Fenghou

Eighty miles to the south, Chen Qing stood on a hill, looking at the faintly visible fire in the distance, he turned his head and smiled at Niu Gao: "It seems that the scouts have succeeded."

Niu Gao nodded and sighed: "With Xia Lian's cautious marching all the way, it's really not easy to burn his luggage. We must reward this scout team for their outstanding performance."

Chen Qing had roughly guessed that it was the deputy scout commander named Tang Qian who made the great contribution.

"That's right, it's a good reward!"

……

Agan County in Lanzhou is a small county, located forty miles south of Lanzhou City, with a population of only a few thousand people who mainly make a living by farming. There is no military camp in the city, only a warehouse, which stores thousands of shi of grain, and has [-] Xixia soldiers. Keep watch here.

In the evening of that day, a caravan composed of more than a hundred mules came to the South City Gate, loaded with goods. The owner of the caravan was a middle-aged man riding a donkey, and he was accompanied by more than a dozen fellows.

The city gate was guarded by several militia soldiers. They were sitting by the gate and chatting, when they suddenly saw a caravan approaching, their eyes lit up, and the opportunity to make money came.

Lanzhou City may be more heavily guarded, but in a small county like Egan County, it is necessary to guard the city gate, and only a few state soldiers are responsible for opening and closing the city gate.

Their so-called guarding the city gate is actually to get money.

The leading soldier came up to meet him, pretending to shout, "Stop, what are you doing?"

The businessman said with a smile: "Go to Xixia to do business. The Yellow River has not completely thawed. Come here and wait for a few days."

"what kind of business?"

"Small business, do some wine business."

The leading soldier slapped his thigh and shouted, "Alcohol is a contraband!"

The businessman gave him a contemptuous look, "Do you think this is Lin'an? There are also contraband! Just tell me how much money you want, and don't do this with me."

The leading soldier chuckled, "Brother is a smart man, I can't fool you, and our brothers just want money for a drink, this amount!"

He held out a finger, indicating that he wanted consistent money.

He has seen a lot of businessmen traveling here and there, and he knows that as long as he gives them one set of money, they will definitely ask for another two sets of money, endlessly.

"It's too much. Lanzhou City only needs five hundred Wen. You are a small county town and you dare to ask for a consistent amount of money. If you break the rules, you will have to drink the Northwest Wind in the future."

Seeing that the other party actually knew the rules, the lead soldier didn't dare to ask for more, so he nodded, "Then follow the rules!"

The businessman took out half of the money and threw it to the other party. Several soldiers smiled all over their faces, "Please come in, master!"

With a wave of his hand, the merchant led the caravan into the city.

When they came to the county seat, they temporarily rented a big house. This big house was close to the city wall and a group of people unloaded all the goods, which were all heavy leather bags.

The businessman's surname is Liao, he is really a businessman, but his more than a dozen clerks are Song soldiers pretending to be Qiao. Liao Dongzhu is very familiar with Agan County. The mansion he temporarily rented fully meets the requirements of the soldiers. It is located at the root of the city wall. .

These leather bags were filled with kerosene, and they prepared both ways. If a tunnel could not be opened, the kerosene would be directly stored in the city. If a tunnel could be opened, the kerosene could be brought from outside.

As night fell, more than [-] soldiers came from all over the county, and [-] soldiers gathered in the whole mansion. They closed the gate and began to dig tunnels in the woodshed close to the city wall.

……

Chen Qing adopted Cao Baozong's suggestion that he must win Lanzhou City first, and he handed over this task to Yang Zaixing.

At this time, there were [-] Xixia troops in the camp on the north bank of the Yellow River, led by Shang Dongyan, but Lanzhou City on the south bank of the Yellow River had only [-] defenders, even less than the troops in Dingxi County, mainly because it was already far away from the camp. Recently, there is no need to station more troops. A thousand troops are stationed just to control Lanzhou City.

In the early morning of this day, just after dawn, a 2000 Xixia cavalry came galloping from a distance. The defenders at the top of the city saw it from a distance and hurriedly closed the city gate.

Not long after, the cavalry rushed to the city, and a general stepped forward and shouted in party language: "Why close the city gate?"

The general on the top of the wall had never seen this general, he hesitated, and asked again: "Is there a military order?"

The leading general scolded: "We didn't sleep all night, what military order is needed, it delays the big event, and it's your head!"

After cursing, the general still took out a command arrow and held it up high, "See clearly, the command arrow is here!"

Sure enough, it was the general's command arrow, the guard did not dare to neglect, and immediately ordered the city gate to be opened.

This General Gate is just a soldier of the Song Army who knows the party language. The real leader is Liu Qiong behind him. This time, Yang Zaixing gave Liu Qiong the opportunity to outwit Lanzhou City.

The city gate opened slowly, the suspension bridge was lowered slowly, and the general waved his hand, "Enter the city!"

Two thousand cavalry rushed into the city of Lanzhou in mighty force...

Half an hour later, Yang Zaixing led [-] cavalry soldiers to the city, and the flag of the Song Army had been replaced on the top of the city. Liu Qiong smiled triumphantly from the top of the city: "General Yang, I'm sorry, I didn't even leave Tang for you!"

Yang Zaixing snorted, and led the army towards the city.

Chapter 469

The Xixia army was once again facing a shortage of food, but it was a little better than last time. They still had some mutton, and slaughtered hundreds of cattle pulling the carts. In addition, the soldiers still had two days of dry food, which could barely support them. sky.

Xia Lian, the leader of the Xixia Army, had already received the news that Didao County had been seized by the Song Army, which was also within his expectation. Without hesitation, Xia Lian led the army to rush out of Lintao Mansion and into the boundary of Lanzhou for a day and a night.

The army looted hundreds of cattle and thousands of sheep belonging to the herdsmen of Dangxiang, slightly alleviating the plight of food shortage.

The army continued to march for another three days, and Lanzhou was getting closer and closer. On this day, they were still fifty miles away from Lanzhou City, but only thirty miles away from the Yellow River. The army was resting in a pine forest, and five army leaders gathered together to discuss nervously. Encountering a big trouble, it is impossible to cross the Yellow River now, which no one thought of beforehand.

Tuoba Chengqing said anxiously: "You can try it, how will you know if you don't try? Maybe you can cross the Yellow River?"

Xia Lian sighed and said: "The spies have already tried it. Eight leather rafts were launched into the water, three of which were torn apart, and five were knocked over by ice floes. Now the Yellow River has just entered the ice flood season, and it is impossible to cross the Yellow River at all."

Everyone looked at each other, dumbfounded, and Ma Yaowu asked, "What countermeasures does the commanding army have?"

Xia Lian said slowly: "Chen Qing has been leading the army to follow us, and he has not done anything for a long time. I guess he is waiting for our food to run out, either waiting for us to surrender without a fight, or waiting for us to collapse without a fight. I thought repeatedly, We have only two ways now, either go west to the plateau area, where the Yellow River may still be frozen, and we can cross the river there, or we can go to Lanzhou City and wait until the Yellow River is completely thawed before crossing the river."

Tuoba Chengqing asked; "If you go west, how risky is it?"

"The risk is very high. Not only will Chen Qing's army pursue him, but he will also be blocked by Ren Dejing's army. At the same time, he will also face the threat of food shortage and harsh environment. Even if he returns to Xixia, I estimate that there will only be two or three out of ten."

Since Xia Lian said so, everyone understood what he meant and went to Lanzhou City to wait. Everyone agreed to go to Lanzhou City.

Xia Lian said to everyone: "I estimated that we still have two days of food, so we can't stay any longer, we must rush to Lanzhou in one go."

The army set off after lunch, and the [-] Xixia army had a glimmer of hope, their morale was boosted, and they all rushed to Lanzhou City in mighty strength...

At this time, Chen Qing led an army of [-] and followed behind. They kept a distance of one day from the Xixia Army. Chen Qing had already received the news from Yang Zaixing that the hunting ground had been set up, and they were waiting for the prey to enter.

Twenty thousand Song troops also spent the night in a forest. In a small marching tent, Chen Qing was still concentrating on deducing the sand table, considering various possibilities of the Xixia army.

At this time, Niu Gao's voice came from outside, "Has Dutong not rested yet?"

"The governor is still considering military affairs."

"Please inform me that I have something urgent to report!"

Chen Qing put down his pen and said with a smile, "Come in!"

Niu Gao walked in, cupped his fists and said apologetically, "I'm here so late, I won't bother you!"

"What's the hurry?"

"Just received the bulletin sent by Li Muqing. Ren Dejing sent troops to occupy Hezhou, and Ren Zhongqun led another thousand troops back to the silver mine in Dangchuan County, and disbanded the miners' self-government association and self-government militia."

"Is the messenger still there?"

"It's still there, they won't leave until dawn, do you all want to see them?"

Chen Qing shook his head, he wrote a warrant and handed it to Niu Gao, "Request Li Muqing to stick to Didao County, and ignore everything else for now!"

"Humble job understands!"

As soon as Niu Gao was about to leave, Chen Qing smiled again: "General Niu came just in time, help me to go over it, I have a difficulty here."

Niu Gao asked with a smile: "Is Dutong embarrassing the people of Agan County?"

"How do you know?" Chen Qing was a little stunned, Niu Gao was obviously right.

Niu Gao smiled wryly and said: "Beizhi is also worried about this issue, but after knowing the situation in Agan County in detail, I feel that the worst scenario will not happen."

"why?"

"Agan County is too small to accommodate 2 people. Unless the Xixia Army loves the people like a son and voluntarily sleeps on the streets and at the top of the city, the people in the city will definitely be driven away. Song army scouts, the best way is to clear the city."

Chen Qing nodded, Niu Gao thought exactly the same as him, but this was only the best ending, but he had to plan for the worst.

……

At dawn, the [-] Xixia army came to the city of Lanzhou with great hardships, but what greeted the Xixia army was a flurry of arrows, and dozens of people who were sent to call the door were shot and killed on the spot. The remaining few soldiers fled back in a panic with arrow wounds.

This result made it difficult for Xia Lian and all the generals to accept. They were faintly worried before, would Lanzhou City have been occupied by the Song army?

But this was their only hope. No one wanted their last hope to be snuffed out, but the reality was cruel. The Song army still ruined their last hope, leaving the whole army in a kind of despair.

The main general Xia Lian seems to have fallen into an ice cave. There is only one day left of food, and the surroundings are barren mountains and wild mountains. What should he do?

The consequences are so serious, but he has nothing to do, is he going to order to kill horses for food again?

This was the last thing Xia Lian wanted to do. Killing a horse was a dirty thing that Cao Baozong could do. The generals despised him for a long time and made him as incompetent as Cao Baozong. How could he accept it?

"Otherwise, let's fight Chen Qing!"

Commander Li Huang gritted his teeth and said, "We have 5000 people, and he only has 2. In the end, we may not be defeated if we fight to the death!"

Several generals cast strange glances at Li Huang, Cao Baozong thought so too at the beginning.

Xia Lian sighed and said: "Chen Qing wants to fight us. He has already started the war. He didn't plan to fight us at all. He was just waiting for us to collapse. Now I understand that Chen Qing is a wolf. Follow us all the way, just waiting to eat our corpses!"

"Wouldn't it be just what he wants when we run out of food?"

Everyone was silent, and Tuoba Chengqing said coldly: "Can a living person be suffocated to death by urine? There are still several counties in Lanzhou! As far as I know, there are Dingyuan County, Kangu County, and Egan County. There are still so many villages, if you can't do it, just rob and kill, I don't believe you can't grab ten days' worth of food?"

Everyone agreed, "General Tuoba is right, now either you die or I live, I can't control that much."

Xia Lian also nodded. This is the last resort. Unfortunately, they don't have a map of Lanzhou in their hands. He immediately ordered: "Go and ask, and see who is familiar with the situation in Lanzhou's counties."

As soon as Xia Lian finished speaking, a general stumbled over, "General Xia, all generals, we are saved, we are saved!"

Everyone stood up, Xia Lian asked in a deep voice: "Speak clearly, what can help?"

The general turned around and waved: "You come up and say it!"

A general of the Xixia Army stepped forward and knelt down on one knee and said, "I would like to report to the Xia Tongjun. The humble officer is Tuobawang, the garrison of Egan County, who led [-] brothers to station in Agan County. The humble officer knows that Lanzhou has been captured by the Song army. I am here to invite you." The army stopped at Egan County for the time being."

"Agan County?"

All the generals were generals drawn from various military divisions, and they were not familiar with Lanzhou. Although Tuoba Chengqing knew that there was Agan County in Lanzhou, he didn't know where Agan County was?

Xia Lian hurriedly asked, "Is there any food in Agan County?"

"Yes! There are three thousand stones in storage!"

This news made everyone cheer, they were overjoyed. Just when they were most desperate, God gave them another way of life.

Xia Lian couldn't hold back the excitement in his heart and asked, "Where is Egan County?"

"The county seat is relatively remote, fifty miles to the southwest."

"Didn't Song Jun find you?" Xia Lian asked again with some doubts.

"The Song Army only occupied Lanzhou three days ago, and they haven't found us yet, but I heard that several other counties have been patronized by the Song Army. I am very worried, so I hope that the army will station in Egan County."

Although Xia Lian still doesn't believe it, he can't take care of it too much now, and he rushes to the doctor in a hurry. They will run out of food tomorrow morning, and he must get food now.

"Order the army to pull out and go to Agan County immediately!"

4 Chapter Seventy

In the afternoon, the Xixia army arrived in Egan County. There were indeed three thousand stones of grain in the county, which made the whole army cheer. Xia Lian saw that the walls of Agan County were tall and strong, like a military city, so he decided to station the army in Egan County.

But the county is too small to station [-] troops, and the majority of the people in the county are Han Chinese, which is not worthy of pity. The generals unanimously decided to drive all the people in the city out of the city.

If Lanzhou had not already belonged to the territory of the Xixia Kingdom, and these people were already Xixia people, they would probably go on a killing spree and slaughter all the people in the city.

Xixia soldiers began to forcibly drive out the people from house to house, and the city was full of chickens and dogs. Most of the people didn't even have time to clean up their property. They were forced out of their homes with only a few copper coins. Some old people who refused to leave their homes also died in In the hands of the Xixia army.

Teams of common people helped the old and brought the young together to form a long dragon, and under the strict surveillance of more than a thousand Xixia spear soldiers, they walked out of the city crying.

In just one hour, all the people in the city were expelled from the city, and the city gates were closed. Xia Lian immediately ordered five thousand troops to defend the city and established a defense system. In the city.

Ten thousand Xixia soldiers rushed into the homes of the people, and began to search through boxes and cabinets, taking the opportunity to loot the property that the people had not had time to take away.

A group of Xixia soldiers rushed into a mansion, but they found that it was an empty house, which seemed to have been unoccupied for a long time. The boxes and cabinets were empty and full of dust, which disappointed the leading general.

"Go to the backyard and have a look, if there is no one, go to the next one!"

The three Xixia soldiers ran to the back house. There was nothing in the back house, only a dilapidated woodshed. They kicked the woodshed away with their family, and a stench rushed towards them. The three of them pinched their noses and cursed loudly before running back Church.

"General, there is nothing behind!"

The leading general waved his hand, led the soldiers out of the mansion, and went to the next house.