In the first month of 979, Zhao Guangyi sent generals such as Pan Mei north with an army to besiege Taiyuan, the capital of Northern Han. In the second month, Zhao Guangyi personally led a campaign. The Song army routed the Liao relief forces, and Northern Han was destroyed. Thus, nearly ninety years of war and division among regional warlords, dating back to the Huang Chao Rebellion at the end of the Tang dynasty, finally came to an end, and the country was once again unified in name.
That May, ignoring his ministers’ advice, Zhao Guangyi rode the momentum of his victory over Northern Han and launched a northern campaign from Taiyuan. At first, the campaign went smoothly, and the Song army recaptured Yizhou and Zhuozhou in Hebei. Zhao Guangyi ordered a siege of Yanjing, and Song and Liao forces fought a fierce battle on the banks of the Gaoliang River. Zhao Guangyi was on the battlefield himself when he was struck by an arrow. Long Yufeng was gravely wounded while helping him escape and was ultimately captured by the Liao army. And so the story begins…
