Text/Red Panda
Since the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, it has been threatened by the armed forces of the Northern Liao and Western Xia. Among them, the Liao posed the greatest threat to the Song, so during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Song, he launched the Northern Expedition several times, hoping to solve the scourge of the north. However, with the defeat of the Battle of the Sorghum River, the strength of the Song Dynasty was damaged, but Song Taizong was very unwilling and made up his mind to attack Yanyun in the north and retake Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures by force.
He was looking for the right time, Liao Shengzong took the throne as a young emperor, he thought that the best time had come, and some of the ministers around him knew that he had this intention, and in order to please him and reuse him, they strongly advised him not to miss this rare opportunity, which can be said to be a one-shot deal. In the three or four years from the eighth year of the Taiping Revival (Liao reunification and the first year, 983) to the third year of Yongxi (Liao unification and the fourth year, 986), Song Taizong made many preparations, including raising grain and grass for the military, adjusting military deployment, appointing officials, and the route of detective troops. However, this Northern Expedition ended in the end with the loss of troops, what was the reason for its failure?
(Yongxi Northern Expedition March Map)
Song and Liao: Military Deployment and Strength
From the analysis of military deployment and military strength, in order to strengthen the centralization of power, the Northern Song Dynasty adopted a national strategy of "emphasizing literature over force", establishing the country with culture, recovering military power, and preventing the recurrence of the division of the feudal towns at the end of the Tang Dynasty. Under this social atmosphere, more and more people abandoned martial arts, the martial spirit of the ancient Han people was weakening day by day, and the military strength of the Northern Song Dynasty gradually faded.
Moreover, the Song Dynasty was "poor and weak", the central finances were tight, and there was no rich capital or money. As a result, the army has no funds, the army's corruption is also a very serious problem, and the military generals' greed for goods and the merger of land have become a serious social problem. At that time, the military discipline of the Northern Song Dynasty was also very problematic, and the military discipline was loose and the discipline was not strict, so it is conceivable how combat effective it was.
However, the Liao state belonged to the Khitan nomadic people, a people on horseback, and its combat effectiveness could be imagined. The Liao State formulated such a rule: "All people who are above the age of fifteen and under fifty are subordinate to the military." In other words, the adult men of the Liao Kingdom are almost all soldiers. Moreover, the Liao army was mainly cavalry, and the combat effectiveness of the Liao army was constantly rising, and the gap was obviously reflected for the Song Dynasty.
Song and Liao: The Strategic Decision of the Ruling Clique
In the ruling clique of the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of song commented that "the death of the Northern Song Dynasty was the fall of the country by Emperor Taizong". Although his series of political measures were effective, Song Taizong's willful will, the Song army suffered disastrous defeats in the war, the army began to doubt its combat ability, and gradually lost its determination to win.
During Zhao Guangyi's Northern Expedition, he had to look forward to Shu, and despite the fatigue of the veterans of the division, he forced his soldiers to continue their efforts and wanted to take the Youyun Sixteen Prefectures that Shi Jingyao had ceded to the Khitan in one fell swoop. Immature military command, even tired of the Central Plains soldiers, the next battle of the Sorghum River, the Song army routed in all directions, Zhao Guangyi himself was also quite embarrassed, hit by an arrow in the thigh, could not ride a horse, and finally took a donkey cart to barely escape back. He did not care about the lives of his soldiers, did not have great ambitions, and could only covet small profits.
Although Empress Xiao of the Liao Dynasty was a woman, in the face of the chaotic political situation, she quickly stabilized the situation, worked hard to govern, and led the Liao state into the ranks of the strong, absolutely a strong woman. It has ensured the tranquility of the Liaoguo, avoided the destruction of life, enabled the people to live and work in peace and contentment, and promoted the economic prosperity of the Liaoguo and the progress of society.
Contradictions within the ruling clique of the Song Dynasty
The Northern Expedition to Yanyun was a major national event, but "the initial discussion of the rejuvenation of the army, the deliberation of the Privy Council, the first to the sixth summons, the Zhongshu did not foresee." And defeated, summoned the Privy Council envoy Wang Xian, the deputy envoy Zhang Qixian, Wang Qiu, said: 'Qing and others look at each other together, and will they do such things again from now on?' 'The Lord has repented of his sins, and showed himself to be ashamed, but to be intolerant of nothing."' According to this, it can be seen that the Second Northern Expedition of the Song Dynasty yanyun was agreed between him and the Privy Council, and the other officials of the imperial court "did not foresee it", that is, they did not know it at all. How did such a big event come to this point? There was only one reason, that is, other important officials of the imperial court did not approve of the Northern Expedition yanyun.
(Portrait of Zhao Pu)
Zhao Pu was an old minister of the Chen Qiao Mutiny, "In the spring of the third year of Yongxi, the army went out to ask for thistle, and the master had not been trained for a long time." Zhao Pu was suspicious of this, and he gave Song Taizong two long copies, and he disapproved of the Northern Expedition, saying: "There are more people who have lost, and fewer people who have gained." In view of the situation at that time, he pointed out: "Your Majesty is not a subordinate soldier, he will be biased to listen, and the villain will lean in, but if he deceitfully deceives the king, he will benefit from the success of things, and if he does not succeed, he will worry about the country."
It is also said: "The adulterer said that when the Khitan was a dark lord, there was a calamity star on the earth, and he took this as a word, and composed the holy will." As everyone knows, the upper and lower parts of the country, the youzhou are all in the career, the earth is coming, and the outside cannot be consulted. If he can agree, even if the young Lord is difficult and light, and does not go along with the feelings of the crowd, he will be defeated without the plague star. It is advisable to keep the tao, to be noble and selfless, to be happy and evil to be greedy, and to worry about what is gained but not to be armed. He sharply criticized the practice of "enjoying misfortune and greedy for merit", that is, taking advantage of the fact that the young Lord of Liao had just taken the throne to take the opportunity of the Northern Expedition. He also pointed out: "Those who are willing to endure the wrath of the present generation, the cause of the eternal longing of the world, if they do not stop doing things, they will be afraid of killing more and more." That is to say, the people are uncertain, the war is shaking, still in the dream, and the troubles are greatly troublesome.
The above points are all important issues involving the outcome of the war. Therefore, the rout of the Song army in the three years of Yongxi's liao-Song war was not the strength of the Liao army, song Taizong's analysis of the political situation of the Liao Dynasty was inaccurate, the Song generals were greedy and afraid of death, and Song Taizong did not dare to personally go to the front line to supervise the battle, but blindly commanded in the capital, which had a direct relationship.