[Zhuangzong enters the Wei Dynasty]
Li Cunxu was always dubious about Wei Bo's pie-in-the-sky pie, thinking it was a trap set by Hedron. So Li Cunshen, who was stationed in Zhaozhou, was first sent south, into the northern area of Weibo, and stationed to wait and see. Then he personally led the army to join forces with Li Cunshen, but still stationed and watched, waiting to see what would happen.
He Delun sent his confidant Sikong Ting to the Hedong Army camp to reward the officers and soldiers of Hedong. During this period, Sikong Ting secretly reported to Li Cunxu the ins and outs of Wei Bo's mutiny, reported in detail what Zhang Yan had done, and suggested that Li Cunxu kill Zhang Yan. He Delun was willing to help Li Cunxu handle other matters.
Li Cunxu remained silent. Because until now, he was skeptical about Wei Bo's affiliation.
Under the leadership of Li Cunxu, the Hedong Army slowly marched southward and stationed from Linqing to Yongji. Zhang Yan selected 500 elites from the "Silver Spear Effective Festival Capital", fully armed, and then went to Yongji to meet Li Cunxu.
He fully expected that Li Cunxu would personally meet Gao Ying from afar, give him the highest level of courtesy, and praise him as a "hero who entered the Wei Dynasty", so he came happily.
Li Cunxu, who was sitting on a high-rise building, leaned on the railing and cursed angrily, reprimanding Zhang Yan for his violent aggression, "You bully and coerce the commander, and brutally abuse the people. In the past few days, more than a hundred people have stopped the horse's head to complain! I am here with my army today, Just to save the people from fire and water, not to greedily plunder the land of Weibo! Although you have done a good job in dedicating the land, I have to kill you to avenge the people of Weibo and return the happiness and well-being of the people of Weibo!"
Subsequently, Li Cunxu ordered Zhang Yan and seven of his accomplices to be beheaded on the spot. The rest of the tribe were all trembling and did not dare to express their anger.
Li Cunxu adhered to the basic policy of "killing only the first culprit and ignoring the rest" and accepted and appeased the "silver gun to save the capital". Everyone knelt on the ground excitedly, shouted long live, and swore allegiance to Li Cunxu.
The next day, Li Cunxu wore civilian clothes and did not wear armor. Instead, he asked the soldiers of the "Silver Spear Effect Jiedu" who had just absorbed him to serve as his left and right bodyguards, ordering them to wear armor and hold sharp swords. Li Cunxu used this method to express his trust in the surrendered soldiers and generals. Li Cunxu changed the name of "Yinqiangxiaojiedu" to "Zhangqian Yinqiandu". This elite armed force that Yang Shihou devoted a lot of effort to cultivate was digested and absorbed by Li Cunxu.
Later Liang Liu Wei selected 10,000 elite soldiers and attacked Wei County. Wei County is close to Weizhou and is the southern gate of Weizhou. Its geographical location is particularly important.
Li Cunxu left Li Cunxian in Linqing and sent pioneer Shi Jiantang to Wei County to assist in the defense. He then personally led an army to support Wei County. Li Cunxu and Liu Wei faced each other across the river, and the battle was about to break out.
After Zhu Youzhen heard the news that Wei Bo had rebelled against Liang, she felt regretful and frightened, and quickly sent general Niu Cunjie to support Liu Wei. Niu Cunjie died before he left the army. Just when Zhu Youzhen was dispatching his troops, he received the bad news: Niu Cunjie died of illness. Therefore, Zhu Youzhen transferred Wang Tan to replace Niu Cunjie.
He Delun led his civil and military officials to welcome Li Cunxu into Weizhou City, and presented the official seal of the Jiedushi Envoy, Fu Jie, to welcome Li Cunxu as the Jiedushi Envoy of Wei Bojun.
Li Cunxu resolutely resigned and emphasized again: It was only because I heard that the red thieves were bullying your land that I personally led the army and acted bravely. I also heard that the city had just experienced a turmoil, so I went to the city to appease him. However, Marshal He gave the seal talisman to the emperor. Leave it to me, this is really a huge misunderstanding, I'm not here to seize territory.
He Delun knelt down and kowtowed again, saying that now the enemy army is in front of us, and great changes have taken place in the city. My trusted generals and personal guards have been slaughtered by Zhang Yan, and I really am unable to lead Wei Bo. If the king does not accept it, I will only have long nights and dreams. I have failed the king’s kindness!
Therefore, Li Cunxu accepted Wei Bojun's official seal Fujie, appointed He Delun as the Datong Jiedushi, and sent him to the town. But when He Delun arrived in Taiyuan, he was detained by Zhang Chengye.
After Li Cunxu officially took over Wei Bo, he first had to rectify military discipline, especially the "Silver Spear Effectiveness Festival Capital". For a long time, they had used their power to bully others and were arrogant and uncontrollable. Li Cunxu ordered that anyone who dared to confuse the public with evil words, incite trouble, and rob the people would be killed!
The law is extremely strict, and anyone who steals a penny is punished by death. The execution process was also very brutal, with beheading first, and then cutting the body into pieces with random blades.
Within ten days, the city of Weizhou was closed at night and no items were picked up on the streets. The city was in good order and everyone was singing and dancing.
Traitors never end well.
The history books say that He Delun's rebellion against Liang and Tongjin was a last resort and was coerced by Zhang Yan. But no matter how "there is no last resort", he still "goes with it" in the end, and still bears the reputation of a traitor.
And it was precisely because he had no choice but to leave Liang and join Jin that he never gained the trust of the Hedong Group. The eunuch Zhang Chengye detained him in Taiyuan. Later, when Wang Tan of the Later Liang Dynasty attacked Taiyuan, Zhang Chengye directly killed He Delun in order to prevent him from cooperating with others.
Sikong Ting, who stayed in Weizhou, once became the agent of the Hedong forces in Wei Bo and the number one "Wei traitor". Li Cunxu handed over all the military and political power of Wei Bo to him.
After gaining supreme power and Li Cunxu's trust, Sikong Ting became a villain and became corrupt. He began to exclude dissidents and fight against dissidents. He was narrow-minded and would surely retaliate.
These are all things that Li Cunxu can tolerate. He must use people's strengths to accommodate their weaknesses. However, Sikong Ting did something next, which touched Li Cunxu's bottom line.
Sikong Ting had a nephew who lived south of the Yellow River (in the territory of Houliang). After gaining power, Sikong Ting sent someone to summon him and asked him to come to Weibo to enjoy his blessings. The matter was uncovered.
The two armies were facing off, and senior officials secretly delivered personal messages to the enemy. This is a very serious political matter.
Li Cunxu severely reprimanded Sikong Ting, "Why didn't you ask for my permission in advance?" Then he executed Sikong Ting's entire family.
When Zhang Yan forced He Delun to surrender to Hedong, Beizhou in the north of Weibo, under the leadership of the governor Zhang Yuande, refused to obey. He allied with Cangzhou and Dezhou in the north and Liu Wei's army in the south, vowing to defend the territorial integrity of Houliang to the death.
This resistance force in Beizhou has repeatedly cut off the grain roads of Zhenzhou and Dingzhou, seriously threatening the logistics supply line of the Hedong Army. Therefore, someone suggested to Li Cunxu that he first capture Beizhou and then move east to capture Cangzhou and Jingzhou. This would make the army The influence of Hedong extends to the coast of the East China Sea.
Li Cunxu shook his head and said that although Beizhou is small, its city defenses are strong and it is not suitable for a quick attack. However, Dezhou is weakly defended and restricts the supply lines between Cangzhou and Beizhou. If we control Dezhou first, then Beizhou and Cangzhou will become isolated cities. , let us capture it.
Therefore, Li Cunxu selected 500 elite cavalry and marched day and night to raid Dezhou. The defenders of Dezhou were unprepared, and the governor fled over the wall. Dezhou surrendered, and the generals from Hedong entered the city to take over.
After taking control of Dezhou, Li Cunxu sent 5,000 men to conduct a tentative attack on Beizhou, but encountered stubborn resistance from Zhang Yuande. Li Cunxu had no choice but to order deep trenches to be dug around Beizhou City and adopt the stupid method of long-term siege to fight against the isolated city of Beizhou.
Although Beizhou was not taken, the town and Dingliang Road were temporarily safe, so the Hedong Army on the Wei County front line raided Chanzhou at night and captured this strategic location in the south of Weizhou in one fell swoop.
