Lingzhou, an important town in Western Xia, and the national capital Xingqing Mansion are called "East and West Beijing", which is the southern barrier of Zhongxing Mansion, and its geographical location is extremely important.

During the Anshi Rebellion of the Tang Dynasty, Li Heng of Tang Suzong ascended the throne in Lingzhou, Ningxia, which established the Zhongxing period of the Tang Dynasty, making Lingzhou City, which was located in a remote corner, the largest military town in the Tang Dynasty and the political and military center of the Tang Dynasty during the counterinsurgency period.

In March of the fifth year of Song Xianping, Lingzhou City was captured by Li Jiqian, the leader of the party, and became the center of Western Xia secession, and was renamed "Xiping Mansion". Later, Xiping Mansion was renamed Lingzhou, and the Western Xia Xiangqing Military Division was set up in Lingzhou, with 50,000 heavy soldiers stationed to ensure the safety of Xingqing Mansion, the national capital.

For the invincible Mongol army, if you want to capture Zhongxingfu, the capital of the Western Xia Kingdom, you must first conquer Lingzhou.

The city wall of Lingzhou, the gate tower of the south city, steaming, Li Deren, the abolished prince of Western Xia and the guard general of Lingzhou, ignored it, stood with his hands in his hands, looking at the sky in the distance, his brows were tightly locked.

has a slender figure, a white cross-collared satin shirt, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a Chinese face, if it is not for the bald style, it can be said that the appearance of Xixia is responsible.

As the eldest son of Emperor Shenzong of Western Xia, Li Zunwei, who was once the crown prince of Western Xia, Li Deren's heart was like pressing a boulder at this moment, and he couldn't breathe.

In the second year of the establishment of the Western Xia Emperor, Li Deren's father Li Zunwei became the emperor of the Western Xia, and Li Deren became the prince of the Western Xia as his eldest son.

In the seventh year of Guangding in Western Xia, the Mongolian army, under the leadership of the general Mu Huali, conquered the Western Xia for the fourth time, attacked all the way, and soon came to the city of Zhongxingfu, the capital of the Western Xia Kingdom.

The Western Xia Emperor Li Zunwei was afraid of the strength of the Mongols and looked for an opportunity to escape. The crown prince Li Deren took the initiative to send an envoy to the Mongol army to plead guilty, but the Mongol army was unable to conquer Zhongxingfu for a while, so he immediately withdrew.

Because of its dependence on Mongolia, the Western Xia had to send troops to cooperate with it every year to fight and provide grain and grass, which led to the rapid decline of the Western Xia's national strength and the loss of the elite in the army. Li Deren opposed the "annexation of Mongolia and the Jin", hoping to "join the gold to resist Mongolia", get rid of the Mongol oppression of the Western Xia, and was abolished by his father, the Western Xia Emperor Li Zunwei, and imprisoned in Lingzhou.

Li Zunwei abdicated under the pressure of Genghis Khan and passed the throne to his second son Li Dewang. Genghis Khan, on the grounds that Western Xia was slow to accept hostages, personally led an army of 100,000 in the spring of the fourth year of Western Xia, and attacked Western Xia for the sixth time.

Li Dewang took office, released his brother Li Deren from prison, and asked him to guard Lingzhou, hoping that his brothers would work together to go to the national disaster.

But the military information from the front, without exception, was all bad news of defeat.

In February of the fourth year of the Western Xia Dynasty, the Mongolian Eastern Route Army first broke through the Western Xia military towns of Heishui and Wurahai; In April, the Mongol general Atachi led the Western Route Army to conquer Shazhou; In May, the Mongolian Western Route Army marched south and captured Suzhou, Ganzhou and Xiliangfu.

So far, the right arm of Western Xia, the Hexi region, has been almost completely lost.

The disaster was not a single line, the Mongol army was invincible, and the summer city was lost one after another. In the same month, the Emperor Li Zunwei died of illness, and he was called the English Emperor; In the past July, the Western Xia Emperor Li Dewang became ill with palpitations, and also fell ill and died, and the temple was dedicated to the sect. After Li Dewang's death, his adult nephew Li Wei was supported to succeed to the throne and changed to Yuan Baoyi.

Baoyi, can you retain the loyalty in the hearts of the people of Western Xia? Can the Tatar army of the Tiger and Wolf Division be "righteous"?

In August, just now, the Mongol armies from the east and west advanced to Zhongxingfu, the capital of Western Xia. The Western Route Army crossed Shatuo, seized Jiudu of the Yellow River, and captured Yingli. The Eastern Route Army was eyeing Xiazhou. Once Xiazhou was breached, the Mongol armies from the east and west would form a pincer offensive against the political, economic, spiritual, and prosperous regions of Western Xia.

Only the land of Xingling remained, and he could only hold on, with no power to fight back, and Western Xia was in danger and had come to the brink of extinction.

The Mongol army is pressing, the edifice will fall, as a son of the Western Xia royal family, will he succumb?

The corners of Li Deren's mouth rose slightly, and he sneered softly.

Greedy for life and afraid of death, kneeling on the ground and begging for mercy, to hell with Gnion!

I was not afraid before, and I am certainly not afraid today.

Sweeping his eyes to the city, the ragged, yellow-skinned people of Western Xia, Li Deren shook his head secretly.

Take pity on these innocent Western Xia people.

"Ye Limou, do you feel that there are fewer and fewer people fleeing to Lingzhou City now?"

Looking at the city gate, Li Deren's brows were twisted into pimples again.

The people at the gate of the city were sparsely pulled, dragging their families and horses, leading mules and horses, carrying food blankets on them, and many of them were yellow and thin.

Needless to say, these civilians were survivors of the looting of the Mongol army.

"Your Highness, what's so strange about this. The Tatar cavalry came and went like the wind, and the people in the distance were all killed, so naturally no one fled to Lingzhou City. ”

Ye Limou glanced outside the city and said casually.

What Ye Limou didn't know was that the first fierce general of Mongolia, Subutai, led the army to conquer the Yellow River Jiudu, and went north along the river, and the Mongolian army stationed in Yanzhou Sichuan searched and killed in all directions. Naturally, there are very few people who can escape under the Mongolian iron horse.

"Ye Limou, I tell you, it is not easy for the people to live, don't make up your mind about them. Otherwise, I'll skin you! ”

Li Deren looked at Ye Limou, and his eyes flashed.

"Your Highness, I know, I know!"

Ye Limou's face was red, his heart trembled, and he hurriedly said with a smile.

His Royal Highness the Waste Prince, who doesn't rub sand in his eyes, is a ruthless character.

Li Deren glanced at Ye Limou and withdrew his cold gaze.

These city gate officials, extortion, enrich their own pockets, and fish and flesh the common people are their consistent means.

Corrupt officials and bribery of public banks may be another reason for the decline of Western Xia.

"Your Highness, go back. It's too hot here, be careful of Shizi's body! ”

Seeing that Li Deren frowned, Ye Limou whispered and persuaded.

"Zhong'er, are you afraid of the heat?"

Li Deren asked about his young son Li Weizhong beside him.

"Daddy, I'm not hot. The soldiers were on duty on the city wall, and they worked hard. ”

Although he is only seven years old, Li Weizhong is a young man and an old man, without any young people's ignorance and immaturity.

Li Deren laughed softly, proud of his son's sensibility. He nodded, then asked gently:

"Zhong'er, the Tatar army is about to come to the city, and they will attack Lingzhou City when the time comes. Are you afraid? ”

"Daddy, I'm not afraid. If Lingzhou City is gone, I will never survive! ”

Li Weizhong's voice was immature, but impassioned.

Historically, the Mongol army broke through the city of Lingzhou, and both sides suffered heavy casualties. Li Deren and his son Li Weizhong were captured by the Mongol army. Li Deren was killed, and Li Weizhong, who was only 7 years old, also begged for a quick death. Genghis Khan's younger brother, Ghazal, adopted him. Li Weizhong and his son Li Heng fought in the east and west under Kublai Khan, and became the pawns of the Yuan army.

"Good! Sacrifice your life to go to the country, and see death as if you were going home. May God bless Great Xia, God bless me Lingzhou City! ”

Li Deren raised his head, and his eyes became sharp again.

No matter how fierce and tyrannical the Mongolian army is, it is just an ordinary man, and if it is cut with a knife, it will also fall to the ground. If you want to conquer Lingzhou City, let them exchange the heads.

"Daddy, I heard that the Tatar army has captured Hexi, and the Xia soldiers in Liangzhou City have surrendered to them. Why are they so spineless? Also, after so long, why hasn't the Tatar army attacked Lingzhou City yet? ”

Li Weizhong asked curiously again.

"Some people are afraid of death, and if they have milk, they are mothers. Tatars come from a bitter cold land, are most afraid of the heat, and are now resting. If it was autumn or winter, they would come to attack Lingzhou City. ”

Li Deren said, faintly uneasy in his heart.

In winter, when the Yellow River froze, the Mongol army would easily cross the Yellow River and form a flanking attack on Lingzhou City.

"Your Highness, your lips are cold, isn't Jinxia a country of brothers, why didn't Jinxia send troops to save us?"

Ye Limou was young and asked puzzled.

"Jin Dynasty Qin Duchu, afraid of offending Genghis Khan, so dare to come to reinforce us? We Xia people, no one can rely on us, we can only save ourselves! ”

Li Deren sneered, but his eyes were full of helplessness.

That being said, how easy is it to say? Without foreign aid, how long can Lingzhou City be defended?

The Mongol army pressed the border, and this time, it was clear that it was going to destroy the Western Xia. With the strength of the Mongolian cavalry, Lingzhou City wants to ask for survival, I am afraid it is not optimistic.

"Your Highness, the Tatars are only 100,000 troops, and I also have 20,000 defenders in Lingzhou City, plus tens of thousands of people, can't I defend the city against the Tatar cavalry?"

Ye Limou, like the curious Li Weizhong, asked again.

According to the city, the 100,000 Mongol army does not seem to have anything to fear.

"You know about extortion all day long, what do you know? Do you think that the Tatar army will shoot arrows only on horseback? ”

I don't know when, Lingzhou Zhizhou Ning Zining went up to the city wall. He saluted Li Deren and looked at Ye Limou with disdain.

"In the Tatar army, there are a lot of craftsmen, Han people, Western Regions, and big cannibals, specializing in the construction of stone throwing machines and ballistas and other siege equipment. Each siege, hundreds of stones fell from the sky, the walls were crushed, the defenders were stoned to death, because there was no way to dodge, and then there was an endless rain of arrows from the Tatars. The last is the siege, and the siege is carried out by the Han army. ”

Ning Zining was once an envoy to the Privy Council of Western Xia, and he had personally fought against the Jin State and Mongolia, and had rich experience in the battlefield.

Li Deren nodded and echoed Ning Zining's conclusion.

The reason why the Mongol army was able to dominate the world was, of course, not as simple as field cavalry shooting. In order to meet the needs of the siege, Genghis Khan established an artillery army, and the siege of the city was based on artillery stones. Every time a siege battle is carried out, hundreds of cannons can be used at one time, and the city will be broken quickly.

If the Mongolian army did not have a stone thrower, Li Deren's confidence in Lingzhou City would have increased a lot.

"Ning Xianggong, don't we have a bed crossbow and a divine arm bow, can't we deal with the stone thrower?"

Ye Limou smiled and asked again.

"The catapult has a baffle that can withstand crossbow shots, and the range is longer than that of the Divine Arm Bow. There are hundreds of stone throwers in the Tatar army, and on our four city walls, there are only one hundred and ten ballistas and divine arm bows, and thirty or forty on each wall, how can we fight with the Tatars? When the time comes, a vicious battle is inevitable, and it depends on whether luck is on our side. ”

Li Deren frowned, and then spoke.

I heard that the city wall of Ganzhou City was smashed down by the stone thrower of the Mongolian army, and the same is true of Yanjing City. The city walls of Lingzhou are not necessarily thicker than those of Ganzhou and Taiyuan.

If there is a way to defeat the Mongolian army's stone thrower, the hope of Lingzhou City to hold will be much greater.

But how could it be so easy to defeat the stone throwers of the Mongol army!