History Live: Starting from Qin Shi Huang

Chapter 152: The Surrender of Luancheng
[This plan was stopped before it was implemented: Zhang Yanze, who was traveling between Zhenzhou and Dingzhou at the time, led his troops to deliver a letter to Du Chongwei, telling him that the Khitan could be defeated and describing the current situation of the Khitan. Du Chongwei then followed Zhang Yanze's advice and turned west with his army to Zhenzhou, while Zhang Yanze and his troops acted as the vanguard.

On November 27, Du Chongwei led his troops to the Zhongdu Bridge on the Hutuo River. The Later Jin army was south of the Zhongdu Bridge, facing the Khitan across the river.

The Khitans were not completely dominant at this time, because Hengzhou, north of the Hutuo River, was not captured by the Khitans and was still owned by the Later Jin. Therefore, the key was whether Du Chongwei would attack from both sides together with the Hengzhou defenders.
——Yelu Deguang and others once considered whether to return north to avoid danger; it was not until they learned that the Later Jin Dynasty had set up camp and planned to stay for a long time that they did not go north.

Du Chongwei first fought a battle with the Khitan army over Zhongdu Bridge, but failed to win, so he set up camp south of Zhongdu Bridge.

For some reason, perhaps because he knew that he could not immediately turn south to avoid the battle, and was unwilling to actively fight and confront the Khitan, he began to set up camp on the spot and ignored all other matters. As a result, apart from setting up camp and daily fighting with the Khitan, the Later Jin army did not take any military action for a while.

During this period, Li Gu, the governor of Cizhou, had suggested to Du Chongwei that they should unite with the garrison of Hengzhou to attack the Khitan army from both sides, which would surely make the Khitan army escape. Even if they could not return north, at least they could solve their current difficulties.

But Du Chongwei did not adopt it. He just defended his station, just like when he was guarding Hengzhou before and faced the enemy's attack.

Khitan, the second year of Tianxian.

Shulü Ping sighed: "So the Later Jin Dynasty is not without a chance..." Although it cannot obtain Yingmo, it also has a chance to avoid direct destruction of the country this time.

Of course, her sigh was not about the Later Jin Dynasty. On the contrary, the fact that the Later Jin Dynasty had such an opportunity but failed to seize it showed that its luck had run out.
Yelu Abaoji also said: "The more mistakes the enemy makes, the better." Of course, the most fundamental thing is to be strong yourself, but if the enemy makes more mistakes, that would be great.

Tang Dynasty, Zhenguan period.

Yuchi Jingde was very disdainful of this completely passive behavior that did not intend to take the initiative to do anything: "Du Chongwei is stationed south of Zhongdu Bridge. He is setting up camp on his own instead of entering the city to defend it. There may be food and grass in the city to support 300,000 troops to close the city for a period of time. What about this camp? Apart from relying on transporting food and grass from the south, what else can we do? If I were the Khitan army, I would cut off his food and grass, and then I would win without bloodshed."

Joining forces with Hengzhou in the north to attack the Khitan was a good way to get out of the predicament at that time - even if you are unwilling to take this risk, you should move! Do not move, quietly waiting for the Khitan to consume all your food and grass, or slowly eat away these soldiers?

This is not how you use stillness to overcome motion.

In other words, if you are determined to engage in a protracted confrontation, why don't you send more troops to protect your own food supply routes, or notify the neighboring troops in the south to let them block the possible points where food supply may be cut off, so as to prevent the food supply routes from being cut off and the army from being starved of food?
If you want to fight a war of attrition and quietly wear down the enemy, the prerequisite is to ensure that you can afford it.

“Given the large number of Khitan cavalry, we only need to send out an elite force to go around Du Chongwei, cut off his food supply and occupy a small town, thus posing a continuous threat to his rear.” Changsun Wuji said. In other words, apart from that force, the Khitan army could still guard the Zhongdu Bridge and prevent the Later Jin from crossing the Hutuo River to the north.

Fang Xuanling suddenly thought of something: "The Later Jin army has been stationed at Zhongdu Bridge for a few days, why hasn't Shi Chonggui responded yet?" He and his colleagues looked at each other in shock, and Li Shimin was equally shocked - could it be that the news had not yet been passed back?
[As for Yelu Deguang, he harassed the Later Jin army day and night without stopping.

But as time went on, Yelu Deguang and his generals began to worry. Was it right to continue to stalemate here? Could they break through Du Chongwei's defenses in a short period of time? Should they give up this place for the time being and try again somewhere else?
After all, the Khitans had limited food and fodder, and the soldiers and horses were beginning to get tired after days of fighting.

Therefore, many people thought that they should wait for a while and then plot against Du Chongwei later. Yelu Deguang also thought that this made sense, but Yelu Tulu, the then King of the Northern Courtyard, firmly opposed it:
If your majesty wants to defend the existing territory, you can do so; but if you want to expand the territory, how can you choose to give up because of this situation? Especially according to the current situation, if you give up this route, then the enemy is very likely to capture Youyan, and then the Khitan people will really have no peace of mind.

At the same time, Yelu Tulujun also proposed a feasible method: cut off the food supply!

"They are infantry and we are cavalry, so why should we worry about not being able to defeat them? Besides, the Han people are weak and slow-moving. If we select light and sharp cavalry to first cut off their supply routes, then we will be able to defeat them."

Yelu Deguang readily accepted his suggestion and decided to go around to the rear to cut off Du Chongwei's food and money.

So he ordered Zhao Yanshou and Yelu Shuogu to divide their troops and surround the Later Jin army, blocking their route of movement. He personally led elite cavalry across the Hutuo River at night, went around the back of the Later Jin army, captured Luancheng, and surrendered thousands of cavalry, thus blocking a key point of the Later Jin army's southward march and food route.

Afterwards, Yelu Deguang sent soldiers to guard various key points, completely cutting off the food supply of the Later Jin army.

Khitan, the second year of Tianxian.

Yelu Abaoji praised Yelu Tulujiong highly: "He is able to predict the enemy's victory and support the king's fortune. He is a talented person! Such a person deserves to be the King of the Northern Court!" He thought about it and asked Shulü Ping, "I remember his father was Dilugu, the Fifth Court Yilijin?"

Shulü Ping nodded. Tianmu had mentioned before: "Dilug was killed in the battle to establish the Later Jin Dynasty, and then Tulujun took over his father's Yilijin. Both father and son are talented people who are loyal to our Khitan."

Yelu Abaoji agreed very much with Shulü Ping's evaluation and decided to summon Yelu Dilugu to have a talk and see what the current situation of his family was.

Ming Dynasty, during the Hongwu period.

Zhu Bo felt like he was going to have a heart attack when he saw this: "Didn't the Later Jin Dynasty provide any additional protection for the grain route behind them? Any additional protection would count, sending troops to guard at all times, notifying the cities in the rear... Du Chongwei actually didn't do anything?"

Luancheng was completely defenseless and was easily captured by Yelu Deguang. Although it was indeed a small city, as a food route and retreat route for the Later Jin army, wasn't it a bit absurd that it was undefended?

When marching to war, who doesn't put food and grass first? Before the troops move, food and grass must be sent first. Even a young man like Zhu Bo knows that he must protect his own food supply route. Only when he has food and grass can he talk about other things.

After all, not every commander can make his soldiers listen to him, follow him in battle, and not fear life and death when food and grass are cut off.

Zhu Su sneered and said, "This is not too outrageous for Du Chongwei. After all, Emperor Shi Chonggui doesn't even know that his army is stationed at Zhongdu Bridge." He didn't even report the movements of the army in a timely manner. It was no big deal that he failed to protect the grain route.

Zhu Chong thought it made sense: "Yes, Du Chongwei's messenger must have gone out before the Liao surrounded the rear, but that didn't mean he sent the message after he was stationed there, otherwise Shi Chonggui should have received the news a few days earlier." He was just a little confused about the time, "But, when Shi Chonggui received the news, was it before or after the Liao cut off the food supply?" "The Liao cut off the food supply in late November or early December, and Shi Chonggui knew that the Later Jin army was stationed at Zhongdu Bridge on the third day of December. No matter how you calculate it, it was around the same time as the Liao Dynasty cut off the food supply." Zhu Su concluded.

In short, no one knows what Du Chongwei is thinking, and he has been slow to report the latest news. By the time Shi Chonggui knew that he was stationed at Zhongdu Bridge, it was already too late, especially since the Later Jin Dynasty was internally weak and even most of the imperial guards were sent to Du Chongwei's command.

Zhu Di analyzed from the perspective of the Later Jin army: "In fact, it's not completely without chance. If Du Chongwei was not a cowardly and incompetent person who only cared about protecting himself, or if he had the courage to fight hard at this time, it would still be possible to break through the Liao blockade." After all, although the food supply route was indeed cut off, this was a good time to take advantage of the morale, and perhaps achieve unexpected results.

After saying this, Zhu Di himself sighed. This was just their analysis after the fact. Du Chongwei could never do it.

[On the third day of December, Shi Chonggui learned that Du Chongwei had stationed troops south of Zhongdu Bridge.

Afterwards, Shi Chonggui ordered Fu Yanqing to garrison Chanzhou, and a few days later he ordered Gao Xingzhou to garrison Chanzhou as well, and Jing Yanguang to take Heyang. He also ordered Gao Xingzhou, Jing Yanguang and Fang Tai of Xingzhou to lead troops to station at the Yellow River to prevent the Khitan army from rushing south.

At the same time, Shi Chonggui also issued an edict to collect grain and fodder from Ze, Lu, Yedu, Heyang, Xingzhou, Mingzhou and other places and transport them to Zhongdu Bridge.

But within two days, the Khitan cut off the Later Jin's food supply and information channels from the south. The court was in a state of panic.

Not only the Later Jin court was in panic, but also Du Chongwei and the Later Jin army.

Not only was the grain supply cut off, Yelu Deguang also ordered the Khitan soldiers to stab the faces of all the captured Later Jin people and then let them go. The remaining civilians who were transporting grain to the Later Jin Dynasty were so frightened when they saw these people that they fled in all directions. The words "no killing by order" also spread to the Later Jin army's camp, further fueling the panic.

On the sixth day of the first lunar month, Wang Qing, the commander of Fengguo, thought that this could not go on any longer. The Later Jin army was now out of food and food. If they continued to defend like this, they would inevitably face a great defeat. Hengzhou City in the north was only five miles away. As long as the army could fight hard, break through the Khitan blockade, cross the Hutuo River, they could enter the city and turn the situation around.

Du Chongwei adopted his suggestion.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Liu Che suddenly developed a favorable impression of Wang Qing: "There are still some talented and courageous generals in the Later Jin army."

However, Du Chongwei agreed to this plan, and this plan seemed very feasible - the camp was isolated and had run out of food, but this was the time when they could use the morale of the isolated and desperate soldiers to fight their way out, and Hengzhou City was only five miles away. How did this end up turning out to be the situation that Yelu Deguang liked?
Wei Qing glanced at the emperor and understood what he was thinking, so he said, "It is very likely that the main army failed to catch up in time after the vanguard."

This is a battle for crossing. To cross the Hutuo Bridge, it is impossible for the main army to attack directly. Instead, a group of elite soldiers need to be separated to serve as the vanguard to open up the situation, and then the main army can follow closely behind to support the vanguard. After all, it is absolutely impossible for the entire army to break out relying only on the vanguard.

Then, there are several questions: Is the vanguard army sharp and brave enough to open the gap? Can the follow-up main force take over in time to avoid the vanguard's efforts being wasted?
Wei Qing expressed his doubts about the latter, because Du Chongwei could not be the general of the vanguard army, but he would definitely control the main force.

Liu Che realized that the plan was correct, but there was a problem with the connection. If Du Chongwei had hesitated at the last moment, even if he had sent troops, he would not have won.

Huo Qubing also said: "If we fail this time, it will be a huge blow to the morale of the Later Jin army." It is also likely that Du Chongwei will be more inclined to surrender and protect himself.

[So, on the sixth day of the first lunar month, Wang Qing led two thousand infantrymen as the vanguard to seize the bridge and open the way, and Song Yanjun also went with them.

Wang Qing and his two thousand soldiers fought bravely, while Zhao Yanshou also led his infantry to fight against them. At first, because of his bravery, Wang Qing had the upper hand in the initial stage of the attack, which was the best opportunity for the Later Jin army.

However, Du Chongwei hesitated at such a critical moment and did not order the army to follow up immediately. As a result, the Later Jin vanguard of only 2,000 people gradually retreated. The Khitan side had cavalry led by Gao Yanwen behind the infantry and continued to attack fiercely.

Song Yanjun retreated, but Wang Qing had already reached the north bank, so he could only line up his troops on the north bank. In the end, Wang Qing, who had no timely reinforcements, was beheaded, and the Khitan successfully contained a counterattack by the Later Jin Dynasty.

Afterwards, although the Later Jin Dynasty tried several more times to seize the Zhongdu Bridge, its morale was low and it never succeeded.

At this time, Yelu Deguang had already seen the dawn of success.

The one who gave him reassurance was Du Chongwei.

After several failed attempts to capture Zhongdu Bridge and the lack of food supplies, Du Chongwei completely lost confidence. So one day, he secretly sent someone to the Khitan military camp to express his intention to surrender to Yelu Deguang. Yelu Deguang was very happy, thinking this was a good thing.

But it is not enough for Du Chongwei to have the intention to surrender. Can he really surrender in the end and not waver? After surrendering, will he not do something to hinder the team and eventually help the Later Jin Dynasty?

In order to increase the success rate of surrender and to ensure that Du Chongwei would not cause trouble after the surrender, but would be able to concentrate on destroying the Later Jin Dynasty, Yelu Deguang used a method that had worked every time and was proven to be useful by many people: promising him the title of emperor.

Du Chongwei once again helped Yelu Deguang verify the reliability of this method.

After receiving the news that Yelu Deguang was willing to help him become emperor in the Central Plains, Du Chongwei was very happy, and his determination to surrender was unbreakable from then on.

During a routine meeting of generals one day, Du Chongwei first secretly ambushed the soldiers, and then informed the generals of his intention to surrender. The main general had already made up his mind, so what else could the others do? So everyone wrote a letter of surrender, and the soldiers laid down their weapons and surrendered. 】

(End of this chapter)