History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 1046: Battle of Wangdu
【Battle of Wangdu】

In April of the sixth year of Xianping (1003), Li Jiqian of Xiazhou launched an attack on Hongde Village in Song territory, but failed and retreated. After a short rest, he made a comeback in May and captured Xiliang Prefecture.

He occupied Xiazhou, seized Lingzhou, and captured Xiliang... Li Jiqian reached the peak of his life. He experienced too many ups and downs in his life. At his lowest point, he was even worse than Liu Huangshu, who wove mats and sold shoes. At that time, Li Jiqian was alone and wandered around the world as a Class A wanted criminal. His wife, children, and mother were all captured by the enemy (Song). Now, he has become a dominant overlord and is about to become an eagle in the Western Regions.

However, history is always so cruel, and Li Jiqian fell at the most beautiful moment.

Baljie, the commander-in-chief of Xiliang, announced his surrender to Li Jiqian. Li Jiqian, who was at the peak of his career, had no doubts about it and did not even prepare. While Li Jiqian was carefully preparing for the surrender ceremony, Baljie secretly gathered the forces of the barbarians and launched a surprise attack on Li Jiqian. Li Jiqian was unprepared and was defeated. He was wounded and fled back to Lingzhou, but soon died of his injuries.

At the same time, the Liao Kingdom launched another military operation against the Song Dynasty. Also in April, the Liao Kingdom's Southern Prime Minister Yelu Nugua and Youzhou Commander-in-Chief Xiao Talin invaded Dingzhou. Song Army Commander-in-Chief Wang Chao sent 4 infantrymen as the vanguard to take the initiative to attack. The two sides encountered each other near Wangdu County, and the "Wangdu Battle" broke out.

The Liao army had tens of thousands of cavalrymen in total, and the two sides fought from dusk to the second watch, when the Liao army retreated slightly. At daybreak, the Liao army returned and continued the fierce battle.

The Liao army keenly discovered that the right wing of the Song army had slightly deviated from the main formation, so they immediately took advantage of the mobility of the cavalry and concentrated their fire on the right wing, completing the detour and cutting in a very short time, and also set fire to the rear warehouse of the right wing of the Song army. Obviously, the Liao army wanted to eat up the right wing first and defeat it one by one.

The deputy commander-in-chief Wang Jizhong led the right wing of the Song army. When the Liao army was about to complete the encirclement, Wang Jizhong decisively issued an order to break out, to fight his way out, to join the left wing and the center, and to complete the counter-encirclement.

At the critical moment, General Yelu Nugua of the Liao army recognized the senior general Wang Jizhong by his clothes and ordered the elite cavalry to focus their fire on Wang Jizhong. Soon, Wang Jizhong was surrounded by "dozens of layers". Wang Jizhong and his personal guards fought desperately, fighting and retreating, waiting for support.

However, Commander-in-Chief Wang Chao and Deputy Commander Sang Zan retreated in fear of the enemy and took advantage of the Liao army's siege on Wang Jizhong to retreat. You hold on, I'll retreat first.

When the news of Wangdu's defeat came, Wang Jizhong died a heroic death. After hearing Wang Jizhong's deeds, Zhenzong was deeply moved and posthumously awarded him the title of Jiedushi of Datong and concurrently the Minister of the Interior. He also appointed his three sons as state civil servants, awarded him a large amount of money as pensions, and called on all soldiers to learn from Wang Jizhong.

In fact, Wang Jizhong did not die. He was captured and surrendered to the Liao Kingdom. What happened afterwards is a matter of opinion, and the evaluation of him is very polarized. It is said that Empress Xiao had long admired Wang Jizhong's name and knew that he was a rare talent, so she used a lot of money and gifts to persuade him to surrender. First, he was given a high position and a generous salary, and was appointed as the Minister of Revenue, and finally the Privy Envoy; secondly, he was arranged a wife for him to settle down in Khitan; he was also given thirty palace households as domestic slaves; then he was given a title, first the Prince of Langya, and then the Prince of Chu; and he was given the national surname, so Wang Jizhong was also recorded by the Khitan people as "Yelü Xianzhong" and "Yelü Zongxin".

By the way, the wife arranged for him was also of great rank, being the daughter of Kang Moji, a founding hero of the Liao Dynasty. Kang Moji, together with Han Yanhui and Han Zhigu, was called "Two Hans and One Kang" and was called "a meritorious official who assisted Yelu Abaoji in establishing the Liao Dynasty" in the History of Liao.

Faced with the Liao Kingdom's sugar-coated bullets, or perhaps with a keen eye for talent, Wang Jizhong "was also inspired and did his best for the Liao Kingdom." From then on, he began to contribute to the construction of the Liao Kingdom and offer suggestions.

Is Wang Jizhong considered a "traitor"?

After surrendering to the Liao Kingdom, Wang Jizhong proposed a peace plan to Empress Xiao, suggesting that Liao and Song reconcile and devote themselves to economic development rather than endless war. Of course, whether advocating war or peace, the starting point is to prioritize the interests of the Liao Kingdom, and the people of the Central Plains do not need to sing his praises. After learning that he surrendered to the Liao Kingdom, the Song Dynasty officials still praised him and rewarded him generously... This is mainly due to political and diplomatic needs, so there have always been serious differences and endless debates on the evaluation of Wang Jizhong. In contrast, Yang Ye, the "Yang Family General" who was also exhausted and captured, chose to fast for three days in the face of the enemy's sugar-coated bullets and died. "Not eating Zhou millet", died heroically for the country, so it has been praised and missed by people for thousands of years, and the "Yang Family General" has long been separated from history itself and has become a national symbol.

At that time, Empress Dowager Xiao was over fifty years old and felt that she would soon leave us prematurely. Whether the Liao Kingdom could continue to have the upper hand in the all-out confrontation with the Song Dynasty after losing her was a matter worth thinking about, so it was also prepared to ease relations with the Song Dynasty.

The shrewd Empress Xiao would not immediately call for talks with the Song Dynasty. "Seeking peace" and "negotiating peace" are two different concepts. Because they want to negotiate peace, they have to increase military investment and hurt and scare the other side, so that they can take the initiative at the negotiation table and gain the greatest benefits for themselves, which is what we often call promoting peace through war.

Empress Dowager Xiao is about to make a big move.

In September of the second year after the "Battle of Wangdu" (1004), Empress Xiao launched a large-scale southern expedition. The subsequent developments were basically consistent with her predictions. "Consistent" means that this war was really the "final war" between Song and Liao. After this war, the two countries maintained a hundred years of peace until the demise of Liao; "basically" means that the final result deviated a little from Empress Xiao's initial assumptions.

I won’t keep you in suspense. This was the “Battle of Chanzhou” that ended with the “Treaty of Chanyuan”.

(End of this chapter)