【Worry-free Three Generals】
Facing Zhou Dewei's urgent letter, Li Cunxu looked sad and could not hide the entanglement in his heart. At this moment, he was confronting Jiahe, the main force of the Later Liang Dynasty, and was unable to do anything at all.
Li Cunxu summoned the generals for a meeting to discuss.
All the generals were almost unanimous in opposing the rescue of Youzhou. Only Li Cunshen, Li Siyuan, and Yan Bao advocated dividing the troops to rescue them. Even among these three main combatants, their opinions were not completely consistent. Li Cunshen and Yan Bao advocated strengthening the walls and clearing the country. They believed that the Khitan army never carried food and logistics. Supplies only depend on looting along the way, so when they can't grab food and grass, they will naturally retreat. If we launch a counterattack at that time, we will definitely succeed. However, Li Siyuan advocates launching an attack immediately, otherwise the night will be long and the consequences will be disastrous if something happens in the city.
Li Siyuan touched Li Cunxu's heart. If the enemy besieges the city and no reinforcements arrive, the defender may rebel and surrender, or he may be killed by his subordinates. No matter which outcome, Li Cunxu didn't want to see it.
Li Cunxu finally agreed with Li Siyuan's proposal and sent reinforcements to Youzhou that day.
At this meeting, when Li Cunshen, Li Siyuan, and Yan Bao bravely put forward the request to fight the Khitan army head-on, Li Cunxu said with great relief: "Tang Taizong has Li Jing, and he can capture Jieli Khan alive ( Ashina Dubi). Now that I have three powerful generals, what else do I have to worry about?" The three generals were henceforth known as the "Three Worry-Free Generals."
The three men led 70,000 infantry and cavalry to aid Youzhou. The Khitan army was said to be one million, but it was actually about 300,000, and they were all cavalry. The three of them decided to abandon the main road and take the mountain path instead to avoid the enemy's sharp edge. Even if they encounter it, they can climb high and take cover, so as not to be dumped by the Khitan cavalry.
Li Siyuan and his adopted son Li Congke led 3,000 cavalry as the vanguard, crossed the Dafang Ridge, and sneaked along the mountain stream in secret. They advanced quietly to a place sixty miles away from Youzhou before encountering the Khitan army.
The Hedong soldiers were like magic soldiers descending from the sky. The Khitan people were shocked and retreated quickly. Li Siyuan followed in pursuit and bit the Khitan's tail. Fighting and walking on the rugged mountain roads, every valley mouth and every highland became a bloody battleground.
When Li Siyuan led his army to chase out of the mountain pass, more than 10,000 Khitan cavalry were already waiting in formation in the open space outside the mountain pass, waiting to work.
The soldiers in Hedong were exhausted, as if they were at the end of a powerful crossbow.
Li Siyuan showed no fear and led more than a hundred close cavalry to the front of the formation. He took off his armor, raised his whip, and shouted to them in Khitan: "You are invading the border for no reason. It is really unreasonable! The King of Jin ordered me to lead a million troops until Destroy your lair and massacre your entire clan!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Siyuan raised the reins, and the war horse immediately raised its front hooves, leapt into the air, and jumped directly into the Khitan position. Li Siyuan waved the meteor hammer, flew up and down, and entered and exited the Khitan array three times, as if he was in an uninhabited land. , take one Khitan general's head (kill one Khitan chief). The fierce general from Hedong is brave, and Zhao Zilong speaks nonsense.
Li Siyuan's forward troops risked their lives and disrupted the Khitan position. The follow-up troops of Li Cunshen and Yan Bao arrived and immediately went into battle. The Khitan army retreated slightly.
Taking advantage of the short opportunity, Li Cunjian ordered his men to cut down branches and make a "deer village" (half buried in the soil, half sharpened, diagonally directed at the enemy). When marching, each person carried a wooden stake like this on his back and stayed there. When the time comes, they are immediately inserted into the soil and surrounded by a camp, making it impossible for the Khitan cavalry to attack. Whenever the Khitan cavalry approached, the Hedong soldiers fired thousands of arrows.
Really step by step. Slowly advance towards Youzhou City. The corpses of Khitan soldiers and war horses were thrown into the streets along the road, causing numerous casualties and being unable to effectively stop the creeping movement of the Hedong Corps.
When they were approaching the gates of Youzhou City, Li Cunshen first sent the old, weak, sick and disabled to collect firewood and withered grass, and made countless torches. After lighting them, they dragged them on the ground and suddenly smoke and dust rose everywhere. The main troops in Hedong cooperated to build momentum, roaring as hard as they could, beating drums and shouting. The Khitan had no idea how many people were on the opposite side, and they didn't know how to deal with them, so they fought hand-to-hand with Hedong troops in confusion.
At this time, Li Cunshen led the bluffing infantry to attack from behind the Khitan army. The Khitan soldiers mistakenly thought they were ambushed in Hedong, and their morale collapsed. They immediately abandoned their helmets and armor and fled north. The Hedong Army confiscated countless vehicles, tents, armors, weapons, cattle, sheep, and horses, and killed tens of thousands of Khitan soldiers.
Later, when the reinforcements entered Youzhou City, Zhou Dewei held the hands of the "Three Wuyou Generals" and cried with excitement.
【You can never be arrogant at the same time】
After driving away the Khitan invading army, Li Cunxu never forgot his second strategic goal: Houliang. Today, the land thousands of miles north of the Yellow River and east of the Taihang Mountains is controlled by Hedong. The Yellow River has become the strongest natural defense line of the Houliang Group.
In November of the third year of Zhengming (917), the weather was freezing and the Yellow River froze. When the news reached Taiyuan, Li Cunxu was overjoyed and believed that this was a God-given opportunity to go south to eliminate Houliang, so he immediately set off for Weizhou.
In the twelfth lunar month, Li Cunxu led a small number of followers and went out to Weizhou City to hunt for fun. After walking around, I came to the bank of the Yellow River and found that the ice in the Yellow River was very solid, so I personally led a small group of people to try to cross the river by skating.
On the other side of the river is Yangliucheng, the ferry port. There are three thousand Houliang soldiers stationed there. There are continuous Houliang camps for dozens of miles along the river, which are heavily guarded.
Li Cunxu was famous for his bravery. Not only did he like to lead his own expeditions, but he also always put himself in danger. For example, this time when he crossed the river on ice, he always made fun of his own life. After successfully arriving at the south bank, Li Cunxu issued another life-threatening order: attack!
Li Cunxu captured the camps for dozens of miles along the river in one go. Li Cunxu still felt that it was not enough, so he issued another order: Attack Yangliucheng!
The infantry cut down the Luzhai and filled the ditch with reeds. Li Cunxu led the cavalry to charge and captured Yangliucheng on the same day and captured the defender An Yanzhi alive.
Later, General Xie Yanzhang of Houliang led tens of thousands of troops to counterattack Yangliucheng and cut across the Yellow River. The icy Yellow River flooded for miles, effectively blocking Hedong reinforcements on the north bank.
Li Cunxu could only look at the ocean and sigh.
Most of the remaining defeated generals of An Yanzhi, the former guard of Yangliucheng, gathered in the valley between Yan and Yun to watch the victory or defeat of the two armies. Li Cunxu sent people to recruit, and a large number of them defected to the Hedong Group.
Yang Liucheng became the focus of competition between the two armies in the next stage.
In June, Li Cunxu went to the front line to work for the army. During this period, he personally rowed a boat and rafted on the Yellow River. Every time he passed a certain distance, he inserted the spear he carried into the river to detect the depth of the river. He found that the water at that time was about above the chest of an adult.
After landing, Li Cunxu called a meeting with the generals and said that the Houliang army was all cowards and cowards. They had no intention of actually fighting us, but wanted to rely on the natural dangers of the Yellow River to waste their lives. We were not to be fooled. We waded over and followed They do it!
Wading? How deep is the water?
It’s not deep, it’s only here. Li Cunxu put his palm on his neck and gestured, "We just got here."
"As long as the king is happy..."
After a day of intensive preparations, on the third day, Li Cunxu led the army to cross the river.
Li Cunxu personally walked at the front. Who among the officers and soldiers in Hedong dared to retreat?
Hedong soldiers held their armor in one hand and swords and guns in the other, lined up in battle order, and waded through the water on foot. Strangely enough, just as Li Cunxu was crossing the river, the water level of the Yellow River suddenly and strangely dropped to just above his knees.
"God help me!" The morale of the officers and soldiers in Hedong was high.
Later Liang Xie Yanzhang hurriedly lined up on the south bank to fight. The Hedong Army was unable to land and retreated. Xie Yanzhang ordered the pursuit, and the two sides met hand-to-hand in the middle of the river and started a fierce fight.
This should be a unique battle in the history of Chinese wars. The two sides fought on foot in the center of the Yellow River.
The Houliang army gradually became exhausted and retreated to the south bank. The Hedong Army took advantage of the victory to catch up to the south bank and successfully landed. The defeat of the Hou Liang army could not be stopped, and the general Xie Yanzhang only escaped with his body.
According to records, the casualties in this battle were extremely tragic, and the river water was dyed red, turning the Yellow River into a red river.
After winning consecutive battles, Li Cunxu's fighting spirit was high, so he sent someone to contact Huainan and put forward the suggestion of attacking Houliang from the north and south. Huainan politely declined, saying that the war in Qianzhou was in full swing and it was difficult to divide his troops to respond. The battle between Huainan and Qianzhou will be discussed in detail later.
Since Huainan won't come, let's queue alone. Li Cunxu formulated a military plan to conquer mountains and rivers:
Zhou Dewei of Youzhou led an army of 30,000 people, Li Cunshen of Cangzhou led an army of 10,000 people, Li Siyuan of Xingzhou led an army of 10,000 people, Wang Chuzhi of Dingzhou led an army of 10,000 people, and all the barbarians in the territory (Xi, Khitan, Shiwei, Tuyuhun and other tribes came to Weizhou to join forces with Li Cunxu.
