Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 52: Xixia: The Whole Nation Meets the Enemy

Wanyan Jing's meaning was clear: "Both Western Xia and Mongolia are enemies of the Jin Dynasty. If you two countries attack each other, it will be a good thing for our Jin Dynasty. What should I worry about?"

In other words, Wanyan Jing had no intention of getting involved in the mess between Mongolia and Xia!
Li Anquan gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, it seems we can no longer rely on the Jin Kingdom. We can only rely on ourselves. I believe that our country should send 50,000 captured soldiers, 3,000 Iron Harriers, and 200 Poxi soldiers to rescue the city of Olahai and fight the Mongols to the death!"

"That's all it can do."

All the people in Western Xia were soldiers, and the army had over 600,000 soldiers.

Among them, the hostage army of 5,000 people, similar to Genghis Khan's Qiexue Army, was selected from the children of wealthy families who were good at riding and shooting to protect the safety of the Western Xia emperor.

The Iron Harriers consisted of 3,000 brave warriors carefully selected from various armies within the territory. Both the men and the horses were heavily armored, and they were a heavy cavalry as famous as the Iron Pagodas of the Jin Dynasty.

The Royal Guard consists of 25,000 men, considered elite, and is responsible for the security of the capital.

The Qinsheng Army, with a total number of about 100,000, got its name from the fact that it captured enemy soldiers alive as slaves in battle. It was responsible for attacking and mobile operations and was the main force in the Western Xia field battles.

The Poxi Army, consisting of two hundred men, rode Bactrian camels and placed small catapults on the camels' backs. They continuously shot out fist-sized stones from the saddle bags, which was the Xixia's trump card in field battles.

Xixia also had 500,000 Xiang troops. These people worked as farmers in peacetime and served in the army in wartime. To put it bluntly, they were a group of armed farmers.

They can still play a role when defending a city, but in a field battle, they are just a bunch of useless soldiers.

In addition, the major nobles also had private soldiers of varying numbers, which were not counted in the imperial army.

Now, the Hostage Army and the Royal Guards are responsible for defending the capital and the emperor, and cannot move lightly.

The capture army is spread all over the country, and it is considered good enough to gather 50,000 people in a hurry.

It can be said that the 50,000-man capture army, plus the 3,000 Iron Harriers and the 200 Poxi troops, are all the field forces that Xixia can currently mobilize.

Li Chunyou said, "Sending over 53,000 elite troops to battle is truly a matter of vital importance to the fate of our Xia Nation. Prime Minister, who do you think should be sent as the commander?"

Li Anquan said, "At this point, I will no longer avoid relatives. My son, Li Chengzhen, is both civil and military, and quite talented. Why not appoint him as the commander-in-chief and lead a thousand elite soldiers of the King of Yue to fight the Mongols to the death."

"My dear minister, you are not only promoting the virtuous without avoiding relatives, but you are also sacrificing your family for the sake of your country!"

Although Li Chunyou and Li Anquan were a pair of useless people, they both understood that Li Anquan's son, Li Chengzhen, was a rare talent. In the peaceful and prosperous Western Xia, he was a true standout.

To make an inappropriate analogy, if Li Chunyou and Li Anquan were Emperor Yang of Sui and Yuwen Huaji, then Li Chengzhen was Yuwen Chengdu.

This time, Li Anquan appointed Li Chengzhen as his commander and brought a thousand private soldiers with him, without any selfish motives at all - in a dangerous battle, who dares to guarantee victory? If things go wrong, Li Anquan will lose his only and such an outstanding son, as well as the foundation of the Yuewang Mansion.

But then again, didn’t Xia Kingdom also send out its main field forces?
If Western Xia was destroyed, what would be the meaning of everything for Li Chunyou and Li Anquan?

Immediately, Li Chunyou issued an edict, appointing Li Chengzhen as the marshal, leading 50,000 soldiers, 3,000 Iron Harriers, and 200 Poxi soldiers to rescue the city of Olahai.

He also urgently mobilized 200,000 wing troops, led by the Grand Commander Gao Yi, to provide support.

Ten days later, the vanguard cavalry of the Western Xia army had already engaged in battle with the guard cavalry of the Mongolian army.

"How many people are there in the Western Xia army's vanguard?"

The person in charge of outer security in the Mongolian army now is Jochitai, the hereditary commander of a thousand households and the leader of the four thousand households of the Ulughut tribe.

Translated from Mongolian, Subutai was also called Zhurchedai.

Previously, in the Battle of Zhezheyundu Mountain, Zhao Shuo led the vanguard army to kill Wang Han in battle, and Shuchitai was one of Zhao Shuo's lieutenants. Shuchitai was also a famous Mongolian general.

Before the Battle of Helan Zhen Shatuo, the most powerful general of Mongolia was Temujin's brother-in-law Weidaer.

After that, Zhao Shuo and Subuchitai were on par with each other. However, with the battles of Helan Zhenshatuo, Zhezhe Yundu, and the pacification of the Naimans, the gap between Subuchitai and Zhao Shuo gradually widened.

Now, Zhao Shuo inherited 5,000 households and commanded ten thousand households.

Subutai was a hereditary thousand-household commander, in charge of four thousand households.

Zhao Shuo's status was obtained through real military achievements, and Subutai had no reason to be dissatisfied.

But he hoped to establish new achievements, to be on par with Zhao Shuo again, or even surpass Zhao Shuo to win the title of the bravest warrior on the grassland!
The Mongolian scout who brought the news said, "According to the confession of a prisoner we captured, the vanguard is still forty miles away and has approximately three thousand men. The cavalry at the front number approximately five hundred."

"Five hundred people? You're looking for death! Pass the order down, gather my two hundred personal guards and follow me to destroy the five hundred cavalrymen of Western Xia, and make the first contribution in this battle for Mongolia!" Subutai said without hesitation.

"Yes."

According to Temujin's order, Subutai was only responsible for the outer defense of the entire army.

Fighting the reinforcements was the job of Zhao Shuo and Hasar.

In a sense, Subutai's proactive attack this time was against Temujin's orders and was intended to steal the military achievements of Zhao Shuo and Hasar.

But it was just a battle of a few hundred people. Neither Temujin, Zhao Shuo, nor Hasar wanted to argue with Subutai.

An hour later, Subuchitai, with two hundred elite Mongolian soldiers, had already squeezed the five hundred Xixia vanguard cavalry into a radius of two or three miles. The final battle of annihilation was underway.

The swords flashed, the guns gleamed, the dust flew, and the horses’ hooves thundered!

"Whoosh!"

An eagle-feather arrow streaked across the sky, as fast as a meteor, and hit the throat of a Xixia cavalryman at sixty steps away.

The Xixia cavalryman fell off his horse without a sound and died.

"kill!"

A Mongol warrior swung his scimitar, deflecting a Xixia ranger's spear thrust. The immense pull caused the Xixia ranger to stagger slightly on his horse. Seizing this opportunity, the Mongol warrior's face curled into a sinister grin. With a lightning-fast swipe of his long sword, the Xixia warrior's head soared into the air!

"go to hell!"

A low-ranking Xixia officer had already used his sharp Xia longsword to sever the scimitar of the Mongol warrior before him. Then, swinging his sword horizontally, he struck the Mongol warrior in the waist. He knew that this steppe barbarian would have no chance of survival today.

However, the facts were destined to disappoint him.

The Mongol warrior, despite breaking his scimitar, showed no sign of panic. He suddenly bent and turned, almost impossibly, and the Xia sword barely brushed past his saddle.

"What about people?"

Just as the Xixia officer was momentarily stunned, the Mongol warrior, hidden under his horse's belly, suddenly stood up and grabbed his horse bow. The bowstring rang, and a carved arrow shot from five steps away, hitting the Xixia officer's eye socket!

(End of this chapter)