History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 580: The Battle of Yangcheng 3
The internal cause was the consistent nature of all invaders. They were busy smashing, looting and burning the occupied areas. What was the purpose of the invasion? It was just to rob money, food and women. The Khitan's "Three Alls" in Hebei Province led to two most significant consequences: one was the strong resistance of the Han people, and the other was that the Khitan army became dispersed and its combat effectiveness declined.

Ma Quan reported to the court that according to intelligence from various sources, the Khitan army was scattered and sparse, and that the participating troops of various tribes were deserting and retreating to their hometowns.

Here, we can briefly talk about the composition mechanism of the "Khitan Army" and understand this paper tiger that is strong on the outside but weak on the inside: whether it is the Khitan or other nomadic peoples, even if they have already established their own country in imitation of the Han system in the Central Plains, the tradition of the tribal alliance chief system still deeply affects all aspects. Although other ethnic groups, tribes, and clans submitted to the Khitan, the Khitan emperor was still just a "leader of the alliance."

Simply put, the Khitan emperor is the "leader" of all the tribes on the grassland. We all have the obligation to follow you south to rob, and we also have the right to plunder the spoils.

So when the war is going smoothly and when the minions can make money, everyone will continue to obey the orders of Big Brother; when the war encounters setbacks and the net profit of the war is not high or even negative, then Big Brother, I'm sorry, we have something to do at home, we will definitely do it next time!
The principle is the same as that of the feudal lords in the late Tang Dynasty, or you can refer to the "Eighteen Princes Fighting against Dong Zhuo" in the Three Kingdoms. They rush to make money, and scatter when they lose money.

Every time the Khitans marched south, they were accompanied by a large number of troops and with great momentum. However, as soon as they suffered a defeat, the armies of their vassal states and dependent countries would return to the northern grasslands without hesitation, no matter who they chose.

After the brothers left, the Khitan main force had to be dispersed in various occupied areas, stationed in strongholds, and also divided into groups to plunder everywhere, so the "tens of thousands" of troops were quickly broken up.

Ma Quanjie suggested to Shi Chonggui that we should immediately dispatch a large army to launch a large-scale strategic counterattack, not to counterattack Xiangzhou and Xingzhou, but to directly attack Youzhou!

Shi Chonggui slapped his thigh excitedly and said, "What a damn good temper!" So he immediately mobilized the entire country and led the army in person.

On the 28th day of the first lunar month, Shi Chonggui, despite having just recovered from a serious illness, set out from Bianzhou and rushed to the front line of the battlefield.

On February 2, he arrived in Huazhou; on February 1, he went to the front line of Liyang to reward the troops. The emperor led the army in person despite his illness, and the soldiers on the front line were excited and morale was high; on February 2, he arrived in Chanzhou; on February 2, Shi Chonggui reviewed the troops in Qicheng.

The military parade in Qicheng was of great significance. The officers and soldiers were moved by the heroic deeds of the martyrs. Shi Chonggui, despite his illness, stood on this heroic land and gave an impassioned speech. The morale was high, and they vowed to fight bravely in the next battle, repay the emperor's grace, and make achievements under the guidance of the heroic spirits of their ancestors.

On February 2, the emperor ordered the deputy commander-in-chief Ma Quanjie, the military supervisor Li Shouzhen, and the general Zhang Yanze to lead the vanguard troops to advance first;
On February 2, Fu Yanqing was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the cavalry, Pan Huan as the commander-in-chief of the infantry, and they supplemented the front line with generals such as Huangfu Yu;
On February 2, the emperor ordered Du Chongwei of Zhenzhou to join forces with Ma Quanjie and others, concentrate their forces, and drive the Khitan invading army out of the Central Plains.

While mobilizing troops, Shi Chonggui ordered the construction of a city between Chanzhou and Weizhou to strengthen the strategic depth of defense. Previously, Shi Jingtang had built a series of city fortresses between Chanzhou and Weizhou, but they were all destroyed by the Khitan in previous wars.

All the generals followed the order and marched forward one by one, and the Later Jin entered the stage of full-scale counterattack. At this point, we also found a small problem: Shi Chonggui deployed troops and generals, but did not assign tasks to Liu Zhiyuan. Liu Zhiyuan, as the leader of the "Fifteen Generals to Defend against Liao", was marginalized and stood aside when it came to defending against Liao.

Liu Zhiyuan felt mixed emotions about this, so he said to those around him: "The people of the Later Jin Dynasty are poor and have no money. They are afraid that they are not able to protect themselves, but they are still militaristic and overestimating their own strength. They are fighting against powerful enemies. Even if they win by chance, there will be endless troubles. What's more, he can't win at all!" Liu Zhiyuan said this, first of all with jealousy, and secondly to comfort himself. At this time, he was very conflicted. He didn't want Shi Chonggui to win, nor did he want Shi Chonggui to fail. To be precise, he hoped to see the Later Jin Dynasty and the Khitan fight to a lose-lose result.

If Shi Chonggui won a great victory and the Later Jin Dynasty completely or temporarily eliminated the threat from the north, then he would become Shi Chonggui's next target. Fan Yanguang, Yang Guangyuan... the voices and smiles of countless ancestors appeared before his eyes. As a direct confidant of the previous emperor and a founding hero of the empire, Liu Zhiyuan was bound to be suspected by Shi Chonggui.

Liu Zhiyuan was not worrying without reason. He had repeatedly disobeyed the emperor's orders in the first battle and preserved his strength in Hedong, which had become a "divorce agreement" between the monarch and his subject. Now, Shi Chonggui mobilized the entire country but bypassed Liu Zhiyuan, which was very telling.

So Shi Chonggui won, and Liu Zhiyuan's doomsday would also come.

What if the Khitan won? Would they tolerate Liu Zhiyuan? Definitely not. Even Shi Chonggui regarded him as a huge threat. Why would the Khitan trust Liu Zhiyuan?

Only when the two countries are both defeated will Liu Zhiyuan become a valuable commodity, and his Hedong forces will become a political bargaining chip that both sides will strive for.

In March, Du Chongwei and his troops from various places assembled in Dingzhou, and then launched an attack on the Khitan.

While the Later Jin was gathering strength for the counterattack, the Khitan army, led by Yelu Deguang, slowly returned northward. When passing through Qizhou, east of Zhenzhou, the Khitans sent a group of old, weak, sick and disabled people to drive a group of cattle and sheep and deliberately passed under the city of Qizhou.

Qizhou Governor Shen Bin fell into the trap and sent troops out of the city to rob. The Khitan elite cavalry suddenly rushed out and directly controlled the city gate, blocking the defenders outside the city, leaving the defenders in the inner city isolated and helpless.

Zhao Yanshou led the charge and personally directed the attack on the inner city. The governor Shen Bin climbed up the city wall and directed the defenders to resist.

Zhao Yanshou called out to him to persuade him to surrender, saying: "Sir Shen, you are my old friend. Considering our friendship over the years, I would like to give you a piece of advice. As the saying goes, choose the lesser of two evils. Now that the city is about to fall, why let your soldiers die in vain? Surrender quickly, and I will guarantee you wealth and prosperity, and a life of worry-free food and clothing!"

Shen Bin spit at him fiercely, "Bah! You and your son were just confused at the time and were trapped by the barbarians. But now, you are helping the tiger and leading a group of beasts to harm your own country and brothers and sisters. You are not ashamed of it, but proud of it! I would rather die for my country than be a traitor and running dog like you!"

"You don't know how to appreciate my kindness. Just wait!"

(End of this chapter)