[Descend to Qingzhou again]
Zhu Wen has five seconds to reach the battlefield, please be ready.
In March, Zhu Wen returned to Bianzhou. After a brief mobilization, he led the troops from the four towns and Wei Bo's friendly troops, totaling 100,000 troops, and marched towards the ground in Shandong.
Wang Shifan sent his younger brother Wang Shilu to surround Qizhou, which is today's Jinan City, the capital of Shandong Province. Today, Jinan is also an important transportation hub in East China, especially the east-west trains entering and leaving the Shandong Peninsula (such as Qingdao and Weihai). Most of them pass through Jinan, and trains from East China to Beijing (Beijing-Shanghai Line) also pass through Jinan. Jinan is a veritable crossroads connecting the North China Plain and the East China Plain, and its strategic location is self-evident.
If Wang Shifan wants to get out of the peninsula, he must first control Qizhou. The battle of Qizhou is Wang Shifan's knock on the door and is of great significance.
Zhu Youning led his troops to help Qizhou and easily lifted the siege of Qizhou. He then returned to surround Yanzhou, repelling Wang Shifan's reinforcements and turning Yanzhou into an isolated city. He then divided his troops and organized a counterattack, targeting Wang Shifan's troops. Base camp - Qingzhou.
Wang Shifan hurriedly asked Huainan Yang Xingmi for help, "For the sake of the party and the state, please help me!"
Yang Xingmi sent 7,000 reinforcements to reinforce the ground in Shandong, and sent tens of thousands of main troops to attack Suzhou. Suzhou is also a star city that appears frequently in this book, because its strategic position is also very important. It is the bridgehead for the forces on both sides of the Huaihe River. Control of Suzhou will determine the initiative in the battle to cross the Huaihe River.
Zhu Wen sent General Kang Huaizhen to reinforce Suzhou, but Yang Xingmi escaped.
Zhu Youning besieged Bochang, northwest of Qingzhou, which took a month and failed to make any progress. Zhu Wen was furious and sent his trusted general Liu Han to supervise the battle.
This is a very dangerous signal, indicating that the commander-in-chief has suspicions about the frontline generals, and needs to "supervise" the generals from the "battle" to see whether they are passive and sabotaging their work, or whether they are suspected of collaborating with the enemy. No matter what the situation is, the general will not end well. Since Zhu Wen became suspicious, he even killed his own son.
The general who receives such a signal naturally does not dare to neglect and must use all his strength to prove his ability and loyalty.
Zhu Youning forcibly recruited more than 100,000 local civilians, and drove them to the south of the city, carrying wood and stones, and leading cattle, horses, donkeys and mules, to dig soil and pile it outside the city wall.
This is a more commonly used method of siege. Manpower is used to build a mountain as high as the city wall on the ground, so that the city wall loses its condescending defensive advantage. Obviously, this method of siege is simple, crude and effective. The only disadvantage is that it is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Usually, the siege party will force local people to serve as coolies.
When the project was coming to an end and it was time to fill in the trenches and encircle the area, Zhu Youning issued a cruel and bloody order: all building materials, cattle and horses, as well as the people involved in the project, would be used as filling materials.
Buried alive!
The sound of crying and wailing can be heard for dozens of miles.
Under Zhu Youning's frenzied offensive, Bochang City declared its fall. Zhu Youning issued another cruel military order:
Massacre the city!
Subsequently, Zhu Youning continued to advance towards Qingzhou, captured Linzi, and reached the foot of Qingzhou City. He then divided his forces deep into the hinterland of the peninsula to attack Dengzhou and Laizhou. Dengzhou will be captured soon.
If Zhu Youning captures Laizhou again, he will complete a major roundabout of Qingzhou. Not only will he complete the encirclement from the west, north and east, but he will also contain the reinforcements in the peninsula.
Qingzhou was in crisis, and Wang Shifan urgently built two camps in the west of the city to repair fortifications.
Under the huge pressure of "supervising the war", Zhu Youning showed horrifying ferocity and almost crazy toughness. After capturing Dengzhou, Zhu Youning rushed to Qingzhou non-stop and launched an attack overnight.
The situation was urgent. Wang Shifan urged Huainan reinforcements to go into battle, but Huainan general Wang Maozhang stood still and took advantage of the front row.
Zhu Youning took down one camp in one go, and then tirelessly launched an attack on the last camp.
In the darkness before dawn, Wang Shifan was almost desperate.
Just when the sky was about to get brighter, Wang Maozhang suddenly ordered his troops and horses, saying that the Bian army was exhausted after fighting for days. Yesterday, they traveled during the day and fought all night. Now we are at the end of the war and it is our best time to attack. ! Therefore, Wang Maozhang and Wang Shifan's Qingzhou soldiers suddenly launched a counterattack, and the Bian army collapsed in one fell swoop.
Zhu Youning's pupils were filled with blood, and his veins were bulging. He shouted loudly and galloped into the enemy's formation, taking the lead in order to restore the decline. Unexpectedly, the horse stumbled, and Zhu Youning was thrown heavily to the ground. A young general named Zhang Tu from Pinglu Army, with quick eyes and quick hands, followed forward, raised his knife and cut off Zhu Youning's head.
The Bian army was defeated, losing tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and Wei Bo's reinforcements were also completely wiped out.
Wang Shifan sent Zhu Youning's head to Huainan and transferred Zhu Wen's anger to Huainan Yang Xingmi.
When the news of Zhu Youning's sacrifice came, Zhu Wen was filled with grief and anger. He personally led an army of 200,000 people and rushed to Qingzhou day and night.
After Zhu Wen's main force arrived, Wang Shifan suffered repeated defeats, while Wang Maozhang also closed the gate of the village to show weakness. However, when Zhu Wen's troops relaxed slightly, Wang Maozhang immediately removed the fence and attacked as fast as lightning, catching Zhu Wen off guard. When Zhu Wen reacted and rallied for a while, Wang Maozhang retreated like lightning.
After Wang Maozhang retreated, he held a celebration banquet in the camp and gathered the generals to drink and celebrate. After drinking for a while, he led his troops to attack the Bian Army camp.
Unexpected, coming and going like the wind, this is exactly the same as when Zhu Wen was young and dealt with Qin Zongquan of Caizhou. Zhu Wen found his own shadow in his enemy, "You look awesome, you have the charm of my youth."
Zhu Wen asked about the surrendered generals and learned that the commander of the other side was Wang Maozhang. He couldn't help but admired: "If I can get this general, why worry about losing the world?"
Although Wang Maozhang had some strategies and repeatedly won small victories, the disparity between the enemy and ourselves was too great. He knew that Qingzhou would inevitably fall and Huainan did not need to die for Qingzhou, so he quietly withdrew his troops that night and moved to Huainan.
There is a naked interest alliance between Qingzhou Wang Normal University and Huainan Yang Xingmi. Huainan's aid to Qingzhou is definitely not free aid.
At the beginning of the aid, Wang Maozhang and Wang Shifan's younger brother Wang Shijie captured Mizhou, and the position of governor of Mizhou was taken by Huainan general Zhang Xunlai. Mizhou and Yanzhou were the only fruits of victory for Wang Shifan. Yanzhou was won by Liu Wei alone, so it was naturally and undisputedly assigned to Wang Shifan. Mizhou, which was jointly won by the two armies, would be given to Huainan as a reward. .
Wang Maozhang helped Qingzhou kill Zhu Youning and repelled the tentative attack of Zhu Wen's main force. He had done his best.
After hearing the news of Wang Maozhang's withdrawal, Mizhou governor Zhang Xun also gathered the generals and said that Qingzhou would definitely not be able to resist Zhu Wen, and our small Mizhou was by no means Zhu Wen's opponent. We should preserve Huainan's strength and make strategic shifts. . The general proposed to evacuate Mizhou, move all grain and other important materials back to Huainan, and then launch troops to loot Mizhou, and then burn Mizhou to the ground, leaving Zhu Wen with a scorched earth.
However, Zhang Xun rejected this inhumane proposal and ordered all government warehouses to be blocked and flags planted all over the city walls to make the city empty. He then ordered the old, weak, sick and disabled to leave first, while Zhang Xun personally led the elite troops to guard the rear for everyone.
Zhang Xun also appeared as a humanitarian hero in the previous article. At that time, Sun Ru and Yang Xingmi were fighting for Huainan. The unscrupulous Sun Ru burned the city of Yangzhou to the ground. Zhang Xun risked his life and rushed into the fire, rescued about 100,000 dendrobium grains, and then used it to help the hungry people in Yangzhou. The hostile The Sizhou governor of the camp asked Zhang Xun to donate food to support the army, and Zhang Xun donated to Sizhou in the name of his lord Yang Xingmi.
Now, although Yang Xingmi and Zhu Wen are not at odds with each other, this hostility is a game between politicians, and the people are innocent. The people of Huainan are innocent, and the people within Zhu Wen's sphere of influence are also innocent.
Zhu Wen's vanguard troops chased Mizhou and saw the flags waving on top of the city from a distance. As expected, they were suspicious and did not dare to approach for several days. Zhang Xun's empty city strategy bought enough time for the army to retreat safely and orderly.
After the Bian army entered the city, they found that all important facilities such as warehouses and houses were intact, and the people had done nothing wrong. Wang Tan, the general of the Bian army, was in awe of Zhang Xun and ordered no pursuit. Let them go home safely.
The history of the end of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties was a history full of wars. Tragedies of killing prisoners, surrendering, massacres, and cannibalism were common, questioning the bottom line of human civilization again and again. However, against the cruel and bloody background, there are also some heartwarming moments that shine with the brilliance of humanity.
