White-robed Minister

Chapter 181 0179 [Winning the Battle]

During the Northern Song Dynasty, Tianshui was covered with forests. The imperial court set up a special "procurement office" in Qinzhou, and every year "tens of thousands of large timbers" were transported to Kaifeng.

The water volume in the upper reaches of the Wei River was also far more abundant than in later periods.

From Guwei Village, where Xu Lai lived, to Qinzhou City, where Pianpian and the others stayed, the mountains along the way were also covered with trees.

At this very moment, the fortress that Yang Shu was building was located fifty li (a straight-line distance) south of the future city of Dingxi.

The fortress is bordered by the Xian River to the west, the relatively open Xian River valley to the northwest, and an extremely narrow stream to the northeast. The surrounding area consists of loess hills covered with forests.

Although the forest wasn't very dense, it was by no means the desolate state it later became, where only grass and shrubs grew. The Qiang people were even able to hunt and survive in the forest.

"Is this how the Western Xia army behaves in such a chaotic manner?" Yang Shu handed the binoculars to Li Shiliang, the general beside him.

Due to the deliberate control of the imperial court, telescopes were not widely available; only military officers of a certain rank or civil and military officials defending important areas could possess them.

The telescope in Yang Shu's hand was borrowed from Cai Kang.

Li Shiliang was originally the chieftain of Dingbian Village.

The village was named Dingbian, but it was actually right next to Longzhou, making it a true "rear area." Even when taxes were levied on private salt and the profits were distributed among the military officers, they didn't get a share.

One-third of the troops in Dingbian Village, along with the village chief himself, were transferred to the front line.

Li Shiliang took the binoculars and looked at them: "This is a common trick of the Western Xia soldiers. They are not good at attacking cities and dare not launch a strong attack on fortified villages. They only send a small number of scattered soldiers to pretend to attack the fortified villages, lure us into pursuit, and then ambush us on the way."

"With such a clumsy tactic being used repeatedly, will our army really fall for it?" Yang Shu asked.

Li Shiliang smiled wryly: "Often, people, eager to gain merit, get carried away with killing and chase after others."

Yang Shu was speechless, finding it hard to understand why such a terrible plan to lure the enemy would still cause so many people to fall for it and suffer defeat.

The valley ahead was only three or four hundred meters wide, and more than a hundred enemy cavalrymen were running around in a chaotic mess.

A young Western Xia general stepped forward to provoke them, his spear tip piercing the still-bleeding head of a Qiang man, and rode his warhorse back and forth in the open space in front of the village.

The young and strong Qiang men guarding the village walls watched with gritted teeth.

"Cavalry, prepare to follow me into battle!"

Yang Shu said.

Li Shiliang was so shocked that his mouth dropped open. He had just said it was a trap to lure the enemy, so how did you fall for it and charge out? Besides, you're the county magistrate, aren't you? What kind of civil official are you to go into battle?!

Yang Shu gave orders to the Qiang chieftain and another Han army village chieftain, instructing them to use bows and arrows to cover the cavalry's exit from the city and their retreat.

They also assigned some laborers to the stockade walls, instructing them to push down rocks and logs when the enemy attacked the city.

Immediately afterwards, he summoned his two hundred or so cavalrymen and addressed them, saying, "Remember, in this battle, merit will not be based on the number of enemy heads taken. Anyone who dares to dismount and cut off an enemy's head will not only receive no credit, but I will also punish him!"

After saying that, he led Li Shiliang out of the north gate, bypassed the stockade wall, and charged towards the enemy forces in the northwest.

"These Song people really never learn their lesson."

Tuoba Siji stopped his horse, pulled the head of the Qiang man stuck in the tip of his spear, and raised his spear to give orders to his cavalry.

The Western Xia cavalry charged forward shouting, seemingly chaotic, but actually very organized. Twenty riders took turns advancing, avoiding close combat with the Song army, firing an arrow from a distance before fleeing.

Their mission was to feign defeat during mounted archery, then fight and retreat simultaneously, luring the Song army to their ambush point.

Attack the stockade?

Impossible. Only a fool would launch a direct assault on a fortified village defended by the Song army.

The Song cavalry also took turns firing from horseback, but neither side had a high hit rate. Moreover, due to the distance, even if they hit, it was difficult to penetrate leather armor.

Yang Shu fired two arrows in quick succession, but both missed.

Although his archery skills were superb, he had previously practiced archery on foot, at most shooting arrows from a rocking boat. This is very different from mounted archery.

It wasn't until he arrived in Qin Prefecture that Yang Shu began practicing horseback archery.

He has been practicing for several months. Unfortunately, due to his busy work schedule, he can only spare half an hour to practice each day.

"Go to hell!"

Yang Shu cursed under his breath, and his third arrow struck, hitting the enemy soldier's leather chest armor. The soldier only leaned back slightly and quickly bounced back to life.

"Blow the bugle, charge!"

Yang Shu shouted, but when the temporarily appointed messenger didn't respond, he simply took out a horn and blew it wildly.

Immediately, he spurred his horse and charged straight out.

His soldiers were immediately alarmed. Li Shiliang quickly fired arrows to cover their attack, then led his troops in a charge. Because Yang Shu was a civil official, if he died in the charge, none of them would fare well.

Yang Shu's move also caught the Western Xia soldiers off guard. They hadn't even been defeated yet, so why were the Song troops already charging in? This wasn't how battles were fought before.

The Song army's two hundred or so cavalrymen all fired an arrow immediately, and under the cover of the arrow rain, they charged out in one fell swoop.

The Western Xia army only had about a hundred cavalrymen, and they were still firing in shifts.

Yang Shu wore leather armor, but underneath was a silk armor that could protect against arrows.

He charged ahead alone, encountering the most arrows. In the blink of an eye, several arrows struck his chest and shoulder. Several more were aimed at his head, but were deflected by his helmet.

His warhorse had also been hit by an arrow.

However, warhorses charging forward will not stop unless they are injured in vital organs, muscles, or legs; instead, they will be stimulated by adrenaline to accelerate their charge.

Both the man and his horse were riddled with arrows, and in the blink of an eye they charged into the sparsely spaced Western Xia cavalry.

The enemy, barely having time to put away his bow and arrows and hastily raise his melee weapon, was stabbed off his horse by Yang Shu's spear. He then deflected an enemy's lance and, without even engaging the man in combat, charged to the diagonal front of the third enemy rider.

Yang Shu ducked to avoid the attack, then thrust his spear at an odd angle, directly piercing the enemy's exposed throat.

Compared to true warriors, Yang Shu wasn't particularly strong, but he was highly skilled in combat. He had previously trained with double spears, but after becoming the magistrate of Baoji, he switched to training with a long spear.

As Yang Shu successively defeated three enemies, the more than two hundred Song cavalry behind him were now engaged in battle with the Western Xia army.

Yang Shu's sudden charge caught Tuoba Siji off guard, throwing the Western Xia cavalry into disarray.

"withdraw!"

Tuoba Siji had no way to regroup his army, so he simply decided to retreat, making the best of a bad situation. Since they had come to lure the enemy in, there was no need to feign defeat this time; he could simply escape back into the ambush.

The Song cavalry, however, became incredibly powerful.

A civil official, a county magistrate, charged forward, his horse and all, wounded by arrows. Now, everyone joined the attack, routing the enemy. All the soldiers were filled with fervor. They cared about nothing else but charging forward.

After pursuing them for several miles, the remaining Western Xia cavalry suddenly turned into a river valley to the northeast.

Yang Shu could no longer find his messenger, so he had to take out his horn and personally order a halt to the pursuit.

Li Shiliang, who had previously mocked others for falling for his tricks, was now the one who had been tricked. He completely forgot that the Western Xia army liked to lure the enemy into ambushes, and in the heat of the battle, they pursued them directly into the valley.

"Waaaaah~~~~~"

Yang Shu was so angry that he cursed under his breath and kept blowing his horn to signal a retreat.

Some soldiers stopped, but many others continued to pursue the enemy with Li Shiliang.

Only when the valley ahead narrowed and the bugle call to retreat sounded in his ears did Li Shiliang suddenly wake up, breaking out in a cold sweat and quickly reining in his horse.

"Retreat! Retreat now!"

Seeing that the Song army had not entered the ambush point, drums and horns suddenly sounded in front, and squads of Western Xia infantry and cavalry took the initiative to charge out.

Li Shiliang hurriedly led his troops out of the valley, shouting to Yang Shu, "There's an ambush! Retreat!"

Why would Yang Shu need his reminder?

The soldiers had already dismounted and beheaded the enemy, taking their weapons and helmets with them. As for the enemy's leather armor, there was no time to slowly strip it off.

The battlefield situation has reversed, and now it's the Song army's turn to flee, with a large force of Western Xia troops in hot pursuit.

Yang Shu led his cavalry back to the fortress, but instead of going in directly, they went around the outside of the fortress wall and gathered near the rear gate.

The Han and Qiang soldiers on the stockade walls shot arrows at the pursuing Western Xia army, while the laborers prepared to push logs and rocks down.

The two sides faced off across the fortified village for a while, but the Western Xia army had no way to resolve the situation and, in anger, chose to withdraw.

In this battle, the Song army beheaded 42 enemy soldiers (plus others who forgot to be beheaded in their hasty retreat). They captured 17 enemy warhorses, as well as a number of helmets and weapons.

One of our men was killed, 26 were lightly wounded, and no one was seriously injured. All casualties came from arrow wounds; we were unharmed in close combat.

After the Western Xia army withdrew, the people and soldiers of the Song Dynasty cheered and rejoiced.

Yang Shu glared at Li Shiliang: "Now I finally understand why someone would fall into a trap and get ambushed!"

Li Shiliang blushed with embarrassment and felt a wave of fear. If Yang Shu hadn't kept blowing his horn to remind him, he probably would have impulsively jumped into the narrow part of the valley.

Yang Shu asked the army doctor to take care of his warhorse, and he deliberately did not remove the arrows from his body, returning to the camp with several arrows stuck in his body.

Along the way, soldiers and civilians, Han and Qiang people alike were amazed and in awe.

Some laborers will stay here to cultivate the land, while others will return to Qin Prefecture, where they will surely proclaim their victory. Before long, all the people of Qin Prefecture will know that a civil official magistrate charged straight into the enemy lines, his body riddled with arrows, and routed the Western Xia army!

Actually, they were all superficial wounds; the leather and silk armor blocked the arrows.

Yang Shu summoned the Qiang leader and said, "You need not be afraid anymore. If any Dangxiang bandits attack, you can flee here. The Qiang people are also citizens of the Song Dynasty, and the government will definitely protect you."

The Qiang leader was so moved that he wept bitterly and immediately knelt down to thank Yang Shu.

Yang Shu then said to the archers, "What's there to be afraid of with a few bandits? Even I, a civil official, can go into battle and fight. You are all men skilled in martial arts. Killing a few Dangxiang brats will be a piece of cake!"

The archers shouted their victory.

These archers are not the kind who fire a few arrows and call it a day.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, archers and bowmen were professionals.

Archers are police officers in urban and suburban areas, combining the roles of criminal investigator, police officer, firefighter, and urban management officer.

Archers were military households who owned land. Especially archers in border areas, they farmed in peacetime and fought in wartime. They provided their own weapons and armor, did not receive military pay, and did not have to pay land taxes.

Nearly 40% of the archers in Qinzhou and Tongyuan armies own warhorses!

The cavalry that accompanied Yang Shu into battle today were all archers from Qin Prefecture.

Guwei Village, a trading market.

The Qiang people were trading with Han merchants when suddenly an official rode up on horseback, shouting through the market: "Great victory! Great victory! Tens of thousands of Western Xia bandits attacked, but were routed by Magistrate Yang of Chengji County, who led the Han and Qiang troops and civilians. More than eight hundred were beheaded, and countless supplies and provisions were seized!"

This record was, of course, exaggerated countless times; it was something Xu Lai used to deceive the military and civilians.

-

Sure enough, after the news was announced, the Qiang and Han people who were trading immediately erupted in cheers that shook the heavens.

Yu Shanyuan, who had just arrived at Guwei Village, stared in disbelief at the official who was publicizing the victory: "My brother Yang, is he really that impressive?"

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