History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 597: The Battle of Hutuo River 6
Du Chongwei betrayed Shi Chonggui and the Later Jin regime. He controlled almost all the armed forces of the Later Jin, but acted as an actor at the most critical moment.

Du Chongwei had his own plans. He could not surrender directly. If he did, he would be branded as a "traitor" like Shi Jingtang. So he thought of a good way to have the best of both worlds, which was to delay the war. He ensured that the main force of the Later Jin Dynasty would not participate in the war, and the Khitan army would not pose a threat to the troops, so that the Khitan army would seize the time to "do business". Once Shi Chonggui was captured or killed, he could legitimately negotiate with the Khitan on the issue of power transfer. Not only would he not be called a traitor, but he would also be packaged as a national hero who endured humiliation, compromised for the sake of the people of the world, and was forced to take over the mess of the Later Jin Dynasty.

Yelu Deguang was skeptical. Who knows if you are learning from me to lure the enemy deep into our territory and lure them into a trap? What if the Khitan army attacks Bianzhou and Du Chongwei turns to catch the turtle in the jar with Shi Chonggui?
That's easy. Since you want to act, let's all put in some effort in our performance.

Therefore, Yelu Deguang neither led his troops deep into the enemy's territory nor launched an attack on Du Chongwei. Instead, he confronted him across the river while cutting off Du Chongwei's supply line.

This is also the reason why Du Chongwei sent people like Li Gu away.

After setting up camp on the south bank, Du Chongwei responded passively. He neither held military meetings nor trained his soldiers. He only did two things every day: one was to seek pleasure, and the other was to continue writing emergency letters to the rear, asking Shi Chonggui to continue to send more troops.

Shi Chonggui, who was kept in the dark, tightened his belt and sold everything he had to supply the front line. Even the garrison troops in the capital were sent to the front line. He then issued an imperial decree to requisition grain and fodder from various states and transport them to the front line.

Bianzhou became almost a deserted city. Even Sang Weihan noticed that something was wrong, so he requested an audience with Shi Chonggui.

However, Shi Chonggui was very busy playing with hawks in the imperial garden and had no time to meet Sang Weihan.

Sang Weihan had no choice but to ask for an audience with Feng Yu and other people in power.

Feng Yu looked relaxed and calm, and sneered at Sang Weihan, "Why, without you, the sun won't rise? Are you the only one in the world who knows how to govern the country? Let me tell you, since you stopped meddling in things, the situation in our motherland is very good now!"

After Sang Weihan stepped down, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, and said to the people around him, "The Shi family will soon not see the sun rise."

Shi Chonggui planned to lead the army in person, and he wanted to witness this great historical moment with his own eyes.

Li Yantao reminded: "Your Majesty, are you going to lead the eunuchs in the palace to fight in person?"

The capital's military strength had been exhausted. If Shi Chonggui insisted on leading the expedition in person, he could only lead the eunuchs and palace maids to the front. So the expedition was abandoned.

At the front line of Zhenzhou, the commander of the imperial army, Wang Qing, also saw the problem and questioned Du Chongwei, "We are only five miles away from Zhenzhou City. Why are we working so hard to defend here? Now that we have run out of food and grass, we are about to collapse. I am willing to lead 2,000 infantrymen as the vanguard and fight our way out. Marshal, you will lead the main force behind us. As long as we can enter Zhenzhou City, we can rest assured."

"Okay, go ahead."

Wang Qing then led a death squad of 2,000 infantrymen to break out of the Khitan army, and actually managed to create a gap.

The generals were greatly excited and requested to lead the troops to attack.

Du Chongwei issued an order that no one was allowed to go to battle!

Wang Qing fought alone and finally crossed the Hutuo River and landed on the north bank. Although they suffered heavy casualties, they regained control of Zhongdu Bridge! Seeing victory in sight, Wang Qing kept asking Du Chongwei to send follow-up troops to follow up and repair the pontoon bridge, but Du Chongwei closed the gate of the village and did not send out a single soldier. Wang Qing was ready to die and said to his subordinates: "Du Chongwei has all the troops of the empire, but he is watching the fire from the other side and doing nothing. He must have ulterior motives. We will die today, and we will die anyway, so let us take a few more people with us and repay our loyalty with our death!"

None of Wang Qing and his men retreated or fled, and they rushed towards the main Khitan army without hesitation, fighting bloody battles in the evening. In the end, Wang Qing and his 2,000 death squads were all killed, and his deputy Song Yanjun fell into the river during the fierce battle, but swam back to the south bank and survived (the "History of Liao" records that Song Yanjun fell into the water and died).

All the main force of the Later Jin army stood on the south bank and witnessed their comrades and compatriots die heroically. Their morale was extremely low.

In December, the main force of the Khitan army approached Du Chongwei's camp, cutting off all contact between Du Chongwei's main force and the outside world.

After a brief discussion, Du Chongwei and Li Shouzhen unanimously decided to formally surrender to the Khitan and sent their confidants to the Khitan military camp to bargain with Yelu Deguang, saying, "I heard that Your Majesty had already promised to make Zhao Yanshou the emperor. A country cannot have two masters. Do you want to make Zhao Yanshou the emperor or me?"

Yelu Deguang patted his chest and assured: "Zhao Yanshou's reputation is not enough, I am afraid that the people in the Central Plains will be dissatisfied and it will be difficult to suppress the ground. General Du is Shi Jingtang's brother-in-law, and he is highly respected. The lord of the Central Plains must be you, Du Chongwei!"

Du Chongwei was overjoyed. He immediately set up a Hongmen Banquet, ambushed his assassins, and then summoned all the generals, saying that he had important matters to discuss.

The generals came to the central army tent, and Du Chongwei took out a letter of surrender and asked everyone to sign it one by one.

The generals were stunned by the sudden news and the scene was completely silent. Finally, under the threat of the executioners, the generals reluctantly signed the surrender document.

Du Chongwei immediately sent his confidant to deliver the letter of surrender to the Khitan military camp and present it to Yelu Deguang for review.

Yelu Deguang was so happy that the main force of the Later Jin Dynasty surrendered without a fight, and he immediately issued an imperial edict to commend Du Chongwei. On the same day, Du Chongwei issued an order for the entire army to assemble.

The grassroots soldiers thought that a counterattack was about to be launched, and they cheered excitedly. They were all ready to listen to the marshal's mobilization speech, and then rush out of the cage to kill the enemy and gain merit.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Du Chongwei climbed onto the high platform and announced to everyone: "Now, our food and grass are cut off, and our retreat is cut off. There is really nothing we can do. I am doing this for everyone's good."

The soldiers finally understood that the Marshal had surrendered.

Afterwards, Du Chongwei ordered the entire army to disarm, surrender their weapons and armor, and await the Khitans' decision.

For a time, the whole army wept bitterly, and the sound shook the plain. Du Chongwei and Li Shouzhen inspected the army and tried to comfort them, saying that Shi Chonggui was stupid and cruel, and favored treacherous ministers...

He was right. Shi Chonggui favored a treacherous minister. Who was the treacherous minister? It was you.

The soldiers gnashed their teeth in hatred.

Yelu Deguang asked Zhao Yanshou to bring the dragon robe to Du Chongwei's army, and asked Du Chongwei to put on the dragon robe to appease the surrendered soldiers and generals. This was another historic moment:
(End of this chapter)