The movements in the first few months of the Northern Expedition were obvious and could not be kept secret. Li Chongjin was ordered to lead his army back to Beijing from Yangzhou. In Tokyo, he was first rewarded and given a banquet by the emperor. Regardless of the approaching New Year's Eve, he received reinforcements in the winter and deployed his troops in the north of Luzhou in Hedong. Li Chongjin was a veteran general who had fought in many battles. Chai Rong did not seem to care about anything else at this time and still let him serve as the commander of the imperial guards, cavalry and infantry.
Xiang Xun then led the Zhen'an Army to Beijing and moved to Hedong to join forces with Li Chongjin's troops.
Gao Huaide's unit on the right wing of the Imperial Guard's Hujie Army was transferred to Beizhou a year ago; Li Gu followed the army and, despite the freezing of the rivers, mobilized new grain from the summer and autumn by land and transported it to Hebei.
Han Lingkun's troops of the Imperial Guard Longjie Army returned to Beijing from Xiacai Town in Shouzhou. In the first month of the fourth year of Xiande, the left wing was deployed to Dingzhou, Hebei.
But the Liao people could not necessarily know for sure what Chai Rong was trying to do, because Chai Rong had been pretending to launch a northern expedition more than once or twice. He had not only long intimidated the southern countries, but also wanted to use force to intimidate the Liao Kingdom as well. Before the Battle of Huainan, he mobilized a large number of troops in Hebei, and in the early stages he pretended to attack the Liao Kingdom, but later his main force suddenly went to Huainan.
However, this time it was not just a threat. In early March of the fourth year of Xian De, Chai Rong quickly issued an edict to start the Northern Expedition.
At this time, the deployment in the north was basically completed. Li Chongjin, Xiang Xun and Li Yun were in Hedong to defend against the Northern Han and to support the attack. Han Lingkun's troops were in Dingzhou, west of Hebei, as the left wing; Guo Shao's troops and Gao Huaide's troops were in Qizhou and Beizhou as the middle route; Chai Rong led the army to Cangzhou from the waterway as the right route.
The elite Zhou army was almost fully mobilized and divided into three routes to start the Northern Expedition, with Chai Rong personally leading the main force of the imperial army as the main attack direction.
Emperor Chai Rong had elite soldiers under his command. Most of the 10,000 elite cavalrymen in front of the palace were cavalrymen, and most of the 30,000 Iron Cavalrymen were elite cavalrymen. The left and right wings of the Control Crane Army were mostly cavalrymen and archers. This group of troops was the best soldiers collected from all over the country, and consumed half of the court's fiscal revenue.
Tens of thousands of cavalrymen plus troops from various military garrisons advanced by land and sea. They had just arrived in Cangzhou and had not yet started fighting when Wang Hong, the governor of Ningzhou of the Liao Kingdom, suddenly took the initiative to surrender the city.
Chai Rong sent people to commend and appease Wang Hong, allowing him to continue to serve as the governor; then he led his army northward along the waterway and attacked Yijin Pass.
At the same time, the emperor ordered troops from all directions to start the attack: in the west, the left wing of the Longjie Army and the troops of Dingzhou Jiedushi Sun Xingyou attacked Yizhou; in the middle, Guo Shao's troops went directly to Waqiaoguan (now Baoding City), and Gao Huaide's troops then went north to monitor Ying and Mo states.
Within a month, the offensive was going smoothly on all fronts, with good news pouring in from all directions.
Yijin Pass, Waqiao Pass, Yingzhou, and Mozhou surrendered one after another. The garrisons were all Han Chinese. When they heard that the Central Plains army was coming, they surrendered their passes as if they had discussed it beforehand. Only Yizhou fought a battle. Hundreds of Khitan cavalry were defeated by Han Lingkun's generals, and the Yizhou garrison surrendered immediately.
Han people from all over the country lined the streets to welcome them. The Zhou army suddenly became the liberators of the soldiers and civilians in all places, and successfully took over three passes, four states, and seventeen counties. People's eyes were filled with tears, and people on the roadside shouted things like "We have waited for twenty years, and finally we have the king's army", which made the soldiers feel more welcome than in their own territory.
When Guo Shao's troops reached the north of Waqiao Pass, they encountered a group of Han people who had taken advantage of the chaos to rob more than a hundred Liao horses and surrendered. They immediately accepted them as their own troops and distributed the captured horses to them. Zuo You wrote a public notice to pacify the people, publicizing everywhere that the royal army had conquered the north without harming anyone and that brothers of the same clan were treated equally.
At that time, Chai Rong quickly reorganized the places he had taken control of and ordered Han Tong to gather young men to consolidate Waqiao Pass and Yijin Pass, and renamed them Xiongzhou and Bazhou respectively.
In mid-April, Zhang Yongde and Zhao Kuangyin crossed the Juma River and fought a cavalry battle in Zhuozhou, defeating Xiao Siwen, the general of the Liao army in the southern court, and captured Zhuozhou. Then the imperial army divided and joined forces and arrived at the banks of the Juma River one after another; the emperor did not order the troops to cross the river, but only summoned the generals from all the routes to the palace in Zhuozhou to discuss the capture of Youzhou.
The emperor led his guards and part of the Control Crane Army to the Zhuozhou Palace.
Suddenly, Li Yun sent an envoy to report that the spies in Jinyang had found out the military secrets. The Khitan leader had hurriedly ordered the Northern Han to send troops to assist. This news brought the atmosphere of victory to an abrupt end. Since the Northern Han was assisting, the Khitan leader might send troops.
Sure enough, within two days, spies discovered the movements of a large number of Liao cavalry behind Yanshan.
Upon hearing the news, Zhang Yongde and Zhao Kuangyin went to the palace to meet the emperor. They saw Chai Rong sitting on the high chair, deep in thought. The two of them bowed and spoke in low voices.
Chai Rong took the hand that was stroking his chin away and said without raising his head: I just learned that you wanted to see me, so just say whatever you want to say.
Zhao Kuangyin didn't speak first, and Zhang Yongde said: Your Majesty, the enemy cavalry are now gathered in the north of Youzhou, so it is not advisable to advance deep into their territory.
Chai Rong's face suddenly became displeased.
Zhao Kuangyin looked up and said, "I think that the key to attacking Youyun is not to capture cities, but to defeat the Khitan reinforcements coming from Liao. If we can defeat the Khitan reinforcements in one battle, we can besiege Youzhou and recover Youyun. If we are defeated by the enemy cavalry, even if we capture Youzhou, it will be an isolated city with no support around it. The reinforcements' food supply is all under the threat of the enemy cavalry, and Youzhou will be of little use."
The army was eager to besiege the important city and gather troops under the city. If they failed to break the city and lost outside the city, they would be attacked from both inside and outside and be annihilated. Therefore, Zhang Du's intention was not to hesitate, but to carefully deploy and plan the way to advance and retreat.
Zhao Kuangyin's words were more pleasant to hear, and Chai Rong nodded slightly.
Zhao Kuangyin continued: The Khitan leader is cruel and ruthless, the Liao Dynasty’s government is in turmoil, and even if reinforcements arrive, they may not be a match for our elite Zhou army.
Chai Rong said: Go on.
Zhao Kuangyin bowed and said: "If it is my opinion, we should set up defenses before attacking, and deploy in a deep and long formation. From Yizhou, Zhuozhou to Youzhou, we should set up multiple camps and defenses, with the infantry in the back and the cavalry in the front. The cavalry will move to the north of Youzhou City and wait for the Liao reinforcements to arrive. When they are tired from the long journey, we can use the cavalry to fight. If it is not favorable, the enemy cavalry will be helpless against me."
Chai Rong did not comment. When he saw a eunuch coming in, he asked: "Has the imperial guard Sima Bu Du Yu Hou Guo Shao arrived?"
The eunuch said: They are here, but the generals have not yet arrived. Would you like to summon General Guo first
Chai Rong thought for a while and said: I will go to change my clothes. You two will go to the palace with the generals to discuss matters later.
Zhang Yongde and Zhao Kuangyin bowed together and left.
As they were leaving the palace, Zhang Yongde said, "Brother Zhao, you discussed this with me for so long before. I gave you advice before you went in to see the emperor. Why didn't you help persuade the emperor?"
Zhao Kuangyin said: Your Majesty is determined to take Youzhou, and I just found that I couldn't persuade him.
Zhang Yongde had no choice but to say: "Then we can only fight a battle and see what happens, brother Zhao.
We didn't expect the Khitan leader to send reinforcements so quickly. He was a sleeping emperor, and his throne was not stable. Youzhou was not originally a part of Liao. We expected the Khitan leader to simply give up Youyun. Even if he wanted to send troops, it would be difficult. We didn't know when to go. Zhao Kuangyin said, but now there is movement after more than a month, which shows that it is not the Khitan leader's intention, but the Liao ministers who begged him together; otherwise, the Khitan leader could not convince the ministers in a short time, nor was he willing to go his own way against all odds. If the Liao tribes all want to protect Youzhou, there is no disagreement. The Liao cavalry is strong, and it is difficult for us to win.
Zhang Yongde said: "We haven't fought yet. I've never seen you fight so hard before."
Zhao Kuangyin said: You remember that during the Battle of Jinyang, the Liao Kingdom sent several thousand cavalry to Xinkou for reinforcement. Prince Wei Fu Yanqing led 20,000 men but almost lost his vanguard Shi Yanchao and was badly defeated.
At that time, Fu Yanqing had few elite soldiers under his command, and only the cavalry of Xiang Xun and Shi Yanchao were still capable of fighting.
Zhao Kuangyin said: "Even so, Shi Yanchao and Xiang Xun have thousands of cavalry together. Anyway, I think we should not be impatient in fighting against Liao, and we should not underestimate the enemy."
That afternoon, the ministers of the Privy Council and generals from various regions met at the Zhuozhou Palace to discuss matters.
Wei Renpu was the governor of Tokyo at this time, and Wang Pu presided over the meeting. It was still a rough map, and Wang Pu first went to the upper position to check the military situation. Guo Shao, as a senior military officer, was also in the queue, and he listened silently. This time, the scene of the meeting made him a little disappointed. Wang Pu's talent should be higher than Wei Renpu, but because of his age, he lacked the kind of confident and calm iron-blooded demeanor in his gestures. Guo Shao couldn't help but think of the scene in the Yangzhou Palace during the Huainan Campaign, and made a comparison.
When the generals heard that the Liao army had arrived behind Yanshan, they had conflicting opinions and argued until late in the evening. Guo Shao did not join in the argument, but listened attentively to what his superiors wanted to do and what he should do.
Later, Chai Rong finally made some arrangements against all odds. The Iron Cavalry and Control Crane Army cavalry would move to the north of Youzhou City to wait for an opportunity, while the Longjie Army's left wing and various squads would be stationed under the city to monitor the movements of Youzhou City.
The left wing infantry of the Hu Jie Army crossed the Juma River and stationed in Zhuozhou, with the military power being taken over by Qi Tingxun, the commander-in-chief of the left wing; Gao Huaide's troops of the right wing of the Hu Jie Army were stationed south of the Juma River; and Han Tong's troops were stationed in Xiong and Ba states.
As expected, Guo Shao was specifically named by the emperor to attack Youzhou City. However, the emperor did not seem to want to attack the city with all his strength, because the siege troops assigned to Guo Shao were not the elite left wing of the Hujie Army in Zhuozhou, but the cavalry of Guo Shao's own army under Sun Xingyou of the Dingzhou Army, as well as tens of thousands of garrison troops from various towns in Hebei.
Guo Shao discovered that there were only two types of troops under the city of Youzhou: cavalry and miscellaneous soldiers. This gave him the illusion that they were ready to run away at any time and abandon the cannon fodder to die.
The main force of his siege troops were composed of local military governors' troops. How could they besiege a heavy city? He felt that his siege was just a feint to exert pressure on the city; the main force of the Zhou Dynasty seemed to be focused on the Liao reinforcements which were far from appearing.
But the emperor did not explicitly tell him to only support the imperial decree to attack the city. So Guo Shao immediately thought of the large amount of gunpowder in Qizhou.
When he was in Huainan, the emperor personally gave him the nickname Guo Pocheng. In fact, Guo Shao was not proficient in siege at all. The only skill he was proficient in was using gunpowder to explode. There was no other way this time, he was ready to use the same trick again at any time.