Chapter 20 19. Ridiculous Covenant

The army of the Northern Wei Dynasty marched westward for years, and the Helianxia Kingdom, which had always galloped through the Guanzhong, only wanted to protect itself and was powerless to fight back.After a year, Tuoba Tao was ready to attack Rouran.Wei Guo was exhausted from fighting for a long time, and he was unwilling to use troops from top to bottom. The queen mother in the palace also tried her best to persuade Tuoba Tao not to rush to send troops.Looking around the ruling and opposition parties, only Taichang Cui Hao agreed. Seeing that Tuoba Tao was determined in the Northern Expedition, the ministers elected Zhang Yuan and Xu Bian, historians who had surrendered in the Xia Kingdom, to remonstrate with Tuoba Tao.Zhang Yuan is a man of great virtue and prestige. He has served in several countries, and he is quite familiar with astronomy, geography, and divination. Quite predictable.Zhang Yuan cited unfavorable weather as an excuse and believed that the Northern Expedition would be defeated. Even if he could win by luck, it would not be conducive to the emperor's rule.The officials also took the opportunity to agree.Tuoba Tao hesitated, so he summoned Cui Hao to discuss with Zhang Yuan and others.

Cui Hao also based on the celestial phenomena, believing that now is a good time for the northern expedition to the desert, and refuted Zhang Yuan's so-called "time theory".Zhang Yuan was dissatisfied, and said: "Zhuzhu is such a desolate and remote country. If you get their land, you can't cultivate it, and if you get their subjects, you can't control it. Besides, those people are all capricious barbarians. It's useless. Why bother?" How about mobilizing troops to attack?" Cui Hao smiled slightly, and said: "Master Zhang is quite expert in talking about celestial phenomena, but when it comes to the situation, his views are too general. Your words are commonplace in the Han Dynasty, and it is not appropriate to use them today. Why do you say that What? The leader of this creeping country was originally a defected slave from our Wei state. How can it be said that it is useless to eliminate the culprit, subdue the people, and let them go back to their old jobs? The Mobei highlands have a cool climate, no mosquitoes, and lush aquatic plants It’s a good place to move north in summer, why can’t you farm and eat? The sluggish subjects surrender, nobles can marry their princesses to them, ordinary ministers can be named generals and doctors, and serve as officials in the court. How can it be impossible? How about controlling it? Moreover, creeps have invaded our country several times, and the officials and the people are afraid. If we don’t take advantage of the summer to attack and completely defeat them, they will come to harass us again in autumn, and we will not be able to sleep well. Taizong (referring to Wei Mingyuan Emperor Tuo Since then, there have been repeated alarms every year, so why bother! Hehe, the world says that Master Zhang and Master Xu are proficient in alchemy and can predict the rise and fall. I want to ask, what are the signs before He Lianchang's demise? What? If you know but don’t tell, then you are disloyal, if you really don’t know, then your alchemy is not good at all.”

At this moment, He Lianchang was also present, Zhang Yuan and others looked at Cui Hao, then at He Lianchang, speechless.Tuoba Tao was very happy, and said to the ministers: "I have made up my mind. The opinions of ministers like Zhang Yuan who have subjugated the country are not worth listening to at all." After speaking, he asked Cui Hao to persuade other ministers who could not figure it out. After retiring from the court, a minister asked Cui Hao: "Now the Song Dynasty is in trouble in the south. Who knows that we will send troops to the north and march thousands of miles? If we scramble to escape and the Song army comes again, it will be dangerous!"

Cui Hao shook his head and said, "That's wrong. If we don't destroy the creeps this year, we won't be able to defend against the enemies of the Southern Dynasty. Since our country broke through Xia, the Southern Dynasty has been terrified, so they shouted the loudest, saying that they would send troops to defend Huaibei. From my point of view, they won’t come when we defeat the crawling and return triumphantly. Why do you say that? Thinking back when Liu Yu got Guanzhong, left behind his beloved son, tens of thousands of elite soldiers, good generals and strong soldiers, he couldn’t hold on. The entire army was wiped out, and there are still people who lament about it. What's more, our country is prosperous and prosperous now, and the soldiers and horses are strong. If they come, will they not be like sheep? And even if we give them Henan, they will not be able to hold it. Song Guo has self-knowledge, sure They don’t come to fight. Even if they use troops, they are only defending the border. These problems can be understood after a careful analysis. Let’s look at the creeps again. They think they are in a remote place and our country is unable to attack, so they graze livestock in summer and gather in autumn The army is going south to plunder. Now we take advantage of the summer to attack them unprepared. When the army arrives, they will be surprised and flee. In this season, the male horses protect the herd and the mares love their foals. It is difficult to drive. If there is no aquatic plants, they will soon die of sleepiness Our army is about to be wiped out in one fell swoop. This is the long-term solution once and for all, and the opportunity must not be missed! Fortunately, the emperor has already decided to send troops, you ministers, your knowledge is too short!"

Tuoba Tao sent his troops to the north, divided his troops into two groups, and attacked Rouran via Heishan (northwest of Helinger, Inner Mongolia today) and Da'e Mountain.The east was led by Tuoba Tao himself, and soon arrived in Monan.Tuoba Tao abandoned his luggage and raided Rouran with light cavalry until he reached Lishui (now Wengjin River in northwest Mongolia).The leader of Rouran, Muhan Heshenggai Khan Datan, had no defenses at this time. He was grazing all over the mountains and fields with lush water and grass.Wei Jun suddenly came, Rouran's soldiers and civilians were all frightened and fled in all directions.Khan Da Tan burned the tent and ran away without a trace.Dadan's younger brother, Pi Lixian, was stationed in the east. When he heard that the Wei army was coming, he came to support him, but he ran into the west army led by Changsun Song on the way, and was defeated.

Tuoba Tao pursued all the way, went deep into the desert, set up a net, and searched Datan.The Gaoche tribes that had been suppressed by Rouran also took the opportunity to plunder Rouran's cattle and horses, and belonged to the Northern Wei Dynasty.Rouran suffered heavy losses in this battle and was beaten without temper. Tuoba Tao pursued to Mount Zhuoxie (now in the Gobi area of ​​Mandal, Mongolia), and because he was too far away from the capital, he was worried that there might be an ambush in Rouran, so he ordered his troops to retreat.Afterwards, some Rouran people who surrendered reported that Da Tan was seriously ill and fled into the mountains, only a hundred and eighty miles away from the front of the Wei army. The Wei army retreated and was able to save his life.At the last moment, Tuoba Tao failed to chase the poor bandits to the end according to Cui Hao's intention, and lost a best opportunity to eliminate Rouran.

Despite this, the Northern Wei Dynasty still gained a lot.Most of Rouran surrendered, Khan Datan died in shame and anger, and his son Wu Ti succeeded to the throne, named "Chilian Khan" (meaning "sacred" in Xianbei language), and Rouran began to decline.The Northern Wei Dynasty also controlled the major tribes in Gaoche, and their strength increased greatly.In order to prevent the intrusion of Rouran, the Northern Wei Dynasty began to rebuild the northern Great Wall left by the Han Dynasty from the time of Emperor Tuobasi of the Ming and Yuan Dynasties. North of Guyang), Wuchuan (west of Wuchuan, Inner Mongolia), Fuming (southeast of Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia), Rouxuan (northwest of Xinghe, Inner Mongolia), and Huaihuang (north of Zhangbei, Hebei), and sent important generals there The guard became a military barrier to defend the capital.Rouran has always been at a disadvantage militarily against the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the six towns have contributed a lot.What Tuoba Tao didn't expect was that the establishment of these six important military towns actually planted a time bomb for the decline and demise of the Northern Wei Dynasty a century later.

Tuoba Tao went back to Pingcheng and saw that the Song Dynasty did as Cui Hao predicted. Although he verbally clamored to regain the territory of Henan, he did not take any action at all.Tuoba Tao was greatly impressed, and named Cui Hao as a servant and a general of the Fujun, and made him more important. At this time, Song Wendi Liu Yilong, who had been in peace for six years, officially sent troops to the Northern Expedition like a dream; the Northern Wei Dynasty had solved the hidden dangers in the north and could concentrate on dealing with the Song army. One o'clock and two o'clock.The Song State sent an envoy Tian Qi to Pingcheng to declare sovereignty to Tuoba Tao: "Henan used to be the territory of our Song State, and it was occupied by you in the middle. Our army will recover the old land, but will not enter Hebei." Tone, it is obvious that the fight is not strong enough, let the opponent talk about the bottom line first, how can we fight to the death?)

Tuoba Tao slapped the table and said angrily, "I knew Henan was part of our country Wei before my hair was dry. How can you take it away? If you attack, we can withdraw our troops to avoid the sharp edge, and wait until the winter is cold and cleared." , the river is frozen, and our army will naturally reoccupy these places." Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty couldn't hold his breath anymore. In the seventh year of Yuanjia (the third year of Shenyu in the Northern Wei Dynasty, 430 AD), he ordered General You to arrive at Yanzhi, General Wang Zhongde of Anbei, and Governor Zhu Lingxiu of Yanzhou to lead a navy of 50,000 troops from the Huai River to Yanzhi. Surabaya marched westward along the Yellow River; General Duan Hong led 8,000 fine riders to point directly at Hulao, and Liu Dewu, the governor of Yuzhou, led 10,000 troops to follow up; the latter general Changsha King Liu Yixin led 30,000 troops to conquer the military.

There was a drought this summer, and the water in the Sishui River seeped into the ground. The ships of the navy could not move normally, and they only traveled ten miles a day.It took three months to reach Yanzhi before entering the Yellow River, and it was almost autumn at this time.As mentioned earlier, the four important strongholds in Henan are Jinyong (that is, Luoyang), Hulao, Huatai, and Fufen from west to east. The Xianbei army of the Northern Wei Dynasty was not suitable for fighting in Henan during the summer and autumn. Also less.Tuoba Tao followed Cui Hao's suggestion and voluntarily withdrew the defenders.

The Song army occupied four cities without fighting a good battle, and the troops from the west even reached Tongguan.Sizhou and Yanzhou all returned, and the Song army was overjoyed.Only Wang Zhongde, Liu Yu's former subordinate, said with worry on his face: "You young generals have never fought tough battles with the Hu people. How do you know the cunning of the Hu people? Now that they are retreating northward, they must be waiting for a counterattack. If the river is blocked in winter Well, they will definitely come again!" Dao Yanzhi is just Liu Yilong's old general who was placed in Jingzhou back then, how can he listen to these things, he just blindly announces the good news to the court.Helian, who was confined to the Pingliang area, saw that the Song army had recovered Henan, and his confidence in making a comeback was greatly increased, so he sent envoys to seek peace with the Song State and entered into an alliance.The two sides agreed to jointly attack the land of Hebei in the Northern Wei Dynasty. After the event was completed, the east of Mount Heng would be returned to the Song Dynasty, and the west of Mount Heng would be returned to Xia. (I once said in the book that this is a ridiculous covenant. It delineated the sphere of influence early, but it is completely overreaching. What's more, such a temporary covenant has no integrity at all, and it will eventually leave a laughing stock for the Northern Wei Dynasty. Scorn it.) Tuoba Tao heard about the Xia-Song alliance and decided to attack Xia first.The officials were all worried that the Song army would cross the river in vain.Tuobatao asked Cui Hao again, and Cui Hao analyzed it with confidence: "Liu Yilong and He Lianding's alliance looks very powerful, but they are actually playing tricks. Both families hope that the other side will act first. There is a major weakness: scattered troops on the front stretching for more than two thousand miles from east to west in Henan Province, with no more than a few thousand people in each place. With such a formation, the defense is not bad, and it is absolutely impossible to cross the river to attack. Once we attack, we will be defeated. At that time, our army will go east out of Tongguan and sweep Henan, and we will surely win a complete victory." Tuoba Tao acted according to the plan, ordered Anjie and others to wait for orders in Hebei, and only waited for the weather to be cold before crossing the south of the river.He personally led the army to attack Pingliang. Xia Guo was guarding Pingliang by Shanggu Gong He Lianshe. Tuoba Tao sent He Lianchang to surrender and failed, so he sent Anxi General Gu Bi to attack Anding.At this time, He Lianding was attacking Wei City (now southeast of Luochuan, Shaanxi). Hearing that there was danger in Pingliang, he hurriedly brought 20,000 cavalry to rescue him, but Tuoba Tao took the first step. High chariot cavalry attack.Helian Ding was caught off guard and fled in defeat.Tuoba Tao surrounded and intercepted Helianding's army all the way, trapping Helianding's army on Quailguyuan (now northwest of Changwu, Shaanxi).Tuoba Tao ordered to block the opponent's water and grass resources, and Xia Jun soon became hungry and unable to hold on.He Lianding had no choice but to send troops to challenge, but was defeated by General Qiu Juan of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and tens of thousands died.Helian Ding was seriously injured and fled alone on horseback. Along the way, he collected remnants and tens of thousands of people who had fled, and Xibao went to the camp. (He Lianding, who learned from the pain, led his troops westward a year later, preparing to destroy the Western Qin and Beiliang and then separatize the Hexi area. Unfortunately, the task was only half completed (destroying the Western Qin), and he was defeated by the Tuyuhun cavalry, and the country was defeated. .) The failure of Helianding made the Xia army in Guanzhong no longer have the will to fight. The Northern Wei Dynasty quickly took advantage of the victory to conquer Anding, Pingliang, Chang'an, Linjin, Wugong and other places, and completely won Guanzhong.And the Henan area on the eastern front has also received frequent success stories.