Chapter 20 Chapter Twenty

It is said that Zhao Kuangyin returned to Kaifeng from Taiyuan in June 969 AD. After inspecting the work among various functional departments in the capital, he felt that everything was normal, so he went back to the palace to continue looking at the map and think about things. After all, there are still so many things waiting for him to do, the world is still so big.And it should be noted that it has been almost ten years since he became emperor in 960 AD. Except for the first year, when he went out twice to kill the disobedient Li Yun and Li Chongjin, only This time, he had just left home on a business trip to Beihan Gong for four months.

For nearly nine years, he has been in Kaifeng City. Why do you say this?One thing is extremely important, and also very weird.Think about it, Zhao Kuangyin is a very careful and cautious person no matter what, and he can't tolerate unorganized and undisciplined people, right?In fact, he has done a lot of work in this area, whether it is releasing military power with a glass of wine, dismantling feudal towns, making money valleys, recruiting elite soldiers, or redistributing official power, these are all things he does. However, history has proved that in the past ten years, under his nose, there has been a powerful force with far-reaching influence, which has quietly formed a force that penetrates the national economy and people's livelihood of the Song Dynasty.

There are signs that when this force was still in its infancy, and even its leader was still unknown, Zhao Kuangyin deliberately cultivated and promoted this person so that he could stand out among the crowd.There are many reasons for this, including Zhao Kuangyin's last resort, and his original intention to let this person start to grow out of his own interests. However, it is easy to let a tiger go, but it is difficult to rein in a tiger, and if you keep a tiger behind closed doors, the tiger will hurt people a lot.When this force turned into a huge, dense, tough and poisonous net, or more like another set of blood net nerves infiltrated into the life body of the Song Dynasty, it was too late.

At this time, Zhao Kuangyin knew nothing about these things, and once again emphasized that his generosity and kindness really became a double-edged sword. On the other hand, it also made him lose everything in the end. The tragic consequence was that not only he himself, but even his descendants between five and six generations were depressed for life. Is this really a virtue?It has long been proved in the world that to be a king, or even to be an ordinary person, one cannot be too kind!Man, after all, is just a kind of animal, thinking, reason, and sentiment are just embellishments of life... From this point of view, Tian Khan's change of Xuanwu Gate is really the most prosperous Tang Dynasty. The beginning, and the beginning of Li Shimin's own happiness.All the benevolent policies of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty were just appendages that could only be realized on this basis.

But Zhao Kuangyin was busy at this time, as long as he calmed down, he would notice that too much time had been wasted. A full ten years have passed, he has turned from thirty-three to forty-three years old, the most precious golden years in his life are about to pass, how can he not be in a hurry!His eyes reached the border of the Song Dynasty in the south again and again, and he had to do something, but he had to think about the specific point and consider it again... So, Zhao Kuangyin has since become a candle. It's not that he burned himself up to light someone up.It means that he can illuminate everything thousands of miles away, but he can't illuminate an inch of ground under his feet.

History has long proved that there has always been someone else sleeping soundly beside his couch.No matter what life experience this person has with him. Zhao Kuangyin raised his eyes and looked around. In his territory, it was sunny and sunny, surrounded by auspicious clouds, and even every weed at the base of the wall of his Jinluan Palace was lush and stretched. Like his mood. After careful consideration, he finally decided who to attack first.At this time, in the south, there were still the Southern Tang, Southern Han, Wuyue, and Chen Hongjin who separated Zhangzhou and Quanzhou. In terms of the geographical names of China today, the Southern Tang Dynasty at that time was the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the south of today’s Jiangsu and Anhui, and the west of Jiangxi and Fujian; Wuyue was the northeast of today’s Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Fujian; the Southern Han Dynasty was today’s Lingnan and Guangdong.As for that Chen Hongjin, he is also a strong man, able to make a living in troubled times and survive in the cracks, but he is too young, not only does he not belong to the fifth generation in the Five Dynasties and Eleven Kingdoms, he is not even in the Eleven Kingdoms.

So he is not Zhao Kuangyin's enemy at all. Wu Yue can also be excluded. The descendants of the Qian family are wise and firm, and no one can persuade them. Organization instructions. Only the Southern Tang and Southern Han are left.Who is it first?From the geographical point of view, it is undoubtedly the Southern Tang Dynasty.There is only a river away from the Song Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty knows it well. If you do it, it is not a question of winning or losing, but a question of how completely you can receive it. But Zhao Kuangyin jumped his gaze away from it, and stared directly at Nanhan behind it.

Southern Han?This is a long way around, and the south of the Lingnan and Guangxi are dangerously hot, and the people and land are unfamiliar. The difficulty of attacking it will not be much less than that of Houshu.It seems that Zhao Kuangyin is looking for trouble at all, looking for something far away. But from another angle, you will find that this idea is wonderful.Because no matter how hard it is, Zhao Kuangyin's final goal is still the Southern Tang Dynasty, and the main direction of attack is Li Yu's fragile and fantasy-like psychology. First of all, look at the location. If you win the Southern Han Dynasty first, you will completely surround the Southern Tang Dynasty.If Li Yu still wants to escape, he can only go to sea by boat.And most importantly, this move has once again destroyed Li Yu's psychology.There is a comparison here. For example, your girlfriend is as beautiful as a flower, but she won't even let you hold her hand, but what if you kiss her directly?Would she still take her hands so seriously?

Human psychology is like this, the grades of high and low are just in the mind's turn of the mind.Especially for Li Yu, when he has no way out, he will throw away his fantasy and accept reality. Especially when Zhao Kuangyin and his staff focused their attention on the Southern Han Dynasty, he rarely became angry and urgent.If there is still a three-point pity for Li Yu and the others, then there is only extreme contempt and disgust for the Liu family in the Southern Han Dynasty. It was a dirty, ugly, extremely ugly snake covered in festers that couldn't be described. Taking advantage of the turmoil in the Central Plains, it hid in the hot and remote southernmost place and spread its teeth and claws to do all kinds of evil. It's just that no one has time to answer it. He just thinks that his body is highly poisonous, and everyone stays away.

It is said that many years ago, when Zhu Bajie saw Nine-Headed Insect for the first time, he marveled at his elder brother like this-brother!I am a human being, and I have never seen such an evil thing!What kind of blood gave birth to this beast? That's how I answered back then—brother, I don't know either.But don't look at its scary appearance, if it is compared with those emperors surnamed Liu in the Southern Han Dynasty during the Five Dynasties, it is nothing. The first emperor of the Southern Han Dynasty was named Liu Zhi. After becoming emperor, he was renamed Liu Yan, then Liu Gong, and then Liu? meaning).The name change was a bit messy, but this is the tradition of the Five Dynasties. Except for the hero Zhao Kuangyin who did not change his true colors, even Zhao Guangyi later changed his name.

Liu? Wonderful, openly declared that it is difficult for a widow to become Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang in this life, but he can still be regarded as a romantic son of heaven. This sentence is simply disgusting and vulgar in today's online world.But at the time, it was ground-breaking, and it was absolutely enviable.Looking through the history books of China, apart from this one person, no other family dared to be so frank and honest, telling the truth.Well watch how he enjoys life. In fact, it’s nothing, but the palace is built every year. Generally speaking, the interior decoration is of a higher grade. The standard level is to decorate the roof with gold and pave the floor with silver. There are water canals in the palace. , inlaid to the top of the jade pillar in the hall.In the palace, you can see the beauty of mountains and rivers, the light of the sun, moon and stars. Again, these are general specifications only.It is mentioned in the history books that the Nanxun Hall he built in his later years has already made the above-mentioned decorations old and shabby, but how gorgeous it is, you can think for yourself.But I guess you can't figure it out, because this person is so creative and courageous that people's jaws drop. You can see it from his other big hobby. torture. In addition to work, Liu?'s greatest hobby is to execute others.He uses all kinds of tortures that were popular in ancient times, and he can introduce new ones according to local conditions at any time.Such as stuffing the nose, cutting the tongue, dismembering, chopping, roasting, cooking, etc., these are all too common for him, and the water prison he built is more distinctive. As the name suggests, the water prison is full of water, but there are many snakes in Lingnan, so if you throw a few more snakes in, the effect will be completely different.And he also especially likes to witness the executioner execute the torture with his own eyes, and transfer the venue at any time to his palace to continue the work, so that he can guide the revision and enjoy it in heaven while watching it nearby. Also, when he occasionally has a sudden moment of interest, he will throw people into hot water first, then take them out to dry in the sun, then apply salt and wine, then dry them, and then throw them into the water, so that they can be steamed nine times. , until the skin and flesh are rotten, and slowly die. In this way, his magnificent and exciting life passed. To commemorate him, the people of Lingnan gave him a very resounding nickname - "True Mirage".In memory of him, his sons built on his foundation and intensified everything. Not only were they more ruthless to their subjects, but they also started killing each other.Its scale and effect far surpassed that of the emperors of the Tang Dynasty. Every emperor in the Tang Dynasty would kill each other before ascending to the throne, but except for the first generation, there would never be only one person left.The Southern Han Dynasty was absolutely thorough. From the two generations below Liu?, a total of nearly 20 brothers were all killed by the three emperors, and some were copied and beheaded by the whole family, leaving no one behind.The final winner is Liu Sheng. After the victory, Liu Sheng felt very good about himself. A brutal person would always regard cruelty as bravery before he was hit hard. This person respects every emperor in the north (for him, the north of Guangzhou is really the north). dismissive.Guo Wei created Hou Zhou, and sent envoys to greet him. Before leaving, Liu Sheng sent a particularly fragrant Lingnan specialty flower, which was actually jasmine.But Guo Wei didn't know him, so the messenger sent a message for Liu Sheng, which was called Xiao Nanqiang. Guo Wei smelled the flowers for a long time, savoring them carefully, and finally just smiled and threw them away.But the people in the north remembered it, until after Liu Sheng died, his son Liu Wei became the emperor. History has proved that Liu Yu's performance in governing the country is superior to that of his ancestors. After he was born, the special genetic gene that gave birth to a beast like them has been brought into full play in him. Liu Yu became emperor at the age of sixteen, which can be said to be young and promising.Moreover, in terms of the qualifications of the emperor, Zhao Kuangyin had to bow down, because he didn't put on the yellow robe in Chenqiaoyi until Liu Yu was nineteen years old. At that time, the Southern Han Dynasty was very different from what it used to be. Don't be too surprised, it turned out to be stronger than before.The reason is that Liu Yu's father, Liu Sheng, was not called "Xiao Nanqiang" for nothing. In 948 A.D., he suddenly became brave and sent troops to the state of Chu (most of Hunan today, founded by Ma Yin).After fighting hard for nearly three years, he won the land of ten states, including Yi and Lian, and defeated Li Jing, who was in his heyday at the time, abruptly retaining the fruits of victory. This was the beginning of the happy life of the young Liu Wei. In addition to Lingnan, Guangdong and Guangxi, most of Hunan was added. From then on, he began to transform his country and make it into the country of his dreams. His behavior is wonderful, his grandfather is "True Mirage", and his father's torture hall is called "Living Hell". Becoming a harem, the specific behavior is that nearly 90% of the courtiers have become eunuchs.The reason is sufficient and practical. Please listen to the high-level remarks of Gong Chengshu (this is an eunuch) who was the most powerful minister in the Southern Han Dynasty at that time-Your Majesty, all the ministers have families, so they have their own selfishness.Only eunuchs are clean and tidy, so they can serve His Majesty loyally. Such a lofty theory made Liu Yan very overwhelmed, he nodded again and again, and immediately implemented it.From then on, the ruling and opposition parties in the Southern Han Dynasty became a mixed family. No matter where he went, he could be as warm and pleasant as in the harem.So the senior officials of the Southern Han Dynasty had only two options left, one was to commit suicide; the other was to undergo surgery.Candidates rushing to take the exam in the usual year should pay more attention. From now on, they only have the title of the gold list, and there is no wedding night in the bridal chamber. They can only choose one of fame and wealth and glory. This is just one side of Liu Wei's political work, and it's even more surprising when he returns home after get off work.Thousands of beauties in the southern country are too common, and his concubine is a foreign beauty, born in the mysterious and ancient Persia.She is fat, she is dark, she is extremely powerful, she is completely different from the Chinese fair lady, Liu Yan fell in love with her at first sight, and she was given the name... Don't be surprised, she is called "Mei Zhu".From then on, Meizhu only favored the harem, and the "Three Dukes" and "Three Masters" in the court became eunuchs and concubines, and the country's highest spiritual leader was a witch named "Fan Huzi".In this way, Liu Wei finally felt that everything was in harmony, and then all his wishes were left with one point—to extend the good time infinitely. But at this time, Zhao Kuangyin finally returned to the capital Kaifeng from Taiyuan City in 969 AD. His eyes drifted across the Yangtze River, across the Southern Tang Dynasty, and shot directly at Liu Yan who was lying next to Meizhu enjoying the torture. End it all, these hereditary brutes!So far, such nightmares have been going on in Lingnan, Guangdong and Guangxi for nearly sixty years!Before Zhao Kuangyin sent troops to Jing and Hu, or crusade against Hou Shu, he tried his best to find excuses to find faults, for fear of being criticized by others, but this time he attacked the Southern Han Dynasty, it was completely slandering the people and punishing crimes, doing justice for the heavens, and it was very pleasing to the hearts of the people.I personally believe in what Zhao Kuangyin said at the time - I will save the people here! The remaining problem is to find a suitable coach.Who is it?Zhao Kuangyin no longer considered those prestigious veterans, and soon he was going to set up another banquet to invite people to drink and eat.So the newcomer, Cao Bin?No... the generous general should be reserved for the elegant enemy.The shadow of another person appeared in front of Zhao Kuangyin's eyes. The man walked lightly, with a heroic expression, and even his smile was as sharp as a light knife.Zhao Kuangyin believes that this person will definitely return all the nightmares to Liu's beasts, and let the people of Guangdong and Guangxi who have suffered from it see that the most vicious is often the most pitiful, as long as you can pierce the outermost layer of hard shell! Next, Zhao Kuangyin personally discovered and cultivated the No. 1 general to make a grand appearance——Pan Mei! Some people will definitely ask, is it wrong, isn't "Northern Song Dynasty's number one good general" Cao Bin?But please note that we are talking about "No. 1 general" Pan Mei, whose feats and records are far ahead of anyone else, including "No. 1 good general" Cao Bin.As for the so-called good general, the word "liang" can be praised or criticized, and it has rich connotations and deep mysteries. Everything depends on how people understand it. Pan Mei, courtesy name Zhongxun, is a great celebrity in Hebei. The ancient land of Yanzhao Tragedy is the place where Pan Mei was born, which is now the surname of Daming County, Hebei.His father, Pan Lin, was just an ordinary military academy, and he was destined to start at the lowest level when he started.But he had great ambitions, and once said to his good friend Wang Mi: "The Han Dynasty is coming to an end, and the evil ministers are rampant, and there are signs of change in the world. It is shameful for a man not to make meritorious deeds, get rich and honor at this time, and spend his life with everything. and also!" Just like a man born in troubled times, he should lift a three-foot sword and make an inexhaustible contribution to ascend to the rank of the emperor! Pan Mei’s fame began with Emperor Shizong Chai Rong’s first battle of Gaoping in the later Zhou Dynasty. Although there is no accurate record, he was promoted to the deputy envoy of Xishang Pavilion after the war. Zhao Kuangyin knows a lot. Afterwards, Zhao Kuangyin mutinied in Chenqiao, and Pan Mei dared to go back to Kaifeng alone, so that after Zhou Manchao Wenwu heard him send a letter alone, he was helpless in panic, and the queen mother took the little emperor out of the palace to seek refuge.After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, Pan Mei rode into Shaanxi alone again, and brought Yuan Yan, Zhao Kuangyin's political enemy, to Beijing to meet your majesty.This is its guts. According to historical records, when Zhao Kuangyin returned to Kaifeng on the day of the mutiny and went into the palace to clean up Chai Rong's relics, he could see Pan Meizhiren. Because Chai Rong's two youngest sons were discovered at that time, one of them was King Ji.Zhao Kuangyin asked what to do, Zhao Pu smiled slightly, and only replied two words - go to (kill).Everyone around agreed, but Pan Mei pinched the pillar with her hand and bowed her head in silence. Zhao Kuangyin asked - do you think it's impossible? Pan Mei was silent. Zhao Kuangyin let out a long sigh—ah, "I can't bear to be the son of a murderer." At this time, Pan Meicai said—"Both ministers and your majesty are serving Zhou Shizong in the north. If you advise your majesty to kill him, you will lose to Shizong; if you advise your majesty not to kill him, your majesty will doubt me." But he still took one of Chai Rong's sons home and raised him as his nephew.From then on, Zhao Kuangyin didn't ask, and he never mentioned it.This is Pan Mei's heart. He can pursue fame and fortune, and strive for meritorious service, but he will never be desperate and obliterate his conscience. The following is a comparison of his merits with Cao Bin.Cao Bin pinged the Southern Tang, and Pan Mei pinged the Southern Han, and the Southern Han was a long-distance raid, fighting in foreign countries. It was the first battle of the Northern Song Dynasty to open up territory to the south of the Yangtze River, and it was far more difficult than pacing the Southern Tang.In the Battle of the Southern Tang Dynasty, Pan Mei was the vanguard of Cao Bin, and many battles were fought for Cao Bin by Pan Mei. After the Southern Tang Dynasty was pacified, Pan Meixi had no time to warm up, and she was dressed as a commander again. It was Zhao Kuangyin's third expedition to the Northern Han Dynasty.At that time, when Pan Mei was in its prime, she was unstoppable on the battlefield. Seeing success, "the shadow of candlelight and ax" came from behind, and the third Northern Expedition came to an abrupt end. In the period of Zhao Guangyi, Taiyuan was finally breached. Pan Mei was the first left guard in Taiyuan in the Song Dynasty, so she guarded the border in northern Xinjiang, cooperated closely with Yang Ye, and broke the Liao soldiers repeatedly. She was the strongest border barrier in the Song Dynasty at that time. Later, with great ambition, Zhao Guangyi sent Pan Mei, Cao Bin, and Cui Yanjin to lead three armies to advance northward to recover the Sixteen States of Yanyun.Pan Mei was in charge of the West Road, and it was during this expedition that the most criticized event in his life happened--the failure of the Northern Expedition and Yang Ye's death in battle.But please look at the overall situation. Pan Mei has been devastated all the way, even going down to Huan, Shuo, and Yun. The position led to the defeat of Qigou Pass. Cao Bin was defeated, Pan Mei had to retreat, and then Yang Ye was defeated in Chenjiagu and died in a desperate battle (but there are other details here, we will discuss it later).Looking closely at the root cause, if there was no defeat of Cao Guohua, why would Pan Mei retreat, and how could Yang Ye die?But Pan Mei was ashamed of this, and she was unhappy. Only one year later, she died of illness in Taiyuan.Sixty-seven years old. Throughout Pan Mei's life, she is worthy of being a hero and a great husband among all people.I hate an unknown man from the Ming Dynasty who wrote "The Romance of the Yang Family Mansion". From then on, Pan Renmei became a heinous and treacherous person, and even his image was written as the face of Zhang Fei and the judge , the belly of a pregnant sow, and put on a dark black official robe.And the reason why he can call the wind and call the rain is entirely because his daughter is Zhao Guangyi's Nishigong empress. God is sorry to see, Pan Mei's granddaughter is Song Zhenzong's daughter-in-law, Zhao Guangyi's daughter-in-law, and she died at the age of 22, and was named "Queen Zhanghuai" after her death.It is Cao Bin who really has the power of the harem. The granddaughter of the "No. 1 Good General" married Song Renzong, the empress Cao who was decisive and powerful for a while, once listened to politics behind the curtain.Later, there was a stronger great-granddaughter, the Empress Dowager Gao who helped a certain man who had a habit of smashing tanks get back to the old days. Pan Mei and Cao Bin, these are the Gemini constellations shining on the battlefield in the early Song Dynasty, and they are the pride of the Han people.It's just that Cao Bin was admired at that time and admired by later generations, but Pan Mei was declining day by day, and was rumored to be a generation of traitors. Pan Mei, I feel sorry for my husband!Every penny he earned from Zhao Song's official family was filled with the smell of blood on the battlefield, and every penny thrown on the ground was enough to hurt Cao Bin's feet.But this is fate. From the beginning of the Song Dynasty, China has become a world of bastards who are wronged for their work and rewarded for their good character. But at that time, Pan Mei knew nothing about these things. What he did every day was to keep looking north and south with great interest.To the north, he waited for his emperor to give him an order; to the south, he kept an eye on every trouble in the Southern Han Dynasty. He knows that the order to fight will be issued at any time, and his heart is already eager to try... But no one thought that the first move Zhao Kuangyin made to Nan Han was not to give Pan Mei an attack order, but to attack Nan Tang first. Li Yu made a request. Li Yu was asked to write a letter to Liu Wei, urging him to surrender immediately. A letter, just a few lines, is it important?Li Yu wrote many letters to Zhao Kuangyin every year, and the most recent one was sent to Kaifeng by his own brother.In addition, there are countless southern native products, so from this point of view, it seems that there is really no problem in writing this letter, right? But can you imagine that Cao Cao asked Liu Bei to write a letter to Sun Quan, asking Sun Quan to surrender immediately?That is unless it is a spoof by modern people.In ancient times, in the hearts of people with a little shame, it was not only Cao Cao wantonly insulting Liu Bei and Sun Quan, but also extreme self-abuse of Cao Cao himself.Think about the fact that Southern Tang and Southern Han depended on each other, just like the Shu Han and Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period, both faced the bloody mouth of the Song Dynasty. Don’t you know the simple truth that cooperation leads to strength, and separation leads to defeat? But Li Yu really wrote it.He really persuaded Liu Yu to surrender to Zhao Kuangyin. When the letter was sent to the Southern Han Dynasty, Liu Yu exploded.This man has self-respect. It has been more than half a century since the Liu family was the only one who respected me and did whatever they wanted. No one has ever dared to treat him like this!Liu Yu, who exploded, tore up Li Yu's letter, detained the envoy from the Southern Tang Dynasty, and then wrote a reply letter to Li Yu. With Liu Yu's quality and state at that time, one can imagine what was written in the letter.Li Yu saw the special grievance, so he handed over the letter to Kaifeng, and asked Zhao Kuangyin to share some of the scolding.Zhao Kuangyin had just started to read the letter, and Liu Yu, who was angry, had already taken practical actions. In the third year of Song Kaibao in the Southern Han Dynasty, in October 970 AD, troops were sent to attack Daozhou (now Dao County, Hunan Province) in the Song Dynasty. For the honor of the king, and even more for the enjoyment of the king, we must attack Kaifeng and catch that desperate Zhao Kuangyin!Catch him to the "Life Hell" handed down by Liu Yu's family, and let him know the service level inside! Then Pan Mei received the order to act, and he could let go of his hands and feet and attack at will.But his reaction was also quite strange. There was a faint smirk on his face, and he said to his subordinates-you all stop for a while, don't worry, I still have something to do first. know... In this year, according to textual research, the king of the Southern Han Dynasty, Liu Wei, was 29 years old, and Pan Mei was 50 years old.However, nearly half of the age gap did not make Pan Mei any kinder. On the contrary, he did a very unkind thing, and its bad nature continued to spread in the next two to three years, and even in the next three hundred years. is repeated. The northerners keep dispensing medicine to the southerners. The core content is that as long as there is an outstanding person in the south who makes the north a headache, then the northerners will make some small moves, or hint, or simply make a request directly, so that the southerners themselves Go chop your own knife.What is extremely surprising and puzzling is that almost every time the southerners let the northerners get their wish. At this time, Pan Mei said, send a letter to the insider in Panyu (the capital of the Southern Han Dynasty, now Guangzhou), saying that it is time to act.Not long after that, Liu Wei suddenly sent someone to Tunkukou (now in Guilin, Guangxi) to give Shao Tingjuan, the regular servant, to commit suicide.This servant surnamed Shao was unknown in the long river of history, but he was farsighted and loyal to Liu Wei.He had already reminded Liu Kuang that with the rise of the Song Dynasty in the north, they would go south sooner or later. The Southern Han Dynasty had to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty as soon as possible, or quickly build walls and train troops to prepare for fighting. At that time, history said that Liu Yu was "silently wrong", and it was not until after 964 AD that he was appointed as a recruitment envoy, gathering troops, repairing troops and performing martial arts.All these were seen by Pan Mei. A letter with no origin and no signature said that Shao Tingjuan had conspired against him. It was as simple as that, and Liu Wei killed his loyal minister.At this time, the time had come to September 1, 970 A.D. Pan Mei, the former defense envoy of Tanzhou, led the deployment of the soldiers and horses of the Hezhou Daoxing Battalion, Yin Chongke, the training envoy of the Langzhou regiment, was deployed as the deputy capital, and Wang Jixun, the governor of Daozhou, was the supervisor of the horse army. , led the soldiers and horses of ten states including Tan and Lang to set off from Chenzhou to the west, avoiding the dangerous roads of Qitianling and Mengzhuling at the junction of Hunan and Guangdong, and went straight into the central area of ​​the Southern Han Dynasty. The first battle of the Song Dynasty to expand its territory to the south began. In order to facilitate understanding, we might as well look at the situation at that time with Pan Mei's eyes.First of all, the Southern Han Dynasty is quite large. Looking at the map of the Five Dynasties and Eleven Kingdoms period, the semicircle at the bottom of China, connected to the sea and supporting the entire land, belongs to the Southern Han Dynasty.No matter how backward or advanced the economic and military elements in the South were in the early Song Dynasty, there was at least one point in the Southern Han Dynasty that Pan Mei never dared to underestimate and trembled all the time. The Southern Han Dynasty was very large and had many people, but its soldiers and horses were very few. Looking up historical data, it is impossible to find out how many troops Pan Mei had in those days, but only mentioned in general that it was the soldiers and horses of ten states such as Tan and Lang.Ten prefectures seemed like a lot, but Zhao Kuangyin already had nearly two hundred prefectures in his hands at that time, and the strong and strong soldiers from each prefecture were selected to serve as imperial troops in Beijing. Township soldiers like the civilian security team, with such combat effectiveness, are only given to the people of ten states. How many people can there be?But Pan Mei is going to attack a country. I don't know whether Zhao Kuangyin completely despised the Southern Han Dynasty, or whether Pan Mei's people from the ten states were different, anyway, that's how they did it.I think at that time, everyone had a visual comparison in their hearts - a small ant with a copper head and iron teeth, and a delicious and attractive big fat pig. Which do you bet on? Pan Mei entered the army, and the first target was Fuzhou (now Zhongshan, Guangxi).There is nothing to say, a sudden attack, and a battle.The Southern Han people were completely unprepared, not only lost the city, but also killed and injured more than 10,000 people. Pan Mei took advantage of the victory to pursue her second target, Baixia (now Zhongshanxi, Guangxi).Still conquer quickly, and then approach the third goal, Hezhou, an important town in the Southern Han Dynasty (now southeast of Hexian County, Guangxi). At this time, the news finally reached the ears of the Southern Han King Liu Wei, who was born to be used to bullying others, and the fourth generation ancestor was stunned. Tell me quickly—what should I do? He called out to the people below, but no one answered.The Southern Han Dynasty had long lost the basic strength of offense and defense. The famous generals and royal clans were all killed by the cooperation of four emperors from three generations of the Liu family.Facing Hezhou's emergency documents at this time, he was helpless, and it was Gong Chengshu, the first official and first eunuch who stepped forward, and his method made Liu Yan relax in an instant. Gong Chengshu said that he personally went to Hezhou, and brought the imperial decree to... come to express condolences. This method is good, great, Liu Yan likes it from the bottom of his heart.It didn't cost him money or effort, he only needed to write a few words, and he could continue to enjoy himself in the palace of Panyu, and Gong Chengshu, who was omnipotent in the past, would naturally take care of things for him.So he immediately wrote the edict and asked Gong Chengshu to set off immediately. Gong Chengshu, who traveled day and night, received an unprecedented warm welcome in Hezhou City. The soldiers spontaneously surrounded him tightly, and everyone looked at him with great enthusiasm and excitement.At this time, he was deeply moved—what a good soldier, I remember that no one answered them for many, many years...but they still stood guard on the frontier without complaint and welcomed them so warmly I! Touched, he read the emperor's condolence edict with great emotion, and everyone who listened to him was engrossed and unable to take their eyes off it. Until he finished reading, they were still unsatisfied and surrounded him for a long time, unwilling to leave.Until he was taken aback, he couldn't help asking—you...do you have anything else to do? The expressions in the eyes of the soldiers changed, and they hesitated to speak repeatedly, but finally they said--money, our military pay!With a backlog of so many years, how much did you bring? Gong Chengshu was dumbfounded, he only had the imperial edict he had just read in his hand. The next scene was very unpleasant. All the soldiers of the Southern Han Dynasty were cheated again and again, and now it happened again!They scattered cursing, leaving only Gong Chengshu and Hezhou governor Chen Shouzhong staring at Liu Yan's edict in a daze.What should I do next?They all knew that, not to mention the national treasury at this time, every wall in the ancestral palaces, after being demolished, the gold, silver and treasures inlaid on them would be enough to send these white bills of military pay, but Liu Yan just refused to give them.History has proved that Liu Yu's money was not given to anyone, even when his country was ruined and his family was destroyed, he did not leave it to Zhao Kuangyin, let alone these bastard soldiers? But the forward of the Song Army has already arrived in Fanglin, and will arrive in Hezhou soon!Gong Chengshu became sober all of a sudden, he left the city immediately, and before he left, he told the pale-faced Chen Shouzhong that you must guard, the court will send reinforcements soon, believe me, that's right! Then Chen Shouzhong settled down somewhat.Everyone in the Southern Han Dynasty knows that Gong Chengshu is very bad, but he still has merits (this is absolutely true).What's more, there are many miracles in this world, a male will suddenly mutate out of a group of female fish for the purpose of breeding, then do you believe that a real man will suddenly jump out of a large group of eunuchs to save Nanhan? The man's surname is Pan, but it's not Pan Mei, but Pan Chongche, a veteran of the Southern Han Dynasty.This is the general under Liu Yu's father, Liu Sheng. Pan Chongche made great contributions to the destruction of Chu and the defeat of Southern Tang.Unfortunately, firstly, he was not a eunuch, and secondly, the Southern Han Dynasty did not need soldiers, so he was destined to fall out of favor quickly. At this time, he had already retired early and spent many years relaxing at home. Danger makes one's mind flexible, and suddenly both Liu Yu and Gong Chengshu thought of him.Immediately send someone to look for him and ask him to come back immediately. It is extremely urgent, the sooner the better! But the envoy came back alone, and only brought back a sentence from Pan Chongche - Your Majesty, I am old, and my eyesight is not good recently, you should find someone else. Surprised, Liu Yan and Gong Chengshu became angry immediately.What? !Who said "no" to them over the years?Pan Chongche is so ignorant of flattery!That's great, start the second plan immediately, there are still so many people in Nanhan who are rushing to work for me. Liu Yan shouted angrily—"Why do you need to Chongche, Wu Yanrou has no evil strategy!" So Wu Yanrou, the commander of Wuzhou, quickly led his troops to the expedition. I don't know what Pan Chongche's mood is at home at this time. In fact, anyone who knows a little bit of common sense can tell that Pan Chongche's initial refusal was nothing more than a momentary complaint. After expressing guilt and comforting him a little, Pan Chongche would rush out energetically and work hard for the Liu family. But the twenty-nine-year-old Liu Yan is so sensitive and self-respecting, and his body is bruised all over after a little bit of resentment.He made up his mind on this, even at the risk of ruining his country and his family, he would never bow down to these humble courtiers.What's more, at this time, there is no sign that his life is in danger. Wu Yanrou moved quickly. He led more than 10,000 elite soldiers of the Southern Han Dynasty, sailed out of the Xijiang River by boat, and went northward along the He River (now the He River) for rescue. On October 20 of that year, he arrived at Nanxiang (now the south of He County) near Hezhou. ).Nanxiang, this is the first stop of Wu Yanrou's trip. General Wu was kind. He did not directly enter Hezhou City (the Song army did not besiege the city at the time), but stayed in the battleship in the river to maintain a marching state, and sent out sentries to investigate the movements of the Song army. The spies reported that the Song army retreated suddenly, and the range was quite large, at least twenty miles. This news cheered Wu Yanrou, the menacing Song army would retreat... Well, he ordered everyone to sleep tonight to recover their spirits, and get up early tomorrow to go ashore to pursue. The situation is obvious. He is the first batch of reinforcements from the Southern Han Dynasty to go to the front line after the start of this war, and the Song Dynasty army that has gone deep alone is already timid. All he has to do is to pursue.Chase up and destroy them, and recover Fuchuan and Baixia that were just lost, so that the war is over, and he can return to Panyu to claim his reward. But unfortunately, history has proved that all of this was a meeting ceremony prepared by Pan Mei for this opponent who rushed to the battlefield, a small test question.There are prizes for correct answers, and prizes for wrong answers... There are some things in this world that can only be wrong once at most. The next day, the soldiers of the Southern Han Dynasty woke up early, and Wu Yanrou, the commander-in-chief of the whole army, took the lead and landed first.It is said in history that he "landed with bombs under the command of Hu Chu".The Hu bed is actually a foldable, large chair that can lie down and lie down. Some generals who are stylish and accustomed to stealing the limelight like to use it on the battlefield.As for the bomb, it seems to be General Wu's personal weapon. No matter how practical it is, it is hard to say, but it will always be much better than the iron Ruyi.这时相信伍彦柔的心情是相当的好，他所要担心的只有士兵们是否坐船坐得太久，突然间追击快跑会让身体吃不消。 潘美已经在岸上静静地埋伏了一整夜了。这一夜里，伍彦柔和他的南汉大兵们一直在船舱里美美地睡觉，潘美和他的宋军们在冰冷的草丛泥地里默默地忍耐。 这就是付出与代价。但这远远不是最根本的胜负差别所在，一次佯装撤退以及一夜的埋伏等待，这在军事史上什么都不算，太平常了，只能称其为潘美给伍彦柔出的一道小测试题。但是南汉王朝千挑万选才派出来的将军居然就上了当。 突然间伏兵四起，没有任何征兆，宋军从四面八方杀了过来。他们每个人的目标都非常准确，伍彦柔，先抓住他！这就没办法了，一来宋军等了一夜，几乎每一个南汉大兵从船上跳下来他们都看在了眼里，个数都能数得出来；二来伍彦柔太显眼，所有人都站着，就他坐着…… 一场大乱，注意，只是乱，根本就称不上战。史称南汉兵“死者十七八”，伍彦柔被生擒活捉。之后潘美率军重新回到了贺州城下，先在城下砍了伍彦柔的脑袋，然后向城上问了一声——投降吗？ 没反应，城上一片寂静。可那上面明明白白地站着很多的活人。 据说，这到现在，都可以算作一种历史悠久的传统，充满了死气活样，能拖就拖的生活智慧。但是潘美拖不起，他比谁都清楚南汉有多少人，杀了一个伍彦柔，击溃了一次援军什么都不算，援兵们会源源不断到来。但是攻城……他可实在犹豫，因为他的人太少。 这时有一位官职比他还大的人说话了，随军转运使、原荆湖转运使王明。这位只负责调集运送军用物资的文职高官愤然而起，对潘美说——南汉援兵将至，当急击之！ 但是潘美和全体将领仍然犹豫，他们必须考虑成算和消耗。王明怒视了他们一眼，转身冲了出去。下面发生的一幕让潘美以下所有征南的职业军人汗颜，王明召集了自己护送辎重物资的士兵和丁夫，就此冲向了贺州城。 士兵只有一百余名，丁夫不少，有几千，可连武器都不齐全。 冲到了贺州城下，第一个问题是城下的壕沟，就见这些丁夫精神焕发，拿出了各种各样自己称手的家伙，又是锹又是铲，一阵忙乱，壕沟就填平了，紧接着他们就冲向了城门……再以后，他们就进城了。 潘美在后面眼睁睁地看着，下巴都把脚上穿的皮鞋都砸瘪了。What, what's going on here?眼睛，我的眼睛还是我的吗？ 但其实原因非常简单，例来如此，死气活样得过且过的就怕凡事拼命来真格的，你在他们的面前砍了谁的脑袋他们都不心疼不害怕，可是只要真杀到了他们跟前，哪怕只是填平了壕沟，还隔着整面城墙他们都会尿裤子。 Do not believe it?这一段史书上明明白白的写着——“堙其堑，直抵城门。城中人大惧，开门以纳，遂克贺州。” 就是这么的简单，当潘美垂头丧气哭笑不得地走进贺州城时，他终于明白了赵匡胤为什么就只给了他区区十州的人马，并且之后再也不曾给他什么援军。 因为南汉实在是……什么也别说了，领导就是英明伟大。 赵匡胤很忙，有充足的资料显示，潘美和征伐南汉的战事并不是他在这个时期里最关心的。 就在潘美踏进贺州城的时候，契丹人突然集结了六万人马，偷袭宋朝边境的重镇定州。事发突然，契丹人的骑兵忽聚忽散，转瞬即至，无可捉摸，但是这时才真正显示出了赵匡胤多年经营北方的成果。他迅速接到了战报，而且还有充裕的时间调集人马选派将领，他派出的人叫田钦祚，时任判四方馆事。 判四方馆使，一个小官，最早出自唐朝末年的内诸司，这个部门权势滔天，源于它的主管者和皇帝零距离，对了，就是太监。进入宋朝之后，内诸司使的最高级官员变成了枢密使。其下为宣徽使、内客省使、客省使、引进使、四方馆使、东上阁门使、西上阁门使等等等等，也就是说这位田钦祚，是主管兵部的枢密院的直属下属。 赵匡胤一如既往地发挥了自己的强项，他把田钦祚拉到了一边，小声吩咐了好一会儿，之后田钦祚连连点头，火速带人冲向了北方边境。请注意，不管此人之前多么的默默无闻，也不管他以后是怎样的混账讨厌，这时候他勇猛坚毅无可挑剔。 有一个数字让人瞠目结舌，难以置信，他带去的人马只有三千！ 契丹的人马总数却是六万……就这样，田钦祚和他的三千人马在满城与契丹兵团遭遇，双方立即接战，众寡如此悬殊，可战斗的结果居然是田钦祚获胜！ 史称“辽骑小却”。可是下一步，就证明了田钦祚当时已经全力以赴，杀得超状态了。因为他眼见敌人退却，立即追击，把赵匡胤临行前千叮咛万嘱咐的话忘到了脑后。 赵匡胤告诉他——“彼众我寡，背城列战，敌至即战，勿与追逐。” 前面三句十二个字田钦祚执行得非常好，他快速赶到，背城列战，战之能胜，而后……他开始了追击。边追边战，田钦祚带着他的三千人尾随着庞大的敌群，一路追到了遂城。就在这里，契丹人乱箭如雨，突然间田钦祚翻身落马。 下一瞬间，田钦祚迅速从地上跳了起来，虚惊一场，是他的马中箭了。英勇的战将被自己的战士所爱戴，立即有一位名叫王超的骑士把自己的马让给了他。之后宋军士气大振，就在遂城城外，与契丹兵团剧战，史称“自旦至晡，杀伤甚众。” 旦，为“平旦”，是早晨五点至七点；晡，是下午三点至五点，自己的边城要塞就在身边，可宋军将士决不入城，与契丹人在城外的旷野之中血战将近十个小时！ 入夜之后，田钦祚率领自己的士兵退入遂城，城外虏骑千重，契丹人把他们包围了。之后的几天里，田钦祚一直坚守遂城，城外虽然有六万敌人，但遂城始终没被攻破。但是真正的难题还是出现了。 遂城缺粮，这是个边境的小要塞，不可能像太原、开封那样随时囤积巨额的粮草。而田钦祚还不知道自己的援军什么时候会到。面临危境，他绝不苟延残喘，而是选择了再次冒险。在一个晚上，田钦祚整顿了剩余的兵马（整兵），突然打开南城门，聚积全部力量于一点（突围一角出），冲出了契丹人的包围圈，赶到了附近的另一个据点保寨。 由于他的迅猛以及出其不意，史称这次突围“军中不亡一矢”，而后契丹人就此退兵。 查阅历史资料，有后世学者对田钦祚突围之后，契丹人就此退兵很不理解，认为此中有假。试想人数对比如此悬殊，而且田钦祚已经是困兽犹斗强弩之末了，契丹人怎么会突然不打了？ 其实这很好理解，当时的契丹人对宋朝并没有多大的领土野心，这样的突袭只是为了一时的掳掠，俗称“打草谷”。干这个活儿必须快，讲究突然袭击，得手就走，是契丹人发财的重要手段，可没想到这次赵匡胤早早就知道了消息，而且田钦祚过分勇猛，死死地缠住了他们。围困遂城的那几天，已经足够宋军调集人马，纵军合围的了。并且在契丹人的心理安全方面，几天的原地不动，也超出了他们的警惕极限。 契丹人退了，一时间之间田钦祚名声大震，北地传言这一战是“三千打六万”。而在史书中，随后就出现了一句在宋史里极其著名的话——赵匡胤大喜，对左右人说：“契丹数入寇边，我以二十匹绢购一契丹人首，其精兵不过十万人，止费二百万绢，则敌尽矣。”自是益修边备。 如今去看任何一本研究宋史的现代书籍，这句话出现时，都会与赵匡胤在讲武殿之后的私人金库“封桩库”联系起来，整句话是说——“待储满五百万贯，即向契丹赎回燕云十六州，如不允，则散此金绢募勇士，我以二十匹绢购一契丹人首，其精兵不过十万人，止费二百万绢，则敌尽矣。”但在《续资治通鉴》中却记载着这是赵匡胤在田钦祚以寡敌众，逼退契丹之后的兴奋之语。 但不管怎样，这是有宋以来难得一见的雄壮勇烈。宋人真的是怯懦的吗？回答是“不”，这与问现代的中国人为什么一度举国贫困一样，根源在于体制。纵观华夏历史，汉人的活力总是被自己的制度所压制，尤其是宋朝，细读宋史就可以发现，无数次被外敌所侮的背后，隐藏着一个极其震撼但又万般无奈的史实。 如靖康时被数万金兵击破都城，掳走皇帝，那时的宋军给人的印象是彻底的不堪一击，可是短短的七八年之后，宋军就可以用压倒性的优势击溃金兵的主力军团。这是什么原因？而后更有独力抵抗已经占领半个世界的蒙古军队长达四十余年的空前壮举……这都说明了什么？ 我们是能战的，只是不要随时给我们披上枷锁！ 可是没有人能理解赵匡胤的帝王心术，这时宋朝无论在北方还是在南方，战争都方兴未艾，正是用人之际，他却出乎所有人意料之外，在自己的开封城里，再次给军中仅存的宿将元老们摆下了一桌丰盛的酒席。 这些人没有一个不是威名赫赫，震怖当时的军中名将。他们以天雄军节度使符彦卿、天平军节度使石守信、归德军节度使高怀德等人为首共十二人。赵匡胤的目标主要定在了其中的安远军节度使兼中书令武行德、凤翔军节度使王彦超、护国军节度使郭从义、定国军节度使白重赟及保大军节度使杨延璋等五个人的身上。 再一次摆酒，还是摆在了赵匡胤的皇宫里。被特殊邀请的五个人里，有的忐忑不安，因为心里有鬼，比如说王彦超。有的人是愤愤不平，因为实在难受，比如郭从义。 先说王彦超，还记得这位节度使大人吧？在二十二年前，赵匡胤第一次离开家浪迹天下时，曾经投奔过他。可是他只用了几贯铜钱就把后来的皇帝老儿打发出门，这样的壮举换了谁，还能梦想过安生日子？ 但是赵匡胤不比常人，早就主动替他解开了这个疙瘩，在某次君臣同乐的宴会上，赵匡胤在酒酣耳热之余，突然在大厅广众之前问他——爱卿，当年你在复州，朕去投靠你，你怎么不收留我呢？ 可以想象当时赵匡胤一定是半认真半玩笑，因为这个问题已经困扰了他好多年，百思不得其解。但是王彦超吓坏了，他立即避席跪倒，说出了想了好多好多年的圆场话——当年臣不过是个防御使，一勺的浅水怎么能容得下神龙呢！要是陛下当年真留在我那小地方，您还能有今天吗？ 赵匡胤哈哈大笑，就此把那一页揭过去。但在王彦超的心里，这件事却是一片永远在他头顶飘忽不定的阴云，天知道那里面隐藏着什么……再说郭从义，这位节度使是位地道的行伍人，勇猛善战，没有什么歪心思。可这也辜负了赵匡胤的一片好心。 几天前在最初的殿廷接见时，赵匡胤曾微笑着向他致意，说郭爱卿，听说你马球打得非常好，今日为我表演一下如何？ 郭从义正中下怀，他二话没说，当场甩掉礼服下殿，骑马纵横驰骋，周旋击拂，史称“曲尽其妙”。之后人人喝彩，郭从义也喜气洋洋地上殿谢恩，结果赵匡胤似笑非笑地说——你球打得可真好啊，可惜，这是将军应该做的事儿吗？ 郭从义僵那儿了，他不知道皇帝为什么要玩他？但就是这样，他仍然得出席皇帝特意为他们举行的特殊酒会。酒席宴上，九年前的一幕再次上演，赵匡胤喝了几杯，向五位节度使从容微笑——爱卿们，你们都是国家的老臣子，在外面工作操劳很久了，总是这样，显得我一点都不优待你们（非朕所以优贤之意也）。 心里有鬼的人立即就明白了，王彦超马上站起来表态——臣本来就没有什么功劳，这么多年一直都在冒领奉禄。现在又老了，总想着能回到老家去，把这一把老骨头归葬故里，这是臣真实的愿望（今已衰朽，骸骨归丘园，臣之愿也）。 赵匡胤一听大喜，史称他马上离席，执手嘉慰。可本就一肚子闷气的郭从义可不这么想，其他那三位更是满头雾水，在他们的理解，赵匡胤之前的话完全是在说他们的功劳大，非常大，他对他们还不够好，正想着怎么补偿呢！ 于是这四个人七嘴八舌，互相提醒，互相印证，把自己的履历功劳从头说起。但是赵匡胤的脸色变了，他冷冷地只回了八个字——“此异代事，何足论也！” 本来嘛，你们都是后周的臣子，给我大宋出过什么力？ 就这样，这五个人喜气洋洋赴宴来，垂头丧气出宫去。等他们出了赵匡胤的皇宫，迎面正看到已经等了他们好久的符彦卿、石守信、高怀德、张令铎等一干人。这些人对着他们哈哈大笑，连声欢迎，王彦超等人几声叹息之后，也突然顿悟。 这一天，在宋朝都城开封府的大街上，十二个年过花甲，鬓发斑白的老兵把臂高歌，旁若无人，渐行渐远，终于走出了所有人的视线，只有他们的歌声还隐约可闻—— “漫揾英雄泪，揖别帝王家。想当年金戈铁马称雄壮，不过是胡乱厮杀。攒家一把刀，今天刀放下，赤条条来去无牵挂，且莫道种豆反得瓜……” 国内的事潘美并不知道，其实就算知道了又能怎样呢？他会辞职吗？笑话，功名利禄就像人的青春年华，谁都知道是昙花一现，但每个人都因此而更加珍惜，把它紧紧抓住，绝不放手。 潘美坐在贺州城里，在他的脑海中，一直在想着怎样从贺州到番禺。这段路无论怎样测量，都实在算不上远，但是中间还是有很多的阻碍。其中最重要的，还是他本身的致命缺陷——兵力太少。 作为攻击一方，现在他已经站在了南汉境内，哪里是路？哪里都是路！他应该分兵疾进，虚实相生，把南汉的防御体系彻底搞乱，然后从中找出一条尽量短的道儿来，让他从贺州冲向番禺。 只要冲进番禺，就意味着战争结束。他非常清楚，这就是南汉的特色。别的皇帝可以出逃，可以东山再起，但是像南汉刘氏这样的禽兽，只要出了番禺，就注定什么了都不是。 但是要怎样才能达到这个终极目的呢？潘美想来想去，只好再次求助于他的亲密战友——刘鋹。历史证明，刘鋹在这场战争中给潘美的帮助无比巨大，从战争开始直到战争结束，堪称对潘美有求必应。这时潘美向番禺发出信息，声称自己嫌走路太累，要直接坐上伍彦柔开来的战船，从贺水的原路直捣南汉国都。 刘鋹慌了，伍彦柔脆败，只一个照面就被潘美放倒，这太出他意外了。what to do?他和龚澄枢面面相觑，最后的答案仍然还是潘崇彻。事情紧急，脾气本来就不是原则。刘鋹加封潘崇彻为内太师、马步军都统，给他三万人马，要他马上北上，不必考虑别的，只要他守住贺水。 贺江，潘崇彻再没多话，领兵就出去了。这让刘鋹稍微安心，但他绝对想不到，潘崇彻在走出番禺城时，脸上的表情是深入骨髓的讥讽。他清楚，南汉完了，就从这时起，南汉就注定了亡国。谁都知道，南汉真正的门户在哪儿。 是韶关！ 一条贺水，几十条船，这怎么能成为亡国的危险？无论是水路还是旱路，不过都是行军的道路，只要加强防守就是了。可韶关不同，那是南汉六十余年来重中之重的必保关隘，是刘鋹的祖先多年心血铸成的门户，重要性在南汉尽人皆知，可笑刘鋹和龚澄枢居然连这都不知道，还能不亡国吗？ 之后潘崇彻就尽心竭力地防守起了贺水，他可以问心无愧向刘鋹的老爹，他的老领导刘晟的在天之灵起誓，贺水在他的防守之下稳如磐石，绝对不会被攻破。 事实上，潘美根本就没到贺水这边来。 潘美在公元970年的10月从贺州出兵，杀数千人，攻破南汉开建寨，擒南汉守将靳晖，兵锋直指昭州（今广西平乐西）、桂州（今广西桂林）。这两州的刺史田行、李承珪非常配合，直接弃城而逃，在10月末，潘美进一步攻克了连州（今广东连县）。 这时他的前面再也没有阻挡，韶关近在眼前。 真正的危险终于到了，可就是那么的诡异，番禺城内的刘鋹突然间面带微笑，向臣子们说出了下面一番话——大家别慌，昭、桂、连、贺这四州本来就是湖南的，北方佬就是为了它们才来的，拿走了这些，他们就满足了，就再也不会来了（今北师取之足矣，其不复南也）。 祝大家好梦，只要一觉醒来，明天的世界就又会那么美好…… 一觉醒来之后，刘鋹就改了主意，或许是他的祖先们在梦里告诉了他什么吧，他决定马上派兵增援韶关。但是一个老问题又出现了，派谁去呢？ 这个问题一而再、再而三地跳出来折磨刘鋹，最后终于让他产生了一种错觉。说实话，这个错觉很无奈的，但是非常美丽，让每个人都向往。因为它源自一个终极幻想——天下无敌。 南汉得天独厚，有世界上最高最大最强的动物——大象。 一头头比房子还要高大的大象顶盔贯甲，上面坐着十几个手持超长武器的战士，在矮小得像是一条条小狗的敌人骑兵阵中往来冲杀，所向披靡……这是多么激动人心的战争场面啊，难道真的只能在梦中才会出现吗？如果能够变成现实，宋朝派来的那些敌兵又算得了什么？ 这样的念头在刘鋹的脑海里升起，也被其他所有的南汉人所认同，于是一个南汉将军的名字就被确认了——李承渥。他就是战象在南汉国内的代名词。刘鋹决定派他带着战象，率领大队人马去增援韶关。 这时候，就要肯定一下刘鋹和龚澄枢的工作成绩了，他们为了应付这次战争，在短短的二三个月期间，已经在都城兴王府（番禺）城内集结了至少二十万兵力。 二十万，不管怎样，这个数字都绝对惊人了。据考证，当时宋朝的全国总兵力也不过就是这么多。而且刘鋹变得理智，他似乎一下子就回想起了韶关有多重要，一次性地派给了李承渥十余万兵马。 举倾国之兵的半数以上，再加上那么的超级战争武器——战象，刘鋹肯定这支军队必将胜利。就这样，在当年的12月，李承渥在韶关城外的莲花峰（今广东曲江南）下，终于和潘美相遇了。他没有犹豫，在第一时间就甩出了他的王牌。 好多的大象啊，突然从南汉的阵地里冲了出来，每一头上面都骑着十几个南汉大兵，史称“皆执兵杖”，向宋军冲了过来。 据史料所限，真的不知道宋朝的大兵们在面临这个场景时是什么反应，更没有理由说潘美在事先就知道了南汉人的阴谋诡计，要用这些肉山来对付他。进而像传奇小说那样，事先准备一些大象的天敌，比如说耗子之类（真遗憾，到现在我也不清楚耗子到底对大象有没有危害），或者水了火了之类的超人类武器。他的办法非常简单，极其粗暴，一点技术含量都没有。 他先是命令军队把拒马（挡马的）都搬出来，在阵地前码好，虽然肯定挡不住，但是能顶一会儿是一会儿，然后命令全军所有的弓箭手都站到最前排来，一个字——射！ 这就是一个军人所能做的一切。无论面对的是人，还是鬼，或者是神仙或者是大象，我的回答只有一个——兵刃与弓箭！ 潘美的粗暴有了完美的结果，打个比喻吧，一只箭头与大象的吨位相比，好比蜜蜂的尾针和我们的体积的比例，但要是有