【Marginal Heroes】
For a long time, Jianghuai, Yellow River Basin, Sichuan and Shaanxi have been hot spots, and various characters have appeared in pairs one after another, such as Zhu Wen VS Li Keyong in the Yellow River Basin, Yang Xingmi VS Qian Liu in the Jianghuai area, and Li Maozhen VS Wang Jian in the Sichuan-Shaanxi area. ...and so on are all responsible for traffic. However, the two lakes, two provinces and Guangxi, which exist like fillers between these forces, are artificially marginalized and seem to only bubble up when senior central officials are demoted. In fact, this is just an illusion. There was no paradise in that period, and no one could live alone.
The warlord melee here was also fierce and cruel, but it did not have much intersection with the core interests of the above-mentioned mainstream areas, so it evolved in a relatively closed environment. Until big bosses such as Zhu Wen and Yang Xingmi completed the integration of hot spots, major major Inevitably, more intense frictions and conflicts and infiltration of forces occurred between the forces, and these "marginal" areas were forced to join in, gradually turning from a group role into a supporting role.
Affected by geopolitics, these "marginal" areas struggled to survive in the cracks between Qi and Chu. Among them, the one who exerted the greatest influence on him was Yang Xingmi of Huainan.
After Yang Xingmi occupied Huainan, it bordered Hangzhou Qianliu to the southeast. Sometimes they flirted with each other, and sometimes they fought to the death. After a series of battles, they finally reached a strategic balance; to the east was the sea. To the north is Zhu Wen, the most powerful vassal in the Central Plains. From the beginning, the two were inseparable and used each other, until they later fought with each other. Yang Xingmi, who was at an absolute disadvantage, could only maintain the defensive and did not dare to make any mistakes for the time being; to the west, this The "marginal areas" were fragmented and novices were fighting each other, so they became Yang Xingmi's first choice for expanding his power.
Among this group of rookies, Ezhou Duhong has become the first choice among the first choices.
[Ezhou Duhong and Hongzhou Zhongzhuan]
Du Hong was an actor. During the Huangchao Rebellion in the Central Plains, the imperial court ordered local officials to recruit soldiers on their own and organize local regiments to protect the country and the people. Du Hong gave up his acting career and resolutely enlisted in the army. Due to his bravery in combat, he was promoted to a low-level officer. . At the same time, those who responded to the call were the famous "Hangzhou Eight Capitals". Dong Chang, Qian Liu and others also joined the Tuan Tuan in Hangzhou at almost the same time and started their military careers.
It happened that the imperial court transferred Lu Shenzhong to be the governor of Hangzhou, but Dong Chang had the intention of separatist rule, so he blocked it with troops and intervened with force. During the road trial, he had to live in Huangzhou (today's Huanggang City, Hubei Province).
Soon after, during the road trial, he heard that the governor of Ezhou had died and the position of governor was vacant, so he recruited 3,000 troops and took over Ezhou by force, setting an example for Du Hong.
Following suit, low-ranking officer Du Hong immediately led his troops to expel the Yuezhou governor and replace him in the fourth year of Emperor Zhonghe's reign (884).
The demonstration effect of role models has backfired during the road review. Two years later, Zhou Tong, the leader of a private gang involved in gangs, gathered a crowd to attack Ezhou, but during the road trial, he abandoned the city and fled. Du Hong, who was near the water tower, was the first to get the moon, and led his army to Ezhou, claiming to stay in the post. Then, as expected, he was officially appointed by the court as the military governor of Wuchang in Ezhou.
Later, Du Hong of Ezhou borrowed troops from Yang Xingmi of Huainan and quelled the small group of warlords who were disobedient to discipline within his jurisdiction. Yang Xingmi also took the opportunity to occupy part of the Wuchang Army's territory, and the conflict between the two began.
Facing the threat of Yang Xingmi, Du Hong had two options. One was to ask Zhu Wen for help, and the other was to join forces with Hongzhou Zhongchuan to fight against Yang Xingmi.
Zhong Chuan and Du Hong were close friends, and they were quite similar, so much so that they were always inseparable and introduced in historical records.
Different from the actor Du Hong, Zhong Chuan was born as a small businessman. He gave up business and joined the army. He was promoted to a low-level officer through meritorious service. He first occupied Fuzhou and then Hongzhou. He traveled to Jiangxi as an observer and claimed to be a post-retention officer. He was appointed by the imperial court as the commander of Zhennan in Hongzhou. Military governor.
This Zhong Chuan is also a tiger fighting hero. The "Wu Song Fights the Tiger" in later generations is probably based on him. The two are quite similar: Zhong Chuan once went out drinking and came back drunk. He encountered a tiger while passing through the mountains. Zhong Chuan suddenly woke up half drunk and held a wooden stick with him. The tigers confronted each other. After a fierce fight, Zhong Chuan threw away the wooden stick and fought with the tiger with his bare hands. The stalemate lasted until evening and was inextricable. When Zhong Chuan's family saw that he had not returned for a long time, they went out to look for him, only to find Zhong Chuan interlocked with the tiger. They stepped forward and chopped the tiger to death with a sword.
Although he left a reputation as a "tiger fighting hero" and hung the painting "Zhong Chuan Fighting Tigers" in his home, Zhong Chuan was not proud of it. Instead, he often pointed to the painting and warned his descendants to take it as a warning and not to Learn from your own recklessness and use yourself as a negative example.
When Zhong Chuan was occupying Hongzhou, Wei Quanxi, the leader of the Fuzhou Tuan group, and his younger brother Wei Zai took advantage of the opportunity and took advantage of the opportunity to separate Fuzhou and Xinzhou respectively.
The terrain of Fuzhou is low-lying and waterlogging often occurs, which is not conducive to production and labor, but is also conducive to war and defense. After Wei Quanxi occupied Fuzhou, he first carried out a city relocation project to a higher place. It took three years to build the Fuzhou City Wall, which became the first large-scale city wall construction project in the history of Fuzhou and laid the foundation for the modern Fuzhou City. foundation and became the founder of Fuzhou.
Wei Quanxi actively developed Fuzhou's economy and soon turned this barren land into a well-known metropolis. Businessmen and travelers rushed in, and people came to settle here one after another.
Wei Quanxi attached great importance to education and promoted Buddhism, which enabled Fuzhou to cultivate several major schools of Zen Buddhism in the past few decades. Therefore, Fuzhou is known as the "Zen River Center of the World".
Fuzhou and Xinzhou, under the control of the Wei brothers, were subordinate states of the Zhennan Army. At this time, the military governor of Hongzhou Zhennan Army was Zhong Chuan. Of course Zhong Chuan could not bear this embarrassing situation in name only, so he used force against the states within his jurisdiction that did not obey orders.
Other prefectures and counties surrendered one after another, but Wei Quanxi, the governor of Fuzhou, did not surrender. Zhong Chuan personally led an army to surround Fuzhou.
One night during the siege, a fire broke out in Fuzhou City. The fire spread rapidly and became out of control. The flames reached the sky. The soldiers and civilians in the city howled in fear. The situation was precarious. At this time, Zhong Chuan's generals all asked for battle, saying that this was a God-given opportunity and they should take advantage of this opportunity to capture Fuzhou in one fell swoop.
Zhong Chuan flatly refused, saying that a gentleman cannot take advantage of others' danger. Then he set up an altar, swept the floor to worship the sky, and prayed devoutly for Fuzhou City: "It is not the fault of the people that they refused to surrender due to danger. Please God take back the fire from the sky and don't punish the innocent people!"
Strangely enough, it didn't take long for the fire to be put out.
After hearing about it, Wei Quanxi in the city announced his surrender the next day and asked for his daughter to be married to Zhong Chuan's son Zhong Kuang, expressing his willingness to accept Zhong Chuan's restraint. In a great battle, inspired by Zhong Chuan's huge charisma, hostility turned into friendship. It has become a legend through the ages.
Zhong Chuan also achieved the substantial unification of the Hongzhou Zhennan Army.
Ezhou Duhong and Hongzhou Zhongchuan were located in the southwest of Yang Xingmi's sphere of influence in Huainan. They were the horns of each other and jointly resisted Yang Xingmi's invasion. However, based on their strength, together they were no match for Yang Xingmi, so both of them expressed their allegiance to Zhu Wen and sought asylum from Bianzhou forces.
Ezhou, located in the eastern part of present-day Hubei Province, on the south bank of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, has convenient water transportation and is an important transportation hub and freight transfer station. Du Hong was uniquely endowed. Like Feng Xingxi of Jinzhou, he killed all the eunuch envoys passing by the Wuchang Army in Ezhou to express his loyalty to Zhu Wen; at the same time, he blocked the southeast tribute road and took it for himself.
Because Du Hong blocked the tribute road, Zhaozong ordered Yang Xingmi to be the commander-in-chief of Jiangnan (the commander-in-chief of all the camps in the south of the Yangtze River) to attack Du Hong of Ezhou. Therefore, Master Yang Xingmi became famous and legitimately launched a war of annexation against Duhong in Ezhou.
It was the fourth year of Qianning (897), and Yang Xingmi of Huainan was fighting fiercely with Qian Liu of Hangzhou. Although he had received the imperial edict, he was unable to achieve his goals, and due to Zhu Wen's interference, he failed to make progress as expected.
Until the third year of Tianfu (903), Huainan Yang Xingmi controlled Huainan, Xuanzhou Ningguojun and other territories, absorbed and digested the powerful enemy Feng Hongduo of Shengzhou; he also achieved good neighborliness and friendship with his old enemy Qian Liu of Hangzhou, and helped Qian Liu suppress The "Xu Xu Rebellion" broke out; Zhu Wen, the strong enemy in the north, also shifted his strategic focus to Guanzhong to compete for Zhaozong.
So in the first month of the third year of Tianfu, Yang Xingmi was high-spirited, raised his whip to the west, and in the name of the emperor, appointed Zhu Jin as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Zhengdong Group Army (deputy commander-in-chief of all the camps in the east), with the title of prime minister; Li Shenfu was appointed as Huainan combat staff officer and commander of Hubei and Yue expeditions (E and Yue camp recruitment envoys), with Liu Cun as deputy commander.
Target: Ezhou Duhong!
As soon as the Huainan army set off, the Ezhou general stationed in Yongxing immediately abandoned the city and fled. Huainan general Li Shenfu took over Yongxing without any bloodshed.
Li Shenfu couldn't hide his joy and said to the generals around him, "Yongxing is not only a large county, but also the granary of Ezhou. Most of Ezhou's military rations are supplied by it. Taking Yongxing is equivalent to taking half of Ezhou!"
Taking advantage of the victory, the Huainan Army advanced and surrounded Ezhou.
Li Shenfu looked at Ezhou from a distance and found that a lot of Ogweed was piled up in the city to prepare for war. He said to the eunuch beside him: "I will burn it tonight. Do you believe it?"
"Do not believe."
Li Shenfu smiled slightly and said little. He sent his troops secretly to Shekou on the other side of the river in a speedboat (where the Shekou River merges into the Yangtze River, an important strategic location), and climbed to the top of the tree at night to hold up the torch.
The defenders in the city thought it was reinforcements sent by Zhu Wen who were sending out secret signals, so they happily lit piles of hay in response. Li Shenfu's plan succeeded.
At that time, Zhu Wen had just brought Zhaozong back to Chang'an from Fengxiang, and King Shifan of Qingzhou launched a rebellion. Zhu Wen's main energy was transferred from the west to the east, and he tried his best to calm down the situation in Shandong. As mentioned above, Wang Shifan of Qingzhou also asked Yang Xingmi in Huainan for help. Yang Xingmi sent Wang Maozhang to lead his troops for reinforcements and assisted Wang Shifan in killing Zhu Wen's nephew Zhu Youning.
This is interesting. Zhu Wen's core interests are in Shandong, and he supports Du Hong in Ezhou and restrains Yang Xingmi; while Yang Xingmi's core interests are in Ezhou, and he supports Qingzhou Wang Normal University and restrains Zhu Wen.
Yang Xingmi sent envoys to the west of Duhong and Zhongchuan of Hongzhou in Ezhou, contacted Ma Yin, the governor of Wu'an Army in Tanzhou, and proposed that the two sides attack from the east and west to carve up Ezhou. He also proposed to become brothers with Ma Yin and jointly resist Zhu Wen. .
