When Zhao Dejun led the army to Luanliu west of the Taihang Mountains, Fan Yanguang was leading 20,000 Weibo troops stationed in Liaozhou. Luanliu is located to the south of Shihuiguan, and Liaozhou is located to the east of Shihuiguan. The two are not far apart (straight-line distance is 70 kilometers).
Zhao Dejun was like a vicious dog, looking longingly at the bones not far away. He couldn't help but have Fan Yanguang's idea. Shangshu asked to join forces with Fan Yanguang to form a rope and work together to support Taiyuan northward.
Fan Yanguang already knew what Zhao Dejun had done along the way, so he hurriedly reported to the court to expose Zhao Dejun's behavior of annexing other troops, and resolutely refused to join forces with Zhao Dejun to prevent his own troops from being annexed by him.
At that time, the war in Taiyuan had changed. With the help of Khitan reinforcements, Shi Jingtang gradually reversed the situation, lifted Zhang Jingda's siege, and besieged Zhang Jingda in Jin'an Village.
At the critical moment, Li Congke decided to go to the front line of Taiyuan personally.
Prince Li Chongmei believed that Li Congke was suffering from an illness (eye disease) and should not lead the army in person, and expressed his willingness to expedition to the north on behalf of his father.
However, Zhang Yanlang, Liu Yanlang, and Liu Yanhao persuaded Li Congke to fight in person. After much consideration, Li Congke made the decision to go on a personal expedition.
Before setting off from Luoyang, Li Congke summoned Prime Minister Lu Wenji and asked: "I have always heard that you have the spirit of a prime minister, so I promoted you to prime minister against all opinions. Now, in the face of a national crisis, what are your plans?"
Lu Wenji could only kneel down and kowtow.
If Lu Wenji didn't say a word, it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. However, he did not have many good ideas, but many bad ones. As soon as Li Congke reached the bank of the Yellow River, he held an emergency military meeting to discuss the next plan.
Li Congke was unwilling to go to the front line, not because he was afraid of fighting with Shi Jingtang, but because he was worried that he would lose control of the central government after being away from the capital for a long time. What if someone rebelled again?
In Li Congke's view, even if the Hedong war was defeated, the result would be Hedong's independence, and he could still be the emperor. But if a fire breaks out in the backyard due to personal conquest, he will no longer be an emperor. After weighing the situation, Li Congke really didn't want to go to the Northern Expedition.
Lu Wenji understood what Li Congke meant, so he said: "Most of the foundation of the country is south of the Yellow River. The east of the river is not the core interest of the empire. Moreover, although the Khitans are fierce, they are only here to take advantage of the situation and will not invade the Central Plains." I have been here for a long time. Moreover, the defense of Jin'an Village is strong, and the imperial court has sent many reinforcements (Zhao Dejun, Fan Yanguang, etc.), so everything will be fine. The emperor should be at the command center, Yu Fan Lunjin. As for going to the front line, just send a trusted official there. If it doesn’t work, it’s not too late to conquer it yourself.”
Zhang Yanlang attempted to use this opportunity to dismiss Zhao Yanshou from his position as Privy Councilor, so he actively complied with Lu Wenji's proposal, "Lu Wenji is right!"
Li Congke asked other people for their opinions. Liu Suining (son of Liu Wei), the governor of Zezhou, had secretly attached himself to Shi Jingtang, so he also actively agreed, saying that the emperor should never cross the Taihang Mountains.
Others observed Li Congke's words and guessed what Li Congke meant, so no one dared to raise objections.
Li Congke asked everyone to recommend candidates for the Northern Expedition. Zhang Yanlang and others said in unison: "Comrade Zhao Yanshou is very powerful and prestigious, and his father, Comrade Zhao Dejun, has already gone to the front line. The candidate for the Northern Expedition must be Zhao Yanshou!"
Therefore, Li Congke ordered Zhao Yanshou to lead an army of 20,000 to replace the emperor in the Northern Expedition.
Li Congke's group made stupid moves one after another, and the hostages were either killed or let go. After letting Zhao Yanshou go, Zhao Dejun no longer had any worries.
Li Congke missed the opportunity to form an alliance with the Khitan, missed the chance to personally conquer the war and turn the tide of the war, and let go of Zhao Dejun's hostage...but he still had a chance to make a comeback.
Long Min, the Minister of Civil Affairs, gave this opportunity. He took out the chess piece left by Emperor Mingzong - Yelu Bei.
Long Min suggested that Yelvbei be canonized as the Khitan emperor, and Zhao Dejun and Fan Yanguang be ordered to lead troops to escort him from Youzhou into the Khitan. Then Li Congke announced to the world in the name of the future emperor of the Tang Dynasty that he recognized Yelvbei as the only legal emperor of the Khitan, and with him Establish diplomatic relations.
If this happens, civil strife will break out in Khitan, and Yelv Deguang under Taiyuan City will inevitably return to Khitan at all costs.
Li Congke strongly agreed.
This is also the correct usage of Yelube. It was when the Central Plains was threatened by the Khitan that they set a fire in the Khitan's backyard.
Yelu Bei was the eldest son of Yelu Abaoji, Taizu of the Liao Dynasty. He was the heir designated by Yelu Abaoji and the crown prince of the Liao Dynasty. It was reasonable, reasonable and absolutely strong to support him as the Khitan emperor. In comparison, the current Khitan Emperor Yelu Deguang is a usurper of power with a dishonest name and unjust words.
Moreover, the war in Hedong is currently limited to the Hedong area. The east of the Taihang Mountains is completely in the hands of the Later Tang Dynasty and has not been affected by the war. Yelvbei can eat hot pot and sing songs, and go north from the Heshuo area, out of Youzhou and into Khitan, with a smooth road. Unobstructed. The armies of Fan Yanguang and Zhao Dejun did not enter the battlefield, and could perfectly serve as Yelu Bei's bodyguards and assist him in entering the Khitan.
This is Li Congke's last chance, and Li Congke is ready to accept it.
However, this strategy was ultimately rejected by the North. The reason is simple: powerful figures oppose it.
Who is against it? History does not give a clear answer. We can try to speculate that Zhao Dejun is the most suspect.
And as long as Zhao Dejun disagrees, Yelvbei will not be able to go north through Youzhou, so he can only go north through Hebei, and this road is a dead end.
Long Min, a native of Youzhou, had a close personal relationship with Feng Dao. After Feng Dao was promoted by Li Cunxu, Long Min went to join him. When the eunuch Zhang Chengye heard about it, he asked Feng Dao to bring Long Min for an interview. After some high-level talks, Zhang Chengye thought that Long Min was a talent, so he made him his staff. Historic events include Zhuangzong and Mingzong.
When Feng Yun stayed behind in Taiyuan, Long Min served as his adjutant. Feng Yun entered the court as the privy envoy and worshiped Long Min as the minister of the Ministry of official affairs.
When Long Min proposed to send Yelvbei back to the country, he also expected to be opposed by Zhao Dejun. He said that he was from Youzhou and knew very well what kind of bird Zhao Dejun was. He was good at defending cities but not good at field battles. He also had two ambitions and would definitely not support this idea.
So Long Min came up with the second strategy, which was just a little bit risky. At that time, there were 5,000 elite troops in front of Li Congke. Long Min asked for the allocation of 1,000 elite troops to escort Yelubei along the Taihang Mountains to the north, brushing against the edge of the Hedong battlefield, fighting and marching, and forcibly broke into the Khitan territory.
Li Congke was deeply worried, because if this plan failed, he would completely offend Yelu Deguang, thus deepening the conflict with the Khitan. After thinking about it, Li Congke gave up the idea of sending Yelvbei back to China.
