Yang Guangyuan
In spring 944, Emperor Taizong made a major incursion into Later Jin territory, using Zhao Yanshou and Zhao Yanzhao (趙延照) as his forward commanders. The Liao forces first captured Bei Prefecture (貝州, in modern Xingtai, Hebei), and then grouped near Yedu (鄴都, capital of the former Tianxiong Circuit). Shi Chonggui tried to respond diplomatically, but his emissaries could not get through the Liao army and reach Emperor Taizong to deliver his letters. He also sent a number of generals to respond, with Jing Yanguang in effective command of the overall operations, but also himself went to the frontline. The second Liao thrust, led by Yelü Andu toward Hedong, however, was repelled by Hedong's military governor Liu Zhiyuan. Later Jin's prefect of Bo Prefecture (博州, in modern Liaocheng, Shandong), Zhou Ru (周儒), who was in secret communications with Yang Guangyuan, surrendered Bo to Liao forces, and encouraged them to cross the Yellow River at Majiakou (馬家口, in modern Liaocheng), to join forces with Yang. Jing was convinced by Yan Kan (顏衎) the acting military governor of Tianping that if Liao forces were able to cross the river, disaster would ensue, so the Later Jin imperial forces concentrated on battling Liao forces at Majiakou to prevent them from successfully crossing, and were able to do so. In anger, Liao forces slaughtered Han civilians that they had captured, which led to fiercer resistance from the populace. Later in spring 944, the armies commanded by the two emperors confronted each other near Yedu, but did not engage each other. Eventually, the Liao forces withdrew, pillaging as it went along over Later Jin's territory north of the Yellow River. Yang led his own troops west from Pinglu's capital Qing Prefecture (青州), and tried to meet the Liao forces at the Yellow River, but by the time he reached there, Liao forces had already left. Shi then sent the imperial guard general Li Shouzhen to attack Yang, and in winter 944, Yang's son Yang Chengxun (楊承勳) put his father under house arrest and surrendered. (Yang Guangyuan was later secretly killed on Shi's orders.)