In Youzhou, there are many cavalry and archers, and they are rampant. Once they were generals, they were famous for their comings and goings. They hunted autumn grass and bowed their horns at each other.
——"Miscellaneous Songs·Five Poems from Jimen" Gao Shi (Tang Dynasty)
…
Bai Fu transferred Tie Chui and other generals from Zuo Yingwu's army to his own command, and led his army to Jianghuai on a starry and night journey.
Along the way, wherever the army passed, the villages were deserted and there were broken walls and ruins everywhere. The fertile mulberry fields and fish ponds in the Jianghuai area in the past had turned into a piece of scorched earth, and no one had buried the remains and bones along the road.
All the soldiers were gnashing their teeth and furious, wishing they could reach the battlefield in one day, sweep across the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, and put an end to the enemy.
Bai Fu's face was ashen and he remained silent all the way, with a cold glint in his eyes from time to time.
Not a day later, Bai Fu arrived at Jianghuai and met with An Beiting's camp thirty miles outside Guangling City (now Yangzhou City).
Iron Hammer, Lone Wolf and Yuchi Hussar, Li Fei garrison, Tang Kui, Yue Huzhu, Pei Pookong and other Anxi generals had not seen each other for a long time and were extremely happy.
After some pleasantries, Bai Fu raised his tent and held a pre-military meeting.
Bai Fu asked: "Yuchi, I heard that Tian Shengong went to Shouzhou to assist Deng Jingshan, the military envoy of Huainan East Road, and Xing Yanen, the military supervisor, to return to Guangling.
Why don't you garrison Guangling City? After marching for many days, your supplies will be almost exhausted, right?"
Yuchi Qiaoqi scolded: "Tian Shengong is a bastard. He is not in Guangling City, but he allows his confidant Chen Wei, the deputy commander of the Pinglu Army, to occupy Guangling City. He finds various reasons to shirk it, just to prevent our army from entering."
Bai Fu raised his eyebrows and said, "Tell me and listen."
Yuchi Qiaoqi tugged Tang Kui's sleeve beside him and said: "Old Tang, you are very eloquent. Please tell the commander."
Shi Tangkui, the commander of the marching army, bowed and said with a smile: "Don't rush to talk about Guangling City. Let me tell you generals about the current situation in Jianghuai."
Tang Kui pointed at the map and introduced the current situation in Jianghuai. After Liu Zhan launched an army to rebel, the people in Jianghuai suffered a disaster, and the situation was much worse than expected.
However, it was not Liu Zhan who poisoned the people of Jianghuai, but the Pinglu Army led by Tian Shenggong.
…
Liu Zhan divided his troops and conquered the territory, and the battle was invincible, causing chaos in the Jianghuai River.
As the rebels marched across the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, the county guards from all over the Yangtze River and Huaihe River abandoned their duties and fled for their lives. The generals at all levels of the Tang Army in the Jianghuai River were frightened and offered almost no resistance.
After Deng Jingshan, the military envoy of the East Road of Huainan, was defeated, he and Xing Yanen, the military supervisor, fled to Shouzhou. After discussion, the two felt that the morale of the Tang army in Jianghuai was low and disorganized, and they could not rely on them. They had to rely on the support of the Tang army north of the Yellow River.
At this time, Tian Shengong, the military envoy of Pinglu Province, led five thousand elite troops and was stationed in Rencheng (JN City, SD Province).
The two sent envoys to report to the court, requesting Tian Shengong to be mobilized for assistance.
Suzong had other tasks for the Pinglu Army and did not agree to mobilize reinforcements from the Pinglu Army.
Xing Yanen, the military envoy overseeing the army, boasted that Suzong favored him. Before the imperial court issued an order, he asked Tian Shengong, the envoy of Pinglu troops and horses, for help, and solemnly promised that on the day Huainan (south of the Huaihe River) is conquered, Tian Shengong will be given gold, silver, jade and silk.
The beauties from Jianghuai and Jianghuai were raped and plundered by Pinglu troops.
As soon as they heard about the gold, silk and beauties, Tian Shengong and his men's eyes suddenly lit up. Tian Shengong immediately went south to conquer Liu Zhan and stationed in Pengcheng (today's XZ City, Jiangsu Province) at the end of December.
Liu Zhan felt a sense of fear when he learned that the Pinglu Army was marching south.
Liu Zhan had dealt with Tian Shengong and knew this person quite well. He had always been brave, and he was not on the same level as Li Hong, Deng Jingshan and others.
In the late years of Xuanzong Tianbao, Tian Shengong was originally a county historian. After the Anshi Rebellion, Tian Shengong defected to Dong Qin, the general of the Pinglu Army, and captured Cang, De, and Xiangzhou to resist the rebels.
Afterwards, Tian Shengong was ordered to guard Chenliu. When the rebels came to attack, Tian Shengong was outnumbered and forced to surrender to Shi Siming.
Shi Siming asked Tian Shengong and rebel generals Nan Dexin and Liu Congjian to lead their troops south to capture Jianghuai.
Seeing that Shi Siming was dragged to Gyeonggi Road by Li Guangbi and had no time to go east, Tian Shengong took the opportunity to lead his troops to submit to the imperial court, attack and kill Nan Dexin, and defeat Liu Congjian's army.
After incorporating the armies of Nan Dexin and Liu Congjian, Tian Shengong's strength greatly increased and he was named Hongluqing by the imperial court.
In short, Tian Shengong has been on the battlefield for many years, has a strange and changeable temperament, and rich combat experience. His subordinates were once elite rebels, so he is definitely a difficult opponent.
…
Liu Zhan did not dare to be careless and immediately led the main force of 8,000 Songzhou soldiers north to meet the enemy.
Liu Zhan ordered two thousand elite men under his command to form a forward army, crossed the Huaihe River, and tried to ambush Tian Shengong in Duliang Mountain (south of today's Xuyi County, Jiangsu Province).
Tian Shengong not only failed to fall into the trap, but actually used it to lure the enemy deeper.
As soon as the two armies fought, Pinglu soldiers crushed Liu Zhan's Songzhou soldiers. Liu Zhan's forward army was quickly defeated.
Seeing that the Pinglu Army's combat power was far superior to his own, Liu Zhan decided to preserve his strength and quickly led his troops to retreat to Tianchang (today's Tianchang City).
In order to avoid being pursued by the Pinglu Army after the victory, Liu Zhan ordered 500 elite cavalry to ambush on a bridge on the Huaihe River.
Tian Shengong's cavalry followed closely and annihilated the rear troops on the Huaihe Bridge in one fell swoop. Then they defeated Liu Zhan's main force with overwhelming force.
The eight thousand soldiers and horses led by Liu Zhan were completely wiped out. Only one personal soldier protected Liu Zhan across the Yangtze River and fled south in a hurry.
Tian Shengong's army immediately conquered Chuzhou and Yangzhou.
When Liu Zhan entered Guangling City, he only pursued the Tang army and did not harass the local people.
But when Tian Shengong's Pinglu army entered the city, the people in the city suffered a disaster.
After Tian Shengong entered Chuzhou and Yangzhou, he raped, plundered, and killed thousands of Hu merchants. After looting the cities, he felt that it was not enough.
Tian Shengong heard that local Hu merchants and wealthy households liked to hide their treasures underground. So he dug three feet into the ground and turned Chuzhou City and Guangling City upside down.
…
Tian Shengong, as a senior general of the Tang Army, actually poisoned the people under his jurisdiction. How is such a beastly army different from the rebels?!
Bai Fu's face darkened, he threw a lacquered arrow from the commander's desk, and shouted: "Order Chen Wei to report in front of this commander's account as soon as possible!
If you can’t see him before sunset, I will prevent him from seeing tomorrow’s sunset!”
The fire-paint arrow drew a blood-red arc in mid-air and landed in front of the tiger-skin blanket with a clang.
The generals' hearts tightened, knowing that this was the sound of someone's head falling to the ground.