Fenghou

The obese man smiled faintly, "It seems that Hei Jintang is finished, he is still a high-level assassin, he can't hold his breath at all, it's just a false name, what else?"

"Others... nothing else." Li Toutuo said anxiously.

The fat man nodded, "Go back and tell Lin Jianqing to be honest these few days and not to treat others as fools."

Li Toutuo secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "I understand!"

"Go! Go through the back door."

Li Toutuo saluted, turned around and just took two steps, the fat man raised his hand, and a poisonous crossbow shot out from his sleeve. Li Toutuo was still on guard just now, but he just let go of his guard, 'Pfft! 'The poisoned arrow hit him in the back.

Li Toutuo screamed, staggered and fell down. He pointed to the fat man and wanted to say something, but he twitched twice and died.

The fat man walked up to him and said lightly, "I just said, you violated the rules!"

He slapped his hands, and two subordinates came in. The fat man ordered: "Dispose of his body, and also kill Lin Jianqing."

Two men carried Li Toutuo's body down.

At this time, a thin old man came out from the back hall, looked at the dragged body, shook his head and said, "I'm afraid he never dreamed why he was killed?"

"When he went to meet Wanyan Xiyin in private, he should have thought of the consequences of being on the wrong team. He wanted to join Wanyan Chang to replace me, so I said he violated the rules, and he thought I was talking about him meddling in intelligence matters. ,ridiculous!"

"Then what should we do next?"

The fat man pondered for a while and said, "Li Toutuo must have left behind to prevent me from killing him. We must move away immediately."

"But that Lin Jianqing is Chen Qing's brother-in-law, can we use it again?"

The fat man shook his head, "Chen Qing won't pay attention to such a shameless villain, he is useless, but in our line of work, we can't leave any openings. Li Toutuo is very cunning, I'm afraid he will stay with Lin Jianqing." What, the inner guard can find clues about us from Lin Jianqing."

The old man praised, "It's still the manager who is considerate!"

"Wenweng go clean up! We will move immediately."

Chapter 655 Raiders

At night, a force of [-] cavalry was speeding across the open loess plateau. In addition to the [-] cavalry, [-] camels loaded with supplies followed.

This army was commanded by Liu Qiong and deputy general Tang Qian. They originally had 4 people and set out from Chang'an to the east. According to the military report of the Xuanfu envoy, the destination of this army was Yanzhou and Fushi County. For logistics support, they are stationed on the west bank of the Yellow River. Their task is to contain the golden soldiers on Hexi Road to aid Xixia.

But in fact, the [-] army split into two groups two days after going east, and continued to go northward along the Luoshui Road with great fanfare, pretending to be the momentum of the [-] army, while the main force of the [-] army on the other side turned back and returned silently. Enter Jingyuan Road.

The 3 men who entered Jingyuan Road were the [-] cavalry led by Liu Qiong and Tang Qian. They carried out Chen Qing's first stage layout, entered Xixia from the Hulu River, and captured Yingli County.

They are the strange soldiers under Chen Qing. In order to cover their success, Chen Qing did not hesitate to deploy 20 troops and countless food and grass supplies in Lanzhou thousands of miles away. I believe that he will attack Xixia from Lanzhou.

But in fact, Chen Qing would still send surprise troops northward from the traditional route.

Go north from Jingyuan Road, reach Pingliang Mansion, continue northward, enter Zhenrong Prefecture, then go north along the Hulu River in Zhenrong Prefecture, arrive at Xiaoguan, and enter Xixia territory through Xiaoguan. This road Since ancient times, it has been an important passage for the nomadic cavalry from the northern part of the Great Wall to enter the Guanzhong. In the Qin Dynasty, the famous Qin Zhidao was built in order to attack the Huns in the north.

The 3000 cavalry led by Liu Qiong walked along the Qin Zhidao. At dawn, they arrived at Xiaoguan. Xiaoguan was occupied by the Xixia army before, with a garrison of [-] people. However, Xiao Heda's rebellion forced the Xixia court to mobilize troops from various roads. , Xiaoguan’s army was also transferred back to Xingqing Mansion. Before leaving, they completely destroyed Xiaoguan’s city wall and pass. At present, there is no army stationed, and it is covered with weeds as tall as a person. The ditch was turbulent and flowing northward, and the roar could be heard for miles.

The Song army did not stop at Xiaoguan. After passing through Xiaoguan, they continued to go north, and passed through more than a dozen dangerous passes in Xixia. Chen Qing had done enough homework before, and these dangerous passes had been abandoned for more than a dozen times. In [-], especially after Jingkang, Shaanxi Road fell, and Xixia's power expanded southward. These dangerous passes had lost their defensive significance. Except for Xiaoguan, the rest of the passes were abandoned.

Three days later, an army of [-] troops entered the Ningxia Plain. The terrain suddenly became flat, and large forests and grasslands could be seen in the distance. around.

The team settled down in a forest, and Tang Qian sent his scout commander Yang Rui to lead [-] scout cavalry to Yingli County to investigate the situation.

To the south of Yingli County is Jiudu of the Yellow River. The Yellow River here is very wide, up to ten miles wide, and the water flow is very gentle. A person and a horse can be transported across the Yellow River with a medium-sized sheepskin raft.

Yang Rui led his men to walk along the gourd water for a day until they came to the Yellow River. Although there were lush pastures along the way, they couldn't see a herdsman or a sheep. After walking for tens of miles, they were all deserted.

Of course, Yang Rui didn't know that this area was originally the territory of the Qiang people. During the confrontation between Xiao Heda and the court, the Qiang people chose to support Xiao Heda, which made the court furious and sent troops to rob the Qiang people of their cattle and sheep. A large number of Qiang people fled to the west, and the southern pastoral areas formed a large no-man's land. It was normal for the Song army's scouts to not see any herdsmen or sheep.

Yang Rui made a decision to leave 180 soldiers to guard the horses. He led [-] scouts to cross the Yellow River on a leather raft under the cover of night.

The north bank of the Yellow River is another scene. There is no grassland, only Gobi and desert. In the distance is a majestic mountain range, which extends to the north. That is the Helan Mountains. desert.

In the desert, a flat military road goes all the way to the east.

At this time, it was already the third watch, and it was a coincidence that as soon as they arrived at the side of the military road, there was a rush of horseshoes from the west. Yang Rui was overjoyed, and immediately ordered: "Everyone get down, use the horse ropes!"

The scouts were experienced, and they immediately set up a road tripping rope, leaving only about [-] people on both sides of the military road, and the rest lay on their stomachs far away to prevent being discovered by the opponent.

Not long after, two Xixia messenger cavalry appeared in the distance. They rode their horses and galloped fast. In the night, it was difficult to see the tripping rope on the ground. The horse in front was caught off guard and tripped by the tripping rope. He fell to the ground, and the cavalry behind him were taken aback. He was very good at riding, and even jumped three tripping ropes. Suddenly, a black shadow jumped up from the ground, and threw the cavalry off the horse. The surrounding Song soldiers rushed forward and killed the two horsemen. The Xixia soldiers fell to the ground, tied them up with ropes, gagged their mouths, and covered their heads with black bags.

The crowd led two horses and quickly left the military road, and quickly disappeared into the night...

At dawn, two Xixia cavalrymen were tortured to death, but Song Jun also got the information they wanted. These two cavalrymen sent letters from Yingli County to Xingqing Mansion to report to the imperial court that Chen Qing had arrived in Lanzhou. In addition to the cavalry sending letters by land, there are also eagle letters sent at the same time, which ensures that the information is foolproof.

Song Jun didn't care about the information they wanted to send. What he needed was information from Yingli County. Yang Rui immediately sent two soldiers back to the army station to report, while he led the rest of the scouts to Yingli County.

At dawn, Liu Qiong got information from Yingli County. He said to Tang Qian in a deep voice: "There are 6000 Xixia troops in Yingli County, and there are [-] people in Shatuoguan, [-] miles to the west. It seems that Xixia is The main force that has invested heavily in defending Lanzhou."

Tang Qian is the commander of the scouts. He is Liu Qiong's old partner, and it is also the first time he has set off as a lieutenant. Chen Qing considered that this surprise attack is actually a large-scale scout operation, so he let Tang Qian, who is more scout-minded, As the deputy general, he followed Liu Qiong to the expedition.

Tang Qian thought for a while and said, "Our biggest advantage is that the enemy doesn't know we exist. I don't think it's a big problem to win Yingli County, but I think it's more important to defend the city and the passage."

"General Tang means that we need to reserve some troops to guard the passes along the Calabash River?"

Tang Qian nodded, "We don't know the situation along the way from Lanzhou. If the road is destroyed, just like we destroyed Wuren, then our main force will still have to go through Xiaoguan, so we must guard the passage of Huluhe Valley. "

Liu Qiong pondered for a while and said: "General Tang's worry is very likely, so let's take Yingli County first, and then we will divide the troops to see how much food and supplies they have."

Chapter 656 Responsibility

The [-] army set off immediately and arrived at the Yellow River at dusk. Two thousand engineering soldiers quickly built a pontoon bridge with sheepskin rafts. At one watch, the pontoon bridge was built. The pontoon bridge was about two feet wide. Two thick ropes were fixed on each side. They quickly crossed the Yellow River, and when it was almost dawn, all the [-] troops had crossed the Yellow River. In order to prevent unexpected intelligence, the engineering soldiers immediately dismantled the pontoon bridge.

After crossing the Yellow River, only [-] miles away from Yingli County, Liu Qiong ordered the army to rest in place and wait patiently for nightfall.

At this time, Yang Rui rushed back in time, and in a small camp tent, he reported to Liu Qiong and Tang Qian what he had observed last night.

"The circumference of the city is about 2000 miles. There are about 1000 people guarding the city at night. There are two gates in the east and west. Among them, the western city has the largest defenders, with about [-] people. The other three cities have about the same number of people."

"What about the defense during the day?" Tang Qian asked.

"Day and night are about the same, and there are about 2000 people. I feel that the 6000 people are divided into three shifts. It is obvious that they are well-trained."

"How do you know you're well-trained?"

They are interactive patrols, invulnerable.

Therefore, interactive patrol means that two teams of patrol soldiers are facing each other, and there will be no loopholes because one patrol team turns around to leave, and because the other patrol team is coming head-on, there will be no patrol loopholes on the city wall.

Liu Qiong and Tang Qian glanced at each other. They both had a lot of experience. From a city defender, it could be seen that the Xixia Army was well-trained and did not relax because they were far behind. Sneak attacks were not easy to fight.

Liu Qiong asked again: "How high is the city wall? Is there a moat?"

"The city wall is about two to five to three feet high, and there is no moat!"

Similar to the information they received before, except for the capital Xingqing, the Xixia cities do not have moats.

"How was the weather last night?"

Tang Qian asked carefully again. As the leader of the scouts, he knew the importance of the weather, and sometimes it would determine the success or failure of a war.

"It was clear in the first half of the night, but the clouds became more cloudy in the second half of the night."

Tang Qian nodded. It has been like this for the past few nights. It was clear in the first half of the night and cloudy in the second half of the night. I don't know if it will be the same tonight.

"General Tang, how do you think we should fight?" Liu Qiong asked.

Tang Qian pondered for a while and said, "Our biggest advantage is that the enemy doesn't know we exist. We must persist in this point. I think we still have to use fire oil. This is also our advantage and we cannot give up."

The two discussed for a while, and soon reached an agreement that Tang Qian would lead a thousand scouts to attack from the east wall, seize the city gate as soon as possible, and let the cavalry rush in.

……

Liu Qiong also considered pretending to be the Xixia army to deceive the city gate, but later gave up this idea. Xixia has its own complete and strict military system, and it also uses order and symbols, but what does the order of the Xixia army look like? No one knew, let alone what order talisman the Yingli County defenders had agreed to use with the imperial court, so it was completely unrealistic to cheat the city.

The Xixia army is not a puppet Qi army. They are well-trained and tenacious in combat. It is also wishful thinking to seize the city without bloodshed. Liu Qiong and Tang Qian know very well that they can't capture the city without going through a bloody battle. As long as the cavalry enters the city, they will Can use superior force to defeat the opponent.

Sure enough, it was the same night as last night. After four o’clock, the clouds in the dark blue sky finally increased. Pieces of gray clouds were flying southward at high speed in the sky, and a round of clear full moon appeared and disappeared in the clouds. , The land is sometimes covered with silver light, and sometimes it is pitch black.

Tang Qian led [-] elite soldiers to prostrate on the ground, followed by [-] soldiers. All [-] soldiers were carrying a skin bag of kerosene, about ten catties of kerosene, a shield on their backs, and swords in their hands.

When a piece of land covered the moon, the earth immediately became pitch black. Tang Qian and Sanbai's subordinates were waiting for this opportunity. They immediately got up and ran forward. After a while, the dark clouds drifted past, and the earth was once again covered with a layer of silver. , Song Jun lay motionless on the ground again.

There are about [-] defenders on the top of the city. They are patrolling back and forth on the top of the city. Although they are not hiding and sleeping, they will not stare at the outside of the city. After all, they are thousands of miles away from Lanzhou, and the war has not yet started. The system is strict, but the mentality of the soldiers is relaxed.

When the earth became dark again, Tang Qian led the soldiers to rush to the city wall again.

At this time, two Xixia cavalrymen rushed over from a distance, and the sound of horseshoes attracted the attention of the soldiers at the top of the city. The soldiers who had been patrolling also stopped in their tracks. A noose flew up to the top of the city and entangled the battlements.

The soldiers of the Song Army began to climb up quickly, and the defenders on the top of the city shouted and asked questions, and the soldiers on the top of the city sent letters answered impatiently, unwilling to cooperate with the requirements of the soldiers on the top of the city to check the order talisman.

Of course they couldn't get the order talisman, but they kept saying that they came from the capital with a look of arrogance.

The guard on the top of the city said angrily: "Don't think that you can disobey the rules because you are from the capital. Rules are rules. If you can't get a token, don't let me open the city!"

Several soldiers were lying on the battlements to watch the excitement. One of the soldiers glanced north inadvertently, just in time to see a black figure jumping off the battlements. , to illuminate the earth and the city walls into silvery white.

Under the bright moonlight, I saw dozens of black shadows struggling to climb up the city. The soldier was stunned. He suspected that he had seen it wrong. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, and immediately shouted, "There is an enemy! There is an enemy!"

The Xixia soldiers on the top of the city looked out one after another, saw the soldiers of the Song Army below the city, and shouted, "There is an enemy situation!"

"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

The ear-piercing alarm bell rang, and the whole city was shocked.

Tang Qian yelled inwardly, "Oops, they went up with less than a hundred people before they were discovered by the enemy. They were still one mile away from the city gate, so it would be difficult to seize the city gate."

Tang Qian immediately made a decision and ordered: "Give up going to the city and shoot two gunpowder arrows!"

Two red gunpowder arrows shot into the sky, and five hundred elite soldiers three hundred steps away and tens of thousands of cavalry two miles away launched simultaneously and rushed towards the city gate.

The Song Army also had a backup plan, which was to prepare a battering ram. If it failed to seize the city, it would use the battering ram.

Only two gunpowder arrows were fired, which meant that the capture of the city might have failed, and a backup plan was launched immediately. A hundred soldiers rushed forward with a huge battering ram, and two hundred soldiers on both sides raised their shields to protect them.

The fire was on the top of the city, and the soldiers sprayed out the kerosene, and the two ends of the city were on fire. Three soldiers spraying kerosene fell to the ground with arrows.

Yang Rui shouted, "Raise the shield!"

The soldiers squatted down, raised their shields, and resisted the enemy's dense arrows. There were more and more arrows, and the enemy reinforcements arrived. A soldier shouted from the battlements: "General Yang, Commander Tang ordered an immediate retreat!"

Yang Rui waved his hand, "Retreat!"

Song Jun held up his shield and retreated, grabbed the rope and slid down to the city.

Yang Rui suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. He was shot by an arrow. When he turned his head, he saw dozens of Xixia soldiers climbing up from the inner city ladder, and there were still a dozen Song soldiers on the top of the city who had not retreated. .

Yang Rui roared, raised his shield and rushed up, swung his saber and slashed. Two Xixia soldiers couldn't dodge, were hit in the neck by the saber, and fell down the city screaming.

"General!"

Just as the soldiers were about to step forward to help, Yang Rui turned around and yelled, "The military order is like a mountain, retreat! Retreat!"

With tears in their eyes, the soldiers turned and went down the city one after another. Yang Rui slashed left and right, killing several people in a row, but the arrow wound on his back also made his strength fade quickly, and his body staggered.

The Xixia soldiers seized the opportunity and stabbed at Yang Rui with more than a dozen spears. Yang Rui was stabbed three times in a row, one of which hit his left chest.

At the last moment of his life, Yang Rui jumped up with all his strength, and fell down the city with two Xixia soldiers in his arms. At the same time, the last of his men also retreated.

Chapter 657

The main general in the city is called Li Hanzhong, he is the second son of Jin King Li Cha. Although he is only in his twenties, he has made many achievements in the battle against Xiao Heda. He is recognized as a rising star in Xixia. The siren was awakened, and the first reaction was that the main force of the Song army was coming. His heart was excited, he turned over and stood up, walked to the door and shouted: "Notify all soldiers to go to the city!"

Li Hanzhong himself slept with his armor on. He put on his shoes and helmet, and rushed out with his sword and spear.

In the barracks, [-] Xixia soldiers gathered quickly, and a soldier rushed to report, "The capital is under control, and there are enemy troops attacking the city outside the east city, and there are a lot of people!"

Li Hanzhong was stunned, it was outside the east city, isn't it the west city?Where did Song Jun come from?

"boom!"

There was a loud muffled sound, as if the whole city was shaking, Li Hanzhong's face changed drastically, "Not good!"

He immediately got on his horse and ran towards the east gate with thousands of soldiers...

Thousands of Xixia soldiers shot at the battering ram dozens of steps away. The battering ram was completely covered by the shield and was airtight. The shield was full of arrows.

At this time, [-] cavalry soldiers of the Song Army fired arrows at the top of the city at the same time, and the arrows shot towards the top of the city like a storm.

The soldiers with the battering ram ran up, and the huge hammer head wrapped in pig iron hit the city gate heavily, "Boom! With an extremely dull bang, the city gate shook violently, and seven of the ten bolts inside were broken.

"Come again!"

The battering ram soldiers retreated dozens of steps. They shouted and ran forward again. The huge hammer head hit the city gate again, "Boom!" With a loud noise, the city gate was smashed open.

"Kill!"