The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms is a chaotic world in which feudal towns are divided and warriors are stubborn, and the armies everywhere are known for their mercenary intentions and turning clouds and rain, and there is no military discipline to speak of, and the existence of this situation has set up many obstacles to the dynasties to complete the great cause of reunification. However, in the post-Zhou Shizong period, this situation changed completely, and the soldiers changed from corrupt military discipline to strict military discipline and amazing combat effectiveness. This great change must also start from the Battle of Gaoping in the year of his ascension to the throne.
After Zhou Shizong ascended the throne, he was determined to unify the north and south
In the first month of the first year of the Later Zhou Dynasty (954), Taizu Guo Wei died, and his adopted son Guo Rong (real name Chai Rong) succeeded him as emperor, as Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou. Liu Chong, the lord of the Northern Han Dynasty, was overjoyed to hear the news, ignored the rule of "etiquette does not cut down funerals", and went so far as to collude with the Khitan and jointly raise troops to the south, with the intention of destroying Zhou in one fell swoop. Liu Chongqin led the main force out of Jinyang jingtuanbai, except for some soldiers who besieged Luzhou, the rest of the troops directly attacked the military town of Zezhou.
In the face of the snowflake-like urgent document, Sejong was so worried that he finally tried to overcome the public opinion and decided to march in person. Sejong officially set off on March 11, and on march 18, he would camp with other troops at Gaoping, northeast of Zezhou City. Liu Chong's small victory and arrogance, coupled with the fact that he had always despised Guo Wei's father and son, left Zezhou City and did not attack, and directly fought with the Zhou army at Gaoping. As soon as he made contact, Liu Chong, feeling that something was not good, ordered the withdrawal of his army to Bagongyuan and defended it by risk.
Map of the confrontation between the Later Zhou and the Northern Han Dynasty
Sejong feared that Liu Chong would flee, so he urgently ordered the former army to pursue and storm Bagongyuan. According to the original subordinates, the generals Bai Chongzan and Li Chongjin led the left army to the west, Fan Aineng and He Hui led the right army to the east, Xiang Xun and Shi Yanchao led the elite horse in the center, and Sejong personally led the forbidden army to supervise the battle, with the intention of jointly attacking the Han army and taking the position. After the two armies met, Liu Chong, seeing that the Zhou army was small in number, put the Liao army's main general Yang Gong aside and only ordered his own army to fight.
The Han army was not only numerically superior, but also had a geographical advantage, and now it was condescending to attack the Zhou army, which made the latter very uncomfortable. Therefore, shortly after the start of the war, the main generals of the right army, Fan Aineng and He Hui, fled, and more than a thousand of his men immediately surrendered to the Han army. The loss of the right army's position made the situation of the Zhou army extremely dangerous, and In order to save the situation, Sejong personally commanded the forbidden army to meet the enemy ("Before the joint battle, Fan Aineng and He Hui led the cavalry to flee first, and the right army collapsed.) More than a thousand infantrymen were disarmed and surrendered to the Northern Han Dynasty. Seeing that the army was in danger, the emperor led his own soldiers to supervise the battle. See Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 291, Later Zhou Ji II).
Fan Aineng and He Hui escaped during the battle, putting the emperor in danger
When the Generals of the Zhou Army saw the Emperor charging forward, their morale immediately exploded, and the commander of the Forbidden Army, Zhang Yongde, and the mid-level general Zhao Kuangyin each led two thousand cavalry into the battle to charge and kill, and Bai Chongzan and Li Chongjin also led their troops to fight, and finally turned defeat into victory, turned the tide of the battle, and forced Liu Chong's remnants to lead the remnants of the army far away, and soon became angry. In November of the same year, Liu Chong's illness died in Jinyang, after which the Northern Han Dynasty was no longer able to invade The Zhou Dynasty. This battle is the most famous battle of Gaoping in history.
Although the Zhou army won the final victory, the process was extremely thrilling, so Sejong summed up the lessons after the war, believing that Fan Aineng and He Hui's troops escaped in the battle, and also had a move to prevent Liu Ci, the general of the rear army, from coming to the rescue, which was a heinous crime. In order to rectify military discipline, Sejong was ready to take Fan Aineng and He Hui to open the knife, but considering that the two were guards, they were hesitant for a while, so they asked their brother-in-law Zhang Yongde for advice.
Fortunately, with Zhao Kuangyin and others fighting desperately, the Zhou army was defeated and won
Zhang Yongde hated the escape of the two men to the bone, so he told the emperor: "Fan Aineng and He Hui originally did not have much merit, only because they were good at drilling camps and bribing their superiors, they climbed to such a high position, and now they are running away in battle, even if they are killed, it is difficult to eliminate the crime." Moreover, His Majesty is preparing to unify the sea, and if military discipline is not straightened out and rewards and punishments are strict, even if it is a million athletes, I am afraid that it will not be used by the country. Sejong listened, nodded slightly, and said yes.
Soon, Sejong ordered the arrest of more than seventy generals above Fan Aineng and He Hui, and then reprimanded them in public, saying: "Er and others are veteran generals who have served in the battlefield for many years, and they are not without combat effectiveness. But today, he escaped in the battle, almost dying, and it seems that Er et al's real intention is to treat Er Waitang as a strange and habitable object and give it to Liu Chong as a gift for promotion! ”
Zhou Shizong selected soldiers and soldiers to establish a forbidden army with super combat strength
When Fan Aineng, He Hui, and others heard this, they immediately had the feeling of five thunderbolts, and they all fell to their knees to defend themselves. But where was Sejong willing to spare them, he waved his hand and signaled the soldiers to drag them down and behead them all. In a fit of rage, the emperor executed all seventy generals, much to the horror of the army. Afterwards, Sejong vigorously straightened out military discipline, selected soldiers, established a forbidden army with super combat strength, and promoted Zhao Kuangyin and a number of bold generals to command the forbidden army. Since then, the strength of the Zhou Army has greatly increased, and it has gradually acquired the strength to unify the world.
That is, to receive more than seventy people above ai neng, hui, and all the military envoys, the responsibility is known: "Ru Cao is tired of the generals, not unable to fight; now the one who is looking at the wind and running away, without him, is trying to sell Liu Chong'er with The Strange Goods!" "Chopped... Arrogant generals and idle pawns have always known what to fear, and do not tolerate the government. Ibid.