Chapter 1048: The Alliance of Chanyuan 1
【Chanyuan Alliance】
Empress Xiao led the troops to attack Yingzhou, but encountered stubborn resistance from the Song army. The battle lasted for more than ten days. The Liao army attacked the city day and night. Empress Xiao personally beat the drum to cheer them on. Arrows were piled on the walls, but the city could not be taken. At this time, more than 30,000 Liao soldiers had been killed, and the number of wounded was several times that.
At the same time, the Liao army also suffered a defeat on the west route. At that time, tens of thousands of cavalry invaded the Caocheng River of the Kelan army. Gao Jixun, the commander of the Song army, climbed up to watch, and then smiled to the commander-in-chief Jia Zong: "Although the enemy is numerous, their formation is not in order. It is obvious that the commander is a rookie. Although we are few in number, we can win by surprise. So, we will set up an ambush at the foot of the mountain, lure the enemy deep into our territory, and then defeat them with the ambush."
Jia Zong followed the plan and successfully lured the Liao army to Hanguangling. After being ambushed, the Liao army was defeated and countless people were trampled to death. In the end, they fled back to Liao territory, leaving behind more than 10,000 corpses and countless cattle, horses, and camels.
On the eastern front, the story is even more legendary. Zhenzong named two people to be responsible for the defense of today's Shandong region, namely Zhang Qixian (Knowledge of Qingzhou) and Ding Wei (Knowledge of Yunzhou), who were old acquaintances. Qingzhou, which is today's county-level city of Qingzhou under the jurisdiction of Weifang City, Shandong Province, is located in the central part of Shandong Province; Yunzhou is today's Yuncheng County, Heze City, Shandong Province, located in the western part of Shandong Province. The two were given tasks such as transportation, promotion, and appeasement, which can be understood as "wartime Jiedushi".
Some of the Liao army cavalry that had been looting in Hebei moved to Shandong, and the people panicked and fled south. At that time, the only way to escape the war zone was to take a boat at Yangliu Ferry.
Faced with the sudden surge in market demand, ferry operators raised their prices. The ticket prices at that time could refer to the air tickets flying out of Hainan during the Spring Festival. Most people could not afford it, but the boatmen would rather stop operating than accept orders. At this price, you can take it or not. If you don't take it, you will die.
Ding Wei came up with a plan. He selected several death row prisoners and asked them to pretend to be boatmen. Then he staged a story at the ferry where a profiteer raised the price and refused to sail. While people were watching numbly, the city management team suddenly intervened and beheaded the "boatmen" in public for disrupting the market order.
The effect was immediate. The ticket prices returned to normal levels, and the people were able to retreat safely and orderly to the south of the Yellow River.
Ding Wei selected strong men from the refugees and asked them to hold high flags along the river and train new soldiers while patrolling. Their shouts were heard over a hundred miles away. The Liao army was very surprised to see this scene. Shandong farmers were working hard, but why were they all sharpening their knives to kill pigs and sheep? They turned around and ran away in fear, and Shandong was saved.
Empress Dowager Xiao failed to capture Yingzhou after a long siege, so she adopted the leapfrog tactic, waiting for an opportunity to capture Beizhou, Jizhou, Tianxiongjun, etc., and both sides won and lost alternately.
In November, Zhenzong set out for Chanzhou. During this period, Wang Jizhong sent many private letters to Zhenzong, expressing his desire to start negotiations as soon as possible (several petitions for peace). Zhenzong remained calm and warned his attendants that the Khitans were always treacherous and cunning. Today was cold and the Yellow River had frozen thick enough for carriages and horses to pass through, so they must be on high alert!
According to the report sent back from the front line of Yingzhou, although the fierce fighting in Yingzhou killed and wounded more than 100,000 Liao troops, the Liao army still had about 200,000 troops and should not be underestimated.
At this time, Empress Xiao made a rare mistake in her life. Because she was eager for success, she made the mistake of advancing alone. Whether it was the Northern Expedition of the Song Dynasty or the Southern Invasion of the Liao Army, three armies would usually be dispatched to attack from Shanxi and Hebei at the same time, forming a corner for each other. When a major omission occurred in one of the armies, the other two armies would slowly retreat to avoid being surrounded. In this battle, Empress Xiao's strategic deployment had a small problem. The Western Front was driven back to the country after a defeat, while the Eastern Front was only a small group of guerrillas, and all the treasures were placed on the central route.
In fact, it cannot be said that Empress Xiao made a mistake at this point. After all, concentrating superior forces to attack one point is also a reasonable tactic. However, Empress Xiao still adopted the leapfrog tactic in the absence of support from both wings, bypassing the Song army strongholds, penetrating deep into the enemy's hinterland, and directly exploring Chanzhou, showing a posture of crossing the Yellow River and taking Bianzhou.
In this way, if the Song army retreated, the Liao army would pay tribute to the battle of Later Tang to destroy Later Liang, leaving a significant mark in military history; but once they encountered stubborn resistance from the Song army, their own logistics supply could not keep up, and the enemy surrounded them from all sides, then it would basically be a situation of being made into dumplings.
Chanzhou was bound to be the battlefield for the decisive battle between the two sides, and it was bound to be a life-and-death bloody battle. Before Zhenzong went to Chanzhou, he had arranged for generals to go ahead, including Li Jilong, Ge Ba, Sun Quanzhao, and Zhang Min on the east wing and Shi Baoji, Wang Yin, and Qin Han on the west wing. Among them, Li Jilong, Ge Ba, and Qin Han have all appeared in the previous article, and they are all veterans who have experienced many battles, especially Shi Baoji, who is the second son of Shi Shouxin, a founding hero.
After receiving the order, Qin Han led the engineers to repair the city and dig deep trenches, completing the work before the Liao army arrived, thus laying a good material foundation for the next battle. Qin Han did not take off his armor for more than 70 days.
Zhang Min was not only good at both civil and military affairs, and was able to judge the situation, but also knew astronomy. Before the war, he observed the stars at night and calculated with his fingers, and reported to Emperor Zhenzong that it was beneficial to use troops, and whoever took action first would have the advantage. He suggested that the Song Dynasty should launch a northern expedition, and he also calculated an auspicious day. But at that time, Emperor Zhenzong was seeking peace, and the peace advocates held absolute power among his ministers, so the proposal to march north was shelved. Coincidentally, the date of the Liao army's dispatch was exactly the same as Zhang Min's calculation. Emperor Zhenzong regretted it, so he reused Zhang Min and sent him to the front line of Chanzhou. His main task was to look up at the sky at 45 degrees.
By the way, Zhang Min was also related to "UFOs". According to records, Zhang Min reported a shocking supernatural event to Emperor Zhenzong in 1018: a hat-shaped object appeared in the night sky of Luoyang, hovering in the air, and emitting dazzling light... So many netizens believed that this was an officially endorsed UFO sighting in Chinese history.
Sun Quanzhao, his father is the famous Sun Xingyou who established the "Langshan Revolutionary Base". A good father will have a good son, and Sun Quanzhao lived up to his family tradition and was a hard-core ruthless man like his father. Initially, his father was implicated in the imperial army, and later served under Cao Bin. He followed Tian Chongjin in the expedition and made great contributions. He also followed Li Jilong to recover Suizhou and garrison Xiazhou. Later, he was transferred to the north and became the governor of Tianxiong Army. He was a comrade who had been tested and trusted before Zhenzong arrived in Chanzhou.
Sun Quanzhao reported to Emperor Zhenzong that his defensive strategy was active defense, that is, if the Liao army came to attack, I would take the initiative to attack, and that was it. No more, Your Majesty only needed to allocate 1,800 cavalry to me. Emperor Zhenzong praised his loyalty and bravery, and instructed the commander-in-chief of the front line that if Sun Quanzhao wanted to attack, he could give him as many soldiers as he wanted.
When the Liao army appeared, Sun Quanzhao, as he had said before, went out of the city to meet the enemy and repelled the Liao army.
What Sun Quanzhao was most praised for was not his tough character, but his cunning mind. When the two sides were discussing peace, the Song Dynasty sent Cao Liyong to the Liao army camp to make contact. The Tianxiong Army, where Sun Quanzhao was stationed, was the only way for Cao Liyong to pass. When Cao Liyong arrived at the Tianxiong Army, Sun Quanzhao detained him.
As mentioned above, Empress Xiao asked Wang Jizhong to urge the Song Dynasty to negotiate peace, while fiercely attacking the states in Hebei; the "peace faction" within the Song Dynasty was always trying to make its presence felt, and Zhenzong's attitude was also wavering. If Zhenzong was inclined to end the war quickly, then the Song Dynasty would inevitably give up more interests.
Under such circumstances, Sun Quanzhao tried his best to persuade his leader Wang Qinruo that the Khitans had no sincerity in peace talks and that envoys must not be sent to the Liao camp at this time. So he used his enthusiasm to keep Cao Liyong in the city. Sun Quanzhao was betting his own head.
He won the bet. The Liao army's attempts in Hebei were repeatedly frustrated, which gave Zhenzong more confidence to take the initiative in the subsequent negotiations.
Although the official history books have to maintain the great, glorious and correct image of Emperor Zhenzong, and fully affirm his calmness and composure in the negotiations, through some small details, we can still see the cowardly and weak side of Emperor Zhenzong, or that Zhenzong has a big picture that ordinary people cannot understand, and he did not hesitate to retreat again and again in order to usher in peace as soon as possible. Sun Quanzhao used his own life as a bet to help Emperor Zhenzong - or should it be for the people of the Song Dynasty - to gain benefits.
Empress Dowager Xiao asked Wang Jizhong to write a sincere letter of peace, and Zhenzong and Sun Quanzhao cooperated tacitly. Zhenzong replied to Wang Jizhong, saying, "We have sent Cao Liyong over. Why, haven't you met yet? Don't worry, there may be a traffic jam on the highway. Wait a little longer."
After inquiring, the Liao Kingdom found out that the special envoy for negotiation, Cao Liyong, had indeed set out on the journey, but did not leave when he arrived at the Tianxiong Army service area... So Wang Jizhong sent another private message to Zhenzong, saying that we in the Liao Kingdom did not say that Cao Liyong must be the one, so why not ask you to send someone else, so as not to delay the important affairs of the two countries!
Zhenzong continued to play dumb. "I know you are anxious, but let's not be anxious. It is precisely because our country attaches great importance to this negotiation that we cannot take it lightly. How can we change the special envoy for negotiation? The wedding convoy is stuck in the middle of the road. Are you going to change the groom temporarily? Be patient and wait a little longer."
Empress Dowager Xiao was furious. "Well, I'll pick him up myself!" The Liao Kingdom's 200,000 main forces turned to attack the Tianxiong Army.
(End of this chapter)
【Chanyuan Alliance】
Empress Xiao led the troops to attack Yingzhou, but encountered stubborn resistance from the Song army. The battle lasted for more than ten days. The Liao army attacked the city day and night. Empress Xiao personally beat the drum to cheer them on. Arrows were piled on the walls, but the city could not be taken. At this time, more than 30,000 Liao soldiers had been killed, and the number of wounded was several times that.
At the same time, the Liao army also suffered a defeat on the west route. At that time, tens of thousands of cavalry invaded the Caocheng River of the Kelan army. Gao Jixun, the commander of the Song army, climbed up to watch, and then smiled to the commander-in-chief Jia Zong: "Although the enemy is numerous, their formation is not in order. It is obvious that the commander is a rookie. Although we are few in number, we can win by surprise. So, we will set up an ambush at the foot of the mountain, lure the enemy deep into our territory, and then defeat them with the ambush."
Jia Zong followed the plan and successfully lured the Liao army to Hanguangling. After being ambushed, the Liao army was defeated and countless people were trampled to death. In the end, they fled back to Liao territory, leaving behind more than 10,000 corpses and countless cattle, horses, and camels.
On the eastern front, the story is even more legendary. Zhenzong named two people to be responsible for the defense of today's Shandong region, namely Zhang Qixian (Knowledge of Qingzhou) and Ding Wei (Knowledge of Yunzhou), who were old acquaintances. Qingzhou, which is today's county-level city of Qingzhou under the jurisdiction of Weifang City, Shandong Province, is located in the central part of Shandong Province; Yunzhou is today's Yuncheng County, Heze City, Shandong Province, located in the western part of Shandong Province. The two were given tasks such as transportation, promotion, and appeasement, which can be understood as "wartime Jiedushi".
Some of the Liao army cavalry that had been looting in Hebei moved to Shandong, and the people panicked and fled south. At that time, the only way to escape the war zone was to take a boat at Yangliu Ferry.
Faced with the sudden surge in market demand, ferry operators raised their prices. The ticket prices at that time could refer to the air tickets flying out of Hainan during the Spring Festival. Most people could not afford it, but the boatmen would rather stop operating than accept orders. At this price, you can take it or not. If you don't take it, you will die.
Ding Wei came up with a plan. He selected several death row prisoners and asked them to pretend to be boatmen. Then he staged a story at the ferry where a profiteer raised the price and refused to sail. While people were watching numbly, the city management team suddenly intervened and beheaded the "boatmen" in public for disrupting the market order.
The effect was immediate. The ticket prices returned to normal levels, and the people were able to retreat safely and orderly to the south of the Yellow River.
Ding Wei selected strong men from the refugees and asked them to hold high flags along the river and train new soldiers while patrolling. Their shouts were heard over a hundred miles away. The Liao army was very surprised to see this scene. Shandong farmers were working hard, but why were they all sharpening their knives to kill pigs and sheep? They turned around and ran away in fear, and Shandong was saved.
Empress Dowager Xiao failed to capture Yingzhou after a long siege, so she adopted the leapfrog tactic, waiting for an opportunity to capture Beizhou, Jizhou, Tianxiongjun, etc., and both sides won and lost alternately.
In November, Zhenzong set out for Chanzhou. During this period, Wang Jizhong sent many private letters to Zhenzong, expressing his desire to start negotiations as soon as possible (several petitions for peace). Zhenzong remained calm and warned his attendants that the Khitans were always treacherous and cunning. Today was cold and the Yellow River had frozen thick enough for carriages and horses to pass through, so they must be on high alert!
According to the report sent back from the front line of Yingzhou, although the fierce fighting in Yingzhou killed and wounded more than 100,000 Liao troops, the Liao army still had about 200,000 troops and should not be underestimated.
At this time, Empress Xiao made a rare mistake in her life. Because she was eager for success, she made the mistake of advancing alone. Whether it was the Northern Expedition of the Song Dynasty or the Southern Invasion of the Liao Army, three armies would usually be dispatched to attack from Shanxi and Hebei at the same time, forming a corner for each other. When a major omission occurred in one of the armies, the other two armies would slowly retreat to avoid being surrounded. In this battle, Empress Xiao's strategic deployment had a small problem. The Western Front was driven back to the country after a defeat, while the Eastern Front was only a small group of guerrillas, and all the treasures were placed on the central route.
In fact, it cannot be said that Empress Xiao made a mistake at this point. After all, concentrating superior forces to attack one point is also a reasonable tactic. However, Empress Xiao still adopted the leapfrog tactic in the absence of support from both wings, bypassing the Song army strongholds, penetrating deep into the enemy's hinterland, and directly exploring Chanzhou, showing a posture of crossing the Yellow River and taking Bianzhou.
In this way, if the Song army retreated, the Liao army would pay tribute to the battle of Later Tang to destroy Later Liang, leaving a significant mark in military history; but once they encountered stubborn resistance from the Song army, their own logistics supply could not keep up, and the enemy surrounded them from all sides, then it would basically be a situation of being made into dumplings.
Chanzhou was bound to be the battlefield for the decisive battle between the two sides, and it was bound to be a life-and-death bloody battle. Before Zhenzong went to Chanzhou, he had arranged for generals to go ahead, including Li Jilong, Ge Ba, Sun Quanzhao, and Zhang Min on the east wing and Shi Baoji, Wang Yin, and Qin Han on the west wing. Among them, Li Jilong, Ge Ba, and Qin Han have all appeared in the previous article, and they are all veterans who have experienced many battles, especially Shi Baoji, who is the second son of Shi Shouxin, a founding hero.
After receiving the order, Qin Han led the engineers to repair the city and dig deep trenches, completing the work before the Liao army arrived, thus laying a good material foundation for the next battle. Qin Han did not take off his armor for more than 70 days.
Zhang Min was not only good at both civil and military affairs, and was able to judge the situation, but also knew astronomy. Before the war, he observed the stars at night and calculated with his fingers, and reported to Emperor Zhenzong that it was beneficial to use troops, and whoever took action first would have the advantage. He suggested that the Song Dynasty should launch a northern expedition, and he also calculated an auspicious day. But at that time, Emperor Zhenzong was seeking peace, and the peace advocates held absolute power among his ministers, so the proposal to march north was shelved. Coincidentally, the date of the Liao army's dispatch was exactly the same as Zhang Min's calculation. Emperor Zhenzong regretted it, so he reused Zhang Min and sent him to the front line of Chanzhou. His main task was to look up at the sky at 45 degrees.
By the way, Zhang Min was also related to "UFOs". According to records, Zhang Min reported a shocking supernatural event to Emperor Zhenzong in 1018: a hat-shaped object appeared in the night sky of Luoyang, hovering in the air, and emitting dazzling light... So many netizens believed that this was an officially endorsed UFO sighting in Chinese history.
Sun Quanzhao, his father is the famous Sun Xingyou who established the "Langshan Revolutionary Base". A good father will have a good son, and Sun Quanzhao lived up to his family tradition and was a hard-core ruthless man like his father. Initially, his father was implicated in the imperial army, and later served under Cao Bin. He followed Tian Chongjin in the expedition and made great contributions. He also followed Li Jilong to recover Suizhou and garrison Xiazhou. Later, he was transferred to the north and became the governor of Tianxiong Army. He was a comrade who had been tested and trusted before Zhenzong arrived in Chanzhou.
Sun Quanzhao reported to Emperor Zhenzong that his defensive strategy was active defense, that is, if the Liao army came to attack, I would take the initiative to attack, and that was it. No more, Your Majesty only needed to allocate 1,800 cavalry to me. Emperor Zhenzong praised his loyalty and bravery, and instructed the commander-in-chief of the front line that if Sun Quanzhao wanted to attack, he could give him as many soldiers as he wanted.
When the Liao army appeared, Sun Quanzhao, as he had said before, went out of the city to meet the enemy and repelled the Liao army.
What Sun Quanzhao was most praised for was not his tough character, but his cunning mind. When the two sides were discussing peace, the Song Dynasty sent Cao Liyong to the Liao army camp to make contact. The Tianxiong Army, where Sun Quanzhao was stationed, was the only way for Cao Liyong to pass. When Cao Liyong arrived at the Tianxiong Army, Sun Quanzhao detained him.
As mentioned above, Empress Xiao asked Wang Jizhong to urge the Song Dynasty to negotiate peace, while fiercely attacking the states in Hebei; the "peace faction" within the Song Dynasty was always trying to make its presence felt, and Zhenzong's attitude was also wavering. If Zhenzong was inclined to end the war quickly, then the Song Dynasty would inevitably give up more interests.
Under such circumstances, Sun Quanzhao tried his best to persuade his leader Wang Qinruo that the Khitans had no sincerity in peace talks and that envoys must not be sent to the Liao camp at this time. So he used his enthusiasm to keep Cao Liyong in the city. Sun Quanzhao was betting his own head.
He won the bet. The Liao army's attempts in Hebei were repeatedly frustrated, which gave Zhenzong more confidence to take the initiative in the subsequent negotiations.
Although the official history books have to maintain the great, glorious and correct image of Emperor Zhenzong, and fully affirm his calmness and composure in the negotiations, through some small details, we can still see the cowardly and weak side of Emperor Zhenzong, or that Zhenzong has a big picture that ordinary people cannot understand, and he did not hesitate to retreat again and again in order to usher in peace as soon as possible. Sun Quanzhao used his own life as a bet to help Emperor Zhenzong - or should it be for the people of the Song Dynasty - to gain benefits.
Empress Dowager Xiao asked Wang Jizhong to write a sincere letter of peace, and Zhenzong and Sun Quanzhao cooperated tacitly. Zhenzong replied to Wang Jizhong, saying, "We have sent Cao Liyong over. Why, haven't you met yet? Don't worry, there may be a traffic jam on the highway. Wait a little longer."
After inquiring, the Liao Kingdom found out that the special envoy for negotiation, Cao Liyong, had indeed set out on the journey, but did not leave when he arrived at the Tianxiong Army service area... So Wang Jizhong sent another private message to Zhenzong, saying that we in the Liao Kingdom did not say that Cao Liyong must be the one, so why not ask you to send someone else, so as not to delay the important affairs of the two countries!
Zhenzong continued to play dumb. "I know you are anxious, but let's not be anxious. It is precisely because our country attaches great importance to this negotiation that we cannot take it lightly. How can we change the special envoy for negotiation? The wedding convoy is stuck in the middle of the road. Are you going to change the groom temporarily? Be patient and wait a little longer."
Empress Dowager Xiao was furious. "Well, I'll pick him up myself!" The Liao Kingdom's 200,000 main forces turned to attack the Tianxiong Army.
(End of this chapter)
