The first year of Xuanhe in the Song Dynasty, the first year of Yuande in the Western Xia Dynasty, 1119 AD, the first day of May.<>

All 150,000 Song troops gathered in the ancient bone dragon city in Huangzhou. After a month of preparation and the allocated military pay and food, 150,000 Song troops gathered here to prepare to start a battle against the Western Xia.

There were originally 180,000 Song troops on Qinfeng Road, but they could not be taken away at once, so they left 30,000, and some local troops stationed in the fortresses, gathering all 150,000 elite soldiers and generals in the ancient bone dragon city.

The Ancient Bone Dragon City is a must-fight place for Song and Xia. Wars often occur around this city. The Renduoquan City in Xixia are the places where wars broke out most frequently between Song and Xia.

The 150,000 army was falsely claimed to be 200,000. At the command of Xia Bolong, it slowly moved from the ancient Gu Long City to the northwest Renduoquan City. If you want to attack Xiliang Prefecture, you must first capture Renduoquan City. Renduoquan City is an important military barrier established by Xixia at the Qilian Mountains Pass. It is used to monitor the Qinghai Lake area. If Renduoquan City is captured, you can regain the dominance of the Silk Road trade from Xixia, obtain the Tubo horses, and form a strategic encirclement of Xixia. In short, no matter what the purpose is, it seems that Song Huizong is bound to be defeated this time in attacking Xixia.

However, Renduoquan City had fallen into the hands of the Song army before and was later recaptured. But now, when the soldiers of the Western Army mentioned Renduoquan City, they would think of a very well-known figure, that is Liu Fa. Although Liu Fa is Tong Guan's confidant, he is indeed a rare general.

In the long and cruel history of the Northern Song and Western Xia, the outstanding generals emerged from the Western Army of the Song Dynasty were like the bright stars of the Milky Way. However, among the many generals, one general could rarely win a high evaluation in the Song and Xia camps. His name represents victory and glory in the Song and the Tubo people. It sounds like a nightmare to the Dangxiang people and the Tubo people. This person is either Zhong Yan and Zhong Shidao, who have made great achievements in military affairs, nor is he the well-known Di Qing. He is Liu Fa, the commander who was praised as a natural general by the famous general of Western Xia.

When Liu Fa's name was mentioned, many generals of the Xixia Army were still in fear. It was this natural divine general who once attacked Renduoquan City and massacred the city, which made the generals of the Xixia Army retreat when they heard his name.

The army left the Gugu Long City, and the march was a bit boring. Because the Song army had few horses, in this 150,000 army, there were only 20,000 horses. Compared with the Xixia army, the maneuver power gap was too big. The marching army could walk 200 miles a day, which was still sleepless because the systems of the various troops in the Western Army were too different. For this reason, Xia Bolong specifically asked Han Shizhong to take 20,000 horses as the vanguard, and took the cavalry generals of the Liangshan Army away, first defeating some Xixia army that were fortified on Renduoquancheng Road. He led a 100,000 army forward on foot, and the 20,000 troops behind were handed over to Zhao Gou and Zhou Gan.

For more than ten days, there has not been a drop of rain. The milky white fog filled the air, covering the trees in the distance, and from there, it exuded a burning atmosphere. Many dark, hazy clouds floated leisurely in the blue sky and slowly crawled over. The strong dry wind kept blowing, but could not drive away the heat.

The sky is so blue and the sun is so bright, just like this scenery is shrouded in summer scenery all year round. The flowers of thistle are flying up and down around them, as if they are intoxicated by the tranquility of the atmosphere. The heat dances on the ripe grass, and there is a soft buzzing sound everywhere, as if they are magnificent murmuring between the sky and the earth.

It is indeed very uncomfortable to march in May, and it is even more difficult to march through hikes. Fortunately, there is a river that leads directly from the ancient Gu Long City to Renduoquan City. Walking west along the river, there is a Datong City, and this river is called Datong River and also becomes the Haomen River.

The Datong River is a tributary of the Huangshui River, located in the northeast of Qinghai Province. It was named after the Datong City was built by the river in the Song Dynasty. In terms of length and flow, the Datong River is actually the source of the Huangshui River and is also the second-level tributary of the Yellow River. The Datong River is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with lush trees and steep mountains. Looking down at the mountain, the Datong River is like a pearl embedded in the mountains and ridges. The surrounding green mountains and green waters blend. The water is surging on the mountain and the mountains are dyed with water. It seems to be a Chinese painting injected with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The two mountains on the east and west are unique in scenery, with caves in the east and Buddha's palm stones in the west. Looking up at the south, you can see the turbulent Songhua River and ten thousand acres of grain fields. Such a beautiful place, in such weather, naturally becomes a place to escape the summer heat.

Xia Bolong didn't know how the horse army ahead walked, but he only knew that he led the 100,000 infantry, led by the guide, headed by the river bank, heading west, crossing mountains and ridges, and enjoyed many scenery along the way. It was indeed a pleasure. However, the Zhougan Legion where Zhao Gou and Yue Fei were unable to cross this place smoothly because they were holding food and supplies, and could not walk on the mountain road, so they had to change the way. Therefore, Xia Bolong divided the troops into 30,000 infantry, including the Liangshan Army, and sent the guide to walk on a flattering terrain with Zhou Gan's 20,000 logistics troops.

Originally, the logistics of food and supplies should be escorted by the Servant Army, but that was too labor-intensive. In addition, Xia Bolong was worried about Zhao Gou's safety, so he asked Zhou Gan's army to escort food and supplies, and Zhao Gou and Yue Fei followed Zhou Gan's army and followed him all the time. Even if he encountered an enemy in front, Zhao Gou would not be besieged, and when he attacked, he was able to let go.

Ten days later, Xia Bolong's army and Han Shizhong's front gathered fifty miles outside Renduoquan City. They were indeed very tired all the way, and that night the army camped on the hills to rest.

After nightfall, Xia Bolong sat alone in the big tent, looking at the map.

Soon, Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun and Qian Tu entered the big tent. As soon as the three of them entered the big tent, they bowed and said, "Sir!"

"Well, you're all here? Sit down!" Xia Bolong said calmly.

The three of them immediately sat down, and Han Shizhong took the lead and asked, "Sir, you told me to come, but do you have any important things to give?"

Xia Bolong said: "That's not true, but I have some questions to ask you. Who is the guardian of Renduoquan City? How about the soldiers?"

Qian Tu replied: "The commander of Renduoquan City is Li Qingbao. There are 30,000 soldiers and horses in the city, including 20,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry. However, Renduoquan City is built on the mountain and is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Therefore, although we have arrived for many days, we have never fought with the Western Xia army and have not encountered a soldier along the way. It seems that Li Qingbao is afraid of our Song Dynasty and hides in the city and dare not come out."

"It's okay to be aware of it. With cannons there, no matter whether they are dangerous or not, we can break through their city walls. Regardless of whether they hold on or not, the army will launch an attack tomorrow morning. This time I only brought thirty cannons, but with thirty cannons, you can capture Xiliang Prefecture with thirty cannons." Xia Bolong said.

Qian Tu didn't know what cannons are? He hadn't even heard of them, let alone saw them. He asked confusedly: "What is the cannon that sir?"

Xia Bolong said: "It's nothing, it's just a sharp weapon for siege, many hundred and a thousand times more weapons than those ladders, rushing cars, and well railings."

"So magical? It's the first time I'm so old that I heard of such a thing. Seeing that the adults are confident, I know that tomorrow I will definitely be able to defeat the Western Xia army and conquer Renduoquan City." Qian Tu said.

Xia Bolong laughed and said, "By the way, it's okay for the other soldiers to rest? When siege the city tomorrow, they will rely on them. I don't know the difficulties of fighting without fighting. I only now know that although I fought with the Xixia people, it is indeed a pity that I cannot have the same status as Liu Fa in the hearts of the soldiers."

"Liu Fa is indeed a famous general and is very brave. I heard that this time, Mr. Xuan used him as the pioneer." Han Shizhong said.

"Sir! Good news!" a soldier shouted outside the tent.

"Good news? We haven't fought a war yet, where did we get the best news?" Xia Bolong said suspiciously.

Qian Tu said: "Sir, it should be the good news of the Eastern Army Xuan Commander. According to convention, no matter which army advances first, no matter which army wins the battle, the good news will be sent to other military forces to serve as a warning and improve the enthusiasm of the soldiers to fight."

"The Eastern Route Army... will there be a good news so soon?" Xia Bolong said in surprise.

Zhang Jun said: "Sir, this is not surprising. Most of the horse troops in the Eastern Army, and the attacks are very close to the border of the Song Dynasty. There are relatively flat terrain along the way, and Liu Fa is the vanguard. It must be another general from the Western Xia who abandoned the city and ran away when he saw Liu Fa coming!"

"Well, maybe, let's take a look. Send the victory in!" Xia Bolong shouted the soldier outside the tent.

A soldier outside the tent walked in with the good news, handed the good news to Xia Bolong, and then withdrew from the military tent.

After Xia Bolong opened the good news, he looked at it. It turned out that Liu Fa took the lead in breaking the city and conquering the Great Wall Ridge. The defender of Hongzhou in Xixia retreated without fighting. After reading it, he gave the good news to Han Shizhong and asked him to circulate the other two people to watch together.

After the three of them watched, Han Shizhong's bloody nature came up and said carelessly: "Sir, we will do a battle tomorrow. If we don't capture Renduoquan City, it will not be enough to show the strength of our Western Route Army. Liu Fa relied on his reputation. The people of Xixia were afraid and retreated without fighting. Otherwise, in places like Hongzhou, the people of Xixia would have to guard for at least ten days and half a month."

Xia Bolong laughed and said, "Yes, but I have to admit that there are indeed elite soldiers and generals in the Eastern Army. I heard that Tong Guan had prepared a lot for this expedition. He also asked the emperor for Zhong Shidao, Liu Guangshi, Zong Ze and other senior generals, and Liu Fa, so I am afraid that our Western Army will fall behind far behind the Eastern Army."

"Not afraid or not. We have cannons. We can easily conquer the city. Once we capture Renduoquan City, we will attack Xiliang Prefecture with light cavalry. We will be able to capture Xiliang Prefecture in one go. When we conquer Xiliang Prefecture, the boys of the Eastern Route Army should be subject to stubborn resistance. You must know that the Jianing Army Division is the rear of the Zuoxiang Army of Xixia. Once it is captured, the Zuoxiang Army will be surrounded." Zhang Jun said with a smile.

Xia Bolong said: "Well, it's too late, you all go back and rest, and the war will officially start tomorrow!"

"Yes, sir, we'll take our leave!" The three of them stood up at the same time and bowed to Xia Bolong.

This book.

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