Diqin Designer

Chapter 489 They've Lost All Shame (History of the Northern Song Dynasty)

"At that time, the separatist regimes in the Central Plains had been basically pacified, and Zhao Guangyi's focus naturally shifted from the inside to the outside, preparing to expand the territory and restore the Tang Dynasty's territory."

Upon hearing this, Meng Tian smiled and said, "This Emperor Taizong of Song certainly has lofty ambitions."

Li Nian said, "Having lofty ambitions but lacking the ability to achieve them is just wishful thinking. Does Zhao Guangyi have the ability? Obviously not. If it were his brother Zhao Kuangyin, who had led troops for many years, perhaps he could have recovered Youyun."

"Zhao Guangyi chose to attack the Liao Kingdom and recover Youyun at that time for another major reason: the Song army had just pacified the Northern Han and wanted to take advantage of the momentum of the great victory to recover the Youyun region, namely the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, in one fell swoop."

"If he succeeds in this task, he will surpass his brother, and no one will question his succession to the throne."

"This idea isn't entirely wrong. Although the Song army was exhausted after the war to destroy the Northern Han, their morale was high. If handled properly, they had a good chance to use this momentum of victory to defeat the Liao and reclaim Yanyun."

Zhao Guangyi's timing in attacking the Liao Kingdom and reclaiming Yan and Yun was not entirely wrong; there was indeed a certain opportunity.

"Of course, the Song army was exhausted after destroying the Northern Han, and its weapons and provisions had been largely consumed. It would be risky to launch a northern expedition immediately."

"Therefore, when Zhao Guangyi shared his ideas with the generals of the Song army, most of them realized the risks involved and were unwilling to agree. However, some generals did agree, such as Cui Han, the then Commander of the Palace Guards, who advised Zhao Guangyi: 'What we should seize is the momentum. What we should not miss is the opportune moment; it is easy to take it.'"

“Cui Han was no sycophant who knew nothing about military affairs. He had repeatedly made military achievements and he agreed with them, which shows that there was indeed a certain chance of a Northern Expedition at that time.”

Wang Ben continued, "However, this matter is risky. Although the soldiers are in high spirits due to the great victory, they are exhausted, and the food and weapons are not ready. The best option is to take advantage of the victory and try to gain some advantage over the Liao Kingdom. If we find that we cannot recover Yanyun at this time, we should withdraw our troops decisively."

This was the best option for the Song army at the time: give it a try. If there was a real opportunity, they would seize it; if not, they would take some benefits and then withdraw.

Could the Battle of Gaoliang River be won?

Analyzing the situation at the time, it wasn't entirely impossible to fight, but a prolonged war was not advisable.

The safest option is to temporarily halt the northern expedition, withdraw the troops for rest and reorganization, and then fight again; a slightly safer option is to engage in a skirmish, but not to be greedy for battle; the worst option is to fight a stalemate with the Liao army, giving them time to organize reinforcements.

In fact, the Liao Dynasty was also in turmoil at that time.

Li Nian laughed and said, "But Zhao Guangyi at that time was already blinded by the great victory of destroying the Northern Han. He was single-mindedly thinking about surpassing his brother's achievements, or even other emperors. I'm afraid that at that time he was thinking about surpassing Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang."

"So, immediately after Zhao Guangyi destroyed the Northern Han, he launched an attack on Liao to seize Youyun. The attack was so sudden and rushed that Liao did not have time to react. The Liao people never expected that the Song army would attack at this time."

"Therefore, the Song army initially fought quite smoothly. Liu Yu, the prefect of Yizhou of Liao, and Liu Houde, the judge of Zhuozhou, successively surrendered. The Song army set out on June 13 and by June 23 it had already approached Youzhou. Yelü Xidi, the Northern King of Liao, was defeated by the Song army. Yelü Xiezhen, the Southern King, led his army to come to the aid, but was also blocked by the Song army."

"But Yelü Xiezhen took advantage of the Song army's high morale and overconfidence after defeating the Liao army, and pretended to gather the defeated troops, in fact, to lure the Song army deep into their territory."

"Zhao Guangyi actually fell for the trap. He ordered the Song army to pursue their victory, but Yelü Xiezhen circled around to the rear and launched a surprise attack, causing the Song army to retreat in defeat!"

Wang Jian sighed, “‘An arrogant army is bound to be defeated, and a desperate enemy should not be pursued.’ This is a principle of military strategy. A general must always be vigilant, discern the situation clearly, and know when it is permissible to pursue and when it is not.”

"Zhao Guangyi has been blinded by his victory; how could he not be defeated?"

Wang Jian's words were simple, but few people could actually do them. Otherwise, how could such a tactic of feigning surrender and defeat be so frequently used and always relevant?

When people are successful and complacent, it is easy for them to become arrogant. It is truly valuable to remain clear-headed and discern the situation.

The Song army was not much different from the Liao army in terms of combat strength. Unfortunately, their commander was not as good as the Liao general, and this commander had no one to control him.

This is an even worse micromanagement master than a certain principal. He always thinks he can do it too, but in reality, he's really not capable.

Li Nian said, "The Song army has a strong foundation. Although Yelü Xiezhen's sneak attack succeeded, the losses are still within a tolerable range, and they still have sufficient combat power."

These Song troops were mainly the wealth accumulated by Zhao Kuangyin, but Zhao Guangyi was about to send them to their doom. If Zhao Da could see Zhao Guangyi's actions from the afterlife, he would probably be so angry that he would die again.

The younger brother sells his elder brother's land without a second thought!

"This defeat changed the situation where the Song army had the upper hand over the Liao army to a balance of power, and forced them into a stalemate."

After a defeat, the Song army's initial momentum will be affected, but this is still manageable. After all, it is normal to win and lose on the battlefield, and generals and armies that are always victorious are rare.

"In fact, the Song army should still have some advantage over the Liao army at this time, but the advantage is not as great as it was at the beginning. If the Song army withdraws at this time and actually holds onto the benefits it has already gained, it will still make a profit, just not as much as before."

"Of course, Zhao Guangyi will not withdraw his troops. This is not a big problem; although the Song army was defeated, it still has the strength to continue fighting the Liao army. But Zhao Guangyi has pulled another stunt!"

"When facing the Liao army, Zhao Guangyi felt that Yelü Xiezhen had fewer troops and could only defend himself against his large army. He was only able to be ambushed by Yelü Xiezhen because he was careless. As long as he got serious, Yelü Xiezhen would not be able to succeed."

In the version starring Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi, Yelü Xiezhen lacked martial virtue and was careless, failing to dodge!

"Therefore, he did not choose to deal with Yelü Xiezhen, but only sent a small force to monitor him, while concentrating the main army on besieging Youzhou. In his view, as long as Youzhou was captured, all problems would be solved!"

"Zhao Guangyi's idea is good. Taking Youzhou would indeed solve other problems, but the key question is whether he can actually take Youzhou?"

"Youzhou is a formidable city, with high and wide walls, and the Liao people inside are fiercely defending it. If we can't breach the city in a short time..."

The First Emperor and others were all knowledgeable in military affairs and knew what would happen in this situation. If a city was surrounded by a large army and the city could not be breached, then the city had effectively locked down the Song army.

If the siege drags on for too long without success, the Song army will suffer heavy losses in food and weaponry, morale will plummet, and it will also give the Liao army time to receive reinforcements.

Instead, it turned the Song army from having the strategic initiative into having the strategic passivity!
When the Liao reinforcements arrived, the Song army, though not physically surrounded by the city walls, was effectively besieged. Meanwhile, the Liao army, having held Youzhou under heavy Song attack, was greatly encouraged. With the arrival of reinforcements, and a pincer attack from both sides, the Song army was unlikely to escape defeat.

Wang Jian commented: "When conquering a powerful state, if you cannot capture a city after a prolonged siege, you should resolutely withdraw your troops. Otherwise, the city will not be besieged by the enemy, but by your own forces. Once the enemy's reinforcements arrive, your own army will be in grave danger!"

Wang Jian is well-qualified to make this assessment. He fights these kinds of major battles involving the siege and destruction of cities and states. He absolutely cannot afford to fight to the death in a single city and expend too much strength, unless he is certain that it is an isolated city with no enemy support, in which case he can confidently and boldly besiege it.

However, Youzhou City was clearly not an isolated city; its position was important, and the Liao army would not abandon it and would definitely send troops to support it.

Li Nian said, "If the Song army fails to capture Youzhou after a prolonged siege, the best option for them is actually to retreat before the Liao army's reinforcements arrive. However, this is not a good option for Zhao Guangyi, who is first and foremost an emperor!"

The First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, immediately understood and explained, "While Zhao Guangyi's withdrawal at this time may preserve the strength of the Song army, it will damage his prestige. His imperial position is already questioned, and if he retreats now, people will think he shouldn't be emperor!"

"Therefore, although retreating would preserve the strength of the Song army, Zhao Guangyi was unwilling to retreat. Moreover, Zhao Guangyi's purpose in launching this campaign was to seize Youyun and establish his own position!"

This is the biggest difference between Zhao Guangyi, the emperor, and a general.

As a general, one might think that retreat is an option under such circumstances, but as an emperor, even if he realized that the situation was already unfavorable to his side and that there was a risk of being attacked from both sides when the Liao army reinforcements arrived, he would not think of retreating.

People think differently depending on their status. Zhao Guangyi was not stupid; on the contrary, he was quite clever, otherwise he would not have been able to sit on the throne.

"Zhao Guangyi's thoughts at that time were probably as His Majesty said, but if Zhao Guangyi had known what would happen next, he probably would have stopped and retreated overnight!"

Li Nian smiled and said, "The battle unfolded just as the old general predicted. The long siege of Youzhou City did not trap the Liao army, but instead trapped the Song army. The Liao army in Youzhou successfully held out until Yelü Xiuge arrived with reinforcements!"

"When Yelü Xiuge's army arrived, he first sent Yelü Sha with the old and weak soldiers to lure the enemy, while he led the main army to circle around to the south of the Song army, and together with Yelü Xiezhen, they attacked the Song army from both sides."

The disadvantages of not dealing with Yelü Xiezhen before are now becoming apparent: if you, Zhao Guangyi, don't try to resolve the issue and just confront him, then you're giving him an opportunity, and he'll suffer the consequences.

In the Yellow Springs Tavern, Yelü Xiezhen and Zhao Guangyi met by chance, and Yelü Xiezhen asked the question that had been buried in his heart for many years: Zhao Guangyi, during the Battle of Gaoliang River, I was waiting for reinforcements, what were you waiting for?
Under Yelü Xiezhen's gaze, Zhao Guangyi stammered and blushed as he replied: "Wait, wait, wait for the donkey cart!"

"Although the Song army had been attacking Youzhou relentlessly for nearly twenty days and was already exhausted, they were still tenacious and fought fiercely against the Liao army that was attacking them from both sides. When Yelü Xuegu in Youzhou saw that reinforcements had arrived, he opened the gates and charged out."

It wasn't that the Song soldiers were incompetent or weaker than soldiers from other dynasties; rather, it was that the people of the Song Dynasty were truly inhuman.

"By this time, the Song army that was originally besieging Youzhou had become besieged by the Liao army! Under these circumstances, the Song army retreated, and retreat meant defeat. The Liao army naturally would not let the Song army retreat at will, and pursued them closely, killing the Song army badly and forcing them to flee south overnight."

The First Emperor and others were not surprised by the Song army's defeat; in fact, it would have been strange if the Song army hadn't been defeated. However, they still felt a sense of regret, as the defeat could have been completely avoided and was purely a result of Zhao Guangyi's manipulation.

If the Song army hadn't continued its northern expedition after conquering the Northern Han, it wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat; if it had withdrawn after gaining some advantages from the Liao people and approaching Youzhou, it wouldn't have happened; if it had withdrawn after being ambushed by Yelü Xiezhen, it wouldn't have happened either; even if they had sent more troops to keep an eye on Yelü Xiezhen, it wouldn't have happened...

The Song army had several opportunities to avoid defeat, but Zhao Guangyi led them to the worst possible outcome.

"The Song army was defeated by the Liao army, and the soldiers fled south in panic. The army was in complete chaos. Zhao Guangyi was separated from his generals, and the generals could not find their soldiers. In this chaotic army, Zhao Guangyi was in danger of losing his life. Fortunately, his close advisor found him a donkey cart."

The donkey cart finally made its appearance; so that's how Zhao Guangyi got his nicknames "God of the Donkey Cart" and "God of the Sorghum River Cart."

However, Zhao Guangyi's actions led to his defeat, and he even abandoned his soldiers, fleeing in a donkey cart, showing absolutely no shame.

The emperors after the Northern Song Dynasty were all descendants of Zhao Guangyi. If they inherited his temperament, then the Song Dynasty was indeed called the "cowardly dynasty."

If your ancestors were cowards and weaklings, your descendants will be just like them. It's true that people from the same family will not enter the same door.

"On the sixth day of the seventh month, the Song army was defeated. By dawn on the seventh day, Zhao Guangyi had driven his donkey cart to the outskirts of Zhuozhou City, and no Song soldiers could catch up with him. But Zhao Guangyi did not stop. He felt that Zhuozhou City was not safe, so he bypassed Zhuozhou City and went straight to Jintaitun. Seeing that neither Liao people were chasing after him nor Song soldiers had arrived, he dared to stop the donkey cart to observe."

"Later, based on the analysis of Zhao Guangyi's escape route, some people concluded that Zhao Guangyi escaped two hundred miles overnight by donkey cart!"

How many miles?
Did he drive a donkey cart for two hundred li in one night?
Meng Tian couldn't help but exclaim, "This donkey is really fast!"

Li Nian glanced at Meng Tian, ​​thinking to himself, 'General Meng, you'd better say it's a donkey, otherwise, when we get to Da Song, you'll be in big trouble!'

Li Nian laughed and said, "When Zhao Guangyi was driving the donkey cart, he was hit by an arrow. The fact that he could still drive the donkey cart so far despite being wounded by an arrow shows how superb his driving skills were."

This is obviously a joke. Given Zhao Guangyi's status, even if he escaped by donkey cart, someone should have been with him, so it's unlikely that he drove it himself.

"On the ninth day of the seventh month, Zhao Guangyi, who had fled a great distance, saw that the Song army had not yet arrived. He sent someone to investigate and learned that the Song generals were holding Zhuozhou and that some of them, seeing that he had disappeared, were plotting to establish Zhao Dezhao as emperor. So he quickly ordered Cui Han to issue an edict to withdraw the troops."

This really hit Zhao Guangyi where it hurt. He could lose a great battle and his army could be lost, but he absolutely could not stand to hear that someone was eyeing the throne.

"As the Song army retreated, Zhao Guangyi was taking precautions to prevent the Liao army from taking the opportunity to invade the south..."

Originally, it was the Song army's northern expedition, but after this battle, it became that the Liao people could invade the south and the Song army had to defend against it. This was all Zhao Guangyi's doing.

"While arranging the defenses, Zhao Guangyi took out his battle formation diagram and distributed it to the generals, instructing them to deploy their troops according to the diagram to meet the enemy if the Liao army attacked."

It seems this person still hasn't figured out their own limitations, thinking they are a skilled warrior with both literary and martial talents, completely lacking self-awareness.

Hundreds of thousands of elite Song troops were defeated under his command, and he even abandoned his army and fled two hundred miles in one night by donkey cart. He has no shame at all!

There are few in history whose shame is greater than that of Zhao Guangyi.

(End of this chapter)