In the distance, the Western Xia crossbow army was still trying to bend their bows and shoot arrows, pouring endless rain of arrows into the Imperial tanks, but these arrows hit the heavy armor of the tanks, but they could only make a futile clanging sound, and other than that, it had no effect at all.

At this time, the Empire's fifty steam tanks also broke down one after another----- and they were running out of energy.

This kind of newly developed tank with a steam engine as the core of the empire is powered by burning coal, and it can be said that they can be driven from the Chinese army to the middle of the battlefield, which is already precious.

Now most of the fifty Imperial tanks are lying on the battlefield because they have no power, but for the heavily armored steam tanks, it doesn't matter, and one after another flames erupt and sweep towards the three thousand Xixia Iron Harriers who are charging.

Fire was one of the most important things for humans to improve their lives, but when humans learned to use fire, it was soon applied to the battlefield.

All living beings on Earth have an innate fear of fire, and flames can burn everything mercilessly.

When the fifty Imperial steam tanks spewed flames and swayed left and right within thirty degrees in front of them, they instantly ignited the rushing Western Xia Iron Harrier heavy armored cavalry.

These Western Xia heavy cavalry had rushed to the front of the tank, and although this class had many advantages, it also had the disadvantage that its own weight was too high, which led to the inconvenience of changing directions.

The leading general of the 3,000 Iron Harriers of Western Xia also found that the front was shrouded in raging flames, but at this time, he and his army could no longer change direction, so they could only continue to rush and came to the enemy's strange car.

The scorching flames and the blood in his chest made the Western Xia general brave, and when he raised the long knife in his hand hard, he slashed down hard, but only left a white mark on the tank.

At the same time, the Iron Harriers who rushed out of the sea of fire slashed and smashed on the Imperial tanks with their weapons, but they were just like their own elves, no matter how much strength they used, they were only in vain.

There are only a few hundred of the most elite Iron Harriers who can break out of the sea of fire, and they can't hurt the steam tanks, so they can only continue to rush towards the imperial army, hoping to bring some damage to the enemy.

If the Iron Harriers are now full of people rushing together, then the Second Army of the Empire is indeed difficult to deal with, but there are only a few hundred, then it will not be a problem.

Kress looked at the galloping Western Xia heavy armored cavalry, and waved the short sword in his hand vigorously: "Open the cannon!" Don't let any of them go! ”

The herald waved the red flag in his hand, and when he saw the order from the commander-in-chief, the artillery door of the Second Army immediately opened fire.

"Boom, boom!"

One by one, the detonating bombs covered the road of the Xixia Iron Cavalry Charge, and the lucky Iron Harriers were lifted down by the warhorses startled by the explosion, and those who were more unlucky were directly blown up, and even the heavy iron helmets on their bodies were blown apart......

The flames and artillery fire consumed all the Tanguts, and when the last Iron Harrier was hit by a cannonball, one of the strongest armies on the land was completely gone.

After a series of trials and fierce battles that lasted for half a month, Li Qianshun, the lord of the Western Xia Kingdom, and other soldiers all recognized the fact that the imperial army was stronger than the Western Xia army in terms of defensive and offensive capabilities.

Li Qianshun didn't want to start a war with the empire, but the other party had already come to his own land, and he could only surrender without a fight, so he didn't have much choice.

Because Xiazhou borders the original Song realm, it is a rare fortified city in Western Xia, and it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is a place where soldiers must fight.

It is a pity that in this era, thanks to gunpowder, there are no more fortified cities and fortresses, because gunpowder can make anything strong and fragile.

The Western Xia people defended the city of Xiazhou without haste of attrition, while the imperial army used artillery to collapse the entire city wall, and then it was the annihilation battle that entered the city.

The defeated Western Xia army was completely demoralized, and their lord Li Qianshun had left Xiazhou a few days earlier and retreated to Xingqingfu, the kingdom of Western Xia, where he planned to continue to rely on the city for defense.

After clearing the more than 100,000 Western Xia defenders in Xiazhou City, the Imperial North Road Army advanced steadily and finally arrived outside Xingqing Mansion.

The three major corps of the Northern Route Army did not attack immediately, but set up a solid camp outside Xingqing Mansion, and just watched the enemy rest leisurely.

In fact, this was not because the Empire's Northern Route Army had lost its desire to attack, but because they also encountered some difficulties, so they had to delay the momentum of the attack.

The most important thing for a large army to travel is food and water, especially this kind of army, which can easily eat up all the leaves and grass roots along the way, and the consumption of each day is astronomical.

Generally speaking, the army that entered the enemy's territory would choose to eat the enemy, that is, to plunder the enemy's people everywhere to feed the army.

As ruthless as this may sound, it is actually done by every army, and the Imperial Army is no exception.

And in Western Xia, which has been in drought for many years, it is really impossible to find enough food to supply this huge number of troops.

The Northern Route Army, which did not encounter any Western Xia resistance, also encountered the problem of provisions, so Yue Fei and other imperial generals dispersed the Southern Route Army, and the four imperial legions each marched to other regions of Western Xia.

In front of the Northern Route Army is the main force of Western Xia, and it has also suppressed Li Qianshun, the lord of Western Xia, and his remaining troops in Xingqing Mansion, so naturally they cannot divide their troops to find food elsewhere at this time.

In addition, after a series of major battles, the Northern Route Army not only had a shortage of food and water, but most importantly, ammunition and other armaments and materials were also consumed, so they could only temporarily stop the attack and wait for the supplies from the rear to be delivered.

This incident was also a test of the empire's transportation capacity, and the logistics personnel had to transport a large amount of baggage to the two major transit cities of Hohhot and Yan'an, and then from these two places, to Xingqing Mansion, where the Northern Route Army was located, and to the area around Xiliangfu, where the Northern Route Army was conquering.

In this era, the only country that likes to build roads is the empire, and a country like the Western Xia naturally does not have any roads outside the city, which brings great trouble to the transportation team.

Although the Northern Route Army encountered logistical problems, the Western Xia people have now been beaten and lost their enthusiasm and fighting spirit, and the whole army in Xingqing Mansion seems to have no desire to fight back, just like their own lord Li Qianshun.

When the Imperial Northern Route Army replenished ammunition and other provisions, prepared for another large-scale attack, that was the moment when the Western Xia Kingdom was destroyed.