Chapter 21 San finally regained a little face

During the Battle of Gaoliang River, there was an episode. Zhao Jiong was chased and killed by the Liao general and fled. He was left alone. The soldiers searched everywhere, but there was no sign of Zhao Jiong. Later, someone suggested that Zhao Dezhao, the son of Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, be made emperor.This suggestion was opposed by some people. The opponent was Zhao Tingmei. Zhao Tingmei was the younger brother of Taizu, the younger brother of the current emperor Zhao Jiong, and the uncle of Dezhao.Because according to the queen mother's will, after Zhao Jiong, he was the first heir to the throne, and Li Dezhao became the emperor, which directly cut off his emperor's dream.The two opinions were at odds. Later, Zhao Jiong appeared in front of everyone again, and no one mentioned this matter again.

The emperor disappeared on the battlefield. A country cannot live without a king. It is normal for some people to want to support a new king. Besides, when the real emperor appeared in front of everyone, no one mentioned this matter again. A very normal thing.But it was this seemingly normal incident that caused Zhao Dezhao's death. After Zhao Jiong was defeated and returned to the court, he knew that someone was discussing the establishment of a new king on the battlefield, so he became suspicious of his nephew Zhao Dezhao, thinking that Zhao Dezhao wanted to usurp his throne, and felt extremely uncomfortable.In this Northern Expedition, although the Gaoliang River was defeated, the attack on Taiyuan City and the recovery of the Northern Han Dynasty were still victorious. Zhao Jiong was angry and unhappy, but he also forgot about the recovery of the Northern Han Dynasty and the reward for meritorious soldiers.

When the soldiers returned from the Northern Expedition, seeing that the rewards for winning battles had not yet been paid out, they felt a little puzzled, and there was a lot of discussion.From now on, who will go to the battlefield! Zhao Dezhao felt that what the soldiers said was reasonable, and that the rewards that should be distributed still had to be distributed, so he went directly to Zhao Jiong and said that the rewards for the Northern Expedition had not yet been distributed, and the soldiers had objections. Zhao Jiong was sulking about that little episode, and when he saw the party coming, he was furious and scolded loudly: "The battle has been defeated, do you still have the face to reward?"

Zhao Jiong didn't have the slightest intention of introspection. Instead, he shifted the responsibility for losing the battle to the soldiers, and unfathomably vented his anger on Zhao Dezhao's head. Zhao Dezhao argued: "The defeat was in Youzhou, Taiyuan was conquered, and the Northern Han Dynasty was defeated, but the victory was complete. This account must be calculated separately, and the rewards and punishments should be measured. Only in this way can the morale of the army be stabilized." Zhao Jiong said angrily: "When you become the emperor, you will be rewarded for your merits!"

There are no two monarchs in the country, and the emperor's words are quite lethal.Because this sentence clearly sent a message that Zhao Dezhao had the intention of usurping the throne. Zhao Dezhao was originally thinking of the country and had no selfish intentions, but he was robbed of his position and was suspected of usurping the throne. The grievance and pain in his heart could not be expressed in words, his face turned blue with anger, and he didn't say a word. Nodding his head, he backed out silently. Zhao Dezhao's status was already very delicate. After returning home, the more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became, and the more annoyed and saddened he became. Thinking of his parents dying early, he had no one to rely on. Although his stepmother Song was still there, after the death of Taizu, he was moved to the West Palace Yes, living there is like confinement. My younger brother Defang is too young to understand the world.There is nothing to tell about the difficulties.I feel that if this continues, the days to come will be very sad. Thinking of this, all thoughts are lost, and I feel that there is no place in this world to be nostalgic for.He took down the sword pouch hanging on the wall, pulled out the three-foot green blade, swiped it across his neck, and killed himself.He was only twenty-nine years old when he died.

When Zhao Jiong learned that Zhao Dezhao committed suicide, he immediately rushed to Zhao Dezhao's mansion to visit, but saw Dezhao's body lying on the bed, with big eyes open, as if he was dying.Shocked and regretful at the same time, Zhao Jiong may have realized his conscience, took a step forward, hugged Dezhao's body, and cried bitterly, "Idiot! Idiot! Why is this so?" Zhao Dezhao was the son of Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, one of the heirs to the throne in Jin Kui's will, now that he died, there was naturally one less heir to the throne. Although Zhao Jiong went to the Dezhao Mansion to hold the corpse and cry bitterly, but whether what he thought in his heart was the same as what he acted on the surface, only he knew.

Let's talk about the Liao Kingdom. Yelusha and Yeluxiu led the army back in triumph. The Liao Lord was very happy, and finally avenged the defeat of Shiling Pass, so he rewarded the three armies based on their merits. Lord Liao was also a man with great ambitions. He originally thought that the Song army was very powerful. After the first battle in Gaolianghe, he changed his opinion. Although the battle of Gaolianghe was a complete victory, the resentment in his heart had not been fully vented, and he decided to take revenge on Zhao Song. As soon as he said it, the Liao Lord immediately sent Han Kuangsi, Yelusha, and Yeluxiu brothers with 50,000 troops to Zhenzhou.

The Song Dynasty guard in Zhenzhou was called Liu Tinghan. He learned that the Liao Brigade had rushed to Zhenzhou. He knew that the problem was serious, so he discussed with Cui Yanjin, Li Hanqiong, Cui Han and others overnight how to defend against the enemy. Cui Yanjin said calmly: "The morale of the Liao army is high. If you confront them head-on, you will definitely not be an opponent. The victory or defeat will be obvious immediately." Liu Tinghan and others stared at Cui Yanjin with wide eyes, waiting for him to continue.Cui Yanjin went on to say: "Since we can't fight against the enemy, it's better to outsmart them. My idea is to lure the enemy deep into the enemy by swindling surrender, and then set up ambushes on all sides and make dumplings. This will surely repel the Liao soldiers."

Liu Tinghan believed that Liao general Yeluxiu was well versed in the art of war, wise and brave, while Yelusha was a cunning and cunning old fox. Dealing with such two people, it might not be easy for them to be fooled. Li Hanqiong also agreed with Cui Yanjin's strategy, and added: "The general only knows one thing, but not the other. Sure enough, this strategy can't fool Yeluxiu brother, but it can fool Han Kuangsi. Because the Liao army's commander this time is Han Kuangsi, I heard that Han Kuangsi is very ambitious and self-willed. Although Brother Yeluxiu is resourceful and resourceful, Han Kuangsi will not listen to him. Moreover, this time the Liao army attacked the Song Dynasty aggressively and vigorously. In addition, the Song army was defeated at the beginning. If they went to feign surrender, they would definitely They will think that our army is unbearable to continue fighting and frighten their prestige, so they will surrender. If the general is worried that he will not believe it, there is another way to make him believe it, which is to ask him to enter the city while offering food and grass to express our respect Sincerity, in this way, you don’t have to worry about the fish not taking the bait.”

Liu Tinghan thought about it, thought it was feasible, agreed to the plan of false surrender, and sent people to the Liao camp to offer a hundred carts of food and grass to ask for surrender. As expected, Han Kuangsi believed it, accepted the grain and grass, and asked the Song army when the people who delivered the grain and grass would land.The person who sent the letter replied: "My commander said that if the marshal is ready to surrender, then there is no need to delay. The time is set for tomorrow." Han Kuangsi was overjoyed, and immediately agreed to accept the Song army's surrender, and agreed to send troops to take over Zhenzhou City the next day, and reward the Song army envoys heavily.

Brother Yeluxiu was a little skeptical. He believed that the Song army had come to ask for surrender before the two armies had confronted each other. There might be fraud in it, so he told Han Kuangsi to be on guard. Han Kuangsi didn't take it seriously, he said, if the trick of surrender was used, how could he offer so much food and grass? "The art of war says: If you want to take it, you must give it first." Brother Yeluxiu didn't seem to buy Han Kuangsi's account, meaning to ask, do you understand the art of war? "Our army is full of vigor, and it has already taken the lead in defeating hundreds of thousands of Song troops. The Song army is like a frightened bird. They are terrified when they hear the news. How can they not be surprised when they learn that our army is coming again? I think they sincerely surrendered." Han Kuangsi With a wave of his hand, he said, "Even if it's a false surrender, so what, can't you be afraid?" Brother Yeluxiu saw that Han Kuangsi refused to listen to his advice, so he had to withdraw from the Chinese army and ordered his soldiers not to act rashly. Without his orders, no one could move a single soldier. Han Kuangsi and Yelusha reorganized their troops and horses, preparing to enter the city to accept surrender the next day. When Liu Tinghan received the messenger's report, he immediately distributed the troops: Li Hanqiong led 10,000 troops to ambush the east of the city to block the approach of the Liao soldiers; Cui Yanjin led 10,000 troops to ambush the north of the city to block the way of the Liao soldiers; In the west of the city, wait for the arrival of the Liao soldiers, and then ask the side generals Cui Han and Zhao Yanjin to send troops to help the battle overnight. The next day, Han Kuangsi, commander of the Liao Dynasty, led the front army, and Yelusha led the rear army, marching towards Zhenzhou swaggeringly.Approaching the outside of the city, he saw that the city gate was wide open, but no one was guarding it.Han Kuangsi didn't know what to do, looked at the empty city tower, and happily said to Yelusha: "Liu Yanhan agreed yesterday to surrender the city today, why did he run away and leave an empty city with us?" Yelusha finally had some insight, and hurriedly said: "Marshal, I'm afraid the situation is not good! The Song army didn't abandon the city to escape. Hearing three cannon blasts, the mountains shook and the ground trembled. After the cannon fire, Liu Tinghan was killed in the west of the city, and Li Hanqiong was killed in the east of the city. Knowing that Han Kuangsi had hit the trick, he reined in his horse and left. Seeing the commander rein in his horse, the Liao soldiers in front all turned their horses around and ran back.The rear team led by Yelusha was also thrown into disarray by the front army, and couldn't help it, so they had to retreat.Suddenly the gunfire rang out again, Cui Yanjin went out from the rear and blocked the way of the Liao soldiers. The Liao soldiers were attacked by the enemy, and suddenly became headless flies, just wanting to find a way to break out of the encirclement.Unexpectedly, Song generals Cui Han and Zhao Yanjin led troops to reinforce and surrounded the Liao corps.Han Kuangsi and Yelusha led the Liao soldiers, rushing left and right, but the Song army surrounded the Liao soldiers in all directions, but did not go forward to fight, just like a cat playing with a mouse, they took turns shooting arrows at the Liao soldiers. Let's go, I'm afraid an ambush was set up, and we fell for it. " State soldiers fell one after another, causing numerous casualties. Han Kuangsi looked up to the sky and sighed, saying that he didn't listen to Brother Yeluxiu's advice, and he really fell into the trick of Song Bing to surrender. At the critical moment, a Liao general suddenly saw a Liao general leaping on his horse with a knife, leading a group of elite troops to enter the tight encirclement from the north.When Han Kuangsi looked at the banner, he knew it was Brother Yeluxiu who had arrived, so he quickly joined forces to stand out from the encirclement. It turned out that Brother Yeluxiu saw that Han Kuangsi didn't listen to his advice, and knew that his trip was going to be a disaster, so he secretly ordered his subordinates to get ready to go, and sent several spies to follow the front army to inquire about news at any time.When he learned that the former army was in an ambush, he immediately led his elite division into the siege and rescued Han Kuangsi and Yelusha.Song Jun chased him for a while, and seeing that the Liao soldiers had gone far, Ming Jin withdrew them. In this battle, the Song army won countless supplies, much more than the food and grass that the Liao soldiers gave to the Liao soldiers the day before yesterday. Zhao Jiong was naturally happy to get this good news in the capital, but he was worried about the revenge of the Liao army. He said to the officials: "The Liao army invaded Zhenzhou and returned in a big defeat. In the future, they will definitely move to other places. I think the Daizhou area is the most important. You must send good generals to guard the city, so that the city will not be lost." The ministers also agreed with Zhao Jiong's opinion, and suggested that General Xuan Liang go to guard Daizhou, just in case. Zhao Jiong immediately thought of Yang Ye who saved his life in Gaoliang River.He believes that Yang Ye has been in Taiyuan for a long time, is familiar with the situation in the north, and has both wisdom and courage, so he is worthy of great responsibility.Therefore, Yang Ye was summoned immediately and ordered Yang Ye to be the governor of Daizhou and stationed in Daizhou to prevent the invasion of Liao soldiers. After receiving the imperial edict, Yang Ye took his two sons, Yang Yanyu and Yang Yanzhao, and immediately rushed to Daizhou to take up his post. Yang Yanzhao is the Yang Yanlang who was praised by Zhao Jiong as a tiger father and no dog son. After he followed his father to the Song Dynasty, he was appointed as a priest and changed his name to Yang Yanzhao.Yang Ye has seven sons, and he likes Yang Yanzhao the most. He often tells everyone that Zhao'er resembles me the most.Therefore, every time he goes out as a teacher, he has to bring Yang Yanzhao with him. Yang Ye led his two sons to Daizhou. It was already the midwinter season. Although it was freezing, Yang Ye still did not dare to neglect. He personally led the army and the people to build the city wall to prevent the enemy from invading. In a blink of an eye, it was March in the fifth year of Taiping Xingguo (980). Winter went to spring, and the warm wind turned the fields green. Lord Liao sees that the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming, and it is a good time to march and fight. He thinks that last year when the soldiers sent troops to Zhenzhou, he lost a lot of rice by stealing chickens.Suffer once, sell well once, this time, he avoided Zhenzhou and chose Yanmen Pass as the location of the south invasion.How did he know that the rulers and ministers of the Song Dynasty had already anticipated this move, and had sent Yang Ye and his son to Yanmen Pass to wait for the rabbit. Yelusha, Prime Minister of Liao Kingdom, and Yelu Xiezhen, General Yelu Xiezhen led 100,000 Liao soldiers, marching towards Yanmen Pass. Yanmen Pass is on the north side of Daizhou, and it is the gateway of Daizhou. Once Yanmen Pass is lost, Daizhou will definitely be lost.Yang Ye learned that 100,000 Liao soldiers came to invade, while the Song army in Daizhou was less than 20,000. They were absolutely weak in terms of military strength. He knew that with this strength, it would be very difficult to defend Daizhou.He discussed with his two sons and decided to surprise the Liao army by surprise.He took Yanzhao and Yanyu, selected thousands of strong and strong soldiers, set off from Xixing Pass on the west side of Yanmen Pass, and detoured to the north of Yanmen Pass.At that time, it was the dead of night, the sky was full of stars, the moon was misty, the Yanmen Gate was closed, and the dark camp of Liao soldiers could be seen faintly.Taking advantage of the dead of night, Yang Ye ordered Yang Yanyu to lead 3,000 soldiers to enter from the left; Yang Yanzhao led 3,000 soldiers to enter from the right; The soldiers and horses of the three groups, each with a title, and the horse's mouth, marched separately, and ran away for a while.Near the Liao camp, Yang Ye uttered a cry, brandished a golden knife, and galloped his horse straight to Yelusha's tent of the Chinese army. Yelusha, Yelu Xiezhen, and the Liao soldiers were all asleep. The Liao soldiers who patrolled the camp were all focused on Yanmen Pass, only preventing the Song soldiers from leaving the pass to attack the camp. They never thought that the Song army would come from behind. .The Liao soldiers in their sleep were awakened by the sound of killing. They didn't know how many Song soldiers had come. They got up, put on their clothes, grabbed their weapons, and went into battle. The ghost of the head has reported to the Hall of Yama. In the tent of the Liao army, there was a Jiedu envoy of the Liao state named Xiao Duo Li, who relied on his martial arts skills and held a sharp axe. He came out from behind the tent to kill the general. He happened to meet Yang Ye. In one place, within less than ten minutes, Yang Ye raised his might, swung his golden knife, and chopped down with a single stroke. Xiao Duoli's head and helmet flew off the horse, hitting the horse's hooves, rolling away like a football. Yelusha and Yelu Xiezhen saw that the Liao soldiers broke up, they couldn't stop drinking, and they didn't know how many Song soldiers had come, so they had to flee with their own soldiers. In the dark, the Liao soldiers trampled on each other, causing countless casualties. The father and son of the Yang family led the Song army to pursue the victory, and ordered the soldiers to shout: "The general of the Yang family is here. If the Liao dog dares to attack, I will kill you without leaving any behind." When the Liao soldiers heard the shouts, they dared not fight any more. They left countless weapons and food and nearly 20,000 corpses, and they were defeated northward in panic like bereaved dogs.Seeing the dawn of the general, Yang Ye knew that there was a huge disparity in the strength of the enemy and us, and it was a fluke to win the sneak attack, so he quickly ordered Ming Jin to withdraw his troops and stop chasing. In the Battle of Yanmen Pass, nearly 20,000 Liao soldiers died, and only a few dozen Song soldiers were killed or injured, and countless weapons and food were also seized.After this battle, the Liao people were frightened by Yang Ye. They gave Yang Ye a nickname, "Yang Wudi"!From then on, as long as the Liao soldiers saw the Yang character flag, they would be frightened and retreat without fighting. Zhao Jiong's imperial conquest was fought by the Liao soldiers. This time, Yang Ye finally recovered some face for Zhao Jiong. Yang Ye and his son returned to Daizhou and reported their victory to the imperial court. In Zhao Jiong's early court, when he saw the victory report in Daizhou, Longyan was overjoyed and said to the officials with a smile: "Yang Ye has finally recovered face for me. I have generals from the Yang family, so there is no need to worry about the border!" Yeluxian, the emperor of the Liao Kingdom, saw that he had been beaten to the ground by the Song army when he sent troops south twice. He was so angry that he screamed. At Qiaoguan, it is necessary to compete with the Song army. General Song, who was guarding the gate at Waqiao Gate, saw the Song army defeating the Liao soldiers twice. He couldn't help but underestimate the enemy, thinking that the Liao soldiers were weak and vulnerable.Knowing that the Liao soldiers were attacking on a large scale, they even opened the door and rushed out. The troops marched to the Anyang River, lined up, and prepared to start a decisive battle with the Liao soldiers here. Brother Yeluxiu led his elite troops to the Anyang River and immediately crossed the river. According to combat practices, when crossing a river, the enemy soldiers are halfway across, which is the best time to intercept and destroy the enemy.The ridiculous general of the Song Dynasty bullied the small number of Liao soldiers, arrogantly arrogant, and wanted to wait for the Liao soldiers to cross the river, and the two sides formed an formation and fought a battle in a well-regulated manner.He even easily gave up the best chance to intercept and kill the enemy, watched the Liao soldiers cross the river politely, generously, and friendlyly, and did not take any action. On the battlefield, to be kind to the enemy is to be cruel to yourself. General Yeluxiu of the Liao Dynasty is a good general who is well versed in the art of war, and his subordinates are also elite soldiers who have experienced hundreds of battles. Seeing that the Song soldiers did not intercept half-crosses, he commanded the soldiers to rush across the Anyang River quickly. After crossing the river, they did not line up , rushed directly to Song Jun. Song Jun never expected that he would let the Liao soldiers cross the river to fight against them. Who knew that the Liao soldiers did not play their cards according to the rules, so they were not gentlemen. , It was a mess for a while.In an instant, he was killed by the Liao soldiers and was defeated into Waqiao Pass. Before the suspension bridge could be pulled up, the Liao soldiers followed behind.Song Bing had to pass through the pass, abandoned Waqiao Pass, and fled into Mozhou.Brother Yeluxiu took advantage of the victory and pursued, approaching the city of Mozhou, and ordered the Liao soldiers to surround the city of Mozhou. Mozhou's emergency documents flew to Bianliang. After receiving the emergency document from Mozhou, Zhao Jiong decided to march in person. He immediately mobilized all the generals and led an army of 50,000 to Mozhou, intending to start a decisive battle with the Liao army in Mozhou. Liao Emperor Yeluxian's anger gradually subsided because he conquered Waqiao Pass. After besieging Mozhou for ten days, he heard that Song Emperor Zhao Jiong was personally marching, so he accepted it as soon as he saw it, and retreated automatically. Zhao Jiong led the Song Army to Daming, and when he learned that Emperor Liao had withdrawn his troops, he wanted to lead his troops to attack Youzhou.Because of the advice of Li Fang and others, this idea was given up, and Cao Han was ordered to deploy all the generals to guard, and his team returned to Bianliang. Zhao Jiong felt that the little Liao State was so rampant. After being defeated at Yanmen Pass, he unexpectedly attacked Waqiao Pass. Seeing the Song Army brigade dispatched, they shrank back like a tortoise. The more he thought about it, the more he thought about it. Angry, he returned to Bianliang, his buttocks were still hot, and he was about to attack Liao again.Most of the courtiers catered to Zhao Jiong's decision, and also said that You and Ji should be taken as soon as possible.Only Zuo Shiyi and Zhang Qixian wrote to remonstrate. This Zhang Qixian is the Zhang Qixian recommended by Taizu and recruited by Zhao Jiong as a special case. In his memorial, he made an in-depth analysis of the situation between the enemy and ourselves, and finally said: The sage said that governing the country starts with the root and then the end, and calms the inside to resist the outside.Your Majesty conquers distant places with mighty virtue, governs the people with preferential policies, and when the country is strong, others will not dare to invade it. Why do you want to use force? What a "military war", Zhang Qixian really hit the point. It is not clear whether Zhao Jiong really realized the dangers of militarism. At least, he accepted Zhang Qixian's proposal, and he just wanted to be a teacher.