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The war between Li Cunxu and the Khitan

 Everyone knows that Li Keyong had no clear idea before he died and left three arrows for Xiao Li.

Shi Yan, the king of Jin, finally gave Zhuang Zong three arrows and told him: "Liang, I have a hatred; King Yan is the one I appointed, Khitan and I are brothers, and they all carried Jin and returned to Liang. These three

"You, I have regrets. With three arrows, you will never forget. This is my father's ambition!"

Zhuangzong accepted it and hid it in the temple. Later, when he used troops, he sent a few soldiers to sue the temple, ask for the target, put a bag of brocade in it, carry it forward, and accept it in triumph.

As a result, Houliang was destroyed, Liu Rengong was caught in front of Li Keyong's tomb, and he poured out his blood to pay homage. Both of these were accomplished.

The third attack on Abao was not very successful because he could not be killed.

Li Cunxu fought many battles with Abaoji, but most of the time they fought passively. Because the main force of the Jin army was fighting with the Liang army, they really could not spare many people.

After sorting it out, there were probably the following wars.

(1) Battle of Youzhou

In 917, Abaoji sent 300,000 cavalry south to Youzhou, and Zhou Dewei was in danger. Li Cunxu sent Li Siyuan, Yan Bao, and Fu Cunxuan to lead an army to rescue them, totaling more than 60,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry.

Li Siyuan was the commander-in-chief and also served as the vanguard. He believed that the Khitan troops were several times stronger than theirs, and most of them were cavalry, so they could not march on the plains. So "the division followed Dafangling and advanced by chance."

The Khitan people were not stupid either. They specifically picked out narrow valley entrances and blocked them there, waiting for the Jin army to come over and relax.

Li Siyuan and his adopted son Li Congke took the lead and fought bravely. They defeated the Khitan who blocked the road every time, so the army continued to advance.

Fu Cunshen also met Khitan along the way.

He ordered his soldiers to cut down branches and make simple antlers to carry with them. When encountering Khitan cavalry, they would throw them on the ground in front to hinder the cavalry charge. Then they fired their bows and crossbows to defeat the Khitan soldiers and horses blocking the road.

At the same time, he also tried another trick. He asked people to burn firewood and create smoke, and then led the infantry to charge and behead more than 10,000 Khitan cavalry.

More than 60,000 cavalrymen arrived close to Youzhou. The Khitan could not hold back their anger and repeatedly blocked the entrance of the valley. They were defeated every time and suffered heavy losses. So the whole division marched out, and the main cavalry formed an array on the ground, ready to attack at any time.

Prepare to charge.

The plains were vast and the officers and soldiers of the Jin army turned pale when they saw the boundless Khitan cavalry filling the fields.

At the critical moment, Li Siyuan cursed the Khitan, then smashed his helmet on the ground, rushed into the Khitan cavalry formation, "danced hammers and fought hard, invincible", and captured a team of handsome men alive.

When the soldiers saw how brave their commander was, they marched forward with loud shouts and won a complete victory. "The Khitans were defeated and swept all their troops from Beishan. They abandoned their chariots, tents, and armor, and filled the fields with sheep and horses. The Jin soldiers pursued them, capturing and killing thousands of them."

"

(2) Battle of Dingzhou

In 921, Chengde Yamen general Zhang Wenli caused a rebellion and killed Wang Rong, the Jiedushi envoy.

Li Cunxu was drinking and listening to music at that time. When he found out about this, he was very sad. After all, Wang Rong was his vassal, so he was definitely not happy when he was suddenly killed.

"The king of Zhao and I have an alliance, and we are as good as gold and stone. How can we fail to do so to others? It is unfair to overthrow the clan and eliminate sacrifices!" These are Li Cunxu's original words.

At this time, Zhang Wenli sent an envoy, to the effect that Wang Rong had taken refuge with you before, and now I will kill him, but I will also take refuge with you, and Chengdezhen will continue to be a vassal.

For Li Cunxu, this is actually the best result. Because the war with Hou Liang is very fierce and consumes a lot of money, and there is no way to see when it will end.

The civil and military officials on the left and right also advised me that there are many things going on these days, so I should just hold my nose and admit it.

Li Cunxu had no choice but to agree.

However, in August, he decided to challenge Zhang Wenli. At this time, Zhang Wenli died of illness and his son Zhang Chujin succeeded him.

In September, general Shi Jiantang led his army outside Zhenzhou City. Zhao soldiers went out to fight in the field. The two sides fought under the city. Shi Jiantang was killed by an arrow. Li Cunxu had no choice but to fight in person. Cheng De lured Khitan to go south to fight against Hedong.

At this time, Liang general Dai Siyuan led his army to attack Weizhou, and the situation was critical. The capital of Yi Ding was in danger again, and the Khitan had captured more than ten cities in Youzhou, including Zhuozhou.

Li Cunxu was in a hurry and only had 5,000 cavalry, so he personally led the troops to Dingzhou to rescue the royal capital.

In the first month of the second year (922), more than 10,000 Khitan forwards rode to the new city and saw Li Cunxu's 5,000 cavalry. Perhaps because they had been beaten too badly a few years ago, they were psychologically afraid of the Central Plains heavenly soldiers and "retired in fear." Li Cunxu retreated in panic.

The troops divided into two groups and "pursued for dozens of miles and captured Abaoji's son. At that time, the ice on the sand river was thin and the bridge was narrow. The enemy fought and passed by, and many people drowned."

Most of the more than 10,000 Khitan cavalry were wiped out, and Abaoji's son became a prisoner. This was the Battle of Dingzhou Xincheng.

More than ten days later, a second battle broke out between the two sides.

Li Cunxu still had the same 5,000 cavalry, with a little more infantry, less than 10,000. As for the Khitan, it originally had 100,000 cavalry, but excluding the retired vanguard, there were still 90,000 cavalry.

Li Cunxu's army was surrounded. He took the lead and charged four times on horseback, but failed to rescue the siege. However, the Khitans were beaten badly and retreated into formation. At the critical moment, Li Sizhao arrived with 300 cavalry and rushed in from the weak point of the encirclement.

Li Cunxu was rescued. Li Cunxu refused to retreat and ordered a counterattack. The morale of the army was greatly boosted, and the Khitan was defeated and completely defeated.

Records from the later Tang Dynasty: "The enemy was greatly defeated, thousands of prisoners were killed, and they pursued to Yizhou. They captured felt furs and curtains, and the sheep and horses were invincible. At that time, when we reached the north, there was a heavy snowfall, and the ground was five feet deep, and the enemy was short of grain.

People and horses were killed on the road, and they were exhausted. The emperor took advantage of the victory and pursued him to Youzhou."

"Khitan National Chronicles": The King of Jin rushed to the capital and was surrounded by the Khitan. He fought vigorously and entered and exited four times, which was incomprehensible. Li Sizhao led 300 cavalry to attack them horizontally. The King of Jin finally came out. Because he launched his troops and fought hard, Taizu was defeated.

Then he went north to Yizhou. It snowed heavily for ten days, and the ground was several feet flat. The dead men and horses belonged to each other, and Taizu returned home.

After the battle, Li Cunxu received news: Liang Jun had attacked Desheng Beicheng, and Fu Cunxun could no longer hold on, so he rushed south for rescue, and the two battles of Dingzhou ended.

Abaoji suffered the most tragic defeat in his life. His invincible cavalry in the Northeast entered the Central Plains, bullied the minority, and was beaten like a dog. He did not expect it.

Not many people died on the spot, and less than 20,000 horsemen died in the two battles. But the way back was too miserable, the snow was five feet deep, and the cattle and sheep were snatched away by the Jin army. There was no food, and

The number of lone Khitan soldiers who were disorganized, dispersed, froze to death, starved to death, and killed by the people of Youzhou was far more than 20,000. In the end, only about 20,000 of the 100,000 horsemen returned.

(3) Battle of Mancheng (this is actually not the period of Li Cunxu)

In 928, the rebel army Jiedushi Wangdu rebelled and bribed the Khitans with large sums of money to go south.

Khitan Marshal Tunai led thousands of cavalry to rescue the royal capital.

Later Tang Army Du Yanqiu led his army to meet the Yiwu Army and the Khitan Allied Army in Jiashan.

Du Yanqiu urged the troops to attack in close combat, and ordered: "Those who dare to look back will die!"

So they defeated the royal capital and defeated the allied forces, captured thousands of people, and pursued them from Quyang to the foot of Dingzhou City, conquering Xiguan City. The royal capital and others fled all the way, with corpses lying abandoned for more than 60 miles, and they did not dare to leave the city to fight again.

The Khitan also sent Qi Tiyin and 7,000 cavalry to rescue the royal capital.

When it rained heavily, Du Yanqiu personally led the troops to attack on July 19, and defeated the Khitan army in Tanghebei. Taking advantage of the victory, he pursued them to Mancheng, defeated them, beheaded 2,000 people, and captured 1,000 horses.

On the 21st, the Later Tang Army pursued Yizhou again, but Tiyin's troops no longer dared to fight. On their way to escape, they were blocked by the swollen river and were killed by the Later Tang Army, resulting in heavy casualties.

Tiyin led the remnants of his troops back north, but Lulong Jiedushi envoy Zhao Dejun sent troops to attack. Tiyin and hundreds of his men were captured alive and taken to the capital. The remaining Khitan troops scattered into the villages and were killed by the villagers. They finally fled back to Khitan.

There are only a few dozen people left inside the territory.

In this battle, Du Yanqiu killed more than 17,000 Khitan cavalry and captured the Khitan marshals Tu Nei, He Miao and Zila.

After beheading the bald men, the Khitan "made humiliating remarks and sent envoys to China with generous sums of money, in order to return to Hemiao, Zila, etc."

The Khitan became honest and sent envoys to the Central Plains to send generous gifts. In humble words, they begged Du Yanqiu to release Hemiao and the two of them.


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