People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 430 A night in Xiliang
The next day, Di Qing arrived in Lingzhou.

At this time, the Song army occupied many cities on the Song-Xia border with almost no hindrance.

Most of Xixia's territory is desert, with very few habitable places.

Among them, the Ningxia Plain accounts for the vast majority of the population, followed by the cities on the Song-Xia border, such as Yulin, Jingbian, Dingbian, Zhongwei and other places in later generations, and finally along the Qilian Mountains, Wuwei and Zhangye.

Now the Song army has occupied the border cities and the Qilian Mountains, and also controls half of the Ningxia Plain, leaving only the north of Xingqing Prefecture and Sha, Gua and other states.

This means that about three-fifths of Xixia's population and important cities were occupied by the Song army.

Lingzhou City.

Li Jiqian's place of Longxing.

Because he was dissatisfied with his cousin Li Jipeng's decision to join the Song Dynasty, he chose to stand on his own. He first attacked Yinzhou, then Lingzhou, and renamed Lingzhou Xiping Prefecture.

But decades later, the army of the Song Dynasty once again occupied this place, allowing the northwest lost during the Zhao Guangyi period to return to the embrace of the Song Dynasty.

Di Qing glanced around. Except for some hills and mountains in the east, the rest of Lingzhou was flat. It was close to the coast of the Yellow River, with thousands of miles of fertile fields and countless fertile fields. There were villages scattered throughout the area, and many Han people could be vaguely seen.

There have always been Han people in the northwest. Since the Han Dynasty, Hu and Han people have lived here together. By the Tang Dynasty, Qiang, Hu and Han people were everywhere. The Hu people plowed the fields, and the Han people raised horses. There has long been no distinction between you and me.

As the saying goes, "The Yellow River has many evils, but only one thing is rich."

As a part of the Hetao area, the Ningxia Plain has been cultivated by a large number of Han people since the Qin and Han Dynasties. The farming civilization and the nomadic civilization are perfectly integrated.

"What a fertile land."

Di Qing sighed.

The mighty Song army appeared on the vast land south of Lingzhou City, attracting the attention of countless Hu and Han people.

Later, under the command of the Song Army, the Yeli tribe began to withdraw from the city and stationed in the wild.

In the heyday of Xixia, there were more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, but now, whether it is the Yeli tribe or the Weiming tribe, their military strength is so weak that there are only ten thousand people left, and they no longer have the ability to fight against the Song army.

The total number of troops dispatched by the four-pronged Song Army this time was about 80,000.

After the reform of the military system, the Song Dynasty had only more than 600,000 troops, of which about 200,000 were distributed across the country as local forbidden troops.

They were used to maintain public order and suppress ethnic minorities who disobeyed the king, especially in the southwest. Among them, the largest number of troops were stationed in Yuechao, Qiongzhou, Guangnan West Road, Guangnan East Road, Bashu and other places.

Then about 200,000 troops were stationed in Bianliang, Tokyo, which was the Kaifeng Military Region. They were mainly used for the defense of the capital and to prevent the rise of local military leaders or uprising forces.

However, the number of troops deployed on the Song-Liao border and Song-Xia border has become less and less in recent years. This is not only due to the Song Dynasty's national policy of strengthening its branches and strengthening its branches, but also because the enemy has become increasingly declining.

Since the end of the Song-Xia and Song-Liao wars in the sixth year of Qingli, Liao-Xia has been on the verge of collapse. Therefore, the total number of troops in the northwest dropped from more than 100,000 to about 80,000, and the number in Hebei dropped from more than 200,000 to about 120,000.

Including the navy, the total number of soldiers and horses in the Song Dynasty was about 660,000.

The tens of thousands of border troops in the northwest are enough to complete the task of destroying Xixia, not to mention that Ge Huaimin also brought 20,000 capital forbidden troops.

"Commander Di, these are the soldiers of the Rebel Army we captured."

In Lingzhou City, after the Song Army settled in, Di Qing moved into the Lingzhou City Government Office, which was also the residence of Li Jiqian.

Yeli Wuwei entered the hall with more than 20 Han prisoners.

Di Qing glanced over and saw that these people were in ragged clothes and had disheveled faces. They were obviously locked up in cells, and their faces were slightly different from those of the Han people in the Central Plains.

But this is not surprising.

Guiyijun is a Jiedushi vassal town that existed in the late Tang Dynasty. It has been two hundred years since the first generation and has been replaced by thirteen generations.

Even if the original Han soldiers migrated from the mainland, they could marry wives and have children locally and reproduce. They would inevitably marry Hu women and give birth to offspring, thus changing the Han bloodline.

Coupled with the influence of the local climate and environment, it is normal for the appearance of the Han people in Shazhou, Guazhou and the Han people in the Central Plains to change over the past two hundred years.

Di Qing saw that they were all tied up and frowned, "Why don't you untie them?"

"Untie!"

Song troops on both sides immediately stepped forward to help them untie them.

Di Qing looked at everyone.

Everyone looked at him up and down.

Shazhou and Guazhou have been away from the Central Plains sequence for too long, and they are also very curious about the Han people in the Central Plains.

"Do you know Chinese?"

Di Qing asked.

He didn't say anything like welcome home.

Because these people only have Chinese bloodlines and names.

Thoughts and behaviors may no longer be different from those of natives.

Therefore, they had no sense of belonging to the Song Dynasty.

Saying such words will not make the other person moved, but will only make the other person feel strange.

"meeting!"

The leader said.

"Ah."

Di Qing nodded: "Do you know anything about the Western Regions?"

"learn."

The man was about forty, with rough skin. He said seriously: "We have traveled to the Western Regions many times."

"We, the Song Dynasty, are now powerful and want to regain the northwest, including the Western Regions. You are also Han people. Are you willing to join the Song army?"

Di Qing asked.

Is the Song Dynasty going to regain the Western Regions?
All the rebel soldiers looked shocked.

They were led by Cao Xianshun to submit to Xixia and were placed in the Xixia army. Naturally, they knew nothing about the current Song Dynasty.

Even someone as strong as Li Yuanhao was defeated many times by the Song Dynasty. Now that the Song Dynasty is marching into the northwest, it seems to have the intention of destroying Xixia.

But the Western Regions are not Xixia.

The journey from Yan'an Prefecture in the Song Dynasty to Xingqing Prefecture, the capital of Xixia, may only be a short seven or eight hundred miles, which is a position that can barely be supplied by logistics.

But if you want to go from Guanzhong in the Song Dynasty to the Western Regions, it will be more than two thousand miles just to go to Jiayuguan.

The straight-line distance to Gaochang, where the Xizhou Uighurs are located in the east of the Western Region, is close to five thousand miles, and the actual distance is more than eight thousand miles. The Kingdom of Black Khan to the west of the Western Region is even more than ten thousand miles away.

Where did the Song Dynasty have the confidence to regain the Western Regions when the journey was so far away?
I'm afraid the lack of food and grass along the way will drag them to death.

However, the leader did not refuse. Instead, he remained silent for a moment and said, "I am willing."

"Oh?"

Di Qing noticed that he didn't mean that I am willing, but that we are willing.

This means that his identity can represent everyone here.

Then he asked out of curiosity: "What's your name?"

The man said: "The villain Cao Xianhui."

"Who are you, Cao Xianshun?"

"It's my brother."

"Where is your brother?"

Di Qing asked.

"Before, the Yeli tribe attacked Xingqing Mansion, and my brother was killed because of the loss. The tribe was also dispersed. Some people fled north with Wei Ming Yuanhao, and now they are missing."

Cao Xianhui said.

"Condolences."

Di Qing said in a deep voice: "From now on, you will lead the Guiyi army first. I will report to the court, and the court will arrange for you."

"Thank you, Marshal!"

Cao Xianhui said with his hands raised.

"Someone is coming."

"Master!"

"Take them to have a rest, take a bath, get a set of my Song Army uniform, and then take them to have a good meal."

"Yes."

"Thank you, Marshal!"

Everyone in the Guiyi Army was overjoyed and thanked him profusely.

Although I have no sense of belonging to the Song Dynasty, I am full of joy at this time.

After they surrendered to Li Yuanhao, they were ostracized and despised by the Dangxiang people because of their small number and low status.

Now that I have regained my Han identity, I am treated with courtesy in front of the Han people, at least much better than among the Dangxiang people.

Everyone in the Guiyi Army was then arranged to wash up, eat, and rest.

And when the Song Army entered Lingzhou, Brother Weining Ling was also very anxious and kept sending people to send letters to the Song Army, hoping to negotiate peace with the Song Army.

It’s different from the Yeli tribe. The Yeli tribe and the Weiming tribe have a deadly feud, so it is obviously impossible for the Weiming tribe to dominate anymore.

Brother Li Lingning wanted to use the power of the Yeli tribe to regain the throne of Xixia King.

But he couldn't make the decision. Even if the Song army didn't come and the Yeli tribe won in the end, he would most likely become the Yeli tribe's puppet.

The Weiming tribe has become the dominant force in the northwest since the time of Li Jiqian. Although Li Yuanhao died, Weining Lingge, as Li Yuanhao's cousin, was also the grandson of Li Jiqian and the son of Li Deming's brother Li Dezhao.

Therefore, Brother Wei Ningling also has the right to inherit.

Historically, when Li Yuanhao died, his two younger brothers, Li Chengyu and Li Chengwei, had already died young.

Several of his sons were either killed by him, or went crazy while practicing Qigong and died, or died young, leaving only the youngest son Li Liangzuo, who was only one year old.

In order to avoid the suspicion of the young master, Li Yuanhao issued a will to let Weining Lingge succeed to the throne of Xixia, but was blocked by Bu Zangyingpang. It can be seen that Weining Lingge is basically the only heir besides Li Liangzuo.

Now that Li Yuanhao is gone, Wei Ningling certainly doesn't want the Song Dynasty to come to pick peaches and annex Xixia, so it is absolutely impossible to surrender.

But he couldn't beat him again and again.

He could only try to contact the Song army, hoping that the Song army would agree to their peace negotiation. Even if the conditions were very harsh, even if they gave up a large number of cities on the border, it would still be better than the destruction of Xixia.

It is a pity that he obviously underestimated the determination of the Song army to destroy Xixia and regain the entire northwest region.

Even not only the northwest region, but also part of the Liao Kingdom's territory, such as the East-West Hetao along the Yinshan Mountains, which will later be Bayannur, Baotou and other places, must be taken back.

Therefore, Di Qing only gave him two choices - surrender or perish.

Seeing the tough attitude of the Song army, Weining Lingge later expressed that he could accept surrender and surrender, but hoped to retain their power and serve as the governor of Xingzhou in the Song Dynasty.

This is undoubtedly an attempt to imitate Li Jiqian.

The superficial surrender was actually a secret development of strength, and when the troops were strong or the Song Dynasty declined, they would raise troops to separate one side.

But it was a pity that Di Qing replied to him, saying that he could not make a promise to Weining Lingge and needed to wait for the court's decree.

Weining Lingge said that he would wait for the decree of the Song Dynasty court to decide whether to surrender.

Obviously he wanted to have the same idea as Yeli Wuwei.

That is to say, see if the benefits provided by the court are enough before making a choice. Instead of surrendering first and letting the court make arrangements.

This is a question of who has the initiative.

However, after Di Qing read Weining Lingge's letter, he sneered, and then replied with only one content - surrender within three days. As for the court's subsequent arrangements, it was the court's business. He would just fight the war.

Di Qing didn't care whether the imperial court would give them the best treatment. He only knew that the imperial court wanted the entire northwest, and it didn't matter whether they surrendered or not.

If Wei Ning Lingge doesn't reply within three days, then he will lead the army there in person.

Weining Lingge obviously does not have the courage of Yeli Wuwei.

Seeing Song Jun's attitude, there seemed to be silence. The three-day deadline passed quickly, and in the end no answer was given as to whether he was willing to surrender.

October 19th was the seventh day after the Song Army arrived in Lingzhou. The first four days were for the Song Army to rest a little and communicate with Wei Ningling, and the last three days were for Wei Ningling to consider. time.

But it's a pity that Wei Ningling obviously made the wrong choice.

In the early morning of the 19th, the Song Army's troops began to gather. Outside Lingzhou City, a surging tide of Song Army cavalry formed. They did not wear armor and carried long spears on their backs.

Some used camels and horses to carry heavily loaded vehicles. Some of the vehicles were filled with grain and grass, and some were made of heavy steel barrels. Although it is not a large cannon of two thousand kilograms, it is a small steel cannon of one or two hundred kilograms, with a powerful sound.

Di Qing was riding on horseback. He only wore the red military uniform of the Song Army, with a layer of cotton-padded clothes underneath, a hat on his head, and a fluttering cape behind him. He looked like an ordinary middle-aged soldier of the Song Army.

If there were not soldiers around him holding up the "Di" flag, the national flag of the Song Dynasty, the military flag of the Song Army, etc., no one would know that he was the supreme commander of the Song Army.

"Report, Commander, our troops have been assembled!"

"Report, our troops have also been assembled."

"Report, our army."

Gao Jixuan, Ge Huaimin, Zhao Zhen, Ren Fu and other top generals came over one after another to report to Di Qing.

On the surface, the Song Army is a four-pronged army, but in fact it is two-pronged.

The west route marched along the Qilian Mountains and went straight to Wuwei and Zhangye. The east route troops were divided into three groups and attacked many states and cities on the border of Xixia, and finally completed the rendezvous in Lingzhou.

At this time, in addition to the 20,000 people led by Lu Jingchu on the West Road and the 10,000 people in the rear responsible for escorting grain and grass and guarding the border cities, the remaining 50,000 troops under Di Qing's command have also been assembled in recent days.

Di Qing was on the hilltop to the east of the city and glanced over. The densely packed Song army troops below were arranged in ten large square formations and hundreds of small square formations. They were endless, as if there was no end in sight.

"set off!"

He waved his hand, and the messengers beside him immediately blew the horn.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!~"

The desolate horn sound resounded across the sky.

Then the Song army galloped towards the north according to the deployment made yesterday, with Ren Fu as the vanguard.

Gao Jixuan's troops also followed closely, but not to the north, but to the northwest.

Then came Ge Huaimin and Zhao Zhen, who also deviated slightly from their direction.

The Song army obviously did not want to concentrate its efforts on conquering Jingzhou, the closest city between the two sides, but wanted to capture Xixia in one fell swoop.

Capture all the cities in Jingzhou, Xingzhou, Huaizhou, and Dingzhou near Xingqing Mansion currently controlled by Weining Lingge.

By noon, the Song army had crossed the Yellow River.

Ren Fu's army arrived at Jingzhou City.

This is Yongning County, Ningxia in later generations, only 20 kilometers away from Lingwu City, where Lingzhou is located, across the river.

When the main force of 15,000 men led by Di Qing arrived, Ren Fu's 8,000 men were already arrayed outside the city and were assembling artillery.

"Commander, why don't we just bypass Jingzhou and conquer one city at a time?"

Cao Xianhui has been following Di Qing in recent days.

Because Di Qing needed to learn about the situation in the Western Regions from him, he had to be there at all times to facilitate Di Qing's inquiries.

After hearing Cao Xianhui's words, Di Qing smiled and said nothing.

The main force of the Song Army bypassed Jingzhou and arrived at Xingzhou City, Xingqing Prefecture, 20 kilometers away.

As the capital of Xixia, and also the capital of Ningxia Province in later generations, Yinchuan City, Xingqing Prefecture has a vast city with high walls and thick walls, and there are artillery defenses on top.

However, at this time, there was a huge generation gap between the Xixia people's original artillery and the Song army's artillery. The two sides were not at the same level.

The Song army arrived outside the city in the afternoon, formed a formation outside the Xixia artillery range, and assembled cannons.

In less than a quarter of an hour, hundreds of steel cannons were already lined up outside the south gate of Xingqing Mansion.

"Didn't you ask why you want to bypass Jingzhou?"

Di Qing suddenly said to Cao Xianhui.

Cao Xianhui said: "By bypassing the enemy's city, although you can make a surprise attack, if you fail to defeat the enemy, it will easily become impossible to take care of both the head and tail, which is a taboo for military strategists."

"You read the military book well."

Di Qing smiled and then said: "But sometimes, when the power is strong enough, the military book is actually meaningless."

"You keep an eye on it."

As he spoke, he looked in the direction of Xingqing Mansion and said softly: "I will tell you now why we bypass the enemy's city and directly attack their center."

"because."

"These places have never been an obstacle. I, Da Song, will crush them all at once!"

Di Qing's eyes flashed fiercely.

Swing your right hand down.

"Boom!"

A moment later, flames burst from the cannon.

Countless cannonballs drew a gorgeous arc in the air and fell into Xingqing Mansion.

In an instant, the defenders in the city suffered heavy casualties, and even the city gates were blown down.

Afterwards, artillery fire covered the area and the firepower was sufficient.

After completing the baptism of countless rounds of artillery shells, the entire South City Gate was in a mess and filled with gunpowder smoke.

Cao Xianhui stared into the distance blankly. This was the first time he knew that the Song Dynasty was so powerful.

"kill!"

Di Qing shouted.

"Kill!"

The Song army raised their spears and launched a fierce attack on Xingqing Mansion.

After the baptism of artillery fire, there was no obstacle on the city wall. A large number of Song troops rushed into the city, and gunshots were heard everywhere.

On this day, the Song army conquered the four prefectures of Jingzhou, Xingzhou, Huaizhou, and Dingzhou. All the last cities controlled by the Weiming tribe were captured. The defenders were killed and could not escape. Even Ning Lingge, the company committee member, died in the chaos. Among the troops.

The remaining soldiers of the Weiming tribe migrated northward with their old, weak, women and children and fled to the Liao Kingdom. Since then, this historical royal tribe of Xixia has disappeared into the dust.

It only took less than half a month for the Song Dynasty troops to recover the entire northwest, and the huge empire of Xixia disappeared.

(End of this chapter)