[Khitan goes south]
Earlier, at the instigation of Lu Wenjin, the Khitan had sent out large armies to harass the northeastern part of the river, and reaped a lot of benefits. The grasslands were filled with singing and laughter. At this time, Wang Yu sang with Lu Wenjin again and actively encouraged Yelu Abaoji to go south and invade. Wang Yu said to Yelu Abaoji: "Zhenzhou is prosperous and rich, and gold and silver treasures are piled up like mountains. There are many for the flower girl! Taijun, please morning If you go south one day, you should capture it one day early, otherwise, it will be taken away by Li Cunxu (Zhenzhou has beauties like clouds, gold and silk like mountains, and the Emperor of Heaven is leaving quickly, so they are all his own, otherwise, they belong to the King of Jin)."
Faced with the instigation of two big traitors, Yelu Abaoji planned to send troops southward, but after he took his wife Shulu, who was far-sighted and far-sighted, he remained rational and believed that this was to pull chestnuts from the fire for others, so he advised Yelu Abaoji, saying We Khitan have flocks of sheep and horses and are not short of money, so why bother to mobilize troops and make a small profit through a war full of variables? Moreover, Li Cunxu was a god in using troops, and he repeatedly defeated the Hou Liang Dynasty. His military strength was at its peak, and it was not appropriate to compete with him for supremacy.
Of course, Yelu Abaoji doesn't like money; he won't be afraid of Li Cunxu when it comes to fighting; beauty... you can have this.
So Yelu Abaoji mobilized all his armed forces and went south to invade.
At the end of the first year of Longde (921) (December 20), the Khitan invaded Youzhou on a large scale and met with strong resistance. They then bypassed Youzhou and attacked Zhuozhou, capturing Li Sibi, the governor, and then attacked Dingzhou.
The royal capital asked Li Cunxu for help.
Li Cunxu had no choice but to mobilize elite forces from Zhenzhou City and personally led 5,000 people north to support Dingzhou. Hedong Group finally faced a three-front battle, and three battlefields blossomed at the same time.
When Li Cunxu was about to arrive at the front line of Dingzhou, a scout came to report that the Khitan army had arrived in Xinle (south of Dingzhou) and was heading towards Zhenzhou. The two armies are about to encounter each other between Zhenzhou and Dingzhou.
The soldiers in Hedong were frightened. A large number of soldiers fled. Officers at all levels tortured and killed them. They still couldn't stop it. They were in danger of collapsing without a fight.
Generals at all levels have always believed that the Khitans were out in full force, with many men and horses, and the disparity between the numbers was too great. We had no chance of winning. Moreover, we heard that the Houliang army had invaded Hebei, and we should return to Weizhou.
Some people advocate returning to Weizhou, while others advocate retreating directly to the west of the Taihang Mountains... In short, they cannot fight with the Khitan.
Li Cunxu hesitated and asked counselor Guo Chongtao for advice.
Although Guo Chongtao was a scholar, he was the only militant faction around Li Cunxu. He analyzed: "The Khitans were only seduced by Wang Yu, with the purpose of plundering money, food and beautiful women, rather than actually saving Zhenzhou. In other words, the Khitans would not bleed and die for the Zhenzhou people; besides, the king In the battlefield of the Yellow River, brilliant victories have been achieved (the battle of Luzhou and the battle of Baixiang are far away, the battle of Huliu, the battle of Desheng Jiacheng, Po Hegui, victory Wang Zan, and Kedai Siyuan are nearby), which is powerful in the world, and the Khitan people I must be frustrated and frightened when I heard that the king is marching on his own. As long as we can defeat their vanguard and severely weaken their spirit, they will definitely flee back to the grassland!"
Li Cunxu believed this and said that I only used tens of thousands of people to pacify Hebei. Why are I afraid that a few barbarians and clowns like him will do the same? Gather and prepare for a team battle!
Li Cunxu personally led 5,000 cavalry to charge. When they encountered more than 10,000 Khitan cavalry, Li Cunxu took the lead and said, "Do it for me!"
At that time, Li Cunxu's five thousand men rushed out of the woods. The Khitan soldiers did not see the complete five thousand men, but only two or three thousand men. But facing these two or three thousand men, more than 10,000 Khitan cavalry turned around and ran away resolutely. Li Cunxu divided his troops into two groups and pursued them for dozens of miles, capturing one of Yelu Abaoji's sons.
The remaining Khitan soldiers panicked and crossed the river on the ice. As a result, the ice broke and countless people drowned.
When the news came, Yelu Abaoji made an emergency retreat, nearly fifty miles north of Dingzhou in one breath. And Li Cunxu returned with his whip, the sound of his golden stirrups, and a chorus of triumphant songs, and entered Dingzhou City.
The king personally went to greet Li Cunxu in front of his horse, held a grand celebration banquet at his official residence, and requested that his daughter be married to Li Cunxu's son Li Jiji.
"Where is daddy?"
"Keep it until the New Year and die."
Just a few days ago, on the first day of the first lunar month of the second year of Longde (922), Wang Du came to Wang Chuzhi's place of house arrest to pay his godfather New Year greetings.
Wang Chuzhi was so furious that he grabbed Wang Du by his collar and screamed, "Traitor, traitor! How can I be sorry for you?" While scolding, he beat Wang Du's chest, and then wanted to bite off Wang Du's chest. nose.
Wangdu struggled hard, tore his sleeves, and finally escaped. Later, Wang Chuzhi was assassinated and announced that he had died of illness. Wang Chuzhi did not escape the curse of Gao Pian style. Feudal superstition kills people.
Time waited for no one, so Li Cunxu took a short rest and then led his army to attack the Khitan garrison. Li Cunxu personally led a thousand cavalry to launch the first wave of attacks, encountered 5,000 enemy troops, and was trapped in a tight siege.
Li Sizhao led 300 men to attack from the side and rescued Li Cunxu. Then the Hedong Army launched a general offensive, and the Khitan was defeated and continued to retreat north.
Li Cunxu pursued him as far as Yizhou. By this time, it had been snowing heavily for more than ten days, and the snow was several feet thick. The shortcomings of the Khitan army's lack of logistical supplies were fully exposed. People were without food, horses were without grass, and a large number of non-combat attrition occurred.
Yelu Abaoji raised his finger to the sky and said to Lu Wenjin: "This is God's will. God doesn't want me to come here." Then he ordered to return to the grassland.
Li Cunxu followed the Khitan army closely and observed the Khitan garrison points along the way. He found that although the Khitan people retreated in great defeat, they could maintain an orderly movement. Even the straw on the ground was neatly spread. The Khitan people retreated in an orderly manner. , not a retreat. Li Cunxu couldn't help but sincerely admire Yelu Abaoji for his skill in running the army, and said to the people around him: "The barbarians' military discipline is actually so strict. They are much better than us."
Li Cunxu understood that the Khitan's retreat was a strategic shift. As Guo Chongtao said, they were just taking advantage of the situation and not really risking their lives. They could not get any benefits and just went home. All the Hedong Army had to do was drive the Khitan away. The fighting power of the Khitans cannot be underestimated.
After arriving in Youzhou, Li Cunxu only sent 200 cavalry to follow the Khitan army. He warned and warned that he only had to watch the Khitans leave the border. Once the Khitans left the country, you would come back immediately!
As a result, these two hundred cavalry were short-sighted. After two victories, they really thought that the Khitan people were vulnerable. They turned a deaf ear to Li Cunxu's earnest warning and went out to pursue the Khitan army. Except for two people who took a small road and escaped back, all the remaining Khitans were captured.
Li Sigou took advantage of the victory to regain the Gui, Ru, Wu and other states occupied by the Khitans.
Yelu Abaoji lost his money this time when he went south. He stole the chicken but lost the rice. Then he angered Wang Yu, put handcuffs and shackles on him, and escorted him back to the grassland.
Li Cunxu relied on his extraordinary courage and firm belief to successfully eliminate the northern threat temporarily.
