Chapter 150 Preparations for the Third Southern Expedition

Han Dynasty, during the first year before Emperor Wen.

Seeing this, Liu Qi finally showed a common attitude of a young man: "Isn't this battle of Liao Taizong a little too embarrassing?"

The last person to flee in a panic on the battlefield was Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi, who fled all the way south in a donkey cart from the north, running at a speed that was unattainable for ordinary people.

This time, Emperor Taizong of Liao basically slowed down after running for a while, because the Later Jin army stationed in Baituanwei Village had no intention of crossing the long section to pursue him; while Emperor Taizong of Song ran fast and far under the pursuit of the Liao army...

Can't compare, can't compare.

Liu Qi secretly warned himself that when he ascended the throne in the future, he must not fall into such an embarrassing situation, which would lose both his dignity and face - although he might not necessarily fight in person and lead the army in person.

But... Emperor Taizong of Liao and Emperor Taizong of Song, the Liao Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, can this be considered a kind of antithesis? Or a kind of give and take...

[On April 19, Yelu Deguang returned to the army and stationed in Nanjing.

Although the southward march ended here, the fighting between Khitan and Later Jin on the border continued. On June 23, the Later Jin attacked Gaoyang but failed.

Yelu Deguang also did not give up the idea of ​​destroying the Later Jin Dynasty, although he had failed twice in his attempts to go south.

After a series of wars, the situation in Khitan began to deteriorate. Every battle consumed population and livestock. Even if Khitan continued to develop, the people in the country could hardly withstand such losses.

At this time, a contradiction that has always existed at this time surfaced: grassland-based and ruling the Central Plains.

Yelu Deguang may not have been thinking about unifying the Central Plains and establishing the Khitan Empire at this time, but he was clearly interested in the Central Plains;
However, there has always been a group of people within the Khitan who stick to the grassland and do not intend to invest too much energy in the Central Plains. They are willing to use troops and form alliances in the Central Plains to a limited extent to gain benefits from it, but if there are risks, they are not willing to let it affect the internal affairs of the Khitan.

Therefore, they did not agree with Yelu Deguang's insistence on using military force against the Later Jin Dynasty.

So, Shulü Ping had the following conversation with Yelu Deguang.

Shulü Ping asked Yelu Deguang: "Is it okay to let the Han people become the monarch of our Khitan?" Yelu Deguang replied: "Of course not." So Shulü Ping continued: "Then why do you want to be the Han emperor?" Yelu Deguang did not answer that he wanted to be the Han emperor, but said: "The Shi family is ungrateful and cannot be tolerated." - Because the Shi family has forgotten the kindness of our Khitan, they cannot be kept.

Finally, Shulü Ping said: "Although you have obtained the Central Plains, you cannot stay here for long. If you encounter setbacks and fall flat on your face one day, it will be too late to regret it."

Although Shulü Ping's words represented the attitude of the grassland faction within the Khitan, Yelu Deguang had been on the throne for many years, and he had the support of the achievements in the Yanyun region, as well as a group of people who were willing to support him through the North-South official system. Therefore, his plan to go south for the third time was not shaken. 】

Liao Dynasty, the first year of Huihe.

Yelu Deguang watched his two failed attempts to go south and said nothing.

He did not deny that he had some ideas about the Central Plains. This was an attitude inherited from his father. Back then, Yelu Abaoji had actually already had some yearning for the Central Plains, but the time was not ripe.

He also did not deny that if Shi Chonggui had been submissive to him, he might have taken action against Zhongyuan. Shi Chonggui's attitude was the fuse that triggered the war, not the fuse that triggered his action against Zhongyuan. If Shi Chonggui had been submissive, then the way to take action might not be war, but various political means.

However, Shi Chonggui's attitude was just as he said in the sky, "Shi is ungrateful", how could he tolerate it? Such a puppet who relied on him and was supported by him, actually wanted to bite him back, what else could this be but ungratefulness? Moreover, if he did not take any action, how would the surrounding countries view Khitan and Liao?
Will this make you feel that the Liao Dynasty is easy to bully?
As for the attitude of the grassland factions in the country... he naturally knew that those people were willing to profit from the Central Plains, but would not be willing to invest too much in the Central Plains. In addition to the basic differences in their footholds, some people wanted to seize more power, or in other words, restore the system of the nobles deciding to jointly establish a leader.

Then it would be even more impossible for me to allow it.

However, nothing has happened yet. The Yanyun region has just been acquired, and Shi Jingtang is still a few years away from death. He needs to take his time to gain control of the Central Plains. He also needs to re-evaluate the power of the Later Jin, the route of advance, and the battle plan.

The original judgment on the military strength of the Later Jin Dynasty also needs to be updated.

Ming Dynasty, during the Hongwu period.

Zhu Biao also discovered from historical records the disagreement and struggle between the conservative and southward routes within the Liao Dynasty: "The Liao Dynasty did have problems in this regard, but Emperor Taizong of Liao was undoubtedly a monarch who preferred to advance southward." Since Emperor Taizong of Liao, Yelü Deguang, most of the southward expeditions by later monarchs of the Liao Dynasty were a form of self-protection after they discovered that the Central Plains dynasty posed a threat to themselves.

Although they had made many trips southward, most of them were not aimed at occupying and ruling the Central Plains like Yelu Deguang, but to use military force to strike against regimes that might pose a threat to themselves.

Zhu Di thought for a moment and said, "The reign of Emperor Shizong of Liao was relatively short, so the Liao Dynasty's official shift from moving south to being conservative should have been during the reign of Emperor Muzong."

Zhu Gang agreed with this view. He said: "After Emperor Muzong of Liao ascended the throne, the faction that went south was no longer dominant. Basically, they all negotiated for peace or used war to promote peace."

"No, in the early days of Emperor Muzong's accession to the throne, the Liao Dynasty was still actively moving south and did not give up its intentions for the Central Plains." Zhu Di and Zhu Chong looked through the Liao Dynasty's war records. "It should be after Liao and Northern Han and Gaoping were defeated by Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou that Liao's policy changed and they did not dare to move south easily."

In the Battle of Gaoping, Chai Rong, Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou, won a great victory, which reversed the balance of power between the two sides. The Liao Dynasty then began to seek stability, and the southward faction gradually declined. This was also the reason why Emperor Muzong of Liao said, "The Three Passes were originally Han territory. Now they have been returned to Han. What's the loss?"

Soon, Yelu Deguang found another good opportunity, an opportunity created by the internal changes of the Later Jin Dynasty. After Shi Chonggui successfully counterattacked the Khitan during the second southward movement, he began to become more and more confident in his achievements. At the same time, he became more and more willing to appoint his preferred ministers in the court.

Take Du Chongwei as an example. During Yelu Deguang's second southward expedition and the counterattack by the Later Jin Dynasty, Du Chongwei actually made many mistakes, such as delaying the opportunity to fight and closing the city to protect himself... However, he did not receive any punishment for this after the war.

At the same time, Du Chongwei was not only at a disadvantage in military affairs, but also failed to bring positive effects to the local area when he served as a Jiedushi. On the contrary, he imposed heavy taxes on the people, levied additional levies on top of taxes, and abused the people to fill his private collection. In Hengzhou, where he had been stationed for a long time, nine out of ten houses were empty and the people were living in poverty, but he had more than 100,000 bushels of millet stored in his mansion.

During wartime, he would guard the city walls and would not dare to attack even if he saw that the enemy was small in number or had captured a large number of civilians.

Such a person, after the war, because Hengzhou was in decline and the people were resentful, actually wrote a letter requesting a transfer. Without waiting for the court's reply, Du Chongwei left the province on his own and rushed to the capital.

In the end, Shi Chonggui did not do anything to him, but let Ma Quanjie take over his post as Jiedushi of Hengzhou, transferred him to Jiedushi of Tianxiong, and left him in Yedu.

The biggest move of Shi Chonggui's style of doing things was to appoint Feng Yu. 】

Tang Dynasty, Zhenguan period.

From Shi Chonggui's governance methods and behavior, Li Shimin had already seen the end of his demise: "The second time Emperor Taizong of Liao went south, he was indeed defeated, but why did Shi Chonggui think that the Later Jin Dynasty was not afraid of the Khitan and could rest easy? How could he think that he was extremely capable and started to indulge in pleasure?"

It is true that the Later Jin Dynasty defeated the Khitan, but this does not mean that Shi Chonggui, the monarch of the Later Jin Dynasty, could ignore the Khitan.

The Later Jin Dynasty had a series of problems: Have the natural disasters ended? Have the people in various places been able to live in peace and order? Many places have become battlefields, people are living in poverty, and crops have failed. Can the court ensure that these places have food to eat and maintain order? Have the soldiers who died in the war received their pensions? In the court, have the conflicts between the central government and the local military governors been eased or even resolved? Can the central government effectively control the local military governors and prevent them from doing anything unexpected? ...

With so many problems, do you, Shi Chonggui, have any ideas on how to deal with them? Do you have the right people?

Not to mention, these are internal problems of the Later Jin Dynasty. Externally, Yelu Deguang has never stopped his plan to go south again - are you ready for a third battle on your own territory in a short period of time?

Speaking of employing people, for someone like Du Chongwei, there must be people in the army and the court who are dissatisfied with him. Even if they do not intend to make him lose his status, they should still take some disciplinary measures. This must be done for everyone to see. Anyway, there are a lot of legitimate reasons to deal with him: he did not manage the military well, and he even raised taxes and plundered the people's wealth while guarding a place. Even if these two are not counted, then it is okay for him to come to Beijing privately without an imperial edict, right?

Wei Zheng snorted coldly and wanted to turn his eyes away. This kind of monarch really hurt his eyes.

Song Dynasty, Kaibao period.

"After the young emperor confessed to Tuanwei Village, he felt that the Later Jin Dynasty could defeat the Liao Dynasty..." Zhao Guangmei judged, "From then on, he only wanted to use those who 'accorded his wishes', and was unwilling to let those who 'did not agree with his wishes' or who might have an impact on him and had great prestige and power continue to hold power." This was fatal.

Frankly speaking, there is nothing wrong with a monarch concentrating power, but he cannot do so by favoring relatives and friends, ignoring correct opinions, and only allowing those sycophantic and incompetent people to take power.

The situation in the court in Shi Chonggui's later years became a group of people who supported the counterattack of the Later Jin Dynasty and believed in the strategy of the Liao Dynasty. This was closely related to the fact that the ministers he trusted were all people who agreed with the emperor's wishes. Shi Chonggui wanted to fight, and Shi Chonggui felt that the Later Jin Dynasty could win, so how could these ministers go against the emperor's wishes?

Zhao Dezhao also felt regretful about Shi Chonggui's increasing arrogance and complacency: "Sang Weihan... apart from other things, he is still quite capable in handling internal affairs. It's hard to say about Feng Yu." Although Sang Weihan might not be able to come up with a solution other than surrendering and seeking peace when dealing with the Liao Kingdom, he was really good at governing internal affairs. At the same time, he was able to suppress other ministers and military governors, which was quite important for a court like the Later Jin Dynasty where someone might have ulterior motives at any time.

As for Feng Yu... not to mention his governance level, he also repeatedly made slanderous remarks, abused his power and extorted bribes. Since he served as Privy Councilor, Secretary of the Central Secretariat and Prime Minister, the government has become increasingly corrupt.

[Feng Yu was the elder brother of Empress Feng. He was good at guessing the emperor's intentions and trying to please him, so he was increasingly valued by Shi Chonggui.

Especially after this war, Shi Chonggui, who felt that he had made outstanding achievements, became more and more arbitrary, so Feng Yu stepped into the core of the central government and served as Privy Councilor, Secretary of the Central Secretariat, and Prime Minister. Shi Chonggui also used him to share the power of Prime Minister Sang Weihan.

By the end of that year, that is, December of the second year of Kaiyun, Sang Weihan became the Yin of Kaifeng.

The court thus fell into chaos.

In the summer of the third year of Kaiyun, there was a great famine in Henan and Hebei, tens of thousands of people died of starvation, and bandits emerged. There were also continuous rains, and the river water rose, and the crops that were about to be harvested in many places were submerged. The court was in chaos and could not make an efficient response.

At this time, in the northwest of Dingzhou, a village, because the treatment given by the court was not generous enough, turned to Yelu Deguang and revealed the news that there was a great famine in the Central Plains and it was a good time to send troops. 】

(The one who controlled the country was Li Song, and the one who appointed Li Song was the emperor. He did not use those who should be used, and did not trust those who should be trusted. He blinded himself and ended up falling down. Who is to blame?)
Han Dynasty, during the first year before Emperor Wen.

Liu Heng could only sigh as he watched the people being displaced and dying of hunger. After all, they were not the Han Dynasty, and he could not do anything.

The famine in Hebei and Henan was undoubtedly a long-foreseen result. The Khitans went south twice, and the battlefields were both on the territory of the Later Jin Dynasty, and the main focus was basically Hebei and a small part of Henan. The Khitans went south in winter, but the war lasted until almost summer. Where did these places get the time and land to cultivate?

Moreover, the Later Jin army needed huge amounts of food and fodder to set out. Shouldn't this come from the people?
Coupled with the frequent natural disasters in the Later Jin Dynasty, people must not have enough food at home. The grain harvested last year could only barely support the next year. In the summer, famine would inevitably occur.

Liu Qi was also heartbroken, but he was still a little puzzled: "Every time Emperor Taizong of Liao sent troops, he took advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains. Is it the same this time?" No way, this is the third time he has gone south. Even with his achievements and manpower support, Yelu Deguang could not go south indefinitely. In other words, if he fails this time, his chances will be even smaller.

(End of this chapter)