"As expected, Luowu City is not that easy to capture."
Sheng Changbai put down the letter in his hand and sighed, Sheng Changbai's occupation of Lanzhou was quite smooth.
However, Gu Tingye's army, including hundreds of thousands of Han and Chinese troops, launched a large-scale attack on Hengshan, but the progress was not very smooth.
If Da Zhou chooses to take the initiative, whether it is to capture cities or levels.
It was still a field battle with the Xixia soldiers outside the city. The Zhou infantry fought against the Xixia cavalry. It can be said that the Zhou side had no advantage.
Sheng Changbai successfully captured Lanzhou because Sheng Changbai chose a strategy that was beyond the times.
The method of siege adopted by Sheng Changbai was completely beyond the expectations of the Xixia defenders.
There is absolutely no defense or response at all.
A new weapon is always most powerful when it is used on the battlefield for the first time.
The existing artillery and gunpowder in the Song Dynasty were far less powerful than those used by Sheng Changbai, and their practicality on the battlefield was not high.
Therefore, it takes time to attack and capture cities and passes using the primitive ladder method.
But what Great Zhou lacked most was time. After all, Great Zhou’s enemy was not just Xixia.
Although there are some signs of decay in the court of the Liao Kingdom, no matter how corrupt the people in power in the Liao Kingdom are, they will not let the Zhou Dynasty solve Xixia.
After the Liao Kingdom reacts, there will definitely be some reaction.
If you use diplomatic means to intervene, Zhou can ignore it and just talk to Liao.
But seeing that Xixia could not hold on, the Liao Kingdom could not remain at the level of rhetoric.
If the Liao Kingdom is determined to save Xixia, it can choose to mobilize troops from within the country to the borders of Zhouzhou and Liao.
There was a threat in northern Xinjiang, and Zhou Dynasty, which did not have the strength to fight against the two countries at the same time, had no choice but to stop its troops.
Therefore, the time when the Zhou Dynasty and Xixia fought this time was not necessarily on the battlefield between the two countries, when the soldiers of the two countries decided who would win or lose.
It is more likely that it was outside the battlefield, because when the Liao Kingdom was willing to spend its own food and grass to send troops to the border of the Great Zhou Dynasty for the sake of Xixia, threatening the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"Xu San, I will give you some gunpowder. You can send it to Gu Tingye. After the things are delivered, you should stay there first and come back when these things are used up." Sheng Changbai continued.
I still decided to help Gu Tingye. If Hengshan can be captured this time, it can be said that the situation in Dazhou will be very different.
Without the huge military expenditure in the northwest, Dazhou can be said to have got rid of a heavy burden, and the economy will feel a lot easier in an instant.
The situation where the national treasury cannot make ends meet can be changed immediately.
There will also be excess economic resources that can be invested in people's livelihood, strengthening the national strength of the Zhou Dynasty, changing the weak situation, and leaving more time for reform measures.
This war was still a bit sudden for Sheng Changbai.
Climbing the technology tree has not been completed. Whether it is gunpowder or artillery, Sheng Changbai has retained some experimental ones.
Far from being able to support the consumption of a war, the previous attack on Hehuang went smoothly.
Sheng Changbai could only guarantee his side first, and now the war situation was smoother than Sheng Changbai expected.
That means you can give some of it to Gu Tingye. It's not too much. It's still okay to help Gu Tingye solve a few difficult passes.
It is one thing to leave Xu San to Gu Tingye, share some credit with those around him, and plan a way out.
How to use another gunpowder does require the guidance of a familiar person.
After sending Xu San away, Sheng Changbai was stationed in Jincheng to ensure logistics.
Xixia troops from Hebei and Huizhou arrived in Lanzhou with support.
The first is to cut off the supply lines of Da Zhou. These old Xixia tactics have mobility advantages and will definitely not be wasted.
This time Qinzhou troops sent troops to Lanzhou. For the sake of speed and surprise, Xixia was caught off guard.
This is a simple journey with a light vehicle, without carrying too much baggage.
The expected goal was achieved very smoothly, but during such a march, we really didn’t carry much food and grass.
In order to ensure the supply of food and grass, Dazhou had no choice but to fight with Xixia soldiers in the field.
Sheng Changbai was really not good at commanding on the spot, and was far inferior to Xiang Fudu Guan, who had experienced battles in the field.
Leave professional matters to professionals.
In a head-to-head fight with the Xixia soldiers, Dazhou still had no advantage.
That is to say, only by relying on the strength of numbers and using more people to defeat fewer people can we maintain a battle-loss ratio that is not too ugly.
Although it is very sad to see rivers of blood flowing on the battlefield and people dying every day.
But Sheng Changbai still understands the principle of loving kindness and not commanding troops.
Necessary sacrifices must be endured. After all, it is a war, and you cannot be opportunistic forever without losses.
This is a necessary process. After all, Xixia has a sparse population, and young people are even rarer.
Every time a Xixia party member Qingzhuang is consumed, a piece of Xixia's war potential is consumed.
Compared with consumption, no matter how weak Dazhou is, he will not be able to defeat Xixia.
At the beginning, Han Zhang and Xixia were at war, and they were defeated again and again. They were defeated again and again, and they were defeated again and again.
Xixia has been winning all the time and was able to persist until the collapse of Xixia's national power.
Not to mention that Sheng Changbai never suffered a loss every time he fought with Xixia, and it could even be said to be a small profit.
The battlefield in Lanzhou can be said to be a stalemate, or it can be said that the Zhou Dynasty is consuming Xixia's effective strength.
Sheng Changbai couldn't do much on the battlefield. Even if he relied on his own force to kill a few more Xixia soldiers, it would not be of any obvious help to the overall situation.
So Sheng Changbai temporarily withdrew from the battlefield.
But Sheng Changbai was not idle either. He still seized the time and increased his efforts to win over the Fan people in Lanzhou.
The most important thing is to lure them to gain advantage and mobilize their troops to attack the Xixia people together.
Continue to expand your side's numerical advantage and reduce the losses of Zhou soldiers.
Since Hebei had to cross the river, the troops that could support Lanzhou were still limited.
Sheng Changbai was not ready to cross the river for the time being, so he destroyed various tools for crossing the river.
Another thing is that the political system of Xixia is a feudal lordship system.
If it weren't for our own troops, we wouldn't be so dedicated to the rescue.
The losses were all the territory and soldiers under the lord of Lanzhou, so what direct relationship does it have with the lord of Hebei?
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! If Lanzhou, Huizhou, and Hebei had not been lost, they would have directly faced the threat of the Zhou Dynasty's military front.
There may not be any of these coping-style troop dispatches.
The main Xixia soldiers who came to Lanzhou to support were soldiers from Huizhou.
Huizhou borders Qinzhou and has the task of defending Qinzhou.
Qinzhou's soldiers and horses were all brought out by Sheng Changbai, but there were still many soldiers and horses stationed on Qinfeng Road where Qinzhou was located.
As for Huizhou, it is impossible to ignore it.
There are not many soldiers and horses that can support them, plus the Xixia soldiers in various cities and villages in Lanzhou.
Xixia's own party soldiers and fan soldiers totaled only 40,000 to 50,000 people.
After half a month of consumption, less than half was actually lost.
The rest can actually be said to be exhausted.
"Xiang Fudu, the strategy of exhausting the troops is almost enough at this level. Time is still precious and cannot be wasted on Hui and Lanzhou."
By this time, the Zhou army had an advantage of seven to eight times over the Xixia soldiers.
It was enough to carry out an encirclement and suppression campaign against these Xixia soldiers, so Sheng Changbai decided to launch a general offensive against these Xixia soldiers.
"Then let's choose a day for the decisive battle."
"Okay, I will work with the governor. As long as these traitors are eliminated in Lanzhou, Huizhou will be taken."
With an absolute numerical advantage, it is not difficult to defeat these Xixia soldiers.
But if you want to kill and injure the Xixia soldiers as much as possible, the difficulty will obviously be higher.
After all, war horses are scarce in the Great Zhou Dynasty. It is never an easy task to chase down the enemy soldiers after winning.
But it was precisely because Xixia had a small population that Sheng Changbai deliberately targeted them.
The troops of Qingtang who followed Xixia were not important, even Sheng Changbai wanted to let them go on purpose.
These soldiers were not well-raised in Dazhou, and Xixia was also not well-raised.
When Xixia was strong, these soldiers gathered under the banner of Xixia.
But when Xixia declines, Sheng Changbai has no doubt that these soldiers will bite Xixia the hardest.
"We are surrounded by several times the number of troops and horses, so there is no need for you, Commander-in-Chief, to personally attack."
It had only been a month since the troops were dispatched from Qinzhou, and it had only been more than half a month since the battle with Xixia. Vice Governor Shang had already gained confidence in the Xixia soldiers.
These Qinzhou soldiers and horses also lost their fear of the Xixia soldiers.
In the future, when fighting with Xixia soldiers, they can be said to be elite.
The effects of training soldiers and generals are quite obvious.
"When you're on the battlefield, I still ask the deputy capital to take charge of you on the battlefield. I just want to do my part."
Of course, Deputy Governor Xiang did not want Sheng Changbai to come to the battle in person, and he must be worried about the distribution of credit.
These northwest generals must have the desire to fight against Xixia.
But it is inevitable that they all have their own little calculations, for merit and profit.
Only by satisfying the selfish desires of these people can we devote ourselves to conquering Xixia.
Sheng Changbai simply explained that he would not compete with Xiang Deputy Governor for the credit.
Sheng Changbai had no interest in the nobles of the Zhou Dynasty.
Like Sheng Hong, he still wants the Sheng family to follow the path of inheriting poetry and calligraphy.
He has no intention of squeezing his family into the Xungui Group.
You can have military merit, but it’s not a big problem if you don’t have it.
Of course, one can pursue the title of marquis and prime minister, but it is enough for Sheng Changbai himself to have a false title.
In terms of the national conditions of the Zhou Dynasty, as long as the prime minister does a good job in his position.
The imperial court was never stingy about granting a title, let alone a marquis, or a duke, and the old Zhao family was not stingy either.
In terms of honor, Lao Zhao's family is quite generous. There are also prime ministers and assistants who were named kings after their death.
"Chase, don't let any of the Western thieves go."
"Kill the West Dog in exchange for a bounty."
When the two armies fought against each other and set up their battle formations, the Zhou army mainly relied on the Han army.
Even if some of the mercenaries participated, they had been trained by the Great Zhou Dynasty. They had already entered the mercenary establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty and were able to form battle formations proficiently.
These temporary soldiers gathered from various tribes have not been systematically trained and are of little use at this time.
But when the Xixia army was defeated and the lost dogs were beaten, it was time for the extra troops to gain the upper hand.
They are also a nation that grew up on horseback, and the riding skills of the Fan soldiers are not inferior to those of the Xixia soldiers.
Robbery can be said to be instinctive for nomads.
Facing party soldiers who are focused on escaping and not interested in fighting, these soldiers can also gain an advantage in combat power.
It is still worthwhile to use supplies and these soldiers to buy the heads of party members.
At the peak of the Xixia period, there were only half a million soldiers and horses, even if one person had a hundred heads.
Even though Dazhou was frugal, he could still afford this amount of money.
It's just that the Zhou Dynasty usually doesn't come across such a good thing. You can buy the heads of Xixia soldiers with money.
This pursuit lasted for ten days, and by the time these soldiers were driven back to Huizhou.
In addition to the administrative office of Huizhou, and the fortresses except Dingxi City, the war was over only when the Zhou Dynasty captured them.
After such a break, Sheng Changbai returned to the border of Qinzhou.
Except for an isolated city like Dingxicheng, Qinzhou, Huizhou, and Lanzhou have been connected together.
As for this isolated city, just surround it first.
With tens of thousands of soldiers and horses eating Majue, no city in this era can sustain it.
Then Sheng Changbai repeated the previous operation and conquered all the tribes in Huizhou.
Relying on an army of 200,000 to persuade them to surrender, it can be said that there are no consequences.
These tribes are now surrounded by the Great Zhou Dynasty. In fact, they have no way out and can only rely on the Great Zhou Dynasty.
There is no Lanzhou fan with such good treatment.
These tribes that were attached to the Zhou Dynasty could not all be treated the same way.
It is still necessary to distinguish the levels. Only by getting close to Dazhou can you get more benefits.
These special talents will have the motivation to work hard for the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"Commander Sheng, can you report your merits to the court?" Deputy Du Guan Shang urged excitedly.
Not to mention that Sheng Changbai is the commander-in-chief of this army, not to mention that there are people in Sheng Changbai's court, his father-in-law is the deputy prime minister, and his father is also a high-ranking official. Even if Sheng Changbai has the right to talk directly with the emperor, it is appropriate for Sheng Changbai to report his merits.
"This matter is not urgent. After I have taken care of these foreign countries, I will ask the imperial court for credit together."
It is quite cumbersome to deal with these countries.
Since it is attached to Da Zhou, Da Zhou will definitely give him a reward.
Only when these foreign states accepted the rewards of the Great Zhou Dynasty did they submit to the rule of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
People like these in Huizhou are passively dependent, and the actual material rewards will definitely not be very large.
But no matter how small it is, it still needs to be rewarded. Even for a tribe with thousands of people, the chief of the tribe should also have an official position in the Zhou Dynasty.
The basis for the emperor's reward was mainly based on Sheng Changbai's statistical data.
"And this battle is not over yet. Even if I go to the imperial court to ask for merit now, the imperial court's rewards will not come out so quickly." Sheng Changbai continued.
Some time ago, Sheng Changbai captured Jincheng and asked the court for merit.
The imperial court quickly approved the merits of the soldiers below.
But Sheng Changbai and Deputy Xiang are in charge, the two chief officers of this army.
The reward was not awarded directly, but Sheng Changbai knew that his achievements in expanding the territory this time were not easy to reward.
The territory of a state is actually not big, and the rewards given are too light.
It does not show that the imperial court attaches great importance to the opening of the northwest border for the first time in decades.
If the reward is too heavy, the standard will be set high.
If the Qinzhou Army could successfully capture Hehuang, or even Gu Tingye might have captured Hengshan, his contribution would be too great, and it would be difficult to award him a reward after the standards were set high.
Even if the attacks of both armies do not go smoothly.
Sheng Changbai's contribution to the expansion of the country should be given a high status, which would serve as a cover-up.
Therefore, even if there is someone in the court, Sheng Changbai knows his contribution and cannot reward him for the time being.
