The Hetao Plain, one of the most abundant plains in central China, is surrounded by deserts, the Loess Plateau, and even under the desertification climate, a place full of water and grass, which is not only a blessed land for agricultural people, but also a blessed land for nomadic people.

Even if it is Lingzhou, compared with several other states, the development is a little better, the development of Western Xia, and the development of the Central Plains is also different, relying on some ancient cities, the formation of a series of systems, that is, in Lingzhou has become the focus of the strategy, and therefore, in the border place, a series of defense systems have been built.

Although those defense systems look rudimentary in the Northern Song Dynasty, they can also be used as a basis for defense, but they are all external, that is, against the defense system of the Northern Song Dynasty.

This is the difference between inside and outside, the Northern Song Dynasty is a little better, and the Hebei defense line may be a little weaker from south to north, but it will not be much weaker than from north to south, but the Liao State and Western Xia are far behind, and the difference between the two directions is at least three times or more.

In the wars between the Western Xia and the Northern Song Dynasty, there were several classic examples in which the Northern Song Dynasty broke through some of the defense lines of the Western Xia, detoured inward, and finally achieved results, including Wang Shao's battle, but it was only a detour in Tibet.

However, with the help of bastions and cement, the fortifications were formed far faster than ordinary, and with the help of abundant manpower and money, the current defense system was formed.

It has been more than two months since it occupied Lingzhou, and the first system of Pingxi Mansion was formed, and then more than 20 other systems were formed scattered, and there are now more than 30 fortresses of various kinds in Lingzhou, and at the same time, new construction is also opening.

The cost of the simplified fortress is 1,500 guan, and with the cost of transporting it to the northwest, it will probably increase to 2,200 guan.

Before, Han Qi had reserved at least 110,000 guan, that is, the number of 50 fortresses, but now, more than 30 have been built.

However, this successful return, even if he did not occupy more land in Western Xia, but relying on various opportunities, he obtained huge resources in Xingqing Mansion, putting aside horses, even if it was cattle and samples, it was more than 1.5 million guan, with this money to lay the foundation, even if he only invested a part, Han Qi could build a large number of fortresses.

It's just that now, it is possible for the Liao State to attack and build, which is completely wasteful, and it is easy to be destroyed by the Liao State, and a little bit of reality can be seen from the middle.

30 fortresses, a little insufficient, but with Xiping Mansion as the core, it has formed a stable support and defense line, there is no problem to resist the Liao army, there is a huge military force behind it, and it is impossible to attack the northwest hinterland.

Of course, the defense line established in the northwest was much earlier, and with a few temporary fortresses, it was enough to withstand the attack of the Liao army.

Lingzhou is closest to Xingqing Mansion, this is located on the outermost fortress, Han Qi stood at the highest point of the fortress, looking at the endless grassland in the distance.

A feeling of Haoran rose from his heart, and every time he walked on this grassland, he had such a feeling.

The territory of the Northern Song Dynasty is huge enough, but compared with the vast, unobstructed steppe, it is still slightly inferior, the huge steppe is boundless, and the nomads formed on it have always been the great enemies of the Central Plains Dynasty.

The Xiongnu, Wuhuan, Donghu, Xianbei, Rouran, Khitan, Mongolia, Manchu, these generations of the Central Plains people's henchmen have always been the dream demons of the Zhongyuan people.

Feng Wolf Juxu, this is the ultimate dream of every aspiring civil and military general, but except for the Han and Tang Dynasties, few Central Plains dynasties can beat the ethnic minorities so badly.

Now, the Northern Song Dynasty, which has been pressed by the Khitan and Western Xia, actually has this opportunity, although this opportunity has just shown its embryonic form, but it can be regarded as an opportunity.

However, after this battle, he may not have this opportunity to be in the northwest again, and the vigilance of the Northern Song Dynasty for military generals is not only aimed at generals, but also for Wenchen, and it is impossible to let a person lead troops here for a long time.

is different from military generals, military generals lose the battlefield, which is equivalent to losing everything, and losing the stage of struggle, but Wenchen is different, Wenchen's stage will always be the court.

The previous Zaifu was a big stage, so that such a huge empire as the Northern Song Dynasty wanted to develop to a better extent, and occasionally it was a little unsafe, and it was only the Liao State and the Western Xia, but now, the Western Xia has perished, and there is a way to deal with the Liao State, one with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty

The same prosperous era as Tang Taizong is about to appear, which is a great achievement that can be engraved on history, and for this reason, it is not unacceptable to leave the northwest.

The height of these fortresses built in Lingzhou is slightly lower than that of Miaojiazhuang, about 30 meters, not only the defense strength has been reduced, but even the number of people accommodating it is also less, and in wartime, it is impossible to concentrate tens of thousands of people in dense methods like Miaojiazhuang.

This time, most of the troops had returned to Xipingfu, and he took 1,000 elite horsemen, as well as nearly 2,000 foot soldiers and longbowmen, to guard here.

Generally speaking, a fort will leave up to 300 infantry and 500 longbowmen, and 800 is a standard equipment, leaving 10 horses, but not cavalry, and the infantry will also serve as reconnaissance and liaison.

3,000 people were concentrated at once, this fortress can be said to be armed to the teeth, even if it is the strength of defense, compared to the fortress of Miaojiazhuang back then, it is slightly inferior, but because the concentration is elite soldiers, the intensity of defense is far higher than that of Miaojiazhuang, not to mention 100,000 people, even if it is 200,000, 300,000, don't think about the fortress of in-laws in a short time.

Even if so many people were concentrated, when they stayed, they still encountered a lot of opposition, for Han Qi as a supreme commander, it was not suitable for such a dangerous place on the border, Han Qi knew that he had to be here.

After the horses sent troops to the Liao State, they had already flown here, and Han Qi judged at the first time that Liao Xingzong would not give up.

If you want to give up, you won't bring so many people and 70,000 cavalry to see the battlefield, it's not that you're stupid or I'm stupid.

70,000 people looked at the battlefield, which was acceptable, but after staying for 3 days, almost all the forces located in Xingqing Mansion were brought over, and the malice was almost overflowing, especially now, when the remaining troops arrived, the Liao army slowly came to Lingzhou, only less than 110 miles away, and for the army, it took three days.

During these days, the dense scouting horses continued to move between the fortress and the battlefield, constantly telling Han Qi the real situation.

Another scout arrived from a distance, Han Qi knew that the above one came yesterday, and the situation reported at that time was that the Liao army was about 60 miles away from the fortress, and now, it should be very close.

There is more than one road from Xingqing Mansion to Lingzhou, and not every one of them leads here, Han Qi has made certain arrangements, and even under the city of the fortress, he has also made some arrangements in advance, the reason why he is so cautious and has done so much is very simple, he doesn't want to fight.

That's right, if you are a military general, even if you reach the level of Di Qing, you can be said to be one of the highest generals in the military, and you can't suppress the urge to fight with Liao.

This is not their active provocation, it is the Liao State that has attacked, and they only need to defend passively and take precautions.

With the strong defense of the fortress, they are sure to get a hearty victory.

But so what, they were able to completely wipe out the Liao army, and they were able to capture Liao Xingzong, so that there was no other choice but to completely anger the Liao State.

The choice of generals is more in battle, but Wenchen's point of view is strategic, and at the level of Han Qi, he clearly knows that the Northern Song Dynasty is not ready to fight with Liao.

Even now, after annihilating 30,000 people at one time, the Northern Song Dynasty already has the ability to wrestle with the Liao State, but now is not the time.

The Northern Song Dynasty should have more time to convert its combat power, convert the 800,000 forbidden army into a longbow as the main force, and then take advantage of this time to establish a series of defense systems, at least, the front line in Hebei needs to be changed to a fortress, this project, even with the support of sufficient funds, will take a period of time, as little as 2 years, more than 5 years.

When everything is completed, it is the time for the Northern Song Dynasty to rise, and the combat effectiveness is a combination of longbow and cavalry, and on the defense, there is a chain system composed of fortresses, which can be attacked and retreated.

So the grasp of this battle is very delicate, and all the foreshadowing must be done, since the Liao army retreats in the face of difficulties, and will not lose the face of Liao Xingzong, by the way, Han Qi also has a purpose, that is, to turn bad things into good things.

However, this degree needs to be grasped, needless to say for the time being, the most important thing at present is to bring the Liao army over.

Sure enough, the messenger reported that the Liao army had set up camp on the northwest side of the fort 20 miles away, which was not far away, but the direction was deviated, at least more than 10 miles away.

That is to say, as long as the Liao army follows this direction, it will deviate from this fortress and go to Xiping Mansion instead.

The entire Lingzhou is full of fortresses, even if it is biased in any direction, there will be no problem, the Liao State cannot break through the defense of the Northern Song Dynasty, but for Han Qi, who has different ideas, only by bringing the Liao army here can he achieve his goal.

Han Qi finished reading the secret report, sighed, and then gave a new order, soon, a night without closing the fast horse, the dust is gone, the sky is getting late, the day is over, tomorrow is a new day, there should be good news.

Han Qi quickly put his mind back on the layout, although his eyes looked into the distance, he had no focus, but the arrangement of each item flashed in his heart, becoming clearer and clearer.