Chapter 11 1. Closing the city and rejecting the father: Loyalty and filial piety are difficult to have both

After Zhu Wen, Taizu of the Later Liang Dynasty, ended the rule of the Tang Dynasty, after more than 50 years of wars, the regime in the Central Plains in northern China alternated from the Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou Dynasties. The hand has gained rapid development and began to store unified energy.Later Zhou Shizong was originally a generation of monarchs with great ambitions, but he died young and failed to realize this wish.However, the footsteps of history did not stop because of this. Unification is an inevitable development trend. Since Zhou Shizong could not play this role, there must be another person to complete this historical mission.Zhao Kuangyin, the founding monarch of the Northern Song Dynasty, stepped onto the stage of history at this time.

Zhao Kuangyin was originally born in a military family. His father Zhao Hongyin was also a general. He followed Zhou Shizu Guo Wei to fight in the south and north for many years.He has been familiar with military books since he was a child, and when he became an adult, he originally aspired to make military achievements on the battlefield, so he joined the army.In the Battle of Gaoping between Chai Rong and Liu Chong of the Northern Han Dynasty at the beginning of his accession to the throne, Zhao Kuangyin, as a guard general, performed bravely on the battlefield and won Chai Rong's award. He has paid special attention to this young man since then.In this battle, Fan Aineng and He Hui's escape put Chai Rong in a dangerous situation. At this time, Zhao Kuangyin's angry shout aroused the great pride of the soldiers, and he fought to the death to break out of the encirclement. Not only did he rescue Chai Rong, but he even fought like a tiger Defeated the army of the Northern Han Dynasty.Compared with the shrinking of He Hui and others, such a brave general is even more commendable.

For the young Zhao Kuangyin, encountering war was his opportunity.Because he was born in the army, he was in troubled times.If you want to build meritorious deeds, you can only do so on the battlefield.After the Battle of Gaoping, Chai Rong admired him very much. Shortly after returning to the court, Chuzhou rebelled again.Zhao Kuangyin took the initiative to ask for a fight, and Chai Rong saw that he was in high spirits, so he ordered him to lead 60,000 troops to quell it. After wielding troops from Qingliuguan to Chuzhou, Zhao Kuangyin found that Huangfuhui was determined to resist desperately.Chuzhou originally had a moat, but Huangfuhui saw Zhao Kuangyin's army pressing down on the border, so he broke the bridge and defended it.He himself did not intend to go out of the city again, and Zhou Jun had no way to attack the city.This stalemate cannot be resolved in a short time. Although Zhou Jun is eager to attack, there is no way out.Originally, they planned to exhaust the supplies in Chuzhou city by using the strategy of exhausting troops, but the two armies had been facing each other for more than a month, Huangfu Hui was still unmoved, but the Zhou army's supplies were about to run out.

After returning to the barracks after going out to inspect the camp, Zhao Kuangyin said to Zhao Pu, his adviser who had been following him all this time: "It seems that this time Huangfuhui is going to resist desperately. We can't cross the water after he broke the bridge. There have been wars all these years. Fortify the building, if you want to attack by force, you will never be able to get in." Zhao Pu said: "Huangfu Hui knew that he could not escape the general's knife this time, so he came up with this method. We can only delay the time by besieging Chuzhou, but since there must be a lot of supplies in the city, he is not afraid of."

The generals Shi Shouxin, Wang Shenqi and others dismissed this and said: "Huangfuhui is the last struggle. As long as we build a bridge and cross the river, we will definitely be able to capture him." Zhao Pu said: "What the two generals said is not bad, but the question now is how do we build bridges and cross the river?" This problem is also the key to this battle. Zhao Kuangyin was pacing back and forth in the tent when he suddenly saw a pile of arrowheads at the foot of the wall.He asked Wang Shenqi: "Are there enough arrows in the army now?" Wang Shenqi replied: "This time I sent troops, because I thought that there might be a strong attack, so I prepared a lot."

Zhao Kuangyin clapped his hands and said: "This is easy to handle. Chuzhou's military reserve has never been strong. Arrows are suitable for long-distance attacks, so we will use them to suppress Huangfuhui so that he does not dare to go out of the city, and then build a bridge quickly. Let’s attack the city.” As he spoke, he arranged for Wang Shenqi to lead people to form an arrow team, while Shi Shouxin and others began to cut trees and build bridges.When it was dark, Wang Shenqi led his troops out of the camp, and stormed the city of Chuzhou with a rain of arrows, making Huangfuhui dare not leave the camp.And Shi Shouxin took the opportunity to transport the prepared wood to the river overnight.

At dawn the next day, Huangfu Hui came to the top of the city to have a look: the city had already been covered with bridges built by Zhou Jun, and the barriers of the moat were gone.Zhao Kuangyin rode his horse to the front of the camp and shouted to him: "The defense of the river has been lost. I have prepared the rolling logs, and Chuzhou can be captured in half a day. Whether you go out of the city and accept the surrender or let me attack, General Huangfu can choose for himself." Seeing that Zhou Jun was so fast, Huangfu Hui was already disheartened.I had no choice but to say to Zhao Kuangyin: "Chuzhou has become General Zhao's pocket, but I just want to have enough food to go on the road, so I ask the general to give me a little time so that all the three armies have enough to eat. Let's fight to the death again!"

Regarding this strange request, Zhao Pu, Shi Shouxin and others looked at Zhao Kuangyin suspiciously, not knowing what kind of medicine Huangfuhui was selling in the gourd.But Zhao Kuangyin laughed and said: "We used to be officials in the same dynasty. I will give you time based on our previous friendship. But your crime of treason is unforgivable. It is my duty to serve the emperor of Zhou. I will definitely not show mercy." Although the army was very strange to Zhao Kuangyin's decision, the general had to obey orders.On the one hand, Zhao Kuangyin was full of confidence and was determined to win Chuzhou; psychological pressure.Zhao Kuangyin knew that it was only a matter of time before Chuzhou was conquered, because they had already lost their resistance.

After Huangfuhui was repaired, Zhao Kuangyin ordered to attack the city. Chuzhou, which had lost its water defense, could no longer resist the Zhou army. Zhao Kuangyin marched forward and captured the defender Huangfuhui alive. After dispatching Zhao Kuangyin, Chai Rong, Emperor Shizong of Zhou, saw that he hadn't returned for more than a month, so he couldn't help but also began to worry.After all, Zhao Kuangyin is just a young general with not very rich combat experience.This time Chuzhou could not be attacked for a long time, if it fueled Huangfuhui's arrogance and aroused the ambitions of Jiedu envoys in other places, it would be difficult to handle.Therefore, Chai Rong sent Zhao Kuangyin's father Zhao Hongyin to lead 10,000 troops to support him.Unexpectedly, Zhao Kuangyin spent a month besieging the city, but after changing his strategy, he successfully attacked the city within a few days.

When the reinforcements led by Zhao Hongyin arrived in Chuzhou, Zhao Kuangyin had already entered the city and captured Huangfuhui.And because Zhao Hongyin was worried about Zhao Kuangyin, he traveled day and night and became sick from overwork. It was midnight when he arrived in Chuzhou.He ordered people to go to the gate of Chuzhou City and shout for the guards to open the gate. Zhao Kuangyin frowned when he heard the report that his father had led troops to help and had already approached the city.Zhao Pu hurriedly asked: "It is a good thing that the old general came to help, why is the general not happy?"

Zhao Kuangyin said: "It is a big taboo to open the city at night. What's more, he is leading his troops here now. If I open the city rashly at this time, His Majesty will definitely think that I am not calm and cautious enough." Zhao Pu said: "Although the truth is so, it is your father outside the city, and I heard that the old general is still ill, so why not worry?" Zhao Kuangyin shook his head and said, "For me, outside the city is my father. But for Your Majesty, we are all generals. Therefore, no matter who comes, I should abide by such regulations." Zhao Hongyin waited outside the city for a long time, but he didn't see the city gate open, so he was very puzzled.Seeing Zhao Kuangyin suddenly appearing at the top of the city, he hurriedly shouted: "Lead reinforcements for my father, my son will open the city gate quickly." Zhao Kuangyin said to Zhao Hongyin who was holding a torch under the city: "Father came from a long way, and the journey was hard! But there is an order in the army: you can't open the city in the middle of the night. Although you and I are father and son, but defending the city is the cause of the king. Since you are loyal to my lord, You can only put the military order first, loyalty and filial piety are hard to balance. Please ask father to rest outside the city, and he will open the city to welcome him at dawn." Although Zhao Hongyin was a little surprised by his answer, but after thinking about it, he accepted Zhao Kuangyin's decision with a smile and camped outside the city to rest.The next day, Zhao Kuangyin opened the city to welcome his father into the city to plead guilty. Zhao Hongyin helped him up and said, "March carefully, you did the right thing, so why should you be guilty?" After this victory in Chuzhou, Chai Rong treated Zhao Kuangyin even more differently.He said to Prime Minister Fan Zhi: "Zhao Kuangyin is not only able to fight hard among thousands of troops, but also very resourceful. He is really a rare general!" Fan Zhi also reported Zhao Kuangyin's rejection of his father to Chai Rong. After hearing this, Chai Rong was overjoyed: "Although they are father and son, they still put military orders first in front of military and state affairs. Such a rational general is really rare now! He has lived up to it." My expectations, this person is absolutely trustworthy!" When Zhao Kuangyin's class teacher returned to the court, Emperor Shizong Chai Rong of the later Zhou Dynasty personally came to the labor army ten miles outside Kaifeng to welcome him in triumph, named him a general of hussars, and entered the city together with Zhao Kuangyin. Through several campaigns of expansion and suppression, Zhao Kuangyin's military talent was gradually affirmed by Chai Rong, and for monarchs in troubled times, loyalty was the quality they valued most.Because their own power was obtained through force, they were afraid that someone who would follow in their footsteps would do the same treasonous act.This is a challenge for Zhao Kuangyin, who has always been determined to make achievements on the battlefield, but he has demonstrated his qualities in this aspect in a timely manner through his ingenuity and appropriate grasp of opportunities.While Zhao Kuangyin was good at leading the army and fighting, his outstanding political ability won him extraordinary trust. Under Zhou Shizong's promotion, he made rapid progress and quickly began to control the military and political power in the court. of the establishment. At this time, Zhao Kuangyin may not have the ambition of establishing a country and proclaiming himself emperor in his heart, but the gradually expanding power in his hands will undoubtedly provide an opportunity for the growth and realization of his ambitions in the future.