In 979, in order to recover the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi, personally led the Northern Expedition of 150,000 forbidden troops and besieged the city of Youzhou. Although Song Taizong was not able to win this war, he became famous in one battle and was later known as the "God of the Sorghum River Car". This Battle of the Gaoliang River was the first large-scale military contest between the Song and the Liao, so why did the Song army fail to win, but was beaten to the ground?
First, draw snakes to add feet, and be proud of the enemy
In February 979, Song Taizong led a large army north, but his target at that time was not Youzhou, but the capital of the Northern Han Dynasty, Taiyuan, which means that Song Taizong's original idea was to destroy the Northern Han Dynasty, not to recover Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures. At this moment, something happened that made Song Taizong think that the Liao state was vulnerable. In March of that year, the Liao army assisted the Northern Han Dynasty, and was blocked by the Song army at Baima Ridge, resulting in a major defeat of the Liao army and more than 10,000 casualties.
The Battle of Baima Ridge caused the Northern Han to lose foreign aid, after which the Northern Song army attacked the city with all its strength, and the Northern Han Emperor Liu Jiyuan saw that the situation was not good, and was forced to leave the city and surrender on the sixth day of May. At this point, the Northern Han dynasty collapsed, and Zhao Guangyi, the Emperor Taizong of Song, had achieved his strategic goals. However, the victory at the Battle of Baima Ridge made him mistakenly think that the Liao army was not difficult to deal with, so he had the idea of taking advantage of the victory to go north and regain Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures with a single blow.
Second, the military's heart is shaken, and the end of the crossbow
War is cruel, so rewards are the greatest encouragement for soldiers who work on the battlefield. It is reasonable to say that the Song army destroyed the Northern Han And repelled the Liao army, and Song Taizong should reward the soldiers for their merits. However, Song Taizong did not do this, causing the military to shake its heart. According to the historical records, "after attacking and besieging Taiyuan for many months, the rewards were exhausted, and the soldiers were lacking." When Liu Jiyuan descended, everyone had a desire to appreciate it, and the generals cut down the Khitan and took the thistle, and all the generals were unwilling to do it, but there was no one who dared to speak. ”
As the saying goes, "At the end of a strong crossbow, the force cannot enter the Lu Mu". The hundreds of thousands of people led by Emperor Taizong of Song were the elite forbidden troops of the Northern Song Dynasty, but they had been fighting against the Northern Han Dynasty for more than three months since February 979. After the war, Song Taizong did not give the army time to rest, but left Taiyuan and came to Zhenzhou. By June 13, Emperor Taizong of Song led a large army in the Northern Expedition, which had not been rested for more than four months, and the weather was already very hot.
Third, the army was strong and the preparation was insufficient
Although the Song army had reached the end of the crossbow, their strength was still far greater than that of the Liao army, so in the early years of the engagement, the progress was very smooth, and it took only ten days to reach youzhou City. After that, the Song army surrounded Youzhou from all sides and began a fierce siege battle, during which Song Taizong personally came to the front line to supervise the battle. However, due to the strong defense of Youzhou City and the good command of the defending general Han Derang, the Song army could not conquer for a long time, and the war fell into a stalemate.
In addition, Zhao Guangyi also made a mistake, he underestimated the rescue situation of the Liao army, and only sent 20,000 people to guard the western and northern regions. On July 6, liao reinforcements arrived, and Song Taizong had to lead the main force to engage him, and the two sides fought a big battle at the Gaoliang River! At the beginning of the battle, the Song army repelled Yelü Sha's troops, but Yelü Hugo and Yelü Xieyun led two elite cavalry and directly attacked the two wings of the Song army. The Song army could not resist at all, and the whole line collapsed.
Brother Yelü Hugo personally led the army to pursue and kill for more than thirty miles, "beheading more than 10,000 ranks", the Song army suffered heavy losses, "all the imperial treasures were taken, and all the concubines from the human palace were lost." In the process of escaping, Song Taizong was hit by two arrows in the thigh and escaped from the battlefield in a donkey cart, so he was called "the god of the Gaoliang River Car". "Once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of the well rope", after this battle, Song Taizong no longer dared to go to the battlefield in person, but he sat in the palace and commanded remotely.
References: 1. "History of Song"; 2. "Continuation of Zizhi TongjianChang"; 3. "History of Liao"