Liu Zhiyuan is a qualified politician and an excellent military strategist. Patriotism and nationalism are tools for him to integrate resources, not the motivation to enslave him.
Liu Zhiyuan's overall strength is far inferior to that of the Khitan, so he will not choose to fight head-on. Instead, he will bluff to scare away the Khitan, and then go south to pick up foreigners.
After receiving the news that Yelu Deguang had led his army to the north, Liu Zhiyuan appointed his younger brother Liu Chong to act as the governor of Taiyuan and stay in Taiyuan; his cousin Liu Xin served as the commander-in-chief of the Forbidden Army cavalry and the military governor of Huazhou Yicheng Army; a close confidant Shi Hongzhao was the commander-in-chief of the infantry of the Forbidden Army; Yang Bin was the privy envoy; Guo Wei was the deputy privy envoy; Wang Zhang was appointed as the third division; Su Fengji and Su Yugui were the prime ministers.
These people are Liu Zhiyuan's direct descendants from Hedong and will also be the core backbone of the Later Han Dynasty in the future.
After carrying out a series of power distribution, Liu Zhiyuan still did not rush to leave, but gave Yelu Deguang enough time to escape.
At this time, Fuzhou Tuanlian envoy Zhe came to Taiyuan from afar to see him. During the Jin-Liao War, Zhe Congyuan used Fuzhou as his base and went deep into the Khitan territory to open up a second battlefield and distract the Khitan's energy. His heroic deeds were praised by Shi Chonggui. Now, this anti-Liao hero went to Taiyuan to pay homage to the dock.
Zhe Congyuan said that his name violated the sacred taboo, and asked to change his name to "Zhe Congruan". Liu Zhiyuan was very happy, and immediately established the Yong'an Army, with Fuzhou as the administrative seat, and Zhe Congyuan as the military envoy of Yong'an Army. .
Geng Chongmei, the military governor of Xizhao Yijun in Luzhou appointed by the Khitan, entered Zezhou with the intention of retaking Luzhou.
We have emphasized the importance of Luzhou to Hedong and Bianzhou countless times. When the Khitans attacked Luzhou, Liu Zhiyuan could no longer be separated from the world.
On April 10, Liu Zhiyuan finally dispatched combat troops, sending Shi Hongzhao to lead 10,000 people to reinforce Luzhou.
Later, in order to stabilize his rear, Liu Zhiyuan began to assign titles to the local forces that relied on him: Wang Shouen was appointed as the military envoy of Luzhou; Gao Yunquan was appointed as the military envoy of Yanzhou.
The war is imminent, and to be honest, until this moment, Liu Zhiyuan still does not have an advantage militarily. However, war is never a cold numbers game, and the side with superior numbers of troops, weapons and armor may not win.
Previously, Yelu Deguang sent dozens of large ships to transport weapons and armor captured from the Later Jin Dynasty. The person responsible for escorting these goods was named Wu Xingde, and the Khitan gave him an empty title - Xuanzhou Ningguo Military Festival Du Shi, Xuanzhou was under the control of the Huainan forces. It had been controlled by Yang Xingmi since the end of the Tang Dynasty. Since then, it has been firmly controlled by the Huainan forces.
Wu Xingde walked halfway and secretly discussed with his subordinates, why should we be controlled by the barbarians? Now that we are far away from home and going to the barren land in the north, I am afraid that we will be ghosts in the border areas for the rest of our lives and will never be able to return to our hometown. The barbarians will never occupy the Central Plains forever. We might as well hold on to the city and wait for the true emperor of the Central Plains to appear, and then surrender to him. We can not only save our lives, but also enjoy the glory and wealth. Wouldn't it be wonderful?
The subordinates unanimously agreed.
It happened that Cui Tingxun, the military governor of Heyang appointed by the Khitans, was leading an army to escort Geng Chongmei, the military governor of Luzhou, to his post. Heyang was empty, so Wu Xingde took advantage of the emptiness and led his troops to occupy Heyang. He then sent his younger brother Wu Xingyou to carry secret wax pills. After receiving the letter, he rushed to Taiyuan overnight to express his allegiance to Liu Zhiyuan.
Before the Battle of Luzhou started, the Khitans lost the important town of Heyang first.
Yelu Deguang sent Fang Tai, the Jiedu envoy of Shengzhou, to Luoyang for inspection. When he arrived at Zhengzhou, the defenders of Zhengzhou suddenly stopped Fang Tai and forced him to proclaim himself King Zheng.
There was a rebel army in the nearby Songshan Mountain. They captured a treasure - Zhu Yi in the temple. This Zhu Yi is said to be a descendant of Zhu Youlun. After the Later Liang Dynasty was overthrown, Zhu Yi became a monk and jumped out of the Three Realms and was not among the Five Elements. Who would have thought that if you sit at home behind closed doors today, disaster will come from the sky. The rebel army insisted on forcing him out of the mountain, proclaiming him the emperor, and took off the clothes of the statues in the temple, and used them as the emperor's robes. The bandits knelt three times and kowtowed, which was considered the completion of the enthronement ceremony.
Subsequently, this group of rebels held the banner of "Emperor Daliang" and launched an attack on Zhengzhou.
In the end, the false emperor was defeated by the false prince.
Fang Tai was so evil that he believed that the Khitan was like a centipede insect that would never die. He actually wanted to persuade the Zhengzhou garrison to go west to Luoyang with him and continue to be loyal to the Liao Dynasty.
The Zhengzhou defenders firmly refused. Therefore, Fang Tai took advantage of others' unpreparedness and escaped from Zhengzhou alone. He fled to Luoyang with firm belief and continued to complete the mission entrusted to him by the Khitan people.
The Zhengzhou garrison discovered that Fang Tai had escaped. In desperation, they had no choice but to file a complaint first and report to Yelv Deguang, saying that Fang Tai had forced them to rebel against Liao and surrender to Liu Zhiyuan. They did not agree, so Fang Tai ran away.
Mrs. Fang was shocked when she heard the news. The thief took one bite and it penetrated three parts to the bone. You Han people are so cunning and cunning! He quickly sent his son Fang Shilang to explain.
The person who received Fang Shilang was the Khitan general Yelv Magu. The murderous, greedy and cruel Yelv Magu, who would rather kill three thousand by mistake than let one go, killed Fang Shilang directly.
Fang Tai was in great pain. I originally turned my heart to the bright moon, but the bright moon illuminated the ditch.
At this time, various rebel armies in the Heyang area came from all directions like a tide and launched an attack on Luoyang. Liu Xi, who was left behind in Luoyang, was so frightened that he abandoned the city and left. Fang Tai let his sorrow go away for the time being and worked together with Pan Huan, the patrol envoy, to repel the rebels.
Zhang Yu, the leader of the rebel army who owned Zhu Yi, the "Emperor of Daliang", tore up Zhu Yi and surrendered to Fang Tai. This is the true face of the so-called "rebels". They often take advantage of social unrest to smash, smash, loot and burn. In the past, we used the neutral word "people's uprising" to call them, but this time they raised the flag of nationalism and patriotism. banner, so let's call them "rebels", but their bandit nature has not changed, such as Zhang Yu.
The "Emperor of Daliang" died before he left the army. Unfortunately, he was killed. A leader of the rebel army in Yique County, south of Luoyang, was ordered to face the danger and called himself the emperor. He also held a suburban ceremony and enthronement ceremony in the southern suburbs of Luoyang, and then led his troops to attack Luoyang, but was also repelled by Fang Tai.
Since the Khitans no longer trusted Fang Tai and had already killed his son Fang Shilang, the despairing Fang Tai had no choice but to defect to Liu Zhiyuan.
Wu Xingde, who occupied Heyang, sent an envoy to tell him that he was just a low-level officer with insufficient prestige. If you are willing, please come to Heyang and we are willing to support you as Heyang's military envoy.
Fang Tai happily threw himself into the trap and was killed by Wu Xingde.
The surrender of Heyang area to Liu Zhiyuan meant that the door to the west of Bianzhou was suddenly opened.
At this time, Shi Hongzhao's forward troops encountered the Khitan army and won the first battle, killing more than a thousand Khitan soldiers. Cui Tingxun escorted Geng Chongmei to Zezhou. Hearing that Shi Hongzhao was in front and that the Heyang lair behind had been taken away, he had no intention of fighting, so he hurriedly retreated.
