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Cao Bin was born in a military family in Lingshou County, Zhending Prefecture. His father, Cao Yun, was the commander of the Chengde Army, and his aunt, Zhang, was the concubine of Guo Wei, the founding emperor of the Later Zhou Dynasty.

When Cao Bin was a child, he was praised for taking a weapon with his left hand, a ritual vessel with his right hand, and a seal during the routine one-year-old ceremony. Later, this event became a well-known example in later generations.

During the Qianyou period of the Later Han Dynasty, Cao Bin was appointed as a general of the Chengde army with the help of his father, and thus embarked on a military career, during which he was highly appreciated by Wu Xingde, the then governor.

"In the first year of Guangshun, Guo Wei established Kaifeng as the capital and founded the Later Zhou regime. In the same year, Cao Bin was promoted to the capital because he was a relative of the emperor."

"Soon after, he followed Chai Rong to Chanyuan, and was first appointed as a sacrificial officer, and later changed to deputy envoy of the guest ministry."

"In the first year of Xiande, after Emperor Shizong Chai Rong ascended the throne, Cao Bin was transferred to be the governor of Hezhong Prefecture, assisting the then Jiedushi Wang Renhao in managing the military office. His humble style was highly praised by Wang Renhao."

"In the third year of Xian De, Cao Bin was promoted to the military supervisor of Tongguan."

"Two years later, Cao Bin was transferred back to Beijing and transferred to the post of Xishanggemenshi. During this time, he was increasingly appreciated by Chai Rong because he refused to accept gifts when he was sent as an envoy to Wuyue."

"In the sixth year of Xiande, Cao Bin was appointed as the envoy of Sifangguan soon after, and was appointed as the military commander and stationed in Jinzhou, leading troops to the north to resist Liu Jun's regime."

"He was later promoted to the rank of ushering in the imperial court, and served for many years under the same emperor as Zhao Kuangyin, who was then the chief inspector of the imperial court."

"After entering the Song Dynasty, in the early years of Zhao Kuangyin's enthronement, Cao Bin continued to serve in Jinzhou until the second year of Jianlong, when he was transferred to the official guest ministry. He was ordered to lead troops with Wang Quanbin and Guo Jin to attack the Northern Han. The Song army first subdued the troops of Wang Chao and Hou Barong in Leping, and then defeated the Northern Han reinforcements led by Kaojin three times, making Leping County incorporated into the Northern Song Dynasty, and then expanding the territory of the Northern Song Dynasty."

"In the first year of Qiande, Cao Bin was awarded the title of General Zuo Shenwu and Envoy of the Ministry of Internal Guests for his meritorious service."

"In September of the same year, the Northern Han sent troops to counterattack the Pingjin Army. The Song court urgently dispatched Cao Bin, Guo Jin, Zhang Yanjin and others to lead their troops to support them. The Northern Han immediately withdrew their troops upon hearing the news;"

"Three months later, Cao Bin joined forces with Zhao Yanhui and Li Jixun to attack the Northern Han and seize Liaozhou. Afterwards, a fierce battle broke out with the Northern Han and Khitan reinforcements under the city of Liaozhou. After the victory, he was awarded the title of Privy Councilor."

"In the winter of the second year of Qiande, Zhao Kuangyin decided to attack Shu after visiting Pu on a snowy night. He then ordered the Song army to attack Shu in two routes. Cao Bin was ordered to lead the troops to fight as the commander of the Guizhou camp. During this period, he was praised by Zhao Kuangyin for strictly managing the army together with the commander Liu Guangyi and conquering several states in Shu. "

"The following year, when the Song army entered Chengdu, captured Meng Chang, the king of the Later Shu, and took over all of Shu, he repeatedly urged the army to return to the court as soon as possible. However, the generals of the front army were vying for merit and pleasure, and he remained unmoved. This eventually led to a large-scale anti-Song uprising in Shu. At one time, soldiers and civilians in many places rose up, shocking the Song court;"

"Afterwards, Cao Bin, Liu Guangyi and others led their troops to attack again, and it was not until December of the fourth year of Qiande that they pacified Shu again;"

"In the first month of the following year, Cao Bin was promoted to the position of Imperial Tutor, Envoy of the Southern Court of Xuanhui, and Jiedushi of Yicheng Army because of his strict military supervision, and was officially ranked among the great generals."

"In August of the sixth year of Qiande, Cao Bin was ordered to serve as the commander of the front army of the Hedong camp, and he led the second expedition to Taiyuan with Li Jixun, the commander of the front army of the Hedong camp, and Dang Jin, the deputy commander of the front army;"

"Upon hearing the news, the new emperor of Northern Han, Liu Jiyuan, urgently dispatched his imperial guards Liu Jiye and the chief of staff Ma Feng to lead their troops to guard the Tuanbai Valley Fortress. However, by then, the troops of Li Jixun and Cao Bin had already crossed into Northern Han territory, and the vanguard of the front army, He Jiyun's troops, had already penetrated into the area of ​​Xugou County in Taiyuan Prefecture, and then a fierce battle broke out with the Northern Han troops heading south on the north bank of Dongguo River;"

"After the Song army won the "Battle of Dongguohe", they immediately took the Fenhe Bridge and surrounded Taiyuan Prefecture. They did not stop until November when the Liao army came out of Yanmen."

Su Shi: Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin seized the opportunity of the turmoil in the Northern Han Dynasty to plan a personal expedition to Taiyuan, and ordered Cao Bin to resume his post as the commander of the front army and Song general Dang Jin to lead their troops to attack first;
When the Northern Han general Liu Jiye learned that Chen Tingshan had rebelled and Tuanbai Valley had been lost, he stopped advancing and retreated to Taiyuan.

Afterwards, Cao Bin and others led their troops to advance on the capital Taiyuan, and then fought with the Northern Han army in the south of Taiyuan, capturing more than a thousand military horses.

In March of the same year, Zhao Kuangyin personally went to the front line of Taiyuan to supervise the siege. Cao Bin was again ordered to lead his troops to station in the north of Taiyuan. Together with Dang Jin, Zhao Zan, Li Jixun and others, they fought with the Northern Han defenders by land and sea for several months, but they were never able to break into the city. Later, as many soldiers who entered Xia were sick, and the reinforcements led by the Liao general Beiyuan King Yelu Wuzhen were approaching, Zhao Kuangyin ordered the troops to withdraw in the intercalary fifth month of that year.

In the seventh year of Kaibao, the focus of the war of unification of the Northern Song Dynasty shifted to the Southern Tang Dynasty. In September, Cao Bin, who was already the acting Grand Tutor, was ordered to lead the cavalry commander Li Hanqiong and the judge of the Sifangguan, Tian Qinzuo, to advance to the south of Jing. He appointed Fan Ruoshui to recruit ships and warships and pre-build fortifications for crossing the river according to the "Crossing the River Diagram" he presented.
Before leaving, Zhao Kuangyin gave him a sword and promised him to strictly discipline the army, show kindness and power, and not to kill people indiscriminately. Pan Mei, the governor of Shannan East Road, Liu Yu, the chief of the imperial guards, and Liang Jiong, the governor of Dongshanggemen, also took orders to lead the infantry to the front line to join the expedition.
A few months later, Cao Bin was appointed as the commander of the cavalry and infantry of the Southwest Camp and was in charge of the southern expeditionary forces to attack the Southern Tang. At one time, he led an army of 100,000 and sent troops both by sea and by boat.

After the battle plan was finalized, Cao Bin immediately ordered his troops to board thousands of yellow and black dragon boats and sail up the Yangtze River to the east.
After crossing the Yangtze River from Qiyang, Cao Bin first broke through the Xiashankou stronghold, killed 800 Southern Tang defenders, and captured 270 alive. He then marched all the way to attack the Southern Tang capital Jinling. During this time, the Southern Tang Chizhou defender Ge Yan got the news and fled. Cao Bin immediately took advantage of the situation and took Chizhou City. Then he captured Tongling on the 13th day of the intercalary October, defeated the Southern Tang land and sea coalition, and captured more than 200 warships.
Five days later, Cao Bin's troops captured the two cities of Wuhu and Dangtu again, and headed straight for Caishiji, a strategic fortress in Nanjing.

On October 23rd of the intercalary year of Kaibao in the seventh year, Cao Bin commanded the Song army to launch an offensive against the Jiangnan army stationed at Caishiji, and captured Yang Shou, deputy commander of the cavalry and infantry army, Cai Zhen, chief of the cavalry and infantry army, and other Jiangnan generals in one fell swoop; by then, the yellow and black dragon boat floating bridge built in Langzhou had been successfully tested at Shipaikou. After Cao Bin and others captured Caishiji, they immediately requested an order to move the prefabricated Shipaikou floating bridge to Caishiji, and the construction was presided over by Fan Ruoshui, the then Prince's Right Praise Doctor who had accompanied him on the expedition. It happened to be the dry season of the Yangtze River at that time, with flat waves and shallow beaches. The Caishiji floating bridge was completed in less than three days, and it was as easy to walk on as flat ground.

Seeing the situation, Cao Bin urgently ordered Pan Mei, Liu Yu and others who were stationed on the west bank of the Yangtze River to gather their troops and rush across the river. As a result, the Northern Song army that had marched southwards gathered together and headed straight for Nanjing.

At that time, when Li Yu, the king of Southern Tang, heard that the Song army had crossed the river, he was shocked and hurriedly sent Zheng Yanhua, the governor of Zhenhai, to lead 10,000 naval forces and Du Zhen, the chief military officer of Tiande, to lead 10,000 infantry to meet the attack. The Battle of Caishiji for the control of the pontoon bridge broke out.

"At the beginning of the war, Zheng Yanhua and Du Zhen led their troops to attack Jinling by land and sea. When they arrived at Caishi, they planned to sail upstream with warships to ram and destroy the bridge. Cao Bin then sent the Song navy to fight with Zheng Yanhua's troops in the river, and the land troops to the east of Caishi. After that, the Song navy, which had won the river battle, took advantage of the situation to land and attack Du Zhen's rear army, and pursued the remnants of Du Zhen and Zheng Yanhua all the way to Xinlinzhai and Bailuzhou. Then they defeated the Southern Tang defenders at Xinlin Port and approached the city of Jinling."

"Wang Chu, the ruler of Wuyue, Li Shu, the commander of the Hanyang Army, and Ning Guangzuo, the military supervisor, also led their troops to attack at the same time. They defeated the Southern Tang defenders in Changzhou and Ezhou in the same year. For a time, Nanjing was under martial law and the Southern Tang was shaken."

"In the first month of the eighth year of Kaibao, the generals of the Song army marched southwards under the unified command of Cao Bin. First, Song general Fan Ruoshui defeated the Southern Tang army in Chizhou. Later, Song generals Wang Ming and Wu Shouqian attacked Wuchang and captured Fanshan Stronghold. Then Song general Tian Qinzuo defeated the Southern Tang army in Lishui. Song general Li Hanqiong set fire to the Qinhuai River and destroyed the Southern Tang water stronghold. From then on, the Song army marched southwards and chased northwards. The Battle of Nanjing broke out in full swing."

"The next month, Cao Bin led his troops out of Qinhuai and defeated the 100,000-strong naval and land forces of the Southern Tang Dynasty stationed at the gates of Jinling in one fell swoop;"

"Then they unexpectedly encountered the Southern Tang army that was planning to attack the Yangtze River floating bridge. After winning the battle, the Song army turned around and went straight to the water stronghold south of Jinling City, and once again defeated the Southern Tang army at Bailuzhou, and finally broke into the Jinling Pass."

"In the following months, the Northern Song and Wuyue coalition forces attacked on both the east and west fronts, winning several battles in Xuanzhou, Jinling, Jiangzhou, Changzhou, Jiangyin, Ningyuan Army, and Wuchang. In June, Liu Cheng rebelled against the Southern Tang in Runzhou and joined the Northern Song. The Song-Wu coalition forces jointly attacked Lu Jiang and won. Jinling was thus completely surrounded by the Song army and entered a stalemate stage of fighting and peace."

"Around June of the eighth year of Kaibao, Li Yu, the ruler of Southern Tang, who saw that Nanjing was in imminent danger, repeatedly sent envoys to the Song Dynasty to seek peace, while at the same time urgently summoning Zhu Lingyun, the garrison commander of Hongzhou, to come north to defend the emperor;"

"In July of the same year, Zhao Kuangyin predicted that there would be more epidemics in the south of the Yangtze River in summer, and that many officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty wanted to surrender, so he ordered Cao Bin to control the troops and slow down the attack on Nanjing, hoping to persuade Li Yu to surrender the whole country, but it ultimately failed;"

"In September, the war resumed. Zhu Lingyun of the Southern Tang claimed to have 150,000 soldiers and marched out of Hukou. He went up the Yangtze River and rushed to Nanjing. He wanted to use his warships to rush directly to the floating bridge in the river and cut off the food supply of the Song army. However, he was blocked in the Wankou area by the "empty sail plan" of Song generals Wang Ming and Liu Yu. Zhu Lingyun then changed his strategy to "fire attack" and won victory after victory. However, he was defeated and died because of a sudden change in the wind direction in the river."

"In November of the eighth year of Kaibao, when the Southern Tang Jinling was about to fall, Cao Bin, who was ordered to protect Jiangnan, saw that he had repeatedly sent envoys to persuade Li Yu to surrender but failed. However, knowing that his soldiers were fond of killing and looting, he came up with a plan. He claimed to be sick and stayed in bed, not caring about the war. Taking advantage of the opportunity when the generals came to visit him, he pretended to be ill and asked the generals to burn incense and swear "not to kill anyone when entering the city". Cao Bin's "burning incense to forbid killing" has since become a well-known classic in later generations."

"A few days later, the Song army fought many fierce battles and finally broke into the city. As a result, most of the Southern Tang was destroyed and Li Yu surrendered. Only Jiangzhou was still defending the city. In April of the following year, it was finally defeated and the city was massacred."

"After Cao Bin led his army into the city and accepted the surrender, he immediately selected a thousand elite soldiers to guard the gates of the Southern Tang Palace, and comforted Li Yu that he could be granted an official position and salary if he entered the Song Dynasty. He could take all the money and property in the palace as he pleased before the records were made. At the same time, he ordered all the generals to refrain from acting on their own, burning, killing, and looting. He also appointed the transport envoy Xu Zhongxuan to inspect the Southern Tang's warehouses and treasuries one by one, and then most of the Southern Tang officials, civilians, gentry, and treasuries were preserved."

Li Qingzhao: Cao Bin sent Guo Shouwen, the deputy envoy of the Imperial Academy, to return to the army first and rush to Bianliang to present the captives, and left his vanguard Cao Han to lead the troops westward to attack Jiangzhou;
In February, when Cao Bin pacified most of the Southern Tang and was ordered to lead the main force of the Song army back to the court, he only wrote in a letter saying "I was ordered to go to Jiangnan on business and returned." As a result, he was more appreciated by Zhao Kuangyin. In the same month, he was appointed Privy Councilor, Inspector of Grand Marshal, and Governor of the Zhongwu Army, setting a precedent for the Privy Councilor to also serve as Governor.

In October of the first year of Taipingxingguo, Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi, ascended the throne. Cao Bin, who was the Privy Councilor, was promoted again and appointed Tongzhongshumenxia Pingzhangshi, thus officially becoming an envoy and prime minister.

Three years later, he was granted the title of Inspector Grand Tutor. In the first month of the fourth year of Taipingxingguo, Cao Bin was summoned to participate in the court discussion on conquering the Northern Han Dynasty. He discussed military affairs with the then Prime Minister Xue Juzheng and others, and strongly recommended Zhao Guangyi to send troops to Taiyuan to conquer the Northern Han Dynasty.
In February of the same year, he accompanied Zhao Guangyi out of Bianliang and marched four times to Taiyuan, where he took the lead in planning military affairs.

After unifying the Northern Han in May, Cao Bin followed the emperor to the north to conquer the Liao territory. He was ordered as the Privy Councilor to gather generals to discuss matters and mobilize troops from various routes to launch a northern expedition out of Zhenzhou. At one point, he successively conquered several cities under the Liao dynasty, including Dongyizhou, Zhuozhou, and Jizhou, until he was defeated at Gaoliang River and had to withdraw his troops.

In October of the fourth year of Taipingxingguo, the Liao army went out of Zhenzhou and failed in its southern expedition. After the Northern Song Dynasty won the Battle of Mancheng, Cao Binfang was awarded the title of Shizhong for his meritorious service in the expedition against the Northern Han.
In the first month of the eighth year of Taipingxingguo, Cao Bin was framed by Mi Dechao, then the governor of Zhenzhou, for the issue of "monthly silver" for frontier soldiers. He was subsequently demoted and dismissed from his post as prime minister. He was sent out as the governor of Tianping Army, but retained the title of minister.
In April, the case of Mi Dechao, Li Fu and others forming a clique was exposed. Zhao Guangyi, who had come to his senses, reinstated them to their original posts, and later conferred him the title of Duke of Lu, treating them even better.

In the first month of the third year of Yongxi, Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi accepted the opinions of Xue Jizhao and He Lingtu, father and son, and others. He intended to take advantage of the opportunity of the empress dowager regency in the Liao Dynasty when the "ruler was young and the country was in doubt" to summon court officials to discuss the issue of raising troops to attack the Liao and recover the old territory of Youyun. Although he was dissuaded by Li Zhi, the then Vice Prime Minister, the attack on the Liao was finally decided.

Later, Zhao Guangyi adopted Song Qi's "Ten Strategies for Conquering Yan and Ji", which planned to divide the troops into three routes and launch a surprise and regular attack:
Cao Bin was ordered to command the front army of Youzhou Road, including cavalry, infantry, and land and sea forces, and supervised the main forces of the Song army under his command, including Cui Yanjin and Mi Xin, to march eastward to Xiongzhou, spread momentum outside, delay the troops inside, and march northward to Youzhou, so as to contain the Liao army and concentrate its heavy troops in Youzhou so that they would have no time to take care of other things, so that the central and western armies could take advantage of the situation to attack and kill, and then join forces to pacify Youyun;

Tian Chongjin was ordered to serve as the commander of Dingzhou Route, and led the central army, including Tan Yanmei and Yuan Jizhong, to Feihu to block the Liao army's westward advance in advance, so as to facilitate the attack of the western army.

Pan Mei was appointed as the commander of Yun, Ying, and Shuozhou. Together with the deputy commander Yang Ye, he led the Western Army out of Yanmen, conquering cities and territories along the way, heading straight for the sixteen states of Youyun in the north. (End of this chapter)