In the second year of Kaiyun of the Later Jin Dynasty, AD 944, on December 18th, Du Chongwei had his war horses slaughtered, and then took out all the grain to feed the army.
Since the siege, ordinary soldiers of the Jin army have never eaten a meal.
At this moment, before the morning meal, there was a large piece of stewed horse meat to eat, and there was no limit. The soldiers' mouths were full of oil and they were smiling happily.
After eating, Du Chongwei ordered the sergeants to go out of camp and form an array. All the soldiers thought that Du Chongwei was going to lead them to break out of the encirclement. Although fighting was inevitable, they finally didn't have to suffer in the wilderness, so their morale was pretty good.
However, just after the soldiers formed their formation, they saw countless armored soldiers holding silver knives and guarding various places. The army commander Du Chongwei came out of the camp in plain clothes and said.
"What you have just eaten is all the food and grass in the camp. Even the war horses have been mostly slaughtered, and there are no reinforcements from the court.
Now that we have run out of food and have no way out, we should seek a living together with you. After thinking about it, the only way out is to beg the Emperor of Liao for surrender."
The soldiers were stunned and couldn't believe it was true. In the astonishment, Song Yanyun, the military commander of Dengzhou Weisheng Army, and Zhang Yanze, the military commander of Dingzhou Yiwu Army, each led their armored soldiers and drew their swords to threaten them.
"Those who are willing to follow the deployment of the capital should abandon their weapons and support the right side. Those who do not follow can cross the river and fight the Khitan on their own!"
Soldiers don't have much of a position to begin with. Most of them join the army just to earn a living, or they know how to fight and kill people, they don't know how to produce, and they can only be warriors.
They fought against the Khitan for no other reason than out of simple national sentiments and the desire to be rewarded by the imperial court in order to gain wealth.
At this time, their immediate superiors were in various towns and the governor did not show up. The soldiers just felt at a loss and didn't know what to do.
Immediately afterwards, Li Shouzhen jumped out to persuade: "Your Majesty has lost his moral character, has a treacherous reputation, and is suspicious of our army. We have no way to advance or retreat. It is better to surrender to the Northern Dynasty instead of seeking wealth."
At this time, the lethality of Shi Zhonggui's injury to San Duanbo was immediately apparent.
Even though many soldiers felt extremely humiliated and unwilling to surrender to the Khitans, they felt a little chilled by Li Shouzhen's words and no longer wanted to sacrifice their lives for Shi Chonggui.
With a clang, I don't know who was the first to throw away the spear in his hand. The first one was followed by the second one, and the sound of the sword falling to the ground was heard.
By this time, the commanders of various towns also came out and began to calm down the soldiers.
Those soldiers who were unwilling to surrender suddenly felt sad when they saw that their commander had already knelt down, and there was a lot of crying in the camp.
Du Chongwei was not angry but happy, and quickly ordered Gao Xun to go to the Khitan camp again and report the 'good news' to Yelu Deguang.
Hu Zaile took this opportunity and pretended to appease the Wuning soldiers, but he went directly to the remaining more than 300 original Liangzhou horses.
Hu Tai's eyes widened, looking at Hu Ci Le with shock and anger.
"Why is this Du Chongwei so shameless? He surrendered to the Khitan! Then what happened to us? We returned east after hard work, and then became slaves to the barbarians?"
Although Hutai and others were barbarians on the grassland, they never regarded themselves as barbarians after following Zhang Zhao. Moreover, they regarded Tang'er's identity as extremely important and often regarded themselves as veterans of the rebel army.
Although they had fallen and could enjoy wealth and honor in the Jin army with peace of mind, they still found it extremely difficult to accept surrendering to the Khitans and becoming their gray grandsons.
As soon as Hu Cile arrived, other generals of the Wuning Army also gathered around him. He took the opportunity to look at the generals and generals of the Wuning Army around him and said.
"We are all from the South, and all our small belongings are in the South. If we seek refuge in the South, will the Khitan Lord allow us to return to the South? When will we be able to reunite with our families?"
When the generals heard this, they all thought it was reasonable. Hu Cile quickly lowered his voice and said.
"Hu Tai and Ma Du, Yu Hou, went to collect the war horses. Looking for an opportunity, we abandoned the army and took a detour to return south."
....
While talking, Gao Xun arrived at the Liao army camp for the third time.
When Yelu Deguang heard the report, he was still a little worried.
Because from his point of view, Yelu Deguang still found it a little hard to believe that Du Chongwei was willing to lead all the elites of the Jin Kingdom to betray his brother-in-law and nephew just for a verbal promise.
How can there be such easy-to-deceive people in the world? His innocence makes me, Brother Guang, feel a bit unreal.
So he was going to let a scapegoat go explore the way.
If this is true, everything will be fine. If there is an ambush, it will be a death for the dead.
He thought for a long time, and the most suitable pathfinder had to be Zhao Yanshou.
Just do it, Yelv Deguang directly asked someone to summon Zhao Yanshou.
In order to make Zhao Yanshou wholeheartedly take risks, Yelu Deguang even gave him a dragon and phoenix ocher robe.
The ocher robe at this time does not refer to the dark red robe, but to the ocher yellow robe.
Originally the robe worn by the emperor, during the Zhao Da Chenqiao mutiny, the yellow robe was added to the yellow robe to become the ocher yellow robe.
When Zhao Yanshou saw that Yelu Deguang suddenly gave him an ocher yellow robe, he was extremely surprised. He didn't know that Du Chongwei was going to surrender today, so he was a little confused.
Brother Guang, who was smiling, walked over and asked Zhao Yanshou to not only be polite, but also personally put the ocher yellow robe on Zhao Yanshou, and then pointed at Du Chongwei's envoy Gao Xun in the distance and said.
"The people of Jin are begging to surrender. All the Han soldiers are yours, so you should go and comfort them personally." With that said, he put another ocher-yellow robe on Zhao Yanshou's right shoulder.
Zhao Yanshou was so ecstatic that he was almost moved to tears, but when he saw Yelu Deguang gave him another ocher-yellow robe, he suddenly became vigilant.
Yelu Deguang made no secret, "This ocher robe was given to Du Chongwei because he also asked me to be the emperor of the Central Plains."
Yelu Deguang deliberately spoke slowly and slowly, and waited until Zhao Yanshou could hardly bear it anymore before continuing.
"But the King of Yan should know that I am using him to stabilize the Jin people. You and I are the same as father and son. How can we compare to Du Chongwei?"
Again, he was trying to talk about free money, but Zhao Yanshou just wanted to take it.
After hearing this, not only did he not think that Yelu Deguang was deceiving him, but he also thought that Yelu Deguang was sincere to him and told him everything truthfully.
At that moment, after Zhao Yanshou said goodbye to Yelu Deguang, he immediately led the Lulong Army's 200 to 300 cavalry and headed for the Jin Army's camp.
....
Coincidentally, there was a slight snowstorm in the early morning. Zhao Yanshou and others, dressed in white robes, followed the leading cavalry sent by the Jin army in the wind and rain, and crossed the Hutuo River with all their chariots and horses to accept the surrender of the Jin army.
Du Chongwei and others had been waiting at the gate of the camp for a long time. Their sight was blocked in the snow, and they could only see a man in an ocher-yellow robe, riding in a carriage and leading hundreds of Liao cavalry.
Du Chongwei, Li Shouzhen, Zhang Yanze and others thought that Yelu Deguang had arrived in person, and they were so moved that they immediately knelt down to greet him.
Unexpectedly, as we got closer, we discovered that the person coming was not Yelu Deguang but Zhao Yanshou.
Everyone's noses were almost twisted with anger, but they couldn't get Zhao Yanshou to come back after paying homage to them all. Du Chongwei and others could only dare to hold back their words and continue to complete the visit.
Zhao Yanshou, who consciously overpowered Du Chongwei again, was very proud and immediately handed the ocher yellow robe given by Yelv Deguang to Du Chongwei.
"The Emperor summons you and others to pay homage."
When Du Chongwei saw that Yelu Deguang was willing to give him even the ocher yellow robe, he was immediately elated. The little "grievance" he felt from just paying homage to Zhao Yanshou disappeared immediately.
This shameless man actually took off his outer robe in front of everyone, put on the ocher yellow robe given by Yelu Deguang, and bowed respectfully to the north three times.
After paying homage, Du Chongwei did not feel ashamed at all, but was extremely excited.
When he looked at Zhao Yanshou, he not only showed no sign of the humility of someone begging for surrender, but he also vaguely regarded himself as the Emperor of the Central Plains.
"Please also ask the King of Yan to lead the way, so that I can go in person to pay homage to the Lord of the Kingdom."
....
At the gate of the Khitan military camp, Zhao Yanshou led Du Chongwei to pay homage. Yelu Deguang immediately asked the Liao army to open the camp gate to welcome him. Seeing that all the Jin generals came to pay homage, he felt relieved.
Zhou Ru, a surrendered general of the Jin Dynasty, who was standing next to Yelu Deguang, identified them one by one according to their physical appearance, and then whispered a few words in Yelu Deguang's ear.
Yelu Deguang calmly supported Du Chongwei, who was about to bow down, "I am very relieved that you have abandoned the secrets and turned to the light. From now on, there will be no suspicion in advance and no prejudice, so that the Khitan and the Han can work together as one."
Saying that, Yelu Deguang held Du Chongwei's hand and continued to fool him very emotionally.
"Your country has made great contributions to China, and I will live up to my words."
After Du Chongwei heard this, tears rolled out of his eyes, and he immediately began to sing.
He even led the crowd to shout and dance in front of Yelu Deguang. According to the highest etiquette of meeting the emperor, they shouted, danced, kowtowed and thanked the emperor, and all the Jin generals showed their ugly appearance.
After the dance, Yelu Deguang pretended to look left and right, as if he was asking casually.
"Where is Commander Huangfu who once rescued his servants by the Anyang River?
I heard that the Commander-in-Chief of the Wuning Army is a Dadan from the Liang Kingdom and is best at dancing. Please come out and see him."
Du Chongwei, Li Shouzhen and others looked around after hearing this, and then realized that Hu Cile was not among the crowd.
When Huangfu met them, they knew that Du Chongwei was afraid that he would collide with Yelu Deguang, so he was placed under house arrest in the camp. But why didn't this tiger thornle follow him?
Du Chongwei was a little sarcastic, he raised his hand and replied: "Huangfu was reckless by nature, and because he was worried that he would offend His Majesty, he was kept in the camp on standby.
As for the tiger thornle, I really haven’t paid attention to it. I don’t think it will go far. Please send someone to investigate.”
Yelu Deguang's expression remained unchanged and he waved his hand indifferently.
"Let Huangfu come and see you. As for Hu Cile, if he dares to escape without knowing God, he will regret it in the future."
On December 25, Yelu Deguang made Du Chongwei the Taifu and Li Shouzhen the Situ, and annexed more than 60,000 Jin troops.
Moreover, he learned the lesson this time and did not immediately send his troops southward. Instead, he first prepared to occupy the land in Hebei and then made plans.
On the 26th, Yelu Deguang led the army to Hengzhou City with Du Chongwei as the vanguard. Du Chongwei personally came forward and ordered the guard general Wang Zhou to open the door and surrender.
Wang Zhou only had 2,000 defenders, and not all of them were willing to die here with him. After knowing that the matter was irreversible, he cried loudly at the top of the city.
"I am so favored by the Jin Dynasty, but I can't fight to the death and surrender the city. How can I show my face to the master and the scholar-officials?"
After crying, Wang Zhou went straight back to the office, found a bucket of strong wine, drank it all, and then decided to kill himself with a knife.
Wang Zhou's two sons knew that their father looked wrong and followed him secretly. When they saw that Wang Zhou was about to commit suicide, they were afraid that this would anger the Khitan people, so they rushed over and hugged his thighs, crying and trying to persuade him.
"Your Majesty has fulfilled his duties as a loyal minister, what will happen to your descendants?"
At this time, the Hengzhou Military Academy who was in the administrative office also rushed over to persuade him. Together they hugged Wang Zhou and half-held him to the east city gate.
Yelu Deguang successfully entered Hengzhou City and immediately conferred Wang Zhou as the Military Envoy of the Wusheng Army. Tens of thousands of Khitan soldiers and horses finally no longer had to sleep in the wild.
After the Khitan army entered the city, Yelu Deguang only repaired it for one day and then quickly made arrangements.
After he stopped engaging in military affairs and switched to politics, Yelu Deguang finally had the time to display his abilities.
He did not rush south, but sent General Ma Da with ten thousand Liao troops and surrendered Jin troops north to Daizhou.
Wang Hui, the governor of Daizhou, saw tens of thousands of troops arriving at the gates of Daizhou City, many of them Jin soldiers surrendering. He just learned that Du Chongwei had surrendered his army, and he immediately chose to surrender without hesitation.
This time, the Khitans did not go south, but occupied Daizhou with 20,000 troops.
The area around Daizhou and Yanmenguan has always been the northern gate of Taiyuan. The Khitans stationed 20,000 troops here, and immediately attracted Liu Zhiyuan's Hedong soldiers to the Xinxian area, so that they did not dare to act rashly.
Then Yelu Deguang sent the traitor Geng Chongmei to capture Yizhou.
Although Geng Chongmei was not famous in later generations, in history, they were a standard Khitan Han family as famous as the Han Derang family.
Geng Chongmei even married Yelu Deguang's sister, Wei Guo's wife Yelu. At this time, her status was far above that of the Han family.
Guo Lin, the governor of Yizhou, was also a member of Daibei Wuxun. He was retained as the governor of Yizhou after the Jin army broke through Yizhou last time.
It can even be said that it is the only trophy that the Jin army retained after their victory in the battle of Wei Village.
Guo Lin was a man who was strict in running the army and could share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers. He was highly respected by the soldiers and the people who could not bear the Khitan enslavement.
Yizhou is close to Youzhou, and Guo Lin was able to establish a foothold here, which made Yelu Deguang regard him as a thorn in his side and could not defeat him despite several attacks.
But this time it was different, because the most important reason why Yizhou soldiers and people supported Guo Lin, apart from the harsh oppression of the Khitans, was that they were inspired by the powerful combat power of the Jin army and had a strong Jin army to rely on.
But now, the Jin army has surrendered to the Khitan, how can they defend it? No one wants to go to the road of death.
So as soon as Geng Chongmei's troops arrived, Yizhou generals and soldiers rushed to join him, and Guo Lin was completely unable to stop him.
In despair, Guo Lin could only sit in the city gate and cursed Geng Chongmei.
Geng Chongmei, like Zhao Yanshou, has the common characteristics of a traitor, that is, he can do what you can, but you can't say it, and he is quick to say it.
Guo Lin didn't curse a few words, and Geng Chongmei became angry and drew a knife to kill Guo Lin.
After occupying the two key areas of Yizhou and Daizhou, Yelu Deguang sent Zhang Yanze to open the gate of Dingzhou.
Zhang Yanze was originally the military envoy of the Dingzhou Yiwu Army, and he captured Dingzhou easily.
At this point, Yelu Deguang had no worries at all, so he forcibly summoned Huangfu to Hengzhou City.
My brother Guang not only wants Huangfu Yu to join him, but also wants Huangfu Yu to serve him and lead the army south to attack the Jin Dynasty.
This was purely a bad idea. Yelu Deguang just wanted to subdue such loyal ministers and righteous men, so as to achieve a sense of conquest that he felt had destroyed the Jin people's resistance.
Huangfu Yu was pulled into Hengzhou City by a carriage by the Liao army. The once majestic man had turned pale and his steps were sluggish.
Because since Du Chongwei surrendered, Huangfu Yu had hardly eaten except for drinking heavily to get drunk.
Outside the gate where Yelu Deguang was stationed, more than a dozen people looked at Huangfu Yu with sad faces. Huangfu Yu was stunned for a moment.
Because among the dozen or so people, the top ones were his eldest son and nephew, both of whom were captured by the Khitans when they went on an expedition with Huangfu Yu.
The rest of the people are also Huangfu Yu's close brothers. Du Zhimin, who gave up his mount to Huangfu Yu in a hurry on the banks of the Anyang River and was then rescued by Huangfu Yu in the midst of thousands of troops, is also there.
Although the Khitan people did not say clearly what they wanted to do, their meaning was already obvious.
Huangfu Yu laughed sadly, pushed away the Khitan soldiers to hold his hand, and walked into the house.
Yelu Deguang really didn't expect that the so-called tough guys and heroes of the Southern Dynasty could be so weak. He just nodded and said nothing else during the whole process.
Yelu Deguang thought that he had subdued Huangfu Yu and couldn't help but feel very proud.
While laughing loudly, he ordered Huangfu Yu to lead 2,000 troops from his headquarters, together with 3,000 Khitan cavalry, to go south at starry night and attack Kaifeng Mansion in Tokyo, the capital of the Jin Kingdom.
When Huangfu received his order, he walked out of the room and found that except for his nephew Huangfu Chong, only a few servants were waiting here.
Huangfu Chong looked at the haggard-looking Huangfu Yu, his eyes red, "Dalang, Du Zhimin and others were all taken away by the Khitans."
Who is Yelu Deguang, how could he leave such a flaw? Of course he will continue to keep Huangfu Yu's son and confidants in his hands.
Huangfu Yu said nothing and did not care about military affairs at all. He only took his nephew Huangfu Chong and others with him to follow the army to the south.
In the evening, Huangfu Yu drank another two measures of strong wine and burst into tears in front of his nephew Huangfu.
"With the blessings of the country and the position of a general, I can't die in the army, so how can I meet my old master! What's more, I can't bear to be ordered to do it."
Huangfu Chong and his followers all broke down in tears. One of the followers advised: "I have been with you for ten years, and I can't bear to see you like this. The person on duty tonight is an old general in the army. Why don't we take this opportunity to escort you away?"
."
Huangfu Yu knew very well that if he left, his son, Du Zhimin and others who remained in the Khitan army might be killed by the Khitan people.
But at this moment, he couldn't care less, because he decided to tell the court the news that Du Chongwei had shamelessly defected to the Khitans.
So in the evening of that day, Huangfu Yu led Huangfu Chong and his followers to name a few, and left the military camp at night to go south.
Two days later, Huangfu Yu and others walked outside Pingji County, south of Zhaozhou. At this time, it snowed heavily and the roads were muddy. Everyone was tired and hungry and could hardly walk.
Huangfu Yu's situation was even worse. He had not eaten much for seven or eight days, and drank heavily to get drunk. His originally strong body had become completely rickety.
At this time, he could no longer even ride a horse. Huangfuchong bought a donkey cart and took him south.
Huangfu Yu turned his back to the sky, dry and cold snowflakes fell on his face, and Huangfu Yu didn't feel much anymore.
It suddenly occurred to him that even if he risked his life to notify the court, the court would have no troops available, and the lives of his nephew Huangfu Chong and his loyal servants might be killed on the way.
He sighed deeply, stopped Huangfu Chong, and then reluctantly sat up.
"I have already believed that I will not eat at my place of residence, and my illness will be severe. I will humiliate my subjects and die, and I will not be able to return to the south."
Huangfu Chong heard the desperate intention in Huangfu Yu's words and quickly persuaded him.
"Even if we don't go south, we can still find a place to stay temporarily and be useful for the future."
Huangfu Yu laughed sadly, "Is there a future?"
Huangfu Chong gritted his teeth and said to Huangfu Yu: "The King of Liang in Hexi is the queen of the great dynasty Zhongyi. When the chaos in Guanzhong was calmed down, his reputation for benevolence and righteousness was spread everywhere. Now he has provided food and millions of stones to help the victims. It is really true." The Lord of Destiny, in the future, the one who can drive the Khitans from the north and revive the Central Plains must be His Highness King Liang."
Huangfu Yu sighed suddenly, "A few months ago, you wanted to go to Hexi. It seems that you have set your sights on Prince Liang."
Huangfu Chong nodded, "My nephew has counted all the kings in the world, no matter the emperor or the king, only King Liang is the true master!"
A pleased smile appeared on Huangfu Yu's face, "That's very good. After I leave, you can go to the west of Hexi to assist the King of Liang, chase the Hulu from the north, and avenge me."
Huangfu Chong burst into tears when he heard this. He grabbed Huangfu Yu's wrist and cried: "Uncle is one of the most loyal and brave ministers in the world. If he can assist King Liang, why worry about not accomplishing great things?"
Huangfu Yu shook his head, "I am a minister of the Jin Dynasty, and the emperor treats me very kindly. How can I bear to see the country overthrow and the emperor be humiliated?"
After saying that, Huangfu Chong tried to persuade him, but Huangfu Yu shouted loudly, "Don't try to ruin my reputation as a loyal minister!"
After saying this, the most courageous and loyal minister of the Later Jin Dynasty took out the short knife he had prepared for a long time from his arms, stabbed it into his neck, and committed suicide.
Huangfu cried loudly to others, collected Huangfu's corpse, and went straight to the west to join Zhang Zhao.
This chapter has been completed!