Chapter 13 2. "War" or "peace"?

Within Shi Jin, there was a huge disagreement about the fall of the land and the foreign policy towards the Khitan. The conflict between the war faction and the peace faction intensified. With the death of Shi Jingtang and the enthronement of the little emperor, this contradiction reached its peak. Time flies, as one feels. Time passes slowly as people feel. Time passes neither fast nor slow, because God controls it. In the short time left in his life, Shi Jingtang sorted out the world's major events one by one like sorting out messy hemp.Regarding the treatment of Khitan, as the supreme ruler of the later Jin Dynasty, he not only set an example and flattered Khitan, but also repeatedly exhorted the generals and officials of border towns to overcome various difficulties and implement this national policy well.

Shi Jingtang adopted a different strategy in dealing with the self-respecting feudal towns.Through the policy of "warning first and giving courtesy later", he achieved superior victory under heavy military pressure, but avoided intensifying and expanding conflicts by beating the dog in the water. Instead, he continued to give high-level courtesy to the losers, thus completely settling the former minister Fan Yanguang. Yang Guangyuan, a general who surrendered from the Battle of Taiyuan, began to swell his ambitions as his status and military strength rose, his mind became hot, and his hands stretched out longer and longer.Not only was he yelling and drinking on his own territory, but he also pointed fingers at the court's major policies, especially dissatisfied with Sang Weihan's power, forcing Shi Jingtang to transfer Sang Weihan to another post.Shi Jingtang was tolerant and tolerant, and patient and patient, but later he couldn't bear it anymore, so Shi Jingtang decided to repair Yang Guangyuan.

Shi Jingtang's method is to "cut off the wings and transfer away from the base".He first promoted Yang Guangyuan's generals one by one by various names, and promoted them to other places to become high officials, dividing and weakening Yang Guangyuan's power.Then through the method of rising and falling secretly, Yang Guangyuan's official rank was sealed and sealed again, and the land was changed continuously. After moving three or four nests in a row, Yang Guangyuan's strength was gradually emptied.It can be described as painstaking. Since the founding of the country, there have been "battle factions" and "main peace factions" in the Later Jin Dynasty.Shi Jingtang tried his best to deal with the two factions.The reason why Shi Jingtang took so much trouble to deal with the two factions, and the reason why he was not very hard on either faction, was because Shi Jingtang betrayed the country first.For his own self-interest, he handed over the huge frontier land to others. He is the instigator, and the source of the evil lies with him.Therefore, no matter how difficult the situation is, he did it first, and he doesn't have much righteousness to blame others.

Before Shi Jingtang sorted out the mess, the conflict between the two factions finally reached the point of irreconcilability. In 941 A.D., An Chongrong, the envoy of the Chengde Festival, couldn't bear the Khitan's bird spirit, and even looked down on Shi Jingtang and a group of slaves from the surrender faction.As an important border defense town in the north, An Chongrong has repeatedly tampered with Khitan regardless of the state policy of the later Jin Dynasty. When Khitan envoys travel to and from the Central Plains, Chengde is the only way to go. When An Chongrong received the Khitan envoys, he either abused or sneered at them, and later even sent people to assassinate the Khitan envoys on the way, and robbed them or they carried property from the Central Plains.

After a few years of small troubles, An Chongrong decided to raise troops to openly fight against Khitan.He wrote a long memorial of thousands of words to Emperor Shi Jingtang, applying to unite Tuyuhun, Turkic, Shatuo and other suffering brothers and sisters who were enslaved by Khitan to resist Khitan's oppression, start a full-scale war with Khitan, and recover the country. An Chongrong's high-profile confrontation with Khitan made him worry about Shi Jingtang, Emperor Gaozu of the later Jin Dynasty. For such a subordinate with backbone, ambition, and morale, what else can he do other than praise, encourage, and support him?Is it necessary to suppress them, suppress them, and pour cold water on them?I'm afraid most people think so.

However, Sang Weihan, the chief representative of the Peace Party, has his own high-level remarks. His remarks are very representative, not only reflected in the handling of this specific matter, but also in the historical time and space of decades and hundreds of years. In the relationship between the Central Plains and Khitan, Sang Weihan's opinion is also representative. At this time, Sang Weihan was no longer a privy envoy, but was transferred to Taining Jiedu envoy to serve as an official in Yanzhou.Shi Jingtang trusted Sang Weihan very much, and they still kept in touch with each other, often discussing national affairs together.

Sanweihan wrote a memorial to the emperor, expounding his views on the current situation.He believed that the reason why Shi Jingtang was able to get rid of Jinyang's difficulties and win the world was mainly due to the help of Khitan, and now he must not do things that violated the covenant, and he must not fall into a passive morally, this is one of them. An Chongrong's so-called resistance to oppression is actually self-righteous, proud and underestimating the enemy.As for the reason for uniting with Tuyuhun, it is even more untenable. Tuyuhun was oppressed by the Khitan much more seriously than the Central Plains. Tuyuhun wanted to use a knife to kill people and use Shi Jin to attack the Khitan. He did not have the conditions for military strength. This is the second.

Looking at Khitan again, over the years, the Khitan Empire has been strong and strong, and its strength has been rising all the way. It has annexed many regimes and lands around it. It can be said that it is invincible. The Khitan military is too powerful. This is the third. There is a reason for the Khitan Empire to have such achievements. The Khitan Emperor was brave and resourceful. The Khitan officials worked hard together. The agriculture and animal husbandry in Khitan was prosperous and there were no major natural disasters. There was no trouble in Khitan. Fourth. After watching Khitan, look at the Central Plains. The war has just subsided, the people are in dire straits, and the military power needs to be restored. Compared with the powerful military power of Khitan, the gap is too big. This is the fifth.

If the relationship with Khitan breaks down, the Central Plains court must strengthen the border defense. If too few defenders are sent, they will not be able to resist the enemy's invasion. If too many defenders are sent, the central plains will not have so much food, grass and money in the rear, and the national strength will be weak. Sixth. Once the war broke out, the Central Plains would send a large army north to fight, but the Khitan nomads would not love to fight in the pass, they would withdraw in time.If the army of the Central Plains returns, the Khitan will quickly enter the customs and attack again.In this way, the Hebei area will become the battlefield of guerrilla warfare, and the common people will suffer from the flames of war every day. This is the seventh.

Now that the Central Plains has just settled down, the devastation has not faded away, the lives of the people have not yet recovered, and the treasury is empty.The imperial court struggled to maintain the situation, and they were worried every day that they had more energy than they wanted, let alone mobilized the whole people to make a fuss. That would not have torn the world apart. This is the eighth. The relationship between Khitan and Shi Jin is so close, the covenant between the two parties has already been made known to the world.Now that the other party didn't stir up trouble, but Shi Jin wanted to stir up trouble instead, isn't this full of food?Even if the Central Plains defeats Khitan and wins, it will leave endless troubles.In case of losing the war and losing to Khitan, it may lead to the destruction of the country, this is the eighth.

Many people only saw that the Central Plains paid tribute to the Khitan, and saw that the Central Plains suffered humiliation.They didn't understand that if the war is raging together and the soldiers are in trouble, the financial and material resources and manpower consumed will be much greater than these tributes!This is nine of them. After the militarism and frequent wars, the country has to give in to military officers and generals, and the status of border towns will definitely rise. The importance of soldiers is too obvious, and it is inevitable that the repeated occurrences in history of princes arrogance and lawlessness bullying imperial power will inevitably repeat. At that time, the emperor will not be able to Can't bear to swallow.This is its tenth. Sang Weihan is amazing, has a keen insight and comprehensive analysis of the current situation in the world, and said "ten musts" in one breath.Completely negated the feasibility of taking military action against Khitan. If not, what can be done? Who would want to tuck their head in their belt, not to mention the great country of China, the orthodox dynasty, who has ever suffered such a bird in history?Do you want to be bullied by Khitan like this forever?Do you want to be a slave to others forever? No, no, no, no, no, no. While denying the main combat faction, Sanweihan also put forward his suggestions. He suggested that Shi Jingtang, Emperor Gaozu of the later Jin Dynasty, should revise politics internally and take care of his own domestic affairs.What things do you do well?There are four major events: training farmers, practicing warfare, raising soldiers, and resting the people. Actively guiding and encouraging the common people to develop agriculture is the foundation of a country, and everything is possible with money and food.Before you think of anything else, you must have a full stomach and warm clothes. Not waging war does not mean not paying attention to military construction.The state should carry out in-depth military training, increase investment in armaments if conditions permit, and improve the combat effectiveness of the military. Let the common people live in peace, people's hearts are stable, everything is stable, everything is stable, people's hearts are smooth, everything is smooth.Only when the common people settle down can the social order be stabilized and the country's rule be strengthened. Sang Weihan suggested that Emperor Shi Jingtang should grasp these four major domestic issues well, and should continue to grasp them until the end, and not relax.Wait until the country is prosperous and the people are safe and the financial resources are strong, then wait for the opportunity, seize the opportunity, and fight the battle.At that time, when it is time to make a move, you will have a greater chance of success. Sang Weihan elaborated on his strategy of governing the country in detail. It should be said that his suggestions were more in line with the actual conditions of Shi Jin and Khitan at that time. The suggested measures hit the point, the goals were clear, the measures were specific, and the logic was clear. Shi Jingtang, who was terribly annoyed by the lawsuit, slapped his thigh after reading Sang Weihan's memorial and said, "Sang Weihan is right, so let's do it!" For the friendly relationship with Khitan, we must compromise and cultivate our internal strength secretly, and we must not start a war right now. Although the emperor was determined to adopt the opinions of the main peace faction, how to calm down the sentiment of the main war faction was a very tricky matter.Although the emperor kept his promises, he had to divide his time. What Shi Jingtang said at this moment did not even have the weight of a tripod, at best it was the weight of a tripod leg. Shi Jingtang planned to take the ideological work of the main war faction as the best policy, so he turned his head and earnestly enlightened An Chongrong so that he would not start a war.An Chongrong didn't listen to Shi Jingtang's nagging at all.He was obsessed with fighting, and looked down on Shi Jingtang more and more, thinking that Shi Jingtang was useless. The peace faction represented by Emperor Shi Jingtang and the war faction represented by An Chongrong continued to debate, and the contradictions escalated rapidly. The two factions refused to give in to each other, and finally reached the point of intensification. In a rage, An Chongrong decided not to hang out with Shi Jingtang.An Chongrong felt that Shi Jingtang was really worthless, so he took Chengde Fan to suppress the rebellion. What's the matter with his grandma?The muzzle was supposed to be open to the outside world, but now it has become a den of rebellion. Shi Jingtang was also angry, thinking An Chongrong, you bastard, how dare you disobey the emperor, I have endured you for a long time, and now you are actually on the kang, and you want to rebel, how can you be tolerated, I will kill you first. After three or four years of stability, a civil war broke out in the Later Jin Dynasty. This battle triggered a series of chain reactions, which was the inevitable consequence of the instability of the Later Jin Dynasty.A large number of feudal princes took advantage of the fire to loot, and Yang Guangyuan, whose military power had been weakened, was among them. After several months of arduous crusades, Shi Jingtang managed to barely eliminate An Chongrong and Yang Guangyuan, but the court also paid a huge price, and the vitality of the originally weak country was severely damaged. Shi Jingtang couldn't sort out this mess in his hands for a while, Shi Jingtang was anxious and helpless.Over the past few years, Shi Jingtang has been in poor health, and his health is getting worse and worse.Under the torment of internal and external troubles, Shi Jingtang's body finally couldn't take it anymore. In May 942 AD, Emperor Gaozu of the Later Jin Dynasty Shi Jingtang fell ill. God did not leave Shi Jingtang more time to deal with this mess.As he was dying, Shi Jingtang still had to deal with the last and most difficult matter, which was to determine the heir. Determining the heir to the throne has always been a problem. Shi Jingtang seemed to have made up his mind a long time ago, he asked Prime Minister Feng Dao alone, and had a secret interview with him.On June 13th, Shi Jingtang was too weak to speak. He ordered his younger son Shi Chongrui to be brought out, kowtowed to Feng Dao, and then he ordered his son to be held in Feng Dao's arms.It means to ask Feng Dao to assist the youngest son to inherit the throne. After explaining this matter, Shi Jingtang kicked his legs and closed his eyes, and left this world with infinite humiliation. I don't know why Shi Jingtang chose Feng Dao as Minister Gu Ming.Although Feng Dao was favored by Shi Jingtang, with Shi Jingtang's IQ, he shouldn't have handled such a big matter so hastily.He has every chance to designate a few more people as assistant ministers.This is a mystery.The consequences of this incident indeed proved Shi Jingtang's sloppyness. This guy Feng Dao did not follow Shi Jingtang's last order, but found another plan with Jing Yanguang, the governor of Tianping and Ma Budu, the guard.Feng Dao and Jing Yanguang believe that the country is so difficult now that an older emperor should be in charge. Shi Chongrui is still a child and it is difficult to shoulder the great responsibility.It should be said that Feng Dao's proposition is reasonable to a certain extent, and regardless of the factor of loyalty to the emperor in feudal society, his proposition is even more necessary. So who is older?Is it as long as you are old? Feng Dao and Jing Yanguang deliberated and chose, and chose Qi Wang Shi Chonggui. Under the arrangements of Feng Dao and Jing Yanguang, Shi Chonggui, who won the lottery, ascended to the throne of the second emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty.Shi Chonggui was born in 914 AD at the age of twenty-eight. In fact, Shi Chonggui is not Shi Jingtang's son, he is the son of Shi Jingtang's eldest brother, but Shi Jingtang loves Shi Chonggui very much.When Shi Jingtang proclaimed himself emperor and left Taiyuan to go south to Luoyang, Shi Chonggui was appointed by Khitan Emperor Yelu Deguang as the left guard in Taiyuan, responsible for the jurisdiction of the rear area of ​​the Shijin Dynasty.Shi Jingtang had six sons, the eldest son Shi Chongying was killed by Qing Emperor Li Congke in Luoyang.The second son Shi Chongxin and the third son Shi Chongyi were young and talented, but they were killed by the rebels during the Fan Yanguang rebellion.Two other sons, Shi Chongjin and Shi Chonggao, died young.The youngest son is Shi Chongrui.To say that Shi Jingtang taught his son well, this is much better than the average emperor, but Shi Jingtang's son died very young. Shi Chonggui didn't like reading since he was a child. He was brave and warlike.Due to his youth and drive, Shi Chonggui rose rapidly in the Shijin Dynasty.In the second year of Tianfu in the later Jin Dynasty, Shi Chonggui entered Luoyang from Taiyuan, and was named Doctor Guanglu, Taibao, and General of Youjinwuwei.In the third year of Tianfu in the later Jin Dynasty, he was granted the titles of Governor of Kaifeng, Taifu of the School of Inspection, and King Zheng. Not long after, he was added the title of Taiwei of the School of Inspection, and he was appointed as the official of Zhongshumen.In the sixth year of Tianfu in the later Jin Dynasty, he was changed from the governor of Kaifeng to the governor of Guangjin, and became the king of Qi.In the first month of the seventh year of Tianfu, he was granted the title and served as a servant, which is equivalent to the treatment of the prime minister of the current dynasty.Shi Chonggui was able to be chosen as successor without authorization by Feng Dao and others. It is estimated that the biggest reason is his status and influence. He has become a relatively mature and powerful prince among Shi Jingtang's nephews and nephews. The evaluations of Shi Chonggui vary greatly in the history books, basically they hold a negative attitude, record some of his disdainful misdeeds, think that he does not have the ability to be an emperor, and his sudden arrogance led to a large-scale attack by the Khitan, and he suffered the catastrophe of destroying the country in an instant. The "Old History of the Five Dynasties" has a relatively positive evaluation of Shi Chonggui, saying that he is young, vigorous and ambitious, dares to fight against the Khitan, and has performed well in a series of military operations. It is a pity that the country was destroyed and humiliated in the end. The struggle between the main war faction and the main peace faction in the late Jin Dynasty continued and intensified.When Shi Jingtang was alive, he could barely hold himself together.After Shi Jingtang died, the conflict between the two factions continued to heat up, and even Shi Chonggui, the last emperor of the later Jin Dynasty, was deeply involved in this.From this point of view, although Shi Chonggui's proclaiming the emperor marked a major turning point in Shi Jin's national policy towards Khitan, it was not entirely due to Shi Chonggui's leadership alone. When the "doves" and "hawks" are in a stalemate, the weight of the emperor is particularly important. Which side the emperor stands on will have the upper hand.Shi Jingtang has been on the side of the "doves" for seven years in power, but Shi Chonggui, contrary to Lao Tzu's attitude, chose the side of the "hawks". Although Shi Chonggui was selected by Yelu Deguang as the royal aristocrat who replaced Shi Jingtang to guard Taiyuan, he did not have a good impression of Khitan.The reason why Shi Chonggui leaned towards the "hawks" was due to two important factors. One was that he was a man of blood and was not familiar with the vicissitudes of the world. emperor.The second is that the important ministers around him have no brains and bewitched him, making the young man Shi Chonggui even more lost. Feng Dao and Jing Yanguang, who have made great achievements in supporting and pushing the emperor, are in power, and no one can match them for a while.In particular, Jing Yanguang was full of selfish and distracting thoughts, and he was focused on fighting for power and profit, manipulating the emperor to elevate his status. Shi Chonggui had just ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, but Jing Yanguang strongly advocated a change of course. In his letter to Khitan, Shi Chonggui only called himself Emperor Sun, but he no longer called himself a vassal state to Khitan.This difference is huge. Emperor Sun refers to seniority and age, which happen due to natural conditions and cannot be changed.Even if there is a difference in seniority, it is still a family etiquette, and the scope is limited to the private domain.However, if the word "Chen Guo" is abolished, it will become a neighboring country on an equal footing, which is equivalent to no longer recognizing the Shijin Dynasty as a vassal state of Khitan.This is a state matter and a public matter. National affairs are more important than family affairs. Public affairs are more important than private affairs. Because the interests are very different. Shi Jin's letter of credence was sent to Khitan.Khitan Emperor Yelu Deguang opened it and was furious. He immediately accused the Shijin court of supporting a new king without the approval of the Khitan Empire, and sent envoys to Luoyang to question the Shijin court Xingshi.Jing Yanguang saw that the Khitan envoy was approaching menacingly, especially when he saw the Khitan envoy's ugly appearance, he scolded the Khitan envoy on the spot. Since then, relations between the two countries have broken down. The Shijin court began to continuously arrest Khitan businessmen, envoys and exchange groups in the Central Plains.The Khitan Kingdom enjoyed Shi Jin's six or seven years of worship, and when they were in high spirits, they were suddenly stung by the new emperor Shi Jin, and immediately became angry from embarrassment, and urgently studied how to deal with this Shi Chonggui. Shi Chonggui's head was hot and dizzy, but Yelu Deguang was not stupefied.Sang Weihan explained that the domestic governance of Khitan is strong and strong, and it also reflects that the Khitan emperor Yelu Deguang's ruling level in the past ten years is indeed extraordinary, and he can be called a wise monarch with achievements.Although Khitan has maintained a strong military, political and economic advantage over Shi Jin, Shi Jin is not comparable to small and weak countries like Bohai, and a thin camel is bigger than a horse. There is no small price to pay.The emperor and ministers of the Khitan Empire had a clear understanding of this.Therefore, in the initial period, Khitan did not immediately use force because of the rebellion of the Shi Jin court. Khitan wants to make a decision before moving. At this time, two factors prompted Yeludeguang to make up his mind to enter the Central Plains: First, some people in Khitan advocated using force against Shi Jin, and Zhao Yanshou was the representative.Zhao Yanshou was the son of Zhao Dejun, who was later captured by Khitan.In view of the fact that Zhao Yanshou was the prime minister of the later Tang Dynasty, Khitan still reused Zhao Yanshou as a prime minister-level official out of the need for the Han people to control the Han.Zhao Yanshou is still ambitious in Khitan, dreaming of becoming the leader of the Khitan Han people, and even one day can sit on the throne of the Central Plains "pseudo-emperor" with the support of Khitan.Therefore, Zhao Yanshou tried his best to persuade Yelu Deguang to send troops to attack Shi Chonggui. Second, there was a split within Shi Jin. General Yang Guangyuan, who was squeezed out and suppressed, defected and defected to the enemy. He secretly wrote to Khitan, reporting the truth and falsehood of the Central Plains, and strongly invited Khitan to go south to the Central Plains. He was in Shi Jin's internal support.The second Shi Jingtang was born. The Khitan Emperor Yelu Deguang finally made up his mind to attack the Central Plains on a large scale. In December 943 A.D., the Khitan Emperor gathered troops and mobilized 50,000 troops from the Eighth Army behind the mountain and 50,000 soldiers from Youzhou, with Zhao Yanshou as the commander.Yelu Deguang said to Zhao Yanshou: "Yan Shou, do your best. If Shi Chonggui is killed, the Central Plains will be yours." Everyone should pay attention, the main force that Yelu Deguang mobilized this time is not the Khitan cavalry force, but the army in the occupied areas of the Han people.This shows that Yelude wanted the Han people to fight the Han people out of prudence, and let these Han people surrender for a while to find out the truth. Thieves enough. In the spring of 944 AD, the border of the Later Jin Dynasty was in a hurry. Khitan forward generals Zhao Yanshou and Zhao Yanzhao led the Khitan army to Beizhou.Zhao Yanzhao was the son of Zhao Siwen, a Khitan general.Zhao Siwen was the one who forced the Empress Dowager Shulu to cut off her wrist.Even so, Lao Zhao is still valued, which shows Khitan's attitude towards Han officials.As long as there is ability, it will definitely be reused. Where is Bay State?In the vicinity of Qinghe County, southeast of Nangong County, Hebei Province, it was an important military town connecting the north and the south at that time.The imperial court of the later Jin Dynasty hoarded a large amount of rice, flour, grain and oil here as a grain supply base for military operations in the north.The amount of grain and grass stored in Beizhou is enough to support a large-scale war for three or four years, which shows the importance of the strategic location of this place.When Li Cunxu went south to the Central Plains, there was a fierce battle with the general of the Liang Empire in Beizhou. Just when the Khitan launched a war and prepared to invade the south, spies appeared in the city of Beizhou.This soldier of the Jin army fled to the Khitan army camp and reported to the Khitan the facts and facts of Beizhou.The Khitan vanguard army, led by Zhao Yanshou, reached Beizhou with lightning speed, and then Yelu Deguang personally led the main force to Beizhou.The two divided their forces and launched a fierce attack on the south gate and east gate of Beizhou.Because the defenders of Beizhou were separated from Germany, some people defected to the enemy and secretly opened the city gate to lure the Khitan army into the city. In an instant, Beizhou, the granary, fell into catastrophe.All food and grass were looted by Khitan, and more than 10,000 defenders were massacred.What do these grains mean to the Jin army?There have been large-scale locust plagues in Shanxi for two consecutive years. Not only are there no grains left in the crops, but even the branches, leaves and straw have been wiped out, and more than 100,000 people have starved to death. The imperial court of the later Jin Dynasty was shaken, and immediately transferred Guide Jiedu envoy Gao Xingzhou to deploy the northern camp, Heyang Jiedu envoy Fu Yanqing was the envoy for the left wing of the Ma army, and Huangfu Yu, the right Shenwu command army, was the envoy for the right wing of the horse army. For the envoys, Wang Zhou, the Jiedu envoy of the Shaanxi Province, was the envoy of the left side of the infantry, and General Pan Huan of Zuo Yulin was the envoy of the right side of the infantry. Under the leadership of Zhao Yanshou and Yelu Deguang, the main Khitan army sent troops to Youzhou, conquering Beizhou in an instant without any difficulty.At the same time, the Khitan Empire sent another army to the west, entered Yanmen Pass, and rushed to Taiyuan.At this time, it was Liu Zhiyuan, the envoy of Hedong Jiedu, who was guarding Taiyuan.Liu Zhiyuan had long seen that Shi Chonggui, the young emperor of the later Jin Dynasty, was a troublemaker, and sooner or later he would invite the Khitan army to meet him.But Shi Chonggui and Liu Zhiyuan were at odds, and they kept pushing Liu Zhiyuan away.Therefore, Liu Zhiyuan secretly strengthened his combat readiness in Taiyuan.Under Liu Zhiyuan's fierce resistance, the Khitan army on the front line of Yanmen Pass was defeated and retreated. Now, the sequelae of Shi Jingtang's abandonment of Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures have been fully exposed.The Khitans were not blocked by the Great Wall or the Yanshan Mountains, and went directly south from the northern part of Hebei to the Central Plains. On the hundreds of miles of flat plains, the Khitan cavalry could be said to be like a mechanized army, advancing as quickly as the wind and clouds, as if entering a no-man's land.It is an exaggeration to say that Khitan sent Youzhou in the morning and could reach Luoyang in the evening.Beizhou fell, and the court of the later Jin Dynasty, under the command of Privy Envoy Jing Yanguang, issued an order to mobilize several armies to fight.Before Gao Xingzhou set off, the Khitan striker had already occupied Weizhou, the capital of Ye. The enemy army arrived in Weizhou, which was only a short distance away from Kaifeng Bianliang, the capital city on the south bank of the Yellow River, and the imperial capital was in danger! At the beginning, Shi Jingtang seized the world of the Later Tang Dynasty, felt sad when he saw things in Luoyang, and always felt awkward, so he planned to move the capital to Bianliang, Kaifeng.It happened that Fan Yanguang of Weizhou conspired to make trouble.Sang Weihan, the privy envoy, made suggestions for countering the rebellion: "Kaifeng Daliang is located in the main traffic road. It is a good place to control Yan and Zhao in the north, and reach Jiang and Huai in the south. It is a good place where water and land meet, merchants gather, and products are rich. More importantly. The most important thing is that Kaifeng is very close to Weizhou. If Fan Yanguang rebels, the army can strike preemptively with lightning speed." In 937 A.D., Shi Jingtang moved his capital to Bianliang, Kaifeng, on the grounds that the water transport in Luoyang was inconvenient. Kaifeng Bianliang is indeed convenient for water and land transportation and commerce, but it is located on the edge of the Yellow River and lacks strategic depth. The place of the Four Wars is easy to attack and difficult to defend.After the Khitan occupied the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, they drove straight in and could quickly approach Kaifeng.The imperial capital is always in danger.Therefore, Shi Jingtang did two wrong things, one was to cede the northern barrier Yanyun sixteen prefectures, and the other was to abandon Luoyang's capital city, the strong barrier of mountains and rivers, and move the capital to Kaifeng. When the little emperor Shi Chonggui heard that the Khitan army was going south, he immediately set off and headed west to Luoyang, intending to avoid the enemy's sharp edge.Shi Chonggui had just left Kaifeng for the third day, and the former Khitan army had already reached Liyang on the north bank of the Yellow River.It can be seen that the speed is fast, which has never been precedent in the past few decades.The court of the later Jin Dynasty immediately mobilized Zhang Yanze, the general of Youwuwei, to lead his troops to resist the Khitan in Liyang. One day later, Emperor Shi Chonggui of the Later Jin Dynasty arrived in Chanzhou. Khitan Emperor Yelu Deguang stationed troops in Yuancheng (today's east of Daming County, Hebei Province), and Zhao Yanshou, who had been named King of Wei by the Khitan, stationed troops in Nanle. The armies of the two countries are close to each other. At this time, Shi Chonggui was taken aback, and he realized that Khitan is not easy to mess with.He hastily sent someone to write to Yelu Deguang, asking the two countries to stop their troops and restore the old relationship.Yelu Deguang wrote back and said: "The matter has come to this point, and there is no way to change it." Shi Chonggui's request was rejected. At the same time that Shi Chonggui's plea for surrender was rejected by Khitan, another bad news came.The Khitan along the southeast line went south in the Cangzhou area. Yang Guangyuan, a general of the later Jin Dynasty, joined the enemy and lured the Khitan to capture Bozhou. It can be said that from Huazhou in the west to Yunzhou in the east, the Khitan army pressed all the way, approaching the natural danger of the Yellow River. On the Shi Jin side, emergency defenses were deployed, and the former Baoyi Jiedu envoy Shi Yun was dispatched to guard Majiakou, the former Weisheng Jiedu envoy He Jianjian guarded Yangliu Town, the commander of the Holy Capital Bai Zairong guarded Majiadu, and Xijing stayed behind in Anyan Wei to guard the river. Positive.The Jin army stood ready at the major crossings of the Yellow River.But never expected that under the guidance of Yang Guangyuan, the Eastern Khitan army crossed Majiadu.The Shijin court urgently mobilized tens of thousands of troops to help Majiadu. While the Shi Jin army was busy guarding the Yellow River, Generalissimo Gao Xingzhou was surrounded by the Khitan army in Qicheng, Hebei (north of Puyang County today).The first battle in Qicheng was very tragic, and it is recorded in several places in the history books.The top general of the Jin army, Gao Xingzhou, and the second general, Fu Yanqing, were nearly annihilated by the Khitan.The defeat in this battle was directly related to Jing Yanguang's blind command.Later, Shi Chonggui, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty who received emergency military information, personally led the rescue, and rescued Gao Xingzhou and others from the pile of dead people. The main force of the Khitan pressed heavily on the Weizhou area, and fought fiercely with the main force of the later Jin Dynasty.Khitan has the upper hand.In the northwest and eastern battlefields, due to the weak strength of the Khitan army, although the marching speed was fast, the combat effectiveness was not strong.Majiadu was recaptured by the Jin army and defeated the Khitan army of ten thousand.The Khitan escort team and luggage transport team on the front line of Cangzhou were also ambushed by the Jin army and suffered heavy losses.In Xiazhou (now Ningxia), 40,000 Jin troops crossed the Yellow River eastward and took the initiative to attack and harass the western border of Khitan in order to cope with the war in the Central Plains. When the Khitan first went south, every time they captured a place, they established their own government government, appointed local officials, and implemented a policy of appeasement.In the battle of Majiadu, Khitan suffered heavy losses.The Khitan was enraged by this, changed its policy, and implemented a policy of crazy revenge and massacres against Chengfu and counties of the Central Plains.The massacres by Khitan intensified the conflicts in the occupied areas.The common people and the fallen officials took the initiative to fight against Khitan without waiting for the Jin Dynasty to rescue them.This is not a small blow to Khitan. In February, Yang Guangyuan planned to go west from Qingzhou and join Khitan.When Yang Guangyuan arrived in Yunzhou, he was defeated by the officials of the Later Jin Dynasty, and almost the whole army was wiped out. From then on, Yang Guangyuan withdrew to Qingzhou and never dared to show his face again. In the situation where Khitan launched an offensive and the Jin State was on the defensive, the offensive side vowed to be aggressive, while the defending side was worried and exhausted.But at this moment when the advantages and disadvantages were obvious, a big battle changed the situation on the battlefield. At the end of February, Khitan Emperor Yelu Deguang came up with a plan, which was similar to Jin Wang Li Cunxu's plan to lure and suppress Liu Xunyan in Weizhou a few years ago.Yelu Deguang released the news that the army would be withdrawn, and the main force would be withdrawn from Yuancheng.But he left tens of thousands of elite cavalry troops in ambush in Dunqiu, north of Yuancheng.The purpose is to rob and kill the Jin army who was deceived and pursued.The Jin army that Yelu Deguang wanted to kill was not only the main Jin army in front of him, but also the Jin army that was about to join forces from Hengzhou and Dingzhou.It can be said that Yelu Deguang had a huge appetite and planned to wipe out the main force of the Jin army in Dunqiu in one fell swoop. Yelu Deguang waited quietly in ambush. People are not as good as God. As the days passed, the news had already flooded both sides of the Yellow River, and everyone knew that the Khitan had withdrawn their troops. But the Jin army did not move. Why? Because God helped the Jin army a lot. For ten days in a row, it rained sparingly and continuously. When the Jin army got the news that Khitan had abandoned the city and withdrew, they geared up to pursue.However, it is rainy and rainy, which is not suitable for sending troops to fight.The Jin army was forced to wait. Yelu Deguang couldn't take it anymore, he didn't know why the Jin army didn't fall for it?Moreover, the Khitan was exposed to the wilderness, and the people were exhausted, so they couldn't hold on any longer. The Khitans were also in a hurry, and the Jin army was also in a hurry, but God was not in a hurry. Khitan Wei King Zhao Yanshou suggested to Khitan Emperor Yelu Deguang: "Most of the main force of the Jin army is on the Yellow River, but they are afraid of our army's sharpness, so they only dare to defend and dare not fight. We simply concentrate our forces and take the initiative to attack Jin. In the military camp, if you complete your meritorious service in one battle, the world will be settled." Yelude just nodded after listening, and had no choice but to do so. At the beginning of March, the Khitan's 100,000 Fan Han army surrounded Chanzhou City from the east and west sides. In the city, Shi Chonggui, the emperor of the late Jin Dynasty, also went into battle and went out in person. Emperor against emperor, general against general, soldier against soldier, a battle of equal strength, fierce battle, hand-to-hand combat, and life-and-death battle kicked off in the city of Chanzhou. In this battle, people screamed, the sky was dark and the sky was dark, the wind and clouds were pale, the sun and the moon were dark, and it was fought from morning to night.In the end, both sides suffered heavy casualties, blood flowed into rivers and stained the soil red.A layer of three-inch-thick arrowheads was piled up on the battlefield. Curled and broken weapons were scattered all over the mountains and plains. The unrecognizable corpses of soldiers from the two countries were piled up like a mountain. Tattered flags and armored tents stretched like dead branches and leaves. This is a bloody and cruel war, a war with huge casualties, and a war in which no one has won. Finally, Yelu Deguang ordered the soldiers to strike, and the soldiers retreated for thirty miles. Khitan was the first to be unable to hold on, and voluntarily withdrew from the battlefield. One of the main reasons why the Khitan withdrew from the battle was that Yelu Deguang made a mistake in his judgment.At the beginning of this invasion of the Central Plains, Yang Guangyuan secretly reported to Yelu Deguang that the Central Plains army was exhausted, and more than half of them had lost their combat effectiveness.But under the city of Chanzhou, Yelu Deguang was surprised to see the well-equipped, orderly Jin army.He thought that he had misjudged the military situation and thought that the Jin army was easy to break through, but now it seems that is not the case at all.Therefore, Yelu Deguang did not dare to fight, and retreated despite the difficulties. The strengths of the Khitan army are mobile warfare and blitz warfare, and the weaknesses are positional warfare and protracted warfare. It has been four months since the army was launched.Moreover, after Yelu Deguang took the initiative to retreat for 30 miles, the Khitan army in the east also suffered a defeat.The echoes of the two strengthened Yelu Deguang's determination to withdraw his troops.He left Zhao Yanzhao to defend Beizhou, and led the Khitan main force back north to Youzhou.Not long after, Zhao Yanzhao also set fire to Beizhou and retreated northward. The Jin army didn't dare to pursue the Khitan hastily when they couldn't figure out whether the information was true. At this point, the first phase of the war between the Later Jin Dynasty and the Khitan ended. The wars in the past few months have completely dragged down the Jin Dynasty. The economy collapsed, the finances were exhausted, the armaments were exhausted, and the people were in dire straits.Only then did Jing Yanguang, the privy envoy who was active in the main battle, realize the magnitude of the national crisis, the severity of the crisis, and the depth of the disaster.Because he was unfavorable in commanding the war, he was impeached and resigned by the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs.The prime minister Feng Dao, who was shaking his head, was also dismissed from his post and appointed a local governor because he had no idea and made no contribution to the national crisis.Yang Guangyuan, who invited Khitan to strengthen himself, was gone, and was executed by the crusading Jin army. Destroying the country and thinking of good generals, the rulers and ministers of the later Jin Dynasty all thought of Sang Weihan in unison. Sang Weihan came back and served as the secretary and privy envoy.Sang Weihan is capable. After he returned to power, he took care of everything and worked all night long. He is also the commander-in-chief of civil and military affairs. After that, he took care of the dilapidated imperial court in an orderly manner.But Sanweihan, like many capable people, has a shortcoming. He has a quick temper and can't bear it, so he offended many people. In this war between the Later Jin Dynasty and Khitan, there is one person that everyone should not ignore.Liu Zhiyuan, the envoy of Hedong Jiedu, was once Shi Jingtang's confidant.It can be said that Liu Zhiyuan is the most powerful of all the feudal towns, but he only fought against the Khitan on his own territory, and was not ordered to support the central government in fighting.Therefore, Emperor Shi Chonggui of the Later Jin Dynasty suspected that Liu Zhiyuan had a different intention.The words reached Liu Zhiyuan's ears, and Liu Zhiyuan was so nervous that he couldn't eat or sleep. At this time, a person said something to Liu Zhiyuan. Guo Wei, a colonel under Liu Zhiyuan, said to Liu Zhiyuan: "The mountains and rivers in the east of the river are dangerous and solid, and the customs are martial arts. There are many soldiers and horses. If you are quiet, you will work hard to farm, and if you move, you will learn to be an army. This is the capital of the overlord. Why worry about it!"At this time, Guo Wei had grown from a small soldier to the head of the military academy, and became Liu Zhiyuan's confidant.刘知远后来成了后汉的皇帝，郭威成了后周的皇帝。