Chapter 530 0525 [Brother Richard arrives in person]
Xixia is at the end of its battle!
The winner who was beaten by Tong Guan proposed peace because all the food was gone, and there was no way to continue the fight with soldiers and no food.
After finally delaying for two or three years, Brother Richard led another 30,000 troops to the grasslands to rescue the escaped Emperor Tian Zuo. Not only did this battle result in the loss of all the elites, but the military rations that were finally saved were also given to Wanyan Zonghan. All seized.
After another two or three years of delay, he was ordered by the Kingdom of Jin to attack Shanxi. However, he failed to make any progress and consumed a lot of food and grass.
Last year, I took advantage of the opportunity and invaded Han Dynasty and emptied the Xixia government treasury of money and food. I captured a large area of territory, but judging from the food captured, it was definitely a loss-making business.
Their next step was to capture the Hehuang Valley, because it was somewhat "richer" and at least they could accumulate grain through farming.
After receiving a letter from Li Yuchang asking for help, Brother Richard quickly organized his army and set off.
Although Li Qianshun, the leader of the Xixia Kingdom, did not want to go to war and was afraid that Brother Richard was too prestigious, he had no choice but to listen to Brother Richard in everything when Henan Military Division was surrounded. This pair of monarchs and ministers were not confused about military and state affairs. .
At the height of Xixia's power, the total military strength was approximately four to five million.
Don't think it's outrageous. All the people are just soldiers. They graze and farm in peacetime, and are drafted into the army in wartime.
There are very few professional soldiers who are out of work, and most of them defend the capital.
Brother Richard brought out all the Central Army that could fight, including 3,000 iron kites, 5,000 proton troops (children of wealthy families or tribal nobles), 5,000 foot soldiers, and more than 1,000 Poxi troops (300 camels carrying small Catapult).
The total number of these elites is no more than ten thousand.
He set out from Xingqing Prefecture (Yinchuan) and went south along the Yellow River to Huizhou (Jingyuan). Along the way, he was joined by soldiers who captured the dead.
Some border guards stationed in the castle were also mobilized to accompany the expedition.
By the time they arrived in Huizhou, more than 60,000 troops had been gathered.
Even Huizhou City was captured last year by taking advantage of the situation, and had been in the hands of the Song Dynasty's border troops before.
From Huizhou, continue south along the Yellow River to reach Lanzhou City, where Li Mida was in charge.
Lanzhou is a fortified city and difficult to capture.
Brother Richard chose to take the land route instead, that is, go around Baiyin. Moreover, he did not go directly to Henan Army Division because the last section of the journey was too difficult to walk and would take too much time and food.
This guy chose to go south along the valley between Henan Military Division and Lanzhou, and go straight to Xiguanbao (Xigu District, Lanzhou City).
Once Xiguan Fort is captured, it can threaten Lanzhou City to the east, and take Yang Zhi's retreat to the west. Cooperate with the defenders of Henan Army Division to block Yang Zhi in the Kalochuan River Valley!
Even if Xiguan Fort cannot be captured, we can still surround Wei and rescue Zhao, forcing Yang Zhi's army to return for reinforcements.
…
At this time, more than forty days had passed since Yang Zhi besieged the city.
Brother Richard's army is about to approach Xiguan Fort, but the defender of Xiguan Fort is acting like a master.
Zhong Shidao has been in a good mood recently. Although he was given the job of chief of staff by Yang Zhi, his official position is deputy prime minister (cabinet minister).
Most of his children, nephews and grandchildren have become civil servants, and a few are still serving in the military.
A few days ago, there were many good news. Yang Zhi had already demolished the city wall of Henan Army, and Yao Gu had successfully captured Zhenwu City.
The situation for both the country and individuals is excellent.
"Father, there is smoke!"
Zhong Xi quickly ran into the back house, still a little excited as he spoke.
Zhong Shidao was reading when he heard the words and stood up suddenly: "Immediately send a message to General Yang (Yang Zhi) and Governor Li (Li Mida), and all nearby people will evacuate to Jinchengguan and Lanzhou City!"
The overall plan for this troop dispatch was mainly formulated by Zhong Shidao.
Yang Zhi mainly attacked Henan Army Division, attracting the Xixia army to rescue. Yao Gu marched slowly and took the opportunity to seize Zhenwu City. He captured it if he could, and besieged the city if he couldn't.
No matter where the Gansu Military Division (the core station is in Zhangye) rescues, Yang Zhi and Yao Gu can act according to the situation.
Brother Richard's Forbidden Army and other military divisions will probably attack Lanzhou or Xiguanbao in order to rush for the march.
Lanzhou Jiancheng is very easy to defend, as long as Li Mida is in charge, and the defenders are the old Song Dynasty border troops.
Xiguan Fort was guarded by Zhongshi Dao, and the defending troops were all Sichuan soldiers detached from Yang Zhi.
If you are lucky and Yang Zhi leads the main force to return reinforcements quickly, he might even be able to eat Brother Richard!
Falling rocks, rolling logs, and manure and water were all prepared. Zhong Shidao climbed to the top of the city and waited until the afternoon when he finally saw the shadow of Brother Richard's army.
Brother Richard is really arrogant. As soon as he left the valley, he sent troops to plunder.
Xiguanbao is located on the south bank of the Yellow River, facing water on two sides and backed by mountains on one side.
On the north bank of the Yellow River, there are also large farming areas, and Brother Richard ordered plundering as soon as he arrived. These guys even robbed outside Lanzhou City last year.
Thousands of Xixia captured soldiers on foot and cavalry were scattered without scruples, and before the eyes of the fortress defenders, they dispersed into countless groups and rushed into the countryside.
They trampled crops wantonly and cheered and shouted when they saw houses.
It turned out that there was not a hair left, and the Han people had already evacuated with their property. They were so angry that they set fire to the house to vent their anger.
"Your Highness, there is no one in the nearby village, not even livestock!"
Brother Richard got the news and said without thinking: "The captured soldiers who went out to collect food have been looting outside Jincheng Pass. The louder the noise, the better!"
Zhong Shidao allowed the other party to make a fuss and turned a blind eye, only guarding the castle and waiting for Yang Zhi's main force to return.
Brother Richard issued this order, but seeing that the castle in front of him was heavily guarded, he planned to find another way to hide it.
He attracted the attention of the Han soldiers in Xiguan Fort and Jincheng Pass by plundering property and burning down people's houses. When it got dark, he set off with five thousand infantrymen, climbed over the mountain ridges on the north bank of the Yellow River, and marched along the north bank for a while, in the narrow
Cross the river to the south bank and touch the Jingyu Pass on the upper reaches before dawn.
On the other side of Jingyuguan is the entrance to the Kalochuan River Valley.
Taking Jingyuguan will block the retreat of Yang Zhi's army. Even if the surprise attack fails, elite troops can cross the river and enter the valley to kill Yang Zhi's army from behind.
Although Li Yuchang's letter asking for help stated that the army had strange weapons and that the city had collapsed, Brother Richard didn't think the mother city was so easy to lose because the city walls were much thicker. As for the rapid collapse of the field operations, it must have been a result of the son's death.
If you are not full, your combat effectiveness will become lower and lower.
A cannon that can quickly throw iron bullets into the sky without soldiers pulling on ropes?
Don't talk nonsense, Brother Richard doesn't believe it at all. He thinks Li Yuchang is making up stories to make excuses for losing his army and the city.
If Brother Richard thinks about it, no matter how powerful the Ming army is and has new weapons, it will be no problem to defend the Southern Army for two or three months. As long as he sends troops to attack from behind and attack from the front and rear, he will definitely be able to eat up the main force of the Ming army. !
During these thousands of steps, although the equipment was not as good as in the heyday, I grew up in the mountains and climbed over the mountains and ridges as if walking on flat ground.
In the middle of the night, I lay on a simple wooden ladder to cross the Yellow River. At dawn, I arrived at the Jingyu Pass.
This pass is backed by mountains on two sides and faces rivers on both sides.
But the mountains are not high, they are just rugged, making it difficult for cavalry to gallop and for infantry to form formations.
This didn't matter to Bubazi who was attacking the city in the dark. They climbed up the hill with wooden ladders and were only three to four hundred meters away from Jingyuguan.
At this moment, someone tripped over the rope, and dozens of bells shook violently and made a sound in the silent night.
"Enemy attack!"
"Dang-dang-dang!"
The sentry squatting in a small shack on the mountain sounded the gong in panic.
At the same time, another hidden sentry also discovered the enemy and also beat the gong while running away.
"Dang-dang-dang!"
Immediately after the gong sounded loudly in Guancheng, the soldiers who were on duty guarding the city stood up one after another, and the soldiers who were on duty in the city also hurriedly put on their armor.
The generals guarding this pass are brothers Liu Xi and Liu Qi.
Their original defense area had been taken away by Xixia, but fortunately the family members successfully escaped.
Since there was nowhere to go, Ju Ming asked them to come to Lanzhou. They only retained 3,000 soldiers under their command, and the rest were resettled in Hehuang to reclaim wasteland.
Who is Liu Qi?
A fierce man who lost nearly half of Jin Wushu's iron pagoda in a battle, the Eight Character Army was once under his command. Unfortunately, he was deprived of military power for ten years. When he returned to lead the army, he was already old and suffered from injuries and illnesses, making it difficult to command the battle.
When he was not leading troops, he was also very impressive as a civilian official, opening up thousands of acres of fertile farmland in Jiangling, and controlling floods in Jingnan swamps.
When they received news of the Xixia soldiers' appearance during the day, the Liu brothers stepped up their defenses and slept in their armor at the top of the city at night.
Liu Xi led his troops to guard the east wall, and Liu Qi led his troops to guard the south wall - the other two sides were surrounded by the Yellow River.
"ignition!"
The braziers and torches on the top of the city were lit one by one, instantly lighting up the night.
Liu Qi looked at the crowds of Xixia soldiers, bent his bow and arrow, and shot at a dark figure. The shadow quickly hit the arrow and fell to the ground...and got up again.
The archers were also shooting, but the effect was not good.
Although these foot soldiers did not wear heavy armor, they were more than enough to protect themselves from arrows. After being hit by arrows, they were often injured but not killed.
There was no moat, so Bubazi quickly approached the city wall, and the wooden ladder was set up on the low earth wall.
The defenders held up push rods, and the simple wooden ladder without a grappling hook could easily be pushed down by the push rods. At the same time, falling rocks and rolling logs also began to wait, but the golden juice was not yet burning hot.
In the darkness, there are always some things that slip through the net.
One after another, some people climbed up to the city and were immediately besieged by the defenders.
Liu Xi and Liu Qi were armed with long spears. Both brothers were skilled in martial arts. They stabbed the enemy to death before they could stand firm on the city.
Trumpets began to sound outside the city, and the Xixia generals ordered a retreat.
They came for a surprise attack, but when the surprise attack failed, they immediately fled, crossed the river and entered the valley, marching quickly to kill Yang Zhi on the back.
They didn't pay attention to the defenders of Jingyuguan at all, because the defenders of the Song Dynasty had always been rubbish. They were very brave when defending the city, but they became timid immediately after leaving the city. It was extremely rare that they dared to chase them out at night.
Of course the Liu brothers would not pursue them. They only had 3,000 soldiers in total. Who knows how many enemies came outside, and they might even set up an ambush to lure them out of the city.
"Brother, send three hundred people to cross the river with dry food and enter the Kalochuan Valley to stand sentinel along the way. When encountering enemies, they will hide in the mountains." Liu Qi held up a torch to find Liu Xi. "These walkers are very likely to enter the valley.
"
Liu Xi smiled and said: "They entered the valley to die. General Yang has been waiting for them, but I can make them die faster."
