Chapter 4 Battle of Yongqiu: The Terrible Zhang Xun

Zhang Xun, a native of Hedong, Puzhou (now Yongji City, Shanxi), was known in history as "combine with a wide range of books and well-versed in battle formations". People don't know." ("New Book of Tang Zhang Xun Biography") Zhang Xun became a Jinshi at the end of Kaiyuan, and Tianbao became an official in the middle period. He first served as Prince Tongshi Sheren, and soon became the county magistrate of Qinghe (now southeast of Nangong County, Hebei).During this tenure, Zhang Xun helped the poor and the poor, selected talents and appointed talents, and achieved remarkable political achievements.After his term of office expired, Zhang toured Beijing to wait for his post.At that time, Yang Guozhong was in power, and someone persuaded him to go through Yang Guozhong's back door in order to stay as a Beijing official.Zhang Xun said disdainfully: "Now that the court is weak, why should you be an official in the court?"

Because of this sentence, Zhang Xun lost the rare opportunity to stay in the capital, and was released again to serve as the county magistrate of Zhenyuan (now east of Luyi County, Henan). After the Anshi Rebellion broke out, Zhang Xun's immediate boss, Yang Wanshi, the prefect of Qiaojun (now Bozhou City, Anhui Province), surrendered Anlu Mountain, forcing Zhang Xun to surrender with him.Zhang Xun rose up in anger, led thousands of officials and people in the county, and resolutely raised the banner of rebelling against Anlu Mountain. At that time, Linghu Chao, the county magistrate of nearby Yongqiu (now Qixian County, Henan Province), was about to surrender, but was opposed by local officials and people. Linghu Chao was furious and arrested more than 100 rebels.Soon after the Yan army came to attack, Linghu Chao went out of the city to meet his surrender. The officials detained by him took the opportunity to escape from the prison, then closed the city gate to resist Linghu Chao, and sent someone to invite Zhang Xun who was nearby to help them guard the city.

In February of the fifteenth year of Tianbao, Zhang Xun entered Yongqiu, beheaded Linghu Chao's wife and children, and then stepped up the construction of fortifications.A few days later, Linghu Chao led the Yan army to attack the city, but was repelled by Zhang Xun.At the beginning of March, Linghu Chao, together with Yan generals Li Huaixian, Yang Chaozong and others led an army of 40,000, and suddenly arrived at the city of Yongqiu.The defenders were terrified and their hearts were shaken.Zhang Xun said to the soldiers defending the city: "The rebels who came to attack this time are elite troops, and they must have a sense of contempt. If we take advantage of this and launch a surprise attack by surprise, the enemy will surely retreat. Only by letting their troops be frustrated, Only this city can be defended."

Afterwards, Zhang Xun sent 1,000 people to defend the city, and at the same time he personally led 1,000 people, divided into several teams, and rushed out suddenly.Zhang Xun took the lead and went straight to the Yan army camp.The Yan army was caught off guard, and a large area was hacked and killed, so they had to retreat temporarily. The next day, the Yan army attacked the city again, dispatched a hundred large catapults, and surrounded Yongqiu City.Immediately afterwards, the enemy troops climbed up the city wall like ants. Zhang Xun ordered the soldiers to set up wooden fences on the city wall to stop the enemy. At the same time, they took out bundles of wormwood prepared in advance, filled them with grease, lit them and threw them at the enemy, burning the Yan soldiers who were climbing the city wall. .Seeing this, the army behind was too frightened to take half a step forward.Zhang Xun seized the opportunity and led the crowd to kill again, repelling the fierce Yan army again.

In the following days, although the Yan army surrounded Yongqiu tightly, they were still unable to attack.Whenever the Yan army is a little slack, Zhang Xun will lead the crowd to make a surprise attack, making the Yan army hard to defend; especially in the dead of night, Zhang Xun often sends death squads to carry out night raids, which makes the Yan army unbearably disturbed. The two sides confronted each other for more than 60 days, and experienced more than 300 battles.With just a few thousand people, Zhang Xun firmly blocked Linghu Chao's 40,000 army.Like the soldiers, he never took off his armor whether he was eating or sleeping, and when he was wounded, he would go into battle again after dressing up casually. His tenacious fighting spirit made the Yan army terrified.

In the end, the officers and soldiers of the Yan Army lost their morale, and Linghu Chao had no choice but to order the withdrawal of the troops.Just as the Yan army was retreating, Zhang Xun led the crowd to attack again, killing the Yan army in the back of the palace, throwing away their helmets and armor, and captured more than 2,000 people. In May, Linghu Chao, unwilling to fail, once again led troops to attack.After several days of storming, Yongqiu City remained motionless.Linghu Chao was so helpless that he wanted to recruit Zhang Xun.Since he and Zhang Xun were old friends, he invited Zhang Xun to meet at the base of the city, and said to him, "Li Tang is exhausted in the world, and he sticks to the dangerous city with one step. What is he planning?"

Zhang Xun sneered: "I have pledged myself to be loyal all my life, but where is the loyalty in today's actions?" (218) Linghu Chao was speechless, so he retreated in shame. After that, Linghu Chao fought around Yongqiu for more than forty days, but it was still in vain.Just when Linghu Chao was at a loss, news came from Guanzhong that Tongguan and Chang'an had been captured by the Yan army one after another, and Xuanzong had also fled to Bashu.Linghu Chao was ecstatic, and immediately repaired a letter, sent someone to Zhang Xun, and persuaded him to surrender again. At that time, Yongqiu had been besieged for several months and had completely lost contact with the outside world, let alone the news of the fall of Xijing and Xuanzong's exile.As soon as Linghu Chao's persuasion letter arrived, the soldiers in the city panicked, and many of them lost their fighting spirit.Six senior generals found Zhang Xun together and persuaded him: Yongqiu's garrison is weak and it is difficult to resist for a long time. Now no one knows whether the emperor is dead or alive. It is better to surrender to the Yan army.

Zhang Xun looked at them and nodded helplessly. The next day, Zhang Xun hung Xuanzong's portrait in the lobby, and then led all civil and military officials to worship together.Everyone thought this was the last pilgrimage to the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and they had mixed feelings in their hearts, and they all wept.At this moment, Zhang Xun suddenly yelled loudly, and ordered the six generals to be arrested on the spot, first to blame the king and his ministers for righteousness, and then to behead them all. Seeing this sudden scene, all civil and military officials were stunned.Those who wanted to surrender completely gave up their hearts and never dared to say the word "surrender"; while those who did not want to surrender became more enthusiastic and their morale became stronger.

However, after all, Yongqiu is an isolated city that has been besieged for several months and has not received logistical supplies for a long time, so a serious problem soon appeared-the arrow disappeared. After the incident of "killing the six generals", although the soldiers' fighting will is stronger than before, they cannot fight with will alone.Facing the well-equipped Yan army, the Tang army without arrows is like a goshawk with its claws cut off, and can only be beaten passively. The soldiers were worried about this, but Zhang Xun was calm and relaxed. No one knows what medicine he sells in his gourd.

One night a few days later, the soldiers of the Yan Army who were watching the night suddenly discovered that there were densely packed men in black at the top of Yongqiu City, roughly estimated to be no less than a thousand.I saw them descending from the top of the city one after another, moving quickly and silently, obviously they came to attack again.The patrol immediately reported to Linghu Chao.Linghu Chao immediately summoned all the archers, ordered them to line up in front of the camp, and fired all arrows at the head of Yongqiu City. I don't know how long it has passed, and Linghu Chao can't remember how many arrows the archers have shot. Anyway, the more than a thousand men in black on the top of the city are covered with arrows like hedgehogs, but none of them are moving at all. It doesn't make a sound, doesn't hide, neither advances nor retreats, just like a scarecrow.

scarecrow…… At the same time as these three words jumped into his mind, Linghu Chao also realized - he had been tricked! The distraught Linghu Chao hastily ordered the soldiers to stop shooting. However, it was too late.Because Zhang Xun had already got what he wanted. When the city defenders happily pulled more than a thousand scarecrows up the tower, they counted the results of the battle and found hundreds of thousands of arrows. This is the true story of "the straw man borrowing an arrow" in history.It must be stated that Mr. Zhang Xun definitely did not learn this trick from Mr. Kong Ming, because the so-called "borrowing arrows from straw boats" is purely a literary fiction of Mr. Luo Guanzhong, and there is no trace of it at all.If it must be said that Zhang Xun's trick of borrowing arrows was learned from the ancients, then his teacher was not Zhuge Liang, but Sun Quan. According to Pei Song's note in "Three Kingdoms · Wu Shu · Wu Zhu Zhuan II", in the first month of the eighteenth year of Jian'an (AD 213), Cao Cao and Sun Quan faced each other in Ruxu (now west of Chaoxian County, Anhui).In the first battle, Cao Jun was defeated, so he couldn't hold out.One day, Sun Quan took a light boat to the front of Cao Jun in person to observe Cao Jun’s deployment.In order to confuse Cao Cao, Sun Quan deliberately played with drums and music.Cao Cao was suspicious by nature. Seeing that Sun Junjia was fighting for power to purge, and Sun Quan was so leisurely and content, he was afraid of being cheated, so he dared not go out to fight, so he sighed and said, "Being a child is like Sun Zhongmou!"After a while, Sun Quan’s light boat was hit by too many arrows, the hull tipped, and it was about to capsize.Sun Quan ordered to turn the bow of the ship so that the other side could receive arrows again.Soon, the arrows leveled and Sun Quan returned safely. It can be seen that Mr. Luo Guanzhong's vivid description of the "grass boat borrowing arrows" in "The Straw Boat Borrowing Arrows" comes from Sun Quan.Maybe, Luo Guanzhong also read the story of Zhang Xun's "Strawman Borrowing Arrows", so he combined the stories of Zhang Xun and Sun Quan into one, and created the eternal classic of "Kongming's Straw Boat Borrowing Arrows". Linghu Chao tossed all night, instead of killing half of the Tang soldiers, he gave Zhang Xun hundreds of thousands of arrows, feeling really annoyed.He secretly vowed that in the future, he must keep his eyes open and be vigilant, and never be fooled by Zhang Xun again. A few days later, one night, the patrol soldiers came to report again, saying that more than 500 men in black had been released from the city of Yongqiu.Linghu Chao sneered and said to the left and right: This time, it's probably his grandma's scarecrow again!Leave him alone! However, Linghu Chao never expected that this time Zhang Xun dispatched not scarecrows, but death squads! More than 500 death-defying members rushed straight at the Yan Army barracks like tigers descending from the mountain, and chopped down the unsuspecting Yan Army soldiers.Linghu Chao turned pale with fright, and hurriedly abandoned the camp and fled.Zhang Xun led the crowd to chase for more than ten miles before reining in their horses and returning to the city. Although Linghu Chao was repeatedly deceived and lost troops, he still did not give up, and soon came back with reinforcements. There is a saying that soldiers never tire of deceit, and now Linghu Chao has thoroughly experienced Zhang Xun's deceit. One day, Linghu Chao led the crowd to attack the city and found a Tang general named Lei Wanchun who was extremely brave.Linghu Chao suddenly made up his mind, and decided to treat him with his own way.He came to the city with a group of archers and pretended to shout to Lei Wanchun.Lei Wanchun didn't know what it was, he had just spoken to Linghu Chao when a row of arrows suddenly shot at him.Lei Wanchun was caught off guard, and was shot with many arrows, six arrows hit his face alone. According to the "New Tang Book", Lei Wanchun actually stood upright after being hit by an arrow, not moving at all, which is really unimaginable.Linghu Chao was very puzzled, suspecting that Zhang Xun had used a scarecrow to deceive him again, he hurriedly ordered someone to approach him to check, and the answer he got was: Yes, the man in the city is indeed Lei Wanchun. Regarding Lei Wanchun's "six arrows in the face without moving", and the "New Book of Tang" are both very serious, but its authenticity is very doubtful. Because, after all, people are made of flesh and blood, no matter how brave they are, it is impossible to stand still under the situation of "six arrows in the face".Taking a step back, even if this was true, Lei Wanchun should have died on the spot.But the fact is that Lei Wanchun did not die, and participated in the battle of Suiyang alive and well a few months later.This is enough to show that the so-called "six arrows in the face" is most likely a literary exaggeration of traditional historians, and the purpose is to show Lei Wanchun's loyalty and bravery.However, although this matter is suspected of being fictional, the bravery and tenacity shown by the Yongqiu defenders in the situation of being outnumbered by the enemy is still obvious to all and cannot be doubted. Later, Linghu Chao shouted to Zhang Xunyao on the city, saying: "I saw General Lei just now, and then I realized that your army is indeed strict in military discipline, and everyone has died. I admire you very much. However, Li Tang's energy is exhausted. How can it change the way of heaven?" Zhang Xun looked up to the sky and laughed wildly, and threw him nine words from a distance: "You don't know human relations, how can you know the way of heaven?" People, beheaded more than a hundred levels. Linghu Chao suffered consecutive defeats and had to withdraw his troops to Chenliu (now Chenliu Town, Kaifeng City, Henan Province), and dared not return for several months. At the beginning of October, after several months of rest, Linghu Chao led more than 10,000 people to attack Yongqiu.Zhang Xun went out of the city to fight, and defeated the Yan army again, beheading thousands of people, forcing Linghu Chao to flee again. At this point, Linghu Chao finally had to admit that Zhang Xun was the most terrifying opponent he had ever seen in his life! The Battle of Yongqiu was a classic example of the battle of defending an ancient city, where the few defeated the many, and the weak defeated the strong.Zhang Xun himself and the army he led became famous because of this. Later, Li Tingwang, the Henan Jiedu envoy of the Yan Dynasty, personally went out to attack Yongqiu with Linghu Chao, but he was still unable to attack for a long time.In the end, Li Tingwang and Linghu Chao had no choice but to change their strategy, preparing to adopt the strategy of "surround but not attack" to trap Zhang Xun and Yicheng's soldiers and civilians to death.They first built a new city in the north of Yongqiu City to block the grain roads of Yongqiu. Later, Li Tingwang sent troops to capture Lu County (now Yanzhou City, Shandong Province), Dongping (now Dongping County, Shandong Province) and Dongping County outside Yongqiu. Jiyin (now Dingtao County, Shandong) and other counties; then, Li Tingwang ordered general Yang Chaozong to lead 20,000 troops to attack Ningling (now Ningling County, Henan) southeast of Yongqiu, in an attempt to completely cut off Zhang Xun's retreat. Zhang Xun knew very well that once Ningling fell, Yongqiu would be surrounded by enemies and unable to support himself, and sooner or later he would fall into the hands of the Yan army.Therefore, Zhang Xun decided to withdraw from Yongqiu and retreat to Ningling to hold on, smashing the strategic attempt of the Yan army to encircle him on all sides. At the beginning of December, Zhang Xun led his people into Ningling. At the same time, another person also led his troops to Ningling to help in the battle. He is Xu Yuan, the prefect of Suiyang (great-grandson of Xu Jingzong, Prime Minister of Gaozong Dynasty).Suiyang (now Shangqiu City, Henan Province) is located in the east of Ningling, only forty miles away from Ningling, and the two cities are closely related.In other words, once Ningling fell, Suiyang would have difficulty protecting itself, so Xu Yuan, like Zhang Xun, would not sit back and watch Ningling fall. As soon as the two armies of Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan met, Yang Chaozong was already approaching the city. Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan led the crowd to battle, and fought fiercely with Yang Chaozong for a whole day and night, and finally defeated the Yan army and beheaded more than 10,000 ranks.The corpses of the Yan army filled the Bian River (flowing through the south of Ningling City), and Yang Chaozong fled northward overnight with the remnants. In the first month of the second year of Zhide, An Qingxu, who had just ascended the throne, in order to march into Jianghuai and open the door to the wealth of the Tang Dynasty, appointed general Yin Ziqi as the governor of Henan, and ordered him to capture Suiyang within a certain period of time.After Yin Ziqi took office, he assembled an army of 130,000 at the fastest speed, and the soldiers pointed directly at Suiyang, the gate of Jianghuai.When the battle report came, Xu Yuan immediately sent an envoy to Zhang Xun for emergency.At the end of the first month, Zhang Xun took only 3,000 men under his command to station in Suiyang.At this time, Xu Yuan's troops were only 3,800 people.In other words, the combined strength of Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan is only 6,800 people in total, but they are going to face Yin Ziqi's 130,000 troops! The famous Battle of Suiyang in history kicked off. Obviously, this will be an unprecedented battle. This battle will be more tragic, more tragic, more arduous, and more thrilling than the battle of Yongqiu...