White-robed Minister

Chapter 221-0219 [Empress Dowager Liang was so angry that she lost her mind]

The Song and Xia states fought for decades, and the most intense fighting took place in the Huanqing Road area.

This area was also the most frequent site for smuggling and trade between the Song and Xia dynasties.

In particular, in the later counties of Huachi and Wuqi, the two sides fought back and forth repeatedly, and the border fortresses changed hands countless times.

"Zhizhai, the Western Xia have sent people to rebuild Nao'e Fort."

"How many troops are protecting them?"

"Only a few hundred soldiers."

"Haha, our chance to make a name for ourselves has arrived!"

Li Zongliang was overjoyed upon hearing the news and immediately led a thousand barbarian cavalrymen to attack.

The enemy had only a few hundred soldiers protecting them; the rest were laborers building the fortress. He believed that with a thousand cavalry, he could surely launch a surprise attack and win. Not only would he be able to behead the enemy and gain merit, but he could also seize a large amount of grain.

There were many generals of various ranks along Huanqing Road, some even serving the Song Dynasty for three generations.

Li Zongliang was one of them.

His father led his followers to surrender to the Song Dynasty, and after his father died in battle, he continued to serve the Song Dynasty.

This year, the military commissioner Li Fugui eliminated the old and weak, selected young and strong men to be incorporated into the cavalry of various tribes, and equipped them with fine armor and weapons.

As a result, the fighting power of Li Zongliang's troops increased greatly, and they had long wanted to kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions.

The deputy inspector earnestly advised, "Zhizhai, the enemy has built a fortress in Western Xia territory. If we rashly send troops like this, even if we win, the imperial court will blame us."

Li Zongliang angrily retorted, "What Western Xia territory? Thirty years ago, that was the land of my Great Song Dynasty!"

The deputy inspector then said, "It would be better to send someone to consult with the Grand Coordinator first, and then send troops after the Grand Coordinator agrees."

"It will be too late then," Li Zongliang said. "The enemy only has a few hundred troops now, but they will definitely send reinforcements in two days. If you are afraid, stay here and guard the camp. I will go and kill the enemy to earn merit."

Despite his deputy's advice, Li Zongliang insisted on leading his troops to launch a surprise attack on Nao'ebao.

Why was he so bold?

Because the military commissioner Li Fugui's actions were too blatant, everyone could see that he wanted to wage war. Since the civil officials wanted to fight, the military officers naturally wanted to seize the opportunity to gain merit.

Meanwhile, Li Zongliang led a thousand elite barbarian cavalrymen on their journey, all clad in brand-new cavalry armor. This armor was lightweight, weighing less than 30 jin (approximately 15 catties), and was made of a mixture of leather and iron.

They started slowly, gradually accelerating as they approached Nao'ebao, intending to catch the Western Xia army off guard.

The Western Xia laborers who were building the fortress fled in terror upon hearing the sound of horses' hooves.

At that moment, countless Western Xia cavalrymen surged out, so numerous that they were impossible to count.

"withdraw!"

Li Zongliang was shocked, realizing he had fallen into an ambush and that the enemy had deliberately lured him there.

Returning by the same route was impossible; the mountains on both sides of the path they had taken were surely already embroiled in enemy ambush. Without much thought, Li Zongliang reined in his horse and turned, forcefully charging through the enemy cavalry that had surrounded them from the west, leading his remaining troops to escape into a nearby valley.

In this breakout operation alone, he lost more than one-fifth of the thousand elite barbarian cavalry he brought.

Li Zongliang took advantage of the narrow terrain of the valley to prevent the enemy from deploying their superior forces, and fought his way back while sending people across the mountains to ask for reinforcements.

"That bastard! I told him not to send out troops without permission, but he still got lured out and fell into an ambush." ​​Li Fugui, the military commissioner of Huanqing Road, was furious.

Li Fugui does want to fight, but he hasn't even prepared enough supplies yet.

He summoned Li Xin, the military commander, explained the situation, and ordered, "The Western Xia are rebuilding the abandoned Nao'e Fortress. You immediately lead three thousand cavalry for a night raid!"

Li Xin hurriedly advised, "My lord, since Li Zongliang has fallen into an ambush, the Western Xia army there must be numerous. We only have three thousand cavalry; I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to win."

Li Fugui, however, said, "The enemy is pursuing Li Zongliang. Even if Li Zongliang's entire army has been wiped out, the enemy has just won a great victory and will certainly be unprepared tonight. If you launch a night attack, you will surely win in one battle."

"What if the enemy is prepared?" Li Xin was still unwilling to go.

Li Fugui produced a battle formation diagram: "If you bring this formation diagram into battle, you will surely achieve a great victory."

Battle formation diagrams are such a ridiculous thing that they can't actually be used in battle. Li Fugui was just using them to coerce his generals.

Because the battle formation represents the emperor and the imperial court!

Li Xin reluctantly accepted the battle formation diagram.

He had only a thousand elite cavalrymen under his command, but he called on Liu Fu, Guo Gui, and Zhong Yong along the way, and together they made a total of three thousand cavalrymen to attack Nao'ebao.

However, the Western Xia army there did not pursue Li Zongliang with all their might, but continued to ambush him near Nao'ebao.

Li Xin led his troops on a night raid, but they were ambushed by the Western Xia army.

When he fought his way out of the encirclement, covered in blood, and fled back to Liyuan Fort in a panic, only a little over 1,400 of his 3,000 elite cavalry remained. This was only because Li Xin had taken precautions; otherwise, they would most likely have been completely wiped out.

Li Xin wanted to cry but had no tears.

In the middle of the night, Li Zongliang led two hundred remaining soldiers and actually escaped back through a small path, with a Western Xia troop in pursuit.

"Boom boom boom!"

Liyuan Fort was equipped with cannons, which fired haphazardly into the valley in the darkness.

Li Zongliang was nearly killed by his own cannons. He rushed to the outside of Liyuan Fortress and shouted, "Open the gate quickly! It is I, Li Zongliang!"

Li Xin was furious. Standing on the stockade wall, he cursed, "You treacherous dog, you sent troops without permission, causing me to lose many soldiers and generals. Who knows if you've surrendered to Western Xia? If you dare approach the stockade again, I'll shoot you to death with a hail of arrows!"

Li Zongliang led his troops away, cursing and swearing.

"Boom boom boom!"

The artillery was still firing haphazardly, with no idea whether it had hit anything. Even if it had, it was unclear whether it had struck friendly forces or the enemy.

The Western Xia pursuers, of course, dared not attack the fortified village, and instead chased after Li Zongliang's remaining troops, slaughtering them indiscriminately.

Li Xin currently commands more troops than the pursuing Western Xia forces. However, he is unaware of the number of enemies approaching and, having just suffered a defeat, dares not launch a nighttime counterattack.

Thus, the Western Xia pursuers left before dawn, and Li Zongliang's remaining troops were slaughtered until only a few dozen riders remained.

Li Zongliang himself also died in battle outside the fortress.

Upon receiving the battle report, Li Fugui was stunned.

These were his elite cavalrymen, and yet he lost over 2,600 of them in one fell swoop.

After a moment's thought, Li Fugui ordered the rapid gathering of troops and provisions, and summoned his generals for a meeting.

At the military conference, Li Fugui pointed at Li Xin and Liu Fu and said, "You two led troops without authorization and suffered a crushing defeat. According to military law, you should be executed. Guards, drag them away and behead them!"

The generals were astonished upon hearing this.

This isn't a battlefield, yet the military commissioner dared to kill the military commander.

Li Xin flew into a rage: "You, Li Fugui! I told you not to launch a night attack, but you insisted on forcing me to go. Now that we've suffered a defeat, you dare accuse me of sending troops without authorization?"

Liu Fu, the patrol inspector of Qingzhou East Road, hurriedly stood up and said, "Lord Li, this matter has nothing to do with me. Li Xin ordered the troops to be dispatched, but he did not have enough cavalry to number three thousand, so he sent me with the cavalry."

Li Fugui shouted, "Still dare to argue? Drag him away and behead him immediately!"

The military commissioner was the most powerful, and Li Fugui had the final say. He actually had Li Xin and Liu Fu executed.

The other generals were now in a daze, feeling as if they were dreaming about what was happening before their eyes.

Li Fugui then looked at Guo Gui and Zhong Yong. These two families had extensive connections, so he couldn't just cut them off with a single stroke.

Li Fugui ordered, "Detain Guo Gui and Zhong Yong. When I return in triumph, I will report to the court for their punishment."

Guo Gui remained silent and was taken to jail.

Zhong Yong glared at Li Fugui with resentment, gritting his teeth as he said, "Commander Li, aren't you afraid of demoralizing your soldiers by acting like this?"

Upon hearing this, Li Fugui's expression turned cold, and he decided to kill Zhong Yong in prison.

After dealing with the defeat, Li Fugui addressed his generals: "These four men are the examples of anyone who dares to disobey orders. Now, listen to my instructions—"

The Western Xia had no idea that the Song army, which had just suffered a defeat, would launch such a swift follow-up attack.

This is because Li Fugui had been preparing for war and had been secretly garrisoning troops and storing grain in the fortified villages on the front lines.

Without adequate preparation, the Western Xia army was repeatedly defeated by Li Fugui.

The Nao'e Fort, which was under construction, was easily captured by the Song army.

Then the Song army advanced in two columns, capturing Jintang City, Baibao City, and Xihe City of Western Xia. They beheaded thousands and captured countless laborers and livestock.

Xihe City, in particular, was a border market of the Western Xia. After official trade was cut off, it became a smuggling hub in the past two years, and recently it has also become a frontline grain storage point for the Western Xia.

"Lord Li, there are 30,000 shi of grain and fodder in Xihe Market!"

"That's a border market, and now that Western Xia is suffering from a drought, how could they possibly have 30,000 shi of grain stored in Xihe Market?"

"There is only one possibility: the Western Xia wanted to launch a major offensive, and that was the first batch of military rations that the Western Xia had transported there."

"Immediately issue orders to all armies to cease their attack and immediately retreat to defend the newly captured cities of Jintang and Baibao. Fortify these two cities immediately, for the Western Xia army is about to arrive!"

"————"

The Western Xia suffered a great loss this time without even realizing it.

They deliberately lured the Song army into attacking, using this as a pretext to launch a major offensive against the Song. However, they did not expect that Li Fugui had been preparing for war all along, thus catching the Western Xia off guard.

The loss of several thousand soldiers and 30,000 shi of military rations was too great for the Western Xia.

"Send troops! Send troops! I can't swallow this!" Empress Dowager Liang roared in a fit of rage during the court assembly.

This isn't an act.

If no troops are sent to retaliate, Empress Dowager Liang's prestige will surely be greatly damaged.

She was so angry she lost her temper: "Conscript all men under 70 and over 15! Either they'll fight in the army, or they'll be laborers transporting grain!"

Li Fugui, who only wanted to gain some military merit, has made a big mess of things this time.

The Western Xia army in Lanzhou was also ordered to move out. There was no need for Cai Ting and Gao Zunyu to stage a show to lure the enemy; the Western Xia army marched towards Qin Fengxi River on its own.

"Xu Jinglue, we have received a secret report from our spies that the Western Xia are mobilizing troops. All men under 70 and over 15 are to be conscripted!"

"Under 70 years old?"

"The Qiang chieftains under 70 years old in Lanzhou have all received military orders from the Empress Dowager of Western Xia."

"This is madness! Order all border fortresses to prepare immediately to defend against the enemy. Order the fortresses in the rear and the leaders of the Qiang tribes to quickly gather troops, provisions, and laborers."

After issuing these orders, Xu Lai wrote letters to Cai Ting, Zhang Heng, Gao Zunyu, Hou Ke, and others. He even wrote to Shen Qi, who was far away in Chang'an, requesting that Shen Qi transport more grain over.

He hadn't even stockpiled enough grain and fodder when the Western Xia army launched their attack ahead of schedule.

Not only Xu Lai, but all the other civil and military officials of the Song Dynasty were also speechless at this news.

The late millet and late sorghum are about to be harvested. Fighting now will inevitably delay the harvest. The Western Xia are simply trying to disgust people.

One urgent military dispatch after another drifted to Kaifeng like snowflakes, all requesting supplies and provisions.

With the Western Xia army about to invade, it's definitely not the time to deal with Li Fugui now; we have to wait until the Western Xia retreat. No matter how fiercely the court officials are arguing, we must find a way to provide them with provisions.

While ordering the transport of grain and fodder, Zhao Xu also sent envoys to Western Xia to condemn the Xia while attempting to negotiate peace.

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