Shouzhou City, built on the south bank of the Huaihe River, like Haozhou and Chuzhou hundreds of miles away, has always been an important military location for the Southern Tang Dynasty to defend against the Northern Kingdom.
Since the Yang Wu period, in order to accommodate enough troops to garrison, Shouzhou City has undergone many large-scale expansions. The city walls are extremely tall and thick. According to legend, Yang Xingmi, the Taizu of Southern Wu, recruited 100,000 civilians to transport huge stones from Bagong Mountain. After Li Jing succeeded to the throne in the Southern Tang Dynasty, a wide urn, or two gates, was set up behind each city gate in Shouzhou to strengthen the defense of the city.
The strength of Shouzhou City has always made the Tang army proud, but now it has become a sore spot for the Tang army.
It was nightfall, and the sergeants on patrol in Shouzhou City suddenly accelerated their pace. Then Li Jinquan, wearing armor and holding a sword, stood on the battlements of Wengcheng surrounded by more than a dozen soldiers.
At first glance, Li Jinquan's appearance is different from that of the Han people. Not only is he extremely tall, he also has high cheekbones and a wide nose, and his eyes are bright under thick thick eyebrows. At this time, the wind was whistling, and Li Jinquan felt that his breathing was extremely relaxed. As his eyes focused on the continuous fire ten miles away, he couldn't help but feel uneasy inside.
"Han Rong, is that Liu Renzhan's company?"
As the number one aide who instigated Li Jinquan's rebellion, the wily and scheming Ming Hanrong had always been relied upon by Li Jinquan. At this moment, he narrowed his eyes and bowed his hands respectfully: "Come back to the commander, this is the Wuchang Army. They arrived in Shou five days ago. within the state.”
Li Jinquan swallowed his saliva and said: "I have heard for a long time that Liu Renzhan is brave and strategic, and he is very well-organized in his troops. His subordinates are all elite soldiers and fierce generals, but when he arrived outside the city, he stood still for several days, which made me uneasy!"
"Commander, Liu Renzhan rushed from Haozhou to rescue him. He brought only 20,000 sergeants and lacked food, grass and baggage. But our city in Shouzhou is strong, and Commander Liu has 50,000 elite soldiers at hand. Liu Renzhan is cautious by nature. , if we are not sure of attacking the city, we will not dare to act rashly. At this time, we are just delaying time!"
Seeing that Han Rong was speaking eloquently, Li Jinquan couldn't help frowning and said: "Han Rong, according to your estimation, will the Tang army have reinforcements coming?"
"No." Ming Hanrong shook his head resolutely and said: "Li Jing is using the whole country to fight the Northern Expedition, and almost all the main force of the Tang army is trapped in the Zhou Dynasty. At this time, except for the imperial army guarding the capital of Jinling, where are the elite troops available in Jiangbei? Not to mention me. The army has successively conquered Luzhou and Guangzhou, and has been connected with Shouzhou. Liu Renzhan is now alone. When the two generals Li Song and Wang Shilin arrive tomorrow, the army can encircle and annihilate Liu Renzhan's troops! "
After Li Jinquan pondered for a while, he spoke again: "Most of Liu Renzhan's Wuchang Army is still stationed in Ezhou. There are still 50,000 troops there. How can we remain indifferent when the commander is in trouble?"
"Commander, our army has cut off official communication. Even if Liu Renzhan manages to send people back to Ezhou to ask for help, if there is no sign of reinforcements tonight, it will definitely be too late! The two places are eight hundred miles apart, and they are far away from each other. You can’t save the near fire!”
Li Jinquan wondered: "If that's the case, then Liu Renzhan is already dead, so why delay here?"
Ming Hanrong snorted lightly, then laughed jokingly: "If we don't delay and use the name of reinforcements to appease the soldiers, how can the morale of the army be at ease? Marshal, isn't Liu Renzhan's move the loyalty that the people of the Tang Dynasty have always said? This person is helpless after all. After all, he is stationed in Haozhou, which is the closest to Shouzhou. If he doesn’t come to the rescue, Li Jing will definitely not let him go. It’s better to come and die, and still have his reputation intact!”
Li Jinquan was relieved in his heart and sighed: "Oh! He is indeed a man! Tomorrow the commander-in-chief will allow him to be dead!"
Due to the strong wind gradually blowing above the city, Li Jinquan and his party walked down the stone steps, then turned to the south of the city and went straight back to the camp.
As soon as he entered the commander's tent, Li Jinquan asked: "Han Rong, how is Liu Chongjun doing now?"
Ming Hanrong had a nonchalant look on his face: "This Ambassador Liu is indeed Liu Renzhan's good nephew. I think the general has tried his best, but he still refuses to obey! However, the Qing Huai army is now willing to loyal to the general." Handsome, this person is of little use."
Li Jinquan banged the table with a bang and said coldly: "Since you want to die, let's kill him! Tomorrow when the army leaves the city, I will take him as a sacrifice flag first, and then hang his head to show the public! After I win, I will Send the head to Guo Wei to show my sincerity in returning..."
At noon the next day, at the south gate of Shouzhou City, as the sergeants shouted wildly, a disheveled human head was then hung high, and drops of blood continued to seep from the broken neck, reflecting in the scorching sun. The dazzling red light is shocking, tragic and terrifying.
The news soon spread to the Wuchang Army camp ten miles away. When he heard that the scouts were eager to report, Liu Renzhan, who was convening the generals for discussion in the tent, confirmed that the person who was beheaded was his own nephew Liu Chongjun. He felt a burst of grief and anger in his heart. He actually spit out a mouthful of blood in the hall and howled loudly. Start crying.
The generals hurriedly rushed forward and helped the commander, who was over fifty years old, for fear that anything might happen.
Sun Yu, deputy military envoy of Wuchang, has been following Liu Renzhan in battles for more than 20 years and is very familiar with the Liu family. At this time, he reluctantly said: "My condolences, Commander! Liu Jieshi is indeed a descendant of the Liu family. He died heroically for his country and was loyal and brave." That’s it! We are really extremely sad! But Commander, now that we are facing a powerful enemy, please take care of yourself!”
Liu Renzhan, whose hair was now gray, was in tears. Who is Liu Chongjun? He is the only son of his eldest brother Liu Rengui, and the legitimate eldest grandson of the old Liu family. Liu Chongjun was an upright man, good at both civil and military affairs, and he was not married yet. Now he was brutally killed by a rebel leader. The relationship between his eldest brother and his brother was cut off. Liu Ren thought about it with pity and heartache.
At this time, a partial general hurried into the tent again and shouted urgently: "Commander, Li Jinquan has led his army out of the city! Look at the posture, they are coming straight towards our army camp! Also, they all appeared from the south and west. The rebel soldiers and horses were captured! At this time, our army is afraid that it will be surrounded..."
When everyone was panicking, Liu Renzhan managed to get up and shouted: "Don't panic, everyone! Prepare your troops and horses immediately and fight the enemy! As long as you hold on for a few more days, Jian'er will definitely bring troops to help! By then, they can attack from both inside and outside, and the rebels will definitely attack." Rout!"
After Li Jinquan raised his troops, the Qing Huai army also rebelled. After Luzhou and Guangzhou were lost one after another, Liu Renzhan sent several waves of messengers to Jinling, Ezhou and other places to ask for help, but they were often shot down soon after leaving the camp. All the generals present had long understood that they were now in a dilemma and were now alone, and they were always ready to be loyal to their country.
Therefore, when it comes to reinforcements at this time, for everyone, it is nothing more than extravagant hopes, and more of just self-comfort.
Sun Yu said with a sad face: "Commander, please forgive me for being blunt. Even if there are reinforcements, I'm afraid it will be too late..."
Liu Renzhan looked at his face, pulled out his sword with a "swish" sound, gently rubbed the mottled sword blade with his calloused fingers, and sighed loudly: "Come on! Come on! I belong to the Liu family. Three generations of loyal men, including Chongjun, also died for the country. I am old, how can I cherish this life? Since today is a desperate situation, I would rather die than kill several of his generals to thank Your Majesty for your kindness!"
All the generals shouted in unison: "I am willing to die with the commander-in-chief!"
...
Outside the Tang Army's camp, rebels flying the sun, moon and star flags were surrounded from all directions.
Li Jinquan led Ming Hanrong and a group of generals, and they were riding their horses solemnly. At this time, drums were beating loudly, and smoke was billowing from both wings. More than ten thousand fine cavalry were skimming the formation with flying flags, and the shouts were loud and the smoke was billowing. At the front of the army, densely packed spearmen holding shields formed a single line. Behind them, more than 10,000 crossbowmen had fastened their full quivers and were standing with their longbows firmly in hand. There are 30,000 light-armored infantry in the rear, with their swords erect and ready to charge into the formation at any time.
"Report! Li Song's troops in Luzhou have captured the Tang Army's camp from the south!"
"Report! Wang Shilin's troops in Guangzhou have cut off the Tang Army's retreat to the west!"
"Report!..."
The scouts were like running water, constantly reporting the latest situation. After confirming that the army had completed the encirclement, Li Jinquan nodded calmly, then raised his hand lightly and shouted: "Send the order, the whole army attacks! This battle must annihilate the Tang army and capture Liu." Renzhan!"
