Author: Our special guest author Nine Fish Pavilion
In the seventh year of Kaibao (974 AD), when the Southern Tang fell, Zhao Kuangyin could not wait, after recapturing Jinghu, Later Shu, and Southern Han, the Song army would invade southern Tang in a state of full glory, and Li Yu's end came.
First, Li Yu was breathless
Since Li Yu became the lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty, he has always been the leader of the Song Dynasty, Li Yu must often send money to Zhao Kuangyin and send things, fight other countries, Southern Tang can help, as long as you do not beat me Southern Tang, everything else is easy to say. In 971, when Li Yu heard that Zhao Kuangyin had destroyed the Southern Han Dynasty, he was so frightened that he simply removed the title of emperor and changed it to the lord of Jiangnan.
Not only that, Li Yu played Zhao Kuangyin and said that he could call him by his first name, and Li Yu could be said to be sincerely intending to be a vassal of the Song Dynasty, just to seek temporary peace.
Historical records record that "Yu Tasted and Was worried about the country, feasted with his subordinates, and sang with sorrow and sorrow." ”
In the fourth year of Kaibao (971 AD), Li Yu sent his younger brother Li Congshan to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty, but was detained by Zhao Kuangyin, who personally wrote a song, hoping to let Li Congshan return to China, but Zhao Kuangyin refused. The holding of hostages is not big, and it is not small, but he can only tolerate Li Yu.
The Song Dynasty and the Southern Tang Dynasty were full of battles, although Li Yu was a relatively nested lord, but he was also worried about it, drinking with his subordinates all day, with a sad face. In the seventh year of Kaibao, Zhao Kuangyin prepared to launch a war against the Southern Tang And began to build a large number of warships, and when everything was ready, there was a reason to send troops.
Zhao Kuangyin's reason for attacking the Southern Tang was very embarrassing, theoretically speaking, the Song Dynasty regarded itself as a moral and benevolent filial piety, and every time it sent troops, it had to find a grandiose reason, but this time the reason was only because Li Yu did not come to Kaifeng to meet the court. Li Yu himself was timid, and if he really dared to go to Kaifeng, the eight achievements would not come back, so he had to say that he was sick and could not go.
Since you don't come to see me, then send more than 100,000 troops to greet you, this is Zhao Kuangyin's logic, basically Zhao Kuangyin has torn off the mask of the hypocrite, the facts are actually not so complicated, want to add to the crime is no excuse, Zhao Kuangyin to recover the Southern Tang is imperative, no one can stop it.
Second, the Song army was like a broken bamboo
In the seventh year of Kaibao (974 AD), Zhao Kuangyin ordered Cao Bin, Li Hanqiong, and Tian Qinzuo to go to Jingnan to send a water army, and Shannan's eastern province Jiedu Pan Mei as the capital governor, starting from the land, the two sides of the waterway, killing the Southern Tang.
The Song army fought without a declaration, the Southern Tang was not prepared, Cao Bin's water army, as the vanguard force, soon arrived at the mouth of the lake, and the Southern Tang army did not receive any notice, thinking that this was a routine exercise of the Song army, so it was so senseless to let the Song army's water division pass. Perhaps even The Heavens had to help Zhao Kuangyin and let him overthrow the Southern Tang at the least cost.
The Song army had only one purpose, to directly conquer Li Yu's stronghold, Jiangning Province, which was like shooting people first to shoot horses, and capturing thieves first to capture the king, as long as the capital of Southern Tang was conquered, it was equivalent to taking Southern Tang into pocket.
Cao Bin's speed was very fast, successively conquering Xiakou Village, Chizhou, Wuhu, and Dangtu, and defeating the Southern Tang army at Quarry Rock, and now as long as he broke through the natural dangers of the Yangtze River, then Li Yu was close at hand. Soon the Southern Tang army found that Cao Bin had withdrawn to the north bank of the Yangtze River, and the Song army began to compete with bamboo rows and ropes, and the Southern Tang was known for its water army, and they found that Cao Bin was originally building a pontoon bridge.
Including Li Yu and the Southern Tang ministers, they did not believe that the Song Army's pontoon bridge could be built, but in fact, it was unexpected by them, and within a few days, a pontoon bridge spanning the north and south banks of the Yangtze River was successfully built, and the Southern Tang Army was shocked to drop its jaw.
Finally to Pan Mei appeared, the second road army was from this pontoon bridge over the Yangtze River natural danger quarry, directly to Jiangning Province, within a few months, the Southern Tang army was defeated and retreated, Jinling City was surrounded by the Song army, only one foot away from the final victory.
Third, on the day of the city, do not kill a single person
Pan Mei is the arrow of the Song army, as long as he is in, the siege of the city is not a word, Cao Bin is different, Cao Bing has a gentle and cautious personality, perhaps in terms of battle achievements he can not defeat Pan Mei, but in many battles to prove that many times leaving Cao Bin, there will be big trouble.
I think that in that year, Wang Quanbin attacked Houshu, originally the Song army had already captured Chengdu, but Wang Quanbin indulged the soldiers and plundered and killed in the city, resulting in three years of chaos in Houshu, all of which Zhao Kuangyin could remember vividly. At that time, Cao Bin was also in the army, and repeatedly persuaded Wang Quanbin to withdraw his army, but to no avail.
Zhao Kuangyin wanted money, people, and territory, and he also wanted benevolence and morality, people were killed, and the city became an empty city, what was the meaning of this, and it would also provoke the resistance of the locals, which was not gratifying. This time, Zhao Kuangyin sent Cao Bin to attack the Southern Tang, which was to let Cao Bin control the overall situation and recover a complete Southern Tang.
Siege warfare is not so easy to fight, the best way is to induce him to surrender, Li Yu is no longer instigated, the good villain is also the Emperor of southern Tang, no matter how he will resist with all his might. The Southern Tang Army sent troops to sneak attack many times, but all of them were fruitless, and the Song army had already made preparations, and it was only one step away from the day when the city was destroyed.
Cao Bin saw that the time had come, stopped the pace of the attack, and wrote a letter to Li Yu: "The situation is like this, the pity is gathered in a city, if you can return to your fate, you can also plan." ”
Cao Bin served in the army very early, and he knew very well the disposition of this gang of Song troops now, and the tiger and wolf habits of the five generations still remained in the body of these soldiers, and if they were not stopped, the day Jinling broke the city, there would be lives and deaths, and Zhao Kuangyin gave his order not to kill indiscriminately, which Cao Bin knew very well.
Historical records record that "the city of Trik, Bing, said that the disease did not look at things, and all the generals came to ask about the disease." Bin Yue: "The disease of yu cannot be cured by medicinal stones, but they must swear with sincerity that if they do not kill a single person in vain, they will heal themselves." The generals promised to burn incense together as an oath. ”
Jinling City could no longer be defended, but Cao Bin said that he did not care about the illness, and the generals wondered, and they all came to visit Cao Bin's tent, and Cao Bin said in a serious tone: "My illness cannot be cured by taking medicine, as long as the generals do not kill a single person when the city is destroyed, my illness will naturally get better." ”
Cao Bin's words can also be understood in this way, if you go into the city to kill innocents, I will die in front of your eyes now, but Cao Bin is really very low-key and sincere, and it is Cao Bin who stepped on the brakes in time and woke up the Generals of the Song Army, which avoided the recurrence of the Houshu tragedy.
Only one day later, Jinling City was conquered, and Cao Bin's army neatly arrived at the gate of Li Yu's palace, and the cowardly Li Yu did not dare to commit suicide and martyrdom, and immediately led his people to surrender to the Song Dynasty. Perhaps the killing was inevitable, but Cao Bin minimized the killing and saved the lives of the people on the Southern Tang side.
References: History of the New Five Dynasties, Volume 62, History of the Song Dynasty, 17th Chronicles
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