Author: Chen Erhu
1. Oppose the Northern Expedition
The Northern Song Dynasty inherited the Later Zhou Dynasty, and grew stronger in the Southern Expedition and Northern War of Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, but died in the "Shadow of the Candlelight Axe", and his brother Zhao Guangyi took the throne and destroyed the Northern Han Dynasty in one fell swoop, and the generals of the whole army were full of emotion, and Zhao Guangyi was also completely intoxicated by the joy of victory, determined to recover youyan Sixteen Prefectures with a single blow.
At that time, there was a person in the DPRK who was very sober, and this person was Zhang Qixian, who put forward a different view in a reconquest, believing that now is not the time for the army to send out Youyan, we should strengthen the management of Hedong, that is, the territory of the former Northern Han Dynasty, repair the city, increase the barriers, hold the military key points, stabilize the people's hearts in Hedong, soberly see the actual situation of the Song and the Khitans, and must not "fight for the size of the matter, the strength and weakness of the horns", "a hundred battles and a hundred victories, it is better not to win without a war", that is, "the people, the benye, the territory, and the end of the world."
(Zhao Kuangyin)
For the Northern Song Dynasty, do not start a war lightly, in view of the Khitan good at cavalry field warfare, so that "the fortress is deep ditches, the strength is cultivated, in order to escape from themselves, rather than me to cause people", that is, to calm the border war, but will not hurt the people and money, let the people devote themselves to agricultural production to become rich, but also let the national strength be strengthened, "Yao Shun's way without him, care about the people and profits, the people are both Amway, far away from the people to go to the end", this people-oriented, "rice and fat corn body" good strategy, is indeed a good beginning of the Taiping prosperity, but also the foundation of the country's long-term growth.
However, Zhao Guangyi, whose ambitions were inflated, could not listen at all, rushed into the army, suffered a crushing defeat, returned with a feather, and was hit by two arrows himself, and the news came out of the army that Zhao Dezhao, the eldest son of Zhao Kuangyin, was established.
For a time, it also caused the Khitan soldiers and horses to retaliate from time to time to the south.
When Zhao Guangyi's Second Northern Expedition failed, Zhang Qixian was appointed as the Governor of Dai Prefecture, and in the face of the ravages of the Khitan Iron Horse, Zhang Qixian strengthened the city to prevent liao troops from entering the city, recruited young and strong people as township braves, conducted militarized training, and improved combat effectiveness.
(Zhao Guangyi)
Second, the wisdom of the Liao soldiers
In the third year of Song Yongxi, the fourth year of Liao unification (986 AD), in December, tens of thousands of Liao troops descended along the Tuotuo River and attacked the city of Daizhou, because the Deputy Song deployed Lu Han to see that the Khitan soldiers and horses were strong, and they were afraid to meet the enemy and defend themselves. The Song general Ma Zheng could only line up his troops and horses to meet the battle outside the southern gate of Daizhou City, but he was outnumbered, and Lu Hanyun was greedy and afraid of death, and refused to come to the rescue.
At the moment of crisis, Zhang Qixian, as a civilian official, personally led the two thousand township troops he trained, generously swore an oath to reinforce Ma Zheng, and repelled the Liao army with one hundred soldiers.
In advance, Zhang Qixian sent envoys to Pan Mei, the commander of Hedong stationed in Hezhou (present-day Taiyuan), for help, and asked Pan Mei to send troops to attack the Liao army.
Pan Mei's defeat at The Mouth of the Chen Family Valley yang yebing was condemned by both the government and the public, and it was precisely necessary to prove his innocence with battle. Therefore, he immediately replied to the dispatch of troops, and informed that the army had reached Baijing (柏井, in present-day Yangqubei, Shanxi), but the emissary was captured by the Liao army, and worse, Pan Mei received a secret edict from Tianzi: the Song army in Hebei was defeated at Junziguan, and the Song army in Hedong was ordered not to fight, to preserve its strength, and had no choice but to return to the division and return to Hezhou, and the safety of Dai prefecture had nothing to do with him.
(Pan Mei)
Zhang Qixian, who was eagerly waiting for reinforcements, waited for Pan Mei's soldiers and horses to return to Hezhou, letting Zhang Qixian's hopes be disappointed, but he did not pessimistically disappointed, and saw a ray of light from the crisis, because the Liao army and the hezhou military and civilians knew that Pan Meibu of Hezhou had rushed to help, but did not know that the army had returned.
Zhang Qixian was bold, so he locked the messenger who sent the letter in the secret room and did not let the news leak out. After nightfall, two hundred brave soldiers were selected, each carrying a battle flag and carrying a bundle of firewood, and quietly reached fifteen kilometers southwest of Daizhou, waving the flag and shouting, lighting firewood, and the smoke and flag made the Liao army mistakenly think that the Song reinforcements in Hezhou were so big that they were terrified and scrambled to retreat.
When he reached Tulei, Zhang Qixian was already ambushed here, waiting for him, and a burst of slaughter caused the Liao army to suffer a lot of casualties, and hundreds of people such as Guo Uncle Xiang and Gong Envoy Xiao Dali were killed in battle, more than 500 people were captured, and more than 2,000 war horses and a large number of instruments were obtained.
Third, take into account the overall situation
Although the Battle of Daizhou was a small victory, what was valuable was that Zhang Qixian, a civilian official, had no regular army under his command, let alone reinforcements, used his wisdom and courage to rely only on two thousand township soldiers to keep the city, defeated the Liao army, and killed and wounded thousands of people, which was really an extraordinary move, far stronger than those generals in the Northern Song Dynasty who had heavy troops but repeatedly lost battles.
Zhang Qixian is even more a gentleman who understands the overall situation, he knows very well that the generals in Hedong, led by Pan Mei, are greedy and afraid of death, and they are jealous of each other, often disregarding the lives and deaths of others for their own selfish interests, thinking about their own safety and promotion everywhere, ignoring the entire war situation, without a little blood. In this regard, Zhang Qixian always gave up his merits to balance the relationship and jointly resist the enemy.
After the siege of Dai Prefecture was lifted, although the deputy deployed Lu Han to shrink the city and avoid the enemy and not fight, Zhang Qixian still wrote his name in the report to the imperial court.
When a person regards fame and fortune as dung, he will sacrifice his life for righteousness and faithfully serve the country.
(Liaojun)
Zhang Qixian fully embodies joining the army and serving the country, linking personal honor and disgrace with the great righteousness of the country, stirring up the broad feelings of saving the time and the world in his heart, and vividly interpreting the Confucian emphasis on the idea of "self-cultivation, family unity, governance of the country, and peace in the world".
No wonder Zhu Shi, a famous minister, a famous historian, and master of the Qianlong Emperor in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, commented: "Qi Xian's use of troops defeated the enemy and changed like a god. Although the takefu is a general, he is not caught. and its humble governance, clean and simple, and the people's suffering. It is the joy of the people, the thoughts of the people, how it can be. ”
Yi Jie Confucian sheng can bravely shoulder heavy responsibilities, be admired by the people of the world, and shame those soldiers who are greedy for life and afraid of death.
【About the author】Chen Erhu, pen name Hongye, is a Khitan of the Mongolian ethnic group. Deputy Secretary-General of the Weng Niu Te Banner Writers Association.
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