Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

"Before sending out the troops, I also sent someone to urgently request reinforcements, asking the Qiangzhen Military Command and the Chaoshun Military Command to send troops to help!"

Cao Yu shook his head and said, "Who knows when the reinforcements from those two military commanders will arrive."

“We must retreat to Wulahai City to wait, instead of waiting here at Tiande Army City.”

It will definitely be a long time coming.

Li Quanlu was able to quickly gather troops because this battle concerned the interests of the local tribes.

In order to protect their pastures and farmland, the tribal chiefs naturally dispatched troops swiftly, following their commander to the rescue.

However, the Qiangzhen Military Command and the Chaoshun Military Command were stationed west of the Hetao region.

Even if the tribal chiefs there are willing to send troops, they will be slow to act, and they will probably take the opportunity to demand tax reductions.

During wartime, the tribal chiefs are actually responsible for gathering troops!

Li Bao ordered Yue Fei and Han Shizhong to rush over immediately. Han Shizhong did not lead any infantry and rode at full speed, so that other military commanders would not have time to come to the rescue.

……

North of the Yellow River and south of Wuyuan, on a grassland forty miles wide, light cavalry from both countries clashed and fought fiercely.

Both sides were cavalrymen from steppe tribes.

The equipment is terrible; most people don't have armor, so when they meet, they just shoot arrows at each other.

Many were wounded in the fighting, but few died.

Those hit by the arrow immediately retreated, as none of them wanted to engage in close combat.

The grasslands are too vast to defend against.

Some small groups of Western Xia cavalry even bypassed Wuyuan from the north, attempting to approach the besieged Tiande Army City and make contact with the Western Xia army that was defending the city.

"Boom!"

The deafening sound of horses' hooves came from the east, and the Western Xia light cavalry, who were engaged in fierce fighting, were so frightened that they immediately turned around and fled.

Before Li Quanlu had even finished setting up camp, he soon received a message from the light cavalry: the main force of the Ming army was coming!

When asked how many people came, all that was known was that there were at least tens of thousands, possibly several tens of thousands.

The supervising officer, Cao Yu, was terrified: "Quickly retreat to Wulahai City, hold the city and wait for reinforcements. Under no circumstances should we engage the Ming army in a decisive battle in the open!"

Chapter 3726 Defeated by Liangshan, who has more experience than me?

Li Quanlu grew increasingly irritated and snapped, "What do you know? Have you ever seen Ming dynasty firearms?"

"I have personally witnessed the annihilation of an army of 100,000!"

"To fight the Ming army, we must fight on the open grasslands."

"Wulahai City is located in the mountains. Once the Ming army brings their cannons and musketeers, how can we fight while hiding inside the city?"

Cao Yu said, "We can't fight in the open. Have you forgotten that when we fought against the Jin Kingdom, our Great Xia had more than 30,000 soldiers, and they were completely routed by a thousand Jin cavalry?"

“The Ming cavalry can fight the Jin cavalry head-on. Their cavalry are well-armored, while we don’t even have iron hawks.”

"Stop arguing, let me think about it!" Li Quanlu wasn't sure either.

Han Shizhong arrived too quickly. The farmers and herdsmen around Tiande Army City had no time to retreat to the west to join him. They could only hide in Tiande Army City and defend it to the death.

Under normal circumstances, it should be fine to hold out for a year or two.

But the Ming army had cannons!

Li Quanlu feared that if he didn't go to the rescue, the city wall would be bombed and collapsed.

At that time, Han Shizhong can use Tiande Military City as a base to continuously increase troops and transport grain.

But how can we save them?

Cao Yu is absolutely right; in open field combat, they are most likely to lose.

The Western Xia only had three thousand Iron Falcons, not because there was a lack of riders and warhorses, but because the Western Xia's financial resources could only support that many.

Iron Falcons are all in the capital and cannot arrive in time.

Li Quanlu had a limited standing army of only two or three thousand men, and these troops were naturally well-equipped.

The rest were all able-bodied men from the farmers and herdsmen; some were conscripted as regular soldiers, and some were conscripted as laborers.

In these troops, those who can wear leather armor are already elites; many regular soldiers don't even have leather armor.

Overwhelmed by the Ming army's formidable reputation, Li Quanlu surprisingly backed down: "Withdraw the troops!"

Rushing to the rescue, they hastily ordered an evacuation...

Li Quanlu fled at breakneck speed, even abandoning grain and livestock, and the entire army rode away in a chaotic retreat.

Han Shizhong led his troops to the enemy camp, which was only half-built. Seeing the livestock and provisions inside, he was momentarily confused about what was going on.

This battle was of great importance, and Han Shizhong actually became cautious: "The enemy's escape was too suspicious. There must be an ambush ahead, luring us there so we can attack."

"Since the enemy has abandoned livestock and grain, let's accept it. Don't pursue them rashly. Take the grain and go back to continue the siege!"

Outside Tiande Army City, Han Shizhong left only a small number of light cavalry to keep watch from a distance.

When Deputy Commander Yeli Degui saw that the main force of the Ming army had left, he guessed that Han Shizhong was going to attack the reinforcements, so he mustered his troops and went out of the city to cooperate with the reinforcements.

Yeli Degui's army had not gone far when he discovered that Han Shizhong was returning with his troops, which frightened him so much that he immediately withdrew his entire army back into the city.

"What happened? Is the battle already over, and the Ming army has won a great victory? It can't have happened so quickly!" Yeli Degui was completely bewildered.

Fortunately, there are large rice paddies on both sides of the Yellow River. The Western Xia farmers have just harvested the rice, and the herdsmen have also brought many livestock into the city. Yeli Degui's food supplies can last for one or two years.

He didn't care about anything else; he just wanted to defend the city to the death, and he figured reinforcements would arrive sooner or later.

When will the Western Xia reinforcements arrive again? Only God knows.

Han Shizhong's follow-up troops had already boarded ships in Dongshengzhou City (Tuoketuo County).

Chapter 3727 Transporting Grain

This section of the Yellow River is navigable, and numerous canals extend from both banks for irrigation.

A few days later, the artillery will arrive, and more food will also be delivered.

.......

Meanwhile, Yue Fei led 5,000 cavalry, along with several hundred Dangxiang cavalry, southward along the Yellow River, heading straight for Ningbian Prefecture.

Across the Yellow River from Ningbian Prefecture, there is a Ming army castle with 500 soldiers stationed there, a second-line force under the command of Yao Pingzhong.

After arriving at the castle along the river valley, Yue Fei's cavalry made a brief resupply before crossing the river and continuing westward around Ningbian Prefecture.

Why did Yue Fei dare to bypass the city?

Because he had allied forces helping him!

Upon receiving Yue Fei's message, Yao Pingzhong, who was stationed in Fugu, immediately mustered his troops and marched north along the Yellow River.

He led several thousand men to besiege Ningbian Prefecture, and incidentally opened up Yue Fei's supply lines.

Further west lies Jinsujun City (northwest of Jungar Banner).

Yue Fei arrived too quickly, alone on four horses. The herdsmen around the city were still grazing their sheep, and they watched in a daze as Yue Fei led his troops past.

They thought it was their own country's army.

If they're not one of our own, could they be Ming soldiers?

To the north lies the desert, and to the east lies Ningbian Prefecture of Western Xia. It's impossible for Ming cavalry to fly over here.

None of the herders along the way went to the city to report the news.

When Yue Fei led his troops to the city, the Western Xia commander was still drinking mare's milk wine.

It was mealtime, and Yue Fei came to give him an extra meal.

In Dongsheng Prefecture, the Dangxiang tribes who had sought refuge with Yue Fei, along with more than a thousand Khitan, Tangut, and Jurchen cavalry, disguised themselves as defeated Western Xia soldiers and frantically fled towards the city.

Yue Fei led two thousand elite cavalry and over a thousand light cavalry in a rapid pursuit from two miles behind.

The city's defenders were so frightened that they hurriedly closed the city gates, completely unaware of what was happening outside.

A Dangxiang chieftain from Dongsheng Prefecture rushed to the city gates and shouted, "The Ming army is coming! Dongsheng Prefecture and Ningbian Prefecture have both been captured! Quickly let us in to help defend the city!"

"Wait a moment, I'll go inform the general," the garrison officer shouted.

The Tangut chieftain said, "Open the city gates quickly, or the enemy will attack!"

Yue Fei had led his troops to pursue them to within a mile and a half of the city.

The garrison officer panicked and shouted, "Cross the moat and come in through the west gate!"

Seeing the troops ahead circling around to the west of the city, Yue Fei also circled around to the west outside the moat.

The Western Xia general, disregarding his meal, rode his horse to the west gate and frantically asked, "How many Ming troops have come? Why is Ningbian Prefecture gone too? How come I didn't..."

"kill!"

After the city gates opened, cavalry from various tribes charged in.

Caught off guard, the Western Xia general was cut down by the Tangut chieftain before he could even draw his weapon.

The Western Xia soldiers inside the city gates were thrown into chaos, and cavalry from various ethnic groups charged straight into the city. Yue Fei led his elite troops to follow them into the city.

Before even fully capturing the city, Yue Fei ordered his elite cavalry to change horses: "Follow me to attack Heqing Army City!"

"Protector, the soldiers have not slept for a day and a night."

"Then let's sleep on horseback. Everyone change horses; our spare horses are tired too. It would be best to switch to enemy warhorses from inside the city."

"This city is handed over to the cavalry of various ethnic groups. The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty will follow me in a swift attack on Heqing Army City!"

While the fighting continued within the Jin Su army's city, Yue Fei had already led his troops to raid the next location.

Western Xia soldiers fled on horseback within the city.

When they saw that Yue Fei was also leading his troops westward, they were so frightened that they immediately turned around and fled elsewhere.

Chapter 3728 Defeat in One Battle

The next day, Yue Fei's troops, who had not slept for two days and one night, unexpectedly attacked Qinghe Military City in northern Ordos.

One battle and we're done!

There wasn't even much fighting; the deputy general was the local tribal chief.

It was previously ruled by the Liao Dynasty, then by the Jin Dynasty, and was seized by the Western Xia Dynasty less than ten years ago.

Although the local tribes were Tanguts, what loyalty could they possibly have to the Western Xia?

Yue Fei's troops descended like divine soldiers, terrifying the local tribes.

The local chieftain, who served as the deputy general, killed the commander-in-chief sent by the Western Xia court and led his people to open the city gates and surrender.

While Han Shizhong was still besieging the city, Yue Fei had already swept through several cities in the south.

The Jin dynasty invited the Western Xia to join forces in attacking the Song dynasty.

They promised to cede three cities and eight pavilions to the Western Xia as payment for their military contributions.

The three cities are located west of the river, while the eight museums are located east of the river.

Today, the three cities that Yue Fei raided, as well as the surrounding hills and grasslands, are the land of the Three Cities of Hexi.

In modern geographical terms, Ordos City encompasses: the entire Jungar Banner, half of Dalad Banner, a small portion of Ejin Horo Banner, and the entire Dongsheng District.

It was the main battleground between the Western Xia and Liao dynasties, and the two sides fought over it repeatedly for more than a hundred years.

It belonged to the Liao Dynasty for most of the time, and to the Western Xia Dynasty for a small period of time, but now it has finally become part of the Ming Dynasty's territory!

To its north lies a desert belt, and to its southwest is the Mu Us Desert.

The rapid expansion of the Mu Us Desert is related to the long-standing wars between the Song, Liao, and Xia dynasties.

While Western Xia had to defend against the Liao Dynasty, it also had to deal with the Northern Song Dynasty, leading to excessive land reclamation and grazing in that area.

Of course, the current desert area is relatively small.