On the 25th day of the first lunar month, the rebels' first official attack on the Xiya Ferry on the south bank of the Yellow River finally began, and the Xiya Ferry was the only channel that could cross the river to attack Lingzhou.

Anhua King Zhu Ningjiao ordered He Jin to lead 10,000 soldiers and horses to seize the West Cliff Ferry and enter Lingzhou, in his opinion, the Lingzhou Imperial Court garrison only has more than 6,000 soldiers and horses, after the defense is dispersed, the officers and soldiers stationed in the West Cliff will not exceed 2,000 people, this battle should be easily won, and the army will drive down Lingzhou. However, after a day and a night of continuous attacks, the imaginary victory did not come, the terrain of the west cliff was too steep, and the Lingzhou defenders stationed on the south bank also resisted stubbornly, and stubbornly defended the south bank, not letting the rebels set foot on the land on the other side.

He Jin was forced to have no choice but to take a desperate plan, and on the night of the 26th, he ordered Ding Guang to lead 2,000 soldiers and horses to cross the ice. This is a risky move, as part of the Yellow River west of Ningxia begins to freeze in January to the end of October, and after a long period of cold winters, the ice will become thicker and thicker.

However, after all, it is the surface of the ice, and the cold and biting river is below, and once the ice is loosened, there is only a dead end, so this kind of dangerous strategy is an unconventional tactic, and it is only the best policy to cross the river from the wide, gentle and non-freezing river surface of the West Cliff Ferry. However, in the face of Zhu Ningxiao's criticism, He Jin didn't care about any risks.

Early the next morning, good news came one after another, Ding Guang's 2,000 soldiers and horses crossed the ice unscathed, and arrived at the canyon on the opposite bank without a single casualty. On the evening of the 27th day of the first lunar month, the West Cliff Ferry was broken, and the 1,800 officers and soldiers guarding the West Cliff and two Lingzhou Wei Qianhu were all killed.

When the good news reached Ningxia Town, Zhu Ningxiao was overjoyed, and ordered He Jin to be rewarded with the soldiers in front, and He Jin was awarded the title of Pioneer Marquis, and at the same time ordered He Jin to quickly lead the army to Lingzhou.

Happy times are always short-lived, just when Zhu Ningxiao was looking forward to the beautiful hope of He Jin's army to capture Lingzhou and sweep the northwest, only half a day later, the battle report from the front came again, and He Jin's army, which raised troops to go south to Lingzhou, encountered the officers and soldiers who came from the direction of Lingzhou to reinforce the ferry, and was blocked from the way, and had to be stationed in Yak Town on the way.

"He Jin, this idiot, actually lied about the number of officers and soldiers, saying that there were six or seven thousand soldiers and horses intercepted, it was just nonsense, there was only one guard and horse in Lingzhou, two thousand were annihilated at the ferry, and there were only four thousand people left, they only dared to retreat in the city to defend, how could they dare to take the initiative to attack? This He Jin has lived up to the expectations of this king. In the heart hall, Zhu Ningyan was furious and scolded.

Zhou Ang, who was fully armed, arched his hand and said: "Lord Wang, the last general please lead the troops to the battle, He Jin is afraid of death, the last general is not afraid of death, the last general has already said, He Jin still wants the prince to reward him, could it be that he wants to be the prince?" ”

"Shut up." Zhu Ningyan reprimanded: "What do you mean by saying such things? You are just not angry that this king has made the Marquis of He Jin, don't let this king hear a word of internal strife, otherwise this king will not spare you. ”

Zhou Ang sneered: "The last general is just thinking about the overall situation, why do you have six or seven thousand soldiers and horses?" ”

Zhu Ningxiao was silent, and Sun Jingwen stepped forward and said: "Lord, maybe what He Jin said is true, we have been doing things for nine days, and the imperial court may not be able to react, but the Shaanxi Mansions must have gotten the news, and Yang Yiqing may make arrangements in advance after he escapes, maybe this is the soldiers and horses reinforced by the Zuo Prefecture Mansion." ”

Zhu Ningxiao's face was gloomy and said: "No matter where he is the soldier and horse, pass on the king's order, order He Jin to attack with all his strength, and Lingzhou must be captured before tomorrow morning." ”

……

On the snowfield in the north of Lingzhou, a big battle was about to start, and He Jin, who received Zhu Ningxiao's death, was ready to lead the army to forcibly attack and start a battle with the intercepted 6,000 officers and soldiers; It wasn't until before the battle began that He Jin knew the identity of this army, they were the soldiers and horses of the security guards from Guyuan, Guyuan was more than 200 miles south of Lingzhou, how this army appeared here to teach people to be confused; But in any case, since the prince has made a fate, He Jin has no choice.

The commander of the security guard was Peng Yue, who had entered Ningxia Town for Yang Yiqing and Qiu Yue, and had a long talk with Yang Yiqing all night before leaving that night, Yang Yiqing told Ningxia Town that he was frank, and asked Peng Yue to return to Guyuan and immediately stationed the whole army north to settle on the side of Lingzhou, and there was no imperial court order that his soldiers and horses could not be transferred privately, but Yang Yiqing said that he would bear the responsibility, out of trust in Yang Yiqing, and because of the importance of the matter, Peng Yue returned to Guyuan and immediately marched north as a whole army, Kankan rushed to Lingzhou after the West Cliff Ferry was broken.

Hearing that the rebels were attacking Lingzhou, Peng Yue didn't have time to greet Yang Yiqing and Huang Zheng in Lingzhou City, so he led the army around the city and went straight to the north of Lingzhou, blocking He Jin's army in the middle of the road.

After a short period of temptation, the two sides launched an attack, on the snowfield, the war horses neighed and galloped, the shouts of killing shook the sky, the swords and guns intersected, the swords and shields were scattered, the heads and broken arms flew together, and the blood and the morning glow were the same color; On this unobstructed snowfield, the time and place of the two sides are similar, and the difference in strength of more than 2,000 is not particularly large.

But soon after, the Lingzhou soldiers and horses learned that Peng Yue's security guards had fought with the rebels, Yang Yiqing and Huang Zheng poured all the soldiers and horses of Lingzhou out to support, and broke this situation at the time, and the Lingzhou fresh army brought a large number of firearms, and even did not hesitate to dismantle the three cannons guarding the city to bring them, although most of these guys fired a few shots and immediately exploded the chest, but the deterrent effect brought to the rebels was huge.

The situation soon became one-sided, He Jin saw that the general situation was not good, and immediately ordered the army to retreat, and the remnants of the army withdrew all the way to the Xiya ferry, and were chased by Yang Yiqing, Peng Yue, and Huang Zheng led the army all the way to the bottom of the canyon of the ferry, before stopping the pursuit.

He Jin took a breath and counted the casualties, nearly half of the 10,000 soldiers and horses were lost, and he felt remorseful in his heart; Although now it is guarding the canyon of the West Cliff Ferry, occupying the geographical advantage, but there is no retreat from the Yellow River, this situation cannot be sustained, and sticking to this will only wipe out the whole army. While the officers and soldiers were also resting and recuperating, He Jin ordered to secretly cross the river and withdraw to the boundary of Ningxia Town on the north bank while it was dark.

By the early morning of the 29th day of the first lunar month, He Jin led 10,000 soldiers and horses to the south bank to take a turn and returned to the same place, and there were less than 6,000 soldiers and horses left in hand.

Relying on the natural danger of the Yellow River, the shape shì was slightly stable, and the officers and soldiers were unable to cross the river and attack for the time being, He Jin settled down a little, and personally returned to Ningxia Town to explain the situation in detail, although he knew that he would be scolded by the prince, he could only bite the bullet and ask for the guilt.

Zhu Ningxiao looked at He Jin, who was dejected in front of him, and an urge to draw his sword and cut him welled up in his heart, but he held back and squeezed out a smile on his face.

"Victory or defeat is a common thing in soldiers, why does General He need to be so decadent, the strangeness of the appearance of the officers and soldiers of Guyuan, we didn't expect this, you were also caught off guard, this battle is not in you, blame us for not taking this into account in advance."

He Jin said gratefully: "I am incompetent, and the prince is disappointed." ”

King Anhua sighed and said: "Now is not the time to blame yourself, the current shape is a little bad, the reinforcements from Guyuan have arrived, and the defenders of Yan, appeasement, Pingliang and other places are not coming, it seems that this time the imperial court's response is very fast, what do you care?" ”

Everyone pondered for a long time, and Zhou Ang stepped forward and said: "Don't worry, even if all the soldiers and horses from Guyuan, Yansui, Pingliang and other places come, the number of troops is less than 20,000, and they may still be on the way, we still have 16,000 soldiers and horses on hand, plus the 3,000 guards of the prince, there are still 20,000; The lowly post built yì, and recruited more than 10,000 soldiers in the city, and the lowly post is confident that he will take Ningzhou before the officers and soldiers gather, and guard the gate of my Ningxia Town. Once Ningzhou is lost, the other state capitals will be unable to protect themselves, so how dare they come to war again, they will only retreat to protect themselves. If the prince allows to lead the troops in a humble position, he will definitely overcome obstacles all the way, and he will never follow in the footsteps of General He. ”

He Jin's face was ugly and said angrily: "Zhou Ang, what do you mean." ”

Zhou Ang smacked his lips and said: "It's not interesting, I'm just telling the facts, the army is superior but I was beaten to the head, the prince is merciful to you can stand here and speak, if I were you, I would have found a crack in the ground to get into." ”

He Jin was furious, and was about to refute his lips, Zhu Ningxiao scolded: "Shut up for me, this king is not in such a good mood to listen to your bickering." ”

The two of them sneered, and Zhu Ningxiao snorted and turned to Sun Jingwen and said, "What do you think of Mr. Sun." ”

Sun Jingwen pinched his beard and said slowly: "Lord Wang, the words of the subordinates may not be very popular, according to the subordinates, this time we will probably give Song Nan and Yang Yiqing insight before the incident, obviously the Guyuan army came too fast, it must be the result of their emergency dispatch, according to this, it is a little impossible to take Lingzhou now." However, the shape is still unclear, our Ningxia town occupies the advantage of the terrain, as long as it does not attack, it can be invincible, the top priority is to use the Yellow River to build fortifications, hold the ferry, so that the officers and soldiers sigh. There is the danger of the Yellow River, and 20,000 soldiers and horses in Ningxia Town can be a million troops. ”

Zhu Ningyan frowned and said, "Then we will shrink here?" ”

Sun Jingwen shook his head and said: "Lord, how can you be anxious to achieve a big thing, avoiding its edge is the best policy, even if the imperial court gathers a large army to deal with us, but once they are blocked by the Yellow River, even if Chen Bing is in charge for a few months?" Can the imperial court afford such a large cost of soldiers and horses? And we have Ningxia Town, a fertile land of thousands of miles, and food and materials are scarce, which is called waiting for work. We are a thorn, stabbed at the vital point of the imperial court, the imperial court cannot afford to consume, but we are worry-free, sooner or later the imperial court will understand that there is no way to take us, and then we can take advantage of their retreat to Shaanxi, and then complete the prince's grand wish. This is called the way of relaxation. ”

Zhu Ningxiao stroked his beard and nodded slowly: "It makes sense, but can you really hold on to the Yellow River?" Didn't He Jin capture the West Cliff Ferry with 10,000 soldiers and horses? ”

He Jin said loudly: "Lord Wang, it is not difficult to defend the Xiya Ferry, but it is necessary to prevent the officers and soldiers from learning the last strategy to cross the ice, and the last general Jian Yì immediately sent people to dig holes in the upper ice to break the ice; It's almost February, and the broken Chen Bing won't freeze, so they have no choice but to cross the West Cliff Ferry. ”

Zhou Ang also said: "Yes, we can also immediately recruit people to build beacon towers along the top of the riverbank and canyon, and once any officers and soldiers venture to cross the river at the rapids and rapids, we will know that we can send troops to intercept them on the river." The West Cliff Ferry can be built with a high fort and a high platform to build fortifications and defenses, so that it is difficult for officers and soldiers to cross. ”

Zhu Ningxiao patted his thigh and said: "Okay, let's avoid its edge for the time being, He Jin, you return to the ferry to guard, Zhou Ang, you immediately recruit people to build beacon towers along the river, and send people to the upstream along the river to break the ice to prevent officers and soldiers from smuggling." Jingwen, you have to walk around the city more recently to appease the hearts of the people in the city. By the way, why didn't Qiu Yue come today? He has some insight in fighting, why didn't he speak out? ”

Zhou Ang sneered: "Qiu Yue? I'm sleeping with my wife at home. ”

Zhu Ningxiao's brows furrowed and he was about to speak, Sun Jingwen said: "General Qiu sent someone to take sick leave, and I heard that he was bedridden due to the cold. ”

Zhu Ningxiao's face turned slightly gloomy and said: "I see, Jingwen, you have time to take some medicine from the palace to visit, there are only a few people who can use it at the moment, and Qiu Yue is a person who can fight, so you can't ignore it." ”

Sun Jingwen nodded yes.