Mingsha County is the key to the ancient Silk Road, and to the north it is the plains of Xingling and the two prefectures, with no obstacles along the way. The geographical location here is important. After the Song army occupied it, the army can unfold and no longer move around the mountains and rivers.

Because the county was too small, Dangxiang did not set up a large army, and Di Qing's vanguard successfully captured. Nearly 200,000 troops in Hulu River were gathering here and preparing to go north to attack Lingzhou.

Han Qi and Liu Ji arrived outside the city, looked at the dense military tent outside the city, and said, "I heard that after occupying Weizhou, Pu Le and Yaode had already occupied the east, and now Mingsha has occupied another. The 300,000 troops of Taiwei Di finally began to spread. In the past, they were in the Hulu River, but they were so irresistible."

Liu Ji said: "It's more than that. In the past, when we were in Huluchuan, the army stationed camps and distributed food for the marching route. I don't know how many fights we had every day. Now we have finally arrived at the flat ground. The place is big, so there is no need to fight anymore."

While talking, the two arrived outside Mingsha City. Di Qing led the generals to wait here early and welcomed the two into the city.

When he arrived at the county government office, Di Qing said, "Two people came from afar, thank you all the hard work along the way. Mingsha is a small place and there is nothing special. I will still have to work hard these days."

Han Qi said: "You are polite. I came from the Western Regions two thousand miles away. It is rare for me to be close to the Central Plains here."

After saying a few polite words, Di Qing said: "After the imperial edict of the court, 50,000 troops from Liuji's troops were placed under the jurisdiction of Taiwei Han. I will take the remaining more than 200,000 people to attack Lingzhou. If this battle is won, Dangxiang will no longer have the power to fight back, which is the most important goal of sending troops this time. We gather together to discuss future wars. Only by cooperating between the two armies can we ensure the suppression of Dangxiang."

Han Qi said: "Now Dangxiang's troops are stationed in two cities, one is Lingzhou and the other is Xingqing Prefecture. In the other small cities, there are not many troops stationed. If they do not go to Lingzhou, they cannot attack Xingqing Prefecture. This battle mainly depends on the troops of the Taiwei."

Di Qing said: "More than two months have passed since September. To be honest, Dangxiang did not resist desperately and did not have a big battle. Now there is no obstacle ahead, and Dangxiang gathers troops in a city again. The most important thing is to attack the city. Although the road in Tiandu Mountain is flat, it has not been renovated and is rugged. It is difficult to transport heavy artillery from the Zhenrong Army. Without heavy artillery, it is not easy to attack Lingzhou."

Han Qi said: "It is already late in the twelfth lunar month, and it is time for the Chinese New Year. Although it is colder than the Central Plains, the ice on the Yellow River slowly began to melt in the first month of the next year. I thought that this place was located in the northwest and the Yellow River could pass by in winter. But I didn't expect that although it was frozen, the ice was not thick, and it was only one after another. The army could not cross the river from the ice, and Lingzhou could only rely on the Taiwei. Lingzhou City was surrounded by water on three sides. When the ice melted next year, the surrounding area was full of water, and only one or more roads were connected to the outside. When the heavy artillery was transported here, I was afraid it would not be suitable for siege."

Di Qing said: "Is there any other way? I sent someone to Lingzhou to check it. The city walls there are far from being comparable to other cities. Moreover, there are artillery on the city, and it is impossible to break the city without heavy artillery. If the time is not right, I have to wait for the next year to attack the city."

Liu Jidao: "The imperial edict ordered me to follow the Taiwei Han to take Shunzhou and Jingzhou on the west bank of the Yellow River to separate the connection between Xingling and Xingling states. Both states are west of the Yellow River, and there are not many troops stationed, so it is not difficult to capture. However, Dangxiang can cross the river in Huaizhou and come to Lingzhou, but it cannot completely separate the two states."

Di Qing said: "I have a 200,000 army, and Dangxiang is not afraid of coming to rescue soldiers. After you defeat Shunzhou and Jingzhou, you don't need to station. After abandoning the city, the army will go around the west of Helan Mountain and return to Hequ Road. The Privy Council said that the two Khitan emperors fought against Yelu Chongyuan, and the result will be almost achieved. The Hequ Road army is out, and we are worried that the Khitan Road will have an intention to Hequ Road by then."

Han Qi said: "Dangxiang returned 200,000 troops to the remaining troops, and it is really not easy for the Taiwei to serve as this strong enemy with his troops. After we lead the army back to Hequ Road, we will attack Dangxiang's Shanhe Pass from Hezhou, so that they dare not divide their troops to Lingzhou."

Di Qing bowed: "This is the best. Dangxiang was attacked from north to south, lost Hexi, and was defeated not far from defeat."

The remaining troops of Dangxiang were less than 200,000 except for the Hengshan area of ​​the Xingling Prefectures. Most importantly, Han Qi broke through Hexi all the way, making Dangxiang realize that field battles were no match for the Song army at all. Ordinary small towns and villages could not stop the Song army's artillery. They could only rely on the big city and fight to the death with the Song army. Now the surrounding troops are gathering in several big cities and giving up many places. If Han Qi led his troops to attack Shanhe Pass from the north, it would inevitably attract a large number of Dangxiang troops and create opportunities for Di Qing.

At this time, the Song army had no intention of breaking through Shanhe Pass and advancing north and south. The most important task of Han Qi's troops was to station on Hequ Road and guard against the Khitan. There were only 10,000 or 20,000 people on Hequ Road, so it was difficult to guarantee what the Khitans had in their lives.

At this time, the overall situation was very unfavorable to Dangxiang. He knew that he was defeated, and Hengshan did not send troops to aid. Even if Dangxiang ordered it strictly, Hengshan's guards ignored it. They knew that they were not a rival to the Song army, with Hequ Road in the north and Fuyan Road in the south, so how could they dare to send troops?

It has been nearly the end of this time. Although Han Qi and Liu Ji were dissatisfied with the slow progress of Di Qing's army, it was useless to say it at this time, so they were too lazy to speak. It was a great success to occupy the five prefectures in Hexi and open up the road from the Western Regions to the Central Plains.

After talking about the recent military situation, Di Qing said: "I prepared a small wine in the back yamen to welcome the two of you, so don't dislike me."

Han Qi and Liu Ji hurriedly said that they didn't dare to go to the back yamen with Di Qing.

The Dangxiang people were not good at building, and the back yamen seemed very messy, with no flowers and trees planted in the middle. There was only one pavilion, and I don’t know when it was built. Di Qing ordered to clean up, surrounded the large curtain, and put a banquet inside.

Several people sat down and Di Qing said, "There are good mutton here. I ordered a roasted lamb and serve wine today."

After saying that, he ordered the soldiers to bring the roasted mutton and put it on the table. Next to it were some pears, dates and oranges transported from the Central Plains to serve wine.

After giving the orders, Di Qing raised his glass: "Since September dispatched troops, Taiwei Han and I divided into two groups, and finally met today. Let's drink a glass--"

Before he finished speaking, a personal soldier rushed in and crossed his hands and said, "Taiwei, something happened to the Qingyuan Army!"

Di Qing put down his wine glass, looked at his personal soldiers, his face was as deep as water, and asked sternly: "I am hosting two grand lieutenants here, why are they so panicked! Hundreds of thousands of troops facing the enemy country, what chaos can make you trespass!"

The personal soldiers bowed their heads and said in a deep voice: "The subordinates are rude, and the Grand Marshal will forgive the crimes! Dangxiang prisoners of war rebelled in Qinggangxia, killing people indiscriminately. The Qingyuan Army sent troops to fight, but they were ambushed by the Dangxiang rebels, and the guards were killed in front of the formation!"

After hearing this, Di Qing suddenly stood up and looked at his personal soldiers and said in a deep voice: "What are you talking about! What is going on? Let's talk about it in detail!"
Chapter completed!