Leading this thousand elites was a Mingjiao figure who fled to Yanyun with Li Tian, named Zhao Jue, who was Li Tian's cronies. Zhao Jue led a thousand elites to stand in the col and looked up at the cliff in front of him, only to feel that it was difficult to climb up, but he didn't have this feeling when he looked at it from a distance just now.

An officer next to Zhao Jue said: "General, although this mountain is steep, it shouldn't be particularly difficult to climb. The reason why he said this is because although the cliff in front of him is steep, the mountain wall is lush with vegetation and there is a certain slope, although it is difficult to climb with bare hands, but there is no problem with using ropes.

Zhao Jue nodded, observed it, and saw that there was a small gentle slope in the middle of the cliff that could be stopped, and immediately ordered four soldiers who were particularly good at climbing to carry ropes to climb first, and when they reached the gentle slope halfway, they fixed the ropes and let the brigade climb up along the ropes. Each of the four soldiers began to climb with a large roll of rope on their backs, and these four men were very good at climbing, and when they reached the rock wall, they climbed like apes.

Everyone looked up from below, and the figures of the four soldiers gradually became blurred, and under the moonlight, it was no longer clear whether the four swaying shadows were humans or apes.

Zhao Jue was very worried, worried that they seemed to suddenly fall down and make a loud noise. God forbid, the four of them climbed the gentle slope in the middle of the cliff very smoothly. Zhao couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The four men fastened the rope to the trunk of several old pine trees on the gentle slope and threw it down.

Zhao Jue gave an order, and all the sergeants climbed up along the rope one after another. After about half an hour, Zhao Jue and more than 500 soldiers reached the gentle slope, and the rest of the soldiers stopped climbing, because this gentle slope was only so big, only enough for more than 500 people to stay.

Zhao Jue ordered the four sergeants to carry four new bundles of rope and continue to climb upward. The four sergeants climbed up, much slower and more cautious than before, for the upper half of the cliff was much steeper than the lower half!

Zhao Jue retracted his gaze and looked towards the plain in the distance, he knew that General Li and his army had entered the position, but he couldn't see anything from here, and he didn't know where Yan Yun's army was ambushed.

Syllable! A loud bang suddenly came overhead. Zhao Jue was taken aback and hurriedly followed the prestige, and suddenly saw a large black shadow falling from above, which was clearly a human body. Zhao Jue's first thought was 'Oh no', he thought it was a soldier who stumbled and fell.

Almost at the same time, the sound of crackling and rumbling came from above one after another, and Zhao Jue clearly saw that someone on the top of the mountain was throwing stones and trees below, and the three sergeants who were climbing had nowhere to hide on the cliff, and they were hit by the rolling stones and fell down one after another, and the screams were particularly harsh.

Zhao Jue realized that the enemy was on guard, and shouted urgently: "Retreat!" The soldiers immediately retreated along the ropes. At this moment, a loud rumbling sound like a mountain torrent came from the top of the mountain, and countless rolling stones and trees rushed down like a waterfall. The soldiers of the Yanyun Army on the mountainside had nowhere to hide, and their faces were all pale, plus the bewitching fan base of the world: 115715909, the rain of rolling stones and trees fell into the crowd like a raindrop, only to see flesh and blood flying, a miserable scene, and no one could hear the screams, because the sound of the rolling stones and trees rushing down was too amazing!

When everything was quiet, there were only a few people lying motionless on the gentle slope halfway up the mountain, while the others had been smashed down the col by the rushing rocks.

Li Tian, who was waiting for the news, heard a loud noise from the mountain col and was shocked. Immediately received a report that the sneak attack failed, and a thousand elites suffered heavy casualties, and even his close confidant Zhao Jue was killed. Li Tian was filled with grief and indignation, took a fierce look at the Great Wall Ridge, and ordered the army to return to the camp.

The Western Xia army won a small victory, and the morale of the army was greatly boosted.

The monarchs and ministers of Western Xia were waiting for the good news from the front, but there was bad news, the generalissimo Li Zongdao was defeated and retreated to the Great Wall Ridge, and Yan'an Mansion was finally lost. The monarchs and ministers were shocked, and they were at a loss and didn't know what to do! The emperor asked his ministers, "The situation is serious, what should I do?" ”

The ministers looked at each other, and the Ministry of Rites Shangshu Ge Rilang came out and said urgently: "Your Majesty, the army of Yanyun Tiger and Wolf is invincible!" Our army should not have rashly started a war with Yanyun for the little benefit given by the Khitans, but now it is bound to become a tiger and a catastrophe is coming! In today's situation, words and wars can only cause greater defeats, and for the sake of today's plan, envoys should be sent to Yanyun's army to sue for peace! ”

When the panicked emperor heard this, he wanted to adopt it as if he had grasped a life-saving straw. At this moment, Li Tongren, the prime minister of Zuo, came out and said: "Your Majesty, don't! ”

The emperor frowned, "Didn't the prime minister always advocate peace with Yan Yun, but why did he stop the peace talks at this moment?" ”

Li Tongren said: "This time is different from the past, there was no war that day, the two sides have equal momentum, and they can make peace." Now our army has suffered heavy losses one after another, and the Yanyun army is like a broken bamboo, and the momentum is like a rainbow, if you go to seek peace at this time, not only will it be impossible to get your wish, but it will vent your momentum and increase the morale of others! Although the officers and men of our army are more depressed, and the Yanyun army is bound to be more arrogant, under the elimination of one and the other, not only can the war not be eliminated, but the situation will be even more out of control! ”

The emperor felt that what Li Tongren said was reasonable, frowned and asked, "Then the prime minister means war?" ”

Li Tongren said: "At this moment, we are already riding a tiger, and we have no other choice!" ”

Ge Rilang frowned and said: "Our army has been defeated one after another, and the Yanyun army is invincible......"

Li Tongren turned his head sharply and glared and shouted, "What are your intentions for Yan Yunjun like this?!" Grilang was stunned. Li Tongren said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, Ge Rilang has shaken the hearts of the army, please immediately behead him to show the public to set an example!" Ge Rilang didn't expect Li Tongren to say this, he was shocked, and hurriedly said to the emperor: "Your Majesty Mingjian, ministers, ministers have no intention of shaking the hearts of the army!" ”

The emperor naturally wouldn't blame him, after all, Ge Rilang's little sister was one of his beloved concubines, and immediately said gently: "Although what Ge Rilang said is inappropriate, it can be regarded as a matter of facts, and there is no bad intentions...... "The prime minister will forgive me." "The emperor has said so, what else can Li Tongren, a subordinate, say. Ge Rilang said excitedly: "Your Majesty Mingjian, Your Majesty Mingjian......"

Li Tongren said: "Although our army has been defeated one after another, the army and the people of the whole country have been mobilized, and even the Yanyun army will never be able to attack our country!" As long as they hold on for a while, the Yan Yun army will naturally retreat after suffering heavy losses and running out of grain and grass! If we want to negotiate peace, we must wait for this war to come to an end, and we must not negotiate peace at this moment, otherwise our morale will be lost, and our Western Xia will be in great trouble! ”

The emperor frowned and nodded, and asked, "What about the Shaanxi and Gansu regions?" ”

Li Tongren felt a little funny when he heard the emperor's question, but he didn't dare to laugh out loud, and said: "Your Majesty, now that the situation is not favorable to us, where can we manage Shaanxi and Gansu!" ”

The emperor sighed and said very unwillingly: "That's a thousand miles of land!" Back then, the rise of the Qin State in the West was based on Shaanxi and Gansu, but I didn't expect that we would lose it before we got it! Hey......"

Li Tongren suddenly thought of a plan, and said to the emperor: "We can't keep Shaanxi and Gansu, so let Yan Yun take it away, it is better to use this as bait to lure the Tubo people into Qinfeng Road, if everything goes well, maybe we can reverse the current situation!" The emperor was silent for a moment, then sighed: "It seems that it can only be like this, hey! ”

Yan Yunjun's herald galloped to the Yellow River crossing in Suidedong and crossed the Yellow River. Immediately turned over and prepared to rush towards Taiyuan, now Liang Hongyu's marshal mansion is located in Taiyuan, so the battle report in the Hetao area will be transmitted to Taiyuan Mansion first.

Just as the herald was about to ride his horse, he saw a soldier in the armor and robes of the guards riding over and blocking the way. The herald's heart moved. The secret guard asked, "Is the brother passing on the military information of the Hetao?" The herald clenched his fists and said, "Exactly!" Is His Royal Highness King Yan coming nearby? As he spoke, he looked around, and saw many people in a bamboo shed not far away, two of whom were Yang Peng, the king of Yan, and Han Bing, the princess! The secret guard said: "King Yan and the princess are over there, come with me!" Then he led the way, and the herald followed.

The secret guard led the herald into the bamboo shed, and the secret guard hugged his fists at Yang Peng and Han Bing and said, "Master, Niangniang, the herald brings it." ”

The herald immediately bowed and said, "The villain greets His Royal Highness King Yan and the princess!" ”

"Don't be polite, get up and talk."

"King Xie Yan!" The herald stood up, then untied the bamboo tube on his back, held up his hands, bowed down and said: "This is the latest military report, please look at His Royal Highness King Yan and Princess Niangniang!" ”

The secret guard untied the bamboo tube and handed it to Yang Peng. Yang Peng untied the bamboo tube, picked open the seal, opened the lid, and poured out a volume of letters. put down the bamboo tube, unfolded the letter paper and looked at it, and said with a smile: "Okay, Yang Yanzhao is really Yang Yanzhao, this shot is really amazing!" "Hand the letter to Han Bing," Yang Yanzhao saw through Li Zongdao's plan, laid a trap and almost wiped out the opponent's cavalry, and then counterattacked, the Western Xia army suffered heavy losses and had retreated into the Great Wall Ridge! ”

Han Bing read the letter and thought: "Now that the situation is completely tilted in favor of our army, I believe that it is only a matter of time before the entire north of the Wei River is included!" Looking at Yang Peng, "What we need to consider now is whether to stop here, or to attack with the trend?" Yang Peng said with a smile: "As the saying goes, 'win must rush, lose to shrink', our army has won big victories one after another, morale is like a rainbow, there is no reason to stop!" Besides, after these battles, our army suffered very little losses, and there is no need to stop the offensive here! ”

Han Bing nodded thoughtfully. Yang Peng raised his voice and said: "Bring pen, ink and paper!" The two guards immediately rushed to a horse at the door, took out pen, ink and paper from the backpack hanging on the side of the saddle, and returned to Yang Peng to put it down.

Yang Peng picked up the brush and wrote quickly, he has been in this world for so long, and he is used to using the brush, but the font is still so shocking, according to Han Bing's words, there is a kind of overlord atmosphere, but in terms of appearance alone, it is still a thin gold font.

Yang Peng wrote the letter, put it in an envelope, and handed it to Wang Kai, the captain of the secret guard on the side, Wang Kai immediately untied the backpack on his back, took out an oil lamp with a wick and oil, lit it, and then took out a little cement and an iron spoon from the cloth pocket on his waist. Put the cement into the iron spoon and burn it on the fire, then carefully pour it into the seal, and then take out a metal seal a little larger than a one-yuan coin from the cloth bag, flatten the cement, pick it up, only to see the flat cement seal the envelope, and a two-winged flying tiger pattern is printed on it. Immediately, Wang Kai put the envelope into the bamboo tube, screwed the lid on, and sealed it again.

Yang Peng pointed to the herald, "Give him the letter." ”

Wang Kai stepped forward and handed the bamboo tube into his hands. Yang Peng ordered: "You rush back and hand it over to General Yang Yanzhao!" The herald said yes and ran down.

Yang Peng walked out of the tea shed and looked at the herald in the distance in a daze. Han Bing walked up, "What do you want?" Yang Peng smiled, "Come with me." He walked to the left, and Han Bing followed. Seeing this, Wang Kai let most of the people stay, and he followed from afar with a dozen shadow killers and a few Feifeng female guards.

Yang Peng and Han Bing walked along the edge of the Yellow River, with the roaring and turbid waves of the Yellow River on one side and the vast deserted garden of fragrant grass on the other.

Yang Peng stopped, turned around and held the surging Yellow River in front of him, "Han Bing,"

Han Bing showed a look of concern, thinking that he was going to say something. Yang Peng turned his head and smiled: "We don't have a cave room yet, right?" Han Bing was stunned for a moment, then Xia Fei's cheeks and annoyed and said, "You, why, why did you suddenly talk about this kind of thing?" ”

Yang Peng held Han Bingxian's hand and said depressedly: "You see that you are already the princess of King Yan, but the two of us have not yet had the same room, isn't it a joke to say this!" Han Bing said angrily: "Do you want to talk about this kind of thing everywhere?" Could King Yan be such a shallow and boring person? Yang Peng's left hand also held Han Bing's slender hand, and said with a smile: "Don't you think that if you don't do this, our couple is always imperfect?" Could it be that you don't want me to touch you? If that's the case, you can say it, and the eldest brother will never mention it again in the future! ”

Han Bing said angrily: "You know that I don't think like that, and you deliberately say that kind of thing to stab me!" Hum! Both hands tried hard to withdraw their palms from Yang Peng's grasp, but I don't know if it was because his attitude was not resolute or Yang Peng was holding it too tightly, he couldn't take advantage of this pull.

The more Yang Peng looked at Han Bing, the more he liked it, "I decided, tonight we will be on the edge of the Yellow River, with the sky as the quilt and the earth as the bed, the cave room!" Han Bing was embarrassed, "How can this work?!" Yang Peng said: "Why not, I am my husband, you are my wife, my husband's wife is in the cave, that's right!" Han Bingtong blushed, "That can't be, it can't be like this!" Then he said angrily, "Do you want me to give myself to you in such a place?" Yang Peng smiled and leaned over to kiss Han Bing's red lips. Han Bing was startled, and hurriedly looked around, seeing that there was no one around, and Wang Kai and them were far away, and they didn't seem to be looking at this side, so they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and glanced at Yang Peng with disgust.

Yang Peng said with a smile: "Since Han Bing doesn't like it here, let's wait until I return to the state capital, and you are not allowed to push back at that time." Han Bingtong turned red and glared at Yang Peng fiercely, is this a tacit acquiescence?

Yang Peng smiled, took Han Bing's slender hand, and continued to walk along the river. After walking for a while, Yang Peng asked, "Han Bing, how do you say this big battle will evolve?" How will it end up? ”

Han Bing heard Yang Peng talk about business, and hurriedly suppressed the thoughts in his heart, and thought: "Although the previous battle situation was full of twists and turns, the overall development has been in the direction we wanted. Now the Western Xia side has suffered heavy losses, and the situation is very favorable to our army, but the Western Xia has been established for a hundred years and has a very rich heritage, so I am afraid that we will not be able to sweep the Western Xia! If the Western Xia poured all the strength of the whole country into counterattacking, it was really difficult to predict the outcome of this battle! ”

Yang Peng frowned and nodded, and glanced at Han Bing, "What do you suggest?" ”

Han Bing said: "The strategic purpose of our army has been achieved, and I think it is not the time for a decisive battle with Western Xia for the time being, so it is better to rest and recuperate." Since the counterattack against the Khitans last year, our army has been fighting continuously and has hardly rested, in fact, the soldiers are already very tired, and the consumption of money and food is huge, and it is difficult to support a long-term battle. ”

"Stop the war...... Yang Peng frowned and muttered.

Han Bing glanced at Yang Peng, "Isn't the eldest brother unwilling?" I know that the eldest brother is ambitious, but in the current situation, it is not the time to destroy Western Xia, even if he tries to win by chance, the price will be very huge, and the gains outweigh the losses. ”

Yang Peng nodded, "You're right! My heart is in a hurry! After a pause, "But even if we want to stop the war, we must put on a posture for further conquest, otherwise the Tangut people will still think that we are not able to catch it, and they will have a chance." Liang Hongyu nodded, "Big brother is right!" It is better to draw 150,000 soldiers and horses from the 200,000 troops guarding Yanmen Pass to the west for reinforcements. Now the attention of the Khitan people is all on Goryeo, although there are more than 300,000 Khitan troops in Xijing Road, they are not elite, and Xiao Tianzuo is not a brave person, and it is enough to guard Yanmen Pass with 50,000 horses. ”

Yang Peng thought for a while, "150,000 soldiers and horses are less, so simply transfer the First Army Corps, a total of 220,000 soldiers and horses." Hmph, let's put on a posture of fighting and send peace to talk on the other, I'm afraid he Xixia monarchs and ministers will not have a second choice! ”

Han Bing teased: "Obviously, we don't want to fight, but it makes it look like they are begging us!" Yang Peng smiled. Han Bing asked, "Does the eldest brother want to cross the river?" Yang Peng glanced at the other side of the Yellow River, shook his head and said, "No, at least not for the time being." He smiled, "It's better for me, the Yan King, to stay here, so as not to interfere with Yang Yanzhao's command to fight." Han Bing said with a smile: "With you, the King of Yan, sitting in Hedong, the soldiers are afraid that they will have to work hard!" ”

Yang Yanzhao was very surprised to see that the herald had come back so quickly. The herald knelt down and said, "General Qiyu, the villain just crossed the Yellow River and met His Royal Highness King Yan and Princess Han Bing. The generals were shocked when they heard this, and Yang Yanzhao hurriedly asked, "King Yan has arrived in Hedong?" "Yes." "Then does King Yan want to go to the front line in person?" The herald said: "King Yan has no intention of crossing the river!" Then he untied the bamboo tube on his back and held it up with both hands, "This is a letter sent by King Yan to the villain, please take a look at it." ”

Yang Yanzhao hurriedly picked up the bamboo tube, picked up the sealing mud, poured out the letter, and put the bamboo tube down. Then he opened the envelope, took out the stationery, unfolded the letter, and looked at it. All the generals looked at Yue Fei.

After a while, Yang Yanzhao raised his head and smiled and said to the generals: "King Yan condolences to all our soldiers, everyone has worked hard. It's a very simple sentence, but everyone can't help but get excited when they hear it. Yang Yanzhao continued: "King Yan will wait for our good news in Hedong, hoping that we can capture the Great Wall Ridge as soon as possible!" Xiao Duli said loudly: "His Royal Highness King Yan can rest assured, we will definitely be able to capture the Great Wall Ridge!" The generals chimed in.

Yang Yanzhao folded the letter, returned the envelope, then put the letter on top of Shuai Press, turned around and said to the generals: "The soldiers of each battalion have a good rest and will attack the Great Wall Ridge early tomorrow morning!" "Yes!" The generals agreed in unison.

Yang Yanzhao rode to a hill next to the barracks and looked at the Great Wall Ridge in the distance. At this time, the sun is setting, and the Great Wall Ridge in front reflects the sunset glow and radiates a golden light, like a huge golden screen between heaven and earth. The reason why the Great Wall Ridge is called the Great Wall Ridge is because there are the remains of the ancient Great Wall on the mountain ridge, which was the Great Wall built during the Northern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties, and during the Northern Song Dynasty, the armies of the Western Xia and Song Dynasty formed a tug-of-war state around the Great Wall Ridge, but no one rebuilt the city wall on the Great Wall Ridge.

Yang Yanzhao's eyes moved slowly on the Great Wall Ridge, the Great Wall Ridge in front of him was very majestic, absolutely easy to defend and difficult to attack, the Western Xia army camps on the mountain ridge were lined up in a staggered and orderly manner, and the flags fluttered in the mountain wind. There is a gentle slope about seven or eight hundred meters wide in the front, where it is easier to go up the ridge, but it is also the key position of the Western Xia army's defense, and the rejection of horses and camp tents are mainly concentrated on the front of the gentle slope. Yue Fei's gaze slowly moved to a hillside on the west side. It is very steep, the strange rocks are craggy, and the climb is very difficult, but it is not impossible to go up the mountain, the Western Xia army also has a defense there, but it is obviously much more relaxed than the gentle slope in the front, although it is also difficult to attack from there, although there are not many defensive forces there, but the terrain is a man and a man.

Yang Yanzhao showed a look of thought, and said secretly: Li Zongdao is a famous general in Western Xia, and he has all directions, and it is not easy to break through this Great Wall Ridge!

A herald galloped up, reined in his horse, clenched his fists, and said, "General, the baggage team has brought up one hundred and fifty cannons!" ”

Yang Yanzhao was overjoyed and immediately ran down the hillside. When I came to the barracks, I saw that the soldiers were unloading and assembling cannons and gunpowder shells, and they were very busy.

The escort envoy came over to meet Yang Yanzhao, and the book presented a list of materials to Yang Yanzhao and said, "Please sign for it!" Yang Yanzhao took the paperwork, signed it, and returned the document to the escort officer. The escort officer shouted to a strong man in the distance who was guiding everyone to unload the truck: "Commander Fan, please come here!" ”

After all, what happens next, let's see how it will be broken down next time.