White Horse, Silver Spear, Grand Commandant Gao

Chapter 24 Drinking Water 1: Difficulty in Using a Water Vessel

The journey there took two days, and the return journey took three days. The matter of Bao'an Town was truly resolved in less than a short while.

Gao Yanei experienced a military operation that could hardly be called a battle, but he felt it wasn't enough.

On the way back, Gao Xingzhou admonished his son: "Spend more time studying military strategy and practicing spear techniques. Don't wander around all day playing cards, listening to operas, or playing football and ball games."

Gao Huaide ignored his father's lectures, letting them go in one ear and out the other, and said with a smile to his sister and brother, "These past few days have been incredibly boring. Let's play cards."

The words had barely left his mouth when a sharp shout rang out: "Playing cards? I think you deserve a beating!"

Gao Xingzhou walked into the room with a face full of anger. After being swept over by his sharp gaze, the three siblings lowered their heads and remained silent.

"Serving in the military has provided you with absolutely no inspiration!"

They could have easily defeated Bai Wenshen, but instead they had to engage in both military duels and one-on-one duels, which involved a lot of extra trouble, and in the end, their son failed to live up to their expectations.

"It's one thing to lack ambition yourself, but to lead your younger brother astray as well?"

"I know I was wrong."

Without even looking at Gao Huaide's expression, Gao Xingzhou felt a sense of helplessness at how to raise his children based on this half-hearted apology, and immediately lost the will to argue with them any further.

"We have a guest today, so we'll let you off this time."

Gao Xingzhou couldn't bear to scold his daughter, who was always well-behaved and sensible. He said sternly, "Your mother is extremely busy, aren't you going to help?"

The girl responded with a soft "okay," gave Gao Huaide a look to avoid upsetting her father, and then gracefully went off.

Gao Huailiang snuggled into his father's arms and said coquettishly, "Father, please continue the story from last time. What happened in the struggle between Jin and Liang for hegemony in Hebei?"

Gao Xingzhou estimated that it was still early and the guests wouldn't arrive so soon. He patted his second son's head, his glare at his eldest son still stern.

"Do you think war is child's play? Back then, Liu Xun doubled his speed to launch a surprise attack on Jinyang, but due to weeks of continuous rain, his soldiers suffered from abdominal ailments and swollen feet, leading to low morale and ultimate failure. Forming ranks, scouting routes, setting up camp, boiling water and cooking, even building latrines—everything has its procedures. How much have you learned from your personal involvement this time?"

Gao Huaide carefully recalled the past five days, only focusing on the excitement of the last brief battle. He realized that the details of the military campaign were what his father wanted him to experience firsthand.

He whispered again, admitting his mistake, "Your son understands."

This sentence was more sincere than before, and Gao Xingzhou's anger subsided slightly. He asked Gao Xingzhou to bring a stool and sit down.

Gao Huaide escaped a beating and sat down to listen to the story, while wondering who his father had mentioned would be visiting today.

……

August of the twelfth year of the Tianyou reign of the Tang Dynasty, the first year of the Zhenming reign of the Liang Dynasty.

Liu Xun managed Shen County, raising the city walls and dredging the moat. To prevent the Jin army from attacking the supply lines, he built a passageway between the city walls and the Yellow River, preparing for a protracted war.

Beizhou's Nantong Shenxian County, which is connected to Cangzhou, was guarded by Liu Xun with 3,000 troops, with Zhang Yuande, the governor of Caizhou, in charge of its defense.

The Liang ruler gained another 10,000 men to assist him and sent envoys to lure the Weibo troops who had recently surrendered to Li Cunxu.

Li Cunxu first captured Dezhou, separating Cangzhou and Beizhou. He then launched a night attack and captured Chanzhou. The governor, Wang Yanzhang, was under Liu Xun's command and served as the commander of the vanguard infantry. His wife and children were also captured.

Then he divided his troops into five thousand and ordered Fu Cunshen to attack Beizhou.

Beizhou City was small but fortified, and difficult to capture suddenly. Fu Cunshen conscripted laborers from eight counties to dig trenches and besiege the city.

The main force of the Jin army went straight to the camp to challenge Liu Xun, who held firm and did not come out. Li Cunxu ordered more than a thousand strong men to chop down the camp pillars with axes. The Liang soldiers panicked and came out of the camp. The Jin army took the opportunity to capture several people and returned.

This move greatly boosted morale, but it was not enough to secure victory. From autumn to spring, the two armies remained locked in a stalemate for half a year.

During this period, Liu Xun devised a plan, instructing his soldiers to feign surrender and defect, and bribed Li Cunxu's cook to poison him, but fortunately the plan was exposed.

As the new year dawned, the deadlock was finally broken.

The unexpected turn of events came from the capital of Liang. Emperor Zhu Youzhen of Liang, growing impatient, issued an edict urging Liu Xun to launch an urgent attack.

The imperial edict reads: "All matters outside the capital are entrusted to the General. The prefectures of Hebei have fallen in an instant, our troops are exhausted and weary, and our troubles are increasing daily. We have retreated to the riverbanks and have long lost our will to fight."

"Yesterday, the vassal states to the east sent memorials, all saying that their granaries were empty and their supplies insufficient. Those on duty were constantly being captured and robbed, and they were filled with anxiety and fear day and night. General, you share the fate of the nation and should devise a good plan. If you hear that the enemy's forces are few in number, you should devise a strategy to defeat them in time, so that our burden will not be a burden on our ancestors."

Liu Xun submitted a memorial reporting the battle situation: "The attack on Taiyuan failed, and we attempted to cut off the supply route to Linqing. Zhou Yang's five cavalrymen arrived suddenly, but were blocked by them."

"I then led a large army and secured Shen County. We dug deep trenches and built high walls, trained our soldiers, and maintained a state of alert day and night, waiting for any attack. Our reconnaissance revealed a large number of troops. The Loufan people are all skilled in riding and archery, making them a formidable enemy, and we cannot act rashly. If I were to seize an opportunity, how could I dare to sit idly by and invite trouble? My heart is with the country, and Heaven is fully aware of my intentions."

Faced with formidable opponents like Li Cunxu and Zhou Dewei, as well as the swift and elusive cavalry of Youyan and Daibei, Liu Xun's defensive posture was a last resort. The Liang state, occupying the Central Plains, was stronger than the Jin state; if they continued to hold out, perhaps the situation would turn around.

Unfortunately, this matter concerned the fate of Hebei and the rise and fall of the nation. Zhu Youzhen, who was in his early thirties, was anxious and sent envoys to inquire about the decisive strategy.

Liu Xun replied, "I have no extraordinary methods, but if each person is given ten bushels of grain, we can defeat the enemy once they are exhausted."

Based on a daily intake of two liters, one dou every five days, and ten hu would last for a year and a half. This answer clearly carried a hint of resentment.

Zhu Youzhen was furious: "General, are you hoarding rice to relieve hunger? Or to defeat the enemy?"

He then dispatched an imperial envoy to oversee the battle and assemble all the generals. Everyone wanted to fight, but Liu Xun remained silent.

Another day, Liu Xun summoned his generals to sit in a row at the camp gate. He gave each of them a vessel of river water and ordered them to drink it. The generals did not understand his intention, and some drank while others declined.

"If even a single vessel is so difficult to use, how can a raging river be crossed?"

"With the people's hearts not united, it is impossible to fight," Liu Xun lamented. "Our lord is secluded in the palace, ignorant of military strategy, and conspires with a white-faced fool, ultimately leading to our downfall."

Gao Xingzhou sighed softly at this point, for the current situation was no different. Was the new emperor's decision to send troops to conquer Fengxiang truly the right one?

Li Cunxu, having learned that Liu Xun intended a swift victory, readjusted his deployment, claiming he would return to Jinyang, but in reality, he was sending troops to Beizhou for a military check-up. He then switched Fu Cunshen to guard the main camp, and Li Siyuan to guard Weizhou. The two generals formed a defensive triangle, while he himself served as a surprise force to break through the enemy lines.

This adjustment was a stroke of genius; Liu Xun indeed fell into the trap and sent troops to attack Weizhou.

At midnight, a detachment of 10,000 men arrived at the south of the city. Li Siyuan selected 500 brave men to sneak out of the city and attack them. The Liang army was routed and fled.

At dawn, Liu Xun's army arrived at the east of the city. Fu Cunshen led his troops to follow behind. Li Siyuan led the troops in the city to fight. Li Cunxu led his army from Beizhou. The three sides attacked the Liang army together!

Although Liu Xun was ambushed, he remained calm, forming a circular defensive formation that responded from all sides, fighting and retreating simultaneously.

Seeing that they could not do anything about it for the time being, the Jin army changed their attack method. Li Cunxu formed a square formation in the northwest, and Fu Cunshen also formed a square formation in the southeast, sandwiching the Liang army from both sides.

Li Siyuan led three thousand iron cavalry to surround the enemy formation, and personally led a charge to break through!

Li Congke, Gao Xingzhou, and other valiant generals led the vanguard, and Liu Xun's troops were routed. They fought each other like piles of armor, and the sound of discarded armor could be heard for dozens of miles.

They caught up with them on the river, and the Liang soldiers, in groups of ten or hundred, threw themselves into the water and died. Seventy thousand elite troops were wiped out in a single day. (Note 1)

Liu Xun led several dozen cavalrymen to break through the encirclement to the southwest, gathered his scattered troops at Liyang, crossed the Yellow River to the south, and retreated to Huazhou.

Therefore, after the Battle of Yuancheng, the Jin army gained the upper hand and swept across Hebei.

In March, they attacked Weizhou, and the governor surrendered the city.

In April, Mingzhou was captured.

In June, they attacked Xingzhou.

In August, Zhang Jun, the military governor of Xiangzhou, abandoned the city and fled. Yan Bao, the military governor of Xingzhou, requested to surrender the city.

In September, Dai Siyuan, the military governor of Cangzhou, abandoned the city and fled.

Beizhou had been besieged for a year. The garrison killed Zhang Yuande, who refused to surrender, and three thousand men abandoned their weapons and armor and left the city. The Jin soldiers buried them all alive.

Naiding, Hebei.

At this time, Li Cunxu first conquered the entire Yan state, and Zhen and Ding also submitted. From the north of the river to the east of the mountains, for thousands of miles in all directions, the land of six towns and dozens of prefectures all came under the control of Jin. The two countries rose and fell, and the balance of power was reversed.

After recounting the events of the struggle for supremacy in Hebei, Gao Xingzhou sighed, "The outcome was decided by a hair's breadth. When we were facing off against Liu Xun, the Liang emperor dispatched Wang Tan, the military governor of Xuzhou, Xie Yanzhang, the military governor of Heyang, and Wang Yanzhang, the defense commissioner of Ruzhou, with another 50,000 men to rush towards Taiyuan from Yindi Pass. Fortunately, the city was not captured; otherwise, even if Hebei had won, it would have been a net loss."

"In August of the same year, the Khitan launched a major invasion, attacking the five prefectures of Wei, Xin, Wu, Gui, and Ru. Li Siben, the military governor of Zhenwu, was killed in battle. From Daibei to Hequ, and beyond the Yin Mountains, the Khitan had taken over all the land. If Liu Xun had held out for several more months, and our army had failed to pacify Hebei in time, we would have been surrounded by enemies on both the north and south, and the situation would have been completely different."

It was a hair's breadth away.

Gao Huaide thought to himself. This battle seizes the opportunity presented by the rebellion in Weibo, taking advantage of the brief window of opportunity to snatch the last of the three towns in Hebei from the flames.

The fact that this dynasty was able to gain power was by no means a matter of luck.

"Very little is known about the campaign to pacify Hebei. Yet it encompassed almost all the elements of a campaign, including surprise attacks, ambushes and desperate battles, supply line attacks and defenses, long-distance reinforcements, holding key positions, protracted stalemates, and intrigues. It ended in a decisive battle and can be considered a classic example of warfare."

Gao Xingzhou solemnly said, "It is worth your careful consideration."

The two brothers agreed, then asked another question: "What happened to Liu Xun afterward?"

Although Liu Xun was defeated in his battle against a group of famous generals of the Jin army, Gao Huaide did not underestimate him because of this.

"After losing Hebei, the Liang emperor blamed Liu Xun, dismissing him from his position as Chancellor and demoting him from Prefect of Kaifeng and Military Governor of Zhennan to Military Commissioner of Bozhou, transferring him to the Huai River front. Although he achieved some success in resisting the invasion of Yang Wu and suppressing the rebellion in Yanzhou, it was merely patching up the already declining situation."

Three years before the fall of the Liang Kingdom, Zhu Youqian, the military governor of Hezhong and the Prince of Ji, rebelled against Liang and returned to Jin. Liu Xun, who married into the Liang family, was ordered to lead an expedition against them, but was defeated by Fu Cunshen, who came to their aid, losing 2,000 soldiers. He then fortified his position and refused to come out.

Gao Xingzhou calculated the timeline and figured it was probably after this battle that this supposedly brilliant general, known for his hundred strategies in one step, became depressed and indulged in wine, women, and his newly acquired concubine. After all, Hezhong was not far from Binzhou.

The following year, Liu Xun was defeated and returned to Luoyang. Zhang Zongshi, the governor of Henan, was ordered by the court to force him to drink poison on the grounds that he had lingered and nurtured the bandits. He died at the age of sixty-four.

The life of a strategist known for his brilliant plans came to an end.

Gao Xingzhou summarized: "At its peak, the Liang Kingdom possessed an army of 300,000, far surpassing our dynasty in strength. However, after several decisive defeats, its power declined steadily, ultimately leading to its demise."

Gao Huaide and his younger brother wanted to hear more stories about resisting the Khitan invasion, avenging Wang Yanzhang's killing of their ancestor, and the destruction of the Liang Kingdom, but Gao Xingzhou had already stood up: "The guests are almost here. I need to prepare to welcome them. Let's talk about it another day."

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Place Name Comparison

Hezhong: present-day Puzhou Town, Yongji City, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province

Binzhou: present-day Chenzhou City, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province