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Yu Yue was the highest official title in the Liao Dynasty, above all other officials, and was the highest reward that the Liao emperor could give to his subjects.

Only the ministers who have made great contributions are qualified to do so. Yu Yue was the chief minister of Liao Dynasty.

A position without specific control is actually the end of the road.

The Liao Dynasty lasted for 210 years and had nine emperors, but only ten ministers enjoyed this honor.

The more famous ones include Yelu Helu who supported Abaoji to become emperor, Yelu Wuyu and Yelu Jing to ascend the throne, and Yelu Renxian who risked his life to save Liao Dao Zong Yelu Hongji.

Yu Yue refers to Yelu Xiu'ge, a military general during the reign of Empress Dowager Xiao. His reputation in the Song Dynasty was so great that it could stop a child from crying at night.

In fact, he was not only the nightmare of children in the Song Dynasty, but also the nightmare of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the biggest obstacle for the military generals of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Neither Cao Bin, Pan Mei, Yang Ye nor Tian Chongjin were his match.

Zhao Er’s Gaoliang River Chariot God was cultivated by Yelu Xiu’ge.

"As we all know, Yelu is the surname of the Liao Dynasty, and Yelu Xiuguo is a distant relative of the royal family."

"Yelü Bei and Yelü Deguang, the kings of Dongdan, are brothers of the same clan. They are uncles of Emperor Shizong and Emperor Muzong, great-uncle of Emperor Jingzong, and great-grandfather of Emperor Shengzong."

"He is the grandson of Yelu Shilu, the king of the Sui Dynasty. His father, Yelu Wansi, was the chief military officer of the Southern Court, Yilijin, that is, the King of the Southern Court."

"Such a family background will naturally be beneficial to Yelu Xiu'ge's career."

"Yelü Xiuguo was a son of a Khitan royal family, and eventually became a famous military commander of the Liao Dynasty and a famous general of his generation."

"During the reign of Emperor Muzong of Liao, Yelü Jing, the Wugu and Shiwei tribes in the north launched a rebellion."

"Emperor Muzong of Liao sent the Northern Prime Minister Xiao Wo to lead troops to quell the rebellions of the Wugu and Shiwei tribes. Yelu Xiuge, as a grassroots officer, also participated in the battle to quell the rebellion."

"After this battle, Yelu Xiuguo was granted the title of Tiyin, in charge of the political and religious affairs of the royal family, for his meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion."

"But the Shiwei and Dangxiang are just appetizers. Yelu Xiu'ge's real feast is yet to come."

"In 976 AD, Zhao Guangyi ascended the throne and became Emperor Taizong of Song."

"Zhao Guangyi came to power illegally, and in order to prove that he was more capable than Zhao Da."

"So in the third year of his reign, he led hundreds of thousands of Song troops to attack and destroy the Northern Han. After a three-month battle, the Northern Han surrendered."

"In May 978, despite the exhaustion of the three armies and the opposition of many cities, Zhao Guangyi led his army directly to Nanjing. This was the first time he encountered Yelu Xiu'ge."

"At that time, those stationed in Youzhou were Han Derang, the Nanjing governor and lover of Empress Xiao of Liao, and the famous Liao generals, Yelu Xizhen, the King of the Southern Courtyard, and Yelu Xidi, the King of the Northern Courtyard."

"Yelü Xizhen led his troops to seize Deshengkou, a strategic location in the north of Youzhou City, and formed a horn with Youzhou City."

"When the Song army attacked, Yelu Xizhen used the strategy of confusing the enemy and caught them off guard."

"But the Song army is large in numbers and powerful in strength. They are attacking the city from all sides. The situation in Youzhou is precarious."

"The news of Youzhou's siege reached Liao, and Yelu Xiuge volunteered to lead 5,000 cavalry to reinforce Beijing."

"Under such circumstances, Han Derang asked the court for help."

"The Liao ruler, Emperor Jingzong of Liao, immediately asked Yelu Xiuge to replace Yelu Xidi as the King of the Northern Courtyard and led his army to reinforce Youzhou."

"At that time, Zhao Guangyi's attention was all on Youzhou City, and he did not send troops to intercept the reinforcements."

"Although Cao Bin repeatedly reminded him, Zhao Guangyi felt that he was well versed in military strategy, so he did not accept Cao Bin's advice."

"After Yelu Xiu'ge led his troops to Beijing, he decided to adopt a pincer attack tactic."

"He led his army and the famous Liao general Yelu Xizhen to attack the Song army under cover of night, facing the Liao army's pincer attack."

"The Song army was immediately thrown into disarray, unable to look after both ends, and the situation was reversed."

"Ye Handerang in Youzhou City ordered the Liao army to leave the city immediately to provide support. Zhao Guangyi was defeated and fled under the attack of the three armies."

"Yelu Xiuguo was also injured, but he still led his troops to pursue the Song army fiercely."

"During the melee, Zhao Guangyi was shot in the thigh and fled on a donkey cart."

"In the end, Yelu Xiu'ge still failed to capture Zhao Guangyi alive."

"But the Battle of Gaoliang River became Yelu Xiu'ge's famous battle, and Emperor Jingzong of Liao praised Yelu Xiu'ge highly."

"Yelü Xiuge was granted the title of Yuyue in December 980, the highest position among the ministers."

"Later, he was promoted to the position of the Southern Marching Commander and the Governor of Nanjing, and was fully responsible for the war against the Song Dynasty."

"A few years later, he was named the King of the Northern Court and was in charge of military affairs in the south."

"After the defeat at Gaoliang River, Zhao Guangyi, the God of Chariots, was so obsessed with Youzhou that he couldn't sleep all day, always trying to save face."

"Zhao Guangyi officially ordered the entire army to attack the Khitan in three directions."

"The Eastern Army is led by Cao Bin, who leads more than 100,000 Song troops as the main force."

"Tian Chongjin and Pan Mei will lead tens of thousands of Song troops in the middle and west routes respectively, as a feint attack to contain the Liao army and cooperate with the main force of the east route."

Wang Yangming: Yelu Xiuguo, whose courtesy name was Xunning, was a Khitan. He was born into the royal family of the Liao Dynasty and was well-versed in military books since childhood.

In the 18th year of the Yingli period of the Liao Dynasty, Yelu Xiu'ge was promoted to the rank of Tiyin for his meritorious service in following the Northern Prime Minister Xiao Gan in the conquest of the Ugu and Shiwei tribes.

In the first year of Qianheng in the Liao Dynasty, after conquering the Northern Han Dynasty, Song Taizong Zhao Kuangyi launched a campaign to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

At the beginning of the battle, King Yelu Xidi of Liaobei Court and General Xiao Taogu were all defeated by the Song army.

The Song army approached the city of Nanjing, and the Liao Kingdom was shocked.

In order to rescue Nanjing, Emperor Jingzong of Liao mobilized elite Liao troops from all over the country to rush to Yanyun, and Yelu Xiu'ge was ordered to lead the Five Court Army to join the expedition to Yanyun.

Yelu Xiu'ge cleverly used the favorable terrain and defeated the Song army at Gaoliang River.

Zhao Kuangyi himself lost contact with the main force of the Song army during the battle, and was shot in the thigh by an arrow from the Liao army.

In the end, he escaped from the battlefield in a donkey cart, looking very miserable.

Yelu Xiu'ge took advantage of the defeat of the Song army and led his troops to chase and kill the Song army for more than 30 miles, beheading more than 10,000 Song soldiers. This was the Battle of Gaoliang River.

In the Battle of Gaoliang River, Yelu Xiu'ge became the most feared opponent of the Song army and also the biggest nightmare of Song Taizong Zhao Kuangyin's life.

In the winter of the same year, Emperor Jingzong of Liao ordered Han Kuangsi, Yelusha and others to lead an army to attack the Northern Song Dynasty in retaliation for the Song army's attack on Youzhou.

Yelu Xiu'ge also led his soldiers to attack Mancheng together with Han Kuangsi and others.

The Song army tricked Han Kuangsi into surrendering, but Yelu Xiu'ge carefully observed the Song army's well-organized formation and felt that it did not look like a defeated army, so he advised Han Kuangsi not to be careless.

However, Han Kuangsi was eager to make a contribution, and happily led his men to take over the city.

Unexpectedly, they were ambushed by the Song army and the Liao army was defeated, fleeing in panic, leaving behind more than 10,000 corpses.

Only because Yelu Xiu'ge reorganized his troops and covered the rear of the Liao army, the Liao army was prevented from being completely annihilated.

After the war, Emperor Jingzong of Liao appointed Yelu Xiu'ge as the King of the Northern Courtyard and led his troops to garrison in the south.

In the first year of the Liao Dynasty's Tonghe reign, Emperor Jingzong of Liao died, and the young Emperor Shengzong of Liao ascended the throne, with Empress Dowager Xiao Chuo taking charge of the government.

Xiao Yanyan ordered Yelu Xiuguo to be the prime minister of the southern military affairs and act according to his own discretion. Yelu Xiuguo thus became the commander-in-chief of the Liao Kingdom's frontline war against the Song Dynasty. Yelu Xiuguo reorganized the troops, strictly prepared for war, and stored food and supplies, making the border safe and sound.

In the fourth year of Tonghe, Zhao Kuangyi mobilized hundreds of thousands of Song troops and divided them into three routes to attack the Liao Kingdom in the north, aiming directly at Yanyun.

That year was the third year of Yongxi in the Northern Song Dynasty, so it was called the Yongxi Northern Expedition.

At that time, the troops of the Northern Court, Southern Court and Xi tribe of Liao had not arrived yet, so Yelu Xiu'ge had to deal with hundreds of thousands of Song troops with only tens of thousands of his own troops.

"At this time, Emperor Jingzong of Liao had already passed away, and the actual person in charge of the Liao Dynasty was Empress Dowager Xiao, at the suggestion of her old lover Han Derang."

"Use the high mobility of the Liao cavalry to first concentrate forces to attack Cao Bin's main force in the east, then turn the army westward to defeat the central and western routes."

"And the one who dealt with the Eastern Army was Yelu Xiu'ge. Yelu Xiu'ge was unwilling to confront Cao Bin head-on."

"Instead, they harassed the Song army along the way, attacked and killed them at night, and sent cavalry to intercept and kill the Song army's grain transport team."

"Then they sent a surprise force to cut off Cao Bin's food supply. Soon, the Song army on the east route ran out of food and grass, and could not get any more. Cao Bin had no choice but to order the entire army to retreat to Xiongzhou."

"It was midsummer, the heat was unbearable, the Khitan cavalry appeared and disappeared like ghosts, and the Song army suffered greatly."

"Soon after, Empress Dowager Xiao arrived with the main force of the Khitans."

"Cao Bin could only order a retreat, but Yelu Xiuguo seized the opportunity and launched a full-scale counterattack."

"The Song army was routed by the Khitan cavalry and collapsed instantly."

"Due to the failure of the Eastern Route Army, the Western Route and Central Route Armies of the Song Dynasty were also implicated."

"So far, the three-pronged attack on Liao has completely failed."

"The Northern Expedition launched by Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi, suffered a disastrous defeat. The Song army suffered heavy losses and was severely damaged. The famous general Yang Ye of the Song Dynasty was captured and committed suicide."

"The Battle of Qigou Pass became the most glorious battle in Yelu Xiu's life, and it established Yelu Xiu's status as a famous general in ancient times."

"After this battle, the Song army was no longer able to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, and the Northern Song Dynasty became a piece of meat on the chopping block."

"In March 989, Yelu Xiuguo was granted a rebirth ceremony due to his outstanding achievements. Only the empress dowager and the emperor were eligible to participate. The emperor's favor was unparalleled throughout the country."

"The only time Yelu Xiuguo lost a battle in his life was to Li Jilong, who was a relative of the emperor's wife and whose courtesy name was Batu."

"The eldest son of Li Chuyun, the deputy privy councilor, and the elder brother of Zhao Guangyi's third empress."

"He is Zhao Er's elder brother-in-law. He once participated in the war to destroy the Southern Tang and Northern Han dynasties with Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin."

"Later, he followed General Cui Han and Pan Mei to defeat the Liao army twice in Mancheng and Yanmen."

"In July 989, the food supplies of the Wei Lu army stationed in Xushui, Hebei, were about to run out."

"Song Taizong ordered Li Jilong to lead more than 10,000 cavalrymen to escort thousands of grain carts to Xushui, Hebei to transport grain."

"This top-secret information was obtained by Yelu Xiuguo. So Yelu Xiuguo led 80,000 elite cavalry to attack the grain carts and seize the grain."

"While leading his troops south, Yelu Xiu'ge met Yin Jilun, the inspector general of the northern border of the Song Dynasty, who was leading more than a thousand people on patrol."

"Yelu Xiuguo didn't take the 1,000 men led by Yin Jilun seriously at all, and marched south without paying any attention to them."

"So Yin Jilun led his troops to quietly follow the Liao army for more than 30 miles and followed them to Xuhe."

"While the Liao army was resting and eating, we suddenly broke into the Liao camp and attacked Yelu Xiu'ge's central army tent."

"Yelu Xiuguo was eating when the Song army attacked him and chopped his arm."

"This is a typical case of a boat capsizing in the gutter. When Li Jilong learned the news, he immediately raised an army to cooperate with Yin Jilun."

"The Liao army was defeated by the attack from both sides, and a huge number of Liao soldiers were captured."

"Yelü Xiuguo fled in a panic. Yelü Xiuguo was defeated by the unknown Yin Jilun."

"After this battle, Yin Jilun was called the Black-Faced King because of his dark complexion."

"For more than ten years since then, the two countries have basically been in a stalemate."

"Before the Battle of Chanzhou, there were no large-scale military conflicts."

"From then on, Yelu Xiuguo strictly prohibited the garrison troops from invading the Song Dynasty. Even if horses and cattle escaped into Liao territory, they would be returned to the people of Song."

"At this time, Yelu Xiuguo timely reduced the taxes and labor service of the people in Nanjing, and issued a decree to sympathize with the orphans and widows. He promoted agriculture and improved military preparations in Nanjing."

"All these measures taken by Yelu Xiu'ge made the Southern Song army dare not invade the north, which effectively maintained the stability of the Liao-Song border and ensured the long-term stability of the Liao Dynasty."

"In 998 AD, the famous general Yelu Xiu'ge died in Youzhou."

Zhu Youjian: Yelu Xiu'ge made full use of the Liao cavalry's strong mobility and familiarity with the Yanyun terrain to skillfully fight against the Song army.

He also defeated the main Eastern Route Army of the Song Dynasty at Qigou Pass, forcing the Song Army to retreat.

The Yongxi Northern Expedition painstakingly planned by Zhao Kuangyi failed completely, the Song army suffered heavy casualties, and the elite troops gained since the founding of the country were almost all lost.

Yelu Xiu'ge reversed the situation of the Song-Liao War in one fell swoop, and from then on the Liao Kingdom took the initiative in the Song-Liao War.

However, Emperor Taizong of Song's dream of recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun was completely shattered, and the Northern Song Dynasty came to an end.

The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were never recovered, and Yelu Xiu'ge was named King of Song for his merits.

At the end of the same year, Yelu Xiu'ge annihilated tens of thousands of elite imperial guards of the Northern Song Dynasty in the Battle of Junziguan, making him famous throughout the world.

In the sixth year of Tonghe, Yelu Xiu'ge led the Liao army on a large-scale southern expedition, successively captured Zhuozhou and Changchengkou, and drove straight to Tanghe.

The Song army was frightened by Yelu Xiu'ge's reputation and stayed in their defensive positions, which made Yelu Xiu'ge even more arrogant.

At that time, Li Jilian, a Song general on the south bank of the Tang River, was still brooding over the Battle of Junziguan. Now he met his old enemy Yelu Xiu'ge again, and the two enemies were extremely jealous of each other.

So, Li Jilian ignored Zhao Kuangyi's order not to fight, and personally led 3000 Jingsai troops to cross the river north to attack the Liao army.

15000 Liao soldiers were beheaded and more than war horses were seized. This was the Battle of Tanghe.

The Battle of Tanghe was the first and biggest defeat in Yelu Xiu'ge's military career.

In the seventh year of Tonghe, Yelu Xiu'ge led another 30,000 Liao troops to the south, intending to avenge the defeat in the Battle of Tanghe.

Yelu Xiu'ge used the Weilu Army as bait and led his troops to besiege the Weilu Army, attracting reinforcements from the Song Army, and then surrounded and attacked the reinforcements near the Weilu Army.

There was a heated debate within the Song army about whether to rescue the Wei Lu Army, and most generals suggested abandoning the Wei Lu Army.

However, Li Jilian rejected all objections and personally led more than 10,000 Song troops to support the Weilu army.

Li Jilian fought a decisive battle with Yelu Xiu'ge at Xuhe, and Yelu Xiu'ge was defeated.

The two consecutive defeats at Tanghe and Xuhe made Yelu Xiu'ge realize that the Song army should not be underestimated.

So he stopped the southern expedition, and because the people of Yan were tired and exhausted, he reduced taxes and labor service, and provided relief to the orphans and widows.

This led to great peace in Yanyun and tranquility on the border, and the Song and Liao countries entered a rare period of peace.

In the 16th year of Tonghe, Yelu Xiuguo passed away, and this famous general left the stage of history. (End of this chapter)