Fenghou

This is the Western Army who is good at fighting?Not even a fire can crack it.

Shang Dongyan faintly felt that something was wrong, and always felt that something would go wrong.

At this moment, there was a shout of killing suddenly behind him, Shang Dongyan turned his head suddenly, and looked to the north in surprise, why did the shout of killing come from the north, could it be that the Song army from Yingli County came to kill him?

impossible!He also deployed fire piles and a thousand defensive soldiers in the north. Even if the Song army came from the north, he would not rush up the mountain so quickly.

"General!"

A soldier rushed to report, "Song soldiers are attacking the gate of the village, and the brothers are almost unable to resist."

As soon as the voice fell, there was only a loud bang, and a puff of thick smoke rose into the air. It was the explosion of gunpowder.

Shang Dongyan's scalp exploded, and he immediately shouted: "All the soldiers on the top of the mountain go to the Beizhai Gate to fight!"

In fact, the Beizhai Gate had already fallen, and the Song army blasted the Beizhai Gate with gunpowder barrels. Yang Zaixing led more than a thousand soldiers into the village, and there was a steady stream of Song Army soldiers coming to kill them.

The soldiers of the Xixia Army also came up to fight, and the two sides fought fiercely on the top of the mountain, fighting to the death. The soldiers of the Xixia Army were also well-trained and tenacious, and they were evenly matched with the Song Army.

It's just that most of the troops were deployed on the mountain road, and there were only [-] Xixia troops on the top of the mountain. Shang Dongyan ordered that all the other troops withdraw to the top of the mountain except for [-] soldiers to stay on the mountain road to the south.

Two thousand Xixia soldiers retreated up the mountain from the north and south mountain roads, but the one thousand Xixia troops on the north mountain road were blocked. The Song army poured hundreds of barrels of kerosene down, ignited the rolling logs, and the entire north mountain road turned into a sea of ​​flames.

And a thousand soldiers on the mountain road to the south rushed to the top of the mountain and joined the fierce battle against the Song army.

The fierce battle on the top of the mountain was very bloody and tragic. Both sides had no way out and could only fight to the death. Yang Zaixing brandished a long spear and appeared like a ghost.

Shang Dongyan saw that the opponent's commander had excellent marksmanship and was unstoppable, so he quietly took down his bow and arrow, unfurled it, and gave the soldiers a wink, the two soldiers shot arrows at Yang Zaixing together, just as the arrows of the soldiers shot out, Shang Dongyan's cold arrow was also shot immediately.

Yang Zaixing felt the sound of piercing through the air, and swung his long spear out, 'Dang!when! After blocking two cold arrows, he retracted his spear and stabbed a Xixia soldier back, but at this moment, another cold arrow shot towards his neck. Appearing when he could no longer resist, Yang Zaixing instinctively shrugged his shoulders and used his shoulders to block the vitals of his neck.

'puff! The arrow hit his left shoulder, Yang Zaixing felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, and his strength in his arm quickly disappeared. Seeing that the general was injured, the soldiers surrounded him one after another, covered him with shields, and retreated the general.

Yang Zaixing felt numbness in his shoulders, and knew that the arrowhead was poisonous. He tore open his clothes, pulled out the dagger, and gouged out the arrowhead and the surrounding flesh. Blood poured out, and the severe pain almost made him faint.

Two experienced soldiers cut off the blackened flesh one after another and disinfected it with strong wine. Yang Zaixing screamed in pain and passed out. When the blood turned red, the two soldiers immediately applied hemostatic and pain-relieving ointment. Bandage up.

Yang Zaixing woke up again in a blink of an eye, and asked, "Does it hurt your bones?"

The soldier shook his head with a smile, "The muscles and bones are not injured, but Tong Zhi's knife gouged out too hard, and I'm afraid he won't be able to fight for a month or two."

Yang Zaixing nodded and looked at the arrow. There was a Chinese character 'Shang' on the arrow shaft. He gritted his teeth and said angrily: "Order the whole army to kill Shang Dongyan. He will be promoted to two ranks and rewarded with a thousand taels of silver!"

Under the heavy reward, there must be brave men. The military order was passed down, and the Song army attacked like a tide. At this time, Gao Ding led the army to arrive, and the number of the Song army increased sharply.

A general rushed to Shang Dongyan and shouted: "General, the reinforcements from the Song Army have arrived, and the brothers can't hold back. If you don't retreat, the entire army will soon be wiped out."

Shang Dongyan's lips were already biting and bleeding, and his heart was in great pain. He had finally captured the Gita Village. He thought he could turn the situation in Xixia, but he didn't expect his hope to be shattered so quickly.

There are also soldiers at the foot of the mountain who have withdrawn. They are all veterans who have followed him for many years. Retreating by themselves is tantamount to putting them to death, but Shang Dongyan also knows that the defeat is doomed, and it will be too late if they don't withdraw.

Shang Dongyan endured the pain and ordered: "Order the whole army to retreat!"

"Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!" The Xixia Army's withdrawal bell rang, and the defensive soldiers at the bottom of the mountain ran wildly up the mountain, and the soldiers on the top of the mountain also turned around and fled to the east path. , The Xixia Army suffered countless casualties.

In a moment, the Song army occupied the entire mountain, and turned to attack the Xixia soldiers on the mountainside...

At dawn, the battle was over. Shang Dongyan led more than a thousand people and fled eastward along the trail. The Song army also suffered nearly 2000 casualties at the foot of the mountain and at the top of the mountain. Although the price was high, they finally recaptured the cuta village.

The battle on the mountainside was also over. The Song army refused to accept the surrender and killed more than a thousand Xixia soldiers. At this time, a large group of generals surrounded Chen Qing and went up the mountain.

Seeing that Yang Zaixing's face was pale and his shoulders were thickly bandaged with gauze, he asked with concern, "Did you hurt your bones?"

Yang Zaixing said bitterly: "There is no injury to the muscles and bones, but the arrow is poisonous, and there is too much blood, damn Shang Dongyan shot it!"

Chen Qing nodded, turned his head and said to everyone: "This person is indeed a formidable character. If we hadn't discovered the secret way, we would have to pay at least ten thousand people to take back the Gouta village. No one is allowed to underestimate the enemy in the future!"

"Follow the order!" All the generals bowed and agreed together.

Chen Qing ordered Wang Kai to lead [-] soldiers to guard the Ghota Village. After passing through the Ghota Village, a hundred thousand troops marched toward Mingsha County, fifty miles away.

Chen Qing ordered people to find Gao Ding, and told him: "I deduce that Shang Dongyan will definitely transfer the army from Mingsha County to guard the Gouta village. It should be halfway now. You can lead [-] cavalry ahead. If you encounter enemy troops, you can divide your troops to hunt them down, the Xixia army has not many troops, we must use every opportunity to wipe them out."

"Humble post obeys orders!"

Gao Ding and Cheng Huan led [-] cavalry ahead quickly...

Mingsha County is relatively close to Yingli County and Cuta Village, and its strategic position is indeed relatively important. At this time, Li Ke, the guard general, received orders from Shang Dongyan to abandon Mingsha County and is leading an army of [-] to Cuta Village. en route.

Thirty miles away from Ghota Village, the defeated soldiers from Ghota Village began to come back one after another. These were defensive soldiers stationed on the mountainside in the north. They couldn't go back to the village. When they heard the retreat bell, they went straight down the mountain to Mingsha County. retreat.

Li Ke gathered more than [-] soldiers, and the context gradually became clear. It was only one day before Shang Dongyan captured the Gouta village, and the Song army came out from an unknown place, and the counter-attack succeeded. Whereabouts are unknown.

Li Ke immediately stopped his advance, and sent several spies to the Gita Village to find out about Shang Dongyan's situation, to see if he was beheaded by the Song army, and hung his head outside the village.

Unexpectedly, the spies came back soon, and they brought news that made Li Ke panic. One hundred thousand Song troops were marching towards this side, and thirty thousand cavalry vanguards were only ten miles away from them.

Li Ke was terrified by this news, and immediately ordered the army to retreat. The leader of the spies rushed forward and shouted: "General, the opponent is cavalry, we can't outrun them, I suggest retreating to the Yellow River."

Li Ke suddenly realized that Song Jun should also go to Mingsha County, and he had to leave the official road immediately.

"Give me an order, and the whole army will immediately retreat to the Yellow River!"

The [-] troops immediately left the official road and retreated towards the Yellow River. Not long after, Gao Ding led [-] cavalry to rush forward. A scout came forward and reported, "About a quarter of an hour ago, a Xixia army of [-] people marched towards the northeast. Evacuate!"

Sure enough, the coach guessed it right, Gao Ding immediately told Cheng Huan, "General Cheng will lead the army to continue to occupy Mingsha County, and I will lead [-] cavalry to chase the enemy!"

"General Gao, please be careful!"

The [-] troops were divided into two groups, and Gao Ding led [-] cavalry to chase towards the Yellow River.

Chapter 665 Short Soldier

Cheng Huan is also a resourceful general. He has already accumulated meritorious service and been promoted to the top commander. He is only one step away from the deputy commander. He can take charge on his own. After thinking about it, he still feels that Gao Ding is a bit careless.

Just as Gao Ding led the army to leave, Cheng Huan ordered the general to command Xing Kuang to lead 1 cavalry to speed up and rush to the front of the enemy to intercept.

He himself led [-] cavalry to Mingsha County.

Generally speaking, if you encounter the main force of the enemy's cavalry on the way, there is little possibility of escaping, and the opponent is not blind. When all troops march, there will always be a large number of scouts exploring the way within twenty miles in front to prevent Being ambushed, while the scouts of the Western Xia Army discovered the Song Army, the Song Army's scouts also discovered the enemy army.

In particular, Mingsha County already belongs to the edge of the Ningxia Plain. The hills are gentle and undulating, making it difficult to hide. 1 people are running fast, but from a distance, more than a dozen scout cavalry of the Song Army are watching them and watching their every move.

Li Ke found that he couldn't hide from Song Jun's scouts, no matter how fast they speeded up, Song Jun was still staring at them firmly.

It was too late to build a pontoon bridge by the Yellow River, and the Xixia army ran for more than ten miles. At this time, dust was flying in the distance, and the Song army cavalry had already chased them.

Li Ke shouted: "The whole army stops retreating and prepares for battle!"

The Xixia army was half cavalry and half infantry. They began to form quickly, with two thousand crossbowmen pressing in front, three thousand spear infantry in the middle, and five thousand cavalry on both sides.

Li Ke was also from the royal family, he had led an army to invade Xihe Road a few years ago, and fought against Chen Qing's army, because of the division of troops, they were defeated by the Song army, so Li Qianshun replaced him with Cao Baozong.

Finding that the opponent was also ten thousand cavalry, Li Ke's heart calmed down a little, and he shouted sharply: "Archers prepare!"

Gao Ding led [-] cavalry to kill three miles away. At this time, a scout rushed to report, "General Xing also led [-] cavalry behind the enemy. See the general attacking with gunpowder arrows!"

Gao Ding nodded. He originally wanted to test the enemy's combat power, but Cheng Huan was so thoughtful and prepared, he immediately swung his sword and shouted: "Attack!"

The [-] cavalry accelerated and spread out their formation while running. Holding shields and short spears, they swept towards the formation of the Xixia Army with a murderous aura.

Two thousand Xixia archers fired at the same time, and two thousand arrows soared into the sky and shot at the Song army cavalry.

While running, thousands of soldiers of the Song Army also raised their bows and shot quickly. The bows and arrows of the Song Army were sharper, and they shot into the enemy army densely. The archers had no protection, and they were shot one after another.

Li Ke saw that the situation was not good. Under the strong impact of the Song army, the archers and infantry might suffer heavy losses. He immediately ordered: "Cavalry to fight!"

The five thousand Xixia army also suddenly mobilized, mobilized their horses, swung their spears and galloped towards the Song army...

Gao Ding watched the opponent's cavalry attack coldly, and ordered: "Shoot gunpowder arrows!"

Three gunpowder arrows shot into the sky, and in the air 'pop! ''s exploded.

Several miles away, Xing Kuang led ten thousand cavalrymen and had been waiting for a long time. He saw three gunpowder arrows going up into the sky, and immediately ordered: "Attack!"

Ten thousand cavalry were mobilized, and they rushed towards the back of the Xixia army...

The Song army and five thousand Xixia cavalry collided head-on, and the sky was filled with dust. The spears of the two armies collided, the horses neighed, and blood spurted. .

The ground was trembling, and Xixia soldiers noticed the abnormality behind them, pointing at the back and shouting in horror, "Song Jun is coming from behind!"

When Li Ke turned his head, he saw the cavalry of the Song army coming from behind, less than one mile away from them. At this moment, Li Ke was so shocked that his liver and gallbladder burst.

"Fight up! The whole army go up!"

Li Ke knew that this battle would be inevitable for him, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and urge the soldiers to fight.

Gao Ding also sent [-] troops to attack the enemy infantry. More than [-] infantry were flanked by the cavalry. Countless soldiers were knocked down by the horses. Many soldiers screamed in despair as they watched the black iron hooves stampede on their heads.

This fierce battle lasted only half an hour, and most of the infantry were killed or injured. No matter how stubborn the army was, they couldn't hold on. The remaining two thousand soldiers collapsed and ran around desperately. , there is no second way to go.

Li Ke lamented in pain, and shouted: "The whole army retreats! Retreat!"

The infantry can no longer retreat, so it depends on whether the cavalry can retreat part of it, 'Damn!when!when! 'The bell rang for the retreat of the Xixia Army.

Some cavalry left the battlefield and followed Li Ke to retreat to the northwest. Most of the cavalry were divided and surrounded, and it was difficult to break out. They were constantly shrunk and beheaded by the Song army. Kill, the fierce battle is finally over, and the air is filled with pungent blood.

In this battle, the Song army defeated the enemy with an absolute superiority. Although they paid a price of more than [-] casualties, the opponent was almost wiped out. Of the [-] troops, only a few hundred escaped in the end, and the rest were all killed. .

The Song army seized a large number of armor and weapons and more than 700 horses.

The Song army burned the soldiers and buried them deeply, cleaned the battlefield, left the battlefield with the ashes of the fallen soldiers and the wounded soldiers, and moved towards Mingsha County.

In the evening, Chen Qing's army arrived at Mingsha County.

……

At the same time, Orihiko, the special envoy of the imperial court, arrived at Jingzhao Mansion. During the Xuanhe period, Orihiko had lived in Jingzhao City for two years. He was very familiar with every plant and tree here. Jingzhao was bustling and bustling. , making him seem to have returned to the Xuanhe period, and for a while, he felt like he was dreaming.

It has only been a year since Chen Qing captured Jingzhao, did he recover so quickly?

The chief officer who received Zhe Yanzhi was Jiang Yanxian. He was one of the three supervisors left behind in Jingzhao. In addition to him, there were Zhou Kuan and Zhang Miao. All military and political affairs were decided by the three of them through consultation, but if it was an important matter, you must ask for instructions Mrs. Xuanfu envoy.

Jiang Yanxian invited Zhe Yanzhi into the expensive hotel. Chen Qing and Zhe Yanzhi had a good personal relationship. The two had fought against gold together in Jingbei and forged a deep friendship. Chen Qing specifically told Jiang Yanxian to treat Zhe Yanzhi kindly.

"Zhetong knows what requirements there are in life, no matter what, we will try our best to meet them."

Orihiko smiled slightly: "I don't have high requirements in life, but I don't have much time. The officials require me to return as soon as possible. I can only stay in Jingzhao for a few days. I hope to complete the task smoothly."

"Then let's talk in detail tomorrow! It's late now, please take a good rest, I will send a carriage to pick you up tomorrow morning."

"That's good! Thank you, Jiang Changshi."

Jiang Yan took his leave first and left, not long after, Yicheng brought people to bring a sumptuous food and drink, Zhe Yanzhi held Yicheng back and said with a smile: "If you have something to ask, please ask Yicheng!"

Yicheng hurriedly said: "Please tell me, fellow confidant, the villain knows everything!"

"I heard that Jingzhao and Guanzhong were also devastated by the Jin soldiers. A Fuping war destroyed almost all the counties in Jingzhao Prefecture. But all the way I came, I saw wheat harvesting everywhere in Guanzhong. Laughter, full of vitality.

Jingzhao City is even more bustling and bustling, with many shops and crowded people. It is no different from the Xuanhe years. I remember Chen Xuanfu envoy captured Shaanxi Road last year. How did he recover so quickly? "

Yicheng smiled and said: "Actually, many people have asked this question, and I'm telling the truth. Guanzhong was originally because the Jin soldiers needed supplies, but the people in Guanzhong basically ran away, and a lot of land was abandoned. Qi State introduced them from northern Shaanxi. Hundreds of thousands of people filled the customs.

The same is true for Jingzhao. A large part of them are from northern Shaanxi. The population has grown, but they are still brutally exploited. More than half of the harvest has to be handed over. Not enough, but since the Xuanfu envoy regained Shaanxi, he announced that the entire Shaanxi Road would be tax-free for three years, and the tax would be halved for five years, and the people suddenly boiled.

The same is true in the city. Originally, the price of rice was 110 yuan a bucket, but now it is [-] yuan a bucket, and the price of wheat is even lower. The price of sugar and other necessities of life has dropped by [-]% compared with before.

On the contrary, the average monthly salary has risen to three guan. If the bottom-level family, a family of five, is more diligent, they can earn five guan a month, which can buy two hundred buckets of wheat. With surplus money, the family will naturally prosper soon. up. "

Orihiko sighed softly: "Those people in Lin'an who attack Chen Xuanfu all day long and are militaristic, should really come to Guanzhong and Jingzhao to have a look, they should shut up!"

Chapter 666 Settling Accounts

Before the expedition to Xixia, Chen Qing left a rather special order that major military and political decisions must seek the opinion of the wife of the Xuanfu envoy, that is, the signature of his wife Lu Xiu.

This is not surprising. Lu Xiu and Chen Qing are a community of interests, and Chen Qing's interests are those of Lu Xiu. In fact, in terms of legal principles, Lu Xiu's participation in decision-making also has a sense of the empress dowager's presence.

There is also a third reason, Lu Xiu will definitely discuss with Zhao Qiaoyun, Chen Qing actually wants Zhao Qiaoyun to participate in the decision-making, but he must not bypass his wife.

So far, Lu Xiu has signed three major decisions. One is to transfer 20 shi and [-] guan of grain to Hanzhong to accommodate the families of [-] Hanzhong soldiers;

The second is to formally abolish the shelf tax in Sichuan’s prefectures and counties, that is, the real estate tax, which Chen Qing has long requested to abolish;

The third is to pay 40 guan to buy the [-] cargo ships captured by Liu Guangshi from Zhang Jun. This was a decision made only a few days ago.

In the morning, Lu Xiu was talking to Zhao Qiaoyun in the living room. She was a little worried and said, "Mr. Zhou said that Zhang Jun can bargain and lower the price of the ship to 30 yuan. We almost didn't bargain and agreed to buy it directly. Isn't it a little bit Thoughtless?"

Zhao Qiaoyun puffed her stomach and tried to make herself more comfortable. She smiled slightly and said, "Sister, don't worry. Ships are not ordinary cargo. In the words of officials, they are a kind of strategic assets. He didn't hesitate to buy it, and besides, these cargo ships were all big ships of two to three thousand shi, which were said to be [-] to [-] percent new, and the normal price was at least [-] apiece, because Zhang Jun was selling the spoils privately, so they were so cheap.

Moreover, he wants silver, and only we can afford it. If we bargain, it will take at least a month of delay if we come and go again and again. I am afraid that Zhang Jun will not dare to sell it because of the long night and many dreams, and this rare opportunity will be lost in vain. "

Lu Xiu nodded, "I was also afraid of losing the opportunity, so I agreed to spend 8 taels of silver to buy these cargo ships. I hope our decision is correct."

At this moment, a servant girl came in and saluted, "Madam, Jiang Changshi has something urgent to see you."