[Three Major Battles: Battle of Qicheng]
On the first day of the first lunar month in the ninth year of Tianfu (944), that night, a dark cloud suddenly blocked the "big star" of the Big Dipper. In ancient times, people usually believed that "the North Dipper governs death, and the South Dipper governs life." "The formation of clouds covering the Big Star of the Big Dipper" is regarded as a sign of war, which is unlucky.
After daybreak, on the second day of the first lunar month, Shi Chonggui received an urgent report from 100,000 people, saying that 50,000 Liao troops suddenly broke through the border yesterday and rushed towards Beizhou under the leadership of their pioneer officers Zhao Yanshou and Zhao Yanzhao.
Beizhou originally belonged to the Wei Bo Army and was not a border town. To the north were the Zhenzhou Chengde Army, the Dingzhou Yiwu Army, and then the Youzhou Lulong Army. Why did the Liao army not choose to push forward, but to go deep alone and directly attack the enemy's hinterland? Because there was an important traitor in Beizhou.
Beizhou is located in the center of Heshuo area, with convenient transportation. It is an important water and land route in Heshuo area. It is known as the "Northern Treasury of the Country". According to the "New Book of Tang", during the Tang Dynasty, "the state gathered money and silk in Jianghuai and Henan." He".
The Yongji Canal, the northern section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal built under the order of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, is located east of Beizhou. In the previous article, Liu Rengong of Youzhou invaded Heshuo and caused the "Beizhou Massacre". The bodies of the victims were thrown into the Yongji Canal, making the river red.
Starting from the Shi Jingtang period, in order to guard against the invasion of the Khitans, the imperial court gradually hoarded a large amount of grain and grass here. At present, the grain and grass reserves here are enough to feed the national army for several years.
Following Shi Jingtang's operation of "dividing Wei Bo", Beizhou was separated from Wei Bo's army, and the Yongqing Army was set up with Beizhou as its headquarters and Wang Lingwen as its military envoy.
There was a mid-level officer named Shao Ke in Beizhou who was cruel and rebellious. Wang Lingwen dismissed him from his post. Shao Ke held a grudge, so he secretly contacted the Khitan and leaked an important military secret to the Khitan:
Beizhou has a large amount of grain and grass stored, but its troops are empty and its defense is weak. However, Jiedushi Wang Lingwen happened to go to the capital for an audience. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Therefore, Zhao Yanshou and Zhao Yanzhao decided to take a risk and lead the vanguard troops deep into the hinterland of Heshuo to seize Beizhou's strategic supplies first.
After Wang Lingwen left, it was Wu Luan who temporarily took charge of the military affairs. When Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteenth Prefecture of Youyun, it was Wu Luan who led the soldiers and civilians of Yun Prefecture to resist in the city and refused to hand over to the Khitan. Under the leadership of Wu Luan, the Khitan besieged it for more than half a year, but could not conquer it. Finally, Shi Jingtang came forward to intercede, and the solution was solved at this time: Yunzhou still had to be ceded to the Khitan according to regulations, and the Khitan allowed Wu Luan to return to the Later Jin Dynasty.
Wu Luan had just taken over Beizhou when he suddenly received urgent military information: the Khitan army was attacking!
Beizhou fell into panic in an instant. Wu Luan was not afraid, but he was a civil servant. He had no troops of his own, no tooth soldiers, so he could only rely on the Beizhou garrison. At this time, Shao Ke volunteered and expressed his willingness to sacrifice his life for the country, even if he died.
Wu Luan was very moved and praised him repeatedly, praising him as the pillar of the country. Then he ordered Shao Ke to guard the south gate while he set up defenses at the east gate.
Although Wu Luan, a civil servant, did not know anything about military affairs, he had a sincere patriotism, the courage to regard death as home, and the actual combat experience of Yunzhou's persistence. Under his leadership, the Beizhou garrison who rushed to fight repelled the first round of Liao army's attack and burned all the Liao army's siege equipment.
As a result, the Beizhou Defense War will enter the second stage, the stalemate stage. Once it enters the stalemate stage, Beizhou can declare victory.
Because the Liao army goes deep alone, if it cannot win quickly, it will be surrounded by many enemies and lose its footing. Therefore, it has always been a taboo for military strategists to go deep alone.
At this critical moment, the battlefield took a turn for the better. Shao Ke opened the south gate and led the Liao army into the city.
Wu Luan was commanding and deploying at the east gate when he suddenly heard that the south gate had been lost and the Liao troops had poured into the city. Comrade Wu Luan, a patriotic civil servant who fought against the Liao Dynasty, was filled with grief and anger. He committed suicide by throwing himself into a well and died a heroic death for his country.
After the Liao army took control of Beizhou, they immediately launched a bloody massacre of the city, killing more than 10,000 soldiers and civilians. Another "Bazhou Massacre".
Shi Chonggui hurriedly mobilized troops and generals, and Gao Xingzhou took command of the expedition. Fu Yanqing and Wang Zhou commanded the left-wing cavalry and infantry troops respectively, while Huangfu Yu and Pan Huan commanded the right-wing cavalry and infantry troops respectively. The Five Tigers will rush to the front line of Heshuo urgently. They must block the Khitan in Beizhou first to prevent the Khitan army from crossing southeast from Beizhou and connecting with Yang Guangyuan of Qingzhou.
Just after the order was issued, Liu Zhiyuan from Hedong also sent urgent military information: the Khitan army moved south from Yanmen Pass and surrounded Xinzhou and Daizhou;
Emergency military reports came one after another from the Heshuo area. Zhenzhou Chengde Army, Cangzhou Henghaijun, and Xingzhou Dongzhaoyi Army all reported being attacked by Khitan.
The two battlefields bloomed at the same time, and the snow of emergency documents made Shi Chonggui realize that the Khitan was serious about it. It was no longer daily border friction, but a large-scale invasion, a scale rarely seen in recent decades. The Later Jin Dynasty is facing a test of life and death.
Shi Chonggui was thoughtful and immediately issued the correct order:
1. The Five Tigers will continue to rush to Beizhou to stabilize the front and prevent the Khitan from further advancing;
2. Liu Zhiyuan had formed a 20,000-strong coalition with Tuguhun and Bai Chengfu, and repelled the first wave of Khitan attacks on the Shanxi battlefield. Shi Chonggui asked Liu Zhiyuan to take charge of Youzhou Commander-in-Chief, Zhenzhou Du Chongwei as deputy commander-in-chief, and Dingzhou Ma Quanjie as political commissar. He led the troops to attack Youzhou from Zhenzhou and Dingzhou, cutting off the Khitan army's retreat in the Shandong battlefield, and creating a closed-door situation in the Shandong battlefield;
3. Send someone to comfort Yang Guangyuan in Qingzhou, persuade him to return when he has strayed, and prevent him from collaborating with the Khitan people;
4. Send envoys to Khitan to submit credentials, request for a ceasefire and reconciliation, and make a final effort for peace negotiations;
5. The imperial chariot marches in person.
The Khitan army came fiercely. After capturing Beizhou, it continued to advance southward rapidly. The main force advanced to the Weizhou City, while the forward force pushed to Liyang in one go.
Liyang is on the north bank of the ancient Yellow River, facing Huazhou on the south bank across the Yellow River. And Huazhou is the north gate of Bianzhou, just around the corner.
It's terrible. As soon as the war started, the Later Jin Dynasty lost the border tug-of-war and almost faced a battle to defend the capital. If you don't have a strong heart, you can be scared to death just by looking at these emergency documents.
Li Congke and Shi Jingtang were both fierce generals who spent their entire lives on the sword, but when faced with this kind of danger, their first thought was to abandon the capital, avoid the enemy's edge, and plan for a comeback. On the contrary, this "big-eyed cute" Shi Chonggui was the first to lead the expedition in person, which made people sincerely admire him.
The Khitans took action on the first day of the first lunar month, and Shi Chonggui received news on the second day of the first lunar month. On the ninth day of the first lunar month, Shi Chonggui had already gone north to fight against the Liao Dynasty.
On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, the Khitan forwards stationed in Liyang, across the river from Huazhou; on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Shi Chonggui stationed in Chanzhou (formerly Desheng Jiacheng).
