【Hangzhou Qianliu】
Two years ago, there was a mutiny in Zhenhai. Generals Liu Hao and Xue Lang expelled Jiedushi Zhou Bao. Zhou Bao fled to Changzhou and joined his general Ding Congshi.
Ding Congshi was a cruel man and was nicknamed "Ding Mie Clan". He had taken advantage of the opportunity to suppress the rebellion and occupied Changzhou, but then he stopped obeying Zhou Bao's orders.
After the Zhenhai mutiny, Zhou Bao was really desperate. Although the world is vast, there is no place for Zhou Bao to stand. After Zhou Bao arrived in Changzhou, he actually became Ding Congshi's hostage.
When the lord suffered a disaster, Qian Liu, the governor of Hangzhou, raised an army to "King Qin". Because Qian Liu was a subordinate of Dong Chang, and Dong Chang was a subordinate of Zhou Bao. Therefore, when Zhou Bao was in trouble, Qian Liu was bound to come to his aid.
Qian Liu sent his general Du Leng to conquer Changzhou, and Ding Congshi fled to Hailing and took refuge with Gao Ba. Soon after, Gao Ba, Ding Congshi and others were killed by Yang Xingmi.
Qian Liu, dressed in fine clothes, brought Zhou Bao to Hangzhou warmly and grandly with the etiquette of a general welcoming the commander-in-chief. Just two months later, Zhou Bao died of illness.
Regarding Zhou Bao's death, there are two records in historical books. One is that he died of natural illness, and the other is that he was killed by Qian Liu ("New Book of Tang", "Annals of the Ten Kingdoms"). My personal opinion is to support the theory of death from natural disease.
One of the reasons is that Zhou Bao was already 74 years old at the time.
After Zhou Bao was born into a general, he was a standard "rich N generation" and "official N generation". He was graceful and luxurious all his life, but unexpectedly happened in his later years, and his reputation was ruined and he had nothing. According to records, in his later years, Zhou Bao "feasted all day long, with more than a hundred prostitutes in the backyard, and feasted on water and land, and the sun was extremely rich." It can be said that he was used to a life of extravagance and extravagance.
It is understandable that he would be unable to withstand such a blow at this age and become worried, angry and sick.
The second reason is that Qian Liu had no motive for killing. This is the key.
Killing Zhou Bao would only do harm but no good to Qian Liu. Although Zhou Bao was in decline, he was the legitimate "Zhenhai Jiedushi". With him, Qian Liu could "serve the emperor to punish disobedient officials" and control Zhenhai in the name of Zhou Bao.
Zhou Bao was expelled by the rebel generals Liu Hao and Xue Lang. These two people were the target of public criticism. If Qian Liu killed Zhou Bao, wouldn't he have blocked the bullet for those two people, who would be targeted by thousands of people?
Regardless of emotion or reason, Qian Liu would not kill Zhou Bao.
Qian Liu ordered general Du Leng, who had conquered Changzhou, to guard Changzhou, and ordered general Ruan Jie and others to continue attacking the culprits Liu Hao and Xue Lang who were entrenched in Runzhou.
Ruan Jie captured Runzhou in the blink of an eye, captured Xue Lang alive, and Liu Hao escaped.
Qian Liu disemboweled Xue Lang and dug out his heart to pay homage to Zhou Bao, which was also a way to declare to the world the legitimacy of his succession to the Zhenhai Navy. After that, Ruan Jie was ordered to guard Runzhou.
After that, Qian Liu sent his cousin Qian Kuan to conquer Suzhou. The sphere of influence gradually expanded.
It is not difficult to see that the fortune trajectories of Yang Xingmi and Qian Liu are highly consistent:
They were separated by a river, living in Huainan and Zhenhai, and working with Gao Pian and Zhou Bao. As fate would have it, the two towns encountered mutiny and civil strife almost at the same time. Yang Xingmi and Qian Liu also raised armies almost at the same time, taking advantage of the opportunity to quell the rebellion to expand their power. They all also eradicated the culprits of the rebellion, avenged their lords, and became the true successors of their old lords.
There are too many similarities between the two. Now, the two's spheres of influence are closely connected, sparking a collision of passion.
Yang Xingmi captured Xuanzhou, but Sun Ru took away his hometown in Luzhou. What is lost is the east corner, and what is gained is the mulberry tree. Yang Xingmi sent his favorite general Tian Wei to attack Changzhou and asked Qian Liu to make up for Sun Ru's shortfall.
Tian Kai's attack was quite exciting and can be recorded in history. The method he used was actually very common, digging tunnels. But he filled up the technology tree of this skill and unlocked it to the highest level: his soldiers actually accurately dug into the bedroom of guard Du Leng.
It was quite a midnight scare. Du Leng, who was sleeping soundly, was taken out of the bed in a daze, and was tied up with ropes while sleepily.
Yang Xingmi captured Changzhou from Qian Liu without any bloodshed.
It was at this time that Zhu Wen sensed an opportunity to penetrate into Huainan. He is a serious "Huainan Jiedu Envoy" with a business license, and it is his unshirkable responsibility to maintain regional stability.
Therefore, after the defeat in Xuzhou and the betrayal of Wei Boluo Hongxin and Dong Zhaoyi Meng Qian's younger brother, Zhu Wen chose Huainan, where he was most certain of victory, to soothe his spiritual wounds.
Zhu Wen contacted Yang Xingmi and agreed to attack Sun Ru from the north and south.
The two hit it off immediately.
Zhu Wen ordered Pang Shigu, the newly appointed commander-in-chief, to take command, claiming to lead an army of 100,000 people to march to Huainan. Passing through the border and killing generals along the way, they first captured Tianchang, then Gaoyou, and penetrated deep into the hinterland of Huainan.
The mantis stalks the cicada, followed by the oriole.
Yang Xingmi had just captured Changzhou from Qian Liu, but before he could hold it back, he was snatched away by Sun Ru. Subsequently, Sun Ru led the main force back to Yangzhou, leaving general Liu Jianfeng to guard Changzhou.
Changzhou was taken so easily that general Liu Jianfeng felt that he still had more to gain, so he went all out and took Runzhou away from Qian Liu.
The reality is indeed a bit cruel for the new generation Qian Liu. In front of the two senior bosses Yang Xingmi and Sun Ru, he can only be slaughtered or vented.
Qian Liu's time has not yet come, and he needs to keep a low profile. Even though he is being bullied and manipulated by others now, in the near future, he will also be the best among people.
Sun Ru dispatched troops and generals to deal with the threat of Zhu Wen in Bianzhou.
Yang Xingmi took this opportunity to counterattack Runzhou and Changzhou.
Things are changing, and the Bianzhou Army, which was advancing so triumphantly, suffered a disastrous defeat at Lingting in the northeast of Yangzhou. Commander Pang Shigu led the remnants of his army to withdraw from Sizhou.
Zhu Wen's plan to penetrate into Huainan was shelved.
As the saying goes, misfortune never comes alone. Xuzhou Pu also knew that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". Taking advantage of Zhu Wen's move to the south, he sent a letter to Li Keyong asking for help.
Li Keyong was overjoyed to receive the letter and immediately sent general Shi Junhe and 500 cavalry to reinforce Xuzhou.
After receiving reinforcements, Shi Pu led Hedong reinforcements to invade Zhu Wen's hometown of Dangshan, with the goal of digging up Zhu Wen's ancestral graves and destroying Zhu Wen's feng shui.
Suzhou young general Zhang Jun took advantage of the situation and rebelled against the Bianzhou forces, announcing his return to the Xuzhou Reform Army.
Zhu Wen led an army to besiege Suzhou and sent his eldest son Zhu Youyu to rescue the ancestral tomb in Dangshan. The tiger father had no dogs, so Zhu Youyu wiped out the Xuzhou tomb robbers and captured the Hedong aid general Shi Junhe alive. Zhu Wen beheaded Shi Jun and all the Hedong prisoners included.
Although Li Keyong only sent 500 troops to the Xuzhou battlefield, this had already attracted Zhu Wen's sufficient attention.
Zhu Wen and Jingxiang re-evaluated the external environment and believed that the established strategy must be changed. Because the prerequisite for the previous "Look East" strategy was that there would be no interference from Li Keyong. Now, these five hundred Hedong soldiers are a dangerous signal: Li Keyong is coming.
After a rigorous review, Jingxiang pointed out that the main task at this stage should be to eliminate Li Keyong. Li Keyong is Zhu Wen's biggest threat. Huainan is left to Sun Ru and Yang Xingmi, letting them fight dogs and keep each other in check. We sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight and reap the benefits of the fishermen. As for Xuzhou Pu, fighting against the five scum is not a worry.
Zhu Wen also knew very well that he would not be able to confront Li Keyong on his own. Therefore, he once again used the art of vertical and horizontal manipulation, jumping up and down, and united a large number of forces that could be united to form the "Killing Hu Alliance" to launch a catastrophe against Li Keyong.
