The night is vast, and the stars and moon are bleak.

The breeze was blowing, and the blood was bloody.

Richard was leaning on his horse, feeling a wave of dizziness in his head, he had already suffered a lot of internal injuries.

With both physical and mental setbacks, even if he was infinitely close to the realm of the Grandmaster, he couldn't stand such a violent blow.

The Iron Harrier was completely annihilated, and the Bubazi was almost the same, the 80,000 army didn't even make a splash, and it didn't even have a normal rush to fight against each other, so it was directly defeated.

It's like a joke, like a child's play with drooping hair, riding a wooden horse on the battlefield, straw knives and guns, absurd, like a dream.

What kind of strategizing is it to win thousands of miles away?

What is invincible like a dragon and swallowing thousands of miles like a tiger?

What do you talk about, knowing yourself and knowing your opponent, and not being defeated in a hundred battles?

It's all empty talk.

He gasped and listened to the faint sound behind him, not retreating as fast as in the daytime, it was dark and the night was dark, and he couldn't run so fast, he was fighting and retreating.

But the fight was also difficult to resist, perfunctory, and in the end, they either scattered and fled elsewhere, or surrendered directly on the spot, the army's morale was scattered, and the ranks were in chaos.

Originally, when they arrived in Mingsha City, there were still more than 30,000 horses, but after being ambushed by a jack gate lowered in the city, it was already less than that.

This way continue to go north, lose the armor, the infantry flees, the death of the death, the surrender of the surrender, I am afraid that it is good to be able to keep 20,000.

I don't know how long it took, but a touch of fish belly white finally appeared on the horizon, and the sky was about to dawn.

Xiakou Pass is not far away at this moment, this pass is an important town in the north, not much, but the geographical location is important, and it is the throat road to enter the land of Gyeonggi in Western Xia in the south.

Xiakou Pass belongs to the Xiangqing Army, and the Xiangqing Army is not a military division, but a military road, similar to the Great Song Road Prefecture and other places, but it is a strategic fortress, so it is called a military name.

There are two roads to the north of Xiakou Pass, and Shunzhou is Shunzhou five hundred miles north, and Shunzhou is the gateway of Xingqing Mansion.

More than 300 miles to the northeast is Lingzhou, Xiping Prefecture, the seat of the Xiangqing Army.

Lingzhou is very large, it is the second largest city in Western Xia in addition to the capital Xingqing Fuxingzhou, which is larger than the four towns of Xingping, Shunzhou, Jingzhou, Huaizhou and Dingzhou.

The four towns of Xingping are all the acropolis of Xingzhou, but they are also extremely generous and majestic cities, and they are usually very prosperous and lively.

From south to east, and then to the north, the four towns are connected into a semi-arc, which encompasses Xingzhou half, forming a four-star moon protection pattern.

And the west of Xingzhou is Helan Mountain, backed by Helan Mountain, and there are four acropolis in front, which is the geographical situation of the capital of Western Xia.

However, the southwest direction of Xingzhou City is a gap in the ancient Great Wall, if you come from the desert, enter the western foot of Helan Mountain, and turn slightly from the south, you will reach Xingzhou.

The desert is in the hinterland of Xixia, which is considered the central area, and there are important places such as the Yan Military Division and the Xiping Military Division of Heishui Town to the west, so this kind of inner boundary, ordinary passage, will hardly set up precautions.

Just like the Great Song Dynasty, Jiangxi, Jiangdong and other places, between Luzhou, where there is any reason to guard against each other, there is no overlap.

This is where General Lu's confidence lies in "going out of Xiliangfu", out of Liangzhou, walking in the desert, through the Great Wall, around Helan, and directly under the city of Xingzhou!

Raid Xingzhou, directly rob the city, as long as Xingzhou City is down, the big thing has been decided.

Brother Richard saw the dawn at this moment, and hurriedly gave another order, regardless of the gains and losses, and accelerated towards the gorge pass.

Dawn is not a good thing, the night is thick and you can take the opportunity to escape, once it is light, it is difficult, step by step.

Therefore, we must hurry up, and we can't stay until we reach the gorge, and only when we get there will we be safe and really stabilize the situation.

In this way, while running and fighting, the soldiers and horses fled and dispersed, the dead died, the descended, when the sky was bright, the Xiakou Pass was already in sight, but the military horses under his command were not enough 20,000.

An army of 80,000 came out, and the most elite troops, Iron Harrier, Bubazi, Liubanzhi, and Xingqing Guards, worked hard for a day and a night, and there were less than 20,000 people left.

Brother Richard looked like he was dead, his original blue sideburns, thick black eyebrows, had faintly flashed frost white, snow needles flickered, and the vicissitudes of life were semi-transparent, and he looked as if he was more than ten years old.

The military horse ran for a while, and came to the front of the gorge pass, which was not as good as the moment when Mingsha City, when it was late, close to midnight, and it was not clear to see.

At this time, he could see the banner of Western Xia fluttering at the mouth of the gorge, and the soldiers were probing their brains to look out, and immediately a general ran over and shouted: "The King of Jin is back, hurry up and open the door." ”

The city was stunned for a moment, King Jin seemed to have been gone for a long time, why did he come back so soon? The generals defending the city put their hands on the pergola to identify them, and they saw that they were all familiar faces, and most of them recognized them, but why were they so embarrassed? Even Brother Richard didn't look right, and he didn't know where to throw it, and his golden armor was dull.

The generals did not dare to ask more, and hurriedly ordered the drawbridge to be lowered and the city gate opened.

The soldiers outside immediately rushed in, and Richard entered the city surrounded by everyone, and finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart......

Half an hour later, the army gathered in front of the gorge pass, and Zhao Ta also came here, he looked up and saw a good Xiongguan.

This gorge mouth is close to the throat of the important place, there is a ridge next to it, called the oolong ridge, close to the pass, the ridge is lush and green, the pine and cypress, the dense forest cultivates the bamboo, the fragrant grass is like a yin, the purple kudzu dragon plate, the peaks and peaks are majestic and steep, and the mountains and ravines are full of spring water in winter.

I saw that at this moment, not only was the flag swept at the mouth of the gorge, the helmets of the soldiers were bright, but even the spears and spears were dense on the Oolong Ridge, and the swords were as bright as frost and snow.

A line of sheep intestine trail leads straight to the ridge, and the pass looks at each other, guarding each other, it is really a husband, a place that is not opened, there are endless dangers.

Zhao Ta frowned, and led the generals to take a closer look along the Guanling, surrounded by cliffs, natural dangers, the top of the mountain is covered with wolf teeth and strange stones, and the path is scarce and rugged.

Zhao Tan glanced at Du Yan next to him, whispered a few words, and Du Yan immediately ordered to retreat the army to a temporary camp for about five miles, and then the Chinese army began to discuss the matter.

Zhang Xian opened his mouth and said: "Whether it is Mingsha in the rear, or Huizhou, it is all plains, even if our army has few people, but it is well-armed, and people and horses are allowed to gallop and fight, but there are few natural dangers like this, solid as steel, one man should be closed, and ten thousand people cannot be opened, so what can I do?" ”

Xu Ning frowned and said: "I don't think I'm in a hurry to get down here for the time being, it's better to evacuate back, since I have destroyed the Iron Harrier and many soldiers and horses in Western Xia, we should first stabilize the situation, put the soldiers on the front line of Mingsha, and then make plans." ”

Li Yanxian pondered: "We are not familiar with the terrain, we still have to find someone who is familiar with geography, the prince can invite and ask, see if there is any opportunity, if not, it is a good policy to temporarily retreat." ”

Zhao Ta said: "Who can I ask?" ”

Li Yanxian said: "The people and horses captured by his subordinates have made meritorious contributions to open Mingsha City, so if they can be trusted, it is better to call them to ask." ”

Zhao Ta nodded and said, "Hurry up and call." ”

Li Yanxian was ordered to go out, and within a while, he brought in a few people, all of whom were Yeli Mingying's subordinates.

Zhao Ta glanced at a few people, and several people immediately knelt down and kowtowed: "The villain greets His Royal Highness the King of Qin." ”

Zhao Ta said: "Since you and others have made meritorious contributions, they should be rewarded, but there is one thing at the moment that you still have to give advice, this king sees that this gorge pass is dangerous, and there is Wulongling next to it, but there is an easy way to break it, or what other path can bypass Wulongling?" ”

Several people knelt on the ground and looked at each other, and one of them opened his mouth and said: "Lord Wang, there is only one dry road, and the Wulong Ridge stretches too far, so I have to take the gorge pass, otherwise the other is the waterway, and there is no other road to go." ”

Zhao Ta said: "What waterway?" ”

The descendant said: "Naturally, take the Mingsha River, a tributary of the Yellow River, and go up from the river to pass through this gorge!" ”

Zhao Ta shook his head and said: "This king has tens of thousands of horses under him, if he crosses by boat, where did he get so many boats?" And what's going on over there? But it's flat, otherwise it really lands, wouldn't it be wax to be attacked by the troops sent by Guanli? ”

The descending army pondered: "Lord, the waterway is over the Bronze Mountain, that is, the Qililong Canyon, the water in the valley is turbulent, it is the place where the goose feathers sink to the bottom, if there is really a military blockade and ambush, along the banks of the river, the mountain peaks stand, and the crossbowmen on the cliff hanging rocks are guarded, then this waterway is absolutely impossible." ”

At this time, another soldier spoke: "Lord Wang, the Xiakou Pass is very well defended during the day, and when it comes to the third watch, the guards are slack, and they accidentally touch the pass from the side of Wulongling, and they may be able to get away with it......"

Zhao Ta was silent in thought, and walked out of the tent after half a day, looking at the contact between Wulong Ridge and Xiakou Pass from a distance, and said to himself: "Enter the customs from Wulong Ridge? How could an ordinary soldier do it! ”

The generals followed out, Du Yan said: "This pass is only north and south, east and west are one by Wulong Ridge, one side is a hanging gorge, and not far below is the Mingsha River, which is really dangerous." ”

Xu Ning also said: "I'm afraid that's how the name of the gorge pass came. ”

Several surrendered soldiers also came out at this time, and one of them said: "What this general said is extremely true, Xiakou Pass is indeed named according to the terrain. ”

Zhao Ta turned around and said: "This pass is unique, built according to the mountains and cliffs, it can be described as a coincidence, not to mention the frontal attack, I am afraid that it will also lose troops and lose heavy losses." ”

When everyone heard this, they nodded yes.

Zhao Ta said again: "If you cross the river to the north and go north, you will be attacked from both sides, and there are no ships to carry people, and you are afraid that the other party will ambush, and it is not advisable." ”

The crowd was silent.

Zhao Ta sighed: "If you go up from Wulong Ridge, it sounds feasible, but you must be agile, and it is best to have some martial arts foundation, but the soldiers below, even if some people will light their skills, I am afraid that it is not enough, and there is not enough to make up the number." ”

He shook his head, and at this time Li Yanxian wanted to speak and stopped, as if he had something to say, but finally closed his mouth.

Zhao Ta saw his reaction, but he didn't ask, but just ordered: "Leave 3,000 soldiers to monitor this pass, and the rest will withdraw to Mingsha City for repairs!" ”

Subsequently, the army adjusted in situ, then pulled out the camp and withdrew from the exchanges.

Zhao Ta sat on the horse, his expression was complicated, it was impossible for him to stop the attack, after all, General Lu from Liangzhou had already rushed to Xingqing Mansion, and he had to cooperate here, keep a two-line advance, and put pressure on the army of the Western Xia Dynasty.

Otherwise, even if General Lü's strategy to leave Xiliang Mansion was achieved, and he captured Xingzhou by surprise, if he couldn't press the border with a large army and put great pressure and fear on Xixia, Lü Jiang would become a lone army on his side, and he would not be able to make contributions.

Wei Yan's troops came out of the Meridian Valley Scheme, that is, a two-line army, Wei Yan led 5,000 troops to raid Chang'an, and Zhuge Liang over there had to cooperate with the right road to move forward, and he had to go quickly to ensure that the plan went smoothly.

Therefore, Zhao Ta must not stop here, he must go north with his horse's hooves and quickly go to Xingzhou to kill, so that as long as Lu Jiang takes Xingzhou over there, the basic major event has been decided!

But right now, it is blocked on the first line of this gorge pass, and the gorge pass must be taken, and it can neither go around nor stop, wouldn't walking around flash his back to Brother Richard? If you stop, Lu Jiang's side will be ruined, and there will even be danger.

All the way back to Mingsha City, immediately began to reorganize the army, at this time not only all the military horses that can be mobilized are gathered here, but also the grain and grass logistics baggage on the Huizhou side are also continuously transported here.

Zhao Ta was not worried that after the army moved north, the Jingsai military division in the east would come to attack Huizhou, Shikichuan and other places.

As long as he can lay down the Xiakou Pass, then it is equivalent to opening the passage to Xingqing Mansion, and when the time comes, whether it is the Jingsai Military Division, the Jianing Military Division to the east, or the Xiangyou Military Division, where will there be any mind to care about Huizhou, I am afraid that he will directly chase after the Xiakou Pass to stop him from continuing to advance, after all, the front has passed Shunzhou, but it is Xingqing Mansion!

At this moment, Mingsha City is busy inside and outside, taking over all kinds of armaments and materials sent by Huizhou, as well as slaughtering cattle and sheep, and rewarding meritorious deeds.

In particular, the equipment left behind by the Iron Harrier was the biggest gain of this victory.

Although the iron harrier's war horses are no longer usable, after all, all the horse's legs are broken, but they can eat meat to dry and use as military rations.

And the armor of the horses, the armor of the cavalry, and the blunt weapons of the spears, especially the Xia sword, are a huge and incomparable wealth.

Let's not talk about how valuable it is, the key is that with these things, you can form a new Iron Harrier, which belongs to your own Iron Harrier!

Zhao Ta sent people to carefully inspect the equipment such as the Iron Harrier and the Xiaren Sword picked up from the battlefield, and they could make up 2,800 complete sets, which were not damaged too much, and the remaining 200 sets of parts were too damaged to be reused.

That is to say, he harvested 2,800 sets of equipment for 3,000 iron harriers, and he could form a heavy cavalry of 2,800 people.

Although for the time being, the formation of its own iron harrier is quite a one-time meaning, after all, there is no place to replenish the damage of armor and equipment, but once the Xingqing Mansion is laid, these problems will be solved.

The ordnance superintendent, the arsenal workshop, the forging yard and other places in the Western Xia are all in Xingqing Mansion, just at the foot of Helan Mountain, taking Xingqing Mansion is equivalent to obtaining these things, as long as there is money at that time, let alone three thousand iron harriers, even if it is four thousand or five thousand, it can be formed!

With the iron harrier heavy armor, when the time comes, the family will improve it again, make up for the flaws in the horse's feet, and then the horse will step on the north, whip between the white mountains and black waters, where can you not go? Where will not be calm!

Zhao Ta returned to the military mansion of Mingsha City, passed down a few orders, and rested, and did not wake up until evening, and after eating a little, Bai Zhan came outside to report, saying that Li Yanxian had something to see.

(End of chapter)