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In 916 AD, Yelu Abaoji established the Khitan State. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

In 936 A.D., Shi Jingjiao, the eastern section of the Later Tang River, raised troops against the Tang Dynasty, and asked the Khitan for help in order to win the world. The price was to cede the sixteen states of Yanyun, and called the Khitan Emperor Yelu Deguang, who was younger than him, his father, and Shi Jingjiao to be a shameful child emperor, leaving a stench for 10,000 years.

Two years later, Shi Jingjiao became emperor with the help of the Khitan, and the sixteen states of Yanyun fell into the hands of the Khitan. Since then, Chinese history has entered a fork in the road, and a tragedy that has lasted for hundreds of years has unfolded step by step.

If it were elsewhere, the loss of the land of the sixteen states, although bad, was not very serious, serious enough to affect the life and death of several dynasties, and affect the trend of history for hundreds of years.

However, the Yanyun region is different, these 16 prefectures are located in the northern section of Yanshan and Taihang Mountains, which is the border between the northern grasslands and the Central Plains, and is the dividing line between nomads and agricultural civilizations.

Since the pre-Qin period, the Central Plains region has been frequently invaded by northern nomads. There were Xiongnu in the Qin period, and there were Turks in the Sui and Tang dynasties, among which there were also the tragedies of the Five Hu Rebellion in China.

The Central Plains Dynasty adopted different ways to resist the northern nomads, including the attack of Meng Tian but the Xiongnu for more than 700 miles, Huo Quai's wolf Juxu, and the way of Tang Taizong to deter the northern Xinjiang as the Heavenly Khan, but most of the time it was a defensive posture to prevent the nomads from going south and entering the Central Plains.

Even if it is an expeditionary attack, the defense must not be negligent. The Central Plains Dynasty did not have as powerful cavalry as the nomads, and the farming civilization was destined to live in cities and villages, and it was destined to be stubborn, not to apologize, and usually to rely on the terrain to guard and guard against it.

Mountains and rivers can become natural barriers, and there is a great Great Wall to defend against the northern cavalry, and the significance of the defense of mountain passes and passes everywhere is not trivial.

In particular, the line of Yanshan and Taihang Mountain, which borders the nomads, is of great significance for the defense of the eastern part of the Central Plains.

Yanshan and Taihang Mountain were natural barriers, blocking the nomadic cavalry. It is only necessary to guard the passages and passes in the mountains to prevent the nomads from moving south to the Central Plains.

But Shi Jingjiao's head was hot, and he handed over the sixteen states of Yanyun to the Khitan, and if he lost this most fatal line of defense.

Further south is the plain of Pingchuan, facing the iron hooves of the cavalry, there is no danger to defend. If the Khitans had the heart, it was naturally very easy to invade the south, and the Khitan cavalry posed a serious threat to the entire area north of the Yellow River, and even threatened the safety of Bianliang, the capital south of the Yellow River.

Since then, the door of the Central Plains has been opened, and a sharp sword hangs over the head of the dynasty, which may be cut at any time. As a result, the Central Plains Dynasty had to fight against the twelve points of jingshen, which contained a lot of manpower and material resources, and the defensive effect would be greatly reduced.

For example, the Song Dynasty lost the Yanshan barrier, and in order to defend the Khitan, it had to dig a large number of ponds on the northern border, and use the water area to make a barrier, so as to only serve as the impact of the Liao cavalry. The army on Hebei Road had to be on guard at all times, lest the Khitan take advantage of the weakness.

If you are not careful, you may cause the disaster of destroying the country. In the past, Yelude Guang drove straight into Bianliang and directly destroyed the Later Jin. The Empress Dowager Chengtian of the Liao State and the Emperor of the Holy Emperor Yelu Longxu led their troops southward, and once hit the city of Lanyuanzhou, the gateway to Bianjing, and forced the Song Dynasty to sign a humiliating alliance with Lanyuan.

Since then, the offensive and defensive situation between the Khitan and the Central Plains Dynasty has completely changed, and the Central Plains Dynasty is in a very passive and embarrassing situation.

Not only that, but after the founding of the Khitan, it was only a nomadic country, and it was not particularly rich and powerful. It is different when the Yanyun region falls into their hands, these places have good natural conditions, suitable for farming, and have a good agricultural foundation. At the same time, a large number of people who were good at agricultural production and handicraftsmen became Liao.

Thus promoting the development of agriculture and handicrafts in Liao, it is no exaggeration to say that getting the sixteen states of Yanyun made Liaoguo rich. A hundred years have passed, and the Yanyun generation has become the economic and even cultural center of Liao. Youzhou became the Nanjing of the Liao State, and its status was on a par with Shangjing.

The Liao State had a more powerful force to deal with the Central Plains Dynasty, and the consequences were even worse.

Therefore, the emperors of the Central Plains Dynasty, but as long as there are promising masters, which one does not want to recover the sixteen states of Yanyun?

Later Zhou Shizong Chai Rong was wise and martial, and he was a rare Ming lord in the five generations, meaning to recover Yanyun. In the sixth year of Xiande (959), Chai Rong led the army to attack Liao, advancing by land and water, and recovering Ying, Mo, and Ning Prefectures in more than a month, as well as Yijin Pass (Hebei Ba County), Waqiao Pass (south of Zhuo County), and Sikou Pass.

The momentum of the army is strong, and the recovery of Yanyun is just around the corner. In May, when the army Yu captured Youzhou, the sky was not beautiful, but Chai Rong suddenly fell seriously ill and had no choice but to return to the court. He died of illness in Bianliang a month later, leaving his eight-year-old son Chai Zongxun to ascend the throne. It's a pity that only half a year later, Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Qiao mutinied, the yellow robe was added, and the Chai family changed hands.

Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin can definitely be regarded as a generation of heroes, but at the beginning of his ascension to the throne, he made a decision with Zhao Puxue at night and determined the strategy of unifying the world first in the south and then in the north.

During the reign of Zhao Kuangyin, the Song army was mainly in the southern countries, and after the Southern Tang Dynasty was destroyed, the south was finally pacified. The Song Dynasty was finally free to deal with the Northern Han and Khitan.

But it's a pity that on another snowy night, the candle shadow shook red, the axe sounded, and Song Taizu, who was only forty-nine years old, died inexplicably. Whatever ambitions there are, they all dissipate.

His younger brother Zhao Guangyi of Song Taizong succeeded to the throne and also inherited this great ambition to fight against the Khitan and recover Yanyun. Zhao Guangyi's performance was really good, putting this battle into practice. In the fourth year of Taiping Xingguo (979), Zhao Guangyi led an army of 300,000 to conquer Liao, intending to recover Yanyun. Originally, the battle was going well, and the Song army also attacked the city of Youzhou, but unfortunately it could not be attacked for a long time, and the soldiers were tired and demoralized.

It happened that Yelu Xiuge, the general of the Liao State, led the army to counterattack, and Song Taizong made a fatal mistake, and he hurriedly urged the soldiers to attack, and was led to the Gaoliang River. Here was ambushed by the main force of the Liao State, suffered a heavy defeat, heavy casualties, the good situation of the Northern Expedition immediately disappeared, and the battle of the Gaoliang River also became a regrettable event for the ages.

This was a turning point in the battle of Song and Liao, and although victory and defeat were commonplace, this battle was unusual. The most fatal thing is the blow to the mentality and morale of the Song people, after the defeat of the Gaoliang River, the Song people were bitten by snakes for ten years and were afraid of the well rope, and there was never a move of the Northern Expedition to Yanyun again.

After the death of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhenzong, who succeeded him, was quite cowardly. In the face of the Liao State, he didn't say anything about the attack, and even let the Liao State Governor drive straight into the city of Lanzhou. If it weren't for Kou Zhun forcibly pulling him to drive the expedition in person to boost morale, I was afraid that the Song Dynasty would have crossed south at that time. It's just that he signed an alliance under the city, and he has sent New Year's coins to the Liao State for decades, which is really humiliating, and has become a thorn in the hearts of people with lofty ideals in every Song Dynasty.

Song Renzong was the lord of the city, and for many years, the relationship between Song and Liao was mainly peaceful, and there were no major wars. Later, Zhao Zongshi and Zhao Ji's father and son, although they had this idea, they have not been able to implement it.

Until Zhao Zhao ascended the throne, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun had been lost for a full one hundred and thirty-six years.

As early as the first time he sent an envoy to the Liao State and returned to Yanshan, Zhao Zhao made an oath to recover Yanyun. When he became the prince of the Great Song Dynasty, and now after succeeding to the throne and becoming the emperor, he has more responsibilities and obligations to complete this feat.

It's just that the original plan was not so fast, after all, the Great Song Dynasty had just destroyed Western Xia and was still marching into Hexi. The interior has also undergone an abnormal change of throne, the consumption is not small, and it is necessary to recuperate, and after being fully prepared, it will be a battle to solve the problem of Yanyun.

However, Yelujun's sudden action and aggressive attack disrupted Zhao Zhao's deployment, so that he had to face it in advance, and a big battle was inevitable.

No matter what purpose Yelujun wants to go south, Zhao Zhao will not give up, and Song Liao will definitely have a battle.

When it comes to the Yanyun issue, the contradictions have never been reconciled, and there can be no situation of a strike and a truce.

Since the troops have been mobilized, and the scale is still so large, then solve the problem in one battle. Otherwise, just the dispatch of troops and the transportation of grain and grass are extremely expensive, and more importantly, confidence.

Our own confidence, the confidence of the soldiers, and the confidence of the people, the tragedy of the Gaoliang River in Taizong a hundred years ago cannot be repeated.

For Zhao Zhao, the battle was more about internal affairs. He had just ascended the throne, and although he was quite popular with the people and had a good prestige, he was the king of Qin at that time, and now he is the emperor. This victory or defeat is directly related to the prestige of the emperor and the beginning of the later Zhongxing Great Song Dynasty, so he can only win, not lose.

That's a lot of pressure!

Riding the little white dragon and walking on the way to the Daimyo's Mansion, Zhao Zhao sighed.

Thinking of the scene when Yang Wenguang was crying in his twilight years when he left, Zhao Zhao felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. At that time, he promised him that he would definitely recover Yanyun and be ashamed of Yang Yexue. The Yang family is a family of heroes of the Great Song Dynasty, although it is not as powerful as the legend of the uprising, but it is also a loyal martyr.

Yang Wenguang's persistence is not the persistence of the Great Song Dynasty, pointing at Yanyun, this is a promise to an old general, and in fact, it is a commitment to the century-old expectations of the Great Song Dynasty.

Looking at the little white dragon under the seat, a very strange feeling rose in Zhao Zhao's heart. This horse was given to him by Yelujun, and he probably expected this situation back then? Now riding this horse against him on the battlefield, what kind of battle will it be?

In fact, this is a very special scene in itself, the monarchs of Song and Liao are very young, and they have not long ascended the throne. They all won a war, put down a rebellion, and all had great ambitions to be majestic monarchs.

But only one of them is destined to succeed, and it depends on the outcome of this showdown!

Zhao Zhao is ready, Yu Yixue will be ashamed for a hundred years.

Are you ready? (To be continued.) )