In the fourth year of the Reign of The Song Dynasty, that is, at the beginning of the first year of the LiaoQianheng (979 AD), Zhao Guangyi, the Emperor Taizong of Song, personally led a large army to conquer the Northern Han. The Northern Han Dynasty rushed to the Liao state for help, and the Liao state sent a large army to help, but was defeated by the Song army at Baima Ridge (白馬岭, northeast of present-day Lu County, Shanxi Province), and the general Yelü Qiulie was also killed. As soon as the Liao army was defeated, the Northern Han Lost Its Patron, and the Song army soon surrounded the Northern Han capital Taiyuan. Liu Jiyuan, the lord of the Northern Han Dynasty, could not resist and surrendered to the Song Dynasty in May of that year.
As soon as the Northern Han Dynasty was pacified, Emperor Taizong of Song wanted to take advantage of the victory to attack the Liao state and retake the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. Many generals felt that the soldiers were fighting continuously, very tired, and the food and pay they had brought were about to run out, and they did not want to fight any more, but they did not dare to bring it up. At this time, the general Cui Han catered to Song Taizong's wishes and said: "To attack the Liao state, there is no need to send another army." If you take advantage of the victory to march, it is very easy, and you must not lose the fighter. Song Taizong was very happy to hear this. He did not wait for all sides to prepare, and the army did not rest, so he immediately ordered the troops to be dispatched. Because the Liao state was not prepared, the Song army initially achieved some victories, recapturing Qigou Pass and Zhuozhou (涿州, in present-day Zhuozhou, Hebei Province), and soon reached the south of Youzhou. At that time, the Great King of the Southern Courtyard of the Liao Kingdom, Yelü Xiexuan, rushed to fight. He sent an army to lure the Song army, led the army himself, and went around to the back of the Song army, waiting for the opportunity to sneak attack.
The Song army fought bravely, killing more than a thousand Liao troops. Just then, Jeroboam led a large army to sneak up on him from behind. The Song army was attacked by the enemy on its back and had to retreat backwards. Yelü did not dare to fight any more, and retreated his army to The North of Qingsha River (around present-day Changping District, Beijing) in solidarity with Youzhou. As soon as Yelü's army retreated, the Song army surrounded Youzhou. Emperor Taizong of Song urged his generals to attack the city day and night, but the Song army rushed from Taiyuan to Youzhou, fighting for days, exhausted and exhausted, and their vigor was greatly reduced. At this time, Yelü Xian, the Liaojing Sect who was hunting, heard that Youzhou was in danger, and quickly stopped hunting and summoned the ministers to discuss. Emperor Jingzong of Liao prepared to abandon Youzhou. The great general Jeroboam said, "Please give me an army to come to the rescue, if it is not successful, it will be too late to withdraw from Youzhou." Emperor Jingzong of Liao agreed to his request and sent him and another general, Yelü Sha, to lead an army of 100,000 to Youzhou.
Yelü Sha led a Liao army and rushed to Youzhou first. The Song army concentrated its forces to meet the attack. The two sides fought at the Gaoliang River (in present-day western suburbs of Beijing). Jeroboam came from afar, but the men were sleepy and the army was small, and they suffered defeat and had to retreat. That night, Jericho led a large group of men and horses to arrive. To increase his momentum, Jeroboam ordered each soldier to carry two torches, which looked like a fire dragon from a distance. The Song army did not know how many enemies had come again, and became frightened.
Brother Yelü hue rendezvoused with the army of Yelü, the Great King of the Southern Courtyard stationed outside Youzhou. The next day, the Liao army divided into two roads, left and right, and launched a fierce attack on the Song army.
Just when the two sides were fiercely fighting, the Liao army guarding Youzhou also played drums and shouted at the same time, and killed out of the city. The Song army was overwhelmed by the enemy and could not support it, and fought a major defeat and killed more than 10,000 people.
Emperor Taizong of Song saw that the situation was not good, and he quickly retreated and fled south. Fleeing to Zhuozhou, it was late, and Song Taizong wanted to go into the city to rest, but the Liao army came after him again. His horse could no longer run, so he hurriedly jumped on the donkey cart and continued to flee south, until he escaped from the territory of the Liao state, and he was relieved. The Song army fleeing south was in disarray, and a large number of supplies and weapons were lost.
Although Jeroboam was victorious, he was wounded in the battle and could not ride a horse, so he had to chase after him in a car. He chased to Zhuozhou, saw that the Song army had gone far, and stopped. Some of the lost land recovered by the Song army was retaken by the Liao army.
This war is the Battle of the Sorghum River, also known as the Battle of Youzhou. In order to recover Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures and launch this war, Emperor Taizong of Song's subjective wish was good. However, he lacked adequate preparation in advance and rushed to send troops, so he failed.
In the Battle of Gaoliang River, the arrogance of the Song army took a sharp turn. Of course, this also had advantages, and the Song Army no longer had a light enemy. After this victory, the Liao army began to despise the Song people, and thus began a raging southern invasion, and the twenty-five years of war between the Song and Liao really began.