King of Song

Chapter 703 Chapter [-] A Hundred Years of Shame

In 916 AD, Yelu Abaoji established the Khitan Kingdom.

In 936 A.D., Shi Jingtang, the envoy of Hedong Jiedu in the Later Tang Dynasty, rebelled against the Tang Dynasty. In order to win the world, he asked Khitan for help.The price was to cede the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, and call the Khitan emperor Yelu Deguang, who was younger than him, the father emperor, and Shi Jingtang became the shameful son emperor, and his infamy will last forever.

Two years later, Shi Jingtang proclaimed himself emperor with the help of Khitan, and the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun fell into the hands of Khitan.Since then, Chinese history has entered a fork in the road, and a tragedy that has lasted for hundreds of years has been unfolded step by step.

If it is in other places, although losing the land of sixteen states is bad, it is not very serious. It is serious enough to affect the life and death of several dynasties and affect the historical trend of hundreds of years.

But the Yanyun area is different. These sixteen prefectures are located in the northern section of Yanshan Mountain and Taihang Mountain.

Since the pre-Qin period, the Central Plains has been frequently invaded by northern nomads.There were Xiongnu in Qin Dynasty, and Turks in Sui and Tang Dynasties. Among them, there were also tragedies of Wuhu chaos in China.

The dynasties of the Central Plains adopted different methods to resist the nomadic peoples in the north. There was Meng Tian but the Xiongnu were more than [-] miles away, Huo Qubing sealed the wolf and lived in Xu, and Tang Taizong frightened the northern Xinjiang with the identity of Tian Khan. Part of the time is to adopt a defensive posture to prevent nomads from going south and entering the Central Plains.

Even if it is an expeditionary offense, the defense cannot be neglected.The Central Plains Dynasty did not have such powerful cavalry as the nomads, and the farming civilization lived in cities and villages, so it was doomed to stick to it without apology, and usually relied on terrain guards to take precautions.

Mountains and rivers can become natural barriers, and there is even the great Great Wall to guard against northern cavalry, and the defense significance of mountain passes and passes everywhere is of great importance.

Especially the Yanshan and Taihang Mountains, which border the nomads, are of great significance to the defense of the eastern part of the Central Plains.

Yanshan and Taihang Mountains are natural barriers, blocking the nomadic cavalry.As long as the passages and passes between the mountains are well guarded, nomads can be prevented from going south to the Central Plains.

But Shi Jingtang's head became hot, and he handed over the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures to Khitan, waiting to lose this most deadly line of defense.

Further south is the plain of Yimapingchuan. Facing the cavalry's iron hooves, there is no danger to defend.If the Khitan people were determined, it would be very easy to invade the south. The Khitan cavalry posed a serious threat to the entire area north of the Yellow River, and even threatened the safety of Bianliang, the capital city south of the Yellow River.

Since then, the door of the Central Plains has been opened, and a sharp sword hangs above the dynasty's head, which may be cut at any time.As a result, the Central Plains Dynasty had to be vigilant with all spirits, restraining a lot of manpower and material resources, and the defensive effect would be greatly reduced.

For example, in the Song Dynasty, the Yanshan barrier was lost. In order to defend against the Khitan, a large number of ponds had to be dug on the northern border, and the waters were used to create artificial barriers, so that they could only be attacked by the cavalry of the Liao Kingdom.The army on the Hebei Road had to be on guard at all times, lest the Khitan would take advantage of it and enter.

If one is not careful, it may cause the disaster of subjugation of the country.In the past, Yelu Deguang drove straight to capture Bianliang and directly destroyed the Later Jin Dynasty.The Empress Dowager Chengtian of the Liao Kingdom and Emperor Shengzong Yelu Longxu led their troops southward and once reached the city of Chanyuanzhou, the gate of Bianjing, forcing the Song Dynasty to sign the humiliating Chanyuan Alliance.

Since then, the offensive and defensive situation between Khitan and the Central Plains Dynasty has completely changed, and the Central Plains Dynasty is in a very passive and embarrassing situation.

Not only that, after the founding of Khitan, it was only a nomadic country, not particularly rich and powerful.It is different when the Yanyun region falls into their hands. These places have good natural conditions, are suitable for farming, and have a good agricultural foundation.At the same time, a large number of people who are good at agricultural production and handicrafts have become Liao people.

This promoted the development of agriculture and handicrafts in the Liao Kingdom. It is no exaggeration to say that the acquisition of the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun made the Liao Kingdom rich.A hundred years later, the Yanyun generation has become the economic and even cultural center of the Liao Kingdom.Youzhou became the Nanjing of the Liao Kingdom, and its status was comparable to that of Shangjing.

The Liao Kingdom had a stronger force to deal with the Central Plains Dynasty, and the consequences were even worse.

Therefore, among the emperors of the Central Plains Dynasty, whoever is a promising leader, which one does not want to recover the Sixteen States of Yanyun?

Chai Rong, Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty, was wise and martial, a rare master of the Five Dynasties, and wanted to regain Yanyun.In the sixth year of Xiande (959), Chai Rong led his army to attack Liao, advancing both by land and water, and recovered the three prefectures of Ying, Mo, and Ning, as well as Yijin Pass (Ba County, Hebei Province), Waqiao Pass (South of Zhuo County), Yu There are three gates.

The army is gaining momentum, and the recovery of Yanyun is just around the corner.In May, when the army was about to attack Youzhou, the sky was not beautiful, but Chai Rong suddenly became seriously ill, so he had no choice but to return to the court.A month later, he died of illness in Bianliang, leaving behind his eight-year-old son Chai Zongxun to ascend the throne.It's a pity that only half a year later, Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Qiao mutinied, the yellow robe was added, and the Chai family changed hands.

Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin can definitely be regarded as the hero of the previous generation, but at the beginning of his ascension to the throne, he and Zhao Puxue Ye made a decision and determined the strategy of unifying the world first south and then north.

During Zhao Kuangyin's reign, the Song army mainly conquered the countries in the south. After the Southern Tang Dynasty was destroyed, the south was finally pacified.The Song Dynasty was finally free to deal with the Northern Han and Khitan.

But it is a pity that on another snowy night, the shadow of the candle was shaking red, and the ax sounded, and Song Taizu, who was only 49 years old, died for no apparent reason.Whatever grand ambitions there were, they dissipated.

His younger brother Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi succeeded to the throne, and also inherited this great ambition to fight Khitan and regain Yanyun.Zhao Guangyi's performance is also really good, putting this battle into practice.In the fourth year of Taiping Xingguo (979), Zhao Guangyi led an army of 30 to conquer Liao, intending to recover Yanyun.The battle was going smoothly, and the Song army also attacked the city of Youzhou, but it was a pity that they could not attack for a long time, and the soldiers were exhausted and their morale was low.

It just so happened that Yeluxiu, an excellent general of the Liao Kingdom, led the army to fight back. Song Taizong made a fatal mistake and hurriedly urged the soldiers to attack, and was led to the Gaoliang River.Here, he was ambushed by the main force of the Liao Kingdom, suffered a disastrous defeat, and suffered heavy casualties. The good situation of the Northern Expedition disappeared immediately, and the Battle of Gaoliang River became an eternal regret.

This was a turning point in the battle between Song and Liao. Although victory and defeat are commonplace for military strategists, this battle was unusual.The most terrible thing was the blow to the mentality and morale of the Song people. After the defeat of the Gaoliang River, the Song people were bitten by snakes for ten years and were afraid of well ropes, and they never made the northern expedition to Yanyun again.

After Song Taizong's death, Emperor Zhenzong who succeeded him was quite cowardly.Facing the Liao Kingdom, let alone the attack, and even allowed the Liao Kingdom to drive straight in and hit the city of Chanzhou.If Kou Zhun hadn't forcibly dragged him to the imperial conquest to boost morale, I'm afraid the Song Dynasty would have crossed south at that time.Just signing the alliance under the city and sending old coins to the Liao Kingdom for decades is really humiliating, and it has become a thorn in the hearts of every person with lofty ideals in the Song Dynasty.

Song Renzong was the lord of the city defenders. For many years, the relationship between Song and Liao was mainly peaceful, and no major wars occurred.Although Zhao Zongshi and Zhao Xu and his son later had this idea, they have not been able to implement it.

Until Zhao Zhao ascended the throne, Yanyun Sixteen States had been lost for 130 years.

As early as the first mission to Liao, Zhao Zhao made an oath to recover Yanyun when he returned to Yanshan.When he became the prince of the Song Dynasty, and now he has succeeded to the throne as the emperor, he has more responsibility and obligation to complete this feat.

It's just that the original plan was not so fast. After all, Song Dynasty had just destroyed Xixia and was still marching into Hexi.The interior has also gone through an abnormal change of the throne, which consumes a lot of money and needs to recuperate. After being fully prepared, we will fight to solve the Yanyun problem.

However, Yelujun's sudden action and aggressive attack disrupted Zhao Zhao's deployment, forcing him to face it ahead of time, and a big battle was inevitable.

No matter what purpose Yelujun went south, Zhao Zhao would not let it go. There must be a battle between Song and Liao.

When it comes to the Yanyun issue, the contradictions can never be reconciled, and there is no possibility of a strike and truce. It must be endless and there will be a result.

Now that the troops are mobilized and the scale is still so large, let's fight to solve the problem.Otherwise, just dispatching troops and transporting food and grass will be a huge waste, and what is more important is confidence.

Self-confidence, the confidence of the soldiers, the confidence of the people, the tragedy of Taizong Gaoliang River a hundred years ago cannot be repeated, and we must learn lessons from the past.

For Zhao Zhao, this battle is more about internal affairs.He had just ascended the throne, and although he was quite popular and had a good prestige before, he was the king of Qin at that time, and now he is the emperor.The defeat of this battle is directly related to the prestige of the emperor, and it is related to the beginning of ZTE Song Dynasty, so it can only win and not lose.

The pressure is not small!
Riding the little white dragon on the way to Daming Mansion, Zhao Zhao let out a long sigh.

Thinking of the scene of Yang Wenguang crying loudly when he left that day, Zhao Zhao felt a little uncomfortable.At that time, he had promised him that he would take back Yanyun and avenge Yang Ye's shame.The generals of the Yang family belonged to a family of heroes of the Great Song Dynasty. Although they were not as powerful as in the legends of the Romance, they were still loyal.

Yang Wenguang's persistence, is it not the persistence of the Song Dynasty, pointing the sword at Yanyun, this is a promise to an old general, in fact, it is a promise to the Song Dynasty that has been looking forward to for a hundred years.

Looking at the little white dragon under his seat, Zhao Zhao felt a strange feeling in his heart.This horse was given to him by Yelu Jun. He might have expected this situation back then?Now riding this horse to fight against him on the battlefield, what kind of contest will it be?
In fact, this itself is a very special scene. The monarchs of the Song and Liao countries are very young, and they have not been on the throne for a long time.They all won a war, they all quelled a rebellion, and they all had great ambitions and wanted to be powerful and powerful monarchs.

But it is destined that only one of them can succeed, it depends on the result of this duel!
Zhao Zhao is ready for a hundred years of shame.

Yelujun, are you ready?

　The recommendation vote is meaningless for the old book, it is better to vote for the new book "Zaifu", it is very needed, thank you!

　　


(End of this chapter)