History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 573 Heroic Motherland

Yelu Deguang did not understand, and Zhao Yanshou and Yang Guangyuan did not understand either, why the Later Jin Dynasty, despite suffering a series of rare natural disasters and hundreds of thousands of people starving to death, could still burst out with such an indomitable fighting will when facing tens of thousands of elite Khitan cavalry, and would disregard life and death and resist at all costs.

Why don't you give in? What is it that is holding you up?

They didn’t understand, and the Japanese didn’t understand a thousand years later, and the Americans on the Korean Peninsula didn’t understand either.

Because this is the land of China, because this is the heroic motherland, and it is where I grew up. In this ancient land, there is the power of youth everywhere.

This is something the invaders will not understand, and are even less willing to face.

Yelu Deguang was greatly shocked and could not calm down for a long time. That night, he ordered the withdrawal of his troops and retreated thirty miles to set up camp overnight to avoid being raided by the Later Jin Dynasty.

On March 3, the soldier who was in charge of standing guard at Yelu Deguang's central army tent stole the imperial horse that Yelu Deguang was riding, came to surrender, and leaked an important secret message from within the Khitan: Empress Dowager Shulü sent a letter to the front line, ordering Yelu Deguang to withdraw his troops!
This traitor revealed the strengths and weaknesses of the Liao army and implored the Later Jin to take advantage of the situation and pursue them, which would surely lead to a great victory.

After the "failed ambush at Dongqiu City" incident, Jing Yanguang did not dare to take any risks. He thought that this must be another old trick used by the Khitans to lure our army into attacking, so he refused to send troops.

A slight change of mind allowed the Khitan reinforcements to withdraw calmly.

On his way back north, in order to delay the development of the Later Jin Dynasty and curb the recovery and development of the Central Plains, Yelu Deguang carried out systematic destruction wherever he passed. Simply put, it was the "Three Alls Policy", which took away everything that could be taken away, and burned everything that could not be taken away. The common people were also forced to go north, leaving the Later Jin Dynasty with a smoking scorched earth.

"The Liao emperor returned northward, burning and looting all the people and property wherever he went." - "History of the Khitan State"

When the Khitan army was returning north, some Later Jin generals surrendered in front of the battlefield and fled into the Khitan army. Shi Chonggui ordered the execution of all the families of these traitors (and their entire clans); other imperial guards generals such as An Zhonghuai, Wu Hanqi, and He Yanchao were afraid of the enemy in battle and were "all executed."

On the eastern battlefield, Yang Guangyuan was unwilling to be abandoned by the "Taijun" and continued to attack westwards, attacking Mingshui Town (now Mingshui Sub-district Office, Zhangqiu District, Jinan City, Shandong Province), but failed again; Taichang Cheng Wang Xu's hometown was in Qingzhou, so he secretly colluded with Yang Guangyuan and leaked the court's movements to him. Wang Xu had a concubine, and the concubine had an idle brother. This "brother-in-law" asked Wang Xu for some money, but Wang Xu was reluctant to give it. The brother-in-law was furious and reported to the court that Wang Xu was secretly communicating with Yang Guangyuan, so Wang Xu was arrested and killed.

The main reasons why Yelu Deguang decisively withdrew his troops were as follows:
1. From a tactical point of view, the two sides were basically tied, and the Liao army even had a slight advantage; but from a strategic point of view, the Liao army had already been defeated.

Under the misleading guidance of Zhao Yanshou, Yang Guangyuan and others, Yelu Deguang made a serious misjudgment of the situation in the Central Plains. He believed that the Later Jin Dynasty was a shabby house that would collapse with a single kick at the door, so he adopted a blitzkrieg strategy. Unexpectedly, within a month, he was mired in the quagmire of war.

The strategic goal of the blitzkrieg had failed. Yelu Deguang had not done sufficient research beforehand, and had not formulated a plan B. An excellent commander would not fight an unprepared battle. A general is one who can respond to the opponent's moves, and a marshal is one who can make the whole country work as one. 2. The Later Jin Dynasty is about to complete the strategic encirclement.

Although Liu Zhiyuan did not go to the Shandong battlefield as promised, and Du Chongwei and Ma Quanjie were therefore restrained, Ma Quanjie still dispatched a detachment to cooperate with the main battlefield of Chan Wei to cut off the Khitan's retreat. Just when Yelu Deguang was retreating, Ma Quanjie captured Taizhou (now Baoding City, Hebei Province, not Taizhou, Jiangsu Province), captured 2,000 people, and seized all the food and supplies.

At that time, the border line between the two countries in Hebei Province showed an inverted "S" shape, that is, Yizhou controlled by the Later Jin Dynasty protruded into the territory of the Liao Dynasty, while Taizhou, Mozhou and Yingzhou of the Liao Dynasty protruded into the territory of the Later Jin Dynasty, with the two sides interlocking and interlacing.

Taizhou and Mozhou are located in a row from east to west, and Yingzhou is located to the south of Mozhou. The three cities fill the administrative peninsula of Khitan extending southward into the territory of the Later Jin Dynasty. After them are Zhuozhou and Youzhou.

Ma Quanjie's capture of Taizhou means that Yelu Deguang's retreat route has been compressed to a narrow and fragile line of Yingzhou-Mozhou-Zhuozhou-Youzhou. If Ma Quanjie continues to move eastward and captures Mozhou, then... Dear guest from afar, please stay.

3. Line Struggle

Empress Dowager Shulü, the core figure of the "Supporting Jin" faction in Khitan, did not support the rash and aggressive launch of large-scale military operations against the Central Plains, especially due to the first two reasons. That is why she sent an urgent order in a hurry, requiring Yelu Deguang to withdraw his troops and return home.

Yelu Deguang divided the army into two routes, east and west. The eastern route was led by Yelu Malu, passing through Bozhou, Dezhou, Cangzhou, and entered Youzhou; the western route was led by Yelu Deguang himself, passing through Beizhou, Jizhou, Shenzhou, and entering Youzhou along Taizhou.

Since Jing Yanguang did not pursue, both Khitan armies were able to retreat calmly. On the western route, when Yelu Deguang passed through Beizhou, he appointed Zhao Yanzhao as the rear guard of Beizhou Yongqing Army, firstly to cover the rear of the army and block the possible pursuit of the Later Jin army, and secondly to build a bridgehead for the Khitan to the south and lay the foundation for the next invasion. The people of Beizhou were taken as spoils of war and forced to go north; on the eastern route, Yelu Malu captured Dezhou and captured 27 officers and officials including Dezhou Governor Yin Jufan alive.

Although this battle is not well-known, its significance is very great. It refreshed the two countries' understanding of each other. The people of the Central Plains no longer feared the Khitans, and the Khitans also changed their contemptuous attitude.

In the Hedong War seven years ago, Shi Jingtang had less than 10,000 soldiers, but with the help of the Khitan, he overthrew Li Congke's rule in one fell swoop. Just seven years later, when the Khitans returned to the Central Plains with a stronger military force, the impoverished and weak Central Plains was able to fight against him and even draw.

This also indirectly confirms that Shi Jingtang's rule over the years was still remarkable.

During the battle, both sides had traitors who betrayed each other, and both had opportunities to expand their victory, but they also missed them by accident. Overall, the first battle was fought in a standard and methodical manner, and it was basically a battle of strength. For the Later Jin Dynasty, it was not easy to end up in a draw.

We should not be a wise man after the fact and accuse Jing Yanguang of being too conservative and losing a great opportunity to pursue the Khitan. Jing Yanguang also had good reasons:
(End of this chapter)