During the Song, Liao, Xixia, Jin, and Mongolia periods, the main role of battlefield cavalry was heavy cavalry.
For example, the Jingsai Army of the Song Dynasty, the Tielin Army of the Liao Kingdom, the Iron Kites of the Western Xia Dynasty, the Tiefu Tu of the Jin Kingdom, and the Mongolian heavy armored cavalry.
However, heavy cavalry is very expensive, and the cost of personnel training and armor equipment is very expensive. Therefore, the number of heavy cavalry deployed between countries is relatively small, and the number of light cavalry is the largest.
Therefore, if the Liao and Song Dynasty went to war and encountered in the wild, facing the powerful number of light cavalry in the Liao Kingdom, the Song Army's infantry phalanx would indeed be a living target.
The problem is that the Song Army will not be stupid enough to start a fight with you in the wild.
There are more than 30 important towns and cities on the Hebei border, and there are hundreds of other fortresses, military villages, and bunkers, which are densely packed and countless.
There are more than ten military states on the border, including Zhending Prefecture, Dingzhou, Baozhou, Guangxin Army, Ansu Army, Shun'an Army, Xiongzhou, Mozhou, Baoding Army, Xin'an Army, Yongning Army, Cangzhou, and Baoding Prefecture. The garrison has increased from more than 100,000 during the Song Zhenzong period to more than 200,000 now.
The Liao cavalry marched southward in large numbers and encountered the opponent's cities, military strongholds, fortresses, and bunkers, all of which were tough.
In the past, you could hold up the opponent's city to see if you could attack it by force. Now, people have bed crossbows for super long range and bow crossbows for medium and long range. They finally rushed to the city and were blown to pieces with grenades.
Therefore, when Yelu Zongzhen, Xingzong of Liao Dynasty, listened to the analysis of the ministers, he felt very troubled.
The Song Dynasty was like a tortoise. Although its counterattack ability was not strong, its defense was too strong. A mouse could not attack the tortoise. Maybe the tortoise shell had thorns, and if it bites back, it would be troublesome.
But no matter what, although Song's new firearms pose no threat to actively attacking Liao, it also gave Song the confidence to dare to reject Liao. After Song Emperor Zhao Zhen experienced an easy defeat of Xixia, his self-confidence greatly increased. Become confident.
Yelu Zongzhen believed that even if he could not invade the Song Dynasty from the south, he could not let the Song Dynasty continue to have a surge in self-confidence. The military and horse deterrence should still be there. Therefore, after much hesitation, we finally decided to gather troops in Nanjing first and see the situation first.
So in the second half of the second year of Baoyuan, the Liao Kingdom began to frequently gather troops. The spies on the border of the Song Dynasty apparently noticed this, and immediately reported the situation to the court after inquiring about the movement of the Liao army.
The Constitutional Yuan has actually analyzed this situation a long time ago. Zhao Zhen and the others have also made arrangements and preparations in advance. Large quantities of grain, grass, weapons and equipment have begun to be transported to Hebei. At the same time, a part of the capital's forbidden troops have been mobilized to bring more than 100,000 grenades. , prepare to defend the border to meet the enemy.
Historically, the Song Dynasty had been fighting in the northwest for several years, with huge expenditures and an increasingly empty treasury. At this time, the Liao State again sent troops to deter them. Zhao Zhen and others believed that the national strength could no longer support the two-front war, so they chose the "Qingli Increasing Coins" in exchange for the Liao State's withdrawal of troops.
But now in history, the Song State has been fighting Xixia for several years. Only when the national power is severely depleted can it start another war with the Liao State. Now it's over as soon as it started. The Song Dynasty didn't have much consumption at all, so it was naturally fearless.
Secondly, after Zhao Jun came to the Song Dynasty, the national power has increased. With industry and commerce becoming increasingly prosperous, the national treasury is still full through the tax revenue, which is more than enough to temporarily maintain two-sided warfare.
The third and most important point is that Zhao Zhen and the others already know the history in advance. This means that for the Song-Xia War and the possible Song-Liao War in the future, they have been preparing for more than three years from the third year of Jingyou to the second year of Baoyuan.
Xixia had been preparing to attack Song for a long time, but Song knew that they had been preparing to attack Song for a long time, so they had been preparing to counterattack for a long time. With mental calculation and no intention, Xixia's attack was directly defeated.
The Liao Kingdom needed temporary preparations, but the Song Kingdom had already been wary of the Liao Kingdom. In this case, the war preparations of the two sides were not at the same level.
September.
The Liao Kingdom was still raising grain, grass, soldiers and horses, but here in the northwest, the situation was already at a fever pitch.
The new wind howls on the Loess Plateau, it is approaching early winter, and everything is silent.
The originally green hills turned yellow, and after the green grass withered, the high slopes full of yellow sand were revealed.
Zhang Kang led thousands of knights and slowly appeared on the hills north of Longansai.
Di Qing, Zhe Jimin, Zhou Mei and other mid-level officers followed behind him. All the soldiers have two horses, one horse carries the people, and the other horse carries the beans.
Due to their outstanding performance in the Battle of Jiaozhai, almost all the original lower-level officers became mid-level officers.
Among them, Zhang Kang's official promotion was the highest. He was praised by Zhao Jun and recommended by Fan Zhongyan. He was directly promoted to the deputy pacifier of Yanyan Road and the deployment of the capital. He was already the number one general in the army of Yanyan Road.
His previous official position was not low, he was from the fifth rank of Yanzhou to the governor, and he was a Jinshi. Now it is natural for him to be promoted to the fourth rank.
At this moment, Zhang Kang's eyes were deep and he looked to the north and said: "Everyone, at this time, the Qingzhou, Huanzhou, Huaide Army, Zhenrong Army, Deshun Army, and the Qingtang Army have all been dispatched, in order to provide We create a surprise attack on the rear to create an opportunity. In this battle, we must win without losing, do you hear me?"
"yes!"
The crowd chanted.
"Walk!"
Zhang Kang gave the order and took the lead in galloping. Tens of thousands of cavalry galloped behind him, spraying out countless dust.
Fan Zhongyan planned to counterattack Xixia. He not only mobilized more than 100,000 troops from Fuyan Road, Huanqing Road and Jingyuan Road, but also invited him to send troops together with the Tubo clan.
Zusiluo was a pro-Song regime and had always had a close relationship with the Song Dynasty. After Zhao Jun came to power, he proposed a plan to unite with Tibet to suppress Xixia. Zhao Zhen specially sent an envoy to Qingtang. Not only did he reward Zusiluo, but he also gave him many gifts. Gift.
The two sides traded with each other on the border and conducted in-depth exchanges in trade, economy, culture and military aspects. In particular, before the Song Dynasty, the export of ironware was prohibited, and a lot of it was sold to help the development of the Xisiluo regime.
In this case, Zushiluo was very grateful for the generosity of the Song Dynasty, so he gave back many horses. And he readily accepted the proposal to use Song Dynasty currency and include Song Dynasty language and characters as official languages.
The Song Dynasty was short of horses and the ethnic minorities were short of iron, so both sides took what they needed. Coupled with the fact that the Song Dynasty began to increase the proportion of trade to Xisiluo, the two sides fell into a honeymoon period in their relationship.
In fact, it's not like Zuosiluo didn't know that this might cause the Qingtang regime to rely heavily on the Song Dynasty.
But he couldn't help it.
The Qingtang Zsisiluo regime was actually just a small tribal government on the edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It was not very powerful during the Zisiluo period, with a total population of just over 200,000. With all the people in the army, it had 60,000 to 70,000 troops.
There seemed to be a lot of troops, but they were far inferior to Xixia in terms of equipment and combat power. Therefore, Xixia often wanted to annex them at that time. For example, Li Yuanhao occupied Qingtang in the second year of Jingyou.
If it had not been for Zhisiluo to rise up and resist, coupled with the right time, place and people to defeat the Xixia army at the Battle of Zongge River, I am afraid that Li Yuanhao would have annexed the Qingtang Zsisiluo regime long ago.
Therefore, a weak country and poor people are obviously a problem that Jisiluo must face.
After the Song Dynasty united with the Jiaosiluo regime, the Song Dynasty's trade could go to the Western Regions through the Hehuang area. In this way, the Silk Road trade that was blocked by Xixia could be reopened and the economic ties between the Song Dynasty and the Jiaosiluo regime could be strengthened. .
According to historical records, the Hexi Corridor was cut off by the Xixia. Xixia took on the important task of restoring and protecting the Sino-Western trade routes. He re-opened the "ancient Tuyuhun Road" from the Western Regions to the Central Plains through Hehuang, and established new trade routes in Qingtang, Miaochuan, and Linzhou. International trade markets were set up in Gu and other cities, and troops were sent to escort caravans from various countries to the Song border.
In this way, the land transportation between China and the West, which had been blocked by Xixia, was unhindered in the Hehuang area ruled by Xixia. Tributary envoys and merchants from various countries in the Western Regions traveled thousands of miles, detoured around Hehuang, and went straight to Bianjing, the capital of the Song Dynasty.
Western wealth and goods are flowing into China, and Chinese culture is also constantly being imported into the West.
In the process of continuous economic and cultural exchanges between China and the West, Qingtang became an international city at that time. The city was crowded with merchants and treasures were accumulated. According to the "Qingtang Records", there were hundreds of merchants from various countries who settled in the east of the city.
Therefore, strengthening ties with the Song Dynasty will only bring benefits and no disadvantages to Qingtang's economic development and strength. Even if Zun Si Luo knew that he might become more dependent on the Song State in the future, he still had to maintain a good relationship with the Song State for the future of Qingtang.
Anyway, regardless of whether the Song Dynasty promoted language, culture and coins in Qingtang, Qingtang always communicated in Tubo dialect, Tubo script plus Chinese and Chinese characters. Not to mention coins, Qingtang does not have its own currency, so it is naturally more convenient to use Song Dynasty currency.
At this time, after two years of support from the Song Dynasty, Qingtang had absorbed many other tribes from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in terms of population, and its weapons and equipment had also been upgraded. At Fan Zhongyan's call, Xisiluo personally led 30,000 troops and killed them in a mighty manner. To Xixia.
In early September, Xixia was ablaze with war. Fan Zhongyan launched the Northern Expedition in the name of Li Yuanhao's insincerity in surrender.
Li Yuanhao was so shocked that he could only send another envoy to Liao for help, and at the same time sent general Qiyu Wangrong to lead 20,000 troops to Xiliang Mansion to resist Xisiluo, while he led the main force to fight fiercely with the Song army.
Fighting broke out between the two sides in Weizhou, Yanzhou, Youzhou, Xiazhou, Shizhou, Yinzhou, Longzhou and other places on the border of Xixia.
In mid-September, Zhong Shiheng, who was deployed in Huanzhou, took advantage of Zhao Zhen, deputy general manager of Huanqing Road, to surround the Xixia Jingsai Army, and led his army to bypass Jingsai Fort and raid near Xiping Mansion.
This was something that had never happened since the Song-Xia War. Li Yuanhao was so frightened that he hurriedly led his troops to resist and finally defeated Zhong Shiheng.
no way.
The capital of Xixia was too close to the border of Song Dynasty.
The nearest place was Duoling under the jurisdiction of Huaide Army, which was later known as Tongxin County in Ningxia, and it was only 200 kilometers away from Xingqing Prefecture, which was later known as Yinchuan City.
Fan Zhongyan prepared for this battle for more than two years. With the number of his own troops crushed and the selection of reliable generals, even when they went out of the frontier to attack the enemy's hinterland, the Song army still fought well and the two sides were trapped. Stalemate.
In the midst of the war in Xixia, a light cavalry force quietly bypassed Longzhou, where the two sides were fighting, and went north through Sanchakou and Wanjingkou, entering the Ningxia Plain.
On the vast grassland, you can see Dangxiang tribes living everywhere. They drove their cattle and sheep to get a last wave of fat before winter. When winter comes, the cattle and sheep have no fresh grass to eat, so they can only eat hay harvested and dried in the summer.
These Dangxiang tribes saw densely packed cavalry from a distance. At first, everyone thought they were the troops of Dangxiang Emperor Li Yuanhao. After all, they had never seen the Song army on the Ningxia Plain.
However, when they got a little closer, Dangxiang, who had good eyesight, discovered that they were groups of Song cavalry.
Suddenly the grassland became chaotic. Many party herdsmen could not even drive their cattle and sheep. They dispersed on horseback and headed towards Xingqing Prefecture in the west.
Some soldiers of the Song Army proposed to chase them, but Zhang Kang vetoed it.
His purpose was very clear, and he continued to go more than 300 kilometers north. The soldiers carried nothing except beans to ensure the strength of the horses and a straight-headed sword, and only a few grenades.
They didn't even wear leather armor, just to ensure the mobility of the light cavalry.
Four days later, the Song cavalry arrived at Shengwei City, more than 300 kilometers away from the Song Dynasty border, at a speed of more than 70 kilometers per day.
"Xi Xia Shu Shi" records: In the second year of Tiansheng of the Song Dynasty, Deming built Weicheng in Dingzhou to control the Tibetan people.
Weicheng is located to the north of Dingzhou and to the north of the Yinchuan Plain, probably around Shizuishan City in Ningxia in later generations. Because it is located in the most fertile Yinchuan Plain area, it has also become an important gathering area for the Dangxiang tribe.
Li Yuanhao summoned many party tribes and established himself as emperor. He gathered all the small and medium-sized tribes below to cultivate the Yinchuan Plain, not only animal husbandry, but also agriculture.
On the vast plains, you can see some tribal tents from time to time, and some farmland has been reclaimed near the tents to divert water from the Yellow River, just like the villages of the Song Dynasty.
The sudden arrival of the Song Army obviously startled the scattered party members outside, and they all sounded the horn warning.
The sound of movement spread quickly.
Zhang Kang was still busy on his way, ignoring the Dangxiang herdsmen and farmers near the Yellow River.
But the sound was faster than the horse after all, and with the continuous sound of horns, it alerted the Shun army of the Western Xia Dynasty stationed near Wei City in the province.
Li Yuanhao reformed the military system and also deployed a large number of troops on the borders of Song and Liao. However, after the Song-Xia war started, he moved most of the soldiers and horses on the Liao border to the Song border.
The Chaoshun Army is one of the very few troops that has not moved to the south, because they are responsible for only one task - to protect the safety of Li Yuanhao and his main tribes!
Yes!
The area from Weicheng to Dingzhou, as the richest land in Xixia, naturally belonged to Li Yuanhao's own Weiming tribe.
After he established himself as emperor, he summoned many party leaders and moved their tribes here.
It is said to be protection, but it actually also implies controlling the families of each tribe.
More than 10,000 North Korean troops hurriedly assembled.
When Zhang Kang climbed over a small hill, he saw a scene that surprised him.
To the west of the hills is the majestic Helan Mountain, which reaches into the clouds and is shrouded in clouds and mist.
From the bottom of the mountain to the hills here, I don’t know how many miles, there is endless prairie, densely packed tents everywhere.
On the horizon, a small city can be vaguely seen.
Outside the city, troops gathered.
Continuous sounds of horns sounded in each tent, and countless party members supported the old and young and fled towards the city.
"kill!"
Zhang Kang looked at this scene expressionlessly and uttered one word lightly.
On the hill behind them, groups of Song Army cavalry appeared, rushing toward Li Yuanhao's hinterland like a tidal wave.
(End of chapter)
