The sudden change in the situation in the north, the conflict between Han and Liao, and even the war, instantly shattered the already fragile peace between Han and Liao. Looking back, the seven years of stability seemed like a bubble, and the so-called peace talks were even more of a joke.
Because the Liao army suddenly invaded Yanmen Pass, it caused a lot of discussion in the Tokyo court. No matter whether it was literary or military, everyone felt relieved and felt offended.
At this time, the emperors and ministers of the Han Dynasty were enthusiastic about marching to Jiangbiao and unifying the south. The battle in Yanmen was like a handful of cold water poured down on his head. Although there was not much water, it was cold enough to the bottom of his heart, and it was enough to draw Liu Chengyou's attention back to the north again. But this time, it was not so cold. It’s easy to look away.
In fact, he was a little surprised and confused about Liao's sudden attack. Unexpectedly, he turned against him so quickly, and out of doubt, he sent ten thousand cavalry.
Fortunately, the Han Dynasty has made considerable achievements in intelligence work on Liao over the years. After some setbacks, the Military Intelligence Department reported it. Although there is no overly detailed information, it is clear that the Liao envoy Xiao Husi who returned to the north reported something to the Lord of Liao. On the second day of his audience, the Liao army went south.
With the intelligence of the Han Dynasty monarchs, they naturally set their sights on Xiao Husi immediately and made a judgment. Liu Chengyou immediately ordered Li Chongju, the military moral envoy, to investigate. From the officials who had contact with Xiao Husi, he learned that Xiao Husi's performance in going south was clearly to secretly spy on the big man.
The same thing has different results in the eyes of different people. As the Northern Privy Councilor of the Liao Kingdom, Xiao Husi certainly had a certain vision, so he felt the threat of the Han Dynasty from what he saw along the way. The Liao Emperor also recognized this and took subsequent actions.
After learning about this, Liu Chengyou became angry and immediately ordered that the officials and military officers who received Xiao Husi be dismissed from their posts. At the same time, the detectives monitoring Xiao Husi within the Wude Department were also dealt with. They were all the people who had the closest contact with Xiao Husi, but they were not aware of his unusual movements at all, even though they had the excuse of "traveling around and enjoying the scenery" as a cover.
Well, those officials who were implicated may feel aggrieved. After all, in order to maintain the harmonious relationship between Han and Liao, the emperor had issued an edict to entertain and treat Liao envoys with courtesy. Although they were suspected of oversight and acting unwisely, they were still angered by Liu Chengyou's move.
At the same time, he recalled that when Xiao Husi was in Tokyo, he communicated directly with me several times, and they were all very happy. Who would have thought that under that kind and humble face, there was such scheming and hostility. The key is that he still has Nothing noticed.
In the final analysis, my attention is still on affairs in the south. Although I am always vigilant about the Liao Kingdom in the north and remind myself from time to time, how can I really keep that vigilance in my heart at all times? In addition, in recent years, the Khitan people can indeed be called "peaceful".
With Liu Chengyou's thinking, supplemented by the analysis of the ministers, the situation was basically clarified very quickly. As for Wanzu Kodai's actions, although he felt a little strange from them, he could only explain his actions as "testing" for the time being.
Yang Ye's victory released a lot of the depression that had accumulated in Liu Chengyou's heart. Regarding his bold attack and victory with fewer enemies and more enemies, Liu Chengyou was very happy and said: "Yang Chonggui is famous for this! "
1879 people were beheaded, including 728 Khitan people. The rest of the casualties were not included, and the number of casualties was less than a thousand. Adding the prisoners and the seizures, it was a real victory, a hearty victory. The Han Dynasty court, and even the people of Tokyo were very excited and praised him more. Under the emperor's instruction, the Xuanwei Division also came out to work.
However, in this atmosphere, some people still stood up to spoil the fun, saying that Yang Ye's rash attack risked losing the city, and that he had achieved his own meritorious service with the lives of his subordinates, and that killing Liao soldiers might lead to a war between the two countries...
Regarding such remarks, Liu Chengyou didn't need to say anything. Privy Councilor Chai Rong scolded the censor who made the remarks in public. Later, Cui Zhoudu, the censor of Zuodu, took the initiative to demote the subordinate directly to the local government due to public sentiment.
In this regard, Liu Chengyou just lamented that after all, there are many fools and few wise people in this world. People who are ignorant of current affairs and self-righteous people abound.
Liu Chengyou did not hesitate to reward the meritorious soldiers who contributed to the Yanmen victory. Yang Ye's title was not promoted and he was still the Marquis of Guo. However, he added "founding the country" and promoted his salary to Su. At the same time, he gave his wife Feng a fifth-grade imperial title. The eldest son, Yang Yanzhao, was bestowed with an honorary title, allowing Yang Ye to successfully realize the title of wife and son.
As for his subordinates such as Kang Yanze and other generals, they were also generously rewarded, with generous compensation for casualties and gifts of merit dogs. They used the most direct actions to demonstrate the emperor's attitude towards the meritorious officers in this battle.
After the imperial edict, the Tokyo court stirred up trouble again. The military ministers and generals of the imperial army in Beijing petitioned the emperor to send troops for the Northern Expedition. The petitions almost filled the imperial records of Chongzheng Palace.
Some of the Han generals were motivated by their own merits, and some were inspired by Yang Ye's victories. Although the unification war was important and both deserved credit, since ancient times, foreign wars and the expansion of territory have been more capable of stimulating the passion and pride of people with lofty ideals. What's more, it was the Khitans who took the initiative to cause trouble this time, and everyone at the top and bottom also had a certain mentality of revenge against the powerful enemy in the north. After all, they had been allowed to run rampant in northern Xinjiang for decades.
Some people are just joining in the fun. Among the senior generals of the Forbidden Army, many have expressed their opinions, such as Han Tong, Sun Li, Li Chongjin, Li Jixun and others.
Including Wang Yin, the former deputy commander of the Guards Department who had been idle for many years, also took the initiative to express his gratitude to Liu Chengyou, hoping to join the Northern Expedition. When He Fujin died of illness, the imperial court appointed the commander-in-chief of the Northern Command, and the appointment had already been made. Unfortunately, Wang Yin was so complacent and acted wantonly that he was impeached, which also angered Liu Chengyou. He lost his military position as deputy commander-in-chief of the bodyguard.
Over the years, whether the imperial court was taking Jinghu or destroying Shu, Wang Yin had taken the initiative to request an expedition, but Liu Chengyou refused. Firstly, the Han Dynasty had no shortage of generals, so there was no need for him, a sixty-year-old veteran. Secondly, there were no shortage of generals back then. His erratic behavior left a really bad impression on Liu Chengyou.
This time, it was also the last time Wang Yin took the initiative to ask for help. If he could not be given another chance, he would not do what he wanted and spend his old age melancholy.
Among the remaining generals, Murong Yanzhao, Xiang Xun, and Zhao Kuangyin did not express their stance easily. These are three politically mature generals. They knew clearly that no matter how active the riots were, it would still depend on the emperor's attitude. The decision-making of the Northern Expedition was a top priority for the imperial court. It required careful discussion and comprehensive planning by the court officials. It was not a decision that could be made lightly.
These are all generals in Beijing, and the local generals, especially the frontier troops in Hebei, although the performance has not yet arrived, Liu Chengyou can already predict their eagerness to try and their determination to serve the country.
In the context of the general's request for orders, there was a debate related to the strategy of the Han Dynasty. The dispute between the north and the south has been an issue that has been running through the strategic direction of the Han Dynasty since the founding of the People's Republic of China.
In the early years, there was basically no big controversy. At that time, the country's strength was insufficient, and the strategic environment was not good. It was surrounded by enemies on all sides and had many loopholes. Under such circumstances, choosing to attack the south was the most reasonable, least risky, and most beneficial option. The highest choice.
Even so, in the fourth year of Qianyou's reign, the Southern Expedition was imminent, and the Liao army gathered a large number of troops to go south. During the Huoshendian Rebellion, many people proposed the Northern Expedition at that time. Why, the Northern Fortress was still in dilapidated condition, and the Han Dynasty, from the monarchs and ministers to the soldiers and civilians, did not have a sense of security.
After expanding into Huainan and capturing Qin Feng in the west, the country became increasingly rich and its military force became stronger. Someone suggested to Liu Chengyou the Northern Expedition. Although the Liao Kingdom had recovered for a few years at that time, it was still politically unstable and the clan nobles continued to rebel, which gave people an opportunity.
However, after some thought, Liu Chengyou still refused and still insisted on the strategy of attacking in the south and defending in the north. Since basic peace could be maintained in the north and enough space was given, he would proceed in accordance with the established strategy.
Later, Jinghu was captured and Meng Shu was conquered, and this is still the case today. If the border situation in the north remains unchanged, then the next step to pacify Jiangnan in one fell swoop will still be to adhere to the unshakable strategy.
However, this time it was different. The Liao State took the initiative to change and started a war, breaking the fragile balance between Han and Liao. Once the balance was broken, Liu Chengyou had to look north seriously. It was not because of his wavering in his will, but because he had to take the threat from the north seriously.
In the imperial court, the strategic dispute between the north and the south once again broke out, and this time, it was not limited to a few civil and military officials. On May 7th, Liu Chengyou simply issued an edict, ordering the civil and military personnel of the fifth rank and above in Beijing to discuss strategies and discuss matters going south and north.
This edict also reflects Liu Chengyou's inner struggle. Amidst the wave of ministers expressing their opinions, Liu Chengyou expressed some emotion to his close ministers: "It has been 11 years since I came to Qianyou, and I am still having a headache over the North-South strategy!"
During the discussion, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but think about it. In the original history, from the time when the Northern Song Dynasty pacified the south to the time when Wu and Yue donated their territory, the Liao Kingdom did not respond in such a big way. Why?
After thinking about it for a long time, although I didn't fully understand the reason, I finally got something.
If we talk about the end of the troubled times of the Five Dynasties in official history, the official foundation was laid with the establishment of the Later Zhou Dynasty, and it embarked on the fast track to unification. Compared with this, today's big man is only three years ahead of schedule in all aspects. However, as the internal strength cultivation of these three years develops, the gap will be more than just three years.
In the middle, there was no harm caused by the three rebellions, less chaos in the dynasty change, and no constraints from the Northern Han Dynasty. The expedition to Huaihe River could only take half a year... These greatly preserved the vitality of the dynasty and allowed it to resume development. The speed is even different. Coupled with Liu Chengyou's painstaking efforts to govern, the Han Dynasty's military strength was so strong that it was far ahead of the "same period". Of course, the pressure it brought to the monarchs and ministers of the Liao Kingdom was also different.
In official history, when the Northern Song Dynasty developed to the level of the Han Dynasty, the Liao Kingdom had also been stable and accumulated for nearly 20 years, and there was no major loss in the Battle of Luancheng, so it was naturally more stable. Moreover, after entering the late period of Yelujing, the political environment of the Liao Kingdom was indeed a bit chaotic, domestic conflicts also repeated violently, and it was powerless to deal with Song affairs.
But now, the pressure brought by the Han Dynasty to the Liao Kingdom is too strong. If the monarchs and ministers of the Liao Kingdom had a sense of urgency, they would never remain indifferent in the face of the Han Dynasty.
