The northwest wind was raging, dust and sand were flying, and a team of more than 200 light armored cavalry were eating dust.
The horse bounced its hooves briskly and trotted forward. Behind the team, there were people driving more than a hundred unrided horses, wrapping them up and marching with the team.
The horse ridden by the leader is exceptionally tall and fat, making him stand out among the group. His armor is also different from others, with a unicorn belly, dark gold arm guards, phoenix wings, and a dark red cape tied around his shoulders. The colors on the cloak are different, some are dark red, and some are bright red. It is not difficult to see that it was originally bright red, but it was dyed darker by blood and dust.
He raised one hand and supported Zhangba Ma Shuo on his shoulder. He had a short sword on his waist and a long saber tied to the horse. The armor leaves moved with the ups and downs, making a unique sound of armor. The big red cloak danced with the strong wind. Flying. The knights behind followed suit, imitating the calmness of the leader. No one spoke, only the horses' hooves and the wind.
At dusk, in the distant sky, a firework exploded in the sky.
Wang Yan didn't speak. The person behind him took out a fire stick, took out a tubular object from his horse pocket, lit the fuse, and held it high in the air. Within a moment, there was an explosion, and a larger firework exploded in the sky.
Looking up at the fireworks, Wang Yan forcefully clamped the horse's belly, speeding up the horse and heading towards the destination. The people behind automatically divided a hundred people to follow, and the rest protected the eunuchs and civil servants in the team, still advancing at the original speed.
As the horses galloped wildly, hundreds of people continued to join Wang Yan's team, skillfully controlling the distance and setting up a charging formation. After running at high speed for a quarter of an hour, more than two thousand riders had gathered behind Wang Yan in a mighty manner.
The team kept charging forward, and after running up a fairly high mound, Wang Yan reined in his horse and stopped.
In front of them was a large open space, and a team of more than 300 cavalry were running towards them, followed by thousands of cavalry chasing them with arrows. Further away, there were small groups of hundreds of people, merging into a team of thousands of people, gathering from all directions.
The thousands of cavalrymen who were chasing them also stopped chasing after them when they saw the mountainous cavalry team appearing on the slope. Without saying a word, the front army turned into the rear army, turned around and ran away.
Wang Yan shook his head, forgetting his memory, and waved his hand boredly. The knights around him didn't say anything. They raised the spears on their shoulders and clamped them under their arms. They held the reins in one hand and clamped the horses' belly with a roar. He shouted and rushed down.
This is the northern part of Xixia and belongs to the hinterland of Xixia. However, the map of Xixia is not good. Most places are not wealthy, and the population is only about three million. Most of them are concentrated in the areas bordering Song and Liao, where the big cities are. But there are not no people in the nearby places, they are all farming and grazing. These two items are pillar industries. What he does is destroy the ecology. If you look at the cattle and sheep, you will kill them, if you can drive the horses, you will drive them away, and if you enter the farmland, you will trample them.
The population of Xixia is complex, including Han people, Dangxiang people, Uighurs, and some Mongolians. But the people of a place that has not been conquered are not the people. Being starved to death or hacked to death had little to do with him.
Besides, all Xixia people are soldiers, and any adult man can wield a sword or a gun, even if they don't kill them. However, the killing was not in vain. As long as they were armed, men, women, old and children were all chopped down, and those without weapons were not left alone. However, this was not implemented well, because they had been killing people in Xixia territory for a year, and there were always people who took up arms to resist. After arresting people for questioning, I found out that they had a bad reputation and were said to kill people wherever they went. This aroused people's desire to resist. After all, it was all about death, so it was better to resist fiercely and bite the flesh off even after death.
Of course, that's true, but if you can live, you don't want to die. They all moved south and became refugees, gathering outside the big cities everywhere, and there was no sense of security in the small cities.
This was also controlled by Wang Yan intentionally. He came here for two purposes, one was to train troops, and the other was to find opportunities to annihilate Xixia. So when they first arrived, they unleashed their horses to slaughter and destroy farmland outside Xixia Dacheng, and then lured the Xixia pursuers to run around and destroy their territory. Consciously driving Xixia people southward, increasing the burden on big cities. At the same time, the Song Dynasty closed its forays and stopped doing business with it. It deployed 400,000 soldiers to sharpen their troops and sharpen their swords. They did not dare to pursue and suppress the cavalry with large forces, so they could only send out small-scale troops to block the attack.
"This star really wants to retire"
But this is useless. What Wang Yan is not afraid of the most is fighting guerrillas. Nurhaci and Huang Taiji are examples of this.
Of course, it is impossible to fully recruit the full strength of the Northern Army. There are not that many qualified horses and there are not that many qualified soldiers. Even the cavalry equipment is funded by the national treasury. Wang Yan's factory takes over the work and is under supervision. It was built by Liu Shui. Otherwise, in two years, it would be basically impossible to equip 40,000 cavalry according to the weapons he made. Therefore, affected by this, the entire army only had more than 42,000 people.
Among them, there are 6,000 heavy cavalry, which cannot be used as guerrillas in the field. After all, the equipment of the six thousand heavy cavalry requires thousands of carriages to drag them, so they can't come and go like the wind.
All things are interdependent. Heavy-armored Mo Dao soldiers can fight against cavalry, but it is difficult to fight against heavy-armored cavalry. As for the heavy cavalry, the confrontation with the light cavalry is just cutting melons and vegetables. However, due to the weight of the equipment and the physical strength of the horses, it is not durable, so it is difficult to deal with the cavalry kites because they cannot be driven away. If you can catch them, of course you will kill them one by one. Therefore, the six thousand heavy cavalry were waiting for the enemy on the frontline battlefield, and were also responsible for supporting Wang Yan and others. After all, Xixia also has hundreds of thousands of troops. If they are really anxious, they must have a way out. Six thousand heavy cavalry can dig a hole through even a mountain of people.
Therefore, the troops Wang Yan actually brought to Xixia were only thirty-six thousand. His fighting method is also simple, just like what is happening now, it is a small group of troops acting in a dispersed manner. At the beginning, a unit of 2,500 people was divided into ten teams and spread out twenty miles apart, killing and looting everywhere, and killing large groups of enemy troops behind enemy lines. Then little by little, two thousand people, one thousand five hundred people, one thousand, five hundred people, until now one hundred people are one share. Even if there were thousands of casualties, there were still more than 20,000 people, divided into more than 200 centurions.
Each team was spread out fifteen miles apart. If the distance was calculated based on straight lines alone, it would be a distance of more than fifteen kilometers. It was a flat push. Of course, the actual implementation cannot be done like this, because the speed of gathering support must be considered, and the fatigue of the troops during the gathering must also be considered. Therefore, it is dispersed front to back and left and right, covering an area of more than five kilometers in radius. In addition, there is a scout team sent 20 kilometers away. Once a large force invades, they will immediately assemble to respond to the enemy. If not, then form a small army and kill everywhere.
In this year, they fought from the border between the two countries to the territory of the Uighurs, and then fought back south, driving everyone to the south.
It was also because of their wanton destruction and driving people south that the pressure on major cities increased greatly. Because there are people in the country who are sabotaging, they still have to eat, and there is no trade outside, so they can't exchange supplies. They can't just eat. Even if they guard the gold and silver seas, the food and drink of three million people can't be sustained for long.
If you can't do business this time, that means you really can't do it. Take it seriously. Whoever cooperates with the enemy will have his clan exterminated. Wang Yan participated in the performance, Zhao Ji criticized the red, and directly ransacked the house.
This is also the case, which has led to high prices and poor people's livelihood in Xixia. Seeing this situation, Wang Yan predicted that Xixia would be unsustainable. After all, the losses suffered in the previous battle with Song could not be recovered even after three years of training, because Xixia's market was too small, its potential was too low, and the place was not very good. This time there is another purposeful destruction by him, so it will not last long. So he wrote a memorial to Zhao Ji who was out on tour and was furious, explaining the situation and saying that he would be able to do his best this time.
Zhao Ji is not ignorant, otherwise he would not be furious. Because he always sat in the palace, imagining that he was rich and wealthy, but when he got there, he saw that everyone was sallow and skinny and looked like they were about to starve to death, which made it difficult for him to live with his conscience, let alone the majestic emperor of the Song Dynasty. He still thinks about becoming an emperor with martial virtues and becoming an emperor for eternity. This situation is far from eternity, so it's weird to be happy. He originally came out to have fun and watch the excitement, but he ended up being quite upset.
He is the emperor, and the emperor's travels, although not as grand as Yang Guang's, are still quite big. They have 10,000 forbidden army guards and hundreds of people to wait on them. It's not a small expense to eat horses and chew them along the way. . However, compared to going north to conquer Liao, Wang Yan would rather Zhao Ji was extravagant at home, and the cost was too much.
Of course, it took a lot of hard work to get out, but Zhao Ji succeeded Gao Qiu and Cai Jing one after another. He was powerful, and Wang Fu, the new prime minister, also strongly supported it, so he finally succeeded.
It is not a secret that Zhao Ji goes out to patrol the world. The local governors themselves know what kind of things are done in various places. Of course, they also whitewash peace along the way. But Zhao Ji is not stupid, and he doesn't want to follow the large army. In the words of his good son-in-law, it's unnatural. So they always disguise themselves and are protected by others, wandering around and looking around. Doesn't this mean they see the truth?
The pain in writing and the difficulty in words are far less painful than seeing them. Zhao Ji was stabbed, and he was very embarrassed and angry. He went to Yanggu County and Wangjiazhuang and saw with his own eyes how wealthy it was. In other places, the gap is really shocking.
So along the way, I captured many local officials, ransacked many houses, and indeed made a lot of money. There is no shortage of officials. After all, they are all so redundant that they threaten the survival of the country. Some of them are idle, so he promoted a group of them seriously.
But this is not what the courtiers want to see, whether it is the old or new parties in the court, or honest and corrupt officials. Anyone with a brain knows what this will arouse. Therefore, another uprising broke out in the local area, and the ministers said that the journey was dangerous and advised him to return to the court. Of course Zhao Ji also understood, and returned to Bianjing honestly, as if nothing had happened.
Faced with Wang Yan's memorial to attack Xixia again, he agreed. The reasons were well written, and there was a real chance. All civil and military officials in the court agreed. Besides, if he had no intention of attacking Xixia, he would not agree to Wang Yan taking the Fubei Army to Xixia for training.
The current situation is that outside the Great Wall, the Western Army of the Song Dynasty is suppressing Xixia. Wang Yan leads the Northern Army and their horses are wreaking havoc behind enemy lines. Xixia is struggling to hold on and is in danger, like a candle swaying in the wind, which will be extinguished at any time.
The battle in the field is getting farther and farther, because the enemy has no intention to survive. Although this is the rear, it is close to the main towns of Xixia, so they have something to rely on. As long as they can run back, they can survive. This is normal. No one wants to die until they reach the point of death. Especially in the face of the Northern Army, which was a timid army that killed them.
So the Xixia cavalry ran howling in front, and the Fubei army soldiers chased behind them, constantly drawing their bows and shooting. As time passed, the dispersed hundreds of troops began to gather here, gradually forming a siege.
But they did not confront the Xixia cavalry. As long as they found the Xixia cavalry charging desperately, they would switch offense and defense. In such an open field, they had several times the enemy's force, so why bother to risk their lives, just kite.
Until the team ran farther and farther, tens of thousands of people turned into a big black spot. Standing on the hillside and unable to see clearly the battle formation, the centurions from behind caught up. Wang Yan then took the lead again, chewing the hard beef jerky and slowly riding his horse towards the battlefield in the distance.
"Prince-in-law, how many enemy troops have come this time?" A disgraced eunuch rushed to Wang Yan's side and asked. He was the eunuch of Song Huizong's new sect and a close confidant. He came here to keep an eye on Wang Yan.
There was an unlucky civil servant behind him. Although he could not be regarded as a close confidant of Zhao Ji, he was still willing to promote him, and he ended up eating dirt on the battlefield, which was Zhao Ji's test for him.
Unlike the unlucky civil servants, the eunuchs came here with a desire to improve themselves. Although this is hard work and there is a risk of losing your life, it is really a fat job. Not only can he achieve military success, but he also has the opportunity to get close to Wang Yan, the God of Wealth's consort, and Zhao Ji's expectations for the restoration of the Northern Army. As long as he can return alive, he will definitely be on several levels. Tong Guan, Yang Jian, and Liang Shicheng are all their role models.
However, it is worth mentioning that Tong Guan was not used in the battle against Xixia this time, because Tong Guan was with Cai Jing. If Cai Jing fell, he would definitely be implicated. This time, it was Yang Jian who was in charge of the overall situation, recommended by Wang Yan. The generals of each department are still the original local leaders of the Western Army such as the Zhong family and the Zhe family.
With his relationship, Yang Jian is much stronger than in history. After resigning as an official in the palace, he directly fell into the position of supervising the Northern Army. He has never made any mistakes for so many years. The military training is also very good, and the local people's livelihood has not been damaged. He never did what he did before, doing local festivals and harming the people. It was Wang Yan who fed him well and he was still obedient.
So this war against Xixia, although it is named Yang Jian, the basic direction is controlled by his side. This is the benefit of having the emperor's favor. Doesn't Zhao Ji know that Yang Jian is his? of course not. The problem is, Zhao Ji goes out once and doesn't know who can use it. The battle against Xixia could not be delayed. In addition, the Fubei Army was indeed capable of fighting and its tactics were no problem, so he recommended Yang Jian.
"I estimate there are three to five thousand people."
"These Xixia people really don't have a long memory. They have been besieged so many times and there is a war on the front line. They actually dare to send so many cavalry here to die."
Wang Yan did not reply. This is a very simple reason. At this time, there are still four thousand people coming out to die. It must be that they have been prepared and want to lure the enemy deeper. Perhaps at this time, the road behind them has been blocked.
By the time they arrived, the battle was over and more than 20,000 people had already gathered in place. There were corpses of men and horses everywhere, and no one paid attention to the blood-stained dark red ground. Even the unlucky civil servant was used to it, especially Wang Yan, who was still eating beef jerky.
Seeing Wang Yan and others approaching, Lu Junyi hurriedly ran over: "General, all four thousand enemy troops have been killed. None of our troops died. They were only shot by arrows, a few brothers were injured by falls, and there were some who fought hard." At that time, dozens of brothers suffered stab wounds, but it did not affect the battle."
The kite was not flown in vain, and the battles fought for more than a year were not in vain. Now they are becoming more elite. Of course, it won't work if you don't have elites. There were more than 30,000 people, and now there are only more than 20,000 people left, one-third of them dead and wounded, and the rest
Wang Yan nodded: "Okay, let's all take a rest and eat something quickly."
Lu Junyi followed for a long time and gained some knowledge. He frowned and asked, "Are we surrounded again?"
"The scouts from the north, east, and south all reported at the wrong time."
"Then let's go southwest?"
"Southwest?" Wang Yan shook his head, smiled, and ate the remaining piece of beef jerky in one gulp: "It just gave me a way to survive. Whether they deliberately placed it or the siege was not in place, we can't afford to gamble. Let's go. On the east side, we penetrated them, marched towards Xingqing Mansion, detoured to Helan Mountain, crossed the Yellow River north, and returned via Hedong Road."
"But over there..."
"True or false, false or true. I expected that Xingqing Mansion had a heavy garrison, so there must be fewer besiegers this time. They wouldn't think that we, with only tens of thousands of troops, dared to enter the capital of Xixia, then we would We went in the opposite direction and attacked Xingqing Prefecture. The front line was tight. Our Song Dynasty army had already reached Huaizhou and was pointing directly at Xingqing Prefecture. The chance of them attacking us again in the east was slim. If I was wrong, then Then die."
Xixia's current appearance is half defeated by him. Now that they are close to the battle site, they are still behind them. There is no reason not to mess with him.
The west side offered him a way out. No matter if it was a real way out or not, he would not take it. He just couldn't bear the price of misjudgment. Go north, they have been told by countless experiences, so they will not be allowed to go north again. Now that the war in Xixia is unfavorable, it is time to consider a retreat. To the south, where the two sides are fighting, your back must be protected. But going east, he can be sure with a high probability. If it was the other way around, he thought the chances were slim.
Just as he said, there are already heavy troops stationed there, so there is no need to worry about the more than 20,000 people there. This is what he can think of, and what Xixia can think of. This is naturally a dead end, so he prefers to go to the dead end.
Lu Junyi nodded, said nothing more, and turned to give the message. The soldiers were also familiar with the style. Without saying a word, they took out the dried meat and gnawed it with water. After filling my stomach, I don’t know whether I am dead or alive.
After resting for half an hour, the army of more than 20,000 people set off and headed east...
