"Boom!"

The rain has already subsided.

But there was still an autumn thunder explosion, and the momentum shook the sky.

With this autumn thunder, outside the north of Miaochuan City, the artillery burst out with brilliant flames.

Even if the crew of 20 people was able to unload the tractor, the terrifying recoil still caused the wheels to tilt backwards and the dirt to splash.

Hundreds of shells arced through the air, struck at the city in the distance, and fell inside and outside the city.

The national strength of the Song army was too strong, and after the industrial revolution, steel mills sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, and when there was no shortage of steel, there was naturally no shortage of artillery and training ammunition.

Therefore, the members of the artillery crew of the Great Song Dynasty were very experienced, and their calibration ability was far superior to that of the Western Xia artillery, which lacked effective training and live-fire training.

There is no way, Western Xia is barren, and the raw materials for gunpowder need to be imported from Liao, and Liaoguo is already second-hand, and the Great Song Dynasty first imported it from Japan, and then resold it to Liao, and it has leaked very little into Li Yuanhao's hands.

This led to the fact that although Li Yuanhao smashed the pot and sold iron to get some artillery, he had to cut down on food and clothing when training, and it was very difficult to even train a slightly better artillery crew, let alone be excellent.

Under such circumstances, it would be good for the Western Xia artillery to be able to skillfully shoot the shells, and the error rate was very high.

On the other hand, the error rate of the Great Song artillery is much lower.

The direction they aimed at was either the city gate tower or the city gate below, and a large number of shells bombarded the city gate, and the city gate was soon punched out with many large holes, and it was already crumbling, and it fell down as soon as it was pushed.

The Western Xia army at the head of the city was frightened, and there was a mess on it, some hurriedly whistled, some looked for cover everywhere, and some directly hugged their heads and ran away.

However, although the rain has become smaller, the thunder is still there, and the autumn thunder has covered up a lot of things.

But this cover-up did not last long, Yeli Wangrong did not sleep too hard last night, he himself lived on the tower of the north city gate, and vowed to fight to the death with the Song army in the north of the mountain.

In his opinion, this is already the only breakthrough of the Song army, even if he runs out of ammunition in the city, even if all the artillery in the city is blown up, he has to hold this position.

In the gate tower of the north city gate, Yeli Wangrong sat cross-legged on the seat, his face was slightly haggard, but his eyes were staring at the map on the table, which was a habit of him, and he liked to write down the surrounding terrain.

"The consistent strategy of the Song army is to occupy the mountains, and increase the firing range of the artillery by improving the terrain on the mountains, and even shoot more than ten miles at the farthest."

"As long as I control the mountains to the north and prevent the Song army from loading their artillery and forming a condescending artillery advantage over us, then they will have nothing to do with us."

"It's a pity, the king should have withdrawn all the people to the city, although encamping on the mountain did block the Song army for two days, but it couldn't be stopped at all, so many men and horses were lost in vain, if you want to resist the Song army, you still have to rely on artillery."

"However, this Great Song Dynasty's artillery is indeed much stronger than our Great Xia's, not only is it well-made, but it is actually all made of 100 steel, and the strength to withstand gunpowder is much stronger than our artillery made of wrought iron."

"Alas, it would be nice if the king hadn't had a bad relationship with the Song Kingdom in his early years. My Great Xia is already barren, and under the continuous war, I am afraid that it will not be long before the people in the country are struggling to make a living. ”

"Huh, what's going on?"

Yeli Wangrong was looking at the map, thinking about how to stop the Song army from going up the mountain. When he felt sorry for himself and worried about the future of Western Xia.

Suddenly, he felt a faint vibrating sound coming from the seat where he was sitting cross-legged, and he was quite surprised.

The thunder outside was still exploding, and the vibrations under his body kept shaking, Yeli Wangrong couldn't help but say to the deputy general beside him: "Go outside and take a look, did they set off the artillery without authorization?" ”

The recoil of the artillery is high, and it is normal for the ground to shake slightly when the cannon is fired. Moreover, the thunder also muffled the sound of cannons, and no one could tell whether someone was firing at the mountains in the distance.

But Yeli Wangrong had already instructed that if he found any activities of the Song army on the mountain, he must be notified to observe.

After all, once a few Song troops appeared on the mountain, they would fire artillery on their side, and the consumption of artillery would be very large. In order to prevent the Song army from deceiving the artillery, he had to personally confirm it every time before he could fire shells at the top of the mountain.

If it is launched without authorization, it will definitely be dealt with by other military laws.

The adjutant general walked out of the city gate tower and glanced around, but no one moved on either side of the forts. Although they all set up sheds to shelter from the rain, the heavy rain still affected them, and no one dared to open fire without permission.

But just as the lieutenant general was surprised, he turned his head to look south. About 1.5 kilometers away from him, in the direction of the South City Gate, there seemed to be dust and smoke, and even if it rained, it could not block the smoke.

And there was chaos over there, and many soldiers were fleeing in all directions, so that the people on the north gate were completely confused.

"Bang bang bang!"

Faintly, there was another roaring sound in the direction of the south city gate, which made people shudder.

The adjutant had already heard it, it was the sound of artillery.

He suddenly felt that something was wrong, and hurriedly ran back to the city tower to report to Yeli Wangrong: "Oh no, the king of Tiandu, the Song army seems to be bombarding the city with artillery outside the south city gate. ”

"What?"

Yeli Wangrong was shocked, got up from his chair with a bang, and hurriedly rushed out of the city tower.

He also quickly observed the change in the direction of the south gate.

The faint roaring sound continued to sound, and every time he heard it, it made his mood sink a little.

"Quick, immediately gather the team and rush to the south city gate to help."

Yeli Wangrong knew that once the Song army broke the city, they would definitely rush into the city to fight, and they could only be forced to fight in the streets.

There were less than 30,000 defenders in the city, and more than 40,000 outside the city, and the Song army with muskets in hand would definitely not be able to fight, so it was necessary to defend the vicinity of the city gate.

However, from the North Gate to the South Gate, it is obviously farther away.

In particular, it is necessary to temporarily assemble the team.

By the time Yeli Wangrong rushed to the southern gate with more than 10,000 people and horses hastily assembled, Nancheng had already fallen, and a large number of Song troops rushed into the city and were firing in all directions.

The sound of "bang, bang" musket fire was endless.

You can't use muskets on rainy days, but Song Jun's design has a waterproof cover, and the lighter device is made of flint, not a fire rope, so naturally there are not so many restrictions.

Under the sound of gunshots, the Western Xia soldiers were crushed, especially in the compact alleys, and the crowds of people became live targets.

The Song army poured into the city like a tide, and the Western Xia army could not stop it at all, and the chaotic battle lasted only less than an hour, and a large number of Western Xia soldiers fled from the direction of the West City Gate.

"Commander, the enemy has been routed."

It was not yet noon, almost the end of the morning, and at the beginning of the morning, after an hour and a half of fighting, the Western Xia army finally collapsed.

The scout hurried to report the results of the battle to Zhang Kang.

Zhang Kang narrowed his eyes and asked, "What is the situation in the city now?" ”

"The enemy's defense at the South Gate has collapsed and is now fleeing in the direction of the West Gate."

"Let them go."

"Yes"

The scout was a little surprised, but obeyed the order.

Fan Ke, the deputy head of Qin Fenglu next to him, was very puzzled by Zhang Kang's order, and asked, "Commander, why did you let them go?" ”

Zhang Kang glanced at Fan Ke and asked, "Do you remember our mission goal?" ”

Fan Ke replied: "Destroy Western Xia and recover Qingtang." ”

"Recovering Qingtang, is it for the sake of the Guys, or is it for my Great Song Dynasty?"

"This"

Fan Ke's eyes widened, and he understood what Zhang Kang meant in an instant, and he immediately hesitated: "Is this the meaning of the imperial court?" ”

If the imperial court wants to annex Qingtang, then it is easy to say, they are just doing things according to the will of the head.

If this is Zhang Kang's own idea, then it has to be discussed.

After all, if the imperial court doesn't want to lose the reputation of annexing allies, if they make their own decisions, they are likely to be held accountable in the future.

"Without the will of the Constitutional Yuan, how dare I do this? What's more, why do you think the imperial court would summon Zhao Youlu, the defense envoy of the same state? ”

Zhang Kang's faint words made Fan Ke suddenly realize.

Yes.

Miaochuan City is a city located on the south bank of Huangshui, outside the north gate is Huangshui, and on the other side of Huangshui is the hill.

The direction in which the Song army came was from the east, and the direction of siege was the south gate.

Then the Western Xia army could only run west.

Where is the West Side?

Qingtang City.

If the Western Xia army did not run west, what reason did the Song army have to continue the pursuit?

Although the situation at the top of the regime is very bad now, he is seriously injured, and he heard that his wound is infected, and his life and death are still uncertain.

Dong Yu, the youngest son of Dong Yu, was captured by the Western Xia army, and now he doesn't know where to go, and he doesn't even know whether he is alive or dead.

However, there are still some soldiers and horses in the Woo Gang regime, led by the general An Ziluo and others.

If the Western Xia people were annihilated here, An Ziluo and others might easily take over Qingtang and Miaochuan, so that Qingtang would still belong to the Tubo people.

But if you continue the pursuit, it will be different.

Zhao Youlu, the defense envoy of the same state, is the eldest son of the dumb man, and he has already submitted to the Great Song Dynasty.

At this time, in the name of continuing to annihilate the Western Xia army, the Great Song Dynasty successively recovered Lanzhou, Miaochuan, Qingtang and other cities, and then set up Blind Felt as the lord of Qingtang.

When the time comes, give Blind Felt some benefits, such as letting the descendants of the Lady enjoy glory and wealth, and the same treatment as Li Jishou, he can dedicate Qingtang to the Great Song Dynasty in the name of the Lord of Qingtang.

In this way, the Great Song Dynasty justifiably recovered Qingtang.

After all, this time, the government itself was also crippled by Li Yuanhao, the upper strata were almost wiped out, and the lower strata also suffered heavy casualties, many people from small tribes ran away, and people's hearts were greatly separated.

In such a situation, if the Great Song Dynasty does not get the blind felt, then it is very likely that the Qingtang regime will be occupied by those subordinate generals who are chattering.

And if you get the blind felt, and the Great Song Dynasty doesn't care, the blind felt will have internal and external troubles, and it won't be able to keep Qingtang at all.

Therefore, this strategy of Da Song is the best way.

There is no armed conflict, there is no bad reputation for annexing allies, and the offspring of the smiling are properly settled, and everyone is happy, which can be regarded as a win-win situation for everyone.

"The imperial court's strategy is really high."

Fan Ke couldn't help but give a thumbs up and said: "Many ministers of the Constitutional Yuan are really far-sighted, even if they are thousands of miles away, they can set a strategy. ”

"How can you and I see the foresight of the ministers of the Constitutional Yuan? What we have to do is to obey the will of the court and do our errands obediently, but we can't mess up and lose the face of the ministers. ”

Zhang Kang smiled, and then said: "Okay, you go to the city in person, let the soldiers not be in such a hurry to pursue, and let the Tanguts escape." ”

"Yes."

Fan Ke responded, and then entered the city in person.

The light rain was still falling, the ground was wet and muddy, and after about an hour or so, a large number of Xixia people fled from the West City Gate and rushed in the direction of Qingtang.

The Song army took over the city, and a large number of Song troops poured into the city and began to recuperate to a certain extent.

When the Western Xia people fled, they didn't bring anything, the Song army couldn't do it, and they needed a lot of logistical supplies to fight, not to mention the 40,000 troops, and there were more than 10,000 Qingtang soldiers from An Ziluo in the rear plus 50,000 or 60,000 people recruited to help escort supplies.

Trucks alone were piled up outside the East City.

Therefore, after the Tanguts fled, they did not pursue immediately, but rested for a little night, and waited until the next day, after a large amount of baggage was carried to the city, Zhang Kang sent the vanguard army to continue to set off.

Soon a few days later, the vanguard of the Song army arrived at Qingtang City.

At this time, Qingtang City gathered nearly 20,000 remnants of Western Xia, but Yeli Wangrong, who escaped, had no intention of defending at all, and when he learned that the Song army was chasing, he immediately fled with supplies.

Joke.

He is loyal to Li Yuanhao, but he is willing to die if he is loyal.

All the artillery they captured from Qingtang City was moved to Michuan City, Qingtang City now has no artillery, and the artillery in the face of the Song army is a live target, a dead end.

Therefore, in the past few days, Yeli Wangrong has been looting the materials of Qingtang City to ensure that their remaining soldiers can re-cross Qishan from the Hehuang Corridor according to the route they attacked when they came, and then escape back.

Now that the Song army is coming, when will you wait if you don't run?

Under such circumstances, the vanguard army of the Great Song Dynasty saw countless Western Xia people riding horses, leaving Qingtang City and fleeing towards the vast plateau in the northwest.

The 3,000 vanguard of the Song army chased after them for a while, chasing the 20,000 Tangut people like rabbits and escaping, firing a few symbolic shots, and after failing to catch up, they also returned to the city and reported the situation to Zhang Kang.

Zhang Kang was not surprised to learn that the Xixia people did not resist stubbornly, and he would not seek his own death in the face of a strong enemy that he really couldn't defeat.

Two days later, in early October, Zhang Kang arrived in Qingtang City.

In recent days, the rain has stopped, and in early October, although there is no snow, the cold wind is howling, which is biting cold.

Zhang Kang stood at the head of Qingtang City, looking into the distance, this is the majestic land in the northwest, along the northwest reckless plateau, can all the way to the Western Regions that haunts the soul of the Great Song Dynasty.

It was a territory that had been lost by the Han people for more than 100 years since the end of the Tang Dynasty.

"Although I was admitted to the Jinshi, my favorite is Feng Wolf Juxu, Drinking Ma Hanhai, and Le Shi Yanran. One day, I will go north, I will go west. Lay down the grassland, lay down the Western Regions, and fight back a big country for our Han people! ”

Zhang Kang's heart was surging, full of blood, and he spoke to Fan Ke beside him, and his eyes flashed with almost fanatical excitement.

Not only did later generations like the strong Han and Tang Dynasty, but the bloody Song people also liked it.

At one time they couldn't do anything.

I can only drink and hate.

Just like Zhang Kang in history, he was full of enthusiasm, but he was repeatedly suppressed by civil officials and depressed.

Now.

They will eventually achieve this goal and let the world re-realize the strength and indomitability of the Han people!

(End of chapter)