"Your Majesty, what's wrong, my lookout soldiers on the high platform in the east city saw many Song troops in the distance, carrying siege equipment across the river, rushing towards here..."
Li Qianshun, who had just felt a little relieved because the Song cavalry could not cross the moat, turned pale with fright after hearing the report.
His voice trembled slightly, but he pretended to be calm and said: "Publish my decree, the city defenders must not go into battle. Hold fast to the city, prepare arrows and stones, and wait for work. If the enemy of Song Dynasty approaches, attack them hard."
"I firmly believe that with the bravery and fearlessness of your soldiers and generals, the city is high and the ditch is deep, the capital of our Kingdom of Great Xia will be impregnable."
"Your Majesty is wise and will obey your orders." The general who defended the city sincerely praised him. He immediately ordered his troops to defend the east city of Xingqing Prefecture...
Li Qianshun, who was trembling slightly, stood on the tower, pretending to be calm, standing on tiptoes, building an awning with his hands, and looking out into the distance outside the city...
At this time, what he saw was exactly like the military intelligence report he had just received.
About four or five miles away from the east city, the second batch of Song troops arriving was densely packed but orderly. There were about ten thousand soldiers, mainly infantry, supplemented by cavalry, and dozens of vehicles loaded with siege equipment. Animal carts were mixed in among them.
Li Qian conveniently set up a pavilion and looked at the Song army's livestock carts in the distance. He vaguely saw that most of the carts were carrying equipment for siege and crossing the river;
There were also ten livestock carts carrying steel "chimneys" tilted horizontally; this made even the well-read and well-informed Xia Emperor Li Qianshun not know what they were.
Li Qianshun was extremely surprised. He pointed forward and asked the soldiers around him:
"Who knows that among the Song enemy's army ahead, the dozen or so cattle carts covered with red cloth, revealing a long iron chimney lying tilted horizontally, are the mobile stoves used by the Song army to bury pots and cook rice?"
The remaining hundreds of Imperial Guards of the Sixth Division who were protecting Li Qianshun, as well as the main generals guarding the east city of the city, were all confused by Emperor Xia's questions. They really didn't know what those steel "chimneys" were!
Before the upcoming life-and-death battle, they did not dare to answer Emperor Xia's questions casually.
They all shook their heads in shame and said:
"The general is short-sighted and has never seen such a thick iron chimney in the Song army!"
"The last general also doesn't know what the more than ten iron chimneys brought by the Song enemy are used for."
"The general is incompetent and does not know..."
King Shu Li Renli, who was protecting Emperor Xia, frowned and remained silent, thoughtfully.
‘The thing that Emperor Xia is asking about may be the mysterious magical weapon that can ‘draw thunder from the sky’ that was rumored to have been given to me by the Song Army to severely injure the generals of Great Xia?!’
However, he did not dare to speak nonsense for fear of shaking the morale of the soldiers defending the city. He had no choice but to suggest to Emperor Xia:
"I am benevolently reporting to Your Majesty. Although I don't know what the iron chimneys brought by the second batch of Song enemies are, I suggest that Your Majesty call the soldiers of Li Liangfu who have fled into the city and ask them if they are in the Yellow River." On the battlefield along the coast, I have seen the novel gadgets of the Song army."
"What my nephew said is absolutely true, and I will do it accurately." Li Qianshun deeply agreed, nodded in praise, and said:
"In this way, our army will be able to achieve what the Art of War says: 'Know yourself and the enemy, and you will be able to fight without danger in a hundred battles'!"
"Your Majesty is wise, our army will definitely defeat the invading Song enemies..." The generals around Emperor Xia flattered him one after another.
Li Qianshun was worried, but on the surface he pretended to win.
Li Renli ordered his soldiers to run down the city tower, convey the Xia Emperor's oral instructions to the defeated troops of Li Liangfu who had fled back to the city, and selected 100 of the 700 or 800 generals who had escaped back to the city to participate or have witnessed The generals of the Xia and Song armies fighting along the Yellow River removed their weapons and climbed to the city to face the Holy Spirit.
The one hundred soldiers selected from Li Liangfu's army were trembling with fear.
Not long ago, they managed to escape the pursuit of the Song Army's cavalry and fled back to the east city of Xingqing Prefecture, closely following the rear troops of the Sixth Squadron who were protecting Emperor Xia. At that time, they were glad that they had escaped from the terrifying Song Army. 's claws.
However, they also left a great psychological shadow.
Most of this shadow came from the Song army, which suddenly became extremely powerful, and the other half came from Emperor Xia's fear.
When they first escaped back to the east city of Xingqing Prefecture, many people saw that in order to cut off the pursuit of the Song Army's cavalry, Emperor Xia ordered the city gates to be closed early, which resulted in thousands of Xia Army generals being abandoned outside the city. He died tragically at the hands of enemy cavalry of the Song Dynasty.
They heard clearly that several teams of messengers on the east wall of Xingqing Mansion kept shouting and preaching:
"According to His Majesty's imperial edict, please close the East City Gate quickly. Our soldiers will defend the city and fire arrows and throw stones at the invading Song enemies!"
"Li Liangfu's soldiers outside the city, His Majesty has a decree: You abandoned the positions along the Yellow River and fled to this place. You should be punished with death!"
"Of course, Your Majesty is merciful and has decreed that you are not allowed to return to the city now, but you can perform meritorious service on the spot!"
"You will quickly return to the other side from the suspension bridge and attack the invading Song army on the spot. Anyone who disobeys the order will be punished according to the order of resistance and will be killed without mercy!"
They knew that if Paoze, which was closed outside the city gate, could defeat the powerful Song army, they would not have retreated here from the banks of the Yellow River outside the capital.
Waiting for the fate of their robes, they will either be killed by the Song army, or killed by the arrows and flying rocks fired by their own people on Xia Jingdong City!!
At this time, they were summoned to the city to face the Holy Spirit, and everyone was worried that they would be punished by the ruthless Emperor Xia.
However, they did not dare to disobey the emperor's order. They all followed the proclaimer tremblingly and climbed to the east city to face the emperor...
…
At the same time, the Song army's cavalry protecting the city from Qinghe Gate in the east city of Xingqing Mansion had retreated to a position on the city where the Xia army could not attack with arrows and flying stones.
Pioneer officer Zhang Jun saw the deputy vanguard officer Yang Xin, who was charging forward, retreating and returning. The fine armor he was wearing was stained with blood. Most of the blood was splashed on him when he killed the enemy, and some of them were also among him. The blood flowing from his body after the arrow.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! There are still arrows broken by Yang Xinzhong stuck in the armor on his shoulders and abdomen.
Zhang Jun called Yang Xinzhong's name with concern and asked anxiously:
"Brother Zhengfu, are you injured?! Get off your horse quickly."
"Please follow the military medical officer and come forward quickly!! Quickly remove the arrow, apply medicine, bandage, and treat the injury for my worthy brother Zhengfu!"
"Obey the order!" ordered the several imperial medical officers who were riding on the war horses.
"Thank you, Brother Boying. But this minor injury doesn't matter to me!" Yang Xinzhong, who had not dismounted, saw his superior, his new brother Zhang Jun, who had experienced the northwest battlefield for a long time, and said to him
He was really nice, which moved him very much.
Yang Xinzhong said calmly but firmly: "I have excellent armor to protect myself. Although I was hit by two hidden arrows fired by the enemy, my bones and muscles were not injured."
"I can still lead the army to charge forward and kill more Xia enemies to repay the Zhao Guan family for their kindness!"
Zhang Jun admired Yang Xinzhong for being so brave and fearless.
At this time, they also discovered the army of Zhongshi Daobu coming from a distance behind.
Yang Xinzhong asked Zhang Jun worriedly:
"Brother Boying, you and I, following the imperial edict of Zhao Guanjia, are serving as chief and deputy vanguard officers under Souchong Jinglue Xianggong. We are going to attack Nanxun Gate in the enemy's southern city of Beijing."
"However, because Li Liangfu's troops deserted and fled towards the enemy's east city gate, you and I led the cavalry to pursue them halfway. We happened to meet the Emperor of Xixia's honor guard on their way out, so we pursued them to the enemy's east city, outside the Qinghe Gate."
"Logically speaking, you and I are violating the imperial edict by leading our troops in and seizing Mr. Zhong's offensive route!"
"Hahaha..." Zhang Jun, who was riding majesticly on a war horse, laughed loudly:
"Brother Zhengfu, you are too worried! I joined the army as an archer when I was sixteen, and it has been sixteen years now. In these years, I have dealt with countless soldiers and superior officers, and I have also learned some knowledge.
Human ability.”
"I think Lao Zhong Jing Lue Xianggong and Xiao Zhong Jing Lue Xianggong are both dedicated and upright people!"
"I observe that the Zhao Guan family, after a great change in their character, was able to sacrifice thousands of chariots and conquer the northwest in person. They are indeed saintly kings and wise masters with a magnanimous mind!"
"Brother Zhengfu, please be at ease. You and I led the army to pursue Li Liangfu's defeated army. On the way, we happened to encounter Emperor Xia's guard of honor. How could we not pursue it? As a result, you and I led the army to the enemy's Jingdong City by mistake! Zhao Guanjia knew everything clearly and would surely be able to do so.
It will be difficult for you and me to measure up!"
"What's more, before our Song Dynasty sent troops to attack Xingqing Mansion, the enemy capital, when discussing matters in front of the imperial court in Lingzhou City, Zhao Guanjia personally issued an instruction: The generals, big and small, who attack Xingqing Mansion, can be based on the unexpected actual combat situation on the battlefield.
, and adjust tactics and attack targets. Just as Zhao Guanjia, who was chatting and laughing at that time, said, 'If you are outside, your orders will not be accepted'!'"
Yang Xinzhong felt a lot relieved after hearing this. But he still reminded:
"Brother Boying, the cavalry led by you and me, without the support of the rear infantry, artillery and engineers led by Xiaozhong's manager, cannot break through the east gate of the enemy's capital here. Why not rush our troops to the south of the enemy's capital now?"
Join the army of the Souchong Administrator outside the city gate!"
Zhang Jun said with deep understanding: "My dear brother's words are exactly what I want! However, before we leave, we should pay homage to Mr. Lao Zhongjinglue, who has just arrived, and tell his subordinates:
'Li Qianshun, the Emperor of Xixia who luckily escaped back to the city, is currently on the east wall of Xingqing Mansion, looking at our Song army.'
You and I should advise Mr. Lao Zhong to use the cannon given to his department by Zhao Guan’s family to fire at Xia Emperor Li Qianshun on the east wall of Xingqing Mansion in the enemy capital ahead!”
"Okay!! Brother Boying's plan is very clever. If Mr. Zhong, the manager, can use the cannons given to his troops by Zhao Guan's family to blow up Xia Emperor Li Qianshun, he will definitely shake the hearts of Xia's enemy troops! We and the Song troops from all walks of life will attack It will be much easier to attack Xingqing Mansion in the capital!"
When Yang Xinzhong heard this, he cheered excitedly and felt that the two arrow wounds on his body suddenly became less painful.
Zhang Jun smiled and nodded, and took the captured gold crown with carved spire that Emperor Xia had dropped. He and Yang Xinzhong rushed their horses to the Zhongshi Dao army that had arrived...
…
After Zhong Shidao listened to the reports of Zhang Jun and Yang Xinzhong, in order to verify the truth of what General Zhang Yang said, he personally inspected the pointed golden crown that Zhang Jun brought that only the Emperor of Xia could wear in Xixia.
Master Zhong followed the direction pointed by Zhang Jun and Yang Xinzhong, picked up the telescope given by Zhao Guan's family, and looked at a disheveled man on the east wall of Xingqing Mansion who was protected by soldiers.
Although he had never met Xia Emperor Li Qianshun, he could tell from the gorgeous Western Xia-style dragon robe that he was wearing that what Zhang Jun and Yang Xinzhong said was true!
Zhong Shidao shouted excitedly: "The pioneer officer must obey orders!"
"The general will obey your orders!"
"Transmit my military order: Please give me the artillery squad to fire at Xia Emperor Li Qianshun on the east wall of Xingqing Mansion!"