Fenghou

Brother Li Cha sent another [-] troops to the streets, and began to check their identities from house to house. First of all, slaves. Xixia slaves are prevalent. Almost every household has slaves. When the slaves are dismissed, they are driven out of the city together with their masters.

This move caused complaints from ordinary party members, but the rich and powerful welcomed it very much. They had large farms outside the city and placed all their servants in the farms. Not only that, they also bought a large number of servants from ordinary people at a very low price , Send them to the farm for harvesting and farming.

Then came the non-Party civilians. This was Richard’s real goal. There were 10,000+ non-Party civilians living in Xingqing City. The soldiers only allowed them to bring a small amount of food and clothes, and escorted them out of the city.

Tens of thousands of households were devastated, soldiers shouted loudly, and forced a household out of the city. 10,000+ people were crying and helping each other out of the city. Many crying and refusing to leave were regarded as Song army spies. Get up and torture.

When the people were driven away, the soldiers confiscated all their family property and food. On the city wall, Brother Li Cha smiled triumphantly. Of course, money and food will not fall from the sky. It is indeed the least expensive to take it from these aliens.

Chapter 669 Placement

Gao Ding led 8000 cavalry all the way to the north. They first arrived at Xiping Mansion. Xiping Mansion was Lingzhou in Tang Dynasty. Heads are full of Xixia soldiers.

The Song army destroyed three small military cities around it, and also destroyed a group of warehouses by the river. At this time, scouts came to report that 10,000+ people appeared on the official road twenty miles to the north. It is said that they were expelled from Xing People of different races in Qing Mansion.

Gao Ding was puzzled and sent Sun Kang to investigate the situation. Sun Kang led [-] cavalry to go north quickly. Soon, Sun Kang sent someone to report that it was indeed the people who were expelled from Xingqing City by Brother Li Cha. Most of the Dangxiang people are Qiang people, and there are also Han people, Uighurs and Khitans.

Many people have run out of food and can only rely on catching voles and digging wild vegetables for food.

Gao Ding led a mighty army to kill, and the 10,000+ people on the official road were frightened by the cavalry formation, and they knelt down one after another, densely packed the official road.

Gao Ding ordered the army to be vigilant and maintain their formation. He put up his hand curtain and looked north. Gao Ding was worried that the Xixia army would drive these people out of the way of his army, and use the rioters as a cover to launch a sudden attack on himself.

After looking for a long time, there was no abnormality. At this time, Sun Kang brought up a middle-aged businessman. The businessman took out a round waist card, handed it to Gao Ding and said: "The humble post is Xiao Yuan, the capital of the third scout army. Inquire about news in Xingqing Mansion."

This is one of his own people, Gao Ding nodded and said: "Du Xiao has had a hard time, what's going on with these common people?"

Xiao Yuan sighed and said: "These are non-dangxiang people who have lived in Xixia for several generations. On the surface, it is said that they want to drive away aliens and prevent the Song army from spying, but in fact they want to seize wealth. The wealth accumulated by each family is taken It's all gone, and they have nothing now."

"Are there any Xixia spies here?"

Xiao Yuan shook his head, "They are all poor people, I implore the general to help them!"

Gao Ding was a little hesitant. He was considering whether to report to the capital first. At this moment, the yellow dust billowed in the east, and a mighty cavalry rushed towards this side. A scout rushed to report, "General Gao , is General Liu's team!"

Gao Ding suddenly lost his heart. Not long after, Liu Cui's 10,000 cavalry surrounded him, and [-] cavalry surrounded [-]+ civilians.

Liu Cui also came from the east after hearing the news, but he didn't expect to meet Gao Ding, he stepped forward and clasped his fists and said, "General Gao, what happened?"

Gao Ding said indifferently: "In order to raise money and food, the Xixia people drove out all non-Party people in the capital and plundered their property."

"Then how does General Gao plan to deal with them?"

"How can I deal with it? It's up to Dutong to decide. Most of them are Qiang people. I want to take them all to Mingsha County to see what Dutong means!"

"That's right, Dutong has just reached an agreement with the Qiang people, maybe they just need to use them."

At this time, Xiao Yuan stepped forward again and said: "You two generals, I have one more thing to report for my humble position!"

Liu Cui glanced at him, "General Gao, who is he?"

"He is Hu Yanlei's subordinate, our intelligence scout in Xingqing Mansion!"

Liu Cui clasped his fists and saluted, "Please speak!"

Xiao Yuan quickly said: "There are not many Han people in this team, but in fact there are at least tens of thousands of Han people in Xingqing Mansion. They are almost all slaves. They were also expelled from the city, but they were resettled in various manors."

Xiao Yuan pointed to the northwest direction, "In the Hetao, you can see it after crossing the Yellow River. The big manors are surrounded by trees. The trees are like city walls. There are moat-like deep ditches in front of them. Just a few thousand to tens of thousands of acres of land, the good land in Hetao is basically taken over by the rich and powerful, and there are very few self-cultivating farmers.”

Liu Cui said in a low voice: "I suggest not to go for the time being. First, we don't know the surrounding situation and the terrain. I am worried that we will be surrounded by enemy troops, especially if the surrounding area is the Yellow River. Once the pontoon bridge is destroyed, we will be trapped in the inside."

Gao Ding nodded, "You're right, it's best left to the governor to decide on this matter, let's take these people back first."

After the two discussed it properly, they asked the soldiers to bring some dry food to the families who had run out of food, and led 10,000+ people to the south in a mighty way.

They walked for two full days, and they were still ten miles away from Mingsha County. Chen Qing received a letter from Gao Ding and led a camel team full of food and grass to meet him.

The Song Army has built a large camp outside Mingsha County. Thousands of Song Army soldiers brought 10,000+ people into the camp to rest. These poor people saw hope in despair and were finally resettled. 10,000+ people cried loudly , They knelt down and kowtowed to thank Chen Qing and Song Jun.

Zhang Xiaoxiao asked, "How does the Xuan Fu envoy plan to arrange them?"

Chen Qing pondered for a while and said: "Although they are aliens, they have already left the nomadic life and settled in the city. They can be mixed with the Han people. After decades, their descendants will be Sinicized. I still plan to make them They are placed in Xixia, but at this stage I haven't considered how to arrange them, does Sima have any good ideas?"

"It can be resettled in Weizhou and Yanzhou, and some of them can be resettled in Mingsha County. In fact, Weizhou and Mingsha County are enough. The key is to provide food for 10,000+ people. Now we can organize them to grow some melons and beans."

Chen Qing nodded, "I will trouble Sima with this matter. Let Chao Qing and Zhong Huan assist you, and I will let Zhao Xiaoyi lead five thousand troops to serve you."

Zhang Xiaowei smiled and said, "Don't worry! We all have experience and will make arrangements."

Chen Qing ordered people to find Gao Ding and Liu Cui again. He spread out the map in the big tent and asked them: "You led the army to the north, how well do you understand the situation in Xixia?"

Liu Cui bowed and said: "I found out that there are no villages in Xixia, and I haven't encountered a single village. Everyone lives in the city. I don't know if they are strong and clear, or they just live like this."

"Where's General Gao?" Chen Qing asked again.

Gao Ding smiled wryly, "I didn't meet Xixia villages all the way, but I really don't know much about them. I met these refugees when I first arrived in Xiping Mansion. I suggest you ask the intelligence scout, Xiao Yuan, who has been lurking in the People in Xingqing Mansion know the situation better than us."

Chen Qing was overjoyed, "Where is he?"

Not long after, the soldiers brought the intelligence scout Xiao Yuan into the big tent, and Xiao Yuan hurriedly bowed to salute, "The humble post is Xiao Yuan, the capital of the third scout army, see Du Tong!"

"How long has Xiao Dutou been lurking in Xixia?"

"Xiaozhi is the first batch. It has been lurking for two full years and opened a restaurant as a cover."

Chen Qing nodded and said, "Their cavalry went north, but they didn't encounter any Xixia villages. Is there no village here?"

"Reporting to Dutong, most of the Xixia party members live in the city, and some party members live by herding animals. At the foot of Mount Henan, there are also many people living in the manor. They are basically serfs, mainly Han people. Song plundered at least one million people, and many of them had lived in Xixia for several generations, serving as slaves for generations, as well as slaves of other ethnic groups.

Domestic slaves, serfs, sheep slaves, mine slaves, salt slaves, artisan slaves, etc., the entire Xixia was supported by slaves, so their party members had hundreds of thousands of troops to fight the Song army. "

"You General Huyan sent me information that the Xixia Army now has 10,000+ people. Is the news reliable?"

"Reporting back to Dutong, it is basically reliable. The humble official got information that there are 28 people, which is quite mixed. At least 10 people have no armor and only simple weapons. They wear cloth armor made of white cloth. They are called the White Armor Army."

"What about combat power?" Chen Qing asked again.

"Some of them are very good. For example, the 3 cavalry from Shazhou are very sharp. I watched them enter the city with my own eyes. They are indeed murderous and well-trained. There are also the Xixia Emperor's Suwei Army, Jingshi Garrison Army, Proton Army, and Iron Harriers. The army, which is directly under the emperor's army, has [-] people and is very elite.

Then Brother Li Cha's [-] captured soldiers are also very elite. The [-] troops are stationed in the capital, the other [-] troops are stationed in the surrounding cities, and the [-] Baijia troops are stationed outside the capital. The duty is to guard the manor. "

"Does Xixia have ships?" Chen Qing asked suddenly.

"Reporting to Dutong, there are boats in Xixia, and I have seen them in Jingzhou. They are a kind of flat ferry, specially used to ferry people across the Yellow River, and there are quite a few of them."

Chapter 6 Seventy

Chen Qing paced back and forth in the big tent with his hands behind his back. Although the siege weapons could not come through for a while, it did not mean that he would do nothing. He could start from the areas that did not need to be siege, clean up the periphery first, and finally attack the city , like a noose around the neck, slowly tightened step by step, and finally strangled to death.

The first is boats. Xixia cities are located on the left and right sides of the Yellow River. He must use boats to build pontoon bridges. The pontoon bridges built with rafts are easily destroyed by the Xixia people. The pontoon bridges built by boats are much stronger.

Chen Qing now needs to find a general who is good at surprise attacks. After pondering for a long time, he turned around and said, "Bring me Tang Qian!"

Not long after, Tang Qian hurried into the big tent, knelt down on one knee and saluted, "See Du Tong for humble posts!"

"General Tang, please rise up!"

Chen Qing said with a smile: "I've given you a task, if the task can be completed, I will let you reinstate your post!"

Tang Qian was really excited, clasped his fists and said: "The humble job must live up to the great trust of Du Tong!"

Chen Qing nodded, "The task I give you is easy and difficult, that is, to search for and capture all the ships outside the city, and if you encounter Han slaves, you can bring them back directly, but you don't have to deliberately Find them, your task is to find the ship."

"Humble job understands!"

"Take [-] cavalry, and if you find a batch, send them back."

"Understandable!"

……

An hour later, Tang Qian led [-] cavalrymen across the raft pontoon bridge and headed north along the west bank of the Yellow River.

The river surface in this area of ​​the Hetao Plain is very open and the water potential is gentle, which is very suitable for shipping and irrigation. In addition, the soil is fertile and the sunlight is sufficient, so that the Hetao Plain is rich in food and melons, and it is called the top of the Yangtze River.

The Hetao is actually composed of the front, middle and back. The front is today's Yinchuan area, the middle is the Bayannur area of ​​Inner Mongolia, and the back is the Baotou area of ​​Inner Mongolia. These three places are fully irrigated by the Yellow River. , and become a famous food producing area.

Five thousand cavalry galloped along the west bank of the Yellow River. Here are all plains, with a wide field of vision, and the situation in the Yellow River can be seen clearly.

There were no boats or rafts, and the Yellow River was very quiet. At noon the next day, they passed the gorge, and the Yellow River began to fork from here. At the same time, there were large reed marshes on both sides of the river. There should be ships in this area.

Tang Qian reined in his horse and looked out on the Yellow River. A soldier who had been to Xixia pointed to the opposite bank and said, "The opposite is actually a large island in the Yellow River. It has a large area. There are many canals inside, as dense as a spider's web. There are hundreds of large islands. Large and small manors are scattered inside, and the humble staff estimates that the ships we are looking for are also hidden inside."

Tang Qian felt a little overwhelmed, the question now is how do they get in?

At this time, suddenly a soldier pointed to the distant river and shouted: "General, there is a small boat on the river!"

Tang Qian took a closer look, and sure enough, a small boat sailed out of the reed marsh, wobbling towards this side.

The soldiers hurriedly waved their hands and yelled. After a while, the boat rowed to the shore, and it turned out to be an old man with a hunchback. He looked very old, but his face and clothes were all Han people.

"Are you... Song Jun?" The old man spoke Chinese, but it was a bit jerky.

Tang Qian nodded, "We are the Western Army, is my husband a Han?"

The old man sighed, "I used to be, but now I don't know where I am from?"

"How long has the old man been in Xixia?"

"It's been 50 years. I was kidnapped in my teens, and now I'm over 60 years old. I haven't been back in my life."

Speaking of this, the old man suddenly burst into tears, "I don't know if my parents are still there?"

The eyes of all the soldiers were moist, and Tang Qian persuaded: "If the old man is willing to go back to his hometown, we can take you back."

"Hometown? My hometown is in Yanzhou. If I can go back to my hometown, I would even die."

"Old man, we are actually here to find the boat, does the old man know where we can find it?"

The old man wiped his tears with his sleeve and said: "I know you are looking for a boat, and I am the boatman. The Xixia people said you would take the boat away, so they hid the boat, and I will wait for you in the reed marsh!"

Everyone was overjoyed, Tang Qian quickly asked: "Does the old man know where the boat is hidden?"

"How could I not know? I have been a boatman on the Yellow River for 50 years, and I know the way here even with my eyes closed. There are three places where boats are hidden nearby. I can take you there."

There was really nowhere to find them, and it took no effort to get them. They had nothing to do, but they didn't expect an old Han boatman to be willing to help them.

Tang Qian asked two soldiers to sit on the boat, and he led the cavalry to follow on the shore. The old boatman rowed north for a few miles, and pointed to an inlet. The inlet was covered by dense reeds. It was not easy to see that this was a water swings.

Immediately, more than [-] sailors rowed down the river on rafts, and rowed hard to the bay on the other side. They followed the old man and rowed into the water.

Not long after, three large flat-bottomed boats sailed out of the water, and the soldiers on the shore cheered.

These three big ships were the first step, but they were the foundation. The three big ships transported hundreds of soldiers across the Yellow River. Soon, in a river channel on the opposite bank, more than two dozen hidden large ships were found.

These twenty or so large ships are exactly the same as the previous three large ships, and they are all flat-bottomed boats with Xixia characteristics. It is also because the Yellow River in Xixia area is calm and there is no wind and waves. The sides of the ships on both sides are relatively low, but the bottom of the boats is very wide.

If you use a more vivid metaphor, the ships in the Central Plains are like bowls, while the ships in Xixia are like plates. They can transport many people and horses at a time, and they can also carry a lot of food.

However, the Song army found 27 ships successively, which were only a small part of the Xixia ships. The old boatman said that there were more than 300 such ships in Xixia, some of which were transported into the city, and the other part was hidden.

He knew that there was another place where the boat was hidden not far away. According to the clues provided by the old boatman, the Song Army quickly found another 47 flat-bottomed boats on the same small river. In just one day, the Song Army found [-] flat-bottomed boats. Big boat, this harvest is really not small.

"Thank you for the clues, old man." Tang Qian thanked again and again.

The old boatman’s Chinese is not as jerky as it was at the beginning, and he has already spoken it very proficiently. Everyone knows that his surname is Qiao, but the specific name has been forgotten. Everyone calls him Qiao Tuozi. He is from Ansaibao, Yanzhou. A boatman on the Qingshui River was taken captive by the invading Xixia army during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty and taken to Xixia as a slave. When the Xixia people saw that he could drive a boat, they simply let him work as a boatman on the Yellow River.

In the first few years, Mr. Qiao wanted to escape home all the time. In order to hold him back, the Xixia people married a Uighur woman to him and gave birth to a son for him. The idea was gradually dissipated, and I worked as a boatman for 50 years in a flash.

His wife and children both died of illness ten years ago, and his two grandsons were also taken away by the Xixia army and disappeared. Old boatman Joe became alone again. The Xixia people saw that he was old and had no value for exploitation, so they no longer cared about him. , He himself did not dare to go home again.

Until today when he finally saw Song Jun, he once again had the idea of ​​going home. As long as he can take a look at his parents' graves, he will have no regrets in his life.

"I am from the Song Dynasty. I am also very happy to help the army of my motherland. I have lived here for 50 years, and I am very familiar with every plant and tree here. I will tell you what you want to know."

"Thank you so much, old man."

Tang Qian asked again: "Excuse me, old man, is there any manor near here?"

Qiao Gong said with a smile: "There are not many manors here, and there are more in the north, but there is still a big manor, which is next to the twenty or so ships we found. I forgot to tell you that the twenty or so ships are actually that The property of this manor, the owner is the royal family of Xixia, who lives in the capital, and will come to the manor during the autumn harvest."

"Are there any Han people in the manor?"

"How could there be none? The Xixia people robbed the Han people just to grow food for them. The other Hu people don't know how to grow food! The Xixia people themselves don't know how. There are at least 300 Han people in the manor and more than a hundred soldiers guarding it. Another batch of slaves, two to three hundred, were also sent from the capital."

"Is it necessary to use a boat to transport the slaves?" Commander Wang Jian asked with a smile.

Qiao Gong was stunned for a moment, he lowered his head and thought for a moment and said, "You reminded me that there are not only ships in the manor, but also an army, which only came two days ago."

"How many people are there in the army?" Tang Qian asked hastily.

Qiao Gong shook his head, "I don't know how many people there are. I just heard from others. I dare not approach that manor. There are very vicious dogs in it. I was bitten once."

Tang Qian stood up and smiled at the commanders, "Let's go and see what the manor of the Xixia people looks like?"