Chapter 11 7. It is difficult for a grown-up hero to be a neighbor

On both sides of the Yellow River, when Zhu Quanzhong and Li Keyong were so busy, everyone ignored a man, Yang Xingmi, a man of humble background.He rose from the cracks and took over the vacuum and position left by Gao Pian.By the time everyone found him, he was already unshakable.Yang Xingmi said: "I am a small person, but I have big ambitions." Yang Xingmi is undoubtedly a character. Ever since Yang Xingmi made his debut, he has shown that he is indeed a character with big or small things. From the feudal town to the central government, many people know that Yang Xingmi is a character.

Yang Xingmi does not have the ups and downs and brilliant legends of Li Keyong and Zhu Quanzhong. He is accumulated by one thing that is not earth-shattering, which can be said to be relatively ordinary. Many people, those who are at ease or not at ease with Yang Xingmi, those who are used to it or are not used to it, those who are envious or jealous, distant relatives and close neighbors, all watched Yang Xingmi grow up with perseverance and perseverance day by day. The power vacuum in Huainan left by Gao Pian was gradually filled by Yang Xingmi, a small school that started from humble beginnings.

The influence of Gao Pian's huge halo gradually faded, and his power vortex attracted countless powers to compete.In the end, it was Yang Xingmi, a small school, who gained a firm foothold and occupied the territory by virtue of his local advantages. The rise of Zhu Quanzhong, Liu Rengong, Yang Xingmi, Qian Liu, and Wang Jian, who were at the bottom of the society, dominated one side and became powerful officials in Xinjiang, marking the renewal of the power of the feudal towns in the late Tang Dynasty.The hereditary warlords based on the inheritance of family status are gradually withdrawing from history and replaced by "three noes" newcomers who have no social background, fame and status, and no family background.This is the result of changes in the social structure and the game of class power.

Society is being restructured, although no one knows how. Society needs to be restructured, and many warlords with heavy armies have this impulse in their hearts. The road to Yang Xingmi's rise was tortuous and difficult. Yang Xingmi had to rush left and right to lay down his own territory, but also had to deal with external forces coveting Huainan.For the originally weak Yang Xingmi, this is undoubtedly extremely risky and full of tests, and there will be catastrophe at any time. However, relying on his familiarity with geography and human relations, good at recruiting talents, strict self-discipline and extraordinary strategy, Yang Xingmi managed to expand and grow bit by bit.

In 895 AD, Yang Xingmi led his army across the Huaihe River to Sizhou.The army set up camp and went to the village, and Yang Xingmi's subordinate defense made Tai Meng make a lot of arrangements in order to receive his chief, with flags and banners flying, gongs and drums blaring, cattle and sheep slaughtered, wine and beautiful women, and the ostentation was very grand. Yang Xingmi got off his horse and walked into the banquet hall set up by Tai Meng, seeing such a lively and grand scene, his face darkened with displeasure.Tai Meng didn't notice the change in Yang Xingmi's expression, and kept toasting Yang Xingmi with cloth dishes.The civil servants and military generals yelled five times and drank six times, all of them were red-faced, full of wine and food.

The next day, Yang Xingmi led his army to continue on their way.The army had just started, and at this time Taimeng came galloping at full speed.After catching up with Yang Xingmi, Tai Meng got off his horse and handed Yang Xingmi a bundle with both hands.Yang Xingmi sat on the horse, opened the bundle and saw that it was a piece of clothing.This is a very ordinary piece of clothing, a men's short jacket.Yang Xingmi smiled slightly and said, "Thank you, Tai Meng. This commander left in a hurry this morning and forgot his clothes at the posthouse. Fortunately, you found it in time and brought it to me."

Originally, this was a relatively common thing, but what happened next was not normal.Yang Xingmi slowly unfolded the dress in front of everyone.Seeing the clothes in front of them, all the civil and military generals present were stunned.There are no less than a dozen patches sewn on this dress, large and small, and it is almost impossible to tell which parts are original and which are newly patched.This ragged garment is simply the symbol of eight generations of disciples and nine generations of disciples of the Beggar Gang.Everyone looked at each other and looked at Yang Xingmi suspiciously.Yang Xingmi looked at the crowd, laughed and said, "It's like this. When I was young, my family was poor and lacked clothes. I've worn this clothes for more than ten years, and it's still usable, so I can't bear to throw it away. "

At this time, Tai Meng understood that Yang Xingmi deliberately left the patched clothes in the post house, in order to teach Tai Meng to be frugal.Tai Meng was both ashamed and moved.I am ashamed that I am not as diligent and self-disciplined as the commander-in-chief, and I am moved that Yang Xingmi did not refute his face, let alone reprimand him in public.Yang Xingmi's brilliance can be seen from this.Pass on your ideas to your subordinates in a way that everyone can accept, unite people's hearts, and establish righteousness.Yang Xingmi has two distinct characteristics, sharing weal and woe, and respecting the virtuous and corporal, which is incomparable to other heroes in the same period.

After Yang Xingmi took down Haozhou, he then attacked Shouzhou.Shouzhou is an important town in Huainan and an important border defense route in the north.This place is a battleground for military strategists, and there have been hundreds of battles, large and small, over the past few decades.It is the focus of the tug-of-war between the North and South military groups, the offensive and defensive encirclement and anti-encirclement warfare. Yang Xingmi's attack on Shouzhou did not go well, and he encountered stubborn resistance from the governor Jiang Congxu.Shouzhou could not be defeated for a while, and the army was delayed, so Yang Xingmi planned to give up his plan to attack Shouzhou.At this time, Huainan General Zhu Yanshou took the initiative to ask Ying to try again.Yang Xingmi was moved by Zhu Yanshou's courage, so he sent him a team to make a final effort.

Zhu Yanshou, shirtless and holding a broadsword, took the lead, carrying a ladder and leading the charge towards the city wall of Shouzhou.The Huainan Army beat the drums for Zhu Yanshou behind his back.Encouraged by Zhu Yanshou, all Huainan soldiers fought hard, climbed to the top of the city in one go, and captured Shouzhou in less than an hour. In order to reward Zhu Yanshou, Yang Xingmi granted Zhu Yanshou the training envoy of the Shouzhou regiment on the spot.It didn't take long for Zhu Yanshou, who had just tasted the taste of siege, to taste the taste of defending the city.This is a difficult problem that every general who occupies Shouzhou City has to face.Those who are good at attacking a city may not be good at defending a city.It is not easy to capture Shouzhou, but it is even more difficult to hold on to it.

When Zhu Quanzhong was busy with the "Three Zhus" war, he did not give up his coveting of Huainan.They often send partial troops to harass the territory of Huainan, occupying a piece is a piece, even if they catch a fly, it is meat. Zhu Yanshou encountered tens of thousands of Bian troops within a few days of occupying Shouzhou.Compared with the Bian Army, Shouzhou City has fewer soldiers and less food, and the military and people's sentiments are not yet stable.With the Bian army pressing down on the border, the people in Shouzhou City were panicked and didn't know what to do. At this time, Zhu Yanshou showed the calm and tenacity of a general.Zhu Yanshou divided the Huainan Army into several combat units, each unit became a banner, and each banner included 25 cavalry.Zhu Yanshou ordered Li Hou, the captain of the Black Cloud Team, to lead 250 people from the Ten Banners out of the city to meet the enemy.Everyone can't help but wonder, how can a mere 250 people resist tens of thousands of Bian troops?Isn't this a meat bun beating a dog?As you may not know, Yang Xingmi's Black Cloud Team is a specially formed special force, carefully selected from the Huainan Army, and composed of strong and powerful soldiers, which is equivalent to the current US Navy Seals.Therefore, the combat effectiveness of Li Hou, the captain of the Black Cloud team, must not be underestimated. Although Li Hou is very capable of fighting, although Li Hou's men are very capable of fighting, but after all, there are too few people.Ren Li Hou led the cavalry on a rampage, and the encirclement circle of the Bian army remained unmoved.After a long time, Li Hou was finally exhausted and had to retreat to Shouzhou City. Zhu Yanshou ruled the army very strictly. Li Hou, who was defeated, was to be executed and ordered to be pushed out and beheaded.Li Hou straightened his neck, with veins twitching violently on his forehead, and shouted: "General, it's not because the subordinates are cowardly, but because there are too few soldiers. Please give me more troops. I am willing to go out again. If I can't win, I will die before the battle." !" Zhu Yanshou's assistants pleaded for Li Hou and asked Zhu Yanshou to give Li Hou another chance to make up for his mistakes. Zhu Yanshou finally agreed to send Li Hou to fight again, and added 125 people from the Five Banners to him.Li Hou got a glimmer of hope of avoiding death, and when he fought again, he worked extra hard and fought desperately, which was also a chance to survive.Chai Zaiyong led a team to support Li Hou on the flank.Zhu Yanshou bluffed his banner and led all his troops out of Shouzhou City, heading straight for the Bian army. Under the powerful attack of the Huainan army's mortal fighting spirit, and the Bian army couldn't figure out how many troops there were in Shouzhou City for a while, after a moment of melee, the Bian army withdrew.The Shouzhou defense battle was won.Yang Xingmi took the opportunity to send troops to attack the nearby Lianshui. Another decisive battle was the Battle of Suzhou.The Zhenhai Festival made Dong Chang want to be emperor, almost to the point of intoxication.Although many people in the Zhenhai Fanzhen Chinese Wuman advised and dissuaded them, it was of no avail.Dong Chang had already lost his mind, and he killed all the subordinates who opposed his proclaiming emperor, five or six in a row, and almost killed all the capable officials in Zhenhai Mansion.Under Dong Chang's tossing, Zhenhai declined rapidly.Yang Xingmi saw clearly that Dong Chang's end was coming, so he led his army to fight against Zhen Haijun in Huangtiandang.In this battle, Zhenhai was defeated.Huang Tiandang is a famous historical battlefield. More than two hundred years later, a defense battle in the Southern Song Dynasty also won an important victory here. Yang Xingmi drove straight in and surrounded Suzhou. Lu Ying, the envoy of Changshu Town in Suzhou, rebelled against Zhenhai, and the whole city surrendered to Yang Xingmi.Yang Xingmi captured Chengji, governor of Suzhou, without much effort.When copying Chengji's home, Yang Xingmi saw that there was no gold, silver or jewelry in Chengji's home, but a large collection of books and medicines.Yang Xingmi sighed secretly, and concluded that Cheng Ji was a virtuous person.Yang Xingmi not only did not make it difficult for Chengji, but made Chengji the Sima of the march.Cheng Ji was also very moved, thanked Yang Xingmi, said with tears in his eyes and voice choked up: "My family of one hundred and ten people is still at Qian Liu's place, and now that Suzhou has been lost, it is a big shame for a courtier and a parent not to be able to die. How dare I promise you a reward! If I don't die, the lives of my family members will be in danger, and I am willing to sacrifice my life in exchange for the lives of my family members." As he spoke, Cheng Ji drew out his knife and stabbed himself in the chest and abdomen.At this time, Yang Xingmi caught up with Cheng Ji with quick eyes and quick hands, and grabbed Cheng Ji's hands tightly, trying to prevent Cheng Ji from committing suicide. In the evening, Yang Xingmi entertained Chengji at Shuaifu in Suzhou and stayed in Chengji's residence.There are many guards in Chengji's house, but Yang Xingmi doesn't mind, and often goes to meet Chengji alone in casual clothes.After seeing Cheng Ji, Yang Xingmi ate and drank with Cheng Ji at the same table, talking and laughing happily, as if no one was around.This is Yang Xingmi's great trust in Cheng Ji.Cheng Ji was very moved by this.Yang Xingmi's way of treating Cheng Ji also spread quickly and touched the people of Suzhou.Yang Xingmi gained a good reputation of being trusted in Suzhou. Yang Xingmi captured Suzhou, posing a threat to Hangzhou, which is only close at hand.However, Zhenhai Jiedu envoy Qian Liu was not in a hurry to send troops to fight against Yang Xingmi, but focused on attacking Dong Chang. Here, we need to explain the origin of Qian Liu. Qian Liu, with beautiful characters, was born in Lin'an, Hangzhou.This guy Qian Liu was also a rascal when he was a child, he was idle and not doing his job properly.He is a king of kids, and he often directs a group of children to play military training games, which is really decent.When Qian Liu was in his twenties, he still hadn't found a proper job. He made a living by secretly selling some private salt or stealing. He played with guns and sticks a few times in his spare time. Words, probably at the level of fifth grade elementary school.There is a small official named Zhong Qi in the yamen of Lin'an County, who works as a recorder in the yamen, that is, a clerk who makes notes.Zhong Qi's sons all liked to hang out with Qian Liu, drinking and gambling every day.Zhong Qi was worried that the children would be spoiled by Qian Liu, so he forbade his sons to associate with Qian Liu, but it was evil, these boys would rather go against Lao Tzu's instructions, and play with Qian Liu secretly. There is a person from Yuzhang who is good at judging fate and future for people.The physiognomy looked up at the sky one day, and suddenly found that there was a kingly spirit in the bull fight.Niudou refers to the two stars in the sky, which point to the Qiantang area.Therefore, the old man went to Qiantang at his own expense to find out.After arriving at Qiantang, further divination revealed that Wang Qi was actually in Lin'an.So, the physiognomy went to Lin'an again.After arriving in Lin'an, the fortune-telling master made a living by fortune-telling and character reading, and secretly watched in the well market to see who had a royal air on him.After staying for more than ten days, the physiognomist did not find the target.After a long time, the photographer and the celebrities in the county also became close, Zhong Qi was among the acquaintances of the photographer.The fortune-teller said to Zhong Qi: "After divination, I think you have a noble person here. But I see that although you are handsome, you are still a bit small in appearance, and you are not the noble person I am looking for." This Zhong Qi is also a lively person.A banquet was specially set up, and all the famous people from ten miles and eight villages were invited to gather together in the name of drinking and treating guests.Let the physiognomy observe them one by one in the dark.As a result, none of them satisfied the physiognomist.The more so, the more Zhong Qi became interested in it, and devoted infinite enthusiasm to this matter. One day, the physiognomist went to Zhong Qi's house to sit down for a while.It so happened that Qian Liu also came to Zhong Qi's house to look for Zhong Qi's son.Qian Liu was at home at first sight, felt bored, turned around and left.After Qian Liu left, the physicist slapped his thigh and said, "That's him, he's the gentleman I'm looking for!" Zhong Qi smiled sarcastically and said: "Master, are you crazy about noble people these days, this guy is Xiaoqian next door to my house, he has nothing serious all day long." The physicist didn't give up, so he asked Qian Liu to come back again, and stared at Qian Liu's face carefully for most of the day.The physicist turned his head and said to Zhong Qi: "No wonder it's difficult to look at you. It turns out that he lives next door to you. Your wealth and destiny must depend on this Mr. Qian in the future." The physiognomist told Qian Liu again: "Sir, you have extraordinary bones and looks, please respect yourself." Master Xiang breathed a sigh of relief, stood up and bid farewell to Zhong Qi: "I visit this nobleman not for any personal gain, but mainly to prove whether my physiognomy is effective." At this moment, Zhong Qi was like enlightened, respectful to Qian Liu, not only agreed to his sons to play with Qian Liu, but also lent money to Qian Liu repeatedly, spending whatever he wanted, and continuing to give money when the money was not enough. Qian Liu first entered the military circle in the second year of Emperor Xizong Qianfu (875 A.D.), similar to Zhu Quanzhong.But Qian Liu joined the army at the beginning.At that time, Wang Ying, the general of the Western Zhejiang Pi, made a rebellion, and Dong Chang, the general of Shijian Town at that time, recruited Xiangyong to conquer Wang Ying.Qian Liu enlisted in the army and became a general, and defeated Wang Ying with the army.Later, when Huang Chao's army passed by the Hangzhou area in eastern Zhejiang, Gao Pian was in charge of the unified command of the southeast government army resisting the rebels.In a small-scale encounter, Qian Liu attacked Huang Chao's troops through ambush tactics, and was rewarded by Gao Pian.However, after Gao Pian fell into Huang Chao's estrangement, he fought with Huang Chao on and off, and was in a stalemate.Dong Chang and Qian Liu were not of much use either, and had no place to use them, so they had to be idle to protect themselves.After Dong Chang was promoted to governor of Hangzhou, he promoted Qian Liu to be the commander of one of his eight combat units. In the third year of Guangqi (887 A.D.), Qian Liu was further promoted to General Zuowei and Governor of Hangzhou, and Dong Chang was promoted to Observer of Yuezhou.This year, Bi Shiduo imprisoned Gao Pian, and Huainan was in chaos.Qian Liu dispatched generals Cheng Ji and Du Leng to attack Changzhou and Runzhou. After Zhaozong succeeded to the throne, he promoted Qian Liu to be the defense envoy of Hangzhou. At this time, Yang Xingmi was on the rise in Huainan, and Sun Ru, the former subordinate of Qin Zongquan, was defeated by Zhu Quanzhong in the west and also ran to Huainan. In order to compete for territory, Qian Liu, Yang Xingmi and Sun Ru fought every once in a while, and there were constant wars between Suzhou and Changzhou. .Later, Sun Ru was defeated and killed by Yang Xingmi, so Yang Xingmi occupied Huainan and captured Runzhou, while Qian Liu occupied Suzhou, Changzhou, and Hangzhou. Later, the imperial court promoted Yuezhou to a higher level, appointed Dong Chang as Weisheng Jiedu envoy, and Qian Liu as Dutuan training envoy.At this time, Qian Liu had gathered a group of civil and military generals, such as Cheng Ji, Du Leng, Ruan Jie, Gu Quanwu, Shen Song, Pi Guangye, Lin Ding, Luo Yin and others, which can be said to have begun to take shape. In the second year of Emperor Zhaozong Jingfu, Qian Liu continued to be promoted and became the governor of Zhenhai and the governor of Runzhou.In the second year of Qianning, Dong Chang wanted to be emperor, so he insisted on going his own way and launched a rebellion.This Dong Chang really has no brains, let alone intelligence. He decides the cases brought by ordinary people very simply. He neither investigates nor interrogates.Dong Chang rebelled, and the left and right ministers tried to dissuade him, but he either beat him to pieces or cut off his head.Dong Chang also wanted to win over Qian Liu to rebel with him.Qian Liu doesn't buy Dong Chang's account at all, he doesn't like Dong Chang at all.Therefore, Qian Liu chose to stand by the court. Not long after, Dong Changzhong rebelled against his relatives and was on the verge of collapse. He stuck to his government in Yuezhou and did not dare to fight.General Qian Liu Gu Quanwu mobilized heavy troops to attack Yuezhou.The reason why Qian Liu abandoned Suzhou and rushed to attack Yuezhou was because Yuezhou was the original base of Zhenhai.After taking down Yuezhou, Qian Liu is the complete Zhenhai Jiedushi. The benefits and chances of conquering Yuezhou are far greater than meeting the enemy Suzhou. After Gu Quanwu captured the outer city of Yuezhou, Qian Liu adopted a strategy of persuading Dong Chang to surrender in order to reduce losses, preserve his strength, and obtain a complete Yuezhou city.Qian Liu sent people to deceive Dong Chang, saying that if Dong Chang surrendered, he could go to Hangzhou to go through the retirement procedures and enjoy peace and happiness.Dong Chang's emperor's dream was shattered. Not only did he fail to recognize the current dangerous situation, but he actually believed Qian Liu's lies, which shows Dong Chang's IQ level.Dong Chang's whole city surrendered. Qian Liu drove into the city of Yuezhou mightily, and Dong Chang presented it to Qian Liu, wearing hemp and filial piety and holding a seal token.Qian Liu arranged for a ship to take Dong Chang, his family and civil and military officials to Hangzhou.When the boat sailed to Xiaojiangnan, ambushes broke out everywhere, and Qian Liu sent people to kill more than 300 people including Dong Chang and his family members, as well as more than 100 people under the pseudo-prime ministers Li Miao and Jiang Gui. The river was blocked and the water plants were soaked in blood. red.Qian Liu sent Dong Chang's head to Chang'an, and the court greatly rewarded Qian Liu.Qian Liu not only received lofty political treatment, but also obtained five hundred gold and silk groceries and three million hu of grain in the Yuezhou government treasury.Qian Liu gained both fame and fortune, which made the princes of the world envy. After Yang Xingmi occupied Suzhou, there was a tendency to annex Wuyue and sweep up Hunan and Hubei. The power structure of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Hubei was immediately shaken and shaken. Qian Liu from Hangzhou, Du Hong from Wuchang and others felt Yang Xingmi's aggressive pressure, and hurriedly asked Zhu Quanzhong for help.In order to prevent Yang Xingmi from growing rapidly, Zhu Quanzhong sent Zhu Yougong to lead an army of tens of thousands to Huainan, obeying the command and dispatch of Qian Liu and others, and joined forces with Jiangsu and Zhejiang soldiers to fight against Yang Xingmi.Not only did the neighboring feudal towns feel the strong pressure from Yang Xingmi, but the imperial court also had a keen sense of smell.No matter how weak the imperial court is, its enthusiasm for playing power tricks will not diminish, and the methods will not retreat in the slightest.The first thing the imperial court thought of was how to use Yang Xingmi to make Yang Xingmi a tool for the imperial court to divide and contain the princes.The imperial court appointed Yang Xingmi as the governor of the recruiting capital to attack the disobedient Du Hong.In fact, the imperial court is killing four birds with one stone, exacerbating the contradictions among Yang Xingmi, Qian Liu, Du Hong, and Zhu Quanzhong, expecting them to conquer each other and weaken each other. In the early days, the Bian Army and the Zhenhai Army fought against the Huainan Army in two lines and achieved certain victories.Zhu Yougong defeated Huainan general Ma Xun and captured Huangzhou.Gu Quanwu, general of Zhejiang and Zhejiang, defeated Wei Yue and Tian Kai, generals of Huainan, and won the battle of Huzhou.Because Yang Xingmi stretched the front line too long, he gained and lost a lot of territory he occupied.