Text/Zhao Xinfang
When I was a student in my early years, I learned the text "Li Su Enters Caizhou Late at Night". He succeeded by surprise and entered Caizhou in Caizhou on a snowy night without anyone noticing, captured Wu Yuanji, the leader of the Huaixi separatist forces alive, and won a major victory in the historically famous Battle of Huaixi. A civilian official was appointed to take up a military position in times of danger and became one of the famous generals of the Tang Dynasty. He is very legendary. It is interesting to tell readers his story here.
(1) Civilian officials were ordered in times of danger
Li Su (773-821), with the character Zhi, was born in Lintan County, Taozhou (now Lintan County, Gansu Province). Li Su liked to study and use his brain since he was a child. He not only learned book knowledge, but also learned horse riding and archery, determined to become a talented person with both literary and military skills. Because his father has made great achievements, according to the court system, the son can enjoy the preferential treatment of Yinfeng. That is, without going through the imperial examination selection, you can take the "through train" to become a low-level official. He started as a coroner of Taichang Temple and became the governor of Fang and Jinzhou. Because of his outstanding achievements in work, he was awarded the title of Doctor Jin Ziguanglu.
Since the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty at the end of Tianbao, the entire national destiny began to decline. The struggle between the imperial court and the separatist forces in various vassal towns has never ceased. The center of the town is Huaixi Town in Caizhou, which was a stubborn fortress for the separatist rule of the feudal towns at that time. Wu Yuanji, the military governor of Huaixi Town, publicly declared his rebellion against the Tang Dynasty in Caizhou. The imperial court was forced to send troops to attack. But the army seems to be in disarray, and its morale is disorganized. The most troublesome thing is that there is no suitable candidate for the coach. As a civil servant, Li Su took the initiative to ask Ying to serve on the front line at this critical moment. The then emperor Tang Xianzong was helpless and appointed him as a military officer such as the inspector of Zuo Sanqi and other military positions, and was fully responsible for the military campaign against Wu Yuanji. It is true that "there is a shortage of military talent in the court, and civilian officials will fill it."
(2) Caring about the soldiers and confusing the enemy
In the first month of the twelfth year of Yuanhe, Li Su came to Tangzhou, not far from Caizhou. The Tang army stationed there had low morale because of frequent defeats. In order not to attract the attention of the enemy, he was not in a hurry to rectify military discipline and train the troops, and publicly announced to the soldiers: The emperor knows that I am patient and good-tempered, so he sent me to appease everyone, not to rectify the troops, but to go to war immediately. Everyone felt relieved when he heard what he said.
After he took office, he really did not break his promise. Instead of rectifying and training, he dismissed the military musicians and did not drink and have fun himself. He often chatted with the soldiers, and personally attended to the seriously ill. When relatives of soldiers died of illness, he gave them leave to go home to cook, and he also took the initiative to give money, food, cloth and silk. The relationship between Li Su and the soldiers is getting better and better. On the other hand, Li Su's move confused the enemy, thinking that he was a civil servant who could not fight and was not worth fearing, so he did not take precautions against him.
In this way, Li Su won time to reorganize his troops and prepare for the crusade. After the preparations were completed, Li Su reported to the court and requested to formally attack Caizhou. The imperial court promptly dispatched additional troops to him.
(3) Conquering the enemy general with humility
Shortly after the battle started, the Tang army captured the enemy general Ding Shiliang on patrol. This man was a talented general under Wu Yuanji and defeated the Tang army many times. Everyone demanded that he be executed. Li Su saw that he had the spirit to hold a sharp knife to his chest without frowning. He thought he was a good man, so he personally untied him and appointed him as a capture general (that is, a brave general who can capture the enemy alive). Ding Shiliang was very moved and expressed his willingness to die.
There is a stronghold outside Caizhou, defended by Wu Yuanji's two generals Chen Guangqia and Wu Xiulin. Ding Shiliang said that if Chen Guangqia was captured, Wu Xiulin would be able to win without a fight. Li Su trusted Ding Shiliang and immediately sent troops to him. Sure enough, Ding Shiliang captured Chen Guangqia. Wu Xiulin then led her troops to surrender.
The most exciting thing is that Li Su recruits Li You to surrender. After Li Su captured Li You by trick, he respected him very much and lived and ate with him. Li You was very moved and gave Li Su a detailed introduction to the terrain and fortifications of Huaixi and Caizhou City.However, because Li You had killed many Tang troops in the past, some people were very dissatisfied when they saw Li Su using Li You so highly, so they falsely accused Li You of false surrender. Li Bin knew well that people's words can be feared, so he came up with a plan and announced to the soldiers that Li You would be escorted to the capital to ask the emperor for a ruling. Before escorting him away, he first wrote a letter and sent it to Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty. The book described Li You's situation and his important role in capturing Caizhou. Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty understood this, and as soon as the prison car escorting Li You arrived, he immediately ordered Li You to be released and asked him to return to the Huaixi front line and go to Li Su's tent to perform meritorious deeds.
Li Su, who was open-minded and resourceful, worked hard to divide the enemy, weakening the enemy's power and strengthening his own strength.
(4) Operation confidentiality: raid on Caizhou
Before the raid on Caizhou, the operation was kept absolutely secret to ensure nothing went wrong. Li Su first sent troops to attack Wufang, Caizhou's largest peripheral stronghold. After capturing the outer city of Wufang and wiping out a thousand enemies, Li Su did not take advantage of the victory to attack the inner city, but ordered a retreat to lure the enemy out of the city to pursue them. The enemy really fell into the trap. Li Su commanded the troops to quickly defeat the chasing enemy cavalry.
After unplugging various strongholds outside Caizhou, Li Su organized a death squad of 3,000 people and rushed to the city of Caizhou in the heavy snow one night. There were many goose and duck ponds near the city, and Li Su immediately sent some soldiers to drive them away with sticks. The noise from the attacking troops was covered up by the chaotic cries. After digging ridges and erecting ladders, the death squads quietly climbed up the city wall. Killed all the enemy guards guarding the gate, and sent some soldiers to pretend to be watchmen and still call the time. Then the city gates were opened wide to welcome the army into the city. When you get to the inner city, do the same. A city in Caizhou was occupied by the Tang army without anyone noticing.
At the end of his rope, Wu Yuanji had to plead guilty and surrender after a little resistance.
Supplement at the end of the article: After the battle, the generals asked Li Su for advice on how to use troops. Li Su said: The reason for not attacking the inner city of Wu Fang is to prevent the defenders of the inner city from fleeing back to Caizhou. Otherwise, if the two forces join forces to defend Caizhou, it will be difficult to capture Caizhou. We send troops late at night in the heavy snow, and the enemy's beacon alarm fails. The soldiers will fight to the death in a dangerous situation to win. Everyone was amazed after hearing this.
[About the author] Zhao Xinfang, whose pen name is Zhao Shi, has written novels, essays, poems, etc. that are scattered in newspapers, the Internet, and book series.
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