In the era of five generations of wars, heroes were produced, and there was a famous general Zhou Dewei in the Later Tang Dynasty, who was smart and brave, experienced in the battlefield, and repeatedly made military exploits, and was the confidant of the lord Li Cunqiao. But in the end, he died under the calculation of the lord Li Cunxuan, and he could not die a good death.
Such a general, who repeatedly defeated strong enemies during his lifetime, but finally died at the hands of friendly troops, what kind of fate did he experience? Why did you end up at the end of the road? We can't help but ask, who is Zhou Dewei, the most powerful general in the Later Tang Dynasty?
In the spring of 901, Wang Jun, a general of Later Liang, led the Sixth Route Army to besiege Jinyang, in an attempt to take this important military town in one fell swoop. At that time, as the king of Jin, Li Cunmiao's troops were limited, and he was defeated and retreated in the face of enemy troops several times his size. At this time, Li Cunmiao came up with a bold strategy and sent his right-hand man Zhou Dewei to lead 5,000 elite cavalry around the back of the Later Liang army and adopt surprise tactics.
Dulwich, this is a difficult task, I hope you will move forward bravely and fight off the thieves for your country! Before leaving, Li Cunqiao patted Zhou Dewei on the shoulder and said. "Your Highness, please rest assured, you will be the first to capture the thief! Zhou Dewei, who was secretly instructed, was not afraid and raised his head. This is the first time that Zhou Dewei has led the army to fight as a coach. In the face of the disparity in strength, he was not only defeated but not afraid, but was full of spirit.
In the course of the battle, Zhou Dewei braved the dense rain of arrows of the enemy army, and led the army into the enemy formation. He dodged left and right, and his soldiers also took the lead. Soon, the Later Liang army fell into chaos and suffered heavy casualties. After a day and a night of fierce fighting, Zhou Dewei finally "killed thousands of people" of the Houliang army and won a big victory.
Your Highness is wise, and Dulwich has succeeded in his clumsy plan! After returning triumphantly, Zhou Dewei presented the captured enemy flags. "Hahaha, good! Good! Good! Dulwich is indeed a rare fierce general under my Li Cunqing! Seeing Zhou Dewei returning triumphantly, Li Cunqiao praised repeatedly.
On the one hand, this victory stabilized Li Cunqiao's rule and consolidated his position in the army; On the other hand, it also made Zhou Dewei famous in the army, and since then he has established his image of being brave and good at fighting. Li Cunmiao also discovered the potential of this young general, and since then he has been vigorously promoted and reused. This became the starting point for Zhou Dewei's repeated miraculous achievements in the future.
The success of 901 allowed Zhou Dewei to win the trust and appreciation of Li Cunqiao. Since then, Li Cunmiao has repeatedly sent Zhou Dewei to serve as a vanguard or lead an army to carry out important tasks in foreign wars. It can be said that Zhou Dewei has become the most powerful henchman and right-hand man under Li Cunqing, and a deep master-servant relationship has also been established between the two.
In 911, Wang Jingren, a general of Later Liang, led an army of 80,000 to attack, and the two sides confronted each other in Baixiang. Seeing that the morale of the enemy army was high, Li Cunqiao made a difficulty. "If we go head-to-head with it, our army will be invincible! Li Cunmiao worried.
At this time, Zhou Dewei stepped forward and offered a plan to lure Wang Jingren deep into the plains to launch a surprise attack, and volunteered to carry out this plan himself. Li Cunmiao was overjoyed and praised Zhou Dewei for his bravery and fearlessness. The next day, Zhou Dewei set up a plan to lure the enemy and lured Wang Jingren's army into an ambush circle. "Someone! Shoot the arrows! He ordered in a loud voice.
Only the whistling sound was heard, and when Wang Jingren's army boarded, people turned on their backs, and there were countless casualties. Taking advantage of the chaos of the enemy army, Zhou Dewei led the army to launch a fierce attack and successfully captured Wang Jingren himself. The news of the victory soon spread back to Jinyang. "Hahaha! The prince still fell into the hands of my Zhou! Zhou Dewei threw Wang Jingren in front of Li Cunqiao. Good! Good! Good! Dulwich is truly invincible! Li Cunqiao laughed.
In this victory, we can see that Zhou Dewei is not only brave and good at fighting, but also strategic, clever thinking, and is a rare fierce general under Li Cunqing. Since then, Zhou Dewei's prestige in the post-Tang army has been as famous as the lord and has become a general known all over the world!
After 911, Li Cunqiao sent Zhou Dewei to lead an army of 30,000 to crusade against Liu Shouguang, who had established himself as emperor. In the face of the fierce general Shan Tingqi and the elite enemy army sent by Liu Shouguang, Zhou Dewei was not afraid, and also captured Shan Tingqi himself on the spot. In the end, he conquered Youzhou, Liu Shouguang's base, and captured Liu Shouguang's father and son.
This victory further consolidated Zhou Dewei's prestige in the army, and also allowed him to truly embark on the road of conquest. After the war, he was appointed by Li Cunqiao as a school inspector and a guard in Youzhou. During the period of guarding Youzhou for ten years, in the face of the border attack of the Khitan, a strong enemy in the north, Zhou Dewei still made many achievements.
Especially in 917, Yelu Abao led 300,000 Khitan troops south to besiege Youzhou for more than 200 days. Zhou Dewei strategized, not only "following the soldiers", but also "riding the city day and night", and finally repelled the Khitan army and defended the frontier. "Dulwich, I've been sending you to guard Youzhou for ten years, are you still used to life here? Once, when Li Cunqiao came to Youzhou to check, he specially summoned Zhou Dewei and asked with greetings.
Your Highness, rest assured, Dulwich will defend the frontier and swear to serve you! Zhou Dewei replied without hesitation. In the face of strong enemies, Zhou Dewei was able to win many battles, which made Li Cunqiao trust him even more, and even asked him about the situation. It can be seen that Zhou Dewei is not only a fierce general under Li Cunqing, but also his most trusted confidant.
In the winter of 919, Li Cunqiao was determined to destroy the Later Liang and prepared to mobilize the strength of the whole country to fight a decisive battle against the Later Liang. At this time, Zhou Dewei was already the generalissimo in the post-Tang army, second only to Li Cunqiao himself. Based on his many years of battlefield experience, he suggested that Li Cunqiao adopt the strategy of active defense and depletion of the enemy's strength.
Your Highness, you must not confront the enemy head-on, our army needs to use its geographical advantages to surround the point and send reinforcements. Zhou Dewei stood in the tent and admonished. "With my 100,000 male soldiers, it is not a problem to defeat the Houliang ants head-on! However, the surging Li Cunmiao did not listen, and still wanted to win by going head-to-head.
Faced with the wrong decision of the lord, Zhou Dewei pondered for a moment, but still didn't say anything. He foresaw the possible defeat of this battle, and even said to his sons before the expedition, "I don't know where to die", which shows that he understands the lord's decision-making mistake this time.
However, in the end, he was faithful and chose to follow his lord to fight. was defeated in the battle, and Zhou Dewei died to save the lord. "No!! Dulwich!! Li Cunmiao, who learned the battle report, cried bitterly. This commander-in-chief, who was still high-spirited before the expedition, also paid a heavy price for his wrong decisions.
As the most effective general under Li Cunqing, Zhou Dewei had already seen the risks of this decision, but he finally chose to follow the main public to advance and retreat. This kind of loyalty and integrity are beyond the reach of later generations of ministers. Zhou Dewei finally used his own life and his son's life to explain what loyalty is.
Afterwards, Li Cunmiao treated Zhou Dewei's death and showed deep self-blame and regret. After he ascended the throne and became emperor, he specially posthumously bestowed the title of Taishi Zhou Dewei and built a special temple for him to commemorate him. In fact, before this battle, Li Cunqiao had listened to Zhou Dewei's military advice.
However, this time, out of a reckless use of troops, he personally made a wrong decision. Judging from his performance afterwards, we can also find that he sincerely regards Zhou Dewei as a rare confidant and right hand. "Dulwich did his duty to the country during his lifetime, and he died heroically. I, Li Cunmiao, will never forget you! Li Cunqiao stood in front of Zhou Dewei's temple and burst into tears.
As a result of the death of Zhou Dewei and his son, Li Cunmiao naturally regretted it. woke up in a dream many times, as if he saw Zhou Dewei asking in front of him. Therefore, this lord is also difficult to let go of because of his reckless use of troops and the loss of good generals.
In the five generations of wars, it is rare for a famous general to perform miraculous feats. And the righteousness of being loyal to the country and willing to die for the Lord is even more difficult to find. Zhou Dewei, a general of the Later Tang Dynasty, had both, and finally chose to go to the country and die martyrdom. His life can be said to be legendary, but it is also full of sorrow. We can only cherish the memory of this loyal national hero and lament the impermanence and helplessness of the unfortunate fate.
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