Chapter 30 10. The eternal truth, the proud soldier must be defeated

In Zhao Kuangyin's ambitious vision, the recovery and pacification of the north and the south are all things he must do, and he also firmly believes that he can rule the world.After taking the southern countries into his pocket, the northern regime became his new target. Among the Ten Kingdoms, the Northern Han Dynasty was the only regime in the north. It was originally a continuation of the Later Han Dynasty established by Liu Zhiyuan.After Guo Wei overthrew the Later Han Dynasty and established the Later Zhou Dynasty, Liu Zhiyuan's younger brother Liu Chong was entrenched in the north-central part of Shanxi. In 951 AD, he proclaimed himself emperor with the twelve prefectures as his own territory and established the Northern Han Dynasty.

The Northern Han Dynasty was remote and barren. Although several emperors came out of Taiyuan City, due to the decline of national power, Liu Chong had to seek help from Liao in the north and formed a strategic alliance with Liao.Strictly speaking, he took Liao as his own superior state and followed Shi Jingtang's behavior. Liu Chong called Emperor Liao the Uncle Emperor, and his successor Liu Jun even called him the Father Emperor. The reason for this was no other than Hope to get military support from Liao. After Guo Wei overthrew Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty, he made Liu Yun, the son of Liu Chong, emperor, and then killed him.Because Liu Chong had a sworn feud with the Later Zhou Dynasty, he waged fierce wars during Guo Wei's period and Chai Rong's period, but he was defeated in Jinzhou and Gaoping respectively, which severely dampened the vitality of the Northern Han Dynasty. This war was carried out with the support of the Liao army.After the defeat, the Northern Han Dynasty was even more ignored by the Liao Dynasty. They could only recruit strong men into the army in their own country. All men over the age of seventeen were recruited, which seriously hindered production.The heavy military service plus taxes, as well as the annual tribute to the Liao Dynasty, made the people overwhelmed.

After the Zhou Dynasty and the Song Dynasty were established, Zhao Kuangyin's attitude towards the Northern Han Dynasty was very clear, that is, there was no need to invest any troops.The Northern Han Dynasty has always been under the shadow of the Liao's wings and existed as a regime in the north other than the Song Dynasty.And the strength of the Liao State is stronger than that of the Song Dynasty. Instead of being an enemy of the Northern Han Dynasty and causing the Liao State to attack, it is better to accumulate strength and have a thorough battle with the Liao State.If the Liao can be defeated, the Northern Han Dynasty will easily recover.

This kind of thinking Zhao Kuangyin has always been in practice, and through the strategy of making good friends with Liao, he once obtained the stability of the northern border.However, as the Song army marched straight into the south, the complacent generals began to set their sights on this corner, hoping to flatten Taiyuan in one fell swoop. As heroes of the Southern Expedition, Cao Bin, Pan Mei and others were full of confidence in conquering the Northern Han Dynasty. Veteran generals such as Shi Shouxin and Wang Shenqi believed that they were old and strong, and rising stars such as Wang Quanbin and Yin Chongke were not far behind. Han has become a touchstone to compete. Everyone hoped to show their strength here, so they approached Zhao Kuangyin and asked for the Northern Expedition.

Regarding this phenomenon, Zhao Pu said to Zhao Kuangyin: "At present, the country is stable, and a large area of ​​land has been regained in the south, and the national power has increased a lot. But for the Song Dynasty, it is far from the time when it will become an enemy of the Liao Kingdom." Zhao Kuangyin said: "In order to be able to travel south with peace of mind, I made good friends with the Liao Kingdom and gave them a lot of gold and silver treasures, silk and silk. These things are in exchange for peace, but they must not be long-term. Liao people are insatiable. One day they will be dissatisfied and send troops to my Da Song's wealth, this battle is inevitable."

It is precisely because he believes that the war with the Liao Kingdom is inevitable, so Zhao Kuangyin has been planning for it for a long time, but in his heart, he does not want a war very much.After several years of development, the economy of Song Dynasty has been restored, and there will be a certain balance in the fiscal yearly.Zhao Kuangyin issued a decree to save the annual financial balance, and when a certain amount was accumulated, he would use the money to purchase the occupied Yanyun sixteen prefectures from Liao.This treasury was named "Pile Closure", and he hoped that these problems could be solved through economic means rather than war.

Zhao Pu said: "Your Majesty has always been unwilling to see war. Now the silver taels in the sealed pile treasury are increasing day by day. As long as there is a sufficient amount, we can negotiate peace with the Liao Kingdom. So by that time, the recovery of the Northern Han Dynasty will also be It's out of the question." However, Jin Wang Zhao Guangyi dismissed this and said: "My country is very powerful in the Song Dynasty. I bought sixteen prefectures with silver money. Although it can save the people from the fire of war, it will inevitably destroy my prestige. Now the court All the ministers feel that this method is insulting to the prestige of the country, and it would be better to fight a war."

Zhao Kuangyin said: "Although the war came happily, the military expenditure invested in it was no less than that in the sealed pile treasury. Moreover, the Liao soldiers have always been brave, which is different from the southern countries, so it is uncertain which side will win. The Liao people need It’s just that the gold and silver of the Song Dynasty, instead of taking risks like this, it’s easier to buy them with silver money. It can also prevent the flames of war from trampling on the crops that have just been planted, don’t you understand this truth?” Zhao Guangyi said: "It's not that I don't understand His Majesty's intentions, but now all the generals are full of confidence to fight Liao. If Your Majesty thinks it's really not the time, then I think we can compete with the Northern Han Dynasty."

Zhao Pu said: "Recently, there have been memorials constantly mentioning the hope of a war with the Northern Han Dynasty. Pan Mei, Cao Bin and others also proposed it in the court. It seems that many people are indeed thinking about this issue. I don't know what His Majesty's plan is. ?” Zhao Kuangyin said: "The Northern Han Dynasty has always been at odds with my Great Song Dynasty. It is impossible to hope that they will surrender voluntarily, but as long as they move it, it will definitely attract the Liao army." Zhao Guangyi said: "The Northern Han Dynasty has been entrenched in Shanxi. The national power has been weak for these years, and it only relied on the support of the Liao. Now it is so barren. I don't think the Liao Kingdom will be able to search for anything. Even if we go north, the Liao Lord will not send many troops. Rescue each other. In this way, we can test the strength of Liao, and secondly, we can strengthen our army and let them know how brave Song's army is!"

Zhao Kuangyin asked Zhao Pu: "What do you think about this matter?" Zhao Pu said: "Since the death of the lord Liu Jun in the Northern Han Dynasty, there has been a struggle for the throne. Now the country is also in chaos. Taking advantage of the chaos and conquest is indeed a way." After some persuasion, Zhao Kuangyin was also moved. It was a challenge for him to have the Northern Han Dynasty in the northern border for a day.What's more, they continued to harass the Song Dynasty and plunder their property. Since this is the case, it is better to send troops to the Northern Expedition to subdue it, and it will save a lot of worries.At the request of everyone, in 968 AD, Zhao Kuangyin appointed Lu Huaizhong and others to lead the imperial army to Luzhou, where Li Jixun, the governor of Zhaoyi, Dang Jin, the commander of the guard infantry, and Kang Yanzhao, the defense envoy of Huaizhou When he met him, he ordered Cao Bin to be the capital supervisor, and sent his troops to Taiyuan.

It was rumored that the Song army was coming to attack, and the Northern Han court was in panic.After Liu Jun's death, his adopted son Liu Ji'en succeeded to the throne, but he couldn't obey the courtiers of the Northern Han Dynasty. There was chaos inside, and Liu Jiyuan killed and seized the throne.After the new king ascended the throne, he hurriedly asked for help from the Liao Kingdom. Although the Liao Lord accepted the treasures donated by the Song Dynasty, he did not intend to participate in any war with the Song Dynasty. As a barrier between Song Dynasty and Song Dynasty, troops were sent to help. Liu Jiyuan sent Liu Jiye to lead his troops to stop the Song army in Baigu. The unstable Han army was vulnerable to the morale of the Song army.Lu Huaizhong, Cao Bin and others won a complete victory. When the news reached Kaifeng, Zhao Kuangyin was overjoyed and sent an envoy to Taiyuan to order Liu Jiyuan to surrender quickly.The envoy said domineeringly to Liu Jiyuan: "If you surrender now, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty can make you the envoy of Pinglu, and the commander-in-chief of the Northern Han Dynasty, Guo Wuwei, as the envoy of Xingzhou. These are better than your stubborn resistance, and you will not be killed." Bar?" Guo Wuwei was very angry when he heard this, and said to Liu Jiyuan: "The reason for the defeat in the Battle of Baigu is that the Song army has just arrived and the momentum is still there, but the reinforcements from the Liao Kingdom have not yet arrived, so they took advantage of the loophole. As soon as the reinforcements from the Liao Kingdom arrive, Song Jun must not be our opponent." Liu Jiyuan was still hesitating, but Guo Wuwei said: "After the southern countries were pacified, none of their rulers came to a good end. Does your majesty want to follow in their footsteps?" Thinking of Li Yu, Meng Chang and others, Liu Jiyuan could only pull Guo Wuwei and say: "The survival of the big man and me is all left to the Marshal!" When Lu Huaizhong, Li Jixun, Dang Jin and others held a celebration banquet at the National People's Congress and were about to immediately swing their arms to Taiyuan and capture Liu Jiyuan, the reinforcements from the Liao Kingdom had already arrived in Taiyuan.Although this cavalry-based team was not the most elite unit in the Liao army, it was still very brave in combat. After a few rounds of fighting with the Song army, it defeated the arrogant Song army.Seeing that the situation was out of control, Cao Bin hurriedly suggested that Lu Huaizhong withdraw his troops. The Song army fled all the way, but the Liao soldiers pursued all the way under the leadership of Guo Wuwei, Liu Jiye and others.Not only failed to attack Taiyuan, but lost the two cities of Jinzhou and Jiangzhou.Lu Huaizhong, Cao Bin and others who originally wanted to make meritorious service had no choice but to return to Kaifeng to plead guilty. Originally a great situation, but suffered a defeat in such a poor and weak Northern Han Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin couldn't hold back this breath, and determined to win the Northern Han Dynasty, as a shameful act.After a period of rest and recuperation, in the second year (969 A.D.), the imperial conquest was made in person, in an attempt to wipe out the Northern Han Dynasty.However, the result this time was exactly the same as a year ago, and it did not improve because of Zhao Kuangyin's personal conquest.With the support of the Liao army, the Northern Han drove the Song army back to Kaifeng. The failure of these two Northern Expeditions was the inevitable result of the Song army's arrogance and extravagance, and it was also a side confrontation between Song and Liao.Complacent Zhao Kuangyin began to wake up gradually, realizing that the gap between himself and Liao hadn't narrowed much because Song recovered the southern countries, and Song's strength was not enough to compete with Liao.From then on, Zhao Kuangyin returned to his original thinking, no longer invested in the Northern Han Dynasty, and focused on the Liao Kingdom as his biggest enemy, and worked hard to save money in the pile closure, hoping to obtain peace in the north through non-military means. Throughout the Taizu era, although the Northern Han Dynasty has been in danger, it has not been conquered.It was not until Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi that the Northern Han Dynasty was completely destroyed in 979 AD, but Zhao Guangyi also paid a huge price.The fall of the Northern Han Dynasty represented that the Song Dynasty had finally realized the unification of the Liao Dynasty, and the lifelong dreams of Chai Rong, Zhao Kuangyin and others had finally come true.