Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Facing the Xixia army that was blocked at the mouth of the valley, what was the main force of the Ming army doing?

Of course, it is to build an artillery position, drag all the large and small guns over, arrange the infantry to protect the gunners, and then bombard the enemy camp.

After hoarding gunpowder for several years, this was the first time it was used on a large scale in the battle with Nanjunsi. It was enough for Yang Zhi to squander it as much as he wanted.

As for the iron bullets, as long as you kill the enemy, you can still pick them up after they are fired.

The Xixia camp, which stretched for several miles, was pushed flat by infantry and artillery, and the Xixia soldiers continued to retreat. There were also generals who led their troops up the hills on both sides, hoping to attack the flanks of the Ming army's formation.

Yang Zhi divided his troops and climbed up the hill to cover. Occasionally, Xixia soldiers rushed into the valley. Li Yanxian immediately led the cavalry to charge in small groups through the reserved passage.

Outside the valley, Zhong Shidao heard the sound of cannons inside and immediately organized a cross-river attack. But it was basically a feint attack and no force attack was intended to reduce casualties among soldiers.

They all unanimously chose to grind slowly.

These tens of thousands of Xixia soldiers have been completely blocked, like a tiger trapped in a net.

Since the tiger cannot escape, there is no need to send people into the net to catch it. The beating of gongs and drums frightened him, the beating of sticks and hammers, and the noise day and night kept the tiger from sleeping.

When the tiger gets tired and becomes afraid of humans, it can be easily captured.

Zhongshi Road strictly guarded the camp across the river, and Yang Zhi's army advanced slowly. When the fight reached the second day, those eager to attack turned into Xixia soldiers, who organized counterattacks several times in an attempt to break through.

All failed!

For four days in a row, the Xixia soldiers were camped step by step. They were almost unable to retreat. At night, a large number of soldiers crowded into a tent to sleep.

Morale was almost at zero, and the entire army was filled with an atmosphere of fear.

After Brother Richard escaped with his elite troops, the top general of the Xixia army became Brother Xi, the commander-in-chief of the Xishou Baotai Army.

The Weiming clan is the Tuoba clan. Some families just follow the old surname.

As for Brother Xi, it is related to Sanskrit and Tibetan, and is the "Singh" in India. In Tibetan Buddhism, it means "Dharma Lion".

Weiming Xige's father was none other than Weiming Ami, the fierce general of Xixia.

In the Xishou Military Division of the Xixia Kingdom, most of the governors in the past dynasties were named Wei. In the past, the yamen was stationed near Tiandu Mountain.

Guo Cheng and Zhe Keshi took advantage of Xixia's dispatch of troops and directly took over the Xishou Army's lair. The Song Dynasty established Xi'an Prefecture there, and the Xishou Army Station could only continue to move westward.

"Brother Richard, if that guy hasn't come back yet, he must have deserted the army and run away!" Brother Wei Mingxi was furious.

The supervisor's name is Meile Ashan, and his father is Meile Dubu, a famous general in Xixia.

The whole families of these two people were captured by Guo Cheng and Zhe Keshi, which was a rare shame and humiliation in Xixia.

Meile Ashan said: "Submit."

"How can it be surrendered?"

Brother Weinaxi's reaction was quite exciting: "Back then, your and my father lost Tiandu, and the Nishishou Military Division was abandoned for a time, and our two families were ridiculed and humiliated. Last year, we finally regained Tiandu, and both of you and I inherited our father's duties. , His Majesty is encouraging us to restore the glory of our ancestors. If we surrender with our army today, even if we can go back alive, how will we face our countrymen and clansmen?"

Meile Ashan said: "Brother Richard abandoned the army and ran away. He is the most responsible. We have failed to break through several times and we have tried our best. If we can save some soldiers, it will be a meritorious service. At that time, you and my whole family, young and old, all He was captured by the Song army and he was released during the peace talks between the two countries? It is important to save his life!"

Brother Weimingxi was furious: "Don't mention the peace talks again!"

"The front and rear are blocked, and there are mountains on both sides. How do you deal with it?" Meile Ashan asked.

Brother Weimingxi couldn't answer.

"Boom boom boom!"

The shelling from the north began again.

As for Zhongshi Road in the south, the battle across the river was just a pretense to contain the Xixia troops. He divided his troops to bypass the distance, captured a hilltop on the east side, and confronted the Xixia soldiers on another hilltop.

Meile Ashan said anxiously: "The Han people have magical weapons. If the generals don't surrender early, tens of thousands of soldiers will be slaughtered!"

Brother Wei Mingxi said with a dry mouth: "I will lead my soldiers to charge one last time. If we cannot achieve victory, you can lead the army and surrender."

"You want to die?" Meile Ashan asked in shock.

Brother Weimingxi looked at the sky and said to himself: "That year my father led troops to attack the Song Dynasty, and the Xishou Army was empty of troops. When the Song army came to kill me, I was only ten years old, and I became a prisoner of the Song Dynasty along with my family. It was such a huge humiliation. It's unforgettable. How can a man be humiliated twice in this world? I will never do it again."

"That time there was a traitor who informed us. It was not the fault of the war!" Meile Ashan said.

The person who informed the Song army and served as a guide was none other than Meile Ashan's father's general, Yao Zhu.

However, due to luck, the Xixia rebels led the way throughout the whole process. They only led a few thousand light cavalry to attack, and captured the Xishou Army Headquarters without much fighting.

All the high-level family members of the military department became prisoners of the Song army. Many Xixia generals surrendered to the Song Dynasty and led their troops directly to the Song Dynasty.

Brother Wei Mingxi called the generals over and expressed his thoughts, and the scene suddenly became quiet.

The infantry was not left behind. He only took more than a thousand cavalry from his headquarters, neatly dressed and slowly walked towards the Ming army's position.

The soldiers watched him walking away with different expressions and reactions.

After walking forward for a while, Brother Wei Mingxi raised his spear, pointed it diagonally forward and shouted: "Warriors of Daxia, follow me to kill the enemy!"

Although some people did not want to die, these more than a thousand cavalry actually followed Brother Wei Mingxi forward.

"Has the enemy been driven crazy?" Yang Zhi was confused.

There were only more than a thousand tribal cavalry, and Yang Zhi was too lazy to waste ammunition. He only asked the infantry to line up and move forward, greeting them with bows, arrows and javelins.

When Brother Wei Mingxi led his troops to the front of the formation, many war horses automatically slowed down in the face of the numerous long-pole weapons.

Some Xixia cavalrymen who were afraid of death originally wanted to follow their general in a heroic charge, but were so frightened that they halted their horses halfway through the charge.

Others stopped to shoot arrows. Although they were not afraid of death, they did not want to foolishly rush into battle and die.

More than a thousand cavalrymen were divided into three parts, each with their own ideas.

Li Yanxian led four thousand cavalry and rushed through several passages in the formation, encircling and killing the enemies who charged to the nearest point.

The equipment he wore was a gift from Ju Ming. He wore chain armor on the inside, light zha armor on the outside, and leather armor on the neck and chest of the horse. His protective power was not inferior to that of the Xixia iron kite.

After rushing out of the infantry formation, Li Yanxian immediately shot an arrow and knocked down a cavalryman in front of him at close range.

"Well done!"

Although Brother Wei Mingxi wanted to die, he also wanted to die vigorously. It would be too cowardly to die directly by hitting the gun array.

The horses of both sides faced each other, and the spears came and went.

Li Yanxian's spear hit the opponent's arm, but was blocked by Zha Jia and slid away instantly, only causing Brother Weinaxi to lose his balance slightly.

When the two horses crossed each other, Li Yanxian let go of the spear with his right hand, suddenly pulled out the mace and smashed it out.

Brother Wei Mingxi also wanted to use a short weapon, but he was slowed down because he lost his balance. He received a full blow with the iron mace on his chest, and his throat immediately became sweet and blood spurted out. The force of the charge of the war horse was such that the injured Weinaxi brother could not bear it, and he fell down from the horse's back.

Another Ming army cavalry rushed up, but without deliberately stepping on him, the horse's hoof hit Brother Wei Mingxi's left arm hard.

Li Yanxian had withdrawn his mace and charged forward with his spear again. There was no enemy along the way.

The more than a thousand Xixia cavalry were originally divided into three parts, and they came out with Brother Weimingxi, and each of them didn't know what to do.

Now that the life or death of the general was unknown, they were attacked by Li Yanxian again and were instantly frightened to the point of fleeing on horseback.

After chasing for a while, Li Yanxian heard the sound of the gong, reined in his horse and led his troops back.

Brother Wei Mingxi had been dragged into the formation, his left arm was trampled by a horse's hoof, and he fainted from the pain. But the real fatal injury was Li Yanxian's iron mace, which probably damaged all his internal organs.

The military doctor was called to take a look and said: "There is still a breath of life, but it is definitely hopeless."

"What is this person doing?" Yang Zhi felt extremely confused. According to his character, it would be better to die than live. What's the point of rushing into the battle to die for no reason?

Li Yanxian commented: "No matter what, he can be considered a good man. After the peace talks, burn his ashes and return them to Xixia."

While he was talking, he saw a Xixia general coming with a group of Xixia generals.

The distance between the two sides was still two to three hundred steps, so the Xixia generals threw away their weapons one after another and helped each other take off their armor before continuing to walk.

This battle is clearly about to surrender.

And they surrendered very simply, without sending anyone to bargain first.

Meile Ashan, who spoke fluent Chinese and Western accents, took the lead in kneeling on the ground and said: "Brother Richard, the King of Jin, has escaped, and the one who just asked for death was Brother Xi, the commander of the Xishou Army. I am the Superintendent of the Xishou Army. Army sister Le'ashan is here to lead the army in surrender and ask the general to spare the lives of all the soldiers."

Yang Zhi had killed prisoners before, but there was still a battle to follow, and a total of several thousand people were killed.

Now there are tens of thousands of prisoners of war, and he really doesn't dare to kill them.

What if the court needs to use these prisoners of war as leverage in negotiations?

Yang Zhi said: "Since I am willing to surrender, I will not commit more crimes. Come and tie them up. Bind them with courtesy... and don't be so rude."

Tens of thousands of Xixia soldiers laid down their weapons and became prisoners. Yang Zhi sent a boat to ask Zhong Shidao to cross the river.

Zhong Shidao was over sixty years old, and he never expected to see such a wonderful sight. He seemed to be glowing with a second spring, and he looked around briskly in the Xixia Camp.

"Congratulations to General Yang!" Master Zhong laughed loudly.

Yang Zhi said: "This battle is all planned by Mr. Zhong. I just follow the instructions."

Zhong Shidao said with emotion: "It is easier said than done to implement the four words according to the rules. The Song Dynasty and Xixia have been fighting for hundreds of years, and they have made countless strategies, but when they actually fight, everything changes. General Yang's execution according to the rules, but It’s better than I thought before.”

"I can't take it seriously." Yang Zhi was actually quite proud, but he didn't show it.

Zhong Shidao said: "This war is over, and I will return to Tokyo. The next step will be peace talks between the two countries. Most of these prisoners will be released in exchange for the prefectures and counties that Xixia took away last year. But when they are released, they must be chopped Lose the right thumb so they can no longer fight in the future!"

Negotiation is negotiation, reality is reality, and both sides must make small moves.

For example, if Xixia returns the territory it occupied, it will inevitably kidnap a large number of people when it withdraws its troops, leaving the Ming Dynasty with a scarce population even if it takes back the land.

And if Ming Dynasty promised to release prisoners of war, it would definitely not let these soldiers go back intact.