Welcome everyone to [follow] me and let’s talk about the past and the present together, and discuss the general trend of the world. Under the leadership of Tong Guan, the Song Dynasty embarked on a journey to conquer Liao. However, Baigou failed miserably, completely exposing the

I am Tangdi, a history buff. Welcome everyone to [follow] me and let’s talk about the past and the present together, and discuss the general trend of the world. A gentleman lives his life just to learn and make friends!

The Song Dynasty embarked on a journey to conquer Liao under the leadership of Tong Guan. However, Baigou suffered a disastrous defeat, which completely exposed the weakness and incompetence of the Song Dynasty to the Liao Kingdom which was about to be destroyed. The key figure who influenced and reversed the situation of Liao Dynasty against Song Dynasty was Lin Ya Yelu Dashi of Liao Dynasty.

Who is Yelu Dashi?

There is a very simple record in " History of Liao ": "The character Dashi emphasizes virtue, and he is the eighth generation grandson of Taizu", which means he was born in the royal family. Also "Tongliao, Hanzi, good at riding and shooting", that is to say, he is proficient in both Khitan characters and Chinese characters. He is also good at practicing traditional Khitan martial arts such as riding and archery. He can be regarded as a man who has learned both north and south, and is both civil and military. Talent.

In the fifth year of Tianqing (1115), Dashi became a Jinshi and became the only Khitan recorded in the "History of Liao" who was born a Jinshi. Immediately he entered the Hanlin Academy and was promoted to "Ying Feng" and "Cheng Zhi". Because the Liao people called "Hanlin" "Linya", he was also called "大石林雅".

When Dashi entered his official career, the Liao Dynasty was already in turmoil and coming to an end. He successively served as the governor of Taizhou (in the northeast of Tao'an County, Jilin) ​​and Xiangzhou (the ancient city of Wanjin Pagoda in the northeast of Nong'an County, Jilin), which were on the front line of the anti-golden war. , and was later promoted to the military governor of Liao Xing Army (Lulong, Hebei Province).

In the second year of Baoda, the Jin army captured Zhongjing, Emperor Tianzuo rushed west in a hurry, and the Liao Dynasty in Yanjing was leaderless. At this time, Yelu Dashi made his first political gamble, supporting Li Chuwen and Xiao Qian and others. He succeeded in establishing Yelu Chun as emperor, and became one of the important figures in the Liao Dynasty who had military power.

Why was the Song army defeated so miserably?

On May 26th (Guiwei), when Ma Kuo was still fighting against the Liao officials in Yanjing, at the border of Song and Liao Dynasties, Hebaigou and Helangoudian (in the new city of Zhuozhou, Hebei), the commander-in-chief of the Western Army of the Song Dynasty was in charge. Yang Keshi, the general of Zhongshidao and the former army commander, was suddenly attacked by the Liao army led by Yelu Dashi.

Before dawn that morning, Yang Keshi's East Road Song Army stationed at Langoudian discovered something unusual about the Liao Army on the other side, and immediately called the police at Zhongshi Road. Kinds of Teachers After hearing the news, he summoned the generals and said:

"We are the people of Yan. King Gou's teacher can accept it and come to join him. However, if the wall is strong, there must be internal changes. Don't kill anyone! You all have made a promise to me. Soldiers, obey the imperial edict and the constraints of the Xuanfu Division. "

Shidao still wanted to abide by the orders of the imperial court and the Xuanfu Division, and asked his subordinates not to kill anyone.

Therefore, Yang Keshi was ordered to send people holding the "Huang Bang Banner" used to recruit surrender to the river to prepare for the Liao army to surrender. However, when it became brighter, the Song army discovered that what was confronting them across the bank was a Liao army that was already in combat mode.

The Song army did not give up and sent the "Huangbang Banner" across the river with a powerful bow. As a result, they were hit by the opponent like a "rain of arrows". After hearing the report,

Shi Dao thought that "as soon as the weapons are connected, An Neng will die without restraint, and the general will have meritorious service." He violated Tong Guan's original military order not to kill one person or one cavalry, and ordered a counterattack. Yang Keshi sent troops to guard the river bridge and struggled to resist the Liao army's attack. The two sides launched a fierce battle.

Yelu Dashi saw that the Liao army's attack was difficult to achieve effective results, so he quickly adjusted the direction of the attack, avoiding a head-on confrontation with the Song army guarding the bridge, and used his cavalry to advance westward. Yang Keshi discovered that the Liao army might be looking for a ferry upstream to outflank and attack, so he immediately divided his forces to resist them. However, he was still a step too late. Before the Song army could reach the crossing point, the Liao army's cavalry had already waded in and rushed over. The Song army retreated upon seeing this, and the Liao army successfully crossed Baigou.

Yang Keshi was furious after hearing the news. He left some troops to guard the river bridge and personally led the main force to expel the Liao army crossing the river. As a result, before Yang Keshi could defeat the Liao army crossing the river, the Liao army on the other side took the opportunity to capture the river bridge. Then two Liao armies, one on the left and one on the right, outflanked Yang Keshi's army.

The two sides started a fierce battle again. Yang Keshi was hit by an arrow in the leg, "blood filled his boots", and then his chest and abdomen were also hit by stray arrows. Although Yang Keshi still fought hard and killed dozens of Liao soldiers with his own hands, the Song army fighting alone was still defeated by the Liao army outflanked by two wings and was defeated and fled. The Battle of Langoudian ended with the victory of Yelu Dashi.

The victory in the Battle of Langoudian greatly boosted the morale of the Liao army. The next day, cadre Xiao of the Liao army also crossed the river to launch a fierce attack on the Song army on the west route of Xin Xingzong's headquarters stationed in Fan Village. The Song army did not see strong resistance, so they attacked Then retreated.

After the Liao army forcibly crossed the border river and won the Battle of Baigou, the Liao Dynasty immediately responded positively and added 30,000 troops to support them. On the 29th (Bingxu), the Liao army launched a cover attack again. The Song army collapsed at the first touch and retreated to xiongzhou.

Ma Kuo was detained

At this time, Ma Kuo, who had returned from his mission to Yanjing, and Liao envoys Wang Jieru, Wang Zhongsun and others went to Baigou.

According to Ma Kuo's own statement, Ma Kuo and his party returned south together with Liao envoy Wang Jieru and others on May 27 (Jiashen), and they stayed in Zhuozhou that night.

The next day, Ma Kuo saw a group of Liao Army cavalry carrying Song Army swords, guns, pommel horses and other military equipment captured on the Baigou battlefield. I also saw many infantrymen coming and going, a busy scene after the victory. The battle situation is obviously in favor of the Liao Dynasty. Even if you have not witnessed the battlefield in person, you can clearly feel that the Song army was badly beaten.

Wang Jieru wanted to take the opportunity to teach Ma Kuo a lesson, saying:

"The Liao and Song dynasties have been peaceful for a long time, and even those with white hair may not have seen war. Now once you witness such a dangerous and dangerous battle, corpses are everywhere. , blood is flowing like a river, how can you not feel sad? You Southern Dynasties always like to mention that the Yan people want to return to the Song Dynasty, but why don't you think about it, it has been nearly two hundred years since the Yan land was ceded to the Khitan, and it has been two hundred years. "Well, don't the Yan people have any affection for Liao as a monarch and a father and a son?"

The implication is that many of the cavalry and infantry in the Liao army are also Han people , and they are defending the Yanjing Liao Dynasty. And a bloody battle with the Song people!

Ma Kuangdao:

"The path of a country's rise or fall is probably not controlled by the power of a few people." Let me first point out qualitatively that your Liao Dynasty is actually a grasshopper after the autumn, relying on the power of such a few people. The strength will not be able to bounce back for a few days. "Now that the Jurchens are approaching Yanjing step by step, the people of Yan are suffering in the cauldron. This is also an obvious fact. The emperor of this dynasty cares about the people of his homeland and cannot bear to sit idly by and do nothing to save him. He raised troops to come to the rescue. When it comes to the relationship between father and son, who is the biological father? If he knows that he has an adopted father but does not know that he has a biological father, then he is also an unfilial son! Accusing those Han people who helped the emperor to perpetrate his crimes as unfilial sons is not worth mentioning, and completely refutes Wang Jieru's words. Wang Jieru had nothing to say, so he could only laugh and not answer.

The Song envoy and the Liao envoy took another journey together. When they arrived at the new city, that is, when they were approaching the Baigou boundary river between Song and Liao where a fierce battle had just taken place, Wang Jieru received a piece of extremely unfavorable news for Ma Kuo and others. Expansion:

"The King of the Fourth Army is in Baigou right now. He has ordered to forcibly retain the southern envoys and prevent them from returning to the Song Dynasty."

At this time, Ma Kuo and others were still in the territory of the Liao Dynasty, and there was no way to fight or fight against others. Find a way out. The situation before them was that the Song army had retreated southward from the Baigou area to defend Xiongzhou, and the Liao army had also taken advantage of the momentum to cross Baigou south. The Song army's first front line had long since disappeared.

What is even more sinister is that when the Song Dynasty stationed heavy troops in Baigou, the Liao Dynasty often attacked the people sent by Tong Guan without mercy. Now the Song army in Baigou has been dispersed, and it has not killed several Song envoys. Next words. At this moment, since Xiao Qian had ordered to force the Song envoy to stay, it meant that the butcher's knife had been placed on the necks of the defenseless Ma Kuo and others.

Faced with such a dangerous situation, Ma Kuo and his party showed amazing calmness. They neither acted or said anything violent (which was not only useless, but also only accelerated their own destruction), nor did they feel depressed or anxious all day long. . That night, they stayed at a remote inn in the new city, silently, as usual.

Perhaps it was because they were traveling together all the way. Wang Jieru saw that the situation was tense, so he kindly advised Ma Kuo:

"When Xuan Zan meets the king of the four armies this time, his words should be more gentle. You are waiting for this trip." It's dangerous, and every move is very difficult. Don't offend the tigers and wolves. Only in this way can you escape intact."

Ma Kuan said:

"The king of the Fourth Army cannot stop the Jurchen invasion of Daliao. What kind of prestige does an unarmed Yijie have? If he doesn't reason with him, Ma will just die, but he doesn't dare to forget the safety and survival of the people in Yanjing!"

Wang Jieru had nothing to say and had to retreat.

In fact, Ma Kuo did not sit still. He expected that Xiao Qian had the idea of ​​forcibly retaining the Song envoy because of the small defeat of the Song army yesterday, in order to withhold the vassal terms that would be sent to the Song Dynasty that were not conducive to the Liao Dynasty.

So, he secretly sent someone to investigate the battle situation between the Song and Liao armies yesterday. Was it the Song army attacking from the north, or the Liao army attacking from the south? Soon, the news was heard. The real situation was: "The Liao army took the opportunity to cross the river and attacked and robbed the Song army's position."

When Ma Kuo heard this, he immediately deduced the development trend of the situation he was in. He thought: "The Liao army only stayed with us for a day. There is no harm."

Ma Kuo estimated that if Xiao Qian, a murderous demon like Xiao Qian, lost the battle, he would be angry with the Song envoy and behead him. An extreme act of killing someone. Now that I have won, I am certainly in a good mood. As long as I intercept the unfavorable clauses in the Liao Dynasty's diplomatic documents towards the Song Dynasty, I will achieve my goal, so it is not necessarily necessary to kill the envoy.

Talking with Yelu Dashi

However, it is unlikely that you will let go of the Song Dynasty easily. The most likely thing is to keep you here, frighten or humiliate you until you have vomited all your bad breath towards the Song people, just like a cat When you are tired of playing with the mouse under your paw, you will be let back.

However, the next day, Xiao Qian, the top commander of the Liao army's front line, unexpectedly did not show up. He asked Yelu Dashi to see the Song envoy. After meeting, Yelu Dashi immediately asked Ma Kuo:

"We have had good relations with the north and the south for more than a hundred years. Why do the Southern Dynasties want to raise troops to invade our land in Daliao?"

Typed by Ma Kuo in Yanjing They were all cards of "asking guilt" or "commanding surrender". At this moment, he was very aware of the situation where his life and that of his fifteen companions were hanging by a thread, so he played the same card as in Yanjing very wisely and decisively. The completely opposite "save Yan" card, he said:

"The reason why this dynasty raised its troops is entirely because the Jurchens repeatedly sent envoys across the sea to return the land of Yanjing to this dynasty, and this dynasty often I declined politely and never believed what the Jurchens said. However, I recently received a document from the Jurchens stating that their troops have occupied the area behind the mountain. If this dynasty does not want the land of Yanjing, they will take it themselves. We had to send troops to rescue Yan."

Yelu Dashi was not an easy person. He saw through Ma Kuo's sophistry at a glance, so his face sank, and he looked serious and even said sullenly :

"In the past, the Hexi family (ie. Xixia ) I have repeatedly expressed my intention to send troops to attack the Southern Dynasty together with Daliao, but every time I have sealed the seal of the Hexi family and handed it over to the Southern Dynasty. I will never betray my will and obey. And adopted the alienating words of the Hexi family.Now that your dynasty has just received a word from Jurchen, it immediately raises its troops to respond? "

Ma Kuo did not flinch, and asked in the interface: "Yes, the Hexi family did have some rude words, and wanted to unite with Daliao to plot against this dynasty. Even so, over the past few decades, Lin Ya thought about it carefully, the Hexi family How could they invade and seize even an inch of land in the Song Dynasty? On the other hand, what the Jurchens said is indeed consistent with the facts. Therefore, this dynasty sent troops this time not only to save Yan, but also to consolidate our Song Dynasty border. "

Now Ma Kuo is not quibbling, but arguing with reason, and not only refutes with facts, but also uses the Jurchens to sweep the land of Daliao to ridicule the other party, indirectly accusing the other party of not having the ability to compete with the Jurchens on the battlefield, but What kind of hero is it to embarrass an unarmed messenger here? Ma Kuo's ingenious reply also left Yelu Dashi speechless.

Ma Kuo's fearlessness, toughness and tit-for-tat actually impressed Yelu Dashi, and he couldn't talk anymore. It was cheap but also very boring, so he had to withdraw his troops and said to the horse:

"For the sake of the peace between Liao and Song Dynasty for many years, I don't want to detain you and wait for the envoy. After dinner, you can wait." Set off back. But I want to tell Tong Guan: If you want peace, the Liao and Song Dynasties can still make peace; if you don't want peace, then ask him to send troops to fight, and we can fight to the death! What good would it do the soldiers on both sides to be so huddled up in the scorching heat of the summer? "After that, he rode away.

Judging from Yelu Dashi's last cheerful words, the Liao Dynasty's original intention at that time was still to negotiate peace with the Song Dynasty to jointly deal with the Jurchens; otherwise, it hoped that the Song Dynasty would remain neutral to avoid being two-faced. Enemy.

This is one of the fundamental reasons why Ma Kuo finally escaped from danger.

Otherwise, although Ma Kuo's fearlessness and astuteness can be respected by his opponents, once the Liao Dynasty decided to fight to the death with the Song Dynasty, Ma Kuo would not be able to fight again. Even if you are clever, you may not be able to escape death.

Ma Kuo's recovery from the dead

On May 30th (Dinghai), Ma Kuo and his party returned empty-handed across Baigou and returned to their departure point twelve days ago. Land, and this place has now changed from the front line of the Song Army to the bridgehead of the Liao Army. The only thing that can be comforting is that none of the fifteen people who traveled to Yanjing have returned through Baibai. Not long after the Gouliao Army's camp went south, the first Song Army position they saw was Zhongshidao's camp.

Ma Kuo could see at a glance that there were serious hidden dangers in the location of this camp. Once the Song Army was attacked, it would be unstoppable. It would be a great rout.

In order to quickly make up for Zhong Shidao's mistakes in military arrangements, and also to promptly and conveniently convey the information he had seen and heard along the way from Yanjing, Ma Kuan left his entourage and the Liao envoy temporarily. On the roadside, he went to the camp gate alone.

Yang Weizhong, the commander of the planting camp, came out to greet him and led Ma Kuan to see the planting master. After seeing the planting master, Ma Kuan first briefly reported his mission to Yanjing. This was mainly based on his political knowledge and personal experience, but he soon started from military common sense and suggested to Zhong Shidao:

"When building a camp or stronghold, you must choose a high-opening place to fight the enemy. , but now the east, west, and north of our camp are close to the woods. I am afraid that the enemy will take advantage of it and attack our army. Moreover, when camping in such a densely forested area, it would take a lot of eyesight to look at the enemy movements ahead during the day. It is inconvenient, so why not move? ”

The valuable thing about Ma Kuo is that he does not have any scruples because his official rank is far lower than that of a teacher. Instead, he speaks out everything he knows. The valuable thing about the way of a teacher is that he corrects his mistakes immediately , Accepting the advice.

Soon, the most important military camp on the front line of the Song Army began to move to another location, which made Ma Kuo very satisfied.

At the critical moment when the Song Army suffered a tragic defeat, Ma Kuo's astuteness was evident. This was also reflected in his reception of the Liao envoys. After arriving in Xiongzhou that night, he cleverly arranged Wang Jieru and his party in a small post house, which was in sharp contrast to the Song envoys who were ceremoniously placed in a famous local temple in Yanjing. It deliberately created a kind of indifference and condescending attitude towards the Liao envoys from the Song Dynasty, so that the Liao envoys still had a cautious sincerity in suing for peace.

Ma Kuo was questioned

After personally settling the Liao envoy, Ma Kuo turned around and went to see Tong Guan.

However, the shogunate of the Xuanfu Division was full of disgusting remarks about Ma Kuo's return from danger, which made all the efforts and clever arrangements made by Ma Kuo come to nothing. When he walked into Tong Guan's shogunate, he saw Tong Guan's staff and officials surrounding him, as if they were interrogating prisoners in the lobby.

Tong Guan asked about the negotiations for the envoy to Yanjing. Ma Kuo tried his best to give a comprehensive report on what he saw, heard, encountered and felt, as well as the Liao army intelligence reported by Liu Zongji. The core meaning of what he said was that the Liao army had already He is at the end of his rope, strong on the outside but weak on the inside, relying on bluffing to achieve success, but he is actually extremely weak and vulnerable to a single blow. As Ma Kuo said, the staff and subordinate officials began to "perform" vigorously, some stamped their feet, some clapped their hands, and some gnashed their teeth in anger, and everyone's "performance" had the same meaning, that is, horse Expanding rumors is extremely vicious. Jiyi officer Wang Lin pointed at Ma Kuo and shouted sternly: "Ma Kuo can be killed!"

In fact, all the "performances" of Wang Lin and others were just a show of fierceness and jealousy. Deep down in their hearts, they were frightened by the power of the Liao army, lest they The brave and arrogant Khitan cavalry suddenly rushed towards them, but they retreated thousands of times, eager to escape from this place of right and wrong.

Now in their eyes, Daliao is still extremely powerful. The most elite Western Army of the Song Dynasty, under the leadership of veteran general Zhong Shidao and brave general Yang Keshi, was still defeated in Baigou. This is proof.

This group of people had no choice but to expand, so they came up with ways to punish others. The Xuanfu Division issued a military order to Zhong Shidao, ordering him to retreat his army into Xiongzhou City. Anyone with a discerning eye would know at a glance that this military order was due to the fact that these guys were afraid of the Liao army's attack. In name, they mobilized the army to strengthen Xiongzhou's city defense, but in essence, it was to protect their own property and lives.

Zhong Shidao pointed out the absurdity of this military order from the perspective of military common sense, and argued with reason:

"In order to restore military morale in the current situation, our army can only advance, not retreat. Moreover, a powerful enemy is close at hand, and our army Once he retreats, the enemy will take the opportunity to attack, and the entire battle will be uncontrollable." Seeing that Zhongshidao disobeyed military orders, the Xuanfu Division immediately sent marching staff Liu Kai to warn him and force Zhongshidao to retreat. Master Zhongdao had no choice but to move and retreat. Sure enough, Yelu Dashi had already prepared. As soon as the Song army retreated, he took advantage of the situation to follow and cover the attack. This melee was once again detrimental to the Song people. Although the Song army finally withdrew into Xiongzhou City, it suffered "very many" casualties. At this point, the Northern Expedition of the Song Dynasty, which was intended to take advantage of the situation, ended in complete failure.

Pig-like teammates

The gang of Xuanfusi failed to accomplish anything but failed more than they did, causing heavy casualties to the Song Army. In the chaos, only Ma Kuo was still trying his best to plug the leaks under these mediocre people. When the defeated army retreated into Xiongzhou, they were sent to guard the city wall by the Xuanfu Division. The hurried and panic situation had long been seen by the Liao envoys living in the city.

When Wang Jieru saw Ma Kuo, he grabbed him and wanted to know more about him. Ma Kuo knew something was wrong, but he pretended to be nonchalant and replied: "Tell me about those people walking up to the city. They are all soldiers and horses from the Sixth Route Army who have just arrived from Shaanxi."

Ma Kuo's lie was so true. It was very big. He wanted to try his best to fill this hole and prevent the Liao envoy from occupying a favorable position in the negotiations or having any leverage. However, the stupid and cowardly Tong Guan and his subordinates made ridiculous actions again and again, canceling all Ma Kuo's efforts.

The Xuanfu Division withdrew the Zhongshi Taoist Department into the city and strengthened the defensive force. At the same time, it sent a large group of people such as Liu Kai, Jia Ping, Wang Lin, Li Ziqi, Yu Jing, and Li Zongzhen (Ma Kuo also had to accompany him). , carrying extremely exquisite and elegant gold and jade tea sets, went to the post house to have a grand meeting with the Liao envoys to discuss major peace talks between Song and Liao. The "righteousness" that these Tong Guanmu officials had in the early days of blaming the people for their crimes was gone, and now they were replaced by pleasant faces. They talked enthusiastically with the Liao envoys about the past friendship between the Song and Liao countries.

Like Ma Kuo, they also used deceptive methods to treat the Liao envoys, but the content of the deception was completely different. They said to the Liao envoys: "We have already reported to the court, and we still want to make peace with your dynasty, but now It’s just that I haven’t received anything in return from the court.” was so sincere that he could only swear to heaven.

Of course, the Liao envoy was happy to get the result of both sides stopping their troops and making peace, but he just wanted to take the opportunity of the Liao army's victory to condemn the Song people.

Wang Jie Confucianism and Taoism :

"The Yan people have long belonged to the commander of the Liao Dynasty, each guarding their homeland, and living and working in peace and contentment. The Gui Dynasty sent troops to invade for no reason, so the Yan people fought to the death. This war had many consequences for the lives of the people of the Liao and Song Dynasties. Hurt!"

In the condemnation, there is also a kind heart that deplores the loss of life in the two countries.

Faced with the condemnation and cruel words of the Liao envoy, the Dukes of Xuanfu were speechless. Only Ma Kuo couldn't help but stabbed the other party hard: "The Yan people married the Khitans first, and now I'm afraid they have to marry the Jurchens again!" Wang Jieru and Wang Zhongsun are both Han people from the Yan area. The two didn't know how to answer, so they had to "look at each other and laugh" to end the verbal fight.

The Liao envoy stayed in Xiongzhou for another two days. On June 6 (Guiji), he met Tong Guan in the Xuanfu Division of the Song Dynasty. The two sides were very polite and showed good neighborliness and friendship. The reply document prepared by the Xuanfu Division this time to the Liao Dynasty could only be summed up in one word: make peace. After all the agenda was over, Tong Guan "sent Jie Confucian and others back home with iron cavalry", and Huizong's first campaign against the Liao Dynasty came to an end.

Yelu Dashi couldn't be more satisfied with the outcome of this war. He could take advantage of the victory to shrink the front line and concentrate his very limited troops near Yanjing to defend the only surviving capital of the Liao Dynasty.

Judging from the situation of the entire Song, Liao and Jin Dynasties, the Liao Dynasty can at least temporarily get rid of the situation of Song and Jin being attacked from both sides. The military victory of Yelu Dashi won a political breathing opportunity for the Liao Dynasty, which was increasingly oppressed by the Song and Jin Dynasties.

(End of text)

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