【eclipse】
On the first day of the first lunar month of the fifth year of Kaiping (911), there was a solar eclipse.
23 years ago, there was a solar eclipse on March 1, the first year of Wende (888). On March 2, Tang Xizong, who was 27 years old, relapsed from his old illness and died on the 6th.
This time the solar eclipse is on the first day of the new year, which is called "solar eclipse at the beginning of the year". People think of the story of Liu Bang in the last years of the Han Dynasty and think this is very unlucky. Now, a decisive battle was about to begin, and Zhu Wen was seriously ill again, so "Liang Zu hated him very much."
At that time, people developed a set of rituals to resolve ominous celestial phenomena:
The emperor wore plain clothes to avoid the main hall and had a reduced meal; all the officials also had to wear plain clothes and stand by in the office and stop all the work at hand; they also had to set up formations in the palace, "Chen Wubing, Wugu, Wuhu, east halberd and west spear, south and north. There is a drum in the center."
This time, the relevant departments reported in time: "The clouds are dark at first, so the eclipse will not count." It's okay, the clouds blocked it, and this solar eclipse does not count.
So hundreds of officials came to the court to congratulate him, and Zhu Wenlong was very happy.
On the front line, under Zhou Dewei's arrangements, the Battle of Baixiang went exactly as he expected. The rear Liang army's front line was stretched and there were problems with logistical supplies. The Hedong Army sent out cavalry to raid Houliang's supply lines every day, hunted down Houliang's soldiers who went out to collect firewood, and sent elites to pick off the enemy in front of the Houliang camp.
The Houliang army no longer had enough fodder to feed their war horses, so they had to remove the thatch on the roof and the seats on the bed to use it as fodder for the horses. Many war horses died as a result.
On the second day of the first lunar month, Hedong generals Shi Jiantang and Li Siyuan came again to provoke the enemy and scold them. Their words were vulgar and unpalatable. Wang Maozhang and Han Qing couldn't bear it anymore, and finally mobilized the army to attack!
Zhou Dewei and others fought and retreated. South of Gaoyi, the two armies formed their own formations and prepared for a team battle.
The Houliang army had a numerical advantage. The front line stretched from east to west for several miles, and it was so dark that it was impossible to see the end at a glance. Wang Maozhang gave an order, and the Houliang army waved their flags and shouted, scrambling to seize the pontoon bridge.
Li Cunxu said to general Li Jianji: "The pontoon bridge is our only barrier. Once the rebels cross the bridge, our army will no longer be able to resist it."
Li Jianji immediately selected two hundred warriors and rushed to the front, fearing death, and actually repelled the Houliang vanguard troops.
Li Cunxu climbed the hill and looked at the battlefield. The Houliang army's murderous roar was loud and furious, but the Hedong army was unmoved at all, advancing and retreating in an orderly manner, with neat formations. Li Cunxu was very pleased and said that the Houliang army was arrogant due to its large numbers, but our army was outnumbered but not afraid, so our army would definitely win!
From the fierce fighting in the morning to noon, the two armies were inseparable, with neither victory nor defeat.
Li Cunxu said to Zhou Dewei: "Success or failure depends on this one move. I will rush into the enemy's formation personally, and you will lead the army one after another. Fight with Hou Liang!"
Zhou Dewei quickly stopped Li Cunxu's horse and said, "Don't! Bravery is not the same as recklessness, and my lord cannot show off the courage of an ordinary man. Our army is waiting for work, while the Houliang army has traveled more than thirty miles to come and fight. Up to now, they have not even eaten. They didn't even have time to eat. After a while, they will be hungry and thirsty, and they will definitely be unable to support themselves and will definitely retreat. By then, we will send out cavalry to attack, and we will definitely win a complete victory!"
Zhou Dewei's judgment was once again fulfilled.
The troops on the west wing of Houliang retreated first. Zhou Dewei took the opportunity to shout: "Hou Liang has been defeated!" Immediately afterwards, the Hedong army cheered and shouted together.
The front line of the rear beam troops was six to seven miles long, and communication was poor. When other troops saw the flag of the west wing troops moving backward, they thought the front had collapsed, and the morale of the troops was in chaos. Li Siyuan, the Hedong general in charge of attacking the east wing, shouted at them: "They have escaped, why don't you run away quickly?" The soldiers in the rear Liang looked at me and I looked at you, "Yeah, what are you waiting for? Run!"
Almost in an instant, the army of Houliang was defeated like a mountain, throwing away their helmets and armor, and fled in all directions.
Li Cunzhang immediately led his troops to pursue and kill, and preached the policy to the Liang soldiers, "If the Chinese do not fight the Chinese, they will not kill the Chinese if they surrender their guns!"
The defeated troops of Houliang scrambled to throw away their weapons, take off their armor, and surrender on the spot.
Since the Hou Liang army had carried out massacres in Shenzhen and Hebei provinces, the Chengde army had a deep hatred for the Hou Liang troops. No one coveted the armor, staff and baggage abandoned by the Hou Liang army, but continued to pursue and fight fiercely. The blood debt must be paid with blood!
As a result, the elite troops of Houliang were hunted down to death. From Yehe to Baixiang, the corpses of Houliang soldiers were covered with roads and rivers of blood flowed. Wang Maozhang, Han Qing, and Li Sian fled the battlefield with only a few dozen cavalrymen.
The Hedong army then pursued them to Baixiang and found that the main force of Houliang had already retreated, and the discarded grain, weapons and armor, gold and silver treasures, etc. were piled up like mountains, too much to count.
Li Siyuan led his troops to pursue him all the way to Xingzhou. Li Cunxu collected the spoils of war and returned to Zhaozhou.
Du Tingyin, the eunuch stationed in Shenzhen and Hebei, and others, heard the news of the defeat, hurriedly abandoned the city, coerced the young men and women of the two states to serve as slaves, and killed all the old people and children, leaving two empty cities, which was terrible.
The first stage of the "Baxiang Battle" came to an end with the Hedong Group's victory.
Zhu Wen dismissed Wang Maozhang and appointed Yang Shihou as commander. He stationed in the Heyang area to take in the remaining defeated soldiers, and gathered 10,000 people in ten days. He also ordered a special force of 1,000 people to take a small road and enter Xingzhou at night to assist Jiedushi Wang Tan in defending Xingzhou.
While the Hedong army took advantage of the victory and marched into Xingzhou, it also sent troops to promote policies and analyze the pros and cons in Weibo. The military offensive is supplemented by political inducement to surrender, and both hands must be strong.
The "Battle of Baixiang" enters the second stage.
Zhang Chengye and Li Cunzhang attacked Xingzhou and tried to conquer Dongzhaoyi; Li Cunxu personally attacked Weizhou to capture Weibo; Zhou Dewei used a devastating force to sweep through the eastern territory of Weibo, starting from the south of Beizhou, Xiajin, Gaotang, and Bozhou , Dongwu, Chaocheng, Chanzhou, Linhe, Qimen... and Huazhou, the headquarters of the Xuanyi Army, face each other across the Yellow River.
Zhu Wen appointed Li Zhen, a great counselor, as deputy envoy of Wei Bo Festival, and sent Du Tingyin and a thousand people to escort Li Zhen into the city to assist in defense. The name is to help Luo Zhouhan, but in reality it is to supervise Wei Bojun to prevent them from becoming unsteady and defecting to the Jin Dynasty.
On February 8, the young hero Li Cunxu was in high spirits and came to Liyang to inspect the front line, just as more than 10,000 Houliang troops were about to cross the river and head north.
When the Houliang troops heard that Li Cunxu was in front, they rushed to jump off the ship and fled in a hurry. No one wants to catch the thief king in one go. It can be seen that in terms of military morale, the Hedong army is completely at a crushing advantage.
The army of Houliang became distraught. In order to boost his morale, the 60-year-old Zhu Wen had to drag his sick body and fight in person to the south bank of the Yellow River.
The time for the decisive battle has arrived.
At this time, the Hedong army suddenly moved north and lifted the siege of Xingzhou and Weizhou, leaving Zhou Dewei to garrison Zhaozhou, while Li Cunxu led his troops back to Taiyuan Prefecture. Yang Shihou, the commander-in-chief of Houliang, took the opportunity to enter Weizhou.
The morale of the Hedong army was high and unstoppable, but why did they give up halfway and retreat strangely?
Because Liu Shouguang, a well-known problem child in Hebei area, is causing trouble again.
