From the moment they crossed the gorge, the officers of the Song Army's imperial camp with some common sense knew that the next one hundred and eighty miles would be a decisive march.

The reason couldn't be simpler.

If the Song Army could rely on the Xixia people's strategic misjudgments and mistakes before to easily avoid the opponent's elite field troops, dodge the accumulation of lives and waste of time at key passes, and then quickly raid here, then next, step into After the land of Xingling, also known as the Yinchuan Plain in later generations, we had to face the final stress reaction of a communist country that had been established for a hundred years.

And it is an inevitable stress response.

Because the former is a purely military arrangement, and although the latter will eventually be reflected in the military, the fundamental strength comes from the cohesion of politics, nation, and culture, which is an intangible but tangible existence... People like Yue Fei, Qu Duan, Hu Hongxiu, and Liu Qi may be vaguely aware of this concept from the fundamental principles, but people like Li Shifu may not understand it, but they also know that it is happening.

Besides, no one has attacked the gorge before. After Pingxia City was built, because it controlled the upper reaches of the Hulu River, the Hulu River, the correct channel for attacking Xia, became the biggest flaw of the Xixia people. At that time, many people said that the Xixia It was going to die, and the Xixia people would indeed have trouble sleeping and eating for several decades... Even in the Huizong Dynasty, there were stories of Liu Fa invading this place.

But even the most in-depth attempts were unsuccessful.

This is called speaking from experience.

"Jiedu."

In the afternoon, the army went down the Yellow River opposite the majestic Helan Mountain. After walking for more than ten miles, they saw a place where the Fan cavalry gathered in the distance. There seemed to be more than a thousand Fan cavalry here. Hu Hongxiu immediately pulled his horse to the bank of the river, but turned a deaf ear to these Fan cavalry. Instead, he pointed to the fork of the river behind the Fan cavalry and reminded them. "Ahead is the Tang Qukou."

Yue Fei stood facing the horse and nodded slightly. Many of the generals around Qu Duan and below also stood on their horses, and then they marveled at this magnificent scene.

First of all, the popularity of Tang Canal is very high in this era, probably even more famous than Xiakou. It was introduced in the Di newspaper a long time ago. Many people know that this water conservancy project was built by Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty. Later, the Xixia people maintained and expanded it as a treasure. Now, the irrigation area of ​​this canal has reached 900,000 acres!

It can be said that 30% of the foundation of Xixia's hegemony lies here.

Secondly, after the Tang Qukou, the Yellow River expanded again and was hundreds of paces wide. Even many Hebei soldiers in Yue Fei's tribe felt that this was the widest place they had ever seen the Yellow River, not downstream location.

In fact, looking from the slope, I can see the vast ocean in front of me, all the way to the north, it is majestic and majestic. In addition, under the clear sunshine, the Helan Mountains a hundred miles away are like horses galloping, and between the mountains and rivers It is a smooth road, with several rivers and canals extending straight, and dots of villages and towns are vaguely visible... This magnificent scene, except for the words "Great Rivers and Mountains," really makes people speechless!

"This place has been called half of Tianfu since ancient times. There were ditches for irrigation in the Han Dynasty, but all the ditches were inferior to the Tang Canal." Hu Hongxiu's words interrupted many people's sighs. "This canal is the largest among the Xingling canals. The widest one is six hundred miles long, with hundreds of branches. It can be reached by all the cities in Xingling. Going down this canal, another fifty miles away is Shunzhou City, and Xingqing Mansion is also downstream of this canal... Let's go down this canal. The wooden rafts captured near the mouth of the gorge originally came out of this canal."

The surrounding generals all nodded after hearing this, because Hu Shilang's meaning was already obvious, which was to advise Yue Fei to leave the Yellow River from here, turn to the Tang Canal from the mouth of the canal, and march along the Tang Canal.

This is a very reasonable, even reasonable route.

It must be known that the Tang Canal channel must have been well maintained by the Xixia people on a daily basis. The edges are neat, the direction is straight, and the water inside is deep without siltation. Therefore, after the rafts carrying supplies enter the channel, marching will be extremely easy. Not to mention,

According to Hu Hongxiu's information, there is a complete state city fifty miles ahead of this canal, which can be captured and used as an advance base, and Xingqing Mansion further ahead is also next to this canal.

Even just looking at the Fan cavalry gathered at the mouth of the canal, one can guess that even the Fan cavalry thought that the Song army would enter the Tang Canal and march along the canal to their capital.

However, precisely because of this, when the coach Yue Fei reined in his horse for a moment but did not give an order, everyone realized that the coach might have other ideas.

"Xingqing Mansion is between Tang Canal and the Yellow River?" After a moment, Yue Fei recovered his mind from the mountains and rivers in front, and then asked seriously. "East of Tang Canal, west of the Yellow River?"

"That's right." Hu Hongxiu immediately introduced it clearly. "The regulations of Xingqing Mansion are not small. It is adjacent to the Tang Canal in the west, which directly leads the Tang Canal into the city from Shuimen and also serves as a transport for goods. The east city wall is twenty or thirty miles away from the Yellow River.

, even the palace outside the city is more than ten miles away from the Yellow River."

"Has this canal always been so wide?" Yue Fei nodded slightly and continued to ask.

"Of course not..." Hu Hongxiu quickly shook his head. "On average, it is estimated to be thirty or forty steps wide, but there are also narrow places. I remember that there is an area in Shunzhou that is about ten steps wide, but even so, it is not

It will definitely not delay the wooden rafts marching, because these wooden rafts come out of the Tang Canal."

Yue Fei still nodded and remained noncommittal, but asked the third question: "Do the Xixia people have a navy in the Yellow River? I recently checked the Xixia war records, and it seems that there is a mention of the Xixia navy?"

Hu Hongxiu immediately shook his head: "I didn't see it, it must be a misunderstanding."

"It is indeed a misunderstanding. Where did the Xixia people come from so many troops?" Liu Qi suddenly interrupted, then raised his riding whip and pointed to the wide river ahead. "Please see Jiedu, from here on, the Yellow River is getting wider and wider, even wider than Jingdong.

, but such a wide level also makes the river level gentle, making it easy to cross... Only the river is wide, so a lot of rafts and sheepskin rafts are needed to cross the river, so the Xixia people arranged troops to keep the rafts and sheepskin rafts at the ferry.

Weapons and guards have become a matter of course, and they are naturally rumored to be navy soldiers."

"Yes." Qu Duan also suddenly interjected. "When I was young, I saw the so-called Xixia navy... Those Xixia people were on the river. They had neither decent boats nor other proper water equipment. They were all dressed in tattered sheepskin coats and carrying some horses.

Bows are actually the civilians who follow the army to transport them, and they are not looked down upon by everyone."

Yue Fei got the answer he wanted, and then he nodded heavily. After a moment, he turned to face Qu Duan, but his face was still neither happy nor angry: "Qu Dutong, can you quickly disperse the Fanqi in front of you?"

"Jiedu, don't be joking." Qu Duan's expression remained unchanged. "This kind of Fan cavalry can be driven by ten thousand of our troops. It's just that they have less equipment, good horsemanship, and extremely fast speed. It's hard to catch them. They

Even if they disperse in a hurry, they still have to gather again."

"I know." Yue Fei was about to say something else. "Please clean it up first, don't delay crossing the ditch later."

Qu Duan nodded, but immediately stood still and asked on the spot: "Jiedu made such detailed inquiries, is it obvious that he is abandoning the Tang Canal and going to the Yellow River?"

"Yes." Yue Fei still has some respect for Shang Qu Duan, but it's just a bit of respect.

"But what's the point of walking along the Yellow River? Could it be that we think we can't handle the increasing number of Tibetan cavalry and are ready to turn around and cross the river from the lower reaches to attack the empty Lingzhou on the other side of the river?" Qu Da finally frowned when he heard this, looking serious.

Relative. "If we want to attack Lingzhou, what does it matter if we let the whole army cross the gorge together before? How can we calm the morale of the army if we repeat this? Jiedu, I have something to say to you. Everyone has arrived here, and it is a credit to the heavens.

In the first place, I wanted to do something big; in the second place, I was very worried, for fear that something would go wrong... At this time, changing the route and abandoning Xingqing Prefecture and taking Lingzhou was certainly a great achievement, but I'm sorry to say it bluntly, but it would only be

Let the army lose its morale."

In other words, when the matter is at present, there are actually very few choices. There are some things that the generals around have already thought of.

However, Yue Fei is the favorite general of the Zhao family. He has a high rank and is one of the three great flag-bearing commanders. He has always been serious in running the army. This time when the three families join forces, it goes without saying that the headquarters of the imperial camp and the former army will be accompanied.

Although most of the imperial cavalry and the Chinese army were from Kansai, they were all stationed around Tokyo. They knew Yue Dutong's temperament, qualifications, and abilities for a long time.

Therefore, Shang Xia was not dissatisfied this time, but more fearful.

But even so, it is still what Qu Duan said. Now that everyone is here, how can they give up Xingqing Mansion and go to Lingzhou because of possible military obstacles?

If we go to attack Lingzhou, our troops will definitely be dissatisfied.

Therefore, since Qu Duan spoke out, the surrounding officers no longer had any scruples and stepped forward to persuade him.

This means that if we go to Lingzhou, we are afraid that the Khitans will take advantage. The Khitans have all cavalry and camels, so they cannot march directly from behind Helan Mountain!

The one who said that Brother Weimingcha from the Hengshan direction will definitely return for reinforcements after receiving the message. If he really goes to Lingzhou, he is afraid that the Xixia reinforcements from the Hengshan direction will come back and be trapped there.

Everyone tried to persuade him, but Yue Fei just reined in his horse and remained silent.

After a while, when the people around him gradually became quiet, Yue Fei said calmly: "You all think we should go through the Tang Canal?"

The generals knew the key point and nodded one after another.

"If I take the Yellow River, do you all think that I have to walk dozens of miles from the lower reaches to Lingzhou on the other side of the river?"

The generals continued to nod, but the shrewd ones had already tasted the taste.

Qu Duan narrowed his eyes slightly, and Liu Qi and Hu Hongxiu looked directly at each other.

"Now that we have reached this point, we must move forward bravely, sweep away the traps in front of the Xingda River, and break through the gaps in the Helan Mountains." Yue Pengju finally said sternly. "How can we capture Lingzhou?! Following my military orders, the cavalry drove away the Tibetan cavalry and set up a pontoon bridge on the canal.

The army crossed the mouth of the canal and set up camp there! Don't ask any more questions or raise any doubts!"

The generals were in an uproar, and Qu Liu and other generals did not dare to hesitate any longer... However, although these people were excited by Yue Fei's statement, they still had certain doubts in their hearts, because Yue Fei still did not say whether he wanted to go through the Tang Canal or the Tang Canal.

Yellow River? Judging from his appearance, it was obvious that he had acquiesced in letting the baggage and troops go through the Yellow River.

But since we want to take Xingqing Mansion, why not march along the Tang Canal instead of the Yellow River?

But the coach's authority is here. If he talks more, there will be no way to save him. Even if he is crooked, he will never want to cause trouble at this time and place.

Others didn't mention it, but Hu Hongxiu, Shilang Hu, who was wrapped in a turban, stood down with Yue Fei, reining in his horse to watch the battle. Under the afternoon sun, the water of the Tang Canal was sparkling, Zhang Zhongfu personally led thousands of cavalry to attack the mouth of the canal, and Liu Qi led a thousand cavalry from the west side and tried to circumvent and outflank them, but they were still discovered by the Fan cavalry and hurriedly fled along the Tang Canal. On the other side of the canal mouth, there were more than a hundred new Fan cavalry shooting at each other across the river and harassing them, forcing them to A group of divine-armed archers separated from the Song army, and they had just scared away this group of Fan cavalry... At this moment, Hu Shilang couldn't help but look at the hundreds of steps wide Yellow River again, but he had something in his mind. Wake up.

In this way, upon entering the hinterland of Xixia Xingling, on the first day, the Xixia people hurriedly gathered more than a thousand Fan cavalry. Not to mention killing and wounding, they did not even cause effective delay to the Song army.

The Song Army also successfully crossed the canal mouth before dark, entered between the Tang Canal and the Yellow River, and then camped directly... If the side of the Hulu River is the shell and the mouth of the gorge is the skeleton, then here, it is really Xixia The human heart is gone.

And the entire Xingling Land, up to this point, was like a beast with a knife stuck in its belly, convulsing and struggling completely.

That night, with their backs against the river and front against the Tang Canal, the Song army carefully arranged their camps and rested early. Under the night, countless torches kept coming and going, and the howls were mixed with the sound of the Yellow River water. From time to time, cold arrows were fired. Coming, it all indicates that the Xixia people are mobilizing rapidly and converging rapidly.

"Is this His Majesty's will?"

That night, in the brightly lit Xixia Shunzhou Prefecture, Zhizhou Wei Ming Zhangli raised his head in surprise, as if he couldn't believe it.

"What do you think?" The one who came to convey the order was the Grand Master of the King of Liang and the former Privy Councilor Wei Ming Anhui. As this person, he came at night, which is enough to show the seriousness of the matter. "Go and do it quickly!"

Wei Mingzhangli sighed, as if he still couldn't bear it, and obviously wanted to say something... But at this moment, another burst of rapid horse hooves broke the night, and then he shouted directly outside the door. The two of them could hear clearly, But it means that there are gold medal guards escorting some big shot here again.

An Hui and Zhang Li each stood up solemnly to greet each other, and a moment later, as a golden-armored warrior entered with a seven or eight-year-old child in his arms, An Hui and Zhang Li were just startled, then both became horrified, and then knelt down on the spot. , and kowtowed heavily to the visitor.

"Your Majesty has a decree." The golden-armored warrior put the child with frightened eyes on the ground. Unexpectedly, the child could not stand steadily. He had no choice but to hold it with one hand and took out a gold medal from his waist with the other hand. He came and threw it to the ground on the spot, and kept saying, "Tell the two Qings that since the founding of Dabai and Gao, there has never been such a crisis... At this time, no one can count on us, we can only count on ourselves! Let King Liang Don't delay. There are as many tribes as you can gather. Hurry and harass the Song army. If you can delay it for a while, it will be a while! Tell Zhang Li again that I have no reinforcements for him, and Anhui's troops cannot be dispersed. Instead, we must Entrust the prince to him..."

At this point, the golden-armored warrior whose face was covered with dust and could not even take off his helmet swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and then managed to continue delivering the message: "I also told Zhang Li that it would only take a little time... and if the Song army really comes along the Tang Canal, Shunzhou couldn't hold it anymore, so he killed the prince on my behalf to repay the people of Shunzhou! Anyway, we can't let him fall into the hands of the Song people!"

Liang Wang Anhui kowtowed heavily and ran out of the door without even looking at the ignorant child. Zhang Li, who had nowhere to hide, also kowtowed heavily. When he raised his head, tears streaming down his face, he stepped forward to pull the eight-year-old child away.

The prince Li Renxiao took him into his arms, and then he eloquently announced the purpose.

The golden-armored warrior shook his head and said in a low voice: "Not only the prince is here, but the King of Yue was also sent to Lingzhou on the other side of the river overnight."

After saying this, the person will turn back.

Zhang Li hugged his prince and nodded with tears, but suddenly stretched out his hand to grab him: "There is something that is really difficult for locals to do, so I have to help you."

The warrior looked back in confusion.

"The narrowest part of Tang Canal is right next to Shunzhou City..." Zhang Li said with difficulty. "It's only about ten paces wide... Even if it's just in case, please lead someone to block that place!"

And it’s not just here... After this place is blocked, the water downstream will be slow. On your way back, take the opportunity to block more places with people... In this way, if the Song army really comes from here, it will be enough to delay it for a moment or two."

At this moment, even the golden-armored warrior was stunned for a moment, then nodded heavily and hurried away.

Not to mention that night, the Xixia people were brave and brave, and how they fought hard. On the other side, when morning came, the Song army saw the surrounding cavalry disappear. Not only was it unhappy, but it became more serious, because everyone knew that this was very likely.
To be continued...