Chapter 27 2. Zhang Xun, who strangled a city and defended the world

When the Anshi Rebellion broke out, Zhang Xunzheng was serving as the commander of Zhenyuan (now west of Haozhou, Anhui).No one thought that it was this seven-foot-tall man with a furious beard who, with no food inside and no reinforcements outside, used his heroic courage and brilliant resourcefulness to stick to the isolated city of Suiyangda. In two years, there were more than 400 battles, and 120,000 enemies were killed, creating a rare example in the history of Chinese and foreign wars where the weak defeated the strong and the few defeated the many.In his majestic "Song of Righteousness", Wen Tianxiang, a national hero of later generations, enthusiastically eulogized the deeds of twelve heroes who shook the world and wept ghosts and gods, and Zhang Xun was one of them.

Zhang Xun was born in Nanyang (now part of Henan), Dengzhou.He has been intelligent and talented since he was a child.Not only is he well-read and proficient in formations, but he is also talented and has an amazing memory. He can't forget it all his life after reading the book only three times.When Zhang was patrolling Suiyang, there were tens of thousands of soldiers, but tens of thousands of people lived in the city.Every time Zhang Xun saw a person, he asked their name. After going through it once, there was no one he didn't know in the whole city, and he could call out his name directly when he met someone. All the soldiers and civilians in the city were surprised and moved by this.Zhang Xun is a man of high morale, likes to communicate with learned elders, and disdains to associate with vulgar people, so that "people at the time don't know well".In the last years of Emperor Xuanzong's Kaiyuan period, Zhang Xun became a Jinshi, and at the beginning, he was the prince's Tongshisheren.At that time, his elder brother Zhang Xiao served as the supervisory censor, and the two brothers "both used their names for a while" ("New Book of Tang Volume 192 Zhang Xun Biography").

In Tianbaozhong, Zhang Xundiao granted the order of Qinghe (now northwest of Qinghe, Hebei).He gave money and charity to others, helping the poor and the poor.During his tenure, due to his fairness, honesty, and compassion for the people, he not only had outstanding political achievements, but was also deeply loved by the people.At that time, Yang Guozhong was in charge of the government, and power was pouring into the government and the public. Someone persuaded Zhang Xun to follow Yang Guozhong's path and find a good way out for himself.But he was rejected by Zhang Xun's stern words, saying: "It's strange for Fang to be a country, and court officials should not do anything." ("New Book of Tang Volume 192 Zhang Xun Biography")

Soon, Zhang Xun was transferred to be the magistrate of Zhenyuan (now Luyi, Henan).Zhenyuan is located in the Central Plains, and there are many powerful landlords.They colluded with the government and exploited the common people.Among them, Huanan Jin is the most violent, and the local people call it "Nan Jinkou, the hand of the Ming government." Dare to break the law.Zhang Xun's administration was simple in order to make the people live and work in peace and contentment. In November of the fourteenth year of Tianbao (755), the Anshi Rebellion broke out.Xuanzong woke up from his sensual dream, and when he hastily arranged resistance, the rebels' iron hooves had already stepped over the counties in Hebei, and they rushed straight to Henan to kill them.And quickly went south, preparing to seize the rich land of Jianghuai, and then take Luoyang, and advance to Chang'an.Due to the long period of peace in the Tang Dynasty, the people have never fought in battle for many generations, and the imperial court emphasizes civility over military, and the military equipment is lax. Many counties and counties have no soldiers to use, and no contingency preparations.The local officials were frightened by the arrogance of the rebels. When they heard that the rebels were approaching, they either abandoned the city and fled, or opened their doors to meet them.The rebels drove southward, met almost no resistance, and easily occupied most of the area north of the Yellow River.On December 12, An Lushan led his troops across the Yellow River from Lingchang, captured Chenliu and Xingyang one after another, defeated the Changqing tribe in Wulao (ie Hulao Pass) and Kuiyuan, and occupied Luoyang.The Eastern Capital fell, and the world shook.

After An Lushan captured Luoyang, he took the rebel general Zhang Tonghui as the prefect of Suiyang, led thousands of cavalry with Chen Liuchang Shi Yang Chaozong, and marched eastward. Most of the Tang county officials fled or simply surrendered, so the rebels were extremely aggressive. Arrogant.But when the rebel army entered Shandong, they were resisted by Dongping prefect Wu Wang Li Yi and Jinan prefect Li Sui.After someone took the lead, officials and people in other parts of Shandong responded with troops and raised troops to fight against the bandits. When Zhang Tonghui was plundering land in the southeast, Yang Wanshi, the prefect of Qiaojun (now Boxian County, Anhui Province), saw that the rebel army was strong, and planned to sacrifice his county to surrender to the enemy.Yang Wanshi was Zhang Xun's immediate superior. He had always valued Zhang Xun's talent, so he appointed Zhang Xun as a representative to meet the rebels in the west.At that time, Yang Wanshi's subordinates were full of swords and swords, and were surrounded by swords and swords, so Zhang Xun did not express any objection on the spot, but readily agreed.

However, things suddenly changed.In February of the fifteenth year of Tianbao (756), Jia Ben, the county captain of Shanfu (now Shanxian County, Shandong Province), led the officials to conquer Suiyang and beheaded the rebel general Zhang Tonghui. At that time, Linghu Chao of Yongqiu (now Qixian County, Henan Province) wanted to surrender the city to the rebels.In order to increase his political capital, Linghu Chao took the initiative to lead his army to attack, defeated the reinforcements from the Tang army from Huaiyang, and captured more than a hundred people.Linghu Chao escorted the Tang army captives back to Yongqiu for execution.Just at this time, Linghuchao was out of the city on business. Tang Huaiyang soldiers took the opportunity to break free from the ropes, killed the guards, and closed the city to refuse to accept Linghuchao.Linghu Chao had no choice but to leave his wife and children and run away.Later, Tang Huaiyang soldiers welcomed Jia Ben into the city.

Zhang Xun, who welcomed the rebels in the west, went to Zhenyuan and cried loudly at the Zhenyuan Emperor Xuanyuan Temple (in the first year of Qianfeng Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty, Gaozong passed Zhenyuan, visited Laojun Temple, and honored him as Emperor Xuanyuan. "Feng's Hearings and Experiences Volume 1 Taoism" written by Yan Yan, announced the rebellion.The crowd was passionate, and there were thousands of officials and people who were willing to follow.Zhang Xun selected 1,000 elite soldiers from them, and went west to Yongqiu to join Jia Ben.Jia Ben and Zhang Xun joined together, and after entering Yongqiu, they first killed Linghu Chao's wife and children, and made an appointment to defend the city together.After Dongping Taishou Wu Wang Li Zhi heard the news, he immediately appointed Jia Ben as the supervisory censor.

In order to avenge the murder of his wife and children, Linghu Chao led 15,000 elite rebels to attack Yongqiu.At that time, the Tang army defending the city was only 3,000 people in total, and the strength of the troops was very different. However, the soldiers of Yongqiu fought against the enemy bravely.Jia Ben led his army to take the initiative to attack, but unfortunately he was defeated and died.Zhang Xun led the crowd to continue fighting and repelled the rebels.Facing the tenacious resistance of the Tang army, Linghu Chao had no choice but to leave with the remnants of the defeated general.

Zhang Xun won the trust of the army and the people because of his bravery in battle, and was regarded as the commander-in-chief.Zhang Xun led the army and civilians to continue to defend the city, defeating many attacks by the rebels within a month, causing more than half of their casualties.Dongping Taishou Li Zhi, the king of Wu, learned of the battle situation and entrusted Zhang Xun with the battle east of Yanzhou.From then on, Zhang Xun claimed to be the vanguard envoy of King Wu, and took on the important task of defending Yongqiu. At this time, unlike the previous situation where the rebels were in such a difficult situation, the situation has undergone tremendous changes.After Luoyang fell, the Tang court quickly mobilized and organized troops to fight against the rebels in the south and north of Luoyang, so as to defend the capital Chang'an and prevent the rebels from advancing westward.In Hebei behind the An army, there were Yan Gaoqing, the prefect of Changshan, Yan Zhenqing, the prefect of Pingyuan, Li Yi, the prefect of Dongping, Li Sui, the prefect of Jinan, and Lu Quancheng, the prefect of Raoyang. .At this time, the Tang army gradually formed two major battlefields: one was to prevent the An army from advancing westward; the other was to prevent the An army from going south to Jianghuai.The Jianghuai area is the place where Datang's wealth is supplied. Once it is captured by the rebels, the consequences will be disastrous.And Yongqiu is the main road from Luoyang to the Jianghuai area, and its strategic significance is immeasurable.

Although Zhang Xun's official position is not high, he can clearly see the significance of sticking to Yongqiu.Therefore, he knew that even though Linghu Chao failed to attack Yongqiu for the first time, the rebel army would never let it go, and a big battle was imminent.For this, he has made full mental preparations. Sure enough, only 10 days before the first siege, Linghu Chao and the rebel generals Li Huaixian, Yang Chaozong, and Xie Yuan led more than 40,000 troops to compete for Yongqiu.The rebels came fiercely, and there were many people, but there were less than 2,000 defenders in the city.Facing a powerful enemy, the soldiers and civilians in the city were terrified, and none of them had the confidence to defend the city.Zhang Xun analyzed: "The bandit soldiers are elite, and they have a low heart. If they hit them unexpectedly today, they will be shocked. The bandit's power is small, and then the city can be defended." ("Zi Zhi Tong Jian Volume 217" ) All the generals agreed after listening.Zhang Xun immediately sent thousands of people to defend the city. He led a thousand people and divided them into several teams. He suddenly opened the city gate and rushed straight to the rebel camp.At this time, the rebel army had just arrived, although there were many people, they were still not stable, and the incident happened suddenly, so they retreated in horror.

The next day, the rebels attacked the city again, and hundreds of stone cannons were placed around the city to bombard it, and all the towers and female walls on the city were destroyed.Zhang Xun sent people to set up wooden fences on the city to block the attack of the rebels' stone cannons.The rebels had no choice but to take a storm and climb up the city wall.Zhang Xun poured oil with wormwood bunches, lit them and threw them from the city wall.The rebels were so badly burned that they were unable to ascend the city.If the storm failed, the rebels adopted a strategy of siege.Zhang Xun was resourceful and did not blindly defend.Sometimes he observed that the rebels were lax, so he sent troops to attack suddenly; sometimes in the dead of night, when the rebels were sleepy, he took the opportunity to attack the enemy camp.He persisted in this way for more than 60 days. After more than 300 battles, he ate with armor and fought again with his wounds. He finally repelled the rebels and pursued them with momentum. He wiped out more than 2,000 enemy soldiers and almost captured Linghu Chao alive. After Linghu Chao was defeated and fled, he looked back at Yongqiu in the vast black veil, and said bitterly: "If I don't take down this city, I will slaughter all the people in the city, and I will not be a human being!" In May of the first year of Zhide (756), Linghu Chao led troops to besiege Yongqiu again.The rebels took turns to attack, and the two sides held a stalemate for more than 40 days.At this time, Chang'an had fallen, and Xuanzong fled to Shu.Since Yongqiu had been besieged for a long time, he had lost contact with the outside world, and Zhang Xun didn't know about this situation.Linghu Chao thought that there was an opportunity, and he met Zhang Xun in the past, so he went to the city in person, trying to persuade Zhang Xun to surrender.Linghu Chao said: "This dynasty is in danger, soldiers cannot go out of the customs, and the affairs of the world are gone. With a single foot, we will guard the dangerous battlements with weak soldiers, and there will be no loyalty. Is it true that the prime minister will be rich if he follows him?" To the effect: the Tang Dynasty has passed Death, you still stick to the dangerous city, I don't know for whom.Zhang Xun replied: "In ancient times, the father died of the king, and the righteousness was not repaid. The son held his wife and children's grievances, and pretended to use his strength to help the thief. I see the king's head on the thoroughfare, and he is laughing for the world. What can I do?" ("New Tang Dynasty") Book·Volume 192·Zhang Xun Biography) satirizes Linghu Chao who used to promise himself loyalty, but now he has taken refuge in Anlu Mountain.Linghu Chao felt ashamed after hearing this, and even retreated because of this. However, six generals under Zhang Xun believed that the emperor had already fled and the situation was not good, and they were tempted to surrender. They persuaded Zhang Xun, "The enemy is strong and we are weak. There is too much disparity in numbers. .” Zhang Xun pretended to agree on the surface.The next day, Zhang Xun hung Xuanzong's portrait in the hall, and led his soldiers to worship and salute. Everyone cried for a while.Then Zhang Xun led the six generals in front of the hall, beheaded them with righteousness, and strengthened everyone's determination to defend the city. At that time, there was not much food left in Yongqiu, and the city began to lack food. Zhang Xun found out that the rebels had hundreds of ships carrying salt and rice about to be transported to the front line, so he personally led his troops out of the city at night.Upon hearing the news, Linghu Chao immediately led his troops to fight.However, Zhang Xun actually adopted a strategy of making a fool of himself and attacking the west. He hoped that Linghu Chao would do the same, so he sent another warrior to the river to seize the food and pay of the rebel army. There is Zhuge Liang's story of "borrowing arrows from a straw boat" in the book, but that is just a novel.In the hands of Zhang Xun, a real wonderful show of "straw man borrowing arrows" was staged.As the rebels continued to attack the city, the arrows in Yongqiu City ran out.After Zhang Xun thought about it carefully, he ordered his soldiers to make more than 1,000 grass figurines, put them in black clothes, and hang them on ropes and let them go to the city in the middle of the night.The rebels found the shadows under the city wall, thinking that it was the Tang army who came to attack, and suddenly the arrows rained like rain.It was not until dawn that the rebels discovered that it was a straw man. At this time, the Tang army had already obtained 100,000 arrows. A few days later, Zhang Xun selected 500 warriors and quietly went down to the city in the dark.After the rebels found out, they thought it was still a straw man this time, and they laughed all the time without any precautions. 500 brave soldiers took the opportunity to kill the Linghuchao barracks. The rebels were caught off guard, and there was a sudden chaos, burning the barrier and fleeing.Tang Jun pursued for more than 10 li and returned. Linghu Chao fell into tricks one after another, became angry from embarrassment, and continued to increase his troops to besiege the city, vowing to capture Yongqiu and avenge his shame.At that time, General Lei Wanchun of Tang Junlang was standing on the top of the city, talking to Linghu Chao, and the rebels took the opportunity to shoot Lei Wanchun with a crossbow.Lei Wanchun was shot in six places in the face, but he still stood still.Seeing this, Linghu Chao in the city suspects that Lei Wanchun is a wooden man.After reconnaissance, it was found that it was indeed Lei Wanchun. Linghu Chao was very surprised. He raised his head and said to Zhang Xun under the city: "I saw your general Lei is like this, so I know that your military orders are strict. However, such cruelty is really against the law of heaven!" Zhang Xun replied: "You are a traitor and a thief, and you don't know the relationship between the monarch and his ministers, but you still know the way of heaven!" Yongqiu was besieged for a long time, and all the firewood in the city was used up. Zhang Xun said to Linghu Chao: "If you want to lure the crowd away, please retreat to the second house so that I can escape." Ninety-two · Zhang Xun's biography") Linghu Chao wanted to capture Yongqiu, but he didn't know what to do, so he led his troops back.Zhang Xun immediately led all the soldiers and civilians, went out of the city in four directions, demolished houses, took wood, and transported them back to the city. Linghu Chao was furious when he learned the truth, led the army to besiege the city again, and accused Zhang Xun of not believing his words.Zhang Xun expressed his embarrassment, and said to Linghu Chao: "The king wants this city and returns thirty horses. I get the horse and run away. Please take the city as an excuse." ("New Tang Book Volume 192". Zhang Xun Biography) Linghu Chao sent 30 war horses.Zhang Xun distributed the horses to his subordinate generals, and asked them to say: "When the thief comes, one will be taken." The next day, Linghu Chao asked Zhang Xun why he hadn't left the city and surrendered. Zhang Xun said, "I want to go, but the soldiers don't follow me. What can I do?" , and began to attack the city.Before the formation was set up, the 30 generals arranged by Zhang Xun suddenly rushed out of the city.The rebels fled in a rout, retreated into Baochenliu, and dared not come out to fight again. Zhang Xun can always respond to the enemy when the opportunity arises and win by surprise.In the situation where the enemy was outnumbered, he was always able to inspire the soldiers with loyalty, led thousands of people, resisted the attack of tens of thousands of rebels, held on to the isolated city of Yongqiu for 4 months, and achieved an amazing record of victory in every battle.From then on, Zhang Xun became famous all over the world, and the soldiers and people from all around rushed to join him, and Yongqiu's strength was supplemented. In August, Li Tingwang, the envoy of Henan Jiedu appointed by An Lushan, personally led an army of 20,000 to attack Yongqiu.The rebels camped 30 miles east of the city.Zhang Xun led 3000 elite soldiers to attack while the rebel camp was not stable.The rebels were in chaos and most of them were beheaded.After Li Tingwang took over the army, he fled overnight. On the fourth day of October, Linghu Chao and Wang Fude led more than ten thousand infantry and cavalry to attack Yongqiu.Zhang Xun led the attack, defeated the rebels again, beheaded thousands of people, and the rebels fled in defeat. In December, Linghu Chao led more than 10,000 troops to camp in the north of Yongqiu City.Zhang Xun led the attack and defeated the rebels, who fled. Linghu Chao and Li Tingwang successively led tens of thousands of rebels to besiege Yongqiu. Not only did they fail to capture it for several months, but they suffered consecutive defeats, so they dared not attack Yongqiu directly. Take action to cut off Yongqiu's food and grass assistance, so that Yongqiu can break down without attack.In December, the rebels built a city north of Yongqiu and set up Qizhou.He also sent troops to capture Lu Jun (now Yanzhou, Shandong), Dongping (now northwest of Dongping, Shandong), and Jiyin (now southwest of Dingtao, Shandong).The rebel general Yang Chaozong led 20,000 troops to attack Ningling (now southeast of Ningling, Henan) to cut off Zhang Xun's back. Under such circumstances, Yongqiu had fallen into a desperate situation and was determined not to be able to hold on.Zhang Xunju judged the situation, voluntarily abandoned Yongqiu, led 300 horses and 3000 soldiers to guard Ningling, and joined forces with Suiyang prefect Xu Yuan and Chengfu Ling Yao Ju. On the same day, after the rebel general Yang Chaozong led his troops to the northwest of Ningling City, Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan sent general Lei Wanchun to lead the troops to fight.After a day and night of fierce fighting, the Yang Dynasty clan was defeated, with more than 10,000 casualties, and dead bodies filled the Bian River and flowed downstream.Yang Chaozong collected the remnants and fled overnight. At this time, Suzong, who was in Lingwu, also heard Zhang Xun's name and brilliant achievements, and issued an imperial edict to appoint Zhang Xun as the deputy envoy of Henan Jiedu to command the operations in the Jianghuai area.Zhang Xun believed that the officers and men under his command had meritorious service, so he sent envoys to ask King Guo Li Ju for an empty letter of commission and rewards, but King Guo Li Ju only gave 30 letters of appointment from Captain Zhechong and Captain Guoyi, but no reward. items.For this reason, Zhang Xun wrote to reprimand Li Ju and said: "The clan society is still in danger, and the tomb is isolated, can he be stingy with rewards and money?" ("New Book of Tang Volume 192 Zhang Xun Biography") Li Ju Huge don't listen. At this time, the overall counter-insurgency situation in Datang went through several ups and downs, and it was still not clear.On the sixth day of the first lunar month in the second year of Zhide (757), An Lushan was killed, and the situation seemed to be in favor of Tang.The irony is that the person who killed An Lushan was not a martial arts assassin sent by the Tang Dynasty, nor a certain hero on the battlefield, but An Lushan's own son, An Qingxu.After An Qingxu killed his father, he proclaimed himself emperor in Luoyang.The Tang army failed to seize the good opportunity of this infighting among the rebels to eliminate the rebellion in one fell swoop, but let the rebel Shi Siming's troops retake the counties in Hebei.Shi Siming then besieged the isolated city of Taiyuan, preparing to seize Hedong, and then drove straight to Shuofang, Hexi, Longyou and other places.An Qingxu took Yin Ziqi as the governor of Bianzhou and the envoy of Henan Jiedu, and led his troops to attack Suiyang (now Shangqiu South, Henan), and then further developed towards the Jianghuai and Huaihe Rivers to seize wealth.As a result, the focus of contention between the two sides shifted to Taiyuan and Suiyang.If one of the two strategic locations guarded by the Tang army was captured, the consequences would be disastrous. Suiyang is an important town in the Jianghuai River Basin. During the Warring States Period, it was the State of Song, and during the Han Dynasty, it was the feudal state of Liang. Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty strengthened the strength of Liang and Huaiyang, and expanded its fiefdoms, so that "Liang was enough to defend Qi and Zhao, and Huaiyang was enough to restrain Wu Chu" ("Han Shu Jia Yi Biography").After the outbreak of the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, Liang Wang stood firm in Suiyang and restrained the rebels from going west, which gave the famous general Zhou Yafu the opportunity to attack the rear of the rebels and defeat them in one fell swoop.It can be seen that Suiyang has a very important position in the North-South confrontation pattern.After the Anshi Rebellion, the rebel forces flourished, the north was broken, and Hebei and Henan were all occupied by the rebels. The supply of the Tang army was completely dependent on the Yangtze River and Huaihe River basins. Holding Suiyang could prevent the rebels from penetrating into the Jianghuai direction and ensure the security of the south of the Yangtze River. whole.If Suiyang falls, the canal will be blocked, and the consequences will be disastrous.It can be said that a city is in danger, and the world is in danger. On the twenty-fifth day of the first lunar month in the second year of Zhide (757), Yin Ziqi led Gui (now Huailai, Hebei), Tan (now Beijing Miyun), two states, Tongluo, Turkic, Xi and other soldiers to join another rebel general Yang Chaozong , a total of 130,000 troops, attacked Suiyang.Suiyang Governor Xu Yuan (great-grandson of Xu Jingzong. In the past Tang Gaozong wanted to make Empress Wu Zetian, but all the ministers objected, but Xu Jingzong made it happen, so Xu Jingzong was considered a traitor) After hearing the news, he hurriedly sent someone to Ningling to report to Zhang. Patrol emergency.Zhang Xun realized the important strategic significance of defending Suiyang to shield the Jianghuai River, and immediately led more than 3,000 troops to support Suiyang. After joining forces with Xu Yuan, there were 6,800 troops in total. As soon as the rebels arrived, they devoted all their forces to attack the city with great vigor, intending to take the city in a single battle.Zhang Xun encouraged the soldiers to fight hard day and night, sometimes repelling more than 20 attacks by the rebels in one day.After 16 consecutive days and nights of fierce fighting, although the rebels were numerous, they were exhausted and finally withdrew.The Tang army won the first battle and their morale increased greatly. Xu Yuan had only heard of Zhang Xun's name before, but now seeing him with both wisdom and courage, he said: "Yuan is cowardly, doesn't practice soldiers, and I am wise and courageous; please defend me when I am far away, and fight for me if I am far away." "Zizhi Tongjian Volume 219") So the two divided the work. Xu Yuan was responsible for allocating military rations, repairing war equipment, and receiving logistics support in the middle, while Zhang Xun was fully responsible for battle planning and defending Suiyang. .The two cooperated closely and took care of each other bravely, and forged a love of life and death in times of crisis.After that, Emperor Suzong issued an edict to worship Zhang Xun as the censor Zhongcheng and Xu Yuan as the censor. In March, the rebel general Yin Ziqi led an army to attack Suiyang again.Zhang Xun said to the soldiers guarding the city: "I have been greatly favored. If the thief comes back, he will have a dead ear. Although the lords sacrificed their lives, they were not rewarded directly. I hate it!" ("New Book of Tang Volume 190" Twelve Zhang Xun Biography) means that I have received the grace of the country, and I will not hesitate to die, but I think that you will die for the country with me, and the reward is not enough to repay the merit, so I am very sad.After hearing this, the soldiers asked to go to war one after another, and their emotions were high.Therefore, Zhang Xun killed cattle and held a banquet, rewarded the soldiers, and then led the whole army into battle.Seeing that Tang Jun had few soldiers, the rebels didn't take it seriously, and they all laughed.Zhang Xun held the flag in his own hands and led his soldiers straight to the rebel camp.In fact, the rebel army had many soldiers and generals, but when they saw the Tang army approaching ferociously, all of them marched forward bravely, looking like they were not afraid of death, they collapsed in horror.In this battle, Zhang Xun killed more than 30 rebel generals and more than 3,000 soldiers, and chased them dozens of miles away. In May, Yin Ziqi increased the siege force, and the siege became more violent.Zhang Xun saw that the opponent had a large number of people, so he took the strategy of exhausting the enemy. He often played drums in the city in the middle of the night, as if he was going to attack with a whole team.After the rebels outside the city heard the movement in the city, they became very nervous and put on strict guard.As a result, I waited until dawn, but I didn't see the Tang army coming out of the city.The rebels had been disturbed all night and were extremely exhausted, so they disarmed and rested.Zhang Xun immediately rushed out of the city with more than 10 generals including brave generals Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun, each leading 50 cavalry, and rushed straight to the enemy camp, all the way to Yin Ziqi's command, and the rebels were in chaos.In this way, Zhang Xun adopted a method of falsehood and realism, commanding soldiers to wait for opportunities to attack.Sometimes it turns false into truth, sometimes it turns false into reality.From time to time, there is nothing to do, and ghosts and ghosts appear and disappear. The rebels are often frightened and panicked overnight. Among the rebels, there was a Hu chief who was wearing armor, "leading Tuojie Qianqi to ride the city to recruit patrols". ("New Tang Book Volume 192 Zhang Xun Biography") Zhang Xun secretly sent dozens of warriors down from the city along the ropes and hid in the moat outside the city. Each warrior was equipped with a hook , Mo Dao, strong crossbow and other weapons, and made an appointment in advance: "Fight when you hear the sound of drums." The Hu chief led his men and horses, and went down to the city wall to show off his power and persuade Zhang Xun to surrender.At this time, the drums on the city suddenly sounded.When dozens of warriors heard the sound of the drum, they immediately jumped out of the trench and fought out.The Hu chief and his entourage had no time to resist and were all captured.The rebels behind didn't know why the barbarian chief in front had an accident for no reason, and they rushed to save people, but were shot back by the strong crossbow on the city wall.After a while, the Tang army warriors hiding in the moat climbed back to the female wall along the ropes of the city wall.Only then did the rebels know the reason, and they were shocked, and never dared to approach the city wall easily. Seeing that Suiyang had been besieged for a long time, Zhang Xun thought of the principle of capturing the thief first, and decided to shoot Yin Ziqi to break the siege of Suiyang.However, no one in Tang Jun knew Yin Ziqi.Zhang Xun had a plan and ordered people to cut the wormwood into arrows and shoot them at the rebels.The rebels who were shot were surprised that they were not injured. After finding that the arrowhead was wormwood, they were very happy, thinking that the arrows in the city had been used up, and immediately took the arrow to report to Yin Ziqi.Zhang Xun, who was standing at the top of the city, recognized Yin Ziqi and asked the archer Nan Jiyun to shoot the arrow.Nan Jiyun bent his bow and set an arrow, which hit Yin Ziqi's left eye.Yin Ziqi almost fell off his horse.The main general was injured, and the rebel army suddenly became chaotic.Zhang Xun took advantage of the situation and led his troops out of the city. The rebels were defeated, and Yin Ziqi was wounded and retreated. He was almost captured alive.The siege of Suiyang was thus resolved. Suiyang is the throat leading to Jianghuai, which is of great significance to the rebels.Although temporarily back, it is bound to make a comeback.On the sixth day of July, Yin Ziqi once again concentrated tens of thousands of troops to besiege Suiyang.At this time, Zhang Xun, who has been victorious in all battles, is facing a more serious crisis than ever, because Suiyang has begun to run out of food. Before that, Xu Yuan had hoarded 60,000 shi of grain in Suiyang, which could be used by the army and civilians in the city for one year, but Guo King Li Ju insisted on distributing half of it to Puyang (now northeast of Juancheng, Shandong), Jiyin (now Southwest of Dingtao, Shandong) two counties.Xu Yuan refused to reason and tried hard, but to no avail.It's a pity that after Jiyin got the food, he didn't continue to stick to it, but surrendered to the rebels.Because of this, Suiyang City was in short supply of food, and the soldiers of the Tang Army were given a daily supply of rice, mixed with tea paper and tree bark.The soldiers did not have enough rations, so their combat effectiveness was greatly reduced. Many soldiers were too weak to draw their bows and crossbows.However, under the leadership of Zhang Xun, the defenders still fought tenaciously.Due to the absence of rescue from outside, the soldiers suffered from hunger and illness, and the number of defenders dropped sharply to more than 1,600. At this point the rebels resumed their siege.Because Zhang Xun was regarded as a strong enemy, the rebel army made full preparations and made various siege equipment.There is a kind of flying ladder specially used for attacking the city. It is as tall as half a rainbow and can accommodate 200 elite soldiers. After being pushed down the city, the elite soldiers on the ladder can jump into the city.Zhang Xun cut three holes in the city wall in advance, and waited for the rebels to push the flying ladder down to the city. A piece of wood protruded from the hole to withstand the ladder, making it impossible to move forward; a piece of wood protruded from the third hole, and an iron cage was placed on the head, and the cage was filled with fire to burn the ladder.As a result, the ladder was burned from the middle, and all the rebels on the ladder were thrown to death. When one plan failed, the rebels made wooden donkeys to attack the city.Zhang Xun watered the wood donkey with molten iron, and the wood donkey was destroyed immediately.The rebels had nothing to do, so they used earth bags and firewood to make a road in the northwest of the city, hoping to use it to climb the city.Zhang Xun couldn't hold out during the day, but at night, he secretly sent people to throw flammable materials such as pine mushrooms and dry grass into the tread.The rebels were unaware of this. More than 10 days later, Zhang Xun suddenly led his army out of the city to fight, and sent people to set fire to the road along the wind.The fire was blown by the wind, and the flames were raging, and the rebels were even powerless to rescue them.The fire burned for more than 20 days before it was extinguished. Zhang Xun's command of operations is to respond to the enemy and act immediately.The strategic wisdom he showed in the war is rare in the history of Chinese and foreign wars. There are wonderful scenes such as pedaling the road, and the strategy has reached the realm of "infinite like heaven and earth, endless like rivers" said in "Sun Tzu's Art of War".He did not follow the ancient methods of warfare when employing troops, but ordered the generals to use their own methods of warfare to teach the soldiers.Someone asked the reason, Xun said: "Now we are fighting Hu Bing, the clouds merge and the birds disperse, and the changes are unpredictable; between a few steps, the situation is different. Adapting to the situation is in a hurry, and if the subordinates move, they all ask the general for instructions, and things may not be done in time. , This is because I don’t know the changes in the war situation. So I let the soldiers know the will of the generals, and the generals know the sentiments of the soldiers, and put them into the battlefield, just like the fingers of the hand. Soldiers and generals learn from each other, and people fight on their own. !" Since Zhang patrolled the city of Suiyang, all the equipment and battle armor were captured by the enemy.Whenever there are soldiers retreating in battle, Zhang Xun always stands in front of the battle and says to the soldiers: "I will never leave this place, please go back and fight the enemy to the death for me." Fight to the death.He treats people with sincerity, orders are strict, rewards and punishments are trustworthy, and he shares joys and sorrows with his subordinates, so all his subordinates work hard for him.Not only the generals of the Tang army were impressed by him, but even the rebels also admired his resourcefulness.Yin Ziqi had nothing to do and dared not attack easily, so he dug three deep trenches outside the city and erected wooden fences, intending to besiege Suiyang.Zhang Xun also dug trenches in the city to deal with the enemy. In August, Suiyang had been besieged for 7 months, and the number of defenders in the city had dropped to 600 in addition to casualties.It was no longer possible to take the initiative to attack, so Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan switched to full defense and divided the soldiers in the city into two parts. Zhang Xun led one to defend the northeast, and Xu Yuan led the other to defend the southwest.The two shared joys and sorrows with the soldiers, and they were on guard day and night. For the rebels attacking the city, Zhang Xun often showed great righteousness to them. As a result, more than 200 rebels defected one after another.At that time, the rebel general Li Huaizhong was patrolling the city, and Zhang Xun asked him in the city: "What is the king's business?" " Zhang Xun asked again: "The emperor accepts officials and eats the emperor's millet. How can he follow the thief, Guan Gong and I are sure?" " Zhang Xun asked again: "Since ancient times, rebellion has been wiped out. One day things are peaceful, and the emperor's parents and wives are punished together. Why do you have to do this?" ("New Book of Tang Volume 192 Zhang Xun Biography") Li Huaizhong Hearing this, he hid his face and left in tears, and then led dozens of people to surrender to Zhang Xun. It is a pity that Zhang Xun defended Suiyang to the death, Tang general Xu Shuji was in Qiaojun, Shang Heng was in Pengcheng, and He Lanjinming was in Linhuai.Zhang Xun saw that the city was getting more and more difficult, so he sent Nan Jiyun to break through.Ask Xu Shuji for reinforcements.But Xu Shuji refused to send troops, and only sent thousands of pieces of cloth.Nan Jiyun was furious, and immediately scolded Xu Shuji, wanting to fight to the death with him.Xu Shuji was wronged and dared not respond.Later, Zhang Xun sent Nan Jiyun to lead 30 cavalry to break out of the encirclement and ask for help from He Lanjinming who was stationed in Linhuai.After Nan Jiyun left Suiyang City, tens of thousands of rebels came to stop him.Nan Jiyun led the cavalry straight to the enemy camp, galloping left and right, and the rebels retreated one after another, thus opening a bloody road. After breaking out of the encirclement, only two cavalry were lost. Nan Jiyun arrived in Linhuai, saw He Lan Jinming, and explained his intention.He Lan Jinming was jealous of Zhang Xun's prestige, and worried that if someone sent troops to take the opportunity to seize his territory, he decided to stand by and watch, and deliberately said: "Now that Suiyang has fallen, what's the use of sending troops!" Nan Jiyun said: " I dare to die to guarantee that Suiyang will not fall. Besides, Suiyang and Linhuai are close at hand, and the two places depend on each other. If Suiyang falls, Linhuai is in danger, please think twice." He Lan Jinming not only did not send troops, Seeing that Nan Jiyun was brave and good at fighting, he also wanted to keep Nan Jiyun for his own use, so he set up a sumptuous banquet to entertain Nan Jiyun, accompanied by singing and dancing.Seeing this scene, Nan Jiyun wept generously and said, "When I broke out from the siege, the defenders of Suiyang had been out of food for more than a month. Now I am eating here alone, and it is really hard to swallow. You are sitting on a strong army, and seeing Suiyang Yang fell, and there was no intention of sending troops to save the disaster, could this be the work of loyal ministers and righteous men!" After saying that, he bit off one of his fingers.For a moment, everyone present was shocked, and all of them shed tears.However, He Lan Jinming still did not speak, his attitude was clear at a glance.Nan Jiyun drew an arrow and shot it at the wall of the Buddhist temple pagoda, and swore: "After the rebels are put down, they will surely enter the Ming Dynasty. This arrow is my ambition!" ("New Book of Tang, Volume 192, Zhang Xun pass") Several members of He Lan Jinming's Linhuai Department watched Nan Jiyun slap his horse away, stood up and said to He Lan Jinming: "Prefect, I have been waiting for you for many years, but now I think about coming, and I am so ashamed. Let me go!" After chasing Nan Jiyun and leaving go.He Lan Jinming looked at their backs, sweating uncontrollably. After Nan Jiyun left Linhuai angrily, he went to Zhenyuan first, and Zhenyuan ordered Li Ben to give Nan Jiyun a hundred horses.When they arrived in Ningling, they recruited more than 3,000 cavalry from the city envoy Lian Tan.On the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, Nan Jiyun returned to Suiyang. The rebels took precautions day and night because Nan Jiyun had broken out of the siege.As soon as Nan Jiyun appeared outside the city, he was surrounded by the rebel army.After a great battle, Nan Jiyun opened a bloody path.However, only a thousand soldiers and horses were brought into the city, and the rest died outside the city. When the generals in Suiyang City heard that the rescue had not arrived, they wept together for several days, their voices shaking the heavens and the earth.This cry is not only sad, but also chilling.By this time, everyone in the city had already embraced death. Knowing that the food supply in the city was exhausted and there were no reinforcements, Yin Ziqi stepped up his attack on the city.By October, there was no grain of rice in Suiyang.The soldiers had to eat the bark. After the bark was eaten up, they were forced to kill the horses.But this still cannot meet the daily needs, and in this case, it finally develops into the tragic situation of cannibalism.Zhang Xun brought his concubine in front of everyone, and said to everyone: "You guys have worked hard to defend the city for the country, with one heart and one mind. You have been starved of food for years, and your loyalty is not fading. You can't cut your own skin to eat soldiers, how can you do that?" It's a pity that this woman is sitting by and watching the danger." ("Old Tang Book Volume 187 Chapter Zhang Xun Biography") So he killed his concubine, cooked it and rewarded the soldiers.When the soldiers saw it, they all wept.Zhang Xun forced everyone to eat it. Soon, Xu Yuan also killed the slave boy to satisfy his hunger.Then the women in the city were tied up, and when they were exhausted, the old and young men were used to satisfy their hunger.By the day the city was broken, the number of people eaten had reached 20,000 to 30,000, making it a famous cannibal event in history.The people knew that they would die if they broke the city, yet no one rebelled against them.This situation is so tragic, it makes people cry.In the end, there were only more than 400 people left in Suiyang City. Under such circumstances, some people began to talk about abandoning the city to break through the siege, but Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan insisted: "Suiyang, the protection of the Jiang and Huaihe Rivers, if they are abandoned, the thieves will take advantage of the victory. Huai also. Besides, we are all hungry and weak, and we will not reach it if we go. In ancient times, the princes of the Warring States still rescued each other, and they are so close and handsome! It is better to stick to it and wait for it." ("Zizhi Tongjian Volume 220 》) means that Suiyang is the throat leading to the Jianghuai area. If the city is abandoned, the rebels will surely drive southward and occupy the Jianghuai area. Moreover, the soldiers in the city are weak due to hunger and it is difficult to break through. What's more, there are many officers and soldiers not far from Suiyang, so it's better to stick to it and wait for reinforcements.In the words, there was no complaint about the lack of rescue, and he never lost confidence, so he decided to continue to stand by and wait for help.However, the reinforcements never came. That night, Zhang Xun boarded the tower and looked far into the distance. The night was dark and his mood was extremely complicated.At this moment, there was a faint flute sound in the distance, and the strings in the heart of this bloody man with true temperament were also touched by sentimentality. He couldn't help but tears filled his eyes, and wrote the poem "Wearing the Flute" with a pen. :