If God could allow Chai Rong to "borrow from heaven for another thirty years", then the land of Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures would have long since returned to the territory of China. You know, at that time, when Chai Rong personally conquered the Khitans, he had already taken three states.
Perhaps, even if "thirty years" could not be used, Chai Rong would complete the great cause of recovering Yan land. Even if the later history developed step by step, the Emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty would not have had a headache because of the Khitan problem.
History cannot be rewritten, and it is a fact that no one can rewrite it. God closed his eyes, taking away this wise saint who might end the chaotic world, and also made it impossible for the Central Plains regime to recover Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures in the next hundred years.
In the sixth year of Later Zhou Xiande, Chai Rong personally marched and led the main force of Later Zhou to the north, deep into the lost land of Yanyun, and attacked the Khitans. It can be said that this is not a momentary impulse, but a military operation that has been planned for a long time.
Chai Rong first sent Sun Xingyou to dingzhou, in order to prevent the Northern Han dynasty from sending reinforcements to help the Khitans. Subsequently, Chai Rong also ordered Han Tong to dispatch most of Hou Zhou's main army to Cangzhou. Because, at present, there is no need to focus on the south, even if the capital is already an empty city without guard, there will be no worries.
Therefore, Chai Rong mobilized all the living forces of the Later Zhou and launched a northern expedition that was determined to win.
When Chai Rong's army was assembled in Cangzhou, Chai Rong immediately took tens of thousands of horses north to the Khitans. During this period, Chai Rong took the cavalry to walk on the path, unconsciously, and even the people of Cangzhou did not know that Chai Rong had arrived in Ningzhou overnight. Ningzhou Assassin Wang Hongjin was still asleep, and the enemy army had already hit the root of the city wall. He hadn't gotten any news before, and there was no room for defense. Therefore, Wang Hongjin, who was still self-aware, chose to surrender Kaesong, allowing Chai Rongbing to win the first war without bloodshed.
Immediately afterward, Chai Rong focused on the three passes of Youzhou.
This was the only way to go north to the Liao capital, so Chai Rong had to fight these three passes no matter what the cost. However, to Chai Rong's surprise, the war of attacking the three levels was not as difficult as he thought. Chai Rong's army was very fast, so it was able to kill the enemy before the information was passed out every time, so the defenders of the three levels surrendered unexpectedly. You know, only one and a half months have passed since Chai Rong sent troops to win the three levels!
Excluding the time of the expulsion, Chai Rong fought with the enemy for less than a month. Who would have thought that in the Yanyun region, which caused headaches for the rulers of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and even the Song Dynasty, Chai Rong took only one month to recover the three prefectures and seventeen counties! Since the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains regime has never won such a big victory in foreign wars.
In May of the same year, Chai Rong, who had achieved certain results, immediately held a banquet to commend the meritorious men. After three rounds of wine, Chai Rong came together with the next beautiful vision: "Brothers, not far ahead is Youzhou, which is the most important territory in the Yanyun region, and we must fight it down and revive The Han Dynasty." ”
However, the generals who were born and died with Chai Rong were silent. Not long ago, they received the news that the Khitan lord had personally arrived in Youzhou with heavy troops, planning an endless decisive battle with the following weeks. Perhaps, for Chai Rong, the enemy's actions just saved time for the march, and the reason why he attacked Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures was to drive the Liao people out.
Others, however, think differently than Chai Rong:
"Forty-two days after His Majesty left Beijing, the soldiers did not bloodshed, and took the land of Yannan, and this immortal merit was also done." Nowadays, all the horsemen are gathered in the north of Youzhou, and it is not appropriate to go deeper. ”
How could they understand that Chai Rong had mobilized all the main forces of the whole country to the north in order to fight the Khitans to the end. Moreover, he had absolute confidence that he could defeat the Great Liao and regain the lost land of Yanyun! Chai Rong put all the chips together and made a "stud", he simply did not allow anyone to block his strategic plan for any reason.
It was not people who interrupted Chai Rong's great cause of revival, but the Heavenly Dao.
On May 7, Chai Rong's body collapsed at once, and he fell ill in the tent. The generals urged him to hurry back to the capital to recuperate, but Chai Rong had not yet seen the recovery of the lost land and wanted to stay longer. Under the bitter request of the generals, Chai Rong finally agreed to return to the capital for recuperation, but before he left, he still did not forget the instructions of Qian Ding Wanwan:
"Although I am gone, you must hold on, and when I am healed, I will definitely come back and take you to defeat the Liao!"
Dragging the heavy sick body, Chai Rong returned to Kaifeng. After several years of hard work, his physical functions have been exhausted. Chai Rong was mindful of the battle situation on the front line, but he did not know that he had no energy to return to the battlefield. On June 19, 959, chai Rong, who could not be cured, passed away with his great ambitions and dreams.
The great cause of the expedition to Yanyun also ended with his death.
Resources:
[Zizhi Tongjian, Vol. 289, Later Han Dynasty IV, New Five Dynasties History, Vol. XII, Zhou Benji XII]