and wooden sticks, helped the Tang army attack the Nanzhao invaders. The Tang army won again and killed more than 2,000 Nanzhao soldiers.
The Nanzhao army continued to gather tens of thousands of troops and surrounded Chengdu again.
Song Wei, the general of the Youwu Guard, arrived with 2,000 Zhongwu reinforcements and killed more than 5,000 Nanzhao soldiers. Nanzhao retreated, and Song Wei was stationed thirty miles away from Chengdu.
Song Wei served as the commander of the Northwest Front Army in the late period of the "Pang Xun Rebellion" and had established military exploits. When he suppressed Pang Xun, Pang Xun was already at the end of his rope, so Song Wei was one of the few commanders among the four front armies (three first and four later) who had only victories but no defeats. God makes last cuts and picks up heads.
At that time, Song Wei was ordered to garrison Mianzhu and Hanzhou and was the second echelon of reinforcements. As a result, Song Wei used a partial force to pursue the victory and arrived at the city of Chengdu earlier than the main force led by Commander-in-Chief Yan Qingfu. In many battles with Nanzhao, Song Wei's contribution was the most neutral among all the reinforcements.
On one of these occasions, Song Wei beat Shi Long to the point where he almost committed suicide. "(Shilong) has no plan and will die in the water." At the critical moment, he was stopped by his subordinates and advised him to struggle a little longer and fight to the death. If it didn't work, he would die again. Shilong then temporarily gave up the idea of committing suicide.
Therefore, Shilong sent people to sue for peace as a way to delay the war.
The back of Zhang Sheng's back straightened even more, "I'm talking about you, my ancestor! Xiao Chuan Chuan, go back to where you came from, or else I'll let you die miserably here!"
The morale of the defenders in the city was high, and they planned to join forces with General Song Wei to attack the Nanzhao army from both inside and outside.
However, Song Wei's achievements aroused the jealousy of his immediate boss, Yan Qingfu.
At dawn that day, General Song Wei was dressed in military uniform, sitting on a tall horse, facing the rising sun, raising his whip and pointing south.
Behind him were the elite soldiers who had just had a good meal. They were full of energy and had high morale. Under the leadership of General Song Wei, they frequently defeated more with less and beat the invaders into panic. The defenders in the city also used the weapons in their hands. The sword and gun were sharpened again and again, and after being frustrated for so long, I could finally feel proud and proud. Together with General Song Wei, we cooperated internally and externally, and slashed the barbarian on the head with the big sword - Go, hey!
The Nanzhao invading army was trembling. A skinny camel is bigger than a horse. The Tang Dynasty was so weak that it should not be underestimated. Although they gained some advantages through the surprise attack, the battle situation completely changed after the Chinese army arrived to support them. The envoys sent to sue for peace went back and forth more than ten times, but never saw the smiling face of the Celestial Empire again... This Song Dynasty general is so powerful, we want to finish!
Victory is all that's left of the command to charge.
Song Wei slowly raised his arm and saw that the command flag was about to fall. The soldiers stared at it without blinking, fearing that they would not be the first to rush out.
"Report——an urgent official document!" The fast horse messenger suddenly broke into the camp, "It's urgent!"
Song Wei quickly took the official letter and opened it. It was an urgent official letter from Yan Qingfu, his immediate superior, commander-in-chief of the aid to Shu and commander-in-chief of the Chengdu Campaign: Comrade Song Wei was relieved of all military duties on the spot and returned to Hanzhou immediately to be on standby.
Just a few words, concise and concise.
Song Wei looked at it for a long time, as if there were thousands of words and ten thousand words on the paper.
The atmosphere suddenly solidified. A pot of boiling water suddenly dropped to freezing point, and the entire military camp became extremely silent. The entire army stared at Song Wei silently and nervously, while Song Wei frowned like a statue and stared at the official document in his hand.
After a long time, Song Wei let out a long sigh and his hands stopped shaking. He took one last look at the rising sun, feeling extremely lonely and depressed. Without saying a word, he returned to the central military tent.
Task canceled.
The heroic soldiers and civilians of Chengdu still achieved the final victory, but they only paid more sacrifices because they lost the best combat opportunity. The Nanzhao invading army received a precious respite and made more adequate preparations for their retreat.
In the long history, this scene is not alone. How many heroes did not die on the way to charge, did not die under the enemy's swords and guns, but were killed by their own people behind them.
Chengdu was about to be rescued, and Song Wei was urgently dismissed and transferred back to the second line. Yue Fei, who received twelve gold medals in one day, should have felt the same when reading this history.
Yan Qingfu advocated resolving border crises through military means, refused to sign unequal treaties that would be humiliating and humiliating the country, and used strong force to fight back against foreign invaders. It is undeniable that he does have some merit.
However, he was jealous of the merits of his subordinates. In order to prevent his subordinates from achieving meritorious service, he abused his power and removed the command authority of the meritorious general. It is really unforgivable. If the reinforcements failed and Chengdu fell, how would Yan Qingfu appear in historical records?
Surprisingly, the soldiers and civilians of Bashu and Sichuan worked together and finally won the battle to defend Chengdu and successfully drove away the Nanzhao invading army. Yan Qingfu also made certain contributions in the subsequent battles. Merits are merits and faults are faults. We must distinguish black from white, be objective and fair, and be responsible for history.
History is a joke. Yan Qingfu saved Chengdu, but killed the Tang Dynasty.
He certainly didn't know about the "butterfly effect", let alone that his abuse of power would sow the seeds of destruction for the Tang Dynasty.
This seed is waiting quietly. When the next storm comes, it will bloom and bear fruit in time and swallow up the Tang Empire.
