War is the continuation of politics, and politics is the concentrated expression of the economy, so any war is always linked to the economic interests of the two hostile sides, the economy is the motive force of the war in the final analysis, and the land is the foundation of the country, but also the source of wealth.

The establishment of the Western Xia was entirely the result of continuous outward expansion by force, and the competition for land, population, and wealth was the starting point of the Western Xia conquests. By the time Li Yuanhao was called emperor, Western Xia had the land of Xia, Yin, Sui, You, Ling, Hui, Yan, Lan, Sheng, Liang, Gan, and Su.

Hetao, located north of the 37th parallel, generally refers to the east of Helan Mountain, west of Luliang Mountain, south of Yinshan Mountain, and north of the Great Wall. It includes parts of the Yinchuan Plain (Ningxia Plain) and the Ordos Plateau and the Loess Plateau, which now belong to Ningxia, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi. Here the Yellow River first goes north along Helan Mountain, then blocks to the east by Yinshan Mountain, and then goes south along Luliang Mountain, forming a 'several' shape, so it is called Hetao. The Hetao Plain is generally divided into the Yinchuan Plain between Qingtongxia and Shizuishan in Ningxia, also known as the West Loop, and the East Loop in the Inner Mongolia part. Sometimes the term 'Hetao Plain' is used to refer only to the East Loop, alongside the Yinchuan Plain. The east set is divided into the Bayannur Plain between Bayangol and Xishanzui, also known as the 'Houtao', and the Tumochuan Plain between Baotou, Hohhot and Lamawan (i.e., the Elechuan and Hohhot Plains).

Climatic conditions determined that irrigation was the main part of the territory of Western Xia, and agriculture was limited to plains, valleys and flats with limited areas and easy to irrigate. In the era of Li Jiqian, water conservancy was built, and it was guaranteed in the form of legislation. History develops to this period. After reclamation from the Western Han Dynasty to the Han Dynasty, agriculture in the Ningxia Plain, Hetao Plain, and Hexi Corridor Plain has been very developed.

As everyone knows. Good natural conditions are the premise of the rise and development of towns, and the differences in geographical environment make the economic development of Western Xia unbalanced, which in turn affects the distribution of towns. The Ningxia Plain has a longitudinal and horizontal canal network, many lakes, and is relatively rich, so the prefectures and counties are set up the most densely, with cities such as Dingzhou, Huaizhou, Jingzhou, Xipingfu, Xingqingfu, etc.

The Xingling area is the hinterland of Western Xia, and Lingzhou is located in the Hedong region of the Yinchuan Plain. Adjacent to the Ordos Plateau, the natural conditions are much stronger than that of Xiazhou, which is surrounded by quicksand, where agriculture and animal husbandry are developed and it is a transportation hub. The strategic position was important and it became the political and military center of Western Xia. There are many garrisons and bureaucratic aristocrats in this area, and the garrison of Xingling Prefecture and Helan Mountain is 170,000, and the garrison of 70,000 is in the Khitan Houtao area, if you add their families, as well as the royal family, nobles, bureaucrats, monks, miscellaneous servants and servants of various industrial and commercial producers and dignitaries. There are more people, and another one is engaged in agriculture, accounting for half of the country's population.

The war is fought for financial resources and population, after conquering the rich Xingling, Hetao, Ganliang and other places. The Western Xia was able to stand with the Song, Liao, and Ding. The horses produced in the Ganliang region, the Qingbai salt and Hetao in Yanzhou, and the grain in the Hengshan area became the three pillars of the Western Xia's economy.

The northern Shaanxi area is suitable for agriculture and animal husbandry, and the Song and Xia are along the border mountain boundary. From Hengshan Mountain in the east, to Tiandu and Mabit Mountain in the west. Although it belongs to the mountainous area, but the ecological environment is relatively good, the production is developed, the population is dense, there are more states and counties, there are Yinzhou, Shizhou, Longzhou, Hongzhou, Youzhou, Yanzhou, Xiazhou, etc., the Xixia garrison is 100,000, the population is hundreds of thousands, it is an important source of soldiers and the main grain producing area of the Xixia, the rest of the places are mostly desert areas in addition to the military defense fortress, there are few towns, the population is less, it can be described as a thousand miles of desert, a hundred people are uninhabited. Now, after many years of war in northern Shaanxi, especially the western expedition of the eastern army of the Zhao Tahe River, it has taken this place completely, killed, wounded, and surrendered more than 100,000 Xia troops, recruited hundreds of large and small tribes, and tens of thousands of tents to surrender to the Song Dynasty, and the population has dropped sharply. …,

The lack of population affected economic development and weakened the strength of national defense, so the population problem has always been a prominent problem in Western Xia. The harsh natural conditions and limited harvest restricted the growth of the population of the Western Xia, and the continuous natural disasters such as drought, locusts, and rats deteriorated the living environment, and the Western Xia was often difficult to save itself, and the population was greatly depleted, the hungry people were cannibalistic, and the population outflow occurred frequently. Insufficient population became a very prominent social problem in Western Xia.

In addition to men, there are also women in the army, and the women of the village have become part of the military strength in the border areas. The law stipulates that men are exempt from taxation at the age of 15 and at the age of 70. But in ancient times, 'people are 100 years old, and 70 people are rare', which shows that enlisting in the army and fighting has almost become the obligation of every Xixia man in his life, and the implementation of the system of all people are soldiers, which is not only the tradition of nomads, but also the manifestation of insufficient population.

At this time, the Hengshan area and Yanzhou had been captured by Zhao Tan's Hedong Army, and the population had lost more than 300,000 to 400,000, while the population of Western Xia had reached its peak in the 100 years of development was only about 1.6 million, which can be described as a heavy loss. Now that the Hedong Army has entered the Hetao area, once this place is scooped down again, and two of the three pillars are lost, then the Western Xia will inevitably lose its national strength, and it will no longer be able to wage war, and it will fall from a 'Shilu Boundary' power to a regional power, but it also shows that this is a decisive battle related to the fate of the country, and the resistance will be more intense...

"Lord, after Li Yuanhao became emperor, he set up the Weizhou Jingsai Military Division in the southern part of the Hanhai Sea to control the two rivers of the Malian River Valley and the Hulu River Valley. In the Xingling area, the Xiangqing army was selected, and 25,000 refiners of the Xingling soldiers were selected, and 70,000 soldiers were selected as the support, known as the sixth class in the imperial palace, divided into three guards, and guarded Gyeonggi with heavy troops. In addition, the surrounding garrisons can be dispatched, and 200,000 heavy troops can be collected in a short period of time, and our Hexi and West expeditionary troops are only 50,000, and now the Shaanxi army is blocked from Lingzhou River, I am afraid that it will be difficult for us to complete the purpose alone. After Zhao Ta talked about the current situation, Wang Jin, who joined the army, said worriedly.

/> "Lord Wang, Wang joined the army and said it makes sense, when Li Jiqian attacked Lingzhou, he used flexible and rapid cavalry to take advantage of the Hanhai Sea, so that the reinforcements and food of our dynasty could not go north, and finally captured the military town of Lingzhou, although we sent troops this time There is no shortage of food and grass, but the army is limited, and we stay in Xiazhou, and transfer on the way, I am afraid that the Xia army will repeat its old skills, and we lack troops, unable to defend, so we have to worry! Qin Feng has now been promoted to the Lanzhou regiment training envoy, with the army on the expedition, he said that the old things in the past years are not without worry, the Song army has been defeated several times, all of them are defeated this time, he is worried that the prince will repeat the mistakes of the past, and he also spoke out to persuade.

"The Xia army only brought ten days of food and grass when it sent troops, but it often lasted for dozens of days, and everyone understands the reason!" Zhao Ta glanced at the generals present and said with a smile.

"That's right, every time the Western Xia sends troops, they rely on looting to solve military needs, there are many fertile fields in the Hetao area, and now it looks like the autumn harvest is coming, and we want to have a lot of food, we can also follow suit, as long as we build a city, it will be enough for us!" Zhao Yong said first.

"Having said that, but our army is known as the division of benevolence and righteousness, plundering the people is detrimental to the prestige, and it is also true, General Liu Fa slaughtered the city in his day, although he won a big victory, but he was also criticized by the world, and he was not posthumously awarded the beneficials for his death in this battle, I am afraid that there is also this reason, the prince is plundered, and now those people in the court do not say, I am afraid that the prince will be impeached after the war!" Shen Songyue, the chief secretary of the march, said.

"Don't worry about this, the prince has already said when he sent troops to the west, we can collect grain on the spot, that is, pay part of the silver, or offset the tax, although there is a suspicion of forced buying and selling, but we can also explain the past!" Zhao Zhi said.

"Even if we solve the military needs, but the Xia army has a large number of generals, and we can defend the city to the death, it is not easy for us to break a city!" Xianzhou regimental training envoy Han Tong said. …,

"Hehe, how about Fengzhou City, it will be scooped down by our army in three hours, and the capture of the city is just a matter of exploring the bag and taking things, don't worry about this Korean regiment training envoy, we will take the lead then!" Gao Pet Da Lu said with a smile.

"What the Han regiment training envoy said is also reasonable, we are fighting on the inside line to capture Fengzhou, with our backs to the border, and the enemy army has no foreign aid, and now we are deep into the summer realm, and the enemy's reinforcements are coming in an instant, I'm afraid it will not be so easy!" Zhao Ren did not agree with Gao Chong's statement.

"This king is in the northwest for a short time, but he knows that every time at this time, the pacification envoy of the Jinglu Division will lead troops to patrol the border and defend the autumn, what does this mean?" Zhao Ta did not express his opinion, but raised his own question.

"Oh, Lord Wang, every time the autumn harvest comes, because the Western Xia steals crops and robs grain, I have built many fortresses along the border, and the border army has a special 'autumn prevention' item in the military affairs, and the first official patrols are also to prevent the Xia army from committing border protection!" Wang Jin, who joined the army, explained.

"Then our army is very well defended, and there are fortresses to protect the cultivation, why are they always won by the Xia army?" Zhao Ta asked rhetorically.

"Lord Wang, the Xia army sent troops to plunder, often first besieged the fort, so that the soldiers in the city could not go out of the city, and then divided the troops to plunder people and livestock, pick and dig cellars to gather, and the fields and livestock were outside the city, the Xia army suddenly arrived, could not enter the city, and the crops in the field could not be moved into the city, so the Xia army will always have a harvest!" Wang Jin thought about it and said, but when he saw the prince's smiling face, he suddenly woke up, shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Alas, the lower officials are stupid, why didn't you expect that, thanks to the prince's awakening, we can also treat others in the same way!" ”

"Yes, our army is mostly cavalry, coming and going like the wind, besieging the city with dragoons, hussars to help, not only can collect food, but also disperse the enemy's forces, annihilate them one by one, weaken the strength of the enemy's army, I think a few times, they may not dare to help, as long as we clear the periphery one by one, then Lingzhou City is just around the corner!" Zhao Zhong nodded.

"Well, now the name of our army commander in the field to defend the city has probably already spread throughout Western Xia, and I am worried that they will not dare to engage with us, so that we will not worry about the problem of transporting grain for thousands of miles, but also solve the problem of the enemy's group defense, the prince is killing two birds with one stone!" Shen Songyue nodded and smiled. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to (.) to vote for recommendation, monthly pass, your support is my biggest motivation. )