Chapter 84: Gaoliang River Car God

Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Years.

Zhu Yuanzhang commented on this: "Although Emperor Taizong of Song was quite lacking in military skills, he did a good job in recovering the southern land and unifying the south. Moreover, he started from a political perspective and did not affect the livelihood of the people."

The sons nodded one after another, obviously not taking it to heart.

The generals winked at each other. Who didn't know about the things that Emperor Taizong of Song had done with the army? Fortunately, they were not under the emperors of the Song Dynasty. Although Wansui was a little cruel now, at least he would not cheat you in the war!

Song Dynasty, the first year of Kaibao.

Zhao Guangyi seemed to have found the key. Even though his voice was hoarse and weak, he still spoke: "Brother, look at my younger brother's achievements. I unified the South."

Zhao Kuangyin sneered: "Is this your credit? It is obviously because our Song Dynasty is strong that Chen Hongjin and Qian Chu are willing to obey. If someone similar were to become emperor, they would be able to keep them in the capital and let them merge into the Song Dynasty."

Zhao Dezhao and the other two were standing nearby, and when they heard this they all agreed very much.

Yes, if we don’t talk about other things and only talk about this matter, they can do it!
Han Dynasty, the first year of Yuanshuo.

Liu Che looked at Chen Hongjin and Qian Chu who had obediently submitted their petitions and offered their land, and he felt a yearning in his heart: When the Han Dynasty destroys the Huns, will those small countries in the Western Regions also be able to take the initiative to approach the Han Dynasty and become a part of it?
Delicious.

[Next, Zhao Guangyi's target changed to Northern Han.

The Northern Han originated from the Later Han.

After Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty and established the Later Liang Dynasty, Li Cunxu in the north proclaimed himself emperor, but still used "Tang" as the country's name, which was the Later Tang Dynasty. In the late Later Tang Dynasty, the military governor Shi Jingtang rebelled, borrowed troops from the Khitan in the north at the cost of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, and established the Later Jin Dynasty.

Later, conflicts gradually arose between the Khitan and the Later Jin Dynasty, and the Later Jin Dynasty was destroyed. Liu Zhiyuan, the governor of the Later Jin Dynasty, proclaimed himself emperor and established the Later Han Dynasty.

However, due to the chaos in the Later Han officialdom and the emperor's suspicion, General Guo Wei was forced to rebel and the Later Han fell. Guo Wei established the Later Zhou Dynasty, which was the dynasty that Zhao Kuangyin belonged to before he launched the Chenqiao Mutiny and established the Song Dynasty.

Although the Later Han Dynasty was destroyed, Liu Zhiyuan's younger brother Liu Chong was still alive and immediately proclaimed himself emperor, which was the Northern Han Dynasty.

During the reign of Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, the Northern Han was in turmoil due to the succession of the throne. Zhao Kuangyin saw an opportunity and sent troops to the north three times. Although he failed, he did consume the strength of the Northern Han and accumulated experience for the Song army to attack the Northern Han.

Under these circumstances, Zhao Guangyi intended to use the destruction of Northern Han as the glorious part of his own achievements.

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

Li Shimin and others were lazily listening to the story of the miracle, muttering and talking to each other, such as "The Song Dynasty is really chaotic", "How can there be so many separatist forces", "What exactly is Zhao Guangyi thinking", and so on, and then they heard "Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty..."

Ah, usurp the Tang Dynasty, usurp the Tang Dynasty!
Is this Song Dynasty the successor to our Tang Dynasty? ? ? Our Tang Dynasty is cracked? ? ? And there are so many cracks?

Just look at what we have heard now: Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, Northern Zhou, Northern Han, plus the Chen Hongjin and Nanyue Kingdom mentioned above, and there was also the Khitan in the north... The Song Dynasty, although it was said to be a Central Plains dynasty, was actually just a separatist regime!

A group of people looked at each other in bewilderment. Is this the power of separatist regimes? It is too casual to declare oneself emperor.

Li Shimin's face turned pale: "Who is this Shi Jingtang? How could he cede the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to a foreign race? How dare he call himself a human being!"

He did not forget that when he talked about the Ming Dynasty before, he mentioned that the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun had not been returned for hundreds of years, and it also caused a huge problem of division between the North and the South. Originally, it was thought that they were defeated in the war, but unexpectedly, someone gave them away directly!

Ming Dynasty, the 13th year of Hongwu.

As the founding emperor whose legal system was to "expel the Tartars", Zhu Yuanzhang had no tolerance for people and behaviors that yielded to foreign races. He said angrily: "Does anyone know where Shi Jingtang's grave is? It would be better to dig up his grave and comfort the people of Yanyun."

Just because he gave away the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, it would not be excessive to dig up his ancestral grave. But I am merciful and don't implicate others, so I only dug up his grave.

Western Jin Dynasty, the fourth year of Taishi.

Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, looked at the sky. He also saw Shi Jingtang ceding Yanyun and borrowing troops from Khitan to establish the Later Jin. His face suddenly became a little strange: Why did Shi Jingtang also name his country Jin? Isn't this the same as my Jin? Why should my world be the same as such a dynasty?
Suddenly I feel a little disgusted with the name of our country, Jin.

In the fourth year of Taiping Xingguo, Zhao Guangyi appointed Pan Mei as the Northern Route Commander, and ordered him to attack Taiyuan City in four directions. At the same time, he ordered Guo Jin to be the commander of Shiling Pass to block the Khitan reinforcements.

In early February, Zhao Guangyi personally led an army of more than 100,000. In March, Guo Jin intercepted the Khitan reinforcements at Shiling Pass (north of Taiyuan, Shanxi). The Khitan army suffered heavy casualties and was unable to support the Northern Han. On the other hand, Pan Mei commanded the Song army to besiege Taiyuan City. From spring to summer, they attacked day and night, with arrows and stones raining down.

In April, Zhao Guangyi personally went to the city of Taiyuan to supervise the battle. The soldiers were greatly encouraged. "The soldiers were excited and fought to climb over the city walls, and could not be stopped." The city walls of Taiyuan were almost completely without intact battlements, and arrows were flying from the top of the city walls.

On May 6, Northern Han ruler Liu Jiyuan led Northern Han officials to surrender. Thus, the Song Dynasty gained ten states, one army and forty-one counties, successfully unified the Central Plains, and the division of the Five Dynasties came to an end.

Since ancient times, Taiyuan has always been a military stronghold. In the Tang Dynasty, due to political reasons, its status was even more important and its military was even stronger. In the middle and late Tang Dynasty and even in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Taiyuan became a key force capable of balancing the four directions and changing regimes.

In order to completely eliminate the possibility of separatism in Taiyuan, Zhao Guangyi ordered it to be set on fire, and diverted the Fen River and Jinci River to flood the city walls, completely destroying the old city.

Tang Dynasty, the ninth year of Wude.

Watching the majestic Taiyuan City burning in flames and reduced to ashes, and then turned into ruins without a trace under the raging river water, Li Yuan, who always looked easy to talk to, stood up with his hair and beard standing on end, and was furious: "My Taiyuan City!!!" He covered his chest, feeling as if he was going to suffocate. He could only roar out these few words, and could not say anything more.

"Saint, Saint!" Pei Ji rushed forward, took the pill from the palace servant, and gave it to Li Yuan.

Not only Li Yuan reacted so violently, but almost everyone present was cursing. Among them, those who started their families in Taiyuan were even more furious: "Zhao Guangyi, you can attack Taiyuan, but how can you destroy the city? Who gave you the courage?"

It was rare for the three brothers Li Shimin, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji to stand on the same side without confronting each other - Zhao Guangyi was such an unfaithful and unfilial person, no wonder he could do such a shameful thing as destroying Taiyuan City! I don't know who his ancestors were, otherwise, he would not even have the chance to come into this world!
The Tang Dynasty in other time and space was also extremely angry and wished to tear Zhao Guangyi into pieces.

[After conquering Northern Han, although he unified the Central Plains, Zhao Guangyi did not decide to rest. He decided to attack the Liao Dynasty, which was the country established by the Khitan.

Perhaps he was overwhelmed by the success in destroying the Northern Han, or perhaps the fire in Taiyuan City burned his brain. In late May, the Song army had just dealt with the Northern Han. The soldiers were tired and in urgent need of rest, so Zhao Guangyi decided to threaten to destroy the Northern Han and take the former territory of Yanyun.

Not only that, after conquering Taiyuan, Zhao Guangyi did not reward the frontline generals and soldiers for their military merits. When someone asked about it, Zhao Guangyi said that he would wait until he conquered Youzhou before giving them rewards.

As a result, the Song army was tired of war, and their morale was low. In addition, the weather was hot, and the army was in disarray and had no will to fight.

What was the situation of the Liao Dynasty at this time? Under the rule of Emperor Jingzong of Liao, after more than ten years of recuperation, the Liao Dynasty's economy improved greatly, and the politics was relatively clear. In the military, famous generals such as Yelu Xiu'ge and Yelu Xizhen emerged, who were both wise and brave.

From the very beginning, Zhao Guangyi's failure was foreseeable.

Song Dynasty, the third year of Taipingxingguo.

Zhao Guangyi felt that everyone was looking at him strangely, as if he had taken off all his clothes and was standing on the street.

He was furious and said, "I can't possibly do such a thing! It's not like I haven't fought in wars before, how could I not reward the soldiers and pay attention to the morale and discipline of the army? These are all fake and nonsense!"

The ministers knew that the emperor was very suspicious and could only communicate secretly through eye contact.

Seeing the increasingly tense atmosphere in the hall, an official said, "Your Majesty is the emperor of a prosperous era, and everything you do must have a deep meaning. What you should take advantage of is the momentum, and what you cannot miss is the time. If your Majesty really chooses to take Yanyun by taking advantage of the momentum in the future, it should be just for the sake of a good timing."

Zhao Guangyi's brows relaxed, and the atmosphere in the hall suddenly eased. The ministers breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at their colleague with gratitude. They also echoed his words, praising Zhao Guangyi so much that he was overjoyed and no longer cared about what had happened before.

[In late May, the Song army advanced from Taiyuan and crossed the Taihang Mountains to gather on the Hebei Plain. On June 13, Zhao Guangyi personally led the army north from Zhenzhou and officially launched the northern expedition. Ten days later, the Song army reached Nanjing, the capital of the Liao Dynasty, which was Youzhou.

When the Liao general Yelu Xizhen saw the Song army approaching, he led his troops to retreat to Deshengkou, while Yelu Sha withdrew to the north of Qinghe River. They supported each other and supported Nanjing.

Zhao Guangyi mistakenly believed that Yelu Xizhen could only defend himself by holding on to dangerous places, so he sent a part of the army to monitor him, and led the main force of the Song army to attack the city day and night. On the one hand, he surrounded the city three times, and on the other hand, he dug tunnels and burrowed underground to advance.

The Liao Dynasty's garrison commander was Han Derang. He might not have been well-known at the time, but he later became one of the most important figures in the Liao Dynasty. Apart from other aspects, he participated in many battles between the Liao Dynasty and the Song Dynasty and made many contributions, making him one of the most hated figures in the Song Dynasty.

This battle was his first battle with the Song Dynasty. Han Derang went to the city walls day and night to command the troops, trying his best to keep the city intact and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

The Song army had been besieging for several days from June 25th to July 5th. They were exhausted and their food and fodder were running short due to the long transportation line.

Song Dynasty, the first year of Kaibao.

Watching Zhao Guangyi's magical operations, Zhao Kuangyin felt his hands itching again and wanted to beat someone up again.

How could he think that he could conquer Youzhou with just a surprise attack? There is no problem with a surprise attack, but you have to consider the situation of your army and the enemy's!
Let's not talk about the Liao Dynasty. How could the Song Dynasty's army, which had been fighting for days and traveling long distances, exert its combat effectiveness and capture Youzhou? Moreover, if you make such a sudden decision, the food and grass previously arranged for the fight against the Northern Han Dynasty will have to be rerouted and the amount of food and grass will have to be greatly increased. How do you know that there will be no problem with the food and grass?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Zhao Kuangyin picked up the stick again and rushed towards Zhao Guangyi: "Waste!" Even if you kill me, your brothers and nephews, you should still make the country better! What's the point of coming up with such a result?
Han Dynasty, the third year of Yuanshou.

At this time, Liu Che had already experienced the joy of having the title of Champion Marquis and the Great General. Just last year, Huo Qubing led his troops to conquer Yanzhi Mountain and Qilian Mountain, making the Xiongnu sing a sad song.

At this time, only Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were watching the sky curtain.

Liu Che thought that Zhao Guangyi was a joke: "I have defeated the Huns many times, but I don't think it was because I was great. I also didn't want to pursue the enemy by 'taking advantage of the victory' regardless of the situation of my generals and soldiers. Zhao Guangyi did want to do that, but what's the point of just unifying the Central Plains?" He didn't start to think highly of himself just because he had won brilliant military results against foreign countries.

A minister said with some disdain: "The Song Dynasty is still rubbish. It allowed a group of barbarians like the Huns to rule the Central Plains, establish a court, and even claim to be orthodox." Tianmu had mentioned before that in the future the history books of the Song Dynasty would be listed alongside the Liao Dynasty, and it would be unable to maintain its status as the only orthodox dynasty.

Ming Dynasty, the 16th year of Yongle.

Yongle Zhu Di also expressed his incomprehension of Zhao Guangyi's approach: "He has been to the battlefield with his brother Song Taizu, and he is not a scholar who knows nothing about military affairs. How could he come up with such a plan?" If he had done the same during the Jingnan Campaign, he would have died long ago, and Zhu Yunwen and his gang would probably have laughed out loud.

Zhu Gaochi said quietly, "Perhaps he wanted to prove himself and establish merit, and he was too hot-blooded to care about anything..."

Soon, the Liao Dynasty's reinforcement army led by Yelu Xiuguo arrived at the front line. He first lured the enemy with 5,000 weak soldiers, then led 30,000 elite cavalry to bypass the Song army and launched a fierce attack, sweeping northward.

On the sixth day, Yelu Sha marched to the city and fought a fierce battle with the Song army at Gaoliang River west of Youzhou City. Yelu Xiu Ge and Yelu Xi Zhen, who had previously occupied different areas, also led their troops to launch a fierce attack on the Song army from the left and right wings. When the Liao army in the city saw the reinforcements coming, they opened the gates, formed a battle array, and beat drums to assist.

The morale of one side was high, while the other side was exhausted and suddenly attacked. The outcome of the fierce battle was already determined. The Song army urgently dispatched siege troops to meet the enemy, but under the fierce attacks of the Liao army from several directions, they finally collapsed.

The next day, Zhao Guangyi led his army to retreat overnight. The Liao army certainly would not miss this opportunity and took advantage of the situation to pursue them. The Song army immediately fell into chaos, and the soldiers abandoned their armor and fled one after another.

(End of this chapter)