The Song Dynasty has been deliberate for 16 years, only to know that it is the Water Margin

The night is vast and the stars and moon are pale.

The breeze blew and the blood hit my nose.

Brother Richard was holding on to the horse's back, feeling dizzy in his head. He had already suffered serious internal injuries.

Both physical and mental setbacks, even if he was infinitely close to the realm of a master, he could not withstand such a severe blow.

Tie Yaozi's entire army was wiped out, and Bubazi was almost the same. The 80,000-strong army didn't even make a splash, and didn't even have a normal charge to fight. It was just defeated.

It's like a joke, like a young child's play, riding a wooden horse on the battlefield, using straw, swords and guns, it's absurd and like a dream.

How about strategizing and winning from thousands of miles away?

What do you mean by being invincible like a dragon and swallowing thousands of miles like a tiger?

What does it mean to know yourself and the enemy and fight a hundred battles without danger?

It's all empty talk.

He was breathing heavily and heard a faint sound coming from behind. He was not retreating as fast as during the day. It was dark and night, and he couldn't run that fast. He was fighting and retreating at the same time.

However, it was difficult to resist the attack, and they were perfunctory. In the end, they either dispersed and fled elsewhere, or surrendered directly on the spot. The morale of the army was shattered and the team was in chaos.

Originally, when they arrived at Mingsha City, there were still more than 30,000 troops, but after being ambushed by the Thousand Jin Gate lowered in the city, there were no more than this number.

This way we continue to go north, discarding our helmets and armor, and the infantry behind them are fleeing, dying, and surrendering. I'm afraid it's good to be able to save 20,000.

I don’t know how long it took, but finally a touch of fish belly white appeared on the horizon, and it was about to dawn.

Xiakou Pass is not far away at the moment. This pass is an important town on the way north. It is not so big, but its geographical location is important. It is the choke point for southward entry into the Xixia capital.

Xiakou Pass belongs to the Xiangqing Army. The Xiangqing Army is not a military department, but a military road. It is similar to Luzhou and other places in the Song Dynasty. It is just a strategic fortress, so it is named military.

There are two roads to the north of Xiakou Pass. Five hundred miles due north is Shunzhou, which is the gateway to Xingqing Prefecture.

More than three hundred miles to the northeast is Lingzhou, Xiping Prefecture, the seat of Xiangqing Army.

Lingzhou is very large. It is the second largest city in Xixia after Xingzhou, the capital of Xingqing Prefecture. It is larger than the four towns of Xingping, Shunzhou, Jingzhou, Huaizhou and Dingzhou.

The four towns of Xingping are all the acropolis of Xingzhou, but they are also extremely spacious and majestic cities, which are usually very prosperous and lively.

The four towns are connected in a semi-arc shape from south to east and then to the north, half of Xingzhou is included, forming a pattern of four stars protecting the moon.

Due west of Xingzhou is Helan Mountain, with Helan Mountain in the back and four acropolis in front. This is the geographical situation of the capital of Xixia.

However, the southwest direction of Xingzhou City is the gap in the ancient Great Wall. If you come from the desert, enter the western foot of Helan Mountain, and turn slightly from the south, you will reach Xingzhou.

The desert is in the hinterland of Xixia, which can be regarded as the central area. To the west, there are also important places such as Heishui Town Yanjunsi and Xipingjunsi. Therefore, there are almost no precautions for ordinary thoroughfares in this inner boundary.

Just like Jiangxi, Jiangdong and other places in the Song Dynasty, there is no reason to guard against each other and there are no major barriers between Luzhou.

This is where General Lu's confidence lies in "leaving Xiliang Mansion". He leaves Liangzhou, walks through the desert, passes through the Great Wall, goes around Helan, and reaches the foot of Xingzhou City!

Raid Xingzhou and seize the city directly. As long as we get to Xingzhou City, the big deal is almost certain.

When Brother Richard saw the light at this moment, he hurriedly issued another order, regardless of gains and losses, and rushed towards Xiakou Pass.

Dawn is not a good thing. The darkness of night can give you an opportunity to escape. But once it's light, it's difficult to walk every step of the way.

Therefore, we must hurry up and hurry up. We cannot stop until Xiakou Pass. Only when we get there will we be safe and the situation will be truly stabilized.

Just like this, they ran and fought, and the soldiers and horses fled and dispersed. They died and fell. When the sky broke out, Xiakou Pass was already in sight, but there were not enough 20,000 troops and horses under them.

An army of 80,000 came out for the expedition. The most elite troops, Tieyaozi, Bubazi, Liubanzhi, and Xingqing Imperial Guard, within a day and night, only less than 20,000 people remained.

Brother Richard has a deathly look on his face. His originally blue hair and thick black eyebrows have turned faintly frosty white. The snow needles are twinkling, and the vicissitudes of life are semi-transparent. He looks as if he has aged more than ten years.

The army and horses ran like crazy again and arrived in front of the Xiakou Pass. At this time, it was no better than the moment in Mingsha City. At that moment, it was getting dark, approaching midnight, and it was hard to see clearly.

At this time, you can see the Xixia flag flying at the entrance of the pass, and the soldiers are looking out. Immediately, a general ran over and shouted: "The King of Jin is back, open the door quickly."

The people in the city were stunned. King Jin seemed to have left not long ago. Why did he come back so soon? The general who defended the city put up a pergola to identify them, and found that they were indeed familiar faces, most of them recognized, but why were they so embarrassed? Even Brother Richard didn't look right. His cloak had been thrown away, and his golden armor was dull.

The general did not dare to ask any more questions and hurriedly ordered the suspension bridge to be lowered and the city gate to be opened.

The soldiers outside immediately rushed in with a "hurrah". Surrounded by everyone, Brother Richard entered the city and finally let out a sigh of relief...

Half an hour later, a large army gathered in front of Xiakou Pass, and Zhao Tong also came here. He looked up and saw a majestic pass.

This gorge is an important place where the mouth of the gorge passes. There is a ridge next to it, called Wulong Ridge. It is close to the pass. The ridge is lush and lush, with pines and cypresses, lush forests and bamboos, grassy grass, purple dragons, and majestic peaks. , one after another mountain valley spring water bites in winter.

I saw that at this moment, not only were the banners and flags closed at the entrance of the gorge, and the soldiers' helmets were bright, but also the top of Wulong Ridge was densely packed with spears and spears, and the swords were as bright as frost and snow.

A narrow path leads directly to the ridge, facing each other and guarding each other. It is true that one man is responsible for the pass, and there are countless dangers in places where no one can pass.

Zhao Tong frowned and led the generals to take a closer look along Guanling. They were surrounded by cliffs and natural dangers. The top of the mountain was covered with strange wolf-toothed rocks, and the paths were rare and rugged.

Zhao Tuo glanced at Du Bu next to him and whispered a few words. Du Bu immediately ordered the army to retreat about five miles and set up a temporary camp. Then the central army tents began to discuss matters. Zhang Xian said: "Be it Mingsha in the rear or Huizhou, they are all plains. Even though our army is small in number, it has excellent weapons. The men and horses can gallop and fight. But there are few natural and dangerous passes like this. They are as solid as steel, and one man can fight for them." If you can't open it, what can you do?"

Xu Ning frowned and said, "I don't think we are in a hurry to leave this place for the time being. We should evacuate back. Since we have killed many troops from Tieyaozi and Xixia, we should first stabilize the situation and position our troops on the line of Mingsha before making any plans."

Li Yanxian thought: "We are not familiar with the terrain, so we still need to find people who are familiar with geography. The prince can call and ask to see if there are any opportunities. If not, it would be a good idea to retreat temporarily."

Zhao Tong said, "Who can I ask?"

Li Yanxian said: "The men and horses captured by my subordinates have made meritorious deeds and deceived Mingsha City. They should be trusted. It is better to call them for questioning."

Zhao Tong nodded and said: "Hurry up and call."

Li Yanxian took the order and went out, and soon brought in several people, all of whom were Yeli Mingying's men.

Zhao Tong looked at the few people, who immediately knelt down and kowtowed: "I pay my respects to His Highness the King of Qin."

Zhao Tong said: "Since you and the others have surrendered and made meritorious service, it should be treated as a reward, but there is something I need you to offer me now. I think this gorge pass is dangerous, and there is a dangerous Wulong Ridge next to it. Is there any way to break it easily, or something else?" What path can bypass Wulong Ridge?"

Several people knelt on the ground and looked at each other, and one of them opened his mouth and said: "Your Majesty, this is the only dry road. The Wulong Ridge stretches too far, so we have to take the Xiakou Pass, otherwise the other is the waterway, and there is no other way." .”

Zhao Tong said: "What waterway?"

The Jiangjun said: "Of course we can take the Mingsha River, a tributary of the Yellow River, and go up from the river to pass this pass!"

Zhao Tong shook his head and said: "I have tens of thousands of troops. If we use boats to cross, where do we get so many boats? What's the situation there? But it's flat. Otherwise, if we really hit the ground, wouldn't it be unreasonable to be attacked by troops from Guanli?"

The Jiangjun thought: "Your Majesty, the waterway passes through Qingtong Mountain, which is the Qililong Canyon. The water in the valley is very fast, and it is a place where goose feathers sink to the bottom. If there are really soldiers to block and ambush, there will be mountains standing on both sides of the river, hanging on the cliffs. If the rock is guarded by crossbowmen, then this waterway is absolutely unreachable."

At this time, another surrendered soldier said: "Your Majesty, Xiakou Pass is very tightly guarded during the day. By the time of the third watch, the guards slacked off and unexpectedly climbed up the pass from Wulong Ridge. Maybe they could be lucky enough to seize this pass... …“

Zhao Tong was silent in thought, and after half a day he walked out of the tent, looking at the contact between Wulong Ridge and Xiakou Pass from a distance, and said to himself: "Enter the pass from Wulong Ridge? How can ordinary soldiers do it? "

The generals following him came out, and Du Bo said: "This pass has only two sides, the north and the south. The east and west sides are close to Wulong Ridge, and there is a canyon on the other side. Not far below is the Mingsha River. It is really dangerous."

Xu Ning also said: "I'm afraid that's how Xiakou Pass got its name."

Several surrender troops also followed out at this time, and one person said: "What this general said is absolutely true. Xiakou Pass was indeed named according to the terrain."

Zhao Tong turned around and said: "This pass is uniquely located. It is built along the mountains, cliffs and gorges. It is a wonder. A frontal attack is really difficult. Not to mention, we may lose troops and generals, and suffer heavy losses."

Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Zhao Tong added: "If we cross the river and go north, we will be attacked from two sides. There are no ships to carry people, and we are afraid of an ambush by the other side, which is not advisable."

Everyone was silent.

Zhao Tong sighed: "It sounds feasible to go up to the pass from Wulong Ridge, but it requires agility, and it is best to have some basic martial arts skills. But even if some of the soldiers below are ignorant of their skills, I'm afraid they are not enough, and there are not enough numbers. "

He shook his head. At this moment, Li Yanxian hesitated. He seemed to have something to say, but finally kept his mouth shut.

Zhao Tong saw his reaction, but did not ask. He just ordered: "Leave three thousand soldiers to monitor this pass, and the rest will withdraw to Mingsha City for repairs!"

Afterwards, the army adjusted on the spot, set up camp and withdrew from wherever they came.

Zhao Tong sat on the horse with a complicated look on his face. He could not stop the attack. After all, General Lu from Liangzhou had already rushed to Xingqing Mansion. He had to cooperate here and keep advancing on both lines to put pressure on the Xixia Chaotang army. .

Otherwise, even if General Lu's plan of sending troops out of Xiliang Mansion was accomplished and Xingzhou was captured in a surprise attack, if he could not suppress the situation with large numbers of troops and put great pressure and fear on Xixia, General Lu would be left alone and unable to make any achievements.

Wei Yan's troops came out of Ziwu Valley for a strange plan, which was to send troops on two fronts. Wei Yan led 5,000 troops to raid Chang'an. Zhuge Liang on the other side had to follow the right path and rush there quickly to ensure the success of the plan.

Therefore, Zhao Tong must not stop here. He must march northward and quickly kill Xingzhou. In this way, as long as General Lu captures Xingzhou, the matter is basically settled!

But now, they are blocked at the front line of Xiakou Pass. Xiakou Pass must be taken. They can neither go around nor stop here. By going around, doesn't it mean that the back is given to Brother Richard? If they stop, General Lu's efforts will be wasted, and there may even be danger.

All the way back to Mingsha City, they immediately began to organize the army. At this time, not only all the troops and horses that could be mobilized were gathered here, but also the grain and grass logistics supplies from Huizhou were being transported here in a steady stream.

Zhao Tong was not worried that after the army moved north, the Jingsai Military Division in the east would attack Huizhou Fuchuan and other places.

As long as he can seize the Xiakou Pass, it will open the way to Xingqing Mansion. By then, whether it is the Jingsai Army Division, the Jianing Army Division or the Xiangyou Army Division further east, who will have the care to manage it? No matter who is in Huizhou, I am afraid they will directly chase him to Xiakou Pass to stop him from moving forward. After all, after passing Shunzhou ahead, it is Xingqing Mansion!

At this moment, Mingsha City was very busy inside and outside. Everyone was taking over various military supplies sent from Huizhou, and killing cattle and sheep to reward them based on their merits.

In particular, the equipment left behind by Tie Yaozi was the biggest gain from this victory.

Although Tie Yaozi's war horses can no longer be used, as their legs are all broken, they can eat their meat and dry it to serve as military rations.

The armor of the horses, the armors worn by the cavalry, and the blunt weapons of the spears, especially the Xia Ren Sword, were a huge wealth.

Let’s not talk about how valuable it is. The key is that with these things, you can build a new iron kite, your own iron kite!

Zhao Tong sent someone to check carefully and found that 2,800 complete sets of iron kite equipment, Haozijia Xiaren sword and other equipment picked up from the battlefield could be found. These were not damaged too much, and the remaining More than 200 sets of parts were too damaged and could not be reused.

In other words, he obtained 2,800 sets of equipment for three thousand iron kites, which can form a heavy cavalry of 2,800 men.

Although for the time being, building your own Iron Harrier is somewhat of a one-time thing. After all, if the armor and equipment are damaged, there will be nowhere to replenish them. However, once Xingqing Mansion is captured, these problems will be solved.

Xixia's arms supervisor, weapon making workshop, forging field and other places are all in Xingqing Mansion, which is at the foot of Helan Mountain. Taking Xingqing Mansion will mean you have obtained these things. As long as you have money, let alone three thousand irons. Kites can be formed even with four thousand or five thousand!

With the iron kite heavy armor, I would then improve it a bit and make up for the flaws in the horse's feet, and then the horse would ride to the north of the Great Wall, whipping up its whip, where would it be impossible to go among the white mountains and black waters? There will be no peace!

Zhao Tong returned to the Mingsha City Military Mansion, handed down a few orders, and then rested. He didn't wake up until the evening. After eating something, Bai Zhan came over to report that Li Yanxian had something to see him.

(End of this chapter)