Hexi, also known as the "Hexi Corridor", is located in the east of the Western Regions, west of the Yellow River, north of the Qilian Mountains and the middle of the Badain Jaran Desert. Because it is located in the west of the Yellow River, it is shaped like a long and narrow corridor, so it is called the Hexi Corridor. The Hexi Corridor is about 2,000 li long from east to west, nearly 400 li at its widest point from north to south, and only 40-50 li at its narrowest point.

Since ancient times, the Hexi Corridor has been a transportation artery connecting the Central Plains and the Western Regions. In the second year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the hussar general Huo Qubing defeated the Xiongnu in one fell swoop and established four counties of Jiuquan, Wuwei, Zhangye and Dunhuang, known as the "Four Counties of Hexi" in history. The Han Dynasty controlled and operated the Hexi Corridor through national policies such as "immigration to the real border" and "resettlement of migrants".

From then on, Hexi was under the rule of the Central Plains Dynasty until the Northern Song Dynasty......

At the beginning of the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Western Xia rose, and the Hexi Corridor was ruled by the party Xiangqiang. In the first year of Baoyuan of the Northern Song Dynasty (1038), Li Yuanhao established the Xixia Dynasty, and set the capital at Xingqing Mansion (later changed to Zhongxing Mansion) under Helan Mountain, Xiliang Mansion as its auxiliary county, and set up one prefecture and four prefectures in the Hexi Corridor, namely Xiliang Mansion, Ganzhou, Suzhou, Guazhou and Shazhou. After the invasion of the Mongol army, Hexi was again under the rule of the Mongols.

Xiliang Mansion, also known as Liangzhou, enjoys "the world to rush, the national domain guard", the Eastern Jin Dynasty of the Sixteen Kingdoms period of the former Liang, the back Liang, the south Liang, the north Liang, the early Tang Dynasty Liang has built the capital here, after the county, the state, the government governance. Li Yuanhao of Western Xia founded the country, and Xiliang Mansion became the rear of Western Xia, the center of political economy, industry, agriculture and commerce, and transportation, and it was also the place where Western Xia retreated.

To the west of the Yellow River, on the official road leading to Xiliangfu, there are rotting corpses, wild dogs and beasts wandering among the corpses, and the flies "buzzing" constantly, the smell is unpleasant, and it is disgusting.

The fertile fields on both sides of the official road are overgrown with weeds and half a person high. Corpses, knives, guns, and arrows were scattered among them, and the Mongol army burned, killed, and looted, and the war was full of the blood and tears of many orphans and widows.

The sound of "whoosh" was endless, the crossbow arrows roared, and more than a dozen wild dogs and beasts fell down with wailing, and the rest scattered in a hurry, running in all directions, and hiding in the waist-high artemisia grass.

Two sentry Song army scouts came to beat horses, hundreds of horsemen were fierce and vigorous, their bodies were vigorous, they were full of arrows, they stood on the horse and looked, and the tall city wall of Liangzhou City in the distance was already in sight.

Hexi is uninhabited for hundreds of miles, wild beasts are rampant, the situation is unknown, and 200 people from the scout camp of the former army of the Song army are forced to travel together.

"It's finally here!"

Fan Jianliang looked at the surrounding scene and shouted strangely.

After returning from Lingzhou in Western Xia, he enthusiastically recommended himself and joined the ranks of the Hexi army.

It's also sad to say, Fan Jianliang's family of four brothers, plus parents, grandparents, nephews, nieces and other children, basically rely on Fan Jianliang, an officer who teaches martial arts, to support himself. The reason why I went to Hexi was also to make more military achievements, get more land rewards, and let my family live a good life.

"I heard that this Liangzhou is a rich land, how can it be like this, even Jiangli County is a hundred times better than this!"

Liu Hong's eyes also widened and he shook his head again and again.

Like Fan Jianliang, he was a graduate of the first phase of Jinling Lecture Wutang, and he was fortunate to participate in the Battle of Lingzhou City, and he volunteered to enter the ranks of the Hexi army.

"What's so strange? It's good not to sprinkle the ground with salt! ”

Yang Da was expressionless and snorted coldly.

Because of the reinforcement of Western Xia Lingzhou and the instigation of sending troops to attack the Mongolian army camp, he and Huang Xi and other generals had no credit, and even the main general Cao Youwan continued to serve as the deputy commander. Compared with Zhang Zhongxia's promotion from deputy general to commander, and Wu Feng's deputy commander as commander, Yang Daquan's grievances in his heart can be imagined.

Hexi, what I have seen and heard for more than a year, and the Mongolian army, in addition to killing, is still killing.

"General, what do you want it to do in such a rotten place? Those who work in vain, work the people and lose money. Didn't make a head! ”

Liu Hong shook his head again and again, his face full of disgust.

"Do you want you to be the emperor? Carrying out military orders is! If you talk nonsense again, you can go back to Lizhou West Road! ”

Yang Daquan scolded, Liu Hong quickly shut up, and didn't dare to say anything again.

The use of troops in Hexi is the emperor's personal decree, who dares to make a mistake? He just said it casually.

"General, you said that our army has arrived, is the gate of Liangzhou City open, and the people are eating pot pulp and welcoming our army into the city?"

Fan Jianliang looked around at the sky and said triumphantly.

"Then I will offer two beautiful women, a few slaves and maids, and give you a beating of your legs and shoulders, big fish and big meat, do you think it is good?"

Yang Daquan glanced at his subordinates angrily.

"It's not early, go grab two tongues and find out the situation in Liangzhou City!"

As the scout battalion officer of the former army, he can't let the army's eyes be blackened, and he doesn't even know the military situation in Liangzhou City.

"That couldn't be better!"

Fan Jianliang laughed and shouted:

"Brothers, be careful! Remember, don't disturb the people, and you won't commit any crimes in autumn! ”

The horsemen took orders one after another, followed Fan Jianliang and Liu Hong, and beat their horses away.

"This kid loves money like life, how can he look like a graduate of Wutang!"

Looking at Fan Jianliang's back as he hit his horse and left, Yang Daquan shook his head helplessly, his brows furrowed tightly.

The famous Xiliang Mansion, how did it become like this?

The closer to Liangzhou City, the more ruined villages there are, without exception, all of them are broken walls, corpses are everywhere, and the soldiers are full of righteous indignation. Suddenly, Fan Jianliang reined in his horse, stretched out his bow and arrows, aimed at the grass next to the official road, and shouted angrily.

"Who, come out quickly, or Lao Tzu will release the arrow!"

"Don't don't, military master, don't let go of the arrow!"

The knights of the Song army put on their crossbows and arrows together, ready to go, and a few unkempt and tattered beggars ran out of the grass.

"Obviously there are still a few people, why haven't they come out yet?"

Fan Jianliang's arrow was aimed at an old man with a yellow face and thin muscles in the lead.

"General, those are the daughters and daughters-in-law of old men, they have never seen the world, and they dare not see the living."

The unkempt old man smiled with a smile on his face, and never called the female dependents of the family to come out.

"Uncle, who are you, why are you hiding in this bush? Aren't you afraid of being eaten by fierce beasts? ”

Liu Hong came up and asked kindly.

"General, who are you? Isn't it an officer and a soldier? “

The old man asked Fan Jianliang suspiciously.

"Did I ask you, or did you ask me? Say it! ”

Fan Jianliang's eyes widened, and the bowstring "squeaked".

"Master Jun, don't! The old man's surname is Li, and he is a native of Lijiazhuang outside the city of Xiliangfu, and his home is next to this official road! ”

Old man Li pointed to the rubble village and nodded.

"Didn't the Tatar army retreat, why are you still hiding?"

Fan Jianliang put away his bow and arrows and asked on the horse.

"The Tatars have withdrawn?"

Li Laohan was taken aback, looked at his son next to him, turned his head, and smiled again.

"How did the general know about the Tatar retreat?"

The Tatar iron riders come and go like the wind, the army squad, you come and go, who knows what the situation is?

"Genghis Khan is dead, the Tatar army is retreating, do you want me to be more clear?"

Fan Jianliang hung the bow back on his horse.

“…… Genghis Khan...... He's dead? ”

The consternation on the faces of Li Laohan's father and son was even worse, and his voice trembled.

"Yes, Genghis Khan is dead, and the Tatar army has withdrawn! Why, don't you know? ”

Liu Hong looked at Li Laohan and the others, and shook his head secretly.

The Mongolian army attacked Western Xia, what crimes did these ordinary people suffer, they didn't know how to do it in the cold and summer, and they became like this person who was not like a human ghost or a ghost?

"Will ...... Jun, are you the official army of the ....... court? Is Zhongxing Mansion still there? ”

"Uncle, we are the official army of the Great Song Dynasty, and we came here from Lanzhou to capture Liangzhou City. Zhongxing Mansion is still there, and Lingzhou City is also there. With our Great Song Dynasty official army, we can't lose it! ”

Fan Jianliang, who was on the side, shouted loudly on the horse.

"Song Jun? Are you telling the truth? ”

Li Laohan's eyes widened, and his eyes were full of incredulity.

The fierce Tatar cavalry, who can also defeat it?

"What, can't I be in the Great Song Border Army?"

Fan Jianliang's eyes widened, very dissatisfied.

"Believe! Believe! These robbers,, they have it today! Phew! ”

Li Laohan's son first smiled all over his face, then said viciously, and spit hatefully on the ground.

"Second child, don't talk nonsense!"

Li Laohan hurriedly reprimanded his son, turned his head, and was respectful again.

"General, you are the official army of the Great Song Dynasty, not the Han army in the Tatar army?"

It seems that he still did not believe that the Song army could defeat the Tatar iron cavalry.

"Uncle, don't guess. We are indeed the official army of the Great Song Dynasty. My Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty married the princess of Great Xia, and Lingzhou City and Zhongxing Mansion were guarded by us. We came to Hexi to drive away the Tatar army and help Emperor Xia govern here! ”

Liu Hong had a flexible brain, and immediately said a lot of clichés.

In terms of mastering the emperor's military intentions, he is more than one level higher than Fan Jianliang.

Anyway, sooner or later, the land west of the river, including the entire Western Xia, as well as the Western Regions, is the territory of the Great Song Dynasty.

"That's it! Everyone can rest assured, our Great Song official army is different from the Tatar army, and we are here to let you live a good life! ”

Fan Jianliang reacted and hurriedly explained loudly.

Although these people are the people of Western Xia, they are real Han people, and they will govern the place in the future and appease them.

"It turns out that Emperor Song and Emperor Xia are a family, that's good!"

Li Laohan nodded again and again, and the smile on his face finally became sincere.

"General, if you want to fight Xiliang Mansion, you have to be careful. There are hundreds of Mongolian troops in the city, but they are very murderous! ”

Li Laohan's words lifted Fan Jianliang's spirits.

"Uncle, tell me what you know!"

Originally, I thought that the Mongol army had withdrawn, and Hexi was already a ruin. Now I know that there is still a Mongolian army guarding.

"General, not only Liangzhou has Mongolian troops, but even Suzhou and Ganzhou, but there are not many of them."

Li Laohan and his son came together to know everything, and Fan Jianliang understood the general situation of Liangzhou City.

There are probably more than 1,000 Mongolian cavalry in Liangzhou City, and Suzhou is estimated to be about the same. Shazhou and Ganzhou have been ruined, slaughtered by the Mongol army, and there should be no garrison.

"General, the official of Liangzhou City is called Hu Za Qin, the first generation of the family was an official, and his grandfather was the minister of Great Xia. When the Tatar army arrived in Xiliangfu, he surrendered the city and continued to serve as his defender. The 8,000 defenders in the city all went with the Tatar army to attack Lingzhou and Zhongxingfu. In addition to about 3,000 defenders in the city, there were more than 1,000 Tatar cavalry. Be careful! ”

probably thinks that Liu Hong and Fan Jianliang are good, and with the honorific title of "old man", Li Laohan tirelessly admonished Liu Hong and others.

"Don't worry, sir! Lingzhou City, we fought with the Tatar army, others are afraid of him, we are not afraid! ”

Liu Hong was calm and composed, and laughed.

"The general is brave! The general still has to be careful! ”

Li Laohan was secretly frightened. It seems that these Song soldiers are all outlaws who are not afraid of death.

"Uncle, this house is broken like this, how can you live there? When winter comes, you're going to freeze to death! ”

Liu Hong was soft-hearted, looking at the blackened rubble in the pile of artemisia grass, his heart couldn't bear it.

This fox hill is full of dog holes and rubble, can it live in people?

"General, get used to it! We all dug holes in the ground, with traps around us, and sometimes we could shoot two wild dogs and fight tooth sacrifices. ”

Li Laohan's words made Liu Hong and Fan Jianliang face each other, and their hearts were uncomfortable.

This dog's way of the world has forced the people to live like wild beasts and live in caves, which makes people feel sad.

"Brothers, take out all the dry food on your body!"

Liu Hong beckoned to the scouts around him. And they took out all the dry food and gathered them together in a heap.

"Lao Zhang, you are overflowing with bodhisattva hearts again."

Fan Jianliang whispered in Liu Hong's ear, taking out all his dry food at all.

"The officers who came out of the Jinling Lecture Martial Arts Hall can't lose face by saying anything."

Liu Hong whispered, and Fan Jianliang felt comfortable.

This kid can talk, his eyes are bright, and he will come to things, no wonder the generals like it.

"Boss, take it! How many meals can be counted! ”

Liu Hong stuffed the dry food to Li Laohan.

"Eldest sister, folks, you all come out and kowtow to the military master!"

Li Laohan called out his daughter and daughter-in-law in the grass, including the neighbors, and kowtowed to Liu Hong and others together.

"Is this still human? How did this people become this ......?"

Looking at the ghostly, skinny Xia people who stood up behind the wall and in the grass, Fan Jianliang and the others were terrified, and they were all startled. The eyes of Liu Hong and many scouts turned red.

It is better to be a peaceful dog than a troubled world. What kind of catastrophe has happened to these poor people?

"No need! No more! Folks, let's all live well! ”

Liu Hong helped Li Laohan, got on the horse with Fan Jianliang, and was about to leave, and stopped the war horse.

"Uncle, I'll go to Liangzhou City in a few days to investigate. By that time, our army might have entered the city. If there's anything, just look for me. Remember, my name is Liu Hong, and I am the adjutant general of the former army scout battalion! Remember! ”

"General, remember! You are not familiar with life, why don't you let my family Erlang lead the way for you? ”

Li Laohan shouted loudly and stopped Liu Hong.

These Song soldiers are affectionate and righteous, and he believes in them from the bottom of his heart.

Liu Hong and Fan Jianliang looked at each other, and Liu Hong nodded.

With these people who are familiar with the place to lead the way, of course, it is twice the result with half the effort.

"Then thank you, uncle!"

Liu Hong hugged his fists and thanked him, let Li Er get on the horse, and the group beat the horse and left.

"I've never seen such a good officer or soldier!"

Li Laohan's eldest son shook his head and muttered.

"It's not just good, it's also very powerful! With these people, I'm afraid the villagers really have a good life! ”

Li Laohan is also the same as his son, full of emotion.

The march on a hot day, just this autumn without any offense, is already a proper strong army.