Battle of Qigou Pass

In 986, in the battle of Qigou Pass, General Cao Bin fled overnight, and 65,438+10,000 Song Jun was defeated. Yelvxiuge sent the Qidan cavalry to pursue, and Song Jun was in a state of chaos. If Li Jixuan hadn't fought bloody battles and blocked the front of the Khitan, Song Jun might have been wiped out. Yongxi's Northern Expedition failed, and 200,000 troops not only failed to recover lost ground, but also lost many elite soldiers. The East Route Army marched alone, and Cao Bin was not the commander-in-chief, which was the key to the fiasco of the Northern Expedition.

In 979, at the Battle of Gaolianghe in Zhao Guangyi, Song Taizong was defeated by the famous Yelvxiuge, and fled in a donkey cart and fell into a state of panic. However, the "Sixteen States" were not given up, and the struggle between Song and Liao continued. In 986, Emperor Shengzong of Liao succeeded to the throne, Xiao Taihou listened to politics, and Han Derang was the regent. Song Taizong thought that the emperor of Liao Dynasty was still young and the domestic situation was unstable, which was a good opportunity to send troops to the Northern Expedition and recover lost territory.

The Northern Expedition in the Song Dynasty involved a total of 200,000 military forces. Cao Bin led the East Route Army with 6.5438+10,000 troops as the main force, with the purpose of containing Yelvxiuge and covering Pan Mei in the West Road and Tian in the Middle Road. Pan Mei and Tian Zhong attacked Shanxi, and then attacked Youzhou with the East Route Army. Three-way northern expedition, all the famous soldiers were dispatched, and the lineup was very luxurious. Cao Bin's East Route Army had many experts, followed by Mi Xin, Li Jilong and Li Jixuan, but suffered heavy losses.

Before he left, Song Taizong told Cao Bin: "Be careful and slow down, don't make enemies for small profits", and told him to move forward slowly, step by step, but Cao Bin failed. 0.2 million/200 thousand troops went out, and the middle road and the west road went smoothly. Pan Mei, head coach of the marked army, was brave and resourceful, and successively captured Yingzhou, Yunzhou, Atlas and Shuozhou, but Yelv Xie Zhen dared not attack easily.

Cao Bin went well at first, and Song Jun captured Gu 'an, Xincheng and Zhuozhou, and was invincible. At this point, Yelvxiuge's men had only thirty thousand military forces, and he dared not fight Song Jun, so he had to wait for reinforcements from Xiao Taihou. Yelvxiuge is a famous soldier. He knew he couldn't fight Song Jun, but he found a way to defeat the enemy. Song Jun's supply line is too long and lacks cavalry cover, so it is easy to be cut off.

When he left Zhuozhou, Yelvxiuge burned the grain and materials in the city, leaving Cao Bin an empty city. After Yelvxiuge cut off the route for providing foodstuff, Song Jun was hungry with more than ten days' food on his back. Cao Bin had no choice but to lead the troops to retreat from Zhuozhou to raise food. When the East Road retreated, Song Taizong hurriedly sent an envoy to stop it: "How can we retreat and wait for food and grass when the enemy is present?" So that Cao Bin can stop retreating, lest the troops on the West Road and the Middle Road be isolated.

Cao Bin stopped retreating and waited to see how the situation changed. The Middle Route Army and the West Route Army are progressing smoothly, and the elite troops of the East Road are gathered, but they failed to make contributions. The soldiers had a big opinion and asked to attack Yelvxiuge in the north. Soldiers don't agree, some people simply act alone, Cao Bin also can't stop, decided to continue north. Song Jun only brought food for five days, so he killed Zhuozhou and took a strategic adventure.

YeLvXiuGe or avoid decisive battle, constantly sent cavalry harassment. Song Jun can only form a phalanx and move slowly. In the hot summer, Song Jun wore armor and walked for four days before arriving in Zhuozhou, exhausted. Song Jun killed again, Yelvxiuge gave up Zhuozhou, while Xiao Taihou and Han Derang led the troops stationed in the suburbs, looking for a good opportunity to break the enemy.

At this time, it was raining heavily, Song Jun was short of food, and the main force of Liao army had arrived. Cao Bin lost the courage to fight, so he ordered to retreat again. Yelvxiuge led the elite cavalry to pursue, and Song Jun was exhausted and unable to fight back, so he had to escape. Yelvxiuge caught up with Song Jun at Qigou Pass, but Cao Bin was helpless, so he had to be escorted by chariots and hold on to the camp. The Liao army attacked like an avalanche and fought back desperately, causing heavy casualties.

At the same time, the Liao army attacked, Yelvxiuge sent cavalry south, cut off the grain transportation line in Song Jun, and learned that the route for providing foodstuff was broken, so he was unwilling to fight. Cao Bin left his soldiers behind and fled overnight. Cao Bin fled first, and Song Jun was leaderless, and they broke up one after another, becoming lambs to be slaughtered by the Liao army. The Khitan cavalry rushed over, and Song Jun was in chaos, desperately running south.

Yelvxiuge continued to chase, catching up with Song Jun who was cooking by the river. Knowing that the Khitan cavalry was killed, Cao Bin didn't have the courage to fight again, and Song Jun fled when he heard the news. Many people fell into the river and drowned, and the scene was very chaotic. At this point, Li Jixuan led the troops to reinforce, and Yelvxiuge fought fiercely. Li Jixuan fought hard, was shot several times, and still fought to the death, so Cao Bin was able to escape.

In the battle of Qigou Pass, 654.38+ 10,000 Song Jun suffered a crushing defeat, and the plan of three-way encirclement of Youzhou went bankrupt, declaring Yongxi's Northern Expedition a failure. The route army and the marked army had no cover and had to retreat. Veteran Yang Ye was wounded and captured, and died of hunger strike. Song Jun failed in battle and performed poorly, and Cao Bin was mainly responsible. Cao Bin is not the commander in chief. He has no way to control his subordinates and lacks bold courage. Song Jun's failure is inevitable.

Cao Bin was appreciated by Zhao Kuangyin, not because of his strong ability, but because he didn't kill indiscriminately, which could calm people's hearts. In 975, Zhao Kuangyin sent troops to conquer the Southern Tang Dynasty and took Cao Bin as the commander-in-chief. When attacking Jinling, Cao Bin persuaded his men by pretending to be ill. This is a typical Confucian general. He lacks the general's domineering spirit and can't be angry and powerful, which makes the soldiers awe.

In the battle of Qigou Pass, Cao Bin went forward alone and retreated without food. When his men went north to kill the enemy and quarreled endlessly, he couldn't control the situation and was led by the nose. Yelvxiuge catch up, Cao Bin didn't think about how to save the main force, but took the lead to escape, leading to a big rout. Throughout the battle of Qigou Pass, Cao Bin's performance was so poor that he could hardly find any bright spot.

Interestingly, Ouyang Xiu also said that Cao Bin was the chief star in the early Song Dynasty. "Cao Wuhui, the king of a country, has made outstanding contributions."

Zheng thinks that Cao Bin is a general, as well as Han Xin, Li Jing and Xu Da. Objectively speaking, Cao Bin's ability is average, not a general, not a handsome talent, but a good soldier at best.

Bibliography: History of Song Dynasty