When the Zhao and Song officials crossed Hengshan and had not yet arrived at Youzhou, a battle suddenly broke out between the two most important cities in Xixia, specifically the area on the west bank of the Yellow River between Xingqing Prefecture and Lingzhou.

On the two sides of the battle, one side is the main force of the Song Army's 30,000 imperial camp consisting of the front army, middle army and cavalry, assisted by some of the newly surrendered Party Xiang Fan cavalry.

The commander-in-chief was Yue Fei, the former military commander of the imperial camp. The main generals included Qu Duan, Wang De, Liu Qi, Li Shifu, Zhang Jing, Qiao Zhongfu, Fu Xuan, Fu Qing, Zhang Zhongyan, Zhang Zhongfu, Zhang Xian and other veteran generals.

Young players of this level such as Guo Jin and Yang Zaixing cannot be on the stage.

On the other side is the main Xixia army composed of the Xixia Iron Kites, Poxi Army, Central Guard Army, and Zhusheng Army, totaling more than 40,000 people.

Among them, the commander-in-chief was Weiming Chage, the king of the Western Xia Jin Dynasty, and the military supervisor was Weiming Renli.

In addition, there is Iron Yaozi general Wei Mingyi, whose name is exactly the opposite of the Xixia general Wei Mingyi who was executed dozens of years ago. He is the young clan general after Chage became powerful; there is also the temporary leader of the Central Committee Wei Mingyun Ge, the former Hongzhou garrison who was the remnant of the bodyguard army; Wei Mingyu, the general of the Shengsheng Army who led the army to capture many castles of the Dingbian Army in Jingkang; Po Xi, a veteran general who had been on several missions to the Song Dynasty The military governor is Wei Mingji.

And among the many clans, there are inevitably those of the Gong clan, such as the Nong Xingzhu, the Ling Jie clan's Ling Jie Zheng, the Ren Duo clan's Ren Duo Shitai, including Bali Longdeng who persuaded Wei Mingcha Ge to return to Xingqing Mansion, etc. Wait... These people are all hereditary leaders of the party with the status of big leaders, and they are also the backbone of the army.

As for Renli's elder brother, King Pu of Wei was named Renzhong, and he stayed in Lingzhou Fucheng together with the escaped Han Prime Minister Wang Shu. Also staying behind were many people including the grandfather of the current Xixia prince and Cao Laolinggong, the biological father of Concubine Cao Xian. Han generals, Han ministers.

At the critical moment, the party members still could not trust the Han people.

To be fair, this battle came a bit late and was very unfair.

He said he was late because the decisive battle between the two main forces should have been used to decide the outcome. However, at this time, the Xixia capital had been lost, and three of the four core ruling areas were gone. The Houtao area is probably almost gone.

Therefore, this main battle is not so much a showdown as it is that the Xixia people had to use their last wave of big capital after being forced to the end by the alliance, conspiracies, raids, betrayals and other strategic activities of the surrounding powers. Come and die for a life.

To say he is unfair is actually the reason why.

Originally, the Xixia people should have taken advantage of the danger and stayed there to wait for work. It should have been the Song army who couldn't bear it and took the risk to attack. Originally, everything should have been fine... However, the current reality is that the Song army calmly divided its troops across the river into various cities. They waited until the Xixia people were forced to gather under the Lingzhou City and prepared to risk crossing the river from here. Then they calmly gathered their troops and prepared a formation somewhere on the west bank of the Yellow River.

The Yellow River was too wide, and the Song army's scattered cavalry patrolled the river constantly. Although the Xixia people could obtain various intelligence from the other side of the river, it was only lagging and confusing, and they were unable to obtain real-time military information at all.

But even so, even though the Xixia people knew that this battle was not easy to fight, they still had to come because the situation was getting worse day by day, and Brother Cha could not drag it out... If it really dragged on, the army would probably gradually disperse.

"Song Jun made a big mistake!"

Early in the morning, Wei Mingcha Ge immediately stood by the ferry on the bank of the Yellow River and spoke unscrupulously to the surrounding generals, not caring about the frequent reviews of the boarding soldiers around him. "And it was three big mistakes... one should not have been there.

Fighting with our party members in the wild, our iron kites are invincible! Secondly, we should not give up the river defense and let our army cross the river. It shows that the commander of the Song Army is a waste! Thirdly, we should not be able to capture Shunzhou until now, so Zhang Li should be on the other side of the river.

Leave us a base!"

At this point, without waiting for the response from the soldiers, Wei Mingcha Ge directly pulled out his sword and waved it vigorously in the air: "In this battle, I vow to kill Yue Fei, Qu Duan, recapture Xingqing Mansion, and then set back to greet him."

Return to Your Majesty and the Crown Prince and reestablish the Great White Kingdom!"

When the surrounding generals heard this, they each pulled out their sabers, raised their white blades, and shouted loudly.

After Brother Wei Mingcha said this, he gritted his teeth, put away his sword, dismounted, separated from his black bull, each boarded a sheepskin raft, and headed towards the other side.

The commander personally boarded the boat first, and the morale of the surrounding sergeants was naturally boosted... The ferry also became smoother for a while.

However, when Brother Cha boarded the sheepskin raft, the excited expression on his face dimmed visibly to the naked eye. The reason could not be more simple. The Xixia coach himself knew that he was just talking nonsense!

This affectation, not to mention whether it can make those big-headed people with ulterior motives change their minds, even he himself feels unbearable. In fact, since arriving in Lingzhou, he himself, Wei Mingcha Ge, is the Xixia

The person whose confidence has declined the fastest among the remaining groups!

The reason for this is not because he is disloyal to Li Qianshun, nor is it because he is unwilling to fight to the death for the Dabai Gao Kingdom, but because this Xixia Jin King, who is usually greedy for money, lustful, and has no dealings with Weiming Renzhong, is indeed

At present, he is the commander-in-chief with the most military ability and military experience among the Xixia people.

By the way, historically, after Wei Mingcha Ge took over the Xixia army on the order of his elder brother, he noticed the corruption and depravity of the Xixia army very early. However, after he defeated Liu Fa and achieved prestige, he still believed that the Bubazi battle in the past was

The traditional Xixia tactics of fighting in the mountains and iron kites in the plains have fallen behind the times, and they strongly advocate learning from their own defeated generals, that is, the Western Army.

He believed from the beginning that Tie Yaozi encountered the Song Army's strong bows and powerful swords in the plains, and Bubazi encountered the Song Army's heavy armor and long ax in the mountains, both of which were seeking death. The Xixia people were able to defeat the Song Army by chance before.

It all depends on the discipline of the Song army and insufficient logistics. It is not that the Xixia people are very good at fighting.

Therefore, we must follow the example of the Song Army in establishing strong bow troops to expand projection capabilities.

Li Qianshun, who has great trust in Brother Cha, of course follows the good advice, but unfortunately, Xixia's national power is limited. Tie Yaozi can only support a few thousand, Bubazi can only support a few thousand, and Poxi's army can only support two hundred. In this case

, trying to develop more powerful bows and crossbows is really beyond the limit. In the end, all the army can do is to carry bows regardless of whether they are riding or riding. But this kind of bows and arrows are useless in front of heavily armored troops.

However, as soon as Weiming Chage arrived in Lingzhou, he carefully inquired from the fleeing people and already knew that the army on the other side had an astonishingly high armor ratio, excellent military discipline, and strict military formations. This kind of army was what Chage feared the most.

In other words, Brother Cha knows very well that the main force of Xixia, which is neither superior nor inferior, is afraid of this kind of troops... This is not that he is afraid because of the situation now, but that he was afraid of this kind of troops more than ten years ago.

Already.

However, Brother Weiming Renzhong kept urging him to march, as if he, Brother Weiming Cha, would be a sinner of Dabai Gao if he did not march!

Of course, it won't work without marching. If the entire Hengshan falls, and then Shunzhou, the only remaining stronghold on the other side, also falls, then the army will only collapse on its own, and Tcha Ge will really be the sinner of the Dabai Gao Kingdom.

In the midst of his wild thoughts, as the sheepskin raft stopped in the shallow water, the turbid waves of the Yellow River gently swayed above the raft with the wind. Cha Ge, who was sitting cross-legged on the raft, only felt a chill on his crotch, and he immediately came back to his senses, and then He put on his helmet, pulled down his mask, jumped up from the raft, drew his knife and waded ashore.

After landing on the shore, before leaving the river beach area, the Jin King of Xixia just raised his eyes and instinctively felt his heart tightening.

Without him, as far as I could see, the waist-deep wheat was trampled by the army and was extremely messy. Some of it was caused by the own army that had just landed, but there were also many traces that were obviously left by the previous large army. And those who had been trampled before Most of the wheat on the ground has withered and turned yellow, and is as dazzling as the spots on a person's face in the green fields. However, there are also a small number of wheat that have fallen to the ground, and at this time they stubbornly raised their heads again.

But soon, he was stepped on the ground again by the chaotic troops of his own army.

Here is the bank of the Yellow River. Wheat is planted throughout the year, sown in spring and harvested in autumn. The consequences of being trampled on in summer wheat are clear to everyone.

"Let them be careful and try not to trample the crops." Cha Ge blurted out the order, but then, probably because he felt that it was inconsistent with his usual image, he quickly added, "My family's land is here!"

The attendants who had just gathered looked at each other in confusion, but no one went to deliver the order... His Highness, King Jin, relied on His Majesty's favor and liked to seize other people's houses and land. Everyone knew this, so everyone believed Cha Ge's words. But the problem is, how can we avoid crops in this messy landing situation?

"Forget it! Tell the boys, this is my family's land, just let them go without any worries!" Brother Cha came to his senses and waved his hand helplessly.

While waving his hands, he felt a sigh in his heart... As time went by, he didn't know whether he really wanted to rob the house or the land, or whether he was tacitly playing a self-defeating trick with his brother.

After an unnecessary storm passed, the black bull banner representing Cha Ge was slightly fluttered in the summer wind, and the Xixia troops on both sides of the Taiwan Strait cheered in unison.

The situation seems to be very good.

However, the cheers were just the signal. At this time, about three miles away, behind the soil of a small canal that could be crossed by a single person, the long-awaited Song Army skirmishers no longer hesitated, following the whistle blowing of the leading Song Army officer. Waving the flag, they immediately got on their horses, then leaped into the wheat fields and river beaches ahead, and then harassed, shot, divided and drove away the troops that had just landed.

Obviously, probably because the field of vision was too wide, the Song army could not move the main force too close, so they did not carry out a large-scale half-crossing attack, but chose this method to deal with the Xixia people's landing... After all, , no matter what, it is impossible for the Song Army to let go of this window period where it can carry out the most efficient killings and demoralize.

Maybe this attack was expected, and Brother Cha did not panic. He got on a wet horse and he didn't know who it was, and took the initiative to urge the big banner forward. At the same time, he sent orders to all surroundings, asking the surrounding sergeants to Gather closer to yourself.

At the same time, there were Xixia officers of all levels on several other river beaches, and the leaders began to act like this.

The effect is remarkable. The skirmishers sent by the Song Army are typical light cavalry. They only have a spear and a bow. They can only hunt the scattered people crossing the river. They dare not touch the hedgehogs who have formed a group and established a beachhead position. Xixia Army.

However, at the same time, it had to be admitted that these skirmishers still effectively delayed and affected the Xixia troops' crossing the river. And soon, what surprised Cha Ge was that these skirmishers seemed to trigger a wave of attacks that exceeded their killing capabilities. The commotion... it was indeed a commotion. Brother Cha couldn't think of a more accurate word for a moment... What he saw on the horse was that there were many local sergeants who could obviously gather under the general's banner, but when he saw These skirmishers on horseback chose to shout angrily and chase in all likelihood to suffer losses; in some places, the shouts and chase were the same, but unexpectedly there was no fight. The soldiers were shouting at each other with the incoming skirmishers. After a few calls, he followed a specific group of soldiers and plunged into the wheat field, never to return.

"what happened?!"

Brother Wei Mingcha roared with all his strength under his black turban.

There is no reason for him to be like this, although in terms of results, this phenomenon is not worth mentioning at all compared to the casualties and delays caused by the Song Army's mounted skirmishers. But the problem is that the Song Army's scattered cavalry raid was completely expected, and the current phenomenon But it was beyond Cha Ge's understanding... As a coach and a battlefield commander who was about to fight a big battle, he would never allow this kind of thing to happen.

Following Brother Cha's severe questioning, several officers and guards were dispatched in small groups, going to rescue and gather the troops while trying to intercept and question him.

And soon, an attendant hurriedly turned back and brought back an unexpected and reasonable answer to Brother Cha: "Your Majesty! Most of the incoming troops are local party members... Those people said personally that according to this According to the rules of the Fan Song Army, whether you bring back a head or a living person, you will be treated as a regular soldier with fifty cents a year! Even if you just rush to the shore and turn back, you will also be given three measures of food. Reward!"

Brother Cha was stunned, and his body swayed on the wet horse before he stopped.

After a moment, realizing that there was nothing he could do, he hurriedly turned back, but only urged the troops to cross the river quickly, move forward quickly, and assemble the troops in the open wheat field.

However, things are not that simple.

Even after turning his attention back to the war itself, Brother Cha still encountered difficulties... The speed of crossing the river was too slow, and the Song army had more and more mounted skirmishers. It seemed that every time a group of Xixia troops crossed the river, there were A corresponding proportion of mounted skirmishers joined the beachhead assault.

The actual number comparison between the two sides has always been in a suitable range of two to one to three to one.

Quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes. As the numbers of both sides increase linearly, the bloody level of this kind of raid also deepens.

Gradually, as batch after batch of Song Army casualties continued to harass and hunt on the beach, even at the expense of casualties that should not be paid in the harassment battle, they continued to delay the pace of the Xixia army's assembly. Cha Ge's keen I realized that the Song Army sent these troops not just for a little harassment... it must have a greater tactical purpose.

But he had no way to deal with it.

However, the mystery was soon revealed. When the Xixia troops passed the 20,000-strong mark, suddenly, as the flags swayed and rolled in the distance, and then dozens of horns sounded together, the number of lightly-armed horses was approaching tens of thousands.

The skirmishers suddenly abandoned the party members on the beach and retreated separately to the north and south.

However, there were also a small number of party members, Xiang Fanqi, who had obviously just joined. They were insensitive to discipline and were unable to evacuate in time, thus falling prey to the Xixia people.

Brother Cha did not care about these gains and losses, nor did he pay attention to the two groups of light cavalry that had withdrawn. He just kept giving orders, quickly asking the troops to sort out their horses and camels, and quickly assemble beside the general... At this time, the only thing that should be done was to assemble the troops.

matter.

But not long after, the attendant behind him suddenly called Brother Cha: "Your Majesty, a red flag seems to be waving above Lingzhou City?!"

Brother Cha immediately turned around, and sure enough he saw behind him a red flag waving on top of the temporarily raised watchtower on top of Lingzhou City, not far from the Yellow River... This made Brother Cha confused as well as the attendant.

Get up, because the red flag means that there is an incoming army, but on the river bank here, a large group of loose cavalry from the Song Army have just dispersed... But at the same time, Cha Ge also noticed that the troops dragged on the other side of the river,

The speed of crossing the river is greatly slowing down, which seems to confirm the correctness of the red flag.

As soon as he thought of this, Brother Cha turned around and stood on the horseback under the black cow blanket, looking due west in silence and waiting quietly.

After a while, everything was answered. Above the green wheat waves ahead and under the black body of Helan Mountain, a red line changed from looming to an obvious and clear existence. It became wider and wider and more dynamic.

, until it turns into an obvious red wave.

On the beachhead, the Xixia people's movements became smaller and smaller, their movements became more and more cautious, the atmosphere became more and more tense, but their actions became more hasty and panic... After all, everyone knew what the red wave was.

The Xixia officers also suddenly woke up, why did the Song army not guard the river before, and why did they send so many light cavalry to suppress the harassment? The Song army was not so arrogant that they gave up attacking halfway across the river, but realized that the terrain here was open.

, if the Xixia people set up a formation near the river, they can easily see it from the heights on the other side of the river. Why would the Xixia people hit your military formation then?
To be continued...