This move was very effective. Wei Quanxi suspected that Liu Wei had an ambush and did not dare to attack rashly. Instead, he stationed himself in Ivory Pool and waited for reinforcements from Ma Yin in Tanzhou. The great opportunity to capture Hongzhou was lost.
Ma Yin sent Peng Yan's nephew Peng Yanzhang to besiege Gao'an to support Wei Quanxi. Peng Gan, the former governor of Jizhou, belonged to Zhongchuan of Hongzhou. After Zhongchuan's death, his sons killed each other. In the end, the Huainan forces benefited and occupied the Zhennan Army of Hongzhou. Jizhou Penggan did not want to surrender to Huai, so he moved to Huainan. The city surrendered to Tanzhou and Ma Yin.
Hongzhou Liu Wei used a thousand men to hold back Wei Quan's 100,000 men. The situation was critical, and Chu soldiers had opened a new battlefield (Gao'an). The situation was not optimistic.
Xu Wen asked Yan Keqiu for advice. Yan Keqiu recommended an excellent commander to him, Zhou Ben, and said that as long as Zhou Ben was put in command, he would immediately retreat from Chu and capture the danger.
Xu Wen almost obeyed Yan Keqiu's words, so he immediately asked Zhou Ben to take command and go to support. Zhou Ben had just suffered a defeat in Suzhou not long ago and was in a very low mood. He kept saying that he was ill at home and was bedridden all day long. After receiving the appointment letter, he repeatedly declined, saying that he was a waste and embarrassed for the big job, and asked the lord to choose someone else.
Yan Keqiu came to the door in person, broke into the bedroom, took Zhou Ben out of bed, and said some heartfelt words to him, saying that there was no need to blame yourself for Suzhou's defeat. It was not your fault, but "some people". "The reason is that the Lord is unwilling to delegate power, and is constrained everywhere, unable to exert his power.
Zhou Ben immediately cheered up, because Yan Keqiu hit the nail on the head and revealed the secret. This sentence is very interesting. Just imagine, who was Zhou Ben's superior at that time and could give him blind orders? Who else besides Xu Wen?
This can be slightly linked to the previous article. Xu Wen wanted to control Huainan, but he was not confident about the meritorious old generals, especially those who held heavy troops and led troops outside. Xu Wen must keep them under his control. The big BOSS doesn't understand the situation on the front line, but he is dictating the front line from behind. The front line commander is in trouble. If you win, it is due to the leadership's command and dispatch; if you lose, it is your own incompetence.
The humiliation of defeat made Zhou Ben depressed and decadent. Taking the blame for his leader was the main reason why he said he was ill at home, so he just gave up his job.
Yan Keqiu's words made Zhou Ben feel refreshed, and he immediately set a flag: "As long as you don't send me deputy generals or supervisors, let me go alone, and I guarantee there will be no problem, otherwise, please behead me! "
Yan Keqiu had already communicated with Xu Wen and agreed to Zhou Ben's conditions on the spot.
Xu Wen ordered Zhou Ben to rescue Gao'an, first repel the Chu army's reinforcements, and then concentrate on dealing with the danger.
Zhou Ben led 7,000 elite troops, traveling day and night, non-stop to the Ivory Pool. Zhou Ben said to the people around him: "The Chu people are not really serious about attacking Gao'an, but they are using the strategy of surrounding Wei and rescuing Zhao to support Wei Quanxi in Ivory Pool. After we kill Wei Quanxi, the Chu people will definitely retreat without fighting and go to Gao'an to fight." What? Follow me to the Ivory Pool!"
Zhou Ben led his team to rush. When they passed by Hongzhou, Liu Wei finally breathed a sigh of relief and brought out good wine and food, preparing to reward the reinforcements. However, Zhou Ben did not stop at all, and used Guan Yunchang to warm the wine and kill Hua Xiong. The momentum, "Keep it for now, wait until I eliminate the danger in Ivory Pool."
Some people advised Zhou Ben to stop down first, make some adjustments, observe the terrain, etc. Otherwise, our army would rush thousands of miles away, and the men and horses would be exhausted, leaving people waiting for work. What’s more, the enemy and we are outnumbered, one hundred thousand to seven thousand...
Zhou Ben glared, "What do you know? Because of this, we can't hesitate, we have to rush forward with all our strength. If we pause for a moment, our soldiers will understand more of our army's disadvantages, and their morale will collapse. If you don’t fight, you will collapse!”
Except for a few senior generals, the 7,000 people led by Zhou Ben had no idea that they were facing an army of 100,000 people... so they launched the charge in a confused manner.
Zhou Ben is definitely a ruthless man. It is said that he is a descendant of Zhou Yu, the commander-in-chief of the Soochow Navy during the Three Kingdoms period. After Zhou Yu's death, he was buried in Susong, Shuzhou, and a temple was erected next to the tomb. His descendants settled in the surrounding area. By the end of the Tang Dynasty, there were dozens of families, and one of the poor households was Zhou Ben.
Zhou Ben has extraordinary physical strength and is a tiger-fighting hero. He once knocked down a tiger in a single fight. His force is beyond the limit. He takes the lead in every battle and is always at the forefront. Whenever a battle ends, he will be covered in bruises and bruises, to the point where his body is completely broken, but he can actually hold a red-hot iron and iron his wounds while chatting and laughing with others amidst the smell of barbecue.
Wu Song and Guan Yu also have very high IQs. They are a rare talent with courage, knowledge, and both civil and military skills. No wonder he dared to boast so much and set a flag in front of Yan Keqiu.
Wei Quanxi set up camp along the stream in Ivory Lake, which stretched for dozens of miles. Zhou Ben formed a formation on the other side of the creek, sending thin soldiers forward to challenge and lure the enemy into battle.
Wei Quanxi took the bait easily and sent his troops to chase him across the river on foot, but Zhou Ben attacked him halfway across the river. Wei Quanxi's troops were immediately defeated, and a serious stampede occurred. A large number of soldiers were trampled and drowned to death. Zhou Ben divided his troops to attack and cut off their return.
Zhou Ben captured Wei Quanxi and 5,000 officers and soldiers alive, then took advantage of the victory to attack Yuanzhou, captured Yuanzhou's governor Peng Yanzhang alive, and then continued to attack Jizhou.
At the same time, Tao Ya also sent his sons to attack Raozhou and Xinzhou. The governor of Raozhou abandoned the city and fled, and the governor of Xinzhou Wei Zichang surrendered. Mi Zhicheng and Lu Shizao attacked Gao'an, but the Chu army escaped the siege.
When Huainan sent troops to take over Xinzhou, Wei Zichang fled in fear and defected to Qian Liu in Hangzhou.
Under the sharp offensive of Huainan's autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, Lu Guangchou of Qianzhou knew the current affairs and was a talented man, and immediately offered to join Huainan.
At this point, the Huainan Group annexed the entire territory of Jiangxi.
However, it should be noted that Lu Guangchou of Qianzhou only expressed his allegiance to Huainan, but the actual control was still in Lu Guangchou's hands, and he had two boats. While expressing his allegiance to Huainan, he also sent people to Bianzhou , expressed his allegiance to Zhu Wen.
This two-faced Lu Guangchou is said to be a descendant of Lu Zhi, a famous official in Hebei during the Three Kingdoms period. Lu Zhi angered Dong Zhuo because of his upright advice, so he was dismissed from office and lived in seclusion, and later became Yuan Shao's military advisor. Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei were both students of Lu Zhi.
After the annexation of Jiangxi, the jurisdiction of Huainan bordered on Wang Shenzhi of Fujian. Huainan was in the danger of being surrounded by enemies and fighting on all sides (Zhejiang, the Central Plains, and the two lakes). It was not appropriate to start disputes with its new neighbors to the south, so Zhang Zhiyuan was sent to visit Fujian to seek good neighborliness.
This matter has been mentioned in the story line of Fujian in the previous article. Zhang Zhiyuan believed that Huainan had just annexed Jiangxi with great momentum, so he parachuted to Fujian in a condescending and domineering manner. His words were threatening and intimidating, and he acted aggressively toward Wang Shenzhi. , and was directly beheaded by Wang Shenzhi.
In order to take the overall situation into consideration, Huainan had no choice but to swallow its anger.
