Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 798 Horse leather shroud
Liupan Mountain is already covered with snow.

A team stretching and winding among the mountains is moving slowly.

The tiger squat cannon and food supplies were placed on dog sleds and sleds of short-legged horses and marched with the army.

Many of these dogs are Tibetan Mastiffs.

A purebred adult Boer Mastiff weighs more than 100 kilograms, is four feet long, and two and a half feet high at the shoulder. It is tall and big, and as strong as a tiger.

Moreover, it is extremely cold-resistant and can sleep outdoors even in the snow and ice.

Using the Mastiff to pull a sled is not only for transporting supplies, it can also identify roads and detect wild animals in the mountains in advance.

It can also alert you to natural weather events such as avalanches and blizzards in advance.

It was too much trouble for Yang Yuan not to bring any heavy artillery.

Fortunately, there were no difficult-to-conquer cities in Western Xia, and the most intense battles were all field battles, so Yang Yuan brought the Tiger Crouching Cannon, which was lighter, easier to carry, and more suitable for dealing with cavalry.

We have just entered the snow season and the snow on the slopes of the valley is not very thick yet.

Even so, it greatly increases the difficulty of crossing mountains and hills.

Yang Yuan put all the cavalry under the charge of Shi Han and Gao Gan, and sent them from Tianshui via Longdao to Lanzhou, and then moved to Huizhou.

Not only the cavalry, but also the donkeys and mules in Guanzhong carried soldiers.

Yang Yuan not only wanted to transport cavalry over, but also wanted to transport troops over.

However, he personally led more infantry to cross the snow-capped mountains.

Yang Yuan left enough troops and firepower to guard Jianxu Pass, Baoji City, Tianshui City, and Dasan Pass.

He personally led a team of nearly 60,000 people to cross the Great Snow Mountain.

Deep in the sparsely populated Liupan Mountains, with steep peaks piercing the clouds, it is even more desolate, desolate and deadly silent in the dead of winter.

Few people come here, but now countless humans have appeared. Some wild beasts have also sensed the danger and have run away so far that the mastiffs cannot smell their scent.

The soldiers selected by Yang Yuan to cross the snow-capped mountains were mostly tall and strong.

Moreover, Yang Yuan broke up the Crazy Corps, which was most skilled in mountain climbing, and placed them into small teams in groups of five, leading these soldiers who had no experience in surviving in the mountains to climb mountains.

All the soldiers were equipped with sheepskin coats, wolfskin mattresses, blue cotton trousers with tight fitting feet, thick gloves on their hands, and dog-skin hats with ear protection on their heads.

The bottom of their shoes are all embedded with iron teeth to facilitate climbing and prevent slipping.

Each squad is also equipped with a long rope and two hooks and rakes.

No army that had ever crossed the Snow Mountain was as well prepared as Yang Yuan's army.

No facial skin was exposed under the furry dog-skin hoods, because even their eyes were covered with black gauze to prevent them from getting snow blindness after being in the snow for a long time.

The process of climbing the Great Snow Mountain is boring and tedious, but the soldiers know how to entertain themselves.

They have food to eat and clothes to wear, they are not cold or hungry, and the number of casualties is extremely low.

After several days of marching, only a very few unlucky people slipped into the ravines or canyons, and even fewer of them died.

Yang Yuan seldom slept or ate with the soldiers or packed their own rations; he did not feel it was necessary to do so.

Huo Qubing never played this trick, but it did not affect his soldiers' bravery and love for their commander.

As long as it can give them more opportunities for security, military merit and promotion.

Yang Yuan did an excellent job in these aspects.

But now that they were surrounded by the vast mountains and everyone was wrapped up like a ball, he didn't mind squatting in a snow cave with the soldiers, drinking minced meat soup and talking dirty.

"Marshal, when we reach Xingqing Prefecture, we'll capture their princess and make her your concubine to warm your feet and bed."

"Hahaha, forget it. I heard that Xixia women are very fierce. I'm afraid she'll bite off my penis. If I survive by chance, I can only enter the palace and become a eunuch!"

Yang Yuan recalled the legend about the bizarre death of a great man who had not yet been born at this time, and couldn't help laughing.

The soldiers sitting in a group heard this and laughed ambiguously.

The fact that the Marshal was so humble and willing to joke with them made them completely relax.

Since Yang Yuan himself was talking about dirty things, no one else would have any scruples.

So, after the meal was over and the cravings were satisfied, everyone wrapped themselves in wolfskin mattresses and the cats felt much more relaxed as they slept in their snow dens.

This is very necessary. If so many soldiers are always in a depressing, dull and tense atmosphere, once a "camp roar" is triggered, the consequences will be unimaginable.

……

People from the four Tibetan tribes held a swearing-in ceremony on the vast snowy plains, then crossed the Qilian Mountains and headed towards the Guasha Islands.

When Tubo was extremely powerful, Dangxiang was still an insignificant little brother.

When the Dangxiang people established the Western Xia Empire, the Tubo performed a high dive, the dynasty collapsed, and the various tribes became independent.

However, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, and some powerful tribes still established some local governments.

These small regimes established by the descendants of the Tibetan royal family and aristocracy could only survive in a corner and were unable to integrate the entire Tibetan area, thus beginning a long era of separatism.

However, although they did not have the ability to unify the Tibetan tribes, it did not mean that they no longer had the power to harass other tribes or countries.

On the premise that Gao Shuyao and Wu Yuan agreed to provide swords, spears, armor, tea and salt respectively, and with the help of Master Vajrabodhi, the four major Tibetan tribes formed an alliance and crossed the mountains to harass Guasha, which was separated from the southern foot of the Qilian Mountains.

The main force of the Western Xia army under the Gansu and Su military divisions had already moved south to Liangzhou to contain the Wu army. The total number of troops stationed in Guazhou and Shazhou was less than 8,000.

The Tibetans accepted the bribe and originally planned to come here like a wretched man trying to "push the gods", squeeze and rub in the crowd, take a little advantage of the young lady and then leave.

But they suddenly realized that no one would stop them from carrying the girl away. So what was there to worry about?
As a result, the Tibetans began to take the initiative.

When Guashazhou was attacked, Zuru of Suzhou was afraid of failure, so he urgently ordered the Gansu military commander to return to strengthen Suzhou and wait for an opportunity to drive out the Tibetan soldiers who were robbing, attacking cities and looting in Guasha area.

……

At this time, almost all of the main forces of Western Xia were assembled in the Roulang Mountains.

Through the many experiences of previous wars with the Song Dynasty, they knew very well that as long as Liu Qi's army was destroyed, the battle for the country's destiny against the Western Xia that the Song Dynasty had been preparing for five years would be completely defeated.

If Wu Gong fails to seize the opportunity and withdraw to the Song Dynasty in time, even Wu Gong will not be able to escape.

However, Liu Qi was really good at fighting, and he lost the initiative because according to the original plan, he was going to fight with Wu's army as a warrior's two arms.

Unexpectedly, his other arm was suddenly disabled, and he was suddenly put in a passive position.

After promptly withdrawing his forces, shifting the battlefield, and establishing a defensive formation with his back to Roulang Mountain, even though the Western Xia army had assembled the main armies of various military divisions, they were unable to do anything to him for a while.

The two sides entered a stalemate.

At this time, it was about to enter the midwinter season. With heavy snow and cold weather, one could imagine what would happen to Liu Qi's troops who were short of food and clothing.

In view of this, the Western Xia people did not launch a fierce attack at all costs, but only tightly blocked the line from Huizhou to Roulang Mountain.

They continued to strengthen the fortifications between the two, cutting off the transportation of reinforcements and supplies to the Song State.

In fact, when Liu Qi’s army was not fighting, it was not particularly cold.

In later times, the Roulang Mountains were also very lush, not to mention this era, when the vegetation on the mountains was extremely abundant.

Cutting wood for heating is of course very good.

Liu Qi's army actually produced a lot of charcoal...

The most troublesome thing is food. Digging plant roots and hunting obviously cannot meet the needs of tens of thousands of troops.

The army had saved on food again and again, and it was almost gone.

Liu Qi naturally would not sit idly by and wait for death. The mules and horses pulling the carts were the first to be slaughtered, followed by the war horses.

Anyway, they can only waste food and supplies in the mountains and will not be of any use.

During this period, Liu Qi also organized several counterattacks and seized some food and fodder from the Xixia people.

However, after the Xixia people stepped up their vigilance, such opportunities became rare.

At this time, the Xixia people actually held a winter trade fair at the foot of Zero Degree Mountain.

Winter has always been a time for nomadic people to rest and rest.

Since they cannot graze in the winter, the herders lose their only job. However, during this period, they do not stay in their tents all day without going out.

They would also spontaneously hold large barter trade fairs in densely populated grazing areas.

They used the hides, tendons, horns, livestock, dried meat, medicinal herbs, cheese, etc. that they had accumulated over the year to exchange for food, salt, cloth, weapons, jewelry and various daily necessities at this market.

Therefore, merchants, herdsmen, and a large amount of wealth are concentrated here.

Since half of the Western Xia army is now concentrated in this area, the population here is more dense than ever before.

The soldiers of the Western Xia Corps were engaged in various trades in peacetime and gathered as soldiers in wartime. They were the heads of the family and controlled the economic power of the family.

So, the largest trade fair emerged here.

Felt tents of herdsmen and merchants rose from the ground, and large amounts of goods were piled up like mountains.

Countless merchants and herdsmen from the grassland came here to trade, riding on horses and singing.

The camps of various military divisions also considerately formulated a rotation policy so that the soldiers could have time to go to the market and barter.

As the population becomes more dense, the number of people engaged in the flesh trade has increased.

As a result, the soldiers' enthusiasm for going to the trade fair became increasingly high.

Soon, the scouts of Liu Qi’s army learned about this matter from the captured "tongue".

"The largest trade fair in Western Xia..."

Liu Qi was tempted. If he could successfully seize enough supplies from such a market, it would be tantamount to robbing a major baggage camp of Western Xia.

In that case, even if his men could not break out, they could still spend the winter safely here.

However, this trade fair was located in the center of the military camps of Western Xia, which was a blatant trap.

Could it be that the Xixia people could not have imagined that he, who was at the end of his rope, would definitely plan to take advantage of this big market?

This was clearly a trap dug for him, and sadly, he had no choice but to jump into it.

Otherwise, in four days at most, the army would be completely out of food, and after another three days, they would have no choice but to wait for death.

Knowing that there is a tiger in the mountain, he has no choice but to go there.

By now, he had completely given up the idea of ​​waiting for reinforcements.

He suspected that Wu's army must have encountered a worse situation than him.

The imperial court's five-year plan to conquer Western Xia was coming to a tragic end.

He used to be the Protector General of Longyou, and he should have died in battle on this land.

When issuing the mobilization order, the old general Liu Qi issued one order after another with the mentality of fighting a decisive battle.

If you must die, then die gloriously!
(End of this chapter)