History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 568: The Battle of Qicheng 1
[The Battle of Qicheng among the Three Major Battles]

On the first day of the first lunar month in the ninth year of Tianfu (944), a dark cloud suddenly covered the "Kui Star" of the Big Dipper. In ancient times, people generally believed that "the Big Dipper represents death, and the Southern Dipper represents life." "Clouds covering the Kui Star of the Big Dipper" was seen as a sign of war and was unlucky.

After dawn, on the second day of the first lunar month, Shi Chonggui received an urgent report stating that 50,000 Liao troops had suddenly crossed the border yesterday and, led by their vanguard officers Zhao Yanshou and Zhao Yanzhao, were heading towards Beizhou.

Beizhou was originally under the control of Wei Bo Army, not a border town. To its north were Zhenzhou Chengde Army, Dingzhou Yiwu Army, and then Youzhou Lulong Army. Why did the Liao army not choose to push forward, but instead marched deep into the enemy's hinterland alone and directly attacked the enemy's hinterland? Because there was an important traitor in Beizhou.

Beizhou is located in the central area of ​​Heshuo region, with convenient transportation. It is an important waterway and land route in Heshuo region and is known as the "Northern Treasury of the Country". According to the "New Book of Tang", during the Tang Dynasty, "the country gathered money and silk from Jianghuai and Henan there."

Yongji Canal, the northern section of the Grand Canal built by Emperor Yang of Sui, is located east of Beizhou. In the previous article, Liu Rengong of Youzhou invaded Heshuo and committed the "Beizhou Massacre". The bodies of the victims were thrown into Yongji Canal, turning the river water red.

Since the time of Shi Jingtang, the imperial court gradually stored large amounts of grain and fodder here in order to guard against the invasion of the Khitans. Currently, the grain and fodder reserves here are enough to feed the entire nation's army for several years.

Following Shi Jingtang's operation of "dividing Weizhou", Beizhou was separated from the Weizhou army, and the Yongqing Army was set up with Beizhou as its headquarters, with Wang Lingwen as the governor.

There was a middle-level officer named Shao Ke in Beizhou who was brutal and rebellious. Wang Lingwen dismissed him from his post. Shao Ke held a grudge against him, so he secretly contacted the Khitan and leaked an important military secret to the Khitan:

Beizhou has a large amount of food stored, but it has few troops and weak defenses. The governor Wang Lingwen happens to be going to the capital to pay homage to the emperor. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Therefore, Zhao Yanshou and Zhao Yanzhao decided to take a risk and lead the vanguard troops deep into the hinterland of Heshuo to seize the strategic materials of Beizhou first.

After Wang Lingwen left, Wu Luan took over the military affairs temporarily. When Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, it was Wu Luan who led the army and people of Yunzhou to resist and refused to hand it over to the Khitan. Under Wu Luan's leadership, the Khitan besieged for more than half a year and was unable to conquer it. In the end, Shi Jingtang came forward to plead for mercy, and the situation was resolved: Yunzhou was still ceded to the Khitan according to regulations, and the Khitan allowed Wu Luan to return to the Later Jin Dynasty.

Wu Luan had just taken over Beizhou when he suddenly received urgent military intelligence: the Khitan army was attacking!

Beizhou was immediately thrown into panic. Wu Luan was not afraid, but he was a civilian official without his own troops or guards, so he could only rely on the Beizhou garrison. At this time, Shao Ke volunteered to sacrifice his life for the country.

Wu Luan was very moved and gave thumbs up repeatedly, praising him as a pillar of the country. He then ordered Shao Ke to guard the South Gate, while he himself deployed defenses at the East Gate.

Although the civil official Wu Luan knew nothing about military affairs, he had a sincere patriotism, a courage to face death, and practical experience in defending Yunzhou. Under his leadership, the Beizhou defenders, who had hastily responded to the battle, repelled the first round of attacks by the Liao army and burned all of the Liao army's siege equipment.

In this way, the Beizhou defense war will enter the second stage, the stalemate stage. Once entering the stalemate stage, Beizhou can declare victory.

Because the Liao army was alone and deep in the enemy's territory, if they failed to win quickly, they would be surrounded and unable to advance or retreat. Therefore, it has always been a taboo for military strategists to march alone and deep in the enemy's territory.

At this critical moment, the battlefield took a turn for the better. Shao Ke opened the South Gate and led the Liao army into the city. Wu Luan was commanding and deploying troops at the East Gate when he suddenly heard the news that the South Gate had been lost and the Liao army had already poured into the city. Comrade Wu Luan, a patriotic civil servant who resisted the Liao army, was filled with grief and indignation and committed suicide by jumping into a well, dying a heroic death for his country.

After the Liao army took control of Beizhou, they immediately launched a bloody massacre, killing more than 10,000 soldiers and civilians. This was another "Beizhou Massacre."

Shi Chonggui hurriedly dispatched troops, with Gao Xingzhou in command, Fu Yanqing and Wang Zhou commanding the left wing cavalry and infantry respectively, and Huangfu Yu and Pan Huan commanding the right wing cavalry and infantry respectively. The Five Tiger Generals rushed to the Heshuo front and made sure to stop the Khitan in Beizhou first to prevent the Khitan army from moving southeast from Beizhou and connecting with Yang Guangyuan in Qingzhou.

Just as the order was issued, Liu Zhiyuan of Hedong also sent urgent military information: the Khitan army moved south from Yanmen Pass and surrounded Xinzhou and Daizhou;
Urgent military intelligence came one after another from the Heshuo area. The Chengde Army of Zhenzhou, the Henghai Army of Cangzhou, and the Dongzhaoyi Army of Xingzhou all reported that they were attacked by the Khitan.

The two battlefields were in chaos at the same time. The snowflakes of emergency documents made Shi Chonggui realize that the Khitans were serious. It was no longer a daily border friction, but a large-scale invasion, the scale of which was rarely seen in recent decades. The Later Jin Dynasty was facing a test of life and death.

Shi Chonggui was thoughtful and immediately issued the correct instructions:

1. The Five Tigers will continue to rush to Beizhou, stabilize the front line, and prevent the Khitan from advancing further;
2. Liu Zhiyuan had formed a -man coalition army with Tuyuhun Bai Chengfu, and repelled the first wave of Khitan's attack in Shanxi. Shi Chonggui appointed Liu Zhiyuan as the commander-in-chief of Youzhou, Du Chongwei of Zhenzhou as the deputy commander-in-chief, and Ma Quanjie of Dingzhou as the political commissar, leading the troops to attack Youzhou from Zhenzhou and Dingzhou, cutting off the retreat of the Khitan army in Shandong, and making Shandong a situation of closing the door and beating the dog;
3. Send people to comfort Yang Guangyuan of Qingzhou, persuade him to turn back from his wrong path, and prevent him from colluding with the Khitans;
4. Send envoys to Khitan to present a letter of credence, requesting a ceasefire and reconciliation, making a final effort to secure peace talks;

5. Lead the army in person.

The Khitan army came with great momentum. After capturing Beizhou, they continued to advance southward rapidly. The main force advanced to the city of Weizhou, while the vanguard troops pushed all the way to Liyang in one breath.

Liyang is located on the north bank of the ancient Yellow River, facing Huazhou on the south bank across the Yellow River. Huazhou is the northern gate of Bianzhou, which is very close.

It was terrible. As soon as the war started, Hou Jin lost the border tug-of-war and almost had to face the battle to defend the capital. If you don't have a strong heart, you will be scared to death just by these emergency documents.

Li Congke and Shi Jingtang were both brave generals who had fought on the battlefield all their lives, but when faced with such dangers, their first thought was to abandon the capital, avoid the enemy, and then make a comeback. On the contrary, this "big-eyed cute" Shi Chonggui led the army in person at the first opportunity, which makes people sincerely admire him.

The Khitans took action on the first day of the first lunar month. Shi Chonggui received the news on the second day of the first lunar month. On the ninth day of the first lunar month, Shi Chonggui had already headed north to fight against the Liao.

On the 14th day of the first lunar month, the Khitan vanguard entered Liyang, facing Huazhou across the river; on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, Shi Chonggui entered Chanzhou (formerly Desheng Jiacheng).

(End of this chapter)