Diqin Designer

Chapter 490 The Second Northern Expedition of the Northern Song Dynasty (History of the Northern Song Dynasty)
However, Li Nian believes that there were several people in the Song Dynasty who could rival or even surpass Zhao Guangyi's "God of War on the Donkey Cart," and these people happened to be Zhao Guangyi's descendants.

This family is truly shameless; their ancestors were like this, and their descendants are just as shameless.

These individuals include the famous calligrapher and founder of the Slender Gold style, Emperor Huizong of Song (Zhao Ji); Emperor Qinzong of Song (Zhao Heng), who went on a "northern exile" with Huizong and caused the "Jingkang Incident"; and Zhao Jiumei (Wanyan Gou), who escaped from the Jin camp, lost her fertility, and murdered Yue Fei on trumped-up charges.

As expected of Zhao Guangyi, his lineage is truly full of talented people.

Meng Tian laughed and said, "This Emperor Taizong of Song probably still thinks that this battle was not his fault, but rather that the Song soldiers dared not fight bravely and the Liao people were too cunning. If the Song soldiers had fought harder, he would have already captured Youzhou and recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. How could he have suffered this defeat?"

Zhao Guangyi clearly believed that his military skills were still up to par, and that the defeat in this battle had little to do with his command.

These kinds of people are the most dangerous, especially those who wield immense power, as they can create enormous disasters.

Because he doesn't recognize his own limitations, after failing, he doesn't deeply analyze the reasons for his failure, but still thinks he can do it, which leads to failure again.

The most prominent representative of this type of person is Guangshen, whose representative work is the three campaigns against Goguryeo: if the first campaign fails, then the second; if the second fails, then the third; and even after realizing that Goguryeo had tricked him after the third campaign, he still wanted to launch a fourth campaign.

Guangshen would not deeply consider why the campaign against Goguryeo failed, nor would he explore the reasons within himself. Even if Yang Xuangan's rebellion was a factor during the second campaign, his reckless actions were still evident.

Of course, Zhao Guangyi has not yet reached the level of Guangshen. Guangshen has already ascended to become a god and no longer belongs to humankind. Zhao Guangyi will still reflect on his actions.

Li Nian smiled and said, "Zhao Guangyi was naturally dissatisfied with the defeat at the Battle of Gaoliang River. To be precise, he did not believe that under his leadership, the Liao people could not be defeated and the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun could not be recovered."

"Zhao Guangyi probably thought that if his brother Zhao Kuangyin had led the army in person, they might have been able to conquer it. He couldn't be inferior to his brother!"

"Although the Battle of Gaoliang River resulted in a major defeat for the Song army, the Song army still had strength and could support another Northern Expedition."

Zhao Kuangyin left behind a very substantial legacy. Of course, during the second Northern Expedition of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Guangyi was also in power for ten years, and he contributed to the development and construction of the Song Dynasty.

Unlike during the first Northern Expedition, Zhao Guangyi had only been on the throne for three years. It's impossible to say that the wealth he accumulated in those three years surpassed the wealth accumulated by his brother Zhao Kuangyin during his more than ten years on the throne.

"Zhao Guangyi held a grudge after the defeat at Gaoliang River. If he hadn't held a grudge, he wouldn't have wanted to launch another Northern Expedition just a year after the Battle of Gaoliang River."

Upon hearing this, Feng Jie shook his head and said, "Even if the Song army still has the strength to launch a northern expedition, this is far too hasty. However, this also shows that Zhao Guangyi truly intended to suffer this defeat!"

Having just suffered a major defeat, even if the Song Dynasty had a strong financial foundation and could still fight the Liao people, it would need to catch its breath and rest, right?
Have provisions and weapons been prepared properly? Has morale been boosted? Has the situation of the Liao people been thoroughly investigated?
"But Zhao Guangyi was persuaded not to launch a northern expedition immediately."

If Zhao Guangyi had launched a northern expedition at that time, the Northern Song Dynasty might have been much shorter.

"Although he was temporarily persuaded to stop, Zhao Guangyi did not give up his idea of ​​a northern expedition. While resisting the Liao army's southward advance, he sent people to contact the Tatars, Ding'an, Jurchens, Goryeo and other countries and tribes to jointly block the Liao people."

This is also a traditional skill of the Great Song: to unite other countries and tribes to fight against enemies, such as allying with the Jin to destroy the Liao and allying with the Mongols to destroy the Jin.

The strategy of forming alliances with the enemy of the enemy is not entirely without its problems.

"Alliance with Jin to destroy Liao" indeed led to the destruction of Liao, but the rise of Jin, which then brought the Song Dynasty the "Jingkang Incident," a humiliation rarely matched in Chinese history. "Alliance with Mongols to destroy Jin" also successfully destroyed the Jin Dynasty, but the Mongols were even more terrifying than the Jin.

Compared to the first "alliance with Jin to destroy Liao" and the second "alliance with Mongols to destroy Jin", the Southern Song court's decisions were not problematic. It was not that the Southern Song court was unaware that after the fall of Jin, the Mongols would become their enemies, but rather that the situation forced them to act.

The Southern Song court did indeed intend to destroy the Jin dynasty. After all, the Jin state had caused the "Jingkang Incident," and the Southern Song had to pay tribute to the Jin every year. If they could take the opportunity to destroy the Jin state, they could not only avenge the humiliation but also save on the tribute.

The alliance with the Mongols was not initially achieved. Instead, when the Jin dynasty was on the verge of destruction, the Southern Song court believed that it should handle relations with the Mongols with caution and not repeat the mistake of "allying with the Jin to destroy the Liao".

However, when the Jin Dynasty was attacked by the Mongols, instead of trying to ease relations with the Southern Song court and unite to resist the Mongols, the Jin Dynasty launched a southern invasion under the impetus of the pro-war faction, hoping to replenish its resources by plundering the Southern Song.

Under these circumstances, the Jin Dynasty naturally lost the possibility of negotiating peace with the Southern Song court and forming an alliance with the Song against the Mongols, which instead prompted the Southern Song court to unite with the Mongols to destroy the Jin.

"Zhao Guangyi learned from He Lingtu, the prefect of Xiongzhou, and others that the Liao Kingdom was in turmoil due to the young emperor and the instability within the country. He immediately felt that the time for the Northern Expedition he had been waiting for for more than six years had come, and decided to take this opportunity to organize another Northern Expedition. This time, he was determined to avenge the previous humiliation and take back Youyun."

"Perhaps he developed a psychological trauma from riding in a donkey cart last time, so Zhao Guangyi did not personally lead the expedition this time, but instead handed over command to the generals of the Song army."

The First Emperor asked curiously, "Zhao Guangyi did not personally lead the campaign, so why was he defeated in this battle?"

Li Nian smiled and said, "Because of Cao Bin, the commander of the Song army. Zhao Guangyi believed that one of the major reasons for the failure of the first Northern Expedition was that the Song army was too concentrated, and the army marched straight to Youzhou. Although the concentration of troops made them stronger and gave them a better chance of breaking through Youzhou, if they failed to break through, the Song army would be tied down in Youzhou and unable to capture other cities, thus hindering the Liao army's reinforcements."

"Therefore, in this Northern Expedition, the Song army was divided into three routes. Although each route was weaker than the previous one, they could rely on each other and support one another. The three routes first took other prefectures in Youyun and finally converged in Youzhou City."

"This move can both clear out the Liao army in Youyun before the decisive battle, weaken the Liao army, and disperse and contain the Liao army's forces."

"If, as in the first expedition, the Song army directly attacks Youzhou, the Liao army will only need to defend and support Youzhou. This strategy is an improvement over the Song army's first Northern Expedition."

"The Song army was divided into three routes, but the combat strength of the three routes varied. The main force was the eastern route army led by Song general Cao Bin, and the main problem also lay with the eastern route army."

"This Northern Expedition was also known as the 'Yongxi Northern Expedition' because Zhao Guangyi used the reign title 'Yongxi' at the time, and this was the third year of Yongxi. At the beginning of the Northern Expedition, the Song army advanced with unstoppable momentum, and reports of victories came from all directions."

He Qi's first Northern Expedition started smoothly, but he became complacent in the middle and collapsed in the later stages.

The difference this time is that Zhao Guangyi did not personally lead the expedition, and there was no donkey cart drifting!

"Upon receiving the reports of victories from the front lines from his generals, Zhao Guangyi was not pleased but rather worried..."

Instead of being happy to receive the good news, Zhao Guangyi was worried. Wang Jian, Wang Ben, and Meng Tian quickly realized what was troubling Zhao Guangyi.

Wang Ben said, "The Song army's advance was too easy, seemingly unstoppable, but in reality, it stretched the battle line too far and penetrated too deeply. If the Liao army intercepts the Song army's supply lines at this time, the Song army will be in danger instead."

Wang Jian added to his son, "Not only that, the Song army is conquering cities and capturing strongholds all the way, which will inevitably make the generals and soldiers arrogant and complacent. And for every Song army that advances quickly and gains great merit, there is another Song army that advances slowly and gains little merit!"

"When they see others achieve merit, and their merit surpasses their own, they will not be willing to fall behind. In order to gain more military merit, they will definitely advance rashly."

Meng Tian also said, "In this case, how can the Song army not be defeated?" Li Nian said, "As the generals have said, the Song army is advancing too fast. It seems to be unimpeded, but in fact it has made itself weak. The Song army only has two choices: either consolidate the occupied territories, strengthen the defense of the supply lines, and make the foundation solid, or launch a rapid attack and take Youyun with a faster advance."

Meng Tian smiled and said, "Young Master says there are two choices, but in reality there is only one: the Song army should strengthen the defense of the supply lines and advance steadily."

The second option was too risky; if they failed to capture Youyun quickly, the Song army would face total annihilation.

Meng Tian then asked, "I wonder what choice the Song army has made?"

Li Nian laughed and said, "They didn't choose any of them. In fact, Cao Bin didn't choose any of them. Cao Bin didn't realize that the army had advanced too far and was in danger of having its supply lines cut off by the Liao army. And then his army was indeed cut off from its supply lines by the Liao army."

"But at this time, Cao Bin still had a chance to correct his mistakes. If he could restore the supply lines in time or defeat the Liao army he was facing, he could be out of danger. But Cao Bin made another mistake. He retreated. With the Liao army in front of him, he led his army to retreat from Zhuozhou to Xiongzhou to wait for the military supplies to arrive."

Meng Tian said incredulously, "How can we abandon our troops and wait for provisions while the enemy is at hand?"

Was the Song army commander a normal person?
This tactic is comparable to Zhao Guangyi's first Northern Expedition, where he disregarded Yelü Xiezhen's army and launched a fierce attack on Youzhou.

The emperors had the same generals.
Could it be that Cao Bin and Zhao Guangyi were taught military strategy by the same teacher?

The First Emperor said, "Not only that, the Song army has mobilized three routes, relying on each other, and each Song army has its own enemy. This is equivalent to each Song army restraining a group of Liao troops."

"Cao Bin withdrew his troops at this time, and the Liao army that he should have been dealing with was no longer restrained. These Liao troops will definitely take this opportunity to help other Liao armies, and the other two Song armies are in danger."

The Liao army that Cao Bin was supposed to deal with was no longer restrained. As long as the Liao generals weren't foolish, they would surely get this part of the Liao army to move and put pressure on the other Song troops.

If the other Song troops were unaware of Cao Bin's retreat, they would most likely be caught off guard by the Liao army.

Li Nian said, "Zhao Guangyi also warned Cao Bin in the same way and ordered him to lead his troops to join another Song army, but Cao Bin made a third mistake."

There could be three. One or two is already outrageous enough, but I never expected there to be three.

"Cao Bin's army was the main force of the Song army, and naturally it was also responsible for containing the main force of the Liao army. To achieve this, many famous generals of the Song army gathered in the Eastern Route Army."

"According to the Song army's pre-battle plan, the main responsibility of the Eastern Route Army was to contain the main force of the Liao army, allowing other Song troops to attack and seize the Youyun region. As long as the main force of the Liao army did not move, the Eastern Route Army should also remain still. In other words, the Eastern Route Army was the shield of the Song army, responsible for blocking the main force of the Liao army, while the other Song troops were the spear, attacking cities and seizing territories!"

The First Emperor and others had already realized where Cao Bin, or rather the Eastern Route Army, had made three mistakes.

The First Emperor said, "The Eastern Route Army is responsible for containing the main force of the Liao army. If the enemy does not move, we will not move either. This is a crucial task. However, this also deprives the Eastern Route Army of the opportunity to conquer cities and territories and gain military merit."

Wang Wan added: "The generals of the Eastern Route Army are mostly famous generals of the Song army. They are proud and arrogant. Seeing the Song army on other routes winning battle after battle, they will definitely want to gain military merits themselves."

Meng Tian said, "Therefore, the Song generals of the Eastern Route Army will not heed Zhao Guangyi's warnings. They will try to gain military merits. In this way, the Song army's pre-battle plans will be completely ruined."

"Cao Bin will definitely be unable to control his generals!"

The Song army's pre-battle plan was quite good, but unfortunately, it was executed terribly by the Song generals.

Wang Jian said, "How can we forget our responsibilities for the sake of military merit? Military merit can be gained at any time, but the war situation can be overturned, and there is a risk of the entire army being wiped out."

Under his command, all generals would prioritize fulfilling his military orders, and anyone who dared to disregard them in pursuit of merit would be killed.

These Song generals were outrageous; they abandoned their primary mission in their pursuit of military merit.

Li Nian said, "Cao Bin was unable to restrain his generals. Instead, he obeyed them and, carrying fifty days' worth of provisions, attacked Zhuozhou again."

Wang Jian, Wang Ben, and Meng Tian were speechless. In any case, if these Song generals were under their command, they would all be beheaded.

If you wanted to fight the Liao army, why did you retreat from Zhuozhou in the first place?
Do you think the Liao army will let you jump around like this?
Unless the entire Liao army became blind!
"The Song army on the eastern route was blocked by the Liao army on the way and it took them twenty days to reach Zhuozhou."

They only brought fifty days' worth of food, and they used up twenty days' worth on the way. They'll definitely run out of food again when they get to Zhuozhou City.

"At that time, the weather was hot and the Song army did not have much food, so they could not hold Zhuozhou City and had to retreat from Zhuozhou."

The Song army fought this battle like a joke. First, because their supply lines were cut off, they wanted to go back to Zhuozhou to wait for military supplies. Later, in order to gain military merit, they took fifty days' worth of military supplies and ran to Zhuozhou. When they arrived in Zhuozhou, they retreated again because they did not have enough food.

The whole thing is like, "Zhuozhou, I've arrived; Zhuozhou, I've left; Zhuozhou, I've arrived again; Zhuozhou, I've left again..."

If there were no enemies nearby, it wouldn't be a problem, but there were Liao soldiers nearby. If the Liao soldiers weren't stupid, they would definitely take the opportunity to attack and kill.

"When retreating from Zhuozhou, the Liao army pursued and killed them all the way. The Song army was short of food and water and was exhausted from continuous marching and fighting. Cao Bin's eastern route Song army suffered a great defeat. Only a small group of Song soldiers survived. Tens of thousands of Song soldiers were either killed or captured."

"After cleaning up the battlefield, Liao general Yelü Xiuge built a mound of Jingguan (a type of mound of corpses) using the bones of Song soldiers."

"The Eastern Route Army, which was the main force of the Song army, was defeated by the Liao army, and the entire Song army battlefield naturally collapsed as a result. The other two Song armies were also unable to fight against the Liao army."

With three routes of troops deployed and each relying on the others, if the main force collapses, it will be difficult to fight the other two routes, unless a powerful hero appears and turns the tide single-handedly.

However, the Song army clearly did not have such brave men who could take on the task when the army was defeated and be ordered to act in times of crisis.

"Upon learning of the defeat of the Eastern Route Army, Zhao Guangyi realized that his second Northern Expedition had failed. He then issued an edict to the Central and Western Route Song armies, ordering them to relocate the people of Youyun inland. However, this only slightly recovered some of the losses from the Liao people, which was insignificant compared to the losses of the Song army's defeat."

"The failure of Yongxi's Northern Expedition not only resulted in heavy losses for the Song army, but also had far-reaching consequences. This defeat not only depleted the resources that Zhao Kuangyin had accumulated since the beginning of his reign, but also nearly exhausted them."

"The Song army's strength was weakened, and it could only switch to strategic defense. This was also one of the reasons why the Song and Liao later signed the Treaty of Chanyuan."

(End of this chapter)