In March of Yangchun, all things in Great Xia are revived and full of vitality. The Universiade inspired by Dingzhou is still at its peak, with fire cooking oil and flowers blooming in brocade.
At this time, Liangzhou next door was experiencing bad weather and bad luck.
Zhou Bai, who had just crossed the Border City County and arrived at the border of Liangzhou, immediately felt the bad luck of Qingxu that had not yet dissipated.
In Dingzhou, he led the officials and people of Daxia to resist the disaster together, but it was a little difficult for Liangzhou, which was in a divided state, to overcome the disaster.
Looking down from the clouds, the land of Liang Kingdom is gray and black, the French net is broken and is still in a state of repair.
White energy keeps growing, but the scattered bad energy makes it very difficult to gather the white energy. In the vast land of four counties, there are very few areas covered by the light red law.
Before the calamity, the Liang Kingdom occupied the most prosperous area in Liangzhou, and its luck was strong. The Tianzhu was still eleven feet high.
But disaster struck, the Tianzhu was turbulent, and now it has fallen below the limit of nine feet and nine feet of the uncle, with only seven feet left, which is worse than the Dingxi County that Lu Ding once established.
March is obviously the busy time for spring plowing, but the fields are overgrown with weeds, and very few farmers dare to go out to farm.
Perhaps the illness caused by the bad luck in the family has not recovered; or the government survived the famine last year, but the government failed to provide relief to the young; or perhaps evil spirits are haunted...
Those closer to Daxia are better, and they can always keep up with the farming season, but the further west you go, the more desolate the countryside becomes, and bones can be seen everywhere on the roadside.
Seeing the large-scale entry of Xia troops, thousands of Liang troops stationed at the border did not dare to stop them. The beacon fire was not yet ignited, and the city was wide open.
This is not only due to the disparity in military strength and the inability to resist, but also because the domestic situation is chaotic and the border officials cannot respond effectively.
Liang Xia is a country of in-laws and has always had good relations with each other, so there is no focus on guarding this side at all.
What's more, Xia Gong said that he would help Liang to expel the Jin people and provide food and supplies to the Liang people. Who would really work hard to stop him?
Daxia Border City County is adjacent to Liang Guofen Iron County, and the iron ore mine where Zhao Ci was married is right on the border of the county.
Fentie County goes a hundred miles to the west to reach the main trunk of Lianghe River. You can go west along the river to Xiyuan. If you change the route to the north in Fentie County, you will reach Beiqu County and the frontier area occupied by the Jin people.
On March 15, the seventh year of Tongzhi, the Xia army occupied the two eastern counties of Fentie County and set up a grain transshipment station, with Xu Yun as the grain station officer.
Xu Yun was born into a wealthy family, and the post of Pingcang County Lieutenant was obtained by Yin Feng. In the early days, he could not spare his body and worked hard for Zhou Bai. Even if he joined Zhou Bai, he would only be a minor logistics official.
It wasn't until Zhou Bai's stall got bigger and bigger step by step that Xu Yun suddenly realized that the saplings he had temporarily sheltered had turned into towering trees.
He rushed to bring the clan from Shenjing before Anbei Bo Kingdom advanced to Daxia Kingdom, hoping to truly take root in Daxia.
But at this time, Xu Yun could no longer keep up with Cong Long Laochen in the first echelon, and his other military and political talents basically had no chance to be displayed again.
At first, I only wanted to take care of logistics, but now I still can only take care of logistics.
The fifth-grade Liangtai transfer officer is considered a high-ranking official, but he is incomparable to the local county governor and a general like Huo Feiguang, and he cannot enter the core of Daxia.
It is obviously impossible for Xu Yunruo to really try to revive his family with his current official position and status.
I don’t know how many military aristocrats will be born in this cross-state war, but just by virtue of their ability to transport without danger, they still won’t be at the top of the list of merits.
There may be hope for a promotion, but there is absolutely no hope for a title.
Therefore, in the important area of the grain platform, Xu Yun, in addition to supervising the transportation of grain and grass and controlling losses, spent more energy on the defense of the grain platform.
Long-distance expeditions are difficult, and food routes are a top priority.
If one side defends the grain road, the other side will naturally want to raid the grain road.
On March 18, Chu Kai led 5,000 light cavalry to the north and broke into Beiqu County. The Jin people were caught off guard and lost seven small beacon towns one after another.
However, Hu Yanhe knew in advance that the important military towns in Beiqu County were on guard, and Chu Kai did not capture any major cities.
On March 25, the vanguard commander Lou Jinpeng led two battalions of selected vanguards and defeated the enemy's forbidden troops. They penetrated directly to the north bank of the Lianghe River and captured Anliang County, Beiqu County with a fierce attack.
During this period, the Jin army did not organize defense or even counterattack, but the 20,000 Jin infantry stood in front of the Great Xia Forbidden Army, just like a mantis using its arms as a chariot, unable to resist at all.
They were crushed in all directions, both in city defense and in field battles. Only then did the Jin people stationed in Liangzhou realize that there was such a big gap between the soldiers of the Central Plains.
Prior to this, when the Jin Army faced the Liang Army, in addition to being able to completely crush them in cavalry combat, they could also rely on their bravery and ruthlessness to defeat the Liang Army of equal strength in dismounted infantry combat.
The Kingdom of Jin was deeply influenced by the previous Central Plains dynasties. Even though it was inferior to the Central Plains army in defending and attacking cities, it was not inexperienced.
Beiqu County, like Cangbei County, is half-farmed and half-pastoral. The Jin people can fully gain a foothold and naturally have a considerable number of infantry troops to block Liang's counterattack.
Unfortunately, these Jin infantry were slow to deploy and could not keep up with the progress of the Great Xia Forbidden Army.
Anliang County, as the name suggests, if this county is safe, Liangzhou will be safe.
exaggerate? In fact, this is not an exaggeration at all for Liang Guo today.
Because Anliang County is located to the north of Liang River, and several major ferries in Anliang County lead to Xiyuan County, the core area of Liang State on the opposite side.
Liang Guo's minimum goal of regaining lost territory was to capture Anliang County and ensure a stronghold north of Liang River, so that the south of Liang River could feel at ease.
When Daxia's Dragon and Tiger Banner appeared on the north bank of the Liang River, not only Liang Jun on the south bank was shocked, but the entire Xiyuan County and even the Liang court were shocked.
The common people and gentry at the bottom were quite happy. It was better for the Xia people who had the same ancestry to occupy the other side than the Jin people who burned, killed and looted.
But the upper echelons of the Liang Kingdom could not be happy anymore, and they were all filled with fear.
They never expected that Xia State would move so fast. After all, Zhao Qi and his ministers had just received the news from Fentie County at this time.
It was said that the Xia army wanted to use the Liang Kingdom's territory as a logistics base to attack the Jin Kingdom, and hoped that the Liang Kingdom's court would cooperate.
The letter of credence has been handed over by the governor of Fentie County on his behalf. It is a negotiation in name, but in fact it is Xia Jun who kills first and then reports. He can no longer be overbearing.
Not only did they seize the two counties, they actually wanted Fen Tiecheng to be the place where Duke Xia was stationed. The former army attacked Beiqu County of the Jin people, but the main force came to Fen Tiecheng.
What kind of gesture is this? If the Marquis of Liang disagrees, the Xia army will attack?
After all, he was a prince, but Zhao Qi still didn't understand that as a good son-in-law, it was true that he attacked the Jin people, but he also wanted Liangzhou.
…
Liangdu is located in the middle of Xiyuan County. It is the foundation of the Zhao family of Xiyuan County for 300 years.
Even though Liang Guo lost its northern border and the counties in the country were hit by bad luck, Liang Du's life seemed not to be affected at all.
Pedestrians rub shoulders with each other, there are many restaurants and restaurants, all kinds of shouting and buying and selling sounds come and go, the smoke and fire of the world permeates every corner, and disasters will disappear.
Even because of local instability, large aristocrats and businessmen and gentry temporarily came to settle in Liangdu, which in turn created an even more abnormal prosperity.
People enjoying a prosperous life chatted in the streets and alleys, but what they talked about the most these days was their neighbor's "Dingxia".
They envy the Xia Kingdom for its military strength, which is better than that of the Jin Kingdom; debate whether Xia Gong’s decree to provide relief to the Liang people is really concubine; or compare the current development gap of the Liang Kingdom...
Speaking of which, under the guidance of a certain force of public opinion, the people were not very dissatisfied with Zhou Bai's Western Expedition and Northern Expedition.
After all, even if the dynasty changes, can it be worse for the ordinary people of Liang?
Except for Xiyuan, which is better among the four existing counties of Liang State, none of them have fallen back to the living conditions of the late Xiangxing years.
Disasters occur frequently and monsters run rampant. Ordinary civilians have to worry about their livelihood every day...
Faced with Xia's request to live in Fentie County and the news of the Jin people's defeat on the north bank of the Liang River, the "wealthy" people in Liangdu were not very angry, let alone the entire people.
But the Liang court was different. They knew that the Xia army was coming fiercely, and they might want to make them the kings and ministers of the country.
In the court, all the ministers were quarreling with each other and could not come up with a comprehensive plan for a long time.
Because when one's own strength is insufficient, no matter what decision is made, it will bring huge risks to the country.
"I don't agree to let Xia Guo borrow Fentie City. If I agree easily, the morale of our Liang army will be severely damaged!"
"So what if you don't agree? Xia's credentials are not a negotiation at all. If you refuse today, tomorrow Xia's army will attack the important counties and cities of our country."
"Yes, even the Jin people are no match for Xia Jun. Our country, Liang, has been hit hard by disaster and is in urgent need of recovery. How can we resist?"
"Shame, shame..."
Liang Hou Zhao Qi, who was sitting on the three-clawed dragon chair, could not help frowning and scanning the whole place while listening to the quarrel in the palace.
Fortunately, the important ministers standing at the front still maintained their demeanor, and it was obvious that they had something in mind.
At this time, the young master Zhao Xun saw Zhao Qi's eyes that seemed to be inquiring, and quickly went out to report back: "I am reporting to you, I think that the more difficult the country is, the more you must not be weak, otherwise all kinds of wolves, tigers and leopards will dare to come up. Give me a bite."
As the legitimate son, Zhao Xun is most likely to become the next generation of Liang Hou. As soon as he opened his mouth, the palace immediately became quiet.
"Our country currently has more than 100,000 mobile troops. Coupled with the recently formed new army of 20,000 soldiers, it can be said to be a strong military force. If it were not for the country's lack of funds, I would have asked for orders to regain the land of Hebei."
"Fenti County is the east gate, and there is no broad Lianghe River blocking it... Xiyuan County is in danger!"
Young Master Zhao Xun insisted on the rhetoric of starting a war, which was well-founded and made many warring ministers nod their heads.
Zhao Qi definitely didn't want to suffer humiliation. These words spoke to his heart, so he nodded slightly and said, "Xun'er is right. Bai Qing, Cheng Qing, Xi Qing, you guys may have some insights."
Bai Xiuqi, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, felt nervous, but he still spoke frankly: "The prince and the ministers think that we cannot forcefully start a war against Xia. The national treasury is empty and it is difficult to support a war of more than 100,000 people."
"By delaying the tax payment until this autumn, the country may turn around!"
In addition, Prime Minister Cheng Ju, who was standing next to Bai Xiuqi, was even more shocked when he said: "I have read the military reports from Fentie and Anliang and feel that Xia's army is powerful and unstoppable."
"I believe that we should decisively agree to Duke Xia's request to avoid losing our righteousness."
"If we, Fentie, surrender and the Xia army still presses hard, then we, the Liang people, will be able to see clearly their robber face and work together to fight against the enemy!"
As soon as these traitorous words came out, the court suddenly boiled, and many Qingliu stood up to accuse Cheng Ju.
Zhao Xun was even more dissatisfied and signaled to his followers to ask for help: "The Prime Minister is seriously ill and confused. He should stay behind closed doors to recuperate for a period of time."
Zhao Qi silently agreed and asked the eunuch to invite Cheng Ju to see the imperial doctor.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to carry the coffin and go out to fight, and stick to Fentie County, so that not a single soldier of the Xia Kingdom sets foot in the Western Plains!" Xi Yueze, the minister of the Ministry of War, who had always been low-key, suddenly appeared and decided to take charge of the battle, which made Zhao Qi look at him with admiration.
The intentions of the Marquis of Liang were obvious, and Cheng Ju ended up like this. The "surrender faction" in the palace no longer dared to say anything.
Finally, considering that Zhao Xun had no war experience, Zhao Qi appointed Xi Yueze as the reinforcements commander and led 50,000 Daliang Forbidden Forces to rush to Fentie. As long as the current situation was maintained, it would be considered a meritorious service.
On March 28, Fentie County Governor sent an envoy to the Xia Army camp to meet Zhou Bai. He severely rejected the request to stay, pointing out that this was an act of aggression.
"Why is the country of in-laws like this? I am fighting against the Jin alone and want to save tens of millions of people in Liangzhou. No one in the Liang court understands... What a pain, what a pity!"
Afterwards, Zhou Bai's touching and sincere words quickly spread throughout the major cities of Liang State, driven by the hidden black hands.
One month later, the Xia army surrounded Fentie City. They did not attack, but they did not leave either.
Even if the reinforcements led by Xi Yueze arrived, they could only look across the camp and made no attempt to attack.
What is Xia Jun doing? They are helping people across Fentie County to replant spring seedlings, and at the same time set up relief points to distribute food, salt, vinegar, and clothing to the hungry...
Unknowingly, Liang Guo's dragon was still unruly, but the people's luck was like a second head with different ideas.
At the end of April, after the Xia army in Beiqu County captured two counties again, they were blocked on the front line of Beiqu County and almost retreated to Anliang.
The external war situation was announced, and it was said that the Jin Kingdom's pioneer cavalry entered the country, the food route was cut off, and there was no safe rear base.
Fortunately, the important town of Liangtai on the Liangxia border was not successfully raided because of the timely deployment of defenses.
More than a thousand Jin army sentry riders bypassed the defense line and appeared outside Fentie City on new green seedlings, openly and openly spying on Xia's army.
The entire Liang Kingdom was in a state of shock.
What, because the Liang people were holding back, the Xia army had to retreat?
This is not possible!
Look at what Xia Gong and Xia Jun did, what are they if they are not the true king and his master?
On May 3rd of the seventh year of Tongzhi, Xi Yueze, the Minister of War, summoned his subordinates and delivered an impassioned speech, declaring that Duke Xia was the savior of Liangzhou.
In the end, he was actually allowed to lead an army of 50,000 in an uprising, which completely destroyed Fentie City's determination to hold on.
On May 5th, the county guard of Fen Tiecheng was coerced by the people in the city to open the city gate, eat a pot of juice to welcome Duke Xia as his lord.
After only half a month, the entire Fentie County was taken over by the Xia Dynasty, and Xia officials were stationed at Xia troops.
The road was open, and a steady stream of troops rushed to Beiqu. Lou Jinpeng launched a massive attack on the front line, and attacked steadily and once again reached outside the county seat.
At the same time, Chu Kai led ten thousand cavalry to detour out of the fortress and destroyed more than ten shepherd tribes, which were important sources of food for the Jin army.
Da Xia's legal network gradually invaded Liang State, and the prestige of local officials was sometimes not as effective as the words of a wealthy Xia businessman who helped the victims.
It's not that Zhao Qi doesn't want to rectify it, but he no longer has the energy to deal with it.
Because on the eve of the summer harvest, Liangguo County hopes that the Xu family will declare independence in Qingwu County, which is no less powerful than the threat of Jinxia.
(End of chapter)
