In August of the fourth year of Emperor Qianyou's reign in the Northern Han Dynasty, troops from Hunan Province went south to attack Ma Xichong, the puppet king of Chu who had usurped power. Tanzhou commander Xu Wei and other generals resisted him. They fought in Yiyang, but were defeated and lost thousands of troops.
The false king of Chu, Ma Xichong, was originally promoted to the throne by his subordinates. However, he had no moral ability and became dissolute. He was trapped in Changsha's arrogant soldiers and it was difficult to control him. He was also afraid of being forced by the powerful soldiers and feared that he would be harmed. He added axes and axes and secretly sent guests to serve
Invite troops to the Tang Dynasty.
Ma Xi'e, the king of Hengshan who was also supported by the public and occupied Hengzhou to spy on Changsha, also asked for help from the Southern Tang Dynasty, hoping to help him regain Tanzhou.
The Ma brothers came forward one after another, and there was no better opportunity to add another name to the army. This time, the Tang army commander Bian Hao, who had already received the instructions from the Tang Lord, commanded 30,000 soldiers, and came from Xiqi, Yuanzhou.
Changsha.
The Tang army passed Liling on the fifth day. After hearing the news, Ma Xichong, the puppet king of Chu, immediately sent an envoy to reward the army. On the tenth day when they approached Changsha, Ma Xichong sent a letter to the Tang camp to request that he surrender and survive. He led the Hunan generals in front of the city to hope that
Defeated in the dust, Bian Hao accepted them, and the Tang army was able to roll up their armor and enter Changsha City without losing a single soldier.
Next, Bian Hao issued a public proclamation declaring Ma's crime, and sent troops and horses to various states. At that time, there was a famine in Hunan, and Bian Hao ordered a large-scale relief effort to be carried out in Ma's warehouses. The Chu people who were in dire straits were greatly affected.
Yue did not resist the Tang army's invasion.
Therefore, when Bian Hao entered Chu, he was as powerful as a broken bamboo, and he was invincible. All the sacred land was in his hands. The land south of Lingnan was temporarily out of reach, but Bei Langzhou and South Hengzhou were close at hand. He sent out documents to appease and send troops to intimidate, in order to
They surrendered. More importantly, they counted the military merits, counted the gains, and reported the victory to Jinling to take credit.
While Bian Hao was sweeping across Hunan, Liu Renfan, deputy envoy of Wuchang Jiedu in the Southern Tang Dynasty, also led thousands of naval troops to capture Yuezhou.
Good news came one after another. The emperors and ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty who were far away in Jinling were overjoyed at the news that Hunan had been "pacified". His fame and great achievements were accomplished. The Lord of the Tang Dynasty, Li Jing, felt comfortable. He held a banquet in the Turtle Hall of the Tang Palace, and all the officials congratulated him.
, singing and dancing.
Seeing that the land of Hunan really fell so easily, Li Jing, who was originally trembling and suspicious, immediately stood up, straightened his body, and raised his voice loudly. The polite official said that since the emperor of the Tang Dynasty came to the throne, he had never visited the temple in the suburbs, so he invited him.
Li Jing only replied with one sentence: "As long as the world is one family, then thank you."
The official Wei Cen advised the banquet and said: "I have traveled to Yuancheng and enjoyed its customs. When your majesty decides on the Central Plains, I will ask Wei Bo to envoy him." Li Jing agreed.
Conquering Chu in one fell swoop seemed to have settled the world. The arrogant changes in the Southern Tang Dynasty's monarchs and ministers were somewhat beyond the expectations of others.
Amidst all the praise and praise, it's not like no one sees the hidden worries.
Chili Lang Gaoyuan said: "I took advantage of the chaos in Chu, and it was easy to get them. I looked at the talents of the generals, but I'm afraid they will be difficult to defend!"
Situ Zhishi Li Jianxun said: "This is the beginning of the disaster!"
As for Han Xizai, almost bursting into tears, he reminded Li Jing that generals in Chu should be under strict orders to be vigilant, self-loving and cautious, and use the old events of "Ping Min" as a warning to prevent the Chu land from being lost again.
However, in this general environment where the whole world is celebrating, how could such unusual remarks get Li Jing's attention and make him unhappy. In this situation, Feng Yansi, on the other hand, probably recalled that he destroyed Fujian and could not defend it.
, the embarrassment of having lost all his blessings and a prosperous land, he also gave advice to Li Jing, but in a more tactful way.
Li Jing then issued an edict to reward the Chu and Tang armies, and at the same time gave some instructions. In order to stabilize Hunan, he moved all the Ma family members to Jinling with Bian Hao and surrendered.
After the Tang army captured Chu and swept through Hunan, the dark clouds that had been gathering over the north for a long time were finally about to rain.
Since the beginning of autumn, the Khitan troops in Tan and Ji have intensified their intrusion into Youzhou and the vast area in its south, robbing food and killing people.
In response to this, the King of Yan sent out thousands of cavalry under his rule, fighting against cavalry and maneuvering against maneuvering. They fought and trembled with the Khitan cavalry in the Yan area. The Han army was not spared, and the Cang and Hebei front lines were also among them.
In the key attack areas, under the orders of the imperial court, the commander of the northern defense line, He Fujin, also ordered each commander to send out cavalry to fight.
Amidst the cruel flashes of swords and swords, the people of various states risked their lives to plunder corn and wheat. Both the Han army and the Yan army suffered a lot of casualties, and they had just managed to snatch some of the grain, causing considerable damage to the officials and the people.
Of course, the Khitan people did not gain much benefit, and suffered a lot of losses. In the month-long fighting, the Han army and the Yan army were the rare ones to put aside everything and join forces to fight against the enemy. They were resolute in their will and cruel in their methods.
.Ma Quanyi and Li Jun of the Han Army and Zhao Siwan of the Yan Army became famous.
Zhao Siwan was an unruly, ruthless, murderous person, and was hostile to the Han Dynasty. However, he still played some role in fighting the Khitan. He led his subordinates to kill the Khitan.
There were more than 700 cavalrymen, but no one was captured. They also staged a real "Zhizhi Hungry Meal of Barbarian Meat". Later, they bluntly said that the "barbarian smell" was too strong. The Khitan soldiers from far and near were frightened when they heard about Zhao.
But no matter what, the purpose of the Khitans' harassment was basically achieved.
In early September, the Khitan Emperor Yelu Ruan summoned 100,000 internal and external troops, marched from Linhuang Mansion in Beijing, and officially launched the southern expedition. Due to long-term disputes with the Khitan nobles, even if the final move was
The soldiers were forced to pass by Yelu Ruan.
Therefore, from the moment the troops moved south, there was a sense of disharmony among the Khitan army. The nobles and even ordinary soldiers complained that even with the mobility of the Liao army, the marching speed was extremely slow. Yelu
Ruan urged the tribesmen to advance several times, but with little success. In the end, it was only through the urging of the imperial army that the army was able to increase the speed.
By the end of September, the 100,000 Khitan army had reached Wende County in Wuzhou and set up camp in Huoshen Lake, west of Wende, which was only a little over two hundred miles away from Youzhou City.
A hundred thousand troops surrounded the camp for more than ten miles, with people shouting and horses neighing, and a part of the Pishi Army firmly protecting the imperial tent. Yelu Ruan, the Lord of the Liao Dynasty, temporarily stationed here, intending to organize the army and stabilize people's hearts. What he has seen and heard along the way is also
He felt something was wrong. The Pishi army was a member of the imperial army. They were always elite and had strict military discipline. He was not worried. He was only worried that the soldiers from various tribes who had been summoned really needed to be comforted.
On the day he arrived at Huoshen Lake, Yelu Ruan ordered an altar to be built, and led the entire army to pay homage to his father Yelu Bei, King of Dongdan, hoping to bless the success of the southern expedition. This was not a good choice, if Taizu Yelu Abaoji or Taizong
Yelu Deguang may still have some effect. But after handling it, it seems to be barely stable.
A middle-aged general with a bitter look on his face and wearing aristocratic armor came on horseback and galloped lightly in the huge Southern Expedition camp. His eyes swept around and fell on the surrounding Southern Expedition soldiers. Some of them looked significantly more worried.
This man's name was Yelu Wuzhi, a famous Khitan official. He played a major role in the peace talks between Yelu Ruan and his mother and son when Yelu Ruan went north to seize the throne a few years ago, which enabled the smooth transition of the Khitan regime.
After Yelu Ruan came to the throne, considering his merits and talents, he was put to great use. This time, he took the right position of the right Pishi to accompany him on the southern expedition.
However, at this time, Yelu Wuzhi was filled with worries and was very worried. His worries came precisely from the Khitan soldiers who were participating in the expedition.
He still remembered that when he was young, he went on an expedition with Taizu. All the soldiers were happy to hear the battle, cheering for joy, and kept sharpening their armor and swords, fearing that they would fall behind. Even at the time of Taizong, they were still active when they raided the Central Plains in the south.
But now, no matter where you look, everyone's face is blank, their thoughts are uncertain, and even worse, they are complaining. As a discerning and wise person, Yelu Wuzhi can deeply understand the difference between them.
From the time of Taizong Yelu Deguang to now, the Khitan tribesmen have been fighting for nearly ten years. All the tribes have been trapped here, and the national power has been greatly damaged. In the battle to destroy Jin that year, the battle of Luancheng was a huge defeat. The defeat of the emperor's army caused great damage to the Khitan military strength.
The empire on the grasslands, unlike the Central Plains, was far inferior to the agricultural civilization in terms of resilience. In other words, with the Bohai Sea and the Hanzhou counties along the Great Wall as supplements, it took only a few years for the Khitan's strength to recover to its current level.
Under such circumstances, in Yelu Wuzhi's view, the top priority is to recuperate, recharge, appease the people, and ease internal conflicts. To rush into war and start a war again, especially such a large-scale war, This is not what a wise person does.
The conflict between the emperor and the domestic nobles due to administrative reasons became more and more serious. The nobles and even the people were unwilling to fight. There was internal discord and the army had no fighting spirit. Since ancient times, there has never been anyone who can win a war without military spirit.
Although Yelu Wuzhi can understand some of Yelu Ruan's thoughts and considerations, he is not optimistic about this southern expedition from the bottom of his heart.
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In Yelu Wuzhi's view, this is almost a gamble, related to the fate of the country, and a huge gamble. If it succeeds, the profit may not be as expected; if it fails, the situation will be over.
The enemy this time, the Han Dynasty who occupied the Central Plains and Hebei, was obviously not that easy to deal with. Their emperor was still the commander-in-chief of the "Defeat of Luan City", and he was not unprepared. He built many buildings in Younan. A large number of Han troops were deployed in the fortress, and with its national strength, it was not impossible to mobilize another 200,000 to 300,000 troops.
The march was delayed and the best opportunity to attack was missed. Although Yelu'an Tuan greatly disturbed the northern region of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty this year was not like the previous two years when natural disasters continued. It can be imagined that in southern Hebei and the Central Plains, a large amount of food was only I'm afraid that the business has been put into the warehouse and will soon be turned into military rations, which will give the Han court the confidence to send troops.
There is also the Yan army occupying Youzhou, which is also a hard nut. The Khitan people had owned the city for ten years, expanded and reinforced it, and knew it was strong. With such a nail stuck in their throat, they continued to
What to do after the war?
in addition......
With more and more unfavorable factors swirling in his mind, Yelu Wuzhi subconsciously speeded up, almost jumping off the horse.
Although he knew that he might still be unable to persuade him, he still planned to make further suggestions to His Majesty the Emperor. Now, he still had time to stop.