Chapter 182 Trapped
The Battle of Two Rivers in March of the sixth year of Guanghe ended.
In this battle, Taishan's army defeated two counties and three armies one after another, and its power was unparalleled. The Taiping Daoists in Yanyu were greatly motivated, and they all believed that the time for an uprising had come. They wrote to the chief minister of Jizhou, suggesting that they should take advantage of the weakening of the Han Dynasty's military strength in the Central Plains to launch an uprising. On the one hand, the chief minister of Jizhou criticized the Taiping Dao adventures of all parties. On the other hand, he wrote to Ma Yuanyi and Tang Zhou people in Kyoto to step up contact with the palace officials and be ready to follow orders to launch beheadings in the palace. It seems that Taiping Road can no longer wait, and the uprising is just around the corner.
But at this time, the officials of the Han court did not know that an earth-shaking was about to happen, and they were still troubled by the rising Taishan thief.
After the March offensive ended, the Taishan Army did not continue the offensive, but chose to lie dormant.
At that time, Yang Xu, the commander of the three counties in the south of Taishan County, immediately saw that most of the Taishan bandits would take a defensive posture, so he went to Chen Gui of Jibei Kingdom and wrote:
"Previously, the thieves rushed from Fenggao into Bo County and Liangfu. They seemed to be aggressive, but in fact they were still defending according to danger. Our army had sent out many gates and divided into many roads, so the thieves defeated them one by one. It is better to use strong The brave and powerful troops guard the pass of Mengshan Mountain to prevent the thieves from plundering. They will be trapped without food and salt. Later, the soldiers will focus on Fenggao and annihilate them with one blow. "
Yang Xu's advice to Chen Gui was straight to the point, pointing out that the biggest advantage between Han Ting and the Taishan bandits was not war, but the material gap. Now the Taishan thieves obviously intend to occupy the southeastern part of Taishan County. They should take advantage of this opportunity to defend various key points and then cut off their food and salt. By then, the thieves will be starved of food and power. Then they can send troops to directly attack Fenggao, the thieves' nest, and they will be able to defeat them all at once. thief. It can be said that this suggestion is quite sophisticated. It does not rely on a single victory, but a long-term siege, and takes advantage of the Han court's greatest advantage. It can be said that it is a sophisticated strategy for the country.
But Chen Gui could no longer receive the letter from Yang Xu to Chen Gui, because he died of illness not long after he was sent to Sheqiu, and the whole city was in a state of silence.
Before he died, Chen Gui dragged his sick body and tremblingly wrote a confession to Liu Hong, in which he wrote:
"Four thousand brave soldiers from Jibei Kingdom were gathered to go south to suppress the bandits. They fought in March and were killed in one day. All because Fu was trying to show off his bravery and was greedy for merit. As a result, the overall situation was frustrated and it was difficult to recover."
Then, he described the bloody battle that took place east of Wenshui on the third day of March:
"On the 13th, Li Chen, the lieutenant of the Lieutenant Colonel under his command, fought with the bandits to the east of Wenshui River and northwest of Bo County. In this battle, our soldiers and the bandit generals fought in front of the formation. They were defeated three times in three formations. All units were depressed, especially the two Sheqiu soldiers in the front. Hundreds of first collapse When we went out to the battle, hearing about this unfaithful and unfilial man, we hurriedly urged two hundred soldiers to rush forward with swords in hand to urge them to charge back, but they were already timid and as timid as chickens, and they were all like sheep with their feet bound. A mover. Lieutenant Li Chen slashed two people, raised his bow and shot them with arrows, but no one responded. At that time, I stood out from the crowd and inspired the conscience of the whole army, saying: "Han thieves are not divided, today there is me and no one else." The soldiers were so excited that they turned back to fight. However, something unexpected happened and it rained heavily. Our soldiers were unable to fight anymore. When we were retreating in front of the formation, we were taken advantage of by the thieves and retreated back to the camp. I was also attacked by the thieves and was defeated. "< br>
Here he slightly beautifies and reconstructs the war process, because this is not the focus. The point is, Chen Gui took all the responsibility for this battle on himself.
On the one hand, this can calm the anger of many powerful rightists in Jibei Kingdom. In the battle of March, the essence of Jibei Kingdom was exhausted, and many clothes were covered with dust. If Chen Gui doesn't take this responsibility on himself, who can shoulder this responsibility?
More importantly, on the other hand, he, Chen Gui, has to think about his descendants. When he returned to Sheqiu, he knew that he was not going to die soon. Now that he, a dying man, had taken all the responsibility for the defeat, how many people needed to accept his kindness? Of course, Chen Gui did not need these kindness, but His son Chen Deng can use it. Den'er is already twenty-one years old. If he is to be promoted as filial and honest, it will be in these few years. With these sentiments, Deng'er will be able to go smoothly in the officialdom later on.
Moreover, Chen Gui knew the character of Liu Hong, who was very honorable to his old ministers. Although he lost troops and generals in suppressing the rebellion this time, he died in a hard-fought battle, and the state would probably provide for his son. This is Chen Gui's plan.
But in order to make this matter a reality, Chen Gui wrote his own theory on pacifying thieves in the memorial. The image of a loyal minister who was loyal to the country and died on the paper emerged vividly on the paper.
Don't blame Chen Gui for continuing to act even before his death. In this officialdom, no one can tell how much of it is acting and how much of it is true. When you always have to put on a mask to show others, often some truths need to be told while wearing a mask. At that time, who still thinks that the mask is not the real face?
At least Chen Gui didn't realize that he was a fake person, because the theory he wrote in the memorial to combat thieves was indeed written sincerely, and he did his best to suppress thieves later.
The strategy he proposed in his treatise coincided with what Yang Xu wrote to him, but it was more systematic:
"Taishan thieves are cunning and not afraid of death, and they can defend themselves according to their shape. This is not the time to fight in a hurry. You must be persevering and prudent, and work step by step. As soon as the thieves are hungry and discouraged, they can succeed in one go. I summarized the key to suppressing thieves in three words, as 'Block', 'Sit', 'Fight'"
After that, Chen Gui summarized the combat characteristics of the Taishan bandits. They are approaching for hundreds of miles, and they are as fleeting as the wind. Because they have food for the enemy, they use fighting to support the fighting. He believed that in order to defeat these rogue bandits, we must first block their movement in all directions and deprive them of supplies of soldiers and food. Then there is sitting. Sitting means giving each war zone a chief general who is responsible for the defense of this side. The general asked to be cautious and not waste the battle in pursuit of speed. As long as the thieves come, attack them and lure them away; cut off the food path and disperse the thieves. This is sitting and fighting. And the last step is to fight. When the Taishan bandits are trapped and exhausted, and their fighting strength is greatly reduced, the main force of the two armies from the south and north will be gathered to attack Fenggao directly. This will be done once and for all.
It can be said that Chen Gui is worthy of being the most capable minister of the Han court. Although he was anxious about using troops at the beginning and lost his troops and destroyed his army, the main reason was not that Chen Gui was not capable, but that Zhang Chong was too strong and the Taishan army was too strong.
The Taishan Army is a bandit that should not exist. If you ask the Han Dynasty to think about it, you will not be able to figure out how the thieves and bandits can be organized by the masters of the classics, and how they can select only warriors who are good at fighting to form an army. The most outrageous thing is that the leader of the thieves, where did he learn the art of war? Is he really as talented as Han Xin?
But putting aside the factors of the Taishan Army, Chen Gui was worthy of being a capable minister of the Han family, and his strategy could be said to be the standard method of suppressing bandits. For example, the "Four Positives and Six Corners" method used by Yang Sichang in the late Ming Dynasty to suppress the bandits, and the bunker warfare used by Chiang Kai-shek and the Japanese invaders were all derived from this method.
But this tactic ultimately failed. Why? It's all because this strategy has too many prerequisites, including blocking, sitting, and finally fighting. If any one of these fails, the strategy will fail. The biggest failure is this blockage. When trying to catch a turtle in a urn, will the turtle still run around desperately? When Taishan's army is hungry and desperate, they will definitely fight to the death to break through. Then it will be up to Han Ting to see if they can block it. But what about this old Taoist Chen Gui?
He also wrote about this situation in his strategy for pacifying the thieves. He said that the key to this strategy was that the Taishan thieves would move due to lack of food, and the newly defeated three Han soldiers were unable to stop them. Moreover, the three sides were far apart and the battle lines were different. If the army is long and the troops are insufficient, it will be easier for the Taishan bandits to break out.
So he wrote in the policy:
"Taishan thieves have been entrenched in the northeastern part of Taishan County for more than half a year. They have harvested a batch of autumn grain, and the food is not in danger. The method of sitting in trouble will only be effective in three months. At that time, the thieves have looted all the corn, and they must flee to eat. It has three exits. To the east is the direction of Qingzhou, which must be guarded by generals at Tailu Pass, and at Yishan Pass to the south, which must be guarded by generals. The Nimeng Passage prevents thieves from going south to Xuzhou for food. To the north is Yanzhou, which is the most difficult to defend. It must be connected with Wubao beacons. When thieves come, they can light the beacons and then block them. The army can immediately attack, cut off the food, grass, salt and medicine, and make them trapped. This is a sure way to win. "
After a quick start, Chen Gui also died in the temple in Sheqiu County.
Afterwards, all the officials in the county office burst into tears because they saw that Chen Gui was worthy of being a descendant of the Han family and had truly dedicated himself to death. What a great scene this is. It is true that it is difficult to build a country, and only loyal ministers can be known by being ruthless.
Everyone saw Chen Gui with a yellow scarf on his head, a withered face, and he was so thin that he no longer looked human. But before he died, the brush in his hand fell to the ground, and he leaned on the couch with a peaceful expression.
These are really loyal ministers of the Han family. It is precisely because of these loyal ministers from generation to generation that I, a great Han Dynasty, have maintained my good fortune. They believe that it will be the same this time. The Taishan thieves are no more than clowns, and victory will definitely belong to the Han Dynasty.
Finally, on the one hand, the agency officials wrote to the Chen family in Xuzhou to ask their son to come to Sheqiu for mourning, and on the other hand, they sent Chen Gui's final notes to Kyoto in a sealed envelope in the name of all the directors of the agency.
Who can say that the Prime Minister's plan to quell thieves is not the collective wisdom of many Cao chiefs in Jibei Kingdom? Sign your name, it’s not too much.
In this way, this memorial, written by Chen Gui but representing the collective wisdom of all the officials in Jibei Kingdom, was rushed to Kyoto through Jishui.
Later, all the officials gathered Chen Gui and put it into a good coffin. Then the meritorious officials of the country, the prime minister, and the new head of the Kong family personally carried the coffin and sent it to the ice cellar in the county. The formal funeral ceremony still had to wait. It didn't start until Chen's people arrived.
The meritorious officer must be here to carry the coffin, because after the death of the Prime Minister of Jibei, according to the Han family system, he will be in charge of the affairs of the country, and he is not allowed to carry the coffin for the old chief.
Along the way, all the officials thought of Chen Gui’s voice and smile, and they all sighed:
"He is really a good prime minister and a good chief official. He has shouldered the responsibility by himself and shared the merit with others. He is a true elder."
After sending Chen Gui away, the Cao Temples in Jibei Kingdom still worked in Sheqiu on the advice of the meritorious officials, because there were too many things that needed to be solved on the spot. After this huge defeat, they were so busy just with pensions, meritorious service, and mourning. How could they have the energy to move the shogunate of the Prime Minister of Jibei again?
However, the officials were busy and deliberately forgot about Liu Yan, who died in the battle on the east bank of Wenshui River, and his 500 soldiers.
Why is this?
Chen Gui’s cunning lies in the fact that he is given both strategies and precautions. But what it provides is a theoretically successful solution. When the strategy fails, Chen Gui is still not responsible because the people below did not implement it properly. Because if the execution fails, he may have already written it in advance. If it hasn't been completed yet, the old man can't be blamed.
Sometimes the embarrassment of bureaucrats is not that they don't do things, but that they often mention correct nonsense without hesitation.
(End of chapter)