Bai Gucheng to the Western Regions is probably west of Lingzhou, where the Qiang, Uighurs and other ethnic groups gather, now the Western Regions are generally peaceful, but Zhao Dezhao knows that there will be chaos in the northwest in a few decades, and since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Silk Road has begun to be blocked, and the territory of the Northern Song Dynasty in history is not so large, the Northern Song Dynasty is also threatened by several surrounding countries, the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty opened up the Maritime Silk Road.

Zhao Dezhao's men and horses have already penetrated into several states in the Western Regions, and this trip to the Western Regions is just to explore the way first.

The northwest is also a place where the Great Song Dynasty will compete in the future, and now Zhao Dezhao has begun to slowly cultivate his own power in the northwest, and he will not be able to do it until that day.

Bai Gucheng chatted with Zhao Dezhao for a few words, and Bai Gucheng left Guangwei Restaurant, and then returned to his mansion in the capital.

Soon after, Wu Lingqing and Shang Haobin stepped in.

The two also heard on the street that the Song army had won the battle, and at this moment their faces were happy and their steps were brisk.

"You're finally here, my friend who has been waiting for a long time."

"I've been walking around the street for a long time, and that's why I've lost time."

Zhao Dezhao said: "Flying Fox, our army just used a small trick to get this level. ”

"With such a big move on our side, I guess the Liao army on the other side of Ulzhou also knows about it." Wu Lingqing asked.

Zhao Dezhao said again: "I haven't received this mutation from the north, but the secret agents I have planted in the army know that going north from Heishiling Fort is Ulzhou, and west of Flying Fox is Lingqiu, do you think it is to attack Lingqiu in the west or go north to Ulzhou." ”

Shang Haobin has his opinion, he said, "Ulzhou is a big state, hold the south, it is better to attack Ulzhou first, and then in the west, along the Sanggan River, attack Yingzhou, Huanzhou, Shuozhou, from Chenjiaguan Ruoyanmen Pass south to attack Jinyang City." ”

"Both paths are possible." Zhao Dezhao said

Zhao Kuangyin and the others were about to reach their destination, but they saw that the widest part of this place was about 20 zhang, and the narrowest part was only one foot, which could only allow a donkey cart to pass, and Zhao Kuangyin had been sitting on the horse for a long time, and he felt that his legs and feet were also a little degenerate.

Zhao Kuangyin got off the horse, he began to walk up in this pass, Cao Bin and Pan Mei saw that Zhao Kuangyin dismounted, they immediately got off the horse and started to walk together.

There were some potholes on the road, Cao Bin raised his head, only to see two cliffs standing steeply, the mountains and rocks were steep, the more he walked forward, the light above his head suddenly dimmed, and the vision in Song Jun's eyes was also blocked, and the car transporting grain in front of him was almost impassable.

Cao Bin immediately said: "Official, this pass is Xiongqi, our army has this pass today, out of this big mountain pass, the north can go to Liaodong in the east, Gansui in the west, Jinyang in the north, over the hills and deserts, go to Zhongzhou Jingchu Chuanshu in the south, and go to Wuyue in the east. Flying fox is a place of external danger, and Jinpo is an internal risk, the north is the black stone ridge, in the past Liu Bang and Xiang Yu competed in the world, Liu Bang was almost forced by Xiang Yu to flee westward, if it were not for the advice of his subordinate strategist Li Shiqi, let Liu Bang go too far from the danger of Taixing, the north from the Flying Fox Pass, and the south to guard the white horse Zhijin, which forced Xiang Yu not to dare to go west; More earlier, in the fifth year of Guanghua, Zhu Quanzhong made Wang Chuzhi enter the Flying Fox with righteous soldiers, and defeated Li Ke for Jinyang. In the second year of Zhu Liang's Qianhua, King Cunqiao of Jin made Zhou Dewei cut Yan and went out of the flying fox in the east. After the end of the Tang Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, the Khitan helped Shi Jingjiao to surround the Tang soldiers in Jin Anzhai, and the Tang lord ordered Zhao Dejun, the commander of Youzhou, to save him from the flying fox heel Khitan. ”

Zhao Kuangyin nodded and looked at Cao Bin approvingly.

"Official, it's too dark here, be careful of the road under your feet." The soldiers in front of him immediately trotted over, and informed them of the situation in front of them as they ran.

Zhao Kuangyin shook his hand and said: "Haha, it doesn't matter, I heard that there are two cliffs in the place, and the first line is slightly connected, and it stretches for more than 100 miles." Blackstone Ridge is the narrowest place in the entire Flying Fox. Although it is noon, but looking up is like walking in the night, this natural extension of the road, only less than a foot away, and the sky and the sun, at any time one or two gravel rolling down, is indeed daunting. Immediately, Zhao Kuangyin asked the soldier, "By the way, how far is there to go from Heishiling?" ”

"Tell the official, the Black Stone Ridge is in the north, and it is estimated that there are more than 20 miles of road, but it is not far from the camp of our army in Flying Fox at the moment, and it will take another half an hour to walk."

"That's good." Zhao Kuangyin looked at the road behind him, and the road here became more and more difficult to walk.

The road to the Flying Fox is not easy to walk, there are potholes along the way, and several boulders that have fallen from the mountain wall rolled down, almost smashing the Song army on the march, but it blocked the way of the Song army's advance.

"Hey, hey—" The Song soldiers were carrying the stones right now, and the donkey carts and mule carts behind them were parked together in a long line.

The boulder was finally cleared, and the Song army continued on its way until before dusk, when the Song army finally reached the Flying Fox.

When Xiao Siwen saw that his old enemy and current superior were coming, he immediately surrendered his hand and said: "The subordinate Xiao Siwen has seen the official family, and the official family is Sheng'an." ”

Zhao Kuangyin looked at Xiao Siwen and said, "Mr. Xiao is polite, if it weren't for Mr. Xiao this time, it is estimated that my Song army would have to make a lot of effort." ”

"The official family praised it, all of this depends on the planning of the official family, and Siwen also saw that the official family was benevolent and virtuous, and admired it to avoid disasters for the people of the world. However, at the moment, Siwen is still unable to do it, and he also asked the official family to send a few more capable generals to help Weichen. Xiao Siwen arched his hand with a humble look.

Zhao Kuangyin was very satisfied with Xiao Siwen, in the Later Zhou Dynasty, when Zhou Shizong went north to attack Ying and Mo, he had fought with Xiao Siwen, and now time has passed, he has become the most powerful person in the world of the Great Song Dynasty, and Xiao Siwen has also become a soldier under his account, Zhao Kuangyin feels that this feeling is so comfortable.

At the same time, Xiao Siwen was also thinking about the past, the first time he fought with the official family in front of him was during Zhou Shizong's Northern Expedition, when the official family was still a general under Zhou Shizong's account, but now he has become an official of the Great Song Dynasty, this subtle feeling made Xiao Siwen a little melancholy, and in an instant, Xiao Siwen returned to the same as before.

Xiao Siwen and Zhao Kuangyin stood for a while, and Xiao Siwen retired.

Zhao Kuangyin continued to inspect the barracks, and the difference in the eyes of the Liao army was that the person in front of him was the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, at least he was clothed and fed, but to the surprise of the Liao soldiers, their emperor was indeed a person who shared weal and woe with the soldiers.

The arrival of Zhao Kuangyin encouraged the morale of the soldiers of the Song army, and the next step for the Song army was to take advantage of the Flying Fox to attack Jinyang in the west.

The night had passed, and it was a new day, and after the deliberations of the previous night, they were to carry out the appointment of the emperor early this morning.

The Song army is about to start to divide the army here, one route is that Li Chuyun and Li Jixun went north to attack Ulzhou to protect the northern part of the Song army from the threat of the Liao army, and the other way is led by the emperor, and there are generals such as Cao Bin and Pan Mei under the account, their task is to go west to Lingqiu, and then attack other states and counties step by step, and finally go south out of Yanmen.

The cost of this battle was quite huge, and the slightest mistake would delay the unification of the Song army, and if it succeeded, the entire Northern Han Dynasty, the east and west of Taihang Mountain, and the south of Yanshan would be incorporated into the territory of the Great Song Dynasty, and the Song army would only have to face the Liao State in the north.

The Song army walked step by step in the vast mountains of Taihang Mountain, pressing step by step.

That night, the Song army arrived outside Lingqiu, and there were only a few Liao soldiers in the military village in Lingqiu, who boasted that they could defend Lingqiu.

Lingqiu, named after the burial ground of King Wuling of Zhao, was not blessed by the gods, and the Song army relied on its own means to capture it.

Lingqiu fell and was incorporated into the territory of the Song Kingdom, and after Zhao Kuangyin stayed in Lingqiu for a day, he led the Song army to continue westward

At this moment, in the north, since leaving the Black Stone Ridge, leaving part of the army stationed in the Black Stone Ridge Fort, Li Chuyun and Li Jixun personally led 10,000 Song troops to the north.

Ulzhou, east of Yizhou, south of Hengzhou, Dingzhou, west of Yunzhou, the terrain is relatively stable.

Although Ulju is nominally a large state, its county seat is as large as a small county, and the walls are full of broken, mottled slag falling from the walls.

What makes Er Li a little unpredictable is that Ulzhou actually surrendered without a fight, as if someone was ready for all this.

However, Wei Kang and Jing Si carefully found that there were many potholes left in the Ulju City Gate, and the size of the holes seemed to be caused by a certain sharp weapon.

"What is this?" Wei Kang pointed to the hole, and he turned his head to ask Jing Si.

Jing Si said: "This is not gunpowder, and its power seems to be stronger than the divine cannon, although the city wall is covered with yellow mud, it can still be clearly seen." ”

"Quite possibly." Wei Kang nodded, then smiled mysteriously.

Er Li had already led the army into the city of Ulzhou, and the people in the city were only a little frightened when they saw the Song army, they were afraid that they would be wiped out by the Song army after surrendering, but the Song army was not boring.

The common people still feel very fortunate that they still survived in the troubled times.

The Song army entered the city of Ulju and quickly settled the local situation, and everything did not change much.

Erli and the others did not continue to go north, but sent people to guard Ulju and build the local broken buildings.

Immediately, Er Li led a part of the army, went south to Flying Fox, and then went west to Lingqiu.

In mid-April, the Song army had already left Lingqiu and continued westward, walking in the Taihang Mountains.

At the beginning of May, the Song army arrived thirty miles outside the city of Yingzhou, where the Song army was already stationed.

In the middle of the year, the city of Yingzhou was broken.

Soon after, the steps under the feet of the Song army were already close to Yanmen Pass.