Li Jia had always known that the Champa Protectorate was very difficult. Therefore, in order to support the border areas, he vigorously carried forward the fine tradition and sent all demoted officials, convicted officials, and prisoners with minor crimes to Champa.

It can be considered as a small effort!

Time passed slowly, and in June, while Li Jia was waiting, he received news from the north that Chai Rong's Northern Expedition had failed.

On April 16, 959, Guo Rong led his army from Chengdu to Cangzhou, and dozens of miles north of Cangzhou was the border of Khitan. Guo Rong did not stay in Cangzhou and continued northward that day.

The next day, the Zhou army arrived at the city of Qianning Army (now Qingxian County, Hebei Province) controlled by the Khitans. The Qianning Army was relatively small in scale. Wang Hong, the governor of Ningzhou, Khitan who was defending the city, saw that Guo Rong was coming, so he did not attack the stone with an egg. He was angry with contempt and very wisely opened the door to surrender.

To the north of the Qianning Army, there were many military towns and cities controlled by the Khitans, including Waqiao Pass (southwest of today's Xiong County, Hebei), Yijin Pass (now Bazhou, Hebei), Mozhou (now Renqiu, Hebei), Yingzhou (now Hejian, Hebei Province), Yizhou (now Yixian County, Hebei Province), and Zhuozhou (Zhuozhou City, Hebei Province). Among these military states, Yingzhou is undoubtedly the largest city, but Yingzhou City has sufficient food and cannot be conquered overnight. Guo Rong didn't want to waste time on it, so he bypassed Yingzhou and headed north directly.

Obviously, in this Northern Expedition, Guo Rong was not prepared to fight many arduous siege battles, but had been accumulating strength to attack Youzhou, which was the Khitan's Nanjing Xijin Prefecture at this time.

Li Jia quite approves of this strategy. After all, the Han army traveled a long distance and fought in a different place. The best way is to recharge and recharge. Like Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi, after conquering Taiyuan with great difficulty, he ignored the hard work of the soldiers and just wanted to go all out. Capture Youzhou.

Zhao Laoer is still too confident.

Later, after resting for five days, on April 22, Guo Rong divided his troops into two parts, land and water, and moved northward at the same time. The land route was deployed by Han Tong and Zhao Kuangyin, and the water route was deployed by Zhao Kuangyin, while Guo Rong himself took the leading position. On top of the big ship, the other warships followed the leading ship and marched northward along the Yongji Canal.

"The ships are connected end to end for dozens of miles." The canal is still fulfilling its mission and playing an important role in recovering the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun.

Two days later, the Zhou army's fleet rushed to Duliukou, 120 kilometers north of the Qianning army. This is the confluence of the Hutuo River and Yongji Canal. To the west of Duliukou are Yijin Pass, Waqiao Pass, and north of Duliukou. It is located in Yizhou and Zhuozhou (the hometown of Mr. Zhao), and in the south is Mozhou and Yingzhou.

Yijin Pass is close to Duliukou and must be captured first.

Zhong Tinghui, the guard general of Yijin Pass, was a smart man and surrendered.

On one occasion, Guo Rong led five hundred personal guards who were eager to serve as a vanguard camp. Unexpectedly, a group of Khitan cavalry appeared nearby. After learning that the leader of the army was the adopted son of the Guo family, who was so powerful that the Khitan people talked about it. , actually fled without fighting.

After daybreak, Zhao Kuangyin led his army to attack Waqiao Pass and easily forced Yao Neiyun who was guarding the pass to surrender.

After the Zhou army easily captured Yijin Pass and Waqiao Pass, it effectively blocked the passage between Mozhou and Yingzhou and the Khitan.

Under the strong power of the Zhou army, on April 29th, Liu Chuxin, the governor of Khitan Province, surrendered the city to Zhou; on the first day of May, Khitan Yingzhou Gao Yanhui surrendered the city.

Guo Rong's Zhou army easily captured seventeen counties in three states without even fighting the Khitans. These places were called "Guannan" in Liao history books and were regarded as a great shame and humiliation.

The two small passes captured by the Zhou army are of great significance. They are the southern gateway for the Khitan to defend Nanjing. They are equivalent to the Hangu Pass of the Qin State during the Warring States Period. Without these two passes, the entire Youzhou city gate will be wide open.

Yijin Pass "relies on the importance of Shenjing (Beijing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties), controls the obstruction of the Yinghai Sea, and serves as a solid barrier to connect the east and west."

Waqiaoguan "Ground Controls Youji"

As long as we cross the river, we can capture Youzhou and regain the lost territory.

But whether to attack Youzhou City immediately aroused controversy at the Supreme Military Conference held on May 2.

Guo Rong naturally advocated a forceful attack, but most generals opposed it. The reason was that a large number of Khitan cavalry gathered north of Youzhou and were ready to attack.

However, Guo Rong has a stubborn temper. The more people oppose him, the stronger he becomes.

All opposition became ineffective, and the army began to prepare to attack Youzhou City and regain this homeland that had been lost for decades.

They were fully prepared and even built a pontoon bridge by the Juma River for the army to cross the river. At the same time, the vanguard commander Liu Chongjin, on Guo Rong's order, captured Gu'an, one hundred and twenty miles south of Youzhou City.

.

Maybe it's God's will.

When the Zhou army was about to launch a strong attack on Youzhou, Guo Rong suddenly fell ill.

"Old History of the Five Dynasties - Zhou Shizong Ji Sixth" records: "It was night, and the emperor was not hesitant." As for why he was not hesitant, "Buddhas of the Past Dynasties" gloated that Guo Rong had "sickness on his back" because he chopped the Buddha of Tranquility with an axe.

"Carbuncle and erosion" is nothing more than the catharsis of those with vested interests who have been hit.

As soon as he fell ill, he was left without a master, so this battle, which was bound to go down in history, unfortunately could no longer be fought. Guo Rong regretfully ordered the withdrawal of the troops. On May 30th, Guo Rong led his troops back to Bianliang to recuperate.

Guo Rong's Northern Expedition did not actually lead to a real fight with the Khitans, and this was the main argument for later generations to underestimate the achievements of Guo Rong's Northern Expedition.

This view holds that those who surrendered to Guo Rong were all Khitan Han generals. After Zhao Guangyi failed in the Northern Expedition, he encountered the most elite ace troops of the Khitan. If Guo Rong encountered the main force of the Khitan, he would definitely be defeated.

Is that really the case?

Did the Khitan Emperor Yelujing really have the will to fight Guo Rongyu to death? The answer is no.

According to historical records, during the Zhou army's Northern Expedition, Yelujing was frightened.

"When the Khitan heard about his personal conquest, the king and his ministers were terrified!"

After the Zhou army captured three passes in a row, Yelujing also said, "The three passes were originally Han territory. Now they are returning to Han territory. Why did we lose it?"

Although Yelujing openly said that he wanted to lead the imperial army to conquer the country himself, it was just a pretense after Guo Rong withdrew his troops.

"History of the Liao" records that Xiao Wen, the commander of Youzhou, who was the father of Empress Dowager Xiao, the most powerful general among the Yang family, was so frightened by the Zhou army that he "didn't know what to do" and was helpless. There were Khitan generals who were willing to go out of the city to fight against the Zhou army.

They were all not allowed.

The Khitan people in the Youyan area were frightened by Guo Rong's massive Northern Expedition. According to the "Supplement to the History of the Five Dynasties", the Zhou army entered the territory of Youzhou, and "every fan tribe (Khitan people) from Youzhou also

Escape at night!"

The men and horses were frightened. With such low morale, the Zhou army could easily capture Youzhou City.

At that time, all countries in the world suddenly lost their voices and were all paying attention to the Northern Expedition, because it determined the time for the unification of the world and the fate of all countries.

It's a pity and a shame that so many people felt sad and happy when they heard the news.

More than three hundred years later, Hao Jing, a man of the Yuan Dynasty, wrote a poem called "Travel to Baigou", which was based on the Five Dynasties, Song and Liao dynasties, and mentioned Guo Rong's Northern Expedition:

Sejong happened to have Guan Nan die

Checking Chen Qiao as Emperor

Han'er no longer sees the Central Plains
Chapter completed!