But soon we can find that at this time, fate gradually put away the smile on Chai Rong. At this time, Chai Rong's most powerful subordinate Wang Pu died suddenly, and Wang Pu was tired to death. Wang Pu's reputation in the history books is not obvious, because Wang Pu is doing Xiao He's business, sitting in the rear, governing the people, is an endless supply of grain, so that Chai Rong, who is in the front, has no worries. Let's not talk about how tired Wang Pu was before, when Wang Pu died, he went to inspect the dredging progress of the river, passed by the home of his good friend Li Gu, and when he was communicating normally, Wang Pu suddenly fainted and never woke up again, at the age of fifty-four. Wang Pu left, and since then Chai Rong has lost a like-minded helper, which is a very huge blow to Chai Rong, Chai Rong disregards the emperor's supreme, and cries bitterly on Wang Pu's coffin, and no one can persuade him. At this time, Wang Pu's son Wang Yu is standing next to Chai Rong, you remember this name, this person will have a big role in the future, because he is Wang Pu's son, whether it is Zhao Kuangyin or Chai Rong are courteous to Wang Yu, in the future, this person held a very important official position in the Zhao Kuangyi period, but no one would think that more than ten years later, it was this child who caused the biggest loyalty injury in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chai Rong's idea is very good, as long as he conquers the sixteen states of Yanyun and regains the Great Wall, the lifeblood of the Han people, from now on, the Han people will no longer be afraid of the northern invasion of the barbarians, and with the military power of defeating the Khitan, Chai Rong's unification of the south will also be easy. How beautiful, Chai Rong, who had just returned from the south at this time, was deeply moved by this idea. Chai Rong: I must do this well.

On March 19, the sixth year of Xiande (959), Chai Rong of Zhou Shizong unexpectedly announced to the world that Wang Shi was about to invade the Khitan in the north, and the goal was to recover the Central Plains Tianha, which was cheaply betrayed by Shi Jingjiao, the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. If the sixteen states of Youyun can't be recovered, the Central Plains will have no danger to defend. Chai Rongzhi is in the world, how can he tolerate the Central Plains Han land to become a racecourse for the Khitans? Moreover, in Chai Rong's unification plan, that is, in the "Pingbian Policy", it includes a plan to recover the sixteen states of Youyun. And the reason why Chai Rong chose the Northern Expedition at this time was for many reasons, such as the Southern Tang Dynasty, Houshu had been beaten by the Zhou army, and the south was decided. In addition, there is another important reason, that is, the reigning Khitan Emperor Yelu Jing at this time. At this time, if there is no Northern Expedition, once the Khitan changes the Ming Lord, the opportunity for the Northern Expedition will be lost

Chai Rong's northern expedition to the Liao State, the first step was to order the general to guard against the Northern Han Society, take the opportunity to support the Liao State, and strengthen the defense of the Shanxi Road. On the other hand, Chai Rong ordered the general Han Tong, pay attention to this person, Han Tong has been sitting in the rear with Wang Pu before, and although the statement is not obvious, he is in a high position. Chai Rong ordered Han Tong to lead the naval army as the vanguard and take the lead in the expedition. Then he ordered Zhao Kuangyin, Li Chongjin, Xiang Xun, Zhang Yongde and other generals to quickly assemble in Cangzhou, there was no threat to Chai Rong in the south, and there was no need to defend Kaifeng. Chai Rong gambled on all his family funds at one time, and this time, Chai Rong really sent the country's soldiers to fight to the death of the Liao State.

The speed of Chai Rong's attack was very fast, tens of thousands of troops passed by, and even the local people did not notice, and when the Liao State reacted, Chai Rong had already appeared under the city of Ningzhou, and Wang Hongjin, the assassin of Ningzhou, did not dare to resist, and led the army to surrender, and Ningzhou was easily conquered. Subsequently, Chai Rong ordered Han Tong to lead the navy and Zhao Kuangyin to lead the army, advance by water, and go straight to Youzhou, the capital of the sixteen states of Yanyun. The army of the Later Zhou Dynasty stretched for dozens of miles, with flags covering the sky, and the army was mighty.

Chai Rong's army is unstoppable, and it goes straight down the river to Yijin Pass, an important town in Liao, which is today's Bazhou, Hebei, which is an important town in the south of Youzhou, and Waqiao Pass and Guannanzhou County are collectively called the three passes, no less than three passes, it is difficult to reach Youyan. It has always been the Khitan people who set out from Sanguan to invade the Han land, and it has never been said that the Han army will take the initiative to attack under the city of Sanguan, and the Khitan defenders in Sanguan are scattered in a hurry. When Chai Rong arrived at Yijin Pass, the guards took the initiative to open the door and surrender, and Chai Rong's soldiers took the important town of Yijin Pass without blood.

After conquering Yijin Pass, Chai Rong did not stop, from land and ground, to Waqiao Pass. But it was already late, and Chai Rong slept in the wilderness, eating and sleeping with the soldiers. Early the next morning, Chai Rong lifted his spirits and continued to lead the troops to the north and arrived at Waqiao Pass. Chai Rong ordered the general Zhao Kuangyin to lead the army to challenge. The Waqiao Pass guards will surrender without a fight and enter the Waqiao Pass, and Chai Rong will be stationed in the Waqiao Pass to make a little news. When Guannan County heard that Chai Rong was coming with his troops, he did not dare to resist, so he moved his envoys and surrendered, and Chai Rong's soldiers won the three passes without blood.

The next day, Chai Rong's powerful reinforcements arrived, and Li Chongjin, who was hard to fight, also arrived from Huainan. At this time, Chai Rong did not wait for Li Chongjin to arrive and set off first, just like the Battle of Gaoping that year, Chai Rong once again served as the vanguard of the whole army, and quickly began to sweep the lost territory south of Sanguan. Not long after, Liu Chuxin, the assassin of Juzhou, Zhong Tinghui, the Khitan guard, Wang Hong, the assassin of Ningzhou, and others surrendered one after another, and Chai Rong quickly recovered all the lost territory north of Sanguan with a thunderous momentum. At this time, it was only forty-two days before Chai Rong swore in the Northern Expedition, and it was only thirty-two days before Chai Rong actually arrived on the battlefield. In this short period of thirty-two days, Chai Rong Lianke has three passes, three continents and seventeen counties, which is an unprecedented feat after the revival of the Tang Dynasty.

When Liao Muzong Yelujing heard the news of the Northern Expedition of the Later Zhou Dynasty, he was shocked and hurriedly sent Xiao Siwen to stay in Nanjing (now Beijing) as the commander of the soldiers and horses, and led the army to intercept the Later Zhou army, which was killed and defeated. From then on, he was afraid of the war and avoided the war, and let the Later Zhou sweep Yannan County. Chai Rong prepared to take advantage of the situation to take Youzhou (present-day Beijing), and the vanguard commander Liu Chongjin and Yiwu Jiedu envoy Sun Xingyou had also captured Gu'an (now Hebei) and Yizhou (present-day Yixian, Hebei), and captured Li Zaiqin, the assassin of Yizhou in the Liao Dynasty.

After Chai Rong conquered the Waqiao Pass, he feasted the ministers, and Chai Rong picked up the wine glass and said: "Everyone, in front of you is Youzhou, that is, the ancient Yan Land, the head of the sixteen states of Yanyun. But to Chai Rong's surprise, almost all the generals fell silent, including Li Chongjin, who was known for his bravery. They reported the latest information to Chai Rong, the king of Liao, Yelu Shulu, had led the elite troops of Liao to the vicinity of Youzhou, he was no longer drinking, and now he had arrived near Yanshan. But what does it matter? This attack was originally intended to divide the victory and defeat with the Liao people, but these generals did not think so. They truly reflect the true thinking of the Han nation since the end of the Tang Dynasty and the fifth dynasty. "Your Majesty, it has only been forty-two days since you sent your troops, and you have taken the land of Yanyun in the north, which is an immortal achievement, and at this time, the cavalry of the Liao State are all gathered in Youzhou. If His Majesty rushes to attack, if there is a mistake, the front attack will be abandoned. Chai Rong was furious when he heard this, "How can there be a defeated army in pursuit of victory?" On this day, Chai Rong ordered the vanguard general Liu Chongjin to lead his troops to advance to Youzhou, and encountered the Khitan pioneers, a fierce battle, killing hundreds of enemies. captured Gu'an, which was more than 100 miles away from Youzhou.

The Zhou army easily took Yijin Pass, Waqiao Pass and Guannan Prefecture County successively, and has always been regarded as a great shame by the Khitans. After the three passes entered the week, Chai Rong upgraded Waqiao Pass to Xiongzhou, cut Zhuozhou Guiyi County, Rongcheng County to Xiongzhou, and the approximate location is now the famous Xiong'an New Area. The Zhou Dynasty won the two small passes of Yijin and Waqiao, which are of great strategic significance, and the second pass is the southern gateway of the Khitan Gongwei Nanjing Xijin Mansion, in other words, Youzhou is in front of Chai Rong's eyes. The Zhou army was well prepared, and even built a pontoon bridge on the Juma River for the army to cross the river and attack the city.

Unexpectedly, just when the Zhou army was about to launch a strong attack on Youzhou, Chai Rong suddenly fell ill. This day is also a watershed in Chai Rong's fate, just like when Alexander, the invincible king of ancient West, feasted the whole city, and it was like Julius Caesar returned to Rome, and they all reached the moment when their fate ended. Legend has it that on that day, Chai Rong galloped up a high slope to inspect the six armies, and when he saw his army marching to the battlefield in a steady stream, the local fathers and villagers came to reward the three armies. Chai Rong casually asked, where is this place, and the local people replied: "This place is called Sick Dragon Terrace." Chai Rong was stunned. That night, Chai Rong fell ill violently and has been bedridden ever since. The emperor was ill and the six gods had no master, so this battle that would surely go down in history could no longer be fought, and Chai Rong could only order the withdrawal of the army. On May 30, Chai Rong led his army back to Bianliang to recuperate.

But at this time, Chai Rong was seriously ill, so he had to leave Han Lingkun and Chen Sirang to lead his troops to defend Waqiao, Yijin Erguanxiongzhou, and Bazhou, and he hurriedly returned south.

Historical materials clearly record: The Northern Expedition of the Zhou Army, Yelu Jing was frightened, "the Khitan heard of his personal expedition, and the monarchs and ministers were afraid". He simply didn't have the courage to meet Chai Rong's challenge. Even after the Zhou army took the three passes, Yelu Jing still said, "The three passes are from the Han land, and now they are returning to the Han, why not lose it?" Although Yelu Jing said that he wanted to take the military in person, it was just a political gesture made after Chai Rong retired from the army. This is just Yelu Jing's performance, and let's look at the performance of Xiao Siwen, the commander of Youzhou. Xiao Siwen was so frightened that the six gods had no master, and the ordinary Khitan people in the Youyan area were even more frightened by Chai Rong's mighty Northern Expedition. Not only the Khitans, but also the Youyan Han people were shocked by Chai Rong's courage, "the people of Gyeonggi are shocked, and they often escape into the West Mountain." Even people and horses are stupid, such combat effectiveness, as long as Chai Rong attacks Youzhou, it is safe to break the city. In fact, the emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty also basically believed that if Zhou Shizong was not ill, he would be able to conquer Youzhou. In July of the fourth year of Jingde in the Northern Song Dynasty (1007), Zhao Heng talked about Chai Rong to the ministers, and felt sorry for Chai Rong's unexpected illness. Not to mention that Song Shenzong thought that Chai Rong would be able to become an eternal emperor like Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty.

Chai Rong is seriously ill and bedridden, where will the war go? Where will Chai Rong's fate go? We'll talk about that next time.