The generals are at odds with each other]
Wu Cheng and Bao Xiurang were married in Fuzhou, but the historians were not interested in recording it in detail, and simply mentioned it in one sentence, saying that there was a rift between the two in Fuzhou.
Below we will boldly restore this previous foreshadowing:
When Li Renda surrendered to the Wuyue Kingdom, Bao Xiurang became the "overlord" of Fuzhou as the commander-in-chief stationed in Fuzhou. He later killed Li Renda and took control of Fuzhou. However, Qian Hongzhi appointed Wu Cheng to know Fuzhou. Bao Xiu asked his predecessors to plant trees, and Wu Cheng's descendants enjoyed the shade.
The subsequent "Second Battle of Fuzhou" is worth pondering. We have described this battle in detail twice, but there is one small detail that has never been expanded upon. This is the spy who "deceived" Zha Wenhui to send troops to Fuzhou, and the disastrous defeat of the Wuyue garrison at the beginning of the war.
A spy from Fuzhou reported to Jianzhou Zha Wenhui that the Wuyue garrison had left, and the Fujian people were eager to be rescued by the Southern Tang Dynasty, so they respectfully requested Zha Wenhui to take over. Who sent this spy? Could it be Bao Xiurang?
Bao Xiurang hated Wu Cheng for stealing peaches, so when he left Fuzhou, he sent someone to tell Zha Wenhui, hoping to use the Southern Tang Dynasty to get rid of Wu Cheng. The "Wu Yue garrison" mentioned by the spies should be the troops led by Bao Xiurang. Zha Wenhui, who has been in the political arena for many years, still believed in this rhetoric. Although his generals tried to dissuade him in every possible way, he still insisted on going. Did his stubbornness stem from some kind of conspiracy or tacit understanding between him and Bao Xiurang?
The vanguard troops of the Southern Tang Dynasty indeed won a great victory outside Fuzhou, and captured the Wuyue general Ma Guangjin and others alive. The Fuzhou defenders were frightened. According to records, "the generals overflowed the courtyard and verdants, and they were unstoppable." , the office was crowded with people inside and outside, panicking, and a mutiny was about to break out. Everyone was debating whether to surrender or escape. At the critical moment, Wu Cheng "stepped up to the threshold and stared at him, making the whole army tremble." Wu Cheng got on the table in a hurry, glared and cursed, which made the soldiers' legs tremble in fear. Then they did not dare to make any noise, and the situation was at a loss. Got control.
In other versions of the narrative, it is also said that Wu Cheng "secretly revealed the strategy" and told the soldiers that this defeat was caused by us on purpose, in order to lure the enemy deep into the country and deliberately release water to the Southern Tang Dynasty, thus stabilizing the morale of the troops. .
From "the generals filled the courtyard with unstoppable chaos" to "when they stepped onto the threshold and shouted at them, the entire army trembled", does it look like a fake defeat? There have been many cases of cheating defeat and luring the enemy, but no one has ever done this. This is not a false defeat, it is clearly a real defeat.
If Wu Cheng lost Fuzhou, who would be happy? The monarchs and ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty were naturally happy, but what about the Wuyue Kingdom? Of course it was Bao Xiurang, "Look, I said Wu Cheng can't do it, and I said Fuzhou can't leave me." There's no need to really throw him away. As long as there is a stalemate, Bao Xiurang will most likely be ordered to rescue and expel him again. After the Southern Tang army, Bao Xiurang would naturally take up residence in Fuzhou.
As luck would have it, Wu Cheng not only stabilized his position and repelled the Southern Tang army, but also captured Cha Wenhui alive, stealing the show. Wu Cheng may have guessed who lured Zha Wenhui here, "Ah, was it you who lured the Japs to the mountain?"
The above opinions are purely personal conjecture. In short, during this period in Fuzhou, the personal relationship between Wu Cheng and Bao Xiurang deteriorated rapidly.
Not only Bao Xiurang, but also another general Luo Sheng was at odds with Wu Cheng. This time when he was ordered to attack the Tang Dynasty, Wu Cheng was their immediate superior. It is said that during this period, Wu Cheng took advantage of his position to Bao Xiurang and Luo Sheng were suppressed everywhere. The two generals were very angry, but they had no choice but to suppress them to death.
So what if Changzhou is captured? Isn’t it that I’m working hard in the front and my grandson is grabbing the credit from behind? Bao Xiurang never forgot the shame of Fuzhou, drank with Luo Sheng and scolded the coach Wu Cheng.
At the beginning of the war, the Southern Tang Dynasty also did some homework, such as sending Chen Chuyao to Khitan to ask for reinforcements, and then to the Northern Han Dynasty to ask for help from the Northern Han Dynasty; sending Qiao Kuangshun to visit Hangzhou to persuade the Wuyue Kingdom not to help the tiger.
When the wall falls down, everyone pushes it, when the drum is broken, thousands of people beat it. The Khitan and Northern Han Dynasties made it clear that they would not save Chen Chuyao, and they detained Chen Chuyao because he needed to cross the entire Central Plains to return to Huainan. If he was caught by the Central Plains people, wouldn't the allies be surprised? Neither the Khitan nor the Northern Han Dynasty wanted to be misunderstood by the Later Zhou Dynasty; Wu Yueguo also decisively rejected Qiao Kuangshun's lobbying.
On the front line in Changzhou, General Chai Kehong of the Southern Tang Dynasty came up with a plan. He sent a fleet claiming to welcome Qiao Kuangshun back to China, but hid the soldiers in the fleet.
So a rather paradoxical scene appeared. Wu Cheng didn't
Suspecting him, they also said that the two countries were at war and would not kill the envoys, so they would let the fleet go.
Wu Cheng was both the prime minister and the commander-in-chief, and had experienced the baptism of war. Logically speaking, he should not be stupid or corrupt. However, he did not receive notification from his superiors, did not report and verify, and thirdly did not conduct security inspections on incoming ships... It is unbelievable to allow the enemy's fleet to sail into our important military territory with confidence and boldness.
Both Bao Xiurang and Luo Sheng could see that there was something wrong, but they tacitly chose to remain silent. They looked silly on the outside but felt happy in their hearts, "Just wait until you die!"
The fleet docked, and the Southern Tang death squads filed out and headed straight for the Wuyue barracks. Then an interesting scene appeared. Historical records say that Bao Xiurang refused to save him because he had a rift with Wu Cheng and turned into an actor. Luo Sheng went even further and actually acted as a leader for the Southern Tang soldiers, guiding them to attack Wu Cheng's center. Military tent.
Fortunately, Shao Keqian, the general of Pi, fought hard and did not even take a look at his own son who died in front of his horse. This allowed Wu Cheng to escape from the battlefield in embarrassment and save his life.
The Wuyue army was defeated miserably, and the commander Wu Cheng "only escaped with his own life". Tens of thousands of soldiers died, and all previous efforts were in vain. After Lu Yanzhu, who was on the Xuanzhou front line, heard about the defeat in Changzhou, he also led his troops to withdraw into the territory in an orderly manner in order to prevent being cut off.
After Wu Cheng fled back to Hangzhou, Qian Hongchu demoted him for defeating the army and deprived him of all official positions. Finally, he spared his uncle a life, and Wu Cheng retired from politics.
In August 965, Wu Cheng died of illness at the age of 73. Qian Hongchu was grateful for his early achievements and announced that he would reinstate him to his original position and give him the posthumous title of "Zhonglie". The historian's conclusion on his coffin can be summarized in two words:
, that is "contrast". There are two key words in Wu Cheng's life: Fuzhou and Changzhou. The historian commented that in the Battle of Fuzhou, he was the sixth most powerful man, and in the Battle of Changzhou, he was the sixth most powerful man.
