History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 593: The Battle of Hutuo River 2
The Tuyuhun tribe could not bear the harassment, so Bai Chengfu discussed with his deputy general Bai Kejiu and planned to find an opportunity to break away from the Later Jin Dynasty and join the Khitan.

This is very ironic. Tuyuhun betrayed Khitan and submitted to the Central Plains to avoid oppression by Khitan. Now, in just a few years, Tuyuhun people would rather return to Khitan to be oppressed than stay in the Central Plains to enjoy the emperor's grace. This shows the extent to which Liu Zhiyuan oppressed them.

In April of the third year of Kaiyun (946), Bai Kejiu, under the pretext of going to the north to herd horses, led his people across the border and defected to Khitan, one month earlier than Sun Fangjian.

The Tuyuhun tribe, which had rebelliously returned, was highly valued by Yelu Deguang, who immediately appointed Bai Kejiu as the governor of Yunzhou, a deputy provincial-level cadre, to set an example for Bai Chengfu and let him boldly escape from Jin and enter Liao. Bai Kejiu, under the order of the Khitan, sent people to lobby Bai Chengfu, urging him not to hesitate any longer and to hurry to the northern grasslands to enjoy the glory and wealth.

At the suggestion of his trusted general Guo Wei, Liu Zhiyuan submitted a memorial to the court, citing Bai Kejiu's defection and saying that the Tuyuhun people were fickle and would definitely be a disaster if they were kept on the border, so it would be better to move them to the interior.

The imperial court agreed with this and therefore transferred Bai Chengfu's troops (1,900 men) from Taiyuan to Heyang.

After the Tuyuhun troops were transferred away, Liu Zhiyuan held a Hongmen Banquet and invited his old friend Bai Chengfu and other Tuyuhun tribal leaders to live in Taiyuan City. Bai Chengfu, the commander without troops, was naturally very grateful, lamenting that there were relatives everywhere in the motherland and thanking Liu Zhiyuan for taking him in.

Liu Zhiyuan, however, submitted a petition to the court, falsely accusing Bai Chengfu and others of attempting rebellion, and then sent troops to surround their villa and slaughtered them, regardless of gender, age or status. Bai Chengfu and the other five leaders were slaughtered, and a total of more than 400 people were killed. All their property fell into Liu Zhiyuan's hands.

Shi Chonggui also issued a special edict to praise Liu Zhiyuan and thank him for successfully suppressing the rebellion for the empire.

From then on, the Tuyuhun tribe fell into decline and disappeared in the long river of history (Tuyuhun became weak and was never seen again).

Although Bai Chengfu, the leader of the Tuyuhun tribe, was killed by Liu Zhiyuan, Bai Kejiu, the second-in-command of the Tuyuhun tribe, successfully led his people into the arms of the Khitan.

According to historical records, after Bai Kejiu left, "all the princes had different intentions."

When you find a cockroach, it means the dark place is already full of cockroaches. Bai Kejiu's defection tore off the disguise of the Later Jin regime on ethnic policy. The Later Jin rulers no longer had the heart of the "Heavenly Khan" of the Tang Dynasty. The ethnic minorities were alienated and even if they stayed in the Central Plains, they were half-hearted with the central court.

Although the Bai Kejiu tribe could not provide much military support to the Khitan, its value as a political resource was immeasurable.

At the very least, he provided the Khitans with a reason to move south. The Khitans could hold high the great banner of civil rights and seek justice from the Later Jin.

4. Zhao Yanshou
Zhao Yanshou was the nightmare of the Later Jin regime, never leaving it and always accompanying it.

There was a deep hatred between Zhao Yanshou and the Later Jin regime, hatred for the country and family, hatred for losing the country and the people, and hatred for indirectly killing his father. Destroying the Later Jin and replacing it was Zhao Yanshou's lifelong pursuit.

Now, Yelu Deguang promised that once the Later Jin Dynasty was destroyed, he would be made the ruler of the Central Plains. This gave Zhao Yanshou new motivation in the great cause of overthrowing the Later Jin Dynasty.

In the previous two battles, Zhao Yanshou was undoubtedly the general who made the most contributions, and he deserved the title of "the vanguard of destroying Jin". Especially after the second battle, all the generals who participated in the battle were punished with hundreds of military sticks, but Zhao Yanshou was spared because he was the only one who had made contributions in Yelu Deguang's words.

Looking at the entire "Jin-Liao War", especially the upcoming third battle, Zhao Yanshou undoubtedly ranks first. We are about to get a glimpse of this guy's style.

Year 945 of Kaiyun ():
In December, the Khitan captured a spy from the Later Jin Dynasty in Yunzhou;

Kaiyun three years (946):
In March, Tuyuhun sent people to deliver a thousand households; on April 3, Bai Kejiu, the second most important figure in the Tuyuhun tribe, defected to Khitan;

In May, Sun Fangjian and the "Heroes of Langshan" surrendered to the Khitan.

So in June, Yelu Deguang visited the tomb of the previous emperor Yelu Abaoji to "open the door" for the next military operation;
In July, Yelu Deguang issued an edict to mobilize the whole country and gather all the troops.

In August, Yelu Deguang personally led the army, bringing with him warriors from all over the Liao Kingdom, and marched south for the third time with great momentum. The third battle began.

Unlike the previous two times, the Later Jin Dynasty had already prepared for the battle, and Yelu Deguang was unable to launch a "blitzkrieg". Let's shift to the perspective of the Later Jin Dynasty and look back over the past six months:

In the first month of the third year of Kaiyun (946), Liang Hanzhang, the commander of the Yongqing Army in Beizhou, reported to the court that "the foreign bandits are gathering and planning to invade", and then Dingzhou reported that "the Khitans are invading".

The alarm kept sounding, and Shi Chonggui certainly wouldn't remain indifferent.

In the first month, Shi Chonggui ordered Li Shouzhen to lead troops to inspect the northern border;
In February, the emperor ordered Huangfu Yu of Huazhou to lead troops to transport grain and grass to border towns such as Yizhou and Dingzhou.

In March, the emperor appointed the prince Shi Yanxu as the governor of Chanzhou, sending the prince to the front line to gain experience in war, accumulate connections, qualifications, and reputation, and prepare for his future succession to the throne.

In June, Dingzhou reported that "foreign invaders were approaching the border"; the emperor ordered Li Shouzhen to be the commander-in-chief (commander-in-chief of the northern camp), Huangfu Yu as deputy commander-in-chief, Zhang Yanze as the commander-in-chief of the cavalry, and Li Yin (then the governor of Dingzhou Yiwu Army) as the commander-in-chief of the infantry.

Shi Chonggui seemed to be confident about the upcoming war. While Hebei Province and even the whole country were nervously preparing for it, Shi Chonggui was still living a carefree life:

In February, he ordered his officials to accompany him on a boat trip and drink. When he was drunk, he went to Du Chongwei's house and drank with his uncle, "only returning home when he was drunk";
In May, "the emperor went on a boat trip and practiced archery," and then got drunk again, "and was very drunk...he returned home at midnight."

Although the Khitans were unable to carry out a "blitzkrieg", they still gained a huge advantage at the beginning because the Later Jin was more empty than before.

First of all, there are the continuous natural disasters.

During this half year, the Later Jin Dynasty encountered continuous natural disasters, and the disasters were severe, especially in today's Hebei, Shandong, and Jiangsu areas, where tens of thousands of people starved to death. The hungry people rose up as bandits and even defeated the government army (An Shenqi, the governor of Yanzhou). They also colluded with the forces of Huainan, which sent troops north to seek to seize the eastern territory of the Later Jin Dynasty.

Especially in July, the Yellow River broke its banks near Yangliu City, and "the water was forty miles wide." Just two months later, it broke its banks again in Linhuang County under the jurisdiction of Chanzhou.

Secondly, there was discord among the generals and ministers within the Later Jin Dynasty.

In the first month of the year, after Liang Hanzhang of Beizhou reported urgent military information, the court originally wanted to send General Fu Yanqing to the north to garrison. However, the people around him were jealous of him and did not want him to make any more contributions in the next battle, so they united to exclude him and assigned thousands of old, weak, sick and disabled people to him and stationed him at the mouth of Jingzhou. While the war was going on in the north, the powerful generals were transferred to the south.

(End of this chapter)