After a whole day of tossing, it was finally possible to cross the Black Mountain Gorge.
In the setting sun like blood, those rafts emerged from the dark canyon one after another, as if they had returned from the netherworld to the earth.
As they approached the shore, the boatmen were almost paralyzed from exhaustion, and many of the soldiers on the raft were too frightened to stand up.
Looking around, you can see swollen eyes and white faces everywhere. Whiteness is from fear, and swelling is from crying.
Everyone looked downcast, as if they had suffered a huge defeat, and their morale was extremely low.
Lao Cao ordered several rafts to be stacked up, and he climbed on them, feeling as if he were standing on a high platform.
He stood tall like this, his face as sinking as water, until Hua Rong, Shi Bao, Qu Duan, Yao Xing, etc. all arrived one after another. Seeing that none of the famous generals had lost a single one, his expression improved a little.
When the raft no longer came out, Lao Cao ordered people to count the losses. He lost more than two thousand officers and men, as well as food, fodder, and horses. It was hard to calculate for a while.
After listening to this, Lao Cao looked up to the sky with sadness and sighed: "Wow! A great man from China, an elite warrior from the Han family. In order to face the national calamity, he risked all the hardships and went on an expedition to Xixia with Wu. Now he died on the way and is not allowed to return home. This is all because of Wu." This is too much!"
He stood on a high place, in front of all the soldiers, stamped his feet hard several times, then beat his chest and shouted: "It hurts me, it hurts me!"
But he let out a deep sigh of relief in his heart.
At the beginning of crossing the river, the worst-case scenario in his mind was to lose four men.
Now, the actual loss is less than 20%, and all the famous generals are intact. With this result, he really feels lucky in his heart.
The current heart-wrenching behavior is actually 70% to 80% staged——
It's like "cutting off hair to replace the head" or "I like to kill people in my dreams".
After all, so many people have been killed, so it would be fine if they died on the battlefield. Since you are a soldier, it is your duty to die before the battle or immediately, and anyone can understand it.
It's just that people can't help but feel aggrieved when they die in such a capsized boat. What's more, everyone who survived was also frightened by the boss, and naturally there was a lot of dissatisfaction in their stomachs.
Lao Cao compared his feelings with his own, knowing that at this moment, if he didn't show some pain in time, the soldiers would probably show anger.
His behavior, in the eyes of all the troops, indeed made them feel somewhat comforted.
At least the general still cares about everyone's lives.
Lao Cao shouted "It hurts me so much" several times, and his tears rolled down his cheeks.
Shi Qian glanced around, leaned next to Hu Sanniang, and whispered: "Sister-in-law, you should say a few words at this time. Then say, 'To destroy a country thousands of miles away is a feat. I am a woman, and I will not hesitate to die. "General, why do you behave like this woman?"
Hu Sanniang said "Ah" and understood, nodded repeatedly, took a deep breath, jumped up and jumped to Lao Cao's side.
She is tall and beautiful, and she has been with Lao Cao on expeditions for a long time. Who doesn't see her in the eyes of the army?
Although he was still wearing fine armor and phoenix helmet at this moment, his body was covered in water stains, his hair was disheveled, and his face was pale, which made me even more pity for him.
But I heard Hu Sanniang say loudly: "Husband, you are the commander-in-chief of the army, how can you behave like this woman? You led us to surprise the capital of Xixia, which was a feat of destroying the country for thousands of miles. It has been rare in ancient times. How can there be no death? Walking along the Yellow River The dangerous route is also to avoid the large army. If I am a woman, I am not willing to die in battle, let alone these warriors under my command."
When Cao Cao saw Hu Sanniang making public appearances and making impassioned speeches, he was greatly surprised: When did this woman open her seven orifices?
Immediately shouted: "Although I am the commander, I also have a big heart. How can I not feel sad when I see these good men die here? Forget it! When Xixia is defeated, I will return to my hometown and build a Xixia Palace here." The Martyrs' Shrine is dedicated to the dead brothers and boatmen, so that they can receive incense from all eternity to show their merits, and if they have family members, they will also be greatly compensated!"
Hu Sanniang felt in her heart that this was the way it should be, so she nodded immediately and shouted boldly: "You can fight with peace of mind. The affairs of these good men should be carefully taken care of by wives."
He and his wife sing together, how honest and simple are the soldiers underneath? I felt much more comfortable immediately.
They all clasped their fists and said, "Commander Wu is so benevolent and righteous, and it is not in vain for us to sacrifice our lives for you."
Someone else shouted: "Thank you, General Hu, for building a temple for our dead brothers."
Seeing that morale had been greatly restored, Lao Cao was convinced and ordered people to bring out the drinks prepared in advance for everyone to drink to keep out the cold.
The next day, all the troops boarded the rafts again and headed north again. Within a few days, they passed Qingtong Gorge and Lingzhou one after another.
Qingtong Gorge is also a dangerous place in the Yellow River. However, this gorge is only ten miles long and cannot be compared with Heishan Gorge.
But even so, he still lost one or two hundred people. The total losses before and after were not inferior to that of a big battle, but there were no wounded soldiers.
At this time, it had been eight days since we set off from Lanzhou, and we were only a short distance away from Xingqing Mansion.
Seeing the sun setting in the west, he happened to encounter a reed swamp. Lao Cao ordered the army to stop here, hid the army in the reeds, and found Huang You to discuss the strategy of attacking the city.
Huang You has been following Zhong Shizhong for nearly twenty years, and has accompanied the army to conquer Xixia several times. Although he has never actually attacked Xingqing Mansion, he is familiar with its general situation, so he described the situation in Xingqing Mansion in detail. Lao Cao and others.
Xingqing Mansion was originally located in Huaiyuan County, Lingzhou during the Song Dynasty. It borders the Yellow River to the east and Helan Mountain to the west. It is also a beautiful place.
In the fourth year of Xianping (1001), Li Jiqian, the leader of the party, occupied this place. Twenty years later, his son Li Deming built a palace here and designated it as the capital, which was named Xingzhou.
It wasn't until Deming's son Li Yuanhao officially proclaimed himself emperor and founded the country that the name Xingqing Mansion came into being.
It was built a hundred years ago and repaired in several dynasties. Now the city has a circumference of eighteen or nine miles, a moat ten feet wide, two gates in the north and south, one gate in the east and west, wide streets and long roads, divided into more than twenty squares.
It's just that Xixia is barren after all. Even in the capital, except for the royal palaces and the mansions of dignitaries, the rest of the residential buildings are low-rise earthen houses.
"Thirty-foot city river?" After hearing this, Lao Cao's eyes lit up and he thought: "The northwest is not as good as the south of the Yangtze River, and the Shizhang River is really not narrow! Xingqing Mansion is only twenty or thirty miles away from the Yellow River, and this city If the river does not connect to the Yellow River, how can we get such majestic water power?"
It is a common practice for city rivers to connect to nearby rivers, just like the city rivers in Bianjing and Zhengzhou all connect to the Yellow River, and the city rivers in Suzhou connect to canals.
Huang You also understood what Lao Cao meant, but he was confused: "The commander-in-chief's intention is to ride a raft directly to the city? It's just..."
Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Lao Cao chuckled, held his arm and said, "Lao Huang, you and I are now friends from life to death, what can't we say in person?"
His win over method was so skillful, a small movement made Huang You feel warm in his heart, and he immediately expressed his concerns.
"The general feels that acting like this will certainly have a surprise effect, but the raft cannot carry ladders, etc. The city wall is high, but it is difficult to have wings to fly up."
Cao Cao smiled and said: "I see, General Huang, please relax. Many of my brothers are talented people. No matter how high the wall of Xingqing Mansion is, how does it compare to Yanmen Pass?"
After that, he turned around and shouted: "Shi Qian!"
"My little brother is here!" Shi Qian smiled, showing a mouth full of broken millet teeth, and jumped in front of him.
Seeing his smart appearance, Cao Cao immediately felt at ease and said with a smile: "Good brother, you can quit your hard work today and let Zhang Liang take you to explore the way for the army. Take a look at the city wall and be prepared."
"Little brother, you have the order! Let's set off now. Brother, just don't worry."
Shi Qian held up his fists and took Zhang Liang to the river. He untied a small raft and the two of them got on it and floated far north along the golden river under the setting sun.
When Shi Qian left, he didn't return until daylight the next day, but he and Zhang Liang came back from the land carrying a raft on their backs.
He reported to Cao Cao: "Brother, my little brother's inquiry has made it clear that the city river of Xingqing Mansion is indeed connected directly to the Yellow River. Even big ships can enter. The place where it enters the river is where the Yellow River Ferry is located. If it is normal, , there are five thousand Xixia troops guarding here to prevent the Song army from crossing the river."
When Lao Cao heard this, he was surprised at first, then smiled and said: "Since it is to prevent the Song army from crossing the river, they must have been transferred now?"
Shi Qian admired him and said, "It's exactly what my brother said! Li Qianshun was worried that he didn't have enough soldiers and horses. All the soldiers he could mobilize were sent to the Song Dynasty with him. Now the person in charge of the city is Prince Li Renai. This son He was only thirteen or fourteen years old, and was assisted by the Prime Minister Li Yuchang. He only had five thousand troops and horses, four thousand of which were from Ma Kui's army."
Huang You, who was standing aside, saw that Cao Cao was puzzled and said quickly: "The Ma Kui Army was formed by the Empress Dowager Liang who selected strong women from various villages, that is, the female army of Xixia."
After hearing this, Cao Cao was not scornful, but praised: "Li Qianshun is also a man who dares to make bets! Guarding the imperial city with a female army shows that he is really going all out to complete his victory in one battle. If we can't So, maybe he really laid a huge foundation! If this person has such ambition, after taking all the land of Qin, and working hard for it, he may not be able to compete with the Jin Kingdom."
Hua Rong laughed at the side and said: "In terms of courage, is my brother's courage less than his? Traveling thousands of miles to capture the royal city is a great achievement that has never been achieved by the ancients! What's more, my brother's methods are even more brilliant. Our soldiers have already left Tongguan. It has been more than a month, and the people of Xixia are still ignorant. Even if the country is destroyed, it will not be unfair!"
Lao Cao laughed loudly: "My dear brother is right. Since I came here, Xixia will be destroyed!"
He immediately made a plan and said, "Yao Xing, Qu Duan, Huang You, Jiao Ting, and Shi Bao obey orders!"
The five were full of energy, straightening their backs and clasping their fists: "The end is here!"
Cao Cao said: "I ordered five of you, each with a thousand soldiers and horses, to attack him from the land and surround him on the south, west and north sides, with a total of five gates. It was a bluff, but there was no need to attack the city. I just didn't let him go. When one person leaves, it is considered a credit.”
Then he said: "Sanniang, Hua Rong, and Shi Qian will all follow me. When it gets dark, they will take a raft to the east city and rob it in one fell swoop!"
Qu Duan was shocked and said: "Commander Wu, you are deliberately trying to catch a turtle in a jar!"
Lao Cao laughed and said: "I have spent countless twists and turns to get this, so naturally I have to eat it up in one bite. Haha, let's see how I manipulate Li Qianshun after I capture the concubines and officials he left behind!"
When Yao Xing and others saw that he was in such high spirits, they couldn't help but become arrogant. When they had their war meal at noon and the shadow of the sun moved, they led their troops away.
Cao Cao was not in a hurry at this time. It was not until it was getting dark that he led his troops on the raft and went along the river.
However, it is said that Xixia has been making great progress since it sent out troops. One day it was a victory, and the next day it was a victory. Over the past few months, there had been good news one after another. The entire Xingqing Mansion was immersed in carnival every day.
Everyone can see that the situation is good - the powerful Jin and the remaining Liao are all fighting for the Song Dynasty, how can he still have the strength to look west?
As for the Jin Kingdom, although it was powerful, it still had a small population and occupied a huge territory in the Liao Dynasty. If it took the territory of the Song Dynasty, it would already be full.
As for Xixia's dispatch of troops this time, the time is right, the place is favorable, and the people are right. Everything west of Tongguan is in the palm of their hands. Maybe the battle will go smoothly, and Jin and Hanzhong will also be taken.
As the territory expands dramatically, how many more important official positions will be created?
Therefore, those sons of nobles and those with some connections had to squeeze into the frontline army in order to seize military glory, so that the majestic capital was actually empty.
However, Cao Cao sneaked into Lanzhou and captured Lanzhou by surprise, and then crossed the waves and crossed the Yellow River. These actions are now fully demonstrated:
In the Longyou area, Li Zhu was advancing vigorously, and Liu Qi joined his father Liu Zhongwu and led three or four thousand Hexi troops to fight out to help. The envoys asking for help were still running wildly on the rugged mountain roads, but Lao Cao had already arrived and knew nothing about it. Under the city of Xingqing Mansion.
At dusk, one Song army after another appeared outside the five south, north and west gates of Xingqing Mansion.
When the defenders saw it from a distance, they hurriedly closed the city gate and warned the inside of the city.
Prince Li Renai and Prime Minister Li Yuchang seemed to have received a blow in the head.
No one could have imagined that when the Song Dynasty's five armies and hundreds of thousands of soldiers came to attack Xingqing Mansion, which they had never killed, how could they suddenly be surrounded on three sides when news of success came frequently?
After much thought and elimination of all possibilities, there is only one reason:
These Song troops were all killed and dispersed by the king before. They did not know how to gather together in one place. Because they had no way to retreat, some of them were daring and thought of a clever plan to "surprise Xingqing Mansion".
"Seeing clearly" the direction of the Song army, Li Yuchang roared angrily: "The Lingzhou guard really wants to be killed! Thousands of people crossed the river, and he turned a blind eye?"
He immediately wrote a military order and asked people to take a fast boat and set out from the east gate to cross the river to Lingzhou and mobilize the remaining soldiers and horses to return to support King Qin.
The messenger left the city in a panic, rowed against the current, and finally reached the Yellow River. Suddenly he saw a large raft covering the river and going down the river.
The messenger was dumbfounded and turned back to the sailors rowing the boats: "Why are there so many rafts?"
The sailor didn't answer him yet. On the first raft, Hua Rong pointed at the messenger and said, "This must be the messenger asking for help. Let him recognize Hua's magic arrow."
After saying that, he took out an arrow and put it on the string, opened the bow and felt the wind.
The messenger saw Hua Rong drawing his bow from a distance and was surprised: "Could these guys be the Song army? Who is he going to shoot at so far away?"
Hua Rong adjusted his direction slightly, and with a flick of his hand, the arrow flew straight into the sky.
The messenger was amused when he saw it: "Do you think this guy is funny? He thinks he is..."
Before he finished speaking, an arrow fell from the sky and plunged into the messenger's throat.
On the raft, there were colorful sounds everywhere, Hua Rong laughed and said: "Hurry up and catch up, don't let anyone go!"
The boat here is about to escape back to the city, but the raft is going down the river, so fast?
There was Hua Rong again, and he shot an arrow from behind. The arrow was not missed, and in a short time all the sailors were shot down. .
There was no one in the boat, so it started to spin on the water. Several rafts took the opportunity to catch it, and the sergeant who knew how to swim jumped on the boat. After a search, he found a letter asking for help.
Hua Rong took it and looked at it, and said happily: "If this thing falls into my brother's hands, it will be of great use!"
Besides, how did the Prince of Xixia and others in Xingqing Mansion know that the letter asking for help had been intercepted?
As they were arranging to stay behind closed doors and wait for reinforcements, they suddenly heard the sound of armor. Everyone turned to look, but it was a bald man, wearing heavy iron armor, striding up the hall.
The big man had a mocking look on his face and said with a sneer: "You party members are really cowardly. No wonder even the Song people can suppress you and bully them. I heard that the Song army that came to fight the city only had a few thousand people, and they were distributed in various sects." , wouldn’t it just happen to defeat them one by one?
Li Yuchang, the Prime Minister of the country, said unhappily: "Wushu's son-in-law keeps you here because he wants you to protect the princess. This is our country's own affairs. How can you say anything?"
The big man shook his head and said: "It's because I can't trust your abilities that Wu Shu just left me here! You said it's none of my business? Haha, if the Song army comes in and the princess is frightened, Wu Shu will definitely blame me in the future. You don't have to wait. Nonsense, I can defeat the enemy with fifty of my own troops."
Li Yuchang looked angry and was about to speak, but was held back by Prince Li Renai.
Li Renai said calmly: "Prime Minister, Bu Zhen is my brother-in-law's subordinate, and he is not a general of our country. He wants to go to war. How can we stop him? I have heard for a long time that the Jurchen soldiers are the most brave in the world, and I am about to take a look at them. .”
It turns out that Aguda sent Wushu to Xixia to marry him. Since he had never dealt with the Xixia people and could not figure out his habits, he was afraid that someone would dare to challenge him, so he specially appointed several famous warriors in the clan to serve as Wushu's subordinates. General, come with him.
None of this preparation was used. Li Qianshun learned of Wu Shu's intention, and the two sides hit it off immediately.
When the time came for the troops to be sent out, Wu Shu wanted to show off his skills and led his troops to go to war with Li Qianshun. All the generals also went with him, leaving only Bu Zhen, asking him to stay in Xingqing Mansion to protect the princess, in order to show his concern for the princess. Love.
Buzhan was originally a warlike person, but now that there are many wars, but he is not involved, he has already become impatient. Today, he suddenly learned that the Song army came to besiege the city, but the Xixia people did not dare to fight. Isn't this just scratching an itch?
Seeing that the Prince of Xixia allowed him to do what he wanted, he was ecstatic and laughed loudly. He went back to pick up his sword and mount his horse. He led his fifty Jurchens, randomly selected a nearby city gate, lowered the drawbridge, opened the door and rushed out. They met a thousand Jurchens. The Song army was within an arrow's reach of their formation.
There is a general in front of the formation, holding a big sword in his hand. He is majestic and majestic.
Seeing Lie Xin's joy, Bu Zhen turned around and said with a smile, "This guy seems to be a brave general. When I take his head, I can make a wine glass for everyone to drink."
After that, he rode his horse across the suspension bridge and killed him with a strange scream.
The Song general opposite was none other than the "Nanli Divine Sword" Shi Bao!
He originally expected that no one would dare to fight, but to his surprise, someone actually came out to kill him. He was slightly startled, and then he was overjoyed: "Hahaha, Shi is so lucky! Everyone came all the way here, and my Shibao was the first one to be put on the market. !”
Amid laughter, he slapped his horse and faced him with his sword.
This is exactly what happened: The heavenly soldiers flew to the chief's city, and the sound of singing and dancing could still be heard in the city. The horse trampled Helan and the captives burst into fear, and the soldiers left the fortress and Hu Chenqing was clear.
(End of chapter)
