Chapter 39 Battle of Fengtian

Fengtian is only a small-to-medium-sized city, and its military strength, food, supplies, and equipment are extremely limited. After being attacked by Zhu Xi for more than half a month, the consumption is huge and the situation is extremely critical.If Sifang Qinwang's teacher does not come for a long time, Fengtian may be attacked by Zhu Xi at any time. At the beginning of November in the fourth year of Jianzhong, the first support soldier finally appeared. There were more than 10,000 support soldiers, consisting of Du Xiquan, the empress of Lingwu, Dai Xiuyan, the governor of Yanzhou (now Dingbian County, Shaanxi), Shi Changchun, the governor of Xiazhou (north of today's Jingbian County, Shaanxi), and Weibei (where the government is today) Fuxian County, Shaanxi Province) Jiedushi Li Jianhui assembled four divisions of King Qin.Although the strength of this support force is not large, it is a new force after all. For the Fengtian defenders who have been fighting for a long time and suffered heavy casualties, it is a life-saving straw. Time to wait for follow-up reinforcements.

However, at this moment, the periphery of Fengtian City is full of Zhu Xi's army, and there are only two ways for reinforcements to enter the city: one is Mogu, which is twelve miles north of Fengtian, and the other is Qianling, which is four miles northwest of Fengtian (Tang Gaozong Li Zhi). mausoleum). Which way should the reinforcements go? Dezong's interim court had a fierce dispute over this.Both Hun Yu and Guan Bo believed that the reinforcements must not be allowed to go to Mogu, because the place is dangerous and narrow, and once ambushed by rebels, the consequences would be disastrous.Therefore, the only option is to go to Qianling.The reinforcements can use the dense woods to covertly march, camp in the chicken pile in the northeast of the forest, and cooperate with the Fengtian defenders inside and outside to disperse the enemy's forces and reduce Fengtian's frontal pressure.

However, this proposal was strongly opposed by Lu Qi.His reason is: the marching speed is faster through Mogu, and even if they are ambushed, Fengtian can immediately send troops to respond, and it is absolutely forbidden to go through Qianling, because it will disturb the tomb of the late emperor. Alarmed the mausoleum of the late emperor? That's a really stupid reason, but it's a good one. From a military point of view, this reason is not worth talking about, let alone refuting; but from a political point of view, this reason is absolutely correct, and it is difficult for Dezong Li Shi to refute.

Dezong frowned and remained silent. Guan Bo looked at the emperor, then secretly glanced at Lu Qi, and then shut up. Only Hun Yan was so angry that his face was red and his neck was thick, and he said loudly: "Since Zhu Xi attacked the city, he has been cutting down the pines and cypresses of the Qianling Mausoleum day and night. If there is any alarm, the Mausoleum of the First Emperor has already been alarmed! Fengtian is extremely critical now, and all rescuers are here They are still on the way, only Du Xiquan and others arrived, the support troops are of great importance, if they can reach Fengtian City safely and hold the key points, they can defeat Zhu Xi, how can they take the risk of going to Mogu?"

Lu Qi still said righteously: "Your Majesty's use of troops cannot be compared with traitors! What they do is their business. If Du Xiquan is allowed to leave the Qianling Mausoleum, it will be us who disturbed the mausoleum ourselves. The crime is unforgivable!" Seeing Lu Qi's face of loyalty, Dezong's inner balance finally tilted.He immediately ordered Du Xiquan and others to go to Fengtian via Mogu. The momentary inclination of Dezong's heart directly led to the following tragedy. On the third day of November, Du Xiquan and other troops were ordered to cross Mogu, where they were ambushed by rebels.Zhu's army occupied the hilltops on both sides, condescendingly firing strong minions and throwing huge stones.Mogu turned into a valley of death in an instant, and the Tang army suffered heavy casualties.Fengtian urgently dispatched troops to respond, but was repelled by Zhu Shi, who had been prepared for a long time.In the end, Du Xiquan and others had no choice but to retreat overnight to Binzhou (now Bin County, Shaanxi) with the remnants.

Tang Jun's rescue operation failed completely. Zhu Xi was very proud, and ordered people to display the seized luggage and various spoils of war under Fengtian City, and then inspected them swaggeringly. The civil and military officials of the Tang Dynasty stood blankly on the top of the city, looking at each other with helplessness and fear in their hearts. In the days that followed, Zhu Xi launched a more violent attack on Fengtian. At the same time, he set up the large tent of the Chinese army on the Qianling Mausoleum, overlooking the whole city of Fengtian from a high position.Zhu Xi's move was first of all to detect the enemy's situation, but more importantly, it was to humiliate Dezong, and then weaken the will of Dezong's monarchs and Fengtian soldiers and civilians to defend the city.

The days are passing day by day, and the last moment is approaching step by step. After Fengtian was besieged for more than a month, the supplies and food stores in the city had been exhausted, and there was only two stones of brown rice left to supply the royal family, and there was no food for dinner.The officials in charge of the imperial meal had no choice but to take advantage of the unpreparedness of the enemy army in the middle of the night and send someone to sneak down the city wall and dig some wild vegetables in the wild to serve as the emperor's imperial meal. In addition, there is one more thing that is enough to prove that Fengtian is at the end of his rope at this moment.On one occasion, the defenders selected a man who was quick and fast, and planned to send him out of the city to perform reconnaissance missions.The man's clothes were thin, and before he left, he begged the emperor for a set of clothes to keep out the cold.Dezong ordered someone to bring him a suit, but after searching for a long time, he couldn't even find a decent set of clothes, so Dezong had to send him away sadly.

In such a predicament, how long can Fengtian hold on? Dezong's inner depression reached its peak.Almost desperately, he summoned all the ministers and generals, and said: "I have no virtue, and I have put myself in a perilous situation. This is my own fault. There is nothing wrong with your beloved ministers. You should surrender as soon as possible, at least you can save your life." When the officials heard the words, they hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed their heads, weeping and expressing their willingness to die loyally for the emperor.Dezong couldn't stop crying. Obviously, this is a sad card of Dezong Li Shi.So far, apart from doing this, he really doesn't know how to gather the hearts and morale that are about to collapse.Although these words may not be all from the heart, they can at least be regarded as an expression of true feelings.After all, it is not an easy task for the Son of Heaven to take the initiative to blame himself.Therefore, once Dezong played this card, there was no reason not to win the understanding, touch and support of his courtiers.

However, this is already Dezong Li Shi's last card. How long can Fengtian survive with this card? Dezong had no idea at all. In mid-November of the fourth year after Jianzhong was established, Fengtian, which was on the verge of extinction, finally ushered in a turning point. Because reinforcements have arrived. ——Shuofang Jiedu envoy Li Huaiguang led 50,000 troops under his command to cross the Yellow River and arrive at Pucheng (now Pucheng County, Shaanxi). ——Shen Ce knows that Li Sheng, the soldier and horse envoy, led 4,000 people from his headquarters to cross the Yellow River from Pujin Pass (now west of Yongji City, Shanxi), and recruited soldiers along the way. Finally, more than 10,000 people arrived at Dongwei Bridge (now Gaoling, Shaanxi) south of the county).

——Shang Kegu, the magic soldier who was ordered to conquer Li Xilie, got the news that Fengtian was in danger, and quickly returned to his army, and stationed at Qipanshan (now southeast of Lantian County, Shaanxi) from Wuguan (northwest of Shangnan County, Shaanxi Province). ——Luo Yuanguang, the deputy envoy of Zhen Guojun stationed in Huazhou (now Huaxian, Shaanxi), led more than 10,000 people to Zhaoying (now Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi). ——Hedong Jiedu envoy Ma Sui sent his son Ma Hui and his general Wang Quan to lead 5,000 people from Taiyuan to Guanzhong day and night, and stationed in Zhongwei Bridge (now east of Xianyang City, Shaanxi).

The divisions of Qin Wang from all walks of life arrived at the outskirts of Chang'an one after another. Although it was too late to help Fengtian, they had already formed a complete encirclement circle around Chang'an. Zhu Xi felt great fear. He realized that there was only one isolated city of Chang'an left in his current sphere of influence. If he could not capture Fengtian and overthrow Li Tang Sheji in the shortest possible time, the Zhu Qin Dynasty he had just established would be wiped out in a blink of an eye. In the last battle, Zhu Xi used his trump card to build a huge and strong siege ladder: several feet high and wide, wrapped in rhinoceros leather, and equipped with large wheels, it can carry 500 soldiers at the same time.Seeing this huge monster, Emperor Dezong and Fengtian officers and soldiers were all dumbfounded.Dezong hurriedly asked the ministers for advice, and Hun Yan suggested digging a tunnel to sink his wheels, and then attacking with fire. Beginning on November 14th, Zhu Xi launched an unprecedentedly violent attack on Fengtian City using a large ladder.The battle lasted for a day and a night. On the morning of the 15th, the rebels successively attacked the towers in the northeast corner.Seeing countless casualties among the officers and soldiers guarding the city, and the imminent destruction of Fengtian City, Dezong couldn't help crying while facing Hun Yan, and all the officials could only look up to the sky and pray. In the end, Hun Yu knelt farewell to the emperor, and then led the death squad to the gap in the city defense, and started a hand-to-hand combat with the rebels.The battle was extremely fierce. Hun Yu, who rushed to the front, was shot with arrows and was still struggling to kill, but the enemy surged up wave after wave like a tide, while the soldiers around Hun Yu fell down one by one. ... Just when the defense of Fengtian was about to end in failure, God finally stood on the side of Li Tang Dynasty. At dusk that day, the wind suddenly reversed, and the Tang army on the city took advantage of the wind to throw bundles of reed grass doused with turpentine and anointing oil at the enemy.At the same time, Zhu Xi's siege ladder also fell into the tunnel dug by the Tang army, unable to move. The Tang army ambushing in the tunnel immediately lit a fire, and the blazing flames rushed out of the tunnel immediately.In a moment, the ladders of the rebels and all the soldiers attacking the city were swallowed up by raging flames, and the scorched smell permeated the entire sky of Fengtian City. The rebels suffered heavy setbacks and had to retreat to the east.The Tang army seized the opportunity to counterattack on a large scale. Prince Li Song personally commanded the battle, and sent troops from the east, south, and north gates at the same time, and finally completely defeated the rebel army. It was night, and Zhu Xi, unwilling to fail, organized another attack.During the battle, a cold arrow landed three steps away from Dezong's face with a whizzing sound, which shocked him into a cold sweat. However, this was the last arrow that Zhu Xi could shoot into Fengtian. On November 20, Li Huaiguang sent his troops to rescue Fengtian, and defeated Zhu Xi's blocking force in Liquan (now Liquan County, Shaanxi Province) not far to the southeast.Zhu Xi was shocked.He realized that if he didn't return to defense, Chang'an would be captured by Tang Jun immediately, and he would definitely be made dumplings by Tang Jun in the end. Thinking about this, Zhu Xi had no choice but to give up Fengtian, and fled back to Chang'an full of regret. Looking at the yellow dust rising from the sky when the rebels left, Dezong Li Shi finally let out a long sigh of relief.He knew that if Li Huaiguang was one day late, everything would be over! Although the defense of Fengtian ended with the retreat of the rebels, and Dezong's monarchs and ministers finally got rid of this terrible nightmare, people can't help but ask: What caused this disaster to happen?In other words, who is the culprit that caused the fall of Chang'an and the exile of the emperor? Of course, the government and the opposition will have different opinions on this, but regardless of other people's opinions, Li Huaiguang's personal attitude is very clear.Along the way, he has only two goals: one is King Jing Nanqin, and the other is to invite Dezong to kill three people. Which three people? Prime Minister Lu Qi, Duzhi envoy Zhao Zan, Shence army envoy Bai Zhizhen. Li Huaiguang insisted that these three people were the culprits who caused the fall of Chang'an and the exile of the emperor.Because Lu Qi was jealous of the virtuous and capable, resulting in improper policies; Zhao Zanfu was troublesome, causing public dissatisfaction;All in all, these three people are treacherous ministers who have harmed the country and the people. If they are not killed, the common people will not be angry, and if they are not killed, they will not be enough to thank the world! Along the way, Li Huaiguang kept threatening to kill them in Fengtian. "The chaos in the world is all caused by Cao! I see you, please punish him." (Volume 229) Now that Fengtian is besieged and great achievements have been made, Li Huaiguang believes with full confidence that the emperor will reward him with special courtesy, and his advice will definitely be supported and adopted by the emperor. However, Li Huaiguang was wrong. He waited helplessly in the military camp outside Fengtian City for many days, but not only did he not receive the news that the emperor had summoned him, but instead received an order to send troops. The edict asked him to immediately lead his troops to Xiwei Bridge, join forces with Li Sheng and other troops, and choose a day to conquer Chang'an. At this moment, every pore in Li Huaiguang's body exuded anger, and at the same time, he was soaked in helplessness.It felt like a hot face on a cold ass, or a punch on cotton.He never imagined that he came all the way to King Qin, and now that he has finished his work and is so close to the emperor, he can't even see a face, can't even say a word, what's his grandma's fault? In fact, there is no need for Li Huaiguang to be confused and disappointed, because Dezong Li Shi and his views are completely different. As early as when Dezong had just fled to Fengtian, he had talked about the cause of the disaster with Lu Zhi, a scholar of the Imperial Academy.Lu Zhi told Dezong very tactfully: "Today's troubles are all the crimes of the ministers." In fact, what he meant was the same as Li Huaiguang's, and he also attributed the reason to Lu Qi and others, but what he said was more artistic. I would like to be named.However, Dezong disagreed with this.His answer was: "This is also the destiny, not human affairs." (Volume 229) Dezong's meaning is clear - this is God's fault, not anyone's responsibility. That is to say, even if everyone in the world thinks that Lu Qi should be punished for his crime, Dezong would not think so. This is hard to understand.Since Lu Qi became the chief prime minister, he has made countless mistakes. Why did Dezong turn a blind eye and still protect him wholeheartedly?Why did Dezong be so heroic and decisive when he came to the throne, but now he has become so dull and ambiguous? The answer is simple, Dezong was injured. As we all know, Dezong was originally a person with high self-esteem and great ambitions, but he has encountered too many setbacks in the past few years, and his self-confidence has been hit in a mess, so he has become increasingly sensitive and fragile, and even has a little low self-esteem.Under such circumstances, any outspoken advice is tantamount to adding salt to his wounds, which can only arouse his resistance and disgust; Only those who say a word of disobedience can soothe Dezong's wounded heart. That being the case, how could Dezong kill Lu Qi? For Dezong's mentality, Lu Qi knew nothing about it.Therefore, when the news that Li Huaiguang threatened to kill treacherous ministers reached Lu Qi's ears, he did not feel any fear at all.Because he knew Dezong couldn't do without him.Besides, it would be a piece of cake for Lu Qi to fight against a boss like Li Huaiguang who only knows how to fight and doesn't understand politics. As soon as the siege of Fengtian was resolved, Lu Qi immediately proposed to Dezong that Li Huaiguang should be ordered to take advantage of the victory to attack Chang'an, and the time should not be delayed, especially not to call him into the city for an audience, because once entering the city, there will be banquets, rewards, etc. The delay lasted for several days. If the rebels were allowed to use this time to regroup, it would be difficult to eliminate them. Dezong thought it made sense, so he let Li Huaiguang shut the door, and issued the imperial edict that made Li Huaiguang furious... Li Huaiguang left. He left Fengtian sadly with his 50,000 followers.Before leaving, he said a word: "I have been ranked by treacherous ministers now, and things (under the world) can be known!" (Volume 229) Obviously, at this time Li Huaiguang was already desperate for the future of the country and the individual. A person who is desperate for his country and his personal future is usually a dangerous person.Especially when this person holds an army in his hands, the degree of danger is self-evident. What will such a person do next?