Chapter 208 The strategic dispute between North and South 2.0
The sudden change in the situation in the north, the conflict between Han and Liao, and even the war, caused the already fragile peace between Han and Liao to be shattered in an instant. Looking back, the seven years of stability seemed to be in vain, and the so-called peace negotiation was even more of a joke.
Because the Liao army suddenly invaded Yanmen Pass, it caused a lot of discussion in the Tokyo court hall. Regardless of whether it was military or military, everyone felt relieved and felt offended.
At this time, the emperors and ministers of the Han Dynasty were immersed in the enthusiasm of marching to the outside of the Yangtze River to unify the south. The war in Yanmen was like a bucket of cold water poured on the head. Although there was not much water, it was cold enough to chill the bottom of my heart. And it was enough to draw Liu Chengyou's attention back to the north again, but this time, it was not so easy to look away.
In fact, he was a little surprised and confused about Liao's sudden attack. Unexpectedly, he turned against him so quickly, and out of doubt, he sent ten thousand cavalry.
Fortunately, the Han Dynasty has made considerable achievements in intelligence work on the Liao over the years. After some setbacks, the Military Intelligence Department reported it. Although there is no too detailed information, it is clear that Xiao Hu, the Liao envoy who returned to the north, Si reported something to the Lord of Liao, and on the second day of his audience, the Liao army went south.
With the intelligence of the Han Dynasty monarchs, they naturally focused their attention on Xiao Husi for the first time and made a judgment. Liu Chengyou immediately ordered Li Chongju, the military moral envoy, to investigate and learned about Xiao Husi from the officials who had contact with Xiao Husi. The performance of going south is clearly to secretly spy on the big man's true identity.
The same thing has different results in the eyes of different people. As the Northern Privy Council of the Liao Kingdom, Xiao Husi certainly has a certain vision, so he felt the threat of the Han from what he saw along the way, and Emperor Liao also recognized this point and took subsequent actions.
After learning about this, Liu Chengyou became angry and immediately ordered that the officials and military officers who received Xiao Husi be dismissed from their posts. At the same time, the detectives monitoring Xiao Husi within the Wude Department were also dealt with. They all The person who had the closest contact with Xiao Husi actually didn't notice any of his changes, even though he had the excuse of "traveling around and taking in the scenery" as a cover.
Well, those officials who were implicated may feel aggrieved. After all, in order to maintain the harmonious relationship between Han and Liao, the emperor had issued an edict to entertain and treat Liao envoys courteously. Although they were suspected of negligence and unwise behavior, in the end Liu Chengyou was still angry.
At the same time, I recalled that when Xiao Husi was in Tokyo, he had direct communication with me several times, and they were all very happy. Who would have thought that under that kind and humble face, there was such scheming and hostility. The key is that he still has Nothing was noticed.
In the final analysis, my attention is still on affairs in the south. Although I am always vigilant about the Liao Kingdom in the north and remind myself from time to time, how can I really keep that vigilance in mind at all times? In addition, , these years, the Khitan people can indeed be said to be "peaceful".
With Liu Chengyou's thinking, and supplemented by the analysis of the ministers, the situation was basically clarified very quickly. Although Wanzu Koudai's behavior felt a little strange, it can only be explained by "testing" for the time being. its actions.
Yang Ye's victory released a lot of the depression that had accumulated in Liu Chengyou's heart. Liu Chengyou was very happy about his bold attack, winning the battle with fewer enemies and more, and said: "Yang Chonggui is famous for this! "
There were 1,879 beheadeds, including 728 Khitan people. The rest of the casualties were not included, and the number of casualties was within a thousand. Adding the prisoners and the seizures, it was truly a great victory and a hearty one. The Han Dynasty court, and even the people of Tokyo were very excited and praised him a lot. Under the emperor's instruction, the Xuanwei Department also came out to work.
However, in this atmosphere, some people still stood up to spoil the fun, saying that Yang Ye's rash attack risked losing the city, and that he had achieved his own meritorious service with the lives of his subordinates, and that killing Liao soldiers might lead to a war between the two countries...
Regarding such remarks, Liu Chengyou did not need to say anything. Chai Rong, the Privy Councilor, scolded the censor who made the remarks in public. Later, Cui Zhoudu, the censor of Zuodu, was forced by the public sentiment and took the initiative to directly punish the subordinate. Demoted to the local level.
In this regard, Liu Chengyou just lamented that after all, there are many fools and few wise people in this world, and there are even more people who are ignorant of current affairs and self-righteous.
Liu Chengyou did not hesitate to reward the meritorious soldiers who contributed to the Yanmen victory. Yang Ye's title was not promoted and he was still the Marquis of Guo. However, he added "founding the country" and promoted his salary to Su. At the same time, he gave his wife Feng a fifth-grade imperial title. The eldest son, Yang Yanzhao, was bestowed with an honorary title, allowing Yang Ye to successfully realize the title of wife and son.
As for his subordinates such as Kang Yanze and other generals, they were also generously rewarded, given generous compensation for casualties, and gifted with merit dogs. They used the most direct actions to demonstrate the emperor's attitude towards the meritorious officers in this battle.
After the imperial edict, the Tokyo court stirred up trouble again. The military ministers and generals of the imperial army in Beijing petitioned the emperor to send troops for the Northern Expedition. The petitions for war memorials almost filled the imperial records of Chongzheng Palace.
Some of the Han generals were motivated by their achievements, and some were inspired by Yang Ye's victories. Although the unification war was important and both deserved credit, since ancient times, it was still a foreign war to open up territories and expand territory, which can more arouse the passion and pride of people with lofty ideals. , What's more, it was the Khitans who took the initiative to cause trouble this time, and everyone at the top and bottom also had a certain mentality of revenge against the powerful enemy in the north. After all, they had been allowed to run rampant in northern Xinjiang for decades.
Some people are just joining in the fun. Among the senior generals of the Forbidden Army, many have expressed their opinions, such as Han Tong, Sun Li, Li Chongjin, Li Jixun and others.
Including Wang Yin, the former deputy commander of the Guards Department who had been idle for many years, also took the initiative to express his gratitude to Liu Chengyou, hoping to join the Northern Expedition. He Fujin died of illness that year, and the imperial court selected the Northern Commander-in-Chief, and the appointments had been made. Unfortunately, Wang Yin was complacent and unruly, and his behavior was unruly and unruly. The impeachment also angered Liu Chengyou, who was directly beaten to the end. Not only did he lose his position as commander in the north, he also lost his military position as deputy commander-in-chief of the bodyguard.
Over the years, whether the imperial court was taking Jinghu or destroying Shu, Wang Yin had taken the initiative to request an expedition, but Liu Chengyou refused. Firstly, the Han Dynasty had no shortage of generals, so there was no need for him, a sixty-year-old veteran. Secondly, there were no shortage of generals back then. His erratic behavior left a really bad impression on Liu Chengyou.
This time, it was also the last time Wang Yin took the initiative to ask for help. If he could not be given another chance, he would not do what he wanted and spend his old age melancholy.
Among the remaining generals, Murong Yanzhao, Xiang Xun, and Zhao Kuangyin did not express their stance easily. These are three politically mature generals. They knew clearly that no matter how active the trouble was, it still depended on the attitude of the emperor. As for the decision of the Northern Expedition, However, the most important matters of the imperial court require careful discussion and comprehensive planning by the court officials, and decisions cannot be made lightly.
These are still the generals in Beijing, and the local generals, especially the frontier troops in Hebei, although the performance has not yet arrived, Liu Chengyou can already predict their eagerness to try and their determination to serve the country.
In the context of the general's request for orders, there was a debate related to the strategy of the Han Dynasty. The dispute between the north and the south was an issue that almost ran through the strategic direction of the Han Dynasty since the founding of the People's Republic of China.
In the early years, there was basically no big controversy. At that time, the country's strength was insufficient, and the strategic environment was not good at all. It was surrounded by enemies on all sides and had many loopholes. Under such circumstances, choosing to attack the south was the most reasonable choice, with the least risk and the greatest benefit. The highest choice.
Even so, in the fourth year of Qianyou, when the Southern Expedition was imminent, the Liao army gathered a large number of troops to go south. During the Huoshendian Rebellion, many people proposed the Northern Expedition at that time. Why, with the Northern Fortress still in ruins, the Han Dynasty, from top to bottom, to the emperor and his ministers, As for the military and civilians, there is not enough sense of security.
After expanding into Huainan and conquering Qin Feng in the west, the country became increasingly rich and its military force became stronger. Someone suggested to Liu Chengyou the Northern Expedition. Although the Liao Kingdom had recovered for a few years at that time, it was politically unstable and the clan aristocrats continued to rebel. Here comes the opportunity.
However, after some thought, Liu Chengyou still refused and still insisted on the strategy of attacking in the south and defending in the north. Since basic peace could be maintained in the north and enough space was given, he would proceed in accordance with the established strategy.
After that, Jinghu was captured, Meng and Shu were pacified, and up to now. If the border situation in the north remains unchanged, then the next step to pacify the south of the Yangtze River in one fell swoop will still be an unshakable strategy.
However, this time it was different. The Liao State took the initiative to change and started a war, which broke the fragile balance between Han and Liao. Once the balance was broken, Liu Chengyou had to seriously look north. It was not because of his will, but because of the threat from the north. Pay attention to.
In the imperial court, a strategic dispute between the north and the south broke out again, and this time, it was not limited to a few civil and military officials. On May 7, Liu Chengyou simply issued an edict, ordering the civil and military officials of the fifth rank and above in Beijing to develop strategies. Discuss traveling south and north.
This edict also reflected Liu Chengyou’s inner struggle. In the wave of ministers expressing their opinions, Liu Chengyou expressed some emotion to his close ministers: "I have been in Qianyou for 11 years, and I am still troubled by the North-South strategy!"
During the discussion, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but think about it. In the original history, from the time when the Northern Song Dynasty pacified the south to the time when Wu and Yue donated their territory, the Liao Kingdom didn't respond in such a big way. Why?
After thinking about it for a long time, although I didn't fully understand the reason, I finally got something.
If we say that in official history, the end of the troubled times of the Five Dynasties began with the establishment of the Later Zhou Dynasty, the foundation was officially laid, and it embarked on the fast track to unification. Compared with it, today's Han Dynasty is only three years ahead of schedule in all aspects, but the internal strength cultivation in these three years , as it develops later, the gap is more than just three years.
In the middle, there was less harm caused by the three rebellions, less chaos in the dynasty change, and no constraints from the Northern Han Dynasty. The expedition to Huaihe River could only take half a year... These greatly preserved the vitality of the dynasty and allowed it to resume development. The speed was even different. Coupled with Liu Chengyou's painstaking efforts, the Han national strength and military strength were so strong that they were far ahead of the "same period". Of course, the pressure on the Liao monarchs and ministers was also different.
In official history, when the Northern Song Dynasty developed to the level of the Han Dynasty, the Liao Kingdom had also been stable and accumulated for nearly 20 years. There was no major loss in the Battle of Luancheng, so it was naturally more stable. Moreover, after entering the late period of Yelujing, the Liao Kingdom's
The political environment was indeed a bit chaotic, domestic conflicts were repeated and violent, and Song Dynasty was also powerless to deal with affairs.
But now, the pressure brought by the Han Dynasty to the Liao Kingdom is too strong. If the monarchs and ministers of the Liao Kingdom had a sense of urgency, they would never remain indifferent in the face of the Han Dynasty.
