Furong and Peony blushed and responded softly: "Yes, madam." Wenxiang said unhappily: "Why are you still calling me madam? You have to call me sister." Furong and Peony immediately changed their words and shouted: "Yes, sister." Wenxiang was overjoyed.

, turned and left, Furong and Peony hurriedly stepped forward to help. Ma Yin also came out soon after, and the group came to the hall and sat down. Wen Xiang said: "Husband, today we should send someone to deliver a betrothal gift to the Li family. What do you think?" Ma Yin said.

"It's up to you to make the decision on this matter. Furong and Peony, please help me greatly." Furong and Peony agreed in unison.

A few days later, Wenxiang held a grand wedding for Ma Yin and married Chen Dannv. Although there was no red makeup, it was extremely grand and caused a sensation in the whole city. That night, Ma Yin and Dannv enjoyed the pleasure of fish and water, and they were married together.

No need to elaborate.

After Ma Yin and Dan Nu got married, Li Duo, Li Zhuang, Li Honggao, and Li Hongjie accepted Ma Yin's invitation and entered the Jiedushi Yamen and became Ma Yin's staff. Suddenly, scholars from Tanzhou and surrounding prefectures came one after another.

To vote, to vie with each other, such as Cui Ying, He Zhiya, Xu Zhongya, Zhang Yanyao, Zhang Ying, Ma Gong and others.

Cui Ying was a very prestigious scholar leader in Tanzhou, and was a close friend of Li Duo. Xu Zhongya, whose courtesy name was Dongye, was originally from the pre-Qin Dynasty. He moved to Tanzhou to avoid war. He was talented and good at poetry.

He Zhiyong was the son of a Tanzhou merchant. When he was young, he was cheerful and eager to learn. He once followed his father on a boat and stopped by the Xiangjiang River. That night, his father dreamed that there was a man who looked like an official riding a horse, carrying several people with him.

A servant followed each other and came to the shore. They were about to board the boat to check, when suddenly a man came from behind and shouted loudly: "What servant is here! Don't disturb me!" Those people quickly responded: "Yes!"

They retreated. Except for their father and son, there was no one named He in the boat. The next day, there was a strong wind and waves, and most of the boats beside him were destroyed. Only He Zhiyong's boat was safe. His father said to He Zhiyong: "My family

I have been poor and humble for generations, and I am getting old. He Pushe must be you. You must cherish yourself." After that, He Zhiya worked hard to study, which made him outstanding in talent and became famous in Tanzhou. Later, he became famous in Ma Yin's Southern Chu Kingdom.

Zhongguanju servant shoots.

Ma Yin was overjoyed to see many scholars coming and returning, and he arranged for them one by one. When there were no suitable people to appoint, Ma Yin hired them as government officials, and they were paid very generously.

In March of the fifth year of Qianning, that is, March of 898, Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang Dynasty issued an edict, appointing Ma Yin as the rear guard of the Wu'an army. At the same time, Wen Xiang gave birth to a daughter, and Ma Yin was so excited that she named her Limei. Ma Yin Shuang

When happiness comes, a big feast is held to celebrate.

After the banquet, Ma Yin convened everyone to discuss matters. Yao Yanzhang, the commander-in-chief of the Changzhi Army, said: "Commander, now you are the military commander of Wu'an. The five states including Heng, Yong, Dao, Chen, and Lian are under the jurisdiction of the Wu'an Army.

, but did not follow the order. The last general suggested that troops should be sent to recover, and asked Li Qiong, the commander of the decisive army, to be appointed as the commander-in-chief of the crusade." After listening to this, Ma Yin turned to Gao Yu and said: "Mr. Gao, do you think that the brothers Yao Yanzhang

What do you think?"

Gao Yu said: "What General Yao said is absolutely true. Now is indeed a good time to send troops. It's just right. Besides, now the people of Tanzhou and Shaozhou live and work in peace and contentment, and the tax revenue has increased. After several months of training, the army should also

Let’s go to the battlefield to test the results.”

Ma Yin thought for a while and asked: "Then it is best to choose these five states first?" Yao Yanzhang said: "Commander, the terrain of Hengzhou is dangerous, with Hengshan Mountain and the Xiangjiang River as barriers, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. The general thinks that it should be

First take Yongzhou and Chenzhou to the south of Hengzhou and strategically encircle Hengzhou. In this way, Hengzhou will be besieged on all sides and will surely surrender without a fight."

Gao Yu said: "No. This is not a safe way. We cannot sacrifice the near for the far. As a result, our front is too long and can easily be cut into several sections, making it difficult to look at the beginning and the end. Gao thought that we should attack Hengzhou first and

Tanzhou, Shaozhou, and Hengzhou are connected together. Later, Hengzhou will be used as the basis and the states will be taken from the south." Then Gao Yu briefly introduced Hengzhou to Ma Yin and everyone.

Hengzhou, now known as Hengyang, has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. It is surrounded by hills. To the east are Tianguang Mountain, Sifang Mountain, and Yuanming'ao, the remnants of Luoxiao Mountain. To the south are Tashan and Dayi Mountain, the remnants of Nanling Mountains.

, Tianmenxian, Jingfeng Au, the west is the extension of Yuecheng Ridge, Xiongba Ridge, Siming Mountain, Tengyun Ridge, and the north is Dayun Mountain, Jiufeng Mountain and Nanyue Hengshan Mountain. The landform outline of Hengyang area becomes a city with Hengyang City.

It is a quasi-elliptical basin with a center, higher in the south and lower in the north, extending slightly toward the northeast. There are more than 300 rivers and streams in the territory, and the Xiangjiang River runs through the entire state.

Hengzhou is also an excellent place for landscapes. Its main mountain is Nanyue. Nanyue winds to the south, forming a peak, reaching Huayao Mountain, returning to Yanfeng Peak, and forming a county. It is flanked by Huiyan Peak and has the Xiangjiang River in front.

In the ring, Dongzhou Island emerges on the river in front. Steamed water merges into the Xiangjiang River from west to east in the north. Further north, Leishui merges into the Xiangjiang River from east to west. Shigu Mountain is listed on the left side of Fuzhi, looking across the bank.

It is shaped like a crescent moon.

As early as the fifth year of Emperor Gaozu of the Western Han Dynasty, Lingxian County was established. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the Zhongwu Marquis Kingdom was established in the west of Lingxian County. During the Three Kingdoms period, Hengzhou was divided into Hengyang County and Xiangdong County, which were subordinate to Xiangdong County and Hengyang County in Jingzhou respectively.

County. In the fourth year of Wude reign of Tang Dynasty, Hengzhou was established.

In October of the sixth year of Qianfu (879) of Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty, Huang Chao's army went north from Guizhou and went down the Xiangjiang River. It first conquered Yongzhou and then Hengzhou. Huang Chao trained his troops from Changning Fort and formed an army, and after a few days he surrounded Hengzhou. Huang Chao

The Chinese army was stationed at Huangchaling. At that time, the governor of Hengzhou was Xu Hao.

Dai Mian was a general. In the Tang Dynasty, Dai Mian was from Mianyang and had a martial arts background. He served as a general in Li Sheng's army and was the most courageous in the three armies. After Li Sheng's death, he followed his son Li Xi to attack Huang Chao. Li Xi initially suppressed Tanzhou and ordered Tang Dai Mian to help him.

Xu Hao, the governor of the state.

Xu Hao was a scholar with no strength to tie a chicken. Hearing the arrival of Huang Chao's troops, he was so frightened that he urinated and fled to Hengyang County. In the Tang Dynasty, Mian single-handedly resisted Huang Chao's tens of thousands of troops. The two sides fought at Yanfeng Mountain, Jielong Ridge, Zhangjiashan, and Wangchengao in the south of the city.

Battle at the ferry. In the first battle, the Tang army was defeated. Tang Dynasty Mian withdrew his troops and returned to the city, closing the city without fighting. Huang Chao attacked very urgently, but the Hengzhou city was strong and could not be defeated repeatedly.

Soon after, the food in the city ran out, and the Tang soldiers dug up rats for food. When the rats were gone, they killed horses for food. At the end of the moon, a general of the Tang army secretly opened the city gate and let Huang Chao's army enter the city. Seeing that the situation was over, Mian of the Tang Dynasty committed suicide and died.

All the remaining soldiers of the Tang army were killed by Huang Chao. Huang Chao rested his army for three days, then took Tanzhou from the north and marched to Jiangling. The city of Hengzhou suffered this disaster and was almost empty.

After the Tang Dynasty raised troops to ping Huangchao, separatists from various places fought endlessly. The Tang Dynasty only recognized the strong and entrusted them with official positions. Yang Shiyuan, a native of Hengzhou, took the opportunity to gather in the mountains and forests and gathered more than a thousand troops. Then he led the crowd to attack Hengzhou City and drove them away.

He replaced Zhou Yue, who was the governor of Hengzhou at that time. After Zhou Yue withdrew from Hengzhou City, he turned to capture Shaozhou. The imperial court followed the trend and appointed Zhou Yue as the governor of Shaozhou. Soon, Zhou Yue was killed by Deng Chuna, and the imperial court ordered Deng Chuna to confer the title of governor.

He was the governor of Shaozhou. Yang Shiyuan was far away from Hengzhou, so he was awarded the title of governor of Hengzhou by the imperial court.

Gao Yu continued: "Although Yang Shiyuan occupies this dangerous place, he is not capable and has limited strength. We will advance in two directions, one from Shaozhou to the east and the other from Tanzhou to the south. We will attack Hengzhou and we will be able to defeat it in one go. Next. Hengzhou has a vast territory and a large population, and the sericulture and tea industries are particularly prosperous. After we acquire this place, it will be helpful to increase the tax revenue of the town."

After hearing this, Ma Yin immediately ordered: "Order Li Qiong, the commander of the decisive victory army, to serve as the envoy to the seven states in the north of Lingbei, with Li Tang as the vanguard, Wang Tong and Zhang Tuying as deputy generals, and lead 10,000 troops to leave Shao. Prefecture, attack Hengzhou from the west, and hand over the defense of Shaozhou to Zhang Sima. He ordered the commander of the Qiangnu Army to make Qin Yanhui as the Youyi envoy, with Liu Qing as the vanguard, and lead 10,000 troops to attack Hengzhou directly from north to south. Everyone The general will return to the army immediately to prepare and send troops tomorrow!" Li Qiong and Qin Yanhui obeyed the order and left.

Yao Yanzhang said: "Commander, you have appointed two commanders in the army without clear priorities. The general is worried that there will be easy competition for power and mutual blame. Commander, please think again." Ma Yin smiled slightly and said: "Yao Don't worry, brother. I know them both very well, and they will definitely be able to cooperate well with each other and capture Hengzhou soon." The result was indeed as Ma Yin expected, and the two completed the task perfectly.

After all, Yang Shiyuan came from a rough background and did not know how to govern a country. At the same time, he had no special military talents. Although he occupied Hengzhou for more than three years, he lived in luxury and entertainment every day. This is understandable. He grew up from an unknown person in the mountains to When you suddenly become a prince, you will inevitably feel elated.

Yang Shiyuan immediately promoted people in his family to serve as officials at all levels and to take charge of the army. However, these people were good at eating, drinking and having fun, but had no ability to govern the military. Although Yang Shiyuan also recruited nearly 10,000 troops, they did not undergo any rigorous training. There were no well-known generals in the army, and they were led by his younger brothers to garrison in various important places. When Yang Shiyuan learned that Ma Yin had divided his troops into two groups to attack Hengzhou, he was naturally shocked and quickly summoned his younger brothers to discuss the matter.

Yang Shiyuan said: "Tanzhou soldiers came in two groups, how should we deal with them?" His brothers looked at each other and remained silent. If they were asked to lead troops to deal with the mountain bandits, they might be able to do it. But they have to go It was indeed difficult for them to fight against the Wu'an Army, which had experienced hundreds of battles and had traveled thousands of miles from the Central Plains. His second brother Yang Xueyuan, the commander of Hengzhou City, said: "The Wu'an Army was brave and good at fighting, but Deng Chuna and Jiang Xun were defeated one after another. .We can’t fight head-on, so we might as well rely on the terrain and hold on, as they won’t be able to do anything.”

Yang Shiyuan's third brother, Yang Muyuan, was the deputy commander of Hengzhou. After all, he was young and energetic, and his martial arts skills were not weak. He was very dissatisfied with his second brother's timid attitude towards the enemy, and said angrily: "My second brother is too ambitious for others, and I will destroy myself." Majestic. I don't believe they have three heads and six arms. Big brother, I am willing to lead a man and horse north to fight. I will not only defeat the incoming army, but also capture Tanzhou and offer it to my big brother."

Yang Shiyuan knew that defending to death was not a good strategy. Jiang Xun changed from defending to death. After all, Jiang Xun was related to Ma Yin by marriage, so he barely managed to save his life and became a high-level prisoner. As a result, he would not be able to become a prisoner even if he wanted to, and at the same time, he would not be a prisoner. Yang Muyuan's heroic words inspired him to fight, and he immediately said: "The third brother is right. We can send people to Yongzhou and Chenzhou for help. Tell them the truth about the death of lips and teeth, and ask them to send troops to help. Second brother, you lead your troops there. Fight against the Tanzhou soldiers in the north. Third brother, lead your troops to fight against the Tanzhou soldiers in the west."

The eldest brother Yang Xueyuan made up his mind, knowing that persuasion was useless at this time, so he had to keep silent. Then Yang Xueyuan led three thousand troops and went north to fight Qin Yanhui's Wu'an Army. Yang Muyuan led three thousand troops and went west to fight Li Qiong. Yang Shiyuan

He took the remaining four thousand troops to guard Hengzhou City, and at the same time sent envoys to Yongzhou and Chenzhou to ask for help.

A few days after Yang Muyuan led his army to the west, he encountered Li Tang's two thousand vanguard troops. Yang Muyuan shouted sharply: "Who is coming? Why did they invade our state for no reason?" Li Tang stepped forward and replied.

"I am Li Tang, the vanguard general of the Wu'an Army and Horse Marshal. You disobeyed orders and came here to ask questions. Who are you?" Yang Muyuan replied: "I am Yang Muyuan, the third brother of the Hengzhou Governor. You must retreat quickly, otherwise

You are going to die here." Li Tang laughed a few times and said, "You are a frog in a well, how dare you speak such arrogant words. I would like to advise you to dismount and surrender immediately, otherwise your body will be wiped out!"

Yang Muyuan was furious, and seeing that Li Tang had few troops, he immediately sent his troops to cover up the enemy. He planned to bully the few with more, defeat them with numbers, and win a quick battle. Li Tang had been on the battlefield for a long time, and he calmly formed a formation to meet him, and sent people to inform him.

Not far behind the meeting, the two armies of Li Qiong, Li Tang and Yang Muyuan started a melee. The Hengzhou soldiers had the advantage of having more people, but the Tanzhou soldiers had rich experience and strong combat power. The two armies fought for more than an hour, and it was difficult to tell the winner.

Yang Muyuan saw this and jumped on his horse with a sword in his hand, charging towards him. Here Li Tang urged his horse to draw his gun and met Yang Muyuan. The two fought for more than ten rounds, and they were indistinguishable. While the two sides were fighting fiercely, Li Qiong led the main force of 5,000 to catch up.

When they arrived, Li Qiong gave an order and the whole army was dispatched to surround the Hengzhou soldiers. The situation was instantly reversed. The Hengzhou soldiers who were bullying the smaller ones were now surrounded by the superior force of Li Qiong's troops.

After all, Hengzhou soldiers have never experienced a fierce battle. If the battle goes well, they will still have some fighting spirit and fighting strength. But once they fall into an unfavorable situation, these soldiers will suddenly want to retreat. Yang Muyuan was fighting fiercely with Li Tang, and suddenly saw the increase in enemy troops.

Cowardly. While he was distracted, Li Tang seized the opportunity and shot Yang Muyuan off his horse.

Seeing that Li Tang had succeeded, Li Qiong shouted loudly: "Your general is dead, why don't you put down your weapons and surrender?" When the Hengzhou soldiers saw that Yang Muyuan was killed, their fighting spirit suddenly disappeared, and they all dropped their weapons and knelt down to surrender. Li Qiong

These surrendered troops were dispersed into various battalions and continued to march towards Hengzhou. A few days later, the army approached the city. At this time, Qin Yanhui also led his army to arrive and joined forces with Li Qiong.

It turned out that after Yang Xueyuan went north, he knew that he was not his opponent and did not dare to fight head-on. Yang Xueyuan relied on Hengshan and set up camp on the important road, preparing to hold on. Soon Qin Yanhui's army arrived and immediately formed a formation to challenge. Yang Xueyuan strictly ordered not to fight, but Qin Yanhui's request for a battle failed.

He had no choice but to attack by force. Then, the terrain of Hengshan Mountain was dangerous. Qin Yanhui attacked fiercely for a day, but gained nothing, so he had to withdraw his troops and return to the camp.

At night, Qin Yanhui came up with a plan and asked Liu Qing to lead a group of elite soldiers under the cover of night. Under the guidance of the locals, they went around from the mountain path to the back of Yang Xueyuan's village. Liu Qing divided the soldiers into several groups and set fire everywhere.

At the same time, Qin Yanhui attacked from the front all night long. Most of Yang Xueyuan's men were recruits who had not experienced a fierce battle. If they were just allowed to defend the stronghold, they would be able to do their best.

The soldiers of Hengzhou suddenly saw the fire behind the stronghold and the sound of killing. They were immediately panicked. How could they think of defending the Wu'an army who was desperately attacking from the front? Soon after, the soldiers of the Wu'an army attacked the stronghold, and the soldiers of Hengzhou fled in all directions.

Yang Xueyuan thought that the situation was over, so he had to flee towards Hengzhou with the remaining soldiers. As he was walking, a general suddenly appeared on the roadside, it was Liu Qing who had been ambushing him early. Yang Xueyuan was caught off guard and was knocked off his horse by Liu Qing's sword.

After Qin Yanhui captured Hengshan, he left a small number of troops to garrison. Under the guidance of Hengzhou's troops, he quickly arrived at Hengzhou City, but saw that Li Qiong had already arrived. The two discussed it and immediately formed a formation to challenge in Hengzhou City.

Yang Shiyuan saw the Wu'an army under the city was so dark that no one dared to leave the city. Seeing that he could not come out, Li Qiong and Qin Yanhui ordered them to hold high the heads of brothers Yang Xueyuan and Yang Muyuan, and went around the city shouting to persuade the soldiers and civilians in the city to open their doors and surrender.

When the soldiers in the city saw the heads of the Yang brothers, they were naturally frightened. When Yang Shiyuan saw the bloody heads of the two brothers, he screamed and fainted. At this moment, Li Qiong gave an order, and the Wu'an army set up

Cloud ladders were used to attack from all sides. The defenders on the top of the city had no intention of resisting, and the Wu'an army soon attacked the city wall, opened the city gates, and welcomed the army of Li Qiong and others to enter the city.

Li Qiong led his soldiers straight to the governor's office, while Qin Yanhui led his army to wipe out the remnants of the Hengzhou soldiers. As soon as Li Qiong arrived at the governor's office, he saw Yang Shiyuan coming out of the office and was about to escape. Li Qiong shouted, clapped his horse and waved his sword.

Yang Shiyuan rushed forward. Yang Shiyuan had no choice but to raise his sword to meet him. Although Yang Shiyuan was not weak in martial arts, he was no match for Li Qiong. In addition, he was in a panic at the moment, and within a few rounds of the fight, he was killed by Li Qiong's knife.

Li Qiong and Qin Yanhui quickly eliminated the remaining enemies and took control of the entire city of Hengzhou. After leaving the army to pacify the people, Li Qiong sent people to report the victory to Ma Yin. Ma Yin was overjoyed and took Gao Yu and Yao Yanzhang with his troops to Hengzhou.

Prefecture. Ma Yin ordered Li Qiong and Qin Yanhui to move outside the city. After repairs, they continued southward. Naturally, the important place of Hengzhou must be guarded by a trustworthy person.

Ma Yin specially brought Yao Yanzhang here to serve as the governor of Hengzhou. Yao Yanzhang was Ma Yin's childhood friend, and he had always been loyal to Ma Yin. In the current Wu'an army, it is natural that he is the governor of Hengzhou.

Yao Yanzhang gained Ma Yin's trust the most. Yao Yanzhang was overjoyed and thanked Ma Yin.

After Ma Yin captured Hengzhou, under Gao Yu's advice, he devoted all his energy to management. He was light on corvee and small in taxes, and treated the people well. Ma Yin also attached great importance to farmland water conservancy. Hengzhou was prone to drought, and the seedlings died due to drought and the harvest was lost. Ma Yin knew very well about taxation.

The farmland was affected by drought and the Chu State had no tax revenue. Ma Yin ordered the Ministry of Household Affairs to allocate special funds to the counties to build farmland water conservancy. In more than 20 years, Ma Chu built hundreds of Shantang reservoirs in Hengzhou alone.
Chapter completed!