Chapter 13 6. A small test for a good man

Chai Rong has many thoughts and is often impulsive.Before aggressively attacking Huainan, he first practiced his skills in the territory of the Shu Kingdom in the Shaanxi-Gansu area.A small test with a sledgehammer is really extraordinary. When Chai Rong was planning to implement his great plan, in the first month of 955 A.D., someone came to the capital from Shaanxi and Gansu, and told Chai Rong that the kingdom of Shu had no way and the frontier defenses were weak, so that they could take back the territory that had rebelled and fallen during the Jin and Han Dynasties.When Chai Rong heard this, he was a little excited.Although this suggestion cannot be compared with Li Cunxu's suggestion of conquering Shu in the later Tang Dynasty, it is still attractive enough.

After reading Wang Pu's "Ping Bian Ce", Chai Rong felt that it was necessary to conquer Fengxiang and other lands in Longxi, because it was one of the main grain producing areas.Expanding the food supply base is undoubtedly of great significance to the implementation of the grand strategy of "first south and then north". Just do what you say, Zhou Shizong Chai Rong asked the ministers to recommend generals to conquer Shu.Wang Pu recommended Xiang Xun, envoy of Xuanhui South Court and envoy of Zhen'an Jiedu.Chai Rong believed that Xiang Xun was competent, so he ordered Xiang Xun to form a team with Wang Jing, the envoy of Fengxiang Jiedu in the later Zhou Dynasty, and Zan Jurun, director of the Beijing Office, to lead troops to attack Shu.

The emperor of Shu at this time was Meng Chang, the third son of Meng Zhixiang.After Xiaomeng took over as the emperor of Shu, he has worked for twenty years.Since the Central Plains went through the Jin and Han Dynasties and encountered troubled times, the Shu Kingdom was able to live in the southwest, and lived a good life.All the monarchs and ministers eat their brains full of fat, play songs every day, drink every night, don't think about conquests, don't worry about border defense, and have nothing to worry about for decades.In particular, the Jin and Han Dynasties were forced by the Khitan, and the state capitals in Longxi, Shaanxi and Gansu left the Central Plains and took refuge in the Shu Kingdom, which made Emperor Xiaomeng feel even more extraordinary.

Regarding the attack on Shu in the Later Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Xiaomeng didn't take it too seriously, and sent several generals to Qinzhou to fight against the Zhou army.Facing the Zhou army was Li Tinggui, the Commander of the State of Shu, the Commander of Hedu, and the envoy of Baoning Jiedu. The deputy director of the office, Zhao Jizha, was the envoy of Qinzhou's military supervisor.These few people are all cronies of Emperor Xiaomeng. It can be said that the lineup is magnificent and grand, which is comparable to Zhou Jun's leadership team. But the ridiculous thing is that Zhao Jizha had just walked to Deyang, and when he heard that Wang Jing had called, he was so frightened that he ran away, wrote a letter to the emperor asking to resign, left the army, and brought a large group of concubines, opera troupes and Food, grass and supplies fled back to Chengdu.Zhao Jizha left his post without authorization and fled back to Chengdu, which caused a huge shock to the Shu Kingdom. Shu people talked a lot, thinking that Zhou Jun had entered Sichuan in a large scale.Emperor Xiaomeng called Zhao Jizha to inquire about the situation, but Zhao Jizha was incoherent and couldn't explain anything clearly.Emperor Xiaomeng was so angry that he chopped off Zhao Jizha's head in a fit of rage.

It was Li Tinggui who really fought hand to hand with Zhou Jun.In the battle of Weiwu City, the Zhou army was defeated, and Hu Li, the Chen envoy, was captured by the Shu army.In a flash of time, it was July, and the Zhou division had sent troops for two months, but they had not achieved great results.Disagreements arose within the Zhou Dynasty. Many ministers believed that hard work was useless. Sichuan has always been easy to defend and difficult to attack. Don’t be blind to light lamps in vain. return.Chai Rong was not reconciled, so he sent Zhao Kuangyin to the front enemy to check the situation.Zhao Kuangyin traveled day and night, and reported back from the former enemy that Qinzhou and Fengzhou could be captured.This strengthened Chai Rong's confidence, and Chai Rong ordered Xiang Xun and Wang Jing to attack with all their strength.

As the war progressed, a fierce battle finally took place between Shu and Zhou, which established the absolute advantage of the Zhou army.General Li Tinggui of Shu sent Li Jin, a vanguard officer, to guard Maling village, and secretly dispatched a surprise attack force out of Xiegu to station troops in Baijian.In addition, Li Tinggui also sent two troops into Fengzhou, Tangcang Town and Huanghua Valley respectively, with the purpose of cutting off the Zhou army's food road.When the Zhou army conquered Shu for thousands of miles, the transportation of grain and grass was the top priority. One of the important reasons why Shi Jingtang failed to conquer Shu was that the supply of grain and grass was not enough.Li Tinggui's combination of punches was ruthless and clever, making it impossible for Zhou Jun to defend against it.

However, Wang Jing, the recruiter of the Zhou army, intercepted the intelligence of the Shu army and mastered the military deployment of the Shu army.Wang Jing sent general Zhang Jianxiong to rush to Huanghua Valley with 2,000 troops, and another 1,000 troops to Tangcang.Wang Jing's brilliance does not lie in sending troops to Huanghua Valley and Tangcang Town to meet the enemy in time, but for another purpose.The two armies sent by Wang Jing were not the main force to intercept the Shu army. Their main function was to insert behind the Shu army after the Shu army arrived at Huanghuagu and Tangcang Town, and cut off the Shu army's return route.It can be said that the mantis catches the cicada and the oriole is behind, and it will do its tricks.

The Shu army that arrived at Huanghuagu and Tangcang Town was about to rob the Zhou army's grain and grass transportation team, when suddenly the artillery was fired, and the army of the Zhou Dynasty came from the front.Shu Jun did not expect Zhou Jun to be prepared.Before the war started, the surprise attack force of the Shu Kingdom had already been defeated psychologically, and coupled with being outnumbered, the Shu army was defeated.On the way back to escape, the Shu army was robbed and killed by Zhang Jianxiong and other troops who had already ambushed. The news of the destruction of the two raiding troops reached Li Tinggui. Li Tinggui was shocked, and the Shu army was shocked.The Shu army at Malingzhai and Baijian abandoned their camps and passes and retreated.Li Tinggui and Gao Yanchou had no choice but to withdraw their insurance from Qingniling.This battle of wisdom and hard work seriously shook the morale of the Shu army. Han Jixun, the heroic military governor and servant of the Shu Kingdom, abandoned Qinzhou and fled to Chengdu.Qinzhou was captured by the Zhou army, and Chengzhou and Jiezhou Wangfeng surrendered.

Wang Jing led the Zhou army to advance rapidly and surrounded Fengzhou.General Han Tong of the Zhou Army led troops to occupy Chenggu Town and cut off the reinforcements from the Kingdom of Shu.This is a typical siege tactics.Not long after, Fengzhou couldn't hold on anymore and was captured by Zhou Jun.Wang Jing captured 5,000 soldiers including Wang Huan, the mighty military governor of the Shu Kingdom, and Zhao Chongpu, the capital supervisor. The Zhou army conquered Shu and won a complete victory. It re-established the Central Plains' rule over the four prefectures of Qin, Feng, Cheng, and Tier, and restored the territory here in the Later Tang Dynasty.The court of the Later Zhou Dynasty issued an order to amnesty the whole territory of Qin, Feng, Jie and Cheng.For the captured Shu soldiers who are willing to stay in the Central Plains, they will be granted official positions and jobs; those who are willing to return to Sichuan will be paid travel expenses to send them home.Abolish Shu's exorbitant taxes in these four states, and implement the same light tax policy as the Central Plains.Chai Rong's Huairou policy played an important role in the post-war restoration and consolidation of the four prefectures of Qin, Feng, and Chengjie.This is the brilliance of the court of the Later Zhou Dynasty.

The success of defeating Shu once again verified Chai Rong's determination and willpower.This war echoed the Battle of Gaoping, and completely conquered the hearts of all the civil and military officials of the later Zhou Dynasty. Let's carry out the great plan of expanding the territory and establishing the hegemony together. Chai Rong is also very mature at this time, with more sophisticated political strategies and experience.Civil and military officials congratulated on the merits of defeating Shu. Chai Rong did not take the illustrious military achievements as his own like Zhuangzong Li Cunxu of the later Tang Dynasty, but praised two people.Chai Rong said: "Wang Pu's ability to choose a commander is the same as the achievement of frontier achievements!" Zhou Shizong's words not only praised Wang Pu's contribution in knowing people and recommending people, but also affirmed the direct role of the coach Xiang Xun.

Chai Rong is very good at being a man, and he is even better at being an emperor, and he has given enough face to the ministers. To receive this honor, the courtier has a lot of face, who wouldn't give his life to the emperor? In the next week, the whole country celebrated with lanterns and festoons, but the Shu Kingdom was sad and depressed.Fortunately, Emperor Xiaomeng was not a fool. He pardoned Li Tinggui and others, and did not blame them all for the defeat in the war.The so-called victory or defeat is a common matter in the military. As long as the soldiers try their best, they must forgive others and forgive others. This is also the way of the king.Emperor Xiaomeng couldn't figure out the temper of the new emperor Chai Rong in Houzhou, and he didn't know what Chai Rong wanted to do.To be on the safe side, Emperor Xiaomeng wrote a peace letter to Zhou Shizong Chai Rong.Chai Rong was very proud and ignored Xiao Meng.Xiaomeng became even more nervous, so he quickly recruited troops to buy horses, store up grass and stockpile food, and strengthened guards and defenses at Jianmen Pass, an important road on land, and Baidi City, an important road on the Yangtze River. Emperor Xiaomeng was worried every day, thinking that the Zhou army would invade Sichuan at any time.Every morning, Xiao Meng's first thing is to ask if there is any news about Zhou Jun's crime.Days passed, and Zhou Jun still had no news.Xiao Meng wondered, why didn't Zhou Jun come? What should Chai Rong do after he has tried his sword? Butcher a cow! Chai Rong gave up the toughness of Sichuan and turned around to slaughter a big fat cow.