Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Heroes of the World He is the Strongest

Guo Wei died, and the sky fell in the next week.As usual, Crown Prince Chai Rong ascended the throne in front of Guo Wei's coffin and became the second king of the Hou Zhou Kingdom.While mourning, all the courtiers also congratulated and kowtowed to the new emperor, but in everyone's heart, it was like mourning the two dead at the same time. Because at this time, Chai Rong was not far away from becoming a dead body. Chai Rong, he reminds everyone of another person who has been dead for three years and should have been completely forgotten-Liu Chengyou, Emperor Wei of the Later Han Dynasty.Moreover, the situation that Chai Rong is now facing is even worse than that of Liu Chengyou back then. He has none of the advantages Liu Chengyou had, and the crisis he is facing at this time is something Liu Chengyou has never faced before.

The first is military spirit. You must know that Liu Chengyou's father, Liu Zhiyuan, had led the army for many years before he became emperor, and those who were brought into Kaifeng were all his direct descendants for many years, including Guo Wei.These people all surrendered to Liu Chengyou after his death.What about Chai Rong?Three years ago, his men were not surnamed Guo, and this fatal weakness was revealed shortly afterwards, which almost caused Chai Rong to collapse immediately. Second, Liu Chengyou has no mortal enemy, and the suppression of the rebellion at the beginning of his accession to the throne is like a necessary cutscene before the singing of a big drama, but it is just an embellishment.But what Chai Rong faced was a sworn enemy.At this time, all the officials of Hou Zhou looked at him, and they all naturally thought of another person surnamed Liu.

Beihan, Liu Chong...Chai Rong was destined to meet this person soon. But this is not Chai Rong's biggest crisis.What he needs most now is prestige, the prestige that can make all the civil and military officials obey orders and obey orders!Without this, he can do nothing. Have you ever seen a boss who was taunted by employees, or a boss who was bullied by employees?Chai Rong is like this now.Yes, he is the supreme emperor, but no one obeys him!But this damned prestige is the most wonderful thing, you can't buy it with money, you can't cheat it with beautiful women, you can't scare it with a knife, the establishment of prestige can only be established by unrivaled achievements and accumulated psychology Oppression can happen.These, history and time did not give him.

But he was immediately assigned to him to come out in full force, endless enemies! Guo Wei died in January 954 AD, and Liu Chong of the Northern Han Dynasty led his troops to kill him in February of that year!With 30,000 Northern Han soldiers and 10,000 Khitans, what about Chai Rong? The next week was a panic.In the main hall, there were civil and military figures of the Manchu Dynasty, no, a swarm of flies, gathered in front of Chai Rong, chattering and chatting, and no one looked at his expression.In the end, Chai Rong had no choice but to take the initiative to express his plan--Zhen Yujia personally conquered, and personally went to break the Northern Han Dynasty!

Please note that what Chai Rong is talking about is not resisting, but breaking.History has proved that he is an aerial striker that people have not clearly realized, a sharp sword that can advance and never retreat. In his dictionary, the word defense has never been used. Facts have proved that he will always take the initiative to attack others! But at this time the rhetoric only attracted a laugh.Prestige, deadly prestige makes Chai Rong despair, because he finds out that the one with the loudest laugh and the worst smile is Feng Dao, the most cunning and most unoffending old fritter in the world for five thousand years!And not only that, Feng Dao also took the initiative to come out and said more words with a smile.

——Your Majesty, Liu Chong is nothing, he is not powerful, and he was always defeated in front of the late emperor.But now that the first emperor is gone, you have just ascended the throne, how about this, you send generals to send troops, just resist it for a while.Why mobilize the crowd? There was a voice of agreement below.Indeed, what Feng Dao said is the "righteous way", he is right, very sensible. But Chai Rong's expression changed. He endured and endured, but still couldn't hold back, and finally decided to speak out what was in his heart. ——In the past when Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty created a great cause, which time did he not go out in person, so why would I dare to steal it?

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Shi Potian was startled. Chai Rong, who was just a fledgling and a white man, compared himself to the emperor Taizong of Tang through the ages!Alas, everyone was blushing for Chai Rong, and seeing Feng Dao smiled, he really had no way to express his regret, so he had to say the following more sensible words. ——Your Majesty, you may not be able to learn Tang Taizong. Embarrassment, now fatal embarrassment.Chai Rong's expression changed, he was unwilling to reconcile, and said his chances of winning word by word. ——Liu Chong is just a mob, I want to crush him to death like Mount Tai crushing an egg!

Unexpectedly, Feng Dao was even worse, he just smiled lightly, as if he didn't see Chai Rong's embarrassment and anger, and answered more elegantly. ——I don’t know if your Majesty has done it well? With four or two strokes, Chai Rong was completely pushed down on the spot.This is the support and love he received in his base camp before facing the test of life and death. The interior is unstable, but the battle reports ahead are flying like snowflakes.The military situation was urgent, and Liu Chong marched rapidly. He had already fought Li Yun, the first barrier of Zhaoyi Jiedu in Xingzhou, in Xingzhou.Li Yun was by no means an idler. Ten years later, he became Zhao Kuangyin's big trouble, but at this time he still lost to the coalition forces of Liu Chong and Khitan, and had to retreat to Luzhou.

But he bought precious time for Hou Zhou and Chai Rong, and continued to attract Liu Chong by his side with his tenacity, and moved to Luzhou with a huge enemy. So Chai Rong ordered.The Jiedu envoy of the Tianxiong Army, Fu Yanqing, led the troops to attack and cut off the back of the Northern Han army; the envoy of the Hezhong Jiedu, Wang Yanchao, went east from Jinzhou (now Linfen, Shanxi) and attacked Liu Chong; , Xuanhui envoy Xiang Xun and others led the army to move to Zezhou (now Jincheng, Shanxi). There is the only way for Liu Chong to march into Kaifeng, and he must face it from the front.

He himself, on March 11 of that year, led the troops with a small number of troops and set off in person to meet his sworn enemy Liu Chong.These people included Zhang Yongde, the commander of the Forbidden Army Hall, and Zhao Kuangyin, the envoy of Ma Zhijun in Kaifeng Prefecture. Before that, Zhao Kuangyin, who had been sent to Huazhou Xingshun Army as the deputy commander, was willing to stay by Chai Rong's side again because of the words of Chai Rong, who was the king of Jin at the time and not yet the emperor. Before departure, Chai Rong specially summoned General Liu Ci of Later Zhou Dynasty.He looked at this senior military general who was the Jiedu envoy of the Zhen Guo army, Jiatong Zhongshumen, and the defense of the three cities of Zhen'an and Heyang, and entrusted his fate to him.

General Liu, you must quickly gather all the reserve forces of our army and follow me as soon as possible.Be quick! Liu Ci, who has been on the battlefield for a long time, didn't look excited, he just nodded calmly. Chai Rong went straight to Luzhou, but Liu Chong was no longer there.Liu Chong learned the lesson of Wang Jun taking advantage of the loopholes in the siege of Jinzhou last time. At this time, he would not entangle Li Yun any more. He led his troops to detour south, aiming at Kaifeng, the heart of Houzhou. He knew what he wanted, and that was Chai Rong's life. But what he never expected was that he marched at the fastest speed, but still met Chai Rong N times earlier than he expected.That was on March 18, when he was marching in Gaoping County in Zezhou. Gaoping, Chai Rong stationed in Ma Shangang.There was an enemy in front of him, an enemy who dared to despise him and attacked him immediately after his father's new death.They ignored him at all! Thinking of this, what burned in Chai Rong's chest was no longer lofty pride, but raging anger!It's time for people all over the world, including his enemies, as well as his own courtiers and people to get to know him again! He ordered - outpost attack! But someone nearby immediately reminded us in a low voice, Your Majesty, our people have not yet arrived, the encirclement has not been formed, and the backup is not in place, should we wait a little longer? Chai Rong looked proudly at the subordinates around him, and didn't explain or answer, my order has already been issued! When Chai Rong was angry, Liu Chong was in a great mood.Since sending out troops, he has dashed wildly across the borders of Hou Zhou, galloping freely and unstoppable!It seems that he really came to the right this time. Sure enough, Guo Wei died, and there was no one in the next week. He avenged his son Liu Yun, and even restored his elder brother Liu Zhiyuan's country. In this way, he excitedly looked forward to the day of March 19, 954 AD.On this day, he got the news that Chai Rong, the new little emperor of Hou Zhou, had unexpectedly arrived opposite him at some point, and the outpost troops had already launched an attack first! That's great, I can come here for whatever I'm looking forward to.Liu Chong, a veteran on the battlefield, smiled slightly. Facing such a frivolous and noisy junior, his experience, status and sense of superiority all made him make a bold decision.He decided not to bet on the initial outcome with the newborn calf, he wanted to make Chai Rong, a little brat who didn't know the heights of the sky and the earth, not even know how he died! As a result, an unexpected scene happened on the battlefield that the Hou Zhou army had never expected. They charged forward with all their strength, thinking that a fierce battle would break out, but they did not expect the Northern Han army to be vulnerable.Since the start of the war, the Northern Han army, which has been actively attacking and invincible, retreated and fled as soon as they came into contact with them.what happened?The army of the latter week is inevitably a little unpredictable, but the opportunity for battle is fleeting, and a new order from His Majesty the Emperor came soon after. Full speed chase! So Hou Zhou's army pressed forward across the board and ran wildly with the Northern Han people. They saw the ground receding rapidly, and in a blink of an eye they chased to Bagongyuan (now northeast of Jincheng, Shanxi).When they arrived at Bagong Plain, the soldiers of Hou Zhou were stunned for a moment. I saw that there were enemies all over the mountains and plains on the opposite side. The Northern Han army was divided into three square formations. The Northern Han pioneer Zhang Wuhui (invincible general) was in the east, and the Khitans led by Yang Gun were in the west (ah, they are Khitans!). It was written by Emperor Liu Chong of the Northern Han Dynasty.His Majesty the Emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty took charge of the central army and sat in the center. Nearly 40,000 people stood there quietly, watching the Houzhou people coming to the door with cold eyes. ——No, I fell for it! This most classic Chinese storytelling line passed through the hearts of Hou Zhou soldiers like a gust of cold wind, giving them an ominous premonition.Oh my god, it's terrible, we have been playing the Northern Han people all this time, but now it is obvious that we have to pay off the debt... Where is Guo Wei?Where is Wang Jun?Now they miss these dead people terribly...but all they can see at this moment is the new emperor Chai Rong who has just taken office for less than two months. All eyes are on Chai Rong, what should we do?At this time, we have fallen into the trap of the Northern Han people, and there is no need to delay. Whether we are attacking or retreating, we must make plans quickly. But these people were surprised to find that their young emperor had no fear at this time, as if he hadn't seen the enemies all over the mountains and plains opposite him at all.His voice was clear, without trembling, and he issued the order again. Order——Bai Chongyun and Li Chongjin, the Marquis of Yu, the guard of Ma Jun, led the army in the west to fight against the Khitan Yang Gun; Fan Aineng and He Hui led the army in the east to fight against the Zhang Yuanhui tribe of the Northern Han Dynasty; Zhang Yongde led the elite cavalry to line up in the center, and followed me to wait for the opportunity to attack Liu Chong! Liu Chong, I want you to know that these ridiculous little tricks of yours are nothing in the face of true courage and absolute confidence in winning!What is your ambush?Are you still the same people as before?Very good, it seems that you really don't know, I originally wanted to find you with all beards and tails, and have a thorough contest with you! On March 19, 954 AD, Bagongyuan, Gaoping County.After this day, everyone in the world will tremble because of a brand new name, that is - Chai Rong!Chai Rong, who has always advanced and never retreated, persevered, became stronger when confronted with the strong, invincible, and will never give up until he reaches his goal! In Gaoping County and Bagong Plain, the battlefield was silent, and tens of thousands of soldiers faced each other coldly across an open field.The cold March wind in the northwest land cut through each of them like a knife, making them stiff. Fate may have come to an end—the cold and hard open land in front of them is likely to be their burial place!But it is doomed that no one can back down, this is the tragedy of being a person, sometimes you have no choice but to do it! But now the flood is still in the embankment, and the battle still hasn't broken out.All because of the wind. The fierce north wind blew across the battlefield, and blew straight towards the Hou Zhou army in the south.This is extremely unfavorable for preemptive attack, and the charge of the troops and the range of the arrows will be greatly reduced.Therefore, even though Chai Rong is full of anger and passion, he must be patient in a timely manner.What's more, the advantage of time is on his side. Liu Ci and all his reserve teams are still on their way to Bagongyuan. At this time, every minute and every second that passes is increasing Hou Zhou's strength. Therefore, now is the time to be steady, this is not the time to show off your momentary bravery and momentary anger, on the contrary, you must be doubly wary of Northern Han people's attacks.But what surprised them was that the huge Northern Han Khitan coalition forces on the opposite side remained motionless, allowing good opportunities on the battlefield to be wasted needlessly, not knowing what their plans were. Not long after, the wind direction on the battlefield suddenly changed, and the changeable spring breeze made a 180-degree turn. It blew up from the back of Hou Zhou's army, and swept the sky with dust storms. The northern Han army on the opposite side. Great, God help me too! There was a commotion among the men and horses in the next week. Is this God's will for us to launch an offensive?This sudden opportunity also made Chai Rong hesitate, should he fight or wait?However, the situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly, and no one was given time to think properly. At the moment when the weather began to favor the Hou Zhou army, suddenly the Northern Han people had already launched the charge first! History has proved that Liu Chong, the emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty, was not an incompetent person. On the contrary, he has been in the battlefield for a long time and is a genuine famous general in all battles.He didn't follow the rules, and stood still when it was time to attack, which made the Houzhou people nervous in vain.But at this time, the wind turned to the south, and Hou Zhou's army had just relaxed their vigilance when he suddenly launched an attack. The people of Hou Zhou were in chaos, especially Fan Aineng and He Hui in the east, they were the first to bear the brunt, and were caught off guard by Zhang Yuanhui, the number one general in the Northern Han Dynasty.At this moment, there was nothing to say. Firstly, Zhang Yuanhui was too brave; secondly, Fan Aineng and He Hui didn't have the heart to give their lives to Chai Rong.The two retreated immediately, and more than a thousand Hou Zhou soldiers under him were cut into the encirclement by Zhang Yuanhui. Chai Rong was caught off guard by a sudden change in the battle situation. Just as he was about to react, another thing happened on the battlefield that he couldn't even believe it to death.All I could hear was a loud and orderly shout of "Long live!" from the post-Zhou army's position that had been defeated by Zhang Yuanhui.How is this going? !This is not a normal fighting sound, is it calling for help to Chai Rong? But in an instant, Chai Rong's face turned pale. It wasn't asking for help, but those soldiers surrendered!Couldn't hold out even for a while, surrendered almost immediately!Not only that, even the slogan of surrender seemed to be premeditated, and it was a direct tribute to Liu Chong! All the other Hou Zhou soldiers were stunned. The voice of "Long live!" resounded throughout the battlefield, and the entire Hou Zhou army was shaken. At this time, Chai Rong's fatal wound was completely exposed. His prestige, his military spirit, Nothing he wanted was his, and his army immediately mutinied in front of the emperor of his country when he was only slightly disadvantaged in the battle! what to do?What should Chai Rong do when he first entered the battlefield and was immediately hit head-on?His right wing had completely collapsed on the entire battlefield, and his already unstable military morale was even more shaken. The most deadly thing was that he was alone and helpless, and he didn't have any capital to turn him around! Failure is death, and there is even more unbearable humiliation than death!Hou Zhou, Chai Rong... Are they going to be terminated in such a disgraceful manner less than two months after Guo Weicai's death? At this time in the Northern Han Dynasty, Liu Chong smiled, he knew that he had won, he really won, it was as simple as that.Chai Rong, you little brat, do you know what war is?Do you know your soldiers?Obviously you don’t understand anything. The soldiers in the Five Dynasties and Eleven Kingdoms are like bandits who win but never lose. If you win, they will follow you, but as soon as you lose a little, they will immediately turn around and fall to your enemy . The first battle will determine the country, the emperor, the boy, the ancestors of the Shatuo people, you have all seen it, I, Liu Chong, want it, no, I, Liu Chong, have already won, the world is still ours! But what he couldn't even imagine in his dreams was that almost in the next moment, he met Chai Rong face to face! Chai Rong, who was in a desperate situation, did not choose the path that Liu Chong imagined that those losers would usually take.surrender?Don't even think about it, win or die!escape?It would be better to die quickly.As for fighting to die, it would be easy, but he is also unwilling to do that, so what is the difference between that and failure... But what can he do? Passing through the chaotic battlefield, Chai Rong gazed at the center of the Northern Han Army in the distance, where——is where Liu Chong was, very good, very good...Suddenly he made a move that left everyone dumbfounded. With such a move, he even rode his horse and rushed towards Liu Chong! In his very first battle, the great emperor was so desperate that he broke the boat.When he rushed out with his horse, even he himself didn't know what his fate would be. Who would be sure of victory in everything?But he knew he had to—because he didn't want to be a prisoner, or live humiliated as a loser.Even if he dies, he will fall on the road of charge! In this way, rushing through the waves of people and breaking through all the obstacles, Chai Rong rushed to Liu Chong who started to celebrate the victory without hesitation.At this time, Chai Rong felt extremely sad, because he clearly heard that there were not too many horseshoes and shouts of killing behind him, that is to say, there were not many people following him.He couldn't help thinking sadly, where are my subordinates and my army?Did they really all betray me? ! Chai Rong, who was sprinting and fighting fiercely with all his strength, could do nothing about it, but what he never imagined was that the truly decisive change for him had already happened behind him at this time, and another extremely heroic and great person also stepped forward at this time And out, broke out in an instant. From this moment on, history will cheer for another name besides Chai Rong—that is Zhao Kuangyin.The wind knows the strength of the grass, and the toughness knows the hero. Your majesty, you are not alone! The battlefield was completely chaotic, especially on the side of the Hou Zhou army. The dragons had no leader. No one expected that Emperor Chai Rong would be so fierce.So what about the rest of us?Are you rushing up with the emperor?Or rest on the spot for a while, and then wait for the return of the classic king after the victory of His Majesty the Emperor? But it was too late. Facing the wolves and tigers of the Northern Han army, everyone in the Hou Zhou army could not protect themselves.At this moment, a young junior officer was not in a hurry to meet the enemy, but turned around and rushed into his own crowd. He directly grabbed Shi Zhang Yongde, who was in command of the general of the Hou Zhou Army in front of the palace, and shouted at Zhang Yongde——General, Immediately lead the men to rush to the left up the high slope, and shoot arrows at the enemy from there.I lead people to attack the right wing, and we must be quick. Although the Northern Han people have the upper hand, we still have the central army and the left wing, and we are not defeated yet! Zhang Yongde suddenly woke up, he recognized this young officer named Zhao Kuangyin, but he was usually just a small officer who accompanied the emperor, how could he have such insight?But he re-observed the battlefield according to what Zhao Kuangyin said, and immediately found that the chaotic battlefield can actually be divided into order and context. If he does what Zhao Kuangyin said, it is very likely that he will really save the defeat in one fell swoop.At this time, he couldn't tolerate any hesitation, so he immediately assigned troops to Zhao Kuangyin, and the two acted at the same time. At this moment, Chai Rong had already killed Liu Chong directly. According to historical records, at this time, Chai Rong was surrounded by only fifty cavalry, and with such a small force, Chai Rong brought about a drastic change in the entire battle situation.The entire battlefield could see that the tents of the Chinese army in the Northern Han Dynasty were slowly retreating. Liu Chong actually escaped. Facing Chai Rong, who was almost alone, he chose to dodge under the watchful eyes of thousands of troops! There is nothing more frustrating than this. The morale of the northern Han people who had the upper hand suddenly became low, but this is not over, and even heavier blows will follow one after another. Their bravery in the army, the number one fierce general Zhang Yuanhui died suddenly. This blow was fatal. Since the start of the war, Zhang Yuanhui has almost become the arrow and shield of the Northern Han people, and he is on the front line no matter the offense or defense.He defeated Li Yun before, and defeated Fan Aineng and He Hui in another face-to-face just now. How could he be killed all of a sudden?Who was the one who killed him? !It's a pity that no one was allowed to stop and observe on the battlefield. A sudden rain of arrows completely blinded the Northern Han army. At this time, it was Liu Chong's turn to despair, and Feng Shui took turns, but it turned too fast, and his army suddenly turned into bandits. If he left him, he turned around and ran away. Even if he stood up and waved the flag himself to call Useless. There was no way, Liu Chong, who had a deep understanding of the rules of the game, had to escape with him.It's just that he couldn't figure it out, how could Chai Rong break through his entire line of defense and kill him single-handedly?And what happened on the main battlefield?It's like being bewitched by an evil spirit. It was already a certainty to win, so how could it all suddenly collapse?This battle was fought so muddled that I didn't even know how I lost it. Liu Chong was defeated, and the defeated soldiers surrounded him and fled all the way north. Chai Rong chose to pursue without thinking about it.At this time, his subordinates all chased after him and reminded him to accept as soon as he was good. Although Liu Chong was defeated, they still had a large number of them. people. It's a pity that their emperor is called Chai Rong. None of the character traits I mentioned earlier, such as never retreating, persevering, becoming stronger when encountering the strong, invincible, never giving up until the goal is achieved, etc., are not a word to highlight The parallel sentence patterns listed only in the atmosphere, history can testify that every sentence is true. So the two sides stopped talking nonsense, one ran away desperately, and the other chased desperately, and they ran like this until after dark that night.Then neither Liu Chong nor Chai Rong could do anything, no matter how eager they were to run for their lives or kill people, it was useless. Their soldiers were so tired that they collapsed to the ground, unable to move an inch anymore.In this way, they had no choice but to temporarily set up camp on the edge of a mountain stream in Houzhou. At this time, the situation became very irritating. You can see me, and I can see you, this pair of deadly enemies, but there is nothing they can do.There is a song how it is sung-you are at the head of the mountain stream, and I am at the end of the mountain stream. I miss you every day and want to kill you, and drink a stream of water together. But in such a rare moment of peace, there is also a great murderous intent lurking.As time goes on, it is not certain who is the real pursuer and the escaper.First of all, Liu Chong's dispersed troops gradually gathered again. According to historical records, Chai Rong's fate was still standing on the edge of the cliff that night, because Liu Chong soon had nearly 10,000 troops again.And everyone must not forget that at the beginning of the war, there were more than 10,000 Khitans in Liu Chong's army.If these forces can be effectively assembled, Chai Rong will still face failure. So where did these Khitans go?There was no sign of them on the battlefield that had become a mess just now.They seemed to have disappeared. Even now, Bei Han and Hou Zhou couldn't find their whereabouts.In fact, it is very simple, they have already returned to China ahead of schedule. At the beginning of the war, Khitan's coach Yang Gun really wanted to help Liu Chong, the old nephew of the Khitan emperor, but Liu Chong didn't appreciate it at all.As soon as he saw that Chai Rong had very few troops, he immediately felt that it was a big mistake to invite Khitan people.How good is it to do such a good business?Why do you need to share the spoils with others?So he told Yang Gun very clearly, you Khitan people can rest now, there is a high slope over there, you climb up there, and watch how I defeated Hou Zhou. So the good-tempered Yang Dagon followed suit. He always stood on the high slope, never getting his shoes wet, and after watching all the performances of Liu Chong and Chai Rong, he went home with clean hands and feet. up. But neither the Hou Zhou army nor Chai Rong knew about it. They only knew that there were not many troops now, and there were even fewer.During the daytime battle, nearly one-third of the right-wing troops collapsed and some surrendered, some died in battle, and the rest were led by Fan Aineng and He Hui to flee to the rear. No news.The central army and the left wing "killed one thousand enemies and injured eight hundred", and there was not much left, and they were all exhausted to the limit of their bodies. At this time, they were close to each other and knew each other. Once the war started again, they would still stand on the edge of the knife. ! what to do?All eyes were on Chai Rong again.Chai Rong remained silent. He looked at the Northern Han camp not far away, silently thinking of a person's name. This person would truly determine the outcome of this battle and even the survival of the entire Hou Zhou. That's Liu Ci... Liu Ci, why don't you come? Liu Ci finally arrived at midnight that day, and he brought the long-awaited backup army of Chai Rong, and also brought news of Fan Aineng and He Hui.These two have been running away endlessly, and the determination and performance of running away is so unusual that it is almost jaw-dropping. First of all, they ran and robbed, looting whatever they saw, as if the whole country had fallen, and they had to prepare for war and famine immediately.Then their will to escape was extremely tenacious, and whoever stopped them would fight desperately. Chai Rong sent several close officials and personal soldiers and generals to call them back, but they were all killed by them one by one, showing their determination to flee to the end and never turn back. .Especially when they met Liu Ci who was in a hurry to go north, they even grabbed Liu Ci and told him that the emperor had been defeated and all the troops on the front line had surrendered. Fortunately, this person who was selected by Chai Rong to entrust the fate of the whole country can be regarded as stable. Liu Ci shook off them calmly, not going with them, and not turning against them. Everything is to catch up with Chai Rong as soon as possible. as the benchmark. In this way, fate saved Chai Rong again, and he immediately attacked the Beihan camp without delay in the dark night.At this time, Liu Chong was completely helpless, reluctantly fought, and collapsed at the first touch. The stream beside him became the burial place for most of the Northern Han people. In the cold spring water in early spring, it was full of Northern Han people. corpses and their baggage. Their emperor was lucky enough to escape. Liu Chong, a veteran on the battlefield, was really capable. The yellow monkey given to him by Uncle Khitan climbed mountains and ridges all the way, fled northward by small roads, and ran all the way back to his hometown of Jinyang. In this way, Liu Chong was alive. Afterwards, in order to commemorate this unforgettable trip to the Northern Expedition and all the unforgettable encounters that happened during these days, he specially built a special stable for this extremely loyal yellow monkey that saved his life. Feed according to the Dai Lu of the third-rank official, and give the title "General Freedom". This was the last thing Liu Chong did for this war.Then he thought it was over, didn't he?He was defeated and defeated, all his soldiers were dead, and all the things he robbed in the later weeks were left there, and he also took in a lot of military supplies made in the Northern Han Dynasty. What would Chai Rong do?A fledgling junior should be satisfied with such a big victory, right? But what he never expected was that just after he repaired the stable of "General Freedom", he got a news that scared him so much that he had to cry and call his uncle for help immediately.Because Chai Rong didn't want to be pulled down at all, he had already led his troops to Jinyang, and came to Liu Chong to settle the account! Chai Rong came, and for the first time in his life he brought thousands of troops to attack the enemy on his own initiative.At this time, the sky is still the same sky, and the earth is still the same place, but Chai Rong is no longer the same Chai Rong as before.And most importantly, the army he leads is also very different from before. This all stems from a meditation after the Battle of Gaoping. After driving Liu Chong away in his own country, everyone thought that Chai Rong would celebrate wildly. In any case, this was a good start. This battle boosted morale and prestige, especially for thousands of people Everyone in Wan got to know Chai Rong again.What's more, in terms of the actual power balance, Hou Zhou also beat the Northern Han Dynasty to the point where he could no longer fight back, and never dared to take the initiative to provoke again. But for some reason, after the victory, Chai Rong was depressed. He locked himself up alone all day long, not knowing what he was thinking. Chai Rong was afraid.Yes, he won this time, and it was very beautiful. How thrilling and desperate he was at the time, how legendary he became after the victory, making people think that he was not only brilliant and brave, but also a miracle.But he knows that this time the battlefield is more dangerous than shaving his head. He has stood on the verge of life and death more than once, and every time he is in a desperate situation where he must lose or die... It is absolutely impossible to continue like this. Do you want to be a commando yourself to fight for your life? ! So what is the difference? After calm analysis, first of all, he acted too hastily.At that time, he could have waited a little longer and brought as many troops as possible to fight.But he was too eager to drive Liu Chong away, and only then did he have the strong national power of the later Zhou Dynasty, and in his own country, he had the disadvantage of having to fight Liu Chong with a much smaller force.Thinking about it, I am really afraid. If Liu Ci is one day late, in fact, as long as Liu Chong survives that night, the Northern Han people may turn defeat into victory the next day. What's more, Liu Ci also faced the same opportunity to escape. Thinking of this, Chai Rong hated and became angry.He locked himself up, and the main problem was to find out why his troops had dared to betray him so openly. If he couldn't figure it out, everything he had was false.So is it because his army itself is not good enough?No, Chai Rong immediately denied this.Still these troops, in the hands of their father Guo Wei and his predecessor Wang Jun, can fight wherever they want, without any discount, at least they once beat Liu Chong to the point of suffocation.So why is it so hard to replace him? There is only one reason left, that is, he can't do it himself, and he can't convince the public. Realizing this, Chai Rong was in great pain.He knows that he is born with a lack of talent. First, he has no military exploits. Second, he has been the crown prince for only half a year. The most important thing is that his surname is Chai and not Guo (this is really helpless, although he was also called Guo Rong in history. Yes, but in people's hearts, he is still not as confident as Liu Chengyou succeeding Liu Zhiyuan).But can this be his fault?He was born in Longgang, Xingzhou. He was originally the son of a manor owner. He was adopted only because his aunt married Guo Wei and had not had children for many years.At that time, Guo Wei was at the bottom of his life. Not to mention the prosperity and wealth, even three meals a day were a problem. Chai Rong was very knowledgeable at a young age. He didn't dislike the Guo family. On the contrary, he used all his brains to find a way to make the Guo family able to make ends meet and not be so tight.It was unavoidable that Chai Rong worked day and night, and even went out alone to partner with some businessmen to do some small business in the precarious and chaotic world.In this way, Chai Rong has known the sufferings of the world since he was a child, and formed a true father-son alliance with Guo Wei in the most ordinary life.This kind of true love made Guo Wei and Chai Rong never suspect each other in this life, so Guo Wei passed his blood relative Li Chongjin before his death and passed on the throne to him. But to whom can this be said?What's the use of saying it?It will only backfire, and people will think him even more cowardly, hypocritical, and hopeless. So birth, how important it is... Never talk about a hero regardless of your birth, unless you have already become a hero! When Chai Rong locked himself up and kept meditating, someone reported that Fan Aineng and He Hui had returned. is that true?These two people actually came back?Chai Rong was really puzzled, he didn't understand, are these two senior officials still from Earth?He dared to come back after committing a mutiny before the battle, fleeing privately with his troops, killing the emperor's messenger, and hindering the backup troops who rescued the emperor! What exactly is going on? ! Zhang Yongde next to him gave him the answer - it's actually very simple, military strategists have won and lost since ancient times, what's the big deal about losing and winning?Who has not chased the enemy, who has not escaped?And there are still many battles in the future, don't we have to use them?That's why Fan Aineng and He Hui dared to come back. In the end, Zhang Yongde emphasized with a blank face that such things are really not a big deal, they happen often, and it has been like this for decades. But Chai Rong couldn't bear it, he thought, people are afraid of changing their minds.After changing his mind, Chai Rong suddenly flew into a rage—rather than saying that Fan Aineng and He Hui dared to betray him before, it was disloyalty and contempt for him, then daring to come back at this time is a double insult to him!Could it be that he, Chai Rong, was so cowardly that he didn't even dare to kill anyone?Did he really have to rely on such a bastard and put up with the sneering faces behind his false allegiance? ! 但是激动之后，他终究还是有些犹豫，因为无论如何张永德刚才说的都对，他还是得要打仗的，杀人容易，可是杀完之后呢？这样的事是不是真的得睁一只眼闭一只眼呢？ 这时候有必要说一下张永德了，这个人不久之后就是后周的第一军人，是禁军殿前都点检（就是赵匡胤后来的官），他是郭威的女婿，柴荣的表姐夫，是后周国里真正的皇亲国戚，所以他对后周的兴衰有着直接的利益关系，所以他对柴荣是敢于也勇于说话的。更加难能可贵的是，张永德宽厚有德量、识人重人，是个难得的好下属更是个难得的好上司。 敢说话的张永德在柴荣犹豫的时候说了下面这一段话，这段话当时就极为重要，直接改变了后周军队的素质。但是无论是他还是柴荣，都绝不会想到，这段话居然成了历史转变的一个根本性的契机，给中原汉人的复兴和后周的亡国都时埋下了伏笔。 他说——陛下，如果你只想维持现状，那么一切很容易。可是如果你想削平四海，抚有华夏，那么军法不立，纵然有百万勇猛之士，又怎么能为陛下所用呢？ 一语惊醒梦中人，柴荣振臂而起，把床上的枕头狠狠地砸在地上。樊爱能、何徽以及他们部下军使以上七十余人，全部就地斩首，虽然以往有功，但是概不赦免。而且就此通告全军，这就是临阵脱逃，不尊皇命的下场，再有所犯，一律处置！ 从此之后，后周的军纪开始真正的严明了，柴荣用自己的战功和铁腕让每一个人都知道了必须百分之百地服从他。但是他还是有所担忧，那就是吐故之后如何纳新。你杀了那些没用的，可是有用的在哪儿？ 别忙，张永德的话还没有说完，他清楚明白地把一个人的名字告诉了柴荣，说就是这个人在柴荣亲自冲锋之后，挽回了后周当时的战局。 他说——陛下，你应该重赏而且提拔他。他的名字叫赵匡胤。 宋史称，高平之战，乃太祖皇帝肇基之始。从此之后，赵匡胤成为了后周世宗皇帝柴荣的心腹爱将，在后周军中，他成了一颗迅速升起的新星。 柴荣在公元954年5月3日来到了北汉的都城太原城下，在此之前，4月中旬，后周的前锋天雄军节度使符彦卿已经率军先期到达，把太原城围得水泄不通。这也就是说，在3月刚刚结束的高平之战后，柴荣根本就没给刘崇丝毫的喘息之机，立即就开始了反攻倒算。 可怜的刘崇，他刚刚给“自在将军”建好了新家，自己的家就面临了被抄的危险。于是他选择了一个非常积极的应对办法，这办法之好，让赵匡胤的子孙们在一百多年以后也同样地效仿。那就是他把皇位马上传给了自己的儿子刘承钧，所有的国防职务一样不留，全都交了出去，然后彻底休息。 真是不知道他是怎么想的，或许他以为这样柴荣就不会恨他了吧？然后就此退兵？当然，为了活命，他也没有忘记最最关键的那一线生机。他给他的叔叔，当时的辽国国王耶律述律写了信，信里不管怎样追忆以前的美好亲情，和以后他会怎样的加倍孝敬，其主要的内容只有四个字，那就是，快来救我——！ 耶律述律真的派兵了，他当然不想让汉人统一做大。可他没有想到，柴荣不是其他的什么人，你可以让柴荣后退当然也可以杀了他，但是前提必须是你已经击败了他！柴荣立即分兵，命大将史彦超阻击契丹。他本人则抓紧时间立即攻城，他的计划很明确，只要能迅速攻破太原，契丹自然绝望退去，而且北汉的其他州镇也会不战而降。 但是攻破太原，真是谈何容易。历史证明，不仅柴荣，就连后来的赵匡胤都没有在有生之年亲身搞定。当然原因多多，但是最主要的还是太原城墙又高又厚，本来就是历朝历代为了国防才修的边境堡垒，到了五代又特地加大了尺码，哪那么容易说破就破？ 而最重要的一点，还是柴荣刚强峻急的性格让这次战役无法全胜——他太急了，虽然携高平之胜，他衔尾急追，没给刘崇喘息之机，但也同时没给他自己准备的机会。 以国伐国，怎能如此轻易？ 于是战斗只进行了近一个月，后周的士兵们就战力衰竭了。更要命的是，由于仓促出征，围城不下，粮草已经供应不足。柴荣严禁士兵抢劫，可是五代十一国里的大兵们一但饿了，就是皇帝的饭碗他们都敢端，何况是北汉境内的老百姓？于是群众基础一落千丈，他们不仅得对付北汉的正规军，还得应付更加玩命的北汉民间游击队。 形势就此直转急下，这时雪上加霜，一个决定性的噩耗传来，后周大将史彦超在忻口抵挡契丹时不敌阵亡。契丹军团已经突破了防御，正在步步逼近。 好了，不管柴荣再怎样心比天高，他所能做的都剩下一个了，那就是立即退兵。柴荣退了，虽然没能就此攻破太原，把北汉灭掉，但已经让北汉心惊胆战，从此再也不敢也没能力主动进攻后周。 这样根本性的转变，就发生在柴荣即位不到半年的时间之内。在回兵的路上，他还不知道只要再过上小半年，到这一年的11月，他此战的另一个战果就将显现。 刘崇死了，连惊带吓，又气又恨，再加上年纪太大了，让他再也无法支撑。 想趁着人家死了家长去偷袭，却不料转过身来自己就是一样的报应。 柴荣回到了后周做的第一件事，就是抛开了所有的常务，再次陷入了沉思。这次的思考议题是——为什么没能一举拿下北汉？ 原因多多，有准备不足，也有讨厌的契丹，但是最重要的还是自己的军队不行。不管别人怎么说，他坚信，一个月的时间，足够拿下太原城了！于是在沮丧追悔中，一个大胆的计划在柴荣的脑海里形成，他要重新招募装建一支部队，它必须是全新的，绝对服从的，战斗力超强的。 为此，他下了一条命令。令全国各地驻军，把最骁勇的士兵选送进京，同时向天下诏募勇士，只要你能打，哪怕你是逃犯或者强盗都无所谓。这项任务，就交给了刚刚因功提升为后周禁军殿前都虞侯、领严州刺史的赵匡胤。 赵匡胤在这次围攻太原的战斗中再次成为了亮点。当时后周军队轮番向太原城冲击，可都没什么效果，赵匡胤却带人直接冲到了城门下。史书记载，这次冲击中的赵匡胤早有预谋，他没像其他人那样爬梯子搭人墙往城墙上爬，他直接打起了城门的主意。而且要命的是他根本就没打算用常规的大木头或者大石头去撞，他直接放了一把大火，把太原的城门给点着了。 那时候再好的城门也是用木头做的，不管里边人怎么骂，赵匡胤纵火成功，他带人就冲了进去。可结果他往回冲的速度比冲进去时还快，太原城里的弓箭太可怕了，透过还没有完全烧毁的城门，像一大群苍蝇一样劈头盖脸地就射了出来，赵匡胤没法不往回跑，而且左臂上还是中了一箭。 中箭之后的赵匡胤反而精神大振，无论如何他都破掉了太原的城门，而且城门后面有什么他也领教了。没什么可怕的！赵匡胤回到阵地简单地包扎一下伤口就要再往上冲。这时柴荣亲自拉住了他，禁止他再次冒险。 在柴荣的心中，赵匡胤已经是他急需组建的新朝臣班底里的重要一员，而且这次招聘选拔出来的新士兵，就要优先安插进赵匡胤所在的殿前司诸班。 在这里，我们有必要解释一下什么叫“殿前”。这是个简称，全称是当时最高的统兵机构殿前都指挥使司，一般简称叫殿前司或者殿司。它的领导人依次往下排是殿前都点检、殿前都指挥使（简称殿帅）还有就是殿前都虞侯（也就是赵匡胤现在的职务。怎么样，虞侯这个官名或许大家读时有个错觉，以为是各个衙门里帮闲生事的亲随小混混，其实光明正大得很，是相当大的高官）。 但是殿前司还只是禁军的一半，另一半是侍卫马步军指挥使司，那边另有系统，单独向皇帝负责。 就这样，赵匡胤生平第一次单独主持了一次国家政务。只此一次，就让他一飞冲天，再也无法遏制。他有了自己的私人小集团。 下面有一份名单请大家注意，他们是罗彦环、郭延斌、田重进、潘美、米信、张琼、王彦升。这些人的名字是不是很眼熟？只要翻开宋史，在最初的几篇里这些人都历历在目，个个名重一时。他们就是在这次的全国海选中被赵匡胤选中，并且立即安插在自己手下做官的。 赵匡胤也因为有了禁军殿前都虞侯这个职务之后，正式地进入了后周的高级官场之中。他开始了自己的正常人际交往。请再看一份名单，他们是石守信、王审琦、韩重斌、李继勋、刘庆义、刘忠、刘廷让、王政忠、杨光义。这九个当时已经身有官职，各居要津的人，不仅走到了赵匡胤的身边，还与他结成了生死兄弟。宋史并不讳言，连同赵匡胤在内，他们是义社十兄弟。 赵匡胤迅速冒升，成为了继柴荣之后，在与北汉的这次战争之中最为得利的人。历史稍微给了他一线阳光，他就立即展翅高飞，开始了他波澜壮阔，叱咤风云的一生。 这一年，赵匡胤刚满二十八岁。