Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 803: Sword Pointed at Prince Xing's Palace

With a thunderous force, the Wu army defeated the main force of the Southern Han Dynasty, which was said to have a strength of 100,000. The news hit the Southern Han capital Xingwang Mansion (now Guangzhou) like a thunder, and everyone in the court and the country was shocked.

To this day, many cities in the southwest of Xiangjiang and Jingchu, and in the northeast of the bordering Southern Tang territory, have fallen one after another and all have been surrendered to the Wu army. Now Shaozhou has also been conquered, and it is said that Qingyuan City is also being attacked by the Wu army and is in danger. In this way, there are almost no cities to the north of the imperial capital that can be blocked.

As for where the Wu army will target next, the answer is self-evident - the capital Xingwang Palace is facing an unprecedented crisis of survival.

"Do you have any good plan to repel the enemy and protect our country?" Liu Yan, the ruler of Southern Han, asked the civil and military officials in the court with a pale face and fear and anxiety in his voice that was difficult to conceal.

  The general Guo Chongyue, the general Zhi Tingxiao, and several generals who were lucky enough to be evacuated from the front line, such as Tian Xingchou and Li Chenggui, all looked at each other in confusion. The once invincible army of 100,000, together with the fearsome trump card war elephant unit, were unable to stop the elite soldiers of the Wu army. Now the court had few soldiers and generals, how could it resist the foreign enemy?

Everyone knew that the fortunes of the Southern Han Dynasty were fading like the sun setting in the west, and that the situation was over.

  There was a dead silence in the court, with only Liu Xiong's slightly trembling voice echoing in the empty hall.

The eunuch Gong Chengshu's eyes flashed, and he stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I still have someone in my heart who may be able to turn the tide in this critical moment and save our Southern Han from the water and fire."

"Who has such ability?" Upon hearing this, Liu Xiong's eyes flashed with a hint of anxiety and expectation, and he asked hurriedly.

Gong Chengshu said in a deep voice: "This man is General Pan Chongche. He is currently stationed at the mouth of the Hejiang River, with 50,000 elite soldiers under his command, all of whom are brave and good at fighting. Some time ago, in order to prevent the Wu army from going down the river along Hezhou, General Pan was specially promoted to garrison at the mouth of the Hejiang River where three rivers meet. Unexpectedly, the Wu army was cunning and turned to attack Lianzhou and Shaozhou, making it impossible for General Pan's troops to display their power. This time, if General Pan is recalled and ordered to lead his troops back to the capital, perhaps he can become the last barrier of our Southern Han and turn the tide and change the world."

"Yes, General Pan is loyal and brave, and is indeed a person worthy of my use!" After hearing this, Liu Xiong's eyes flashed with a glimmer of hope and he was deeply moved.

Pan Chongche, a veteran general of the Southern Han Dynasty, fought in many battles in his youth and made many outstanding achievements. He was the best general in Lingnan during the Five Dynasties period. However, he was dismissed from his post for many years because he had many complaints about Liu Yan's stupidity and incompetence in governing the country.

In order to resist the Wu army's southward advance from Hezhou and save the Southern Han kingdom from danger, Liu Xiong promoted him a few days ago, using the salaries of high-ranking officials such as Grand Tutor and Commander-in-Chief of the Cavalry and Infantry as bait, and ordered him to lead an army of 50,000 to station at the mouth of the Hejiang River to contain the Song army that had penetrated deep into the territory of Southern Han.

Although he was able to be reappointed, he was extremely dissatisfied with Liu Xiong's rule and character, so this time he received the emperor's order to set up defenses at "Hejiangkou", stationed troops and waited and watched in order to protect himself.

It just so happened that the Wu army did not pass through Hejiangkou, so Pan Chongche did not engage in battle with the Wu army.

At this time, Liu Xiong and Gong Chengshu both thought of Pan Chongche and the 50,000 elite soldiers in his hands. If they were mobilized back to defend the capital, together with the 30,000 imperial guards in the capital, there would be a total of 80,000 people.

What's worse, if some troops could be urgently transferred from Rongzhou, Lianzhou, Qinzhou and other places in the southwest to reinforce, they might be able to confront the Wu army and fight a desperate battle to survive.

Thinking of this, Liu Xiong made up his mind and said in a deep voice: "Draft an order immediately to order General Pan to lead the army back to the capital to rescue the king!"

  "Yes!" The person in charge of drafting the imperial edict among the Huangmen Shilang immediately responded upon hearing this.

In the hall, General Zhi Tingxiao shook his head slightly. He was very familiar with Pan Chongche and knew his character. He hated evil and had long been dissatisfied with the court. He was very disappointed with the emperor's stupidity, extravagant and lewd character, and inability to govern the country. In this situation, Pan Chongche would never listen to the order and come back to protect the court.

Liu Xiong looked at several generals and ministers and said, "Mobilize the 30,000 imperial guards in the city and intensify the defense. We must hold out until reinforcements arrive. As long as we can hold out for a few months, the Wu army will run out of food and supplies and may retreat."

At this time, Liu Xiong still held on to a glimmer of hope. ………

After rectifying the military discipline in Shaozhou, Su Chen began to carefully screen the tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers, dismissed the old, weak, sick and wounded, and generously distributed travel expenses to help them return home to farm. He also announced that as Wu gradually took over local prefectures, counties and towns, the land reform and new policies that would be implemented would surely reduce taxes and improve the lives of the people.

This move gradually dissipated the dissatisfaction and hostility of the surrendered soldiers. Instead of abusing them, the Wu army treated them with courtesy, gave them money and food, and allowed them to leave freely.

This tolerance and generosity deeply touched the hearts of the surrendered troops, making those returning home full of expectations and longings for the new policies that the Wu State was about to implement.

After everything was arranged, Su Chen led the army and marched towards Qingyuan City in a mighty manner.

When they arrived at the city, good news came: Generals Wu Yanrou and Jin Hui had taken the lead and successfully captured Qingyuan, and the enemy general Lu Shou was also shot and killed in the melee.

After Qingyuan was conquered, the capital of Southern Han, Prince Xing's Palace, was within reach, only two hundred miles away.

In order to ensure a successful victory in the battle of Prince Xing's Mansion, Su Chen set up camp outside Qingyuan City and immediately summoned his generals to discuss the next offensive plan.

Inside the tent, the lights were on, the battle map was spread out, and the planning of a battle that concerned the fate of Southern Han was proceeding in full swing.

"According to spy intelligence, the Southern Han court has sent people to Hejiangkou to deliver an imperial edict, to transfer the Southern Han general Pan Chongche back to defend the capital. What do you think?" Su Chen asked everyone.

Pan Mei replied, "I have heard of Pan Chongche since I was in Bianjing. He is a famous general in Lingnan with excellent ability in leading troops and never lost a battle. He has been idle at home for ten years. He is now fifty years old and should not be underestimated if he is re-employed."

Pan Chongche was proficient in military tactics and had both civil and military skills. He had made many military achievements in the Southern Han Dynasty. In 951 AD, the Southern Tang Dynasty accelerated its pace to destroy the Southern Chu. The Southern Tang leader ordered Bian Hao to lead the Southern Tang army to defeat the Chu army in succession and quickly captured Changsha.

When the Southern Tang was destroying Chu, the Southern Han was also not resting. The Southern Han emperor sent Pan Chongche and General Xie Gui to lead troops to attack Binzhou, which was originally part of Chu. Seeing the crisis in Binzhou, Bian Hao sent troops from Tanzhou to rescue it. However, Pan Chongche was very smart and set up an ambush in Yizhang early, waiting for the Southern Tang army to come to the rescue. He ambushed and killed the Southern Tang army halfway, causing a great defeat. Bian Hao was forced to retreat. The Southern Han army, under the command of Pan Chongche, took advantage of the victory and captured Binzhou in one fell swoop. Later, the generals of Jingchu rebelled in various places, and he suppressed them one by one. He was very good at using troops.

But in 958 AD, after Liu Cong, the last emperor of the Southern Han Dynasty, ascended the throne, he appointed Pan Chongche as the commander-in-chief of the northwest. Liu Cong was extremely licentious and incompetent, which led to the decline of national power and corruption in government. Liu Cong was also suspicious and worried that Pan Chongche would rebel because of his high prestige in the army. At the end of the year, Liu Cong specially sent eunuch Xue Zongyu to investigate Pan Chongche's troops.

When Xue Zongyu was investigating Pan Chongche, he wanted to ask for a bribe from Pan Chongche, but was severely ridiculed by Pan Chongche. In order to win over Pan Chongche, Xue Chongyu reported to Liu Xiong that Pan Chongche was very bad, ignored military affairs every day, and just spent the whole night drinking with hundreds of actors wearing brocade clothes and playing jade flutes. This angered Liu Xiong, who thought that Pan Chongche was more extravagant than himself. In a rage, he recalled Pan Chongche and took away his military power. Pan Chongche has been idle at home since then, and it has been nearly ten years.

Jin Hui stepped forward and reported respectfully: "General Su, although I am not very talented, I once served as a captain under General Pan Chongche and was fortunate to receive his advice on military tactics, which benefited me a lot. General Pan is upright, just, and hates evil. He is a man of high moral character. He is both civil and military, and has rich experience in leading troops in battle and governing the local areas. Although he has now been revived, I think he has given up hope on the Emperor of Southern Han. I dare to suggest that we try to persuade him to surrender, so as to avoid fighting and increasing casualties."

After hearing this, Su Chen showed a delighted look on his face and praised: "It would be a great honor if we can successfully recruit General Pan Chongche to serve our Wu Kingdom. General Jin, if this is successful, you will be credited with another great achievement!"

Upon hearing this, Jin Hui bowed and replied firmly: "I will do my best to fulfill my mission!"