Fenghou

Chapter 686 Reinforcements

The biggest advantage of the Xixia army is that it has good resilience and is not easy to retreat. If the army does not ring the bell to retreat, the soldiers will often fight to the end. Although the first army attacked the city with nearly [-]% casualties, the Xixia army has no intention of retreating at all.

The siege ladders were built on the city wall one after another, and they swarmed up. The rolling logs and stones on the top of the city were smashed down like hail, and soldiers kept screaming and falling from the ladders.

The Xixia people had obviously learned their lesson. The two front rails were replaced with iron rods, so they would not be cut off by the Song army's sharp axes, but they were greeted by spears and rolling logs and stones.

Xixia soldiers held up their shields and struggled upwards. When a soldier was smashed down, new soldiers came up immediately. The two sides fought desperately on the top of the city, and the casualties continued to increase.

The arrows on the top of the city are still falling like raindrops. This is already the fifth round of all arrows being fired. I don't know how many Xixia soldiers died of hatred under the arrows.

Liu Cui looked coldly at the Xixia soldiers gathering towards the city, the time was ripe, he immediately ordered: "Throw wheat straw and kerosene!"

Buckets of black kerosene were poured down the siege ladder, and the siege soldiers were splashed all over their faces. Some soldiers lit the kerosene with a torch, and the entire siege ladder was on fire, and many soldiers on the ladder were burned instantly. The fire man screamed and jumped off the siege ladder, more and more kerosene was poured down, the fire under the city became bigger and bigger, and the scope became wider and wider. Thousands of bundles of wheat straw were also thrown down. Accelerated the fire.

More than 1 soldiers below the city shouted in fear, scrambling to escape for their lives. The bridge was crowded into a group, and many soldiers jumped directly into the moat, but the water surface of the moat also burned, and the smoke filled the air, which was suffocating.

Even the soldiers on the top of the city were blinded by the thick smoke, but they were prepared in advance. The soldiers squatted down one after another and covered their faces with wet towels.

[-] barrels of kerosene were poured into the lower city, and the whole lower city became a fiery hell. In fact, most of the soldiers were not burned to death, but suffocated to death by the thick smoke, trampled to death by other soldiers, and of course burned to death. There were countless soldiers, and the smell of scorched corpses could be smelled from miles away.

All Xixia soldiers were shocked, and Uyan Puluhun was also dumbfounded. When he saw countless soldiers on fire struggling and howling, a sense of fear that he had never felt before shrouded his heart. The contempt of the army was also completely burned by this fire.

A tentative attack ended with the tragic death of 5000 people, and only [-] people escaped back, completely dispelling the Xixia Army and Jin Bing's idea of ​​attacking Xiping Mansion.

They can only use Xiping Mansion as bait like a fisherman, just to see if the Song army in the south will take the bait.

……

Ten days later, all the supplies and people of the Song army were transferred, and the time to fight the Jin soldiers was ripe.

This morning, Jiang Guangyuan, the leader of the Qiang tribe in Xiazhou, arrived with a hundred people. Chen Qing's team currently has 3000 Qiang cavalry, led by Jiang Guangyuan's brother Jiang Wuming. The Qiang cavalry also lost in several battles. [-] people were recruited.

However, Jiang Guangyuan did not come here for the Qiang cavalry, but at the request of Chen Qing, he recruited [-] Qiang soldiers from the Xixia army. These Qiang soldiers were originally from Xiao Heda's army and became Xixia prisoners of war. Khitannu, mining salt in the north.

Because of the serious shortage of the Xixia army, Brother Li Cha turned all the Khitan slaves into soldiers. The Qiang people have been paying attention to this army. Of course, they hope that the tribe will recall the tribe. The battlefield is ruthless. If the Qiang people do not want this army to be wiped out by Chen Qing, they You have to find a way to deal with it as soon as possible.

Jiang Guangyuan went northward shortly after arriving in Mingsha County. Chen Qing sent a thousand cavalry to escort them northward.

Before dawn, Chen Qing personally led an army of [-] and [-] camels to leave Mingsha County and head towards Xiping Mansion.

On the surface, Chen Qing only leads an army of 18, which is relatively small in number, but in fact, the [-] troops of Xiping Mansion are added, which is the same as the number of enemy troops. The Western Xia Army and Jin Bing currently have [-] troops. If the Qiang army is successfully instigated, the comparison of the number of troops will be reversed immediately.

The Song army fighting the Jin soldiers this time is not cavalry, but [-] elite infantry. The secret weapon of Jurchen cavalry.

The infantry also rode northward on horseback. This battle can be said to be the most critical battle against Xixia. Whether they can defeat the Jinbing depends on this battle.

"General Yang, is your injury really healed?" Chen Qing asked Yang Zaixing with a smile.

Yang Zaixing patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "After recuperating for nearly two months, I must have recovered. The key is that I didn't hurt my muscles and bones, and the poisonous gas was pulled out. If I don't fight again, I will be moldy."

Everyone burst into laughter. Everyone understood Yang Zaixing's pain. Everyone was fighting the Xixia army in the front, but Yang Zaixing was recuperating in the rear. They would have gone crazy.

This time Yang Zaixing, as the deputy general, commanded [-] cavalry, but his mission was not to fight the Jurchen army, but to fight the Xixia army and the Congjun army. This made Yang Zaixing quite regretful, but he had no choice but to fight the Jurchen army himself Against each other, no matter how thoughtful he is, he must obey military orders.

Seeing that it was getting late, Chen Qing ordered: "The army rests on the spot, and sets out at five o'clock tomorrow!"

The [-] troops camped on the spot beside the Lingzhou River. When marching in Xixia, they must follow the river, otherwise they will be caught in the vast Gobi Desert and they will easily encounter the crisis of water shortage.

As night fell, Jiang Guangyuan and his followers returned under the escort of the Song army, and Chen Qing immediately received the chief in the camp tent.

Jiang Guangyuan was about fifty years old, tall and burly. He was also a general of the Xixia Army at first. Later, the Qiang people gradually parted ways with Xixia because they could not bear the cruel exploitation of the Xixia court. During Xiao Heda's rebellion, the Qiang people supported Xiao He. Da Er completely turned against the Xixia court.

Jiang Guangyuan is currently the great chief of the Xiazhou Qiang people, and also the leader of the Xixia Qiang people. He has high prestige among the Xixia Qiang people.

Chen Qing asked him to sit down, and asked with a smile, "How is the chief?"

Jiang Guangyuan smiled and nodded, "I used the Qiang people's unique communication method of beacon fire. That night, the Qiang people's general Ashali came to see me. Their leader was Murong Tao, and Ashali was the deputy general. He actually commanded an army of [-]. I am willing to obey the arrangement of the capital and lead the army to defect."

"Is this Ashali trustworthy?" Chen Qing asked again.

Jiang Guangyuan smiled and said: "He was originally an orphan, his parents died. I buried his parents for him, adopted him as an adopted son, raised him, and became the number one warrior in my tribe. I am his father."

"Then what should I use as evidence to make him obey me?"

Jiang Guangyuan handed a black stick wrapped in cloth to Chen Qing and said with a smile: "This is the Qiang Man Ling. It is specially made with wolf dung. It is easy to ignite. After it is lit, its smoke will soar into the sky in a straight line. Asha Li can tell at a glance that after he leads the army, he will become Jiang Wuming's lieutenant general and obey the command of the Xuanfu envoy."

It turned out to be wolf dung, Chen Qing took it and asked, "Then will the chief go back now?"

"I'll go straight back to Xiazhou!"

Jiang Guangyuan sighed again: "I've tried my best, if something happened to Ashali and he didn't come over, the Xuan Fu envoy would kill them directly, I have no complaints!"

"I will try my best, and I will not take this step unless I have to."

Jiang Guangyuan thanked him again and again, took his leave and left.

Before dawn the next day, the Song army set off again to go north. At noon, a group of Jurchen sentry cavalry finally discovered them and rushed back to report.

Wuyan Puluhun was getting impatient with the wait. He finally got the news that the Song army was going north. Chen Qing personally led the main force and was only eighty miles away from him. This information made him ecstatic and he immediately ordered the entire army to assemble.

The conceit and pride in the Jurchen's bones made them ignore the Xixia Army and the Consortium Army. They quickly assembled, and [-] cavalry set off southward.

The coach Li Kan also got the news, and was so angry that the Jurchens did not cooperate. He also hurriedly led an army of [-] and Han Chang's [-] Congregation Army to follow them south. Of course, Xiping Mansion did not give up. Murong Tao led an army of [-] Qiang people to continue to confront the Song army in Xiping Prefecture.

Chapter 687 Surrender

Ashali is known as the number one warrior in the Eastern Qiang. He is two meters tall, has a big arm and a round waist, and is extremely powerful. He can lift a boulder weighing [-] catties. A god-like existence among human soldiers.

It was also for this reason that after Brother Li Cha reorganized the Khitannu into the Xixia Army, he had no choice but to appoint him as the deputy general to assist the general in commanding an army of [-] troops.

There are 5 Khitan slaves in total, including [-] Qiang people, [-] Khitan people, and [-] Dangxiang people at the bottom. Khitan people and Dangxiang people were killed in two fierce battles in Xiping Mansion successively, leaving only [-] Qiang people.

When Li Kan led the army and had just left, Ashali sent someone to secretly shoot a letter of arrows on the top of the city. Ashali was not only extremely strong, but also very clear-headed. He knew that the Song army in the city would come out at any time. None of his soldiers were willing to sacrifice their lives for the Xixia people, so how could they resist.

In order to avoid unnecessary accidental injury, he wrote a letter to Liu Cui as quickly as possible and shot him on the wall.

At this time, Liu Cui also received the letter from Asali, which really surprised him. Of course Liu Cui knew about the Khitan slaves, and also knew that Dutong and the Qiang had reached a cooperation, and accepting mutiny among the Qiang slaves was also planned.

It's just that he didn't expect it to be so soon, and he was worried that this was a trap, so Liu Cui hesitated for a while.

The lieutenant general persuaded Ying: "The possibility of a trap is unlikely. If the Xixia army knew about such a secret matter, they would have taken advantage of it to seize the city. General, this is an opportunity. The opponent has [-] troops, plus With our [-] troops, we can take care of the capital."

Liu Cui nodded, "You are right!"

Liu Cui immediately wrote a reply letter, and a Qiang subordinate pretended to be an enemy soldier and went down to the city to deliver the letter.

……

At night, in a large tent, Ashali and ten generals secretly discussed the action plan. The ten generals were all Qiang people. They heard that the great chief Jiang Guang had passed by, and everyone was very excited.

"This is a letter from General Liu in Xiping City!"

Ashali took Liu Cui's letter and said to the crowd: "We have an appointment to meet at the second watch, and we must get rid of Murong Tao before the second watch. Letting go of one person is the key."

A general said with a smile: "At the second watch, everyone is already asleep. Our [-] troops surrounded them tightly. Forgive them for not being able to fly even with their wings."

Ashalli nodded, "You're right, I was a little overwhelmed, everyone is going back now, keep the secrets, and at the second watch, use fire as a sign."

Ashali thought of everything, but he ignored an important link, that is, the outside spies, and the outside spies reported directly to the general, and Ashali sent someone to deliver a letter to the city, but was discovered by the outside spies.

When Murong Tao got the news of the outside spies, he suddenly became a little nervous. Everyone in Xixia knew that the Khitans were unreliable, and it was Xiao Heda's army. If it wasn't for the lack of troops, Brother Li Cha would never use the Khitans again.

No one wanted to command this Qiang army, and finally threw it to Murong Tao. Why did he give it to Murong Tao, because he was originally a Song general and surrendered to Xixia, and he was still looked down upon by Xixia people in his bones.

Murong Tao did not have any prestige among the Qiang people. He only commanded the army by commanding Ashali. If Ashali surrendered to the Song army, he would only die.

Murong Tao paced back and forth in the big tent with his hands behind his back, worried and afraid, what does this Ashali want to do? Could it be that he wants to surrender to the Song Army?

At this time, a personal soldier walked into the big tent and reported: "Report to Du Commander, the humble officer has discovered the situation!"

"What's the situation?" Murong Tao asked urgently.

"Just now, Ashali summoned ten Qiang generals for an emergency meeting. The specific content is unknown, but I heard that someone sent a letter to Ashali. It's just heard, and the specific situation is not clear."

Murong Tao knew it well, it must be Song Jun's reply, and Ashali called ten Qiang generals to discuss matters, of course to discuss how to deal with him.

At this moment, Murong Tao finally made up his mind, if he didn't leave, he would have no chance.

"All the soldiers are assembled, I'm going to inspect the camp."

……

At dusk, Ashali was having dinner with a group of generals. A soldier walked up quickly and whispered a few words to Ashali.

Ashari stood up abruptly, "What? He ran away!"

"General, what happened?" Several generals asked one after another.

"Just now Murong Tao left the barracks with three hundred soldiers and headed south, but he let this bastard run away."

Several generals were also stunned, how could Murong Tao get the news, he shouldn't!

Ashali couldn't care less about eating, so he threw down his bowl and rushed to the camp of the Chinese Army. At this time, General Luo Jin had led thousands of people to control the camp of the Chinese Army. Among Murong Tao's 300 soldiers, except for 700 people, they ran away with Murong Tao. After falling, the other [-] people were all captured, and they knelt down in the open space.

Ashali went into the big tent of the Chinese army and checked it. The seals and documents were taken away, and all the silver and money in the box were gone. He must have escaped.

"Pass my order, and all soldiers must assemble immediately."

……

Before it was dark, Liu Cui received another letter from Asali, and Murong Tao had fled. He had already led his troops to gather outside the west city without any weapons or armor, waiting to be recruited.

Liu Cui hurried to the head of the west city, and sure enough, he saw a dense mass of Xixia soldiers outside the city, all dressed in white Qiang clothes, which was very spectacular.

Liu Cui was overjoyed, and immediately said to the deputy general Xiang Ying: "We will go out of the city to recruit the Qiang people!"

The gate of the city was opened, and [-] Song troops left the city in the direction of the suspension bridge. The soldiers moved their armor and weapons into the city, and Liu Cui led the generals to greet Ashali and the Qiang generals. The two sides met happily.

"It's getting dark, all generals, please go to the city to rest, the soldiers can go back to camp, let's discuss the next step tomorrow?"

Liu Cui asked the Qiang generals to go to the city to rest, while the soldiers returned to the camp. This is the rule, whether it is surrender or surrender, the soldiers will be separated at the beginning.

Of course Ashali also understood this rule, and ordered all the generals to follow the Song army into the city, while the soldiers went back to the camp to rest, and Ashali accompanied Liu Cui into the barracks to check.

Of course, the Song army also gained a lot. The main reason is that nearly 20 troops’ logistics supplies and hundreds of thousands of sheep could not be taken away, and nearly [-] large tents were handed over to the Song army because of the surrender of the Qiang people. .

Of course there is a reason for this. At the beginning, their logistics supplies were transported from Xingqing Prefecture by [-] Han people driving [-] carts. It was impossible for these Han people and carts to stay in the barracks. They returned after unloading In Xingqing Mansion, the Xixia court just wanted to use them to harvest wheat, and then use their carts to transport the wheat back.

These [-] Han people were forcibly escorted to the Hetao Plain in the middle of the Yellow River to harvest wheat. All kinds of supplies and food and sheep in the camp of Xiping Mansion could not be transported, and finally all became the possessions of the Song army.

The Song army began to transport all kinds of materials into the city, of course, they entered the city along the moat with leather rafts. Thousands of torches illuminated the camp and the road along the way like daylight.

At the gate of the city, Ashali and Liu Cui looked at the busy soldiers, and Ashali asked, "The Jin soldiers and the Western Xia army have all gone south to attack the main force of the Song army. What does General Liu think?"

Liu Cui smiled slightly and said, "I have a bold idea. I will leave [-] soldiers to guard Lingzhou, and then we will lead an army of [-] to attack Xingqing Mansion. I wonder if Li Kan will withdraw in a hurry?"

Ashali blinked, and asked with some surprise: "This is called encircling Wei and saving Zhao!"

Liu Cui nodded, "That's right, didn't the general arrest [-] soldiers? I showed mercy and let them go, and then told them that our army is going to attack Xingqing Mansion, and these soldiers will definitely go to Li worth reporting."

Chapter 688 Infantry

In the wilderness fifty miles south of Lingzhou, the Song army finally encountered [-] Jurchen cavalry.

Chen Qing ordered [-] infantry to lay down the phalanx, while [-] Song cavalry gathered five miles to the east, staring at the Jurchen cavalry.

Wuyan Puluhun looked at the Song army's formation from a distance, and it was the first time he saw the Song army's formation like this, with the infantry in the front and the cavalry preparing to attack from the side.

He used to be in Hebei, in the Central Plains, in Jianghuai, and then killed the Yangtze River. He fought dozens of fierce battles with the Song Army, and he has never been defeated. Especially against the Song Army infantry, the opponent was almost defeated by one blow.

If he was only facing [-] infantry, he could completely slaughter the opponent, but the opponent still had tens of thousands of cavalry on the side, which made him a little uncertain.

At this time, Han Chang stepped forward and said, "It's not as good as the Xixia Army and the Congregation Army against the enemy's infantry, and the general against the Song Army's cavalry. This way the chances of victory are much greater."

Wuyan Puluhun was noncommittal about this plan, but he had another idea, let the [-] Xixia army fight fiercely with the Song army first, consume the strength and physical strength of the Song army, and let him understand the Song army Combat strength and details.

As for the life and death of the Xixia Army, Wuyan Puluhun really didn't care at all. He was about to send someone to invite Li Kan, but unexpectedly, Li Kan rushed over.

"General Puluhun, something is wrong!"

Li Kan stepped forward and said anxiously: "The [-] troops left behind in Xiping Mansion have surrendered to the Song army in the city!"

"What?" Wuyan Puluhun was also taken aback. If the [-] remaining troops surrendered, wouldn't their logistics supply be over?

"Is this news true?"

"There is absolutely no problem. Murong Tao has fled back. The [-] troops left behind are all Qiang people. It was Xiao Heda's army before. They have long known that they are unstable. They really should not be used. This is a bad situation."

When Han saw that Li Kan was sweating profusely, he knew that things should not be that simple.

"Is there anything else important, my lord?"

Li Kan said anxiously: "The Song army and the Qiang people joined forces. It is said that there are 8 people, and 1 people are left to guard Xiping Mansion. The other [-] troops went to Xingqing Mansion."