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Chapter 147 Siege of Shouzhou City

In early August, the letter from Later Shu arrived in Kaifeng. Although Meng Chang had lost the four prefectures of Qin and Feng, he maintained a relatively tough stance in order to save face.

In the letter, he referred to himself as the "Emperor of Great Shu," showing no intention of submitting to the Later Zhou dynasty. Instead, he accused the Later Zhou of starting the war without cause.

At the meeting.

Chai Rong was furious: "Hmph! There can only be one emperor in the world. How dare Meng Chang!"

Shi Yanchao stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I request that you reinforce Qin and Feng. I am willing to lead the army there and take advantage of the situation to destroy the Shu Kingdom in one fell swoop! This will prevent the Shu King Meng Chang from causing trouble for Your Majesty!"

Left Grand Counselor Wang Pu hurriedly said, "No, just scare Meng Chang. The army in Guzhen has already marched back to the capital. The war against Shu has come to an end. It is not advisable to wage a major war again. The envoys from Shu have now arrived in Daliang. If His Majesty neither summons them nor responds to their request for peace, the ruler of Shu will naturally know to be afraid."

Shi Yanchao persisted, saying, "The Shu army is a bunch of incompetent fools. They captured Qin and Feng in just one month, making the Shu army cry out in despair. I've heard that the Shu ruler is incompetent and foolish. Give me 20,000 elite troops... no, 10,000 will suffice. I will definitely capture the Shu ruler Meng Chang alive and bring him to Dongjing for Your Majesty! I've also heard that Lady Huarui of Shu is extremely beautiful and is favored by the Shu ruler. Capture her as well and present her to Your Majesty!"

Privy Councilor Wei Renpu said in a low voice, "Chief Secretary, this is a court assembly. You must not be rude. Step down!"

Shi Yanchao then retreated in a huff.

Chai Rong, however, did not reprimand him and was exceptionally lenient and forgiving towards Shi Yanchao. Although this fellow spoke rudely and acted somewhat recklessly, the emperor trusted his loyalty.

Since they had decided to leave Meng Chang aside for the time being, everyone immediately stopped discussing matters concerning the Shu Kingdom.

The most important thing now is the war against the Southern Tang... In fact, since last year, the emperor has been considering the unification of the world, which is why he put forward two essay topics: "It is difficult to be a ruler and it is not easy to be a minister" and "Pacifying the border".

At the time, Wang Pu's proposal was highly praised by the emperor, who used it as a blueprint to formulate a series of war plans.

The campaign to conquer Shu, which just concluded this month, is one such example.

In fact, the attack on Shu at the beginning of this year was just a prelude, or even just a preliminary preparation for the attack on Southern Tang.

After a heated discussion in the court, a general strategy for attacking the Southern Tang was finally decided, and the deployment of troops and the arrangement of generals were also put forward.

Emperor Chai Rong then ordered a formal war against the Southern Tang Dynasty.

First, he dispatched Prime Minister Li Gu ahead, appointing him as the Commander-in-Chief of the Vanguard Army of Huainan Circuit and the Prefect of Luzhou and Shouzhou.

Wang Yanchao, the military governor of Xuzhou, was appointed as the deputy commander of the expeditionary force.

He then ordered Han Lingkun, the commander of the Imperial Guards, and more than a dozen other generals to lead the elite cavalry and infantry of the Imperial Guards to accompany him.

Meanwhile, the Wuyue envoy returned to the south, taking with him an edict from the Later Zhou emperor, ordering the entire Wuyue kingdom to prepare for war and launch an attack on the Southern Tang kingdom.

The Later Zhou court then sent envoys to order Jingnan to mobilize troops to participate in the war.

The Southern Tang Dynasty was the strongest of the Ten Kingdoms in terms of national strength, military power, culture, and economy.

The Later Zhou dynasty's attempt to attack the Southern Tang was not as simple as its attempt to conquer Shu, which involved sending a few thousand imperial guards and local military forces.

Moreover, the goal of attacking Shu was only to take back the four prefectures of Qin and Feng, and incidentally block Shu's eastward passage, so it could only be considered a localized, small-scale battle.

However, the Later Zhou's campaign against the Southern Tang was aimed at a full-scale war, with the goal of capturing at least fourteen prefectures north of the Yangtze River, marking the first true battle in the war of unification.

Ten days later.

Chai Rong held a banquet to celebrate Xiang Xun's return to the capital and rewarded him handsomely with a ceremonial robe, gold belt, silverware, silk, saddle and bridle, and a horse, and also promoted him to Grand Commandant.

Wang Pu, who was appointed Left Grand Counselor and Acting Prefect of Kaifeng, was then appointed Left Attendant Gentleman of the Palace and Academician of the Duanming Hall, while still retaining his position as Acting Prefect of Kaifeng.

In addition to the arrangements for the Southern Expedition and personnel in the court, Chai Rong also put the renovation of Tokyo City on the agenda.

Since the Later Liang Dynasty established its capital in Bianzhou, the capital city of Bianzhou gradually became the political and economic center of the north, replacing the original status of Luoyang.

However, due to the prolonged war in the north, the construction of the capital was far less urgent than military tasks. Moreover, the national treasury prioritized war, and the construction of Tokyo was consistently put on hold.

However, as the central government gradually stabilized, the population of Tokyo increased, including not only the imperial guards and their families, but also many ordinary people who flocked to the capital, as well as merchants who came to do business.

Emperor Chai Rong had ambitions to unify the country, but as the capital of a unified regime, Tokyo Daliang City was clearly not up to par.

The inner city was slightly better, but the outer city was simply dirty and chaotic, with houses packed together and shops squeezed into one another, with no professional planning whatsoever.

With a rapid increase in the new population, the city's size is clearly insufficient, and expansion is urgently needed.

For this reason, Emperor Chai Rong dispatched nearly 100,000 laborers from Kaifeng, Caozhou, Huazhou, and Zhengzhou to repair and reinforce the city of Daliang in Tokyo.

Han Tong, the military governor of Caozhou, was appointed to oversee the expansion of the outer city and the construction of the city walls. Wang Pu was also appointed to oversee the layout and planning of the city's interior.

Late August.

Li Gu reported back from the front lines that Murong Yanzhao, the Left Wing Commander of Longjie, had led his vanguard troops to the north of the Huai River and was preparing to build a pontoon bridge at Zhengyang to cross the Huai River.

Chai Rong then issued an edict ordering the military governors of all the circuits north of the Huai River to mobilize their troops. At the same time, he ordered Li Chongjin, the commander of the Imperial Guards and Infantry, to lead more than 10,000 Imperial Guards and Infantrymen out of Tokyo.

Armies from all over the country marched in a mighty procession toward Huainan, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of imperial guards, local troops, and civilians.

When the troops of the Southern Tang Dynasty in the Jianghuai region heard that the Later Zhou army had launched a large-scale invasion, they were all gripped by panic.

Only Liu Renzhan, the military governor of Qinghuai, remained calm and dispatched generals to various key locations for defense as usual.

Upon receiving the report, Emperor Li Jing of Southern Tang immediately summoned his ministers and generals to discuss countermeasures. Soon, the entire Southern Tang army was mobilized to prepare for battle against the Zhou army.

Li Jing appointed Liu Yanzhen, the commander of the Divine Martial Army, as the chief commander of the northern expeditionary force, leading 20,000 troops to Shouzhou to assist in resisting the Later Zhou army.

At the same time, Huangfu Hui, the military governor of Fenghua and co-prime minister, was appointed as the support envoy, and Yao Feng, the military commissioner of Changzhou, was appointed as the support supervisor. The two of them jointly led an army of 30,000 to Dingyuan.

Subsequently, Li Jing recalled Song Qiqiu, the military governor of Zhennan, to discuss matters concerning the command of the army.

He also appointed Yin Chongyi, a Hanlin Academician and Minister of Revenue, as Minister of Personnel and in charge of the Privy Council.

……

Shouzhou was located on the south bank of the middle reaches of the Huai River, near Shouxian County in northern Anhui Province in later years. Several rivers from the northern region flowed vertically into the Huai River, forming a waterway network.

Since ancient times, cities have mostly been built at the confluence of rivers to control both land and water routes, and Shouzhou City is no exception.

This is where the Xifei River and the Huai River converge.

The main force of the Later Zhou army advanced south from Tokyo along the Cai River, and then directly approached the Huai River basin of the Southern Tang Kingdom along the Xifei River. The two places were more than 800 li apart.

The imperial court also deployed military governors from various regions to send troops, and military pressure was also exerted on the upper reaches of the Huai River.

Li Gu ordered the construction of a pontoon bridge to cross the Huai River at Zhengyang.

Wang Yanchao, the deputy commander of the vanguard, led the advance into Shouzhou and defeated more than 2,000 Southern Tang troops under the city walls, securing the first victory of the war.

Then, Bai Yanyu, the vanguard commander, defeated a Southern Tang garrison of more than a thousand men at Shankou Town.

After eliminating the threats surrounding Shouzhou City.

The soldiers and civilians of Song, Hao, Chen, Ying, Xu, Su, Xu, Cai and other prefectures successively crossed the Huai River via pontoon bridges.

The local armies, laborers, and soldiers of the various military districts, along with the imperial guards who had marched from Tokyo, totaling hundreds of thousands of troops, gathered at the walls of Shouzhou and began a relentless assault day and night.

Outside Shouzhou City.

A huge catapult rattled and clattered, the sound of the winch making one's muscles tense. With a sharp whistle, the thick rod turned in the wheel, the sound of wood rubbing together making one's teeth ache.

With a "bang," the pole reached its limit and hit the frame, stopping at the same time, while a large rock flew out.

In an instant, a large number of stones flew towards the city wall of Shouzhou, mixed with flaming missiles that trailed long plumes of black smoke.

The hurled stones struck the city wall, sending fragments of bricks, stones, and wooden scaffolding flying everywhere. Burning fireballs struck the city wall, causing it to crack and sparks to fly like fireworks.

There were also crossbow bolts as thick as roof beams flying wildly in the air, interspersed with countless other arrows, creating a dark, smoky atmosphere.

Shouzhou City was like a large urn filled with grain, surrounded by swarms of locusts. Thick smoke billowed everywhere, making people feel like ants, ready to be devoured and turned to ashes at any moment.

Amidst the massive roar and impact, the entire city seemed poised to collapse at any moment... but it was just an illusion, and ultimately it did not collapse.

In the moat, patches of black oil floated on the surface, resembling viscous black water that could burn intensely even in water.

It is said that this black liquid is called "Fire Oil," which was mined from underground by the Southern Tang Dynasty. It ignites when exposed to fire and cannot be extinguished no matter what method is used.

The pontoon bridge that Zhou Jun had placed on the moat, which was also soaked in oil, caught fire and burned fiercely, with the flames growing more intense and thick smoke billowing out.

Countless able-bodied men and soldiers braved the rain of arrows, some holding large shields in front, others carrying sandbags on their backs, and laboriously approached the moat, constantly throwing sand and gravel into it.

Several damaged battering rams are being towed back by soldiers.

Before those battering rams could even get close to the city walls, they were smashed by the ballistae on the city walls from a distance. Seeing that they could still be used after some repairs, and since they were quite far from the city walls of Shouzhou, a general simply ordered them to be dragged back.

Beside the moat, a towering cloud chariot stood motionless, its frame burned away by raging flames, with two corpses lying on it.

Everywhere you look, there are people carrying corpses and transporting wounded soldiers. You can hear painful cries and groans, making you feel as if you are in the underworld.

Li Gu stood on a high slope outside the city, looking at the besieged city, his expression filled with anxiety and worry.

The war against the Southern Tang has lasted for almost a month. The Zhou army has made achievements in the battles at Shouzhou City and Zhengyang Field Battle to the west of Shouzhou, annihilating and capturing as many as 10,000 Tang soldiers and horses.

But these were not what the emperor wanted; what he wanted was the entire Jianghuai Plain.

According to the strategy devised by the emperor and the Privy Council, the plan was to break through from the middle of the Huai River basin, capture Shouzhou City as a foothold, and at the same time eliminate threats along the way for the main army's advance.

Using Shouzhou City as a stronghold, the army will break through to the southeast and reach Qingliu Pass, then capture Chuzhou and Yangzhou.

They marched straight in along the Huainan Central Road, dividing the Jianghuai Plain in two. After capturing Jiangdu, a key town of the Southern Tang, the army advanced south of the Yangtze River, threatening the Southern Tang capital, Jiangning.

As a result, the Southern Tang Kingdom was unable to coordinate its efforts along the Yangtze River, and having lost Shouzhou as its core, it naturally became a disorganized mess.

The cleanup would be a piece of cake... However, despite the good plan, things went wrong right from the first step.

It's been almost a month since the fighting started, and we haven't even captured Shouzhou, our initial strategic objective.

It's useless to besiege it without being able to take it. The Southern Tang Kingdom is rich and has no shortage of food or money. Shouzhou, a military stronghold, has enough grain stored inside to last for at least a few years.

Does Zhou Jun intend to besiege the area for several years and wait for the people inside to starve to death?

Just then, someone reported to Li Gu that the reinforcements sent by the Southern Tang had arrived at Laiyuan Town and were heading straight for Zhengyang by warship.

Li Gu was taken aback and hurriedly returned to the central command tent to summon his generals and staff for discussion.

He got straight to the point: "Reports indicate that a large Tang army is rushing to our aid, heading straight for Zhengyang from afar. Our pontoon bridge is located in Zhengyang, and supplies and personnel all pass through there. If anything goes wrong, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"In my opinion, to prevent the army under the walls of Shouzhou from having its retreat route cut off and being attacked from both sides by the Tang army, we should return to Zhengyang and confront the Tang reinforcements first."

Someone immediately objected: "If we retreat from Shouzhou, wouldn't the previous month's fighting have been for nothing? What if Liu Renzhan of Shouzhou takes the opportunity to launch a surprise attack from the city? Are we going to be attacked from both sides?"

Another general chimed in, "This time, our dynasty has dispatched tens of thousands of elite imperial guards, along with hundreds of thousands of local troops to assist us. How could the false Tang dynasty be a match for our Great Zhou? Sending a few thousand troops back to defend Zhengyang is sufficient."

For a time, most of the generals disagreed with retreating, while only a few hesitated, worried that their retreat route would be cut off.

Li Gu shook his head and said, "It is said that the Tang army has hundreds of warships heading to Zhengyang. Our army is not good at naval warfare. It is not safe to send only a portion of our troops back to defend. If our rear is cut off, we will be in danger of being attacked from both sides."

Having said that, he made no further hesitation and said, "We can retreat temporarily and fight again, but if we lose the pontoon bridge at Zhengyang and hundreds of thousands of troops are trapped here, who can bear such a risk?"

"The decision to withdraw troops from Shouzhou City has been made. The attack on the city will be postponed today, and the withdrawal will begin in batches tomorrow. I will explain the reasons to His Majesty, so you need not be afraid to take responsibility."

"Yes, sir!" The generals had no choice but to obey.

The Tang army commander in charge of rescuing Shouzhou was Liu Yanzhen. Upon learning that the Zhou army had begun to retreat, he was overjoyed and sped towards Zhengyang. The marching column, along with the logistics and supplies, stretched for over a hundred miles.

Liu Renzhan, the military governor of Qinghuai, and Zhang Quanyue, the prefect of Chizhou, both sent people to gently remind Liu Yanzhen not to be rash and to guard against a trap set by the Zhou army.

However, Liu Yanzhen did not take it seriously, thinking that the two were being too cautious, and insisted on leading his troops straight to Zhengyang.

the other side.

When Li Gu's report on his plan to retreat to Zhengyang was sent to Tokyo, Emperor Chai Rong was furious at his cowardice and immediately dispatched an envoy with urgent dispatch to stop him.

(End of this chapter)