[Zhenzhou: Imperial Cemetery]
Two sudden changes in Hebei forced Li Cunxu in Hedong to face three battlefields at the same time: Desheng Jiacheng; Zhenzhou; and Dingzhou.
The two battlefields of Zhenzhou and Dingzhou were both located to the north of Weibo, and the strong intervention of the Khitan army attracted all the elite forces from Hedong to the north. This provided an excellent opportunity for the Houliang army south of Weibo.
Li Cunshen and Li Siyuan, who stayed behind in Desheng Jiacheng, knew each other well and said that Hou Liang would either attack Desheng Jiacheng or make a surprise attack on Weizhou. It was best for the two of us to defend separately.
Sure enough, Dai Siyuan, the commander-in-chief of Houliang, dispatched all his troops and attacked Weizhou.
Li Siyuan was well prepared, took the lead to occupy the dangerous terrain, built the first line of defense, and sent people to notify Weizhou to enter a state of combat readiness. Then elite soldiers were sent to the Houliang camp to challenge.
Dai Siyuan couldn't help shouting, "How fast the barbarians are!" Since Weizhou was prepared, Dai Siyuan gave up the plan of attacking by force. After looting the territory of Weibo, he led his army in a roundabout way and surrounded Desheng North City. Several trenches were dug in the city, fortresses and watchtowers were built, the communication between the inside and outside was cut off, and attacks were launched day and night.
Li Cunxun tried his best to resist and sent someone to send a letter to Li Cunxu for help.
As soon as Li Cunxu drove away the Khitans, he went south from Youzhou without stopping and arrived in Weizhou in five days.
When Dai Siyuan heard that Li Cunxu was rushing to help, he immediately lifted the siege of Desheng North City, burned the camp, and returned to Yangcun.
Within two months, the Zhenzhou battlefield was the only one of the three major battlefields left. Li Cunxu arranged for the surrendered general Yan Bao to take command.
Yan Bao also adopted conventional siege methods. He dug trenches, built fortresses, besieged Zhenzhou City, and dug rivers to flood Zhenzhou, completely cutting off internal and external transportation. Soon, the city's food supply was cut off.
From this point of view, the fall of Zhenzhou is just around the corner.
On this day, the city sent five hundred people to break out and go out to find food. Yan Bao was not satisfied with the boring siege and waiting, and wanted to show off and have some fun, so he ordered the 500 people to get closer, intending to lure the enemy deep into the ambush circle, and then make dumplings in one fell swoop.
However, what Yan Bao did not expect was that after the five hundred people successfully crossed the trench and approached the Hedong Army camp, they actually launched an attack on the Hedong Army.
However, Yan Bao still didn't take them seriously. After all, there were only 500 people, so the command was half-hearted. Yan Bao is like a cat catching a mouse. He will not rush to hunt it, but will play for a while. When the king's game thunders, he changes to the trumpet and abuses the bronze rookie.
Just when Yan Bao was having fun, thousands of people suddenly poured out of the city. The Hedong Army, which was busy looking for fun, was caught off guard. Before they could complete their assembly, thousands of soldiers and horses crossed the trench, destroyed the camp, and surrendered to Yan Bao. Yan Baohun lost his soul and fled in embarrassment until he fled to Zhaozhou, a hundred miles away.
The Zhenzhou army destroyed all the Hedong camp outside the city and moved Yan Bao's discarded grain and grass into the city. It took several days to complete the move.
Li Cunxu was furious and immediately dismissed Yan Bao from his post and ordered Li Sizhao to replace Yan Bao as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Route Army. Yan Bao became ill from shame and anger and could not afford to fall ill. He died of illness more than 20 days later.
After Li Sizhao took office, he planned a military operation to attack the Zhenzhou grain transport team. The thousand-man team sent by Zhang Chujin was almost wiped out, leaving only five people hiding among the ruins. Li Sizhao himself rode around them and shot, showing off his skills.
Nozuonodie. This is what Yan Bao wanted to tell Li Sizhao.
One of them suddenly shot an arrow, hitting Li Sizhao in the head.
Li Sizhao performed a more heroic act than Xiahou Dun's "pulling out arrows and sucking his eyes out". He pulled out the arrow stuck in his head and shot back at the man. Everyone carried Li Sizhao back to the camp. That night, Li Sizhao failed to receive treatment and died of his injuries.
When the bad news came, Li Cunxu was so sad that he refused to eat meat or drink alcohol for several days.
The Hedong Army strictly blocked the news, and its deputy Ren Yuan took over the command. His fighting style was exactly the same as Li Sizhao. The news of Li Sizhao's death in Zhenzhou City was unknown.
Li Cunxu ordered Li Cunjin to succeed Li Sizhao as commander-in-chief of the Northern Route Army.
The "Northern Recruitment Envoy" of the Hedong Group is a cursed position. Like Li Sizhao, Li Cunjin had just taken office when he encountered the Zhenzhou soldiers in the wild by accident and had a confused battle. The Zhenzhou Corps was completely wiped out, but Li Cunjin was unfortunately killed in battle.
Zhenzhou is a place full of weird atmosphere. At that time, the Hedong Army had the strongest combat effectiveness, while the Zhenzhou Chengde Army was recognized as cowardly and incompetent.
Even when they fought together with the Hedong Army before, they were deeply despised by the Hedong Army, and they never entrusted them with important tasks or calculated their combat effectiveness.
However, when the powerful and invincible Hedong Army fought against the cowardly and weak Chengde Army, famous Hedong generals fell one after another, including Shi Jiantang, Yan Bao, Li Sizhao, and Li Cunjin. It's really unbelievable.
Just like the "Graveyard of Empires" Afghanistan, the three major empires, Empire on which the Sun Never Sets, Wooly Bear, and Lighthouse, all invaded the region at the peak of their strength. They all failed here and were dragged into the quagmire of war. The empires fell into On the verge of collapse, the furry bear disintegrates and collapses completely. But Afghanistan is still Afghanistan.
Li Cunxu then appointed Li Cunshen as the "Northern Recruitment Envoy" to replace Li Cunjin.
Zhenzhou was once again without food, and Zhang Chujin sent an envoy to sue for peace. The Hedong army ignored it, and Li Cun came to inspect the troops at the gate of Zhenzhou City. Li Zaifeng, the general in the city, rebelled and acted as an internal response. He hung a rope from the top of the city in the middle of the night and asked the Hedong Army to climb up. By daybreak, all the Hedong Army had entered the city.
Brother Zhang Chujin and his family, as well as their close associates, were all captured alive. The people of Zhenzhou petitioned collectively and requested that they be eaten alive. Later, Zhang Wenli's body was dragged to the streets of the busy city and cut into pieces.
One of Wang Rong's former attendants found Wang Rong's body from the ashes of the palace, and Li Cunxu ordered a grand burial. There are other records saying that Wang Rong's head was found in a different place, and only his body was found, but his head was missing.
Zhenzhou was also pacified.
During Zhang Wenli's rebellion, Wang Rong's entire family was killed. Only his youngest son, Wang Zhaojie, who was only ten years old at the time, was secretly hidden by the generals loyal to the Wang family to avoid the disaster. Later, he shaved his head, put on monk clothes, pretended to be a monk, and met a Hunan businessman named Li Zhen. He hid Wang Zhaojie in a tea cage and smuggled him out of the country. He successfully came to Hunan and became a monk at Hengshan Mountain in Nanyue. He changed his name to "Chongyin" and lived in seclusion ever since.
It has to be said that although Wang Rong is a descendant of the northern nomads (Uighurs), some genes should have changed after several generations of wealth and grace. Let’s gossip a bit:
Wang Rong was once kidnapped by Li Kuangwei and forced to hand over the military and political power of Zhenzhou. The heroic savior was Mo Kunlun, the black man. Mo Kunlun held Wang Rong under his arm and climbed to a nearby roof. He used excessive force, which gave Wang Rong a headache and neck pain for several days. Wang Rong was already 20 years old at the time. A 20-year-old young man was pinched under his arm and climbed on the roof... Even if Mo Kunlun is tall, how tall can he be? It seems that Wang Rong should be relatively thin.
Wang Rong's youngest son, Wang Zhaojie, was stuffed into a tea cage when he was 10 years old. He escaped from various checkpoints and successfully escaped to Hunan... A 10-year-old child is not much older than a tea can.
A few more words can be mentioned about Wang Zhaojie. He is Li Cunxu's prospective son-in-law. In the fifth year of Kaiping (907), Li Cunxu met with Wang Rong. During the dinner, Li Cunxu got very drunk. He not only sang for Wang Rong, but also cut off his sleeve with a knife, swore an alliance, and arranged a baby marriage with Wang Rong, promising to marry his daughter to him. To Wang Zhaojie... Then the question is, Zhang Wenli's mutiny was in 921. Historical records record that Wang Zhaojie was 10 years old, so in 907, he was not born yet...
Don't pay attention to those details. Maybe he was not born at that time. Li Cunxu meant that when Wang Rong has another son, he will be my son-in-law. Or maybe he was already born at that time. In other words, when Zhang Wenli rebelled, Wang Zhaojie was at least 14 years old. Years old, then a 14-year-old boy is stuffed into a tea cage...
Wang Zhaojie remained anonymous in Hunan until the Mingzong Dynasty (Li Siyuan). At that time, Fu Xi was the military governor of the Xuanwu Army. Li Zhen brought the grown-up Wang Zhaojie to Fu Xi and asked, "General, do you still recognize him?"
When Fu Xi saw his old master, he burst into tears and immediately reported to the court. When Wang Zhaohui entered the imperial court, he was always modest, cautious, and without any stain. Until more than 30 years later, during the Xiande period of the Later Zhou Dynasty, Wang Zhaohui was still serving in the central court.
